Method and system for picking and placing vessels

{
  "publication_number": "US7128874B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Method and system for picking and placing vessels",
  "abstract": "A method and system for picking and placing vessels are provided. The system includes a gripper assembly mounted on a positioning mechanism. The gripper assembly includes a cylinder, a plurality of flexible gripping members extending from the cylinder in a spaced-apart relationship for receiving therebetween a vessel and holding it by friction, a piston slideably inserted inside the cylinder, and a plunger connected to and movable with the piston and extending between the gripping members for engaging the vessel. The method includes the steps of positioning the gripper assembly, picking up and transferring a vessel, and placing, seating and releasing the vessel. The contents of the vessel may also be mixed simultaneously during the transferring of the vessel.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A gripper assembly for picking and placing vessels, comprising: a. a cylinder having an end rim; b. at least two gripping members, extending from said end rim of said cylinder in a spaced-apart relationship for receiving therebetween a vessel, wherein said gripping members have a spring-like property that allows their deflection as said vessel is inserted therebetween and allows them to hold said vessel by friction; c. a piston slidably inserted inside said cylinder; and d. a plunger connected to and movable with said piston, the plunger extending between said gripping members for engaging said vessel, wherein the plunger and the gripping members move independently from each other.",
    "2. The gripper assembly of claim 1, further comprising an adapter for mounting said gripper assembly to a positioning mechanism.",
    "3. The gripper assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of said gripping members is made of semi-rigid flexible material.",
    "4. The gripper assembly of claim 3, wherein said material is plastic material.",
    "5. The gripper assembly of claim 1, wherein said gripping members each have a chamfered bottom end for receiving a misaligned vessel.",
    "6. The gripper assembly of claim 1, further comprising pneumatic means for actuating said piston to push said plunger for releasing said vessel from said gripping members.",
    "7. The gripper assembly of claim 6, wherein said pneumatic means actuates said piston by supplying pressurized air into said cylinder.",
    "8. The gripper assembly of claim 1, further comprising means for detecting whether said vessel has been picked up.",
    "9. The gripper assembly of claim 8, wherein said detecting means comprises a magnet mounted to and movable with said piston, and a sensor fixedly mounted on said cylinder for sensing magnetic field of the magnet.",
    "10. The gripper assembly of claim 8, further comprising an adapter for mounting said gripper assembly to a positioning mechanism, wherein said detecting means comprises a magnet mounted to and movable with said piston, and a sensor fixedly mounted on the adapter.",
    "11. The gripper assembly of claim 8, wherein said detecting means is selected from a group consisting of inductive, capacitive and optical sensors.",
    "12. The gripper assembly of claim 1, further comprising means for mixing the contents of said vessel while it is held by said gripping members.",
    "13. The gripper assembly of claim 12, wherein said mixing means comprises a spin mechanism for spinning said gripper assembly.",
    "14. A method of picking and placing vessels, comprising the steps of: a. positioning a gripper assembly at a vessel, the gripper assembly including at least two gripping members extending from a cylinder in a spaced-apart relationship, a piston slidably inserted inside the cylinder, and a plunger connected to the piston, extending between the gripping members and capable of moving independently therefrom; b. picking up said vessel by moving said gripper assembly towards said vessel, wherein said gripping members deflect as said vessel is inserted therebetween and wherein said vessel pushes said plunger away; and c. transferring said vessel as it is held by said gripping members by friction.",
    "15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of mounting said gripper assembly to a positioning mechanism for controlling the movement of said gripper assembly.",
    "16. The method of claim 14, wherein said gripping members each has a chamfered bottom end for receiving a misaligned vessel.",
    "17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of spinning said gripper assembly to mix the content of said vessel while said vessel is transferred.",
    "18. The method of claim 14, wherein, during step b, a clearance is left between the gripper assembly and the vessel to allow further insertion of said vessel between said gripping members.",
    "19. The method of claim 18 further comprising steps of: d. placing said vessel into a seating; e. seating said vessel by further moving said gripper assembly slightly towards said seating as allowed by said clearance to ensure that said vessel is correctly seated; and f. releasing said vessel by moving said gripper assembly away from said seating.",
    "20. The method of claim 19, wherein the seating step (e) further comprises actuating said piston to seat said plunger against said vessel.",
    "21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of supplying pressurized air to said cylinder to actuate said piston.",
    "22. The method of claim 19, wherein the releasing step (f) further comprises holding the vessel in its seating position with said plunger while moving said gripper away from the vessel.",
    "23. The method of claim 22, wherein the plunger remains seated against said vessel until said gripping members completely disengage said vessel.",
    "24. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of re-positioning said gripper assembly over a new location before placing said vessel into said seating.",
    "25. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of positioning said gripper assembly over the same location before placing said vessel into said seating.",
    "26. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of moving said seating to a new location before placing said vessel into said seating.",
    "27. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of indexing said seating to a new location before placing said vessel into said seating."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "1. Area of the Art The present invention relates generally to vessels handling methods and systems used in conjunction with automated chemical analyzer instruments and, more specifically, to methods and systems for picking and placing vessels used in conjunction with automated chemical analyzer instruments. 2. Description of the Prior Art Automated chemical analyzers, particularly immunodiagnostic instruments, are widely used in clinical chemistry sampling and analyzing applications. The instruments often involve the handling of vessels for performing various assays. The basic functions of handling vessels typically involve picking, transferring, and placing the vessels, and mixing their contents for processing and analyzing by an automated chemical analyzer. During the transfer process, the vessel and its contents must be moved smoothly. Jarring the vessel may cause the contents to either splash out of the vessel, or if splashing does occur, droplets may stick to the walls of the vessel at the top. Either of these events may affect accuracy of the results.\n\nThe following references are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 2,899,232, issued to Walter, Jr. on Aug. 11, 1959, disclosed a bottle chuck adapted for handling bottles. The bottle chuck has a series of threadedly connected cylindrical pieces and jaws for engaging bottle necks and a spring-loaded piston rod for engaging the bottle caps. U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,594, issued to Thoma on Jan. 12, 1971, disclosed a pneumatically-operated gripper for bottles.",
  "cpc": [
    "G01N 35/0099",
    "B25J 15/12",
    "G01N 2035/00524",
    "Y10T 436/11",
    "Y10T 436/114165"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B25J 15/12",
    "B32B 5/02",
    "G01N 35/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "BECKMAN COULTER INC"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "KITTOCK MARK J",
    "WILSON BRIAN D",
    "QURESHI HUMAYUN",
    "WILLENBRING ARMER J"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2001-01-26",
  "publication_date": "2006-10-31",
  "grant_date": "2006-10-31",
  "priority_date": "2001-01-26",
  "application_number": "US-77147101-A",
  "family_id": "25091927",
  "citations": [
    "JPH0446789A",
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    "US6520315B1",
    "US6544799B1",
    "US6652015B1"
  ]
}