Integrated Piercing and Expansion Needle for Reagent Bottles
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing automatic analyzers face challenges in forming cuts in reagent bottle lids using needles with conical spikes, leading to increased insertion load on reagent probes, potential buckling, and reagent deterioration due to air inflow, and require additional mechanisms for cut expansion, which increase costs and device complexity.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves a pierce needle with a combination of piercing and expansion portions, where the piercing portion forms a cut and the expansion portion, integrated with the needle, expands the cut using downward movement, eliminating the need for additional mechanisms and reducing the initial insertion load on the reagent probe.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conical spike is used to form a hole in the reagent bottle lid, then the hole formation is simple, but the insertion load on the reagent probe increases causing buckling risk
Solution Approach 1:
The piercing portion is divided into multiple blades (typically 3-6 blades) arranged radially around the central axis. Each blade forms a portion of the cut, and collectively they create a star-shaped or multi-sided opening. This segmentation distributes the cutting action and reduces the force required compared to a single conical spike.
Solution Approach 2:
The expansion portion expands the cut formed by the piercing portion before the reagent probe insertion. This preliminary expansion action prepares the opening to be slightly larger than the probe diameter, ensuring smooth probe insertion without excessive force or buckling risk.
2Force
If the hole is enlarged to reduce insertion load on the reagent probe, then the insertion load decreases, but external air inflow increases causing reagent deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The expansion portion performs a controlled preliminary expansion of the cut to a precise size that accommodates the reagent probe. This ensures the opening is just large enough for probe insertion while minimizing excess space that would allow air inflow and reagent deterioration.
Solution Approach 2:
The geometry of the opening is changed from a circular hole (conical spike) to a star-shaped or multi-sided cut (multiple blades), which alters how the material responds to expansion and creates a more efficient fit for the probe while minimizing air gaps.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a needle with plural blades is used to form a cut, then air inflow is reduced, but the maximum insertion load on the reagent probe increases during initial insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The expansion portion is integrated into the needle and automatically expands the cut formed by the piercing portion during the same downward movement. This preliminary expansion occurs before probe insertion, eliminating the need for the probe to force its way through the tight cut and significantly reducing insertion load.
Solution Approach 2:
The piercing portion and expansion portion are merged into a single integrated needle structure. The piercing portion (multiple blades) and expansion portion (cylindrical or conical expansion element) work together in sequence during one downward movement, combining the benefits of reduced air inflow with reduced probe insertion load.
4Force
If an additional mechanism is added to expand the cut before probe insertion, then insertion load is reduced, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The piercing function (multiple blades) and expansion function (cylindrical/conical portion) are merged into a single integrated needle structure. Both functions are achieved during one downward movement without requiring separate mechanisms, thereby reducing device complexity and cost while still reducing probe insertion load.
Solution Approach 2:
The single needle serves multiple functions: it pierces the lid with multiple blades to form a cut, expands the cut with its cylindrical/conical portion, and guides the reagent probe during insertion. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate piercing and expansion mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
Subject Upon first time insertion of a reagent probe immediately after a cut is formed in a reagent bottle lid by a needle, the insertion load applied to the reagent probe increases. When the load upon first time insertion of the reagent probe increases, a spring is compressed by the load from insertion of probes. As a result, the compressed spring can be mistakenly detected as an obstacle. Solution A needle for forming a cut in a reagent bottle lid is shaped such that an expansion portion which pushes and opens a cut and a piercing portion which forms the cut are integrated with each other. Consequently, only a single operation for moving the needle downwardly will form a cut using the needle and expand the cut using the expansion portion. Further, the smaller diameter of the expansion portion than the diameter of a circumscribed circle of a cross section of the piercing portion but equal to or greater than the diameter of the reagent probe can form cuts uniformly.