Abstract: New designs for a sports ball comprising at least two polygonal panels and having an improved performance and uniformity. Each panel has doubly-curved edges that curve along and across the surface of the sphere. The panels are p-sided curved polygons, where p is an integer greater than 1. The single panels, in an imagined flattened state, have curved edges where each edge curves inwards, outwards or undulates in a wave-like manner. The edges are arranged so each individual panel is without mirror-symmetry and the edge curvatures are adjusted so the panel shape can be varied to achieve more uniform panel stiffness as well as economy in manufacturing. The ball also has a possible shape-induced spin due to the panel design and the overall rotational symmetry of the design.

Abstract: New designs for a sports ball comprising at least two polygonal panels and having an improved performance and uniformity. Each panel has doubly-curved edges that curve along and across the surface of the sphere. The panels are p-sided curved polygons, where p is an integer greater than 1. The single panels, in an imagined flattened state, have curved edges where each edge curves inwards, outwards or undulates in a wave-like manner. The edges are arranged so each individual panel is without mirror-symmetry and the edge curvatures are adjusted so the panel shape can be varied to achieve more uniform panel stiffness as well as economy in manufacturing. The ball also has a possible shape-induced spin due to the panel design and the overall rotational symmetry of the design.

Abstract: A method for bending sheet metal includes introducing to the sheet metal thinned regions which are positioned either along or immediately adjacent to a bending line. These thinned regions allow the metal to be easily bent along the bending line using conventional hand tools or non-specialized machines. The thinned regions may be shaped as slots having a specific width, length, end shape, spacing from each adjacent slot, and depth into the metal sheet. According to one embodiment of the invention, each slot is cut through the entire thickness of the metal sheet. Other related embodiments require that the slots be only partially cut or etched thereby having a depth that is less than the thickness of the metal sheet. The thinned regions may be any appropriate shape as controlled by the shape of the bend, the type of metal, the thickness of the metal, the ductility of the metal, the angle of the bend, and the application of the metal (e.g., load bearing, etc).