Pneumatic Dispatch Cartridge With Clamped Blood Sample Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic dispatch cartridges face challenges in securely holding and transporting blood sample tubes due to size discrepancies between the tubes and the cartridge, leading to risks of breakage and contamination.
Innovation Solution
The cartridge features tubular channel members with clamping means, such as leaf springs, that securely hold blood sample tubes of varying lengths, ensuring engagement regardless of position, and an apparatus for automated unloading with pusher rods and aligning means to prevent damage and contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the inner diameter of the tubular body is maximized to optimize pneumatic dispatch system capacity, then the transportation capacity is improved, but the blood sample tube becomes unstable and prone to breakage due to excessive space
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular body is segmented into multiple tubular channel members, each providing a dedicated confined space for individual blood sample tubes. This segmentation allows the overall tubular body to maintain large diameter for high capacity while each channel member maintains appropriate dimensions for tube stability, preventing breakage through localized confinement.
Solution Approach 2:
The blood sample tubes are nested within the tubular channel members, which themselves are nested within the larger tubular body. This nested structure allows the small tubes to be securely contained within appropriately-sized channels, while multiple channels occupy the larger body efficiently, resolving the contradiction between overall capacity and individual tube stability.
2Reliability
If clamping means are added to securely hold blood sample tubes, then the stability and safety are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Leaf springs made of flexible material are used as clamping means within the tubular channel members. These flexible elements can deflect to accommodate tube insertion while providing sufficient clamping force to secure the tubes during transportation, achieving reliable holding without complex rigid mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamping means utilize dynamic flexible elements (leaf springs) rather than static rigid structures. The leaf springs can dynamically adjust their position and force during tube loading and transportation, providing secure holding while maintaining structural simplicity through the inherent flexibility of the material.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the tubular channel member length is made substantially twice the blood sample tube length with spaced clamping means, then the adaptability to different loading scenarios is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular channel members are designed with universal dimensions (length substantially twice the tube length) and multi-functional clamping means that can accommodate multiple loading scenarios. The same channel member configuration successfully holds either one tube or two tubes securely, eliminating the need for different channel designs for different loading requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamping means are pre-positioned at specific locations within the tubular channel members during manufacturing. This preliminary positioning ensures that regardless of whether one or two tubes are loaded, the clamping elements are already in the correct positions to securely engage the tubes, simplifying the loading process and reducing operational complexity.
4Productivity
If automated unloading apparatus with pusher rods and aligning means is implemented, then the unloading efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The unloading apparatus is designed to automatically perform alignment and tube extraction without manual intervention. The aligning means automatically position the tubular channel members relative to the pusher rods, and the pusher rods automatically extract the tubes, allowing the system to service itself during the unloading process and achieving high efficiency without proportionally high complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual unloading operations are replaced with an automated mechanical system consisting of aligning means and pusher rods. This substitution eliminates the need for manual handling while using relatively simple mechanical components that can be automated through basic actuation mechanisms, achieving high productivity with controlled complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a stable and safe transportation of blood sample tubes by ensuring secure engagement and easy loading, reducing the risk of breakage and contamination, while enabling efficient automated unloading processes.
Implementation Method 1
each clamping means comprises a leaf spring, at least partly extending into the tubular channel member from the surrounding wall thereof and under an acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the tubular channel member
Data Source
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AI summary
A pneumatic dispatch cartridge comprises a substantially tubular body (2) for receiving goods to be transported, which body comprises two opposite frontal faces (3) of which at least one is provided with an access opening (4) for loading/unloading goods into/from the tubular body, and a cover member (5) which is movable between a closed position for closing said access opening and an open position for freeing said access opening. Within said tubular body at least one smaller tubular channel member (8) is provided extending substantially in parallel to the longitudinal axis (7) of the tubular body, for receiving therein at least one blood sample tube (9), wherein the tubular channel member is provided with clamping means (10) for in a clamping manner holding said blood sample tube in said tubular channel member.