Specimen Transporter Integrating Collection and Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing specimen imaging systems require separate devices for transporting and collecting specimen plates, leading to increased system complexity and scale, as they often lack the capability to externally discharge and collect imaged specimens.
Innovation Solution
A specimen transporter that integrates receiving, storing, and transporting functions, enabling it to receive specimen plates from preparing apparatuses, transport them to imaging apparatuses, and collect imaged plates for storage, thereby reducing system complexity by eliminating the need for separate collecting devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the specimen imaging apparatus includes an internal mechanism for collecting imaged specimens in the magazine, then the specimen collecting function is integrated, but the device complexity and system scale increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the specimen collecting function from the imaging apparatus and places it in a separate collecting device. The imaging apparatus only handles imaging operations, while the collecting device manages specimen collection and storage. This separation reduces the complexity of the imaging apparatus while maintaining the collecting function through an independent device.
Solution Approach 2:
The collecting device is designed as a universal component that can work with multiple imaging apparatuses. It provides standardized interfaces and mechanisms for collecting specimens from different imaging devices, making it a multi-functional system that reduces overall device complexity while maintaining versatility.
2Device complexity
If the specimen imaging apparatus discharges imaged specimens to the outside, then the apparatus structure is simplified, but the specimen collecting function is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the specimen handling system into two independent parts: the imaging apparatus that performs imaging and discharges specimens to the outside, and a separate collecting device that receives and stores specimens. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the imaging apparatus remains simple while the collecting device provides the necessary collection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The collecting device acts as an intermediary between the imaging apparatus and the final specimen storage. It receives specimens discharged from the imaging apparatus and manages their collection and storage, bridging the gap between the simplified imaging function and the required collection capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a separate collecting device is added to the specimen imaging system, then the specimen collecting function is provided, but the number of devices and system scale increase
Solution Approach 1:
The collecting device is designed with universal interfaces and standardized mechanisms that allow it to work with multiple imaging apparatuses. This universality reduces the need for multiple specialized devices, as a single collecting device can serve different imaging systems, thereby controlling system scale while maintaining functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the collecting function with an existing component in the system - the magazine that is already present in the imaging apparatus for holding specimens. By utilizing the existing magazine structure and integrating the collecting device with it, the system avoids adding completely separate components, thus controlling the increase in system scale.
Data Source
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AI summary
To provide a specimen transporter that can be suitably used by being connected to a specimen imaging apparatus that does not have a function of collecting an imaged specimen plate. There is provided a specimen transporter used by being connected to a specimen imaging apparatus, the specimen transporter including a specimen receiving section that receives a specimen plate; a specimen storage section that stores an imaged specimen plate; specimen transporting sections that transport a specimen plate from the specimen receiving section to the specimen imaging apparatus and from the specimen imaging apparatus to the specimen storage section; and a control section that controls operations of the specimen transporting sections; wherein the control section controls the specimen transporting sections to transport the specimen plate received by the specimen receiving section to the specimen imaging apparatus and transport the imaged specimen plate received from the specimen imaging apparatus to the specimen storage section.