Test Tube Capper-Decapper With Switchable Gripper Arrays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing test tube capper-decapper devices are not versatile enough to handle a variety of test tube racks, particularly those following the SBS format, as they are typically locked to a specific rack format, limiting their adaptability to different configurations.
Innovation Solution
A handheld test tube capper-decapper device with an arrangement of cap grippers that can be switched between one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays, allowing for adaptation to various test tube rack configurations by displacing cap grippers within a fixture, enabling the device to handle different numbers of test tubes without reducing the total number of cap grippers, and incorporating a cap socket cartridge for efficient cap management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the capper-decapper device is designed with a fixed number of cap grippers for a specific rack format, then the device can reliably handle that specific format, but it cannot adapt to other rack formats with different numbers of test tubes
Solution Approach 1:
The cap grippers are designed to be dynamically reconfigurable between different spatial arrangements. The fixture allows cap grippers to be displaced between a first arrangement (e.g., 1D array for 8x12 racks) and a second arrangement (e.g., 2D array for 4x6 racks), enabling the device to adapt to different rack formats without requiring multiple dedicated devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap gripper system is segmented into individually controllable units that can be independently positioned. Each cap gripper can be displaced to specific positions on the fixture, allowing flexible configuration of the gripper array to match different rack aperture patterns and numbers.
2Productivity
If the device maintains a large number of cap grippers to handle maximum rack capacity, then it can handle larger racks, but it creates inefficiency when handling smaller racks with fewer test tubes
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the number of active cap grippers by displacing them between arrangements. When handling smaller racks, cap grippers are repositioned to match the smaller aperture array, ensuring that only the necessary number of grippers are active, thus maintaining productivity without the inefficiency of unused grippers.
3Ease of operation
If manual capping and decapping operations are performed, then flexibility is maintained, but repetitive rotational movements lead to tendonitis in operators
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations (hand-driven rotational capping/decapping) with an automated mechanical system. The automated capper-decapper device performs the capping and decapping operations without human intervention, eliminating the repetitive rotational movements that cause tendonitis while maintaining operational flexibility through programmable control.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a test tube capper-decapper device comprising an arrangement for switching an array of cap grippers comprising at least three cap grippers between a one-dimensional array of cap grippers and a two-dimensional array of cap grippers, an arrangement for being comprised within a test tube capper/decapper device, whereby it is made possible to switch an array of cap grippers comprising at least three cap grippers between a one-dimensional array of cap grippers and a two-dimensional array of cap grippers by action of a switch on the array of cap grippers, whereby the versatility of the test tube capper/decapper device can be increased.