Innovations in Sports Equipment Safety: Soccer
Are you familiar with the company 2nd Skull, LLC? If not, check them out because they are doing some interesting work in the field of sports safety.
I was pleased to see that a recently published patent application reveals that they are looking to innovate outside their key product lines of skull caps and head bands. The title of the patent application, “Impact Dissipating Ball,” caught my attention. So what’s the invention? Well, the abstract of the patent application describes the invention as:
Impact dissipating balls are described. The impact dissipating balls, such as soccer balls, are constructed with one or more layers, sections, or portions of impact absorbing, impact dissipating materials, and/or impact dissipating structures/geometries. The particular type and/or arrangement or placement of padding can vary based on a variety of factors, such as style of impact dissipating ball, size of the impact dissipating ball, the manufacturing process of the impact dissipating ball, expected levels of impact, quality of the impact dissipating ball, and regulations with which the impact dissipating ball is intended to comply.
The application goes on to explain:
[0002] Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and the soccer ball is the most important piece of equipment used in the game. Although the color and designs on the outside of a soccer ball may be different, the shape, size, and weight of regulation balls are defined by international rules. During soccer games, a player can impact the ball with their head, either intentionally or inadvertently.
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[0012] The presently disclosed embodiments are generally directed to impact dissipating balls, methods of using impact dissipating balls, and methods of manufacturing impact dissipating balls. More specifically, the presently disclosed embodiments are generally directed to soccer balls that can be constructed with one or more layers, sections, or portions of impact absorbing, impact dissipating materials, or impact dissipating structures/geometries, referred to generally herein as padding or a padding layer. The particular type and/or arrangement or placement of padding can vary based on a variety of factors, such as style of soccer ball, size of soccer ball, the manufacturing process of the soccer ball, expected levels of impact, quality of the soccer ball, regulations with which the ball is intended to comply, and so forth. As described in more detail below, in some embodiments, a soccer ball can be manufactured from multiple layers wrapped or otherwise formed around an airtight bladder or other type of core. In accordance with the present disclosure, padding can be disposed on the outer surface and/or in between various layers during the manufacturing process. This padding can generally serve to dissipate impact to a player when the player strikes the ball, such as using their head. The padding can also serve to dissipate impact when a player is inadvertently hit with the ball, such as in the face or other parts of the head.
[0013] In some embodiments, soccer balls incorporating padding satisfy appropriate regulations such as those promulgated by Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). As such, in some embodiments, soccer balls incorporating padding can be spherical, made of leather or other suitable material, of a circumference of not more than 70 cm and not less than 68 cm, not more than 450 g in weight and not less than 410 g at the start of the match, and a of a pressure equal to 0.6-1.1 atmosphere (600-1100 g/cm.sup.2) at sea level. Soccer balls for youth games can have smaller dimensions and weights. As is to be appreciated, impact dissipating balls in accordance with the present disclosure can be utilized for other sporting endeavors, such as sports in which players typically impact the ball with their head. For such sports, such as futsal, the impact dissipating balls can be manufactured with padding while retaining relevant competition ball requirements. With regard to futsal balls incorporating padding during the manufacturing process, for example, the futsal ball can be spherical, made of leather or other suitable material, of a circumference of not less than 62 cm and not more than 64 cm, not less than 400 grams nor more than 440 grams in weight at the start of the match, and of a pressure equal to 0.4-0.6 atmosphere (400-600 g/cm.sup.2) at sea level. To the extent that FIFA regulations may vary, or the ball will be used for sports having different requirements, impact dissipating balls can be manufactured in accordance with the present disclosure to comply with those regulations and/or requirements.
Interesting, but innovative? Well, all of the pending claims of the patent application are currently under rejection. The disclosure within the application is light on technical information, which is where they may be able to carve out some protection. A lot could be learned from the successful prosecution strategies of multi-layer golf balls.
Nonetheless, I hope they keep forging ahead because this seems like an area ripe for innovation, which would undoubtedly reduce head injuries.
Dave Dawsey – The Soccer Invention Lawyer
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