Platform Base Projection for Liquid Evaporation Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Devices for wetting objects result in significant loss of liquids containing analytical reagents, leading to high costs and potential environmental contamination due to evaporation.
Innovation Solution
A platform with a base and frame connected by a bearing device that allows the base to project beyond an imaginary plane, creating a seal between the base and object support, preventing liquid evaporation and environmental emission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the liquid is heated in the space between platform and object support, then the wetting process is enhanced, but liquid evaporation increases causing material loss and environmental contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible sealing lip that extends from the platform into the space between the platform and object support. This flexible element creates a dynamic seal that prevents liquid evaporation while allowing for thermal expansion and movement during the heating and wetting process, thus maintaining productivity without material loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism is divided into multiple functional zones: a fixed sealing region at the platform edge and a flexible movable lip that can adjust independently. This segmentation allows the sealing system to maintain effectiveness during heating while preventing liquid loss through the flexible portion that adapts to thermal changes.
2Loss of substance
If a fixed sealed platform is used, then liquid evaporation is prevented, but the device complexity increases due to additional sealing mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible sealing lip is designed to automatically adjust and seal itself through elastic deformation when the platform approaches the object support. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex external actuation systems, motors, or sensors, thereby preventing liquid evaporation while minimizing additional device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of a rigid fixed seal, the patent uses a dynamic flexible lip that moves and deforms elastically to maintain contact and sealing. This dynamic approach simplifies the overall structure compared to mechanically complex actuated seals, as it relies on material elasticity rather than complex mechanical linkages.
3Loss of substance
If the base projects beyond the frame, then a seal can be formed to prevent evaporation, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of the sealing material by selecting a flexible elastomeric material that can deform and adapt to dimensional variations. This material parameter change compensates for manufacturing tolerances in the base and frame positioning, allowing effective sealing without requiring extremely tight manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sealing lip acts as a compliant element that can accommodate variations in base positioning and frame dimensions. Its flexibility allows it to conform to slight misalignments, thereby preventing evaporation while reducing the stringency of manufacturing precision requirements for the rigid components.
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 solution effectively reduces liquid loss and material waste, while ensuring environmental safety by maintaining a sealed space for the reagents, thus enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of the wetting process.
Implementation Method 1
The bearing device can thereby act as a seal which seals a space enclosed between the base and an object support. Thus, the reagents used for examinations cannot evaporate
Implementation Method 2
the at least one spacer provided on the base will keep it at a distance to the object support and a laterally open space between base and object support will be enclosed
Data Source
AI summary
A platform for a devise for wetting objects, especially for an incubation/hybridization chamber is defined by an object support. The platform is arranged at a distance to the object support. The platform comprises a base provided with a least one spacer and a frame carrying the base. The inventive platform is characterized in that the base is moveably mounted relative to the frame by a bearing device. In a first function position, the bearing device maintains the base such that the base projects from the frame and/or the bearing device. In a second functional position, the base projects in some areas beyond an imaginary plane in which the surface of the base is disposed.