Ball Collecting Drum With Elastic Elements For Efficient Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ball collecting devices are inefficient and physically demanding, requiring repeated bending and manual handling, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and can cause strain and injury, especially in sports environments where balls are scattered across large areas.
Innovation Solution
A ball collecting device featuring a hollow drum with circular elastic elements around it, allowing balls to be pushed and squeezed into the drum for storage, facilitated by a control element that enables easy rolling and positioning of the drum to collect and store balls conveniently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual ball collection is used, then simplicity of device is maintained, but collection efficiency and productivity are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic elements automatically push balls into the drum without requiring manual intervention. The device collects balls through its own structural mechanisms (elastic elements and drum design) rather than requiring continuous human action, thereby improving productivity while maintaining relatively simple device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The drum is designed to be movable and rotatable, allowing it to dynamically adapt to scattered ball positions. The elastic elements provide dynamic pushing force to guide balls into the drum, enabling efficient collection across large areas without complex automated systems.
2Ease of operation
If repeated manual bending and handling is used, then device complexity is minimized, but physical strength consumption and health risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs the collection action itself through elastic elements that automatically push balls into the drum, eliminating the need for operators to repeatedly bend and handle balls manually. This significantly reduces physical effort and health risks while keeping the mechanism simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic elements act as intermediaries between the drum and balls, performing the pushing action that would otherwise require manual intervention. This mediator mechanism transfers the collection function from human operators to the device structure, reducing physical strain.
3Area of stationary object
If balls are scattered over large areas, then collection coverage area increases, but time consumption and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The movable drum can be positioned and rotated to cover large areas efficiently. The dynamic design allows the device to adapt to scattered ball distributions across the court, collecting balls from various positions without requiring excessive time or complex automated positioning systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic elements continuously push balls into the drum as they encounter them, enabling the device to self-propel the collection process across large areas. This automatic pushing mechanism reduces the time required to cover and collect from extensive areas compared to manual picking.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device efficiently collects and stores balls by using circular elastic elements to guide them into the drum, reducing physical effort and preventing injuries, while allowing for quick and easy retrieval of balls, thus enhancing the convenience and safety of ball collection processes.
Implementation Method 1
circular elastic elements for forcing a ball to shift the circular elastic elements and then squeezing the ball into the drum
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses a ball collecting device comprising a drum and a control element. A first cover and a second cover are installed at both ends of the drum respectively to form a containing space in the drum. The first cover and the second cover are hollow and connected to at least one ring-shaped body with an interval apart. Each ring-shaped body comprises at least one elastic element installed around the ring-shaped body. The first cover, the second cover and the ring-shaped bodies are connected by at least one rod. The control element is connected to the drum and provided for a user to hold and push the drum to roll. An elastic element installed around the second cover is provided for pushing at least one ball to shift and enter into the containing space for storage, so as to provide a convenient way of collecting balls.