Self-aligning mechanism for positioning analyte receptacles
First Claim
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1. A mechanism for positioning an analyte receptacle with respect to a measuring instrument, said mechanism comprising:
- a carriage retractably supported in a structure, said carriage includes at least three guide members and at least one stop member, rigidly attached to said carriage; and
a tray movably coupled to said carriage, said tray comprises at least three slots capable of engaging said at least three guide members, at least one biasing device comprising a spring and being preloaded against said at least one stop member, a protuberance for contacting said structure, and a pair of contact surfaces capable of pushing said analyte receptacle against said at least three guide members, and wherein said tray is demountably coupled to said carriage, and wherein said protuberance contacts said structure when said carriage is protracted from said structure, thereby displacing said tray along said at least three guide members to provide an area for placing said analyte receptacle on said tray, said area being defined by said at least three guide members and said pair of contact surfaces.
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Abstract
A self-aligning mechanism for positioning analyte receptacles comprises a loading carriage which bears a tray. In one embodiment, the carriage is slidingly mounted in a structure and includes three guide pins and a stop pin. In this embodiment, the tray has a leaf spring attached at the rear thereof, a lateral protuberance for contacting the structure, and two frontal and one lateral oblique slots. A pair of vertical contact planes, orthogonally disposed with respect to each other, are formed on the top surface of the tray.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A mechanism for positioning an analyte receptacle with respect to a measuring instrument, said mechanism comprising:
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a carriage retractably supported in a structure, said carriage includes at least three guide members and at least one stop member, rigidly attached to said carriage; and a tray movably coupled to said carriage, said tray comprises at least three slots capable of engaging said at least three guide members, at least one biasing device comprising a spring and being preloaded against said at least one stop member, a protuberance for contacting said structure, and a pair of contact surfaces capable of pushing said analyte receptacle against said at least three guide members, and wherein said tray is demountably coupled to said carriage, and wherein said protuberance contacts said structure when said carriage is protracted from said structure, thereby displacing said tray along said at least three guide members to provide an area for placing said analyte receptacle on said tray, said area being defined by said at least three guide members and said pair of contact surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A photometer having a mechanism for positioning an analyte receptacle with respect to said photometer, said photometer and said mechanism being coupled to a computer, said mechanism comprising:
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a carriage retractably supported in a structure; and a tray movably and demountably coupled to said carriage, wherein said tray comprises; three oblique slots slidingly engaging at least three guide pins on said carriage; a spring preloaded against at least one stop pin on said carriage; and a lateral protuberance contacting said structure when said carriage is protracted from said structure, thereby displacing said tray along said at least three guide pins to provide an area for placing said analyte receptacle on said tray, said area being defined by said at least three guide pins and a pair of vertical orthogonal contact surfaces formed on said tray. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for positioning an analyte receptacle with respect to a measuring instrument, said method comprising:
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disengaging a biasing device on a structure to provide an opening between a plurality of alignment surfaces; placing said analyte receptacle on said structure; engaging said biasing device such that alignment edges of said analyte receptacle engage said plurality of alignment surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification