Sample analysis apparatus

• US 6,945,129 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2001
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DIAGYR
• Original Assignee: DIAGYR
• Inventors: Escal, Philippe
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fayyaz, Nashmiya
• Application Number:
  US10/311,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20040020310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,560 Days
• Field of Search: 7386301-86303, 738/642.1, 738/642.4, 422/72, 422/64, 422/100, 436/45, 494/10
• US Class Current: 73/864.24
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 2011/046 Loading, unloading, manipulating sample containers
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 5/0421 pivotably mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00504 combined with carousels
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/025 having a carousel or turntable for reaction cells or cuvettes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/1079 with means for piercing stoppers or septums
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/111666 Utilizing a centrifuge or compartmented rotor

Abstract

An apparatus for analyzing liquid samples packed in tubes (6) closed with a top (7) capable of being perforated, includes a support (4) for the tubes and a unit (8) for sampling an aliquot from each tube and delivering it into a receptacle for treatment and/or analysis, the unit (8) including a hollow needle (45) connected to a suction/delivery device and vertically mobile; the support (4) has a circular tray provided with several tube-holders (5) on its periphery and capable of rotating about a vertical axis to bring a position successively and selectively the tubes (6) borne by the tube-holders (5) in line with the unit (8); each tube-holder (5) is connected to the tray (4) through a linkage (31) with two degrees of freedom.

Claims

1. Apparatus for analysis of liquid samples, comprising:

a support (4) for carrying, in a vertical position, plural sample tubes;

a removal and distribution unit (8) for removing from each carried sample tube a portion of a contained liquid sample and for distributing a fraction of the removed portion into at least one receptacle (74) as a distributed fraction,

said removal and distribution unit comprising a hollow needle (45) connected to an aspiration/delivery means (47) and fixed in vertical position to a vertically movable needle carrier (48), and drive means (53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 61) to move the needle carrier,

said support (4) comprising a circular plate with peripheral tube carriers (5),

each tube carrier comprising a recess with a vertical access to receive and support a sample tube,

said circular plate being adapted to turn about a vertical axis to bring in position successively an selectively the tube carriers (5) to a workstation where the removal and distribution unit (8) is located such that the removal and distribution unit can act on a positioned sample tube (6) brought to and positioned in the workstation,

each tube carrier (5) connected to the circular plate (4) by a connection (31) with two degrees of freedom, a first of the two degrees of freedom being a vertical translatory movement and a second of the two degrees of freedom being a freedom of movement of rotation about a horizontal axis oriented tangentially relative to the circular plate,

a support means (44) adapted to support the tube carrier (5),

each tube carrier (5) constituted by a cylindrical sleeve (24) and two pivots (25) defining the horizontal axis with two degrees of freedom,

an end of each cylindrical sleeve (24) supported by a mounting member (28) secured to the circular plate,

each of the two pivots (25) resiliently supported in a vertical notch (32) by a flexible spring (33).

2. Apparatus for analysis of liquid samples, comprising:

a support (4) for carrying plural sample tubes;

a removal and distribution unit (8) for removing from each carried sample tube a portion of a contained liquid sample,

said removal and distribution unit comprising a hollow needle (45) connected to an aspiration/delivery means (47),

said support (4) comprising a circular plate with peripheral tube carriers (5),

each tube carrier comprising a recess with a vertical access to receive and support a sample tube,

said circular plate being adapted to turn about a vertical axis to bring in position successively the tube carriers (5) to the removal and distribution unit (8),

each tube carrier (5) connected to the circular plate (4) by a connection (31) with two degrees of freedom, a first of the two degrees of freedom being a vertical translatory movement and a second of the two degrees of freedom being a freedom of movement of rotation about a horizontal axis oriented tangentially relative to the circular plate,

a support means (44) adapted to support each tube carrier (5),

each tube carrier (5) constituted by cylindrical sleeve (24) and two pivots (25) defining the horizontal axis with two degrees of freedom,

an end of each cylindrical sleeve (24) supported by a mounting member (28) secured to the circular plate,

each of the two pivots (25) resiliently supported in a vertical notch (32) by a flexible spring (33).

3. Apparatus for analysis of liquid samples in sample tubes (6) closed by a pierceable stopper (7), comprising:

a support (4) adapted to support, in a vertical position, sample tubes closed by pierceable stoppers (7);

a removal and distribution unit (8)

i) to remove, from each sample tube supported by the support, a portion of a liquid sample contained in each sample tube, the removal creating a removed portion of the liquid sample, and

ii) to distribute at least a fraction of the removed portion of the liquid sample into at least one receptacle (74) for treatment and/or analysis as a distributed fraction,

said removal and distribution unit comprising

i) a hollow needle (45) connected to an aspiration/delivery means (47) and fixed in vertical position to a vertically movable needle carrier (48), and

ii) drive means (53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 61) to move the needle carrier and needle vertically between a first position with a lower end of the needle located at a higher level than a stopper of a positioned sample tube carried by the support, and a second position with the lower end of the needle located within a liquid contained in said positioned sample tube,

said support (4) constituted by a circular plate with a periphery and provided with several tube carriers (5) disposed at intervals about the periphery,

each tube carrier comprising a recess with a vertical access to receive and support individual ones of the sample tubes,

said circular plate being adapted to turn about a vertical axis to bring in position successively and selectively the tube carriers (5) to a workstation where the removal and distribution unit (8) is located such that the removal and distribution unit can act on a positioned sample tube (6) supported by the tube carrier brought to and positioned in the workstation,

plural connections (31), each tube carrier (5) connected to the circular plate (4) by a respective one of the connections (31),

each of the connections having two degrees of freedom, a first of the two degrees of freedom being a vertical translatory movement and a second of the two degrees of freedom being a freedom of movement of rotation about a horizontal axis oriented tangentially relative to the circular plate,

a support means (44), disposed at the workstation, adapted to support from below the tube carrier (5) brought to and positioned in the workstation,

each tube carrier (5) constituted by cylindrical sleeve (24) open at an upper end and closed at a lower end and comprising, adjacent the upper end of the corresponding cylindrical sleeve, two aligned pivots (25) defining the horizontal axis of the respective connection (31),

the upper end of each cylindrical sleeve (24) being disposed between two legs (26, 27) of a mounting member (28) in the form of a fork, the corresponding fork secured to the circular plate (4) with the corresponding two legs (26, 27) extending radially outwardly of said circular plate, the two pivots (25) of each cylindrical sleeve (24) being supported respectively by the corresponding two legs of the corresponding mounting member (28),

each of the two legs (26, 27) of the corresponding mounting member (28) comprising a vertical notch (32) engaging a respective one of the two pivots (25) of the corresponding cylindrical sleeve (24),

each of the corresponding two pivots (25) resiliently supported, in a respective one of the vertical notches (32), by a flexible spring (33).

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the cylindrical tube-carrying sleeves (24) are of a transparent material so as to permit reading an individual identification code (39) carried by a label (38) fixed to each sample tube (6) by a code reader (41) installed at a predefined angular position relative to the vertical axis of rotation of the circular plate (4).

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that each cylindrical tube-carrying sleeve (24) comprises, in a cylindrical wall, a wide window (42) permitting reading an individual identification code (39) carried by a label (38) fixed to each sample tube (6) by code reader (41) installed at a fixed station in a predetermined angular position relative to the vertical axis of rotation of the circular plate (4).

6. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that each vertical notch (32) is formed in an upper surface of a corresponding leg (26 or 27) and the corresponding flexible spring (33) supports the corresponding pivot (25).

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that each mounting member (28) carries a removable retaining means (34), each removable retaining means, in service, retaining each of the corresponding two pivots (25) in the respective vertical notch (32).

8. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that each vertical notch (32) is formed in a lower surface of a corresponding leg (26 or 27) an each flexible spring (33) is constituted by a flexible blade with one end fixed to a lower surface of said corresponding leg and another end that resiliently supports and retains a corresponding pivot (25) in the respective vertical notch.

9. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that,

each said cylindrical sleeve is a cylindrical tube-carrying sleeve having a maximum breadth of vertical movement,

the support means (44) is constituted by a fixed stop disposed below a lower sleeve end of each cylindrical tube-carrying sleeve (24) brought to and positioned in the workstation, at a vertical distance (d) from said lower sleeve end, said lower sleeve end being smaller than said maximum breadth of vertical movement as permitted by said respective connection (31) and by the corresponding flexible spring (33) when the needle (45) of the removal and distribution unit (8) exerts a vertical penetration force, directed downwardly, on a stopper (7) of an installed sample tube (6) installed in any of said cylindrical tube-carrying sleeves (44).

10. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that each vertical notch (32) is formed in the upper surface of the corresponding leg (26 or 27) of the corresponding mounting member (28) and each pivot (25) rests on the bottom of the corresponding vertical notch.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the support means (44) is constituted by a wedge, which can be moved by an actuator (113) between a first position in which said wedge does not interfere with the cylindrical tube-carrying sleeves (24) when the circular plate (4) is rotated, and a second position in which said wedge is in contact with the lower end of one cylindrical tube-carrying sleeve brought to and positioned in the workstation and supports said one cylindrical sleeve in a vertical position such that the two pivots (25) of said one cylindrical sleeve no longer rest on the bottom of corresponding vertical notches (32).

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that said wedge (44) is constituted by a piece in the form of a wedge which can slide, under control of the actuator (113), over a fixed support and horizontal guidance surface (11a).

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that each mounting member (28) comprises an abutment means (114) adapted to prevent the one cylindrical tube-carrying sleeve (24) from pivoting about the horizontal axis and to hold said one cylindrical sleeve in a vertical position when the wedge (44) is moved from the first to the second position by the actuator (113) and comes in the course of this movement into contact with the lower end of said one cylindrical sleeve.

14. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the circular plate (4) is connected to drive means (19, 21, 22, 23) adapted to turn said circular plate selectively at a first relatively high speed to submit to centrifugation the liquid samples contained in the sample tubes (6) carried by the circular plate, and at a second substantially slower speed than the first speed, to bring and position successively and selectively said sample tubes to and in the workstation.