Integrated Dead-End Container Structure for Pressure Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pharmaceutical containers used in medical devices are prone to breaking or bursting due to mechanical stress and pressure changes, requiring additional manufacturing steps for chemical hardening and often necessitating new market authorizations, while also occupying excessive space.
Innovation Solution
A container with a dead end design, comprising a hollow cylindrical body with a closed end and optimized dimensions and materials, which enhances mechanical resistance and reduces the risk of fracture, allowing for a compact design and improved pressure compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If prior art containers are used with crimp and neck portion, then the container can be sealed and dispensed, but the space requirements are relatively high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the neck portion and crimp from the container design, extracting these components entirely. The container body is directly closed at the end without any protruding neck structure, and the crimp is eliminated by using a different sealing approach where the plunger seals against the container opening rather than requiring a crimped closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the container body and closure function into a single integrated structure. The container body itself serves as both the holding vessel and the sealed closure, eliminating the need for separate neck and crimp components. This integration reduces overall container volume while maintaining sealing functionality.
2Reliability
If prior art containers are used, then the container can be manufactured, but they tend to break or burst during use, shipping, storage, stoppering and filling due to substantial axial loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the container, specifically eliminating the neck portion which is a stress concentration point. The direct-closed container body distributes mechanical loads more evenly throughout the structure, increasing resistance to axial loads and reducing the risk of breaking or bursting during handling and use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the container with inherent structural robustness that cushions against mechanical stress before failure can occur. The integrated body-closure design provides built-in stress distribution that prevents the kind of localized failures that occur in traditional crimped containers under substantial axial loads.
3Strength
If chemical hardening treatment is applied to increase robustness, then the container surface is hardened, but an additional process step is required and new market authorization is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical hardening treatments with a mechanical design solution. Instead of modifying the container surface through chemical processes, the invention achieves increased robustness through the optimized mechanical structure of the integrated container body, eliminating the need for additional chemical treatment steps and associated regulatory approvals.
Data Source
AI summary
A container for accommodating pharmaceutical compositions, which is installable in a medical device, is provided. The container includes a hollow cylindrical body having an open end and a dead end opposite to the open end. The dead end is closed by a bottom portion. The hollow cylindrical body and the bottom portion are formed integrally and of the same material. The bottom portion transitions into the hollow cylindrical body via a curved heel that is defined by an outer radius ro, an inner radius ri and a thickness dh in a center portion of the curved heel, wherein the following condition is fulfilled: ri+dh−ro>0 mm.