Collapsible Animal Escape Ramp for Pool Safety

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Solution Overview

Problem

Pets and small animals often drown in swimming pools due to inability to climb the steps or vertical sides, leading to costly pool decontamination and emotional distress for owners.

Innovation Solution

A compact, collapsible, and buoyant extended ramp device with foldable or snap-on wing members that can be easily attached to the pool deck or wall, providing a planar surface for animals to escape, featuring a central climbing member, lower extension portion, and brace members for stability and attachment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a traditional pool ladder or steps are used, then animals can escape the pool, but the pool structure is damaged and reconstruction is required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveanimal escape capabilityVSAvoidpool structure damage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a removable ramp device as an intermediary element between the pool and the animal. This ramp provides a gradual incline that animals can climb without damaging the pool structure. The ramp acts as a mediator that solves the escape problem while preserving the integrity of the pool, avoiding the need for reconstruction that would result from installing permanent ladders or steps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The ramp device is designed as an inexpensive, removable, and replaceable component rather than a permanent installation. It can be easily attached and removed without damaging the pool, making it a cost-effective solution that avoids the high expenses of pool reconstruction. The ramp serves its purpose temporarily and can be discarded or replaced if needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If pool decontamination is performed after animal drowning, then pool hygiene is maintained, but costly chemicals and draining/refilling are required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepool contaminationVSAvoiddecontamination cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The ramp device enables preliminary action by allowing animals to escape the pool before drowning occurs. By providing an escape route, the device prevents the harmful event (drowning and subsequent contamination) from happening in the first place, thereby avoiding the need for costly decontamination procedures entirely.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The ramp provides preliminary anti-action by counteracting the tendency of animals to drown in the pool. By establishing an escape path before the harmful event occurs, the device prevents contamination from happening, thereby eliminating the need for expensive chemical treatment and draining/refilling operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

3Reliability

If a long extended ramp is provided for heavy animals, then escape capability is improved, but device complexity and storage difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveescape capability for heavy animalsVSAvoidramp structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The ramp device is divided into multiple segments or sections that can be folded together to form a long extended ramp when needed, and collapsed into a compact form for storage. This segmentation allows the ramp to provide sufficient length for heavy animals to climb out safely, while also enabling easy storage in small spaces when not in use, thereby resolving the contradiction between escape capability and storage difficulty.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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

Enables animals to escape without human assistance, preventing drownings and reducing pool maintenance costs by providing a stable and accessible ramp that remains effective even for heavier animals and can be easily assembled and stored.

Implementation Method 1

The present invention is a buoyant extended ramp device for removable attachment to the deck or wall of a swimming pool or other body of water

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectBuoyancy: Archimedes' Principle (Buoyancy)

Data Source

PatentUS7523516B1Extended water escape ramp device for animals

Publication Date: 2009.04.28 DOSKOCIL MFG CO INC

AI summary

An extended ramp device for helping animals to escape from a body of water includes: (a) a substantially planar upper, support portion including a central, climbing member and two bendable wing members connected to opposite sides of the central climbing member, each of the wing members including a substantially straight upper edge, an arched lower edge, a substantially straight, angled side edge at a front of the wing member, and at least two substantially keyhole-shaped slots; (b) a substantially planar lower, extension portion, the upper, support portion and the lower, extension portion including toehold perforations; (c) at least two brace members, each including a male end connecting projection on each opposite end, each of the brace male end connecting projections being insertable in the two substantially keyhole-shaped slots; and (d) a mechanism for removably attaching the extended ramp device to a structure adjacent or in the body of water; wherein the extended ramp device includes a disassembled position for transport, and an assembled position for use in the body of water.