Patent ID: 8776621

Claim:
A sample delivery apparatus comprising: a fluid sample delivery device for drawing a fluid sample from a sample holding vial, the fluid sample delivery device including a plunger needle configured to displace sample fluid from the sample holding vial into the sample delivery device by pressurizing the sample fluid within the sample holding vial; a cantilevered carousel mounted on a rotating hub, the cantilevered carousel supporting an array of sample holding vials along a circumference of the cantilevered carousel radially outward of the hub and positioning at least one of the sample holding vials at a sampling station below the fluid sample delivery device; and a support disposed under the sampling station that only supports a portion of a periphery of the cantilevered carousel within the sampling station immediately adjacent the fluid sample delivery device when the plunger needle is inserted into the respective sample holding vial, wherein a remainder of the periphery of the cantilevered carousel is unsupported.