Spoon

Abstract

The person our group is trying to help has hand tremor. Because of this, he cannot eat very well because he cannot keep the utensils still and his wife has to help him whenever he wants to eat.

Team members

• From left to right: Caleb Dean, Carla Soruco, Patrick Swiecichowski

Problem Statement/overview of the need

The person we are trying to help suffered an accident and because of this he now has a problem with controlling his movements. He has hand tremor which makes it difficult for him to eat by himself and his wife has to help him all the time. There are already available electronic handles with utensils attachment to help people with this kind of problem, but they are really expensive. Since our last project got cancelled almost at the end of the semester, we decided that we would love to help this person with his problem.

Design Specifications

Because there was not enough time to design a utensil for him, it was decided that the best option was to buy one of the handles available at store. But, this handles only come with one attachment included so we decided that we will designing an extra attachment for it. The handle that we chose came with a spoon and we will be designing a fork.

Background research

The electronic handle the we chose to buy is the one shown below. The way this handle work is through a sensor that detects hand motion and sends signals to a small onboard computer which identifies unwanted tremor from the movement of the hand. This computer then sends signals to two motors in the handle which make the utensil attachment to move the opposite direction of any unwanted tremor. In order to turn it on, you just have to connect the attachment and the device will turn on automatically and then simply use the dock to charge it. Moreover, the utensils attachments can be washed in the dishwasher or be cleaned by hand but the handle cannot be washed. If it needs to be cleaned you can use antibacterial wipes.

Conceptual Design

The design of the extra utensil attachment is going to consist on a 3D printing of the small piece that holds the utensil and let you attach it to the electronic handle. However, the utensil is going to be bought and then sealed to the 3D printed small piece.

Instructions for safe use

Provide a clear summary of safe use for the family:

The safety information for the electronic handle is going to be inside the box of the device. In order to wash the 3D printed utensil attachment, it is going to be hand washed because the 3D printed plastic cannot be exposed to heat.