Fiber-Reinforced Personal Care Handle for Secure Head Attachment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing personal care implements with exchangeable heads, such as toothbrushes, suffer from poor ergonomics, reduced maneuverability, and low quality perception due to lightweight and less durable handles made of common plastic materials, leading to premature wear and tear.
Innovation Solution
A handle for personal care implements is designed with a core-connector unit made from fiber-reinforced material, combining a core structure and connector, which includes a snap-fit locking mechanism and a spring-loaded ball element, providing enhanced stability and durability through the use of composite materials like polyamide and glass fibers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If handles are made from common plastic materials to reduce weight and cost, then manufacturing cost and material cost are reduced, but bending stiffness and handling comfort are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is made from a composite material comprising a polymer matrix and dispersed inorganic particles (such as glass fibers, metal particles, or mineral fillers). This composite structure provides enhanced bending stiffness and structural strength while maintaining a cost-effective manufacturing process through injection molding, resolving the contradiction between strength requirements and manufacturing cost.
2Weight of moving object
If handles are made from common plastic materials to reduce weight, then material cost is reduced, but handling comfort and quality perception are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The composite material with inorganic particles provides a denser, more substantial feel in the hand while maintaining reasonable weight. The improved stiffness and structural integrity of the composite material enhance handling comfort and quality perception without excessive weight gain, balancing the trade-off between weight and handling comfort.
3Weight of moving object
If handles are made from common plastic materials to reduce weight, then material cost is reduced, but durability and resistance to wear and tear are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The incorporation of inorganic particles (glass fibers, metal particles, or mineral fillers) into the polymer matrix significantly enhances the handle's durability, wear resistance, and resistance to environmental factors. This composite structure provides long-term reliability while maintaining a weight that is not excessively high, resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and durability enhancement.
4Strength
If the cross-sectional area of the handle is increased to improve bending stiffness, then bending stiffness is improved, but ease of rotating the brush in the hand is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By using the composite material with inorganic particles, the handle achieves high bending stiffness at a smaller cross-sectional area compared to conventional plastics. This allows the handle to maintain structural rigidity while remaining slender and easy to rotate in the hand, resolving the contradiction between bending stiffness and ease of rotation.
Data Source
AI summary
A handle for a personal care implement comprises a connector for repeatedly attaching and detaching a head to and from the handle, the handle further comprising a core structure, the core structure and the connector being unitarily made to form a core-connector unit, wherein the core-connector unit is made from a fiber-reinforced material.