Lazo 10
Harness-Lifesaver for Pet Dogs
Edwin Lazo
October 7, 2016
TECH 4943_Senior Project 1
Department of Engineering and Technology
University of Memphis
Harness-Lifesaver for Pet Dogs
Introduction
Dogs are naturally good swimmers. However, even the best swimmer may drown may be because of tension or for being overwhelmed by the water, waves or tides. In deep waters, some dogs may not be able to paddle towards the shoreline for safety. In fact, most dogs have been found to get tired after the first twenty minutes of full paddling. This is a great risk hence the efforts to invent a harness the will cation the pet dogs from drowning (Culp, Brewster, and Wernicki 245).
The harness is aimed at providing safety to all dogs that have a risk of drowning. The project being proposed is not technically a new design, it’s more of an implementation of a human life saver jacket. Automatic life saver jackets have been found to be very efficient. This has informed the efforts to come up with a similar product for pet dogs. The intended design is to have the floater/bladder going from half the belly of the dog, under the neck to keep its’ head in an upper position, and going all the way around to its other half to guarantee floatation (Barcala-Furelos et al. 483).
An adjustable harness should to fit perfectly around the dog’s body to ensure maximum floatation. It is designed to provide full stability on water to rule out any chance of flipping and drowning. Dogs that have been found to be at a higher risk of drowning, most probably due to body feature, are brachycephalic breeds, which are boxers, bulldogs, dachshunds because of their short legs. Small dogs can be very good swimmers but if frightened in the water they may drown (Alfonsi et al. 53-54).
Safety should always come first for our pets, especially when around water bodies. The Harness is enough cation against the worries that may come on thought of losing a pet dog to drowning. There are various life vests for dogs, but regular padded vests are too hot for use during the summer and pretty uncomfortable. This harness design is a light and comfortable for the dog. It has minimal interference to the dog’s mobility. The dog can move around freely without even realizing the presence of the harness (Alfonsi et al. 53).
Project Summary
The proposed project is making a Harness for saving pet dogs’ lives. Dogs are known to be good swimmers but this is not always the case. Many a time’s pet dogs have tripped into water pools especially on the deep edges. They are overwhelmed by the water resulting to drowning. The innovation of the Harness has come to eliminate the chances of pet dogs drowning in any given situation may it be on pools, rivers, beaches or otherwise. The outfit will have a smaller than expected floater/bladder connected around with a cartridge component called the secumatic system. The secumatic system is a device that inflates the floater without any action required to pump air into the bladder. It has a modest pill that when in contact with water, it quickly disintegrates to discharge a lever framework that pumps air into the bladder. This helps the pet dog to stay afloat in case no one is around to help. To deflate the floater, the cap of the inflation tube has to be inserted to the end of the inflation tube in order to squeeze the air out. The Harness is usable for several times if well maintained (Fischer, Stollberger, and Finsterer 84).
In addition, the harness will have Light emitting diodes (LED lights) for easy spotting and recognition in darkness. Tiny solar panel boards will be mounted to charge little battery banks on the harness. This will provide power for the LED lights to illuminate especially at night to be easily spotted. As far as the size of the pet dog harness is concerned, a small size would be preferable for a dog that weighs 8 to 15lbs and 13″ to 17″ in the mid-section or chest area. This will ensure the pet dog remains afloat in water regardless of the size of the water mass. This is guaranteed to provide safety for the pet dog even in instances of tides and waves.
Objectives
· To provide a Harness that will guarantee safety of pet dogs around water masses
· To provide a light and comfortable device that is simple and easy to use
· To provide stability and maximum floatation for a pet dog while swimming
Plan of the Work
Task
Time to complete in hours
1
Designing the harness
5
2
Sketching
5
3
Delivery of raw materials
5
4
Geometric cutting, sizing and dimensioning
10
5
Assembling the parts
10
6
Testing for buoyancy
10
7
Painting and dyeing
10
8
Installation of solar panels
5
9
Installation of light emitting diodes (LED’s)
5
10
Fixing company logo
5
11
Fixing batch bar codes and batch numbers
5
12
Quality control testing
10
13
Commissioning
5
14
Packaging and shipping
10
15
installing the devices
5
Total man hours
105
Table 1. Work Breakdown Structure
Table 2. Gantt chart showing scheduling of tasks
Evaluation
The work plan that is designed for this project is effective because it fulfills the objectives that were stipulated at the beginning of the project. Through this project, the owner of the dog can comfortably swim with his or her pet dog without fear. Secondly, the project is viable because it will play an important role of saving the lives of dogs that die due to drowning. The ideas that are presented in this project will also form a good background for future research and projects. According to Edwards (2009), approximately 4,000 dogs die due to drowning. This project helps address this issue by reducing drowning possibilities.
Limitations
The major limitation for the above project is the availability of the materials that are required to make the floaters. Buoyancy is one of the major features that need to enhance in the project. The materials that are used in the project come from different suppliers and this poses a risk in that a delay by one supplier may affect the whole project. The second limitation is based on cost. In the short-run, the cost of the materials will be high because they are not purchased in bulk.
Qualifications
When completing a project, obviously some insight is needed in order to take the right approach and demonstrate how it will work. A good plan is the base and most important strategy to getting a project done. Table 3 below explains the courses needed in order to complete the project, as well as an explanation for each.
Courses
Topics Covered
Skills Application
TECH 1811
Electronic Circuit Tech
Electronic theory with devices, circuit and network theorems.
This course will help in the development of installing the solar panels with a battery bank to charge the LED lights.
TECH 2822
Circuit Analysis
Mathematical solutions to problems involving direct and alternating currents.
This course is just a continuation of TECH 1811 and is more in depth with reading schematics and wiring which will help me with the wiring of the solar panels.
TECH 1711
Manufacturing Process I
Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, as well as traditional machining and inspection techniques.
The topics covered in this course the most helpful to complete the project would the geometric dimensioning in order to have the appropriate size for the inflator.
TECH 3421
Manufacturing Processes II
Techniques to fabricate materials into successful products, molding, casting, forming, assembling and CNC programming concepts.
This course will help in deciding what type of material will be needed to design the floater in order to make it resistant and floats well. Also, assembling of parts is very important for the project because parts such as the harness, bladder and the Secumatic device needs to be assembled properly.
TECH 4472
Computer Aided Design
CAD technology, hardware, software, parametric solid modeling, assemblies, and working drawings.
Skills using NX will help with the construction of sketches related to the design of the project. Provide a various sketches and proper dimensioning of the floater in order to see a solid model of what needs to be designed.
Table 3 Summary of Relevant Educational Background
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
The equipment needed to complete this project would be a harness that provides comfort and be adjustable in order to fit properly on the dog’s body. It will also need an automatic device called the secumatic system model 3001 S that comes with a tiny oil that dissolves when in contact with water, releasing a lever system so that air can discharge into the floater. Solar panels as well as LED lights will also be mounted on the harness as a form of extra security just in case an incident happens at night and the dog can easily be spotted.
Works cited
Alfonsi, G., et al. “Cold Water Drowning and Resuscitation in Dogs.” Anesthesiology 57.Supplement (1982): A80. Web.
Barcala-Furelos, Roberto, et al. “Assessing the Efficacy of Rescue Equipment in Lifeguard Resuscitation Efforts for Drowning.” The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 34.3 (2016): 480–485. Web.
Culp, William C., B Chris Brewster, and Peter Wernicki. “Drowning: Lifeguard Rescue and Resuscitation.” Anesthesiology 112.1 (2010): 245. Web.
Edwards, N. (2009). Dog whisperer: The rescue. New York: Square Fish.
Fischer, Holger, Claudia Stöllberger, and Josef Finsterer. “Life-Saving Dogs.” Open Medicine 7.3 (2012): n.pag. Web.
Taskscheduled time of complition in hours
Designing the harness5
Sketching5
Delivery of raw materials5
Geometric cutting, sizing and dimensioning10
Assembling the parts10
Testing for buoyancy10
Painting and dyeing10
Installation of solar panels5
Installation of light emitting diodes (LED’s)5
Fixing company logo5
Fixing batch bar codes and batch numbers5
Quality control testing10
commissioning5
Sheet1
Task scheduled time of complition in hours
Designing the harness 5
Sketching 5
Delivery of raw materials 5
Geometric cutting, sizing and dimensioning 10
Assembling the parts 10
Testing for buoyancy 10
Painting and dyeing 10
Installation of solar panels 5
Installation of light emitting diodes (LED’s) 5
Fixing company logo 5
Fixing batch bar codes and batch numbers 5
Quality control testing 10
commissioning 5
Packaging and shipping 10
installing the devices 5
