Pipetting device with detachable head

Abstract

A robotic pipette having a pipette head less than 9 mm wide, including mechanical components such as a dispensing drive unit and a tip attachment mechanism, and designed to allow the user to replace the head without tools.

Description

Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 532,271, filed on August 11, 2023, entitled "Pipetting Device with Removable Head", which is a co - pending application. The entire disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

[0002] The present invention generally relates to pipetting devices, and more specifically to pipetting devices having a removable head that can be removed without using tools.

Background Art

[0003] Pipette devices are used in various industrial fields for liquid transfer for experimental analysis. Therefore, the sizes of pipette channels vary.

[0004] Many current laboratory robotic pipettors include a pipette channel and a pipette head that is more than 9 millimeters ("mm") wide, while the microplates they access have a 9 - mm pitch. Some commercially available robotic pipettors achieve a 9 - mm pitch by arranging the channels in an offset pattern. Other manufacturers have miniaturized the pipetting head to the extent that it can be mounted at 9 - mm intervals by remotely mounting certain components of the dispensing drive unit.

[0005] Currently available pipette heads are either not user - replaceable or require tools for head replacement.

[0006] The pipette head and the corresponding pipette channel form an axis. Typically, in current robotic pipettors, the motor for each axis is too large to fit within a 9 - mm pitch.

[0007] Numerous pipetting devices have existed to date. For example, the Hamilton Microlab Prep is a laboratory robotic pipette with user-replaceable pipette heads that can be stored at 9mm intervals. However, to replace these heads, the user must use tools to remove the old head and install a new one. Furthermore, this pipette only has two pipette channels that can be stored at 9mm intervals. The pipette heads of the Hamilton Microlab Prep are wider than 9mm, and the heads are offset from each other in order to accommodate the channels at 9mm intervals.

[0008] Hamilton MagPip is a pipette channel manufactured by Hamilton Bonadas, consisting of a pipette channel and a pipette head less than 9 mm wide. This means that any number of MagPips can be stacked at 9 mm intervals. However, customers cannot replace the pipette heads.

[0009] The Seonik OEM Single Channel Microliter is a pipette head manufactured by Seonik, with a width of less than 9 mm, allowing for stacking at 9 mm intervals. Users cannot change the head without tools, and the Seonik OEM Single Channel Microliter pipette head does not have an integrated dispensing drive. Instead, the Seonik OEM Single Channel Microliter pipette head uses a remote-mounted pressure controller and valve manifold. The pipette head is connected to the remote-mounted pressure controller and valve manifold by a thin tube.

[0010] The Tecan Cabro air-displacement pipette head is manufactured by Tecan and incorporates a dispensing drive unit and tip attachment mechanism. However, due to its 17mm width, it cannot be positioned at 9mm intervals, and users cannot change the head without tools.

[0011] Therefore, it is necessary to overcome one or more of the significant shortcomings of these preceding devices.

[0012] In particular, there is a need for a robotic pipette with a pipette head less than 9 mm wide, incorporating mechanical components for the dispensing drive unit and tip coupling mechanism, and designed to allow the user to replace the head without tools. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0013] For the purpose of summarizing the present invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention are described herein. It should be understood that not all of these advantages are necessarily achieved for any particular embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention may be embodied or implemented in a manner that achieves or optimizes one or a group of advantages as taught herein, without necessarily achieving other advantages taught herein.

[0014] According to several embodiments, the inventions and disclosures herein describe a robotic pipette equipped with a pipette channel and a pipette head. In one embodiment, the pipette head width is 9 mm or less, is tool-free and customer-replaceable, and includes all mechanical parts for the dispensing drive and tip coupling mechanism.

[0015] In one embodiment, the latch and electrical connection are housed in a compact pipette head format. The latch is manually operable, and the electrical connection is established and disconnected by the attachment and removal of the head, respectively. No secondary operations such as connector attachment are required, nor are screws needed to secure the pipette head.

[0016] Providing a feature that allows users to replace pipette heads without using tools makes pipette head replacement easier and reduces service time.

[0017] The present invention discloses a compression mechanism and dispensing drive unit using a combination of a motor, gearbox, and lead screw that is small enough to fit within a 9 mm spaced framework, yet provides precise pipetting performance.

[0018] The compression mechanism uses a solenoid to move the drive ring of the tip coupling mechanism, such as the drive ring of the Hamilton COREII tip coupler. Miniaturization of the solenoid and dispensing motor allows the pipette heads to be spaced 9 mm apart.

[0019] The mechanical components for each axis are integrated into the head. Electrical components such as the CPU, power supply, and motor drive chip are located in the pipette channels.

[0020] The pipette head design offers greater mechanical advantages compared to conventional designs, allowing the dispensing drive unit and tip coupling mechanism to be integrated into the miniature pipette head of the present invention. These greater mechanical advantages and improved efficiency enable the use of a compact motor and solenoid that fit within the pipette head of the present invention.

[0021] Because the pipette head width is 9 mm or less, any number of pipette heads can be stored adjacent to each other with a 9 mm spacing.

[0022] For example, in one embodiment, a robotic pipette is disclosed that includes a pipette head and a pipette channel having a predetermined width, wherein the pipette head is removable from the pipette channel without the use of tools.

[0023] In this embodiment, the robotic pipette also further includes a latch and a head electrical connector, the latch being manually operable. The robotic pipette further comprises a pipette head further having an upper part, a latch further having a pressing part and a hook part, and a pipette channel further having a latch striker, wherein the pressing part of the latch moves the hook part of the latch, the hook part of the latch catches on the latch striker of the pipette channel, and the upper part of the pipette head is fixed to the pipette channel. The robotic pipette also further includes a printed circuit board, the head electrical connector being mounted on the printed circuit board. The robotic pipette also further comprises a pipette channel further having a channel connector, the head electrical connector connecting to the channel connector to establish an electrical connection between the pipette head and the pipette channel. The robotic pipette also further comprises a pipette channel further having a base having a hook, and a pipette head further having corner pins. Here, the corner pins of the pipette head engage with the hooks on the base of the pipette channel to secure the pipette head to the pipette channel and allow the pipette head to tilt away from the pipette channel when it is removed.

[0024] In this embodiment, the robotic pipette may further include a dispensing motor having a gearbox, a lead screw, a lead nut, and a piston; a tip coupling mechanism; and a compression mechanism having a solenoid, a solenoid coupler, a spring, and a compression sleeve. The robotic pipette may further include a solenoid with a width of 7 mm or less than 7 mm, and a dispensing motor with a width of 8 mm or less than 8 mm. In the robotic pipette, the dispensing drive unit may further be a brushless DC motor, and the gearbox may be a 4:1 reduction gearbox.

[0025] In this embodiment, the robotic pipette further comprises a drive ring having a certain angle, which may be 11 degrees.

[0026] In this embodiment, the robotic pipettor may further be configured such that the width of the pipette head is 9 mm or less. The robotic pipettor may further be configured such that the width of the pipette head is 8.25 mm.

[0027] In another exemplary embodiment, a robotic pipettor having a plurality of pipette heads is disclosed. Each of the plurality of pipette heads includes a pipette channel and a predetermined width. Each of the plurality of pipette heads can be removed from the pipette channel without using tools. The spacing between adjacent pipette heads in the plurality of pipette heads is 9 mm or less.

[0028] In another exemplary embodiment, a method of connecting a pipette head to a pipette channel is disclosed. The method includes tilting the pipette head backward at an angle from the trunk of the pipette channel, positioning the corner pins of the pipette head on the hooks of the trunk of the pipette channel, and tilting the pipette head toward the trunk of the pipette channel until the latch connects with the latch striker and snaps into place.

[0029] In another exemplary embodiment, a method of removing a pipette head from a pipette channel is disclosed. The method includes turning off the power of the pipette channel, pressing the latch on the pipette head to release the pipette head from the pipette channel, tilting the pipette head away from the pipette channel, and lifting the pipette head away from the pipette channel and removing the corner pins of the pipette head from the hooks of the trunk of the pipette channel.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0030] The above summary and the following detailed description of this disclosure will be better understood by referring to the following drawings. These drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Also note that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Some components may be enlarged or depicted disproportionately to their actual size in order to better illustrate one or more concepts of this disclosure. In the drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 is a first side view of an exemplary embodiment of the robotic pipette of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 2 is a second side view of the exemplary robotic pipette shown in Figure 1.

[0033] Figure 3 is a first side view of an exemplary embodiment of the pipette head of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 4 is a second side view of the exemplary pipette head shown in Figure 3.

[0035] Figure 5 shows an exemplary pipette head, as shown in Figure 3, partially attached to the pipette channel of the exemplary robotic pipette shown in Figure 1.

[0036] Figure 6 shows an exemplary configuration of the pipette channel of the robotic pipette shown in Figure 1.

[0037] Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the pipette head in Figure 3 at the compression position.

[0038] Figure 8 shows an enlarged view of the pipette head coupling mechanism at the compression position shown in Figure 7.

[0039] Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the pipette head in Figure 3 in an uncompressed position.

[0040] Figure 10 shows an enlarged view of the pipette head coupling mechanism in the non-compressed position shown in Figure 9.

[0041] Figure 11 shows a front-edge view of the exemplary pipette head in Figure 3.

[0042] Figure 12 shows multiple pipette heads.

[0043] Figure 13 shows an illustrative embodiment of the process of attaching the pipette head shown in Figure 3 to the pipette channel.

[0044] Figure 14 shows an illustrative embodiment of the process of removing a pipette head from a pipette channel. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0045] To illustrate this disclosure, various embodiments are shown in the drawings. These exemplary embodiments will be described in more detail through the description of the multiple views in the drawings, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which similar parts or components are indicated by similar reference numerals.

[0046] Robotic pipette with detachable pipette heads

[0047] Figures 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of a robotic pipetter 100 comprising a pipette head 110 and a pipette channel 120. The pipette channel 120 is also referred to here as the body 120. The user can remove the pipette head 110 from the pipette channel 120 and replace it with another pipette head 110 without the use of tools. As shown in Figure 11, the width 490 of the pipette head 110 is 9 mm or less. In the robotic pipetting system, multiple pipette heads 110 can be housed adjacent to each other with a spacing of 9 mm or less.

[0048] The pipette head 110 includes a head electrical connector 140 (Figures 3 and 4) that fits inside the pipette head 110 for use in robotic pipetting systems with spacing of 9 mm or less. The latch 130 is manually operable. The pipette head 110 is a small format head, meaning it is small enough to be used at 9 mm spacing without the need to offset the heads from each other.

[0049] In one exemplary embodiment, the pipette head 110 has a width of 8.25 mm.

[0050] As shown in Figure 12, each of the multiple pipette heads 110 can be attached to the pipette channel 120 with a spacing of 9 mm or less.

[0051] The pipette channel 120 also includes a channel connector 160 (Figure 5). The electrical connection is established by the action of attaching the pipette head 110 to the pipette channel 120 and disconnected by the action of removing the pipette head 110 from the pipette channel 120. The head electrical connector 140 mates with the channel connector 160, establishing an electrical connection between the pipette head 110 and the pipette channel 120.

[0052] In one exemplary embodiment, the head electrical connector 140 is mounted on a printed circuit board ("PCB") 150 (Figure 7) to facilitate electrical connection between the pipette head 110 and the pipette channel 120.

[0053] No secondary operations are required to connect the pipette head 110 to the pipette channel 120, and no screws are needed to secure the pipette head 110 connected to the pipette channel 120.

[0054] As shown in Figures 3-5, the pipette head 110 is further equipped with a latch 130. The latch 130 includes a pressing portion 132 for the user to press and a hook portion 134 for hooking onto a latch striker 136 to secure the upper part 138 of the pipette head 110 to the pipette channel 120.

[0055] When the pressing portion 132 of the latch 130 is pressed, the hook portion 134 lifts up, and the hook portion 134 of the latch 130 is released from the latch striker 136. This makes it possible to remove the pipette head 110 from the pipette channel 120.

[0056] As shown in Figures 5-6, the pipette channel 120 further comprises a base 460 having a hook 450. The pipette head 110 further comprises a corner pin 280 on the pipette head 110, which engages with the hook 450 on the base 460 to help secure the pipette head 110 to the pipette channel 120 and also allows the pipette head 110 to be tilted and released when removing it from the pipette channel 120.

[0057] Dispensing drive unit and solenoid compression mechanism

[0058] As shown in Figure 7, the pipette head 110 further includes a dispensing drive unit 170, a tip coupling mechanism 180, and a compression mechanism 190.

[0059] The dispensing drive unit 170 comprises a dispensing motor 200, a lead screw 220, a lead nut 222, and a piston 224. These components are miniaturized enough to fit within the pipette head 110 while providing accurate pipetting performance.

[0060] The dispensing motor 200 is equipped with a gearbox 210.

[0061] The compression mechanism 190 includes a solenoid 240 that moves the drive ring 470 (Figures 8 and 10) of the tip coupling mechanism 180, such as Hamilton's CORE II and its derivatives, and a solenoid coupler 242. Because the solenoid 240 and the dispensing motor 200 are small, the pipette head 110 can be housed with a gap of 9 mm between it and other pipette heads 110.

[0062] The compression mechanism 190 further comprises a spring 250 and a compression sleeve 260. The compression sleeve 260 further comprises a drive ring 470, as shown in Figures 8 and 10.

[0063] In one exemplary embodiment, the compression sleeve 260 is made of plastic, and the drive ring 470 is constructed using an elastic material.

[0064] The drive ring 470 has a circumferentially continuous outer surface 472, and the diameter of the upper part 474 of the outer surface 472 is greater than the diameter of the lower part 476 of the outer surface 472.

[0065] In one exemplary embodiment, the solenoid 240 is 7 mm wide and the dispensing motor 200 is 8 mm wide.

[0066] The mechanical components of the dispensing drive unit 170, the compression mechanism 190, and the pipette tip coupling mechanism 180 (not shown) are incorporated into the pipette head 110.

[0067] In one exemplary embodiment, the electrical components 152 are mounted on a printed circuit board 150. The electrical components 152 may include components such as a CPU, a power supply, and a motor drive chip.

[0068] In order to integrate the mechanical components of the dispensing drive unit 170 and the tip coupling mechanism 180 into the pipette head 110, a miniaturization of the pipette head 110 is required to provide superior mechanical advantages compared to conventional designs.

[0069] In one exemplary embodiment, a superior mechanical advantage is achieved by the dispensing motor 200 of the dispensing drive unit 170 being a brushless DC motor, such as a Macxon motor, capable of achieving a higher rotational speed (RPM) than conventional brushed DC motors. The gearbox 210 is a 4:1 reduction gearbox for obtaining the torque necessary to rotate the lead screw 220 and move the piston 224.

[0070] In this exemplary embodiment, the angle of the drive ring 470 is 11 degrees within the tolerance range, so that the solenoid 240 can be used instead of a stepping motor or a brushed DC motor to gain mechanical advantages.

[0071] In one exemplary embodiment, the drive ring 470 is similar to that of a Hamilton Core II wedge.

[0072] In this exemplary embodiment, a smaller dispensing motor 200 and solenoid 240 than those in conventional designs can be used, resulting in greater mechanical advantages and improved efficiency.

[0073] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the pipette heads are 9 mm or less, any number of pipette heads can be stored adjacent to each other at 9 mm intervals.

[0074] Detailed description of the mechanical configuration

[0075] Figure 7 shows the pipette head 110 in the compressed position, and Figure 8 shows an enlarged view of the pipette tip coupling mechanism 180 of the pipette head 110 in the compressed position. To position the pipette head 110 in the compressed position, the solenoid 240 applies pressure to the spring 250, the spring 250 pushes down the solenoid coupler 242, and the solenoid coupler 242 pushes down the compression sleeve 260. The compression sleeve 260 pushes down the drive ring 470 to hold the pipette tip (not shown) in place.

[0076] The compression position is considered the natural state of the compression mechanism 190.

[0077] The pipette head 110 moves to the uncompressed position only when inserting or removing it from a pipette tip. The movement of the pipette head 110 to the uncompressed position is controlled by activating the solenoid 240.

[0078] Figure 9 shows the pipette head 110 in the uncompressed position, and Figure 10 shows an enlarged view of the pipette tip coupling mechanism 180 of the pipette head 110 in the uncompressed position. To position the pipette head 110 in the uncompressed position, the solenoid 240 lifts the solenoid coupler 242, which pulls the compression sleeve 260 upward. Consequently, the drive ring 470 is pulled upward, allowing the pipette tip coupling mechanism 180 to move toward the pipette tip or retract away from the pipette tip.

[0079] In one exemplary embodiment, the compression sleeve 260, solenoid coupler 242, spring 250, and drive ring 470 move approximately 1.2 mm in the uncompressed position relative to the compressed position.

[0080] In one exemplary embodiment, the pipette tip coupling mechanism 180 is similar to a CORE II tip coupler having a spherical ball 262, also referred to herein as a ball bearing, as described in U.S. Patent No. 10,272,425, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0081] The difference between COREII and this disclosure is that the drive ring 470 in this disclosure is attached to the compression sleeve 260. In COREII, the drive ring, which is called a wedge in COREII, is not attached to the compression sleeve. Therefore, in COREII, even if the compression sleeve is lifted to the non-compressed position, the drive ring can remain in the compressed position. In this disclosure, when the compression sleeve 260 is lifted, the attached drive ring 470 is also lifted, so the drive ring 470 cannot remain in the compressed position. Another difference is that the drive ring 470 in this disclosure has a smaller angle than the wedge in COREII. In one exemplary embodiment, the drive ring 470 in this disclosure has an angle of 11 degrees.

[0082] In this embodiment, when the pipette head 110 is positioned in the compressed position, the compression sleeve 260 pushes down the drive ring 470, and the drive ring 470 pushes the ball bearing 262 outward to hold the pipette tip (not shown).

[0083] Unlike COREII, in this exemplary embodiment, when the pipette head 110 is positioned in a non-compressed position, the drive ring 470 is pulled upward, causing the ball bearing 262 to retract, which allows the pipette tip coupling mechanism 180 to enter or retract from the pipette tip.

[0084] In one exemplary embodiment, the dispensing motor 200 of the dispensing drive unit 170 includes a brushless DC motor, and the gearbox 210 is attached to the end of the brushless DC motor.

[0085] In one exemplary embodiment, the dispensing drive unit 170 is an 8mm dispensing drive unit, and the dispensing motor 200 is a brushless DC motor capable of 32,000 RPM and can operate at 3,000 to 14,000 RPM. The gearbox 210 is a 4:1 gearbox, and the lead screw 220 is a lead screw with a pitch of 1mm and an efficiency of 61%.

[0086] Z-axis

[0087] The movement of the pipette head 110 in the Z-axis direction (Figure 1) is controlled by a timing belt drive 270. In an exemplary embodiment, the pipette head 110 can move a distance of 200 mm along the Z-axis. This Z-axis movement capability enables precise control of force control and bottom search function.

[0088] Adjustable tilt and offset

[0089] As shown in Figure 1, the robotic pipette 100 further includes a tilt adjustment device 300 and a tilt / offset adjustment device 310 for aligning the pipette channel 120 on the robotic pipetting system.

[0090] The robotic pipette 100 further includes a tilt adjustment device 300 for aligning the Z-axis in a first direction and two tilt / offset adjustment devices 310 for aligning the Z-axis in a second direction. The tilt / offset adjustment devices 310 can be moved simultaneously to achieve offset adjustment or moved individually to achieve tilt adjustment. The tilt adjustment device 300 and the tilt / offset adjustment devices 310 are used to align the pipette channels 120 on the robotic pipette 100.

[0091] In one embodiment, the tilt adjustment device 300 and the offset adjustment device 310 are precision adjustment devices that further assist in the alignment of adjacent channels.

[0092] Status Light

[0093] Returning to Figure 2, in one exemplary embodiment, the robotic pipette 100 is equipped with a status light 320 on the pipette channel 120.

[0094] In another exemplary embodiment, the robotic pipette 100 includes a plurality of status lights 320.

[0095] Additional robotic pipette features

[0096] In one exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 7, the robotic pipette 100 further comprises a pressure sensor 340, a capacitance sensor 350, a tip ejector 360, and a tip sensor 370.

[0097] The pressure sensor 340 and the capacitance sensor 350 are used for monitoring pipetting and detecting the liquid level. The tip ejector 360 is used to push out the tip when the tip coupling mechanism 180 moves to a non-compressed position. The tip sensor 370 is used to detect whether or not a tip is installed.

[0098] Additional features include qualitative pipette monitoring, liquid class definition, liquid level detection, liquid tracking, bottom search, container shape definition, and soft tip pickup and ejection. Furthermore, the Robotic Pipette 100 is CORE II compatible and may be able to eject liquid-containing tips.

[0099] Head mounting process

[0100] Figure 13 shows an exemplary embodiment of the mounting process 500 for attaching the pipette head 110 to the pipette channel 120.

[0101] In step 510, the robotic pipette 100 is powered off. In another form of step 510, instead of powering off the entire robotic pipette 100, the pipetting channel 120 may be powered off. The attachment process 500 then proceeds to step 520.

[0102] In step 520, the user grasps the pipette head 110. The mounting process 500 then proceeds to step 530.

[0103] In step 530, the user tilts the replacement pipette head 110 backward at an angle and inserts the corner pin 280 on the corner of the pipette head 110 into the hook 450 on the base 460 on the pipette channel 120. The installation process 500 then proceeds to step 540.

[0104] In step 540, the user tilts the pipette head 110 toward the main body 460 until the latch 130 clicks into place.

[0105] Head removal process

[0106] Figure 14 shows an exemplary embodiment of a removal process 600 for removing the pipette head 110 from the pipette channel 120.

[0107] In step 610, the robotic pipette 100 is powered off. In another embodiment of step 610, instead of powering off the entire robotic pipette 100, the pipette channel 120 may be powered off. The removal process 600 then proceeds to step 620.

[0108] In step 620, the user places their index finger or other fingers on the latch 130 on the top of the pipette head 110 and grasps both sides of the pipette head 110.

[0109] A left-handed user can grasp the pipette head 110 by placing their thumb on the first side 112 of the pipette head 110 and their remaining fingers on the second side 114 of the pipette head 110.

[0110] A right-handed user can grasp the pipette head 110 by placing their thumb on the second side 114 of the pipette head 110 and their remaining fingers on the first side 112 of the pipette head 110. The removal process 600 then proceeds to step 630.

[0111] In step 630, the user pushes down the latch 130. Pushing down the latch 130 releases the pipette head 110, allowing the user to tilt the pipette head 110 away from the pipette channel 120. The removal process 600 then proceeds to step 640.

[0112] In step 640, with the pipette head 110 tilted backward, the user lifts the pipette head 110 upward and away from the pipette channel 120. This causes the corner pin 280 on the pipette head 110 to disengage from the hook 450 on the spine 460.

Claims

1. Equipped with a pipette head having a predetermined width and pipette channel, A robotic pipette in which the pipette head can be removed from the pipette channel without the use of tools.

2. In the robotic pipette according to claim 1, The pipette head further comprises a latch and a head electrical connector, The latch can be operated manually.

3. The robotic pipette described in claim 2 is The pipette head further comprises an upper part, The latch further comprises a pressing portion and a hook portion, The pipette channel further includes a latch striker, Furthermore, The pressing portion of the latch moves the hook portion of the latch, The hook portion of the latch engages with the latch striker of the pipette channel, and the upper part of the pipette head is attached to the pipette channel.

4. In the robotic pipette according to claim 2, The pipette head further comprises a printed circuit board, The head electrical connector is mounted on the printed circuit board.

5. The robotic pipette according to claim 2 further comprises the pipette channel further comprising a channel connector, The head electrical connector is connected to the channel connector, providing an electrical connection between the pipette head and the pipette channel.

6. The robotic pipette described in claim 2 is The pipette channel further comprises a core having a hook, The pipette head further includes a corner pin, Furthermore, The corner pin on the pipette head engages with the hook of the base of the pipette channel to secure the pipette head to the pipette channel and allows the pipette head to tilt away from the pipette channel when it is removed from the pipette channel.

7. In the robotic pipette according to claim 1, The aforementioned pipette head is A dispensing drive unit comprising a dispensing motor with a gearbox, a lead screw, a lead nut, and a piston, Chip coupling mechanism, A compression mechanism comprising a solenoid, solenoid coupler, spring, and compression sleeve, To further prepare.

8. In the robotic pipette according to claim 7, The solenoid has a width of 7 mm or less than 7 mm, and the dispensing motor has a width of 8 mm or less than 8 mm.

9. In the robotic pipette according to claim 7, The dispensing drive unit is a brushless DC motor, and the gearbox is a 4:1 reduction gearbox.

10. In the robotic pipette according to claim 1, The pipette head further comprises a drive ring having a predetermined angle, The aforementioned angle is 11 degrees.

11. In the robotic pipette according to claim 1, The pipette head has a width of 9 mm or less than 9 mm.

12. In the robotic pipette according to claim 11, The pipette head has a width of 8.25 mm.

13. Equipped with multiple pipette heads, Each of the plurality of pipette heads has a pipette channel and a predetermined width, Each of the aforementioned pipette heads can be removed from the pipette channel without the use of tools. The space between adjacent pipette heads in the aforementioned plurality of pipette heads is 9 mm or less.

14. A method for connecting a pipette head to a pipette channel, The pipette channel is tilted backward at an angle from its base. Positioning the corner pin of the pipette head on the hook of the base of the pipette channel, and Tilt the pipette head toward the main body of the pipette channel until the latch connects to the latch striker and clicks into place. Includes.

15. A method for removing a pipette head from a pipette channel, Turn off the power to the pipette channel. Pressing the latch on the pipette head to release the pipette head from the pipette channel, The pipette head is tilted away from the pipette channel, and Lift the pipette head away from the pipette channel, disengaging the corner pin of the pipette head from the hook on the base of the pipette channel. Includes.

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