Fluidic Interface Needle Alignment Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluidic interfaces for fluid cartridges in devices like printers face challenges in ensuring stable and efficient connection and disconnection, alignment, and material durability, leading to potential misalignment and increased material requirements for maintaining fluid flow.
Innovation Solution
A fluidic interface design featuring a concentric datum at the base of the needle for stability, a guide for precise alignment, and a single cast construction with integrally molded fluidic channels and needles, allowing for cost-effective and reliable repetitive connections and disconnections of fluid cartridges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fluidic needle is used for connection, then fluid flow is enabled, but misalignment and instability occur during connection and disconnection
Solution Approach 1:
A guide structure acts as an intermediary between the cartridge and fluidic needle, providing a predetermined path that ensures accurate alignment during connection. The guide's opening is positioned to receive and align the needle, eliminating misalignment issues without requiring high manufacturing precision on the needle itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide structure is pre-positioned and integrated into the interface body before connection occurs. This preliminary arrangement of the alignment feature ensures that when the cartridge is connected, the needle automatically follows the predetermined path, preventing misalignment during the connection action.
2Adaptability or versatility
If repetitive connection and disconnection are enabled, then cartridge replacement is facilitated, but material stress and wear increase
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is segmented into distinct functional elements: a robust interface body with integrated guide, and a replaceable cartridge. This segmentation allows the stationary interface body to bear the structural stress of repetitive connections, while the disposable cartridge absorbs wear, maintaining overall system durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge is designed as a disposable component that can be repeatedly connected and disconnected. By making the cartridge replaceable rather than requiring the entire interface to be durable, the system enables repetitive operations while protecting the expensive, durable interface body from wear and material stress.
3Ease of manufacture
If separate components are used for needle and guide, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structure and fluidic needle are merged into a single integrated component formed by one mold. This integration eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and assembly steps, reducing device complexity while maintaining manufacturing flexibility through mold design variations for different cartridge types.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of this disclosure relates to a fluidic interface for a fluid cartridge comprising a single cast comprising a fluidic needle.