Viscoelastic Spring Syringe Plunger for Uniform Fluid Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional syringe pumps rely on mechanical spring mechanisms or fluid-based systems, which can be cumbersome and inefficient for applications requiring precise and uniform delivery of medical fluids, especially in portable or space-constrained settings.
Innovation Solution
A syringe system utilizing a spring embedded in a viscoelastic polymer-matrix composite, where the expansion of the spring and viscoelastic material provides a uniform and linear force to move the plunger, offering a compact, cost-effective, and efficient actuation mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional mechanical spring mechanisms are used to drive the plunger, then the syringe can deliver medical fluids, but the device becomes bulky and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the spring mechanism directly into the plunger assembly by embedding a coil spring within the plunger body, eliminating the need for separate mechanical drive components. This integration reduces device complexity while maintaining the driving function, and the embedded spring provides controlled expansion that ensures uniform fluid delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The plunger is constructed as a composite structure combining a coil spring with a plunger body, creating a unified component that functions as both the driving mechanism and the sealing element. This composite approach simplifies the overall device architecture while providing reliable, uniform fluid delivery through the coordinated expansion of the spring within the composite plunger structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional syringe pumps are used, then precise fluid delivery is achieved, but the device requires significant space and is costly to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential driving function from complex conventional pump mechanisms and implements it through a simplified embedded spring system within the plunger. This extraction of the core function eliminates unnecessary components, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining sufficient precision for medical fluid delivery applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The embedded spring plunger design creates a compact, integrated actuation system that can be manufactured as a disposable unit. The simplified structure reduces manufacturing costs compared to conventional pumps, and the entire plunger assembly with embedded spring can be replaced as a single unit, facilitating cost-effective manufacturing and disposal.
3Volume of moving object
If a compact syringe design is used, then space is saved, but the mechanism for moving the plunger becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests the coil spring within the plunger body, placing the driving mechanism inside the moving component itself. This nesting arrangement maximizes the use of available space within the compact syringe, providing sufficient driving force through the embedded spring's expansion while maintaining a small overall device volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring is oriented axially within the plunger, utilizing the length dimension of the plunger to provide driving force. This dimensional arrangement allows the compact syringe to maintain adequate plunger travel distance and driving force capability despite reduced overall volume, as the spring expansion occurs along the syringe axis rather than requiring lateral space.
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
This solution enables a compact, cost-effective, and efficient delivery of medical fluids with uniform displacement and rapid air bubble clearance, suitable for applications like slow release of drugs or antibiotics to wounds and burns, improving upon the limitations of traditional syringe pumps.
Implementation Method 1
a spring embedded in a viscoelastic material, wherein expansion of the spring and the viscoelastic material applies a force on the plunger to move the plunger distally in the syringe
Implementation Method 2
a spring embedded in a viscoelastic material, such as a polymer-matrix composite
Data Source
Figure 1~4
AI summary
A syringe includes a plunger and a spring embedded in a viscoelastic material. Expansion of the spring and the viscoelastic material applies a force on the plunger to move the plunger distally in the syringe.