SBIR Phase I: Truncated Icosahedrons Protect Pitchers from Line-Drive Baseball Strikes to the Head

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的重点是为棒球投手寻找一种实用且具有成本效益的保护帽，这些投手容易因击球而受到严重的头部伤害。新的瓶盖设计令人满意地解决了以前商业化工作中无法满足规定保护要求的缺点；未能通过玩家的时尚期望和舒适度评价；而且购买价格不菲。职业棒球运动员对新帽子的接受和使用，将引发大学、高中和少年棒球联盟球员的广泛需求，据估计，这个市场的年收入将超过1800万美元。这些市场预测没有考虑到该技术在其他体育或职业和军事应用中的更广泛影响潜力，在这些领域，人们越来越认识到需要改善运动员、士兵、执法官员和建筑工人的头部保护。运动损伤现在受到严格审查，特别是那些因脑损伤、钝器创伤和重复性脑震荡造成长期医疗问题的运动损伤。这项创新的社会价值将体现在更安全的运动和工作环境中。这些设备代表了服装市场快速增长的一部分，也是公司独特的商业机会。这个项目的智力价值是基于该公司的专利设计，该设计可以保护头部免受棒球的冲击。保护帽的新颖之处在于其灵活的外硬壳由高度刚性互连截断二十面体面板制成。这使得头部内衬符合头部的形状，同时保持分散冲击载荷所需的刚度。由于棒球的冲击代表了短时间的点载荷，所以外壳下面的层的吸能能力可以最小化。目标是确定当头部被速度高达125英里/小时的棒球击中时，所需要的材料特性，以消散与严重性指数1200或更高相关的冲击载荷；并确定最适合实现这一目标的材料组合。传统的泡沫材料和最先进的材料组合将以独特的配置使用，以产生不太重、不太笨重、也不太热的解决方案。这项研究的结果将决定材料的可用性，这些材料可以在符合人体工程学和保护头部的专利设计的机械限制范围内使用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on finding a practical and cost-effective protective cap for baseball pitchers susceptible to serious head injuries from impacts of batted baseballs. The new cap design satisfactorily addresses the shortcomings of previous commercialization efforts that were unable to meet the prescribed protective requirements; failed to pass both the players' fashion expectations and comfort evaluation; and carried a hefty purchase price. The acceptance and use of the new cap by professional baseball players will create widespread demand from collegiate, high school and Little League players, a market that is estimated to generate annual revenues of more than $18M. These market projections exclude consideration of the technology's Broader Impact potential in other sports or vocational and military applications, where there is a growing recognition of the need for improved head protection for athletes, soldiers, law enforcement officials and construction workers. Sports injuries are now highly scrutinized, especially those causing long-term medical issues from brain injury, blunt force trauma and repetitive concussive injury. The societal value of this innovation will be found in safer sports and work environments. Such equipment represents a rapidly growing segment of the apparel market and a unique commercial opportunity for the company. The intellectual merit of this project is based on the company's patented design that provides head protection from the impact of a baseball. The novelty of the protective cap headliner is its flexible outer hard shell made with highly rigid interconnecting truncated icosahedron panels. This allows the headliner to conform to the shape of the head while maintaining the stiffness needed to diffuse impact loads. Since the impact of a baseball represents a short duration point load, the energy-absorbing capacity of the layer beneath the outer shell can be minimized. The objective is to identify the material characteristics required to dissipate the impact load associated with a Severity Index of 1200 or greater when a head-form is struck by a baseball traveling at speeds up to 125 mph; and to identify the material combination(s) best suited to achieve this goal. Traditional foam materials as well as state-of-the-art material compositions will be used in unique configurations to produce solutions that are not too heavy, not too bulky nor too hot to wear. The outcomes of this study will determine the availability of materials that can be used within the ergonomic and mechanical constraints of the patented design to protect the head.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.