Artificial Shuttlecock Feather with Porous Vane
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional artificial feather shuttlecocks struggle to replicate the lightweight, impact-resistant, and shape-retentive characteristics of natural feather shuttlecocks, with existing materials and manufacturing methods failing to achieve both low weight and sufficient strength, leading to difficulties in mimicking the flying performance and hitting impression of natural feathers.
Innovation Solution
The development of an artificial feather with a vane portion made of thermoplastic resin containing interconnecting bubbles, combined with a rachis portion made of thermoplastic resin, where the rachis is fixed to the vane portion and features a calamus portion that protrudes to enhance durability and shape retention, utilizing specific resin materials and manufacturing techniques such as injection molding and two-color molding to achieve the desired properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional artificial materials are used for the vane portion, then the feather can be mass-produced, but the specific gravity is high and the material is heavy, failing to replicate natural feather characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The vane portion is constructed with a porous structure containing numerous small bubbles distributed throughout the resin material. This porous configuration significantly reduces the specific gravity of the vane portion to approximately 0.15, matching natural feather characteristics, while still maintaining sufficient structural integrity for shuttlecock functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite material system where a resin base material is combined with dispersed bubble structures. This composite approach allows the vane portion to achieve both low weight and adequate strength by integrating the lightweight porous structure with the structural requirements of shuttlecock vanes.
2Weight of moving object
If the vane portion is made thin and light, then the specific gravity decreases, but the rigidity and impact resistance are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements different material properties in different regions: the vane portion uses a porous low-density structure for weight reduction, while the rachis portion uses a dense high-strength structure for structural support. This local differentiation allows the thin vane portion to achieve both low specific gravity and sufficient impact resistance through optimized regional material distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The feather is divided into functionally distinct segments: the vane portion (with porous structure for lightness) and the rachis portion (with dense structure for strength). This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the vane for minimal weight and the rachis for maximum structural integrity - resolving the contradiction between lightness and strength.
3Reliability
If natural feathers are used, then the flying performance and hitting impression are excellent, but the material procurement becomes difficult and costs rise due to limited supply
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates an artificial feather that copies the essential physical characteristics of natural feathers, specifically matching the specific gravity (approximately 0.15) and structural configuration. By replicating the key properties that determine flying performance and hitting impression rather than using natural feathers directly, the invention achieves reliable performance while enabling unlimited mass production from synthetic resin materials.
4Weight of moving object
If the rachis portion is made hollow to reduce weight, then the overall weight decreases, but the structural strength and shape retention are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different structural qualities to different parts: the vane portion is porous and lightweight, while the rachis portion is dense and structurally robust. By concentrating the structural strength in the rachis (which has higher specific gravity) rather than making it hollow, the invention maintains shape retention and structural integrity while achieving overall lightness through the porous vane portion.
Data Source
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AI summary
An artificial feather for a shuttlecock including a vane portion in a thin film form, corresponding to a vane, and a rachis portion in a bar form extending integrally and continuously from an upper tip end to a lower distal end, corresponding to a rachis, to imitate a natural feather, the vane portion being made of thermoplastic resin having interconnecting bubbles therein, and having low specific gravity and low elasticity relative to the rachis portion, the rachis portion being made of thermoplastic resin being fixed to the vane portion at a vane support portion, having the vane support portion set as an area that is fixed to the vane portion along the tip end to a bottom end of the vane portion, and having a calamus portion set as an area that protrudes to a lower side of the vane portion and spans from a bottom end of the vane support portion to the distal end, to correspond to a calamus of the natural feather.