Push Button Section for Vacuum Sample Collection Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sample collection methods, such as venipuncture and finger prick, face challenges in operator convenience, manufacturing complexity, and cost, with risks of hematoma, needle-stick injuries, and limited automated analysis capabilities due to fragile structures and low air-barrier properties.
Innovation Solution
A sample collection device with an outer and inner shell, featuring a pre-packaged vacuum chamber and a partially elastically deformable push button section integrally formed with the outer shell, allowing easy operation and improved air-barrier capabilities through differentiated thickness and circular grooves, preventing accidental activation and facilitating injection molding for reduced costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a button is formed as an additional part of the second suction pack made of elastomeric material, then the button can seal the first chamber and prevent vacuum leaks, but this results in a more complicated structure and increased manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The button is integrated directly into the second suction pack as a unified component rather than being a separate additional part. This merging eliminates the need for separate sealing components while maintaining the vacuum sealing capability through the integral design of the button structure within the suction pack body.
2Ease of operation
If the button is formed integral with the second suction pack through a thermoforming process using a thin sheet, then the button may be easily operated by the user, but the second suction pack is likely collapsing under vacuum and the shelf life is significantly shortened
Solution Approach 1:
The button region is designed with localized thinning to provide ease of operation, while the rest of the suction pack maintains sufficient thickness for structural stability. This local quality variation allows the button to be easily deflectable for activation while the overall structure resists vacuum collapse and maintains shelf life.
3Reliability
If a thicker sheet of thermoforming material is chosen for the button, then air-barrier capability is improved, but the button results too rigid, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the operator to deflect
Solution Approach 1:
The button incorporates a localized thin region that provides the necessary flexibility for easy deflection and activation, while the surrounding and underlying structures maintain sufficient thickness for air-barrier capability. This gradient in thickness allows both properties to coexist in different zones of the same component.
4Ease of manufacture
If the push button section is integrally formed with the outer shell, then manufacturing costs are reduced and structure is simplified, but the air-barrier properties may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The integral push button section incorporates localized thinning parameters that create regions of reduced thickness specifically at the button interface. This parameter change allows the integral structure to maintain adequate air-barrier properties in critical areas while preserving the manufacturing simplicity and cost benefits of integral forming.
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 device enables convenient and high-quality sample collection with reduced manufacturing costs, improved air-barrier properties, and enhanced user safety by preventing accidental activation, while maintaining the integrity of the sample for automated analysis.
Implementation Method 1
a first chamber is defined between the first suction pack and the second suction pack, said chamber being placed under vacuum
Implementation Method 2
the piercing protrusion pierces a membrane (e.g., an Aluminum membrane) provided in the first suction pack, thereby transferring the vacuum from the first vacuum chamber to a second chamber
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a sample collection device for collecting a sample of a fluid of a user, e.g. blood, in particular capillary blood. Further, the present invention relates to a push button section.