Loop-Type Sampling Device for Breathalyzer Infection Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional breathalyzers pose a high risk of droplet infection between subjects and measurers due to their open structure, which allows droplets containing viruses to remain and potentially spread during exhalation sampling.
Innovation Solution
A loop-type sampling device with a loop-shaped body and a sample gas inlet tube connected to a suction pump, featuring a guide surface, coupling surfaces, and a sealing member to minimize droplet contact and facilitate efficient gas passage, integrated into a breathalyzer with carbon dioxide and alcohol sensors for inebriation determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If an open exhalation passage structure is used, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but droplet infection risk increases due to droplets remaining in the passage
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling device is divided into multiple separate components: a mouthpiece, a sampling tube, and a body. The sampling tube is detachably connected to the body, allowing easy removal and cleaning. This segmentation enables the passage to be disassembled for thorough cleaning to remove droplet residues, while still being simple to manufacture as separate parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling tube is extracted as a separate, removable component from the main body. This allows the sampling tube to be easily removed, cleaned, and disinfected between uses to eliminate droplet contamination, while the main body structure remains simple and easy to manufacture.
2Device complexity
If a cylindrical exhalation passage with open ends is used, then the device structure is simplified, but droplets discharged through the discharge port may splay on the measurer's face
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge port is positioned and oriented in a specific dimensional arrangement relative to the measurer. The sampling tube extends horizontally from the body, and the discharge port is positioned at the end of this tube, directing exhalation away from the measurer's face. This spatial arrangement in three-dimensional space prevents droplet spray while maintaining simple device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling tube acts as an intermediary component between the subject's mouth and the measurer. It channels the exhalation through a controlled path and discharges it in a direction that avoids the measurer's face, preventing direct droplet contact while keeping the overall device structure simple.
3Productivity
If the sampling device is used by multiple subjects without cleaning, then productivity is improved, but droplet infection risk increases due to remaining droplets
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling tube is extracted as a separate, removable component that can be quickly detached from the body for cleaning. This allows rapid cleaning and disinfection between subjects, enabling continuous use by multiple subjects while eliminating droplet infection risk through easy removal and cleaning of the contaminated component.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling tube can be discarded as a disposable component or easily cleaned and recovered for reuse. This approach allows the device to serve multiple subjects efficiently - either by replacing the contaminated sampling tube with a fresh one or by quickly cleaning and reusing it, maintaining high productivity while preventing droplet infection transmission.
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 loop-type sampling device reduces the risk of droplet infection by guiding exhalation efficiently through the device and minimizing residual droplets, thereby lowering the chance of infection between subjects and measurers during testing.
Implementation Method 1
a sample gas inlet tube having a first end that is in communication with the inner passage, the sample gas inlet tube having a second end connected to a sample gas analysis device that is provided with a negative pressure providing means capable of suctioning the sample gas that flows into the inner passage
Data Source
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AI summary
Proposed is a loop-type sampling device and a breathalyzer including the same. The loop-type sampling device includes a body formed in a loop shape forming a central opening through which a gas passes, the body having an entrance into which a part of the gas is introduced, and the body having an inner passage into which a sample gas that is the gas passing through the entrance flows, and includes a sample gas inlet tube having a first end that is in communication with the inner passage, the sample gas inlet tube having a second end connected to a sample gas analysis device that is provided with a negative pressure providing means capable of suctioning the sample gas. The loop-type sampling device and the breathalyzer have an advantage that an infection caused by droplets between a subject and a measurer is capable of being minimized.