Comb Teeth Grooves and Flanges for Nit Trapping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing combs for treating head lice are either too abrasive due to rough surfaces formed by cutting tools or fail to effectively trap nits due to insufficient texture, leading to incomplete removal and potential hair damage.
Innovation Solution
A comb with teeth featuring successive grooves or valleys flanked by raised flanges, formed using a laminating tool to create non-abrasive surfaces that trap and drag nits without damaging hair, employing a method that subjects each tooth to pressure from a slanted force vector to form flanges on one or both sides of the grooves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cutting tools are used to form grooves on comb teeth, then nit trapping capability is improved, but hair damage increases due to abrasive surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the manufacturing parameter from cutting (abrasive) to rolling (non-abrasive). The rolling process forms grooves by displacing material rather than removing it, creating a non-abrasive surface that traps nits effectively without damaging hair. This parameter change resolves the contradiction between nit trapping capability and hair damage.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If rolling process is used to form grooves on comb teeth, then hair damage is reduced, but nit trapping capability may be insufficient without proper surface texture
Solution Approach 1:
The rolling process creates localized raised flanges at the groove edges while maintaining a smooth groove interior. This local quality differentiation provides effective nit trapping at the flange edges without creating abrasive surfaces along the groove path, thus maintaining nit trapping capability while reducing hair damage.
3Reliability
If multiple grooves are added to increase surface area for nit retention, then nit capture efficiency improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rolling process automatically forms multiple grooves and raised flanges through a single pass of the rolling tool along each tooth. The process self-generates the complex multi-groove pattern without requiring multiple machining steps, thus improving nit capture efficiency while keeping manufacturing complexity low.
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 comb effectively removes nits and lice without damaging hair by increasing the surface area for retention and using a manufacturing process that enhances tooth durability and reduces abrasiveness, improving nit capture and removal efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a laminating tool that forms said grooves by pressure, said pressure being exerted according to a force vector slanted with respect to said surface of the tooth, so as to move the material adjacent to the groove to at least one side of the groove, thus forming said flange
Data Source
AI summary
A comb for treating pediculosis id provided. The comb may include a handle and a plurality of teeth, each provided with successive ridges or grooves intended for trapping and removing nits and lice from the hair, wherein each ridge or groove is flanked by a raised edge on at least one of the sides thereof.