Gripping Aid with Shaped Support for Hand Stability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing gripping aids fail to provide customizable ergonomic support and stability for the human hand when gripping tools with round handles, leading to musculoskeletal injuries, fatigue, and discomfort due to lack of oppositional force and inadequate handle design.

Innovation Solution

A gripping aid with a shaped support integrated into a glove, utilizing compressible and incompressible materials to bridge natural gaps in the hand, providing an oppositional grip area and a fulcrum point for increased friction and oscillation, customizable to fit individual hand anatomy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If a gripping aid is designed to reduce hand-to-handle friction to minimize handle movement, then handle stability is improved, but natural hand oscillation and manipulation efficiency are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehandle stabilityVSAvoidmanipulation efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The gripping aid applies different friction characteristics to different regions of the hand-handle interface. The thumb web area provides high friction for stability, while the finger areas allow natural oscillation for manipulation efficiency. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction between overall stability and manipulation ease.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The gripping aid is designed to dynamically adapt to hand movements, allowing the thumb web area to maintain stable friction contact while permitting finger oscillation. The material and structural properties enable the system to transition between stable gripping phases and oscillatory manipulation phases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If the handle is designed with a round shape to maximize grip span and leverage, then tool control is improved, but oppositional force from the hand anatomy is insufficient leading to injuries

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetool controlVSAvoidmusculoskeletal injuries

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The gripping aid acts as an intermediary between the hand and the round handle. It fills the oppositional gap in the thumb web area, creating a bridge that transfers forces more evenly across the hand anatomy, thereby reducing stress concentrations that cause injuries while maintaining tool control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The gripping aid utilizes composite material structures combining different material properties to provide both support for oppositional force and comfort for the hand. This composite approach allows the system to maintain the beneficial round handle geometry while mitigating its harmful effects on hand anatomy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

3Force

If maximum gripping effort is exerted to maintain tool control, then tool manipulation power is improved, but repetitive force causes fatigue and injuries

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegripping forceVSAvoidduration of comfortable use

Core Design Contradiction:

ForceVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The gripping aid provides cushioning support in the thumb web area before maximum gripping effort is applied. This pre-support structure distributes the gripping force across a broader anatomical area, reducing stress on specific structures and enabling sustained use without fatigue or injury.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Solution Approach 2:

The gripping aid changes the pressure distribution parameter across the hand-handle interface. By redistributing the gripping force from concentrated points to a broader area through its structural design, it maintains the necessary gripping force while reducing localized stress that causes fatigue.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

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 gripping aid enhances grip strength, reduces fatigue and discomfort, and improves control and efficiency by positioning the hand for optimal grip span and torque transfer, while minimizing vibrations and injuries.

Implementation Method 1

providing an oppositional grip area and a fulcrum point for increased friction and oscillation

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFriction: Friction

Implementation Method 2

minimizing vibrations and injuries

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectVibration damping: Damping

Implementation Method 3

utilizing compressible and incompressible materials to bridge natural gaps in the hand

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Data Source

PatentUS10212976B2Gripping aid

Publication Date: 2019.02.26 BAILEY CLAIBORNE

AI summary

This disclosure describes a gripping aid to improve the hand-to-handle interface. The gripping aid increases the grip span of a user by bridging the anatomical gaps in the user's finger and thumb. The gripping aid provide a structure along the thumb web to oppose the gripping force of the fingers/thumb to increase grip strength. In some implementations, the gripping aid may be composed of a crush resistant and further include a fulcrum point to add instability to increase the speed and/or torque of each swing of a handle. In some implementations, the gripping aid may also provide a reduction in vibrations and superficial hand traumas normally caused when the handle strikes an object.