Threaded Tubing Junction Assembly for Leak-Resistant Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The junction between tubing and fittings in medical systems often fails to meet integrity or performance requirements due to defects, such as leakage, which can be caused by factors like solvent volume, material compatibility, curing time, and tolerance issues, and current methods like adhesive bonding or welding are cumbersome and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A tubing junction assembly featuring a body with a radially outward thread and a collar with a locking tab, allowing for a secure mechanical coupling without adhesives, solvents, or welding, enabling reliable fluid transfer with greater tolerance and ease of assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive bonding or welding methods are used to join tubing and fittings, then the junction integrity can be improved, but the assembly complexity and manufacturing time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is divided into two separate components: a body and a collar. The collar can be independently assembled onto the tubing and then secured to the body through threading, allowing for simpler, modular assembly without requiring complex bonding or welding processes while maintaining junction integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces chemical bonding methods (adhesive bonding) and thermal joining methods (welding) with a purely mechanical threading system. The collar threads onto the body through complementary threaded features, providing a reliable mechanical connection that eliminates the need for solvents, adhesives, or welding operations
2Strength
If adhesive bonding is used to create a secure junction, then the strength of the connection is improved, but the manufacturing time and curing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is divided into a body and a separate collar component. The collar is assembled onto the tubing and then secured to the body through threading, eliminating the need for adhesive application and curing time while maintaining strong mechanical connection through the threaded interface
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces time-consuming adhesive bonding processes with an immediate mechanical threading system. The collar threads onto the body through complementary threaded features, providing instant connection strength without requiring solvent application, adhesive curing, or welding operations that consume manufacturing time
3Reliability
If solvent bonding is used to join tubing and fittings, then the junction reliability is improved, but the compatibility requirements and material constraints increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is segmented into a body and a collar that can be independently manufactured from different materials. The collar is assembled onto the tubing and secured to the body through threading, eliminating the need for solvent bonding and associated material compatibility constraints, thereby increasing adaptability to different material combinations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces solvent bonding with a mechanical threading system that connects the collar to the body. This mechanical connection method is universally applicable across different material types without requiring specific chemical compatibility, thus eliminating material constraints and enhancing versatility
4Manufacturing precision
If tight tolerances are maintained for tubing and fitting alignment, then the junction quality is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is divided into a body and a collar with independent threaded features. The collar threads onto the body through complementary threading, providing self-aligning characteristics that accommodate normal manufacturing tolerances without requiring tight tolerance control, thereby simplifying manufacturing while maintaining junction quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces precision-dependent bonding or interference fit methods with a mechanical threading system. The threaded interface between the collar and body provides inherent alignment and tolerance compensation, eliminating the need for tight tolerance manufacturing while ensuring reliable junction quality through the self-aligning threading mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
Tubing junction assemblies that can be coupled with a portion of tubing, and can include a locking feature to resist unintended disassembly of the junction, and can include an assembly assistance feature to provide leverage when assembling a collar with a body of the tubing junction assembly, where the collar and body can be assembled together with a portion of tubing therebetween such that the tubing can be compressed between an inner surface of the collar and an outer surface of the body to fluidly couple the tubing with a bore through the body, provide a fluid-tight seal between the tubing and the body, and resist separation of the tubing from the body.