Petri Dish Gripper Transfer for Contamination-Free Inspection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for handling Petri dishes lack efficient automation and risk contamination during transfer between storage and inspection devices, as they often rely on vacuum suction which can disrupt the culture medium and require manual handling.
Innovation Solution
A device with a transfer mechanism that laterally grasps Petri dishes using a gripper, allowing for upside-down orientation and rotation, reducing contamination risks by ensuring drops fall back into the lid and enabling automated transfer between storage and inspection devices without central suction, thus maintaining the culture medium's integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a vacuum suction device is used to grasp and transfer Petri dishes, then the Petri dishes can be held and moved, but the culture medium may be disrupted and contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful vacuum suction mechanism from the transfer process and replaces it with a mechanical gripper that laterally grasps the Petri dish base. This removes the source of culture medium disruption while maintaining the ability to transfer dishes efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The gripper acts as an intermediary mechanical interface between the transfer device and the Petri dish. Instead of using vacuum suction that contacts the culture medium, the gripper laterally grasps the dish base and rotates it, providing a clean transfer mechanism that avoids contamination.
2Reliability
If Petri dishes are stored with lid downwards to improve closure, then the closure between lid and dish is improved, but the culture medium orientation becomes problematic for inspection
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the Petri dish orientation dynamic rather than static. The gripper can rotate the dish laterally during transfer, allowing the system to adapt the dish orientation based on whether it is being stored (lid downwards for closure) or inspected (culture medium accessible). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between storage requirements and inspection requirements.
3Extent of automation
If a pivoted arm with vacuum suction device is used for transfer, then automated transfer is achieved, but the inspection process becomes complicated due to vacuum interference
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the vacuum suction device from the transfer mechanism, replacing it with a simple mechanical gripper. This extraction simplifies the inspection device because the gripper does not interfere with the inspection process, eliminating the need for vacuum release mechanisms and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for storing and handling Petri dishes having a base with a base wall arranged on a circumference of the base, and a lid. The device includes a storage device structured and arranged for storing the Petri dishes in an upside-down orientation so that respective lids are oriented below their respective bases, an inspection device structured and arranged for automatic inspection of the Petri dishes without their respective lids, and a transfer device structured and arranged for transferring the Petri dishes between the storage device and the inspection device. The transfer device includes a gripper, with which a respective Petri dish without the lid can be grasped laterally on the base wall.