Wall-Mounted Spine Array for Shower Hair Capture and Drain Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shower devices fail to effectively remove hair from users' fingers, which can become entangled and lost down the drain, and there is a need for a device that is easy to manufacture, assemble, portable, and accommodates different hand sizes.
Innovation Solution
A hair removal device with clusters of flexible spines or tentacles mounted in an array on a water-resistant base that can be attached to a shower wall using suction cups, allowing users to rub their hair-laden fingers against the spines to capture hair, which can then be easily cleaned and disposed of.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a screen or filter is attached to the drain opening to catch hair, then hair can be retained at the drain, but hair already entangled on fingers cannot be removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (the spine array) between the user's fingers and the drain. This mediator captures hair from the fingers through direct contact with the spines, preventing it from reaching the drain. The spines act as a transfer medium that moves hair from the fingers to the device structure for later disposal.
Solution Approach 2:
The device segments the hair removal function into discrete spine elements arranged in clusters. Each spine independently contacts the fingers and captures hair, allowing the system to handle hair from multiple fingers simultaneously. The segmented cluster arrangement provides both coverage and ease of cleaning.
2Ease of manufacture
If suction cups are used to mount the device on the shower wall, then the device can be easily installed and relocated, but the mounting strength may be insufficient for heavy devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs suction cups that utilize pneumatic principles to adhere to the shower wall. The suction cups create a vacuum seal between the cup and the wall surface, generating holding force through atmospheric pressure differential. This allows the device to be mounted without drilling or adhesive while maintaining sufficient strength for the device weight.
3Reliability
If spines are mounted in dense clusters to maximize hair capture, then hair removal effectiveness increases, but cleaning the spines becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The spines are organized into discrete clusters with gaps between them, rather than forming a continuous dense surface. This segmentation allows each cluster to be independently accessed and cleaned, while still providing sufficient coverage for effective hair capture. The clustered arrangement balances capture effectiveness with maintainability.
Solution Approach 2:
The spine clusters are arranged to provide adequate coverage for hair capture without creating complete continuity. The spacing between clusters is optimized to allow cleaning tools or fingers to access all spine surfaces, ensuring that cleaning can be performed effectively while maintaining sufficient hair capture capability.
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 device effectively captures hair from fingers, preventing it from going down the drain, is easy to manufacture and assemble, and can be easily cleaned and relocated, accommodating various hand sizes.
Implementation Method 1
The bottom side of the body may be adapted to attach to a smooth surface such as a tile or glass wall with suction cups.
Data Source
AI summary
The Hair Removal Device may be a wall mounted assembly of spines or tentacles projecting outward from the wall and disposed to form a plurality of finger rows therebetween. The tentacles being a flexible, resilient material adapted to urge hair on a user's finger to engage a tentacle and release from the finger whereby the hair follicle is captured and retained until cleaned for proper disposal.