Prosthetic Locking Liner Drying Hook to Prevent Gel Cracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prosthetic locking liners are prone to cracking and deterioration when air-dried in the 'inside-out' position, leading to reduced longevity and potential skin irritation, as well as voiding manufacturer warranties.
Innovation Solution
A simple, ergonomic, one-piece prosthetic locking liner dryer hook that allows the liner to dry in the correct position, with a design featuring a bottom grip lever and top grip lever connected by curved members, enabling secure attachment to a shower curtain rod or shower door, ensuring the liner fabric faces outward and the gel or silicone faces inward, preventing inversion and wrinkling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the liner is air-dried in the inside-out position, then the drying process is simple and convenient, but the gel or silicone inside the liner cracks and deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hook is designed to invert the conventional drying approach. Instead of drying the liner inside-out (conventional method), the hook's curved geometry and grip lever mechanism force the liner to dry in the correct orientation with the gel/silicone layer facing inward, protected from direct exposure. The hook essentially inverts the problematic inside-out drying method into a proper outside-in drying configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The hook acts as an intermediary device between the user and the liner drying process. By introducing this intermediate tool with its specific geometry and grip mechanism, the user indirectly controls the liner's drying orientation without needing to manually fold or position the liner, thus ensuring proper drying while maintaining ease of operation.
2Productivity
If the liner is dried inside-out, then the drying process is straightforward, but the liner's longevity is reduced and warranty is voided
Solution Approach 1:
The hook is designed with pre-configured geometry and grip lever positioning that automatically ensures the liner is oriented correctly for drying before the drying process begins. The curved connecting member and hole arrangement pre-establish the proper configuration, preventing any possibility of inside-out drying that would reduce liner lifespan.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the liner is dried in the correct position, then the liner maintains proper form and fit, but the drying process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The grip levers are designed with sufficient flexibility to allow easy insertion and securing of the liner pin, while the overall hook structure remains relatively simple. The flexible components enable the device to adapt to the liner without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms, thus maintaining form stability without excessive device complexity.
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 ensures proper ventilation and drying of the liner, reducing wrinkling and maintaining its form and fit, while preventing skin irritation and extending the liner's lifespan, thus enhancing user health and avoiding warranty voidance.
Implementation Method 1
the liner properly ventilates and dries in the correct position
Implementation Method 2
squeeze the plastic grips on the prosthetic locking liner hook and insert the prosthetic liner pin... and release, creating tension
Data Source
AI summary
A prosthetic locking liner drying hook includes a bottom grip lever extending in a generally horizontal direction; a top grip lever connected to the bottom grip lever by a first curved connecting member extending from an edge of the top grip lever to an edge of the bottom grip lever; and at least one hole extending through each of the top grip lever and the bottom grip lever. A second curved connecting member connects the top grip member to the bottom grip lever. A vertically extending plate extends upwardly from the second curved member, and at least one curtain rod hook or shower door hook projecting from the vertically extending plate; wherein the prosthetic locking liner drying hook is configured to receive a prosthetic locking liner through a prosthetic liner pin extending through the top and bottom grip levers.