{
  "patent_number": "US 4756529",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How the Koosh Ball's Design Makes It Easy to Catch",
  "original_title": "Generally spherical object with floppy filaments to promote sure capture",
  "summary": "A patent for a ball made of hundreds of soft, rubbery strings that collapse on impact to make catching easy for small hands.",
  "what_it_does": "The device uses a dense, spherical arrangement of thin, floppy elastomeric filaments radiating from a central core. When the ball hits a hand, the filaments collapse and absorb the kinetic energy, which prevents the ball from bouncing away. Because the filaments are thin and flexible, they thread between the fingers of the person catching it, creating a secure grip. This design specifically targets the difficulty children have in coordinating the timing and grip required to catch a traditional, rigid ball.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover balls made of solid or rigid materials that do not collapse on impact.",
    "Does not cover spherical objects that lack the specific 'threading' capability between fingers.",
    "Does not cover non-spherical amusement devices, even if they use similar rubbery filaments."
  ],
  "filed": "1987-06-11",
  "granted": "1988-07-12",
  "expires": "2007-06-11",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "OddzOn Products Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/oddzon-products-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Scott H. Stillinger",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/scott-h-stillinger"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 62,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "An amusement device which has a substantially spherical configuration, and which is formed from a large plurality of floppy, elastomeric filaments that radiate in a dense, bushy manner from a central core region. The filaments are sufficiently floppy to collapse on impact, thus to absorb enough energy to avoid any tendency to bounce. They are also sufficiently dense and floppy that they tend to quickly thread their way between the fingers of a user on contact with the hand. These features promote sure and quick capture of the device during the act of catching.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4756529/koosh-ball-stillinger",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4756529/koosh-ball-stillinger/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US4756529",
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}