US 12,332,264 B2
Disposable pipette tip management
David H Combs, San Diego, CA (US); Norbert D. Hagen, Carlsbad, CA (US); Ayra Baker, Escondido, CA (US); and Joseph Reed Ellis, Solana Beach, CA (US)
Assigned to GEN-PROBE INCORPORATED, San Diego, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/599,273
Filed by Gen-Probe Incorporated, San Diego, CA (US)
PCT Filed Mar. 19, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/023641
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 28, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/205264, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 8, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/826,599, filed on Mar. 29, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0187331 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. B01L 3/00 (2006.01); B01F 33/302 (2022.01); B01F 33/3033 (2022.01); B01L 7/00 (2006.01); C12Q 1/6848 (2018.01); C12Q 1/686 (2018.01); G01N 21/29 (2006.01); G01N 35/02 (2006.01); G01N 35/10 (2006.01); G01N 35/00 (2006.01); G01N 35/04 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 35/10 (2013.01) [G01N 35/021 (2013.01); G01N 2035/00277 (2013.01); G01N 2035/0434 (2013.01); G01N 2035/103 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device to capture one or more pipette tips that are released from an automated pipettor at a tip release location, the device comprising:
a tip holder conveyor comprising or supporting a plurality of tip holders, each tip holder being configured to receive and releasably hold a single pipette tip, wherein pipette tips released from the automated pipettor will drop into a removable waste container positioned to receive the released pipette tips when there is no tip holder located at the tip release location;
a drive mechanism configured to index the tip holder conveyor to sequentially place each of one or more of the plurality of tip holders at the tip release location to receive a pipette tip released by the automated pipettor into each tip holder placed at the tip release location;
a tip ejector positioned to engage a pipette tip held in each of one or more of the plurality of tip holders when the tip holder conveyor is moved by the drive mechanism with respect to the tip ejector, the tip ejector being configured to remove each pipette tip that it engages from an associated tip holder; and
a waste container sensor configured to detect if the waste container is positioned to receive the released pipette tips, whereby detection by the waste container sensor that the waste container is not positioned to receive the released pipette tips causes the drive mechanism to index the tip holder conveyor to sequentially position each of the one or more tip holders at the tip release location to capture each pipette tip released while the waste container is not positioned to receive the released pipette tips, and detection by the waste container sensor that the waste container is positioned to receive the released pipette tips causes the drive mechanism to move the tip holder conveyor to sequentially move each of the one or more tip holders with respect to the tip ejector to remove the pipette tips from the associated tip holders at a tip removal location.