Microtiter Plate Positioning Unit with Asymmetric Force Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices face challenges in precisely positioning microtiter plates during shaking operations, leading to potential disengagement and loss of samples due to mechanical stress, and require high positioning accuracy to manage increasing well densities in microtiter plates.
Innovation Solution
A positioning device with asymmetrical force transmission characteristics between the actuating device and positioning stops, allowing for secure clamping and unclamping with minimal force, and preventing undesired movement during shaking by coupling functional device forces perpendicularly to the actuating device's displacement direction, ensuring the device remains stationary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fixed positioning elements with springs are used to secure microtiter plates, then the plates can be held in position, but the high spring force required to counteract centrifugal force during shaking makes robot insertion difficult and causes plate movement leading to positioning device movement
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning stops are made movable rather than fixed, allowing them to adapt their position dynamically. During insertion, the stops can move to accommodate the plate, and during shaking, they can move with the plate to maintain contact without requiring excessive clamping force. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between maintaining reliable positioning and enabling easy robot insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The force transmission characteristics are made asymmetrical between the actuating device and the positioning stops. The actuating device can easily move the stops for insertion, but the stops resist movement in the opposite direction during shaking through the asymmetric mechanical advantage provided by the cam mechanism. This asymmetry allows easy insertion while maintaining positioning stability during operation.
2Reliability
If high spring force is used to counteract centrifugal force during shaking, then the microtiter plate remains clamped, but this causes movement of the positioning device and unwanted displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning stops transition from fixed to movable, allowing them to dynamically adjust during shaking. Instead of relying on high static clamping force, the stops move with the plate during orbital mixing, maintaining contact through their ability to follow the plate's motion rather than resisting it with high force. This eliminates the positioning device movement while maintaining reliable clamping.
Solution Approach 2:
The centrifugal force and shaking movements that were previously harmful (causing plate displacement and positioning device movement) are converted into beneficial effects. The movable positioning stops utilize the shaking motion to maintain contact with the plate, and the asymmetric force transmission ensures that the actuating device remains stationary while the stops move with the plate during orbital mixing.
3Productivity
If the number of cavities in microtiter plate increases, then more samples can be processed simultaneously, but the diameter of each well becomes smaller requiring higher positioning accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The movable positioning stops can dynamically adjust their position to accommodate manufacturing tolerances in the microtiter plate. Rather than requiring extremely precise fixed positioning, the stops can move to find the correct engagement point on the plate, maintaining high positioning accuracy even as plate dimensions vary due to manufacturing tolerances or increased well density.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of the positioning stops from fixed to movable, fundamentally altering the positioning mechanism. This parameter change allows the system to maintain high positioning accuracy through motion rather than through precise static alignment, enabling the use of microtiter plates with higher well density and smaller individual well diameters.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances operational reliability and positioning accuracy, preventing the actuating device from moving and ensuring the microtiter plate remains securely clamped, even at high shaking frequencies, thus maintaining precise positioning before, during, and after shaking processes.
Implementation Method 1
the force transmission element transmits a shaking force from the functional device to the actuating device in such a way that the actuating device remains essentially in a rest position despite the action of the transmitted functional device force
Implementation Method 2
The actuating device and the force transmission element are coupled by means of a connecting rod in such a way that the force of the functional device is transmitted to the actuating device in a direction of action which is incompatible with a direction of movement of the actuating device, in particular oriented perpendicular to it
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for positioning a functional unit, wherein the device comprises a main body, a carrier element that can be arranged on the main body for receiving the functional unit, positioning stops which are displaceably mounted for chucking the functional unit, an actuating unit which is equipped such that the positioning stops can be transferred by actuation of the actuating unit between an operating state in which the functional unit is engaged and an operating state in which the functional unit is released, and a force transmission element which is equipped to transmit an actuating force from the actuating unit to the positioning stops, wherein the actuating unit and the force transmission element are coupled such that, in the operating state in which the functional unit is engaged, the force transmission element transmits a functional unit force of the functional unit to the actuating unit such that the actuating unit remains in a rest position in relation to the carrier element despite the action of the transmitted functional unit force.