Sample Transport Cart With Cap Holder for Clean Lab Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transport systems in medical and chemical analytical laboratories are limited by low throughput rates due to slow transport speeds and are prone to mechanical failures, requiring complex maintenance and shutdowns.
Innovation Solution
A self-propelled transport system with electrically driven wheels, capacitors for energy storage, and a control unit that allows independent wheel speed adjustment, enabling smooth navigation through branching tracks without mechanical switches, and utilizing capacitive charging and optical communication for efficient sample transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If samples are transported open or loosely covered, then access and identification are easy, but contamination and mixing risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a flexible, transparent foil cover that can be easily placed over and removed from the sample receptacle. This thin film provides protective coverage to prevent contamination and mixing while maintaining ease of access and visual identification of the sample contents.
2Reliability
If cap holders are integrated directly on the transport cart, then cap security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cap holder is designed as a separate, modular component that can be independently attached to or removed from the transport cart. This segmentation allows the cap security function to be added without permanently complicating the base transport cart structure, enabling flexible configuration based on specific needs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple caps are stored on the transport cart, then cap availability is improved, but risk of wrong cap attachment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cap holder incorporates visual identification features such as color coding or labeling that correspond to different sample types and their required caps. This allows operators to quickly and accurately identify the correct cap for each sample, preventing mismatches even when multiple cap types are stored on the transport cart.
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 system achieves high throughput and minimizes maintenance by relocating critical functions to the transport carts, ensuring continuous operation even with component failures, and optimizing energy use and communication reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The transport cart (2) has electrically driven wheels, an electrical energy storage device for providing electrical energy for the electric drive of the wheels
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A transport system (1) for transporting samples in a medical and/or chemical analysis laboratory is disclosed, comprising a transport track (3) defining the route and at least one self-propelled transport cart (2) equipped for movement along the route on the transport track (3) and having a receptacle for a sample to be transported. The transport cart (2) has electrically driven wheels, an electrical energy storage device for providing electrical energy for the electric drive of the wheels, and a control system for the electric drive. According to the invention, the receptacle (16) provided on the transport cart (2) for the sample to be transported is associated with a holder (18) formed on the transport cart (2) for a cap belonging to the sample.