Personal Care Sleeve With Widened Grip for Easier Button Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users with reduced hand mobility face difficulties in using personal care devices due to reduced grip and mobility, making it challenging to operate these devices effectively.
Innovation Solution
A personal care device with a widened portion circumferentially extending around the longitudinal axis by at least 90 degrees and a sleeve with a button structure, made from materials with varying Shore hardness, to enhance grip and facilitate button operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a standard personal care device with uniform grip area is used, then the device structure remains simple and easy to manufacture, but users with reduced hand mobility experience difficulty in grasping and operating the device
Solution Approach 1:
The grip area incorporates a widened portion that circumferentially extends around the longitudinal axis by at least 90 degrees, creating an asymmetric structure that provides enhanced support for users with reduced hand mobility while maintaining overall device simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The widened portion extends in a circumferential direction around the longitudinal axis, adding a dimensional aspect to the grip area that provides multi-directional support and improves grasping ease without significantly increasing device complexity
2Ease of operation
If buttons are placed in the gripping area on the button side, then button operation becomes accessible to users with limited mobility, but the device structure becomes more complex with additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The grip area serves multiple functions: it provides the primary gripping surface for users and simultaneously houses the buttons for device control, eliminating the need for separate control mechanisms and reducing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The buttons are integrated directly into the gripping area on the button side, merging the control function with the gripping function in a single structural element, thereby simplifying the device while improving accessibility
3Ease of operation
If a sleeve with varying Shore hardness materials is used, then grip enhancement and button operation are improved for users with limited mobility, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeve incorporates materials with different Shore hardness values in specific regions: a first material with Shore A 5-70 for the gripping area and a second material with Shore D 40-100 for the button area, optimizing local properties for specific functions while maintaining overall manufacturability
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve is constructed from composite materials with different hardness characteristics (Shore A and Shore D ranges) to provide both soft gripping surfaces and harder button operation surfaces, achieving enhanced usability through material composition
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is concerned with a sleeve for being attached to a housing of a personal care device, the sleeve having a top end, a bottom end, a longitudinal axis connecting a center of the top end and a center of the bottom end, a button side and a back side opposite the button side, a hollow main body having a button on the button side, the button being arranged for allowing a user to operate a button on the housing of the personal care device in an attached state of the sleeve, and a widened portion arranged proximal the top end, the widened portion at least comprising a projection on the back side that circumferentially extends around the longitudinal axis along an angle of at least 90 degrees, and/or having a first sleeve component and a second sleeve component.