Needle Shield Retractable Locking Mechanism for Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Needle-based devices, such as syringes and hypodermic needles, pose risks of user injury during cap handling and occupy space for springs, reducing fluid capacity, and lack effective safety mechanisms for both injection and extraction processes.
Innovation Solution
A needle-based device with a retractable needle shield that completely encompasses the needle in a state of disuse, using a lock button mechanism to securely maintain the shield position, allowing for automatic retraction and exposure of the needle for use, and automatic return to the disuse state, enabling safe handling and efficient fluid handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a spring is used in the barrel to enable needle retraction, then needle safety is improved, but the fluid capacity of the device is reduced due to space occupied by the spring
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism is extracted from the barrel and relocated to a separate housing structure. This allows the barrel to be fully dedicated to fluid storage, eliminating the space conflict between the spring and fluid capacity while maintaining the automatic retraction safety function through the relocated spring mechanism.
2Reliability
If a cap is used to cover the needle for storage, then needle protection is improved, but user injury risk increases during cap handling
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs automatic needle retraction driven by the spring mechanism, which self-activates when the plunger is removed or when the device is activated. This eliminates the need for manual cap handling entirely, as the needle automatically retracts into the barrel or housing, allowing users to load and store the device without exposing themselves to the sharp needle.
3Reliability
If a retractable needle shield is implemented, then needle safety during use is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The needle shield retraction mechanism is merged with the existing spring-driven plunger removal mechanism. The same spring that enables plunger removal also drives the needle shield retraction, combining multiple safety functions into a single mechanical system and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining comprehensive needle protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes protecting an entire length of a needle of a needle-based device protruding from a needle mount coupled to a body thereof based on providing a needle shield completely encompassing the entire protruding length of the needle in a first state of disuse, and retracting the needle shield in a first direction toward the body of the needle-based device to apply a first force in the first direction to cause the needle to emerge out of the needle shield to prepare the needle-based device for a second state of use. The method also includes transitioning the needle-based device back to the first state of disuse following the second state of use in accordance with applying a second force in a second direction diametrically opposite to the first direction, and providing a lock button to lock the needle shield in the first state of disuse.