A woman sitting across from me gave me a quizzical look.
“Is that your umbrella?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“And you put it on the floor?”
I’ve honed my subway etiquette practically to perfection. Not once did I ever consider the comfort of an item whose sole purpose is to capture rain and muck for my protection.
Where should I have put my umbrella instead? It’s been more than three years and I still haven’t figured it out.
“Is that your umbrella?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“And you put it on the floor?”
I’ve honed my subway etiquette practically to perfection. Not once did I ever consider the comfort of an item whose sole purpose is to capture rain and muck for my protection.
Where should I have put my umbrella instead? It’s been more than three years and I still haven’t figured it out.
— Andrea Grody “Wet Umbrella”
The Problems of Wet Umbrella
Wet umbrellas can be a hassle to carry around when going indoors on a rainy day. The water dripping makes the floors wet and can lead to slip and fall injuries. It happens in subways, it happens in stores, it happens in schools, office buildings, or anywhere indoors along your daily commute.
Walking surfaces are the cause of more than half of all slip, trip-and-fall injuries in the US^. They can cost business owners a fortune to deal with injury claims and additional janitorial costs. In fact, slip and falls on a level surface account for 30% of all guest injuries and illnesses in the retail industry, with an average cost of $23,674 per injury*, resulting in about 1 million emergency room visits each year in the US.
^ National Floor Safety Institute.
* Employers Insurance Company of Wausau (2006b). Based on a study of 2,452 disabling injuries costing $53,810,104 for workers’ compensation classes 9050 and 9052.
Causes of Slips, Trips-and-Falls
Retail Industry Floor Maintenance Costs
Plastic bags have been the current solution to this problem for a long time. They work fine, but they are unsustainable and create a lot of waste.
What Do We Need?
A sustainable and easy to use solution to these problems that requires no energy and no consumables, and the product can be installed at entrances to busy indoor spaces.
A sustainable and easy to use solution to these problems that requires no energy and no consumables, and the product can be installed at entrances to busy indoor spaces.
In the beginning of the ideation process, I came up with different ways of removing water. In the development of the first direction, I went with the method of wiping with an array of non-absorbent material like neoprene. The product is developed, and rendering are shown in the appendix. For this capstone project I decided to rethink the process of removing water and try to come up with a different, more simple way to approach the problem.
The Competition
There is a growing market for umbrella dryers in recent years, especially in East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. A common problem with a lot of commercialized products is that they are using absorbent material to wipe and absorb the water. However, in busy locations, the material will eventually lose its absorbency and is also going to get moldy and need to be constantly replaced. Also, a lot of them don’t accommodate folding umbrellas.
+ No Energy Required
+ Low Maintainence
+ Sustainable
- Does not work for folding umbrellas
- Requires a fair amount of time and effort to use
- Not tested for effectiveness
+ No Energy Required
+ Easy to use
+ Movable
- material loses absorbability after repeated uses
- Prones to molding and break
+ Quick and Effctive
+ Easy to use
+ Movable
- Requires energy
- Does not accomodate folding umbrellas
There is a growing market for umbrella dryers in recent years, especially in East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. A common problem with a lot of commercialized products is that they are using absorbent material to wipe and absorb the water. However, in busy locations, the material will eventually lose its absorbency and is also going to get moldy and need to be constantly replaced. Also, a lot of them don’t accommodate folding umbrellas.
+ No Energy Required
+ Low Maintainence
+ Sustainable
- Does not work for folding umbrellas
- Requires a fair amount of time and effort to use
- Not tested for effectiveness
+ No Energy Required
+ Easy to use
+ Movable
- material loses absorbability after repeated uses
- Prones to molding and break
+ Quick and Effctive
+ Easy to use
+ Movable
- Requires energy
- Does not accomodate folding umbrellas
Proof-of-Concept Studies
By putting an umbrella under the shower and measuring the amount of water that drips down after shaking it a few times or hitting it against a wall, I found that both methods can get rid of most of the water on the surface to a point where the umbrella is no longer dripping water. However, since umbrellas are usually made of nylon or other synthetic fabrics, a small amount of water will remain in the fabric and would be very difficult to remove without the use of electricity. Plus, most of the time it is not necessary to completely dry the umbrellas because people will likely use them again when they go outside.
Control After Shaking After Hitting
In the comparison below, the images show that most visible water droplets are removed by shaking the umbrella. However, the fabric is still wet because the water got into the structure of the fabric. The water inside the fabric is not likely to drip so it will not be removed through the use of this product.
Before Shaking After Shaking
By putting an umbrella under the shower and measuring the amount of water that drips down after shaking it a few times or hitting it against a wall, I found that both methods can get rid of most of the water on the surface to a point where the umbrella is no longer dripping water. However, since umbrellas are usually made of nylon or other synthetic fabrics, a small amount of water will remain in the fabric and would be very difficult to remove without the use of electricity. Plus, most of the time it is not necessary to completely dry the umbrellas because people will likely use them again when they go outside.
In the comparison below, the images show that most visible water droplets are removed by shaking the umbrella. However, the fabric is still wet because the water got into the structure of the fabric. The water inside the fabric is not likely to drip so it will not be removed through the use of this product.
The goal of this product is to remove most of the water that is going to drip but not all of the water in the fabric.
The product will be installed at entrances to subways, buildings, or any indoor spaces with high foot traffic. Users would use it as a place to shake the excess water off of their umbrella so that the water won’t drip onto the floors. The product functions as a barrier to contain the water droplets from flying onto other people or objects.
The Prototype
Permanent Installation
The product have the flexibility to be adapted to a wide range of locations. Some of them will allow permanent installation where there is more space or already have a roof or a canopy at the entrance. A few examples are presented in the renderings below.
In some other locations, it is more difficult to find places where the product can be installed without obstructing traffic, or there is only space indoors where it isn’t ideal for the water to drip onto the floor. In these cases, additional accessories like wheels or trays can be added so that the water is contained inside until it can be emptied somewhere else and the product can be stored away when it’s not needed.
The Assembly
The Materials
Closed cell structure provides exceptional resistance to water and dirt. Durable and remains flexable over a wide temperature range. Neoprene rubber is also the primary choice of material in car washes.
Control Drawings
Bill of Materials
Prototype 1 $10/100
Prototype 2 $20/100
Prototype 3 $100/100
18 Gauge Stainless Steel Panels 2x$232.35
1/8” Textured Recycled Rubber Sheets 2x$46.25
3/4” Steel Tube 2x$34.15
Loop Clamps $2.51
Corner Brackets $5
Misc. Hardware $10
Shipping in $15
Welding and Finishing $25
Repacking $15
Packaging Materials $10
Design $50
Fabrication Management $10
Miscellaneous 10% $78.12
Profit Margin 30% $253.90
TOTAL* $846.33
*Actural mass-production cost may vary.
Prototype 2 $20/100
Prototype 3 $100/100
18 Gauge Stainless Steel Panels 2x$232.35
1/8” Textured Recycled Rubber Sheets 2x$46.25
3/4” Steel Tube 2x$34.15
Loop Clamps $2.51
Corner Brackets $5
Misc. Hardware $10
Shipping in $15
Welding and Finishing $25
Repacking $15
Packaging Materials $10
Design $50
Fabrication Management $10
Miscellaneous 10% $78.12
Profit Margin 30% $253.90
TOTAL* $846.33
*Actural mass-production cost may vary.