Coating Apparatus Automatic Fluid Level Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dip coating methods for elongate medical devices, such as catheters and guidewires, face inefficiencies due to the need for frequent refilling of the funnel tube, leading to fluid wastage, operational delays, and potential contamination, especially with expensive and perishable biological coatings.
Innovation Solution
A coating apparatus that automatically adjusts and maintains the fluid level in the funnel tube, allowing for continuous operation by filling or draining fluid as needed, ensuring a predetermined volume is maintained during the coating process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the funnel tube is filled with a large volume of fluid to avoid frequent refilling, then operational continuity is improved, but fluid wastage and cost increase due to overflow and spoilage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs level sensors to detect the fluid level in the funnel tube and provides feedback to the control system. When the fluid level reaches a predetermined threshold, the system automatically activates the pump to drain excess fluid or stops the filling process, preventing overflow and wastage while ensuring continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The coating apparatus performs self-service by automatically monitoring and regulating its own fluid levels through integrated sensors and control mechanisms. The system autonomously maintains optimal fluid levels without external intervention, preventing both overflow and depletion, thereby ensuring continuous operation without manual refilling or drainage.
2Loss of substance
If manual refilling is performed frequently to maintain fluid level, then fluid cost is reduced, but operational efficiency and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors fluid levels using sensors and refills or drains the funnel tube as needed without operator intervention. This eliminates manual refilling operations, maintaining precise fluid levels to minimize wastage while ensuring continuous coating operations without productivity interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The automatic fluid level control system ensures continuous coating operations by proactively managing fluid levels. The pump and control system work continuously to maintain optimal fluid levels, preventing operational interruptions that would occur with manual refilling, thereby sustaining productivity while minimizing fluid cost through precise level management.
3Manufacturing precision
If the funnel tube is over-filled to prevent coating defects, then coating quality is improved, but contamination risk and fluid spoilage increase
Solution Approach 1:
Level sensors provide continuous feedback on the fluid level in the funnel tube, enabling the control system to maintain the optimal fluid level required for defect-free coating. By preventing both over-filling and under-filling, the system eliminates contamination risks associated with over-filling while ensuring sufficient fluid for complete coating coverage, thereby maintaining coating quality without increasing contamination risk.
4Productivity
If automatic fluid level control is implemented, then operational efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automatic fluid level control system uses level sensors to monitor fluid levels and provides feedback to a control mechanism that activates the pump only when needed. This feedback-based approach achieves operational efficiency through automation while limiting complexity by using simple, proven sensing and control technologies rather than complex automated systems.
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 solution enhances the efficiency and consistency of the coating process by minimizing fluid wastage, reducing operational interruptions, and preventing contamination, while optimizing the use of expensive coatings.
Implementation Method 1
a pump operable to move the fluid from the reservoir to the funnel tube
Implementation Method 2
a drain valve operable to drain the fluid from the funnel tube
Implementation Method 3
a sensor operable to detect a level of the fluid in the funnel tube
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for an elongate workpiece and a method of operating the coating apparatus. The coating apparatus generally includes a first tray and a second tray with coating tubes interconnected to the trays. The coating apparatus is operable to automatically adjust the coating tubes to a predetermined volume of fluid. In one embodiment, the coating apparatus can fill a first coating tube interconnected to the first tray with a first fluid while the elongate workpiece is being dipped into a second fluid within a second coating tube interconnected to the second tray. Optionally, the coating apparatus includes a control system operable to activate a pump to fill the coating tubes with the predetermined volume of fluid. The control system can receive data from a sensor operable to determine a position of an upper surface of the fluid in a tray or a coating tube.