초록 ▼

Samples of blood from hundreds of patients are held in test tubes mounted in twenty endless chains of the same number of links, each chain being mounted on a chain-holder keyed so as to be insertable for mounting on only one sector of a rotary disk. A locking member by which the chain is closed must

Samples of blood from hundreds of patients are held in test tubes mounted in twenty endless chains of the same number of links, each chain being mounted on a chain-holder keyed so as to be insertable for mounting on only one sector of a rotary disk. A locking member by which the chain is closed must occupy the inside position when the chain is mounted. Since each sample then has a distinctive machine address, program control can then drive the machine so that all the individual samples requiring transfer of a portion for a particular analytical procedure are successively presented to a pipette transfer device, chain by chain, with rotation of all chains so that the chain presented to the pipette apparatus will present in succession only those individual samples requiring the particular analysis samples for the next analytical procedure.

대표청구항 ▼

Apparatus for distribution of portions of many samples of liquids, obtained from different sources, to a plurality of destinations according to a set of destinations individually prescribed for each sample, so that a set of said samples is identifiable for each of said destinations for delivery of a

Apparatus for distribution of portions of many samples of liquids, obtained from different sources, to a plurality of destinations according to a set of destinations individually prescribed for each sample, so that a set of said samples is identifiable for each of said destinations for delivery of a sample portion to the particular destination, comprising: means for mounting each of a multiplicity of said samples of liquids, each in an individual vessel, in a distinctive and addressable position on a first movable carrier (1); means for actuating said first carrier controllably so as to present any predetermined set of said samples selected from among all the samples on said carrier, in succession, to a liquid transfer station at a fixed location alongside said carrier, with a period of dwell at said station to permit liquid transfer at each presentation of a sample to said station, and to do so substantially without intermediate stopping of said first carrier between said dwell periods and without intermediate presentation to said station of any sample not belonging to said predetermined selected set; means for transferring a portion of each liquid sample of said set, while said samples are respectively presented by said first carrier at said station, into an individually identified container of a set of containers having a common destination and held on a second carrier for transfer to said destination; and means for causing said actuation means, after the actuation of said first carrier thereby for presentation of a first set of samples to said liquid transfer station for transfer of sample portions to containers having a first common destination, to execute the presentation of a second set of said samples on said first carrier, possibly but not necessarily different from said first set, to said liquid transfer station for transfer of sample portions to containers having a second common destination and held on a third carrier for transfer to said second destination, and so on, until containers for all waiting destinations have been supplied with prescribed sample portions, whereby the respective sets of containers for said destinations are ready for removal to said destinations in sequence, while time is saved by omission of nugatory presentations of samples to said transfer station, and reliable preservation of sample identity is also provided.