Fluid Line Coupling Geometry That Prevents Misconnection Leaks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid coupling devices in medical and other environments often fail to prevent misconnections between incompatible fluid sources and consumers, leading to hazards such as air embolisms, and proposed solutions are either complex, costly, cumbersome, or limited in their ability to prevent improper connections.
Innovation Solution
The development of coupling devices with furcated channels and interfering elements that require proper orientation and matching of connectors to form a seal, ensuring that only compatible connectors can mate and preventing leaks if incompatible connectors are attempted to be connected, thus preventing misconnections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If standard fluid connectors are used for ease of connection, then ease of operation is improved, but misconnection hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling device employs asymmetric interfering elements (protrusions and recesses) that are positioned and dimensioned to prevent misalignment between male and female connectors. The interfering elements create a geometric mismatch that only allows proper connection when connectors are correctly aligned, thereby preventing misconnections while maintaining ease of operation through self-alignment features.
Solution Approach 2:
The interfering elements act as intermediary features between the male and female connectors. These elements mediate the connection process by providing physical guidance and prevention mechanisms that ensure only compatible connectors can mate, while still allowing quick and easy connection when properly aligned.
2Reliability
If interfering elements are added to prevent misconnection, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling device is segmented into distinct functional components: the body, the male/female connectors, and the interfering elements. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and manufactured separately, reducing overall complexity while maintaining reliability through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The interfering elements are merged with the connector bodies as integrated features rather than separate components. This combining approach reduces the number of parts and assembly steps, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining the misconnection prevention function.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple action injection molding is used for precision, then manufacturing precision is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies interfering elements that provide sufficient precision control for misconnection prevention without requiring excessive precision in all dimensions. The interfering elements are designed with tolerances appropriate for their function, allowing standard injection molding processes to be used without multiple actions, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining adequate manufacturing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Fluid couplings prevent or discourage misconnection of fluid lines. In embodiments, a coupling device includes multiple male and female connectors that are joined to a common line. The coupling device is mated to a matching coupling device only when all the multiple male and female connectors are properly joined. If any of the connectors is not properly mated to a corresponding one, the coupling will leak, since the connectors on each side are joined to a furcating channel. In embodiments, the coupling devices are made unique by providing an arrangement of the connectors, number of connectors, shape of connectors or arrangement of interfering connector parts that ensure that any attempt to improperly couple two fluid lines will result in the incomplete mating and thereby cause leakage of the fluid, failure of the coupling to engage, or otherwise cause the attempt to connect to fail.