US-12623452-B2 - Pipette-fillable cartridge fluid detection

US12623452B2US 12623452 B2US12623452 B2US 12623452B2US-12623452-B2

Abstract

A digital dispense system and method of using a digital dispense system. The digital dispense system includes a pipette-fillable fluid cartridge having one or more fluid chambers therein and having an ejection head attached thereto. The ejection head contains a plurality of fluid ejectors thereon. The fluid ejectors are in fluid flow communication with the one or more fluid chambers of the pipette-fillable fluid cartridge. A fluid detection circuit is disposed on the ejection head and associated with at least one of the plurality of fluid ejectors for signaling the presence or absence of fluid in the one or more fluid chambers.

Inventors

Bruce A Deboard
Bruce D. Gibson
Michael A. Marra, III

Assignees

BRADY WORLDWIDE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230823

Claims (9)

1 . A method for dispensing fluid with a digital dispense system, comprising: providing a pipette-fillable fluid cartridge having one or more discrete fluid chambers therein and having an ejection head attached thereto, the ejection head containing an array of fluid ejectors thereon for each of the one or more discrete fluid chambers, wherein each array of fluid ejectors is in fluid flow communication with one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers of the pipette-fillable fluid cartridge; a user input configured for initiating, modifying or terminating a fluid dispense sequence; and a fluid detection circuit disposed on the ejection head, the fluid detection circuit being in electrical communication with each array of fluid ejectors and configured for signaling to a user the presence or absence of fluid in the one or more discrete fluid chambers; filling at least one of the one or more fluid chambers with a fluid to be dispensed; activating a diagnostic function of the digital dispense system to determine if the fluid to be dispensed is present in or absent from the at least one of the one or more fluid chambers using (A) fluid conductivity data, (B) ejector thermal data, or a combination of (A) and (B) to determine if a fluid is present in the at least one of the one or more fluid chambers, wherein (i) initially fluid conductivity data is used and if fluid is not found by (i), then (ii) ejector thermal data is used; and subsequent to the diagnostic function, selecting one of following steps selected from the group consisting of: a) initiating a fluid dispense sequence in an absence of an error or warning to the user; b) modifying the fluid dispense sequence in the presence of an error or warning that indicates an incorrect fluid in the at least one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers; c) modifying the fluid dispense sequence in the presence of an error or warning that indicates that fluid is absent from at least one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers; and d) terminating the fluid dispense sequence in the presence of an error or warning that indicates that fluid is absent from at least one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to (i) use fluid conductivity data from a conductivity sense circuit, wherein the conductivity sense circuit comprises a first electrode in electrical communication with at least one fluid ejector in each array of fluid ejectors, and a second electrode disposed in a fluid flow path to the at least one fluid ejector.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to (ii) use ejector thermal data from a thermal sense circuit, wherein the thermal sense circuit comprises a voltage slope detect circuit for at least one array of fluid ejectors.
4 . A digital dispense system comprising: a pipette fillable cartridge having one or more discrete fluid chambers therein and an ejection head having an array of fluid ejectors for each of the one or more discrete fluid chambers, wherein each array of fluid ejectors is in fluid flow communication with one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers, wherein the ejection head contains a fluid detection circuit in electrical communication with each array of fluid ejectors; a processor disposed in the digital dispense system configured with a fluid detect algorithm, wherein the processor is in electrical communication with the fluid detection circuit and is configured for activating an error signal in the absence of fluid in at least one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers; and a user input device configured for initiating, modifying, or terminating a fluid dispense sequence upon error signal activation, wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to use (a) fluid conductivity data, (b) ejector thermal data, or a combination of (a) and (b) to determine if a fluid is present in each of the one or more discrete fluid chambers, and the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to (i) use fluid conductivity data initially, and to (ii) use ejector thermal data if fluid is not found by (i).
5 . The digital dispense system of claim 4 , wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to (i) use fluid conductivity data from a conductivity sense circuit.
6 . The digital dispense system of claim 5 , wherein the conductivity sense circuit comprises a first electrode in electrical communication with at least one fluid ejector in each array of fluid ejectors, and a second electrode disposed in a fluid flow path to the at least one of the fluid ejector in each array of fluid ejectors.
7 . The digital dispense system of claim 4 , wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to determine if a fluid is absent from a predetermined one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers.
8 . The digital dispense system of claim 4 , wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to determine when at least one fluid chamber of the one or more discrete fluid chambers runs out of fluid.
9 . The digital dispense system of claim 4 , wherein the fluid detect algorithm is programmed to determine if an incorrect fluid is in the at least one of the one or more discrete fluid chambers.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of application Ser. No. 17/205,001, filed Mar. 18, 2021. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure is directed to a digital dispense device having a pipette-fillable cartridge and in particular to a system and method for determining the presence or absence of a fluid in a chamber of a pipette-fillable fluid cartridge. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY In the medical field, in particular, there is a need for automated sample preparation and analysis. The analysis may be colorimetric analysis or require the staining of samples to better observe the samples under a microscope. Such analysis may include drug sample analysis, blood sample analysis and the like. Assay analysis of blood, for example, provides a number of different factors that are used to determine the health of an individual. When there are a large number of patients that require blood sample analysis, the procedures may be extremely time consuming. For assay analysis, such as drug screenings, it is desirable to deposit miniscule amounts of target reagents to evaluate their effect and performance on the samples. Traditionally, pipettes—manually or electromechanically actuated—are used to deposit trace substances into these assay samples. The total volume of a test fluid produced for an assay is dictated by the ability to achieve a desired ratio of reagents with respect to the least of the reagents. Due to the small-scale volumetric limitations of pipettes, it is often necessary to create an excess of testing fluid to achieve the proper ratio of reagents. It is well known that thermal inkjet technology is capable of precisely distributing picolitre-sized droplets of a jetting fluid. The precision and speed offered by inkjet technology makes it a promising candidate for increasing throughput of assay samples while decreasing the amount of wasted sample. In a conventional thermal-jet printer, a jetting fluid is typically prefilled into a printhead before reaching the end-user. However, it is impractical to use a prefilled cartridge in the life-sciences field where it is desirable to produce testing solutions on site. Accordingly, a pipette-fillable cartridge may be used with the digital dispense system. Pipette-fillable cartridges are filled at the time of use with a pre-determined amount of fluid for performing a chemical assay of a sample. In some cases, the fluid is to be deposited in a well of a micro-well plate or onto a glass slide. Since the amount of fluid to be dispensed is critical to the assay analysis being performed, it is important to know if a fluid and the right amount of fluid is pipetted into a fluid chamber of a pipette-fillable cartridge. If the chamber is devoid of fluid, or prematurely runs out of fluid before the assay is complete, the sample may be ruined or provide inaccurate results. Accordingly, what is needed is an apparatus and method for notifying a user that a fluid chamber of a pipette-fillable cartridge may be devoid of fluid. In view of the foregoing, an embodiment of the disclosure provides a digital dispense system and method of using a digital dispense system. The digital dispense system includes a pipette-fillable fluid cartridge having one or more fluid chambers therein and having an ejection head attached thereto. The ejection head contains a plurality of fluid ejectors thereon. The fluid ejectors are in fluid flow communication with the one or more fluid chambers of the pipette-fillable fluid cartridge. A fluid detection circuit is disposed on the ejection head and associated with at least one of the plurality of fluid ejectors for signaling the presence or absence of fluid in the one or more fluid chambers. In another embodiment, there is provided a method for dispensing fluid with a digital dispense system. The method includes providing a pipette-fillable fluid cartridge having one or more fluid chambers therein and having an ejection head attached thereto. The ejection head contains a plurality of fluid ejectors thereon, wherein the fluid ejectors are in fluid flow communication with the one or more fluid chambers of the pipette-fillable fluid cartridge. A fluid detection circuit is disposed on the ejection head and associated with at least one of the plurality of fluid ejectors for signaling the presence or absence of fluid in the one or more fluid chambers. At least one of the one or more fluid chambers is filled with a fluid to be dispensed. A diagnostic function of the digital dispense system is activated to determine if the fluid to be dispensed is present in or absent from the at least one of the one or more fluid chambers. A fluid dispense sequence is activated in an absence of an error or warning from the diagnostic function. In another embodiment, there is provided a digital dispense system that includes a pipette fillable cartridge having at least one fluid chamber therein and an ejection head in fluid flow communication with the at least one fluid chamber. The ejecti