Flexible TPU Racket Guard for Fastener-Free Frame Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sports rackets, particularly high-end ones, suffer damage to the frame when impacted against solid surfaces due to lack of effective protection, necessitating frequent replacement or repair, which is costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A detachable racket guard made of thermoplastic urethane, designed to fit over the frame without fasteners, providing 180-degree coverage and featuring an oval configuration with side walls and flanges that secure onto the racket via flexible expansion, absorbing impacts and protecting the frame.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flat silicone strip is adhered to the outer edge of the racket frame, then the mounting process is simple, but the protection from impacts is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible shell structure that wraps around the racket frame, providing comprehensive protection while maintaining ease of installation. The flexible material allows the guard to conform to the frame shape and absorb impacts effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The racket guard is designed with a curved, arcuate shape that follows the contour of the racket frame. This curvature allows the guard to wrap around and protect the sides of the frame, providing 180-degree coverage rather than just edge protection.
2Reliability
If fasteners are used to secure the racket guard to the frame, then the attachment is secure, but the frame structure is weakened
Solution Approach 1:
The racket guard is designed to secure itself to the frame through its own structural features (flanges and side walls) without requiring external fasteners. The guard's flanges flex outward to pass over the frame width and then return to their normal position, creating a self-securing attachment that maintains frame integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flanges of the racket guard undergo a change in shape and position during installation, flexing outward to pass over the frame and then returning to their normal position. This parameter change allows the guard to secure itself without damaging the frame structure.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the racket guard covers 180 degrees of the frame, then the protection coverage is comprehensive, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The racket guard is divided into functional segments: an outer band for overlying the frame surface, side walls for structural support, and flanges for attachment. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while working together to provide comprehensive 180-degree protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The racket guard combines multiple protective functions into a single integrated structure. The outer band, side walls, and flanges are merged into one piece that simultaneously provides frame coverage, structural support, and self-securing attachment, achieving comprehensive protection without excessive complexity.
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 racket guard extends the operational life of sports rackets by preventing frame damage, is easy to mount and remove, and does not add weight or dampening, thus maintaining performance and reducing replacement costs.
Implementation Method 1
a racket guard formed from a thermoplastic urethane... that can be mounted on the distal end of a sports racket... to protect the frame of the racket from accidental impacts
Implementation Method 2
The relationship between the side walls and the flanges enables the flanges to bend outwardly sufficiently to pass over the width of the racket frame to allow the racket guard to be mounted onto the distal end of the racket frame with the flanges return to their normal position after being placed onto the frame to secure the racket guard on the sports racket
Data Source
AI summary
A racket guard formed from a sturdy, durable, lightweight, yet flexible, material, such as a thermoplastic urethane, can be mounted on the distal end of a sports racket without the use of fasteners to protect the frame of the racket from accidental impacts, such as against the playing surface, during use of the sports racket. The cross-sectional shape of the racket guard is an oval configuration with an outer band that overlies the frame and includes side walls and inwardly directed flanges that terminate in a spaced relationship defining a gap through which the frame can pass by flexing the flanges. The racket guard is preferably sized to cover about 180 degrees of the sports racket to provide protection for the sides of the frame. The lightweight racket guard does not serve as a weight or as a dampening device. If damaged, the racket guard is easily removed and replaced.