EP1316333A1 - Boule comprising motifs on its exterior surface - Google Patents

Abstract

The bowling ball (1) has outer surface motifs (4) which have their outer edges in the form of broken lines, except at the poles (2) and an equatorial band (3). The motifs are made in the form of interrupted grooves that are distributed evenly over the ball's outer surface with one end of each groove close to a pole and the other near the equator, and extending along meridionally lines. The polar ends of the grooves can be connected to a ring (5) containing a logo (6), from which they taper towards the equatorial ends.

Description

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The fine parallel and circular grooves, of section triangular or other, traversing the surface of the playing balls have long contributed to improving aesthetics of these balls. Groups of differently focused grooves and so that their intersections form on the surface spherical regular geometric figures such as squares, parallelograms, diamonds, rectangles, give the balls a more decorative appearance.

In French patent FR 973.099 published on February 7, 1951 in the name of J. Autelin, more technical aspects are analyzed.

According to the owner of said patent, these streaks facilitate part the grip of the ball and, on the other hand, help it to maintain its direction by limiting the deviation effects of grains of sand, gravel or other roughness of the soil which are absorbed by them. The patent FR 973.099 therefore proposes to combine the usual fine streaks with wider grooves for improve the rolling of the balls.

Disclosure of application FR 2.638.375, published on 14 October 1988 in the name of J.-L. Drouillat, aims to reduce the bounce of the ball during play. streaks are dug along parallels or meridians in the surface, not external, but internal of the ball.

This embodiment limits the propagation of the wave of shock during the rebound, and therefore tends to attenuate it. However, there remain in this realization areas where the thickness of the ball is not changed and where there is no obstacle to the propagation of the shock wave; the rebound remains so important and the behavior of the ball after the shock remains random.

However, this partly random character of the trajectory of a ball after a bounce on the ground or a shock against another ball greatly complicates the strategy of the bowler, and particular of the pétanque player, whether it be the Provençal game, long or lyonnaise.

In order to make the behavior of these balls the least unpredictable possible, it has already been proposed by the applicant to no longer provide them with grooves or grooves, but with patterns regularly spaced on their external surfaces, and possibly internal, especially in FR patent applications 2,671,019 and FR 2,692,159 published on July 23, 1992 and, respectively, December 17, 1993.

In these previous disclosures, we find that the regularity of distribution of the patterns on the spherical surface of a ball creates lines of separation confused with meridians and / or parallels on a significant part of this area.

The existence of such dividing lines without breaking has has been identified by the claimant as the main cause of the extension of the duration of the shock wave during a rebound, and therefore as a detrimental factor to the behavior of the ball. The application of this finding by the depositor is the realization of a ball which was the subject of the request FR 2,796,303 published on January 19, 2001, ball which is characterized in that, for each northern or southern hemisphere, the lines of separation appearing between the patterns or studs are lines essentially broken, which consequently prevent the propagation of shock waves.

However, a method of manufacturing this ball has revealed to be technically difficult to implement in economic conditions and led to results aesthetically unsatisfactory, especially for the part closest to the equatorial strip of the ball.

Finally, we can cite another known solution to the problem. shock wave attenuation, radically different from those mentioned above, consisting of arranging ribs meridians on the inner surface of the ball, as shown French patent application FR 2,748,669, published on November 21 1997 in the name of B. Marle. But this manufacturing process deviates conventional methods, and has the disadvantage of not ability to apply to solid balls.

It therefore appears from the state of the art, as described in the documents cited above, that the implementation of patterns on the outside of balls to improve their behavior is known, but it has not been proposed to date no provision technically solving the problem of the annihilation of shock waves, while allowing a mode of industrial and more economical production of the ball.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore relates to a ball for games of boules, especially for pétanque, Provençal games, long and the lyonnaise.

It has precisely for object a ball of this type having, on its external face, patterns the edges of which form essentially broken lines, except at the poles and of an equatorial strip, which consequently prevent the propagation of shock waves.

An essential feature of this ball is that these patterns consist of interrupted grooves evenly distributed over the external surface of each northern and southern hemisphere of the ball, the first ends of the grooves being located in the vicinity of one of the poles and the second ends being located in the vicinity of the area Equatorial.

It should be noted that such a ball is distinguished from that described in application FR 2,748,669 by numerous particularities: internal ribs for the old ball, external grooves for the ball according to the invention; ribs independent, that is to say which are not connected to each other others, leaving poles devoid of any ribs for old ball, and grooves connecting on each hemisphere along a parallel close to the pole for the ball along the invention.

In addition, in the problem-solution approach, that is to say by asking the question whether, starting for example from a ball having characteristics as specified in the request FR 2.796.303, obviously the closest to the ball according to the invention, the skilled person would lead to characteristics of the object of the invention ball using the teaching of the application FR 2,748,669, it appears that one can answer in the negative.

The requests FR 2.796.303 and 2.748.669 do not appear to effect be part of the same problem-solution group.

The solution disclosed in application FR 2,748,669 is a radically different from that described in the application FR 2,796,303 since it proposes to produce reasons on the internal surface of the ball.

And it is not mentioned in the description of the asks FR 2,748,669, or even left supposed, that these reasons, to know raised ribs on the inner surface of the ball, could correspond to hollow ribs on the external surface which can, for example, result from the process of manufacturing.

Now, if there was a certain equivalence, as to the results to be obtained, between internal meridian ribs and external grooves having the same arrangement, we could to be surprised that the applicant for application FR 2,748,669 does so not state, while he also knows and criticizes the system of intaglio patterns on the external surface of a ball in counterpoint of raised patterns on the internal surface, such as those described in application FR 2,692,159 expressly mentioned in application FR 2,748,669.

Advantageously, the first ends of the grooves are located, for each of the two hemispheres, on the same parallel close to one of the poles.

Preferably, these grooves extend in fractions of meridians of the ball.

According to a variant, said grooves extend according to directions making an acute angle, preferably constant, with the meridians of the ball.

An additional characteristic of the ball according to the invention is that the second ends of the grooves are of preferably located, for each hemisphere, on the same parallel limiting the equatorial zone of the ball.

In another configuration, the second ends of the grooves are alternately located, for each of hemispheres, on two parallels, one limiting the area equatorial and the other close to it.

In a preferred embodiment of the ball according to the invention, the grooves have the general shape of triangles curvilinear, substantially isosceles, the vertices of which are located in the vicinity or at the limit of the equatorial zone of the ball.

Alternatively, we will benefit from width grooves constant.

Advantageously, the grooves of the ball according to the invention are shifted from one hemisphere to another.

In another preferred variant, two grooves neighbors converge in the vicinity of the equatorial strip, the or the ball sectors framed by said grooves making part of the rolling surface of the ball. In case the branch formed by the union of these converging grooves includes three such grooves, these then delimit two sectors that are part of the rolling surface of the ball.

An additional feature of the ball is that first ends of the grooves are connected, in each of hemispheres, by a circular groove extending along a parallel limiting each of the poles.

The circular stud delimited by this groove at each pole advantageously presents a logo produced by suitable recesses in its surface. The diameter of this stud is preferably about 1/4 of that of the ball.

Very advantageously, the cumulative surface of the grooves, the groove and recesses of the ball according to the invention is less than 50% of the total surface of the ball.

Preferably the ball according to the invention has at least two and up to thirty two grooves in each of the hemispheres.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The group of Figures 1a, 1b, and 1c and the group of Figures 2a, 2b and 2c are the top views of a hemisphere of a first preferred embodiment of the ball according to the invention, comprising respectively a number of grooves per hemisphere multiple of three and a number of grooves multiple of four. The Figure 2c presents a model with sixteen branches, one of two is shorter.

Figures 3a to 3d are the top views of a hemisphere of a variant of the ball according to the invention, in the case of six, eight, twelve and sixteen grooves respectively.

Figures 4a and 4b show the equatorial band of the ball according to the preferred embodiment, for twelve and sixteen hemisphere grooves, respectively.

Figure 5 is a top view of a hemisphere respecting the first embodiment in which the ball comprises thirty two grooves.

Figure 6 is a side view of a ball showing a variant in which the grooves are offset by half a step between the two hemispheres.

Figures 7a to 7f are the top views of a hemisphere of another variant of the ball according to the invention, respectively with two, three, four, six, eight and twelve branches, variant according to which each branch is made up of two or, depending on, three converging grooves towards the top of said branch, the ball sectors framed by two adjacent grooves making part of the rolling surface of said ball.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The references to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be used to explain the different features of the invention.

Ball 1 is present over its entire surface, except at the poles 2 and the equatorial strip 3, patterns 4 which, as well that it is known, improve the behavior of the ball 1.

As indicated by the applicant in application FR 2,796,303, the phenomenon has been clearly highlighted thanks to tests on different types of golf balls, all of which can be launched under identical conditions more easily than pétanque balls.

• une balle dont la surface est parfaitement lisse,
• une balle présentant sur sa surface des alvéoles circulaires en creux de 3 mm de diamètre environ, et
• une balle présentant en surface des plots circulaires de 3 mm de diamètre en relief.

The tests focused on three full bales:

• a ball with a perfectly smooth surface,
• a ball having on its surface hollow circular cells of approximately 3 mm in diameter, and
• a ball having on the surface circular studs of 3 mm in diameter in relief.

• la balle lisse va loin mais, deux fois sur trois au moins, part de travers,
• la balle avec des alvéoles en creux va droit, et aussi loin, sinon plus (les plots en creux ou alvéoles agissant comme des voiles remontant au vent), et ce quatre fois sur cinq,
• la balle avec des plots en relief va droit mais moins loin, et ce quatre fois sur cinq.

Hit in the same way and with the same power, out of ten hits:

• the smooth ball goes far but, at least twice out of three, goes askew,
• the ball with hollow cells goes straight, and as far, if not more (the hollow studs or cells acting like sails going upwind), and this four times out of five,
• the ball with raised studs goes straight but less far, and this four times out of five.

It has therefore been observed that the studs or cells distributed on the sphere allow a much more rectilinear trajectory.

After hitting the ground, the pétanque ball presenting patterns will behave the same way.

Note that the new golf balls have currently groups of cells of different dimensions distributed either symmetrically or anarchically over the sphere.

Technical analysis of the phenomenon carried out by the applicant allowed to understand the advantages inherent in this provision: it is known that the essential cause of more or less random behavior of a ball or ball, after shock or rebound is the persistence of the shock wave. In the case of new golf balls, separation intervals between the cells of various sizes have less than regularity as in the old models, where these cells are identical dimensions.

Currently, the balls used for the game of pétanque sometimes, but not always, offsets from the lines of separation between the studs from one row to another. Applying lessons learned from the study of golf balls, the plaintiff concluded that there was an interest in designing balls pétanque with patterns always showing offsets between them.

It is with this in mind that the depositor designed the ball subject of the request FR 2.796.303: the edges of the patterns on the outer surface of the ball form lines essentially broken, which consequently prevent the propagation of waves from shock.

But it turned out that manufacturing forging / forging of the equatorial zone of this type of ball was difficult to perform economically, to the extent that some of the vanishing lines are grooves confused with parallels or close to the parallels.

Figures 1 to 7 show a new realization 1 based on the same principle of a maximum of breaks in the edge of the patterns 4 while allowing a satisfactory product to be obtained, even with simple means of production.

In the model shown in Figures 1a to 2c, as well as in Figure 5, the ball 1 present on the surface of each of its two northern and southern hemispheres of grooves 4 having the form of curvilinear triangles, substantially isosceles, straddling meridians, and regularly distributed. Their number per hemisphere varies from two, and preferably three for a distribution according to a three-pointed star at 120 ° (Figure 1a) at thirty two (Figure 5), going through four for a four star branches at 90 ° (Figure 2a) six, eight, twelve, sixteen (for Figure 2c), etc.

In each hemisphere, the bases of these triangles are located on a parallel 5 close to pole 2. The summits of triangles are located on a parallel limiting the equatorial zone 3, as shown in Figures 4a and 4b.

Thus, seen from above, it can also be said that each of the two hemispheres of the ball 1 has a hollow figure geometric star shape, made from a line single broken whose successive bases are located on a parallel 5 close to pole 2 and whose successive vertices mark the equatorial strip 3.

As seen in Figure 2c, a groove 4 on two may be shorter. The vertices of the corresponding triangles are then all located on another parallel 7 located a little at beyond the limit of equatorial zone 3 in the direction of pole 2.

This configuration can be performed when the number of grooves 4 per hemisphere is even, as for example in the case of ball 1 to sixteen grooves per hemisphere shown.

In an alternative embodiment, the grooves 4 are slightly inclined on the meridian circles at an angle constant, as shown in Figures 3a to 3d.

Figure 3a shows a variant with six grooves 4 by hemisphere, Figure 3b with eight grooves 4 per hemisphere, the Figure 3c with twelve grooves 4 per hemisphere, and Figure 3d a variant with sixteen grooves 4 per hemisphere.

In the case of the first model, Figures 4a and 4b show that the grooves 4 are in correspondence from one hemisphere to the other. In another model of ball 1 shown in Figure 6, the grooves 4 'and 4 "respectively are offset half a step between the two hemispheres, the step being the distance separating two adjacent 4 'or 4 "grooves.

The new ball 1 according to the invention therefore does not have no equatorial strip 3 having an edge that is difficult to produce, as in the case of the ball described in the request FR 2796303. And the advantage of the ball according to the invention is that the point shape of its grooves 4 contributes equally effectively attenuating the shock wave responsible for random bounces.

The grooves 4 do not necessarily have the general shape of pointed triangle. They can have a constant width. In in this case, a groove 4 out of two will preferably be systematically shorter in length than the previous groove.

In all models of the new ball 1, the basics of triangles are joined by a groove 5 following a parallel to the neighborhood of the poles 2.

This groove 5 releases a stud 6 having, where appropriate, a logo obtained by selective recesses of its surface according to the representation required. In the examples shown, this logo is the capital letter T hollow in the center of a relief clover.

The stud 6 has a diameter having about 1/4 of the diameter of the ball 1.

The grooves 4, the groove 5 and the recesses of the pad 6 have a cumulative area less than 50% of the total area of the ball 1, so that it can be approved by the authorities boulistiques. Indeed, the rules in this area require that the "bearing" surface or the "rolling" surface of a ball is equal at least 50% of the total surface of said ball.

In another alternative embodiment shown on the Figures 7a to 7f, each branch 8 of the star two, three, four, six, eight and, respectively, twelve branches is formed of two grooves 14 (Figures 7d to 7f) or three grooves 14 (Figures 7a to 7c) converging towards the top 9 of said branch 8, the sectors 10 framed by two adjacent grooves 14 making part of the rolling surface of the ball 1. The grooves 14 can be three in number if the star is consisting of few branches, five at most, and they are at number of two if the star consists of at least six branches. This construction has a double advantage: that to increase the rolling surface of the ball, on the one hand, and that multiply the grooves as well as the breaking lines and, therefore, to avoid as far as possible the spread of shock waves, on the other hand.

It should be noted that it has been shown in Figures 7d to 7f the other planned variant, according to which one branch out of two is shorter than its two neighboring branches.

It should therefore be observed that, in all variants which have been thus described, the arrangement of the grooves 4 is such that continuity is always avoided and thus is certain to break the shock wave.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited only to technical specifications above, given as examples.

On the contrary, it embraces all possible variants of achievements, in particular with regard to the studs 6 of the zones polar.

Claims (16)

Ball (1), for boules, in particular for pétanque, Provençal, long and lyonnaise games, with patterns (4) on its external face, the edges of which form essentially broken lines, except at the poles ( 2) and an equatorial strip (3), which consequently prevent the propagation of shock waves, characterized in that said patterns consist of grooves (4, 14) interrupted regularly distributed over the external surface of each northern hemisphere and south of said ball (1), the first ends of said grooves being located in the vicinity of one of said poles (2) and the second ends being located in the vicinity of said equatorial strip (3). Ball (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first ends of the grooves (4, 14) are located, for each of the two hemispheres, on the same parallel close to one of the poles (2). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the grooves (4, 14) extend according to fractions of meridians of said ball (1). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the grooves (4, 14) extend in directions making an acute angle, preferably constant, with the meridians of said ball (1). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second ends of the grooves (4, 14) are located, for each of the two hemispheres, on the same parallel limiting the equatorial strip (3). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second ends of the grooves (4, 14) are alternately located, for each of the two hemispheres, on two parallels, one limiting said equatorial strip (3) and the other (7) close to it. Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the grooves (4, 14) have the general shape of curvilinear triangles, substantially isosceles, the vertices of which are located in the vicinity or at the limit of the equatorial strip (3). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the grooves (4, 14) have a constant width. Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the grooves (4, 14) are offset from one hemisphere to another. Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the first ends of the grooves (4, 14) are connected, in each of the two hemispheres, by a circular groove (5) extending along a parallel limiting each of the poles (2). Ball (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the circular stud (6) delimited by the groove (5) at each of the poles (2) has a logo produced by suitable recesses in the surface of said stud (6 ). Ball (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that the diameter of the stud (6) is preferably about 1/4 of that of said ball (1). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that at least two adjacent grooves (14) converge in the vicinity of the equatorial strip (3), the sector or sectors (10) of ball framed by said grooves forming part of the rolling surface of said ball. Ball (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that the branch formed by the converging grooves (14) in the vicinity of the equatorial strip (3) comprises three grooves, which then delimit two sectors (10). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the combined surface of the grooves (4, 14), the groove (5) and the recesses is less than 50% of the surface of said ball ( 1). Ball (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it has at least two and up to thirty two grooves (4, 14) in each of its two hemispheres.

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