Patent ID: 7687033

Claim:
A specimen aliquoting/dispensing device comprising: a device body; a drive mechanism attached to the device body; a conveyor attached to the device body and including a parent specimen lane for conveying a parent specimen and a child specimen lane for conveying a child specimen; a rotating shaft which is located projecting vertically from the device body and is intermittently rotated by the drive mechanism; said rotating shaft having a plurality of operating positions which are provided circumferentially around the rotating shaft over the device body and which include a tip mounting position, an aliquoting position, a dispensing position, and a tip casting position, the aliquoting position and the dispensing position being provided on the parent specimen lane and the child specimen lane, respectively; a plurality of aliquoting/dispensing mechanisms circumferentially arranged corresponding to the plurality of operating positions around the rotating shaft; and means for intermittently rotating the rotating shaft to locate the aliquoting/dispensing mechanism in the tip mounting position, aliquoting position, dispensing position, and tip casting position and continuously performing tip mounting, aliquoting, dispensing, and tip casting operations therein wherein each aliquoting/dispensing mechanism comprises a nozzle lift mechanism; each nozzle mechanism including an aliquoting/dispensing pipe provided for up-and-down motion by the nozzle lift mechanism and a nozzle portion at a distal end portion thereof; an aliquoting/dispensing tip removably attached to the nozzle mechanism and configured to aliquot and dispense the specimens; an air supply/discharge mechanism which is provided in the aliquoting/dispensing mechanism and is configured to form a negative pressure for suction in the aliquoting/dispensing tip attached to the nozzle body in aliquoting the parent specimen situated in the aliquoting position by means of the aliquoting/dispensing tip and to form a positive pressure in the aliquoting/dispensing tip in dispensing the aliquoted specimen to the child specimen situated in the dispensing position.