Portable Bowel Irrigation Base With Low-Torque Rotatable Skirt
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bowel irrigation systems are bulky, complicated, and difficult to handle, especially for users with limited dexterity or finger strength, leading to issues with opening and closing containers and frequent cleaning needs.
Innovation Solution
A portable base for bowel irrigation systems featuring a canister unit with a rotatable skirt and complementary threads, allowing easy shifting between sealed and unsealed configurations with reduced torque requirements, facilitating easier cleaning and handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional sealing mechanism is used for the canister lid, then the sealing function is achieved, but the torque required to open and close the lid is high, making it difficult for users with limited dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The lid assembly is segmented into a lid body and a separate rotatable skirt component. The skirt can rotate independently around the rim portion, allowing the sealing action to be decoupled from the lid opening/closing motion. This segmentation reduces the torque required by distributing the sealing mechanism across rotating elements rather than requiring full lid rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism incorporates dynamic elements including a rotatable skirt with threads that engage with complementary threads on the canister neck. This dynamic threading system allows progressive engagement during rotation, converting a high-torque static sealing problem into a lower-torque dynamic process where sealing force is applied gradually through rotational motion.
2Ease of operation
If the portable base is designed to be compact and portable, then mobility is improved, but the canister opening size is reduced, making cleaning difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is separated into a lid body and a rotatable skirt that can be independently manipulated. This segmentation allows the skirt to be rotated and removed separately from the lid body, providing wide access to the canister interior for cleaning while maintaining a compact overall form factor when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable skirt mechanism provides dynamic access to the canister interior. By rotating the skirt away from the canister neck, a large opening is created that facilitates easy cleaning of the canister interior, while the compact assembled size is maintained when the skirt is in its closed position.
3Reliability
If a simple lid design is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the sealing reliability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into multiple functional components: a lid body, a rotatable skirt with threads, and complementary threads on the canister neck. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function (structural support, sealing engagement, rotational control) independently, improving sealing reliability while keeping individual components simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism uses dynamic threading engagement between the rotatable skirt and canister neck. This dynamic system provides progressive sealing as the skirt rotates into place, ensuring reliable sealing through mechanical engagement rather than relying on simple snap-fit or friction-based closures.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable base for a system for irrigation of the bowels of a user is provided. The portable base comprises a canister unit for an irrigation liquid, and a lid unit for engaging with the canister unit. In particular, the lid unit of the portable base comprises a rim portion comprising a rotatable skirt that is rotatably arranged around the rim portion. The portable base is adapted to be shifted between an unsealed configuration and a sealed configuration by rotating the skirt. The arrangement of the rotatable skirt on the rim portion facilitates easier shifting between the unsealed and sealed configuration, and vice versa, because less torque is required to be applied by the user for the sealing/unsealing. A system for irrigating the bowels of a user and a method of sealing the system and a method of irrigating the bowels of a user is also provided.