STRAP FOR MICRONEEDLE APPLICATOR

Abstract

A strap for a microneedle applicator according to the present disclosure, which is coupled to an applicator main body part of the microneedle applicator in the form of a wearable device to allow the microneedle applicator to be worn on the body, includes a strap part having a structure that is inflatable when air is injected thereinto, a main body connecting part installed at both ends of the strap part, a housing installed at one side of an outer surface of the strap part, a pump installed inside the housing and configured to supply air to be injected into the strap part, a valve installed inside the housing, connected to a communication path along which air is injected into the strap part, and configured to operate to inject air into the strap part or discharge air from inside the strap part to the outside, and a controller configured to control the pump and the valve.

Claims

1. A strap for a microneedle applicator that is coupled to an applicator main body part of the microneedle applicator in the form of a wearable device to allow the microneedle applicator to be worn on the body, the strap comprising: a strap part having a structure that is inflatable when air is injected thereinto; a main body connecting part installed at both ends of the strap part; a housing installed at one side of an outer surface of the strap part; a pump installed inside the housing and configured to supply air to be injected into the strap part; a valve installed inside the housing, connected to a communication path along which air is injected into the strap part, and configured to operate to inject air into the strap part or discharge air from inside the strap part to the outside; and a controller configured to control the pump and the valve.

2. The strap of claim 1, wherein the controller is disposed inside the applicator main body part or the housing.

3. The strap of claim 1, wherein power or a signal necessary for the pump and the valve to operate is transmitted through the main body connecting part.

4. The strap of claim 1, wherein, in the strap part, a portion of a side that comes in contact with the body is a thin film portion formed with a small thickness.

5. The strap of claim 4, wherein the thin film portion is provided as a plurality of thin film portions.

6. The strap of claim 5, wherein thicknesses or sizes of the plurality of thin film portions may be different from each other.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing exemplary embodiments thereof in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0031] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an exterior of a microneedle applicator according to the related art;

[0032] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the microneedle applicator and a cartridge according to the related art;

[0033] FIG. 3 is a view for describing an upper configuration of the cartridge according to the related art;

[0034] FIG. 4 is a view for describing a lower configuration of the cartridge according to the related art;

[0035] FIG. 5 is a view for describing the operational relationship of the microneedle applicator according to the related art;

[0036] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the form of a microneedle applicator having a strap mounted thereon according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the strap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the strap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view when air is injected into the strap of FIG. 8; and

[0040] FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are cross-sectional views illustrating configurations of a pump and a valve according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0041] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates a microneedle applicator having a strap mounted thereon according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] As illustrated in FIG. 7, a strap 500 is connected to a strap mounting part 27 of an applicator main body part 20 through main body connecting parts 512 and 513 disposed at both ends of the strap 500.

[0044] Each of the main body connecting parts 512 and 513 may be a pin installed in a form compressible in a longitudinal direction as in a strap of a general wristwatch or may include two separate pins (see FIG. 10B) that are separated in the longitudinal direction and are compressible.

[0045] A strap part 510 has a structure that is inflatable when air is injected thereinto. The strap part 510 may be made of one or more elastic materials such as silicone, synthetic resin, and rubber.

[0046] A housing 560 is disposed at one side of an outer surface of the strap part 510, and a pump 570 and a valve 580 are installed inside the housing 560. The housing 560 may be made of a different material from the strap part 510 or made of the same material as the strap part 510. Also, by performing insert-molding of the pump 570 and the valve 580 during injection molding of the strap part 510, the strap part 510 and the housing 560 may be integrally formed. In the present disclosure, the housing 560 refers to a space in which the pump 570 and the valve 580 are disposed.

[0047] The pump 570 pumps air to be injected into the strap 500 and delivers the pumped air to the valve 580, and the valve 580 is provided in the form of a three-way valve that is able to inject the air supplied from the pump 570 into the strap part 510 through a communication path 585 or is able to be opened to discharge air from inside the strap part 510.

[0048] The pump 570 and the valve 580 may receive power from the applicator main body part 20 through the main body connecting part 512. The strap mounting part 27 and the main body connecting par 512 of the microneedle applicator may constitute a connector structure capable of carrying current and may receive power and a signal necessary for operation through a signal line 515 that passes through the inside of the strap part 510.

[0049] Of course, a separate battery for operating the pump 570 and the valve 580 may be mounted on an outer portion of the strap.

[0050] A controller configured to control the operation of the pump 570 and the valve 580 may be disposed in the applicator main body part or mounted inside the housing 560.

[0051] When the controller is disposed inside the applicator main body part, a signal from the controller or power necessary for operation may be transmitted to the pump 570 and the valve 580 through the main body connecting part 512 or a separate wire.

[0052] When air is injected into the strap part 510 by the pump 580, the strap part 510 inflates, and the applicator main body part comes into contact more firmly with a site of the body where the microneedle applicator is worn, such as a wrist or a forearm.

[0053] As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the strap part 510, a portion of a side that comes in contact with the skin may be a thin film portion 530 formed to have a smaller thickness than surrounding portions.

[0054] The thin film portion 530 may be provided as a plurality of thin film portions 530, and thicknesses of the thin film portions 530 may be different from each other. In this case, the extent to which the thin film portion 530 inflates becomes different for each thin film portion 530, and according to such differences in the extent of inflation, a partial region of a lower surface of the microneedle applicator may be adjusted to come in contact more firmly with a wrist or a forearm.

[0055] The strap 500 according to the present embodiment is formed of a single strap part 510, but the strap part 510 may also be divided into two separate strap parts. When two strap parts are present, air pressure due to the pump and the valve may be supplied only to one strap part.

[0056] A strap for a microneedle applicator according to the present disclosure facilitates puncturing the skin with a microneedle, allows a free space to be secured inside an applicator main body, and allows a pressed portion of the applicator main body and a pressing force to be adjusted.

[0057] The above description is only for describing the technical spirit of the present disclosure by way of example, and various modifications and changes may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains within the scope not departing from essential characteristics of the present disclosure.

[0058] Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are for describing, instead of limiting, the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiments. The scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as falling within the scope of the present disclosure.