ELONGATED FOOTBALLJAMES JACOBSON AND THOMAS E. McCORMICK
Patented July 30, 1985
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A standard football is approximately eleven inches in
length and made up of four panels with a single now of
lacing to function as a finger grip for pasting the football.
For effective use, said footballs most he fully inflated so that
they are relatively hard and non-resilient.
As so inflated, the standard football is often difficult for
a person to grasp and, particularly in the case of those
possessing relatively little skill in the techniques of the
game, injuries can be sustained merely by mishandling
the ball or being struck with it.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an elongated
football that can be easily gripped or grasped
from either end.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an
elongated football wherein each end thereof may be
separately adjusted for resiliency.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an
elongated football the bounce of which can be made
even more unpredictable.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an
elongated football which is relatively soft or resilient,
for safe, carefree play.
Other objects and advantages of this invention become
apparent from the description to follow, particularly
when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In carrying out this invention, I provide an elongated
football comprising a casing with several lengthwise
panels interconnected by seam lines extending end to
end. A row of laces or simulated laces are provided
along each seam line at each end of the ball so that it can
be gripped and thrown easily. Three inflatable bladders
are contained within the casing, each within a separate
compartment of the casing, and each having an inflation
valve accessible from the outside of the casing so that
each bladder may be inflated to a desired pressure, and
all bladders are not necessarily at the same pressure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing:
FIG. 1
is a view in perspective of an elongated football
embodying features of this invention;
FIG. 2 is an end view of the football;
FIG. 3 is a partial section view of the football showing
compartments of the casing and bladders contained
therein.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawing with greater particularity,
the elongated football of this invention comprises
a casing 12, of rubber, plastic. hide or the like, which is
made up of five lengthwise pieces 14 interconnected by
seam lines 16 which extend from end to end, as in the
conventional football. As shown in FIG. 3, the casing is
compartmented by two or more partitions 17, and
contained within the three compartments of the football are
three inflatable bladders 18, 20 and 22, there being two
generally conical end bladders 18 and 22 and one
generally cylindrical middle bladder 20. Each bladder 18,
20 and 22 has its own inflation valve 24, so that each
bladder can be inflated to a desired pressure. Hence, one can
vary the bounce of the football by having at least the
end bladders 18 and 22 at different pressures so that one
end is softer than the other.
When fully inflated, the elongated football is more
than two feet in length and preferably about forty
inches or one meter long, and no more than about ten
inches in maximum diameter. Laces or simulated laces
26 are provided along each seam line 16 at each end of
the football 10 so that the ball may be grasped and
thrown away any end and wherever gripped around its
girth.
The casing is preferably of a relatively soft material
to minimize risk of injury, and at each end may contain
different weights of a soft putty or the like for variable
end weighting. Also if desired, the ends of the casing
may be of different colors, and points may be scored by
throwing the ball to a contact area with the specified
color striking first.
While this invention has been described in
conjunction with a preferred embodiment thereof, it is obvious
that modifications and changes therein may he made by
those skilled in the art to which it pertains without
departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, as
defined by the claims appended hereto.
What is claimed as invention is:
1.An elongated football comprising:
a casing formed of at least four elongated panels with
seam lines therebetween extending end to end;
transverse partitions means within and across said
casing forming three compartments in tandem in
said casing; and
three inflatable bladders contained in said casing,
each of said bladders being contained in one of said
compartments and having an inflating valve
accessible from the outside of said casing so that said
bladders can be inflated to different pressures;
two of said bladders at opposite ends of said casing
being generally conical;
said casing. when said bladders are inflated, being in
length at least three times its maximum diameter.
2. The elongated football defined by claim 1 including:
means forming at least one row of roughened finger
grips at each end of said casing.
3. The elongated football defined by claim 1 including:
a row of roughened finger grips along at least two of
said seam lines at each end of said casing.
4. The elongated football defined by claim 3 wherein:
there are five panels in said casing; and
there are roughened finger grips along each of said
seam lines at both ends of said casing.
5. The elongated football defined by claim 1 including:
a weighted member in said casing at least one end
thereof.