Motorized Touchless Sharps Container Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical waste disposal systems do not adequately address the need for minimizing user contact and ensuring safety and hygiene in handling contaminated medical waste, such as sharps and infectious materials, while also providing efficient disposal and containment solutions.
Innovation Solution
An automated medical waste disposal system featuring a motorized closure with sensors to facilitate touchless operation, a foam source for encapsulating waste, and a stapling mechanism for guide wires, which reduces physical interaction and enhances containment and safety through motorized movement of the closure and foam distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual operation of waste disposal containers is used, then ease of operation is maintained, but user contact with contaminated waste increases and safety decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operation with an automated motorized closure system. The motorized closure automatically opens and closes based on sensor detection of waste insertion, eliminating the need for users to manually handle the closure mechanism and reducing direct contact with contaminated waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The waste disposal container performs self-service through automated sensors and motors that detect waste insertion and automatically manage the closure. The system autonomously opens the closure when waste is detected and closes it afterward, without requiring continuous user intervention for safety and containment.
2Reliability
If automated motorized closure is implemented, then user contact with waste is minimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sensors as intermediary components that mediate between the user and the motorized closure system. The sensors detect waste insertion and trigger the motorized closure automatically, creating an intermediary control layer that simplifies user interaction while managing the complexity of the automated system.
3Reliability
If foam encapsulation is added for waste containment, then containment effectiveness improves, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable foam inserts that are pre-formed and discarded after use. These single-use foam encapsulation elements simplify manufacturing compared to reusable containment systems, as they can be mass-produced cheaply and disposed of after containing the waste, eliminating the need for complex cleaning and sterilization processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A closure for a waste receptacle is provided. The closure comprises a moveable component mounted to the closure for movement between a closed position, wherein the moveable component prohibits waste from entering the waste receptacle and an open position wherein the moveable component facilitates the entry of waste into the waste receptacle. A motor is coupled to the moveable component and configured to move the moveable component between the open position and the closed position. A sensor is adapted to transmit a signal when waste is proximal or contacting the closure, wherein the sensor communicates with the motor to move the moveable component between the open position and the closed position to deposit the waste into the waste receptacle.