Membrane-Sealed Fluid Coupling for Cleanable Contamination Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid coupling components in medical equipment face challenges in cleaning and preventing contaminants from entering the fluid channel, leading to potential contamination and mechanical damage.
Innovation Solution
A coupling component with a membrane seal made of resilient material that seals the channel opening in the resting position and opens it in the operative position, designed to minimize mechanical resistance and ensure effective cleaning, featuring a prismatic fluid gap with H-shaped profiling and a reinforcing portion for stability and sealing, and a coupling device that actively moves the membrane seal into the operative position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the channel opening is left open for fluid flow, then fluid can pass through, but contaminants can enter the fluid channel
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane seal is pre-positioned to cover and seal the channel opening in the resting position before fluid coupling is established. This preliminary sealing action prevents contaminant entry while allowing rapid transition to open state when coupling occurs, resolving the contradiction between preventing contamination and enabling fluid flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane seal acts as an intermediary element between the channel opening and the external environment. It provides a flexible barrier that can be passively sealed or actively displaced by the coupling device, mediating between the need for contamination prevention and fluid flow requirements without requiring the opening to be permanently exposed.
2Reliability
If a rigid seal is used to prevent contaminant entry, then sealing is effective, but cleaning becomes difficult due to complex geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane seal is implemented as a thin, flexible film that conforms to the channel opening geometry. This flexible membrane provides effective sealing while maintaining a smooth outer surface that is easily cleanable, eliminating the need for complex rigid seal geometries that would hinder cleaning accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating a complex rigid structure to achieve sealing, the invention inverts the approach by using a simple flexible membrane that naturally seals the opening. The complexity is shifted to the active displacement mechanism rather than the seal geometry itself, making the sealing surface simple and cleanable.
3Reliability
If the membrane seal is passively elastic, then it automatically seals when removed, but substantial mechanical resistance occurs during active opening
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling device acts as an intermediary mechanism that actively displaces the membrane seal from its sealed position to the open position. This intermediary action overcomes the elastic resistance of the membrane during opening while preserving the passive elastic sealing function when the coupling device is removed, resolving the contradiction between automatic sealing and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane seal transitions from a static elastic sealing element to a dynamically controlled component. In the resting state, it relies on passive elasticity to maintain sealing. During operation, it becomes dynamically displaced by the coupling device, allowing controlled opening without excessive mechanical resistance while maintaining reliable automatic sealing when removed.
4Ease of operation
If the membrane seal protrudes from the surface, then it is easily accessible, but it is vulnerable to mechanical damage
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane seal is nested within a recess in the coupling component surface, creating a protected cavity that shields the seal from external mechanical influences. This nesting arrangement maintains accessibility for coupling operations while providing structural protection that prevents mechanical damage to the delicate membrane seal.
Solution Approach 2:
The recess structure provides beforehand cushioning and protection for the membrane seal against mechanical influences. By positioning the seal within a recess rather than exposing it on the surface, the design anticipates and prevents potential mechanical damage before it can occur, while still allowing necessary accessibility for coupling operations.
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 ensures minimal fluid resistance, effective cleaning, and enhanced sealing properties, preventing contaminants from entering the fluid channel while maintaining a smooth surface for cleaning, and automatically sealing when the coupling device is removed, thus protecting the membrane seal from mechanical damage.
Implementation Method 1
the membrane seal is made of a resilient material and through which a fluid gap passes that is designed such that the membrane seal, when in a resting position, seals the channel opening and, when in an operative position, opens the channel opening
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a coupling component for a fluid coupling (1) for releasably connecting fluid-conveying components, in particular fluid-conveying components in medical equipment, wherein the coupling component comprises a coupling housing (14) through which a fluid channel (17) passes in regions and which is provided with a coupling recess (7) that is sunken into a surface (15) of the coupling housing (14), wherein a channel opening (18) of the fluid channel (17) ends at an end face (19) of the coupling recess (7). According to the invention, it is provided that the channel opening (18) is covered by a membrane seal (4) which is made of a resilient material and through which a fluid gap passes (8) that is designed such that the membrane seal (4), when in a resting position, seals the channel opening (18) and, when in an operative position, opens the channel opening (18), wherein at least one yielding depression (29) is formed in the coupling recess (7) adjacently to the channel opening (18), which depression is designed for an yielding movement of a region (36, 37) of the membrane seal (4) when the membrane seal (4) transitions from the resting position into the operative position.