Wall-Mounted Adhesive Applicator for Limited-Mobility Back Washing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for applying materials to hard-to-reach body areas require significant shoulder and arm mobility and often require anchors or damage to walls, limiting their usability for different-sized users and mobility-impaired individuals.
Innovation Solution
A system using a water-proof, flat adhesive strip with a porous material like a sponge that can be repeatedly attached and detached from a shower wall without leaving residue, allowing for adjustable height and position to accommodate various users, enabling easy application of soap or lotion to the back without dislodging the system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If movable shower heads mounted to a flexible hose or long handled brushes are used, then users can reach remote areas of the body, but significant shoulder and arm mobility is still required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of arm and shoulder articulation with an adhesive bonding system. The applicator uses adhesive strips to bond directly to the shower wall, eliminating the need for mechanical leverage and arm movement to reach the back. This substitution of mechanical effort with chemical adhesion resolves the contradiction by making the system usable even with minimal shoulder and arm mobility.
2Reliability
If anchors or wall damage is used for installation, then the system can be securely mounted, but the wall is damaged and installation is permanent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary adhesive layer between the applicator and the shower wall. This adhesive strip serves as a mediator that provides secure bonding without requiring anchors or damaging the wall surface. The adhesive creates a reliable connection while preserving the wall integrity, resolving the contradiction between mounting security and installation damage.
3Reliability
If the adhesive bond is strong, then the system remains securely attached during use, but the system cannot be easily removed and repositioned
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by creating an adhesive system with variable bonding characteristics. The adhesive strip is designed to maintain strong bonding during normal use (when static or lightly pressed) but allows for deliberate removal when force is applied in the removal direction. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction by providing both secure attachment during operation and ease of repositioning when needed.
4Productivity
If the sponge is porous to absorb soap and lotion, then material application is effective, but water may penetrate through to the adhesive strip
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the applicator into distinct functional layers: a porous sponge layer for material absorption and application, and a separate water-impermeable adhesive strip layer for wall bonding. This segmentation allows the sponge to be porous for effective soap and lotion absorption while the adhesive strip remains protected from water penetration, resolving the contradiction between material application effectiveness and adhesive bond integrity.
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 users with limited mobility to apply soap or lotion to their back without articulating their arms or shoulders, accommodating different sizes and requiring no wall anchors, ensuring easy installation, adjustment, and removal without damage.
Implementation Method 1
The system utilizes a combination of adhesives and porous material, such as a sponge, that can be repeatedly attached and removed from a shower wall
Implementation Method 2
a porous material, such as a foam sponge... apply material, such as soap, to the sponge
Data Source
AI summary
The present system relates to an applicator system to assist in the application of material to difficult to reach areas of the human body. The system includes a porous material that is adhered to a water impervious strip. The strip includes additional adhesive that is resistant to water as well as surfactants suitable for use on human skin, for example, bath soaps. The adhesive remains bonded to the strip and sufficiently tacky to allow for users to repeatedly engage and disengage the system from a wall so as to accommodate different sized users.