Fluid dispensing system
AssigneeFluid Metering, Inc.
InventorsRichard Hill, Nicolas Mercier
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for dispensing fluid including a pump having a stepper motor operably connected to a pump head. The pump head has an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is adapted to be in fluid communication to a fluid reservoir. A controller is operably connected to the motor. The controller drives the motor wherein a speed and an acceleration of the stepper motor is selected to overcome adhesion between the dispense tip and the dispensed fluid. A dispense tip formed of a hydrophobic material is in fluid communication with the outlet of the pump head.
Claims18
A system for dispensing fluid comprising:
- a pump having a stepper motor operably connected to a pump head, the pump head having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being adapted to be in fluid communication to a fluid reservoir containing a fluid to be dispensed;
- a dispense tip including a hydrophobic material, the dispense tip in fluid communication with the outlet of the pump head;
- and
- a controller operably connected to the stepper motor for activating and deactivating the stepper motor, the controller driving the stepper motor at a predetermined speed and acceleration causing the pump head to move the fluid through the dispense tip to dispense a single dispense volume of less than 10 microliters in air such that adhesion between the dispense tip and the dispensed fluid is overcome and no drop of dispensed fluid remains adhered to the dispense tip after the stepper motor is deactivated;
- wherein the controller drives the stepper motor at a speed in the range of approximately 600 to 1500 RPM's with an acceleration in the range of approximately 38,000 steps/second2 to 140,000 steps/second2.
A system for dispensing fluid comprising:
- a reciprocating, rotating pump having a stepper motor operably connected to a pump head, the pump head having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being adapted to be in fluid communication to a fluid reservoir containing fluid to be dispensed;
- a dispense tip having an ID in the range of 0.010″ to 0.020″ formed of a hydrophobic material in fluid communication with the outlet of the pump head;
- and
- a controller operably connected to the stepper motor for activating and deactivating the stepper motor, wherein the controller drives the stepper motor at a speed in the range of approximately 600 to 1500 RPMs with an acceleration in the range of approximately 38,000 steps/second2 to 140,000 steps/second2 such that the stepper motor causes the pump head to move the fluid through the dispense tip wherein the adhesion between the dispense tip and the dispensed fluid is overcome and no drop of dispensed fluid remains adhered to the dispense tip after the stepper motor is deactivated.
A method of dispensing fluid comprising:
- providing a pump having a stepper motor operably connected to a pump head, the pump head having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being adapted to be in fluid communication to a fluid disposed in a fluid reservoir and the outlet being in fluid communication with a dispense tip formed of a hydrophobic material;
- driving the stepper motor at a speed in the range of approximately 600 to 1500 RPM's with an acceleration in the range of approximately 38,000 steps/second2 to 140,000 steps/second2 wherein the speed and the acceleration of the stepper motor causes the pump head to drive the fluid to overcome adhesion between the dispense tip and dispensed fluid wherein no drop of dispensed fluid remains adhered to the dispense tip after the stepper motor is deactivated;
- and
- dispensing from the dispense tip in air a volume of the dispensed fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.