Patent ID: 9261454
Filing Date: 2016-02-16
CPC Classification: B01L,G01N

Claim Text:
1. A meniscus reducing member comprising: a. a vessel, the vessel comprising a top, a closed bottom wall having a perimeter and defining a bottom plane and a sidewall extending around the perimeter of the bottom wall, the sidewall extending upwardly from a lower end adjacent the bottom wall to an upper end spaced between the lower end and the top of the vessel for retaining a given volume of liquid within the vessel, the sidewall comprising an engagement portion toward the upper end, the engagement portion comprising an exterior surface and an opposing interior surface that is substantially orthogonal to the bottom plane; b. a surface feature overlying at least a portion of the interior surface of the engagement portion to engage a free surface of the liquid within the vessel, the surface feature comprising a corrugated member to contact the liquid in the vessel and having a different shape than the exterior surface of the engagement portion, the corrugated member comprising a plurality of pairs of converging first and second surfaces, each pair of first and second surfaces intersecting to define an edge, the first surfaces, second surfaces and edges cooperate to reduce a width of a meniscus formed at an interface between the free surface of the liquid and the surface feature by physically altering a contact angle between the free surface of the liquid and the surface feature.