Needle Shield Cap Assembly With Hooked Grips for Safe Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medicament delivery systems, particularly autoinjectors, often fail to ensure safe handling and disposal of needle shields due to varying mechanisms for removing caps, leading to potential safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A cap assembly with grip means forming hooks around a central axis, designed to wedge and remove needle shields efficiently, ensuring safe handling and disposal by engaging both inner and outer needle shields.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different mechanisms are provided to de-cap the device depending on needle shield type, then the device can accommodate different needle shield types, but safe handling and disposal of the cap and needle shield cannot always be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The cap assembly is designed with a universal grip means that can engage with both rigid needle shields and flexible needle shields through the same hook mechanism. The hooks are configured to wedge the distal edge of any needle shield type, allowing a single cap design to serve multiple needle shield types while ensuring consistent safe handling and disposal procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap assembly acts as an intermediary tool that mediates between the user and the needle shield removal process. The grip means with hooks provides a controlled interface for engaging and removing the needle shield, ensuring safe handling regardless of the needle shield type. The cap assembly captures both the needle shield and itself for coordinated disposal.
2Reliability
If the hooks are configured to wedge the needle shield at the distal edge, then the needle shield can be securely engaged and removed together with the cap assembly, but the grip means must be flexible enough to bend outwardly during attachment
Solution Approach 1:
The grip means is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to bend outwardly during attachment to accommodate the needle shield, and then maintain a secure wedged position during removal. The flexible support ribs enable the structure to adapt its shape during different phases of operation, providing both ease of attachment and secure engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The grip means incorporates flexible support ribs that function as flexible structural elements. These ribs allow the cap assembly to deform during attachment by bending outwardly, then return to a secured position to wedge the needle shield firmly during removal, providing the necessary flexibility without compromising structural integrity.
3Ease of operation
If the hooks are tilted towards the central axis, then better gripping and wedging of the needle shield is achieved, but unintended interference with other elements of the medicament delivery device must be avoided
Solution Approach 1:
The hooks are tilted at a specific angle towards the central axis, creating a localized geometric configuration that optimizes gripping and wedging capability. This localized angular design enhances the mechanical advantage for engaging the needle shield edge while the overall cap assembly geometry ensures the tilted hooks remain positioned to avoid interfering with other device elements during operation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a medicament delivery system comprising a medicament delivery device comprising a needle and a needle shield, wherein a proximal end of the medicament delivery device is directed towards an injection site and a distal end of the medicament delivery device is directed away from the injection site, and a cap assembly, wherein the cap assembly comprises: a central axis, and at least two grip means. The at least two grip means extend in the direction of the central axis and are arranged around the central axis to form circular segments. A distal end of each of the at least two grip means is bent towards the central axis to form a hook, wherein each hook is configured to wedge a distal edge of the needle shield. The disclosure further relates to a corresponding cap assembly and a corresponding method.