Pistol-Shaped Powder Delivery Device with Collapsible Bulb
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current powder delivery devices for medicinal materials are cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to operate single-handedly, especially in confined surgical sites, with issues of clogging, inefficient aerosolization, and limited control over spray patterns and angles, making them unsuitable for precise and accessible delivery of powdered materials.
Innovation Solution
A self-contained, single-hand-held powder delivery device with a pistol-shaped housing that allows for adjustable angles and interchangeable, pre-sterilized reservoirs, featuring a collapsible bulb and one-way valve system to generate propellant pulses for efficient aerosolization and controlled delivery of powdered materials, even when inverted or tilted.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional powder delivery devices are used, then powdered material can be delivered to target surfaces, but the devices are cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to operate single-handedly in confined surgical sites
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into distinct functional modules: a reservoir for powder storage, a collapsible bulb for propellant generation, a valve system for controlled release, and a spray nozzle for aerosolization. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates single-handed operation by separating storage from actuation mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsible bulb automatically generates propellant pressure when compressed, eliminating the need for external power sources or complex mechanical actuation systems. The one-way valve automatically prevents backflow, and the reservoir design allows gravity-assisted powder flow, reducing the operational steps required by the user.
2Manufacturing precision
If simple shaker devices are used, then powder can be discharged through holes, but the flow control is not accurate and coverage is not uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses pneumatic pressure from the collapsible bulb to force propellant and powder through a narrow orifice, creating a controlled aerosol spray. The pressure-driven flow ensures uniform particle distribution and consistent spray patterns, unlike gravity-dependent shaker devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsible bulb delivers powder in controlled pulses rather than continuous flow. Each compression cycle generates a discrete aerosol burst, allowing precise control over powder delivery timing and quantity, which improves uniformity of coverage across the target surface.
3Manufacturing precision
If aerosol cans with pressurized propellant are used, then homogeneous spray delivery is achieved, but the force of output spray is damaging and cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The collapsible bulb provides dynamically adjustable spray force through manual compression control. Users can modulate the pressure applied to the bulb to deliver gentle or forceful sprays as needed, whereas pressurized aerosol cans deliver fixed high-force sprays that cannot be easily controlled.
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows change in spray parameters (pressure, flow rate, particle size distribution) by varying the compression force on the bulb and adjusting valve opening timing. This flexibility enables optimization of spray homogeneity while controlling the force to avoid tissue damage.
4Quantity of substance
If powder is stored in containers, then material can be stored for future use, but agglomerated powder breaks up non-uniformly during shaking
Solution Approach 1:
The pneumatic pressure from the collapsible bulb fluidizes the stored powder and forces it through the valve system as an aerosol, breaking up agglomerates uniformly through gas-particle interaction rather than mechanical shaking, which causes non-uniform breakdown.
Solution Approach 2:
The device transitions powder from a static agglomerated state in storage to an aerosolized dispersed state during delivery. The propellant gas facilitates this phase transition, ensuring uniform particle separation and distribution without relying on mechanical disruption that creates non-uniformity.
5Adaptability or versatility
If conventional aerosol devices are used, then delivery to target areas is achieved, but control over spray patterns and angles is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The spray nozzle is designed with movable or flexible components that allow the user to dynamically adjust the spray angle and pattern direction during operation. This mechanical flexibility provides adaptability for targeting different areas without requiring complex electronic or motorized adjustment systems.
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
Enables efficient, accurate, and controlled delivery of powdered materials to small, inaccessible areas with optimized spray patterns and reduced clogging, allowing for complete use of the powdered material without refilling, suitable for both topical and surgical applications.
Implementation Method 1
collapsible bulb and one-way valve system to generate propellant pulses for efficient aerosolization
Implementation Method 2
one-way valve system to generate propellant pulses for efficient aerosolization
Implementation Method 3
efficient aerosolization and controlled delivery of powdered materials
Data Source
AI summary
A pistol-shaped powder delivery device consolidates propellant pulse creation, powder storage, powder aerosolization and aerolsolized powdered delivery in a single device while providing dose, pattern and coverage control of the output spray. The single-hand-held, single-hand-operated device includes a housing having a handle portion that is selectively collapsed to generate a propellant pulse that is conveyed into and through powder stored in a reservoir mounted at an upward angle to the horizontal in a receptacle provided in the housing. Powder in the reservoir is caused to be aerosolized by the propellant pulse whereupon aerosolized powder exits the reservoir through an open end of, and elongate slots provided in the sidewall of, an elongate hollow member extending from an outlet in the receptacle through the stored powdered material into a head space in the reservoir. The outlet is connected a barrel portion for output of the aerosolized powder spray.