US-20260124090-A1 - SYSTEM, APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR INFANT INCUBATION

Abstract

An incubator is disclosed. The incubator has an insulated housing that forms an incubation chamber, a plurality of recirculating heating airflow passages configured to draw a heating airflow from the incubation chamber, heat the heating airflow, and return the heating airflow to the incubation chamber, and a plurality of ventilation airflow passages configured to draw a ventilation airflow from outside of the incubator and into the incubation chamber, and vent the ventilation airflow out of the incubation chamber. The plurality of recirculating heating airflow passages are separate from the plurality of ventilation airflow passages.

Inventors

• John Merrill Davis, III
• Jane Dornbusch Davis
• Mark Wayne Kitchen
• John David Keltonic

Assignees

• MediCradle Foundation
• ILJ CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20250812

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An incubator, comprising: an exterior housing assembly; an interior housing assembly; and an insulation layer disposed between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly; wherein the interior housing assembly, the insulation layer, and the exterior housing assembly form an insulated housing that forms an incubation chamber; wherein the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from a plastic material; and wherein the insulation layer is a layer of solid insulation material that is packed or sandwiched between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly.
2. 2 . The incubator of claim 1 , wherein the insulation layer is formed from foam material.
3. 3 . The incubator of claim 1 , wherein the insulation layer is formed from at least one selected from the group of closed cell foam, foam cell material, polyethylene foam, polyurethane foam, neoprene foam, latex foam, gel foam, and combinations thereof.
4. 4 . The incubator of claim 1 , wherein the insulation layer is formed from at least one selected from the group of foam, mineral wool, perlite, polyurethane, polystyrene, cellulose, fiber material, and combinations thereof.
5. 5 . The incubator of claim 1 , wherein the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from at least one selected from the group of high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride material, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material, polycarbonate material, polypropylene, and combinations thereof.
6. 6 . The incubator of claim 1 , further comprising a door assembly rotatably attached to the insulated housing and including a first door member and a second door member separated from each other by an air gap.
7. 7 . The incubator of claim 6 , further comprising one or more access doors configured to open and close at apertures of the door assembly.
8. 8 . The incubator of claim 6 , further comprising at least one of a magnetic catch assembly, a magnetic sensor, and a memory foam seal disposed at the door assembly.
9. 9 . The incubator of claim 1 , further comprising carrying straps disposed at an exterior surface of the exterior housing, which faces away from the insulation layer.
10. 10 . An incubator, comprising: an exterior housing assembly; an interior housing assembly; an insulation layer disposed between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly; wherein the interior housing assembly, the insulation layer, and the exterior housing assembly form an insulated housing that forms an incubation chamber; wherein the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from a plastic material; and a door assembly rotatably attached to the insulated housing and including a first door member and a second door member separated from each other by an air gap; wherein the door assembly is received in a door aperture formed in the insulated housing, the insulated housing formed from the insulation layer that is a layer of solid insulation material and that is packed or sandwiched between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly.
11. 11 . The incubator of claim 10 , wherein the insulation layer is formed from foam material.
12. 12 . The incubator of claim 10 , wherein the insulation layer is formed from at least one selected from the group of closed cell foam, foam cell material, polyethylene foam, polyurethane foam, neoprene foam, latex foam, gel foam, and combinations thereof.
13. 13 . The incubator of claim 10 , wherein the insulation layer is formed from at least one selected from the group of foam, mineral wool, perlite, polyurethane, polystyrene, cellulose, fiber material, [[air,]] and combinations thereof.
14. 14 . The incubator of claim 10 , wherein the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from at least one selected from the group of high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride material, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material, polycarbonate material, polypropylene, and combinations thereof.
15. 15 . The incubator of claim 10 , further comprising one or more access doors configured to open and close at apertures of the door assembly.
16. 16 . The incubator of claim 10 , further comprising at least one of a magnetic catch assembly, a magnetic sensor, and a memory foam seal disposed at the door assembly.
17. 17 . The incubator of claim 10 , further comprising carrying straps disposed at an exterior surface of the exterior housing, which faces away from the insulation layer.
18. 18 . An incubator, comprising: an exterior housing assembly; an interior housing assembly; and a foam layer disposed between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly; wherein the interior housing assembly, the foam layer, and the exterior housing assembly form an insulated housing that forms an incubation chamber; wherein the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from a plastic material; and wherein the foam layer is packed or sandwiched between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly.
19. 19 . The incubator of claim 18 , wherein the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from at least one selected from the group of high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride material, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material, polycarbonate material, polypropylene, and combinations thereof.
20. 20 . The incubator of claim 18 , further comprising a door assembly rotatably attached to the insulated housing and including a first door member and a second door member separated from each other by an air gap.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to nonprovisional application Ser. No. 18/934,834 filed Nov. 1, 2024, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to a system, apparatus, and method for incubation, and more particularly to a system, apparatus, and method for infant incubation. BACKGROUND The vast majority of incubators are designed for use in environments that have reliable electrical power access and that are highly sanitary. For example, incubators are typically designed for use in hospital settings including extremely reliable electrical systems and sanitary standards. In contrast, many areas of the developing world face significant challenges regarding infant mortality. Increased availability of infant incubation would significantly contribute to a decline in the relatively high infant mortality crisis facing these parts of the world. As most conventional incubators are designed for hospitals in developed countries, these incubators are often a poor fit for conditions in many parts of the developing world. For example, a need for effective incubation exists in developing areas of the world that struggle with electrical power access and that lack facilities with high degrees of sanitation. Much of the developing world lacks the type of developed world hospital settings for which incubators are typically designed. Attempting to use typical incubators, which are designed for hospitals in the developed world, in the developing world typically results in these incubators performing poorly due to their relatively high electrical demands and high sanitary criteria not being adequately met by most facilities in the developing worlds. That is, typical incubators use too much power and are too susceptible to malfunctioning due to poor sanitation conditions to perform well in the existing conditions in medical facilities in the developing world. Accordingly, a need in the art exists for infant incubation that can perform well in facilities having unreliable electrical power access and challenging sanitary conditions. The exemplary disclosed system, apparatus, and method of the present disclosure are directed to overcoming one or more of the shortcomings set forth above and/or other deficiencies in existing technology. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE In one exemplary aspect, the present disclosure is directed to an incubator. The incubator includes an insulated housing that forms an incubation chamber, a plurality of recirculating heating airflow passages configured to draw a heating airflow from the incubation chamber, heat the heating airflow, and return the heating airflow to the incubation chamber, and a plurality of ventilation airflow passages configured to draw a ventilation airflow from outside of the incubator and into the incubation chamber, and vent the ventilation airflow out of the incubation chamber. The plurality of recirculating heating airflow passages are separate from the plurality of ventilation airflow passages. In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to an incubator. The incubator includes an exterior housing assembly, an interior housing assembly, and an insulation layer disposed between the exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly. The interior housing assembly, the insulation layer, and the exterior housing assembly form an insulated housing that forms an incubation chamber. The exterior housing assembly and the interior housing assembly are formed from a plastic material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 2A is a sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is another perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a detailed, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is another detailed, perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a top view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 6; FIG. 9 is a detailed, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is another detailed, perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 9; FIG. 11 is a detailed, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is another detailed, perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 11; FIG. 13 is