Smooth-Wall Valve Slide With Integral Seals for Easier Sterilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve slides for medical endoscopes, used in both insufflation and purging functions, face challenges in scalability, sterilization, and production complexity due to grooves and positively locking connections for sealing rings, which complicate manufacturing and sterilization processes.
Innovation Solution
A valve slide with a smooth-walled distal control section and integrally joined sealing rings, produced using injection molding, where the sealing rings are connected directly to the smooth surface, allowing for a simpler and more scalable design with reduced wall thickness and easier sterilization, and utilizing acrylonitrile butadiene styrene for the hollow body and thermoplastic elastomer for sealing rings, ensuring optimal integration and reduced friction during displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If grooves and positively locking connections are used for sealing rings, then sealing reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and sterilization difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the grooves and positively locking connections from the valve slide design. Instead of integrating complex retention features into the valve slide, the sealing rings are held in place by the receiving bore structure itself, extracting the retention function from the valve slide and placing it in the receiving bore.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the sealing and retention functions into a single integrated sealing ring design without separate grooves or locking mechanisms. The sealing rings are directly mounted on the smooth-walled outer circumferential face of the valve slide, merging the sealing function with the mounting structure.
2Reliability
If grooves and positively locking connections are used for sealing rings, then sealing reliability is improved, but sterilization process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex groove and locking connection features from the valve slide, leaving only a smooth-walled surface. This simplified geometry without crevices, grooves, or tight fitting mechanisms makes the valve slide much easier to sterilize, as sterilization processes can access all surfaces more effectively.
3Device complexity
If integrally joined sealing rings on smooth surface are used, then production cost and complexity are reduced, but sealing effectiveness must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sealing function directly onto the smooth-walled outer circumferential face of the valve slide through integral joining. The sealing rings are molded directly onto the smooth surface, eliminating the need for separate groove features while maintaining sealing effectiveness through the direct contact between the sealing ring and the receiving bore.
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 solution enables cost-effective large-scale production of valve slides with improved functionality, reduced complexity in sterilization, and enhanced operational efficiency by eliminating the need for grooves and positively locking connections, while maintaining effective sealing and control over insufflation and purging operations.
Implementation Method 1
the actuating button being supported firstly on the retaining ring via a compression spring
Implementation Method 2
sealing rings being provided on the distal control section of the valve slide, which sealing rings project radially beyond the valve slide and are provided to seal at least one control space of the valve unit in a manner which slides on an inner circumferential face of the receiving bore
Data Source
AI summary
A valve slide for a valve unit used as an insufflation and purging valve, which valve slide has a proximal actuating section, which is led through a holder and has an actuating knob. The actuating knob is supported on the holder via a compression spring on the one hand, and wherein an annular projection of the valve slide interacts with the holder as a stop acting in the axial direction on the other hand. At the distal control section of the valve slide, sealing rings are provided, which project radially beyond the valve slide, an outer lateral surface of the distal control section, apart from radial guide sections possibly provided on the latter and the projection, is formed with a smooth wall, and the sealing rings are connected integrally to the smooth-walled outer lateral surface.