O-Ring Drainage Cap Assembly for Airtight Vacuum Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical drainage systems for procedures like paracentesis and thoracentesis face issues with air contamination, pneumothorax, and unreliable vacuum maintenance due to cumbersome designs, manual valves, and adhesive-based sealing, which can lead to unsafe operations and manufacturing inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A drainage system utilizing a frangible seal and a cap with a spiked tube, elastomeric components, and an O-ring for airtight sealing, allowing easy assembly and disassembly without adhesives, and incorporating a vacuum indicator to ensure consistent vacuum integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive-based sealing is used to secure the cap to the container, then sealing reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesive component from the sealing system and replaces it with a mechanical sealing mechanism using an O-ring and friction fit. This extraction of the adhesive simplifies manufacturing while maintaining sealing reliability through the elastomeric O-ring that compresses against the container mouth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an O-ring as an intermediary sealing element between the cap and container. This O-ring acts as a mediator that provides the sealing function previously achieved by adhesive, while allowing for easier assembly and disassembly without chemical bonding.
2Ease of operation
If manual valves are used to control drainage, then drainage control is improved, but risk of air ingress and malfunction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a self-regulating valve mechanism that automatically controls drainage based on fluid pressure differential. The valve opens when fluid pressure exceeds vacuum pressure and closes when vacuum is restored, eliminating the need for manual operation and reducing the risk of operator error leading to air ingress.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a feedback mechanism where the vacuum indicator provides visual feedback on the vacuum status, which in turn regulates the valve operation. When the indicator shows vacuum is present, the valve remains closed; when fluid flow restores pressure, the valve opens, creating a self-regulating system that prevents air ingress.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple containers are used for fluid dispensing, then diagnostic capability is improved, but device complexity and difficulty of insertion increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the collection system into separable components: a removable cap assembly and a main container. This segmentation allows the cap with its valve and indicator mechanisms to be detached and potentially replaced or sterilized independently, while maintaining the simplicity of the main container for insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the cap assembly as a multi-functional component that serves multiple purposes: sealing the container, controlling drainage through the valve, indicating vacuum status, and potentially allowing for sample diversion. This consolidation of multiple functions into a single assembly reduces overall device complexity compared to having separate systems for each function.
4Ease of manufacture
If frangible seal with spiked tube is used for vacuum transfer, then ease of assembly is improved, but risk of seal failure must be managed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a frangible seal that is pre-positioned and sealed over the container mouth during manufacturing. This preliminary sealing action ensures that the vacuum environment is established before the device is assembled, and the seal is designed to break only when intentionally activated by the spiked tube during controlled vacuum transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The frangible seal is designed as a single-use, disposable component that is replaced after each use. This approach manages the reliability risk by ensuring that any potential seal failure modes are eliminated through replacement rather than repair, and the low cost of the seal makes this economically viable.
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
Ensures safe and reliable fluid withdrawal by preventing air ingress, maintaining vacuum integrity, and reducing manufacturing costs and complexity, while allowing easy component inspection and interchangeability.
Implementation Method 1
an elastomeric cap having a frangible seal covering a mouth of the container, the frangible seal being configured to seal the container interior
Implementation Method 2
a frangible seal covering a mouth of the container, the frangible seal being configured to seal the container interior
Implementation Method 3
A spiked tube is positioned at least partially within the cap and is configured to pierce the frangible seal. An area within the cap and the interior of the container may be in fluid communication when the frangible seal is pierced.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A drainage system, the drainage system comprising a container having an interior and a mouth, the mouth comprising an outer surface and an opening, a frangible seal covering the opening, a cap secured to the mouth and in fluid communication with a drainage line, the cap having an inner surface configured to engage with the outer surface of the mouth, an O-ring located at least partially between the outer surface of the mouth and the inner surface of the cap and configured to form a fluid seal between a space defined by the cap and the space located externally of the drainage system, and a retaining ring circumferentially engaging the cap.