Stopcock Holding Device for Automated Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current disposable stopcocks are not designed for automated actuation, making them incompatible with automated equipment and lacking in safety features to prevent contamination and inadvertent removal.
Innovation Solution
A holding device with a base body and a rotatable driver that engages with the stopcock handle, featuring a first fixation member with a lip and notch for secure positioning and rotation, and second fixation members for tubing, allowing for automated actuation and secure handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If disposable stopcocks are designed for manual actuation only, then they remain simple and low-cost, but they cannot be used with automated equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two separate components: the disposable stopcock (simple, manual-design) and the reusable holding device with driver (complex, automated-interface). This segmentation allows the stopcock to remain simple and low-cost while the automation interface is provided by the reusable holding device, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding device acts as an intermediary between the automated actuator and the manually-designed stopcock. The driver component mediates the interaction by engaging with the stopcock handle, enabling automated actuation without requiring modifications to the stopcock itself, thus maintaining simplicity while achieving automation compatibility.
2Reliability
If stopcocks are made disposable for safety, then contamination risk is reduced, but automated actuation capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the disposable component (stopcock) from the automated interface component (holding device with driver). The disposable stopcock ensures contamination prevention through single-use design, while the reusable holding device provides automated actuation capability, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and automation extent.
3Reliability
If stopcocks lack fixation mechanisms, then they are easy to manufacture, but inadvertent removal during operation becomes possible
Solution Approach 1:
The holding device with driver acts as an intermediary that provides the fixation mechanism. The driver engages with the stopcock handle and includes features to prevent inadvertent removal during automated operation, while the stopcock itself remains simple to manufacture without these complex fixation features.
4Measurement precision
If stopcocks are designed for precise automated positioning, then actuation accuracy is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning functionality is segmented into the reusable holding device rather than the disposable stopcock. The driver and holding device incorporate features for precise positioning and angular orientation, while the stopcock remains a simple component that receives these positioning features from the holding device, thus achieving precision without increasing stopcock manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1~2B
Figure 3A~3B
Figure 4
AI summary
A holding device (1) for automated stopcock actuation, comprising a base body (2); and a driver (3) rotatably received at the base body (2). The holding device(1) has a receptacle (4) for removably receiving at least a part of a stopcock (A) and is configured such that the driver (3) can engage with and actuate a handle (B) of the stopcock (A) received in the receptacle (4) upon rotation of the driver (3), and a first fixation member (5) that is configured to allow selective fixation of the stopcock (A) in the receptacle (4).