Bat-Mounted Ball Retrieving Receptacle for Coach Posture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Baseball and softball coaches often suffer from chronic back and joint pain due to repeated incorrect bending while picking up balls during practice, leading to reduced physical endurance over time.
Innovation Solution
A portable ball retrieving receptacle, known as The Kup, attaches to the end of a baseball or softball bat, allowing coaches to retrieve balls without bending by using a tubular sleeve, sloping collar, and semisphere hood, which securely holds the ball and can be easily attached and detached for convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If coaches repeatedly bend over to pick up baseballs or softballs during practice, then they can retrieve balls effectively, but they suffer from chronic back pain and joint pain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a ball-retrieving device attached to the bat as an intermediary tool. The device includes a receptacle with a curved surface that catches balls and a extension mechanism that allows the coach to retrieve balls without bending over, thus mediating between the need for ball retrieval and the need to avoid physical strain
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows the coach to serve themselves by retrieving balls independently without needing assistance from other coaches or staff. The self-contained design with ball receptacle and extension mechanism enables the coach to perform ball retrieval tasks autonomously while maintaining proper posture
2Reliability
If coaches limit their time around the game due to physical strain, then they can avoid injury, but they reduce the amount of time they can coach
Solution Approach 1:
The device empowers the coach to independently retrieve balls without assistance, enabling them to remain active in the coaching role for extended periods. By eliminating the need to bend over repeatedly, the device removes the primary physical constraint that limited coaching duration, allowing coaches to work throughout entire practices without injury risk
3Reliability
If a ball retrieving device is designed to fit tightly around the bat, then it provides secure attachment, but it increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The device applies local quality by concentrating the attachment function at the specific location where the receptacle contacts the bat. The curved surface and engagement features are localized to the interface with the bat, providing secure attachment without requiring complex mechanisms throughout the entire device structure
Solution Approach 2:
The receptacle incorporates a curved surface that matches the cylindrical shape of the bat, creating a natural fit through geometric correspondence. This curvature-based design provides secure attachment through shape complementarity rather than through complex fastening mechanisms, simplifying the overall device structure
Data Source
AI summary
A ball retrieving receptacle that attaches to the ball-striking area of a bat. The receptacle comprises a tubular sleeve having a diameter sized to fit tightly or securely around a ball-striking surface of a bat. The tubular sleeve includes a top opening and a bottom opening, and a sloping collar connected to the tubular sleeve. A semisphere hood is connected to the outer rim of the sloping collar, and the semisphere hood includes a semicircle rim extending in front of an opening of the semisphere hood and is connected to the outer rim of the sloping collar. The ball retrieving receptacle is attached to a bat having a handle and a ball-striking surface, wherein ball-striking surface of the bat is located tightly against the tubular sleeve of the ball retrieving receptacle.