FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a streamer ball for use in bat and ball-type games.

BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

Balls having a tail comprising one or more flexible streamers (hereinafter referred to as "streamer balls") for use in games in which the balls are struck with a bat, are known.

Typical games with which such streamer balls are intended to be used, include tennis type games. The use of a streamer ball having a tail directly attached thereto and extending therefrom has been proposed in respect of playing tennis type games. United States Patent 5,813,931 (assigned to European Sports Merchandising BV) discloses, in particular, a series of parameters for such a streamer ball and for the tail of the ball, that provide for desired bounce and flight qualities that enable a tennis type game to be played with such a streamer ball. The use of a tail connected to a ball has a number of benefits when playing a tennis type ball game. Firstly, the use of a tail slows the ball down so that when the ball is struck with a bat, the distance that the ball can travel is effectively reduced, thereby permitting a tennis type ball game to be played in a relatively small area while the ball can still be struck at "full strength".

A further benefit of a tail is that visual and audible effects that are provided by the tail, also can render playing of games using a streamer ball more pleasing. Yet a further benefit is that the provision of a tail causes the ball to follow a regular flight path. The provision of a tail also reduces any tendency of the ball to spin while in flight. It is known, in particular, that balls made from ethylene vinyl acetate foam have a tendency to swerve in flight. The attachment of a tail to such balls thus reduces this tendency of such balls to swerve.

A particular configuration streamer ball which is disclosed in PCT/IB02/04673 (Gormley) and to which one embodiment of the present invention relates, includes an elongate spacer stem that spaces the tail of the ball from the ball. The elongate spacer stem includes an elongate stem formation that defines an anchor formation at one of its ends, whereby the stem is anchored to the ball, and an attachment formation at its other end, whereby the tail is attached to the stem. The provision of a spacer stem serves to space the tail from the ball thereby to prevent the streamer from becoming entangled in the ball upon impact by a bat or with the bat itself.

Furthermore, the spacer stem also provides for the attachment of the tail to the ball. In addition, the provision of a resiliently flexible spacer stem provides for the absorption of impact forces applied to the ball thereby protecting and extending the life of the tail attached thereto . Any reference hereafter to a spacer stem must be interpreted accordingly. Within the specification, reference is made to a flexibility rating that identifies the flexibility of a spacer stem of a streamer ball in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The procedure whereby this rating is established, involves bending the stem until the stem assumes a U-shaped configuration wherein end regions of the stem are disposed substantially parallel to one another. The force applied to the spacer stem in order to cause the stem to be bent into its U-shaped configuration is then measured. A spacer stem having relatively higher flexibility (and therefore a higher flexibility rating) will require the application of less force in order to cause bending of the stem into a U-shaped configuration than would be the case with a stem having a relatively lower flexibility (and therefore a lower flexibility rating). As such, the flexibility rating of a spacer stem refers to the amount of force required to cause bending of the stem into a U-shaped configuration.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the flight characteristics of a streamer ball.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a streamer ball for use in bat and ball- type games, the streamer ball comprising:

an impact body having a leading end and a trailing end and defining a longitudinal axis extending between the leading and trailing ends, the impact body comprising a front body part which defines said leading end and a convex frontal impact zone at the leading end; and a generally conical rear body part which defines the trailing end of the impact body and which tapers rearwardly from the front body part from a plane normal to the longitudinal axis, defined between the front body part and the rear body part, the impact body including a resiliently compressible section which is operable to resiliently compress when an impact force is applied to the frontal impact zone; and a tail comprising at least one thin, flexible streamer configured to trail behind the impact body in flight. The streamer ball may include spacer means for spacing the tail from the impact body.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the spacer means of the streamer ball may be in the form of a resiliency flexible, elongate spacer stem which has an elongate stem formation which is connected to and which extends rearwardly from the trailing end of the impact body and which includes an attachment formation which is spaced a predetermined distance from the trailing end of the impact body, to which the tail is attached. In use, the spacer stem serves to space the tail from the impact body thereby to prevent the streamer from becoming entangled in the impact body upon impact by a bat or with the bat itself and also to tether the tail to the impact body. The spacer stem also provides for the absorption of impact forces applied to the ball, thereby protecting and extending the life of the tail attached thereto.

The frontal impact zone of the front body part of the impact body, may include the resiliently compressible section. More particularly, the resiliently compressible section and the frontal impact zone may comprise the same geometrical area.

The front body part and the rear body part of the impact body, may be of solid foam material.

Alternatively, one or both of the front body part and the rear body part may have a hollow shell construction.

The front body part of the impact body may have a convex shape. More particularly, the front body part may have a substantially hemispherical shape. The Applicant envisages that in a particular embodiment of the invention, the impact body may have a substantially teardrop shape when viewed from a side thereof.

The rear body part may have a length dimension calculated along the longitudinal axis of the impact body, of between 25% and 400% of the maximum width of the impact body defined along a plane normal to the longitudinal axis. The rear body part of the impact body may define at least one circumferential groove which is disposed in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis. In a particular embodiment, the rear body part may define at least two spaced circumferential grooves.

In another embodiment of the invention, the rear body part of the impact body may have a roughened surface profile. More specifically, the rear body part may have a number of dimples defined therein.

The tail may comprise a number of streamers. Each of the streamers constituting the tail may comprise an elongate flat flexible element of synthetic plastics material having a thickness of less than 0.2mm. More particularly, each streamer may have a thickness less than 0.06mm. The streamers may have a length of not less than two times a length dimension of the impact body measured along the longitudinal axis between the leading and trailing ends thereof. The streamers forming the tail of the streamer ball are configured and formed of a material that provides for the streamers to oscillate rapidly during flight and generate a fluttering noise which, it is considered, will constitute a pleasing effect when playing a game with the streamer ball.

The spacer stem may be formed of a resiliently flexible synthetic plastics material and has a flexibility rating of between 0,75N and 3N force. Preferably, the spacer stem has a flexibility rating of between 1 N and 1 ,5 N .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further features of the invention are described hereinafter by way of a non-limiting example of the invention, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a streamer ball for use in a bat and ball type game, in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the streamer ball of Figure 1 , with the tail thereof removed;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the streamer ball of Figure 1 , with the tail thereof removed;

Figure 4 shows a sectional side view of the streamer ball of Figure 1 , with the tail thereof removed; and

Figure 5 shows a side view of another embodiment of a streamer ball in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, a streamer ball for use for bat and ball type games, in accordance with the invention, is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The streamer ball 10 comprises, broadly, an impact body 12, a tail 14 and a spacer stem 16 which is connected at one end thereof to the impact body 12 and which has the tail 14 attached to the other end thereof.

The impact body 12 comprises a hemispherical front body part 18 and a generally frusto- conical rear body part 20 which are glued to one another along a joint plane 22. The joint plane 22 thus divides the impact body 12 into the front and rear body parts and demarcates the transition between the front body part and the rear body part of the impact body. The impact body has a generally teardrop-shaped profile when viewed from a side thereof. The front body part 18 defines a leading end 24 of the impact body and the rear body part 20 defines a trailing end 26 of the impact body. The impact body defines a longitudinal axis "A" which extends between the leading and trailing ends. The joint plane 22 in this instance is disposed at a region of the impact body which defines the largest cross-sectional diameter of the impact body and thereby the silhouette of the impact body as viewed along the longitudinal axis "A".

The front body part 18 of the impact body 12 is of a resiliently compressible solid foam material and defines a frontal impact zone 28 at the leading end 24. The rear body part 20 is of a solid foam material which, in this example, is of the same foam material as that of the front body part and as such, the material of the rear body part is of the same density as that of the front body part. It will be appreciated, however, that in other embodiments of the invention, the applicant envisages that the material of the rear body part may be of a solid foam material which is relatively more dense than the foam material of the front body part thereby rendering the rear body part relatively heavier than the front body part. Alternatively, the rear body part may be of a different material thereby rendering the rear body part relatively heavier than the front body part. The rear body part defines a pair of spaced circumferential grooves 25.1 and 25.2 which extend around the rear body part in parallel planes which are normal to the longitudinal axis "A".

Preferably, the rear body part has a length dimension calculated along said longitudinal axis "A" which is between 25% and 400% of the largest cross-sectional diameter of the impact body defined at the joint plane 22 thereof.

The streamer ball 10 includes a disc-shaped weight 44 which is located in a recess 45 defined therefore in the rear body part 20. More particularly, the weight 44 has a cross- shaped locating formation 46 into which the stiffening fins 42 are fitted such that the weight is securely located on the stem formation adjacent the anchor formation 36. The spacer stem 16 includes a nylon stem formation 30 having a proximal end 32 and a distal end 34, a disc-shaped anchor formation 36 at the proximal end of the stem formation and an attachment formation 38 at the distal end of the stem formation. The stem formation 30, the anchor formation 36 and the attachment formation 38 are integrally moulded of plastics material. The anchor formation 36 is embedded in the rear body part 20. The anchor formation 36 provides for the connection of the stem formation 32 to the impact body.

The tail 14 comprises a number of thin flexible streamers 40 that are formed of a synthetic plastic material. More particularly, the streamers are in the form of elongate flexible elements having a thickness of less than 0.06mm. The streamers have a length of not less than 2 times the length of impact body, with the length of the impact body being defined as the distance between the leading and trailing ends of the impact body along the longitudinal axis "A". The configuration and material of the streamers forming the tail 14 are such that the streamers oscillate rapidly during flight thereby generating a fluttering noise.

The stem formation 30 is formed of a resilient flexible synthetic plastic material and preferably has a flexibility rating of between 1 N and 1 ,5N force. The Applicant has found that stems having a flexibility rating of less than 1 N are too flexible to absorb shock and simply collapse at impact and also are unable to effectively space the streamers from the impact body, while stems having a flexibility rating of greater than 1 ,5N are too stiff and also are not effective in absorbing shock at impact but merely transfer impact forces to the streamers. The streamers are attached to the attachment formation 38 of the stem formation 30. Rigid stiffening fins 42 are provided at the proximal end of the stem formation 30 for limiting flexion of the stem formation within the impact body. The spacing provided by the spacer stem 16 between the impact body 12 and the attachment formation 38 is at least 25mm so as to ensure that the streamers do not become entangled with the impact body when struck by a bat, in use, or with the bat itself. The mass of the spacer formation and of the attachment formation of the spacer stem 16 is kept to the minimum requirement in order to fulfil the function of spacing the tail 14 from the impact body 12, so as to contribute as little mass as possible to the impact body of the streamer ball. The streamer ball 10 includes a disc-shaped weight 44 which is located in a recess 45 defined therefor at a front end of the rear body part 20. More particularly, the weight 44 has a cross-shaped locating formation 46 into which the stiffening fins 42 are fitted such that the weight is securely located on the stem formation adjacent the anchor formation 36. The weight 44 renders the rear body part relatively heavier than the front body part.

The resilient compressibility of the front body part of the impact body ensures that the impact body has a sufficiently long dwell time upon a bat at impact so as to impart adequate kinetic energy to the ball upon impact. The length of the dwell time is related to the amount of compression of the impact body and in a case where the streamer ball is used with a bat having an untensioned ball-striking surface, there is a direct relationship between the length of the dwell time and the amount of compression of the front body part of the impact body. The rear body part, being relatively heavier than the front body part, provides the impact body with sufficient weight so as to provide a satisfactory impact feel and sound when the impact body is struck by a bat and in addition, the necessary bounce off the bat.

The symmetrical teardrop profile of the impact body reduces drag forces acting on the impact body in flight and ensures that laminar airflow over the impact body remains symmetrical and the forces exerted on the impact body by the airflow over it in flight, remain in equilibrium. The taper angle of the rear body part is such that the separation of the laminar airflow from the impact body occurs at the trailing end of the impact body where the surface area of the impact body is greatly reduced thereby significantly minimising turbulence at the trailing end of the impact body. As a result, the teardrop profile of the impact body in combination with the tail, reduces the tendency of the streamer ball to follow an irregular flight path. The circumferential grooves 25.1 and 25.2 assist in uniformly breaking up laminar airflow over the impact body near the trailing end of the impact body thereby providing a gradual and generally uniform transition from laminar to turbulent flow at the trailing end of the impact body so as to further minimise turbulent forces acting on the impact body and provide for smooth airflow over the impact body.

The streamer ball in accordance with the invention, is suitable for use with bats in the form of strung racquets as well as rigid faced bats. The teardrop shape of the impact body provides the impact body with a streamlined profile which reduces the effect of turbulence at the trailing end of the impact body thereby rendering the streamer ball particularly suitable for use in windy conditions as the tapered rear body part of the impact body smoothes airflow over the impact body in flight helping the impact body to maintain a regular nose-first attitude during flight with less turbulence and resistance to airflow. Furthermore, the applicant has found that the teardrop profile of the impact body causes the streamer ball to drift offline less than would the case with a spherical impact body in side wind conditions and also to follow a regular flight path and keep boring into a head wind. The Applicant has also found that the teardrop profile of the impact body causes the impact body to quickly turn over and stabilize after impact by a bat to recover its normal nose-first flight attitude. This is an advantage when players are standing close to each other and exchanging shots at close range so that the streamer ball has to reverse flight direction rapidly after each shot and then quickly recover its normal nose-first flight attitude so as to present the frontal impact zone 28 of the impact body to the opposing player so that he can play a normal stroke at the incoming streamer ball.

The length dimension restriction of the rear body part of between 25% and 400% of the largest cross-sectional diameter of the impact body, ensures that the taper angle is not too steep so as to reduce the effectiveness of the rear body part to smooth airflow over the impact body as explained hereinabove. Furthermore, it ensures that the rear body part is not so long as to render the impact body unbalanced upon impact by a bat which would have the effect of causing the impact body to leave the bat in an offline direction after impact unless the impact body is precisely aligned with the bat wherein the longitudinal axis "A" thereof is at right angles to the ball-striking face of the bat at impact.

The materials selected for the front and rear body parts of the impact body, the configuration of the impact body and the provision of the weight 44, together provide for the impact body to rapidly assume a regular flight path after impact. The Applicant envisages that in embodiments of the invention where a weight is used, the rear body part may be of minimal weight so as not to provide for too much weight which will transfer the centre of mass of the impact of body too far rearwardly of the geometrical centre of the impact body, which would have a destabilising effect on the impact body during flight. Preferably, the centre of the mass of impact body is disposed as close as possible to the geometrical