Multi-section quick assembly handle and method of making same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handles for cleaning tools are expensive, prone to loosening, and limited in length and stability, with telescoping handles being particularly costly and unreliable over time, and current solutions do not offer a cost-effective, stable, and easily assembled option.
Innovation Solution
A multi-section quick assembly handle system using permanently formable materials with a unique friction-fit and threaded connection design, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, and featuring a method to form tubular members with specific diameters and transitions for secure interlocking, eliminating the need for plastic connectors and enabling postal-friendly packaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If threaded connectors are used to join handle sections, then the handle can be assembled and disassembled, but the threaded sections tend to loosen over time and become less fixably stable
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is divided into multiple sections that can be assembled and disassembled independently. Each section maintains structural integrity while allowing for modular configuration, enabling easy assembly/disassembly without compromising overall stability.
Solution Approach 2:
A friction-fit transition section serves as an intermediary between threaded portions and non-threaded portions. This transition section provides a friction-based connection that complements the threaded connection, preventing loosening while maintaining ease of assembly and disassembly.
2Length of moving object
If telescoping handles are used to extend length, then the handle can be adjusted to different lengths, but the handles become more expensive and almost always become loose over extended use
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is segmented into multiple rigid sections of fixed lengths that can be combined in different configurations. This eliminates the loosening issues of telescoping mechanisms while maintaining length adjustability through modular assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple rigid handle sections are merged through threaded connections with friction-fit transition sections. This combination approach provides both the length variability of telescoping handles and the stability of fixed-length rigid sections.
3Ease of manufacture
If plastic connector sections are used to join handles, then the handles can be assembled, but the connection is less fixably stable and more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The handle system uses composite construction combining metal threaded portions with plastic friction-fit transition sections. This composite approach leverages the strength and stability of metal threading while using plastic for the friction-fit transition, achieving both ease of manufacture and high reliability.
4Reliability
If handles are made as single long pieces, then they are structurally stable, but they increase shipping costs and storage space requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is segmented into multiple shorter sections that can be shipped and stored separately in compact configurations. When assembled, these sections form a stable, full-length handle, achieving both reduced shipping volume and structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle sections are designed to nest within each other when disassembled, similar to nested dolls. This nesting capability minimizes shipping and storage volume while maintaining the structural integrity and stability of the assembled handle.
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 solution provides a strong, stable, and economical handle system that can be easily assembled and disassembled, reducing shipping costs and storage space requirements while maintaining functionality, as it can be compactly packaged without sacrificing length or stability, addressing the issues of previous handle systems.
Implementation Method 1
threaded and friction fit to the second end of the first tubular member
Implementation Method 2
threaded portion disposed a distance Δf from the transition section and a distance Δe from the terminal point of the second end
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-section quick assembly handle includes a multiple tubular members made of a permanently formable material having a threaded and friction fit connection.