Rack Tray Dropout Prevention Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rack trays face challenges in safely transporting and setting multiple racks supporting specimen containers due to issues like rack slippage, difficulty in arranging racks, and inability to easily remove specific racks, leading to inefficient and troublesome operations.
Innovation Solution
A rack tray with a dropout-preventing mechanism featuring a staircase-patterned lever and a movement-preventing mechanism with a handle section and guide rail, along with grip members and guide walls, to securely hold and arrange racks, allowing for safe transport and easy positioning within an automatic analyzing apparatus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a T-shaped projection is formed on the rack tray to prevent rack dropout, then rack safety is improved, but rack arrangement becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The rack tray is divided into multiple independent slots, each with its own dropout-preventing lever. This segmentation allows racks to be arranged independently in each slot without requiring complex T-shaped projections, making the arrangement process simpler and faster while still preventing dropout.
Solution Approach 2:
The dropout-preventing lever is designed to be movable rather than fixed. It can automatically adjust its position to guide rack insertion and then lock into place to prevent dropout. This dynamic mechanism simplifies rack arrangement while maintaining safety.
2Reliability
If racks are fitted on a T-shaped projection to prevent dropout, then rack safety is improved, but rack removal becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The dropout-preventing lever is designed to be movable, allowing it to be easily pushed aside to release the rack. This dynamic mechanism enables simple rack removal while maintaining dropout prevention when the lever is in its locked position.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever can be designed to automatically return to its locked position after rack insertion, requiring minimal manual intervention. For removal, a simple pushing action on the lever releases the rack, making the process self-service oriented and efficient.
3Manufacturing precision
If a rack tray transports racks along a guide rail with a narrow oblique section, then rack positioning is improved, but rack arrangement becomes impossible one by one
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rail is segmented into multiple independent engagement sections, each corresponding to a specific rack position. This allows racks to be arranged one by one in each slot while maintaining precise positioning through the engagement sections.
Solution Approach 2:
Each engagement section has locally optimized geometry with specific slope angles tailored to its position. This local quality ensures precise positioning for each rack while allowing independent arrangement in each slot.
4Reliability
If the guide rail has engagement sections with asymmetric slopes, then rack locking reliability is improved, but mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement sections feature asymmetric slopes where the insertion side has a gentle slope for easy rack placement, and the retention side has a steep slope for secure locking. This asymmetric design improves rack locking reliability while maintaining relatively simple guide rail structure.
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 enables safe transport and efficient setting of racks in an apparatus, preventing rack movement and dropout, and allowing for easy removal of racks from any position, thereby simplifying the arrangement and handling of multiple specimen containers.
Implementation Method 1
a spring is set between the bottom surface of the substrate and the dropout-preventing lever configured to upwardly bias an end section of the dropout-preventing lever rising up from the hole
Implementation Method 2
a push spring arranged between the partition and the partition to bias the partition downward
Implementation Method 3
each engagement section being a projection formed on the guide rail, the projection comprising first and second slopes, the first slope facing the rack tray opening, the second slope being on the opposite side of the first slope, wherein an inclination of the first slope is higher than an inclination of the second slope
Implementation Method 4
the guide rail including a trench section through which the shaft passes with movement of the rack movement-preventing mechanism
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A rack tray, a rack, and a rack transport system that can safely perform transport and setting in an apparatus with a plurality of racks supporting a plurality of specimen containers arranged are provided. For this purpose, it comprises a rack dropout-preventing mechanism (10b) preventing the rack (9) from being dropped out of an rack tray (10) opening when a rack (9) is stored on a tray base (10a); a rack movement-preventing mechanism (10c) preventing the plurality of racks (9) arranged on a tray base (10a) from moving and falling; and a guide rail (10e) having a plurality of engagement sections (10h) at positions corresponding to the number of racks held and stored on the tray base (10a). The rack movement-preventing mechanism (10c) comprises a projection (10p) and the projection (10p) is engaged with an engagement section (10h) to lock the backward direction movement of a rack tray opening.