Twist-Lock Suction Device Sealing Reliability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suction and aspiration collection devices face challenges such as complex usage, difficult fluid and solid analysis, unreliable sealing, limited pressure differential tolerance, and cumbersome manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
The improved suction and aspiration collection device features a translucent fluid collector, a lid with twist-lock engagement, a solids filter with adjustable fluid outlets, and a two-gasket sealing design, enhancing usability, sealing reliability, and manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional sealing design is used in the collection device, then the device structure is simpler, but the sealing reliability is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is divided into multiple independent gaskets (first gasket and second gasket) positioned at different locations. Each gasket handles specific sealing requirements, with the first gasket providing initial sealing and the second gasket providing enhanced sealing under vacuum conditions. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The first gasket is positioned to engage beforehand and provide initial sealing before vacuum is applied. This pre-sealing mechanism cushions against potential sealing failures by establishing a baseline seal that prevents immediate leakage, while the second gasket engages subsequently to provide additional sealing margin under vacuum conditions.
2Reliability
If the collection device uses a complex assembly structure, then the sealing may be more reliable, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with rotational movement capability that dynamically engages the twist-lock mechanisms and gaskets during assembly. The rotating motion automatically progresses the sealing components into their engaged positions, transforming a potentially complex static assembly into a dynamic, self-sequencing process that maintains reliability while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The twist-lock mechanisms are designed to automatically engage and secure the lid to the collection chamber during the rotation process. The interlocking features and gasket engagement occur automatically through the rotational motion, reducing the need for manual intervention and making the assembly process more intuitive and easier to perform correctly.
3Reliability
If the device is designed to tolerate high pressure differentials, then the reliability improves, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gaskets are made of compressible material that can deform elastically to accommodate minor variations in mating surface geometry. This flexibility allows the sealing surfaces to conform to each other even when manufacturing tolerances result in slight misalignments, maintaining sealing effectiveness under high pressure differentials without requiring extremely precise manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The compressible nature of the gasket material allows it to change its physical parameters (compression, deformation) in response to applied pressure. Under vacuum conditions, the gaskets compress and deform to maintain contact with the mating surfaces, automatically adjusting to pressure differential changes while compensating for manufacturing variations in the rigid components.
4Ease of operation
If the device uses opaque materials for the collection chamber, then the manufacturing is simpler, but the ease of analyzing collected fluids and solids deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The collection chamber is made translucent in the regions where fluid and solid analysis is needed, while other portions may remain opaque. This local quality change allows visual inspection and analysis of collected materials through the chamber walls without requiring the entire device to be made from expensive translucent materials, balancing manufacturing simplicity with analytical capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The translucent material allows light to pass through, enabling visual detection and analysis of the collected fluids and solids based on their optical properties. The material's transparency facilitates observation of color changes, turbidity, and other visual characteristics that provide diagnostic information about the collected materials.
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 device provides easier operation, improved analysis capabilities, robust sealing, increased pressure differential tolerance, and simplified manufacturing, making it more effective and user-friendly for medical applications.
Implementation Method 1
A vacuum pump supplies negative pressure (e.g., a relative vacuum) to draw the bodily fluids and any solids carried by or with the bodily fluid into a collection device
Implementation Method 2
A filter placed in the flow path of the bodily fluid into the collection device may be used to separate solids, such as blood clots, from the collected fluid
Data Source
AI summary
A suction and aspiration collection device may be provided by collection device, comprising: a fluid collector, having a first translucent wall defining an opening in a first plane; a lid, configured to selectively interface with the fluid collector to seal the opening and define a fluid containment region, the lid defining a first through-hole substantially parallel to the first plane; and a solids filter having a second translucent wall defining a plurality of fluid outlets and configured to selectively interface with the first through-hole to dispose the plurality of fluid outlets within the fluid containment region.