Patent ID: 7402282

Claim:
An auxiliary sample handler for retaining a plurality of auxiliary patient sample containers, said auxiliary sample handler comprising: a housing that includes a plurality of tip retaining stations; a housing cover sized to cover each of said tip retaining stations; a drive mechanism used to rotate said tip retaining stations about an axis of rotation; a plurality of metering tips, each of said metering tips retaining a quantity of sample liquid from a primary sample handler of a clinical analyzer and therein acting as an auxiliary sample container, each of said metering tips including a dispense end; a sealing mechanism disposed on said housing for sealing the dispense end of each of said metering tips containing sample liquid to form a plurality of sealed metering tips; a tip stripping mechanism disposed in said housing cover for sequentially removing each said sealed metering tip from a metering mechanism of a clinical analyzer and into one of said plurality of tip retaining stations; and an aspiration station including an opening in said housing cover to permit selective access to at least one said sealed metering tip in order to permit aspiration therefrom, said drive mechanism being configured to rotate said tip retaining stations into position with said aspiration station.