Patent ID: 11892455
Assignee: MESO SCALE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B  Y | IPC B  G

Claim 3:
4. The environmental monitoring system of claim 3, wherein the piercing probe guide has an opening formed therein along which the piercing probe slides in the piercing direction, and
wherein said liquid handling subsystem further comprises a spring disposed in the opening in the piercing probe guide and arranged to couple that couples said pipetting probe to said piercing probe, wherein said spring urges the piercing probe away from the piercing probe guide along the piercing direction and has a spring constant selected such that
(i) said pipetting probe does not extend from the through-hole when said piercing probe is fully withdrawn from said wells,
(ii) translation of said pipetting probe towards said wells results in cotranslation of said piercing probe and delivery of sufficient force to remove seals on said wells, and
(iii) continued translation past the maximal distance of travel of said piercing probe results in compression of the spring and extension of said pipetting probe from the through-hole into said wells.