Background of the invention In sports such as cricket and baseball, it is desirable for a bowler or pitcher to cause the ball to swing or deviate from a straight line path.

One known type of ball is comprised of two different materials which produce a relatively rough surface on one hemisphere of the ball and a relatively smooth surface on the other hemisphere of the ball. It is taught that the difference in the surface texture between the rough and smooth surfaces causes the ball to deviate from a straight trajectory when it is thrown through the air. However a problem with this ball is that the deviation from a straight trajectory or'veer'is not that pronounced or prominent.

It is to be understood that a reference herein to a prior art document does not constitute an admission that the document forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country In the claims which follow and in the following description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word"comprising"and grammatical variations thereof, is used in the sense of"including"i. e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Summary of the invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a ball having a raised band projecting from the surface of the ball and substantially extending around the circumference of the ball, the raised band having a height dimension extending from the surface of the ball and a width dimension extending across the surface of the ball, wherein the height dimension is at least 3.2% of the diameter of the ball and the width dimension is at least 9.6% of the diameter of the ball.

Preferably the height dimension is about 4.0 to about 5.5 % of the diameter of the ball. More preferably the height dimension is about 5.0 % of the diameter of the ball.

Preferably the width dimension is about 15.0 to about 25.0 % of the diameter of the ball. More preferably the width dimension is about 20 % of the diameter of the ball.

In one embodiment, the ball optionally comprises a weighted portion provided on one hemisphere of the ball, wherein in use when the ball travels through air, the weighted portion causes the ball to veer toward the side on which the weighted portion is located.

The weighted portion may project from the surface of the ball and the raised band may be resiliently flexible.

Preferably, the ball comprises at least two surface types, wherein when the ball travels through the air in use, the at least two surfaces types exhibit dissimilar friction coefficients. More preferably one of the surfaces is relatively rough compared to the other surface which is relatively smooth. The rough surface may cover at least 25% of the surface area of the ball and the smooth surface may cover at least 25% of the surface area of the ball. Preferably, the smooth surface covers about 50% of the surface area of the ball and more preferably about 75% of the surface area of the ball. The weighted portion may be provided on the smooth surface of the ball.

The smooth surface may be rubber coated onto the ball surface.

The rough surface may be a layer of felt-like material provided on the ball surface such as a polymeric material.

The ball may comprise a shell of elastic material enclosing an interior space that is filled with pressurised gas.

The band may function as a seam to join two hemispheres of the ball together. The raised band may have rounded edges.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a ball comprising: a raised band projecting from the surface of the ball and substantially extending around the circumference of the ball to join two hemispheres of the ball, the raised band having a height dimension extending from the surface of the ball and a width dimension extending across the surface of the ball, and a weighted portion provided on one hemisphere of the ball, wherein in use when the ball travels through air, the weighted portion and the raised band cause the ball to veer toward the side on which the weighted portion is located.

The weighted portion and the raised band may cause the ball to spin.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a ball comprising the steps of : (i) forming a shell that encompasses an enclosed space; (ii) applying a raised band projecting from the surface of the shell to substantially extend around the circumference of the shell, the raised band having a height dimension extending from the surface of the shell and a width dimension extending across the surface of the shell, wherein the height dimension is at least 3.2% of the diameter of the shell and the width dimension is at least 9.6% of the diameter of the shell.

Optionally the method further comprises the step of : (iii) forming a weighted portion to one hemisphere of shell.

The shell may be formed from elastomeric material.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to preferred embodiments and to the accompanying figures in which :- Fig. 1 shows a conventional tennis ball; Fig. 2 shows a the ball of Fig. 1 having a band disposed around the circumference; Fig. 3 shows a side view of the ball of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 shows a ball having a covering formed over one hemisphere; Fig. 5 shows the trajectory of a ball; Fig. 6 shows an alternative form of ball; Fig. 7a and 7b show two different forms of seam profiles; and Fig. 8 shows another embodiment of a ball; Fig. 8A shows an enlarged part of the ball of Fig. 8; Fig. 8B shows an alternative embodiment of the ball; and Fig. 9 shows yet another alternative embodiment of the ball.

Detailed description of Preferred embodiments Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a conventional tennis ball 10 which may be used as the basis of forming a swinging ball in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. In other embodiments, the ball may be rubber or any other suitable type of ball used for such ball sports.

Referring to Fig. 2, the ball 10 has a raised band in the form of band 12 that provides a projection above the surface of the ball around a circumference of the ball. The band 12 may be of an elasticised material such as a synthetic rubber in order that the band remains tightly secured around the circumference of the ball. The band 12 divides the ball into two hemispherical sections 13,14.

Fig. 3 shows the ball 10 in side view with the band 12 extending around the entire circumference.

Referring now to Fig. 4, there is shown the ball 10 with the band 12 over which is formed a coating or covering 18. The covering 18 is formed over one hemisphere 13 of the ball and the band 12, and extends partially into the second hemisphere 14.

The covering may be painted, dip coated or applied in any other suitable manner. The covering or coating may be of any suitable material to provide the ball with adequate performance characteristics such as bounce and longevity.

The covering 18 provides the first hemisphere 13 with a smooth outer surface providing a substantially different friction coefficient to the second hemisphere surface 14.

By forming the coating over the band 12 the band is retained in position about the circumference of the ball. To provide a different friction surface, it is only necessary to have a small section of the second hemisphere 14 uncovered. The present inventors have found that up to approximately 75% of the second hemisphere can be covered with the ball still providing useful swing.

In use as a cricket ball, the ball will be delivered with the band 12 in the vertical plane.

In accordance with known principles, air moving over the smooth surface 13 (Fig. 5) is at a lower pressure than air moving over the rougher surface 14, the pressure differential created causes the ball to swing in its trajectory towards the shiny surface.

For a ball of the type described it is believed that the extending projection 12 serves as a stabilising fin in flight to maintain the projection in a vertical plane. As the direction of swing is perpendicular to the plane of the projection, by maintaining the projection in vertical plane, the amount of sideways swing is maximised.

Referring to Fig. 6, there is shown an alternative form of ball in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the ball 60, including the projection 62 is integrally moulded eg, from a suitable synthetic rubber. One hemisphere 63 may formed with a series of small projections or hollows to form a surface providing a different frictional coefficient to the other hemisphere 64. Alternatively, one hemisphere may have an additional processing step applied to it in which a coating is applied to provide a surface with a different friction coefficient than the uncoated surface.

As is known for cricket balls, the projection will give variable bounce effects known as"seaming".

These effects are caused by the projection (or seam for conventional leather cricket balls) landing on unevenly on a surface. The projection in the balls of the present invention can provide similar effects.

Furthermore, these effects may be enhanced forming the projection with a particular profile. For example, the seam profile, best observed in Figure 2, may be curved 71 as shown in Fig. 7a or may provide two angled surfaces 72,73 as shown in Fig. 7b. Many other profiles can be used to provide different seaming effects.

Another embodiment of the invention will now be shown with respect to Fig. 8 which shows a ball 80, which is made predominantly from a shell 81 of vulcanized rubber. The ball 80 is covered with a layer of felt-like fibrous material 83 glued thereon. The felt-like material covers 25% of the surface area of the shell 81 and offers wind resistance in flight to increase the frictional co-efficient of the side of the ball on

which the fibrous material 83 is glued. The felt-like material fiber in this embodiment is a woven polymeric material comprised of a blend of nylon and polypropylene.

As is known in the art, the felt-like fibrous material can be made from'needlepunch'technology whereby fiber is oriented in layers from a non-woven card and subsequently needled to entangle the fibers with or without a scrim for support. This fabric may or may not then be finished to try to make it more soft and conducive to covering the shell 81 of the ball 80.

The manufacture of ball 80 includes the stamping of'dumbbell'shapes and as is known to persons skilled in the art, a pair of these shapes are applied to the vulcanized rubber core. Prior to stamping the dumbbells, the fabric and cores are coated with a compatible adhesive before being subjected to heat curing. After this heat curing step, the ball 80 is formed with wide seams separating the pair of dumbbells, but are left with a circular ring from a point which the two halves of the press come together and trap fiber.

This is known in the art as a'third curing ring'and are removed by a process where live steam is presented to the balls for an extended period of time. In other embodiments, the ball 80 may be manufactured in a moulding process.

In this embodiment, the interior of the shell 81 is filled with a pressurised gas which is higher than atmospheric pressure to aid in bounce of the ball. In an alternative embodiment, the ball may be a 'pressureless'ball in which the wall thickness of the rubber shell 81 is increased compared to the gas-filled balls. The shell 81 material of the pressureless ball embodiment may also have an increased stiffness.

Once the ball 80 has been formed, a ring of polyurethane foam is formed in a moulding process and is dimensioned such that it has a generally flat base and rounded top edges. The ring of polyurethane foam is dimensioned such that it is able to snugly fit around the diameter of the ball 80. Once the polyurethane foam is fitted to the ball 80, a rubber coating material is applied over the polyurethane foam to secure it to the surface of the ball and thereby form a raised band 84.

The polyurethane foam is flexibly resilient so that when the ball is propelled toward a wooden bat, the raised band 84 does not dent or mark the ball. Additionally, should the ball come into contact with the body of a person, the flexibility of the raised band 84 will absorb a significant portion of the impact.

The rubber coating 86 is applied to 75% of the surface area of the ball and, as mentioned above, the remaining 25% of the surface area is covered with felt material 82. The rubber coating 86 is relatively smooth compared to the rougher felt material 82. Hence, the rubber coating 86 provides a lower friction surface relative to the higher friction surface of the felt material 82.

As exemplary dimensions, the ball 80 will typically have an outer shell 81 diameter of about 5. 0- 8.0 cm, while the thickness of the shell 81 will range from about 1.2 to 2.8 mm. The total weight of the ball will typically range from 30 to 55 grams.

In this particular embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the ball 80 has an outer diameter'D'of 61 mm, with a shell thickness of 1.2 mm (internal diameter 58.6 mm). The raised band 84 has a height'h'of 3.05 mm from the surface of the shell 81, hence the height dimension of the raised band is 5.0% of the outer diameter of the ball 80. The width'w'of the raised band is 12.2 mm, hence the raised band is 20. 0% of the outer diameter of the ball 80. These dimensions enable the ball 80 to have an enhanced balance and enable the swing to be enhanced when the ball is thrown through the air.

A more detailed view of the band 84 is shown in Fig. 8A, which shows the relative height'h'and width'w'dimensions.

An alternative embodiment to Fig. 8A is shown in Fig. 8B. Like numerals as above are repeated herein in Fig. 8B but shown with the mark ('). Fig. 8B shows the raised band 84'with curved edges and the height of the ball'h'projecting about 6 mm from the surface of the ball, making the height projection about 10% of the diameter'D'of the ball.

It should be realised that in other embodiments, the height'h'dimension may vary from 4.0 to 5.5 % of the outer diameter of the ball 80. The width'w'dimension of the raised band may vary from 15.0 to 25.0 % of the outer diameter of the ball 80. It will be appreciated that the particular dimensions of the height and width of the band 84 relative to the diameter of the ball 80, assists in the spinning of the ball when propelled toward a bat and cause the ball 80 to veer toward the low friction side 86.

It is important to note that the proportions of'h'and'w'relative to'd'of the raised band 84 creates a seam so that when it is bowled by a player of a game such as cricket, the raised band causes the ball to have greater swing. In use, the ball 80 may be bowled at a high speed so that the ball is released into the air so that the direction of air flow with the seam is at a slight angle. The seam can have the effect of inducing a laminar boundary layer of the air into a turbulent flow on one side of the ball. The turbulent flow has an increased energy relative to the boundary flow side. It is thought that there is a separation of the air travelling over ball between laminar flow and turbulent flow to cause an asymmetric boundary layer about the hole surface of the ball 80. It is thought that the asymmetric boundary layer causes an asymmetric pressure distribution over the ball 80 that produces the side force that causes the ball to swing. In cricket, if the ball 80 is bowled with a round arm action, some backspin may be imparted to the ball 80. Hence, the band 84 helps the laminar to turbulence transition on one side of the ball, and the smooth surface 86 assists in maintaining a laminar boundary layer.

Fig 9 shows another embodiment of a ball 80". Like numerals as Fig. 8 above are repeated herein but shown with the mark (") /The ball 80"includes the additional feature of a weighted portion in the form of weighted projection 88"provided on the hemisphere of the ball 80"that is completely covered the rubber 86". In this embodiment the weighted portion 88"is attached to the smooth surface 86"by an appropriate adhesive. The weighted portion 88"provides enhanced veer of the ball from a straight trajectory as described in connection with Fig. 5 as additional weight on the hemisphere of the ball on

which the weighted portion 88"is located causes it to veer. The weighted portion 88"may advantageously include an embossed logo of the manufacturer of the ball. The combination of the weighted projection 88" and the raised band 84"makes a significant improvement in the degree of veer compared to other balls taught in the prior art.

In this embodiment the weighted portion projects from the surface of the smooth surface 86".

However, in other embodiments, the weighted portion may be located within the internal shell of the ball so that it does not interfere with the flow of air passing over the ball 80". Additionally, the weighted portion 88"in this embodiment takes up about 15% of the surface area of the ball. Other embodiments may have the weighted portion taking up from between 5% to 80% of the surface area of the ball 80"but this will depend on the amount of weighting required and the material being used. In this embodiment, the weighted portion 88"is made from natural rubber. In other embodiments the weighted portion may be on the rough surface 83".

In use to produce a veered swing, a user grips the ball so that their thumb supports the base of the raised band 84"and two opposing digit fingers grip either side of the upper portion of the raised band 84".

The user then bowls the ball and aims to keep the raised band 84"upright. The combination of the dimensions of the raised band 84", the weighted projection 88"and the differing frictional surfaces 86" and 83", causes the aerodynamic flow of the air passing over the ball to cause it to veer toward the smoth side 86" (the lower frictional surface).

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto, without departing from the scope of the present invention.