Disposable pipette tip management
AssigneeGen-Probe Incorporated
InventorsDavid H. COMBS, Norbert D. HAGEN, Ayra BAKER, Joseph Reed ELLIS
Life of this patent
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Abstract
After disposable pipette tips are used by an automated pipettor, they are released by the pipettor and fall into a waste container. When the waste container is removed to be emptied, the pipette tips are temporarily sequestered in a pipette tip holding station so that the automated pipettor may operate uninterrupted. After the waste container is replaced, the sequestered pipette tips are released by the holding station into the waste container.
Claims16
A method for facilitating the uninterrupted processing of a plurality of samples in an automated system, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) detecting that a waste container of the system is not in a pipette tip-receiving position;
- b) after step a), and while the waste container is not in the pipette tip-receiving position, sequestering one or more pipette tips released from a pipettor in a pipette tip holding station of the system, the sequestered pipette tips having been previously used for the processing of at least a subset of the plurality of samples in the system, wherein any pipette tips used in the processing of the plurality of samples and released from the pipettor when the waste container is in the pipette tip-receiving position, are released directly into the waste container;
- c) after step b), detecting that the waste container is in the pipette tip-receiving position;
- and
- d) after step c), and while the waste container is in the pipette tip-receiving position, transferring the sequestered pipette tips from the pipette tip holding station to the waste container,
- wherein the processing of the plurality of samples in the system is uninterrupted during steps a) to d).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.