Malleable Surface Material for Baseball Fields
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Solution Overview
Problem
Clay-based athletic surfaces tend to harden over time, especially in colder temperatures, losing their malleability and playability, which requires frequent maintenance and adjustment to maintain optimal conditions for player safety and performance.
Innovation Solution
A surface material composed of a mixture of wax, clay, Foots oil, and crushed aggregate, with specific weight percentages, that provides a firm yet malleable surface resistant to divot formation and easy to repair, while maintaining water resistance and reduced dust, achieved by adding Foots oil to the clay-based mixture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wax and clay are mixed to create a malleable surface, then playability and cleat penetration are improved, but the surface hardens over time especially in colder temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the chemical composition parameters of the surface material by adding Foots oil to the existing wax and clay mixture. This parameter change allows the surface to maintain its malleability properties over time and across varying temperatures, directly addressing the hardening issue while preserving playability characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite material system combining four components: wax (7-25%), clay (25-31%), Foots oil (2-20%), and crushed aggregate (50-62%). This multi-component composite achieves synergistic effects where Foots oil acts as a binding agent that prevents the surface from hardening over time, while maintaining the desired malleability and playability properties.
2Ease of operation
If more wax is added to improve playability, then surface malleability increases, but water resistance decreases and dust increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the proportion of Foots oil relative to wax within the specified ranges (2-20% Foots oil vs. 7-25% wax). This parameter adjustment creates a balanced formulation where Foots oil provides water resistance and dust control while wax maintains surface malleability and playability, resolving the trade-off between these properties.
3Strength
If the surface is made firmer to support players, then structural strength improves, but malleability and ease of repair decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the ratio of Foots oil to other components (2-20% Foots oil, 7-25% wax, 25-31% clay) to achieve optimal balance. Foots oil acts as a binding agent that binds particles together to provide structural strength while simultaneously maintaining surface malleability, allowing the surface to support player loads yet remain easily repairable.
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 surface material retains its malleability and playability over time and across varying temperatures, reducing the need for frequent watering and maintenance, enhancing cohesiveness and binding ability in high-traffic areas, and preventing divot formation under cleat impact.
Implementation Method 1
a malleable surface material comprising from about 7-25% by weight wax, from about 25-31% by weight clay, from about 2-20% by weight Foots oil
Implementation Method 2
The impact of the pitcher's feet upon the soil and removal of his cleats can create divots or depressions or otherwise deform the surface of the soil
Data Source
AI summary
An improved surface material is particularly suited for non-turf baseball field applications such as the pitcher's mound and base paths. The material generally comprises clay, wax, Foots oil and sand and has a putty-like consistency. Cleats can penetrate the material but are not likely to pull it out in clumps upon removal of the cleats. Method for forming the surface includes pre-coating the soil with Foots oil and then spraying an emulsified wax on a surface and mixing it with the surface material.