Introduction: No Touch Tool Against COVID-19

The corona virus disease (COVID-19) has swiftly spread around the world since it was first detected in December. The outbreak of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a global health crisis that has had a deep impact on the way we perceive our world and our everyday lives. Not only the rate of contagion and patterns of transmission threatens our sense of agency, but the safety measures put in place to contain the spread of the virus also require social distancing by refraining from doing what is inherently human, which is to find solace in the company of others.

Within this context of physical threat, social and physical distancing, as well as public alarm, we have tried to devise a tool which if incorporated in our daily life, can save us from germs in little but effective ways. The world is changing and we have to start adapting to a new, more germ-conscious way of living. The No Touch tool is 3-D printed with a self sanitizing case to help decrease the spreading of germs while performing some of your everyday tasks. As the days passed by and the Corona virus spread, we turned out to be increasingly more mindful of how frequently we need to contact things that must be loaded with germs like lift buttons, buttons to pay with credit card at stores and gas stations and obviously the restrooms doors along with the stylus used in online deliveries for our signature.

Step 1: Why No Touch Tool

There exist several concept on the same lines, but what makes us different is the self sanitizing sliding case. The viruses tend to survive on plastics and metals for several hours. Tool without a case can act a medium to spread virus if not sanitized regularly. Hence to avoid this cumbersome process we designed a self sanitizing slider case

Step 2: Design Requirements

The final design should fulfill the following requirements.

Can be used on various Keypads and buttons: The tool should enable the user to press keys and buttons on devices such as ATM s and credit card machines. It should also help the user in pressing elevator buttons or electrical switch boards without user contact.

Self Sanitizing: Viruses and germs survive on antimicrobial metals for several hours. Hence to avoid the spread of viruses from the tool, the product should disinfect itself immediately after use.

Can be used to open doors: The tool should enable the user to open various kinds of door with various kinds of handles or no handle at all without direct contact between the user and the handle.

Carrying lights bags: The tool should enable the users to carry light weight bags without contact with them.Should fit in pockets and wallets: The tool should be small, compact and should easily fit in a user's pocket or wallet, making it easy to carry.

Light weight: The tool should be extremely light in weight to make it comfortable to carry.

Step 3: Conceptualization

Based on the design requirements and analytical study of the problems, we came up with several concepts to solve the problem. These concepts were created with the objective to fulfill the design prerequisites and take care of the issues with the least complex, conceivable solution.

Our concept involves a slider cover lined with disinfectant laden sponge. The tool and cover have a sliding mechanism making it much easier to operate and carry. This concept satisfies all the design needs and is the most efficient concept of this particular design. After each use, the user pulls the slider back which results in an internal contact of the tool with the disinfectant sponge, hence cleansing it after every single use.

Step 4: Detailing

After finalizing the concept, we worked furthermore on the detailing of the tool. Detailing included selecting the material for tool, cover and the disinfectant lining. We also decided upon appropriate dimensions of the tool. The dimensions were selected on the basis of average hand size and pocket size making the concept ergonomic. The following points were kept in mind while elaborating the concept-

The dimensions of the tool with cover were decided considering the pocket size and typical human grip. The dimensions are 90 x 35 x 8 mm.
Specific curvature was provided in the hook, to facilitate door opening and carrying bags with ease. The material for the cover and tool is PLA. A thin sponge lining will be added in the covers, soaked in disinfectants, in order to sanitize the tool. The tool is designed with a small rounded tip to facilitate easy use on physical keypads. The tool consists of a slider pin which fits in the slider bar to facilitate easy in and out sliding of the tool from the sanitizing cover.

Step 5: 3-D Prototype

We realized our design concept based on the detailing, and came up with a 3-D model of the tool. It has the exact dimensions of the physical tool.

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