Cover Member Orientation Features for Sample Treatment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cover members for sample treatment instruments lack features to ensure correct orientation, leading to potential misapplication, reagent loss, and sample deterioration.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating orientation features such as machine-readable tags, mechanical notches, or visible markings on the cover member to enable detection by instruments or human operators, ensuring correct orientation during use.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If deeper contours are created on the opposing side of the cover member to minimize material consumption, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but the cover member becomes easier to be applied incorrectly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvematerial consumptionVSAvoidcorrect orientation application

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies asymmetry by creating different contour depths on opposite sides of the cover member. The first side has shallower contours while the second side has deeper contours, making the cover member asymmetric. This asymmetry provides visual cues for correct orientation without requiring additional materials, thus resolving the contradiction between material consumption and reliable application.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

2Loss of substance

If the reaction chamber is made very small to reduce reagent cost, then reagent consumption is reduced, but the defining rails become nearly undetectable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereagent consumptionVSAvoidrail detectability

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of substanceVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent moves the detection function from the horizontal plane (rails) to the vertical dimension (contours). By creating detectable contours on the cover member that extend vertically, the system provides orientation detection without requiring larger horizontal features like more prominent rails, thus maintaining small reagent volume while improving detectability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Device complexity

If no orientation features are added to the cover member, then device complexity is minimized, but the risk of incorrect application increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecover member featuresVSAvoidcorrect orientation

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating contours only in specific locations on the cover member rather than uniformly across the entire surface. The contours are localized to the first and second sides, providing orientation indication where needed while keeping the rest of the cover member simple and unchanged, thus balancing complexity and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS12282146B2Cover member with orientation indicia

Publication Date: 2025.04.22 LEICA BIOSYST MELBOURNE

AI summary

A cover member for use in the treatment of a sample on a substrate is disclosed. The cover member has fluid flow features and is adapted for use in an instrument, such as a laboratory instrument. The cover member comprises at least one orientation feature detectable by the instrument for ascertaining an orientation of the cover member. An automated method for detecting orientation of a cover member in a sample treatment assembly is also disclosed, in which a processor compares data corresponding to one or more images collected from the sample treatment assembly, with data representing a reference image to determine if a cover member is in the sample treatment assembly.