Plastic Flange With Embedded RFID for Medical Container Traceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical containers face challenges in individual traceability from manufacturing to final use without damaging or removing identification marks, which also impact visual inspection and are costly to produce.
Innovation Solution
A plastic flange with a remotely readable electronic component, such as a RFID tag, embedded within the flange to provide secure and unobstructed identification of medical containers, allowing for tracking from manufacturing to disposal without affecting visual inspection or increasing container thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If printed unique identifier codes are placed on the external side of the receptacle for tracking, then individual identification is enabled, but the codes may be removed or damaged during handling and use
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic component for remote identification is embedded within the plastic flange structure itself, nesting the identification system inside the container component. This embedding protects the identification element from external damage or removal while maintaining its functionality for tracking the medical container throughout its lifecycle.
2Manufacturing precision
If laser marking is used to form readable marks on the glass tube surface, then identification marks can be created, but the glass material may be damaged and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical laser marking processes with an embedded electronic identification component. Instead of using high-energy laser beams that can damage glass surfaces, the identification function is achieved through an electronic tag embedded in the plastic flange, eliminating the harmful thermal and mechanical effects of laser marking on the container material.
3Reliability
If RFID tags are placed inside recesses or on removable caps, then remote identification is enabled, but the tags may be removed or damaged during handling
Solution Approach 1:
The identification function is merged with the structural flange component itself. The electronic component is embedded within the integral plastic flange, combining the identification system with the container's structural element. This integration ensures the identification capability remains with the container throughout its lifecycle without being separable or vulnerable to removal.
4Loss of information
If unique identifier codes are printed on the receptacle surface, then tracking is enabled, but visual inspection of the receptacle is impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an electromagnetic field as an intermediary to transmit identification information. Instead of visual marks that obstruct optical inspection, an RFID or similar electronic component stores tracking information that can be read remotely through electromagnetic induction. This intermediary mechanism allows simultaneous visual inspection of the container and electronic identification without mutual interference.
Data Source
AI summary
A plastic flange for a medical container, the plastic flange defining an opening, the opening being surrounded by a peripheral collar, the collar providing a support to a user's fingers, wherein the flange comprises connecting means for connecting the flange to an external surface of a tubular barrel of the medical container, and wherein the flange further comprises a remotely readable electronic component for remote identification of the medical container, the remotely readable electronic component being embedded into the plastic flange.