Pipette tip rack and refill pack containing large maximized volume freely nestable pipette tips

In a pipette tip rack refill pack including a vertically extending housing having an open bottom and a horizontally extending pipette tip support plate over the open bottom and including a plurality of through holes arranged in an array, each hole having a center which is spaced a distance "s" from centers of immediately adjacent through holes, "s" being approximately 9 millimeters, and a horizontally extending carrier plate within the housing above the support plate and including a plurality of through holes matching the array of holes in the support plate:

• a first and a second array of large maximized internal volume freely nestable pipette tips having an internal volume of 500 microliters or more, each pipette tip having a substantially cylindrical proximal portion and an elongated generally conical distal portion coaxial with and joined to its proximal portion adjacent a downward facing outwardly extending shoulder and including at a distal tip end a relatively small orifice for receiving and dispensing fluid into and from the pipette tip upon operation of a pipette to which the pipette tip is mounted, the proximal portion of each pipette tip having an outer diameter equal to or approximately equal to but less than "s" and a conical inner surface for receiving and releasably attaching to a pipette tip mounting shaft of the pipette, the distal portion of each pipette tip including substantially parallel inner and outer surfaces tapering inward in a downward direction relative to a vertical longitudinal axis of the pipette tip to maximize the inner volume of the distal portion and for spacing from an outer surface of a pipette tip of the second array of pipette tips nesting in the first array of pipette tips, the distal portion of each pipette tip in the first array being vertically oriented in a different one of the through holes in the support plate with its shoulder on a top of the support plate for support thereby and the distal portion of each pipette tip in the second array being vertically oriented in a different one of the through holes in the carrier plate with its shoulder on a top of the carrier plate for support thereby with the distal portion extending into and nesting in a pipette tip in the first array with the outer surface of the distal portion spaced slightly from the inner surface of the distal portion of the pipette tip into which it is nesting.

In a pipette tip rack refill pack including a vertically extending housing having an open bottom and a horizontally extending pipette tip support plate over the open bottom including a plurality of enlargeable through holes arranged in an array, each hole having a center which is spaced a distance "s" from centers of immediately adjacent through holes, "s" being approximately 9 millimeters:

• first and second arrays of large maximized internal volume freely nestable pipette tips having an internal volume of 500 microliters or more, each pipette tip having a substantially cylindrical proximal portion and an elongated generally conical distal portion coaxial with and joined to the proximal portion adjacent a downward facing outwardly extending shoulder and including a relatively small orifice for receiving and dispensing fluid into and from the pipette tip upon operation of a pipette to which the pipette tip is mounted, the proximal portion of each pipette tip having an outer diameter equal to or approximately equal to but less than "s" and a conical inner surface for receiving and releasably attaching to a pipette tip mounting shaft of the pipette, and the distal portion of each pipette tip including substantially parallel inner and outer surfaces tapering inward in a downward direction relative to a vertical longitudinal axis of the pipette tip to maximize the inner volume of the distal portion and for spacing from an outer surface of a pipette tip of the second array of pipette tips nesting in the first array of pipette tips, the distal portion of each pipette tip in the first array being vertically oriented in a different one of the enlargeable through holes in the support plate with its shoulder on a top of the support plate for support thereby and the distal portion of each of the pipette tips in the second array being vertically oriented in an open proximal end of a different one of the tips in the first array with its shoulder bearing on a top of a pipette tip in the first array for support thereby with the outer surface of the distal portion spaced from the inner surface of the distal portion of the pipette tip with which it is nesting.

A plurality of large maximized internal volume freely nestable pipette tips having an internal volume of 500 microliters or more for mounting in a standard pipette tip rack or refill pack including a horizontally extending pipette tip support having a plurality of through holes arranged in an array, each hole having a center which is spaced a distance "s" from centers of immediately adjacent through holes, "s" being approximately 9 millimeters:

• each pipette tip having
• a substantially cylindrical proximal portion,
• an elongated generally conical distal portion coaxial with and joined to the proximal end portion adjacent a downward facing outwardly extending shoulder and including a relatively small orifice for receiving and dispensing fluid into and from the pipette tip upon operation of a pipette to which the pipette tip is mounted,
• the proximal portion of each pipette tip having an outer diameter equal to or approximately equal to but less than "s" and a conical inner surface for receiving and releasably attaching to a pipette tip mounting shaft of the pipette,
• the distal portion of each pipette tip being vertically mountable in a different one of the through holes in the support with its shoulder on a top of the support for support thereby to form a first array of pipette tips supported by the pipette tip rack, and
• the distal portion of each pipette tip further including substantially parallel inner and outer surfaces tapering inward in a downward direction relative to a vertical longitudinal axis of the pipette tip to maximize the inner volume of the central portion and for spacing slightly from an outer surface of a similar pipette tip of a second array of pipette tips for nesting in the first array of pipette tips.

A large maximized internal volume freely nestable pipette tip having an internal volume of 500 microliters or more for mounting in a standard pipette tip rack or refill pack including a horizontally extending pipette tip support having a plurality of through holes arranged in an array, each hole having a center which is spaced a distance "s" from centers of immediately adjacent through holes, "s" being approximately 9 millimeters, the pipette tip comprising:

• a substantially cylindrical proximal portion;
• an elongated generally conical distal portion coaxial with and joined to the proximal end portion adjacent a downward facing outwardly extending shoulder and including a relatively small orifice for receiving and dispensing fluid into and from the pipette tip upon operation of a pipette to which the pipette tip is mounted;
• the proximal portion of the pipette tip having an outer diameter equal to or approximately equal to but less than "s" and a conical inner surface for receiving and releasably attaching to a pipette tip mounting shaft of the pipette;
• the distal portion of the pipette tip being vertically mountable in a different one of the through holes in the support with its shoulder on a top of the support for support thereby;
• and
• the distal portion of the pipette tip further including substantially parallel inner and outer surfaces tapering slightly inward in a downward direction relative to a vertical longitudinal axis of the pipette tip to maximize the inner volume of the distal portion and for spacing slightly from an outer surface of a similar pipette tip for nesting in the pipette tip.