Pneumatic Sample Capture Assembly for Microgravity Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sample collection systems for planetary missions rely on complex robotic arms and gravity, making them unsuitable for microgravity environments and struggling with sticky or cohesive samples, limiting their effectiveness on comets, asteroids, and certain planetary bodies like Mars.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic sample acquisition and delivery system that uses a sampler device coupled with a gas delivery assembly and a sample capture assembly, allowing for sample capture and storage without mechanical linkages, capable of operating in low or microgravity environments, and featuring a container system for multiple sample acquisition and analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If robotic arms with scoops are used to capture soil, then sample acquisition is achieved on planetary surfaces, but the system becomes complex and costly with mechanical linkages that cannot function in microgravity environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical robotic arm system with a pneumatic system that uses compressed gas to capture and transport samples. The sampler device is coupled to a bellows through a pneumatic conduit, and compressed gas is introduced into the bellows to expand it and capture samples from the surface, eliminating the need for complex mechanical linkages and scoops
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic principles throughout the sample collection system. Compressed gas is used to expand the bellows for sample capture, contract the bellows to expel samples into the container, and operate the gate valve. This pneumatic approach provides a simple, reliable mechanism that functions effectively in microgravity environments without requiring complex mechanical structures
2Reliability
If gravity is used to capture soil within the scoop and deposit samples, then sample delivery is simplified, but the system fails in microgravity environments and has problems with sticky or cohesive samples
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pneumatic pressure to replace gravitational force for both capturing and delivering samples. Compressed gas is introduced into the bellows to expand it and capture samples from the surface, then the same pneumatic system contracts the bellows to expel samples into the container through the gate valve, providing reliable operation in both microgravity and normal gravity environments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and pressure parameters of the gas within the bellows to control sample capture and delivery. By controlling the pressure of the compressed gas, the system can expand the bellows for sample acquisition and then contract it for sample expulsion, adapting to different gravitational conditions and sample types including sticky or cohesive materials
3Device complexity
If a single sample container is used, then the system is simple, but multiple samples require multiple containers and increase system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the sample container system with multi-functionality in mind. The container can receive and store multiple samples sequentially through the gate valve, and the system can switch between different operational modes (single sample vs. multiple samples) without requiring fundamentally different hardware. The pneumatic system can deliver samples one at a time or accumulate them in the container for later analysis
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
Enables efficient and reliable sample collection and storage in various gravitational conditions, including microgravity, by using compressed gas to dislodge and transport samples, overcoming the limitations of traditional systems and allowing for analysis on-site or return to Earth.
Implementation Method 1
A first bellows having a first inlet is fluidly coupled to the sample device, the bellows being selectively movable between a compressed and an extended position
Implementation Method 2
A gate valve having a second inlet is coupled to an end of the first bellows opposite the first inlet
Data Source
AI summary
A sample capture assembly and method of operating is provided. The assembly includes a sampler device configured to retrieve a sample from a surface. A first bellows having a first inlet is fluidly coupled to the sample device, the bellows being selectively movable between a compressed and an extended position. A gate valve having a second inlet is coupled to an end of the first bellows opposite the first inlet. A sample container is fluidly coupled to the gate valve.