Double-Insert Pillow Design for Cooling and Airflow Permeability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling gel layers in sleep products, such as pillows and mattresses, are impermeable, which limits airflow and minimizes their cooling effect, despite efforts to integrate both cooling gels and permeability.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating pillows with two foam halves, each having a cavity filled with a cooling gel or other filler materials like shredded foam or fibers, which are treated to remain porous, allowing air to pass through while providing a cooling effect by using a combination of memory foam and cooling gel layers that are aligned and adhered together to form a unitary structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a continuous cooling gel layer is provided over the pillow surface, then the cooling effect is improved, but the permeability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pillow is divided into two separate halves, each containing its own cooling gel layer within internal cavities. This segmentation allows each gel layer to provide cooling independently while the spaces between and around them maintain air permeability, resolving the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and breathability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling gel layers are nested within cavities formed in the pillow halves, with the gel layers positioned to contact the filler material. This nested structure allows the cooling gel to be contained and positioned effectively while maintaining the overall porous structure of the pillow that allows air flow.
2Temperature
If gel layers are applied to cover the surface, then the cooling effect is improved, but the airflow is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling gel layers are applied locally to specific regions where users typically place their heads, rather than covering the entire pillow surface. This localized application provides cooling where needed while leaving other areas open for air circulation, maintaining both cooling effectiveness and airflow.
Solution Approach 2:
A permeable filler material is used as an intermediary between the cooling gel layer and the external environment. This filler material allows air to pass through while maintaining contact with the cooling gel, enabling both cooling and airflow functions to coexist.
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
This approach maintains airflow while offering a significant cooling effect, enhancing user comfort by preventing the surface from becoming non-permeable and ensuring effective heat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
the gel material conducts heat away from the body to cool the body
Implementation Method 2
the material remains porous and allows air to pass therethrough
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making a pillow includes obtaining a first pillow half having an outer surface and an inner surface having a first cavity formed therein, filling the first cavity with a first filler material, obtaining a second pillow half having an outer surface and an inner surface having a second cavity formed therein, and filling the second cavity with a second filler material. The method includes, after the filling steps, juxtaposing the inner surface of the first pillow half with the inner surface of the second pillow half and joining the first and second pillow halves together to form a pillow.