High resolution pipette
First Claim
1. A pipette device, comprising:
- a fluid chamber having an enclosed volume of working fluid;
a piston that partially defines the fluid chamber, the piston being movable to displace the working fluid within the fluid chamber; and
a diaphragm that partially defines the fluid chamber, the diaphragm having a chamber side in contact with the working fluid and an opposite side that displaces a measurement volume of fluid outside the fluid chamber when the piston moves to displace a volumetric amount of working fluid, wherein the pipette device is adapted to deamplify fluid displacement within the fluid chamber at said opposite side of the diaphragm at least partly via elastic deformation of the diaphragm, whereby the measurement volume is less than the volumetric amount of working fluid displaced by the piston.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pipette includes a movable piston and a diaphragm that at least partly defines a fluid chamber enclosing a volume of working fluid. The piston displaces a volumetric amount of the working fluid in the chamber when moved. In response, the diaphragm displaces a smaller volumetric amount of fluid outside the chamber. A deamplification ratio is defined by the ratio of the volume displaced by the diaphragm to the volume displaced by the piston. The deamplification ratio is adjustable by adjusting or changing the diaphragm and/or by adjusting the size of the fluid chamber. The deamplifying pipette enables measuring and dispensing of very small volumes of liquid and is easily adapted to commercially available pipette components. Pipette components such as a pipette tip or adaptor may include a diaphragm to enable deamplification of the nominal volume capacity of a given pipette device.
18 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A pipette device, comprising:
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a fluid chamber having an enclosed volume of working fluid; a piston that partially defines the fluid chamber, the piston being movable to displace the working fluid within the fluid chamber; and a diaphragm that partially defines the fluid chamber, the diaphragm having a chamber side in contact with the working fluid and an opposite side that displaces a measurement volume of fluid outside the fluid chamber when the piston moves to displace a volumetric amount of working fluid, wherein the pipette device is adapted to deamplify fluid displacement within the fluid chamber at said opposite side of the diaphragm at least partly via elastic deformation of the diaphragm, whereby the measurement volume is less than the volumetric amount of working fluid displaced by the piston. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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- 32. A pipette component, comprising an elastic diaphragm supported by a housing, the diaphragm having a first side that defines a portion of a fluid chamber when the component is assembled as part of a pipette assembly, wherein the pipette component is adapted to deamplify fluid displacement within the fluid chamber at an opposite second side of the diaphragm at least partly via elastic deformation of the diaphragm.
Specification