Inflatable Cushion Body for Patient Transfer Belt
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing repositioning aids for transferring patients are difficult to handle and disinfect, and do not provide adequate support or comfort for the patient, limiting their mobility and ease of use, especially in emergency and care settings.
Innovation Solution
A portable repositioning aid with an inflatable cushion body integrated into an endless belt, allowing the cushion to be inserted into a pocket on the belt, providing support from shoulders to buttocks and enabling easy angle adjustment for comfortable positioning, with a pressure relief valve for fluid management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a rigid board or hard foam body is used around which the endless belt rotates, then the repositioning aid provides structural stability and ease of manufacture, but it increases device complexity and reduces ease of operation for patient comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The body's physical state is changed from rigid (board or hard foam) to flexible and adjustable (inflatable cushion). By changing the parameter of rigidity to flexibility and adjustability through inflation/deflation, the system achieves both ease of manufacture and improved patient comfort with pressure distribution and positioning support.
Solution Approach 2:
The body is transformed from a static rigid structure to a dynamic inflatable cushion that can adjust its shape and firmness. The cushion can be inflated to provide support or deflated to reduce size, enabling it to adapt to different patient needs and storage requirements, thus resolving the contradiction between structural stability and operational ease.
2Ease of operation
If the body is made from sealed hard foam for easy disinfection, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases and patient comfort decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The material parameter is changed from sealed hard foam to a smooth, non-porous inflatable cushion material that can be easily wiped and disinfected. The inflatable design allows the surface to be smooth and seamless, facilitating easy cleaning without the complexity of sealed foam construction, while still providing patient comfort through adjustable pressure distribution.
3Ease of operation
If the endless belt is designed as a slack belt with collapsible space, then ease of operation and compact storage improve, but structural stability worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The belt system is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to be slack and collapsible during storage for compactness, and taut and stable during operation. The inflatable cushion provides the necessary structural stability when inflated, while the belt can be easily adjusted and collapsed when not in use, resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable cushion acts as a counterbalancing element that provides structural stability to the otherwise flexible belt system. When inflated, the cushion's internal pressure counteracts the slackness of the belt, maintaining stability during patient repositioning while allowing the belt to remain collapsible for storage.
4Ease of operation
If an inflatable cushion body is used, then patient comfort and ease of operation improve, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable cushion is divided into separate chambers or sections that can be independently inflated or deflated. This segmentation simplifies the overall structure by breaking down the complex inflatable system into manageable sections, each with its own valve and air passage, making manufacturing and maintenance easier while still providing comprehensive patient support.
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable cushion incorporates self-inflating or self-regulating features, such as one-way valves that maintain pressure automatically or pressure-equalizing channels that distribute air evenly. These self-service mechanisms reduce the need for complex control systems and manual adjustment, simplifying the device while improving patient comfort through automatic pressure distribution.
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 inflatable cushion design offers secure hold, even pressure distribution, and easy mobility for patients, allowing them to change positions independently, while maintaining ease of disinfection and compact storage.
Implementation Method 1
the body is designed as an inflatable cushion, meaning any cushion that can be expanded with a pressurized fluid
Implementation Method 2
The valve is preferably designed as a pressure relief valve, with a non-return body that opens in the direction of an interior of the body and automatically closes as a result of excess pressure in the interior
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a transfer aid in the form of a portable unit for transferring a person, comprising an endless belt that is rotatable in its continuous direction around a space enclosed by the belt; and a body adjacent to the space, which provides a support surface for the person. The transfer aid according to the invention is characterized in that the endless belt has a pocket in a section on one side of the space, into which the body is placed, so that the body moves in the continuous direction together with the section of the endless belt when the belt rotates, the body being designed as a cushion expandable with a pressure fluid.