Patent Application
20130224087
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The invention relates to a manual dosing device for dosing liquids.
Manual dosing devices are dosing devices for dosing liquids on which a syringe or pipette tip can be releasably held. Syringes have a syringe cylinder with a syringe plunger which can move therein, and an opening connecting the syringe cylinder to the environment for drawing and releasing liquid. The opening is generally arranged in a tip on the floor of the syringe cylinder. Pipette tips are small tubes that generally narrow downward and have a bottom tip opening for drawing and releasing liquid, and a top tip opening to be connected with a displacement device for air. Manual dosing devices are held in one hand by the user while dosing so that the syringe, or pipette tip, held thereon can be aligned with a vessel or another object from which liquid is to be withdrawn or toward which liquid is to be released. The user can control the withdrawal and release of liquids and possibly additional functions with the same hand with which he holds the manual dosing device. Manual dosing devices are in particular used in laboratories for dosing liquids.
Manual dosing devices are designed as air cushion dosing devices and positive displacement dosing devices. Air cushion dosing devices have a seat for releasably holding a pipette tip at their top tip opening. A displacement unit for air is integrated in the manual dosing device and, communicating by means of a channel, is connected to a hole in the seat. An air cushion is displaced by means of the displacement unit so that liquid is aspirated into, or discharged from, the bottom tip opening depending on the direction of displacement of the air cushion. The displacement unit is usually a cylinder having a plunger displaceable therein. The plunger is driven by means of a drive unit. Manual dosing devices that function with an air cushion are termed “pipettes”.
Direct displacement dosing devices work together with syringes. The syringes can be coupled to or released from the positive displacement dosing devices. The syringe cylinder is held in the positive displacement dosing device, and the syringe plunger is held in a seat body that can be displaced by means of a drive unit. By means of the drive unit, the syringe plunger is moved back and forth so that the liquid is aspirated into, or discharged from, an opening in the syringe.
Direct displacement devices that work together with small syringes with a similar size and shape as pipette tips are also termed “direct displacement pipettes”. Direct displacement dosing devices that work together with large syringes which are usually emptied in several steps are also termed “dispensers”.
Pipette tips and syringes are preferably made of plastic and can be thrown away after being used and replaced with new pipette tips or syringes.
Known manual dosing devices have a mechanical drive unit or electromechanical drive units. In addition, manual dosing devices having a manual drive unit with an electromechanical support (“servo drive unit”) are known. In addition, there are manual dosing devices with a fixed dosing volume, and manual dosing devices with an adjustable dosing volume. Furthermore, there are manual dosing devices with only one channel for use with only a single syringe or pipette tip, and manual dosing devices with a plurality of channels for the simultaneous use of a plurality of syringes or pipette tips. The invention relates to all of the above types of manual dosing devices.
Conventional manual dosing devices have a housing shaped as a handle made of a rigid plastic. These contain means for holding a syringe or pipette tip, a drive device, means for transmitting the drive movement of the drive device to a plunger or syringe, or a displacement unit for displacing an air cushion, operating elements and possibly display elements or other components. In the case of electrically-driven manual dosing devices, an electric drive motor, electronic control unit and batteries or rechargeable batteries are arranged in the housing. A plurality of components are therefore accommodated in a very small space in the housings of manual dosing devices. The housing simultaneously forms the support structure of the known manual dosing devices.
EP 2 033 712 A2, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a dispenser that has a seat in a bottom end area of the housing for a syringe flange of a syringe. The syringe flange is held by means of syringe gripping levers that are mounted on pivot shafts in the bottom area of housing. Leaf springs are arranged on the inner jacket of the housing, and their top ends are fixed in the bottom area of the housing. The bottom ends of the leaf springs press against the inside of the syringe gripping levers to pretension them toward the position of gripping behind the syringe flange.
A spring-loaded thrust bearing is arranged in the seat against which the top side of the syringe flange can be pressed. The thrust bearing has sensors for scanning a code on the top side of the syringe flange.
A seat body with a plunger seat is arranged in the housing into which an upward projecting end section of a syringe plunger of the syringe can be inserted. Plunger gripping levers are mounted in the seat body that can grip behind a plunger collar on the outer end of the syringe plunger. The plunger gripping levers are pretensioned by legs springs toward a position in which they grip behind the plunger collar.
The seat body is driven by means of mechanical plunger positioning elements. These comprise a lifting unit connected to the seat body which extends out of the housing. Furthermore, the plunger positioning elements comprise a threaded spindle or rack that is also firmly attached to the seat body. An adjusting sleeve is seated on the threaded spindle, and its axial position is adjustable on the threaded spindle by means of an adjustment knob. Arranged in the top area of the housing is an actuating unit that has a pivoting actuating lever and can be actuated from the outside by means of an actuating button. A pawl is pivotably arranged on the actuating lever. The actuating lever is pressed upward by a spring, and the pawl is pretensioned by the spring toward the threaded spindle.
The actuating unit, the adjustment knob and the spindle are mounted in a plate-like holder with a laterally projecting bearing bracket that is inserted in the housing.
When a syringe is inserted in the syringe seat and held in the housing by means of the syringe gripping levers and the plunger gripping levers, the liquid can be drawn upward by moving the lifting unit. A dosing quantity is adjusted using the adjustment knob. By actuating the actuating unit, the syringe plunger is moved downward, and the desired amount of liquid is released. With each actuating stroke, the pawl falls into the threaded rod when it reaches the bottom end of the adjusting sleeve. The released dosing amount is set by adjusting the adjusting sleeve using the adjustment knob.
The actuating unit, the adjustment knob and the spindle can be premounted in the holder before it is inserted in the housing. Additional elements are not part of the holder or are mounted on it. In particular, the holder for the syringe flange is part of the housing. The spring-tensioned thrust bearing, the syringe gripping levers and the leaf springs are mounted in the housing. These means for holding the syringe must be mounted separately by the holder in the housing. The housing must therefore be very strong since drawing liquid into the syringe and ejecting liquid from the syringe exerts strong force on the means for holding the syringe. This restricts the selection of usable materials.
The disadvantage of known manual dosing devices is that the housing does not sit well in the hand, easily becomes dirty and is difficult to clean.
Against this background, the objective of the invention is to create a haptically improved manual dosing device.
The objective is achieved by a manual dosing device. Advantageous embodiments of the manual dosing device are discussed in further detail below.
The manual dosing device according to the invention has:
The support structure of the manual dosing device according to the invention is an elongated frame. The means for releasably holding the syringe or pipette tip are arranged on the frame. They can be a part of the frame or attached to it. The drive means are attached to the frame. The means for releasably holding and the drive means are connected to each other by displacement means. In a version the displacement means are means for transmitting the movement generated by the drive means to the syringe plunger of a syringe. To this end, the displacement means are releasably connected to means for releasably holding the syringe plunger. When the drive means generate a linear drive movement, the transmission means can be a rod that is drivable by the drive means and is connected to means for releasably holding the syringe plunger and that is axially guided on the frame. A positive displacement dosing device is thereby realized. In the other versions, the displacement means are a displacement unit for displacing a column of air. The displacement unit is preferably a cylinder and the plungers displaceable therein. The cylinder is connected to the means for releasably holding via a channel with a hole to the means for releasably holding that communicate with the top tip opening of a pipette tip when the means for releasably holding hold a pipette tip. The displacement unit is fixed to the frame. When designed as a cylinder with a plunger that is displaceable therein, the cylinder is fixed to the frame. An air cushion dosing device is thereby realized. The amount of drawn and released liquid is set by the amount which the plunger or air column is displaced by the displacement means. With an air cushion dosing device having a cylinder and displaceable plunger therein, the displacement means preferably have a plunger rod that is connected to the plunger and has a pushbutton on the top end and a return spring which presses against the frame, or against the plunger rod or pushbutton. The return spring presses the plunger upward into a home position from which air can be ejected from the displacement device by actuating the pushbutton against the effect of the return spring.
When the drive means drive the displacement means, forces are introduced into the frame. If the displacement means are transmission means for transmitting movement to a syringe plunger, these forces are transmitted by the drive means and means for releasably holding the syringe flange to the frame. When the displacement means are a displacement unit, these forces act between the drive means and the frame as well as between the displacement unit and the frame. These forces depend especially on the amount and viscosity of the liquid to be dosed. The frame is designed so that it does not significantly deform under the exerted forces. This ensures that the movable elements of the displacement means are reproducibly moved with the desired precision. The desired dosing precision is thereby achieved. The forces acting when the syringe or pipette tip is connected to the manual dosing device are also absorbed by the frame. The frame is preferably made of a polyether ketone (PEEK) that is distinguished by its enormous stability. The housing is preferably only mounted to the frame at a few points to relieve stress on the housing. The housing is preferably guided in a longitudinal direction on the frame and fixed at a few positions (such as only one or two positions) so that the frame can extend or retract in the longitudinal direction with reference to the housing without transmitting significant force to the housing. Consequently, the force arising during use can be substantially absorbed by the frame, thus relieving stress on housing.
The particular properties of the frame give the designer greater freedom in selecting the housing materials and designing and dimensioning the housing. It is in particular possible to use soft housing materials and design and dimension the housing such that the haptics of the manual dosing device are particularly pleasant. The design with a frame therefore makes it possible to use a particularly soft housing with improved haptics. The frame only partially supports the housing; in particular, the areas of the housing that are not supported are designed to be particularly easily shapable which is perceived as tactically pleasant by the user holding such a manual dosing device in his hand. The special properties of the frame make it possible to also use housing materials that have a special chemical resistance, and/or are dirt repellent, and/or can be easily cleaned, and/or are more easily processable, and/or are particularly economical. Forces introduced into the housing by the hand of the user, especially when actuating the control elements of the manual dosing device, are captured by a large area and transferred to the frame so that the housing is not overloaded. Another advantage is that using a frame as a support structure makes it possible to pre-mount the components of the manual dosing device on the frame and test the manual dosing device before the housing is attached. In addition, the design according to the invention of the manual dosing device makes it easier to use carryover parts (COPs) in different manual dosing devices. In particular, different manual dosing devices can be provided with the same frame which is equipped with different components depending on the product. The different products may optionally be differentiated by a different housing.
According to one embodiment, the frame has a plurality of frame parts that are joined and firmly connected with each other. Dividing the frame into a plurality of frame parts makes it possible to separately premount components on different frame parts and thereby prepare assemblies. In addition, differently arranged manual dosing devices can be partially designed with equal respectively similar frame parts and partially with different frame parts. According to a preferred embodiment, the frame has a bottom part and top part. The bottom part of the frame is preferably equipped with the means for releasably holding a syringe or pipette tip, and the top part is preferably equipped with drive means and displacement means.
According to another embodiment, the bottom part and top part have interlocking connecting structures, and these connecting structures have fastening means that connect with each other. The connecting structures are for example eyes that are connected to different frame parts, overlap each other and are connected by means of pins.
According to a preferred embodiment, the frame has spaced, parallel longitudinal members. Primarily axial forces act when the drive means are actuated. These are transmitted into the longitudinal members. The longitudinal members can also absorb forces that are exerted by the hand of the user on the side of housing. In addition, the advantage of the longitudinal members is that they can be accommodated in the housing in a space-saving manner. The manual dosing device according to the invention can therefore be designed particularly compact. A plurality of frame parts of the frame can have parallel longitudinal members.
According to a preferred embodiment, the manual dosing device only has two parallel longitudinal members.
According to a preferred embodiment, the longitudinal members are in a bottom part and/or a top part of the frame.
According to another embodiment, the longitudinal members are connected on the bottom end to the means for releasably holding a syringe or pipette tip. According to another embodiment, the load carriers are connected on the bottom end with a support plate. The support plate is a component of the means for releasably holding a syringe or pipette tip. The support plate can form a stop for a syringe flange of a syringe or a carrier for a seat of a pipette tip. When the support plate is a stop for a syringe flange, it is designed according to one embodiment approximately in the shape of an annular disk.
According to one embodiment, the support plate is connected via fork-shaped connecting areas to the bottom ends of the longitudinal member. The fork-shaped connecting areas prevent the support plate from tipping under an uneven load.
According to another embodiment, the parallel longitudinal members are connected to each other at the top end of one bearing plate. According to another embodiment, operating means and/or display means for the manual dosing device are fastened to the bearing plate.
According to another embodiment, the parallel longitudinal members are bridged between the bottom end and top end by a cross brace. According to another embodiment, a slideway is integrated into the cross brace for a rod-shape displacement means.
According to another embodiment, the cross brace is arranged on a bottom end of the parallel load carriers of the top part.
According to another embodiment, the frame has two bearing blocks projecting from one side, and the housing accommodates the bearing blocks in a lateral convexity. The bearing blocks can serve to bear an actuating lever of a mechanically or electrically driven manual dosing device, especially when the manual dosing device is designed as a dispenser. The convexity in the housing can also be used as a hand rest since the manual dosing device rests on the top edge of the index finger or the neighboring palm when the actuating lever is actuated with the thumb. In the area of the convexity, the housing is supported by the bearing blocks which prevents overloading.
According to one embodiment, the bearing blocks project from two parallel longitudinal members of a top part of the frame.
According to one embodiment, the housing is divided in a longitudinal direction of the frame, and the frame parts have snap connections. According to a preferred embodiment, the house is divided in two. According to a preferred embodiment, the housing is divided in a plane that extends parallel to the two longitudinal members and/or perpendicular to the bearing blocks.
According to another embodiment, the housing is guided on the frame in the longitudinal direction of the elongated frame. This enables compensation for deformations in the housing from distention in a longitudinal direction of the frame. According to another embodiment, the frame is screwed to the housing at the bottom and/or top end. Housing parts are preferably snapped together, and the frame is additionally screwed to the housing.
According to a further embodiment, the housing is made of polypropylenes or another polyolefin.
According to an embodiment, the manual dosing device is rod-shaped. The manual dosing device accordingly has the shape of a rod. The manual dosing device is dimensioned so that can be held by the user in just one hand and operated with the same hand.
The invention is described in the following in more detail based on the drawings of exemplary embodiments. The drawings show:
While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there are described in detail herein a specific preferred embodiment of the invention. This description is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated
In this patent application, the terms “bottom” and “top” refer to the preferred alignment of the manual dosing device when dosing in which the elongated housing is vertically aligned, and the syringe or pipette tip is arranged below the housing.
The manual dosing device shown in
According to
The bottom part comprises two parallel, strip-shaped longitudinal members 5.1, 6.1. These are connected at the bottom end via fork-shaped connecting areas 7.1, 7.2 to an annular-disc-shaped support plate 8. Bearing sleeves 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 project from the support plate 8. At the top end, each longitudinal member of 5.1, 6.1 is connected to an annular-disc-shaped eye 10.1,10.2.
On one side, the two longitudinal members bear parallel gate guides 11.1, 11.2 that can guide a central release slider as described in detail in EP 2 033 712 A1.
The top part 3 has two parallel, strip-shaped longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2. These are each provided at the bottom end with a pair of concentric, annular-disc shaped eyes 12.1, 12.2. They are also bridged at the bottom end by a cross brace 13. In the middle, the cross brace 13 bears a slideway 14 having a passage that serves as a slideway for a rack parallel to the other longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2. At the top end of the top part 3, the spacing between the two longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2 is bridged by a bearing plate 15.
Between the cross brace 13 and the bearing plate 15, platelike bearing blocks 16.1, 16.2 project from one side of the other longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2 and are ribbed on the outside for stabilization. At the bottom ends, the bearing blocks have bearing eyes 17.1, 17.2 that are flush with each other on the insides facing each other.
On the sides of the bearing plate 15, additional bearing sleeves 18.1, 18.2 are integrated in the longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2 to fix the cover 4.
The top side of the bearing plate 15 has milled recesses 20.1, 20.2 to receive a spring bearing and a guide contour of a dial (for adjusting a dose in volume).
Bearing pins 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4 project from the side of the other longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2 that are opposite the bearing blocks 16.1,16.2.
According to
The long, elongated frame 1 formed in this manner is inserted in a two-part housing 24 according to
At the front face, the two housing parts 24.1, 24.2 are screwed to the support plate 8 of the frame 1 by means of axially aligned screws 22.5, 22.6, 22.7, 22.8.
The bottom housing part 24.1 in
A slot-like opening 26 remains between the two housing parts 24.1,24.2 through which the edge area of a dial can project outward.
In addition, the top housing part 24.2 in
According to
A rack 34 is inserted in the slideway 14 and has a bell-shaped seat body 35 at the bottom end to receive the top end of a syringe plunger or a plunger rod connected to the syringe plunger. Not shown plunger gripping leversare mounted in this seat body 35. Instead of a rack 34, a preferred embodiment has a threaded rod.
The details of this syringe fastening are described in EP 0 656 229 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,660A. Details on the scanning of a code on the syringe flange of a syringe are described in EP 0 657 216 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,661A. The entire contents of each of these documents is included in its entirety in the present application by reference.
An actuating lever 36 is mounted on the bearing blocks 16.1,16.2. The actuating lever 36 has two arms and a slot 37.1, 37.2 in its two parallel arms 36.1, 36.2 that is guided on a shaft 38 which is inserted in the bearing eyes 17.1, 17.2 of the bearing blocks 16.1, 16.2. At the top, the actuating lever 36 is guided on both sides via guide rollers 39.1, 39.2 in straight guides 40.1, 40.2 at the top edge of the other longitudinal members 5.2, 6.2. An actuating button can be placed on the ends of the actuating lever 36 pointing up in
The actuating lever 36 has a pivotably mounted pawl 41 between its two arms 36.1, 36.2.
Between the bearing plate 15 and the cover 4, the dial 43 is rotatably mounted on another shaft 42.
The dial 43 is provided with an adjusting sleeve 43.1 (or cover strip) (see
In addition, the frame 1 is equipped with spring means that press the cylinder gripping lever and plunger gripping lever 30.1, 30.2 into a pivot position in which it holds a syringe. Additional spring means press the actuating lever 36 into the pivot position shown in
At the bottom end of the rack 34 are connecting means—not shown—that make it possible to connect the rack with a lifting button.
The actuating lever 36, the rack 34, the adjusting sleeve 43.1 and the lifting button form plunger positioning elements that for example are described in EP 2 033 712 A1 or US 2009/139351 A1. The entire contents of each of these documents is included in its entirety in the present application by reference.
The frame 1 equipped with components according to
According to
When a syringe is mounted, the axial forces are introduced via the support plate 8 into the frame 1 that abuts a large area of the housing 24. When the lift button 45 and the actuating button 44 are actuated, the axial forces are absorbed by the frame 1. The manual dosing device sits well in one's hand and provides the user with a pleasant tactile feeling so that the phenomenon of fatigue from longer handling can be delayed. When polypropylene is used, very good chemical resistance also exists, wherein the housing 24 of the manual dosing device is dirt-repellent and can easily be cleaned.
The manual dosing device shown in
The dosing device in
Fixed to the top side of the support plate is a cylinder 52 in which a plunger 53 is arranged such that it is displaceable toward the lengthwise members 47, 48 and is sealed peripherally to the cylinder 52.
A conical (or alternately a cylindrical) pin 54 projects from the bottom side of the support plate 50 in the longitudinal direction of the lengthwise members 47, 48, and a pipette tip can be clamped thereupon.
The interior of the cylinder 52 is connected via a channel 56 that extends through the support plate 50 and the pin 54 to a hole in the bottom end of the pin 54.
The plunger 53 is connected at the top to a lifting rod 57 that is arranged in the center between the two lengthwise members 47, 48. The lifting rod 57 extends upward out of a hole in the bearing plate 49. At the top end, the lifting rod 57 has an actuating button 58.
In the center, the cross brace 51 has a slideway 59 in which the lifting rod 57 is displaceably guided toward the lengthwise members 47, 48.
Below the bearing plate 49, a thrust bearing 60 is fixed to the lifting rod 57. A return spring 61 in the form of a helical spring abuts the cross brace 51 at the bottom and the thrust bearing 60 at the top.
In addition, a peripheral bead 62 or one or more projections with a different design that define a top stop of the lifting rod 57 sits below the cross brace 51 on the lifting rod 57. The return spring 61 is pretensioned such that it presses the lifting rod 57 upward until the bead 62 lies against the bottom side of the cross brace 51. The manual dosing device is shown in this home position in
In addition, the manual dosing device has a housing 63 that encases the frame 46 formed from the lengthwise members 47, 48, bearing plate 49, support plate 50 and cross brace 51. The housing 63 is fixed by means of two screws 64, 65 approximately to the middle of the lengthwise members 47, 48.
In addition, small guide projections 66, 67, 68, 69 extend from the inside of the housing 63 to the front side and the rear side of each lengthwise member 47, 48. The guide projections 66 to 69 guide the housing 63 above and below the screws 64, 65 on the lengthwise members 47, 48.
The housing 63 encompasses the frame 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 like a sleeve. In the example, the housing 63 is circular cylindrical. Other sleeve shapes are also possible.
The housing 63 consists of e.g. two sections of a barrel, the first section being pushed onto the frame to the upper side and the second section to the lower side and the sections of the barrel overlapping each other in a region near the screws 63, 65 and the sections are fixed by the screws 64, 65 to the frame 46. Alternatively, the housing 63 is divided in two halves a plane extending through the longitudinal members 47, 48, each half of the housing being fixed by two screws 64, 65 to frame 46.
At the top, the housing 63 covers the bearing plate 49 with a top wall 70, and at the bottom, it covers the support plate 50 with a floor wall 71. The top wall 70 is at a short distance from the bearing plate 49, and the floor wall 71 is at a short distance from the support wall 50 to enable adjustment in length.
The frame 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 consists of a rigid or stiff material, preferably a plastic. The housing 63 consists of a thin and soft material, preferably a plastic (such as polypropylene).
This manual dosing device is used by first clamping a pipette tip 55 onto the pin 54. To draw liquid through the pipette tip 55, the actuating button 58 is pressed downward until the plunger 53 lies on the bottom end of the cylinder 52. Then the bottom opening of the pipette tip 55 is immersed in liquid. Then the actuating button 58 is released, and the return spring 61 returns the lifting rod 57 with the plunger 53 to the home position in
The pipette tip 55 is then raised with the manual dosing device and directed toward a different container into which it is to be discharged. When the actuating button 58 is pressed downward, the plunger 53 displaces an air column that presses the drawn liquid 55 out of the pipette tip.
The downward movement of the lifting rod 57 is alternatively limited by an abutment element 72, against which bead 62 abuts on its downward travel. In
With this manual dosing device, the force exerted upon attaching the pipette tip 55 and upon actuating the actuating button 58 is absorbed by the frame 46. Due to the housing 63 arranged on the frame 46, the manual dosing device sits well in one's hand and gives the user a pleasant tactile sensation which delays symptoms of fatigue during longer use. In addition, the housing 63 can consist of chemically-resistant and dirt-resistant materials such as polypropylene.
The manual dosing device from
This completes the description of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein which equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61543246 | Oct 2011 | US |
