CGM Implant Trigger Channel to Prevent Accidental Firing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products face issues with accidental triggering due to the design of the trigger mechanism, leading to increased costs and complexity, and user frustration due to safety lock structures that require precise assembly and additional unlocking steps.
Innovation Solution
The implant apparatus for a continuous glucose monitor features a guiding channel in the outer housing that allows the trigger to move towards the opening in an axis direction, perpendicular to the user's grip force, eliminating the need for a safety lock and simplifying the operation by ensuring the trigger is only activated when the outer housing abuts the skin, and includes a cap to maintain sterility and prevent accidental triggering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional button trigger structure is used, then the trigger operation is simple, but the risk of accidental triggering increases when the user holds the housing with large grip force
Solution Approach 1:
The trigger movement direction is changed from radial (same direction as grip force) to axial (perpendicular to grip force direction). The guiding channel constrains the trigger to move only along the axial direction toward the opening, while the user's grip force acts radially inward. This dimensional separation ensures that normal gripping forces cannot accidentally activate the trigger, as they act perpendicular to the trigger's movement path.
2Reliability
If a safety lock structure is added to reduce accidental triggering, then the reliability improves, but the device complexity and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex safety lock structure is extracted and replaced by the guiding channel mechanism. Instead of adding a separate locking system, the patent uses the guiding channel's geometric constraints to inherently prevent accidental triggering. The trigger can only be activated by deliberate axial movement along the channel, eliminating the need for additional locking components and their associated assembly requirements.
3Reliability
If a safety lock structure is added, then the accidental triggering risk reduces, but the ease of operation decreases due to extra unlocking steps
Solution Approach 1:
The unnecessary safety lock unlocking steps are extracted and eliminated. The guiding channel provides inherent safety without requiring separate unlocking actions. The user simply presses the trigger along the channel's path to activate the implant apparatus, maintaining a single-step operation while ensuring accidental triggering prevention through the channel's geometric constraints.
4Reliability
If precise assembly is required for safety lock structures, then the accidental triggering prevention improves, but the manufacturing precision requirements and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex precise assembly requirements for safety lock structures are extracted and replaced by the guiding channel's inherent geometric constraints. The guiding channel's shape and orientation provide built-in alignment and positioning features that guide the trigger's movement, eliminating the need for high-precision assembly of separate locking components.
5Adaptability or versatility
If multiple unlocking methods are provided, then the adaptability improves, but the learning curve increases and user confusion occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding channel serves multiple functions: it provides the trigger's movement path, prevents accidental triggering through geometric constraints, and eliminates the need for separate unlocking mechanisms. This multi-functional design simplifies the user interface to a single intuitive pressing action, removing the confusion associated with multiple unlocking methods while maintaining adaptability through the channel's versatile constraints.
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
This design reduces the risk of accidental triggering, simplifies the operation, and maintains sterility, thereby improving user experience and reducing manufacturing and learning costs by eliminating the need for complex safety locks.
Implementation Method 1
The trigger is movable towards the opening along the guiding channel and has a first position and a second position relative to the outer housing, to enable the driving assembly to switch from the locked state to the triggered state
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is an implant apparatus for a continuous glucose monitor. The implant apparatus includes a housing assembly and a driving assembly disposed in the housing assembly. The housing assembly includes an outer housing. The outer housing has an opening at an end of the outer housing. The driving assembly has a locked state in which the driving assembly is fixed relative to the outer housing and a triggered state in which the driving assembly is movable towards the opening. The implant apparatus further includes a trigger. The outer housing includes a guiding channel located at a side wall of the outer housing and extending towards the opening. The trigger is movable along the guiding channel towards the opening and has a first position and a second position relative to the outer housing, to enable the driving assembly to switch from the locked state to the triggered state. A triggering direction of the trigger is oriented towards the opening, while a direction of a force applied by fingers of a user when the user holds the outer housing is oriented inwards in a radial direction of the outer housing. Force application directions of the two actions are perpendicular to each other. As a result, a probability of the user accidentally triggering the trigger when holding the outer housing is reduced, which reduces a risk of accidental triggering of the implant apparatus, improving use experience.