Smear Staining Chamber Cover for Stable Slide Immersion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing smear staining apparatuses face issues with uneven liquid surface levels in staining chambers, leading to insufficient immersion of glass slides and potential soiling of non-staining regions, while volatile staining solutions evaporate quickly due to large liquid surfaces.

Innovation Solution

A smear staining apparatus with a chamber part containing a single internal space for staining solution, a cover part with insertion holes, and a transport part to hold and move glass slides, ensuring complete immersion and reducing evaporation by covering the chamber except for insertion holes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the chamber part is configured with a large liquid surface area to reduce liquid level change when multiple glass slides are placed, then the glass slides can be fully immersed without soiling print regions, but the volatile staining solution evaporates more quickly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestaining quality consistencyVSAvoidstaining solution evaporation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The chamber part is divided into a first chamber with a large liquid surface area for immersing glass slides and a second chamber with a smaller liquid surface area for storing staining solution. This segmentation allows the staining solution to be stored in the second chamber while providing access to the first chamber for slide immersion, thereby reducing evaporation while maintaining staining quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A liquid level control mechanism acts as an intermediary between the first and second chambers, transferring staining solution from the second chamber to the first chamber as needed. This ensures the liquid level in the first chamber is maintained for proper slide immersion without requiring the entire chamber to have a large surface area, thus reducing evaporation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of substance

If the cover part completely covers the chamber part to prevent evaporation, then staining solution is retained better, but glass slides cannot be inserted or removed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestaining solution retentionVSAvoidglass slide insertion and removal

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The cover part is designed with openings that extract or remove the obstruction to glass slide insertion. These openings allow slides to be inserted into and removed from the chamber part while the cover remains in place to prevent evaporation, thus maintaining both solution retention and operational ease.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The cover part is designed to be dynamically adjustable or removable during operation. It can be temporarily opened or adjusted to allow glass slide insertion and removal, then closed to prevent evaporation during the staining process, thus adapting to different operational requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3410093B1Sample staining device, smear preparation apparatus and sample staining method

Publication Date: 2026.01.21 SYSMEX CORP

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AI summary

A smear staining apparatus may include: a chamber part in which glass slides can be placed and that is configured to contain a staining solution for staining a smear on each of the glass slides; a cover part that covers the chamber part from above and comprises an insertion hole through which the glass slides are transported to the chamber part; and a transport part that transports the glass slides to the chamber part through the insertion hole.