Glove-Lifting Apparatus Using Rod Insertion to Reduce Contamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gloving apparatuses for putting on sterile gloves are costly to produce, operate, and maintain due to the need for precise mechanical and engineering components, and they may still contaminate the gloves during the donning process.
Innovation Solution
A gloving apparatus with a glove-lifting-and-positioning device that uses a lifting arm with a rotating actuator and a moveable rod with an inserting pin to lift and position a glove over grasping pins, reducing the need for precise mechanical components and minimizing contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If graspers and vacuum tube suction are used to grip and position the glove, then the glove can be lifted and positioned, but the mechanical and engineering precision requirements increase, making production, operation and maintenance more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex vacuum tube suction system and replaces it with a simple rod insertion mechanism that engages with a hole in the glove holder. This removes the problematic high-precision mechanical components while maintaining the essential function of glove lifting and positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a simple, inexpensive rod and hole mechanism instead of expensive, complex graspers and vacuum systems. The rod with inserting pin is a basic mechanical component that is much cheaper to manufacture and maintain compared to precision graspers with vacuum tubing.
2Ease of operation
If the user touches the gloves during donning, then the gloves can be put on, but the gloves may be contaminated with bacteria
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanical system (rod, glove holder, and grasping pins) that transfers the glove from storage to the user's hand without requiring direct contact. The user's hand never touches the exterior of the glove, maintaining sterility while completing the donning process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically positioning the glove opening over the grasping pins and inflating the glove before the user needs to don it. This prepares the glove in a sterile state, ready for immediate use without contamination risk.
3Manufacturing precision
If precise mechanical components are used for glove manipulation, then glove positioning accuracy improves, but production and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes complex precision mechanical components and replaces them with simple geometric features (a hole in the glove holder and an inserting pin on the rod). This maintains sufficient positioning accuracy while dramatically reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses inexpensive, simple mechanical features instead of expensive precision components. The rod with inserting pin and the matching hole are basic elements that are much cheaper to manufacture than precision graspers or vacuum positioning systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
A gloving apparatus that has a glove-opening device and a glove-lifting-and- positioning device. The glove-lifting-and-positioning device includes a linear actuator with a moveable rod that is ended with an inserting pin, a rotating actuator that is designed to rotate the glove-lifting-and-positioning device, and a lifting arm with a lifting actuator that are designed to lift up and lower down the glove-lifting-and-positioning device. The glove-lifting-and-positioning device is designed to insert the inserting pin into a matching hole at a glove holder to which a glove is attached and to insert the opening of the glove over grasping pins of the glove-opening device. The glove-opening device can stretch open the glove opening and when an air pump creates sub-pressure then the glove inflates to a size suitable for a hand to be inserted.