Stability Enhancement Component for Recreational Animals

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing stability products for recreational animals, such as horses, lack durability and are ineffective due to their inability to withstand the weight and sharp hooves of larger animals, limiting their use and effectiveness in stability training.

Innovation Solution

A stability enhancement component with a rectangular shape, featuring a top and bottom working surface with varying densities, bonded using conventional lamination techniques and industrial adhesives, designed to absorb and distribute pressure evenly or create instability, providing support and encouraging balance adjustments in recreational animals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If existing stability products (e.g., TheraBand pads) are used for recreational animals, then stability training function is provided, but durability is insufficient due to inability to withstand animal weight and sharp hooves

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedurabilityVSAvoidadaptability to animal use

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the density and material composition of the stability component. The foam material is formulated with specific density ranges (1.5-7.3 pounds per cubic foot) to simultaneously achieve durability against animal hooves and appropriate instability for balance training. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between durability and training effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The stability component uses composite material construction, combining foam core material with durable outer covering materials. This composite structure provides both the durability needed to withstand animal weight and hooves, and the controlled instability required for effective balance training, thus resolving the contradiction between durability and adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If horse wears boots to protect existing stability pads, then pad durability is improved, but impact of stability training is drastically reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepad durabilityVSAvoidtraining effectiveness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of protecting the stability pad from the horse's hooves (original approach), the invention inverts the solution by making the stability component itself hoof-resistant through durable material selection and construction. This allows the horse to train barefoot while the pad withstands the hoof impact, simultaneously achieving durability and training effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Ease of manufacture

If stability component has uniform density throughout, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but ability to provide varied stability challenges is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing simplicityVSAvoidstability training variety

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating stability components with non-uniform density distributions. Different regions of the foam component have different density values, providing varied resistance and instability characteristics across the surface. This allows the single component to offer multiple stability training challenges while remaining manufacturable through conventional foam molding techniques.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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 solution provides durable stability enhancement for recreational animals, allowing for improved balance and stability training by evenly distributing pressure and creating adjustable instability, thus accommodating the weight and hoof characteristics of heavier animals.

Implementation Method 1

the recreational animal exerts pressure onto the diffuse surface and the diffuse surface may be configured to absorb the pressure and spread the exerted pressure firmly throughout the stability enhancement component

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Implementation Method 2

The two surfaces are then bonded together using conventional lamination techniques and industrial adhesives

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAdhesion: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentUS11330800B2Methods for stability enhancement for recreational animals

Publication Date: 2022.05.17 THE MURDOCH METHOD LLC

AI summary

An apparatus for improving stability of a recreational animal may comprise a stability enhancement component. The stability enhancement component may comprise a top component, a bottom component, and four side components and may be rectangularly shaped. The stability enhancement component may comprise a diffuse surface that is configured to absorb the pressure the recreational animal exerts and spread the exerted pressure firmly throughout the rest of the stability enhancement component. The stability enhancement component may further comprise a direct surface that is configured to exert pressure in a direction opposite of a direction in which pressure is exerted by the recreational animal.