Flexible Medical Container With Constriction Portions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible medical bags suffer from fluid loss due to adhesion, fold formation, and shape-related issues during delivery and sterilization, leading to inconsistent medication administration and potential health risks, with polypropylene bags being particularly prone to leaks during temperature impact tests.
Innovation Solution
A flexible container design featuring constriction portions on its lateral edges, connected to the upper and lower portions, which reduces the width of the container and eliminates marked folds without compromising capacity, made from materials like polypropylene, polyolefin, or PVC, ensuring efficient fluid delivery and handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the flexible bag is made with a large internal volume to avoid fold formation during filling and sterilization, then fold formation is reduced, but the quantity of plastic material required increases, going against economic interests
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by introducing constriction portions at specific locations on the lateral edges of the flexible bag, rather than uniformly increasing the entire bag volume. These localized constrictions prevent fold formation in critical areas while maintaining the overall bag size and plastic material usage at optimal levels.
2Quantity of substance
If the flexible bag is filled to its full internal volume, then the bag capacity is maximized, but fold formation occurs during filling and sterilization, leading to fluid loss
Solution Approach 1:
The constriction portions are strategically positioned on the lateral edges to prevent fold formation in specific areas where folds most commonly occur. This allows the bag to be filled to its full internal volume without developing harmful folds, ensuring accurate fluid delivery while maximizing bag capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The constriction portions are pre-formed during the bag manufacturing process, creating a structural configuration that proactively prevents fold formation during subsequent filling and sterilization operations. This preliminary structural preparation ensures that when the bag is filled to capacity, folds do not develop and fluid loss is prevented.
3Reliability
If the flexible bag is subjected to low temperature impact tests to ensure transport safety, then transport reliability is improved, but leaks occur in areas where folds were formed during filling and sterilization
Solution Approach 1:
The constriction portions are positioned on the lateral edges away from the fold-prone areas that would otherwise develop during filling and sterilization. By preventing folds in these critical lateral regions, the constriction portions eliminate the primary locations where leaks occur during transport testing, while allowing the bag to pass low temperature impact tests safely.
Data Source
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AI summary
The container has two walls defining an internal volume (11), receiving a fluid e.g. medical solution, upper portion (12) and a lower portion (13) of the container. The internal volume is formed between the upper and lower portions. Concave necking portions (18, 18') are provided on lateral edges of the container. The necking portions are connected to the upper and lower portions by connection portions (19, 19'), where ratio between depth and height of the necking portions is in an interval between 0 and 0.2. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for reinforcing a flexible container for medical use (2) a reconstruction assembly comprising container.