Handheld Launcher Ramp for Unrestricted Projectile Flight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cup and ball games are hindered by strings that interfere with the natural flight of the ball, affecting the player's ability to develop hand-eye coordination and skill due to erratic ball movement caused by air resistance and gravity.
Innovation Solution
A game apparatus featuring a handheld launcher with a ramp portion and a target, allowing players to launch projectiles in a controlled manner, with various launcher and target configurations, including sensors and timers to track scores and add challenge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a string is attached to the ball to tether it, then the ball can be controlled and returned to the player, but the string causes erratic and unnatural flight due to air resistance and gravity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the string component entirely from the game system. Instead of tethering the ball with a string that interferes with flight, the invention uses a cup-on-stick apparatus where the ball is launched freely through the air and caught in the cup, eliminating the harmful string-ball interaction while maintaining game functionality.
2Ease of operation
If the ball is tethered with a string, then the ball can be retrieved, but the natural flight path is disrupted making the game less enjoyable
Solution Approach 1:
The string tether is completely removed from the system. The cup-on-stick apparatus allows the ball to travel freely through natural ballistic flight paths, and retrieval is achieved by catching the ball in the cup rather than tethering it, thus eliminating erratic flight while maintaining ease of operation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a launcher with ramp portion is used, then natural unrestricted ball flight is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The launcher is segmented into simple functional components: a handheld support structure with a separate ramp portion. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function (support, launch) independently, achieving natural ball flight while keeping individual components simple and the overall device manageable in complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of complex mechanisms to control ball flight, the invention inverts the approach by using a simple ramp structure that passively guides the ball along a natural trajectory. The complexity is reduced by allowing gravity and initial force to do the work rather than using active control mechanisms.
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
Enables players to develop hand-eye coordination and reflexes by allowing natural, unrestricted ball flight, providing a fun and effective way to improve skills and rehabilitate coordination, while being portable and requiring minimal equipment.
Implementation Method 1
a ramp portion configured such that the player may launch the projectile up and away from the launcher
Implementation Method 2
the string on this device causes the ball to fly in an erratic, unnatural, and random fashion due to air resistance and gravity
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a game apparatus wherein a player may attempt to score a goal by means of a projectile. The gaming apparatus includes a handheld launcher which has a ramp portion configured such that the player may launch the projectile up and away from the launcher. The apparatus also includes a target supported in spaced relation relative to the launcher that defines a goal for the projectile.