Breathing Circuit Connector With Tactile Alignment Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors for medical breathing conduits lack a secure and reliable mechanism for ensuring correct alignment and secure connection, often requiring significant force and lacking feedback to the user.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring an inner and outer body with surface relief features that provide resistance to sliding from an inoperative to an operative orientation, ensuring correct alignment and secure engagement with a second connector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an external collar is used to maintain connector engagement, then connection security is improved, but the risk of premature or incorrect connection increases without feedback to the operator
Solution Approach 1:
The connector incorporates tactile feedback mechanisms through surface relief features that provide resistance during the connection process. When the outer body is moved from inoperative to operative orientation, the surface relief features create detectable resistance changes that feedback to the operator about the connection status, indicating whether correct alignment has been achieved.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector requires preliminary alignment actions before final engagement. The outer body must be moved to an operative orientation where surface relief features align with corresponding features on the inner body, creating a preliminary positioning step that ensures correct alignment before the connection is fully secured.
2Reliability
If significant force is required to move the outer body from inoperative to operative orientation, then connection security is improved, but the connection process becomes more difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The connector employs dynamic force characteristics where the resistance to moving the outer body changes during the connection process. Surface relief features create variable resistance that decreases as proper alignment is achieved, allowing the operator to feel the transition from misaligned to aligned state and adjust applied force accordingly, reducing overall connection time.
3Manufacturing precision
If surface relief features provide resistance to sliding, then correct alignment is ensured, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector applies surface relief features only at specific critical locations on the outer and inner bodies where alignment is required, rather than throughout the entire connector structure. This localized approach provides necessary alignment precision while minimizing the addition of complex components.
Data Source
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AI summary
A connector for a component of a medical breathing circuit. The connector comprises an inner body and an outer body. The outer body is configured to be slidable along the inner body between each of an inoperative orientation and an operative orientation with respect to the inner body. The outer body and the inner body are configured to be in engagement or in an operative association with each other when the outer body is provided in the operative orientation. The outer body and the inner body are disengaged from each other or in an inoperative association with each other when the outer body is provided in the inoperative orientation. At least one or each of a surface of the inner body or a surface of the outer body comprises of a surface relief feature(s) providing for a resistance to the outer body being moved from the inoperative orientation to the operative orientation.