Medicament Cap Assembly Gripper Pre-securing Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medicament delivery devices face difficulties in assembling the needle shield due to flexible connector legs that bend, making insertion challenging and risking needle contact with barbs, which can cause coring or bending.
Innovation Solution
A cap assembly with a tubular remover and insert, where the grippers are radially flexible to engage with the delivery member shield without initial contact, allowing safe insertion and preventing coring or bending, and a radial protrusion to restrict distal movement and ensure secure engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the connector legs are made flexible to aid in securing the needle shield, then the securing function is improved, but the insertion difficulty increases and needle damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The needle shield is pre-attached to the connector before final assembly with the cap. The barbs are already positioned and the elastic legs are already flexed during connector assembly, so that when the cap is later removed, the needle shield is already secured and ready for safe removal without requiring the legs to flex during the critical insertion phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into separable components: the connector with needle shield can be assembled independently, then later detached from the cap. This segmentation allows the needle shield securing function to be performed during connector assembly (when flexibility aids securing), while the cap removal process can be optimized separately to avoid insertion difficulties.
2Reliability
If the connector legs are made flexible to engage the needle shield, then the engagement reliability is improved, but the risk of needle contact with barbs increases causing coring or bending
Solution Approach 1:
The needle shield is pre-secured to the connector before the cap assembly is removed. The elastic legs are already flexed and the barbs are already engaged with the needle shield during connector assembly, creating a pre-secured state that prevents needle contact with barbs during the subsequent cap removal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The design anticipates potential needle damage by pre-securing the needle shield to the connector with the elastic legs and barbs before the cap is removed. This preliminary engagement acts as a cushioning mechanism that prevents harmful contact between the needle and barbs during the cap removal process.
3Strength
If the legs are bent towards each other to secure the needle shield, then the securing strength is improved, but the assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The legs are pre-bent and the needle shield is pre-secured to the connector during connector assembly, before the cap is attached. This preliminary action consolidates the complex leg-bending and securing operations into an earlier assembly stage, simplifying the subsequent cap attachment and later cap removal processes.
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
Facilitates easier assembly and prevents needle damage by avoiding initial contact between the shield and grippers, ensuring secure engagement and safe removal of the needle shield.
Implementation Method 1
the remover having flexible radially inwards extending grippers configured to engage with a delivery member shield
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a cap assembly for a medicament delivery device, having a cap containing a tubular body provided with a distal opening, the cap being configured to be mounted to a proximal end of a medicament delivery device, a tubular remover configured to be received in the distal opening of the cap, the remover having flexible radially inwards extending grippers configured to engage with a delivery member shield, and a tubular remover insert configured to be received by the remover and configured to be fixedly attached to the cap to prevent axial displacement of the remover insert relative to the cap, wherein the remover is axially displaceable relative to the cap and relative to the remover insert, from a first position in which the grippers are pressed radially outwards by an outer surface of the remover insert, to a second position located distally relative to the first position, in which second position the grippers are arranged distally beyond the outer surface of the remover insert, enabling the grippers to flex radially inwards to allow engagement with a delivery member shield.