Infinitesimal liquid reactor
First Claim
1. An infinitesimal liquid reactor comprising:
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
means connected to said first and second stages for moving each of said first and second stages individually between said storage and working positions;
a sample cell carried by said first stage;
means carried by said second stage for storing a plurality of reagents;
pipetting means for drawing in and discharging a dose of fluid, said pipetting means including an end carrying a replaceable tip defining a space for storing a dose of fluid;
displacing means associated with said pipetting means for moving at least said end in a second direction transverse to the first direction of movement of said first and second stages; and
cooling means disposed for cooling down said reagent storage means,wherein said displacing means comprise;
a first movable member;
driving means for moving said first movable member in the second direction;
a second movable member mounted on said first movable member to be slidable relative to said first movable member in the second direction, said second movable member carrying at least said end of said pipetting means;
detecting means associated with said second movable member for producing an output signal when said second movable member has a given position relative to said first movable member; and
control means coupled to said detecting means for halting movement of said first movable member in response to the appearance of the output signal.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic infinitesimal liquid reactor equipped with a pipetter for dispensing reagents employs two stages which are capable of sliding horizontally. A microplate which has a plurality of recesses in rows is placed in one stage and reagent bottles are placed on the other stage. The pipetter is supported on a horizontal guide rail operating slidably horizontally and along an axis perpendicular to the direction in which the two stages slide. The horizontal guide rail is supported on a vertical guide rail so as to operate slidably in a vertical direction. Thus the pipetter can be moved in a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the two stages slide. When reagents are sucked from reagent bottles, the second stage is slid so that a reagent bottle is superposed below the pipetter and the pipetter is moved downwardly into the reagent bottle to draw in a reagent. When the reagent is discharged, the first stage is slid so that the microplate is superposed below the pipetter and the pipetter is moved downwardly into a recess to discharge the reagent, thereby dispensing a reagent efficiently and minimizing the space required for the reactor.
42 Citations
6 Claims
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1. An infinitesimal liquid reactor comprising:
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
means connected to said first and second stages for moving each of said first and second stages individually between said storage and working positions;
a sample cell carried by said first stage;
means carried by said second stage for storing a plurality of reagents;
pipetting means for drawing in and discharging a dose of fluid, said pipetting means including an end carrying a replaceable tip defining a space for storing a dose of fluid;
displacing means associated with said pipetting means for moving at least said end in a second direction transverse to the first direction of movement of said first and second stages; and
cooling means disposed for cooling down said reagent storage means,wherein said displacing means comprise;
a first movable member;
driving means for moving said first movable member in the second direction;
a second movable member mounted on said first movable member to be slidable relative to said first movable member in the second direction, said second movable member carrying at least said end of said pipetting means;
detecting means associated with said second movable member for producing an output signal when said second movable member has a given position relative to said first movable member; and
control means coupled to said detecting means for halting movement of said first movable member in response to the appearance of the output signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 6)
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
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3. An infinitesimal liquid reactor comprising:
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
means connected to said first and second stages for moving each of said first and second stages individually between said storage and working positions;
a sample cell carried by said first stage;
means carried by said second stage for storing a plurality of reagents;
pipetting means for drawing in and discharging a dose of fluid, said pipetting means including an end carrying a replaceable tip defining a space for storing a dose of fluid;
displacing means associated with said pipetting means for moving at least said end in a second direction transverse to the first direction of movement of said first and second stages;
a third stage disposed above said first stage and having a tip stand carrying a plurality of tips for attachment to said end; and
means connected to said third stage for moving said third stage,wherein said displacing means comprise;
a first movable member;
driving means for moving said first movable member in the second direction;
a second movable member mounted on said first movable member to be slidably relative to said first movable member in the second direction, said second movable member carrying at least said end of said pipetting means;
propelling means connected for moving said second movable member relative to said first movable member;
detecting means connected to detecting the application of a predetermined pressure to said second movable member; and
control means responsive to said detecting means for halting movement of said first movable member in response to detection of the predetermined pressure by said detecting means.
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
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4. An infinitesimal liquid reactor comprising:
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
means connected to said first and second stages for moving each of said first and second stages individually between said storage and working positions;
a sample cell carried by said first stage;
means carried by said second stage for storing a plurality of reagents;
pipetting means for drawing in and discharging a dose of fluid, said pipetting means including an end carrying a replaceable tip defining a space for storing a dose of fluid;
displacing means associated with said pipetting means for moving at least said end in a second direction transverse to the first direction of movement of said first and second stages; and
heating means for heating and retaining said sample cell on said first stage,wherein said heating means comprises;
an upper heating plate for heating an upper surface of said sample cell;
a lower heating plate for heating a lower surface of said sample cell;
first contacting means for bringing said upper heating plate into contact with the upper surface of said sample cell; and
second contacting means for brining said lower heating plate into contact with the lower surface of said sample cell. - View Dependent Claims (5)
- first and second stages slidably mounted one above the other for movement in a first direction between a storage position and a working position;
Specification