Sintered Polymeric Applicator Tips with Elastomer Seals
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sintered polymeric materials used in applicators and filtration devices face challenges such as difficulty in producing complex shapes, fraying, and fluid bypass due to their rigid nature, leading to increased costs and potential contamination.
Innovation Solution
Development of sintered polymeric materials comprising a combination of plastics and elastomers, which can be sintered to create flexible and rigid regions, allowing for the production of complex shapes and improved sealing capabilities, while also incorporating color change indicators for fluid detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If felt or fibrous materials are used for applicator tips, then mechanical strength and flexibility are improved, but the materials become frayed and dissociate over time, leading to performance deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure combining a porous polymeric material with a non-porous sealing material to create an applicator tip that maintains mechanical strength while preventing fraying and dissociation. The porous region provides flexibility and liquid flow, while the non-porous region provides a durable, fray-resistant seal against the applicator body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a porous polymeric material for the tip region that allows liquid to pass through while maintaining structural integrity. The porous structure provides flexibility and control over liquid flow, and the material is designed to resist fraying and dissociation through its interconnected pore structure and bonding to the non-porous sealing region.
2Productivity
If porous polymeric materials are used for filtration media, then fluid passage is improved, but the rigid nature prevents sufficient sealing with housings, leading to fluid bypass
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite filtration medium combining a porous polymeric material for fluid filtration with a non-porous polymeric material for sealing. The porous region allows efficient fluid passage and filtration, while the non-porous sealing region conformally engages with the housing to prevent fluid bypass, even when precise tolerances are not maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible non-porous sealing material that can conform to the housing surface irregularities and defects. This flexible sealing region adapts to the housing geometry, creating an effective seal that prevents fluid from circumventing the filtration medium, thereby maintaining reliability without requiring precise manufacturing tolerances.
3Reliability
If precise tolerances are maintained in filtration devices, then sealing is improved, but manufacturing costs increase and product rejection rate rises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible non-porous sealing material that naturally adapts to housing surface variations and defects. This flexibility allows the sealing region to conform to irregularities without requiring the housing to be manufactured with precise tolerances, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and product rejection rates while maintaining effective sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the sealing material by using a non-porous, flexible polymeric material with specific mechanical properties that enable it to deform and conform to the housing surface. This parameter change in material selection allows the system to achieve reliable sealing without stringent tolerance requirements, simplifying manufacturing.
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 sintered polymeric materials demonstrate enhanced mechanical and chemical properties, enabling the production of durable applicators and filtration media that can form effective seals without precise tolerances, reducing product failure and contamination risks.
Implementation Method 1
Sintered polymeric materials and methods of making and using the same
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides sintered polymeric materials and methods of making the same which are useful in a variety of applications. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a sintered polymeric material comprising at least one plastic and at least one elastomer.