The team that smiles bacq, Racq Pacq.
Lauren Carrannanto, Joanne Duy, Leila Idrissi, Yoshiki Kawase, Samhita Kotapati, Alex Netzley, Tyler Washington, Nicholas Yang
December 13, 2020
Community Partner
Our community partner suffered a C4 vertebrae injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Due to this, he was left with limited grip strength in his hand.
Design Requirements & Needs Statement
As someone with limited hand grip strength, our community partner requires a way to secure the tennis racket to his hand. He needs to accurately and precisely manipulate the grip without needing to hold the racket using an internal grip. The device should allow for the racket to be completely in his palm and enable him to push the rim and the wheel of his wheelchair to move around while holding the racket.
Initial Overall Plan
Our original plan was to use a dri fit multipurpose glove with grippy material on the palm as the base of our design to make prep time minimal. On the outermost side of the hand, we would make some plastic plates, attach foam to them, and attach them to the glove. This would provide a rigid but comfortable surface with a high coefficient of friction to enable the player to move the wheelchair comfortably and efficiently. To secure the hand to the racket, we were in the process of choosing between using Velcro and reusable zip ties (called ratchet straps, shown in below images). To keep the hand from sliding up and down during play, we will attach cable cuffs (pictured below) to be locked in above and below the hand. We are also in the process of developing a one-size-fits-all stopper to increase the surface area of the butt of the tennis racket so players have a larger surface area to hit the wheelchair with when it comes to stopping abruptly.
Design Review 1 & the New Plan
After DR1 we decided to split into teams to be able to tackle more work in a short amount of time. The teams are as follows: The Glove team (focused on the glove base design and its user functionality), The Attachments team (focused on the different mechanisms used to keep the hand secured to the racket), The Ring and Stopper team (focused on a device to stop the hand from sliding up and down the racket during use) and lastly The Prototyping team (focused on the plates that go on the outermost side of the glove and the cohesiveness of the overall design for the market)
Glove team updates:
Since DR1, we looked into various types of gloves and selected a that provided the most desirable traits for our design, such as being lightness and breathability. We then discussed our choices of gloves with the entire team and selected the copper fit compression gloves, because they were extremely light and stretchy with a non-slip material along the palm area of the glove. We then went on to test the glove along with an additional wrist brace underneath to support the wrist during play. During testing we noticed the glove did not provide as much grip on the racket as we would have liked so we looked into other materials to add to the inside palm area of the glove for that extra grip on the racket. We decided to use a self stick kitchen drawer liner and sew it onto the palm area.
Attachments team updates:
After DR1, the attachment team made prototypes of our three design choices; Velcro, Reusable Zip-tie, and the BOA.
Ring and Stopper team updates:
Since DR1, the ring and stopper team has worked on researching, implementing and testing a ring design. Our goal was to prevent the hand from sliding up on the racket. After searching and reviewing different possible clamps and rings on the market, we decided on the cable cuffs as they are lightweight, provide adequate surface area, have a large range of adjustability. We tested the Cable Cuffs on a racket at a tennis court, and found that they did a great job of preventing the hand from sliding linearly along the racket handle.
Prototyping team updates:
Since DR1 the prototyping team has been working on creating the plates and managing our budget. We created 2 separate budgets, one for overall prototyping and another to document the cost of production for when we go to market. We worked to reduce our production costs and found new suppliers by leveraging longer shipping times with lower prices. We made our plates by heat forming the plastic at high temperatures and then secured the plate to the foam to the glove and then covered it all with a sports flex material to keep it protected.
Moving Forward
Glove team Moving Forward:
In DR 2, our Community partner noted that he feels comfortable enough in his strength to not need the wrist strap, so we plan to remove it in the future design. Our future plans involve testing this glove with the extra sewn- on material to see whether this provides an adequate solution along with testing other gloves that may provide extra wrist support or grip.
Attachments team Moving Forward:
After feedback from our community partner, we have decided to pursue two of the designs. We will look more into the reusable zip-ties and the self lacing BOA. Our next step is to look for reusable zip ties that have larger or easier to use loosening points that are more user-friendly for quadriplegic players. As for the BOA, we plan to work with the prototyping team to cover the strings and prevent any interference with the wheelchair.
Ring and Stopper team Moving Forward:
Moving forward, the community partner expressed that the bottom ring may not be necessary. We will be looking into different things to use as a stopper to go on the butt of the racket, to increase friction and improve wheelchair control.
Prototyping team Moving Forward:
In DR 2, our community partner expressed to us that the plates were not giving a surface with a high coefficient of friction, so we plan on looking into different materials to cover the plates. We also plan on continuing to reduce production costs to make the product as inexpensive as possible!
In the future, we plan to complete a final prototype and begin to work with a mentor in product design to begin to get our product market ready.
