Medical Container Holding Device with Raised Plateaus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical container holding devices deform during automated filling processes, leading to misalignment and inaccuracies in filling and stoppering, as well as issues during transport and conveying.
Innovation Solution
A holding device with a supporting plate featuring a peripheral lower portion, raised plateaus, and connecting walls, which increases stiffness and resistance to deflection, ensuring medical containers remain upright and accurately positioned during filling and transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a simple plate structure is used for holding medical containers, then the device complexity is low and ease of manufacture is high, but the stiffness is insufficient leading to deformation during filling and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces raised plateaus that extend vertically from the plate surface, creating a multi-level three-dimensional structure. This dimensional change from a flat 2D plate to a 3D structure with elevated regions significantly increases stiffness and load-bearing capacity without requiring a completely different device design, thus resolving the contradiction between strength and complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The plate is segmented into multiple functional regions including raised plateaus, connecting walls, and recessed areas. This segmentation allows different portions of the plate to serve specific purposes: raised plateaus provide structural rigidity, connecting walls transfer loads, and recessed areas accommodate containers. The segmentation enables the structure to achieve high stiffness through distributed reinforcement rather than a single complex component
2Manufacturing precision
If the holding device is made more rigid to prevent deformation, then filling accuracy improves, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
By adding vertical dimension through raised plateaus, the structure achieves enhanced rigidity that prevents plate deformation during filling operations. This dimensional approach improves filling accuracy by maintaining precise container positioning without requiring complex machining or assembly processes, as the rigidity is built into the molded structure itself
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies geometric parameters of the plate structure by introducing raised regions with specific heights, wall thicknesses, and connecting structures. These parameter changes optimize the stiffness-to-manufacturability ratio, allowing the device to achieve sufficient rigidity for accurate filling while remaining compatible with standard injection molding or thermoforming processes
3Stability of the object's composition
If the plate structure is simplified for easy manufacturing, then ease of manufacture is high, but deflection during transport exceeds acceptable limits
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is divided into segmented regions with raised plateaus that act as independent structural supports. Each raised plateau and connecting wall segment works to control deflection in its local area, preventing excessive overall plate bending during transport. This segmented approach achieves deflection control through distributed structural elements rather than a single complex reinforcement system
Solution Approach 2:
The introduction of vertical raised plateaus transforms the plate from a flexible 2D surface to a stiffer 3D structure. This dimensional enhancement provides inherent deflection control during transport without requiring complex external support systems or difficult-to-manufacture reinforcement features, as the rigidity is integrated into the basic plate geometry
Data Source
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Figure 1C
AI summary
A holding device for supporting medical containers includes a supporting plate having first and second surfaces, a peripheral edge between the first and second surfaces, and a plurality of openings through the supporting plate configured to receive the medical containers. The supporting plate further includes a peripheral lower portion extending inward from the peripheral edge, a pair of cutouts formed in opposing sides of the peripheral edge and in the peripheral lower portion, one or more raised plateaus vertically offset from the peripheral lower portion and enclosed thereby, and connecting walls extending between the peripheral lower portion and the raised plateaus, with the raised plateaus include a pair of C-shaped plateaus positioned, respectively, about the pair of cutouts. A plurality of chimneys protrude from the supporting plate and enclose the plurality of openings, such that the chimneys guide insertion of the medical containers into the openings.