Flexible Polyethylene Rescue Sheet for Grain Silo Entrapment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rescue devices for individuals trapped in grain silos are difficult to store, deploy, and maneuver due to their size and weight, and often require additional tools, making them inefficient for quick and solo use in confined spaces.
Innovation Solution
A rescue device comprising a flexible high-density polyethylene sheet with adjustable dimensions, hand receiving areas, and projections that can be quickly deployed and secured to form a barrier around the trapped individual, allowing for easy transportation, deployment, and use by a single rescuer without additional tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the rescue device is made large and rigid to provide sufficient strength to prevent grain from crushing the trapped individual, then the strength is improved, but the device becomes difficult to store, carry, and maneuver through confined spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The rescue device employs a dynamic structure that transitions from a compact rolled state for transport to an expanded operational state for rescue. The device includes a flexible sheet that can be rolled into a small diameter for storage and carrying, then unrolled and expanded to form a large protective enclosure when needed. This dynamic transformation allows the device to achieve both portability and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rescue device utilizes a flexible sheet material that forms a protective enclosure around the trapped individual. The flexible nature of the sheet allows it to be easily rolled, unrolled, and maneuvered through confined spaces, while when expanded and secured, it provides sufficient structural support to prevent grain from crushing the victim. The flexibility enables both easy operation and adequate strength protection.
2Ease of operation
If the rescue device is made lightweight and compact for easy storage and carrying by a single rescuer, then the ease of operation is improved, but the strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The device transitions from a compact, lightweight rolled state ideal for carrying by one rescuer to an expanded operational state that provides sufficient strength. The dynamic expansion allows the same material to achieve both portability and structural integrity when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sheet material provides an optimal balance between weight and strength. When rolled compactly, it is lightweight and easy to carry; when expanded to form the protective enclosure, the distributed structure provides sufficient strength to resist grain pressure while remaining lightweight enough for single-rescuer operation.
3Productivity
If the device is designed to be quickly deployable without additional tools by a single individual, then the productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is pre-configured with projections that extend through apertures in the rolled state, creating a ready-to-deploy structure. The projections are positioned and oriented during manufacturing to automatically align with the apertures when the device is unrolled, enabling quick deployment without requiring additional tools or complex assembly steps by the rescuer.
Solution Approach 2:
The securing mechanism is integrated directly into the rolled structure of the device, combining the projection and aperture elements into a unified design. This integration eliminates the need for separate securing components or tools, allowing the rescuer to deploy the device quickly by simply unrolling it while maintaining adequate structural complexity for effective rescue operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the device is made adjustable to fit through small silo doors and storage spaces, then the adaptability is improved, but the structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The device dynamically adjusts between a compact rolled configuration that fits through small doors and storage spaces, and an expanded operational configuration that provides sufficient structural integrity. The same flexible material and structural elements that enable adjustability also maintain strength when properly deployed and secured.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sheet material inherently provides adaptability to fit through various opening sizes and storage configurations. When expanded to form the protective enclosure, the flexible structure maintains sufficient structural integrity through its distributed design and securing mechanism, achieving both adaptability and strength.
Data Source
AI summary
A rescue device for assisting in removing an individual from a confined space comprises a sheet comprising a high-density polyethylene having first and second ends and a projection extending laterally outward from the first end and has a top edge, a bottom edge, a projection edge, and a securing element. The sheet has first and second through apertures inset from the second end and aligned with the projection. The sheet is rollable between an undeployed position wherein the sheet has a reduced diameter and a deployed position wherein the projection is passed through the first and second through apertures and partially secured by the securing element. In the deployed position, the securing element may abut the sheet and retain the device in the deployed position.