Tick Removal Lever with Pre-Tensioning Skids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tick removal tools often fail to effectively prevent twisting and provide adequate pre-tensioning, leading to incomplete removal and potential infection risks, with many designs being cumbersome or inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A double-sided tick puller with V-shaped end pieces and pre-tensioning skids that prevent twisting, integrated magnifying glass, and ergonomic design for easy handling, allowing for effective levering out of ticks and other foreign bodies without tearing or squeezing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If rotation-based tick removal is used, then removal speed is improved, but the tick may twist and tear the mouthparts from the body
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of rotating the tick to remove it, the invention inverts the approach by using a leveraging motion that pulls the tick straight out. The V-shaped gap and pre-tensioning skids create a mechanical advantage that extracts the tick vertically without rotational twisting, preventing mouthpart separation while maintaining effective removal speed.
2Reliability
If complex tick removal devices are used, then removal effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into distinct functional zones: pre-tensioning skids at the leading end, a V-shaped fixation gap in the middle, and a handle at the rear. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall simplicity. The pre-tensioning skids prepare the skin, the V-gap secures the tick, and the handle provides leverage, achieving effective removal without complex mechanisms.
3Reliability
If pre-tensioning skids are added to prevent twisting, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-tensioning skids are merged with the main body of the lever as integral raised sections, rather than being separate components. This integration allows the skids to perform their tensioning function while maintaining a simple, unified structure that can be manufactured as a single piece. The skids extend beyond the rotating axis to prevent twisting, but their integrated design avoids increasing overall device complexity.
4Device complexity
If a single-sided tick remover is used, then device simplicity is improved, but adaptability to different tick sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The lever is designed with dual functionality on a single-sided structure. The V-shaped gap can accommodate ticks of varying sizes, and the pre-tensioning skids can adjust to different skin tensions. The handle length and lever arm provide sufficient mechanical advantage for both small and large ticks, making the single-sided design universally applicable without requiring multiple specialized tools.
Data Source
AI summary
The instrument has a reinforced gripping plate (1) comprising an end at which a curvature is provided. V-shaped fixing nips are attached to the curvature. The curvature represents a pivot point by which an object or a foreign matter is removed from a skin of a human or an animal. The V-shaped fixing nips comprise smaller and larger bias skids (4, 5) to pre-tension the skin and to reach a better fixation of the object or the foreign matter. The bias skids are guided up to a middle of the curvature and run parallel to each other.