Integrated Drainage Tube Unit with Merged Connection Parts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drainage tube assemblies are complex, expensive to produce, and limited to disposable use due to their multi-part structure, which restricts their reusability and compatibility with only double-lumen catheter tubes.
Innovation Solution
A drainage tube unit utilizing commercially available single-lumen hoses with a patient-side connection part and a pump-side end plug, allowing for flexible arrangement and connection of hoses, enabling safe handling and cost-effective production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multi-part connecting parts are used to ensure safe handling and correct insertion, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual connecting parts into a single integrated connecting piece that houses both the drainage tube connection and the service line connection. This merging maintains the safety and correctness of connections while reducing structural complexity and the number of components that need to be assembled and sterilized together.
2Reliability
If multi-part connecting parts are used to ensure correct insertion, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting piece integrates multiple connection functions into a single manufacturable component, reducing the total number of parts that need to be produced, assembled, and sterilized. This integration lowers manufacturing costs while maintaining the reliability of correct insertion through built-in guiding features and sealing mechanisms.
3Ease of repair
If disposable drainage tube assemblies are used, then ease of sterilization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the connecting piece as a single integrated component that can be easily sterilized as one unit, eliminating the need to assemble and sterilize multiple separate parts. This merging approach simplifies the sterilization process while the modular design of the overall drainage system maintains adaptability for different medical applications.
4Adaptability or versatility
If double-lumen catheter tubes are used, then functionality is improved, but ease of manufacture worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the drainage tube and service line into distinct single-lumen tubes that connect to a common connecting piece, rather than using a complex double-lumen catheter. This segmentation allows each tube to be manufactured using standard, cost-effective single-lumen tubing production methods while still achieving the desired multi-functionality through the modular connecting architecture.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to a drainage tube unit for evacuating bodily fluids using a suction pump. Said unit has a drainage tube (10) for evacuating the bodily fluids and at least one service tube (11), each tube having a patient-side end and a pump-side end, the patient-side end of the drainage tube (10) and of the service tube (11) being located in a common patient-side connection part (3) and the pump-side end of the drainage tube (10) and of the service tube (11) being located in a common pump-side connection part (2). The ends of the drainage tube (10) run separately from the ends of the service tube (11), the patient-side ends opening into a drainage channel (37) and a service channel (35) of the patient-side connection part (3) and the pump-side ends opening into a drainage channel (24) and a service channel (25) of the pump-side connection part (2). The drainage tube unit according to the invention is cost-effective to produce and simple and safe to use.