Fabric Diving Stick with Weighted End Caps

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing diving sticks, despite being flexible and malleable to comply with safety regulations, still pose a risk of injury during dives, are expensive to manufacture, prone to damage from packaging, and lack distinctiveness for easy recognition in games.

Innovation Solution

A diving stick with a soft fabric tube body, semi-permanently affixed by a drawstring mechanism, featuring differently weighted and colored end caps that allow for easy interchangeability and visibility, and a design that ensures the stick can be grasped from either end while maintaining balance and buoyancy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If flexible and malleable materials are used to comply with safety regulations, then safety risk is reduced, but the stick remains relatively rigid and can still cause injury upon impact

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinjury riskVSAvoidrigidity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The diving stick is constructed with a fabric tube body that is inherently flexible and soft, eliminating the rigidity of traditional rigid sticks while maintaining structural integrity. The fabric material allows the stick to bend and compress easily upon impact, preventing injury to divers while still providing sufficient buoyancy and visibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The diving stick combines fabric material with filling material (such as foam or polyester fiber) to create a composite structure. This composite construction provides both softness for safety and sufficient structural support for buoyancy and visibility, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and rigidity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Object-affected harmful factors

If fabric material with filling is used to increase softness, then safety is improved, but manufacturing cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinjury riskVSAvoidmanufacturing cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The invention uses a simple fabric tube structure without complex filling materials or multi-layer constructions. The fabric itself provides sufficient softness and safety, eliminating the need for expensive filling materials and complex manufacturing processes, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Ease of manufacture

If fabric tube body is used to reduce manufacturing cost and improve safety, then the stick is prone to damage from packaging

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing costVSAvoidresistance to packaging damage

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The fabric tube body is inherently flexible and resistant to damage from packaging and handling. Unlike rigid sticks that can break or deform permanently, the fabric construction can withstand compression and bending during packaging without damage, maintaining reliability while reducing manufacturing costs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

4Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If rigid sticks are used for visibility and recognition, then recognition is improved, but impalement risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisual recognitionVSAvoidimpalement risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The fabric tube body provides sufficient visual recognition through its color and pattern while being inherently soft and flexible. The fabric material eliminates the impalement risk associated with rigid sticks, as it cannot penetrate or injure divers upon impact, while still maintaining visibility for game recognition.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

5Reliability

If soft filling material is used to pass CPSC regulations, then compliance is achieved, but the stick remains relatively rigid and can still cause pain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveregulation complianceVSAvoidpain risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The invention uses a fabric tube construction that is inherently softer and more flexible than traditional rigid sticks filled with foam or polyester. The fabric material provides superior softness and flexibility, reducing pain risk upon impact while still meeting or exceeding CPSC safety regulations for dive sticks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

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 enhances safety by allowing easy compression upon impact, reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes damage from packaging, and facilitates easier recognition and balance during games, while ensuring the stick stands upright and is easily distinguishable.

Implementation Method 1

said fabric tube can be porous to allow said water to permeate there-through from said hollow interior

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPermeation: Permeation

Implementation Method 2

said end portions being affixed to said fabric tube by a drawstring mechanism

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Data Source

PatentUS8662952B2Fabric diving stick

Publication Date: 2014.03.04 EASEBON SERVICES

AI summary

A diving stick of the type that, after being tossed into a swimming pool, sinks to the bottom while maintaining an upright posture so that it be can easily grasped by a diver. The stick includes a soft hollow shank designed to prevent accidental impalement.