Disposable Pipette Tip Loading Plate Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The handling and disposal of large quantities of pipette tips in automated or robotic applications result in significant waste due to the high axial force required for seating and the subsequent disposal of loading blocks and plates, which are often made of heavy polymer materials, leading to environmental concerns and inefficiencies in liquid handling processes.
Innovation Solution
A pipette tip dispensing device with a displacement actuator and alignment housing that includes regularly spaced detent members and a distal barrier element with restrictive apertures, allowing for the simultaneous dispensing of multiple pipette tips into a loading block by applying a threshold axial force, reducing the need for frequent replacement of loading blocks and minimizing waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If loading blocks and plates are made of heavy polymer materials to withstand cumulative axial force, then structural strength is improved, but weight increases and environmental harm worsens due to frequent disposal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, heavy, durable loading blocks with inexpensive, lightweight, disposable loading plates. The loading plates are designed to be discarded after a single use, eliminating the need for expensive polymer materials while reducing environmental harm through minimal material consumption and waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters from heavy polymer to lightweight paper or cardboard, and changes the durability parameter from reusable to single-use. This parameter transformation resolves the contradiction by accepting reduced structural strength in exchange for dramatically reduced environmental impact and weight.
2Productivity
If multiple pipette tips are seated simultaneously requiring high cumulative axial force, then productivity is improved, but the force required increases causing structural demands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the seating process by providing individual recesses in the loading plate for each pipette tip. This allows tips to be seated independently in their own recesses rather than requiring the entire plate to withstand cumulative force, enabling high productivity without excessive force requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The loading plate acts as an intermediary between the pipette tips and the user's manual force application. The plate distributes and manages the seating force for multiple tips simultaneously, enabling efficient batch loading while protecting the user from direct exposure to high cumulative forces.
3Reliability
If loading plates are disposed of after each use, then reliability is improved by eliminating contamination risk, but loss of substance worsens due to polymer waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive polymer loading blocks with inexpensive paper or cardboard loading plates designed for single use. This allows reliable contamination prevention through disposal while minimizing substance loss because the disposable plates consume far less material than traditional polymer blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material composition parameter from polymer to paper/cardboard, transforming the waste profile. This material substitution maintains the reliability benefit of single-use disposal while dramatically reducing the environmental harm associated with polymer waste accumulation.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a distal barrier plate (28) that can be part of a pipette tip dispenser and is not in association with pipette tips (20). The distal barrier plate comprises a plurality of channels, wherein each channel has a diameter larger than the widest portion of a pipette tip; a substantially flat top surface; and a substantially flat bottom surface that comprises a plurality of tails around some or all of the channels, wherein: (i) the tails extend in a nearly perpendicular orientation from the flat bottom surface, and (ii) the tails around each channel contact and deflect outward against the proximal portion of a pipette tip when a pipette tip is dispensed and passes by the tails, thereby imparting a frictional force on the pipette tip when it is dispensed.