Disposable Infusion Device Dual Valve System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current insulin infusion devices for diabetes management are complex, costly, and require programming skills, making them unsuitable for many patients, and they face challenges in delivering accurately controlled volumes of insulin over time without electronic components or batteries.
Innovation Solution
A wearable, manually operated infusion device with a reservoir, piston pump, and valve system that allows for safe and controlled delivery of insulin through a cannula, featuring a toggle linkage to ensure valves are not concurrently opened, and a safety valve for increased pressure, enabling reliable and accurate dosing without electronic programming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electronically controlled insulin pumps are used to improve insulin delivery control, then blood glucose control is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes electronic components and programming requirements from the insulin pump system, extracting only the essential mechanical pumping function. The device uses a simple manually-operated piston pump mechanism that delivers insulin through mechanical action without any electronic control, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliable insulin delivery and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a disposable single-use pump unit that is mechanically simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Each pump contains a pre-filled reservoir and a mechanical piston system that can be discarded after use, eliminating the need for expensive electronic components while maintaining reliable insulin delivery through pure mechanical means.
2Measurement precision
If electronically controlled pumps are used to achieve accurate insulin dosing, then dosing precision is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces electronic dosing control systems with a purely mechanical piston pump mechanism. The piston is driven by a cam-actuated lever system that mechanically controls the displacement volume, providing accurate insulin dosing through mechanical precision rather than electronic control, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a cam mechanism that creates a reproducible mechanical motion pattern to drive the piston. The cam profile is precisely manufactured to ensure consistent piston displacement and therefore consistent insulin dosing volume, achieving dosing accuracy through replicated mechanical geometry rather than electronic programming.
3Ease of operation
If a simple mechanically driven device is used to reduce complexity and cost, then ease of use is improved, but reliability of accurate dosing may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates an automatic priming mechanism where the pump system itself performs the priming operation through its cam-actuated valve system. The cam mechanism automatically opens and closes valves to fill the piston chamber with insulin before delivery, eliminating the need for manual priming operations by the user while ensuring accurate dosing through controlled mechanical filling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a valve actuator system with cam mechanisms that provide mechanical feedback control. The cam profile ensures the piston completes its full stroke and the valves open and close at precise points in the cycle, providing inherent mechanical feedback that guarantees consistent dosing volume without requiring user intervention or electronic monitoring.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If valves are designed to prevent concurrent opening for safety, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple valve control functions into a single cam-actuated mechanism. The cam simultaneously controls the opening and closing of both the fill valve and the delivery valve through its profile, ensuring they cannot be open at the same time. This merging of control functions into one mechanical element prevents accidental dosing while avoiding the complexity of separate control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cam mechanism as an intermediary between the user's manual operation and the valve control system. The cam translates simple lever movement into precise coordinated valve actions, mediating the control to ensure safety (preventing concurrent valve opening) while keeping the user interface simple and the overall device complexity low.
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 device provides a simple, safe, and economical means for patients to self-administer insulin, ensuring accurate dosing and preventing accidental medication delivery, while being disposable and cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
a pump that holds a volume of the liquid medicament received from the reservoir and displaces substantially all of the volume of the liquid medicament when actuated
Implementation Method 2
a first control movable between a first position and a second position, the first control, when in the first position, establishing a first fluid path between the reservoir and the pump, and when in the second position, establishing a second fluid path between the pump and the outlet
Data Source
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AI summary
A wearable infusion device comprises a reservoir (222) that holds a liquid medicament, an outlet port (250) that delivers the liquid medicament to a patient and a pump (224) that holds a volume of the liquid medicament received from the reservoir and displaces substantially all of the volume of the liquid medicament when actuated. A first valve (232) is between the reservoir and the pump and a second valve (234) is between the outlet and the pump. The device includes a first actuator (216) that, when activated, closes the first valve and opens the second valve, a second actuator (218) that, when activated, actuates the pump, and a linkage (254) that precludes the second actuator from being activated until the first actuator is activated.