Box protector

[jerry hock]

Is anyone out there working on a feasible plant box protector? I have one with a provisional patent, but no one is using it or buying it. I would like to discuss with qualified companies, coaches or individuals the development of my idea, whereby we could finally see the plant box be removed as an an area of possible injury to all vaulters. My 'Hock Block' and 'Safety pad' , spotting pillows have been available for over 10 years yet I have not received the financial backing to develop them or to manufacture and market them. Bruce Caldwell from Essx has been a big supporter but we need more support. If you would be interested in my invention and willing to get involved in the development of a worthwhile and needed safety feature much overdue in the vault world, please feel free to contact me. Jerry Hock 828-524-3999 jerryhock@hotmail.com

[KirkB]

Jerry, I'm very interested! I'll email you. I started this thread last year ... in the Safety forum: http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=16700. That should be proof enough that I'm VERY SERIOUS about improving the safety of PV.

You mention "spotting pillows" ... and we discussed this idea in that thread. Maybe close to yours?

Jan Johnson also posted this thread about his SafetyMax Box Collar last week ... in the Equipment forum: http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18691&p=133593. Maybe close to yours?

Have you seen these 2 threads? Also, there's some discussion of the Skydex box (on several threads).

I don't think this thread belongs in the PV Summit forum ... maybe the Equipment or the Safety forums? Anyway, let's keep the ball rolling on improving PV safety!

Kirk

[vaultmd]

Hey Jerry,
We'll be discussing Jan's modified box collar at the ASTM Meetings this coming Thursday in Atlanta. You still live in the area?
Wilson

[jerry hock]

Hey Wilson,
Sure, I live 2 hours north in Franklin, NC. How the heck have you been? Are you still vaulting? Mike H. is practicing in Ocala now and I see him occasionally . I have only begun to blog on PVP as I was not aware of what a good communication tool it could be. Also I finally closed my web site polevaulthigher after 3 years and not enough time to devote. I am coaching some HS kids in NC who are doing well and working with a couple more college vaulters via e mail and videos.
I haven't seen Jan's new box collar but my invention has always been a total coverage of the entire box area. It has never been feasible because we haven't figured out a way to deploy and retract it and to make it retrofit on any pit. Kirk Bryde has joined the discussion and he has been a great source of information and support. I already have a couple designs in I have made and tried but it is going to take someone with better connections and better engineering skills than myself to get my ideas from conception to reality. I am hoping the thought of saving kids from catastrophic accidents and possible death will inspire someone to see that we must cover the entire box area to be truly protected. I would love to hear from you or see you when you come to Atlanta. You should have my contact info from my first blog. I have a good picture of you at the Modesto meet in 93 or 94. Also a video from Hoston and another from the Ohio masters.
Talk to you again soon,
Jerry

[rainbowgirl28]

Jan's system looks really good. It significantly reduces the amount of box that is exposed, while still allowing for full movement of the pole box into the box and while bending.

[master]

Jerry,

I don't know how much research you have done regarding existing patents, but that is an important effort. Many times a patent has been issued and no one even knows about it because it hasn't been incorporated into an actual product. However, the patent still provides the patent holder with rights.

I don't know exactly what you have designed but the link below is to a pdf file I have put together of US patent 7,244,216. It covers many possible implementations of providing a protective feature over the hard surfaces of the box and runway after the vaulter has begun his/her jump. It describes active systems as opposed to Jan's design which is passive. As is the case with many patents, the drawings depicting the 'situation' and the 'solutions' are sometimes humorous.

US patent 7,244,216.pdf

- master

(After writing this up, I realized I had posted this before in response to a post by Becca. Aug 2007)
http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12941

[somechick]

I really dig Jan's new box collar. Doesn't impede anything in the vault and I have seen far to many high school kids land there. As a vaulter it doesn't distract me. A few years back watched my husband fall from 16 feet onto the box collar area, (the box collar was placed improperly) and hit box and the ground around it with his lower back and tailbone area. HIGHLY TERRIFYING! I am all for anything that will decrease this type of incident.

[jerry hock]

I had never seen the patent you referenced. It looked interesting. I wonder if anyone ever made a model and tried it out. My experience is that all these ideas seem great in theory but the actual working devices are a different matter. We have already made several working pads that will deploy and cover the box. The problem is nobody is using them. The answer is to make them easier to retrofit and easier to use. Thanks for the reference to the patent. My experience is that a pad or system is a re-purposing of foam pads and not necessarily applicable to the patent process. We did however apply for a patent on the 'Hock Block' but that was through Essx and Bruce Caldwell and I don't have any information specific to that application. Bruce has since allowed me to pursue my once released idea. I am just looking for someone who wants to see what I have already developed along these lines and maybe they would be able to make a better mouse trap. I have drawings and some pics. I can e mail if you are interested.
Thanks,
Jerry

[Divalent]

<i>"I had never seen the patent you referenced. It looked interesting. I wonder if anyone ever made a model and tried it out."</i>

Well, this is one of those "kitchen sink" patents where they sit around and think of every possible way to do it (and then describe it so vaguely that it is not really helpful). I can promise you they didn't build a thing, and I would bet alot that they don't (and never did) intend to. Their claims are (IMO) quite obvious at one level, but display no realistic novelty to really addressing the problem, because their patent reads as if it would cover every possible way to have an active safety system using any sort of sensor, and give no guidance for what would actualy work. IMO, the patent probably wouldn't survive a serious court challenge. But the practical effect is that anyone truly interested in making a contraption to make things safer using a sensor to deploy padding is going to have to license their patent, because the cost of fighting it would not be worth it. Unless their aim is just to shut down all innovation in this area.

This is not a patent that helps safety in the sport. It is, rather, one that will deter others from working on the problem for fear of running a foul of their claims.