Injector Stopper Surface Reflow for Silicone-Free Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Forming a durable seal in injector devices without silicone or additional lubricants is challenging due to defects like wrinkles and scratches, which can lead to leakage issues, and existing methods often cannot address these defects before the stopper is inserted into the barrel.
Innovation Solution
The use of micro features on the stopper, formed through energy modification such as laser treatment, to improve seal integrity by reducing wrinkling and filling defects, and the application of energy to the stopper to modify its surface and interface with the barrel, including processes like reflowing, ablating, or annealing to enhance sealing and reduce sliding resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If micro features are added to the stopper sealing area, then seal integrity is improved by reducing wrinkles, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Micro features such as micro ribs or micro grooves are added locally to the sealing area of the stopper rather than modifying the entire structure. This localized modification concentrates sealing forces in the critical sealing zone, improving seal integrity without significantly increasing overall device complexity. The micro features are precisely positioned where they are most needed - at the sealing interface.
2Reliability
If energy treatment is applied to the stopper after insertion, then sealing is improved by filling defects, but processing difficulty increases due to barrel obstruction
Solution Approach 1:
Energy treatment such as laser heating is applied to the stopper before it is inserted into the barrel. This preliminary action allows the energy source to access the stopper surface directly without obstruction from the barrel wall. The heating softens the lubricious material in advance, enabling it to flow and fill defects in the barrier layer before sealing occurs, thereby improving seal integrity while avoiding manufacturing difficulties.
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 solution effectively reduces leakage and improves seal integrity by concentrating sealing forces and accommodating surface defects, ensuring a secure seal without the need for silicone or other lubricants, while maintaining low sliding resistance.
Implementation Method 1
modifying the stopper includes heating the barrel
Implementation Method 2
modifying the stopper includes causing a portion of the stopper to melt, reflow and resolidify
Implementation Method 3
modifying the stopper includes at least one of reflowing, ablating, heating, annealing, sintering, recrystallizing, coalescing, degrading, decomposing, vaporizing, cutting, and chemically reacting a portion of the stopper
Implementation Method 4
The energy directed through the wall of the barrel to the stopper includes laser energy
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for manufacturing an injector device including a barrel having a wall defining an inner surface and a stopper that is slidably received in the barrel, the stopper having an outer side engaged with the inner surface of the wall of the barrel. The methods may include modifying a stopper by directing energy through the wall of the barrel to the stopper.