Design of compliant mechanism for self-sanitizing glove to prevent spread of COVID-19 during mass gatherings

摘要

Background/Objectives: COVID-19 outbreak already has millions of confirmed cases worldwide, making religious gatherings like Hajj and Umrah or places like hospitals susceptible as one person can affect hundreds. It caused a rapid increase in the number of infections. Without any vaccine, quick and easy safety measures need to be taken to prevent mass exposure. This article proposes designing a compliant mechanism for self-sanitizing gloves to inhibit the virus spread through touch. Methods: Simulation of design for spray compliant mechanism is carried out. The gloves are made through the polymer, which is a low-risk material. Sanitizing liquid is contained inside the device, and as pressure is applied, the liquid is sprayed. A compliant mechanism for spraying is developed. It consists of two main parts, the middle part and the joints. The middle part acts as a reservoir while the ends act as disposal units. The kinematic synthesis equations are derived from the Pseudo-Rigid-Body method to model the compliant mechanism. Findings: The simulation for the modeling approach to design the spray mechanism was carried out successfully. The specification allows the user to reproduce the spray compliant mechanism’s design by inputting the total desired length (Lf) to generate all the required parameters. Novelty: Self-sanitizing gloves are a relatively new idea, and the spray mechanism can be further applied to other articles of clothing and promote a cleaner and healthier environment. Application: These gloves can sanitize themselves along with the surface in contact. So, the increased use can help curb the infection by providing rapid sanitization and a cleaner environment.