Underwater Mask Single Discharge Valve Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Full Face Masks for snorkeling require complex designs with multiple components to manage breathing and fogging issues, necessitating simplification while maintaining functionality and water tightness.
Innovation Solution
A mask design with a single discharge opening near the mouth, incorporating a valve-like non-return mechanism and a partitioning wall to separate upper and lower chambers, allowing efficient expulsion of breathed gases and water during exhalation, and utilizing a snorkel with dedicated channels for air intake and exhaust, reducing the number of openings and flow control devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a Full Face Mask design is used to allow nose and mouth breathing, then ease of operation and comfort are improved, but device complexity increases due to greater number of components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple discharge openings into a single integrated discharge opening located at the lower part of the gasket. This single opening handles both the discharge of breathed air and water from the lower chamber, eliminating the need for separate discharge mechanisms and reducing the overall number of components in the Full Face Mask system.
Solution Approach 2:
The single discharge opening serves multiple functions: it acts as both an air discharge pathway and a water drainage outlet. The valve mechanism within this single opening differentiates between air and water discharge, allowing one component to perform what traditionally required multiple separate components, thereby simplifying the overall mask design.
2Productivity
If multiple discharge openings and flow control devices are used, then air exchange efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple discharge functions into a single discharge opening with an integrated valve mechanism. This reduces the number of separate flow control devices that need to be manufactured and assembled, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining effective air exchange through the valve-controlled single opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve mechanism within the single discharge opening automatically differentiates between air and water discharge based on the natural properties of the fluids. During exhalation, the valve opens for air discharge; during water accumulation, gravity causes water to drain through the same opening when pressure conditions permit. This self-regulating mechanism eliminates the need for complex external control systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple openings and valves are used to manage air flow, then air exchange functionality is improved, but water tightness and sealing reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
By consolidating multiple discharge openings into a single opening with an integrated valve, the patent reduces the number of potential leak points in the gasket sealing system. Fewer openings mean fewer opportunities for water infiltration, thereby improving water tightness while the valve mechanism maintains effective air exchange functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket is divided into distinct functional zones: an upper chamber for air intake and a lower chamber for water collection and discharge. The partitioning wall with its specific valve mechanism creates a segmented flow management system that maintains sealing integrity by confining air and water flows to their respective zones, preventing cross-contamination and maintaining water tightness.
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
Enhances water tightness, simplifies construction, and improves durability by reducing the number of components and flow control devices, while maintaining effective air exchange and purging of water from the lower chamber.
Implementation Method 1
allowing the simultaneous expulsion from the lower chamber 303 of the breathed gases and of any water present in the said lower chamber 303 through to the said opening 30
Implementation Method 2
The two chambers communicate through a passage provided in the septum and through a one-way valve so that the air can flow from the upper chamber to the lower chamber and not vice versa
Data Source
AI summary
A mask for underwater use includes a frame, a transparent part supported by the frame, and a gasket part mounted on the frame and configured to be positioned on the face of a user. The gasket part has a perimeter edge adapted to rest on the perimeter of the user's face, and the perimeter edge includes a discharge opening, which is located at the region configured to be arranged near the user's mouth and which is the seat of a valve non-return mechanism, which enables the expulsion of breathed gases simultaneously with any water present in the lower chamber through the opening.