Self-sterilizing Door Handle with Porous Reservoir
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public health is compromised due to the spread of disease-causing microbes through frequently touched surfaces like door handles, which existing solutions fail to adequately address, especially in areas where hand hygiene compliance is low and sanitizing agents are not readily available.
Innovation Solution
A self-disinfecting handle with a contact area made of hydrophilic sintered porous material that is non-compressible and fluidically connected to an anti-microbial liquid reservoir, ensuring continuous disinfection through capillary action, suitable for various applications including doors, machinery, and equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a porous material holding disinfectant is used in a door handle, then the handle can dispense disinfectant to users, but the porous material degrades due to wear and tear in high-use areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous polymer material (such as polyethylene or polypropylene) that is sintered to create a network of interconnected pores. This porous structure allows the disinfectant to be held within the material and released through capillary action when users touch the handle. The porous material maintains its structural integrity over time while continuously providing disinfection, resolving the contradiction between disinfection effectiveness and service life.
2Ease of operation
If sanitising hand gel is automatically dispensed from a door handle, then hand hygiene compliance is improved, but the device becomes complex and may not be appropriate for all public access ways
Solution Approach 1:
The door handle is designed to automatically dispense disinfectant through its porous material when a user touches it, without requiring any additional mechanisms, buttons, or power sources. The disinfectant is released passively through capillary action driven by the user's contact with the handle. This self-service approach improves hand hygiene compliance while keeping the device simple and suitable for various public access ways.
3Ease of manufacture
If a door handle is made of non-porous material for ease of cleaning, then hygiene maintenance is simplified, but the handle cannot effectively prevent microbial transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous polymer material that combines the benefits of both porous and non-porous materials. The porous structure allows the material to absorb and hold disinfectant, which then prevents microbial transfer. The material remains easy to clean because the disinfectant continuously active on the surface, and the polymer itself is resistant to degradation. This resolves the contradiction between cleaning ease and microbial transfer prevention.
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 handle effectively prevents microbial contamination by maintaining a continuously disinfected surface, reducing microbial transfer and maintaining hygiene even in high-use areas, as demonstrated by significant reductions in colony-forming units on the handle compared to control units.
Implementation Method 1
a contact area which is at least substantially formed of a hydrophilic sintered porous material... wherein in use, the reservoir is fluidically connected to the contact area by the hydrophilic sintered porous material extending into the reservoir and contacting the liquid
Data Source
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AI summary
There is described a handle, for example a door handle, lifting handle or touch pad, which is particularly useful as a self-sterilising door handle for use in public areas. The handle comprises: a contact area formed of a hydrophilic sintered porous material, particularly a plastic material; and a reservoir containing an anti-microbial liquid, wherein said reservoir is fluidically connected to the contact area. The reservoir can include a port to allow the reservoir to be re-filled or alternatively the whole reservoir can be detached and replaced when required. The anti-microbial liquid can be delivered along the hydrophilic sintered porous material by fluid transmission action so that the contact area is continually treated by the anti¬ microbial liquid, thereby rendering the handle continuously wetted and disinfected and inhibiting the growth of culture forming units.