Injection-Molded Stabilizers for Baseball Gloves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional baseball gloves with thermoformed HDPE stabilizers face issues of brittleness, cracking under stress, and instability due to higher lace holes that create slack between layers, leading to reduced stability and increased potential for product failure.
Innovation Solution
The use of injection-molded or 3D-printed thumb and little finger stabilizers made from materials like HDPE, LDPE, ABS, and polycarbonates, with varying thicknesses and features like ribbing and grooved edges, positioned closer to the fingers to enhance strength and flexibility, and strategically placed lace holes for improved fit and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If thermoforming process is used to shape stabilizers, then complex three-dimensional shapes can be achieved, but the material becomes brittle and prone to cracking under stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters by switching from thermoforming to injection molding process. This parameter change allows achieving complex three-dimensional shapes while maintaining material integrity and resistance to cracking, as injection molding does not subject the material to the same thermal degradation and brittleness issues as thermoforming
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermoforming mechanical system with an injection molding system. The injection molding process injects molten material under pressure into a mold cavity, allowing complex shapes to be formed without the material becoming brittle, thus substituting one manufacturing mechanism with another that achieves the same shaping goal without the harmful side effects
2Reliability
If lace holes are positioned higher above the fingers to reduce cracking probability, then product failure risk is reduced, but slack is created between layers resulting in instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the positional parameter of the lace holes, moving them closer to the fingers instead of higher above them. This parameter change allows the stabilizer to maintain both reliability and stability, as the new position reduces slack between layers while the improved material from injection molding resists cracking
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by varying the thickness of the stabilizer in different regions. The stabilizer is thicker near the lace hole areas to provide additional strength and resistance to cracking, while maintaining appropriate thickness elsewhere for flexibility and comfort, thus locally optimizing both reliability and stability
3Quantity of substance
If stabilizers are made thinner in areas of greater contours to reduce material usage, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but strength and flexibility are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing the stabilizer with varying thickness throughout its structure. Critical areas that require strength and flexibility maintain adequate thickness, while non-critical areas use less material. This localized optimization achieves material efficiency without compromising overall structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional flat stabilizers to three-dimensional contoured stabilizers with varying thickness. This dimensional change allows the stabilizer to provide structural support and flexibility where needed while using less material in less critical areas, optimizing both strength and material usage
Data Source
AI summary
A baseball or softball glove is disclosed that includes a glove shell, a glove liner substantially inside and connected to the glove shell to form a plurality of finger stalls, a thumb stabilizer connected to at least the glove liner and the glove shell and ergonomically shaped to engage the wearer's thumb, and a little finger stabilizer connected to at least the glove liner and the glove shell and ergonomically shaped to engage the wearer's little finger. In another embodiment, the little finger stabilizer is ergonomically shaped to engage the wearer's ring finger and little finger, the “two in the little finger” stabilizer design.