CPAP Cushioning Structure with Composite Gel Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current respiratory mask designs for nasal CPAP therapy often compromise between comfort and effectiveness, with existing cushioning structures failing to provide optimal sealing and pressure distribution, leading to discomfort and potential skin irritation.
Innovation Solution
A cushioning structure with multiple chambers filled with discrete and layered soft materials, including gels and silicone, which vary in properties such as hardness and resilience, combined with a thin membrane flap for sealing, is designed to provide adjustable comfort and sealing engagement with the face.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single material is used for the cushioning structure, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the comfort and sealing performance are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cushioning structure employs composite materials with different durometer values (softness) in different regions. The mask cushion includes a first region with a first material having a first durometer value and a second region with a second material having a second durometer value. This allows each region to be optimized for its specific function - softer regions for comfort and sealing, slightly firmer regions for structural support - thereby achieving both good sealing performance and ease of manufacture through modular material selection.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the cushioning structure are assigned different material properties according to their functional requirements. The nose bridge portion uses a softer material for comfort and sealing, while the cheek and chin portions use slightly firmer materials for structural integrity. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction by allowing simple manufacturing of each region while achieving overall superior sealing performance.
2Ease of operation
If softer materials are used for the cushioning structure, then comfort is improved, but structural support and seal stability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses composite materials where softer materials (lower durometer values) are combined with slightly firmer materials in specific regions. The softer materials provide comfort and conformability to the user's face, while the firmer materials provide necessary structural support and stability for the seal. This composite approach allows the cushioning structure to simultaneously achieve comfort and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushioning structure implements local quality by assigning different material firmness levels to different anatomical regions. The nose bridge and cheek areas use softer materials for comfort and sealing, while the chin and structural support areas use firmer materials to maintain shape and provide stable support. This spatial variation in material properties resolves the contradiction between comfort and structural support.
3Reliability
If the cushioning structure is made more complex with multiple chambers and materials, then comfort and sealing are improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention achieves superior pressure distribution through composite materials without requiring complex multi-chamber constructions. By strategically selecting and combining materials with different durometer values in different regions of a single integrated cushioning structure, the invention achieves effective pressure distribution and sealing performance while maintaining manufacturing simplicity. The material composition itself provides the functional differentiation that would otherwise require structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention varies the durometer parameter (firmness) of the materials used in different regions to achieve the desired functional characteristics. By changing the material parameter rather than the structural configuration, the invention achieves effective pressure distribution and sealing without increasing manufacturing complexity. This parameter-based differentiation is simpler to manufacture than multi-chamber designs.
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 solution enhances comfort by distributing pressure evenly and improving the seal between the mask and the face, reducing skin irritation and increasing the effectiveness of nasal CPAP therapy.
Implementation Method 1
The filling materials may have the same or different storage modulus, loss modulus, stiffness, hardness, softness, elasticity, thicknesses, resiliency, recoil-characteristics and/or visco-elastic properties
Implementation Method 2
The thin membrane flap includes a free end that is spaced from the cushioning structure in its substantially relaxed, unstressed state and is responsive to a pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the mask chamber to bring at least a portion of the membrane flap into sealing engagement with the patient's face
Implementation Method 3
The filling materials may have the same or different storage modulus, loss modulus, stiffness, hardness, softness, elasticity, thicknesses, resiliency, recoil-characteristics
Data Source
AI summary
A patient interface includes a cushioning structure including at least one hollow chamber filled with first and second discrete and/or layered filling materials and a seal forming structure formed in one piece with the cushioning structure. The seal forming structure includes a thin membrane flap that is structured to provide a seal to the patient's face. The chamber extends only around a portion of the perimeter of the cushioning structure such that the chamber with first and second filling materials is provided in cheek and lip regions of the cushioning structure and a solid silicone portion is provided in a nasal bridge region of the cushioning structure.