Gas-Permeable Silicone Media Container for Active Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional storage containers for medical, pharmaceutical, or biological media limit gas exchange, restricting the efficiency of media modification or sustainment, and are cumbersome to handle and manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A silicone-based apparatus with a rigid frame and gas-permeable, flexible film membranes that create an internal void, allowing for a medically active environment and efficient gas exchange, while being easy to handle and manufacture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional flexible storage containers are used, then the container is easy to manufacture and handle, but gas exchange to the media is limited which restricts efficiency of media modification or sustainment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs gas-permeable membranes as the container wall material, which contains numerous pores allowing gas molecules to pass through while maintaining structural integrity. This porous structure enables continuous gas exchange with the stored media, resolving the limitation of traditional flexible containers that block gas diffusion, thereby improving productivity in media modification or sustainment processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The container utilizes a composite structure combining a rigid frame providing structural support with gas-permeable membrane material enabling gas exchange. This composite design integrates the mechanical strength needed for handling with the gas permeability required for efficient media modification, overcoming the trade-off between structural integrity and gas exchange capability.
2Ease of operation
If traditional flexible storage containers are used, then the container can be easily manufactured, but the container is unwieldly and cumbersome to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses gas-permeable membrane films to construct the container walls, which maintain flexibility for easy handling while providing the necessary structural support when assembled with the rigid frame. These thin film structures eliminate the need for complex rigid constructions, achieving both ease of operation and simplified manufacturing.
3Productivity
If traditional flexible storage containers are used, then the container structure is simple, but the container is prone to less efficient storage
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into a rigid frame structure and gas-permeable membrane panels, allowing modular assembly that optimizes storage space utilization. The segmented design enables better structural stability for efficient storage while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized components.
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
Enhances the efficiency of media modification or sustainment by facilitating gas exchange and improving handling and manufacturing ease.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of gas-permeable, flexible film membranes connecting the inner surface about a perimeter of the rigid frame
Data Source
AI summary
A apparatus including: a silicone-based body oriented down a central axis, the silicone-based body comprising: a rigid frame having a top axial surface and a bottom axial surface, an outer surface, and a substantially arcuate inner surface; and a plurality of gas-permeable, flexible film membranes connecting the inner surface about a perimeter of the rigid frame at the top axial surface and the bottom axial surface respectively to define an internal void within the body, wherein the rigid frame has a plurality of corrugations along the top axial surface and the bottom axial surface, and wherein the internal void provides for a medically, biologically, chemically, or pharmaceutically active environment.