Detachable Air Sampler Adapter With Airtight Transport Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air microbial sampling units require handling in clean rooms to prevent contamination, which is costly and inefficient, especially for small production environments like robotized isolators, as they need a highly purified environment for sample exchange.
Innovation Solution
An air sampler adapter that allows for the airtight containment and transportation of sampling units, enabling sampling in non-sterile environments by using detachable locking mechanisms to maintain airtightness during sampling and transportation, reducing the need for clean rooms and allowing sampling unit exchange within smaller, less expensive isolators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sampling units are handled in clean rooms to prevent contamination, then sample purity is improved, but operational cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate sterile and non-sterile zones with a transfer chamber in between. The sampling unit can be prepared in a sterile environment, sealed, and then transferred through the transfer chamber to the non-sterile collection area without requiring the entire workspace to be sterile. This segmentation allows sample purity to be maintained while eliminating the need for expensive clean rooms.
Solution Approach 2:
A sterile barrier or seal acts as an intermediary between the sterile sampling unit and the non-sterile environment. This barrier allows the sampling unit to be handled and transferred in a non-sterile area while maintaining its sterile integrity, thus resolving the contradiction between sample purity and operational simplicity.
2Reliability
If sampling units are handled in clean rooms to prevent contamination, then sample purity is improved, but operational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the device into sterile and non-sterile zones with a transfer chamber, only the minimal necessary components need to be maintained in sterile conditions. This dramatically reduces the operational costs associated with clean room maintenance, HVAC systems, and specialized personnel while still ensuring sample purity through controlled transfer mechanisms.
3Reliability
If sampling units are handled in clean rooms to prevent contamination, then sample purity is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer chamber with its sterile barrier serves as an intermediary that simplifies operation. Operators can handle sampling units in a non-sterile environment using standard procedures, while the sterile barrier automatically maintains sample purity. This eliminates the need for specialized clean room training and complex handling protocols.
4Reliability
If detachable locking mechanisms are used to maintain airtightness during transportation, then contamination risk is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanisms are integrated into the adapter structure in a nested manner, where the locking features are built into the existing adapter components rather than adding separate external mechanisms. This maintains airtightness during transportation while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
5Reliability
If clean rooms are used for sampling unit handling, then sample purity is improved, but space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the sterile and non-sterile functions into separate zones within a compact transfer chamber. This eliminates the need for large clean room spaces while maintaining sample purity, as only the small transfer chamber needs to maintain sterile conditions rather than an entire workspace.
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
Enables safe transportation and handling of sampling units through unclean environments without contamination risks, reducing the need for expensive clean rooms and allowing sampling in lower-grade environments, thus enhancing operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a first locking mechanism adapted to be switched between an open position during sampling and an airtight closed position, and a second end portion comprising an air outlet and a second locking mechanism adapted to be switched between an open position during sampling and an airtight closed position
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to an air sampler adapter (11) adapted to air-tightly contain an air sampling unit (10) remotely sampling air of a zone of interest via a pipe (21), comprising a main portion (15) comprising a housing and a base portion (16) comprising fixing means (161) , wherein the fixing means (161) is configured to fix the air sampling unit (10) within said housing, a first end portion (17) comprising a sampled air inlet (14) and a first locking mechanism (12) adapted to be switched between an open position during sampling and an airtight closed position, and a second end portion (18) comprising an air outlet (14') and a second locking mechanism (13) adapted to be switched between an open position during sampling and an airtight closed position, characterized in that the air sampler adapter (11) is detachable from the pipe (21) connecting it to the zone of interest and in that the first and second locking mechanisms (12, 13) are adapted to be locked in airtight closed position for clean transportation when detached.