Pharmaceutical Dosing Sealing via Component Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for administering pharmaceutical agents as aerosols face challenges in achieving accurate dosing due to inadequate sealing caused by component tolerances, leading to inconsistencies in air leakage and dosage precision.
Innovation Solution
The process involves selecting suitable groups of components based on significant values such as volume and compressibility for the first and second components, ensuring enhanced sealing between them, which are then combined to achieve precise dosing accuracy. This includes determining mean and standard deviation values for the components and using statistical methods to select groups that meet specific setpoints for sealing, thereby improving dosing accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard production tolerances are used for guide pipe and O-ring components, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but sealing reliability and dosing accuracy deteriorate due to air leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The invention measures critical dimensions (O-ring cross-sectional area, guide pipe groove dimensions) during production and sorts components into groups before assembly. This preliminary classification ensures that when components are assembled, their dimensional characteristics are known and compatible, guaranteeing proper seal compression and eliminating air leakage without requiring post-assembly adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the approach from using uniform standard tolerances to using measured dimensional parameters to sort components into different groups. By measuring actual dimensions and assigning components to groups based on their specific values, the system achieves reliable sealing while managing complexity through systematic classification rather than tighter manufacturing tolerances.
2Manufacturing precision
If tighter manufacturing tolerances are applied to guide pipe and O-ring components, then dosing accuracy is improved, but manufacturing cost and production time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs dimensional measurements and sorts components into groups during or after production, before final assembly. This allows standard manufacturing processes to be used without requiring tighter tolerances, while still achieving high dosing accuracy through selective assembly of pre-sorted components with matching dimensional characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of improving manufacturing precision through tighter tolerances, the invention changes the approach by measuring and sorting components based on their actual dimensional parameters. This allows standard production methods to maintain high productivity while achieving precise dosing through intelligent component matching in the assembly process.
3Reliability
If component sorting and matching is implemented, then sealing performance and dosing accuracy are enhanced, but measurement and sorting expenses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention measures critical dimensions and sorts components into groups as a preliminary step before final assembly. By performing this sorting early, the system ensures that when components are assembled, their dimensional compatibility is already established, leading to reliable sealing and accurate dosing without requiring complex real-time adjustments during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes from a simple assembly process to one that incorporates measurement and sorting based on dimensional parameters. While this adds measurement and sorting steps, it eliminates the need for tighter manufacturing tolerances and complex post-assembly adjustments, achieving dosing accuracy through systematic parameter-based classification.
Data Source
AI summary
A process and a device for dosing a pharmaceutical agent, preferably a liquid, are proposed. To achieve an enhanced dosing accuracy, a first component that is produced in batches, such as a shaped seal, is combined with a second component, such as a guide pipe selected from a suitable group guide pipes, wherein the suitable group of second components is selected based on at least one decisively significant value of the respective batch first components and is distinguished by an essential value of the second component which will optimize the sealing between the first and second components.