Gel Medicine Container With Grain-Forming Extrusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers for edible gelatinized materials, such as those described in Patent Document 1, have irregularly shaped openings that result in extruded materials being formed into thin-strip shapes rather than grains, making it difficult for elderly or children to crush them into manageable sizes for easy swallowing during medicine administration.
Innovation Solution
A container with an extruding unit that crushes edible gelatinized materials into grains of a size easily swallowable, featuring a narrowing opening shape and strategically placed crushing units to facilitate efficient crushing, allowing for easy administration of medicines without labor or discomfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the opening for unsealing is formed by cutting out from the bag opening notch, then the container can be opened, but the opening has an irregular shape that makes it difficult to crush the extruded material into manageable grains
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed with a preliminary crushing structure (crushing ribs or crushing chambers) that is formed before the material is extruded. This preliminary structural preparation enables the material to be automatically crushed into manageable grains as it exits the container, eliminating the need for post-extrusion crushing operations and ensuring regular grain shape formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The extruding unit is segmented into functional zones including crushing ribs or crushing chambers that divide the material flow path. This segmentation allows the continuous extruded material to be broken into discrete, regularly shaped grains through the structured crushing elements, transforming the irregular opening shape issue into a controlled segmentation process.
2Productivity
If the edible gelatinized material is extruded from an irregular opening, then the material can be discharged, but additional crushing labor and time are required
Solution Approach 1:
The extruding and crushing functions are merged into a single integrated unit. The crushing ribs or crushing chambers are positioned directly within the extruding unit, allowing the material to be extruded and crushed simultaneously in one continuous operation, eliminating separate crushing steps and maximizing administration speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The container structure itself provides the crushing function through its built-in crushing ribs or crushing chambers. The material automatically undergoes crushing as it exits the container without requiring external intervention or additional tools, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating time loss for separate crushing operations.
3Manufacturing precision
If the opening width is constant from base to top, then the structure is simple, but the material cannot be effectively crushed into grains of suitable size
Solution Approach 1:
The opening structure is designed with local variations in width along the vertical axis. The opening width is narrower at the top portion where crushing occurs and wider at the base, creating localized crushing zones that effectively size the material into grains. This local quality variation achieves precise grain size control without requiring complex overall structural changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening width is designed to dynamically change from base to top, creating a gradient structure that facilitates progressive crushing. This dynamic width variation allows the material to be gradually reduced in size as it moves through the extruding unit, achieving effective grain formation through a simple yet functional geometric progression.
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
The container effectively crushes the edible gelatinized material into grains that can be easily swallowed, simplifying the administration process for patients, children, or elderly individuals, reducing the time and effort required for crushing and ensuring a smooth swallowing experience.
Implementation Method 1
a crushing unit is formed in the vicinity of the extruding unit, that crushes the edible gelatinized material extruded from the extruding unit associated with the extruding operation of the extruding unit into grains each having a size with which the grain can easily be swallowed
Data Source
AI summary
An edible gelatinized material that fills a container is enabled to be extruded being crushed into grains each having a proper size such that a patient, a child, or an elderly person who has difficulty in swallowing a medicine, etc., using ordinary drinking water, etc., for administration of the medicine, etc., is enabled to easily execute the administration, by facilitating the swallowing of the medicine, etc., without causing such a person any difficulty, feeling of a foreign substance, etc.As a solution for the above, according to the present invention, a container A1 provided with an extruding unit 20 to externally extrude an edible gelatinized material internally filling and accommodated is characterized in that crushing units 20e and 20e are provided in the vicinity of the extruding unit 20, that crush the edible gelatinized material extruded from the extruding unit 20 associated with the extruding operation of the extruding unit 20 into grains each having a size that enables easy swallowing of the grain.