Frangible Flow Controller with Local Quality Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current frangible sealing devices in the medical field are difficult to use due to their requirement for significant force to break, lack of adequate gripping surfaces, and incomplete breakage, which can lead to issues like hemolysis of blood cells or contamination in biological fluid processing.
Innovation Solution
A flow controller with a breakable member and finger-gripping portions that are designed to be easy to manipulate, featuring a housing with a central portion and finger-gripping portions of greater cross-sectional area, allowing for easy bending and complete breakage to control fluid flow without requiring excessive force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current frangible sealing devices are designed with uniform housing cross section and uniform wall thickness to resist easy breakage during shipment and handling, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates as significant force is required to break the frangible
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed with non-uniform wall thickness, featuring a thin-walled central portion with walls approximately 0.010-0.030 inches thick and thicker end portions with walls approximately 0.030-0.060 inches thick. This local variation in quality allows the thin-walled central portion to be easily broken during operation while the thicker end portions provide structural strength for shipment and handling, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
2Strength
If current frangible sealing devices are designed with uniform housing cross section to maintain structural integrity, then strength is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to lack of adequate gripping surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The housing features enlarged finger-gripping portions at the ends with greater cross-sectional area compared to the thin-walled central portion. This local variation provides adequate gripping surfaces for user manipulation while the overall housing maintains structural integrity through the thicker end portions, resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
3Reliability
If significant force is required to break current frangible sealing devices to ensure resistance during shipment, then reliability is improved, but object-generated harmful factors worsen due to incomplete breakage causing hemolysis or contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The thin-walled central portion (0.010-0.030 inches) is specifically designed to break completely under normal operational force, ensuring complete separation of the frangible and full opening of the flow path. This prevents incomplete breakage that could cause hemolysis or contamination, while the thicker end portions (0.030-0.060 inches) maintain reliability during shipment and handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is segmented into distinct regions with different wall thicknesses: thin-walled central portion for breaking and thicker end portions for structural support. This segmentation allows the frangible to break completely into separate pieces that fully clear the flow path, preventing harmful effects from incomplete breakage while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Data Source
Figure 1~1a
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Figure 6~9
AI summary
A flow controller (100) includes a housing (102) having central portion (120) and finger-gripping portions (118) on either side of said central portion. The housing defines an interior flow path and includes a breakable member (108) at least partially positioned within the interior flow path of the housing to prevent the passage of fluid through the flow path. The breakable member includes a stem (112) integrally molded to a tubular member (110). The finger-gripping portions have a cross sectional area greater than the cross sectional area of the central portion. The central portion includes a wall (122) having a selected thickness.