Porous Foam Inflatable Member for Rigid Yet Collapsible Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air-inflated members such as rafts, floatation vests, and swimming aids lack sufficient rigidity and are prone to kinking or bending, limiting their use as support members or swimming aids.
Innovation Solution
A fluid inflatable member with a semi-permeable or impermeable membrane enclosing a compressible foam material that allows an influx of incompressible fluid, providing rigidity under bending moments and torsional loads, and includes a valve for fluid control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If air-inflated members are used, then they are easy to manufacture and store, but they lack sufficient rigidity and are prone to kinking or bending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses porous foam material enclosed within the inflatable member. The porous structure allows incompressible fluid to infiltrate and distribute throughout the material, providing rigidity while maintaining the ability to collapse for storage. This resolves the contradiction by introducing a material that can transition between flexible and rigid states based on fluid saturation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple materials: an impermeable or semi-permeable membrane, porous foam material, and incompressible fluid. This composite structure creates a member that is both inflatable for storage and rigid for use, resolving the contradiction between ease of storage and structural strength.
2Strength
If air-inflated members are used, then they can be easily collapsed for storage, but they cannot maintain structural integrity under load
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable member with porous material and incompressible fluid creates a dynamic structure that can transition between collapsed and inflated states. When inflated, the fluid distributes throughout the porous material to provide structural integrity; when deflated, it collapses easily for storage. This resolves the contradiction between maintaining structural integrity and ease of collapse.
3Strength
If semi-permeable or impermeable membrane with porous material is used, then rigidity is improved under bending and torsional loads, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The use of porous foam material allows for a relatively simple manufacturing process where the material can be inserted into the membrane structure and then saturated with fluid. The porous structure itself provides the rigidity under bending and torsional loads, resolving the contradiction between improved strength and manufacturing complexity.
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 fluid inflatable member maintains rigidity and resists bending forces, enabling use as support structures or swimming aids, and can be easily collapsed for storage.
Implementation Method 1
The foam material has a porosity configured to permit an influx of an incompressible fluid
Implementation Method 2
a semi-permeable or impermeable membrane enclosing a compressible foam material
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid inflatable member includes a pliable body having a membrane defining an expandable interior space and including an edge defining an opening through the pliable body and an expandable and compressible porous material enclosed within the expandable interior space of the pliable body. The porous material is configured to receive an amount of fluid and distribute the fluid throughout the interior space to increase a rigidity of the pliable body.