Syringe Piston Rod Elastic Sealing Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing syringes suffer from contamination issues due to imperfect sealing, leading to false positive results and health or environmental hazards, especially when transferring fluids between vessels in clean room environments, where microorganisms and contaminants can enter the fluid medium, damaging it and posing risks during sampling and analysis.
Innovation Solution
A syringe design featuring a contamination-sealed cylinder with an elastic sealing means that isolates the piston rod from the environment, forming a presterilized chamber within the cylinder, ensuring that the fluid remains free from external contaminants by extending into the cylinder and sealing against the piston rod, and is made of materials like rubber or silicone for effective sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional syringe with a piston portion and sealing rings is used, then the syringe can be manufactured simply and inexpensively, but the seal is imperfect and allows microorganisms and contaminants to pass through and contaminate the fluid medium
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sealing function from the piston portion and creates a separate sterile barrier layer that extends from the piston portion into the fluid medium. This separate barrier layer is specifically designed to prevent contamination, while the piston portion maintains its original sealing function. The barrier layer can be removed after use, separating the contamination prevention function from the pumping mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a sterile barrier layer as an intermediary element between the piston portion and the fluid medium. This barrier layer acts as a mediator that prevents direct contact between potentially contaminated surfaces and the sterile fluid, allowing the piston to move while maintaining sterility. The barrier layer transmits the pumping action while blocking contaminant passage.
2Productivity
If the piston portion is moved to take up medium from a collecting vessel, then the medium can be transferred, but microorganisms and contaminants stuck on the syringe interior can pass the seal and contaminate the sucked-in medium
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-sterilizing the barrier layer and positioning it to cover the piston portion before the fluid transfer process begins. The barrier layer is already in place to prevent contamination before any fluid is drawn into or expelled from the syringe, ensuring that the fluid medium remains sterile throughout the entire operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible barrier layer that can deform and move with the piston portion while maintaining its sealing function. This thin film structure allows the barrier to accommodate piston movement and fluid volume changes while continuously blocking the passage of microorganisms and contaminants between the piston area and the fluid medium.
3Reliability
If a sterile barrier layer is introduced to prevent contamination, then contamination-free fluid transfer is achieved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier layer is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as a sterile barrier to prevent contamination, a seal to maintain pressure differential during fluid transfer, and a removable component that allows the syringe to be reused. By combining these functions into a single component, the overall device complexity is minimized while achieving reliable sterility maintenance.
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 syringe effectively prevents contamination of the fluid medium during transfer and analysis, ensuring contamination-free operations and reducing the risk of health or environmental hazards, while being inexpensive and simple to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
A syringe design featuring a contamination-sealed cylinder with an elastic sealing means that isolates the piston rod from the environment, forming a presterilized chamber within the cylinder
Implementation Method 2
extending into the cylinder and sealing against the piston rod, ensuring that the fluid remains free from external contaminants
Data Source
AI summary
A syringe for a fluid comprises a cylinder, a piston portion arranged in the cylinder and slidable on its inside, and an operating means connected to the piston portion for sliding thereof. The operating means projects from a first end of the cylinder and the cylinder has at a second end an inlet and outlet part for said fluid. Moreover a sealing means is connected in a contamination-free manner to the cylinder in the area of the first end thereof and extends into the cylinder to isolate, sealed against contamination, the inside of the cylinder from the environment.