Releasable Shoulder Pad Attachment for Anti-Horse Collar Tackle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Horse-collar tackles in contact sports pose a significant risk of injury to players, despite bans and penalties, as they continue to occur due to strategic decisions or inadvertent actions during gameplay, necessitating a safety device to prevent such tackles and associated injuries.
Innovation Solution
An athletic safety device is designed to be releasably attached to a player's shoulder pads or jersey, featuring an upper cushioning portion and lower support portion made of impact absorbent material, with a plastic insert for structural support, and a means for attaching via hook-and-loop fasteners, which releases when grabbed by an opposing player, preventing the tackle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If horse-collar tackle is banned and penalized, then player safety is improved, but the tackle continues to occur due to strategic decisions or inadvertent actions
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device is attached to the player's equipment before gameplay begins, establishing a protective mechanism in advance that will automatically activate if a horse-collar tackle attempt occurs, preventing the harmful effect before it can cause injury
Solution Approach 2:
The safety device acts as an intermediary between the player and the potential harmful force of a horse-collar tackle. When a defender grabs the device, it serves as a mediator that releases to prevent the tackle from completing its injurious action on the player's body
2Reliability
If a safety device is attached to athletic equipment, then protection against horse-collar tackles is provided, but the device must remain secure during normal gameplay
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment system transitions from a static secure state during normal gameplay to a dynamic release state when subjected to the specific force vector of a horse-collar tackle attempt, allowing the device to adapt its behavior based on the forces applied to it
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment mechanism changes its binding parameters based on the force applied - maintaining high attachment strength under normal gameplay conditions but reducing attachment strength when the specific force pattern of a horse-collar tackle is detected, enabling selective release
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the safety device is designed to release when grabbed, then horse-collar tackle is prevented, but the device must not release during normal gameplay movements
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism has different local properties at different locations - the general attachment points maintain strong bonding for gameplay stability, while the specific release point is designed with localized weakness that triggers release only under the specific conditions of a horse-collar tackle attempt
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 device effectively prevents horse-collar tackles by releasing from the equipment when grasped, thereby reducing the risk of injury to the athlete and adhering to safety regulations, while allowing normal gameplay without prior removal.
Implementation Method 1
The upper cushioning portion and lower support portion are made of impact absorbent material
Implementation Method 2
means for attaching via hook-and-loop fasteners
Data Source
AI summary
An anti-horse collar tackle safety device, comprising a base having means for attaching the base to a pair of shoulder pads, wherein the base comprises an interior portion facing the shoulder pads and an exterior portion that is accessible from outside a jersey placed over the shoulder pads, and a releasable portion releasably attached to the exterior portion of the base via means for releasable attachment, wherein the releasable portion is configured to release via application of a force equal to or less than about 15 pounds.