Breath Keepsake Vessel with Nested Blow-Pipe Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a memento or keepsake that captures the essence of an individual while they are still living, providing a meaningful and lasting way to express love or memorialize a person, which existing methods such as greeting cards and urns with ashes do not adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a vessel with a hollow blow-pipe and a sealing mechanism that allows an individual's breath to be trapped for a prolonged period, which can be displayed as a memento or keepsake, optionally with a base for holding a photograph or written material, and a cap for permanent sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If a vessel is used to contain breath, then the breath can be retained for a prolonged period, but the vessel requires a sealing mechanism to prevent leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The blow pipe is inserted through the aperture and extends into the vessel interior. The sealing plug is nested on the end of the blow pipe, creating a nested structure where the plug seals the aperture when the blow pipe is in place. This nested arrangement integrates the sealing function within the existing blow pipe structure rather than requiring a separate complex sealing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is extracted as a separate removable plug component that can be attached to the blow pipe. This allows the sealing mechanism to be independently designed and attached only when needed, simplifying the overall device by separating the sealing function from the permanent vessel structure.
2Reliability
If a seal is provided to prevent breath leakage, then breath retention is improved, but the device becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing plug includes an elastomeric material that forms a flexible seal against the aperture edges. This flexible membrane approach provides reliable sealing through material compliance rather than complex mechanical sealing structures, maintaining breath containment while minimizing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastomeric sealing material self-adjusts to the aperture shape and size through its flexibility, creating an effective seal without requiring precise manufacturing tolerances or complex adjustment mechanisms. The material itself performs the sealing function adaptively.
3Ease of operation
If the blow pipe remains in the vessel, then the breath can be introduced, but the device cannot be permanently sealed
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing plug is pre-attached to the blow pipe before the breath introduction process. This preliminary arrangement ensures that once the blow pipe is inserted and breath is introduced, the seal is already in place and can be permanently secured without requiring additional steps to install sealing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The blow pipe with its attached sealing plug is inserted as a nested unit into the vessel. This nested configuration allows the blow pipe to serve its introduction function while the integrated plug simultaneously provides the sealing function, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and seal permanence.
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
The device effectively captures and retains an individual's breath, providing a unique and meaningful keepsake that can be displayed, allowing for the preservation of a personal essence and memory.
Implementation Method 1
The vessel is comprised of a material which is adapted to retain air therein for a prolonged period of time
Implementation Method 2
Means are provided for sealing the vessel after introducing the one or more individual's breath therein
Data Source
AI summary
A device for capturing an individual's breath as a keepsake includes a hollow blow-pipe insertable through an aperture through a neck fitted into an aperture of the vessel. After introducing one or more individual's breath into the vessel, the vessel is sealed, such as by using a plug removably attached to an end of the blow-pipe disposed within the vessel and configured to engage the neck as the blow-pipe is removed from the vessel and disengaged from the plug.