Needle Cutting Device Radial Blade Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Needle stick injuries from accidental contact with injector needles pose a significant health risk, and existing solutions lack ease of use for non-professionals in safely cutting and storing needles.
Innovation Solution
A needle cutting device with a cutter assembly featuring a blade support portion and blade receiver, allowing for radial movement within a housing, enabling safe and easy cutting of injector needles, and a container for storing cut needles, along with optional electronic components for user feedback and data handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a needle cutting device is designed to be easy to use by non-professionals, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for automatic blade positioning and safety mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-service operation where the user simply inserts the injector into the housing, and the system automatically positions the blade and executes the cutting action without requiring manual blade adjustment or complex user interventions, thereby maintaining ease of operation while managing complexity through automation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex manual mechanical adjustment systems with an automatic mechanical positioning system where the housing structure itself guides and positions the blade through predetermined movement paths, reducing the need for complex user-operated mechanical controls
2Manufacturing precision
If the blade support portion is made movable in radial direction, then manufacturing precision is improved for blade positioning, but device complexity increases due to additional movable components
Solution Approach 1:
The blade support portion is designed to be movable in the radial direction, allowing the blade position to be dynamically adjusted from a retracted position to an extended cutting position. This dynamic capability enables precise blade positioning relative to the needle while maintaining a compact overall device structure when the blade is not in use
Solution Approach 2:
The cutter assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a stationary housing, a movable blade support portion, and a blade. This segmentation allows the blade support portion to move independently in the radial direction for precise positioning without requiring the entire cutter assembly to be complex or large in size
3Ease of operation
If the wall pushes the blade support portion radially to move the blade towards the longitudinal axis, then ease of operation is improved, but force requirements increase during the cutting operation
Solution Approach 1:
The force-generating function is extracted from the user operation and transferred to the housing structure itself. The wall of the housing is designed to actively push the blade support portion radially during the cutting operation, eliminating the need for the user to apply force for blade positioning and reducing the overall force requirements on the user
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a needle cutting device for cutting an injector needle. The needle cutting device includes a housing extending along a longitudinal axis between a first open end and a second end. The needle cutting device also includes a cutter assembly aligned with the housing along the longitudinal axis, wherein the cutter assembly comprises a blade and a cutter body. The housing comprises a wall that defines a cavity, the cavity extending between the first open end of the housing and the second end of the housing. A blade support portion of the cutter body is wider than the cavity, so that when the cutter body is moved into the cavity, the wall of the housing pushes the blade support portion in the radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis so that the blade is moved towards the longitudinal axis.