Capping And De-Capping Apparatus And A Method Of Operating Such An Apparatus

A capping and decapping apparatus for capping and decapping tubes disposed in a tube holding rack having a two-dimensional array of tubes, the apparatus comprising:

• a head unit carrying an array of rotary actuators, an array of ejector pins coaxial with the rotary actuators, and a drive system for translational movement of the ejector pins;
• an exchangeable cartridge comprising an array of capping and decapping grippers, each gripper to engage a cap on a tube, the cartridge being configured to attach to and detach from the head unit, the cartridge permitting exchange of an entire array of capping and decapping grippers at once for rotation of the grippers;
• the head unit and cartridge configured, when attached, to engage the rotary actuators with the capping and decapping grippers as the ejector pins pass axially through the capping and decapping grippers, rotation of a rotary actuator in one direction causing attachment of a cap to a tube and rotation in the opposite direction causing detachment of the cap from the tube, and translational movement of the ejector pins through the grippers effecting release of caps from the grippers.