Sporting Implement Grip Section With Asymmetric Cross-Section
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sporting good implements, such as hockey sticks, have a shaft with a constant rectangular cross-section that can lead to hand fatigue and injuries due to the need for excessive grip strength, particularly at the top end where significant forces are exerted during gameplay.
Innovation Solution
A hand-held section with a non-rectangular cross-section, featuring a finger-engaging groove and a palm-engaging bump, designed to enhance grip and reduce muscular effort by optimizing the overlap between the thumb and index finger, thereby improving grip strength and reducing the risk of hand injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a constant rectangular cross-section shaft is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but excessive grip strength is required leading to hand fatigue and injuries
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft cross-section is changed from a uniform rectangular shape to a non-uniform shape with different dimensions at different locations. Specifically, the shaft has a first cross-sectional dimension and a second cross-sectional dimension that differ from each other, creating local variations in geometry to optimize grip characteristics while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft cross-section is designed with asymmetric dimensions where the first cross-sectional dimension is not equal to the second cross-sectional dimension. This asymmetric geometry allows the shaft to interact differently with various parts of the user's hand, optimizing grip strength distribution and reducing the risk of hand fatigue and injuries
2Device complexity
If a constant rectangular cross-section shaft is used, then the structure is simple, but hand fatigue and injuries occur due to excessive grip strength requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft cross-section is changed from a uniform rectangular shape to a non-uniform shape with different dimensions at different locations. Specifically, the shaft has a first cross-sectional dimension and a second cross-sectional dimension that differ from each other, creating local variations in geometry to optimize grip characteristics while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft cross-section is designed with asymmetric dimensions where the first cross-sectional dimension is not equal to the second cross-sectional dimension. This asymmetric geometry allows the shaft to interact differently with various parts of the user's hand, optimizing grip strength distribution and reducing the risk of hand fatigue and injuries
Data Source
AI summary
A hand-held section of a sporting good implement includes a body extending along a longitudinal axis and having multiple interconnected faces, a palm-engaging section defining a first face of the multiple interconnected faces, and a finger-engaging section defining a second face of the multiple interconnected faces opposed to the first face. A shape of the palm-engaging section is different than a shape of the finger-engaging section. The palm-engaging section and the finger-engaging section are spaced apart by a transverse distance and the multiple interconnected faces of the body define a perimeter such that a circumferential overlap is defined between a distal phalanx of an index finger of a user and a thumb of the user, a tip of the thumb of the user circumferentially extending to at most a joint interconnecting the distal phalanx to a remainder of the index finger when the hand is wrapped around the hand-held section.