Patent ID: 8211710

Claim:
A method for accessing the contents of a closed collection device having a cap and a fluid-holding vessel in fixed association, the method comprising the steps of: (a) engaging plural components of the cap with a plastic pipette tip, whereby at least one of the components is pierced and one or more passageways between the pipette tip and the pierced components are formed and enlarged as the pipette tip passes through the pierced components and into the collection device, wherein the cap includes a plurality of inwardly extending wedge-shaped sections that are moveably engaged by the pipette tip, and wherein the one or more passageways permit displaced air to be vented from within the collection device; (b) drawing a fluid present in the vessel into the pipette tip; and (c) removing the pipette tip from the collection device, wherein each of the pierced components is in an open state after the pipette tip has been removed from the collection device, and wherein the wedge-shaped sections have a downward orientation after the pipette tip has been removed from the collection device.