Pipette Tip Supplier with Intermediary Detection for Smooth Conveyance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipette tip suppliers face issues with pipette tips accumulating and getting stuck in the conveying system, leading to inefficient and unreliable delivery to the dispensing nozzle, causing contamination risks and operational disruptions.
Innovation Solution
A pipette tip supplier equipped with a container, separator, transporting section, detector, and controller that separates and transports pipette tips one by one, detecting the presence of following tips to suspend transportation and ensure smooth delivery, preventing overlapping and accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pipette tips are sequentially dropped by the bucket conveyor, then the pipette tips can be supplied to the dispensing nozzle, but the pipette tips may accumulate in the shoot and hopper causing them to get stuck or be disposed in an overlapping state
Solution Approach 1:
The detector detects the following pipette tip at the second position before it arrives at the first position, allowing the controller to suspend transporting operation in advance. This preliminary detection and suspension action prevents the following tip from accumulating or overlapping with the preceding tip in the shoot and hopper, ensuring smooth conveyance while maintaining supply speed.
2Reliability
If pipette tips are transported one by one through the shoot and hopper, then accumulation is prevented, but the transporting time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transporting operation is performed periodically with suspension intervals. The controller suspends transporting operation only when the detector detects a following pipette tip at the second position, and resumes operation when no tip is detected. This periodic suspension and resumption maintains reliable one-by-one conveyance while minimizing time loss by not suspending continuously.
3Reliability
If the detector detects the following pipette tip early at the second position, then transporting operation can be suspended in time to prevent accumulation, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The second position acts as an intermediary detection point between the container and the first position (shoot/hopper area). By detecting pipette tips at this intermediate second position before they reach the critical first position, the system can suspend transport in advance to prevent accumulation. This intermediary detection approach maintains high reliability while keeping the detection system relatively simple by using a single detector at a strategic location.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is to present a pipette tip supplier which is capable of convey the pipette tip smoothly. The pipette tip supplier 30 comprises: container 31 for containing pipette tips 3; separator 36 for separating pipette tips one by one; transporting section 37 for transporting pipette tips separated by the separator 36, one by one, to a first position via a second position and for dropping the transported pipette tips from the first position, the pipette tips transported by the transporting section 37 comprising a preceding pipette tip and a following pipette tip transported after the preceding pipette tip; detector 40e for detecting the following pipette tip at the second position before the following pipette tip arrives at the first position; and controller 2a for controlling the transporting section 37 so as to suspend transporting operation when the detector 40e detects the following pipette tip at the second position.