Petri Dish Dispensing Device with Rotating Bottom Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing dispensing devices for viscous products like agar in Petri dishes face challenges in achieving uniform distribution and preventing spills, especially when dispensing small quantities, due to the non-liquid consistency of the product.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing device that includes a piston with a rotating bottom support plate and a product outlet nozzle, which rotates the Petri dish during dispensing to ensure even distribution and lift the bottom into the lid to prevent spills, using a transfer member to position the Petri dish correctly at the dispensing station.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the Petri dish remains stationary during dispensing, then the dispensing process is simple, but the product is not evenly distributed in the bottom of the Petri dish
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the Petri dish bottom rotate during the dispensing process. The bottom is mounted on a rotating platform that spins at a controlled speed while the viscous product is being dispensed. This rotation dynamically redistributes the product across the bottom surface, ensuring uniform distribution. The system transitions from a static dispensing setup to a dynamic one where the bottom rotates to achieve homogeneous product spread.
2Quantity of substance
If a small quantity of viscous product is dispensed, then the product quantity is controlled, but the product is not evenly distributed and spills out of the bottom
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating bottom mechanism ensures that even small quantities of viscous product are evenly distributed. As the bottom rotates during dispensing, the viscous product spreads uniformly across the entire surface rather than accumulating in one location. This dynamic rotation prevents spillage by distributing the limited product quantity evenly, ensuring complete coverage without overflow.
3Reliability
If the bottom is lifted into the lid after dispensing, then spills are prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the nesting principle by lifting the bottom into the lid after dispensing. The bottom, which contains the dispensed product, is mechanically raised and inserted into the lid cavity. This nesting action securely contains the product within the closed Petri dish structure, preventing any spillage during subsequent handling or transport. The bottom fits inside the lid, creating a compact, sealed unit.
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 device achieves uniform product distribution across the Petri dish surface, minimizing spills and ensuring efficient dispensing of agar, regardless of the quantity, by rotating the bottom plate during dispensing and retracting it into the lid post-dispensing.
Implementation Method 1
a piston comprising a bottom support plate at the product dispensing station and means for driving the plate in rotation on itself relative to the dispensing head, arranged to cause the bottom to rotate relative to the dispensing head
Implementation Method 2
the determined piston provided with the determined plate having the function of lifting the bottom of the Petri dish through the upper opening to retract the bottom into the lid of the Petri dish
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for dispensing a prescribed material into a Petri dish, each Petri dish (P) comprising a removable lid capable of being arranged on a bottom (F) that is not as broad as the latter, comprising a means for bringing the Petri dish to a material-dispensing station (40). According to the invention, the device comprises a piston (32b) comprising a plate (320b) for supporting the bottom (F) at the material-dispensing station and means for rotating the plate (320b) on itself relative to the dispensing head (6), arranged so as to rotate the bottom (F) relative to dispensing head (6) in the position for dispensing the material into the bottom, in which the material outlet tip (61) is arranged relative to plate (320b) in order to dispense the material into the rotated bottom (F).