Co-moulded Soother Shield with Rigid Perimeter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional soothers face challenges in balancing comfort and safety, as they must be both non-deformable and comfortable for infants while meeting regulatory standards, and existing designs often require complex manufacturing techniques or result in choking hazards due to material limitations.
Innovation Solution
The use of co-moulding or two-shot moulding processes to integrate flexible and rigid materials, such as silicone and polycarbonate, to create a strong bond between the teat and shield without additional components, maximizing surface area for secure attachment while minimizing material thickness and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hard shield is used to prevent choking, then safety is improved, but infant comfort deteriorates due to the hard, inflexible surface
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is constructed with a rigid outer perimeter to maintain safety and prevent choking, while the central area is made of soft, flexible material that is comfortable for infant contact. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between safety and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield combines rigid and flexible materials in a single component structure, creating a composite object that simultaneously provides structural integrity for safety and softness for comfort. This eliminates the need for separate hard and soft components.
2Ease of operation
If a one-piece soft construction is used to improve comfort, then infant comfort is improved, but the soother can be easily compressed into a small size creating a choking hazard
Solution Approach 1:
The shield incorporates a rigid perimeter region that maintains structural integrity and prevents compression into choking hazards, while the central region remains soft and flexible for infant comfort. This spatial differentiation resolves the contradiction between comfort and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield uses composite construction combining rigid and flexible materials to create a single-component soother that is both comfortable and safe, eliminating the need for separate hard and soft parts while meeting regulatory requirements.
3Reliability
If multiple components are used to prevent detachment, then safety is improved, but assembly complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shield integrates the rigid perimeter and soft central area into a single molded component, eliminating the need for separate hard shield and soft teat assemblies. This merging reduces assembly complexity while maintaining safety through the rigid perimeter structure.
4Reliability
If the shield thickness is increased to provide mechanical strength, then safety is improved, but the soother becomes larger and more unwieldy
Solution Approach 1:
The shield provides mechanical strength through a rigid perimeter of optimized thickness while the central area uses thinner soft material. This local differentiation of thickness and material properties achieves the required strength without increasing overall soother size.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of rigid and flexible materials allows the shield to achieve sufficient mechanical strength with reduced thickness compared to a purely rigid structure, resulting in a more compact and manageable soother size.
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
This approach enhances the safety and comfort of soothers by eliminating assembly stresses, reducing the risk of choking, and simplifying manufacturing, while meeting regulatory requirements for strength and durability.
Implementation Method 1
The use of co-moulding or two-shot moulding processes to integrate flexible and rigid materials, such as silicone and polycarbonate, to create a strong bond between the teat and shield
Data Source
Figure 1a~2c
Figure 3a~4c
Figure 5a~6c
AI summary
A soother comprising a teat and a shield is constructed by co-moulding the teat and the shield and over-moulding the teat material on the shield material. As a result a secure bond is formed and a simple and easily cleanable soother is provided.