Endoscope Reprocessor Guide Mechanism Reduces Insertion Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional endoscope reprocessors require a large force to push the medicinal solution bottle into the medicinal solution supply mechanism, leading to increased workload for users.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope reprocessor design featuring a housing portion with a sealing surface, a guide system for advancing and retreating, and an unsealing portion that protrudes and descends to facilitate easier bottle insertion, reducing the required force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the medicinal solution bottle is pushed directly into the supply mechanism, then the bottle can be set in place, but a large force is required which increases user workload
Solution Approach 1:
A guide member is introduced as an intermediary component between the bottle pushing member and the bottle. The guide member includes a guide surface that contacts the bottle and transforms the pushing motion, allowing the bottle to be set in the supply mechanism with reduced force by utilizing the mechanical advantage provided by the guide surface geometry
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surface is configured to transform the pushing force by changing the direction of application. The guide member converts the horizontal or vertical pushing motion into a diagonal or angled insertion path, utilizing spatial dimension transformation to reduce the required force magnitude
2Reliability
If the unsealing portion is positioned at a higher location, then it can effectively contact the sealing portion of the bottle, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The unsealing portion is integrated with the guide member as a unified component rather than a separate mechanism. The guide member simultaneously provides guidance function and unsealing function through its geometric configuration, merging two functions into one structure to reduce overall device complexity while maintaining reliable sealing contact
Data Source
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AI summary
An endoscope reprocessor includes: a housing portion that houses a medicinal solution bottle such that a sealing portion is located on a top surface; a first guide portion that guides the housing portion such that the housing portion is capable of advancing and retreating between a first point and a second point; a movable portion that moves in cooperation with advancing of the housing portion; an unsealing portion provided in the movable portion and arranged at a position higher than the sealing portion of the medicinal solution bottle housed in the housing portion at the first point, the unsealing portion having a shape protruding toward the top surface at a predetermined length to puncture the sealing portion when the medicinal solution bottle reaches the second point by sliding down as the movable portion advances; and a second guide portion that guides an advancing direction of the movable portion such that a height difference in descent of the unsealing portion is smaller than a moving distance of the housing portion.