Portable Ball Rebound Tile With Adjustable Legs for Soft Ground
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ball games like volleyball, tennis, and pickleball require hard surface courts, which are not always available, and existing portable solutions are cumbersome, require space, and do not provide a rigid surface for effective ball rebound.
Innovation Solution
A portable ball game target and flooring tile with a separable rigid playing surface, connected by tethers, that can be assembled on soft ground, featuring adjustable legs with endcaps for stability, and collapsible for easy transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If portable ball game equipment is designed to be lightweight and collapsible for easy transport, then ease of operation and portability improve, but structural stability and rigidity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The playing surface is divided into multiple modular panels that can be separated for transport but assembled to form a rigid structure when in use. The support system uses detachable legs that can be quickly assembled and disassembled while providing stable support when connected.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different parts of the structure - the playing surface uses rigid materials for ball rebound, while the support legs use adjustable mechanisms for stability, and the connection elements use flexible but strong materials to allow assembly/disassembly while maintaining structural integrity when assembled.
2Reliability
If the playing surface is made rigid for effective ball rebound, then ball game performance improves, but adaptability to soft ground environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs incorporate adjustable mechanisms that allow the playing surface to be elevated to different heights and angles. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the rigid surface to maintain stability on various ground types including soft sand and uneven terrain, while still providing the rigidity needed for effective ball rebound.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces adjustable support legs as intermediary elements between the rigid playing surface and the soft ground. These legs act as a mediator that transfers and distributes the load from the rigid surface to the soft ground, preventing direct contact between the rigid surface and unstable terrain while maintaining surface rigidity for ball rebound.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the playing surface is elevated and leveled on soft ground, then stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs are designed with self-adjusting features that allow users to easily elevate and level the playing surface on soft ground without requiring complex assembly mechanisms. The legs can be independently adjusted to accommodate uneven terrain, and the modular design allows for simple connection and disconnection of components.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable ball game target and flooring tile which is capable of being utilized as a ball game target to rebound a ball and/or a flooring tile to stand on or perform movement on for use in environments where hard surfaces are desired, but are unavailable (e.g., beaches and fields). The inventive device includes a rigid top, supports, and legs, all of which are separable. Further, the top is composed of slats connected by tethers that enable roll-up of the top for transport and storage. The supports are sandwiched between the top and legs to provide rigidity to the top's surface. Legs are connected to the support and top with fasteners enabling the user to elevate, level and tilt the device on uneven soft surfaces. Further, each leg has an optional spiked endcap to enhance stability of the device by enabling the legs to burrow into the sand or ground.