Ribbed Gel Grip Handle for Ergonomic Comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hair brushes and personal care devices with rigid handles cause strain and tension on users' hands and wrists due to inflexibility, potentially leading to conditions like Carpal tunnel syndrome and hand/wrist strain, as they do not contour to the user's hand.
Innovation Solution
A hair brush and other personal care items featuring a ribbed gel grip handle with a hollow core and sleeve, filled with gel that deforms to conform to the user's hand, providing flexibility and improved tactile feel by incorporating a plurality of outwardly extending ribs on the sleeve's external surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid handle is used, then structural strength is maintained, but hand comfort and flexibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is segmented into two functional zones: a rigid core structure for strength and a flexible gel-filled outer layer for comfort. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specialized function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle uses composite construction combining a rigid inner core (providing structural strength) with a flexible gel material (providing comfort and contouring). This composite approach resolves the contradiction by integrating materials with complementary properties.
2Ease of operation
If a flexible gel handle is used, then hand contouring is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The handle structure is divided into a stable rigid core and a flexible gel outer layer, allowing the core to maintain structural stability while the outer layer provides hand contouring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible gel shell envelops the rigid core, providing the necessary flexibility for hand contouring while the rigid core beneath maintains structural stability. This flexible shell approach resolves the contradiction between flexibility and stability.
3Ease of manufacture
If a smooth handle surface is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but grip security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The handle surface features localized rib structures at specific locations to enhance grip security, while the rest of the handle maintains a relatively simple geometry for ease of manufacture. This local quality approach adds grip enhancement only where necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The rib structures on the handle surface create curved, ergonomic contours that naturally improve grip security by conforming to hand geometry, while the overall handle shape remains simple for manufacturing.
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 gel-filled, ribbed grip reduces stress and strain on the user's hands and wrists by allowing the handle to contour to the hand's shape, enhancing comfort and grip security during use.
Implementation Method 1
the gel allows the sleeve to deform to conform to the shape of a user's hand when the grip is grasped by the user
Data Source
AI summary
A grip for a graspable item having a body and a handle connected to and extending outwardly away from the body. The grip includes a hollow core configured to slide onto the handle, and a hollow sleeve having a plurality of outwardly extending ribs disposed on the external surface of the sleeve. The sleeve is configured to slide onto the exterior of the core such that the core and the sleeve define a cavity therebetween. The grip further includes a quantity of a gel disposed within the cavity. The ends of the sleeve are sealed against the corresponding ends of the core to retain the gel within the cavity, and the gel allows the sleeve to deform to conform to the shape of a user's hand when the handle of the graspable item is grasped by the user.