Lightweight gel sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gel pillows lack effective air permeability, leading to reduced comfort and increased sanitary issues due to trapped air and displacement of filler materials, resulting in uneven support and difficulty in maintaining long-term head or neck support.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight gel sleeve design featuring a top and bottom gel layer with a lateral gel layer, incorporating a double-layer gel structure with air holes in a honeycomb pattern and a breathable cloth within the middle cavity, allowing for air circulation and preventing filler displacement, while ensuring structural integrity and ease of maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the first pillow is directly superimposed on the second pillow with a fabric sleeve, then the pillow structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the air circulation is restricted and sanitary problems increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pillow is divided into multiple independent gel pillows (first pillow, second pillow) that can be stacked, with each gel pillow having its own air circulation channels. This segmentation allows air to flow through multiple pathways rather than being restricted in a single enclosed space, resolving the contradiction between simple structure and air circulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gel material itself is designed with porous characteristics that allow air permeability. The gel pillow structure incorporates air channels and porous gel composition, enabling air to pass through the material rather than being trapped, thus improving air circulation while maintaining the simplicity of the stacked pillow structure.
2Ease of operation
If a fabric sleeve with high tensile property and softness is used, then the pillow is comfortable and close to human skin, but the fabric sleeve cannot effectively prevent the gel pad and filler from shifting
Solution Approach 1:
The gel pillow is designed with curved, rounded surfaces that conform to the natural contours of the head and neck. This curvature design provides stable contact areas that prevent shifting while maintaining comfort, eliminating the need for high-tensile fabric sleeves to hold the filler in place.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental parameter of the pillow structure from a fabric-enclosed system to a self-contained gel pillow system. By altering the shape, density, and structural parameters of the gel material itself, the pillow achieves both comfort and stability without relying on restrictive fabric sleeves.
3Device complexity
If the pillow only contacts with the filler through the surface, then the structure is simple, but displacement occurs when thrust exceeds friction, causing the pillow to lose support
Solution Approach 1:
The gel material acts as an intermediary between the user's head/neck and the internal filler structure. The gel's viscoelastic properties provide a stable interface that distributes pressure evenly and prevents displacement, maintaining reliable support without requiring complex mechanical contact structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The pillow utilizes composite material properties by combining gel layers with filler materials in a structured arrangement. This composite structure provides both surface contact stability and internal support, preventing displacement while maintaining structural simplicity.
4Force
If the air in the pillow is compressed when the pillow is pressed, then the elastic force provides support, but the compressed air increases the probability of sanitary problems and reduces comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The gel pillow is designed with continuous air circulation channels that allow air to flow constantly through the structure. This continuous air flow prevents compression and stagnation, maintaining both the elastic support function and sanitary conditions by ensuring fresh air circulation rather than trapped compressed air.
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 design enhances air permeability, maintains comfort by evenly dispersing pressure, prevents sanitary issues, and extends the pillow's service life by allowing air circulation and easy filler replacement, ensuring consistent support and hygiene.
Implementation Method 1
Gel is a solid in liquid, which has good energy absorption and buffering function
Implementation Method 2
the air in the pillow can not only circulate up and down, but also circulate left and right
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a lightweight gel sleeve, which comprises a top gel layer, a bottom gel layer and a lateral gel layer, wherein the top gel layer defines a middle cavity, and the lateral gel layer extends upward from the outer edge of the bottom gel layer to connect the bottom gel layer to the top gel layer; the top gel layer, the bottom gel layer and the lateral gel layer enclose an internal space, and the bottom gel layer defines a central opening communicated with the internal space through the gel layers, the central opening provides a passage through the gel layers and the internal space, and the top gel layer, the bottom gel layer and the lateral gel layer are integrally formed.