Press-Type Medical Nebulizer With Switching Element for Continuous Inhalation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional nebulizers have inefficiencies in using medical spray, leading to waste and increased costs, and are inconvenient for continuous inhalation, especially for weak users and patients.
Innovation Solution
A press-type medical nebulizer with a pressing means that allows continuous production of medical spray based on user demand, featuring a gas-delivering tube, a gas-releasing hole, and a switching element that enables continuous flow of pressurized gas for efficient atomization and inhalation, reducing the need for repeated user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the conventional nebulizer is used with an open buffer pipe, then the patient can inhale medical spray through the T-shaped pipe and sleeve, but the exhaled air carries medical spray away causing waste and contamination of the surrounding environment
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful function of the buffer pipe (allowing spray escape) is separated from the useful function (providing inhalation path). The buffer pipe is modified to include a one-way valve that extracts the harmful air-spray mixture from the inhalation path, directing it away while maintaining the beneficial inhalation flow through the T-shaped pipe.
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaled air carrying medical spray, which was previously a harmful waste stream, is redirected through the buffer pipe equipped with a one-way valve. This converts the harmful dispersed spray into a controlled exhaust flow that is directed away from the patient and environment, while the main inhalation path remains unaffected.
2Productivity
If the user presses the pressing element one time to inhale medical spray, then the nebulizer produces medical spray for inhalation, but the user has to press the pressing element for many times for continuous inhalation which is inconvenient and laborious
Solution Approach 1:
The pressing element is transformed from a static, manually-repeated action into a dynamic, self-sustaining mechanism. The elastic arm provides continuous restoring force that automatically cycles the pressing action, while the one-way valve maintains continuous gas flow, enabling the system to adapt to continuous inhalation demands without repeated manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing mechanism becomes self-service through the elastic arm that automatically returns the pressing element to its initial position after each compression. This self-restoring mechanism eliminates the need for manual resetting, allowing the system to service itself and maintain continuous operation as long as the user continues to inhale.
3Reliability
If the nebulizer produces medical spray continuously, then the therapeutic effect is improved, but more medical spray is needed which increases the cost for medical treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback through the one-way valve mechanism that responds to the patient's inhalation and exhalation cycles. During inhalation, the valve opens to allow spray delivery; during exhalation, it closes to prevent spray escape. This feedback-based control ensures spray is delivered only when needed, maintaining therapeutic effectiveness while minimizing waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The medical spray delivery is converted from continuous production to periodic action synchronized with the patient's breathing cycle. The one-way valve enables spray to be delivered during inhalation phases while blocking during exhalation phases, creating a periodic delivery pattern that matches physiological needs and reduces overall spray consumption.
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 enhances the efficiency of medical spray use, reduces waste, and provides a convenient, labor-saving experience for users by allowing continuous inhalation without excess air intake and minimizing medicament dispersion during exhalation.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic arm connected to the operating arm to abut against the medicament container
Implementation Method 2
a gas-delivering tube and a gas-releasing hole in communication with the gas-delivering tube, the gas-delivering tube being inserted into the pressurized gas channel for allowing the pressured gas to flow through
Data Source
AI summary
In a press-type medical nebulizer and a pressing means thereof, the nebulizer includes a medicament container having an intake channel and a medical spray generator. The pressing means includes a base, a pressing element and a switching element. The base has a gas-delivering tube, a gas-releasing hole and a trough. The pressing element comprises an operating arm pivotally connected into the trough and a valve for closing the gas-releasing hole. The switching element is slidingly provided on the operating arm to be selectively engaged into the trough for fixing the operating arm. When the switching element is engaged into the trough, the switching element causes the valve to close the gas-releasing hole, so that the pressurized gas can continuously flow through the gas-delivering tube and enter the intake channel. By this arrangement, the user needs not to press the pressing means repeatedly, which is convenient and labor-saving.