Rotatable Cryogenic Storage Rack for Faster Sample Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cryogenic storage racks are difficult to use, requiring significant experience to access and retrieve samples efficiently, leading to potential sample degradation due to prolonged exposure to higher temperatures during the multi-step process of handling and re-storing.
Innovation Solution
A storage rack design featuring an elongate mounting bar, stop bar, and pivotally coupled shelves with a handle that allows for one-handed manipulation and rotation of shelves for easy access and reconfiguration, along with cylindrical vial containers with threaded lids for quick and secure sample retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional storage racks with fixed shelves and small handles are used, then sample storage capacity is achieved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to complex multi-step retrieval processes requiring significant user experience
Solution Approach 1:
The shelves are made rotatable relative to the storage rack body, allowing users to easily access samples by rotating the shelf to a convenient position rather than manipulating multiple fixed components. This dynamic element simplifies the retrieval process from multiple steps to a simple rotation and grab action.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage rack is divided into modular components including the rack body, rotatable shelves, and sample containers. Each shelf can be independently rotated and accessed, allowing users to retrieve samples without disturbing other shelves or samples, thereby simplifying the operation while maintaining storage capacity.
2Reliability
If conventional storage racks with multiple retrieval steps are used, then sample storage is achieved, but loss of time increases due to prolonged exposure of samples to higher temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable shelf mechanism allows rapid access to samples by simply rotating the shelf to the front position and grabbing the container, eliminating the need for multiple manual manipulation steps. This reduces retrieval time and minimizes the duration samples are exposed to higher temperatures, maintaining sample viability.
Solution Approach 2:
The shelf design allows users to easily rotate and retrieve samples without requiring specialized training or experience. The self-explanatory rotation mechanism reduces the time needed for users to become proficient, thereby reducing overall retrieval time and temperature exposure for samples.
3Ease of operation
If conventional storage racks with small low-profile handles are used, then structural compactness is achieved, but ease of operation worsens due to difficulty in maintaining a good grip
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is segmented into multiple grip points distributed along the top edge of the storage rack, allowing users to comfortably grasp the rack at their preferred position. This segmentation provides multiple ergonomic options without increasing the overall footprint of the storage rack, improving grip ease while maintaining compactness.
4Reliability
If conventional storage boxes made from plastic-like or cardboard-like materials are used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but reliability deteriorates as these materials become brittle and snap off during opening or closing
Solution Approach 1:
The storage box uses a composite construction with a rigid outer shell made from durable material that resists brittleness and snapping, combined with an inner liner or insert that provides sample containment. This composite approach maintains ease of manufacture while significantly improving reliability and durability during repeated opening and closing operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage rack for storing and retrieving products to be maintained at a desired cryogenic temperature is provided. The storage rack includes an elongate mounting bar carrying a plurality of shelves, and an elongate stop bar that extends generally parallel to the mounting bar. The shelves are independently rotatable relative to the mounting bar towards and away from the stop bar, thereby enabling alignment of all of the shelves when the storage rack is to be stored, and also enabling easy access to each of the individual shelves. A handle projects upwardly and horizontally in a curved configuration from the stop bar and the mounting bar to provide a gripping surface for moving the storage rack. The shelves receive cylindrical vial containers with threadably removable lids to make retrieval and replacement of sample vials quick to perform, thereby avoiding temperature-induced damage to other samples in the storage rack.