Squeezable Food Container with Direct Feeding Tube Connector
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing enteral feeding practices are inconvenient and institutional in appearance, lacking the ordinary dining experience and mobility, with cumbersome portable electric pumps and tubing drawing unwanted attention.
Innovation Solution
A squeezable food container with a direct feeding tube connector, sized for a single meal, allowing for manual squeezing and dispensing through a flow limiter or one-way valve, providing a more discreet and ordinary meal-like experience without the need for hanging or elaborate setups.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If existing enteral feeding approaches (pumps, tubing, hanging bags) are used, then the feeding function is delivered, but the user experiences unwanted attention, reduced mobility, and institutional appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complex pump and tubing mechanisms from the feeding system, retaining only the essential feeding function through a simple container-with-straw design that users can carry and operate discreetly
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable feeding containers with integrated straws, eliminating the need for reusable pumps and complex tubing assemblies, thereby reducing device complexity and improving portability
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing enteral feeding arrangements are used, then the feeding function is achieved, but the user cannot participate in ordinary dining experiences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent copies the simple form factor of ordinary beverage containers and straws, creating a feeding device that visually and functionally resembles normal dining items, thereby enabling participation in ordinary dining experiences without elaborate contraptions
3Ease of operation
If existing feeding tube connection methods are used, then the feeding function is delivered, but the setup is cumbersome and requires hanging mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the container, connection mechanism, and delivery tube into a single integrated unit, eliminating the need for separate hanging mechanisms and multiple tubing components, thereby simplifying setup and improving ease of operation
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 a more discreet and ordinary dining experience, accommodating mobility and promoting self-feeding with a compact, user-friendly design that aligns with traditional meal behaviors and appearances.
Implementation Method 1
A squeezable food container with a direct feeding tube connector, sized for a single meal, allowing for manual squeezing and dispensing through a flow limiter or one-way valve
Data Source
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AI summary
A sealed and squeezable container of pre-filled squeezable food that is sized no larger than a single meal serves as a prepackaged, one-time-use, meal-appropriate enteral food dispenser. By one approach the squeezable container has a dispensing port comprising a direct feeding tube connector. By one approach a flow limiter serves to limit a flow rate of the squeezable food from the squeezable container through the direct feeding tube connector. By another approach, in lieu of the foregoing or in combination therewith, a one-way valve can be disposed to prevent material (such as gas or other contents of the consumer's digestive system) from entering the squeezable container via the direct feeding tube connector.