Fencing Blade Lighting Kit with Embedded Optical Fibre
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Solution Overview
Problem
The visibility of fencing blades during high-speed movements is compromised, making it difficult for spectators and match administrators to follow the action, and for athletes to perceive their opponent's movements, due to the flexible nature of the blades and obstructive safety masks.
Innovation Solution
A lighting kit is integrated into fencing weapons, featuring an LED light source positioned at the handle and an optical fibre embedded within the blade's groove, which propagates light along the blade's length, enhancing visibility with diffused light at the tip, and is powered by a battery connected to the user's attire, with a logic unit managing light activation and deactivation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If blades are made flexible to allow movement, then the weapon can adapt to athletic movements, but visibility of blade movement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies optical fibres that emit or reflect light along the blade, making the blade visible through light emission rather than relying on visual reflection. This allows the flexible blade to be tracked throughout its movement while maintaining its flexibility for athletic use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces optical fibres as an intermediary element within the blade structure. These fibres serve as mediators that carry light through the blade, allowing observers to see the blade's position and movement without affecting the blade's flexibility or the athlete's movements.
2Reliability
If safety masks are made of metal mesh to protect the face, then athlete protection is improved, but overall view is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system on the blades provides active light emission that can be seen through and around the metal mesh masks, compensating for the visual obstruction caused by the masks. The light from the blades creates visible trails that penetrate the mask obstruction.
3Speed
If high-speed movements are made to increase assault intensity, then competitive excitement is improved, but blade visibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fibres provide continuous light emission along the blade throughout its entire movement, creating an unbroken visual trail that tracks the blade's position at all times during high-speed assaults. This continuous illumination allows spectators to follow the rapid movements without visual interruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The light-emitting optical fibres create visible light trails that remain apparent even during high-speed movements, making the blade's path detectable despite the speed at which it moves during intense assaults.
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 lighting kit significantly improves the visibility of the blade's movement during assaults, aiding both spectators and match administrators in scoring and athletes in perceiving their opponent's actions, while maintaining structural simplicity and low construction costs.
Implementation Method 1
an optical fibre embedded within the blade's groove, which propagates light along the blade's length
Implementation Method 2
an LED light source positioned at the handle
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
Lighting kit (1) for weapons in use in fencing comprising: a light source (6); at least one guided propagation member (10) of light (L) generated by the source (6), said member (10) being disposed within a groove (11) formed on a blade (9) of said weapon for use in fencing; constraint means (16) for firmly engaging the propagation member (10) within said groove (11); and supply means (18) electrically connected to the light source (6).