Pipette quickset volume adjustment mechanism
AssigneeMettler-Toledo Rainin, LLC
InventorsSeton Schiraga, James Petrek
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pipette quickset volume adjustment mechanism having various modes of operation. The quickset volume adjustment mechanism provides for easy selection between at least a direct drive mode, and a speed multiplying mode that hastens pipette volume changes. The quickset volume adjustment mechanism incorporates a gear train, the individual gears of which are appropriately and selectively engageable or disengageable to produce the various modes of operation.
Claims32
A pipette quickset volume adjustment mechanism, comprising:
- at least one mounting element configured for insertion into a pipette body;
- a gear train having an input, a plurality of selectively interacting individual gears, and an output;
- and
- at least one linkage element, the at least one linkage element engaged with certain gears of the gear train and configured to facilitate setting of the gear train in either a direct drive state where rotation of the gear train input will produce a 1:1 rotation of the gear train output, or a speed multiplying state where rotation of the gear train input will produce a speed-multiplied rotation of the gear train output.
A pipette quickset volume adjustment mechanism, comprising:
- at least one mounting element configured for insertion into a pipette body;
- a gear train, the gear train comprising an input shaft, an input gear, a transfer gear, a speed-multiplying gear, an output gear, and an output shaft;
- a rotatable user input element rotationally coupled to the gear train input shaft;
- and
- at least one linkage element engaged with the input gear and the speed-multiplying gear of the gear train and configured to facilitate switching of the gear train between a direct drive state, a speed multiplying state, a free spinning state, and a locked state.
A pipette quickset volume adjustment mechanism, comprising:
- a pair of spaced apart upper and lower mounting elements configured for insertion into a pipette body;
- a gear train located between the mounting elements, the gear train comprising:
- an input shaft,
- an axially displaceable input gear that is rotationally coupled to a distal end of the input shaft, a splined coupling element located at a distal end of the input gear,
- a transfer gear that is intermeshed with the input gear,
- an axially displaceable speed-multiplying gear underlying the transfer gear,
- a splined coupling element located at a proximal end of the speed-multiplying gear,
- an output gear underlying the input gear and intermeshed with the speed-multiplying gear, and
- an output shaft rotationally coupled to a distal end of the output gear;
- a rotatable user input element located proximally of the upper mounting element and rotationally coupled to a proximal end of the gear train input shaft;
- and
- a pair of linkage elements connectable to at least one mode selection component, the linkage elements also respectively engaged with the input gear and the speed-multiplying gear of the gear train and operable to facilitate switching of the gear train between:
- a direct drive state where rotation of the gear train input shaft will produce a 1:1 rotation of the gear train output;
- a speed multiplying state where rotation of the gear train input shaft will produce a speed-multiplied rotation of the gear train output;
- a free spinning state where rotation of the input gear via the gear train input shaft will result in no rotation of the output gear;
- and
- a locked state where no rotation of the input gear is possible.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.