Removable Beverage Mixing Module for Cross-Contamination Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage mixing systems fail to effectively prevent cross-contamination of pharmaceuticals and require extensive cleaning between uses, especially when handling nutraceutical beverages that contain pharmaceuticals, leading to inefficiencies and potential contamination risks.
Innovation Solution
A beverage mixing system with a removable compounding module that isolates dry or liquid compounds from moving mechanical parts, allowing for easy disposal and minimizing the need for cleaning, featuring a drive shaft that can impart translation and rotational motions to the module for thorough mixing without contaminating the mechanical structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a blender or known beverage mixing system is used to mix nutraceutical beverages containing pharmaceuticals, then the beverages can be mixed, but the system requires thorough cleaning between uses to avoid cross-contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the beverage mixing system into a permanent stationary housing and removable compounding modules. Each module is a self-contained unit that can be easily removed and discarded, eliminating the need to clean the stationary mechanical parts between uses. This segmentation isolates the pharmaceutical-containing material to a disposable component.
Solution Approach 2:
The compounding modules are designed as disposable, single-use components that contain the pharmaceutical materials. After one use, the entire module is discarded rather than cleaned, eliminating cross-contamination risks. The permanent housing contains only mechanical parts that never contact the pharmaceuticals directly.
2Productivity
If the moving mechanical parts directly contact the pharmaceutical materials during mixing, then effective mixing can be achieved, but contamination of the mechanical structures occurs requiring extensive cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The removable compounding module acts as an intermediary between the stationary mechanical mixing parts and the pharmaceutical materials. The module contains all material-contact surfaces, allowing the permanent mechanical parts to perform mixing functions without directly contacting contaminants. This intermediary protects the mechanical structures from contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the material-contact function from the permanent mechanical system and places it in removable compounding modules. This extraction allows the stationary mechanical parts to remain clean and contamination-free while still performing their mixing function through the intermediary module.
3Reliability
If a removable compounding module is used to isolate materials from mechanical parts, then cross-contamination is reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into a permanent stationary housing containing mechanical parts and removable compounding modules containing materials. This segmentation achieves contamination prevention while keeping each segment relatively simple in design. The modular approach allows for straightforward assembly and disassembly without requiring complex mechanisms.
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 system ensures that pharmaceuticals remain contained within the compounding module, reducing the risk of cross-contamination and simplifying the cleaning process, while allowing for efficient and thorough mixing of nutraceutical beverages without compromising the integrity of the mechanical components.
Implementation Method 1
the drive shaft can be configured to impart a translation motion (e.g., up and down) to at least a portion of the compounding module
Implementation Method 2
the drive shaft can also be configured to impart a rotational motion (clockwise and/or anti-clockwise) to at least a portion of the compounding module
Data Source
AI summary
A module includes a housing, a sealing feature, a locking feature, and an agitator. The housing has an opening separating inner and outer surfaces and a boss that extends through the housing such that part of the outer surface forms an inner bore of the boss having a terminus pointing toward the opening. The agitator has a base, a shaft, and a mixing element coupled to the base such that the base, in cooperation with the sealing feature, circumferentially seals the opening of the housing to form a cavity defined by the inner surface. The shaft passes through the inner bore. The locking feature when engaged permits independent or simultaneous translational and rotational movement of the shaft while an area between the terminus of the boss and the shaft remains mechanically sealed during the movement against liquid or powder encroachment into a clean area of the inner bore.