Retractable Eye Alignment Device with Sliding Markers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eye alignment training devices face challenges in deployment, use, storage, and transportation due to issues with affixing strings or ropes to surfaces, comfort, and knotting, which hinder effective visual training for activities like sports.
Innovation Solution
An eye alignment training device with a connector that can be easily affixed to a wall, featuring slidable markers and a retractable mechanism for storage, allowing for comfortable handling and varied focus points, enhancing eye alignment exercises by requiring precise vergence angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple string or rope is used as the connector, then the device is easy to manufacture and simple in structure, but it is difficult to affix to a wall and prone to knotting and tangling
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into a rigid rod portion and a flexible cord portion. The rigid rod provides structural stability for wall affixing, while the flexible cord allows for marker movement and prevents knotting. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by combining the advantages of both rigid and flexible materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector combines a rigid rod material with a flexible cord material to create a composite structure. The rigid rod ensures reliable wall affixing, while the flexible cord prevents knotting and enables marker sliding. This composite approach resolves the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
2Device complexity
If a simple string or rope is used as the connector, then the device is simple in structure, but it is uncomfortable to hold proximate to the subject's eye
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is segmented into a rigid rod portion that provides a comfortable, stable holding structure near the eye, and a flexible cord portion that extends to the wall. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by providing comfort where needed while maintaining structural simplicity.
3Productivity
If the connector is extended for use, then eye alignment training is effective, but the device becomes difficult to store and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cord portion is stored by winding it around the rigid rod portion, creating a compact nested structure. This nesting mechanism allows the extended connector to be stored in a small space, resolving the contradiction between training effectiveness and storage convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector transitions from a static stored state to a dynamic extended state during use. The flexible cord can be easily extended and retracted, allowing the device to adapt between storage and operation modes. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between effectiveness and storage difficulty.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention generally relates to an eye alignment training device that may be used to train and improve an individual's ability to align their vision. In using this device, a base piece of the device is held by the user, a connector may extend from the base piece while another end of the connector may be secured, for example, to a wall. Between each end, sliding markers slideably positioned on the connector may have various visual characteristics. For example, each marker may be of a different color. The markers may be moved to different locations on the connector, and the subject may move his focus between the various markers. When not in use, the connector may be stored in a cavity within the base piece, such as by being wound around a groove in the base piece, retained within a gap in the base piece, or retained within a cavity enclosed within the base piece. The device may have a retraction mechanism which retracts the connector into the cavity of the base piece.