Reconfigurable Piezoelectric Misting Panels for Skin Targeting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional nebulizers are large and inefficient, limiting their portability and ability to effectively target specific areas of the skin due to their size and design, which hinders their use in portable applications such as travel.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable misting nebulizer with hingedly interconnected misting panels made of piezoelectric material, adjustable to approximate the shape of the user's skin, and equipped with proximity sensors to optimize misting and conserve formulation, allowing for efficient and targeted aerosol delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional nebulizer design is used, then aerosol generation function is achieved, but device size is large and portability is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The nebulizer device is divided into separable components: a handheld unit containing the aerosol generator and a separate face mask unit. This segmentation allows the main body to be compact for portability while the mask can be detached for storage, resolving the contradiction between maintaining functional completeness and achieving portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The face mask incorporates three-dimensional contoured panels that can be adjusted in spatial orientation. By adding dimensional adjustability rather than simply reducing size, the device maintains its therapeutic function while becoming more adaptable to different user needs and storage configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fixed shape misting panels are used, then simple structure is maintained, but ability to target specific skin areas is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The face mask panels are designed with hinge joints that allow dynamic adjustment between multiple positions. This enables the structure to transition from a static fixed shape to a dynamic configurable form, allowing targeted delivery to different facial areas while maintaining a relatively simple base structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable panels serve multiple functions: they can be positioned to target different facial zones, folded flat for compact storage, and reconfigured for various treatment areas. This multi-functionality achieves enhanced targeting capability without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
3Productivity
If continuous misting operation is used, then consistent aerosol delivery is maintained, but formulation waste occurs when not in proximity to user
Solution Approach 1:
A proximity sensor detects the distance between the device and the user's face, providing feedback to the control system. Based on this feedback, the aerosol generation is automatically activated or deactivated, ensuring consistent delivery when needed while preventing waste when the user is not in position, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and substance loss.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple misting panels are used to approximate face shape, then targeting precision is improved, but storage space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple misting panels are connected via hinges, allowing them to be dynamically folded into a compact configuration for storage. During use, they can be deployed to approximate the face shape for precise targeting. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between maintaining high targeting precision and reducing storage space requirements.
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 reconfigurable design enhances portability and targeting capabilities, reducing storage space and energy consumption while ensuring efficient aerosol delivery by adjusting to the user's skin shape and activating only when in proximity, thus improving usability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The misting panels may be made of piezoelectric material
Implementation Method 2
the nebulizers operate at ultrasonic frequencies to turn medicine or fragrance from a liquid phase into an aerosol mist
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable misting system and method for treating a region of a biological surface is presented. In an embodiment, a reconfigurable misting nebulizer includes a first misting panel having a plurality of apertures configured to atomize a formulation, and a second misting panel coupled to the first misting panel having a plurality of apertures configured to atomize the formulation. In some embodiments, a relative position of the first misting panel with respect to the second misting panel is adjustable.