Vibrating Silicone Dilator with Interchangeable Sleeves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dilators for pelvic floor and vaginal muscle exercise are often made of hard materials, causing discomfort and lack features like vibration, which can enhance the exercise experience.
Innovation Solution
A dilator design featuring a soft silicone housing with interchangeable sleeves and a vibrating mechanism, allowing for adjustable size and enhanced comfort through a combination of a handle body, protrusion, coating layer, and sleeve, with a vibrator motor and battery for vibration functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If dilators are made of hard material like hardened plastic, then structural strength is improved, but user comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by covering the hard plastic housing with a soft flexible coating layer made of materials like silicone, rubber, or gel. This coating layer conforms to the user's anatomy and provides a comfortable interface, resolving the contradiction between structural strength (provided by the hard housing) and user comfort (provided by the soft coating).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining hard plastic (for structural integrity) with soft flexible materials (for comfort). The multi-layer construction including the housing, coating layer, and optional insert creates a composite structure that simultaneously achieves both strength and comfort requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sized dilators are purchased separately, then size adaptability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the dilator into modular components: a standard housing and multiple interchangeable inserts or sleeves of different sizes. This allows users to obtain size adaptability by swapping inserts rather than purchasing multiple complete dilators, reducing device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the housing universal by designing it to accommodate multiple inserts of different sizes. The single housing unit serves multiple functions by working with various inserts, providing size adaptability without requiring multiple separate devices.
3Ease of operation
If vibrating features are added to enhance user experience, then user enjoyment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the vibrating feature with the existing dilator structure by integrating a vibration motor into the housing or insert. This combination approach enhances user enjoyment while minimizing additional complexity compared to separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The soft coating layer serves dual purposes: providing comfort and transmitting vibration effectively. The flexible material acts as both a comfort interface and a vibration transmission medium, enhancing user experience without requiring separate vibration transmission components.
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 dilator provides increased comfort and adjustable size options, along with a vibrating feature that enhances the exercise experience, addressing the discomfort issues of existing hard-material dilators and enhancing user enjoyment.
Implementation Method 1
the vibrator motor is configured to cause vibration of a sleeve coupled to the coating layer
Data Source
AI summary
Various implementations include a dilator including a housing, a coating layer, and a sleeve. The housing includes a handle body and a protrusion. The protrusion has a first protrusion end coupled to a second handle end, a second protrusion end, and a protrusion outer surface. A first end of the coating layer defines a coating opening extending toward a second end of the coating layer and defining a coating inner surface. The second protrusion end is disposed within the coating opening to couple the coating layer to the housing. A first end of the sleeve defines a sleeve opening extending toward a second end of the sleeve and defining a sleeve inner surface. The second end of the coating layer is removably disposable within the sleeve opening to couple the sleeve to the coating layer and the housing.