Sharps Container Crush Resistance via Tapered Wall Concertina
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sharps containers fail to protect the public and sanitation workers from needle stick injuries during vertical crushing or handling, as they allow used syringes to penetrate the container, and do not prevent re-use of syringes, which can spread infectious diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV AIDS.
Innovation Solution
A crush survival sharps container design with side walls that taper from thicker bases to thinner tops, allowing the walls to concertina and absorb crushing forces, preventing needle penetration and ensuring safe disposal by maintaining the needle within the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the container walls are made uniformly thick to prevent needle penetration, then protection against needle stick injuries is improved, but the container becomes more prone to crushing failure under vertical compression
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the wall thickness of the container - the base and lower portions have greater thickness to resist crushing forces, while the upper portions have reduced thickness. This localized differentiation allows the container to provide adequate protection where needed (base area where needles are most likely to penetrate) while maintaining overall structural integrity under compression.
Solution Approach 2:
The container wall is segmented into different thickness zones along its height. The base portion has maximum thickness for crush resistance, the middle section has intermediate thickness, and the upper section has minimum thickness. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function - the thick base prevents needle penetration and resists crushing, while the thinner upper sections reduce overall weight and material usage.
2Weight of stationary object
If the container walls are made thinner to reduce weight and material usage, then manufacturing cost and weight are reduced, but the container becomes vulnerable to needle penetration during crushing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by concentrating the necessary wall thickness only in the critical areas - the base and lower portions where needle penetration is most likely to occur during crushing. The upper portions of the container can be made thinner since they are less likely to be penetrated by needles, thus reducing overall weight and material usage while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of wall thickness along the height of the container. Instead of a constant thickness parameter, the thickness varies continuously or in steps from the base to the top, with maximum thickness at the base and minimum at the top. This parameter change optimizes the balance between weight reduction and penetration protection.
3Ease of manufacture
If the container is designed with uniform wall thickness for simplicity of manufacture, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the container fails to provide adequate protection during vertical crushing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing the container with varied wall thickness - thicker at the base and thinner at the top. This can be achieved through standard injection molding techniques by varying the mold cavity dimensions, which is a routine manufacturing process. The local quality differentiation provides superior crush protection without significantly increasing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of wall thickness along the container height. This can be implemented in injection molding by designing the mold with varying cavity depth or by using multi-stage molding processes. The parameter change from uniform to graduated thickness provides enhanced crushing protection while remaining compatible with standard manufacturing methods.
4Ease of operation
If the container allows easy insertion and removal of syringes for convenience, then ease of operation is improved, but the container fails to prevent re-use of syringes which can spread infectious diseases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies inversion by designing a one-way locking mechanism for syringe insertion. The container aperture allows syringes to be easily pushed in, but the locking mechanism prevents removal. This inverted approach - easy insertion but difficult removal - effectively prevents re-use of syringes while maintaining ease of operation for the intended disposal function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of easy removal (which could enable re-use and disease transmission) into a benefit by implementing a one-way locking system. The locking mechanism, which might seem like an added complexity, actually protects public health by ensuring syringes cannot be removed and re-used, thus preventing infectious disease transmission while still allowing convenient disposal.
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 design effectively prevents needle penetration during vertical crushing and re-use, enhancing public health safety by reducing the risk of infectious disease transmission and facilitating safe disposal of used syringes.
Implementation Method 1
the or each said side wall has a wall thickness which is greatest adjacent said base and thinnest adjacent said top, wherein said side wall(s) adjacent said top concertina when said container is subjected to a top to base compressive crushing force
Data Source
AI summary
A sharps container 10, 20 for used syringes is disclosed which can withstand a crushing force in the direction of the longitudinal axis of a syringe 15 without the needle 11 of the syringe penetrating the base 7 of the container. Instead the container has a portion 120, 22A of reduced wall thickness which concertinas (or zig zags) when such a crushing force is applied.