Needleless Sampling Port Bladder Valve Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing needleless sampling ports for biological fluids are complex, expensive, and prone to failure, with a larger profile that can get caught or entangled, posing risks of needle-stick injuries and contamination during urine collection.
Innovation Solution
A sampling port with a housing and valve assembly featuring a bezel and bladder system that allows fluid flow through a channel, using a bezel with internal ribs and a bladder stem that moves between sealed and open positions to facilitate fluid sampling without needles, integrated with a syringe-compatible design for safe and efficient fluid removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If needleless sampling ports include many parts to ensure functionality, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated sampling port design that eliminates the need for separate components. The sampling port integrates the valve mechanism, fluid pathway, and sealing elements into one unified structure, reducing part count while maintaining reliability through careful design of the integrated components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling port is designed to perform multiple functions with a single component structure. It provides both sampling capability and sealing function simultaneously, and can be used with different syringe types, making it multi-functional without requiring additional parts for each function.
2Reliability
If needleless sampling ports are designed with multiple components to ensure functionality, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple functions into fewer components, the patent reduces the total number of parts that need to be manufactured, assembled, and quality-checked. This integration approach lowers manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining the reliability needed for medical applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling port is designed as a disposable medical device that can be manufactured cost-effectively using injection molding or similar processes. The single-use design eliminates the need for complex sterilization and reprocessing infrastructure, reducing overall system cost while ensuring reliability through consistent factory manufacturing.
3Reliability
If sampling ports are designed with a larger profile to accommodate functional components, then reliability is improved, but the device becomes prone to entanglement and injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling port design nests functional components within a compact housing structure. The valve mechanism and fluid pathways are arranged in a nested configuration that minimizes the external profile while maintaining internal functionality, reducing the risk of entanglement and injury.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the spatial arrangement of components by utilizing three-dimensional space efficiently within the housing. Critical functions are arranged in different dimensions and orientations, allowing the device to maintain adequate internal volumes for reliable operation while presenting a compact external profile that minimizes injury risk.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a low-profile, cost-effective, and reliable sampling port that reduces the risk of injury and contamination, while ensuring efficient fluid sampling and reducing manufacturing complexity and costs.
Implementation Method 1
The bladder stem is movable within the channel of the bezel between a first position substantially preventing fluid flow through the valve assembly and a second position in which a fluid path is established through the valve assembly
Implementation Method 2
The bladder base includes at least one opening dimensioned to permit passage of fluid as a component of the fluid path when the bladder stem is in the second position
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A sampling port includes a housing and a valve assembly. The housing includes an internal passage through which fluids flow and defines a port in fluid communication with the internal passage. The valve assembly is mountable adjacent the port of the housing and includes a bezel having a channel extending therethrough and a bladder mounted adjacent the bezel. The bladder includes a bladder base and a bladder stem depending from the bladder base which is at least partially received within the channel of the bezel. The bladder stem is movable within the channel of the bezel between a first position substantially preventing fluid flow through the valve assembly and a second position in which a fluid path is established through the valve assembly and in fluid communication with the internal passage of the housing.