Sphygmomanometer Planar Fluid Path for Compact Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sphygmomanometers face challenges in miniaturization and accurate blood pressure measurement due to the bulky arrangement of pumps, pressure sensors, and fluid bags, which hinder their compact design and accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A sphygmomanometer design featuring a substrate with integrated pumps and pressure sensors, a plate-shaped member, and planar direction passages that communicate with a fluid bag, allowing for efficient fluid supply and pressure transmission, enabling accurate blood pressure calculation while maintaining a low profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the pump, pressure sensor, and fluid bag are arranged in a conventional overlapping configuration in the thickness direction, then miniaturization in the planar direction is achieved, but the device complexity and difficulty of fluid path integration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pump, pressure sensor, and fluid bag into a single integrated assembly where all components are mounted on the same substrate. The fluid paths are integrated within the substrate structure itself, merging multiple functions into one compact unit rather than having separate components connected by external tubing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested arrangement where the pressure sensor is positioned within the fluid bag structure, and the pump is integrated alongside these components on the substrate. The fluid paths are nested within the substrate thickness, allowing components to be arranged in a compact, space-efficient manner.
2Area of stationary object
If the pump and pressure sensor are positioned close together on the substrate, then the device size is reduced, but measurement precision may be compromised due to fluid path length and pressure transmission accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fluid paths from the traditional external tubing configuration and integrates them directly into the substrate structure. This eliminates long external fluid paths and potential leakage points, ensuring accurate pressure transmission from the fluid bag to the pressure sensor while maintaining compact component spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate acts as an intermediary structure that provides integrated fluid channels between the pump, fluid bag, and pressure sensor. This intermediary fluid path system ensures accurate pressure transmission while allowing close component placement, as the substrate-mediated fluid paths are short and controlled.
3Ease of manufacture
If the fluid path passages are extended in the planar direction through the substrate, then component integration is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple manufacturing steps into an integrated substrate fabrication process. The fluid paths, through-holes, and component mounting features are all formed in the substrate as a single integrated structure, reducing the number of separate assembly steps and potential alignment errors between multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the substrate thickness and passage dimensions to balance manufacturing feasibility with functional performance. By carefully selecting the substrate parameters (thickness, passage width, hole sizes), the design achieves accurate fluid path integration while remaining manufacturable with standard precision capabilities.
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 accurate blood pressure measurement with a compact device, reducing the risk of measurement errors and allowing for optimal cuff placement, even when the cuff is displaced during use.
Implementation Method 1
supplying fluid from the pump to the fluid bag through the first through-hole and the planar direction passage
Implementation Method 2
calculate a blood pressure based on an output of the pressure sensor while the fluid is introduced from the fluid bag to the pressure sensor through the planar direction passage and the second through-hole
Data Source
AI summary
A sphygmomanometer includes a cuff and a main body. The main body is equipped with a substrate, a pump and a pressure sensor that are attached to one surface of the substrate, and a plate-shaped member opposed to an other surface of the substrate on an opposite side of the one surface of the substrate. The substrate includes a first through-hole and a second through-hole. The other surface of the substrate and an opposing surface of the plate-shaped member opposed to the other surface constitute the planar direction passage extending in a planar direction along the other surface of the substrate. The planar direction passage communicates with a fluid bag of the cuff. The sphygmomanometer further includes a pressurization controller and a blood pressure calculator. The pressurization controller controls pressing the measured site through the planar direction passage. The blood pressure calculator calculates a blood pressure.