Flexible Membrane Storage Core for Wrinkle-Free Gas Diffusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible sidewalls in storage containers for medical, pharmaceutical, or biological media are prone to wrinkling, affecting efficient storage and gas diffusion, leading to inefficiencies in maintaining the integrity of the media.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a core with an annular body, retainers, ring seals, and flexible film membranes that form a circumferential engagement cavity to create a medically active environment, ensuring efficient storage and gas exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If flexible sidewalls are used in storage containers, then the container can be manufactured with simpler structure and lower cost, but the sidewalls are prone to wrinkling which reduces storage efficiency and gas diffusion performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible membrane made of gas-permeable material that can be tensioned to eliminate wrinkles while maintaining flexibility. This resolves the contradiction by providing a surface that is both easy to manufacture (flexible film) and wrinkle-free (when tensioned), thereby improving storage efficiency and gas diffusion without sacrificing manufacturing simplicity.
2Ease of manufacture
If flexible sidewalls are used in storage containers, then the container can be manufactured with simpler structure and lower cost, but the wrinkling reduces gas diffusion efficiency through the membrane
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane is tensioned within the containment structure to create a smooth, wrinkle-free surface. This tensioning mechanism maintains the gas-permeable properties of the membrane while eliminating wrinkles that would otherwise impede gas diffusion, thus preserving reliability without compromising manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the membrane from a loose, wrinkled configuration to a tensioned, smooth configuration. By altering the tension parameter of the flexible film, the membrane maintains its gas-permeable functionality while achieving a wrinkle-free surface that ensures reliable gas diffusion.
3Device complexity
If flexible sidewalls are used in storage containers, then the container structure can be simplified, but the wrinkling prevents efficient storage and sustains poor media integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The tensioned flexible membrane provides a smooth, stable surface that maintains media integrity by preventing wrinkles and folds. This simple yet effective structure ensures that the stored media remains undisturbed and maintains its compositional stability without requiring complex structural elements.
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 apparatus provides a stable and efficient environment for storing medical, pharmaceutical, or biological media by minimizing wrinkling and enhancing gas diffusion, thereby improving storage efficiency and media integrity.
Implementation Method 1
These flexible sidewalls may at least partially serve as membranes for gas diffusion into the container
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus including: a core including an annular body defining an internal void oriented down a central axis having a top axial surface and a bottom axial surface; at least one retainer including an annular body adapted to couple to the top axial surface or the bottom axial surface of the core to form a circumferential engagement cavity defined radially between the at least one retainer and the core; at least one ring seal disposed within the engagement cavity; and at least one flexible film membrane partially disposed within the engagement cavity, where the at least one flexible film membrane at least partially encloses the internal void to provide for a medically, biologically, or pharmaceutically active environment within the internal void of the core.