Collapsible Pathogen Protection Enclosure With Filtered Air
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hooded ventilators and breathing hoods are bulky, uncomfortable, and difficult to produce and store in large quantities, while allowing sound to travel easily and collapsing into a small form factor for storage.
Innovation Solution
A pathogen protection device with an expandable enclosure made of foldable and flexible material, supported by spring wire loops, which can be folded flat for storage and includes filters for air filtration and communication, with a blower and battery pack for mobility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing hooded ventilators and breathing hoods are made of impervious plastic to provide protection, then pathogen containment is improved, but weight increases and portability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible plastic sheet (polyethylene terephthalate) to create the enclosure instead of rigid plastic. The sheet is stretched over a collapsible frame to form a lightweight, flexible protective hood that maintains pathogen containment while significantly reducing weight and improving portability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If existing breathing hoods are made of rigid material to retain shape, then structural stability is improved, but ease of storage deteriorates due to bulkiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a collapsible frame structure that can transition between expanded and collapsed states. The frame includes collapsible sides with hinges and elastic elements that allow the structure to maintain its shape when deployed but collapse into a compact form for storage, eliminating the need for rigid permanent structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsible frame is designed to nest within itself when collapsed, with the plastic sheet and structural components folding into a compact configuration that occupies minimal storage space while maintaining full functionality when deployed.
3Strength
If existing hoods are made of thick material to provide protection, then durability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to bulkiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin flexible plastic sheet stretched taut over the collapsible frame to provide protection. The tensioned thin film maintains structural integrity and protective capability without the weight and bulk of thick rigid materials, significantly improving user comfort and ease of operation.
4Productivity
If existing breathing hoods are produced in large quantities for pandemic response, then availability is improved, but manufacturing cost and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the protective hood into separable components: a reusable collapsible frame structure and disposable plastic sheets. This segmentation allows rapid production of inexpensive disposable sheets while the frame can be reused multiple times, significantly reducing per-unit manufacturing costs for large-scale pandemic response while minimizing storage 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 device provides effective pathogen containment, allows for better communication, and is lightweight and collapsible, enabling easy storage and production in large quantities.
Implementation Method 1
at least two of the walls including a spring wire loop operably attached to the respective walls to stretch the walls outwardly
Data Source
AI summary
A pathogen protection device includes an enclosure made of air-tight material, the enclosure is configured to seal a user's head from outside of the enclosure and allow the user to see through; and a filter is disposed on a wall of the enclosure to allow filtered air to enter and exit the enclosure, the filter is configured to remove pathogens from the filtered air.