Self-Propelled Sample Holder with Friction Wheel and Sliding Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveying systems with self-propelled sample holders in medical laboratories face issues of complex and costly construction, potential drive failures leading to system downtime, and slowed passage times in curves and shunts due to complex guide mechanisms and wheel configurations.
Innovation Solution
A conveying system with a self-propelled sample holder featuring a single driven friction wheel, two sliding elements on a triangular assembly for stability, and a guide element interacting with the conveyor track's guide structure for directional guidance, allowing for simplified and robust design and efficient navigation through curves and shunts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If self-propelled sample holders with complex wheel configurations and guide mechanisms are used, then the sample holders can navigate curves and shunts, but the construction becomes complex and costly, and passage times are slowed
Solution Approach 1:
The sample holder is segmented into functional components: a single driven friction wheel for propulsion, passive sliding elements for stability, and a guide element for directional control. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently without the complexity of integrated steering mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of actively steering the sample holder through curves using complex wheel configurations, the invention inverts the approach by using a passive guide element that follows the curvature of the track while the single driven wheel maintains propulsion. The track guide structure actively guides the passive sample holder component rather than the sample holder actively navigating the track.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple wheels and complex steering mechanisms are used in sample holders, then navigation through curves is possible, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex steering mechanism is extracted from the sample holder and transferred to the track infrastructure as a guide structure. The sample holder retains only the essential propulsion function through a single driven friction wheel and a simple guide element that passively follows the track's curvature.
Solution Approach 2:
The single driven friction wheel serves multiple functions: propulsion during straight travel and maintaining contact with the track during curved sections. The guide element universally interacts with the track's guide structure whether straight or curved, providing adaptive navigation without complex mechanisms.
3Reliability
If drive technology is located in the conveyor track rather than sample holders, then the system is simpler, but drive failures cause complete system downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The drive system is segmented from the centralized conveyor track drive to individual distributed drives in each sample holder. This allows independent operation of each sample holder, so that drive failures in one sample holder do not cause complete system downtime.
Solution Approach 2:
Each sample holder is self-sufficient with its own drive motor, energy store, and propulsion system. Sample holders can independently navigate the track and perform their functions without relying on external propulsion from the conveyor track infrastructure.
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 reliable and uninterrupted sample holder movement, increased throughput, and reduced maintenance costs by simplifying the design and eliminating the need for complex steering mechanisms, while allowing faster travel through curves and shunts.
Implementation Method 1
a friction wheel (8) that can be driven by the drive motor for transferring a drive force to the conveyor track (2)
Data Source
AI summary
A conveying system for material samples, especially medical samples, comprising a conveyor track forming at least one conveying section and at least one self-propelled sample holder displaceable along the conveying section holding a sample vessel. The holder comprises a drive motor, an energy accumulator for supplying the motor with energy and a friction wheel, drivable by the motor, for transmitting force onto the track. The track has at least one guide structure forming the conveying section. The holder has exactly one wheel on a lower side facing the track in operation, and has at least two sliding elements which rest on the track in operation and slide along the track's surface, the sliding elements and the wheel lying on the vertices of a triangle. The holder, on its lower side, has a guide element for cooperation with the guide structure in the track to guide the holder along the conveying section.