Segmented Gas-Permeable Particle Support for Shock Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing supporting devices for sports and object protection fail to balance deformability and stiffness, leading to inadequate shock absorption and comfort, with reduced adaptability to body or object profiles, and insufficient protection for brittle items.
Innovation Solution
A supporting device with a gas-tight outer wrapper and a gas-permeable inner wrapper, divided into sub-volumes with adjustable resistance elements, allowing for customizable thickness and distribution of particles to absorb shocks and impacts effectively, ensuring high comfort and adaptability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the inner structure is made of soft materials for good deformability and adhesion, then comfort and functional use are improved, but shock absorption capacity and protection quality are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The inner structure is divided into multiple independent air-filled chambers separated by partitions. Each chamber can deform independently to provide comfort while the collective structure maintains shock absorption capacity through the compressibility of trapped air in each chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner structure combines flexible material walls with compressed air filling. The flexible walls provide deformability and adhesion, while the compressed air provides shock absorption capacity, creating a composite system that achieves both comfort and protection.
2Strength
If the inner structure is made stiff for high shock absorption, then protection quality is improved, but deformability and adhesion to body are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stiff structure is segmented into multiple small chambers that can independently deform and conform to body contours, maintaining adhesion while preserving overall structural rigidity for shock absorption.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the inner structure can have varying chamber sizes and air pressures, allowing locally optimized deformability for body adhesion while maintaining overall structural stiffness for protection.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform thickness is used throughout the device, then manufacturing is simplified, but protection effectiveness is reduced due to poor adaptability to body profiles
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into modular chambers that can be independently sized and shaped. This segmentation allows the overall structure to conform to complex body profiles while each individual chamber maintains simple geometric forms that are easy to manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The air-filled chambers provide dynamic adaptability, automatically adjusting to body contours through inflation and deflation, eliminating the need for complex fixed-thickness shaping while maintaining perfect adaptability.
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 provides comprehensive protection and comfort by evenly distributing resistance elements, ensuring all parts of the body or object are safeguarded, with adjustable resistance for optimal mobility and durability, effectively absorbing localized forces and protecting delicate items.
Implementation Method 1
The inner structure is obtained using polyethylene sheets with air bubbles, of elastomeric material, open-cell or closed-cell solid foams according to the required deformability and resistance features
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
It is provided a supporting device (1) comprising an outer wrapper (2) impervious to gas passage and adapted to define a housing volume (2a); an inner wrapper (4) permeable to gas passage, defining an operating volume and adapted to be housed within the housing volume (2a); separation means (5) adapted to divide the operating volume into a plurality of sub-volumes (5a); and at least one valve (7) suitable to create, upon command, a connection for fluid passage between the housing volume (2a) and the external environment so as to vary the extension of the sub-volume (5a) and define an expanded configuration in which the distinct particles can freely move inside the sub-volumes (5a), and a compressed configuration in which the distinct particles (6) become compacted defining a plurality of resistant elements (6a).