Car Door Opener
Due to severe systemic sclerosis in their hands, our client cannot drive and, so, uses taxis for a lot of transportation needs. The sclerosis results in a need for assistance to release the latch that allows the car door to be opened from both the outside of a car and from the inside. The taxi drivers are not always willing to offer this assistance and have been known to be rude towards the client. These issues have made it stressful and embarrassing for the client when going out.
The Challenge
Our client wants to be able to open car doors by herself. However, due to her condition, she lacks the hand strength and dexterity to be able to release the door latch. Searches revealed no suitable solutions on the open market.
There are no risks with the product. It is made of wood, has a rubber sleeve, and no sharp edges.
The solution
The broom handle was purchased from B&Q and the heat shrink sleeving was purchased from Amazon.
A 210mm section was cut from the top of the broom handle. A 77mm section was cut from half of the diameter of the broom handle. The “ledge” created by this cut provides a barrier to prevent the device from slipping down behind the door handle and falling through (see photos). All squared edges were sanded off to make the device more comfortable in the hand. In addition, the end of the half-cylinder end was sanded round to minimize the potential for edges causing minor scratching to a car door, and the top of the device was sanded round. Final step was to wrap the device in the heat shrink sleeving, heat it sufficiently to ensure that it shrinks tight, and then sand the surface of the sleeve with P40 sandpaper to provide better grip for the client. Note that a hair dryer does not provide sufficient heat to cause the heat shrink to shrink. A heat gun should do the job, or even a toaster oven. 🙂
A wrist strap can be added by drilling a hole through the device 400mm down from the top and threading through the strap. In the photos, a thick shoelace has been used.
The photos show the device without the heat shrink sleeve. Referring to the side-on photo, the heat shrink sleeve should start 50mm from the top of the device (just below the hole for the wrist strap) and extend for 160mm.
This solution has been tested successfully on various cars.
The benefit
The client has indicated that the solution provided is a “godsend” and that it has made her life much easier. The client now has less-stressful outings and has regained a measure of independence.
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