Balls Or Rollers (e.g., Printing Rollers, Golf Balls, Etc.) Patents (Class 264/36.12)
  • Patent number: 8940201
    Abstract: A correcting apparatus of a seamless belt includes a bottomed cylindrical main body that has an inner peripheral surface formed of mirror surface and that accommodates a seamless belt at a distance from the inner peripheral surface, a lid body detachably attached to the main body, a fixing unit that fixes an upper end and a lower end of the seamless belt to the mirror surface, a pressing unit that presses the seamless belt accommodated in the main body against the mirror surface, and a heating unit that heats the mirror surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Katsunori Hashimoto, Yoshiyuki Mizumo
  • Patent number: 8877108
    Abstract: A system and method for making a golf ball having a patterned surface is disclosed. The pattern may be made by a method including machining a pattern of feed marks on the surface of a golf ball mold and using the golf ball mold to mold a golf ball cover layer. The pattern may be configured to create capillary action to substantially counteract gravity and/or other forces acting on a substantially liquid coating material applied to the cover layer of the golf ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Nike, Inc.
    Inventor: Bradley C. Tutmark
  • Patent number: 8663512
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides to a kit for customizing and recycling golf balls, and related methods. The kit includes one or more sets of golf ball covers, may include one or more sets of golf ball cores, and may further include a golf ball cover removal device and a golf ball cover application device. A golfer may select a golf ball cover from a set based on a desired play characteristic. For example, the golfer may select a relatively hard cover from a set of golf ball covers having different hardness values. The golfer may then apply the selected golf ball cover to a golf ball core using the golf ball cover application device. The core may be selected from a set of cores in the kit, or the core may be obtained from a recycled golf ball using a golf ball cover removal device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Che-Ching Lin, Chen-Tai Liu, Hideyuki Ishii, Chia-Chyi Cheng
  • Publication number: 20130320576
    Abstract: A method of making and recycling a golf ball is disclosed. The method may include processing a used golf ball to make the materials of the used golf ball reusable in a new golf ball. As a result, the disclosed method may decrease the waste of disposing of used golf balls and the costs associated with acquiring and/or processing new materials. The method may include melting a golf ball made of layers each having a different melting point. The materials may be separated by melting the different layers one by one. The method of recycling a golf ball may generally include pulverizing used golf balls made of materials having differing amounts of magnetic additive into particles. The particles may be separated by a magnetic field. At least a portion of the particles may be reused to make a new golf ball.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Publication date: December 5, 2013
    Applicant: Nike, Inc.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Ishii, Aaron Bender, Yasushi Ichikawa, Bradley C. Tutmark, Nicholas Yontz, Hsin Cheng
  • Publication number: 20130320577
    Abstract: A method of making and recycling a golf ball is disclosed. The method may include processing a used golf ball to make the materials of the used golf ball reusable in a new golf ball. As a result, the disclosed method may decrease the waste of disposing of used golf balls and the costs associated with acquiring and/or processing new materials. The method of recycling a golf ball may generally include pulverizing used golf balls into particles. The used golf balls may be made of materials having different densities. The particles may be placed in a liquid that causes the particles of different materials to float to different levels based on the densities of the materials. At least a portion of the particles may be melted and injected into a sandwich mold to create a new golf ball.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Publication date: December 5, 2013
    Applicant: Nike, Inc.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Ishii, Yasushi Ichikawa, Arthur Molinari, Bradley C. Tutmark, Takahisa Ono
  • Patent number: 8529806
    Abstract: There is provided a process for producing a regenerated elastic roller which can be again used for the formation of high-quality electrophotographic images by sufficiently relaxing a compression set of the elastic roller having the compression set caused in an elastic layer in usage. The process for producing a regenerated elastic roller includes a step of heating an elastic roller having a conductive mandrel and an elastic layer and having a compression set caused in the elastic layer, in a cylindrical mold to thermally expand the elastic layer and to cause a surface of the elastic roller to contact an inner wall of the cylindrical mold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kunimasa Kawamura, Takashi Kusaba, Shohei Urushihara
  • Patent number: 8469685
    Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for allowing the resurfacing of a cylindrical member in a printer having a fuser member that is externally heated by a heater roller. The apparatus includes providing a cylindrical member having an outer surface of a high temperature fluorothermoplastic. When it is determined that the outer surface is in need of resurfacing, the fuser member is removed from the printer, and the cylindrical member is mounted in the place of the fuser member. The cylindrical member is rotated at a speed of at least 1 rpm while engaging the outer surface of the fuser member with the heater roller normally used to heat the fuser member at a pressure of at least 5 psi at a temperature of at least 10° C. below the fluorothermoplastic melting temperature for a time sufficient to resurface the outer surface of the cylindrical member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: James H. Hurst, Jiann-Hsing Chen, Donald S. Rimai, W. Charles Kasiske, Jr., Donna P. Suchy
  • Publication number: 20120091608
    Abstract: There is provided a process for producing a regenerated elastic roller which can be again used for the formation of high-quality electrophotographic images by sufficiently relaxing a compression set of the elastic roller having the compression set caused in an elastic layer in usage. The process for producing a regenerated elastic roller includes a step of heating an elastic roller having a conductive mandrel and an elastic layer and having a compression set caused in the elastic layer, in a cylindrical mold to thermally expand the elastic layer and to cause a surface of the elastic roller to contact an inner wall of the cylindrical mold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Publication date: April 19, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunimasa Kawamura, Takashi Kusaba, Shohei Urushihara
  • Patent number: 8137598
    Abstract: A spreader box and method form a bi-laminar paintball shell material. Walls of a box body define a reservoir containing, and an aperture dispensing, a first gel. Walls of a gate body define a reservoir containing, and an aperture dispensing, a second gel. Within the box, the first gel is kept separate from the second gel. The box body aperture dispenses the first gel as a continuous first layer. The gate body aperture dispenses the second gel as a continuous second layer that is adjacent and juxtaposed with the first layer, such that the first gel bonds with the second gel to form the bi-laminar paintball shell material. A paintball, containing a fill material, has a frangible bi-laminar shell including an exterior shell that completely surrounds and contains an interior shell. The paintball is adapted to withstand the normal range of forces sustained in being fired from a paintball gun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: KEE Action Sports Technology Holdings, LLC
    Inventor: Aldo Perrone
  • Patent number: 7749413
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method of resurfacing a cylindrical member in a printer having a fuser member that is externally heated by a heater roller. The method includes providing a cylindrical member having an outer surface of a high temperature fluorothermoplastic. When it is determined that the outer surface is in need of resurfacing, the fuser member is removed from the printer, and the cylindrical member is mounted in the place of the fuser member. The cylindrical member is rotated at a speed of at least 1 rpm while engaging the outer surface of the fuser member with the heating roller normally used to heat the fuser member at a pressure of at least 5 psi at a temperature of at least 10° C. below the fluorothermoplastic melting temperature for a time sufficient to resurface of the outer surface of the cylindrical member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: James H. Hurst, Jiann-Hsing Chen, Donald S. Rimai, W. Charles Kasiske, Jr., Donna P. Suchy
  • Publication number: 20100148386
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method of resurfacing a cylindrical member in a printer having a fuser member that is externally heated by a heater roller. The method includes providing a cylindrical member having an outer surface of a high temperature fluorothermoplastic. When it is determined that the outer surface is in need of resurfacing, the fuser member is removed from the printer, and the cylindrical member is mounted in the place of the fuser member. The cylindrical member is rotated at a speed of at least 1 rpm while engaging the outer surface of the fuser member with the heating roller normally used to heat the fuser member at a pressure of at least 5 psi at a temperature of at least 10° C. below the fluorothermoplastic melting temperature for a time sufficient to resurface of the outer surface of the cylindrical member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Inventors: James H. Hurst, Jiann-Hsing Chen, Donald S. Rimai, W. Charles Kasiske, JR., Donna P. Suchy
  • Publication number: 20090250830
    Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus for refurbishing a fusing member. The apparatus includes a fusing member that contacts the toner image on a receiver medium and fuses the toner image to the receiver medium. The fusing member has an outer contact surface of a fluorothermoplastic resin The apparatus includes a tooling member positionable adjacent to the outer contact surface of the fusing member such that a pressure nip is formed between the outer contact surface of the fusing member and the tooling member. A heat source is provided for transferring heat to the fusing member and the tooling member, wherein the surface of the fuser member is engagable with the tooling member to rotate at a speed of at least 1 rpm at a pressure of at least 5 psi and at a temperature of at least 10° C. below the thermoplastic melting temperature of the outer contact surface for a time sufficient to resurface of the outer surface of the fuser member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2009
    Publication date: October 8, 2009
    Inventors: Shyh-Hua E. Jao, Jiann-Hsing Chen, James D. Shifley, Muhammed Aslam, Joseph A. Pavlisko
  • Publication number: 20020056932
    Abstract: A cover peeling machine comprises a pair of rolls (39) and (39). The roll (39) has an almost conical shape. Both of the rolls (39) and (39) are rotated in a reverse direction. The direction of the rotation is an inward direction as seen from above. A golf ball (9) is put close to a tip of the roll. In the vicinity of the tip, a distance between a nip of the roll (39) and the golf ball (9) is short. Therefore, a clip portion formed on the golf ball (9) can be easily bitten between the rolls (39). With the rotation of the roll (39), a cover is peeled from a core. A groove formed on a surface of the roll (39) can prevent the roll (39) and the cover from slipping. After the removal, the cover and the core are recycled respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2001
    Publication date: May 16, 2002
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Watabe, Jun Yamakawa, Osamu Nishikawa, Masao Takami