Reclining device for the stable lateral positioning of a child
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for infant sleep positioning fail to provide a safe and comfortable lateral positioning that prevents prone or supine positions, thereby risking sudden infant death syndrome and skull deformation.
Innovation Solution
A lying device with a central region of smaller diameter than the head and foot regions, featuring interior padding that can be adjusted to prevent prone or supine positions, ensuring stable lateral positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a regular crib with supine positioning is used, then the risk of sudden infant death syndrome is reduced, but the infant experiences poor sleep quality and skull deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The lying device is segmented into distinct functional zones: a head region with larger diameter to accommodate the infant's head, a central region with smaller diameter to prevent supine positioning, and a foot region with larger diameter for comfort. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific function while working together to resolve the contradiction between safety and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the lying device have different local qualities - the head and foot regions provide more space and comfort, while the central region provides restrictive boundaries. This local differentiation enables the device to simultaneously offer comfort where needed and constraints where safety is prioritized, resolving the contradiction between sleep quality and safety.
2Ease of operation
If lateral positioning pillows are used in regular cribs, then the infant can sleep in lateral position, but the pillows may shift allowing prone position or pose suffocation risk
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the positioning function and the safety function into a single integrated lying device. The device combines the lateral positioning capability with built-in structural features that prevent prone positioning, eliminating the need for separate pillows and their associated safety risks. The unified structure ensures that lateral positioning and prone position prevention work together seamlessly.
Solution Approach 2:
The lying device acts as an intermediary structure between the infant and the crib environment. It provides the necessary lateral positioning support while its specific geometric design (smaller central diameter) mediates the safety concern by physically preventing the infant from rolling into the prone position, thus resolving the contradiction between comfort and safety.
3Reliability
If the central region has smaller diameter to prevent supine position, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases due to adjustable padding
Solution Approach 1:
The lying device incorporates dynamic elements through adjustable interior padding that can be modified as the infant grows. The padding system allows the central region's effective diameter to be adjusted, maintaining the supine position prevention function while adapting to the infant's development. This dynamic adjustment capability resolves the contradiction by keeping the safety function active while managing complexity through systematic design.
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes parameter changes in the form of adjustable padding thickness and positioning to maintain the critical geometric feature (smaller central diameter) that prevents supine positioning. By allowing parameters like padding depth and position to be modified, the device maintains its safety function across different infant sizes while managing complexity through controlled parameter variation rather than structural redesign.
Data Source
AI summary
A reclining device (1) which, due to its shape, enables a child to be placed in a stable lateral position is provided. The device has a shape with a central region (3), and at least one head region (2) and/or a foot region (4), the central region has a smaller diameter than the head region (2) and the foot region (4). In some versions of the device, the smaller diameter of the central region (3) and/or the at least one padded insert (6) in the central region (3) is designed to prevent a child from adopting a prone or supine position. In further embodiments, the reclining device (1) includes at least one padded insert (6) which can be attached to at least one inner wall (3a) in the central region (3) in order to reduce the diameter (3b) of the central region (3).