Evertable Bag With Gusset For Contamination-Free Item Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for placing items into bags, such as plastic bags, often require direct hand contact, leading to contamination risks and inefficiencies, especially in low-volume operations.
Innovation Solution
An evertable bag design featuring two sheets of flexible material with opposing interior surfaces, a gusset for grasping items, and closure members that can be mated to seal the bag after eversion, allowing items to be grasped and inserted without direct hand contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If direct hand contact is used to place items into the bag, then the operation is simple and requires no additional mechanisms, but contamination of the item or hand occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The bag itself serves as an intermediary tool between the hand and the item. The hand grasps the bag through the open end, and the bag's interior surface contacts the item during transfer, preventing direct hand-item contact while maintaining simple operation
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of inserting the item directly into the bag from the outside, the bag is inverted by turning it inside out after grasping the item with its interior surface. This reversal allows the item to be deposited into the bag's interior without hand contact
2Object-affected harmful factors
If gloves are worn to prevent contamination, then contamination risk is reduced, but expense and waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces disposable gloves with a reusable bag that can be used multiple times without contamination. The bag's interior surface is designed to contact the item, and the bag can be emptied and reused, eliminating the need for single-use protective barriers
Solution Approach 2:
The bag is designed to be self-sufficient in preventing contamination through its own structure and eversion mechanism, without requiring external protective coverings like gloves. The interior surface serves both as the grasping surface and the protective barrier
3Object-affected harmful factors
If expensive machinery is used to handle items, then contamination is prevented and handling is automated, but capital expense and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bag is designed to perform the contamination-prevention function through its own eversion mechanism, without requiring external automated machinery. The simple act of turning the bag inside out accomplishes what complex handling systems would otherwise be needed to achieve
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses the simple mechanical action of inverting the bag to achieve automated item deposition without hand contact, replacing complex handling machinery with a straightforward reversal motion that any user can perform
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the bag is designed with a gusset for grasping items, then item handling is improved and contamination is reduced, but the bag structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The gusset serves multiple functions: it provides structural stability to the bag, creates the interior volume necessary for the eversion mechanism to work, and forms the grasping surface that contacts the item. This multi-functionality adds minimal complexity while achieving contamination prevention
Data Source
AI summary
A bag that is capable of being turned inside out (“everted”) so that items can be picked up using the bag so that the item does not contact a user's hand. The bag is formed with a tall gusset that defines spaces for the user to place the fingers and thumb, respectively in the bag. The gusset can then be used to grasp the item before everting the bag by pulling the item and gusset upwardly through the top of the bag to achieve eversion.