Histology Cassette Stack Connecting Strip Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual loading and binding of histology processing cassettes for simultaneous processing are labor-intensive and prone to misalignment, as existing solutions require modifications to the cassette design for guiding means that can compromise the sample compartment or lead to dislodgment during use.
Innovation Solution
A stack of histology processing cassettes is designed with a connecting strip that threads through a single aperture in each cassette, allowing for easy alignment and registration without physical binding, using a deformable retaining part to maintain the stack's integrity and orientation, minimizing lateral movement and risk of dislodgment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cassettes are physically bound together using weld seams or adhesive tapes, then transportation and loading are simplified, but the cassettes require additional processing steps and must be disconnected during use
Solution Approach 1:
A connecting strip acts as an intermediary element that threads through apertures in multiple cassettes to bind them together in a stack. The connecting strip includes a retaining part that engages with the bottom cassette and a connecting part that links successive cassettes, enabling simple stacking without modifying the fundamental cassette structure.
2Ease of operation
If guide means are added to cassettes for band passage, then cassettes can be bound together, but the sample compartment space is reduced and dislodgment risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting strip is a thin, flexible element that passes through apertures in the cassettes without requiring bulky guide means. The strip can be deformed during threading and then maintains the cassette stack through its flexibility, preserving the sample compartment volume while enabling secure binding.
3Reliability
If multiple apertures are created in cassettes for connecting elements, then binding is more secure, but the risk of dislodgment during use increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting strip is extracted from the cassette structure itself and implemented as a separate element that threads through apertures. The retaining part of the connecting strip engages with the bottom cassette to secure the stack, while the connecting part links successive cassettes, providing secure binding with minimal dislodgment risk.
4Productivity
If standard size cassettes are used for majority of samples, then processing efficiency is maintained, but larger samples cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting strip system provides a universal binding mechanism that works with cassettes of different sizes. The same connecting strip can bind standard size cassettes (28-32mm x 25-28mm x 5-6mm) as well as larger cassettes (50-55mm x 70-80mm x 5-16mm), enabling a single stack configuration to accommodate multiple sample sizes while maintaining processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A histology processing cassette stack having a plurality of cassettes for use in analyzing or processing biological samples is disclosed. The stack of cassettes are arranged in register and threaded on a connecting strip which passes through an aperture in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the cassette though a front wall of the cassette. The cassettes are held in fixed relation and may be transported and inserted en bloc into a magazine in a printing system by the connecting strip having a retaining part abutting the bottom cassette and able to bear the weight of the stack of cassettes when suspended. A printing system comprising a housing having a void for receiving a magazine loaded with the stack of cassettes is also disclosed.