Drug Injection Dose Dial Ratchet Feedback Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drug injection devices require specialized skills and lack immediate feedback during dose setting, making them difficult for users to administer drugs safely and confidently.
Innovation Solution
A drug injection control device with a ratchet mechanism in a spring base non-rotatably coupled to a housing, providing feedback through discontinuous contact with ratchet protrusions on the dose dial, allowing users to set and confirm the drug dose with an injection button, utilizing a torsion spring to store twisting moment for rotational motion and ensuring stable drug delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a dose dial is used to set the injection amount, then the device becomes easier to operate, but immediate feedback on dose setting is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where a ratchet in the spring base engages with ratchet protrusions on the dose dial during rotation. This engagement produces audible clicking sounds that provide immediate feedback to the user about the dose setting, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and lack of feedback.
2Loss of information
If a ratchet mechanism is added to provide feedback, then immediate feedback is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the feedback mechanism with the existing dose setting mechanism by integrating the ratchet into the spring base that is already part of the dose dial assembly. This combination approach provides feedback functionality without significantly increasing overall device complexity, as the ratchet serves both structural and feedback-providing functions.
3Reliability
If the spring base is made non-rotatable to ensure stable drug delivery, then delivery reliability improves, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the device into two distinct functional parts: the spring base which remains non-rotatable to ensure stable drug delivery, and the dose dial which rotates freely to allow easy dose setting. The ratchet mechanism connects these segments, enabling the dose dial to rotate for setting while the spring base stays fixed for reliable delivery, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
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 device provides immediate and audible feedback on dose setting, simplifying the drug administration process, reducing user error, and ensuring safe removal of the injection device, while maintaining a compact and cost-effective design.
Implementation Method 1
a torsion spring 140 positioned in the housing 10... storing a twisting moment in a torsion spring 140
Implementation Method 2
feedback on the set injection amount of the drug is provided through a process of generating a sound by sequential contact between the ratchet 152 and the plurality of ratchet protrusions 22
Data Source
AI summary
A drug injection control device includes a housing, a dose dial rotatably coupled to the housing, a cartridge holder coupled to an opposite side of the housing, an injection button, a spring base non-rotatably coupled to the housing, an injection amount setting module to set an amount of the drug to be injected by storing a twisting moment in a torsion spring in the housing, and a drug delivery module to deliver a drug from the cartridge embedded in the cartridge holder by moving through the release of the twisting moment. The spring base includes a ratchet to engage with ratchet protrusions in the dose dial during the rotation of the dose dial, and feedback on the set injection amount of the drug is provided through generating a sound by sequential contact between the ratchet and the ratchet protrusions radially formed along a radial direction on the dose dial.