Three-Leg Bucket Caddy for Stable Elevated Ball Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Baseball and softball coaches and players experience back strain and slowed practice due to the need to bend down repeatedly to retrieve balls from a bucket placed on the ground during batting and pitching practices, as existing stands do not effectively secure and elevate buckets, allowing them to tilt or move.
Innovation Solution
A bucket caddy with three legs and elastic bands or straps that securely hold a bucket above a horizontal surface, preventing tilting and movement, and allowing for adjustable fit and easy storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a bucket is placed on the ground surface during practice, then it is easily accessible and simple to use, but the coach or player must bend down repeatedly which causes back strain and slows practice
Solution Approach 1:
The bucket is elevated from the ground level to an elevated position using a stand with legs extending downward. This dimensional change in vertical positioning allows the bucket to be accessed at a comfortable height without bending, eliminating back strain while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
A stand structure acts as an intermediary between the ground surface and the bucket. The stand with its legs and support structure mediates the positioning, holding the bucket at an optimal height for practice while preventing direct contact with the ground
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a stand with canvas container is used to hold balls above ground, then back strain is reduced, but the bucket is not supported against movement or tilting
Solution Approach 1:
The stand incorporates multiple contact points including legs extending downward for ground contact, shelf surfaces for bucket support, and elastic bands providing localized securing forces. Each component provides stability in a specific manner, collectively preventing movement and tilting while maintaining elevation
Solution Approach 2:
Elastic bands are pre-installed on the stand structure to provide cushioning and securing forces before any movement occurs. These bands can absorb forces and prevent tilting or movement by engaging with the bucket, providing proactive stability rather than reactive correction
3Stability of the object's composition
If elastic bands are used to secure the bucket to the stand, then the bucket is held securely against movement, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic bands are attached to the stand structure itself, allowing the stand to secure the bucket using its own integrated components. The bands connect the bucket to the stand's legs or frame, enabling the structure to hold itself without requiring external securing mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
Elastic bands provide flexible securing rather than rigid constraints. These flexible elements can accommodate bucket positioning variations while maintaining secure attachment, preventing movement without requiring complex rigid mechanical fastening systems
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 bucket caddy maintains the bucket at a comfortable height, reducing back strain and allowing for faster practice sessions by keeping the bucket stable and easily accessible.
Implementation Method 1
elastic bands removably connect at one end to a respective hook and at their opposite end to a rim of the bucket
Data Source
AI summary
A bucket caddy stably holds a bucket or container above a horizontal support surface or ground for easier access to the contents of the bucket or container. The bucket caddy has a retainer with slots into which at least three legs are movably joined. The legs each have a shelf surface and a hook (U-shaped or crimped) or upstanding wall disposed at their proximal ends. When splayed apart, the shelf surfaces point radially inwardly toward the retainer with their top surfaces in a common plane onto which the bottom of the bucket may be positioned. The hooks receive straps or elastic bands, each of which has a fastener at its opposite end adapted to join a portion of a rim of the bucket. Length-adjustable means are associated with straps that are not elastic. Alternatively, belts or screws provide three point connection between the legs and the sidewall of the bucket. After the bucket or container is separated from the caddy, the legs rotate so that their central axes are parallel or substantially parallel to one another in a storage configuration. A hook and loop fastener tape wraps around the legs in the storage configuration.