Protective Helmet Removal Using Inflatable Balloon Force Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
The removal of protective helmets from an injured person's head often results in additional neck trauma due to the tight-fitting design, necessitating significant force that can cause further injury, especially to the cervical spine.
Innovation Solution
A device with a longitudinally extended means for inserting a balloon between the helmet and the head, connected to an air-pumping mechanism, allows for the helmet to be lifted without exerting force on the neck by evenly distributing pressure across the skull using an elastic balloon.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the helmet is designed with tight-fitting padding for optimal head protection, then the protective function is improved, but the helmet becomes difficult to remove without exerting force on the wearer's neck
Solution Approach 1:
A balloon is introduced as an intermediary element between the helmet and the head. The balloon is inflated to create a lifting force that raises the helmet off the head, allowing removal without direct pulling force on the neck. This mediator transfers the removal force from the neck area to the top of the head, solving the contradiction between secure fit and easy removal.
2Productivity
If considerable force is exerted on the helmet to remove it from the head, then the helmet can be removed, but the risk of causing paraplegia increases
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon acts as a force-transferring intermediary that distributes the lifting force across the top of the head rather than concentrating it on the neck. This allows rapid helmet removal while eliminating the harmful force transmission to the cervical spine that could cause paraplegia.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of force application from concentrated pulling force on the neck to distributed lifting force on the top of the head. By altering how the force is applied (through balloon inflation rather than manual pulling), the removal can be performed quickly without creating harmful stress on the spinal cord.
3Volume of moving object
If the balloon is made elastic to reduce insertion space requirements, then the device compactness is improved, but the balloon requires more volume to generate sufficient lifting force
Solution Approach 1:
The balloon undergoes a phase transition from a compact deflated state during insertion to an inflated expanded state during helmet removal. This allows the balloon to occupy minimal space during device insertion while expanding to generate the necessary lifting force once positioned between the helmet and head.
Solution Approach 2:
The balloon's volume parameter is dynamically changed from a small deflated state for insertion to a large inflated state for force generation. This parameter transformation resolves the contradiction by allowing the same object to satisfy both compact storage requirements and sufficient lifting force requirements at different stages of the process.
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 device safely removes the helmet by stabilizing the head and reducing the risk of additional spinal injuries during removal.
Implementation Method 1
a channel runs inside the longitudinally extended means which fluidically connects the means for pumping with the interior of the balloon
Implementation Method 2
the balloon, when inflated, has a spherical, cylindrical, zeppelin-like, or cushion-shaped form... the balloon's volume is distributed evenly across the top of the skull
Data Source
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Figure 5
AI summary
In order to provide a device (100) for removing a protective helmet, in particular a motorcycle helmet, from a person's head, comprising a longitudinally extended means (10) for introducing an elastic balloon (12) between the inside of the helmet and the top of the person's head, which avoids the disadvantages of manually removing a protective helmet from the head of an injured person, so that the risk of additional injury to the person can be largely eliminated, it is proposed that the elastic balloon (12) be arranged at a first end (14) of the longitudinally extended means (10) and the means for pumping air (18) be arranged at a second end (16) of the longitudinally extended means (10), wherein a channel (24) runs inside the longitudinally extended means (10) connecting the means for pumping air (18) to the interior of the elastic balloon (12).Furthermore, a method for lifting a protective helmet using the device (100) is disclosed.