Stacked Sample Plate with Through-Holes for Needle Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auto-samplers face challenges in maximizing the number of installable sample plates without increasing cost or installation area, particularly when sample plates are arranged in multiple stages, as they require complex mechanisms for accessing lower plates.
Innovation Solution
The design includes sample plates with through-holes allowing needle access to lower plates when stacked, using protrusions and ridges for alignment, and an auto-sampler with a needle control unit to facilitate horizontal and vertical movement, enabling two-stage plate arrangement without moving mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple sample plates are arranged in the same plane, then the auto-sampler can access all plates, but the installation area becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from arranging sample plates in a two-dimensional plane to stacking them in three-dimensional vertical layers. Multiple sample plates are arranged in the up-down direction with through-holes positioned directly above wells of lower plates, enabling the sampling needle to access lower plates by passing through upper plates, thereby reducing the horizontal installation area while maintaining accessibility.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple sample plates are arranged in multiple stages in the up-down direction, then the installation area is reduced, but a mechanism for moving sample plates is required which increases cost
Solution Approach 1:
The sample plates are designed with through-holes and positioning protrusions that enable them to be stacked and positioned relative to each other without requiring external moving mechanisms. The sampling needle directly passes through the through-holes of upper plates to access lower plates, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for complex plate-moving mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If through-holes are provided in the sample plate for needle access, then lower plates can be accessed, but the structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Through-holes are strategically provided only in specific regions of the sample plate where wells are not located, concentrating the structural strength in the well regions while allowing needle access in the through-hole regions. This localized differentiation maintains structural integrity where needed while enabling functionality where required.
Data Source
AI summary
The sample plate has a principal plane in which a plurality of wells is arranged. The sample plate has a plurality of through-holes each allowing a sampling needle to pass through in a region of the principal plane where the wells are not provided, and positions of the wells and positions of the through-holes are designed such that when two pieces of the sample plates are arranged up and down with a predetermined positional relationship in a state in which respective principal planes are arranged in parallel each other, the through-holes of the sample plate arranged on an upper side is arranged at positions directly above respective wells of the sample plate arranged on a lower side.