Syringe Filling Aid Locking Assembly for Reliable Reservoir Filling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wearable fluid delivery devices for therapeutic compounds face challenges such as malfunction rates, size, weight, and frequent re-location issues, particularly in parenteral drug delivery systems like insulin pumps.
Innovation Solution
A filling aid system with a locking portion, groove feature, and locking feature that interacts with a filling syringe holder, allowing for controlled movement between locked and unlocked positions to facilitate syringe attachment and detachment, along with a fill adapter that includes a button assembly actuator and pump chamber plunger for efficient reservoir filling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a wearable fluid delivery device is designed to be portable and compact, then the device size and weight are reduced, but the malfunction rate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate modules including a reservoir assembly, pump assembly, and control assembly that can be independently manufactured, tested, and replaced. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for reliability while maintaining overall device portability.
Solution Approach 2:
Redundant components and backup systems are incorporated into the design to prevent malfunctions before they occur. For example, backup seals, redundant sealing mechanisms, and pre-loaded safety features are built in to compensate for potential failures in the compact device structure.
2Device complexity
If the device structure is simplified to reduce size, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but the reliability of fluid delivery decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates self-regulating mechanisms such as automatic pressure equalization, self-sealing features, and automated fluid level sensing that eliminate the need for complex external control systems while maintaining reliable fluid delivery through inherent design characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The design utilizes phase changes of the therapeutic fluid (such as temperature-dependent viscosity changes) and pressure parameter variations to control fluid delivery automatically, replacing complex mechanical regulation systems with simpler physics-based control mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If the filling mechanism is made more accessible, then ease of operation improves, but the risk of contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The filling port is separated from the main fluid pathway and equipped with a removable, sterilizable cap that can be independently processed. This extraction allows the filling interface to be accessed easily while maintaining the sterility of the internal fluid system through separate sealing and sterilization protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
A sterile barrier or intermediary sealing mechanism is introduced between the external filling environment and the internal fluid system. This intermediary element (such as a sterile adapter or sealed interface) allows filling operations to proceed while preventing contamination of the therapeutic fluid.
Data Source
AI summary
A filling aid. The filling aid includes a locking portion including a groove feature; and a locking feature having a locked and an unlocked position; and a filling syringe holder slidably attached to the locking portion, the filling syringe holder including a filling needle cradle portion having a tongue feature; and a needle housing portion comprising at least one tab having a starting position and a filling position, wherein the groove feature configured to accommodate the tongue feature, and wherein the locking feature interact with the filling syringe holder wherein when the locking feature moves from the locked position to the unlocked position the needle housing portion moves from the starting position to the filling position.