Smart Wipes Device with On-Demand Vaporization to Extend Shelf Life
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cleansing products, such as wetted wipes, have a limited shelf life due to the use of chemicals and preservatives for maintaining wetness, which poses challenges in extending their longevity and usability.
Innovation Solution
A device that includes a wipes dispensing structure, a housing for dry wipes, an evaporation device unit, a water container, and an additive housing, where the evaporation device vaporizes water and additives to wet dry wipes upon user activation, allowing for on-demand wetting of wipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wetted wipes are packaged for sale with chemicals and preservatives to maintain wetness, then the wipes remain moist and usable, but the shelf life is limited and the product requires harmful chemical additives
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the wipe (substrate) from the liquid solution, storing them independently. The wipe remains dry in storage while the solution is contained separately in a reservoir. When needed, the solution is applied to the wipe through a dispensing mechanism, eliminating the need for preservatives and extending shelf life while maintaining reliability of wetness when used.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares the wipe and solution components in advance in a ready-to-use configuration, but delays the actual wetting action until the moment of use. The dispensing mechanism is pre-configured to deliver the solution to the wipe on demand, ensuring the wipe is wetted at the optimal time without requiring chemical preservation during storage.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If chemicals and preservatives are used to maintain wipe wetness, then the wipes remain usable longer, but harmful substances are introduced into the product
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes the need for chemical preservatives and harmful additives from the wipe product. By using a mechanical dispensing system that applies solution to dry wipes on demand, the product achieves extended usability duration without introducing harmful chemical factors into the wipe material itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the potential harm of chemical preservatives into a benefit by using a clean, additive-free approach. The mechanical dispensing of solution to dry wipes provides the same functional benefit (extended usability) without the harmful side effects, effectively using the absence of chemicals as the solution rather than a limitation.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If dry wipes are stored and wetted on-demand using vaporization technology, then shelf life is extended and freshness is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical wetting mechanisms with a vaporization-based approach. The solution is vaporized and applied to the dry wipe, simplifying the overall structure compared to traditional mechanical pumping and spraying systems while achieving the same goal of on-demand wetting and extended shelf life.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes phase transition (vaporization) of the solution as the core mechanism for wetting the wipe. By heating the solution to generate vapor that condenses on the dry wipe, the system achieves efficient moisture transfer with simpler hardware compared to liquid pumping systems, balancing device complexity with extended wipe longevity.
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
Enables the extension of wipe longevity by allowing dry wipes to be wetted as needed, reducing the need for preservatives and maintaining freshness, while providing customizable wetting options with various additives.
Implementation Method 1
the evaporation device unit is configured to the wet the dry wipes by vaporizing a combination of water from the water container and an additive from the additive housing
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a wipes device for dispensing warm wetted wipes. A wipes device includes a wipes dispensing structure configured to permit a user to remove a wetted wipe, a wipes housing configured to hold dry wipes, wherein the wetted wipe is accessible via the wipes dispensing structure, an evaporation device unit positioned relative to the wipes housing, a water container connected to the evaporation device unit, and an additive housing connected to the evaporation device unit, where the evaporation device unit is configured to the wet the dry wipes by vaporizing a combination of water from the water container and an additive from the additive housing for a defined event.