Coded Fastener Assembly for Medicament Cartridge Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current self-administration medical delivery devices lack mechanisms to ensure the correct type and concentration of medicaments are used, posing risks for users, especially those with limited dexterity or visual impairments, and allowing potential misuse of incorrect medicaments due to lack of coding systems.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of coded fasteners on cartridge assemblies and dose setting members, where each medicament has a unique coding feature that only matches with its corresponding dose setting member, preventing incorrect connections and ensuring safe administration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If color coding schemes are used to assist users in selecting the correct cartridge, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates for users with poor eyesight or color blindness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual color coding mechanisms with a mechanical coding system using coded fasteners and complementary coding features. The fastener includes protrusions and recesses that mechanically engage only with the correct dose setting member, providing tactile feedback and physical prevention of incorrect cartridge attachment. This mechanical substitution eliminates reliance on visual perception for users with poor eyesight or color blindness.
Solution Approach 2:
The coded fastener acts as an intermediary mechanism between the cartridge and dose setting member. It includes a coding feature with multiple protrusions that interact with corresponding recesses in the dose setting member, creating a mechanical intermediary layer that verifies compatibility before allowing connection. This intermediary mechanism ensures correct matching without requiring direct visual identification by the user.
2Ease of manufacture
If standard sized cartridges are used to comply with manufacturing standards, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential cross-use of incorrect medicaments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cartridge assembly into distinct functional components: the standardized cartridge body and the coded fastener. The fastener is a separate element with unique coding features that can be attached to the cartridge, allowing standardization of the cartridge dimensions while adding compatibility control through the segmented fastener component. This segmentation enables manufacturing standardization without sacrificing medicament matching reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making only the fastening interface area of the cartridge non-standard, while the main cartridge body remains standardized. The coded fastener features localized coding elements (protrusions and recesses) at the connection interface, allowing standard cartridge manufacturing with localized compatibility control measures that prevent incorrect medicament use without affecting overall cartridge standardization.
3Device complexity
If no coding mechanism is used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to inability to determine correct medicament compatibility
Solution Approach 1:
The coded fastener system provides self-service verification by using the mechanical interaction between the fastener and dose setting member to automatically confirm compatibility. When the cartridge is inserted, the coding features mechanically engage only if compatible, providing self-verifying feedback without requiring additional electronic sensors, displays, or complex verification procedures. This maintains simplicity while ensuring reliability.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3A
Figure 3B
AI summary
Disclosed herein are fastening features for cartridge assemblies (14, 20) that include coding features (316, 328, 402-428) that help dedicate a medicament reservoir to specific injection devices. An exemplary cartridge assembly comprises a cylindrical inner surface for holding medicament and a cylindrical outer surface comprising a fastening feature having a first coding element protruding from the cylindrical outer surface. The coding element is configured to engage a complementary coding feature on the fastener on a dose setting member (12) specifically configured to dispense the medicament, thereby allowing only the correct cartridge assembly to connect to the correct dose setting member.