Mechanical Coding Element for Medical Cleaning Container Distinction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical and dental cleaning or care devices face challenges in accurately distinguishing between different containers for cleaning or care media, leading to incorrect insertion and connection issues, which can result in improper use and increased production costs due to the need for varied container shapes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a container with a mechanical coding element that engages with a corresponding counter-element in the device, ensuring precise assignment and reducing incorrect connections, where the coding element and counter-element form a key-lock pair for secure engagement, allowing only the correct container to be connected to the conveyor device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If different container shapes and volumes are used to distinguish between containers, then the possibility of incorrect insertion is reduced, but the production effort and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The distinguishing feature is segmented from the container body itself and placed on the closure. Instead of making the entire container different, only the closure with its coding element varies, while the container body remains standardized. This reduces manufacturing complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The coding element is localized to the closure component rather than being distributed throughout the container. This allows the majority of the container (body, neck, opening) to remain uniform and easily manufacturable, while only the closure requires specialized features for differentiation.
2Reliability
If multiple container shapes are produced to differentiate containers, then incorrect connections are reduced, but the number of container shapes to be produced increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single container body design serves multiple purposes by working with different closures that have varying coding elements. The standardized container body can accommodate multiple types of closures, each coded for specific media, thereby reducing the total number of unique container shapes needed while maintaining reliable matching.
3Measurement precision
If containers are designed with varied shapes for different media, then the distinction between containers is improved, but the production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The identification system is segmented into standardized container bodies and variable closures. This allows mass production of uniform container bodies at lower cost, while the differentiated closures (with varying coding elements) are produced in smaller varieties, reducing overall production complexity and cost while maintaining high distinction accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
These are a mechanical coding element (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E) for distinguishing containers (2) containing a cleaning or maintenance medium, a container (2) for storing a cleaning or maintenance medium with such a mechanical coding element (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E), a medical or dental cleaning or maintenance device (4) for cleaning or maintaining a medical or dental instrument which is connectable to a container (2) with a coding element (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E), a method for manufacturing a container (2) for storing a cleaning or maintenance medium with a coding element (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E), and a method for connecting a container (2) for storing a cleaning or maintenance medium with a coding element (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E) to a cleaning or maintenance device (4) is described.A coding section (6) of the mechanical coding element (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E) is provided for engagement with a mechanical counter element (8) of the cleaning or maintenance device (4).