INFLATABLE BALL CONTAINING ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Abstract

An inflatable ball with integrated electronics and a method of manufacture. The inflatable ball comprises a bladder defining an inflatable interior of the ball and an electronics casing attached to, or integrally formed with, the bladder. The electronics casing defines a compartment adjacent an inner surface of the inflatable interior of the ball and sealed within the inflatable interior of the ball. The inflatable ball further comprises at least one electronic component, wherein the electronic component is located within the compartment of the electronics casing; and wherein the compartment is in fluid communication with the inflatable interior of the ball such that the compartment is at the same pressure as the inflatable interior of the ball.

Claims

1.-40. (canceled)

41. An inflatable ball with integrated electronics, the inflatable ball comprising: a bladder defining an inflatable interior of the ball; an electronics casing attached to, or integrally formed with, the bladder, the electronics casing defining a compartment adjacent an inner surface of the inflatable interior of the ball and sealed within the inflatable interior of the ball; and at least one electronic component, wherein the electronic component is located within the compartment of the electronics casing; and wherein the compartment is in fluid communication with the inflatable interior of the ball such that the compartment is at the same pressure as the inflatable interior of the ball; and wherein the electronics casing defines an opening into the compartment for inserting the at least one electronic component, wherein the opening faces an exterior of the bladder and is sealed by a sealing member, wherein the sealing member is an airtight layer extending over the opening and sealed to the bladder or electronics casing, wherein prior to sealing by arrangement of the sealing member over the opening, the opening opens through to an exterior side of the bladder, such that the at least one electronic component may be inserted into the compartment from an exterior of the bladder.

42. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the electronics casing is formed as one integral piece.

43. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the electronics casing is fixed relative to the bladder.

44. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the at least one electronic component is fixedly attached to the electronics casing.

45. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the electronics casing comprises one or more perforations through the electronics casing so that the compartment of the casing is in fluid communication with the inflatable interior of the ball.

46. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the electronics casing substantially encloses the at least one electronic component located in the compartment.

47. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the at least one electronic component includes at least one accelerometer, gyroscope, or force sensor.

48. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the bladder contains an opening for receiving the electronics casing, the electronics casing being attached to the bladder about the periphery of said opening.

49. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the bladder further comprises an air valve for inflating the ball, the air valve being separated from the electronics casing by an area of bladder wall.

50. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the electronics casing is made of the same material as the bladder.

51. The inflatable ball according to claim 41, wherein the electronics casing is made of material having a Young's modulus not more than 50% higher than the Young's modulus of the material forming the bladder.

52. An inflatable ball with integrated electronics, the inflatable ball comprising: a bladder defining an inflatable interior of the ball; an electronics casing attached to the bladder, wherein the bladder contains an opening for receiving the electronics casing, the electronics casing being attached to the bladder about the periphery of said opening, the electronics casing defining a compartment located substantially on the periphery of the inflatable ball; at least one electronic component, wherein the electronic component is located within the compartment of the electronics casing; and wherein the electronics casing defines an opening into the compartment for inserting the at least one electronic component, wherein the opening faces an exterior of the bladder, wherein the opening opens through to an exterior side of the bladder, such that the at least one electronic component may be inserted into the compartment from an exterior of the bladder.

53. The inflatable ball according to claim 52, wherein the electronics casing is formed as one integral piece.

54. The inflatable ball according to claim 52, wherein the electronics casing comprises a flange which engages with a surface of the bladder, the flange being attached or sealed to the bladder around the opening through the bladder.

55. The inflatable ball according to claim 52, wherein the electronics casing is attached to the outer surface of the bladder while the base of the electronics casing protrudes through the bladder hole.

56. The inflatable ball according to claim 52, wherein the electronics casing encloses the at least one electronic component located in the compartment.

57. The inflatable ball according to claim 52, wherein the electronics casing is made of the same material as the bladder.

58. An inflatable ball with integrated electronics, the inflatable ball comprising: a bladder defining an inflatable interior of the ball; an electronics casing attached to, or integrally formed with, the bladder, the electronics casing defining a compartment located substantially on the periphery of the inflatable ball; and at least one electronic component, wherein the electronic component is located within the compartment of the electronics casing; and wherein the electronics casing defines an opening into the compartment for inserting the at least one electronic component, wherein the opening faces an exterior of the bladder and is closed by a separate airtight layer extending over the opening, wherein prior to closing by the separate airtight layer, the opening opens through to an exterior side of the bladder, such that the at least one electronic component may be inserted into the compartment from an exterior of the bladder.

59. The inflatable ball according to claim 58, wherein the electronics casing is formed as one integral piece.

60. The inflatable ball according to claim 58, wherein the electronics casing is attached to the bladder and comprises a flange which engages with a surface of the bladder, the flange being attached or sealed to the bladder around the opening through the bladder.

61. The inflatable ball according to claim 58, wherein the electronics casing is attached to the outer surface of the bladder while the base of the electronics casing protrudes through the bladder hole.

62. The inflatable ball according to claim 58, wherein the electronics casing encloses the at least one electronic component located in the compartment.

63. The inflatable ball according to claim 58, wherein the electronics casing is made of the same material as the bladder.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0055] Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the figures, in which:

[0056] FIG. 1 shows an overview of the first embodiment of the invention where the electronics casing base is formed separately to the bladder and the bladder comprises a hole;

[0057] FIG. 2 depicts an example electronics casing including a sealing member;

[0058] FIG. 3 shows a cut through section of the first embodiment;

[0059] FIG. 4 shows a larger cut through of the first embodiment;

[0060] FIG. 5 shows a cut through section of the second embodiment of the invention where the electronics casing is integrally formed with the bladder;

[0061] FIG. 6 shows an overview of the second embodiment;

[0062] FIG. 7 shows a cut through section of the third embodiment of the invention where the electronics casing is attached to the inside of the bladder; and

[0063] FIG. 8 shows a cut through section and overview of the inflatable ball of the third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] The present disclosure relates to an inflatable ball with integrated electronics and a method of manufacture of the inflatable ball.

[0065] The numerals used in the figures relate to the following features: 10, bladder; 20, electronic casing; 30, electronic component; 40, shock absorbing layer; 50, sealing member; 60, perforations; 70, electronic casing opening; 80, compartment; 90, inner surface of the bladder; 100, inflatable interior; 110, valve; 120, bladder hole; 130, electronic casing flange; 140, upper surface of the flange; 150, bottom surface of the flange; 160, outside surface of the bladder; 170, electronics casing base; 180, electronics casing base bottom; 1000, first embodiment; 2000, second embodiment; and 3000, third embodiment.

First Embodiment

[0066] FIGS. 1 to 3 depict a first embodiment 1000 of the present invention. FIG. 1 depicts an overall image of the first embodiment with the components in an exploded view. FIG. 1 shows an inflatable ball comprising, as its main elements, a bladder 10, an electronics casing 20 attached to the bladder, and an electronic component 30 located in the electronics casing.

[0067] As can be seen, the electronics casing 20 includes an electronics casing base 170 and sealing member 50. The electronics casing base 170 has a recessed or concave compartment 80 with a substantially square footprint. The compartment 80 is recessed with respect to a circular flange portion 130 of the electronics casing base 170. The compartment 80 defined by the electronics casing 20 has at least one electronic component 30 and a shock absorbing layer located inside.

[0068] The bladder, as is usual in an inflatable ball, defines the inflatable interior 100 of the ball, which can more easily be seen in FIG. 3. The bladder and electronic casing are attached to one another in such a manner as to create an airtight inflatable ball.

[0069] This first embodiment is characterised in that the electronics casing 20 and the bladder 10 are not integrally formed, and rather the bladder contains a hole 120 for receiving the electronics casing 20. The bladder hole 120 allows the electronics casing 20 to define a compartment 80 recessed inside the inflatable interior 100 of the bladder while the electronics casing can be attached to the outside surface of the bladder 160. This embodiment provides the electronics casing and bladder as separate components which are attached together so that the design and manufacture of the bladder is greatly simplified. This embodiment allows for a simpler manufacture and assembly as the bladder does not have to be constructed in such a way as to include the electronics casing already.

[0070] As mentioned above, the electronics casing has an outer flange 130, which sits on the outside surface of the bladder 160 so that the two overlap one another when the compartment 80 of the casing is inserted through the opening. This allows for a secure and airtight attachment of the bladder and electronics casing to be provided between the flange 140 and the bladder 10. Numerous attachment methods may be used, such as: adhesives, polymer welding, stitching, or any combination of the aforementioned methods, for example. The join between the casing 20 and the bladder should be made airtight, if this is not already achieved by the attachment method.

[0071] FIG. 2 depicts an electronics casing as used in the first embodiment, wherein the electronics casing is formed of an electronics casing base 170 and a sealing member 50. As can be seen, FIG. 2 provides a simplified schematic which portrays general relationships between components and features, and does not prescribe specific geometries or relative sizes.

[0072] In the first embodiment, both the electronics casing base 170 and sealing member 50 are separate to the bladder and are either directly or indirectly attached to the bladder to form an airtight inflatable ball.

[0073] As is discussed below, in the second embodiment the electronics casing base 170 is integrally formed with the bladder 20 so that it does not need to be attached, while the sealing member 50 is still separate and does need to be attached to the bladder 10 to create an airtight inflatable ball. Therefore, FIG. 2 is also relevant to the second embodiment.

[0074] As is also discussed below, in the third embodiment, the electronics casing base 170 is attached directly to the inner surface of the bladder 90 so that a sealing member 50, as is used in the first and second embodiment, is not required. FIG. 2 is still relevant to the third embodiment as the electronics casing base 170 is still present and the sealing member 50 is merely replaced by the inner surface of the bladder 90.

[0075] Therefore, as can be understood from the discussion above in relation to FIG. 2, the electronics casing can be understood to refer to independent components such as the electronics casing base 170 and sealing member 50, an integrated electronics casing base 170 and separate sealing member 50, or an electronics casing base 170 alone. Therefore, generally, the electronics casing 20 can be understood to be any component which defines a compartment for the one or more electronics components. Thus, the electronics casing 20 is not necessarily limited to an integrated electronics casing base 170 and sealing member 50 as depicted in FIG. 2, or any other Figure or example embodiment provided.

[0076] FIG. 1 depicts the order of the layering of the bladder 10 and electronics casing 20 as is used in the first embodiment. As can be see, the electronics casing compartment 80 can be lowered into the bladder hole 120 and the bottom surface of the electronics casing flange 140 overlaps the outer surface 160 of the bladder. The electronic component 30 may then be dropped into the compartment of the electronics casing, which is now recessed into the bladder surface, from the exterior side of the bladder. A layer of shock absorbing material 40 is then placed over the electronic component, which will be discussed in more detail below. The sealing member 50, in this case an airtight layer, is then attached to the upper surface of the flange 140 such that an airtight seal is created. This leads to an inflatable interior of the ball which can be inflated. It should be noted that the electronic component 30 could alternatively be placed in the compartment 80 of the electronics casing, the shock absorbing layer added, and the sealing member 50 sealed to the upper surface of the flange 140 before the whole electronics casing is inserted into the bladder hole 120 and the casing sealed around the bladder hole 120.

[0077] The bottom of the electronics case base 180 preferably contains perforations 60 such that the compartment 80 is in fluid communication with the inflatable interior of the ball once the casing is inserted into the opening through the bladder. As the compartment 80 and the inflatable interior of the ball 100 are in fluid communication they are at the same pressure. However, as the sealing member 50 creates an airtight seal over the compartment, the inflatable ball remains airtight.

[0078] Therefore, a compartment, for at least one electronic component, in an inflatable ball is at the same pressure as the inflatable interior of the ball while still providing a ball which can be inflated.

[0079] FIG. 3 depicts a cut through of a section of the inflatable ball as described in the first example embodiment so that it can be seen how the components are attached relative to one another once assembled.

[0080] As can be seen, an electronics casing 20 is attached to the bladder 10, the electronics casing 20 further defining a compartment 80 adjacent an inner surface of the inflatable interior of the ball and sealed within the inflatable interior of the ball. The compartment thus sits recessed with respect to the bladder 10.

[0081] In the first embodiment, the compartment 80 is adjacent to the inner surface of the inflatable interior in the sense that the electronic casing 20, which defines the compartment 80, is physically attached to the bladder 20 so that the compartment 80 is recessed into the inflatable interior 100 of the ball. Specifically, the compartment 80 is within the inflatable interior 100 of the ball while still being attached to the bladder 10.

[0082] As can be seen in FIG. 3, the electronics casing flange 130, specifically the bottom surface of the flange 150, is attached to the outer surface of the bladder 160 while the base of the electronics casing protrudes through the bladder hole 120 such that the compartment 80, defined by the base of the electronics casing 170 and the sealing member 50, is within the inflatable interior of the ball 100.

[0083] An additional preferable feature of the first embodiment is the addition of a shock absorbing layer 40 between the at least one electronic component 30 and the outside of the inflatable ball. The shock absorbing layer may be a layer of foam padding, for example.

[0084] The shock absorbing layer 40 provides protection to the at least one electronic component 30 while the inflatable ball is in use. For example, when being hit or kicked, the ball experiences great levels of forces during the action as well as when the ball lands or is hit or kicked again. The shock absorbing layer 40 reduces the magnitude of the force experienced by the at least one electronic component 30 within the inflatable ball. As the greatest sudden force which may be imparted on the inflatable ball will likely be from the direction of the exterior of the inflatable ball, and therefore the bladder as well, the shock absorbing layer is placed between the electronic component and an exterior of the bladder.

[0085] The shock absorbing layer 40 substantially surrounds the at least one electronic component 30 on all but one side, and the side of the electronics 30 not surrounded by the shock absorbing layer 40 faces towards a centre of the inflatable interior 100 defined by the bladder 20.

[0086] As is clear from the above, in this embodiment, the electronics casing is fixed relative to the bladder and therefore cannot move relative to it once attached. The electronic component 30 may be fixed to the compartment 80, e.g. by an adhesive, or as shown in this embodiment may be restrained by the shock absorbing material so that it is securely held while the inflatable ball while it is in use.

[0087] FIG. 4 depicts a cut through image of a modification to the inflatable ball of the first embodiment, in which the bladder is spherical rather than a prolate spheroid, but is otherwise identical.

[0088] FIG. 4 depicts an example embodiment wherein the valve is positioned opposite the electronic components and casing to offset the weight of the electronics casing and electronics component.

[0089] The above embodiment, and in fact any of the other two described below, are suitable for inflatable balls to be used as a rugby ball, an American football, or a soccer ball, for example.

Second Embodiment

[0090] FIGS. 5 and 6 depict a second example embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment of the invention the electronics casing base 170 is provided by an integral part of the bladder 10.

[0091] FIG. 5 depicts a cut through of a section of the inflatable ball such that many of the features which are relevant can be seen. The general construction and layering of the majority of the core components of the invention in the second embodiment 2000 can be seen in FIG. 5.

[0092] The second embodiment of the invention is the same as the first except that the bladder no longer contains a hole 120, but instead has the electronic casing base 170 integrally formed in the bladder. In particular, the bladder 10 defines one continuous surface into which the compartment 80 of the electronics casing 20 is recessed. Therefore, the electronics casing no longer comprises a distinct flange 130 for attaching to the bladder, for example. This simplifies the design an assembly of the invention as the electronics casing base 170 and the bladder do not need to be manufactured separately and then attached. Features which are shared with the first embodiment are not discussed again in detail in this section for brevity.

[0093] The compartment 80 that is recessed into the bladder surface has the same form as described above with respect to the first embodiment. An electronics component 30 and shock absorbing layer may thus be inserted into the compartment 80 from the outside of the bladder through the opening 70.

[0094] A sealing member 50 can be used to create an airtight seal over the electronic casing opening 70. In this embodiment, the sealing member 50 in the form of an airtight layer is sealed directly to the outer surface of the bladder 160, e.g. by an adhesive, to seal around the electronic casing opening 70 and make the interior of the bladder airtight.

[0095] FIG. 6 depicts an overall image of the bladder and components to be attached to and/or inserted into it. As can be seen, the electronics casing 20, defining the compartment 80 and depicted with perforations 60, are formed as an integral part of the bladder.

[0096] Therefore, fewer attachments, seals, or connections are required which may reduce the complexity of assembly or manufacture and improve the reliability and lifespan of the inflatable ball.

Third Embodiment

[0097] FIGS. 7 and 8 depict a third possible embodiment of the claimed invention. In this embodiment the electronics casing base 170 is a separate component to the bladder and is attached to the internal side 90 of the bladder.

[0098] Features which are shared with the first and second embodiment, such as the electronics casing or perforations, are not discussed again in detail in this section for brevity.

[0099] FIG. 7 depicts a cut through of a section of the third embodiment 3000 such that the majority of the features which are relevant can be seen.

[0100] FIG. 8 depicts a cut through of a section of the inflatable ball, while also providing an overall view of the inflatable ball, such that the majority of the features which are relevant can be seen.

[0101] As can be seen the electronics casing base 170 is structured similarly to that of the first embodiment. In particular, the casing base 170 comprises a recessed or concave compartment 80 with a substantially square footprint. The compartment 80 is recessed with respect to a circular flange portion 130 of the electronics casing base 170. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the electronics casing base 170 is attached to the inner surface of the bladder 90, e.g. by the upper surface 140 of the flange 130. In this case, the role of the sealing member, i.e. isolating the compartment 80 from the exterior of the ball, is carried out by the inner surface of the bladder 90 to which the casing is attached. In the third embodiment, the bladder 10 takes the form and function of a typical bladder used in an inflatable ball and fully defines the inflatable interior of the ball 100 with no hole or perforation (ignore components such as valves for example). As the electronics casing base 170 allows for fluid communication with the inflatable interior of the ball 100 via perforations 60, the key features and benefits of the invention are still achieved.