Trib-Tools - Patented surface treatment tools

Trib Tools advantageously exploit aspects of tribology such as friction, rubbing and chemical-mechanical action to beneficially treat surfaces.

These are chemical mechanical tools that aim to keep hands removed from chemicals and surfaces and provide mechanical action to boost chemical effectiveness thereby minimising the chemical usage.

The chemicals are first dispensed then subjected to moderate mechanical agitation often with minimal mild abrasion to mechanically clean and activate and raise surface energy. This combination makes them ideal for massage and personal care uses.

Click on one of the topics below for specific application information:

Examples of Trib-Tools

Trib-Blade tools for skin-care and cosmetic use

The photograph above shows a selection of Trib Blade tools. These provide convenience of use and reduce the risk of spreading infection by minimising finger contact with the skin while cleaning, applying cosmetics or applying medications. The tool also protects carefully manicured nails from cosmetic lotions. The smaller tools are intended for use as spatulas and miniature massage wands on the face and the larger metallic looking tools are used for treating the face and larger areas of the body with a highly beneficial sideways sweeping action.

Trib- Sticks for use as skin-care applicators

Sticks contain a stack of circular, oval or rectangular discs of compressed non-woven (optionally mildly abrasive) fibre lightly bonded together so that they peel off one at a time; the stacked fibre body is impregnated with a skin-care formulation. The stack is typically housed in a moulding similar to those used for stick deodorants or large lipstick holders. The cap has a hook matrix (like Velcro) that allows pads to be individually transferred from the internal stack and retained on the cap for rubbing.

Upon rubbing on skin lotion is transferred onto the skin, as rubbing continues the lotion thickens by mixing with removed debris and much of this thickened mix eventually transfers back onto the pad and is retained between the fibres. Once this used dirt laden layer is peeled off and discarded.

Safe to use and non-pressurised (air transportable) package

A major application for this tool is applying pre-shave treatments. Stick tools also have potential for applying  deep cleaning and acne treatments.

 Patents are granted or pending on the above tools and procedures for use. User licenses available.

Trib Pads for skin-care uses

Trib-Pads can be thermoformed from a broad range of polymer sheet ranging from newly emerging starch carrying biodegradable polymeric blends to low cost polyethylene, or luxurious soft-to-touch 'grippy' rubber/plastic hybrids with sensuous pleasant skin contact feel which are ideal for rubbing against sensitive skin, many of these materials being accepted by regulatory authorities for skin contact uses. 

The illustration below shows how the working face of the Trib-Pad carries a multitude of soft flat topped protrusions, sealed at the back to form cavities for storing lotion. The lotion is dispensed via openings within the flat rubbing faces. The thermoforming process provides stiff scraper edges around the edges of the individual faces. As the pads is rubbed on skin the faces sequentially stretch and compress (squeeze out) and scrape off dirt and loose desquamated material, the scraped off material directed into a sunken labyrinth running between the protrusions where it is either retained removed from the surface or flushed away, as illustrated below.

Note the Trib-Pad is shown facing downwards in the diagram below whereas it is facing upwards in the above photograph.

The formed sheet may be used like a wipe or cut into shaped pads or attached onto rubbing tools as work face surfaces for use on the bladed Trib-Tools illustrated above. 

Further tool examples

From the left: a stick applicator with a roll or layered stack of peel off discs; a large area domestic cleaner coupled to aerosol dispenser with peel off pads; a  hand held car or wheel cleaner with canister/handle and brush with vibrator in cone; and on the right a finger held skin-care/cosmetic applicator with optional button dispenser. The tools vary in size from small cosmetic applicators to large domestic cleaning scourers and all employ a frictional rubbing face.

The bladed tools employ simple folded construction that can be easily scaled to a wide range of applications and are capable of performing a number of steps (multiple-functions) to add convenience of use. In many cases all the functions required to complete a treatment like cleaning with a single tool, including dispensing, rubbing, removing residues and drying, all done while keeping users hands safely removed from the treated surface and chemicals. The diagram below illustrates the blade concept.

Click on one of the topics below for specific application information:

Patents are either granted or pending on three basic tools in the form of sticks, sheets and blades in USA, Europe, India, China. Licenses are available to exploit these designs.

for more information email: info8@tribtech.com

The TribTech name derives from "tribos" - Greek for 'rubbing'. 'TribTech' is a trade name used by Ball Burnishing Machine Tools Ltd. of 12 Brookmans Av. Hatfield, Herts. AL9 7QJ. United Kingdom;  Company Reg. No. 1408807, VAT Reg. No. 421 6210 04; a knowledge based company that develops, patents and licenses technology. All rights reserved by Ball Burnishing Machine Tools Ltd. Last modified: May 01, 2008 copyright © 1999/2008. The information and data provided herein should be considered generally representative for the tools and technologies described. In all cases users should carefully evaluate the tools and technologies to determine their suitability for a particular purpose.