Narrowing Element for Contact-Free Organic Material Pickup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for picking up organic materials, such as animal excrement, require close contact with the material, making the process unpleasant and unsanitary, and existing solutions with pull cords are inadequate for effectively picking up material from a supporting surface.
Innovation Solution
A container with a containment bag and a narrowing element that reduces the inlet section when pulled, allowing the material to be picked up without direct contact, using a design with a bending stiffness that maintains rigidity on the surface, and tie mechanisms to secure the material inside.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple bag is used for picking up material, then the device complexity is low, but the user must come into close contact with the material which is unpleasant and unsanitary
Solution Approach 1:
The narrowing element acts as an intermediary tool between the user's hand and the material. It allows the user to pick up material without direct contact by inserting the narrowing element under the material and pulling it through the bag opening, while the user's hand remains outside the bag.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is segmented into distinct functional parts: the containment bag for holding material, the narrowing element for pickup operation, and the closing system for sealing. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If a pull cord system is used to close the bag opening, then the closing function is provided, but the soft and flexible cord does not allow satisfactory pickup of material from the supporting surface
Solution Approach 1:
The closing system merges the closing function with the pickup function. The narrowing element serves dual purposes: it is the tool for picking up material from the surface and simultaneously acts as the closing mechanism by being pulled through the opening to seal the bag. This eliminates the need for a separate pull cord.
Solution Approach 2:
The narrowing element is a multi-functional component that performs both material pickup and bag closing operations. Its rigid structure enables effective material engagement while its ability to be pulled through the opening provides the closing function, making it a universal element for both operations.
3Strength
If the narrowing element has high bending stiffness around the direction of extension, then it remains rigid when encountering the supporting surface, but it becomes difficult to reduce the inlet section
Solution Approach 1:
The narrowing element has non-uniform cross-sectional properties along its length. The portion that contacts the supporting surface has higher rigidity to maintain shape and effectively engage the material, while the portion passing through the opening has lower rigidity to facilitate easy insertion and removal. This local variation in quality resolves the contradiction between rigidity and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The bending stiffness parameter of the narrowing element is varied along its length to match the different operational requirements at different locations. The contact portion maintains high stiffness for effective material pickup, while the passage portion has reduced stiffness for ease of operation during insertion and retrieval.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a container including: a containment bag, and a narrowing element inside a closing passage of the containment bag for reducing an inlet section of the containment bag. The narrowing element has a bending stiffness around a direction of extension of the containment bag that is lower than a bending stiffness around an axis perpendicular to the direction of extension. The narrowing element has a first gripping zone and a second gripping zone. The narrowing element is configured so that the opening reduces the inlet section by pulling the first gripping zone in a first direction and pulling or pushing the second gripping zone in a second direction.