Ventilator Wear Detection Using Usage-Based Wear Factors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern ventilators lack effective methods to determine wear and tear, relying primarily on usage time for maintenance scheduling, which can lead to inefficient resource allocation and potential device failure, resulting in increased costs and environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that utilize a control unit and usage clock to record and offset duration of use with wear factors, determining overall and component-specific wear by considering various operating parameters, generating maintenance alerts and optimizing maintenance timing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If maintenance is scheduled based solely on usage time, then the maintenance scheduling is simple, but the operational reliability decreases due to inaccurate wear assessment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the single parameter of usage time into multiple wear factors (usage time, operating intensity, environmental conditions, maintenance history) that dynamically change based on actual ventilator operation. This allows more accurate reliability assessment while managing complexity through systematic parameter organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors usage parameters and feeds this information back to update wear factors and predict maintenance needs. This feedback loop enables dynamic adjustment of maintenance scheduling based on actual device condition rather than static time-based intervals.
2Reliability
If maintenance is performed more frequently to ensure reliability, then operational reliability improves, but material and transport costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary wear assessment and predicts maintenance needs before actual degradation occurs. By calculating wear factors and projecting future maintenance requirements, the system enables proactive scheduling that prevents excessive maintenance while ensuring reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The maintenance schedule transitions from static time-based intervals to dynamic condition-based scheduling. The system continuously adapts maintenance timing based on real-time wear factor calculations, allowing extension of maintenance intervals when wear is low and prompting earlier service when wear accelerates.
3Measurement precision
If component-specific wear tracking is implemented, then maintenance precision improves, but the complexity of wear determination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the overall wear assessment into component-specific wear factors (turbine wear, filter degradation, humidifier performance, etc.). Each component has its own wear tracking parameters, enabling precise measurement while managing complexity through modular organization of wear determinations.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for determining the usage intensity of a ventilator, comprising at least one control unit and a usage clock configured and set up to record the duration of use of the ventilator. The device is characterized in that the control unit is configured and set up to apply at least one wear factor to the duration of use of the ventilator in order to determine at least one degree of wear.