Adjustable Hand Trowel Handle With Rotational Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hand trowel handles are inflexible, leading to ergonomic challenges and user discomfort due to inability to adjust to varying work angles and techniques, resulting in hand fatigue and slippage.
Innovation Solution
A hand trowel handle with an ergonomic shape and a non-discrete, selectively adjustable rotational angle, featuring a locking mechanism that allows for secure adjustment to multiple positions, preventing slippage and fatigue by increasing the surface area of contact between the handle and shaft through external and internal splines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the handle is firmly and permanently set in a single position, then the structure is simple and stable, but ergonomics is lost and hand fatigue occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed with rotational adjustability, allowing it to change from a fixed position to multiple adjustable positions. The shaft can rotate relative to the handle body within a rotational adjustment range, enabling dynamic adaptation to different work angles and techniques while maintaining structural simplicity through a controlled single-degree-of-freedom mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle allows change in the rotational angle parameter between the shaft and handle body. By adjusting the rotational angle within a specified range and locking it at desired positions, the system adapts to different ergonomic requirements without requiring complete structural redesign.
2Ease of operation
If the handle allows rotation to multiple positions, then ergonomics is improved, but the handle may become loose during long term use
Solution Approach 1:
The handle assembly is segmented into rotatable components (shaft and handle body) that can move independently during adjustment. The locking mechanism segments the adjustment function from the usage function, allowing independent optimization of both rotational freedom and positional stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed to secure the shaft at selected rotational positions before use begins. By pre-locking the handle at the desired angle, the system prevents subsequent loosening or slippage during long-term use, ensuring both ergonomic positioning and operational reliability.
3Reliability
If the locking mechanism is added to secure the handle position, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed to be user-activated and maintained by the user during normal operation. The user locks the handle at the desired position and the mechanism self-maintains this position without requiring additional power sources or complex control systems, balancing reliability with simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A hand trowel and hand trowel handle for use with the same are disclosed. In one embodiment of the hand trowel handle, a handle has an ergonomic shape and the handle is provided with a discrete, selectively adjustable, rotational angle. A locking member may be tightened into a locked, abutted relationship with the handle to reversibly lock the discrete, selectively adjustable, rotational angle. The locking member may be loosened from the locked, abutted relationship with the handle to provide selective adjustment of the discrete, selectively adjustable, rotational angle.