Syringe Cap with Displaceable Viewing Portion for State Discrimination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing syringe caps face challenges in reliably distinguishing between unopened and opened states, especially when remounted on the syringe body, due to potential contact between broken heat-shrinkable resin film portions and unbroken perforations.
Innovation Solution
A cap design featuring a cap body with a mounting portion that liquid-tightly seals the nozzle and a viewing portion that changes appearance when displaced, allowing easy discrimination between states, along with a distal end cover member and cylindrical main body configuration to prevent accidental repositioning and enhance visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heat-shrinkable resin film with perforation is used to indicate cap opening state, then it is possible to discriminate between unopened and recapped states, but broken portions of the film may contact each other and the perforation may appear unbroken in recapped state, making discrimination difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is divided into functionally independent components: a cap body for sealing and a cap cover for protection and visual indication. The viewing portion is further segmented as a distinct structural element within the cap body, allowing it to move independently to provide clear visual feedback about cap opening state without being affected by the sealing mechanism or heat-shrinkable film.
Solution Approach 2:
The viewing portion changes its visual appearance (from hidden to exposed) to indicate the opening state of the cap. This visual change mechanism provides reliable state discrimination without relying on the heat-shrinkable resin film's perforation pattern, which may be ambiguous when broken portions contact each other.
2Ease of operation
If the mounting portion is designed to be pressed by the nozzle portion for automatic displacement, then the cap body automatically moves to the correct position, but this requires precise force control to ensure reliable displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The cap body's viewing portion automatically displaces to the exposed position through self-service mechanism: when the mounting portion is pressed by the nozzle portion during assembly, the cap body automatically moves to the correct position without requiring manual intervention. This elastic deformation and automatic positioning ensures reliable assembly operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap body utilizes elastic deformation as a parameter change mechanism. The mounting portion is designed with elastic properties that allow it to deform under the pressing force of the nozzle portion, enabling automatic displacement of the viewing portion to the exposed position. This elastic parameter change ensures reliable and repeatable assembly 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
Enables reliable and easy differentiation between unopened and opened states of the cap, even when remounted, through visible changes in the cap's appearance, thereby preventing accidental re-use or misidentification.
Implementation Method 1
The mounting portion is pressed in a distal direction by the nozzle portion of the syringe body so as to displace the cap body from the first position to the second position
Implementation Method 2
a sealing portion that liquid-tightly seals the drug discharge port being disposed in the mounting portion
Data Source
AI summary
A syringe assembly includes a prefilled syringe and a cap. A cap body is configured to be displaced from a first position where a viewing portion is positioned in a cylindrical main body to a second position where the viewing portion protrudes in a distal end direction from an opening of the cylindrical main body. When a mounting tube portion of the cap removed from a syringe body is brought close to a nozzle portion of the syringe body, the cap body is pressed in the distal end direction by the nozzle portion, thereby being displaced from the first position to the second position, and the appearance of an outer peripheral portion of the viewing portion changes.