Moisture Sensing on Printed Circuit Boards for Medication Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medication delivery devices are prone to errors due to moisture exposure, which can cause electrical components to malfunction by incorrectly detecting events or data, leading to erroneous recordings and processing of injection information.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a moisture sensing mechanism using existing circuitry such as conductive traces, bias sources, and microcontrollers to detect moisture on the printed circuit board, preventing erroneous data from being recorded or processed by modifying the device's operation accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If moisture sensing mechanism is added to detect moisture on the printed circuit board, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by enabling existing circuit components (conductive traces, bias sources, ADCs) to serve dual purposes: their original functions plus moisture sensing. The conductive traces continue to provide electrical connectivity while also detecting moisture presence through changes in electrical properties. The bias sources and ADCs that were previously dedicated to specific sensing functions now also process moisture detection signals, eliminating the need for separate moisture sensing circuitry and maintaining data integrity without increasing device complexity.
2Device complexity
If existing circuitry is used for moisture sensing, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring electrical properties (such as capacitance or resistance changes) of the conductive traces through the bias source and ADC, comparing these measurements against expected values, and using this information to detect moisture presence. The microcontroller receives the ADC output and processes the signal to determine moisture conditions, enabling accurate detection despite using existing circuitry by leveraging the feedback loop and signal processing capabilities already present in the device.
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 effectively prevents moisture-induced errors by accurately detecting the presence of moisture and adjusting the device's operation to avoid recording or processing incorrect data, ensuring reliable medication delivery and data integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a conductive trace disposed at least partially on the printed circuit board... receive a signal from the conductive trace... determine, based on the received signal, that moisture may be present on the printed circuit board
Data Source
AI summary
Medication delivery devices are provided having a housing comprising a reservoir sized sufficiently to hold medication, a dose button being rotatable relative to the housing to select a dose size of the medication for an injection, a printed circuit board, a conductive trace, and a microcontroller. In some embodiments, a bias source can be in electrical communication with the conductive trace, and the microcontroller can be in electrical communication with the conductive trace through a logic input. In some embodiments, an analog-to-digital converter can be in electrical communication with the conductive trace, the microcontroller, and a bias source. The microcontroller is configured to receive a signal from the ADC or the logic input, and determine, based on the received signal, that moisture may be present on the printed circuit board.