Rotating Plunger Metering Device for Flowable Preparations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metering devices for flowable preparations lack user-friendliness and compactness, with issues related to flow prevention between chambers and increased dead volume, which affects the efficient metering and administration of preparations.
Innovation Solution
A metering device with a multi-part plunger body comprising an outer metering sleeve and an inner, hollow plunger body that can rotate, featuring a one-way valve and locking mechanisms to prevent backflow and allow precise metering, along with a compact design that reduces dead volume and enhances usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a multi-part metering plunger body with rotatable inner plunger body is used, then the passage width between storage container and inner plunger body can be increased to facilitate suctioning, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The metering plunger body is divided into an outer metering sleeve and an inner rotatable plunger body, allowing independent movement and function of each component. This segmentation enables the inner plunger body to rotate and align openings for facilitated suctioning while the outer sleeve maintains the metering function.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner plunger body is made rotatable relative to the outer metering sleeve, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one. This rotational movement allows the openings in the inner plunger body to align with corresponding openings in the outer sleeve, creating a passage for suctioning without requiring complex disassembly or reconfiguration.
2Ease of operation
If the inner plunger body is made hollow with openings to facilitate suctioning, then the ease of operation improves, but the dead volume inside the metering device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inner plunger body is hollow only in the regions where openings are needed for suctioning, while maintaining a compact overall structure. The hollow portion is strategically designed to provide necessary passage width only where required for operation, minimizing unnecessary volume elsewhere in the structure.
3Reliability
If a two-part metering plunger body with separate metering sleeve and inner plunger body is used, then flow prevention between chambers can be effectively achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The metering plunger body is segmented into an outer metering sleeve and an inner plunger body, with each component having specific openings and sealing surfaces. This segmentation allows independent control of flow paths, enabling effective prevention of unwanted flow between chambers while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner plunger body acts as an intermediary element between the storage container and the external environment. Its rotatable design with strategically positioned openings allows it to control and regulate flow, preventing unwanted flow paths while facilitating desired suctioning operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A metering device is used for the metered administration of a flowable preparation together with a flowable carrier medium. A storage container for the preparation has at least one access opening. A metering plunger body can be moved in a sealed manner in the storage container between a starting position and at least one metering position. The metering plunger body is hollow. A metering sleeve has on a bottom side an eccentric metering sleeve opening. An inner plunger body has on the bottom side an eccentrically arranged plunger body opening. In a through relative rotation position of the metering sleeve relative to the inner plunger body a passage is provided between the inside of the storage container and the inside of the inner plunger body. In a closed relative rotational position this passage is closed. This results in a user-friendly and compact metering device.