Powered positive displacement pipette assembly

A powered handheld positive displacement pipette assembly, comprising:

• a substantially hollow body constructed for housing internal components of the pipette and having a distal end configured to receive a syringe;
• a controller located within the body;
• a motorized drive assembly located within the body a d responsive to signals received from the controller;
• a piston carriage located within the body and coupled to the motorized drive assembly so as to be linearly displaceable by the motorized drive assembly relative to the body;
• a dispensing solenoid assembly that resides within the piston carriage and is linearly displaceable by some amount relative thereto, the dispensing solenoid assembly including a linearly displaceable armature having a distally extending shaft;
• a power source in electrical communication with the controller, the motorized drive assembly, and the dispensing solenoid assembly;
• a syringe piston grasping mechanism located within the body;
• a syringe retention mechanism including a plurality of syringe latching elements pivotably mounted to the body;
• a syringe ejection mechanism comprising a plurality of piston head release elements pivotably mounted to the piston carriage;
• and
• a syringe releasably coupled to the distal end of the pipette body, the syringe comprising:
• an elongate hollow capillary portion of some internal volume having a dispensing tip with an orifice located at a distal end thereof;
• a syringe retention element located at a proximal end of the capillary, the syringe retention element releasably retained by the syringe retention mechanism of the pipette;
• a piston located in the capillary and axially reciprocatable therein;
• and
• a piston head of the piston residing outside and proximally of the capillary, the piston head releasably engaged with the syringe piston grasping mechanism of the pipette;
• wherein the syringe piston grasping mechanism comprises a piston carrier having a proximal end that is coupled to a distal end of the dispensing solenoid assembly armature shaft, an interior having a shape that substantially conforms to the external shape of the syringe piston head, and a syringe piston head receiving opening at a distal end thereof, the piston carrier releasably engaged the syringe piston head;
• wherein the syringe latching elements are p tween a closed position in which a plurality of latching hooks of the syringe latching elements are positioned to engage with the syringe retention element and an open position allowing insertion of the syringe retention element past the latching hooks;
• and
• wherein inward movement of at least a portion of the piston head release elements engages the piston head and causes the piston head to release from the syringe piston grasping mechanism.