Baseball Glove Palm Reinforcement via Intermediate Air Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional baseball gloves with pockets formed in the central palm side suffer from reduced durability due to excessive deformation, making it difficult to bend and stretch fingers during ball-catching actions, leading to an awkward catching experience and increased rigidity that prevents the glove from conforming to the user's hand.
Innovation Solution
A ball catching apparatus with an intermediate leather layer interposed between the palm-side outer and inner skins, forming air layers on both sides to reinforce the palm part while allowing for easy deformation and maintaining shape stability, featuring slits for enhanced flexibility and pocket formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the pocket is formed in the substantially central part on the palm side, then the glove conforms to the user's hand, but the durability of the glove is lessened due to larger deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing reinforcement only in the specific region where the pocket is formed (central palm side), rather than reinforcing the entire glove. This localized reinforcement allows the glove to maintain conformity to the hand while preventing excessive deformation and deterioration at the high-stress pocket area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining the glove's original material with a reinforcement material in the palm side region. This composite structure provides both the flexibility needed for hand conformity and the enhanced durability required at the pocket formation area.
2Strength
If leather is bonded to thicken the pocket area with adhesive agent, then deformation resistance is increased, but it becomes difficult to bend and stretch fingers making ball-catching awkward
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement is applied locally only to the palm side region where the pocket forms, rather than throughout the entire glove. This localized approach provides deformation resistance where needed while preserving the flexibility and ease of operation in other areas such as the fingers and wrist.
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 enables smooth ball-catching actions with reduced resistance, ensuring the pocket is easily formed and reinforced, maintaining shape stability and allowing for flexible finger movement without increasing rigidity, thus improving durability and usability.
Implementation Method 1
an air layer (R1, R2) is formed between the intermediate layer and the palm-side outer skin and between the intermediate layer and the palm-side inner skin
Data Source
AI summary
A ball catching apparatus according to the present invention comprises a main body in which a back-of-hand-side inner skin and a palm-side inner skin are respectively securely fitted to a back-of-hand-side outer skin and a palm-side outer skin, wherein a hand can be inserted into between the back-of-hand-side inner skin and the palm-side inner skin, an intermediate layer secured to one or both of the palm-side outer skin and the palm-side inner skin is interposed between the palm-side outer skin and the palm-side inner skin, and an air layer is formed between the intermediate layer and the palm-side outer skin and between the intermediate layer and the palm-side inner skin.