Appeal No. 2004-1195
Application No. 09/766,165
a) determining the duration of the ball's impact with the
floor;
b) determining the half period of component vibration;
calculating the critical ratio by dividing the half period
of component vibration, (b), by the duration of the ball's
impact with the floor, (a).
In the rejection of the appealed claims, the examiner relies
upon the following references:
Weiss 5,098,095 Mar. 24, 1992
Robert Kemp Adair, The Physics of Baseball 44-106 (Harper & Row,
New York 1989)
Appellants' claimed invention is directed to a sport ball
comprising a self-contained inflation mechanism having
substantially the same rebound characteristics as a ball without
the inflation mechanism. The invention is also directed to a
method of determining the "critical ratio" of an inflated sport
ball which is derived by dividing the half period of component
vibration by the duration of the ball's impact with the floor.
As for the significance of the critical ratio, appellants'
specification discloses the following:
When this critical ratio is less than 0.95 for a
regulation basketball, the maximum minus minimum
rebound height is generally greater than five and one
half inches, and the ball is therefore likely to be
unacceptable for play due to dribbling problems. When
this critical ratio is greater than or equal to 0.95,
the maximum minus minimum rebound height is generally
less than or equal to five inches, and the ball is
therefore suitable for play. This critical ratio can
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