Floating Frontwall Breathing Apparatus for Nasal Prong Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional breathing assistance apparatuses with nasal prongs can separate from the nose when external forces are applied during sleep, leading to insufficient gas supply and compromised sleeping quality.
Innovation Solution
A breathing assistance apparatus design featuring a main body unit with a rearwall and frontwall connected by a thinner connecting wall, allowing for floating movement, which prevents nasal prongs from being dislodged from the nostrils, ensuring continuous gas delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the main body is made as a single rigid structure, then the structural strength is improved, but the nasal prongs separate from the nose when external force is applied
Solution Approach 1:
The main body is divided into a rearwall and a frontwall connected by a connecting wall, creating a segmented structure that allows relative movement between parts while maintaining overall structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting wall is designed with different thicknesses (thinner frontwall-connecting portion vs. thicker rearwall-connecting portion) to create a hinge-like joint that enables dynamic floating movement of the frontwall relative to the rearwall, allowing the structure to adapt to external forces while maintaining nasal prong placement
2Adaptability or versatility
If the connecting wall is made thin to allow floating movement, then the adaptability to external forces is improved, but the structural strength is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting wall has non-uniform thickness with a thinner frontwall-connecting portion (for flexibility and floating movement) and a thicker rearwall-connecting portion (for structural strength), creating different local properties within a single component to simultaneously achieve adaptability and strength
Data Source
AI summary
A breathing assistance apparatus includes a main body unit, a head strap unit, a nasal prong unit, and an intake unit. The main body unit has a rearwall, a frontwall, a connecting wall connected between the rearwall and the frontwall to define a chamber thereamong. The connecting wall has a rearwall-connecting portion connected to the rearwall, and a frontwall-connecting portion connected between the frontwall and the rearwall-connecting portion and having a thickness smaller than that of the rearwall-connecting portion so as to allow for floating movement of the frontwall relative to the rearwall.