Ear Thermometer Probe Cover Box With Sealed Hygienic Dispensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ear thermometer probe covers are susceptible to pollution and cross-infection due to direct contact with user fingers and dust during handling, and existing dispensing containers face issues with frictional interference leading to contamination and increased manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A box-packed ear thermometer probe cover system comprising a packing box with a vertical structure, cap, and cover holder, where probe covers are stacked and sealed to prevent direct contact and dust ingress, using a sealing wall to protect against pollution during use and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ear thermometer probe covers are placed in a box and taken out by users, then the covers can be stored and dispensed, but the covers may be polluted by user fingers when taken out, increasing cross-infection risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dispensing mechanism with a pushing rod as an intermediary between the user's finger and the probe cover. The user pushes the rod through a hole in the box cover, and the rod pushes the probe cover out from the bottom. This intermediary structure prevents direct contact between the user's finger and the probe cover, eliminating finger contamination while maintaining easy dispensing operation.
2Ease of operation
If an opening is formed in the side face of the box to push out covers, then the covers can be dispensed, but dust may fall onto the covers through the opening, causing pollution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dispensing function from the side opening and relocates it to the bottom of the box. The pushing rod passes through the top cover horizontally, while the probe covers are pushed out from the bottom opening. This extraction of the dispensing path eliminates the side opening that would allow dust to fall onto the covers, while maintaining the ability to push covers out sequentially.
3Device complexity
If frictional interference is used to eject covers and locate the supporter, then the structure is simple, but the frictional force reduces after long-term use, causing all remaining covers to be pushed out at once and shortening service life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a matching pair of limiting structures: a limiting protrusion on the pushing rod and a corresponding limiting groove on the probe cover. This copying approach ensures that the positioning function is duplicated between the ejecting mechanism and the cover, providing reliable mechanical constraint that does not degrade with use. The geometric constraint replaces the degrading frictional constraint, maintaining reliable single-cover ejection throughout the product's service life.
4Reliability
If multiple limiting structures are disposed in the supporter or hollow shell, then the position can be fixed reliably, but the manufacturing cost increases greatly and the proportion of the dispensing container is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the limiting function into two separate, simple components: a limiting protrusion on the pushing rod and a limiting groove on the probe cover. Rather than adding multiple complex limiting structures to either the supporter or hollow shell, the positioning function is divided between these two elements. This segmentation achieves reliable position fixation while keeping each component simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
A box-packed ear thermometer probe cover capable of preventing contact infection comprises a packing box, a plurality of stacked ear thermometer probe covers, and a cover holder, wherein an opening which can be opened and closed is formed in the top of the packing box, a long slot is formed in a side face of the packing box, ear thermometer probe covers are placed in the packing box, each ear thermometer probe cover comprises a container structure and a container space, a cover holder is disposed below the lowest ear thermometer probe cover and comprises a sealing wall, a top surface and a suspension structure suspended on the top surface, the ear thermometer probe covers are supported by the cover holder, and the sealing wall extends upwards to the opening and seals the long slot.