Needle Guard Housing with Rotational Unlock to Prevent Accidental Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auto-injectors with needle guards can be accidentally locked prior to use, rendering the device inoperable due to user experimentation, and current solutions do not adequately prevent this issue.
Innovation Solution
A housing design incorporating a shell and a medicament delivery member guard with protrusions and slits that allow the needle guard to be locked and unlocked by the user, enabling rotation and axial movement to align or misalign for activation and deactivation, respectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the needle guard is designed to retract automatically after use, then safety is improved by preventing accidental needlesticks, but the device becomes inoperable if the guard is retracted prematurely by user experimentation
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guard transitions from a static locked state to a dynamic state where it can be deliberately unlocked by the user through rotational movement, allowing controlled activation while maintaining safety against accidental activation
Solution Approach 2:
The interaction between the protrusion and slit is asymmetric - the protrusion can easily enter the slit during rotation to unlock, but cannot easily exit once engaged, creating a one-way locking mechanism that prevents accidental retraction while allowing deliberate activation
2Reliability
If the needle guard is locked automatically after retraction, then safety is improved by preventing needle exposure, but the device cannot be reused if mistakenly activated
Solution Approach 1:
The design allows recovery of the device after mistaken activation by enabling the user to rotate the guard back to realign the protrusion with the slit, thereby unlocking and resetting the mechanism for potential reuse
3Ease of operation
If the needle guard can be retracted by pressing edges with fingers, then ease of operation is improved by allowing user control, but accidental locking occurs during experimentation
Solution Approach 1:
The unlocking mechanism requires rotational movement in a different dimension rather than simple linear pressing, adding a dimensional constraint that prevents accidental activation while maintaining user control
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention concerns a housing (10) for a medicament delivery device, the housing (10) comprising a shell (12) extending along an axis (20) in an axial direction (21) from a proximal end to a distal end, and a medicament delivery member guard (14) moveably attached to the shell (12). The medicament delivery member guard (14) extends in the axial direction (21) from a proximal end to a distal end. The shell (12) comprises a slit (18) extending in the axial direction (21) and the medicament delivery member guard (14) comprises a protrusion (16) extending in the axial direction (21), and/or the medicament delivery member guard (14) comprises a slit extending in the axial direction (21) and the shell (12) comprises a protrusion extending in the axial direction (21). The medicament delivery member guard (14) is configured to move in the axial direction (21) from a first axial position relative to the shell (12) to a second axial position relative to the shell (12), such that in the first axial position the medicament delivery member guard (14) is rotatable around the axis (20) relative to the shell (12) from a locked position in which the protrusion (16) cannot enter the slit (18) to an unlocked position in which the protrusion (16) can enter the slit (18), and such that in the second axial position rotation of the medicament delivery member guard (14) around the axis (20) relative to the shell (12) is limited, and the protrusion (16) is in the slit (18). A medicament delivery device comprising the housing (10) is also described.