Slide Rack Gripper for Digital Slide Scanning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital slide scanning apparatus face challenges in conveying individual glass slides from a slide rack to the scanning stage efficiently, leading to interruptions and inefficiencies in processing large numbers of slides.
Innovation Solution
A slide rack gripper apparatus with motors and gripper fingers that position and grasp slide racks, allowing for precise removal from a carousel and conveyance to a scanning stage, ensuring bulk processing while protecting the slides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If individual glass slides are conveyed from slide rack to scanning stage, then processing can be performed, but processing is interrupted and efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the slide handling process by introducing a carousel that holds multiple slide racks, allowing the scanner to process slides from different racks sequentially without interruption. The gripper mechanism segments the physical handling by grasping individual racks from the carousel and delivering them to the scanning stage.
Solution Approach 2:
The carousel pre-positions multiple slide racks in advance, so that when one rack is being processed, the next rack is already in position and ready to be grasped by the gripper mechanism. This eliminates waiting time and maintains continuous processing flow.
2Productivity
If slide racks are held in a carousel for sequential processing, then bulk processing is enabled, but the mechanism for conveying individual slides remains challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper mechanism is designed with multiple gripper fingers that can universally grasp different types of slide racks from the carousel and deliver them to the scanning stage. The same mechanism handles both the retrieval from carousel and the delivery to scanner, performing multiple functions with a single device.
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning stage acts as an intermediary between the carousel and the final processing. The gripper delivers the slide rack to the scanning stage, which then interfaces with the scanning system, separating the conveyance function from the scanning function and simplifying each component's design.
3Productivity
If multiple slide racks are processed sequentially, then throughput is improved, but reliable grasping and conveyance of each rack is critical
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper mechanism employs movable gripper fingers that can dynamically adjust their position and grasping force. The fingers move from a retracted position to an engaged position around the slide rack, providing adaptive grasping that accommodates variations in rack positioning and maintains reliable contact during conveyance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines the carousel's bulk storage capability with the gripper's precise manipulation capability and the scanning stage's processing capability into an integrated conveyance system. This merging ensures that each component supports the others, with the carousel providing stable racks, the gripper providing secure grasping, and the scanning stage providing reliable processing.
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
Enables efficient and uninterrupted processing of multiple glass slides by securely grasping and conveying slide racks to the scanning stage, improving the throughput and reliability of digital slide scanning systems.
Implementation Method 1
a first motor (410) attached to the base (420) and configured to drive the finger mount (430) along a first linear axis
Implementation Method 2
a second motor (440) attached to the finger mount (430) and configured to drive the plurality of gripper fingers (450) along a second linear axis and a third linear axis
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A slide rack gripper apparatus is provided that simultaneously conveys a plurality of glass slides in the protection of a slide rack within a digital slide scanning apparatus. The slide rack gripper apparatus conveys the plurality of glass slides from a slide rack carousel to a scanning stage for processing. The slide rack gripper includes a first motor attached to a base configured to drive a finger mount attached to the base along a first linear axis. The slide rack gripper apparatus also includes a second motor attached to the finger mount and configured to drive opposing gripper fingers attached to the finger mount along a second linear axis. The second motor is also configured to drive individual gripper fingers along a third linear axis to move the gripper fingers toward each other and away from each other to grasp or release a slide rack.