Adjustable Soil Sampler Plunger for Multiple Sample Volumes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing soil samplers are difficult to use in wet conditions and require multiple tools to collect different sample sizes, limiting their efficiency and convenience.
Innovation Solution
A soil sampler with a base and plunger configuration that allows for adjustable sample volumes by altering the plunger's position and orientation, enabling collection of multiple sample sizes using a single tool.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a syringe-type soil sampler is used, then the soil sample can be collected and ejected, but it becomes difficult to use in wet conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The soil sampler is divided into separate components: a base body and a plunger that can be detached and reattached. This segmentation allows the plunger to be removed for cleaning and maintenance, preventing soil and moisture buildup that would otherwise make the tool difficult to use in wet conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The plunger is designed to be movable and adjustable within the base body, allowing users to modify the collection cavity volume by positioning the plunger at different depths. This dynamic adjustment capability provides operational flexibility across various soil conditions including wet environments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple soil samplers are carried to collect different sample sizes, then various sample volumes can be collected, but the device complexity and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single soil sampler base body is designed to work with plungers of different lengths, allowing the same base to collect multiple sample volumes (e.g., 5g, 10g, 25g). This multi-functionality eliminates the need to carry multiple specialized samplers while maintaining the ability to collect various sample sizes as required by different analytical protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The plunger position can be adjusted to different depths within the base body to define different collection cavity volumes. This dynamic reconfiguration allows one sampler to perform the function of multiple fixed-volume samplers, reducing inventory complexity while maintaining versatility.
3Ease of manufacture
If a fixed-volume collection cavity is used, then the sampler structure is simple, but the ability to collect different sample sizes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The collection cavity volume control is achieved by segmenting the plunger into adjustable positions within the base body rather than creating multiple complex fixed-volume chambers. This maintains manufacturing simplicity while enabling volume adjustment through simple plunger positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than manufacturing multiple fixed-volume samplers, the design uses a dynamic plunger position system that allows a single base body to create different effective volumes by positioning the plunger at different depths, maintaining structural simplicity while providing adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A soil sampler includes a base and a plunger insertable into the base. The depth in which the plunger is inserted into the base determines the size of the sample collected by the soil sampler. The depth in which the plunger is inserted into the base can switch between a first size and a second size, allowing the user to collect different sample sizes using a single soil sampler. The soil sample that is collected can then be ejected from the soil sampler by shifting the plunger to an eject position relative to the base in which the plunger can shift further into the base to eject the soil sample.