Sterilization Container Handling Fork with Anti-Slip Projections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handling tools for medical equipment, such as sterile goods containers, face challenges including additional costs, logistics effort, and limited handling speed due to the need for trays or fork-like mechanisms that require additional mechanisms for lifting and can displace or limit the internal volume of the object.
Innovation Solution
A handling tool with fork carrier and parallel-spaced fork arms featuring receiving projections and manipulation projections, configured to grip medical equipment from any surface, ensuring high handling speed and safety through form-fitting engagement and adaptable to various medical containers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a shovel-like tool is used to handle sterile goods containers, then the object can be moved, but the handling speed is limited and the object may slip
Solution Approach 1:
The fork arms are segmented with multiple receiving projections along their length, allowing different sections to engage with different parts of the container. This segmentation enables form-fitting engagement that prevents slipping while maintaining high handling speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving projections are strategically positioned at specific locations on the fork arms to match the geometry of the container base. This local adaptation ensures optimal engagement at critical points, preventing slip while enabling high-speed handling.
2Weight of moving object
If flat fork arms are used for lifting, then the object can be lifted, but lifting openings must be configured in the base which reduces usable internal volume
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the engagement function from the container base by using receiving projections on the fork arms that engage with the container's existing geometry (such as the base perimeter or folding flaps). This eliminates the need for dedicated lifting openings in the container base, preserving internal volume while maintaining lifting capability.
3Reliability
If the object is secured against slipping with additional mechanisms, then slipping is prevented, but costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving projections on the fork arms are designed to automatically engage with the container geometry, creating form-fitting connections that prevent slipping without requiring additional active mechanisms. The system uses the container's own structure to secure itself, eliminating the need for complex anti-slip devices.
4Reliability
If receiving projections are added to fork arms, then form-fitting engagement is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the container to receive forks, the invention inverts the approach by adding receiving projections to the fork arms themselves. This allows the handling tool to adapt to various container geometries without requiring modifications to the containers, achieving form-fitting engagement with minimal added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A handling tool is configured for gripping and/or handling medical equipment, preferably a container, more preferably a sterilization container. The handling tool includes a carriage and two prongs that are spaced apart in parallel and extend in a longitudinal direction at a right angle away from the carriage. Each prong has a container-placement/grasping side, on which a number of receiving projections, which are spaced apart longitudinally, are formed or arranged. The projections extend in a vertical direction with respect to the container-placement/grasping side. A system includes the medical handling tool and a medical container.