Graduated Pressure Applicator With Pillar Structures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Graduated compression stockings and devices often apply uneven pressure, leading to discomfort and potential further issues due to excessive pressure in certain areas, which can exacerbate conditions like deep vein thrombosis and venous disease.
Innovation Solution
A device with a sealed enclosure and pillar-like structures arranged in sets of varying height and hardness, which applies graduated pressure along an axis by evacuating fluid, allowing for differential pressure distribution when air is evacuated, mimicking the action of a vacuum compression device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If graduated compression stockings apply pressure to promote venous circulation, then blood pooling is reduced, but excessive pressure in certain areas causes discomfort and potential harm
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using pillar-like structures with varying heights and/or hardnesses at different locations within the compression device. This creates locally differentiated pressure zones that can be tailored to specific anatomical requirements, ensuring adequate compression where needed while avoiding excessive pressure in sensitive areas. The pillar structures allow precise control over pressure distribution at different segments of the treated limb.
2Ease of manufacture
If compression devices apply uniform pressure to simplify design and manufacturing, then device complexity is reduced, but pressure distribution becomes uneven leading to discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the compression device into multiple discrete pillar-like structures rather than using a uniform continuous compression surface. Each pillar can be independently configured with specific height and hardness characteristics, allowing the device to achieve complex pressure distribution patterns through assembly of standardized components. This segmentation enables both manufacturing efficiency through modular construction and customized pressure profiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by varying the physical dimensions (height) and material properties (hardness) of the pillar-like structures across different locations. This allows the device to transform from a simple uniform compression structure into a sophisticated system that delivers graduated pressure profiles tailored to anatomical requirements, improving comfort and effectiveness without significantly complicating the fundamental device architecture.
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 device effectively applies graduated pressure along a limb, reducing the risk of blood pooling and swelling, while minimizing discomfort by varying pressure distribution, thus improving venous circulation and preventing conditions like deep vein thrombosis.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum pump adapted to evacuate air from within the sealed enclosure
Implementation Method 2
the pillar-like structures are drawn closer together... such that when air is evacuated from the sealed enclosure the device applies graduated pressure along an axis to an underlying surface
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device for applying graduated pressure to an underlying surface. An exemplary device is a graduated compression device or a graduated pressure bandage, that is able to apply graduated pressure to a limb, with higher pressure being applied at one end of the device, e.g. near the ankle in use, and gradually applying less pressure at the other end of the device, e.g. such that the lowest pressure is applied to the end of the stocking closest to the thigh in use.