Baseball Holder with Planar Signing Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fans face difficulties in presenting and retrieving baseballs for autographs due to the spherical shape of the ball providing an irregular writing surface and the challenge of navigating crowds to exchange the signed items.
Innovation Solution
A baseball holder with a housing that secures the ball to a planar surface, featuring reciprocal gripping members and a spring-biased collar for easy grasping and signing, along with a spool system for lowering the device and tethering a writing instrument, facilitating secure handling and presentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a baseball is presented directly to a player for autographing, then the exchange process is simple, but the spherical shape provides an irregular writing surface that produces illegible signatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a holder as an intermediary device between the baseball and the player's hand. The holder contains the baseball within a housing that provides a flat top surface, mediating the interaction by transforming the irregular spherical surface into a regular planar writing surface while still allowing the player to access and sign the ball.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the problem from two-dimensional surface irregularity to three-dimensional spatial arrangement. By placing the baseball inside a housing with a flat top surface, the invention creates a new dimensional context where the ball is contained within a structure that provides the necessary flat writing surface, rather than trying to flatten the ball's surface itself.
2Reliability
If a fan presents a baseball and writing instrument to a player in a crowd, then the autograph can be obtained, but the ball and writing instrument are often lost during the exchange
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the baseball, writing instrument, and holder into a single integrated unit. The holder houses both the baseball and the writing instrument, allowing the fan to present one consolidated object to the player rather than multiple separate items, thereby preventing loss during the chaotic exchange process in a crowd.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder serves multiple functions simultaneously: it contains and secures the baseball, provides a flat writing surface, holds the writing instrument, and facilitates easy transfer to and from the player. This multi-functionality consolidates several needs into a single device, improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation.
3Ease of operation
If a baseball is held in a fan's hand during a crowd, then the ball can be presented, but the spherical shape is difficult to grasp and retrieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the baseball from the fan's direct hand contact by placing it inside a holder with gripping members. The holder's structure with recesses and gripping elements provides a secure grasping surface for the fan, while the baseball remains protected and securely positioned within the holder, separating the grasping function from the ball itself.
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
Enables celebrities to comfortably sign baseballs on a stable surface while allowing fans to easily present and retrieve the signed items, reducing loss and improving the autograph exchange process.
Implementation Method 1
a spring-biased collar 8 for supporting the baseball on the housing
Implementation Method 2
a pair of reciprocal gripping members 9 therein that secure a baseball to the housing
Data Source
AI summary
A baseball holder for an autograph seeker includes a hollow housing having a bottom wall, a planar top wall, a pair of sidewalls and a pair of end walls. The bottom wall includes a pair of spaced slots that allow a celebrity to more easily grasp the housing when signing a baseball. On the top wall is a circular opening in communication with an interior chamber having a pair of reciprocal gripping members therein for securing a baseball to the housing. Accordingly, when a baseball is secured within the opening, the planar top wall provides a comfortable support surface for the celebrity's writing hand.