Pipette Tip Rack Plate Projections for Vertical Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pipette tips in existing racks often become skewed due to lateral displacement during shipment and use, leading to inefficient uptake and extraction, as static charge causes them to align improperly with the rack, affecting the vertical orientation and sealing efficiency when used with dispensing devices.
Innovation Solution
The pipette tip rack plate features projections from the first interior wall and a counter-bore with a second interior wall that restricts lateral displacement of pipette tips, ensuring they remain substantially vertical by maintaining a specific effective diameter and geometry, preventing skewing and facilitating proper alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If pipette tips are stored in racks with simple channels, then the rack structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the pipette tips become skewed due to lateral displacement during shipment and use
Solution Approach 1:
The rack plate incorporates localized geometric features (protrusions and counter-bores) at specific positions within the channels to provide lateral support. These features are strategically placed to contact the pipette tip at critical locations, maintaining vertical orientation without requiring the entire channel structure to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds a radial dimension to the channel structure by incorporating protrusions that extend into the channel from the channel wall. This creates a multi-dimensional constraint system where the protrusion-counterbore combination provides lateral support in addition to the basic vertical channel structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If projections are added to restrict lateral displacement, then pipette tips maintain vertical orientation, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions and counter-bores are integrated into a single molded rack plate structure, combining multiple functional elements (channel walls, support protrusions, and positioning counter-bores) into one monolithic component. This merging approach maintains manufacturing simplicity by using a single molding process while achieving precise alignment through the integrated geometric features.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided herein are pipette tip racks, and in particular, pipette tip rack plates that restrict lateral displacement of pipette tips loaded therein.