V-Shaped Disposable Commode Wipe for Extended Reach and Hygiene
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a completely disposable commode wipe that can assist individuals with limited mobility issues in reaching all or part of their anus and adjacent buttock regions during personal hygiene events, as customary toilet tissue papers often fail to extend the reach effectively.
Innovation Solution
A disposable, elongated, shallow V-shaped commode wipe made of tissue paper with laterally spaced finger apertures and corrugated ribs that allow for lateral expansion, forming finger tents and an angle control band to control the angle between the proximal and distal legs, enabling extended reach and excrement collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a shallow V-shaped commode wipe with extended length portion is used, then the reach of the user's hand is extended to access anal and buttock regions, but the device complexity increases due to multiple tissue layers, finger pockets, and angle control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The commode wipe is segmented into multiple functional zones: a proximal leg with finger pockets for hand insertion, a distal leg for cleaning, and an angle control band with creases that segments the structure into collapsible sections. This segmentation allows the wipe to extend reach while maintaining manageable complexity through functional division.
Solution Approach 2:
The angle control band incorporates creases that allow dynamic adjustment of the angle between proximal and distal legs. The structure transitions from a collapsed low-profile state to an extended V-shape configuration, enabling reach extension without permanent complex structure. The dynamic geometry resolves the contradiction by providing extended reach only when needed.
2Strength
If multiple tissue layers are folded and sealed to form finger pockets and extended portions, then the wipe provides structural support and reach extension, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase due to multiple seal lines and fold alignments
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue layers are pre-folded and pre-sealed during manufacturing to create the V-shape configuration and finger pockets before use. The angle control band is pre-creased to establish the desired angle between legs. This preliminary action ensures structural support is built-in during manufacturing, reducing the precision demands on the user during actual use while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standardized folding sequences.
3Reliability
If the commode wipe is designed to be completely disposable and biodegradable, then hygiene and environmental concerns are addressed, but the device complexity increases due to the need for complete disposal infrastructure and user education
Solution Approach 1:
The commode wipe is designed as a completely disposable product made from biodegradable tissue materials, eliminating the need for cleaning, sterilization, or complex disposal infrastructure. The entire wipe including angle control bands and finger pockets is single-use and biodegradable. This approach ensures hygiene reliability through complete disposal while actually reducing system complexity by eliminating maintenance and cleaning subsystems.
4Ease of operation
If the wipe structure includes angle control bands and corrugated ribs for lateral expansion, then the ease of operation is improved by guiding proper positioning, but the device complexity increases due to additional structural elements
Solution Approach 1:
The angle control band with its creases and the corrugated ribs provide self-guiding structural features that automatically guide the wipe into the correct V-shape configuration and lateral expansion when the user inserts their hand. The structure serves itself by using its own geometry to guide positioning, eliminating the need for external guidance mechanisms or complex control systems while improving ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
The wipe includes an elongated, shallow v-shaped tissue wipe having proximal and distal ends and, at the terminal proximal end, laterally spaced apart left-side and right-side finger apertures. Upper and lower tissue layers form finger apertures. An angle controller limits the v-shape of the wipe. A plurality of elongated corrugated ribs are longitudinal support elements and the upper tissue layer of said left and right side finger apertures form respective left and right finger tents permitting lateral expansion of the wipe between the finger apertures. Another embodiment has at least two elongated corrugated ribs disposed intermediate the laterally spaced apart left-side and right-side finger tents thereby permitting lateral expansion of said wipe the finger tents. The v-shaped wipe forms a distal excrement collection surface on a distal leg of the wipe longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal leg. The proximal leg terminates at the entrance of the finger tents.