Filtering Container With Dual-Access Sterile Lid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for filtering suspensions require opening, which can introduce undesirable particles, gases, or microbes, and often necessitate complex mechanical designs for filtration, leading to potential contamination and increased wear in automated systems.
Innovation Solution
A container with a filter dividing its interior space into two compartments, allowing for the addition and withdrawal of liquids through separate accesses without opening the lid, using a filter with selective permeability to prevent particle passage, and optionally applying pressure differentials for enhanced filtration efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the container lid is opened to add suspension, then the addition operation can be performed, but contamination with particles, gases, or microbes occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (septum or membrane) that allows liquid passage while blocking contaminants. The lid remains closed but includes a permeable barrier that mediates between the need for addition and the need for contamination prevention, allowing sterile addition without opening the container.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible membranes or thin film barriers (such as septa) that can be pierced for addition while maintaining their barrier function. These thin films allow controlled access for suspension addition while preventing contamination, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and contamination prevention.
2Productivity
If mechanical displacement is used for filtration, then filtration can be achieved, but device complexity and wear increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical displacement systems with a simpler filtration mechanism. Instead of moving parts for filtration, the invention uses a static filter medium or membrane that passively separates particles from liquid, eliminating mechanical complexity and wear while maintaining filtration capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs porous filter materials or membranes that provide filtration through their inherent pore structure rather than mechanical displacement. The porous medium allows liquid passage while trapping particles, achieving filtration without complex mechanical systems and reducing device complexity and wear.
3Ease of operation
If the container is opened for suspension addition, then the addition can be performed, but sterile conditions are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary barrier (septum or membrane) within the closed lid that allows suspension addition while maintaining sterile conditions. The intermediary enables the addition operation without compromising the sterile environment, as it blocks microbial passage while allowing liquid flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible septa or thin film barriers that can be selectively pierced for suspension addition while maintaining their integrity against microbial contamination. These films enable sterile addition operations without opening the container, preserving reliable sterile conditions throughout the process.
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
Ensures sterile conditions by preventing contamination during addition and withdrawal, reduces mechanical complexity in filtration, and allows for continuous or simultaneous addition and filtration without the need for additional filtration devices, enhancing the efficiency and reliability of suspension filtration processes.
Implementation Method 1
The filter exhibits selective permeability and is typically configured to prevent solids present in a suspension from passing through. In general, the filter is permeable for particles up to a certain size, while it blocks particles above this particular size from passing through.
Implementation Method 2
In this way an introduction of undesirable particles, gases or liquids into the interior space during the addition is avoided. Additionally, it is avoided that, during the addition, microbes capable of reproduction find their way from the interior space of the container into a surrounding area of the container, and conversely from the surrounding area of the container into the interior space of the container.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a container for filtering a suspension which comprises a lid and a vessel. The container comprises a filter that divides an interior space of the container into a first compartment and a second compartment. The lid comprises a first access and a second access. The first access is connected to the first compartment, and the second access is connected to the second compartment.