Automated microbial analyzer
First Claim
1. A machine for examining cards which are normally stored in a card holder and have viewing wells therein;
- said machine comprising;
a mounting element;
a card holder positioned adjacent to the mounting element, said card holder being capable of holding a plurality of cards therein with the cards being presented to the mounting element;
extracting means on the mounting element aligned with the card holder for gripping the cards individually and withdrawing them from the card holder;
light emitting means on the mounting element for projecting light through the wells when the cards are withdrawn from the card holder;
light detecting means on the mounting element for determining the intensity of light passing through the wells; and
means for aligning the wells in the cards in registry with the light emitting means and with the light detecting means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Medical specimens suspected of containing harmful microorganisms are diluted in saline solution and the dilution so formed is vacuum loaded into a cuvette or card containing viewing walls having dried selective culture media therein. The dilution rehydrates the culture media, each of which is selective in the sense that its optical characteristics will change when the organism to which it is specific metabolizes within it. A plurality of the cards are loaded into a tray, and the tray is placed on a rotatable carrousel of a card holder unit along with other trays. The carrousel is indexed at periodic intervals, and each time that it is indexed a different tray moves to a reading position facing a card reader unit. The carrousel has a center stack from which heated air is discharged such that it passes along both major surface areas of the cards in the tray, thus maintaining the cards at a temperature suitable for incubating microorganisms in them. The reader unit includes a reader head which moves vertically along that tray which is in the reading position, and this head has extractor and locator slides which move horizontally. The extractor slide engages each card and withdraws it individually from the tray, while the locator slide, which is spring loaded with respect to the extractor slide, bears against the card as it is withdrawn so as to maintain it in the proper orientation with respect to arrays of light emitters and corresponding detectors on the reader head. The emitters and detectors are arranged in pairs, with the detector of each pair being illuminated by the emitter, unless otherwise obscured. The card as it is withdrawn by the extractor slide moves between the pairs of emitters and detectors, and as it does some of the pairs register with identification segments on the card while other pairs register with the viewing wells. The former "read" identification numbers marked on the card with opaque ink, while the latter determine the light transmitting characteristics of the wells, this being achieved by projecting the light from the emitters through the wells and measuring the intensity of the light falling upon the detectors. A change in the light transmitting characteristics of a well indicates the presence of the specific microorganism in the well. That change provides a unique signature for the specific microorganism.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A machine for examining cards which are normally stored in a card holder and have viewing wells therein;
- said machine comprising;
a mounting element;
a card holder positioned adjacent to the mounting element, said card holder being capable of holding a plurality of cards therein with the cards being presented to the mounting element;
extracting means on the mounting element aligned with the card holder for gripping the cards individually and withdrawing them from the card holder;
light emitting means on the mounting element for projecting light through the wells when the cards are withdrawn from the card holder;
light detecting means on the mounting element for determining the intensity of light passing through the wells; and
means for aligning the wells in the cards in registry with the light emitting means and with the light detecting means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- said machine comprising;
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15. A machine for examining flat cards which are arranged in a holder parallel to each other with their flat major surface areas parallel and the side and end margins in registration, the cards being formed from a transparent material and having viewing wells arranged in transverse rows thereon and identification segments thereon on which opaque markings may be made, the cards further having gripping slots opening out of the sides thereof;
- said machine comprising;
a base;
an upstanding frame mounted on the base opposite the holder;
a block supported on the frame;
vertical drive means for moving the block upwardly and downwardly on the frame;
an extractor slide on the block and having gripping claws thereon with the claws being positioned and sized to fit into the gripping slots on the cards;
horizontal drive means for moving the extractor slide horizontally toward and away from the holder so that a card engaged by the gripping claws will be withdrawn from the holder and moved over the block;
an array of first light emitters located on the block such that the identification segments will pass by them, the first emitters being oriented such that the light emitted thereby is projected toward the one major surface area of the card as it is withdrawn;
an array of first light detectors located on the block and aligned with the first emitters, the first detectors facing the opposite major surface of the card as the card is withdrawn so as to detect any light from the emitters which pass through the identification segments;
second emitters located on the block such that they align with the viewing wells of each row in succession as the card is moved relative to the block;
second light detectors on the block and aligned with the second light emitters, the second light detectors being positioned such that the card as it is withdrawn passed between the second emitters and the second detectors, whereby the second detectors measure the intensity of light passing through the wells. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
- said machine comprising;
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20. An apparatus for analyzing flat cards having viewing wells containing culture media and diluted biological specimens to determine if the specimens contain microorganisms;
- said apparatus comprising;
a holder which holds a plurality of cards with one card being located after the other;
extracting means for withdrawing the cards individually from the holder, and reading means on the extracting means for monitoring the viewing wells of each card when the card is withdrawn, to determine if the optical characteristics of the viewing wells change. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
- said apparatus comprising;
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31. A machine capable of holding a plurality of flat cards having wells containing culture media and diluted biological specimens to determine if the specimens contain viable microorganisms;
- said machine comprising a pedestal;
a carrousel mounted on the pedestal to rotate about a fixed axis;
retaining means on the carrousel for holding the cards stacked in rows parallel to the axis of rotation with the rows being spaced circumferentially around the axis of rotation and with the cards in each row being stacked parallel to each other and in marginal registration;
drive means for rotating the carrousel relative to the pedestal;
positioning means controlling the drive means to bring each row into a predetermined position at which the cards may be extracted from the retaining means;
extracting means for extracting cards from the row of cards in said predetermined position; and
reading means for ascertaining the optical characteristics of the wells in a card when it is extracted from the retaining means by the extracting means, said reading means comprising light emitters for projecting light though the wells and light detectors of determining the intensity of the light which passes through the wells. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
- said machine comprising a pedestal;
Specification