Retractable Filament Insect Killer with Nested Swatter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional insect-killing devices, such as fly swatters, are often bulky, unsightly, or not suitable for transport, with limited practicality and effectiveness, especially when dealing with insects in difficult positions, and lack compactness and ease of operation.
Innovation Solution
A compact insect-killing device featuring a housing with retractable filaments, a latching mechanism allowing for adjustable impact area, and a twisted filament design for enhanced cushioning, which can be integrated into small spaces like a ballpoint pen, utilizing a sliding mechanism and spring-loaded locking system for robustness and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the filaments are fully extended to provide a large impact area for effective insect killing, then the device becomes bulky and difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The filaments are nested within the housing when retracted, with each filament containing or being surrounded by the next. This nesting arrangement allows the filaments to be stored compactly within the housing volume, reducing the device's overall volume during transport while maintaining the capability to extend to a large impact area when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The device transitions dynamically between a compact retracted state and an extended impact state. The filaments can be rapidly deployed from the housing to provide a large impact area, then retracted back into the housing for compact storage. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between needing large impact area and maintaining small transport volume.
2Ease of operation
If a sliding mechanism is used to retract filaments into the housing, then the device becomes more complex in construction
Solution Approach 1:
The sliding mechanism is segmented into discrete components: individual filaments, a housing with defined spaces, and simple retaining structures. Each filament can be independently retracted along its own path, and the mechanism uses separate retaining elements for each filament rather than a single complex assembly. This segmentation reduces overall mechanism complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex aspects of the retracting mechanism are extracted and minimized. Instead of using a complex continuous mechanism, the patent extracts the essential function of retraction and achieves it through simple discrete elements: filaments that slide along defined paths with simple retainers. This extraction of only the necessary functionality reduces mechanism complexity while preserving ease of operation.
3Volume of moving object
If the filaments are made thin to reduce device size, then the impact force may be insufficient to kill insects effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The impact force is enhanced by utilizing the dimensional arrangement of multiple thin filaments working together. While each individual filament is thin and flexible, the collective array of numerous filaments creates a distributed impact force across the insect's body. The filaments are arranged in a three-dimensional configuration that maximizes their combined effect, transforming the limitation of thin individual filaments into an advantage through multi-dimensional coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The parameters of the filaments are optimized: while keeping the diameter small for compactness, the length, flexibility, and material properties are adjusted to maximize impact effectiveness. The filaments are made sufficiently long to reach and contact insects, and their flexibility allows them to deform and rebound, increasing impact force. The material selection balances thinness with sufficient strength and elasticity to deliver effective impact force despite the reduced diameter.
Data Source
AI summary
In order to kill insects, there are many different types of fly swatters and the like which, however, in many cases have disadvantages which make them difficult to use at locations away from home. Many fly swatters with hitting surfaces that can be made smaller or with sliding mechanisms also have these disadvantages. The present invention provides an insect-swatting device having: a housing and a plurality of filaments defining a hitting surface; and a mechanism for drawing the filaments into the housing, wherein the mechanism is in the form of a detent mechanism for drawing the filaments from a predefined extended position into at least one predefined retracted position, the filaments each having a plurality of curvatures along their longitudinal axes, in particular in a shape twisted around the longitudinal axis. The enables simple use according to the situation.