Game Ball Surface Ridges and Channels for Grip
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing game balls, such as basketballs and footballs, have channels or seams that are widely spaced, making it difficult for players to quickly align their fingertips with the channels during play, leading to inefficient grasping, handling, and control, especially under time constraints.
Innovation Solution
The game ball design incorporates additional channels and ridges on its surface, formed by elongate strips or cover panels with varying thickness and projections, which facilitate easier grasping and control by allowing players to align their fingertips more quickly and securely, even under time pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If additional channels and ridges are added to the ball surface, then player control and grasping ability are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ball surface is segmented into multiple functional elements: traditional channels for finger placement, additional channels for enhanced control, and ridges for improved grip. These segmented features are distributed across the ball surface to provide multiple contact points and control zones, allowing players to grasp and control the ball more effectively while maintaining a manageable manufacturing process through modular construction
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the ball surface are given different characteristics through the strategic placement of channels and ridges. The channels provide recessed areas for finger insertion and control, while the ridges provide raised areas for enhanced grip and feel. This local differentiation of surface quality allows players to utilize specific areas for specific actions (grasping, controlling, spinning) while the overall ball structure remains consistent and manufacturable
2Ease of manufacture
If channels are widely spaced to maintain traditional design, then manufacturing is simpler, but player alignment time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ball is pre-configured with multiple channels and ridges positioned at optimal locations before the game begins. This preliminary arrangement of surface features ensures that players can immediately find and use the appropriate contact points without needing to spend time searching or adjusting their grip. The channels and ridges are pre-positioned to facilitate quick finger alignment and ball control from the moment the player touches the ball
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds a new dimension to the ball surface by incorporating ridges (raised features) in addition to the traditional channels (recessed features). This dimensional addition creates a more complex surface topology that provides multiple levels of contact points - players can use the recessed channels for finger placement and the raised ridges for enhanced grip and feel, thereby reducing alignment time without complicating the basic manufacturing process
Data Source
AI summary
A football having first and second ends and including a bladder, a cover and a lacing. The cover is disposed over the bladder and defines channels. The cover has an outer surface and includes a plurality of ridges. The height of the ridge is greater than or equal to 0.7 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm. The football includes an upper central region positioned between first and second upper end regions, and a lower central region positioned between first and second lower end regions. The lacing is coupled to the upper central region. The ridges extend over the upper central region, the first and second upper end regions, and the first and second lower end. The lower central region is formed without ridges. The lacing has a first length and the lower central region has a second length that is generally equal to the first length.