Stackable Pipette Tip Tray Aperture Arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pipette tip trays are not stackable efficiently due to the extended length of pipette tips, which causes distal tip ends to fall into lower trays, leading to ejection issues, especially with filter pipette tips that have a semi-porous structure, making them impractical for storage and handling in laboratory settings.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a deck with specific arrangements of shaft and tip apertures, allowing for rotational alignment of trays to prevent tip ends from falling into lower trays, ensuring secure stacking and easy handling, even with filter pipette tips.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple trays are simply stacked together for storage convenience, then storage efficiency is improved, but the distal tip ends of pipette tips in upper trays fall into the lumens of pipette tips in lower trays causing ejection problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vertical stacking dimension by designing trays with complementary aperture patterns. The first tray has shaft apertures for tip shafts, while the second tray has tip apertures positioned to receive distal tip ends. This dimensional arrangement allows vertical stacking without tip interference, resolving the contradiction between storage efficiency and tip retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where the second tray's tip apertures are designed to receive and hold the distal tip ends of pipette tips from the first tray. This nesting arrangement prevents tip ejection while maintaining compact vertical stacking, simultaneously achieving high storage efficiency and reliable tip retention.
2Ease of operation
If trays are designed with apertures to receive pipette tips, then tip organization is improved, but the overall length of tips exceeds tray thickness making stacking difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the aperture functionality across two trays: the first tray's shaft apertures organize tip shafts, while the second tray's tip apertures organize distal tip ends. This segmentation allows each tray to be relatively simple while collectively achieving comprehensive tip organization and enabling straightforward vertical stacking.
3Ease of operation
If conventional stacking arrangements are used, then handling simplicity is maintained, but filter pipette tips with semi-porous structures are damaged or interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces tip apertures in the second tray as an intermediary structure that receives and supports the distal tip ends of filter pipette tips during stacking. This intermediary prevents direct contact and potential damage between tips from different trays, protecting the semi-porous filter structure while maintaining simple vertical stacking operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A stackable pipette tip tray is described. The pipette tip tray includes a deck having first and second opposing longitudinal side edges. A plurality of shaft apertures is arranged into a plurality of longitudinal rows on the deck. Each of the shaft apertures has a first size or shape configured to receive a shaft of a pipette tip. The deck also includes a plurality of tip apertures that is also arranged into a plurality of longitudinal rows such that at least one of the longitudinal rows of tip apertures is located between an adjacent pair of longitudinal rows of shaft apertures. Each of the plurality of tip apertures has a second size or shape, different from the first size or shape, and is configured to receive a distal tip end of a pipette tip when one tray of pipette tips is stacked above another tray of pipette tips. The plurality of longitudinal rows of shaft apertures is further arranged such that an outer one of the plurality of longitudinal rows of shaft apertures adjacent the first side edge of the deck is positioned closer to the first side edge than an outer one of the plurality of longitudinal rows of shaft apertures adjacent the second side edge of the deck is positioned relative to the second side edge.