ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,303,801, issued on May 20.
"Transformable spherical ball toy" was invented by Timothy Forte (Saint Clairsville, Ohio).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention relates to a generally spherical toy ball constructed to unfold to a unique shape upon impact with a rigid surface. The ball includes an exterior generally spherical structure having a plurality of flexible fiberglass rods disposed therein with each rod covered by a pliable plastic. Each rod has interlocking ends configured to releasably attach to form the generally spherical shape. The interlocking ends are released during impact as a result of the force imposed when th...