Microarray printing device

Details Microarray printing device Microarray printing device

2002-03-19

2004-08-03

Meier, Stephen D. (Department: 2853)

Incremental printing of symbolic information

Ink jet

Ejector mechanism

Reexamination Certificate

active

06769760

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a microarray printing device, more particularly to a microarray printing device for printing a microarray of biochemical substance in a biochip.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a conventional microarray printing device
6
is shown to comprise a holder
61
and a plurality of printing pins
62
mounted on the holder
61
and formed with split tips
622
. The holder
61
is processed to have an upper surface
611
formed with a plurality of parallel guide grooves
612
and a plurality of receiving slots
616
extending downwardly from the guide grooves
612
to a lower surface
615
of the holder
61
. Each of the printing pins
62
has a head portion
621
and a shank portion
623
. The head portion
621
has a bottom surface that abuts against a groove bottom of the corresponding groove
612
. The shank portion
623
extends slidably through the corresponding slot
616
.
In use, the holder
61
is activated to linearly move the pins
62
into proximity with a printing substrate
100
so as to start printing. The pins
62
are immediately removed from the printing substrate
100
after the tips
622
have touched the latter to prevent excessive time of contact which will result in excessive release of liquid (generally, volume of one drop liquid is 2 pL~2 nL) The printing pins
62
are closely arranged in a rectangular pattern so as to achieve the purpose of microarray printing.
However, since the guide grooves
612
are individually processed, their depths are not actually the same. As such, the printing pins
62
are not uniform in height and are not lying on the same planar surface. Thus, some tips
622
of the printing pins
62
are in excessive contact with the printing substrate
100
during the printing process, thereby lowering the printing quality. Furthermore, since the shank portion
623
of each printing pin
62
rubs against the surrounding wall
614
that defines the corresponding slot
616
when the former slides upward and downward along the corresponding slot
616
during the printing process, powdery shavings are produced and are stuck in a gap between the shank portion
623
and the surrounding wall
614
, thereby resulting in air blockage, and thereby disabling functionality of the printing pins
62
.
Another conventional microarray printing device (not shown) found in the market includes a hollow holder and a plurality of capillary tube-like printing pins hung on a top face within the holder by spring units. Since the cross-sections of the capillary tube-like printing pins are generally small, when the tips of the pins contact the substrate, the tips are subjected to a pressure produced not only by the weight of the shank portions, but also by the biasing forces of the spring units, such that the tips are easily broken.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a microarray printing device that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
According to this invention, a microarray printing device comprises an elongate holder and a plurality of printing pins. The elongate holder has a top face, a bottom face, and a plurality of receiving slots extending through the holder in a direction from the top face to the bottom face. Each of the printing pins extends through and is linearly movable in a respective one of the receiving slots in the holder, and has a head portion, a tip portion opposite to the head portion, and a shank portion between the head and tip portions. The shank portion has a surface formed with at least one longitudinal flute extending from the head portion to the tip portion.


REFERENCES:
patent: 6629626 (2003-10-01), Horsman et al.

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