Eye Divider for Baseball Stance Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Baseball players, especially beginners, face challenges in maintaining proper stance and alignment with the pitcher due to their natural tendency to face the pitcher with their head rather than their shoulders, leading to ineffective binocular vision and improper tracking of the ball, with existing training devices failing to adequately address these issues.
Innovation Solution
A sports training apparatus featuring an eye divider that mimics the nose, pivotally mounted on a frame resembling glasses, which divides the player's vision to ensure both eyes are aligned with the pitcher, using adjustable temples and a nose piece to accommodate different geometries and provide flexibility in alignment confirmation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a player faces the pitcher with their head, then binocular vision and ball tracking are improved, but proper swinging motion and stance are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an eye divider as an intermediary device between the player's eyes and the pitcher. This divider forces the player to maintain proper shoulder alignment while still allowing both eyes to track the ball, serving as a mediator that reconciles the conflict between proper stance and effective ball tracking
Solution Approach 2:
The eye divider provides immediate visual feedback to the player about their head and shoulder alignment. When the player deviates from proper stance, the divider becomes visible in their field of view, providing continuous feedback that guides them back to the correct position without requiring complex measurement systems
2Ease of operation
If existing blinders or eye shields are used, then peripheral vision is limited and concentration is improved, but proper head alignment with the pitcher cannot be verified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two previously separate functions into a single device: the concentration-enhancing function of blinders and the alignment-verification function of alignment aids. The eye divider simultaneously blocks peripheral vision to improve concentration and provides visual reference points that allow players to verify their head and shoulder alignment with the pitcher
Solution Approach 2:
The eye divider serves multiple functions: it acts as a blinder to improve concentration, an alignment tool to verify proper stance, and a training aid to help players develop muscle memory for correct positioning. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate devices for each purpose
3Measurement precision
If the eye divider extends far from the nose, then alignment control is improved, but comfort and fit for different nose geometries deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The eye divider is designed with dynamic adjustability, allowing players to move it forward or backward along the bridge of their nose to achieve optimal alignment control. This dynamic positioning capability enables the same device to adapt to different nose geometries and personal preferences, resolving the conflict between alignment precision and universal fit
Data Source
AI summary
A sports training apparatus occludes peripheral vision of each eye across the nose region of a player by creating a visual divide that extends from and immediately adjacent to the nose along the central sagittal plane. In various embodiments, the visual divide is extendible, removable and replaceable, pivotal, and may incorporate scribes to vary shape or geometry. The visual divide may further be mounted from a pair of glasses without lenses, though other embodiments with and without lenses are contemplated. The eye divider is used to align or confirm alignment of a player properly to ensure that the player batter has both eyes facing in the proper direction.