Open-Rib Tossing Balls with Force-Absorbing Fingers for Easier Catching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional balls, such as those used in sports and recreational activities, often lack ease of grasping and catching due to their solid exterior, which can lead to difficulties for younger or less dexterous users, and they may not provide additional play value beyond their primary function.
Innovation Solution
The development of tossing balls with a resilient skeletal body formed by interconnected ribs and force-absorbing fingers, which create an open internal volume and passages for easier grasping and enhanced play value through their resilient and absorbent properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the ball is made from soft material and lightweight foamed material to ensure safety for children and less dexterous users, then the ball is less likely to injure the user, but the construction does not facilitate easier grasping and catching
Solution Approach 1:
The ball is segmented into multiple hollow cells or chambers separated by internal partitions, creating a skeletal structure with open internal volume. This segmentation allows fingers to penetrate through passages into the internal volume, facilitating easier grasping while maintaining the soft, safe exterior material
Solution Approach 2:
The ball employs a porous or open-cell foamed material construction that provides both safety through softness and improved graspability through the open internal volume and passages, allowing finger penetration while maintaining structural integrity
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the ball is made from soft material and foamed material to ensure safety, then the ball provides safer play for younger and less dexterous users, but the ball lacks additional play value beyond primary use
Solution Approach 1:
The ball incorporates dynamic elements such as movable internal components, collapsible sections, or flexible partitions that change configuration during play. The open internal volume allows for dynamic finger insertion and manipulation, creating varied play experiences while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The ball is designed with multiple functional elements including passages for finger penetration, open internal volume for manipulation, and resilient skeletal structure that provides both safety and enhanced play value, making it suitable for various play scenarios and age groups
3Strength
If the ball has a solid exterior construction, then the ball maintains structural integrity, but the ball does not facilitate easier grasping and catching
Solution Approach 1:
The solid exterior is segmented into a skeletal framework of interconnected ribs or struts forming hollow cells, maintaining structural integrity through the distributed framework while creating open passages that facilitate finger penetration and easier grasping
Solution Approach 2:
The ball employs a flexible outer shell or skin that maintains structural integrity while allowing deformation during grasping. The resilient skeletal framework beneath provides strength while the flexible exterior and open internal volume enable easier manipulation
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 balls facilitate easier catching and provide enhanced play value by allowing fingers to pass through passages and absorbing impact, making them suitable for users of all ages and skill levels while offering a more engaging experience.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient skeletal body formed by interconnected ribs and force-absorbing fingers
Implementation Method 2
force-absorbing resilient fingers
Data Source
AI summary
Tossing balls having a resilient skeletal body formed from a plurality of interconnected resilient ribs and defining an open internal volume and a plurality of passages between adjacent resilient ribs. The passages extend from an outwardly facing body portion of the body to the internal volume. The tossing balls may include an array of force-absorbing resilient fingers extending from the plurality of interconnected resilient ribs. The resilient fingers extend at least one of away from and toward the open internal volume. The tossing balls may have a nominal configuration in which the array of force-absorbing resilient fingers extends away from the open internal volume and is configured to cushion impact between the tossing ball and an external object. The tossing balls may include an everted configuration in which the resilient fingers that extended away from the open internal volume in the nominal configuration extend into the open internal volume.