Garment With Removable Inflatable Lung For Drowning Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drowning prevention garments for young children, particularly those under 3 years old, fail to provide sufficient buoyancy and airway protection, and are not well-tolerated, with inflatable lungs detaching or not turning the child's body to keep airways above water.
Innovation Solution
A protective garment with a removable inflatable lung system, featuring abdominal floats connected by a cervical portion, automatically inflating upon water contact, and housed compartments to prevent detachment, ensuring buoyancy and airway protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If an inflatable lung is incorporated into a drowning protection garment for young children, then buoyancy is improved, but the inflatable lung may unintentionally detach from the garment
Solution Approach 1:
The abdominal floats are nested within a housing formed by superimposed layers of textile in the front of the garment. The constricted portions of the floats fit within the housing cavities, creating a nested structure that secures the floats while allowing inflation. This resolves the contradiction by providing both buoyancy (through the inflated floats) and attachment security (through the nested housing structure).
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is formed by superimposed layers of textile, creating a three-dimensional structure that accommodates the inflated floats. By utilizing the dimensional space created by layered fabric, the design secures the floats in multiple directions (front-to-back, side-to-side) while maintaining the buoyant force generation capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the inflatable lung is made removable for reuse as the child grows, then adaptability is improved, but the risk of unintentional detachment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable lung system is segmented into removable abdominal floats that can be independently inserted into or removed from the garment's housing. This segmentation allows the floats to be reused with different garments as the child grows, while the housing provides secure retention during use. The constricted portions of the floats engage with the housing to prevent accidental removal.
3Device complexity
If the cervical portion is contained within the garment, then the garment structure is simplified, but the airways may not be kept above water
Solution Approach 1:
The cervical portion is designed to dynamically position itself based on the inflation state. When deflated, it can be contained within the garment for simplicity. When inflated, it automatically positions externally to support the head and keep airways above water. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between structural simplicity and airway protection reliability.
4Ease of operation
If the housing openings are made wide enough to allow easy insertion, then ease of operation is improved, but the abdominal floats may detach during inflation
Solution Approach 1:
The housing openings are designed with differentiated dimensions: wide enough at the entry point to allow easy insertion of the abdominal floats, but with constricted portions that create a narrowing effect. This local variation in opening dimensions provides both ease of insertion and secure retention during inflation, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and float retention.
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 garment provides effective buoyancy and airway protection for young children, is well-tolerated, and allows for easy replacement as the child grows, reducing the need for frequent garment updates.
Implementation Method 1
provide significant buoyancy, and on the other hand, turn the wearer's body and support the head to keep the airways above water
Implementation Method 2
The lung inside the garment inflates when the child or adolescent falls into the water
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5~6a
AI summary
A garment (1) protecting against drowning is described, comprising: an item of clothing (10) comprising a front face intended to cover the abdomen of a user, and a rear face intended to cover the back of the user, an inflatable lung (20) comprising two abdominal floats connected to each other by a neck portion (22), and an inflation device (30) that is used for inflating the inflatable lung and is adapted to inflate the lung automatically when the inflation device is in contact with water, the protective garment being characterized in that the front face of the item of clothing comprises a receptacle shaped to receive the abdominal floats of the inflatable lung, the receptacle opening out via two openings arranged to allow the inflatable lung to be detachably joined to the item of clothing by insertion of each abdominal float into the receptacle via a respective opening.