Lifesaving Cocoon Pod with Flexible Spider Silk Skin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing travel-related safety measures fail to provide comprehensive and adaptable protection for occupants in various modes of transportation during accidents, lacking flexibility and comprehensive safety features such as breakaway connections and integrated safety systems.
Innovation Solution
A cocoon-like pod unit with durable, flexible Spider Silk or carbon fibre skin and a titanium frame, designed for full-body protection, featuring a breakaway connection system, airbags, parachute, and optional airtight ventilation, adaptable for different transportation types and occupant sizes, ensuring safety and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid protective structure is used to ensure full-body protection, then safety is improved, but flexibility and adaptability to occupant positions deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible skin made of Spider Silk or carbon fibre that can deform and adapt to different occupant positions while maintaining protective integrity. This flexible shell surrounds the occupant in a cocoon-like configuration, allowing the structure to conform to various seating positions without compromising safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective structure combines multiple materials with complementary properties: Spider Silk or carbon fibre for the flexible skin, titanium for the strong yet flexible frame, and reinforced polymer for the seat base. This composite construction achieves both rigidity for protection and flexibility for adaptation.
2Reliability
If a breakaway connection system is implemented to protect occupants in major accidents, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into modular components: a coupler mechanism that can detach from the vehicle interior, a release mechanism triggered by impact sensors, and a retention system that maintains connection during normal operation. This segmentation allows complex safety functionality while maintaining manageable system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The breakaway connection system automatically detects impact conditions through sensors and triggers the release mechanism without human intervention. The system self-regulates based on detected forces, eliminating the need for manual operation while maintaining safety functionality.
3Reliability
If integrated safety features like airbags and parachutes are added, then survival probability is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
Safety features such as airbags and parachutes are pre-positioned and pre-configured within the cocoon structure before deployment. The airbags are stored in compact chambers and the parachute is attached to the exterior frame, ready for immediate deployment upon impact detection, eliminating the need for complex assembly operations during emergencies.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple safety functions are integrated into a single unified system: the cocoon structure itself provides protection, airbags are embedded within the same structure, and the parachute is attached to the frame. This merging reduces the number of separate systems while maintaining comprehensive safety coverage.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the cocoon is made airtight to prevent virus contact, then health safety is improved, but ventilation and oxygen supply become restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical ventilation openings with an electromagnetic or battery-operated ventilator system that can control air exchange. This substitution allows the cocoon to maintain a sealed barrier against viruses while still permitting regulated airflow for oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The airtightness parameter of the cocoon can be dynamically adjusted based on operational requirements. The system can transition between a fully sealed configuration for maximum virus protection and a partially vented configuration for enhanced air exchange, allowing optimization of both health safety and respiratory comfort.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus provides a lifesaving, cocoon and includes a seat arranged to be mounted in a passenger transportation and a pod unit with rounded, semi-rigid walls surrounding and securely enclosing a human body on the seat. The pod unit has an outer skin of a flexible material supported on a generally helical wire interior frame which is coiled into a generally oval exterior shape with upper and lower ends which are narrower than a central area. The outer skin of the pod unit can be made of spider silk or any flexible lightweight material. The helical wire frame upon which the skin is stretched over is made of a strong and flexible material which allows the frame to flex to different locations with the skin carried thereby and remaining stretched thereon. The pod can include transport specific additions such as a parachute and/or flotation and may be separable from the vehicle in the event of a collision.