Engineered Surface for Low Friction Respiratory Mask
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional respiratory masks cause skin friction and discomfort, leading to red marks and potential skin damage due to prolonged use, as they lack effective low-friction surfaces for prolonged skin contact.
Innovation Solution
A patient interface device with an engineered surface featuring non-random, predesigned surface features of specific pitch and height, designed to reduce friction and improve comfort by minimizing skin contact area and shear loading, utilizing materials like silicone with optimized durometer and elastic modulus for the seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional smooth sealing surface is used, then effective sealing is achieved, but skin friction and discomfort increase leading to red marks and potential skin damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface characteristics to different regions of the sealing surface. Specifically, it creates localized low-friction zones with modified surface energy properties adjacent to high-friction sealing zones. This allows the sealing portions to maintain high friction for effective sealing while the low-friction zones reduce skin damage and discomfort during prolonged wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies surface energy parameters of the sealing material by applying treatments or coatings that create regions with different surface energies. These parameter changes result in adjacent zones with contrasting friction characteristics, enabling simultaneous achievement of effective sealing and reduced skin irritation.
2Reliability
If the sealing surface area is increased to improve sealing, then sealing effectiveness improves, but the area of skin contact increases leading to more friction and discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates localized low-friction zones within the sealing surface that allow for effective sealing over a larger area without proportionally increasing overall friction and discomfort. The strategic placement of these low-friction zones enables broad coverage while minimizing skin damage.
3Reliability
If a highly friction-resistant material is used for the seal, then sealing effectiveness improves, but user comfort deteriorates due to increased skin friction during prolonged use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements spatial variation in friction properties by creating adjacent zones with different surface characteristics. The high-friction zones provide effective sealing while the low-friction zones reduce skin damage and improve comfort during prolonged wear, resolving the contradiction between sealing effectiveness and user comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent effectively creates a composite surface structure by combining materials or treatments with different friction properties in adjacent zones. This composite approach allows the seal to exhibit both high-friction and low-friction characteristics in different regions, simultaneously achieving effective sealing and reduced skin irritation.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A patient interface device includes an elastomeric contacting portion that is structured to directly engage the skin of the user. The contacting portion has an engineered surface that includes a plurality of non-random, predesigned surface features designed to reduce friction and improve user comfort. In one implementation, the pitch between each immediately adjacent pair of the surface features is less than or equal to a predetermined maximum pitch value, and the height of each of the surface features is less than or equal to a predetermined maximum height value.