Respiratory Mask Headgear Structure for Stable Under-Nose Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing respiratory masks struggle with maintaining a stable, airtight seal due to reduced contact area, leading to instability and potential compromise of respiratory therapy delivery, particularly in under-nose or sub-nasal masks.
Innovation Solution
A headgear system with an integrally formed closed loop, comprising a yoke, side arms, and a top strap, along with a rear strap, designed to provide enhanced stability and secure the patient interface by distributing forces away from the seal, using semi-rigid materials and adjustable connections to accommodate various facial geometries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the contact area between the patient interface and patient's face is reduced, then the mask becomes less intrusive and more comfortable, but the seal stability deteriorates leading to potential compromise of respiratory therapy delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The headgear is divided into multiple functional components: a patient interface component that contacts the face, a headgear component that contacts the head, and a connecting component that links them. This segmentation allows the patient interface to have minimal contact area for comfort while the headgear component provides stable anchoring on the head, resolving the contradiction between intrusiveness and seal stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting component acts as an intermediary between the patient interface and the headgear. It includes a first interface for the patient interface and a second interface for the headgear, transmitting forces and maintaining seal stability without requiring increased contact area at the patient's face, thus maintaining comfort while ensuring reliability.
2Reliability
If the headgear provides strong support to maintain airtight seal, then seal stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The headgear component is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides stable anchoring on the head, transmits forces from the patient interface, and maintains seal stability. By consolidating these functions into a single multi-functional component rather than multiple separate components, the design achieves reliable seal stability while minimizing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting component merges the functions of linking the patient interface to the headgear and transmitting forces into a single integrated structure. This combination reduces the number of separate parts and assembly steps, achieving seal stability without excessive complexity.
3Reliability
If the headgear is made rigid to maintain stable position, then seal stability is improved, but the adaptability to various facial geometries deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patient interface component is designed with local quality variations to accommodate different facial geometries at the contact points, while the headgear component maintains rigidity for stable anchoring. The connecting component provides the necessary flexibility to bridge these requirements, allowing the rigid headgear to adapt to various facial shapes without compromising seal stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting component introduces dynamic flexibility that allows the rigid headgear to adapt to different facial geometries. This flexibility enables adjustment and accommodation of various face shapes while the headgear itself remains rigid to maintain stable position and seal integrity during use.
Data Source
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AI summary
A headgear for a respiratory mask is provided. The headgear has a strap comprising a yoke portion configured to connect to a patient interface and first and second side arms. Each of the first and second side arms extend from a lateral rearward portion of the yoke portion and are configured to extend across a cheek and above an ear of a user in use. The yoke portion and first and second side arms are integrally formed. A top strap is provided which couples to and extends between the first and second side arms, and is also configured to extend across the top of the user's head in use. A first edge of the strap comprises a soft edge. A second, opposite edge of the strap comprises a soft edge portion and a rigid edge portion.