Sport Ball With An Inflation-Retention Bladder

Abstract

A sport ball may include a casing, a bladder, and a valve. The casing forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball. The bladder is located within the casing for enclosing a pressurized fluid, and the bladder may be formed from a material that includes a first layer of thermoplastic polymer material and a second layer of a barrier material. The valve is for introducing the fluid to the bladder, and the valve is secured to the bladder and accessible from an exterior of the casing. A tie layer may be located between the flange and a surface of the bladder to join the flange to the bladder.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
 securing a valve to a bladder, the valve being at least partially formed from a thermoset polymer material, and the bladder being at least partially formed from a thermoplastic polymer material;   locating the valve, the bladder, and a plurality of rubber elements within a mold, the rubber elements being positioned adjacent to an exterior of the bladder;   heating the valve, the bladder, and the rubber elements to vulcanize the rubber.   
     
     
         22 . The method recited in  claim 21 , further including a step of locating a tie layer between the valve and the bladder, and wherein the step of securing includes bonding the tie layer to each of the valve and the bladder. 
     
     
         23 . The method recited in  claim 21 , further including a step of locating a tie layer between the valve and the bladder, and wherein the step of securing includes adhesive bonding the tie layer to the valve and thermal bonding the tie layer to the bladder. 
     
     
         24 . The method recited in  claim 21 , further including steps of (a) forming a flange on the valve and (b) locating a tie layer between the flange and the bladder, and wherein the step of securing includes bonding the tie layer to each of the flange and the bladder. 
     
     
         25 . The method recited in  claim 21 , further including a step of locating a restriction structure around the bladder. 
     
     
         26 . The method recited in  claim 21 , further including a step of securing a plurality of panel elements to the rubber elements following the step of heating. 
     
     
         27 . A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
 securing a valve to a bladder by locating a tie layer between the valve and the bladder, adhesive bonding the tie layer to the valve, and thermal bonding the tie layer to the bladder.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the valve is at least partially formed from a thermoset polymer material, and the bladder is at least partially formed from a thermoplastic polymer material. 
     
     
         29 . The method recited in  claim 28 , wherein the thermoset polymer material is rubber. 
     
     
         30 . The method recited in  claim 28 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer material is a thermoplastic urethane. 
     
     
         31 . The method recited in  claim 30 , wherein the thermoplastic urethane is selected from a group consisting of polyester, polyether, polycaprolactone, polyoxypropylene and polycarbonate macroglycol based materials, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         32 . The method recited in  claim 27 , further including forming a flange on the valve, wherein locating the tie layer between the valve and the bladder includes locating the tie layer between the flange of the valve and the bladder. 
     
     
         33 . The method recited in  claim 27 , further including a step of locating a restriction structure around the bladder. 
     
     
         34 . The method recited in  claim 27 , further including:
 locating the valve, the bladder, and a plurality of rubber elements within a mold, the rubber elements being positioned adjacent to an exterior of the bladder; and   heating the valve, the bladder, and the rubber elements to vulcanize the rubber of the rubber elements.   
     
     
         35 . A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
 providing an inflatable bladder and a valve;   locating the inflatable bladder within a restriction structure having a limited degree of stretch; and   securing the valve to the bladder by locating a tie layer between the valve and the bladder and thermal bonding the tie layer to the bladder.   
     
     
         36 . The method recited in  claim 35 , wherein the valve is at least partially formed from a thermoset polymer material, and the bladder is at least partially formed from a thermoplastic polymer material. 
     
     
         37 . The method recited in  claim 36 , wherein the thermoset polymer material is rubber. 
     
     
         38 . The method recited in  claim 36 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer material is a thermoplastic urethane. 
     
     
         39 . The method recited in  claim 35 , further including forming a flange on the valve, wherein locating the tie layer between the valve and the bladder includes locating the tie layer between the flange of the valve and the bladder. 
     
     
         40 . The method recited in  claim 35 , further including a step of locating a restriction structure around the bladder.