Patent Application
20130279993
The present disclosure relates to sending and receiving stations for use in a pneumatic tube transport system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a carrier station that reduces impacts applied to incoming carriers.
Pneumatic tube transport systems are a well-known means for the automated transport of materials between, for example, an origination location and any one of a plurality of destination locations. A typical system includes a number of pneumatic tubes interconnected in a network to transport carriers between a plurality of user stations. That is stations are typically disposed throughout the system for dispatching carriers to other locations within the pneumatic transport system, for receiving carriers from other locations within the system, or both. Various blowers and transfer units provide the force and path control means, respectively, for moving the carriers through the system. The pneumatic tubes that connect the various stations may be arranged in any manner. Generally, a single pneumatic tube interconnects an individual station to the network. In this arrangement, such a single pneumatic tube transports carriers to and from the station. Other portions of the network may be interconnected with dedicated incoming and outgoing pneumatic tubes.
Provided herein are systems and methods (i.e., utilities) that allow for reducing the impact applied to carriers received by a station in a pneumatic carrier system. More specifically, aspects of the presented inventions are directed to reducing impact shock applied to carriers as they fall into receiving stations under the force of gravity.
According to a first aspect, the dispatch/receiving station for a pneumatic carrier transport system is provided. The station includes a carrier port for receiving carriers into the station (e.g., from a pneumatic tube system). The station further includes a receiving surface where carriers received by the station come to rest. The carrier receiving surface is at a vertical position below the carrier port and carriers pass between the carrier port and the receiving surface under the force of gravity. The station further includes a ramp having a first end that is disposed proximate to the carrier port and a second end that is disposed proximate to the receiving surface. A curved body portion extends between the first end and the second end. Accordingly, carriers that are received by the carrier port in a substantially vertical orientation are received by the first end of the ramp and slide down a surface of the curved body to the second end of the ramp where the carriers come to rest in a substantially horizontal orientation. The ramp allows for translating the position of a carrier from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation. To provide such transition, the first end of the ramp is primarily vertical while a second end of the ramp is primarily horizontal and the curved portion extending there between allows for a sliding transition.
In order to further dissipate the potential energy of the carrier received at the carrier port, a surface of the ramp that receives the carrier is deflectable under the weight of the carrier. To provide such deflection, the ramp further includes an open frame having first and second spaced rods or rails. A compliant surface extends over the open frame between the first and second rails. Accordingly, when carriers are received by the ramp, the carriers contact the compliant surface between the first and second rails. The compliant surface is configured to deflect from static position to a deflected position in response to the weight of the pneumatic carrier being disposed thereon. In conjunction with the deflection of the compliant surface, the rails of the open frame may be designed to deflect inward (i.e., toward one another) in response to the weight of the pneumatic carrier.
In a further arrangement, the compliant surface is formed of a sleeve that extends not only over the space between the first and second rails but around the rails to define an interior space. This interior space, in one arrangement, houses a pad formed of a compressible material. The pad, like the compressible surface of the ramp deflects from a static position to deflected position in response to the weight of the pneumatic carrier being disposed on an outside surface of the sleeve member.
According to another aspect, a method is provided for use with a pneumatic dispatch/receive station of a pneumatic carrier transport system. The method includes receiving a carrier at an inlet port of a carrier station. This port is disposed vertically above a receiving surface where the carrier received by the station comes to rest. The method includes descending the carrier through the inlet port and, in conjunction with descending the carrier through inlet port, contacting a portion of the carrier with a surface of a curved ramp having a first end disposed proximate to the inlet port and a second end disposed proximate to the receiving surface. As a carrier continues to descend through the inlet port, it begins to slide down the surface of the ramp and is translated from a first vertical orientation to a second horizontal orientation.
In one arrangement, contacting of the carrier with a ramp occurs prior to the carrier being released by the inlet port. In this regard, the carrier is never permitted to freefall under the force of gravity. In a further arrangement, contacting also includes deflecting the surface of the curved ramp where a surface of the ramp deflects and responds to the weight of the carrier contacting the surface. In a further arrangement, the method also includes turning the carrier between the first end and the second end of the ramp such that the carrier is substantially aligned with the second end of the ramp allowing the carrier to roll off the second end of the ramp.
Interconnected with each station 16, 18 of the exemplary system 10 is a transfer unit 20 which orders carriers arriving through different tubes from a different station 16, 18 into a single pneumatic tube. This pneumatic tube is further in connection with a vacuum by-pass transfer unit 21 (i.e., a turnaround transfer unit) and a blower 22 that provides the driving pneumatic force for carrier movement. The pressure/vacuum from the blower is operative to create a pressure differential across a carrier disposed within the pneumatic tubes and causes the carrier to move through the pneumatic tubes. That is, the blower 22, transfer units and pneumatic tubes create a pneumatic zone or circuit for use in transporting carriers between first and second points within the system 10. Multiple different zones connected using transfer units 12 collectively define the pneumatic transport system 10. Within the system 10, one or more devices are employable for ordering and routing carriers to their selected destinations. One type of device is a traffic control unit (TCU) 14, which is employable to receive, temporarily store and release a number of carriers. Also included in the system 10 are multi-linear transfer units (MTUs) 12 which have functionality to direct carriers from one pneumatic tube to another pneumatic tube (e.g., between tubes in single zone or between different zones).
All of the components described in
Included as part of the carrier 100 are a first wear band 44 and a second wear band 48 that are sized to fit snuggly within the inside surface of the pneumatic tubes of the system 10. By substantially blocking the passage of air across the carrier 100, the first and second wear bands 44, 48 create a pressure differential across the carrier 100 that pushes or draws the carrier 100 through the pneumatic tubes of the system 10.
A dispatcher 60 of the station is sized to receive an end of a carrier placed in the station. Positioned relative to the dispatcher 60 is a carrier holder 62 that is configured to allow a system user to place a carrier on the holder 62 and enter destination information through the control panel 108. Once all the appropriate information has been entered, the dispatcher 60 will move the carrier 100 into a pneumatic tube 56 for transport to a selected destination. Likewise, when a carrier 100 is received by the station 16, the carrier descends into the station, typically under the force of gravity, through the dispatcher 60 until it is stopped by the holder 62. In this arrangement, a user must physically remove the carrier from the holder 62 before the station can receive an additional carrier.
The healthcare industry often utilizes pneumatic tube transport systems to move patient samples and drugs from a centralized dispensing or collection point to the point of analysis or use. For example, pneumatic carriers may carry blood samples drawn at a patient's bedside or at a central collection point (such as a satellite phlebotomy lab) to a central lab for analysis and reporting. Similarly, a central pharmacy may receive a doctor's orders and dispense medications for distribution to a plurality of stations via pneumatic tube and then to the patients themselves via nurses positioned near the stations. In such systems, stations often encounter significant traffic. Accordingly, the requirement that a user remove each carrier from the station before the station receives another carrier results in lowered throughput for the station. That is, the ability to receive a single carrier creates a system bottleneck.
To alleviate the bottleneck created by requiring physical removal of a carrier from a station, some systems incorporate a station having a receiving bin. Rather than descending to a holder, which stops movement of the carrier, a carrier drops directly into the receiving bin. While effective in allowing delivery of multiple carriers free of user intervention, such stations have a number of drawbacks. Specifically, such stations impart impact shocks to the carriers and their contents as they freefall into the bin. These forces can affect the integrity, properties, and characteristics of samples and drugs received by the station. For example, a drug comprised of immiscible fluids can be mixed by agitation from the physical forces of impact. Another common example is the separation of blood components caused by impact. Likewise, impact can cause contents to spill when, for example, containers within the carrier (e.g., test tubes, IV bags etc.) break due to impact forces. Another drawback of drop-in stations is the noise generated by carriers falling unimpeded into the station. To alleviate these and other concerns, the present invention is directed to a pneumatic tube station that allows for receiving one or more carriers free of user interaction while substantially eliminating impact shock applied to incoming carriers. As the pneumatic tube station substantially eliminates impact applied to the incoming carriers, it also reduces the noise created by prior art stations.
In order to reduce the impact of carriers received by a pneumatic tube system station, the systems and methods (i.e., utilities) disclosed herein utilize a guide ramp that allows for controllably descending a carrier between an inlet port of a carrier station and the support surface (e.g., bin) of the station.
To allow for attachment of the first end 202 to the carrier station 116 at a location proximate to the input port 118, the first end 202 includes a bracket 208. See
To permit a carrier to smoothly slide down the ramp 200 (e.g., with little or no impact), a top portion of the ramp is primarily vertical and a bottom portion is primarily horizontal with a curved transition in between. Stated otherwise, a top portion of the ramp 200 has a steep incline where a vertical component V1 of this ramp portion is greater than its horizontal component W1. See
In order to dissipate the potential energy of the carrier 100, which is received at the input port 118 a vertical distance above the receiving bin 120, the embodiment of
In response to a pressure applied by the weight of a carrier (e.g., an empty carrier) this front surface 212 is adapted to deflect and thereby absorb energy from the carrier. To allow the front surface 212 to deflect, the ramp includes an open frame formed of first and second side rails 214A and 214B. As shown in
The deflectable member/compliant front surface 212 of the ramp 200 may be made of any appropriate material that allows for deflection under the weight of an incoming carrier. Typically, the front surface 216 will be formed to provide minimal frictional resistance. That is, this front surface is typically slick to allow the carrier to move in surface with minimal resistance. In this regard, the ramp be formed of synthetic material (e.g. nylon, cordura) or may include various coatings that are applied to the front surface. In one embodiment, the front surface 212 is formed of a textile material (e.g., a material including woven fibers). In another embodiment, the front surface 212 is formed of a polymer material. Other materials are possible and considered within the scope of the present invention. In any arrangement, as a carrier is received through the input port (See
In one embodiment, the front surface 212 is formed of a sleeve 216 that surrounds the first and second rails 214A, 214B of the ramp 200 as shown in
Disposition of a complaint or compressible pad 222 below the front surface 212 (e.g., within the interior of the sleeve 216) provides further potential energy dissipation for the carrier. As illustrated in
In operation, the open frame defined by the side rails 214A, 214B and the compliant front surface 212 allow a carrier 100 to sink into the top surface 212 and thereby reduce or absorb the potential energy of the carrier. As shown in
In one embodiment the front surface 212 may further include first and second seams 224A and 224B that extend between the first and second ends of the ramp. See
In a further arrangement, the ramp 200 allows for the carrier to slide into the station in a controlled manner and turn such along the ramp such that the centerline axis of the carrier is substantially aligned with a reference line R-R1 extending between the second ends of the side rails of the ramp. See
Such roll out functionality of the carrier is provided in the first embodiment by tapering the side rails as illustrated in
Variations exist to the station ramp discussed above. For instance, though discussed primarily in use with an open frame and a deflectable front surface, it will be appreciated that aspects of the disclosure may be utilized with a solid front surface as well. For instance, the ramp may have a solid and tackified surface such that the front wear band, where most the weight resides is restricted in its travel allowing a rearward position of the carrier to fall rotate about the central axis of the carrier and turn into a roll out position.
The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, and skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the various embodiments. The embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain best modes known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such, or other embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular application(s) or use(s) of the various embodiments. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.
