Supplementary Device Mating Unit for Injection Pen
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manually operable injection devices lack a reliable and secure method for attaching supplementary devices, which is essential for accurate monitoring and tracking of medicament usage, leading to potential errors in insulin administration for diabetes treatment.
Innovation Solution
A supplementary device with a mating unit featuring an engaging arm and resilient member for secure attachment to the injection device, ensuring correct alignment and engagement, and a pivot axle for compact design, along with optical reading capabilities for dose recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a supplementary device is attached to an injection device for monitoring purposes, then monitoring capability is improved, but the attachment reliability and alignment precision may be insufficient without a proper engaging mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The supplementary device is designed as a separate attachable unit with its own engaging arm and resilient member, rather than being integrated into the injection device. This segmentation allows the monitoring functionality to be added independently while maintaining reliable attachment through the dedicated engaging mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The engaging arm is designed to be movable between engaged and disengaged positions, allowing dynamic attachment and detachment of the supplementary device. The resilient member provides automatic biasing to maintain engagement, enabling reliable attachment while preserving ease of removal when needed.
2Reliability
If a resilient member is used to bias the engaging arm into engagement, then attachment security is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member automatically biases the engaging arm into the engaged position without requiring additional actuators or complex control mechanisms. The system serves itself by using the resilient member's inherent elastic force to maintain secure attachment, reducing the need for external intervention or complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient member replaces more complex mechanical locking mechanisms or motorized attachment systems with a simple elastic biasing mechanism. This substitution maintains attachment security while significantly reducing the overall mechanical complexity of the mating unit.
3Ease of operation
If the engaging arm is made rotatable between engaged and detached positions, then ease of operation is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot axle acts as an intermediary element that facilitates the rotation of the engaging arm between engaged and detached positions. By introducing this intermediate rotational joint, the system achieves ease of operation through simple rotational movement while the pivot axle itself absorbs the manufacturing precision requirements, rather than requiring high precision in the engaging arm's rotational features.
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 provides a secure and accurate method for attaching and detaching the supplementary device, reducing user errors and enhancing monitoring capabilities, thereby improving the reliability of insulin administration.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient member configured to bias the engaging arm into engagement with the injection device
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a supplementary device for a manually operable injection device. The device has a body and a mating unit configured to releasably mount the body to the injection device in a specific position relative to an outside surface of the injection device.