Breathing Circuit Connector With Tactile Alignment Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors for medical breathing circuits lack clear feedback mechanisms to ensure correct alignment and secure connection, leading to potential misalignment and insecure connections between conduit ends and other devices in the circuit.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring an inner and outer body with surface relief features that provide distinct resistance levels for alignment and engagement, allowing for a staged connection process that ensures secure locking with reduced force requirements once alignment is achieved, thereby facilitating a single-handed operation and enhancing connection reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single-stage connection mechanism is used, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation deteriorates due to inability to ensure proper alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The connection process is segmented into distinct stages: alignment stage and engagement stage. The surface relief features create different resistance levels that guide the operator through these stages sequentially, making the operation easier while maintaining a relatively simple overall connector structure.
2Reliability
If high force is required to actuate the collar, then connection security is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The surface relief features are strategically positioned to provide localized resistance only at critical points during the connection process. This allows the collar to be actuated with moderate force while still ensuring proper alignment and secure engagement, rather than requiring uniformly high force throughout the entire movement.
Data Source
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.