Expandable Bellows Eyewash Station for Compact Fluid Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emergency eyewash stations face challenges with large and obtrusive collection reservoirs, which occupy space and may cause spillage, and previous designs with gravity-assist mechanisms still suffer from inconsistent water pressure and flow.
Innovation Solution
An emergency eyewash station featuring an expandable bellows waste collection system that compresses to a small size when not in use, expanding to capture a volume of approximately 6 gallons of eyewash fluid, utilizing a flexible rubber bellows structure and gravity feed-assist mechanism to ensure consistent fluid flow and minimize spillage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large collection reservoir is used to capture 6 gallons of eyewash fluid, then the station can meet ANSI standards for fluid collection, but the reservoir occupies excessive space and may cause spillage
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows reservoir is designed to be dynamically expandable and collapsible. During normal operation, it expands to accommodate 6 gallons of fluid. During shipping and storage, it collapses to a compact size. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between needing large capacity and minimizing occupied space.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows reservoir utilizes a flexible rubber construction with pleated folds that allow it to expand and collapse. This flexible shell design enables the reservoir to achieve large volume when needed while maintaining a compact form factor during transport, eliminating the need for a permanently large rigid container.
2Reliability
If gravity-fed self-contained systems are used, then water quality is improved by eliminating plumbing contaminants, but water pressure becomes low and inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-fills the bellows reservoir with 6 gallons of clean eyewash fluid before use. This preliminary action ensures that when the station is activated, there is already a substantial volume of clean fluid available under gravity feed, providing both quality assurance and sufficient pressure head for effective flushing.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows reservoir design replicates the successful gravity-assist mechanism from commercial eye wash stations while improving upon it by using an expandable structure. This allows the system to maintain the proven gravity-fed quality assurance while optimizing fluid delivery pressure through the bellows' expansion characteristics.
3Reliability
If the bellows expands to capture full fluid volume, then spillage is minimized, but the structure must be sufficiently rigid to support the weight of 6 gallons of fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The rubber bellows construction provides both flexibility for expansion and sufficient structural strength to support the weight of 6 gallons of fluid. The pleated design distributes the weight load across multiple folds and the attachment points to the main body, preventing collapse while containing the full fluid volume to prevent spillage.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows reservoir combines rubber material properties to achieve both expandability and load-bearing capacity. The material composition provides elasticity for expansion while maintaining tensile strength to support the fluid weight, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and structural strength 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 expandable bellows system allows for a compact, aesthetically pleasing design that maintains consistent eyewash fluid flow and reduces spillage, meeting ANSI standards while optimizing storage and installation in smaller spaces.
Implementation Method 1
The expandable reservoir is initially compressed to a flattened state so as to be substantially hidden from view when the unit is not in use. However, when the station is activated, and the waste fluid begin to accumulate and drain into the reservoir, the bellows can expand downwardly to increase the interior volume
Implementation Method 2
The self-contained emergency eye wash station generally comprises a housing, a collection reservoir, and a platen. The housing includes a shelf that supports a pair of flexible containers arranged in side-by-side relation. The flexible containers are of the type generally referred to as 'bag-in-a-box' packaging, having an inner flexible plastic bag containing the eyewash fluid, and an outer cardboard box structure, which supports the flexible bag in a predetermined shape.
Implementation Method 3
The reservoir is slidably mounted to the housing while the platen is connected to the reservoir. As the reservoir fills, the platen presses downward on the flexible container with a downward gravitational force proportional to a weight of the eye wash fluid collected in the reservoir. The transfer of the weight of the eye wash fluid collected in the reservoir to the platen maintains a constant flow of eye wash fluid dispensed from the nozzle.
Data Source
AI summary
An emergency eyewash station is disclosed. The emergency eyewash station includes a reservoir containing an eyewash fluid and a mechanism for dispensing the eyewash fluid from the reservoir to wash an injured person's eyes. An expandable container is configured and arranged to collect used eyewash fluid after the eyewash fluid has been dispensed to wash the injured person's eyes. The station can be further enhanced by equipping the expandable container with a pair of straps configured to compress the reservoir thereby providing a gravity assist to dispensing eyewash fluid.