Hydration Reservoir Molded Panel Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hydration reservoirs take a long time to dry, leading to bacteria growth and unpleasant odors due to their flat layers that retain moisture, preventing efficient drying without additional devices.
Innovation Solution
A deformable hydration reservoir with a molded front panel that creates space between panels when empty, allowing for quick air drying and reducing bacteria growth, featuring a flexible bladder with a three-dimensional shape and a clip member for structural support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If flat layers of film are used in the hydration reservoir, then the reservoir structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the drying time increases and bacteria growth occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by molding at least one panel into a three-dimensional shape with curved surfaces instead of flat layers. This curvature creates gaps and channels between the molded panel and the opposing flat panel, enabling air circulation and significantly reducing drying time while maintaining ease of manufacture through injection molding processes
2Shape
If flat layers of film are pressed against each other, then the reservoir maintains compact shape when full, but moisture pockets are retained and drying is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The molded three-dimensional panel creates permanent gaps and air channels between panels that prevent moisture pocket formation. The curved geometry maintains a compact shape when the reservoir is full while ensuring air circulation paths remain open during drying, eliminating the harmful effect of bacteria growth
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from two-dimensional flat layers to a three-dimensional molded structure. This dimensional change creates spatial gaps and volumetric air channels that flat layers cannot provide, enabling effective drying while maintaining structural integrity
3Productivity
If additional devices or accessories are used to assist drying, then the drying efficiency improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The molded three-dimensional panel structure provides self-service drying functionality through its inherent geometry. The curved surfaces and created gaps enable natural air circulation and moisture evaporation without requiring external drying devices, accessories, or additional user actions, thus maintaining low device complexity while achieving high drying efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A hydration reservoir is provided. The hydration reservoir may include at least two panels of resilient material joined together at edges to define a bladder and a bladder volume for storing a liquid. The at least two panels may be deformable as the bladder is emptied of liquid. One of the at least two panels may be molded into a three-dimensional shape.