Automatic Analyzer Immersion-Tube Locking for Reagent Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The cumbersome and risky process of replacing reagent vessels in automatic analyzers, which can lead to faulty operations and incorrect reagent identification, compromising analytical accuracy and safety.
Innovation Solution
An automatic analyzer equipped with an immersion tube, a lifting device, a detector, and a locking mechanism that ensures correct reagent identification and secure retraction, using a guide rail, biasing member, and locking device to prevent intermediate positioning during vessel replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual replacement of reagent vessels is performed with threaded caps, then reagent vessels can be replaced, but the replacement process becomes cumbersome and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The reagent vessel closure system is segmented into a snap-fit cap and a corresponding receptacle on the vessel. This segmentation allows for tool-free, one-handed operation where the cap can be quickly snapped onto or off the vessel body, eliminating the multi-step threaded rotation process and reducing operational complexity and errors.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a traditional threaded screw mechanism that requires rotational motion and precise alignment, the invention inverts the approach by using a snap-fit mechanism that requires only linear insertion or removal. This inversion simplifies the motion required for operators and reduces the skill level needed for proper replacement.
2Productivity
If reagent vessels are replaced without automated identification, then replacement is faster, but incorrect reagent identification occurs compromising analytical accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary automated identification of the reagent vessel using optical scanning or barcode reading immediately upon placement in the analyzer. This preliminary action occurs before the replacement process is finalized, ensuring correct identification without requiring manual verification steps that would slow down the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The reagent vessel itself carries identification markers (barcodes, RFID tags, or optical patterns) that enable the system to automatically identify and verify the correct reagent type. This self-service identification eliminates the need for manual checking by operators while maintaining high accuracy through automated optical or electronic recognition systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If immersion tube is allowed to remain in intermediate positions during retraction, then replacement flexibility is increased, but evaporation and contamination risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting device incorporates feedback control through sensors that detect the immersion tube's position in real-time. The system provides feedback signals to confirm when the tube has reached the fully retracted position, ensuring the tube is completely removed from the reagent vessel before replacement operations begin, thereby preventing evaporation and contamination while maintaining controlled flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual control of immersion tube positioning is replaced with an automated lifting device that uses motorized actuation and sensor feedback. This substitution eliminates the need for operators to manually control the tube's position, ensuring consistent complete retraction while reducing the risk of intermediate positioning errors. The system provides adaptive control that maintains flexibility through programmable motion profiles.
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
Facilitates safe and accurate reagent replacement by ensuring correct reagent identification and secure retraction, preventing evaporation and ensuring reliable analytical results.
Implementation Method 1
at least one biasing member configured to bias the immersion tube towards the lowered position with a predetermined biasing force
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic analyzer for analyzing samples comprising an immersion tube configured to retrieve a reagent stored in a reagent vessel and a lifting device configured to lift and lower the immersion tube. The lifting device comprises a guide rail on which the immersion tube is moveable between a lowered position, in which the immersion tube is immersed into the reagent vessel, and a lifted position, in which the immersion tube is retracted from the reagent vessel, and at least one biasing member configured to bias the immersion tube towards the lowered position with a predetermined biasing force. The analyzer further comprises a detector configured to detect an identity of the reagent, and a locking device configured to lock the immersion tube in the lifted position and so the immersion tube is moved towards the lowered position only if the reagent identity detected by the detector corresponds to a target identity.