Plastic Mask Vent Drilling for Precise CPAP Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing CPAP masks face challenges in providing comfortable ventilation and maintaining positive air pressure while minimizing noise and air leakage, with conventional injection molding limiting vent hole size and consistency, and requiring complex and time-consuming iterative tooling changes.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for drilling an array of vents in plastic masks using a drill, support, and positioning system, allowing for real-time measurement of gas flow to achieve precise vent configuration without the need for new molds, enabling bespoke vent patterns and reduced noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If injection molding is used to produce CPAP masks with vent holes, then masks can be mass-produced, but vent hole size and flow consistency vary between masks and cannot be precisely controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the mask production process into two distinct stages: first, mass production of masks without vent holes using injection molding; second, post-production drilling of vent holes using a computer-controlled drilling machine. This segmentation allows each process to optimize for its specific function, maintaining mass production efficiency while achieving precise vent hole control.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary preparation by producing masks without vent holes through injection molding, then prepares for precise vent hole creation by programming computer-controlled drilling machines with specific drilling patterns and parameters before the actual drilling process begins.
2Adaptability or versatility
If injection molding tools are modified to create different vent hole configurations, then vent flow can be adjusted, but the process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces static injection molding tool configurations with dynamic, programmable drilling parameters. The computer-controlled drilling machine can be reprogrammed to create different vent hole patterns, sizes, and configurations through software changes rather than physical tooling modifications, enabling rapid adaptation to different vent flow requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the approach from modifying physical tooling parameters to modifying drilling parameters (hole diameter, spacing, pattern, depth) through computer programming. This allows versatile adjustment of vent flow characteristics by simply changing numerical values in the control software rather than manufacturing new mold components.
3Ease of operation
If larger vent holes are created in masks, then ventilation improves, but positive air pressure is compromised and air escapes through unwanted pathways
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different drilling parameters to different locations on the mask surface. By controlling hole diameter, spacing, depth, and pattern at specific locations, the system optimizes ventilation in areas requiring airflow while maintaining pressure integrity in critical sealing areas, achieving local quality differentiation for conflicting functional requirements.
4Reliability
If vent hole size is reduced below a certain threshold, then positive pressure is maintained, but the mold becomes too thin and risks failure during injection molding
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the vent hole creation process from the injection molding process itself. By removing the requirement to form vent holes during molding, the system eliminates the constraint that prevents creating sufficiently small holes, allowing vent holes of any size to be created post-production without compromising mold integrity or pressure maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is an apparatus for drilling an array of vents in a plastic mask. The apparatus comprises a drill; a support comprising a surface configured to receive the mask thereat; and a positioning system configured to position the support relative to the drill for drilling vents at sequential locations in the array through a mask received at the surface.