Negative Pressure Generator Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for obstructive sleep apnea, hypopnea, and upper airway resistance syndrome, such as CPAP machines, suffer from significant side effects like dry throat and nasal congestion, leading to low patient compliance, and existing negative pressure generators are not portable or effective in reducing noise and vibration.
Innovation Solution
A negative pressure generator with a soundproofing module and silencing tube structure, utilizing flexible intake and exhaust tubes in loop or parallel configurations, to reduce noise and vibration, and a built-in power supply for portability, creating a quiet and comfortable sleeping environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vacuum pump is used to generate negative pressure, then the therapeutic effect is achieved, but noise and vibration increase
Solution Approach 1:
A silencing tube structure is introduced as an intermediary component between the vacuum pump and the external environment. This structure includes an intake tube and an exhaust tube that guide air flow through a longer, more complex path, thereby reducing noise and vibration transmission while maintaining the vacuum pump's therapeutic function.
Solution Approach 2:
The silencing tube structure extends the air flow path in additional spatial dimensions, creating a longer and more tortuous route for air intake and exhaust. This dimensional extension allows noise and vibration to dissipate over a longer distance without compromising the vacuum generation capability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the length of intake/exhaust tube is increased to reduce noise, then noise reduction is achieved, but the size of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The silencing tube structure is designed to be nested within or integrated with the existing device housing and components. The intake and exhaust tubes are routed through available spaces within the device structure, allowing extended tube lengths to be accommodated without proportionally increasing the external device dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tubes are designed with curved and bent configurations rather than straight lines, allowing them to fit within compact three-dimensional spaces. The curved paths enable longer effective tube lengths to be packed into smaller volumes by utilizing spatial curvature efficiently.
3Reliability
If a CPAP machine is used to treat sleep apnea, then airway patency is maintained, but patient compliance decreases due to side effects
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying positive pressure to force the airway open (CPAP approach), this invention inverts the approach by applying negative pressure to pull the tongue forward and lift the rear portion of the tongue away from the back of the airway. This alternative mechanism achieves airway patency without the side effects associated with positive pressure ventilation.
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 solution effectively reduces noise and vibration, enhancing user comfort and compliance by providing a portable, quiet, and efficient negative pressure source for oral interface devices, improving sleep quality for patients with sleep breathing disorders.
Implementation Method 1
a soundproofing module having a compartment for accommodating the vacuum pump, the soundproofing module being configured to insulate noise and vibration generated when the vacuum pump is in operation
Implementation Method 2
the soundproofing module being configured to insulate noise and vibration generated when the vacuum pump is in operation
Implementation Method 3
the silencing tube module being configured to reduce noise generated at the intake end and/or the exhaust end of the vacuum pump
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a negative pressure generator comprising a vacuum pump having an intake end and an exhaust end, a soundproofing module having a compartment for accommodating the vacuum pump, the soundproofing module being configured to insulate noise and vibration generated when the vacuum pump is in operation, and a silencing tube module comprising a flexible intake tube having one open end communicating with the intake end of the vacuum pump and a flexible exhaust tube having one open end communicating with the exhaust end of the vacuum pump, the silencing tube module being configured to reduce noise generated at the intake end and/or the exhaust end of the vacuum pump when the vacuum pump is in operation. The negative pressure generator can provide a vacuum source to an oral interface device to favorably create a negative pressure environment in a user's oral cavity so that the patency of the user's upper airway is maintained.