Dialyser Connector Clip Locking for High-Pressure Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disposable push fit connectors for dialysis machines are difficult to attach and remove, prone to being pushed off by high pressures, and are expensive due to their robust design, necessitating a more reliable and cost-effective solution.
Innovation Solution
A dialyser connector design featuring a main body with a cavity and sliding clip, utilizing a pair of flexible wings and ramps to bias a projection into a locked position for secure engagement with a dialyser filter connector port, allowing easy attachment and detachment with a snap-fit mechanism and O-ring seal for fluid tightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If disposable push fit connectors are made robust for repeated use, then reliability improves, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into two separate components: a reusable main body and a disposable sliding clip. This segmentation allows the expensive, robust main body to be reused while only the simpler, cheaper sliding clip is disposed of after each use, resolving the contradiction between reliability and manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding clip incorporates flexible wings that can dynamically change position between locked and unlocked states. This dynamic mechanism provides reliable engagement during use while allowing easy release when needed, maintaining reliability without requiring the entire connector to be robust and expensive.
2Ease of manufacture
If disposable push fit connectors are made simple and inexpensive, then manufacturing cost decreases, but attachment difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sliding clip's flexible wings automatically engage with the main body through resilient abutment, creating a self-locking mechanism. When the sliding clip is inserted, the flexible wings naturally deflect and lock into place without requiring manual manipulation or complex alignment, making attachment easy while keeping the design simple and inexpensive.
3Ease of manufacture
If disposable push fit connectors are made simple and inexpensive, then manufacturing cost decreases, but connection strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible wings are pre-formed with the correct geometry and material properties to provide the necessary locking force. This preliminary design ensures that when the sliding clip engages the main body, the connection strength is immediately established without requiring additional components or complex assembly steps, maintaining both simplicity and strength.
4Ease of manufacture
If disposable push fit connectors are made simple and inexpensive, then manufacturing cost decreases, but resistance to high pressure decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible wings are designed with specific local properties - using materials and geometries optimized for the locking function at the engagement points. This local quality ensures high pressure resistance at the connection interface while keeping the rest of the disposable connector simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
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
The dialyser connector provides a reliable, inexpensive, and user-friendly connection that is strong enough for repeated use while maintaining a secure seal, addressing the issues of attachment difficulty and high-pressure disconnection.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one projection is biased to the locked condition by resilient abutment of pair of flexible wings on the pair of ramps
Implementation Method 2
O-ring seal for fluid tightness
Data Source
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Figure 6
AI summary
A dialyser connector comprising a main body and a sliding clip. The main body defines a cavity. The main body has a tube end and a dialyser end, with at least one aperture and a pair of ramps provided in a central portion between the tube end and the dialyser end. The sliding clip has a tube end and a dialyser end connected by a spine running along the top of the sliding clip. The sliding clip has a pair of flexible wings extending in an arc from the spine and a pair of arms extending in an arc from the spine, the pair of arms having at least one projection extending radially inward. The dialyser connector has a locked condition in which the at least one projection extends into the cavity of the main body and an unlocked conditions in which the at least one projection is withdrawn from the cavity of the main body, and wherein the at least one projection is biased to locked condition by action of pair of flexible wings on the pair of ramps.