Wearable blanket with distributed weight system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current infant blankets and swaddling implements do not provide gentle weight and pressure distribution across the entirety of the infant's body, failing to offer adjustable weight or pressure to meet specific physical or medical needs, which can lead to inadequate soothing and comfort.
Innovation Solution
A wearable blanket with an adjustable distributed weight system, featuring a plurality of subpanels that evenly distribute weight across the front panel, allowing for adjustment of weight and pressure through individual subpanels, providing a quilt-like configuration with weighted material such as glass beads or polymeric gel, and optionally including swaddling wings for added security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional swaddling blankets are used to provide weight and pressure to infants, then soothing comfort is improved, but the weight distribution is uneven and cannot be adjusted to meet specific needs
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable blanket divides the weighted structure into multiple separate weighted panels distributed across the front surface, allowing each panel to be independently positioned and adjusted. This segmentation enables customized weight distribution patterns to match different infant needs while maintaining overall soothing pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the wearable blanket can have different weight densities and panel configurations. The front surface features varied weighted panels that provide localized pressure zones, allowing specific areas to be emphasized or de-emphasized based on the infant's comfort requirements.
2Force
If weighted material is concentrated in a single area to provide strong pressure, then soothing effect is improved, but the pressure becomes too intense for certain infants and causes discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The concentrated weight is divided into multiple smaller weighted panels distributed across the front surface. This allows the total pressure force to be maintained while distributing it across multiple contact points, preventing any single area from becoming overly intense or uncomfortable for the infant.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable blanket provides adjustable pressure levels by selectively activating or adjusting individual weighted panels. Infants receiving lighter pressure can have fewer or lighter panels engaged, while those needing stronger soothing can have all panels activated, allowing partial application of the full pressure capability.
3Ease of operation
If a single weighted pad is used to mimic caregiver hand pressure, then the soothing effect is improved, but the weight cannot be adjusted to meet varying physical or medical needs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of a single weighted pad, the invention uses multiple independent weighted panels that can be individually adjusted in weight and position. This allows the total weight and distribution to be customized for different infants and their specific physical or medical requirements while maintaining the soothing hand-pressure effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The weighted panels are designed to be adjustable and reconfigurable, allowing the weight distribution to dynamically adapt to different infants' needs. The panels can be repositioned, added, or removed to create customized weight patterns that evolve as the infant grows or their needs change.
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable blanket with a distributed weight system for providing gentle and soothing weight on an infant's body without excessive pressure with optional swaddling wings that are removably attached to the wearable blanket. The wearable blanket has an array of subpanels containing weight or pressure-inducing material that can be adjusted to provide evenly distributed weight throughout the front panel of the wearable garment or create a weight gradient to provide more focused weighted support to particular areas of the wearable blanket depending on the physical or medical need of the wearer. The subpanels are compartmentalized and separated from one another to prevent undesirable movement or accumulation of weighed material and may include individual pouches or containers to hold the weight or pressure-inducing material that allows for customization and adjustment of any of a number of the subpanels that constitute the distributed weight system.