Flow immunoassay assembly with rotary valve
First Claim
1. A rotary valve, comprising:
- a stator comprising a plurality of entry dispense ports, a plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports, and a plurality of exit dispense ports;
a rotor disposed within said stator and being clockable between a dispense configuration, a first auxiliary dispense configuration, and a second auxiliary dispense configuration, said rotor comprising a plurality of dispense channels connected between said plurality of entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said dispense configuration, a first plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between said plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said first auxiliary dispense configuration, and a second plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between said plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said second auxiliary dispense configuration.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method and assemblies are provided for selectively distributing and dispensing fluids using a rotary valve for purposes such as performing immunoassay testing. A rotary valve includes a stator and rotor disposed within the stator. The rotor is clockable between a dispense configuration, a first auxiliary dispense configuration, and a second auxiliary dispense configuration. When the rotor is clocked in the dispense configuration, it includes a plurality of dispense channels connected between a plurality of entry dispense ports and a plurality of exit dispense ports disposed in the stator. When the rotor is clocked in the first auxiliary dispense configuration, the rotor includes a first plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between a plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports disposed on the stator and the plurality of exit dispense ports. When the rotor is clocked in the second auxiliary dispense configuration, the rotor includes a second plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between the plurality of entry dispense ports and the plurality of exit dispense ports. In this manner, a fluid can be flowed through the rotary valve when the rotor is clocked in the dispense configuration, and another fluid can be flowed through the rotary valve when the rotor is clocked in either the first auxiliary or the second auxiliary dispense configuration. The dispense configuration can be clocked substantially 90° from the first auxiliary dispense configuration and substantially 0° from the second auxiliary dispense configuration, i.e., the dispense configuration and second auxiliary dispense configuration are the same, so that a first and second fluid can be flowed through the rotary valve without requiring rotation of the rotor. The plurality of exit dispense ports can be clocked substantially 180° from the plurality of entry dispense ports and substantially 90° from the plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports.
62 Citations
100 Claims
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1. A rotary valve, comprising:
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a stator comprising a plurality of entry dispense ports, a plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports, and a plurality of exit dispense ports;
a rotor disposed within said stator and being clockable between a dispense configuration, a first auxiliary dispense configuration, and a second auxiliary dispense configuration, said rotor comprising a plurality of dispense channels connected between said plurality of entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said dispense configuration, a first plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between said plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said first auxiliary dispense configuration, and a second plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between said plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said second auxiliary dispense configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A rotary valve, comprising:
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a stator comprising a feed port and a plurality of distribution port pairs, each of said distribution port pairs comprising an entry distribution port and an exit distribution port;
a rotor disposed within said stator and being clockable in a distribution configuration, said rotor comprising a feed channel connecting said feed port to an entry distribution port of a first distribution port pair, and a plurality of distribution channels connecting an exit distribution port of each previous distribution port pair to an entry distribution port of each next distribution port pair. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A flow immunoassay assembly for testing a sample, comprising:
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a plurality of sample distribution chambers configured for containing said sample;
a plurality of buffer chambers containing buffer;
a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;
a stator comprising a plurality of entry dispense ports in fluid communication with said plurality of sample distribution chambers, a plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports in fluid communication with said plurality of buffer chambers, and a plurality of exit dispense ports in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and
a rotor disposed within said stator and being clockable between a dispense configuration and a first auxiliary dispense configuration, said rotor comprising a plurality of dispense channels connected between said plurality of entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said dispense configuration, and a first plurality of auxiliary dispense channels connected between said plurality of auxiliary entry dispense ports and said plurality of exit dispense ports when said rotor is clocked in said first auxiliary dispense configuration. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of controlling the flow of a sample within a flow immunoassay assembly comprising a rotary valve, a plurality of sample distribution chambers containing said sample, a plurality of buffer chambers containing buffer, and plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers operably connected to said rotary valve, the method comprising:
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placing said rotary valve in a first auxiliary dispense configuration;
flowing said buffer from said plurality of buffer chambers through said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers while said rotary valve is in said first auxiliary dispense configuration;
placing said rotary valve in a dispense configuration; and
flowing said sample from said plurality of sample distribution chambers through said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers while said rotary valve is in said dispense configuration. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A flow immunoassay assembly, comprising:
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a plurality of sample distribution chambers configured for containing said sample;
a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;
a stator comprising a feed port, a plurality of distribution port pairs in fluid communication with said plurality of sample distribution chambers, each of said distribution port pairs comprising an entry distribution port and an exit distribution port, and a plurality of exit dispense ports in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and
a rotor disposed within said stator and being clockable in a distribution configuration, said rotor comprising a feed channel connecting said feed port to an entry distribution port of a first distribution port pair, and a plurality of distribution channels connecting an exit distribution port of each previous distribution port pair to an entry distribution port of each next distribution port pair when said rotor is clocked in said distribution configuration. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A method of controlling the flow of a sample within a flow immunoassay assembly comprising a sample feed port, a rotary valve, and a plurality of sample distribution chambers operably connected to said rotary valve, said flow immunoassay assembly further comprising a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, the method comprising:
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placing said rotary valve in a distribution configuration; and
flowing said sample from said sample feed port into said plurality of sample distribution chambers while said rotary valve is in said distribution configuration. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88)
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89. A flow immunoassay assembly, comprising:
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a plurality of sample distribution chambers;
a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;
a rotary valve comprising a sample feed port, and being clockable in a distribution configuration to place said sample feed port in fluid communication with said plurality of sample distribution chambers, and clockable in a different dispense configuration to place said plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers. - View Dependent Claims (90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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97. A flow immunoassay assembly, comprising:
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a plurality of sample distribution chambers;
a plurality of buffer chambers;
a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;
a rotary valve clockable in dispense configuration to place said plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, and clockable in a different auxiliary dispense configuration to place said plurality of buffer chambers in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers. - View Dependent Claims (98, 99, 100)
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Specification