Sample Tube Barcode Segmentation for Optical and Acoustic Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional barcodes at the bottom ends of sample tubes interfere with light transmission, RFID identification, and acoustic coupling, making them incompatible with advanced sample processing technologies such as spectroscopy, RFID tagging, and acoustic dispensing.
Innovation Solution
A sample tube design featuring a two-dimensional barcode split into peripheral components, allowing a central window for light or sound transmission. This design enables RFID tagging, spectroscopy, and acoustic coupling while maintaining data integrity through redundant barcode components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a conventional barcode is placed at the bottom end of a sample tube, then data identification is enabled, but light transmission and acoustic coupling are blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The barcode is segmented into multiple discrete components arranged in a circular pattern around the tube's bottom edge, allowing the central region to remain open for optical and acoustic transmission while distributing identification data across multiple readable segments
Solution Approach 2:
The barcode transitions from a conventional linear or grid layout to a circular radial arrangement, enabling data storage around the periphery while maintaining a clear central aperture for light and sound transmission
2Loss of information
If a conventional barcode is placed at the bottom end of a sample tube, then data identification is enabled, but RFID identification and acoustic dispensing are interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The barcode is divided into multiple modular components that can be independently positioned around the tube periphery, allowing simultaneous accommodation of RFID tags and acoustic transducers in the central region without compromising identification functionality
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tube bottom serve different functions: the periphery contains barcode components for identification, while the central region maintains acoustic and electromagnetic transparency for RFID and acoustic dispensing operations
3Loss of information
If a barcode covers the entire bottom end of a sample tube, then data storage capacity is maximized, but functional windows for light and sound transmission are obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The barcode data is segmented into multiple components distributed around the tube's bottom periphery, maximizing data capacity while maintaining a large central functional window for optical and acoustic transmission
Solution Approach 2:
The barcode utilizes the circumferential dimension around the tube bottom rather than covering the entire surface area, enabling high data capacity in a ring configuration that preserves the central transmission window
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 allows for efficient data reading and sample processing by eliminating barcode interference with light and sound transmission, ensuring compatibility with advanced technologies and improving sample handling and storage efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
A two-dimensional barcode on the bottom stores data that is readable from below the tube
Implementation Method 2
the window can permit light transmission such as used in assessing the clarity or color of the sample or in spectroscopy
Implementation Method 3
a conventional barcode at the bottom end of a tube interferes with the acoustic coupling from the acoustic transducer to the liquid in the sample tube
Implementation Method 4
a circuit chip and/or transmitter may be positioned in the bottom of a sample tube. That circuit chip or transmitter may, for example, provide RFID identification of the individual tube
Data Source
AI summary
A sample tube includes a barcode split into components at the bottom of the sample tube. Each barcode component stores less than the full data output from the barcode, but the components combine to full data output. Redundant diagonal components provide for error checking. A center region between the barcode components supports an electrical circuit or an optical or acoustic window. The sample tube may have a sidewall with a substantially cylindrical open end and non-cylindrical end closed with a bottom, the non-cylindrical end orienting the sample tube in a rack. Additional non-cylindrical surfaces are provided to orient the sample tube relative to complementary surfaces at a gripper. The sample tube of a particular application is positioned in an acoustic dispensing system where acoustic waves are transmitted through a center window for surveying and dispensing.