No positional record
An operator can hit the wrong well, skip a column or double-dispense, and nothing in the instrument knows.
"Nothing tracks the location of the pipette when aspirating and/or dispensing liquid."
US 10,809,275 B2 · Available for license
Proof of every transfer, captured at the tip.
Kobra's patented vision system photographs the pipette tip at the instant it aspirates or dispenses, checks the well against the protocol, and blocks the transfer if it is wrong. We license it to liquid-handling and lab-automation manufacturers.
Expected well
Verified dispense
Blocked attempt
| Time | Op | Well | Target µL | Actual µL | Result |
|---|
Simulated run for illustration. Each row is one camera-verified event with its timestamp, as described in claims 9 and 13.
- Patent
- US 10,809,275 B2Verification Pipette and Vision Apparatus
- Granted
- Oct 20, 2020Filed Jun 23, 2017 · priority Jun 24, 2016
- Claims
- 16 claims4 independent · 6 drawing sheets
- Term
- Est. Aug 2038Includes 424-day term adjustment
The gap
Liquid handlers record what they were told to do. Few can prove what happened.
Manual and electronic pipettes leave no trace of where liquid came from or where it went. Volume calibration drifts as seals wear. Regulated labs fill that gap with paper sign-offs. Kobra's invention fills it with images, positions and timestamps.
Silent volume drift
Motor-step volume estimates fall out of calibration as internal seals wear, so reported volumes lose reliability over time.
"Manual pipette performance cannot be accepted without monitoring and reporting."
Data that won't hold up
Forensic, clinical-trial and IVD results are challenged on chain of custody. Operator-entered logs are weak evidence.
"Standardize processes and document every liquid transfer with quality and defensible data."
How the system works
A camera interlock on every aspirate and dispense.
The pipette's buttons are wired to the vision system. Pressing one triggers image capture, the controller locates the tip, and liquid moves only when the location matches the step in the recipe.
- 01
Deck is verified before work starts
Labware sits on fixed locators at known positions relative to the cameras. The system reads barcodes on plates, racks and tip boxes and checks the layout against the selected recipe.
- 02
Button press triggers capture
Actuating aspirate, dispense, mix or tip-eject fires the cameras. The image is taken at the moment of transfer, not before or after it.
- 03
Two-stage tip localization
Two or more cameras, or a stereoscopic pair, triangulate the 3D position of the pipette over the deck. A second pass resolves the tip inside a specific well, helped by a high-contrast UV or color ring on the tip.
- 04
Allow or block
The controller compares tip position and requested function against the protocol. A wrong well or wrong function is blocked before liquid moves, and the operator is warned on the pipette and the monitor.
- 05
Every event is logged
Source and destination wells, target and measured volume, tip lot, operator, image and timestamp go into an auditable record for each transfer.
Claim map
Four independent claims, one protected idea.
Each independent claim covers a fluid-sample validation system made of a hand-grippable pipette, one or more target locations, and at least one camera viewing those locations. They differ in how the camera, controller and protocol work together.
Independent claim 1
Button-triggered image capture
The pipette's actuator buttons are coupled to the camera, so pressing a button to aspirate or dispense also acquires an image of the target.
- 2–4Controller links pipette and camera; image taken as fluid transfers
- 5Aspirator/dispenser includes volume control
- 6Target location at a known position relative to the camera
Independent claim 7
Protocol interlock
A controller holds the protocol as a series of steps and inhibits the aspirator/dispenser when a function outside the protocol is attempted. The pipette signals each attempt, and the controller allows or blocks it based on tip location seen by the camera.
- 8Allows functions consistent with the protocol and blocks inconsistent ones
Independent claim 9
Multi-camera, multi-channel verification
Multiple target locations at known positions; cameras acquire time-stamped images verifying tip location and function; several cameras combine to confirm position; and a multi-tip pipette whose tip spacing matches the target spacing transfers along a line of wells at once.
- 10Aspirator disabled unless the camera sees the tip at the proper location
- 11Operator warning on out-of-protocol attempts
- 12Two spaced cameras forming a stereoscopic image
Independent claim 13
Time-stamped multichannel verification
The claim 9 arrangement of known target positions, time-stamped verification images and a multi-tip pipette with matched spacing, without requiring a plurality of cameras.
- 14Camera-gated aspirate/dispense
- 15Out-of-protocol warning output
- 16Stereoscopic camera pair
Plain-language summaries for orientation only. The issued claims of US 10,809,275 B2 define the scope of protection. CPC classes include G01N 35/1016, B01L 3/021, G06K 9/00771 and G06T 7/0012.
For lab robotics manufacturers
Where it fits in your product line.
The claims center on connected handheld pipettes verified by cameras. The specification also describes robotized pipettes, teach-by-demonstration and metered licensing. Each item below is marked by where it appears in the patent.
Connected bench pipetting
Extend an automation platform to the manual bench with the same deck definitions, labware library and audit trail, so semi-automated labs can stay in your ecosystem.
Vision-gated error prevention
Block a transfer before liquid moves, not after a failed QC. Wrong well, wrong function and wrong source are stopped at the controller.
Stereo and multichannel tracking
Stereoscopic cameras resolve position and orientation of 8-tip and 2D tip heads, so a whole column or row is verified in one capture.
Independent audit of robot moves
The specification describes robotizing the pipette, with the cameras still confirming that each aspirate, dispense, mix and tip change happened at the right location.
Teach by demonstration
An operator performs a method once by hand in teach mode. The recorded positions and volumes become a recipe that a robotic arm can replay or other stations can enforce.
Metered, per-session licensing
A serial-number key enables the system and can generate a billing event per session, with a demo mode for training. That supports recurring revenue for an instrument maker.
Reference implementation
Kobra Confirm Personal Pipetting System
Kobra built the patented system as a working bench instrument: a sensor-controlled handheld pipette, a camera and lighting tower over a locator deck, and a controller that drives aspiration and records results.
- Volume sensing
- Direct flow measurement into the tip, closed loop
- Position
- Well and tube recognition per transfer
- Modes
- Live, teach and recipe
- Traceability
- Barcodes, tip lot, operator, image per step
- Diagnostics
- Clot, clog, air and empty-well detection
- Reporting
- Electronic report of every transfer
Engineering depth
Built by liquid-handling engineers.
Kobra's team comes from life-science automation. Our instrument software stack is layered so verification can sit on top of a licensee's own motion control, tools and deck definitions.
Instrument design specificationOEM
Design management and reviewOEM
Application developmentOEM
Software developmentOEM
LAYER0
Physical devices: motors, I/O and barcode imagers, with low-level details hidden behind a common API.
IAxisIGPIOIBCReaderReadManyWithMappingDetectObjectLAYER1
Robotic architecture: how elements connect, home, move in real-world units and avoid collisions.
ISlideIRotaryICarriageIZAxisIToolLAYER2
End effectors built on ITool, including pipettors with independent volume, independent Z, spreadable tips and liquid detection.
PlateGripperTubeGripperPipettorDispenserLAYER3
The real-world workspace the verification layer checks against.
WorkspaceLiquidClassLabwareGeometryPipettorTipsDemand
Built for labs that have to defend their data.
The patent names forensic, clinical, pharmaceutical, hospital and biotech labs. These are the buyers your instruments already serve, and the ones under the most pressure to prove each transfer.
Chain of custody
Barcode-scanned blood tubes tracked from rack to plate with an image of each transfer, for crime labs that must defend results in court.
Phase 3 sample data
Plasma, tissue and liquid-biopsy transfers documented for regulatory submissions and CRO process validation.
Patient safety
Every manual pipetting step monitored and reported, removing operator technique as a source of error.
Plate-scale accuracy
Plate replication, serial dilution and 96-well workflows with multichannel position and volume validation.
Licensing
Structured around your roadmap.
Terms are set per partner. These are the starting structures we discuss with manufacturers.
Own a market
Exclusive rights within a defined application such as forensics, clinical diagnostics or genomics.
- Defined field and territory
- Strongest competitive position
- Option to bundle engineering support
Add verification to a platform
Rights to practice the patent across your liquid-handling and bench products.
- Faster to agree
- Fits per-unit or per-session royalties
- Applies across product lines
Bring it to market with us
A license combined with Kobra's instrument design, application and software services.
- Shorter path to a validated product
- Access to the reference design
- Engineering from people who built it
Start a conversation
Request the licensing brief.
Tell us about your platform and the field you are interested in. We will follow up to arrange a technical briefing.
- licensing@kobrabiosolutions.com
- Office
- Kobra BioSolutions LLC
Reno, Nevada
89521