Pipette Tip Seating Area with Braking Zone for Low Attachment Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pipette tips require high forces for attachment and removal due to steep spring characteristics and high static friction, making them difficult to use, especially for smaller sizes, and result in high power consumption when motor-driven.
Innovation Solution
A pipette tip design featuring a tubular body with a circumferential, inwardly projecting sealing projection, a tapering braking area, and a support projection that allows for elastic deformation, reducing attachment force and ejection force while preventing tipping during use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pipette tips with frustoconical contact area are used, then secure fixation on attachment is achieved, but high attachment forces and high ejection forces are required
Solution Approach 1:
The seating area is divided into three distinct functional zones: a sealing projection for creating liquid-tight seal, a braking area for limiting attachment depth and reducing friction, and a support projection for lateral stabilization. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function independently, achieving secure fixation with reduced forces.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the seating area are given different geometric properties: the sealing projection has a specific diameter and position for optimal sealing, the braking area has a tapered geometry with specific angle to control friction, and the support projection has dimensions tailored for lateral support. This localized optimization of geometric parameters enables reliable fixation without requiring high forces across the entire contact area.
2Reliability
If conventional pipette tips with frustoconical contact area are used, then secure fixation on attachment is achieved, but high ejection forces are required
Solution Approach 1:
The seating area is divided into three distinct functional zones: a sealing projection for creating liquid-tight seal, a braking area for limiting attachment depth and reducing friction, and a support projection for lateral stabilization. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function independently, achieving secure fixation with reduced forces.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the seating area are given different geometric properties: the sealing projection has a specific diameter and position for optimal sealing, the braking area has a tapered geometry with specific angle to control friction, and the support projection has dimensions tailored for lateral support. This localized optimization of geometric parameters enables reliable fixation without requiring high forces across the entire contact area.
3Extent of automation
If motor drives are used for attaching and removing pipette tips, then automated operation is achieved, but high power consumption occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The geometric parameters of the seating area (sealing projection diameter, braking area angle, support projection dimensions) are optimized to reduce the forces required for attachment and ejection. By changing these physical parameters, the motor drive requires less power to perform the same automated operations, directly reducing energy consumption while maintaining automated functionality.
4Measurement precision
If pipette tips are made smaller, then precision dosing is improved, but the same attachment and ejection force problems persist
Solution Approach 1:
The seating area features are designed with specific geometric parameters (sealing projection diameter, braking area taper angle, support projection dimensions) that can be scaled appropriately for different pipette tip sizes. This allows small pipette tips to maintain effective sealing and support functions without requiring proportionally high attachment forces, preserving dosing precision while reducing force requirements.
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 design enables secure sealing and easy attachment/removal with reduced effort, suitable for both large and small pipette tips, minimizing user strain and power consumption in motor-driven systems.
Implementation Method 1
designed in such a way that the sealing projection can be clamped onto the extension in a sealing manner under elastic deformation
Data Source
Figure 1a~1e
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Pipette tip with a tubular body having a lower opening at the lower end for the passage of liquid and an upper opening at the upper end, wherein the body has, next to the upper opening, a seating area for mounting onto a conical extension of a pipetting device, which has, on the inner circumference of the tubular body at a distance from the upper opening, a circumferential, inwardly projecting sealing projection, below the sealing projection a circumferential braking area that tapers downwards more sharply than the extension and above the sealing projection a circumferential, inwardly projecting support projection and is designed such that the sealing projection can be clamped onto the extension in a sealing manner under elastic deformation, wherein the braking area rests against the extension further down and the support projection rests against the extension further up without preload or is spaced apart from the extension by a circumferential gap.