Basketball Goal Docking Tray for Secure Wheel Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Movable basketball goals lack precise positioning and secure anchoring on the court, relying on inadequate guides like tape or pins that fail to orient and stabilize the goal effectively.
Innovation Solution
The use of docking trays with a base, side walls, and a retainer to securely position and orient a basketball goal, featuring a wider front and narrower rear for precise wheel alignment, and a retainer with an overhanging ledge and drop pins for easy and secure installation and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If tape, pins, or indentations are used as guides on the floor, then the goal can be roughly positioned, but precise positioning and secure anchoring are not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The docking tray serves as an intermediary device between the basketball goal and the floor. It provides a structured interface with enclosures for wheels and retainers for anchoring, transforming the inadequate floor guides into a precise and secure positioning system. The tray mediates the connection, ensuring both accurate positioning and reliable anchoring that neither tape nor pins alone could achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning and anchoring function is segmented into distinct components: the base with enclosures for wheel positioning, side walls for orientation, and retainers for secure anchoring. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in one aspect (positioning, orientation, or anchoring), achieving both precision and reliability through divided functionality.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a movable basketball goal is designed to be easily moved and positioned, then it gains versatility, but precise positioning and secure anchoring become difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static positioning approach (fixed anchors) to a dynamic one. The movable goal with wheels can be easily transported and positioned, then the docking tray's retainers dynamically engage with the wheel enclosures to secure the goal in place. This allows the system to be mobile when needed and precisely positioned when required.
Solution Approach 2:
The docking tray acts as a mediator that enables both movability and precision. It allows the goal to remain movable during transport, then provides a precise positioning interface when the goal is rolled into the tray and engaged by the retainers. The intermediary structure reconciles the contradiction between ease of movement and positioning precision.
3Measurement precision
If the docking tray uses a wider front and narrower rear design, then wheel alignment precision is improved, but the complexity of the positioning structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The docking tray employs asymmetric geometry with a wider front and narrower rear. This asymmetry is specifically designed to guide and align the wheels of the basketball goal during the positioning process. The tapered shape naturally directs the wheels into the correct position, improving alignment precision without requiring additional alignment mechanisms or complex adjustment devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the docking tray have different geometric properties tailored to their specific functions. The wider front provides entry space and guidance, while the narrower rear provides secure engagement and positioning. This local differentiation of geometric quality achieves precise wheel alignment through the shape itself, rather than through complex mechanical positioning systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A docking tray for receiving a basketball goal includes: (a) a base having a front, a rear, and two sides, the front being wider than the rear and the two sides narrowing from front to rear; (b) two side walls extending upwardly along the sides of the base; (c) a rear wall extending upwardly along the rear of the base, the base, side walls, and rear wall forming an enclosure for a rear wheel of a basketball goal; and (d) a retainer for engaging, orienting, and securing a base of a basketball goal.