Detachable Grip Jaws With Side Buttons to Prevent Accidental Opening
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing detachable grip devices for kitchen accessories have an unnatural orientation of the opening means, making them impractical due to the need for simultaneous movement of a button on the upper face and a lever on the lower face to actuate the jaw-forming elements, which can lead to involuntary activation.
Innovation Solution
The opening means are repositioned to be on a longitudinal side of the grip body, allowing them to slide transversally, preventing accidental activation while allowing voluntary movement by the index finger, and incorporating a mechanism where both buttons must be moved simultaneously for activation, ensuring safety through coordinated action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the button is positioned on the upper face of the grip body, then safety is improved by preventing accidental activation, but ease of operation deteriorates due to the unnatural and awkward movement required
Solution Approach 1:
The button is repositioned from the upper face to the longitudinal side of the grip body, changing the spatial dimension of interaction. This lateral positioning allows the index finger to naturally reach and activate the button without the awkward bending motion previously required, while still maintaining safety through strategic placement away from the thumb's natural resting position
2Reliability
If the button is positioned closer to the contact end for safety, then accidental activation is prevented, but the movement becomes more unnatural and impractical
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of positioning the button at the longitudinal end (extreme position), it is placed on the longitudinal side face. This lateral relocation creates a more ergonomic activation path for the index finger while maintaining the safety benefit of being away from the thumb's natural position on the upper face
3Ease of operation
If the lever on the lower face is freed to permit deployment, then the jaw-forming elements can open, but the complexity of operation increases due to requiring simultaneous coordination of button and lever
Solution Approach 1:
The button and lever operations are merged into a single integrated mechanism. The button's lateral movement directly drives the lever through a connected mechanical linkage, so that one simple action (pressing the button) simultaneously accomplishes both the button's travel and the lever's deployment, eliminating the need for separate coordinated movements
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 design enhances usability by eliminating awkward voluntary movements and ensuring safety by preventing accidental activation, allowing the grip device to be easily opened with minimal effort and coordinated finger movement.
Implementation Method 1
The button is mounted so that it slides according to a direction of movement with a component in the transversal direction
Data Source
AI summary
A detachable grip device has a body, two jaw-forming elements which are mobile in relation to each other between an open position and a closed position, a system for displacing the jaw-forming elements which are designed in such a way as to be able to alternate between a stable closing state and a stable opening state, via an intermediate state of unstable equilibrium, and a system for opening the jaw-forming elements. The opening system is adapted in such a way as to drive the displacement system initially in their closed state past the intermediate state of unstable equilibrium. The opening system comprises at least one button which is arranged on a longitudinal side of the body and is mounted in a sliding manner according to a direction of displacement having a component in the transverse direction.