Vibrating pipette tips and methods of preventing pipette tip stiction
AssigneeSiemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.
InventorSimin Yao
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pipette assembly configured to aspirate liquid from a well having a cover includes: a pipette including a terminal end; a pipette tip detachably coupled to the terminal end; and a vibration inducer configured to vibrate the pipette tip when at least a portion of the pipette tip is located in the well thus reducing stiction between the cover and the pipette tip. This minimizes the pipette tip from getting detached from the pipette and stuck in the cover. Other systems and methods including vibrating a pipette tip are disclosed.
Claims20
A pipette system configured to aspirate liquid from a well having a cover, comprising:
- a pipette including a terminal end and a pipette tip detachably coupled to the terminal end, the pipette tip shaped to pierce the cover;
- a vibration inducer including a shaft coupled to an upper end of the pipette, the shaft including an offset weight that is offset a radial distance from a central axial axis extending through the shaft and the pipette, the shaft and the offset weight each rotatable about the central axial axis to impart vibration to the pipette tip;
- and
- a body disposed about the shaft and a portion of the pipette, the body including a longitudinal cylindrical space along the central axis and around the shaft and the portion of the pipette to enable radial movement of the shaft and the portion of the pipette.
A method of aspirating a liquid from a well having a cover, comprising:
- piercing the cover with a pipette tip detachably coupled to a terminal end of a pipette;
- imparting vibration to the pipette tip via a vibration inducer to produce a gap between the cover and the pipette tip, the vibration inducer including a shaft coupled to an upper end of the pipette opposite the terminal end, the shaft including an offset weight that is offset a radial distance from a central axial axis extending through the shaft and the pipette, the shaft and the offset weight each rotatable about the central axial axis to impart the vibration;
- and
- aspirating a quantity of the liquid from the well via the pipette.
A method of aspirating a liquid from a well having a cover, comprising:
- piercing the cover with a pipette tip detachably coupled to a terminal end of a pipette;
- aspirating a quantity of the liquid from the well via the pipette;
- imparting vibration to the pipette tip via a vibration inducer to produce a gap between the cover and the pipette tip, the vibration inducer including a shaft coupled to an upper end of the pipette opposite the terminal end, the shaft including an offset weight that is offset a radial distance from a central axial axis extending through the shaft and the pipette, the shaft and the offset weight each rotatable about the central axial axis to impart the vibration;
- and
- retracting the pipette tip from the well.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.