Polygon Segment Training Ladder with Pivotable Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional training ladders are difficult to set up, use, collapse, and store without staking, limit configuration flexibility, and cannot be easily repurposed as hurdles or support structures, and suffer from tangled webbing during storage.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible training ladder composed of rigid polygon segments connected by pivotable segment connectors, allowing for adjustable running paths and easy reconfiguration, which can also function as a hurdle or support, and features a design that eliminates the need for staking by allowing vertical extension and easy stacking for storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional training ladders use webbing to connect rungs, then the ladder can be flexible and easy to collapse, but the webbing becomes tangled during storage and requires staking to prevent displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The ladder is divided into multiple rigid polygonal segments (e.g., octagons) that can be independently positioned and connected. Each segment acts as a discrete unit that can be easily assembled and disassembled without tangling, replacing the continuous webbing structure with modular rigid components joined by connectors.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid polygonal segments are designed to be movable relative to each other through connectors, allowing the ladder to dynamically transition between different configurations (flat for running drills, vertical for hurdles, stacked for storage) without requiring staking or dealing with tangled webbing.
2Device complexity
If traditional training ladders use fixed parallel rungs, then the structure is simple and rigid, but the ladder cannot be easily reconfigured for different training paths or purposes
Solution Approach 1:
The connectors allow the rigid polygonal segments to be dynamically repositioned relative to each other, enabling the ladder to be reconfigured into various patterns (different running paths, vertical hurdles, support structures) while maintaining the structural simplicity of rigid connected components.
Solution Approach 2:
The same set of rigid polygonal segments and connectors can be arranged to create multiple different training structures and configurations, making the ladder versatile for various athletic drills and purposes without requiring separate equipment for each function.
3Stability of the object's composition
If traditional training ladders are staked to the ground, then the rungs remain in place during use, but the stakes can be lost and the ladder cannot be easily reconfigured
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid polygonal segments provide inherent structural stability that eliminates the need for staking, while their movable connection through connectors allows easy reconfiguration. The segments can be positioned and secured without stakes, and can be quickly rearranged for different training configurations or stacked for portable storage.
Data Source
AI summary
A training ladder formed of a plurality of substantially rigid polygon-shaped segments detachably secured together with segment connectors extending therebetween. The sides of each segment are substantially the same to allow the segment connector to join any sides between two adjacent segments. Accordingly, the path through the ladder can be varied. In one disclosed embodiment, the segments are octagon shaped and pivotally secured to the segment connectors, thereby allowing the ladder to collapse into a stack when not in use and allowing some of the segments to extend substantially vertically, thereby defining a hurdle or other possible vertical structure.