Billiard Rack Assembly With Pivoting Bar
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional billiard racks struggle to maintain a tight organization of billiard balls on a table, leading to gaps between balls which can affect the initial break in billiards games, and are difficult to remove without loosening the balls.
Innovation Solution
A billiards rack assembly with a pivoted racking bar and handle that forces balls tightly together within a containment area defined by a rigid frame, allowing for easy lifting and removal by pivoting the bar between engaging and removing positions, utilizing a hinge or magnetic attachment for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional racks are used to organize billiard balls, then the balls can be arranged in a triangular formation, but gaps form between adjacent balls and the rack is difficult to remove without loosening the balls
Solution Approach 1:
The rack bar is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to pivot between a horizontal position for tightening balls and a vertical position for easy removal. This dynamic element enables the rack to adapt its function during the racking process, resolving the contradiction between maintaining tight ball arrangement and facilitating easy removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The rack is divided into a stationary triangular frame and a movable rack bar segment. The rack bar can be independently pivoted relative to the frame, allowing the tightening function to be separated from the removal function. This segmentation enables one part to maintain ball tightness while another part facilitates easy removal.
2Manufacturing precision
If pressure is applied with fingers or thumbs against back row balls to tighten them, then balls can be organized, but the process is time-consuming and may loosen balls
Solution Approach 1:
The manual finger/thumb pressure method is replaced with a mechanical lever system. The rack bar acts as a lever that, when pivoted downward, applies amplified force uniformly across multiple balls simultaneously. This mechanical substitution increases both the tightness achieved and the speed of the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The rack bar is positioned to engage with the back row of balls before the tightening action is applied. This preliminary positioning ensures that force is applied at the optimal point to maximize tightening efficiency and minimize the time required to achieve proper ball organization.
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 solution ensures a tight, gap-free arrangement of billiard balls and facilitates easy removal from the table without disturbing the balls, enhancing the initial break in billiards games.
Implementation Method 1
an elongated metal hinge located on the rear frame segment of the triangular frame
Implementation Method 2
The corners are integrally formed together with opposing elongated side frame segments and an elongated rear frame segment
Data Source
AI summary
A billiards rack assembly tightly organizes billiard balls on a table. The rack assembly comprises a rigid frame defining a ball containment area. An elongated pivoted racking bar is located at one end of the rigid frame. A handle is attached to the pivoted racking bar, and is adapted for being grasped by a user to move the racking bar between a downwardly pivoted ball-engaging position and an upwardly pivoted frame-removing position. In the ball-engaging position, the pivoted racking bar forces the billiard balls tightly together within the ball containment area towards an opposite end of the rigid frame, thereby reducing gaps between adjacent balls. In the frame-removing position, the pivoted racking bar is moved away from the billiard balls and the handle located to facilitate lifting and removal of the rack assembly from the table.