Spring-Latch Pickleball Holder for Secure Multi-Ball Carry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions fail to efficiently secure and manage pickleballs during play and transit, leading to interference and extended game times due to misplaced balls and difficulty in tracking spare balls.
Innovation Solution
A pickleball holder with a spring-loaded latch mechanism that secures through the holes of a pickleball, allowing easy attachment to structures or devices, featuring a shaft with a spring mechanism that compresses and expands to hold balls in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional ball holder is used, then balls can be stored, but the holder cannot securely prevent balls from falling off during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The holder employs a spring-loaded latch mechanism that dynamically adjusts to secure pickleballs. The spring arm moves between extended (secured) and retracted (loading) positions, providing reliable ball retention while maintaining simple operation. This dynamic element resolves the contradiction by adding minimal complexity that significantly improves reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder is divided into functional segments: a shaft for insertion through ball holes, a spring mechanism for securing, and a cord for attachment. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, achieving reliable ball retention without requiring a complex monolithic structure.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple pickleballs are secured on the holder, then ball availability improves, but the holder becomes bulkier and harder to transport
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple pickleballs are threaded onto the same shaft and secured by a single spring mechanism, creating a nested arrangement where balls stack along the shaft length. This allows securing multiple balls (improving quantity) while keeping the holder compact, as balls are arranged linearly rather than requiring separate holding structures for each.
3Reliability
If the spring mechanism is made stronger to secure balls better, then ball retention improves, but the mechanism becomes harder to compress for ball loading
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism is designed with sufficient strength to securely retain balls during normal use, but the loading process requires only partial compression of the spring. The shaft insertion through ball holes provides mechanical advantage, allowing the spring to be compressed just enough to pass through and then release, securing the ball without requiring excessive force.
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
Facilitates easy storage and retrieval of pickleballs, reducing interference and time loss by securely holding multiple balls, enabling convenient transport and use.
Implementation Method 1
The pickleball holder may include a shaft with a spring-loaded latch or spring arm configured to retract as a pickleball is pushed or pulled over the latch and to extend to prevent the pickleball from sliding off the shaft
Implementation Method 2
The spring mechanism may be positioned at least partially within the shaft and may compress into the shaft in response to pressure from the holes of a pickleball
Data Source
AI summary
A pickleball holder may include a shaft and a spring mechanism. The shaft may have a diameter sized to fit through one or more holes in a pickleball. The spring mechanism may be at least partially within the shaft and may be configured to compress as the spring mechanism passes through a hole of the one or more holes and to expand when the spring mechanism is outside of the hole to releasably secure one or more pickleballs. In some embodiments, the pickleball holder may include a cord coupled to an end of the shaft.