Patient Interface Exhaust Venting With High-Drag Air Diffusion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient interface exhaust ports cause discomfort by directing exhaled air onto the patient or bed partner and are difficult to clean, providing a potential for germ growth.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates high-drag passages with textured surfaces, multiple bends, and narrow dimensions to slow airflow and diffuse exhaled gases, using modular components that can be easily cleaned and assembled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple exhaust port design is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the harmful effect of directing exhaled air onto the patient or bed partner increases
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust port is divided into multiple segments including an internal member with multiple inlets and an external member with multiple outlets arranged in a circular pattern. This segmentation allows the exhaust air to be distributed across multiple directions rather than a single direction, reducing the harmful effect of concentrated airflow onto the patient or bed partner.
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust outlets are arranged in a circular pattern around the longitudinal axis of the gas delivery tube, transitioning from a linear or single-point exhaust to a three-dimensional radial distribution. This dimensional change disperses the exhaust air in multiple directions along the circumference, effectively reducing the concentration of harmful airflow in any single direction.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a mesh or fiber material is used to diffuse exhaust air, then the harmful effect of concentrated airflow is reduced, but the ease of cleaning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the problematic mesh or fiber diffusing material from the exhaust port design. Instead of using these difficult-to-clean materials, the patent employs smooth-walled internal and external members with geometrically defined passages, eliminating the cleaning difficulty while maintaining the air diffusion benefit through the circular outlet arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than using actual porous mesh or fiber materials that trap contaminants, the invention uses a geometric configuration of multiple outlets that achieves diffusion through spatial distribution. The smooth surfaces of the internal and external members allow for easy cleaning while the circular arrangement of outlets provides the necessary air dispersion without requiring porous structures.
3Speed
If high-drag passages with textured surfaces and multiple bends are used, then the airflow velocity is reduced for comfort, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The passages incorporate multiple bends and curved transitions rather than straight angular connections. These curved passages gradually change the airflow direction, reducing turbulence and velocity while maintaining smooth flow. The curvature allows for velocity reduction without requiring additional components or complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The internal member includes textured surfaces that change the friction characteristics of the passage walls. By modifying the surface parameters (roughness, texture pattern), the passage creates higher drag and reduces airflow velocity without changing the overall geometric configuration or adding complex structural elements.
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 airflow velocity and directs exhaled air away from the patient, enhancing comfort and hygiene by minimizing germ accumulation.
Implementation Method 1
high-drag passages with textured surfaces, multiple bends, and narrow dimensions to slow airflow
Implementation Method 2
high-drag passages with textured surfaces, multiple bends, and narrow dimensions to slow airflow
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
An arrangement (26) for exhausting gases from a cavity (20) of a patient interface (12) to an ambient environment, and a patient interface for use in providing a flow of treatment gas to the airway of a patient comprising such arrangement. The arrangement includes a body member (28) that forms a portion of the patient interface between the cavity and the ambient environment. The body member includes: - a number of inlets (30) defined in a first side of the body member for receiving gases from the cavity; - a number of outlets (32) defined in a second side of the body member opposite the first side for provide for the exit of gases from the patient interface to the surrounding environment; and - a number of high-drag passages (34) defined in the body member extending laterally between an inlet of the number of inlets and an outlet of the number of outlets.