Concepts

The ideation led to five different concepts. Each concept is explained here and a list of pros and cons of the concepts is included. While making that list, we tried to be as critical as possible as a group, to make sure we would choose the best concept and have immediately a list of what could and should be improved for that concept.

The Concepts

Concept 2 inflateable clamping mech1.jpg

Concept 3 twist caps stationary image .jpg

Concept 1

Concept 2

Concept 3

Concept 4

Concept 5

Concept 1 is a device that will tackle each problem the participant has. Each bottle will need its own device. It works as follows; the device has to be placed onto a bottle, a clamp, which works with springs, enclosed around the twist cap. Once the device is fixed onto the bottle, with a handle a hole can be punched into the lid. This allows a straw, which is rolled up in the device, to be inserted into the bottle. Now the device can suck out the drink into a glass when pressed on a button.

Extractor

Pro's

The tool solves the problem of opening, closing, and pouring the twist cap and container content
The solution is Innovative and unique
The design of the tool can fit the preferred style
There is a guidance for the caps to get into the right place

Con's

There exists potential safety hazard because of the sharp objects
Producibility and manufacturability for both prototype and mass production could be a problem
The mechanisms are not defined yet, only what each of them needs to do
Many things can go wrong with the different mechanisms
The tool stays on the container causing the container to take more space for storage
The center of gravity will ly much higher which can cause containers to fall over easily

Concept 2 is a handheld tool to open and close twist caps. Preferably the tool should hold the cap after removing the cap from the bottle. Therefore a clamping mechanism is needed. It works as follows; the user needs to place the opening of the tool around the cap. The opening of the tool is surrounded by an inflatable ring, meaning the resistance will give tactile feedback to the user when aiming the tool onto the cap, allowing them to locate the tool perfectly on the cap. Once the tool is situated on the cap, the ring is inflated until the bottle cap is firmly clamped. This clamp allows the user to twist the tool, which in turn twists the cap as well. Since the cap is still clamped by the inflatable ring, the user can easily place the bottle cap back onto the bottle after they are done using the bottle. Here again, the bounciness of the ring will give tactile feedback and will help the user with situating the cap back onto the bottle. The pump will either be a pump that needs to be squeezed by the hand or a pump that can be pressed down by the palm. As can be seen from the drawing, the tool has some alterations. Each variation would be tested with the participant to find the most effective one.

Inflatable twister

Pro's

The tool solves the problem of opening and closing the twist cap
The tool is small and does not take a lot of space
The tool is portable and handheld
The solution is innovative and unique
The hand is in the same axis as the bottle which eases the fine coordination
It is a simple solution
The tools handle can still be adjusted in design
The tool can be applied to different containers (sizes op caps, slanted top)
There is a guidance for the caps to get into the right place

Con's

Not known how many pumps are needed
The pumping mechanism needs some further research
The material will probably wear quickly and a hole could develop quickly, since friction will be asserted on the ring/clamping mech constantly.
Needs to be a tough material but also inflatable
It is unknown for how long the participant could use this product, taking the progressive characteristic of Ataxia into account
Producibility and manufacturability for the prototype could be a problem
Whole process could take quite a long time

Concept 3 is a stationary tool, which needs to be attached to a wall and can open and close different sized twist caps at different heights. First, the bottle is placed under the clamping mechanism, the foam panels on the side help the user to guide the bottle in the right position. The tool can be slid up to adjust to the same height as the top of the bottle. Using either the handle or the palm handle on top the clamping mechanism can be controlled to enclose around the twist cap. Once the twist cap is properly clamped, the user can twist the cap off by rotating the bottle. Whether the palm handle or the normal handle is preferred, has to be tested with the participant.

Preferably the cap can be clamped with the handle and the cap can be removed with the palm handle, but this means the bottle also has to be held still at the bottom. Otherwise, the bottle will just rotate with the tool. The problem is that there exist many different-sized shaped bottles. Another problem that arises with this version is that the handle would need to make many rotations (larger than 360°) to make this mechanism clamp around the cap. A solution to that would be a transmission system that requires less turning of the handle, but this would create a much larger force required to move the handle.

Twist-cap clamper

Pro's

The tool solves the problem of opening and closing the twist cap
The tool holds the twist cap in the same axis so the user does not need to aim again for the right position
The tool is really easy to use
The tool can be applied to different containers (sizes op caps)
The tool is easily adjustable according to height and cap size so it can be used for different types of packaging

Con's

The tool can only be placed on lower surfaces, because it is high
The tool is relatively big and takes a lot of space
The user has to hold the container itself while operating the stationary tool
Placing the container in the right position requires fine coordination
It is a relatively complex solution for a simple problem
The tool cannot be used for containers with a slanted twist cap
It is unknown for how long the participant could use this product, taking the progressive characteristic of Ataxia into account

Concept 4 is a handheld tool to open and close twist caps. Preferably the tool should hold the cap after removing the cap from the bottle. Therefore a clamping mechanism is needed. It works as follows; the user holds the tool by the two handles, squeezing them together and placing the opening of the tool on the cap. The opening of the tool is surrounded by three different teeth, with soft rubber to provide grip and give a bit of feedback to the user when aiming the tool onto the cap. The top of the product is closed, making it easier to find the right height of the cap as it stops the tool when it touches the top of the cap. Once the tool is situated on the cap, the user squeezes the handles and the tool will close, grabbing the cap. Afterward, the user can screw the cap off using the tool like a wrench.

J.A.W.S.

Pro's

The tool solves the problem of opening and closing the twist cap
The tool can be portable
The tool replaces finger coordination with hand coordination
The tool can be applied to different containers (sizes op caps, slanted top)
The tools handle can still be adjusted in design
The tool includes a ceiling so the right height location of the tool can be found easily

Con's

There is no specific guidance for the caps to get into the right place
It is unknown for how long the participant could use this product, taking the progressive characteristic of Ataxia into account

Concept 5 consists of a device and a hand held tool. The tool can be seen on the left side of the image and is used to open twist caps. The tool can be held with the palm of the hand and the yellow is compressible tough rubber. It works by using friction. The tool has to be placed on top of the cap (it does not have to be perfectly placed) and by pressing down and applying a twisting motion the cap will open. This has been tested with a small rubber ball. We believe when designed in such a way, that it can mold around a cap when pressed down without applying too much force, it would be easy to open a twist cap using this tool. Once the lid has been removed the drink has to be transferred into a new container. This container has quite a wide diameter so pouring will be easier than in a glass. Plus the user only has to pour once. On the rim of the container, there is a ring made out of a magnet, the lid also has a magnet ring. Meaning the user will not experience any trouble aiming the lid back on the container. Each drink will have its own container and the container fits in the door of a fridge. When the participant would like a drink the lid needs to be removed and the container has to be placed under the device. The device also has a magnet ring so situating the container will be easy since it will be “sucked” into place. All that has to happen next is the participant has to place a glass under the device and press a button. The device is similar to a coffee machine.

Hybrid

Pro's

The concept solves the problem of opening and closing the twist cap
The solution of the tool is innovative and unique
The tool could be portable
The design of the tool can fit the preferred style
The tool replaces finger coordination with hand coordination
The tool can be applied to different containers (sizes op caps, slanted top)
The solution is innovative and unique
Opening the bottle only has to happen once
Solves pouring a drink (only has to pour once, but larger diameter)

Con's

The stationary tool can only be placed on lower surfaces, because it is high
Producing and testing the prototype could be a problem
Not all mechanisms are defined yet.
The tool uses different bottles instead of the containers where the liquid will be filled in, this could be inconvenient (recognizing each liquid)
The stationary part is only applicable to liquids
The user would need multiple bottles/containers
The straw inside is hard to clean
With each new different drink the straw of the machine needs cleaning, which costs to much time for one drink
It is unknown for how long the participant could use this product, taking the progressive characteristic of Ataxia into account

Requirements

Goal

Requirement

Function

Open different sizes of twist caps

Reduce fine motor skills of grabbing the lid

Reduce fine motor skills
Reduce force
Takes little time

Takes little energy and frustration

Used for inside

The product shall be able to be applied to food-related products with circular twist caps from … up to and including … mm.
The product shall guide the user to the twist cap or enlarge the part of the twist cap they have to grab and aid in returning the twist cap to the product.
The product shall enlarge the initial required movement
The product shall reduce the initial required force
The product shall enable the user to open the twist caps within a maximum of four seconds.
The product shall take a maximum of 4 times to open a new twist cap and a maximum of 2 times to open an already opened twist cap
The product shall be made to use inside and does not need to be portable

Characteristics

Not too heavy, not too lightweight
The appearance should fit the participant

The weight of the product shall be between … and … grams.
The design of the product shall have a minimalistic style.

Wishes

Open different shapes of twist caps
Poor liquid in a glass
Ease putting the twist cap back on

Preferably, the product shall be able to open different shapes apart from circular twist caps, such as triangles, squared and polygonal
Preferably, the product helps to turn products that include liquid to enable the participant to pour this liquid into a glass.
Preferably, the product shall keep the twist cap to avoid having to grab the twist cap again

Design decision

Now that there are five concepts to choose from, one must be chosen to become the final product. To assist us to make the best selection possible on which concept to develop and improve further, we created a table of requirements with a weighting factor that explains why concept 4 was selected.

Here you can find a table of requirements with the weighting factor.