Collapsible Aerosol Box with Flexible Hexagonal Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aerosol boxes are rigid, making them difficult to store and transport, and limit access to only one healthcare provider during aerosol-generating procedures, increasing the risk of infectious exposure for healthcare workers.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible aerosol box with a flexible, hexagonal pyramid structure made of impermeable materials, featuring a spring wire frame, transparent PVC top, and retractable legs for easy deployment and storage, providing multiple access points for healthcare providers and equipment connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid aerosol box is used, then protection effectiveness is improved, but storage and transport difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aerosol box transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure that can change its state between deployed and stored configurations. The flexible yet impermeable material allows the box to be collapsed for storage while maintaining its protective function when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible impermeable material to construct the aerosol box, replacing traditional rigid materials. This flexible shell maintains the protective barrier function against aerosols while enabling collapse and expansion for storage and deployment.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid aerosol box with limited dimensions is used, then structural stability is improved, but access for multiple healthcare providers is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible material allows the aerosol box to be dynamically adjusted in shape and size during procedures, enabling multiple healthcare providers to access the patient simultaneously while maintaining structural integrity and protective function.
Solution Approach 2:
The aerosol box allows changes in its geometric parameters (shape, size, configuration) to accommodate different procedural needs and multiple providers, while maintaining the essential protective barrier properties through the impermeable material.
3Ease of operation
If a collapsible design is used, then storage and transport ease is improved, but structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible impermeable material provides sufficient structural strength to maintain the aerosol barrier function while allowing collapse for storage. The material's flexibility enables deformation without compromising its impermeability or protective capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of specialized flexible impermeable material combines the properties of flexibility (for collapse) and impermeability (for protection), creating a composite structure that satisfies both storage ease and protective strength requirements.
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 collapsible design allows for safe and efficient protection of healthcare workers from infectious aerosols during procedures, enabling multiple providers to access the patient while minimizing cross-contamination and facilitating easy storage and transport.
Implementation Method 1
Legs of spring wire may extend from the vertices of the hexagonal top of the aerosol box and may be secured at their opposite end to the floor sheet, the legs being disposed within the body and extending along the seams between adjacent wall panels of the body so that the legs may be secured together by tie downs before use for compact storage and then resiliently expand to define the hexagonal, pyramidal shape of the body of the aerosol box for use.
Data Source
AI summary
The aerosol box for protection during aerosol-generating procedures is an enclosure for a patient's head and neck. The aerosol box includes a floor formed from at least one flexible sheet. The aerosol box further includes a top defining a central viewing window and a body sealed to the top and the floor. The body is configured as the frustum of a right, regular polygonal enclosure having a plurality of wall panels made of flexible resilient material and may be at least partially transparent. The wall panels are sealed to the top and floor, and one of the wall panels defines a patient entryway for introducing the patient's head and neck into the sealed enclosure. The wall panels include sleeve-and-glove assemblies extending into the enclosure for use by a primary health care worker and a plurality of assistants. The aerosol box is made of material impermeable to contaminants borne by aerosols.