Pre-fill Vaginal Applicator with Frangible Piston
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art vaginal applicators are complex to manufacture, have uncomfortable blunt dispensing tips, may be reused leading to disease spread, lack adequate medication reservoir sealing causing evaporation, and do not ensure complete medication dispensing.
Innovation Solution
A pre-filled vaginal applicator design featuring a tubular barrel with a selectively removable closure, a resilient piston for sealing, and a plunger that stretches to dispense medication, preventing re-use by destructing if force is applied, and using a threaded or snap-fit cap to ensure comfort and prevent medication evaporation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If prior art vaginal applicators are designed with complex structures to ensure functionality, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases and ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator is divided into distinct functional segments: a barrel for medication storage, a piston for sealing and dispensing, and a plunger for actuation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall reliability, and simplifies manufacturing by enabling modular production and assembly of straightforward components.
2Strength
If prior art vaginal applicators use blunt dispensing tips to ensure structural integrity, then strength is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing tip is designed with localized quality variation - the outer shell maintains sufficient strength while the internal medication delivery opening is shaped to be smooth and comfortable for patient insertion. This allows the tip to provide both structural integrity and user comfort by optimizing different regions for different functions.
3Loss of substance
If prior art vaginal applicators are designed to be reusable to reduce cost, then loss of substance decreases, but object-generated harmful factors increase due to disease spread risk
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator is designed as a disposable single-use device that is economical to manufacture. The simple structure and use of cost-effective materials allow the device to be disposed of after one use, eliminating disease transmission risks while keeping the per-unit cost low through efficient manufacturing processes.
4Ease of manufacture
If prior art vaginal applicators use inadequate sealing to simplify manufacture, then ease of manufacture is improved, but loss of substance increases due to medication evaporation
Solution Approach 1:
The piston is made from elastomeric material that forms a flexible sealing element. This flexible membrane provides effective sealing of the medication reservoir while being simple to manufacture through processes like injection molding or extrusion, eliminating the need for complex multi-component sealing assemblies.
5Device complexity
If prior art vaginal applicators lack anti-reuse mechanisms to reduce complexity, then device complexity decreases, but object-generated harmful factors increase due to reuse leading to disease spread
Solution Approach 1:
The piston incorporates a frangible element that is pre-designed to break under reuse conditions. This preliminary anti-action mechanism passively prevents reuse by destroying a critical component when excessive force is applied, eliminating the need for complex active anti-reuse systems while ensuring single-use compliance.
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 design simplifies manufacturing, provides comfort, prevents re-use, reduces medication evaporation, and ensures complete dispensing of medication, making it economical, durable, and refined.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient piston having first and second ends is selectively slidably positioned in the barrel and has an outer surface which is in sealing contact with the inner surface of the barrel to define a medication reservoir
Implementation Method 2
The piston, prior to insertion into the barrel, has a larger outside diameter than the inside diameter of the barrel so that the piston is in a compressed state against the inner surface of the barrel when the piston is inserted into the barrel
Implementation Method 3
the plunger, when connected to the piston and being moved towards the dispensing end of the barrel, causes the resilient piston to longitudinally stretch to permit the piston to slide towards the dispensing end of the barrel, thereby forcing medication in the medication reservoir to be ejected
Data Source
AI summary
A pre-fill vaginal applicator comprising a tubular barrel having an open end and a dispensing end provided with at least one dispensing opening formed therein. A selectively removable closure, such as a snap cap or threaded cap, closes the dispensing end of the barrel. A resilient piston is selectively slidably positioned in the barrel and has an outer surface which is in sealing contact with the inner surface of the barrel to define a medication reservoir between the piston and dispensing end of the barrel. An elongated plunger is adapted to be inserted into the open end of the barrel so that the inner end thereof may be detachably connected to the piston. After the plunger has been connected to the piston, inward movement of the plunger causes the piston to force medication from the medication reservoir outwardly through the dispensing opening. Outward movement of the plunger with respect to the piston causes the plunger to disconnect from the piston.