Exercise ball

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to a ball for exercising a person's hands and relieving stress.

[0004] 2. Prior Art

[0005] Various rubber balls, tennis balls, and the like have been used by persons to strengthen the hands and forearms by exercises that involve alternately squeezing the ball and relieving hand pressure on it.

[0006] The present invention is directed to a novel exercise ball which may be used for the purposes just mentioned but is primarily intended for improving the user's manual dexterity and the tactile sensitivity of his fingers, particularly the fingertips. The ball of this invention is spheroidal and has a soft surface with a feel to a person's fingers closely simulating the feel of human skin. The ball as a whole is manually deformable and resilient, with a viscosity closely comparable to that of a woman's breast. The ball presents an outwardly protruding, rounded nipple surrounded by a ring that presents small surface irregularities. The nipple and the ring on the surface of the present ball closely simulate in shape and feel the nipple and areola of a woman's breast.

[0007] A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel exercise ball that may be used by a person to strengthen his hands, to improve his manual dexterity, to improve the tactile sensitivity of his fingers, and to relieve stress.

[0008] Further objects of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof, shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the present exercise ball; and

[0010] FIG. 2 is a side elevation of this ball.

[0011] Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the particular arrangement shown and described since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

[0012] The exercise ball of the present invention is a spheroidal body of manually deformable and resilient construction. As shown in the drawings, it has a spherical body 10 with an outwardly protruding, rounded nipple 11 on one side surrounded by a ring 12 of irregular surface configuration with small, rounded bumps or peaks 13 projecting out from the spherical surface of the ball. The respective shapes of nipple 11 and ring 12 and their feel to a person's fingers closely simulate the configurations and feel of the nipple and areola of a woman's breast. Likewise, the rest of the ball's surface is soft and smooth, resembling substantially the texture of a woman's breast away from the nipple and areola.

[0013] In one practical embodiment of the invention, the spherical body 10 has a diameter of about 3 inches, and the ring 12 has an inside diameter of about ½ inch and an outside diameter of about 1⅜ inches. Obviously, one or more of these dimensions might be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The nipple 11 and the ring 12 are darker colored than the surrounding area of the ball's surface. Preferably, the ball's cover is of rubber-like material having a soft tactile feel that closely resembles that of the skin of a woman's breast. The interior of the ball is any suitable non-toxic material of relatively high viscosity that is manually deformable and resilient, closely resembling those properties of a woman's breast. For example, the filler material may be corn syrup, a viscous gel, a viscous liquid, granulated rubber, ground up shells, or sand.

[0014] The psychological effect of the present exercise ball on the typical male is suggested by the following selections from the scholarly literature:

[0015] Homer, The Iliad, book XIV, (speaking of the goddess Aphrodite):

[0016] “She spoke and loosened from her bosom the embroidered girdle of many colors into which all her allurements were fastened. In it was love and in it desire and in it blandishing persuasion which steals the mind even of the wise.”

[0017] Samuel Johnson to David Garrick, in Boswell's Life of Johnson:

[0018] “I'll come no more behind your scenes, David; for the silk stockings and white bosoms of your actresses excite my amorous propensities.”

[0019] John Betjeman, The Olympic Girl:

[0020] “Oh! Would I were her racket pressed

[0021] With hard excitement to her breast.”

[0022] Just exactly how a person might use the present exercise ball would seem to be determined by his imagination, tempered perhaps by life experiences. Bearing in mind the mandate of 35 U.S.C. 112 that the specification be “concise,” all the various possible techniques of using this ball will not be set forth in detail. But in all cases the unique configuration, surface properties and details, and the deformable and resilient physical characteristics of this ball are intended to dispose the user to develop his finger dexterity and tactile sensitivity, and at the same time to experience stress relief by stimulating his imagination erotically.