Flexible Pet Collar with Resilient Padding for Comfort and Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional Elizabethan collars for animals are uncomfortable, difficult to store, and ineffective in preventing animals from accessing wounds or medicated areas due to their rigid materials, which can lead to prolonged healing times and increased infection risk.
Innovation Solution
A protective collar composed of flexible materials with a resilient padding layer that maintains shape while being soft enough for comfort, featuring adjustable closures and stitching for easy fitting and storage, and secure attachment to prevent layer separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional rigid materials are used for Elizabethan collars, then the collar provides structural support and prevents animal access to wounds, but the collar becomes uncomfortable for the animal, difficult to store, and prone to breaking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters from rigid to flexible while maintaining the protective function. The flexible material allows the collar to bend and conform to the animal's neck while still providing sufficient structural support to prevent access to wounds, resolving the contradiction between reliability and comfort/storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction with an outer flexible material layer and an inner padding layer. This composite structure combines the protective capability of rigid materials with the comfort and flexibility of soft materials, allowing the collar to be both effective and comfortable while being easy to store.
2Shape
If rigid materials are used for Elizabethan collars, then the collar maintains its shape to block animal access to injuries, but the collar becomes difficult to store and may break if bent too far
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the rigidity parameter of the collar material from rigid to flexible. The flexible material maintains the collar's shape through its inherent elasticity and the conical geometry rather than through rigid structural support, allowing easy storage and preventing breakage while maintaining protective shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible outer material that forms a conical shell structure. This flexible shell maintains the necessary shape to block animal access to injuries while being flexible enough to be easily stored and resistant to breaking, eliminating the need for rigid materials.
3Reliability
If rigid Elizabethan collars are used, then the collar effectively blocks animal access to wounds, but the collar causes stress to the animal and may scratch furniture or knock things over
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material properties from rigid to flexible, which reduces the harmful effects generated by the collar. The flexible material prevents the collar from scratching furniture or knocking things over while maintaining the protective function, and the softer material reduces stress on the animal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction with an outer flexible material layer that provides the protective barrier and an inner padding layer that enhances comfort. This composite structure maintains the protective function while eliminating the harmful effects of rigid materials such as scratching furniture and causing animal stress.
4Reliability
If traditional rigid E-collars are used, then the collar provides protective function, but the collar is uncomfortable for the animal and animals attempt to remove it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from rigid to flexible, which directly addresses the animal comfort issue. The flexible material is comfortable enough that animals do not attempt to remove the collar, while still providing the necessary protective function to prevent access to wounds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction with an outer flexible material layer for comfort and an inner padding layer for additional comfort and protection. This composite structure ensures the collar is comfortable enough that animals will not attempt to remove it, while maintaining the protective function against wound access.
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 collar effectively prevents animals from contacting wounds or medicated areas while being more comfortable and easier to store, reducing stress and the risk of infection by using flexible materials and secure fastening systems.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient padding layer that maintains shape while being soft enough for comfort
Data Source
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AI summary
A custom fittable collar for an animal, useful to prevent the animal from contacting injured areas on the body, thus promoting healing of wounds. The collar comprises opposing sheets of flexible material with a resilient material held between them. The resulting collar is rigid enough to resist deformation thus preventing licking or biting of a wound by the animal, but soft enough that the collar is both comfortable to wear, and less likely to catch on other objects, thus improving the safety and wearability of the collar. The collar further comprises a closure assembly adapted for easy placement or removal of the collar. The collar further comprises stitching that creates fold lines to allow the collar to be conveniently folded.