Plastic Resilient Arm Needle Shielding Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current needle tip shielding devices for catheters suffer from scraping vibrations, poor protection against blood or fluid drops, risk of internal scratches, generation of loose particles, and high production costs, while existing solutions either fail to adequately protect the needle tip or are complex and costly to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A plastic needle tip shielding device with a resilient arm and back-hooking elongation, designed to clamp and protect the needle tip, minimizing vibrations and particle generation, and made from molded plastic for reduced complexity and cost, featuring a unique shape and protuberances for secure attachment to the catheter hub.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a metal spring clip is used to shield the needle tip, then the needle tip is protected, but scraping vibrations are generated and loose particles are released
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the shielding device from metal to plastic, which fundamentally alters the interaction characteristics with the needle. This material substitution eliminates the metal-on-metal scraping effect that generates vibrations and particle contamination, while maintaining the shielding function through the plastic resilient arm's elastic deformation and clamping action.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic resilient arm is designed as a single-use, disposable component that is discarded after one use. This eliminates the need for complex metal spring clips that generate particles, as the plastic component can be molded into simple geometries that achieve the shielding function without creating contamination risks.
2Reliability
If a metal spring clip is used to shield the needle tip, then the needle tip is protected, but the device complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single plastic resilient arm component: shielding the needle tip, providing elastic clamping force, and enabling automatic engagement/disengagement. This integration eliminates the need for separate metal spring clips, complex locking mechanisms, and assembly steps, thereby reducing device complexity and production cost while maintaining protective reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic resilient arm serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a shield, a spring, a clamp, and a guide for needle withdrawal. This multi-functionality replaces what would traditionally require multiple separate metal components, simplifying the overall device structure and reducing manufacturing complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the resilient arm is positioned to clamp the needle tip, then protection against blood and fluid drops is improved, but the needle insertion capability may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient arm is designed with elastic properties that allow it to dynamically adapt its position. During needle insertion, the arm flexes to accommodate the needle's passage without obstructing it. After insertion, when the needle is withdrawn, the arm returns to its clamping position to shield the needle tip and prevent blood or fluid drops from escaping. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between protection and insertion capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient arm is pre-positioned in a retracted state during manufacturing that allows easy needle insertion. The clamping and shielding action is activated automatically after the procedure when the needle is withdrawn, ensuring protection is applied at the appropriate moment without interfering with the insertion process.
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 effectively reduces scraping vibrations, enhances protection against blood and fluid exposure, minimizes particle generation, and lowers production costs by using a single, molded plastic piece with a resilient arm that securely clamps the needle tip, providing improved safety and ease of manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient arm extending at an attachment point from the front side of the body, and a longitudinal arm; wherein the resilient arm has a resting state, from which it may be forced to yield free passage through the hole in an axial direction of the body, the resilient arm being adapted for protecting or clamping a needle tip
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses a catheter instrument 1000 comprising a needle tip shielding device 100.The needle tip shielding device 100 is comprising a body with a rear side 106, a front side 107, an outer surface 108 connecting the rear side 106 and the front side 107, a hole 102 extending from the rear side 106 to the front side 107, a resilient arm 103 extending at an attachment point 105 from the front side 107 of the body, and a longitudinal arm 112. The resilient arm 103 has a resting state,from which it may be forced to yield free passage through the hole 102 in an axial direction of the body. The resilient arm 103 is adapted for protecting a needle tip 304 of a hollow needle 303 extending through the hole 102 in a direction from the rear side 106to the front side 07, when the resilient arm 103 is in the resting state. The resilient arm 103 has one external point of contact, the point of contact being a contact with the hollow needle 303 when the hollow needle 303 is in a forward position. The longitudinal arm 112 has one external contact point, the contact point being a contact with the hollow needle 303 when the hollow needle 303 is in a forward position. Any straight imaginary line extending longitudinally through the hole 102 in the axial direction of the body coincides with the resilient arm 103, when the resilient arm 103 is in the resting state.