CAPSTONE BLOG #1: 9/7/23

   Our motivation is to create an add on to a trash can that simplifies the process of tying a trash bag. According to the Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Fourth Edition), there are approximately 41,000 persons who live with an upper limb amputation in the United States. With the understanding that tying a knot generally requires two arms, our problem to address is the difficulty one armed amputees face when performing a task meant to be simple, taking out the trash. Our solution, an add on meant to tie a trash bag with the force and operation of a single arm, will hopefully impact our targeted audience with an improved quality of life by saving time and effort during this chore.


    The specific problem being addressed is the excessive time and effort required to tie a bag with one arm (need to talk to stake holders to verify time required). Since our solution is meant not to get in the way of everyday use of the trash can, some physical constraints regarding this problem are the volume, weight, compatibility, maximum load bearing, and input load. 
    With the device being installed around the outside of the trash can, just under the lid, and using a circular based design, the volume will take up a hemisphere with a diameter ranging from 10"-18". The weight of the device will not exceed 15 lbs. Since the device should be compatible with a variety of sized cans, we plan to use 2 clamps around the outside of the can, meaning that the device fits based on the width of the can. The width constraints of trash cans that the device can be installed on are any cans from width of 1-1.5'. With the device designed to support some (or all) of the weight of the full trash bag, research on the average weight of a full 10 gallon bag will be done to assign a maximum load constraint on the device. Since the device should be useable by a range of people, there is a range of "input load" to use the device, that must remain within the range of something that most people can push/pull. Research must be done to find this range, but an assumed maximum is that it shouldn't take more than 10 lbs. of force to use the device. Along with the input load, our device is constrained to operate with a single point of human contact. 


    Our biggest obstacle is the finalization of the tying mechanism. Figuring out how to finish the knot for the trash bag ears is the most important and difficult part of our design. Some other obstacles are the installation process (making sure that it can be done with 1 arm), the research that needs to be done on the lifestyles of amputees, and optimizing the speed of tying the trash bag to justify the use of our device.


Here are some photos to help understand our problem.













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