Parallel Drug Reservoir and Dosing Unit for Compact Injection Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hand-held injection devices for self-administration of liquid drugs, such as insulin, face challenges in achieving discreetness due to their length and complexity, particularly when used in public settings, and existing designs do not adequately address the need for compactness and precise dosing.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an elongated drug reservoir and dosing unit arranged in parallel, with a metering cavity and valve arrangement that allows for stepwise discharge of the drug, enabling a more compact form factor and improved dosing precision by decoupling the dosing unit from the drug reservoir, allowing for higher concentration insulin formulations and reduced overall size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the drug reservoir and dosing unit are arranged in parallel, then the device length is reduced and discreetness is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional modules: a drug reservoir module and a dosing unit module, which can be arranged in parallel or series configurations. This segmentation allows the long drug reservoir to be positioned separately from the dosing mechanism, reducing the overall device length while maintaining functional integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a traditional linear (one-dimensional) arrangement of components to a two-dimensional parallel arrangement. The drug reservoir and dosing unit are positioned side-by-side rather than end-to-end, effectively utilizing spatial dimensions to reduce device length without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Measurement precision
If the dosing unit is decoupled from the drug reservoir, then dosing precision is improved and higher concentration formulations are enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing unit is extracted and separated from the drug reservoir, creating an independent dosing module. This allows the dosing mechanism to be optimized for precision without being constrained by reservoir design, enabling accurate metering of high-concentration formulations while the reservoir can be independently optimized for drug storage.
Solution Approach 2:
A coupling mechanism or interface is introduced as an intermediary between the drug reservoir and dosing unit. This intermediary enables precise fluid transfer and metering while allowing the two modules to be independently designed and optimized, managing the complexity through modular connection rather than integrated design.
3Volume of moving object
If the device is designed for compact form factor, then discreetness and user convenience are improved, but the drug reservoir size is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing unit is designed to nest within or around the drug reservoir structure, or components are arranged in a nested configuration. This allows the device to maintain a compact external volume while accommodating both the drug reservoir and dosing mechanisms, preserving discreetness without proportionally reducing drug capacity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a
Figure 2b
AI summary
Disclosed is a hand-held injection device (1) for the metered injection of a liquid drug into a person's tissue, the injection device including: . a) an elongated drug reservoir (100), the drug reservoir having a longitudinal reservoir axis (A), . b) an elongated dosing unit (200), the dosing unit (200) having a dosing unit inlet, a dosing unit outlet, and a metering cavity (207), the dosing unit (200) having a longitudinal dosing unit axis (Alpha'), the drug reservoir (100) being fluidically coupled to the dosing unit inlet (215a), . . the dosing unit (200) and the drug reservoir (100) being arranged such that the longitudinal dosing unit axis (Alpha') is in parallel alignment with the reservoir axis (A).