Accordion Pleated Inflatable Member for Wearable Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable protection devices with inflatable members face issues such as increased rigidity and weight, restricted movement, reduced breathability, and inability to autonomously return to their initial configuration, limiting user comfort and safety.
Innovation Solution
A wearable protection device with an inflatable member that features an accordion-shaped design, allowing it to expand and contract within a casing, maintaining airflow and reducing weight, while enabling multiple uses without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the inflatable member is made of low elasticity fabric or membrane to sustain inflation pressure, then the inflatable member can maintain its shape during inflation, but the garment becomes more rigid and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by using an elastic membrane instead of rigid low-elasticity fabric. The elastic membrane can sustain inflation pressure while remaining flexible and lightweight, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight. The membrane's elasticity allows it to deform and return to shape without requiring heavy rigid structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from low elasticity to high elasticity. This parameter change allows the membrane to achieve both high strength for pressure sustainability and low weight through its elastic properties, eliminating the need for heavy rigid materials.
2Area of stationary object
If the inflatable member is oversized to guarantee complete protection during lateral contraction, then the protection area is maintained, but the freedom of movement at body articulations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by making the protective garment dynamic through the elastic membrane that can expand and contract. The membrane adapts its shape and size based on body movement, maintaining protection area while allowing freedom of movement at articulations, unlike static oversized designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the size parameter dynamically through elastic deformation. The membrane can expand to cover the full protection area when needed and contract to accommodate body movements, resolving the contradiction between maintaining protected area and allowing freedom of movement.
3Volume of moving object
If the inflatable member is completely folded up in the rest condition to save space, then the space requirement is reduced, but the deployment may be delayed or incomplete due to stuck surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by dividing the membrane into multiple pleated sections. This segmentation allows the membrane to compress into a compact volume in the rest condition while maintaining the ability to expand reliably during deployment, as the pleated structure prevents surface adhesion and ensures smooth expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses pleating to transform the membrane's structure into multiple dimensions. In the compressed state, the pleats allow compact storage; during deployment, the pleats unfold in a controlled manner to ensure complete and reliable coverage, resolving the contradiction between compact storage and reliable deployment.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the inflatable member is made non-elastic to maintain shape during inflation, then the structural integrity is improved, but the breathability and perspiration of the user is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an elastic membrane that maintains structural integrity through its elastic properties rather than rigidity. The membrane's flexibility allows it to conform to body movements and maintain integrity while permitting breathability and perspiration, unlike rigid non-elastic materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the elasticity parameter from low to high, which simultaneously improves breathability and maintains structural integrity through elastic recovery. The elastic membrane can stretch and return to shape, providing both breathability and structural stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user mobility and comfort by maintaining airflow, reducing weight, and allowing repeated use without maintenance, while providing effective protection against impacts and falls.
Implementation Method 1
The inflatable member (20) is made of an elastic material or comprises an elastic insert (56), so as to be able to move autonomously from its deflated condition to its inflated condition and vice versa
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a wearable protection device (10) which comprises at least one inflatable member (20) designed to move between a deflated condition and an inflated condition remaining inside a casing (30) of the wearable protection device (10). According to the invention, in the deflated condition the at least one inflatable member (20) has outer dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of available space inside the casing (30). Moreover, in the deflated condition, the at least one inflatable member (20) has at least one portion (22) folded with an accordion shape, whereby such an accordion-shaped portion (22) expands when the at least one inflatable member (20) moves from the deflated condition into the inflated condition and such an accordion-shaped portion (22) contracts when the at least one inflatable member (20) moves from the inflated condition to the deflated condition.