Project ID: 42
Content Design Intent - Casual Interview - Problem statement General Research Demographics Existing Products Female Body Strength Interview & Observation - Primary Interview - Supportive Interview Opportunities Ideation - Concept Sketches - Functional Mock-ups - Stylization Solidworks Model Final Product - Features - Storyboard - Rendering
Design Intent Casual Interview Name: Stephanie Sellers Age: 50 Primary Need: “I drive a lot for my work, so I have to refill my car quite often. I wish to save some time and money on gas, that’s why I brought several containers so that I wouldn’t go to gas station very often and also buy more gas when there’s a discount.” Problems: Weight, spilling, odor.
Problem statement Based on the situation of growing population in female drivers and the needs for additional gasoline containers, the existing products no longer compliment the user groups because of the physical limitation of female and the fact that gasoline cans were originally designed for men. Due to these limitations there is need for a solution that can help to eliminate the problems caused by current products to female users and complimentary user groups.
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General Research Demographics I collected some quantitative data using a survey. And This data helped me to further modify my design to fit massive needs. Some of the gernal questions that directed my design were: • What are the problems they met. • What other purpose do they use the container for? • Where do they carry the container in the car? • What is the frequently used container size? • What is the users’ age range? Smelly 47% Spilling
53%
Heavy
57%
Lawn Mover
62%
Trunk
57%
5 Gallon
58%
Age 40~55
62%
General Research Existing Products The capacity of existing products varys from 1 gallon to over 10 gallons, but none of them are addressing the issue with weight. However, there are very good features in different products that may be helpful as references.
30 lb 12 lb
2 Gallon
Price: Fetures:
85 lb
32 lb
18 lb
3 Gallon
5 Gallon
5.3 Gallon
14 Gallon
$ 40
$ 15
$ 19
$ 72
$ 125
Designed-in funnel
Extra handle
Auto Shut-off
Leak-Proof
On-handle pump Wheeled
General Research Female Body Strength 96.7%
Females have significantly less upper body strength comparred to men. So it would be important to separate the pressure in the upper body when they are lifting.
Female with experience with gas containers
Female
52% as strong as male in the upper body, and 66% in the
Male
The average female is lower body.
There is no significant gender difference found in the strength for elbow flexion or knee extension, though females are slightly weaker.
52% UPPER BODY
This difference in upper body strength can be attributed to the larger fibers and greater amount of lean tissues found in the male upper body. *Gender differences in strength and muscle fiber characteristics. A. E. J. Miller, J. D. MacDougall, M. A. Tarnopolsky, and D. G. Sale
66% LOWER BODY
“I always need someone to help me refill my car.�
Interview & Observation Primary Interview Stephanie Sellers Stephanie drives a lot for her work, so she uses a few gas containers to store extra gas and refill her car so that she can save some time and money. She feels 5 gallons is a sufficient volume for her car, but unlike the smaller ones, the 5 gallon is too heavy for her to pour by herself. She also needs a funnel when she is pouring gas into her car since some of the valves are not long enough. I also followed her process to observe other steps like filling up her gas containers in the gas station, and transporting gas containers with her car. I found there is risk of spillage throughout her process, which causes an odor in her vehicle and garage.
Step: Transportation Behavior: Cover the trunk underneath the containers Reason: Prevent gas leaking in the car
Step: Filling containers Behavior: Turn valve upside down Reason: Prevent spilling
Step: Loading containers Issue: Spilling Reason: Air vent lack of sealing
Interview & observation Supportive Interview I also did interviews and observations with some other users who have different experience with gas contaiers. Most of them use gas containers for their home equipment like lawnmowers; some of them refill their car with a gas can occasionally. Their experience provided me some minor issues that can help me with my design on a more detailed level, like the design of caps and handles.
Sharon Nelson
The handle design on the right is unreasonable. Her hands are in a weird position while pouring gas since the handle is on the top of the can and there is no place to grab on the bottom of the can. The handle on the left is comparetively better with a curve turning to the side of the can.
Connie Dunn
She has a lawnmover, a trimer, and a generator which all use gas. She wish to have a container that can hold sufficient amount gas for all her equipment, but a bigger container whould be heaver, which makes her hesitant.
Stephanie Miller
She uses gas container for her lawmover. Due to the low position of a lawn mower, it is a pain for her waist to hold the pose and wait for the lawn mower filled up. She usually put her gas can in front of the back seat of her car during transportation, so it important to seal the can.
Design Opportunitys
Lifting a full gasoline can is the key problem for female users. To be more specifically, holding the container in place while pouring is a bigger issue for female users than simply lifting it up due to low upper body strength.
Spillage tends to occur in each of the
steps while the user was interacting with the existing gasoline cans, and most of the spillage happend because of defects in design. Details like handle and other functional components still need revisement to improve users‘ experience.
Ideation
①
Concept Sketches
②
According to the issues I discovered in my research, I developed plenty of concept sketches based on different functionalities. I then compared them and picked three of the concepts which have the most potential. I mainly focused on separate the weight of the gas containers form female’s upper body, while some minor problems like design and placement of handle and cap design were covered in the same time. ① First Concept A stand was designed to distribute weight of the container to the ground. User can swing the container up to a higher position to let gasoline feed their vehicle by gravity. The container can lay flat on the ground for storage and the stand can also help users flip the container into the trunk of the car for transportation.
② Second Concept The handles are redesigned perpendicular to the direction of pouring providing a comfortable body position. The turing handles can ensure users feed their car without tilting their upper body, which could release the pain on their waist.
③ ③ Third Concept A extended handle was build into the container for users to drag the container. When feeding their vehicle, users can support the container on the tire of the vhicle near the gas tank. While the weight transfer to the tire, they can simply filp the container to gain the height for gravity feed.
Ideation Functional Mock-ups I built functional models with plywood and PVC pipes based on the three concepts I had, and then tested them out with two potential users to further narrow down the function I am going to work with. After testing, I found there was more potential in the sencond and third mock-up, so I decided to combine some of the features to come up with a final concept. Mock-up 1 Feature: A stand that can transfer weight to the ground. The container can be fliped up along the stand to gain the height to gravityfeed.
A stand can significantly distribute the weight to the ground so that weight is no longer a issue during the feeding process. However, the user’s upper body is turing into a uncomfortable position when the container is swinging half way to the highest point. Andboth testing users are hesitating about having a huge stand for a gas container.
Mock-up 2 Feature: Handles are designed perpendicular to the direction of pouring. The roller handles provide better control.
Both users feel comfortable with the new design of handles. The pressure on their waist is reduced since the users can keep their body straight while pouring. The rollor handles provided more fluent control to flip the container while the level of gas is reducing. The only problem is that users are still dealing with the full weight 5 gallon gas and the container.
Mock-up 3 Feature: A pair of weightdistributing arms that can be supported on the tire near to the gas tank separating weight from the user
The weight distributing arms can transfer most of the weight to the tire on the vehicle, so the user can keep the container in place while pouring even by single hand. The folding arms can save space while still providing the support. More handles needed on the side for user to switch hands, and the shape of the container needs further development to fit the ergonomics of the pouring motion.
Ideation Stylization After testing out my mock-ups and defining the final concept, I began to refine the apperence of my product. I sketched out the supportive arms and the container in different shapes and then compared different combinations. Finally I decided to follow a more industrial tough looking rather than organic shapes.
Ideation Solidworks Model
Some further refinement were made while I was building the Solidworks model. Two rolling handle was added to the bottom for users to switch hands, providing a better control. The cap has a valve on one end to refill vehicles, and a stopper on the other to seal the container during storage and transportation. The filler was connected to the cap by flexible tube and provided a ring that can hook on the the cap during transportation. A symmetrical pattern was debossed onto the surface to support the structure of the container as well as enrich the exterior form. The hue of the product was set to red to fit the apperence of current products.
Final Product Features Hook-on Nozzle The nozzle is connected to the cap on the valve end by a flexible tube. It comes with a plastic ring that can hook onto the cap during storage and transportation.
Multifunction Cap The cap has a valve on one end to refill vehicles, and a stopper on the other to seal the container. Both ends are over molded with rubber seal to prevent leaking.
Supportive Arms The supportive arms can distribute weight by leaning the front branches on the tire of the vehicle or on the ground. It connects the container with an axis as a pivot point for users to flip the container while user the arms to support.
Rolling Handles Two cylindrical handles are included on the bottom of the container, giving users more options to switch their hands. A rolling feature is added to the handles to help them control fluently.
Final Product ① Insert
② Switch
③ Support
④ Pour
Pivot is a five gallon gas container designed for female and others who have lower body strength. With a pair of supportive arms, pivot can distribute weight to the tire on the vehicles making lifting and pouring easy and safe. There are multiple handles repositioned perpendicular to the direction in which users are pouring providing a comfortable body position - one on the top of the weight distributing arms to control the support. The other two are on the bottom of the container and add a rolling feature to provide fluent control while pouring. A multifunction cap is integrated into the new design providing a valve on one end to refill vehicles, and a stopper on the other to seal the container during storage and transportation.