Rotational Suction Valve Venting to Prevent Sticking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional suction valves in medical devices, such as endoscopes, often become stuck and fail to return to the resting state, leading to incomplete cessation of suction flow.
Innovation Solution
The medical valve is designed to transition from an active state to a resting state through non-translational movement, utilizing a rotatable knob, lever, or threaded shaft to align or misalign openings with valve ports, ensuring proper fluid communication and venting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional suction valve uses translational movement (push-pull mechanism) to control suction flow, then the valve can deliver suction when actuated, but the valve becomes stuck and fails to return to the resting state, leading to incomplete cessation of suction flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional translational push-pull mechanism by implementing a rotational movement mechanism. Instead of moving the shaft linearly to control valve alignment, the shaft rotates about its longitudinal axis. This inversion resolves the sticking problem by eliminating the translational friction and binding issues inherent in push-pull mechanisms, while ensuring reliable return to the resting state through the rotational actuation cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic rotational movement to replace the static or linearly dynamic translational mechanism. The shaft dynamically rotates to align and misalign openings with valve ports during different phases of operation. This dynamic rotational approach allows the valve to reliably transition between active and resting states without the mechanical binding that plagues conventional translational designs.
2Reliability
If the valve uses rotational movement to transition between configurations, then the valve reliably prevents suction flow in the resting state, but the device complexity increases with additional rotational components
Solution Approach 1:
The rotational shaft mechanism serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the actuation element and the flow control element. The same rotating shaft that receives rotational input also directly controls the alignment of openings with valve ports. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate translational linkages, cam mechanisms, or additional valves, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity despite the improved reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve shaft is nested within the valve body, with the rotational movement occurring within the confines of the existing valve housing. The openings in the shaft work in conjunction with ports in the valve body, creating a compact nested arrangement. This nesting approach allows the rotational mechanism to be integrated into the existing valve structure without requiring significant additional space or external components, thus limiting complexity increase.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for a medical valve are disclosed. For example, the medical valve may include a valve body including a body outlet aperture and a body inlet aperture, and an inner shaft including an inner shaft outlet aperture and an inner shaft inlet aperture, wherein the inner shaft is configured to rotate such that the medical valve transitions to an active state whereby the body inlet aperture and the inner shaft inlet aperture are substantially in alignment.