Moisture Sensor Terminal Clamp Guide Piece Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connection terminals for moisture sensors in extracorporeal blood treatment devices face challenges in maintaining reliable electrical contact and preventing detachment under mechanical loads, while also being cost-effective for large-scale production.
Innovation Solution
A connection terminal with a guide piece featuring a slit-shaped recess for locking the upper and lower legs, ensuring secure contact with the moisture sensor's connection lug, and incorporating elastic elements for tolerance compensation, designed as a one-piece injection molded part for ease of manufacturing and disinfection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional connection terminal with separate clamping jaws and springs is used, then reliable electrical contact can be achieved, but the device complexity increases and manufacturing cost rises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functional elements (clamping jaws, springs, guide pieces, and electrical contacts) into a single integrated connection terminal component. This merging reduces the number of separate parts, simplifies assembly, and lowers manufacturing complexity while maintaining the reliability of electrical contact through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection terminal is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: clamping the moisture sensor, providing electrical contact, guiding alignment, and ensuring secure attachment. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components and simplifies the overall system while maintaining reliable operation.
2Reliability
If a secure clamping mechanism is used to prevent detachment, then connection reliability improves, but the ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping mechanism is integrated into the connection terminal as a unified structure rather than a separate component. This integration allows the clamping function to be manufactured together with the rest of the terminal in a single process, improving ease of manufacture while maintaining secure connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses elastic deformation of the integrated clamping structure to achieve secure attachment. By changing the physical state from rigid to elastic, the terminal can be manufactured as a single piece that automatically provides secure clamping through material properties rather than complex mechanical assemblies.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate components are used for the connection terminal, then adaptability and adjustment capability improve, but productivity and mass production efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The connection terminal is designed as a single integrated component that can be manufactured in large quantities using injection molding or similar mass production techniques. This merging of functions into one piece dramatically improves productivity and mass production efficiency while the design itself provides the necessary adaptability for different moisture sensor configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves adaptability through parameter optimization in the integrated design, such as varying the elasticity, dimensions, and contact point locations within the single component. This allows the terminal to accommodate different sensor types without requiring multiple component variants, maintaining mass production efficiency.
4Reliability
If a complex multi-part connection terminal is used, then electrical contact reliability improves, but disinfection and cleaning become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The integration of all functional elements into a single connection terminal eliminates gaps, joints, and interfaces between separate parts where contaminants could accumulate. This unified structure can be easily disassembled from the moisture sensor for complete disinfection and cleaning, improving ease of repair and maintenance while maintaining electrical contact reliability through the integrated design.
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 provides reliable and secure electrical contact, resistance to mechanical loads, and cost-effective mass production, ensuring stable monitoring of vascular access during extracorporeal blood treatments.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic element for tolerance compensation
Implementation Method 2
guide piece which has a slit-shaped recess for receiving the connection lug of the moisture sensor. The slit-shaped recess of the guide piece is laterally delimited by two stop elements, so that the connection lug is held in the connection terminal in a predetermined position
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a terminal clamp for a moisture sensor to be placed on a patient's skin in order to monitor access to a vessel in the patient. The terminal clamp of the invention has a first, lower leg (26) and a second, upper leg (27) for clampingly fastening the terminal lug (24) of the moisture sensor (18), the rear end piece (34) of the lower leg (26) and the rear end piece (35) of the upper leg (27) being interconnected. The terminal clamp has terminal contacts to contact the electric contact points of the terminal lug of the moisture sensor. The terminal clamp of the invention is characterized by a guiding piece (28) that has a slot-shaped cavity (30) to accept the terminal lug (24) of the moisture sensor (18). The slot-shaped cavity (30) of the guiding piece (28) is laterally delimited by two stop elements (31a, 31b) such that the terminal lug is retained in the terminal clamp in a predefined position in which the terminal contacts of the terminal clamp are in contact with the electric contact points of the terminal lug. The upper leg (27) has locking means (41) which are lockingly fastened in the slot-shaped cavity (30) when the terminal clamp is closed. In the terminal clamp of the invention, the slot-shaped cavity (30) of the guiding piece (28) is also used for locking the upper leg (27) to the lower leg (26).