Transfer Platform With Wheel-Base Cleaning for Cleanroom Cart Handoffs
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transfer of items between uncontrolled and controlled environments, such as clean rooms, is challenging due to the risk of contamination, manual handling, and the need for additional personnel, as conventional carts with wheels cannot enter the clean room and require manual transfer, which is labor-intensive and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A transport device with a removable wheel base that allows a single operator to switch between sterile and non-sterile wheels, ensuring the non-sterile wheels do not enter the controlled environment, and a stationary platform for storage when not in use, made of materials that can withstand autoclaving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional carts with wheels are used to transport items, then mobility and ease of operation are improved, but contamination risk increases because wheels attract dirt and cannot enter clean rooms
Solution Approach 1:
The cart system is divided into two separate carts: a first cart with non-sterile wheels for use in uncontrolled environments, and a second cart with sterile wheels for use in controlled environments. This segmentation allows each cart to be optimized for its specific environment, eliminating contamination risk while maintaining mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
A transfer platform serves as an intermediary between the two carts, enabling seamless transfer of items from the non-sterile cart to the sterile cart without direct contact between the carts themselves. This intermediary mechanism prevents contamination while maintaining operational efficiency.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If manual transfer of items between carts is performed, then contamination risk is reduced, but labor intensity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer platform is designed to be substantially coplanar with the item-holding surfaces of both carts, creating an equipotential transfer surface. This eliminates the need for lifting or complex maneuvering, allowing items to be easily slid or rolled between carts while maintaining sterile conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables operators to perform transfers independently without requiring multiple personnel. The ergonomic design and coplanar surfaces allow single-operator transfers, reducing labor intensity while maintaining contamination control.
3Reliability
If additional personnel are used to assist in transfer, then safety and control are improved, but device complexity and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer platform and cart design enable single-operator operation for safe and controlled item transfers. The ergonomic features, including coplanar surfaces and easy-access interfaces, allow one person to manage the entire transfer process without additional assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex multi-person manual handling with a simplified mechanical transfer mechanism. The coplanar transfer platform and sliding/rolling interfaces substitute for the need for multiple operators to manually lift and transfer items.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If non-sterile wheels are prevented from entering clean rooms, then contamination risk is reduced, but operational flexibility and adaptability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The item-holding portions of both carts are designed with universal compatibility features, allowing items to be easily transferred between the non-sterile and sterile carts. The standardized interfaces and coplanar surfaces enable the system to handle various item types while maintaining environment-specific wheel requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A stationary platform for supporting a supply transport device is provided. The stationary platform includes a frame having at least two longitudinal sides, a first end and a second opposing end, and a top surface and a bottom surface, and a plurality of legs extending from the bottom surface of the frame to support the supply transport device on the frame. The supply transport device is slidably received on the top surface of the frame. A wheel base assembly having a cleaning device for contacting a bottom surface of the supply transport device, to remove dirt and debris from or to disinfect the supply transport device, is also provided.