L-Shaped Seal for Portable Eye Bath Leaktightness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable eye bath devices are inadequate for swift and effective chemical splash washing due to issues like breakage, limited capacity, sterilization compatibility, and economic manufacturing constraints, particularly in handling thermal sterilization processes while maintaining leaktightness.
Innovation Solution
A portable eye bath device featuring an elastically deformable seal with an L- or U-shaped section that securely fits any narrow-necked receptacle, allowing for thermal sterilization and compatibility with various materials, enabling flexible production and cost-effective manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If the reservoir capacity is increased from 50 ml to 500 ml to extend the intervention timescale, then the duration of action is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to requiring larger reservoirs that cannot be sterilized by air/steam autoclaving and require slow, expensive moulding techniques
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from thermally incompatible synthetics to thermally compatible materials (polypropylene, polyethylene, glass) that can withstand autoclaving at 121°C. This enables batch sterilization of large-capacity reservoirs using standard autoclave processes, eliminating the need for expensive, slow moulding techniques and reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining extended intervention timescale capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable, single-use reservoirs made from inexpensive, autoclave-compatible materials that can be mass-produced and sterilized in bulk. This eliminates the need for complex, expensive manufacturing processes and allows for economical production of large-capacity devices suitable for extended intervention scenarios
2Adaptability or versatility
If the reservoir and eye cup are made of synthetic materials with different thermal behaviours to enable flexibility in material selection, then the adaptability is improved, but the reliability deteriorates during heat sterilization processes as the leaktightness cannot be preserved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selects materials with matching thermal expansion coefficients and compatible thermal properties for both the reservoir and eye cup components. This ensures that during autoclaving at 121°C, the materials expand and contract uniformly, maintaining the integrity of the interface between components and preserving leaktightness while allowing flexible material selection within the same thermal compatibility group
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction where the reservoir and eye cup are made from thermally compatible synthetic materials (such as polypropylene or polyethylene) that share similar thermal behaviours. This composite approach ensures coordinated thermal response during sterilization, maintaining sealing integrity while providing manufacturing flexibility
3Reliability
If the seal is made of elastically deformable material to ensure leaktightness during heat sterilization, then the reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase due to the need for precise fit and clamp between sleeve and neck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the seal only at the critical interface location where the sleeve meets the neck, concentrating the elastic deformation capability precisely where needed for sealing. This localized approach ensures reliable leaktightness during thermal sterilization while minimizing the overall manufacturing precision requirements compared to requiring precision throughout the entire component structure
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 ensures leaktightness during heat sterilization and is adaptable to different receptacle capacities, facilitating efficient and sterile eye washing while being economically producible in large batches.
Implementation Method 1
a seal made of an elastically deformable material, able to withstand a heat sterilization treatment
Implementation Method 2
a seal made of an elastically deformable material, able to withstand a heat sterilization treatment and that is chemically compatible with the liquid, and in that the seal has an at least L-shaped section resting on the rim of the neck of the receptacle, the skirt defining the large leg of the L being clamped between the sleeve and the neck of the receptacle
Data Source
AI summary
Individual portable device (1) for eye bath, comprising a receptacle (5) with narrow neck (4) enclosing a sterile liquid for eye bath and an eye cup (2) provided with a sleeve interlocked on the neck; an elastically deformable and heat-stable seal (6) has an at least L-shaped section and rests on the rim (7) of the neck of the receptacle; the skirt (6a) defining the large leg of the L is clamped between the sleeve of the eye cup and the neck of the receptacle; thus the eye cup (2) is secured to the receptacle (5) in a leaktight manner regardless of the deformations undergone by the neck of the receptacle and the sleeve of the eye cup during heat sterilization treatments.