Versatile toilet aid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional toilet support devices require permanent attachment and involve a transitional step from potty trainers to traditional toilet reducers, making potty training cumbersome and unsuitable for users with disabilities or the elderly.
Innovation Solution
A positionable and removable toilet aid with a variable back support that can be adjusted in height, made of flexible materials, and securely attached to the toilet, providing confidence and comfort by reducing the toilet seat size and allowing for easy positioning and repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional support devices are permanently attached to the toilet, then stability and reliability are improved, but adaptability and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The support device transitions from a static permanently attached state to a dynamic removable and repositionable state. The device can be detached from one location and reattached to another, allowing it to adapt to different users and situations while maintaining stability during use through secure attachment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The support device is divided into separable components that can be independently positioned and attached. This segmentation allows the device to be removed from one location and reinstalled at another, providing adaptability while each segment maintains its structural integrity and stability when attached.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional potty training devices use fixed toilet reducers, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation worsen due to requiring multiple transitional steps
Solution Approach 1:
The support device serves multiple functions: it can be used as a potty training support, a toilet seat reducer, and a back support for various users. This single versatile device replaces the need for multiple separate devices including floor trainers and traditional toilet reducers, simplifying the overall system while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows dynamic adjustment of the toilet opening size and support position, enabling it to adapt to different users from toddlers to adults. This eliminates the need for multiple fixed-size reducers and transitional devices, reducing system complexity while maintaining precise fit for each user.
3Ease of operation
If the toilet aid provides full back support, then comfort and reliability are improved, but ease of operation and cleaning deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The back support feature is dynamic rather than fixed. The support can be positioned at different heights and angles, and can be folded away when not needed. This allows the device to provide full back support when required for comfort, while maintaining simplicity for cleaning by allowing the support structure to be collapsed or removed.
Solution Approach 2:
The back support is designed as a separate adjustable segment from the main support structure. This segmentation allows the back support to be independently positioned to provide comfort when needed, while the modular design facilitates easy cleaning by allowing individual components to be accessed and cleaned separately.
Data Source
AI summary
A new toilet aid apparatus has a positioning aid configured to be adjusted and positioned on the toilet seat to adjust the effective size of the toilet seat, and a securing mechanism configured to secure the adjustable back support to a toilet and thereby fix the effective size of the toilet seat. The positioning aid may support the back of a user seated on a toilet seat and may be easily removed or moved out of the way for users not needing the positioning aid.