Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
RAN 4~`90/1l8
The invention relates to a plastics tubular sample
or reagent container for analyzers comprislng an auto-
matic pipetting means, said container having a peripheral
edge for bearing on a plate forming part ol the analyzer
and serving as carrier of the containers.
Recer;-tly, particularly in clinical chemical analysis,
frequen-t use has been made of automatic analyzers, e.g.
those operating on the centrifugal principle and making
photometric measurements of the sample for analysis. The
15 devices can be used e.g~ for determining glucose, urea,
uric acid, cholesterol or total protein, albumin, biliru-
bin or metal ions in the blood, serum, pla.sma, urine or
fluid obtained ~y puncture, e.g. liquor or similar biolo-
gical solutions. The amount of ma-terial available for
investigation :is often a few micro-litres and the time
available for analysis is o~ten limited -to a few minutes.
In such cases it is advantageous to use automa-tic analy-
æers, which often are associated with an automatic pi-
petting means. The samples for analysis, as well as the
25 reagent liquids and inert solutions, if necessary, are
poured into tubular containers before the device is star-
ted up. After the containers have been filled they are
inserted in apertures of a plate. The apertures are usu-
ally formed in a circle in -the plate and the filled con-
30 tainers are simply inserted in the individual apertures.Nearly the entire length of the containers extends through
the apertures, but the container has a widened peripheral
edge which bears on the plate. After the device has been
started up, the pipetting means -takes a preprogrammed
amount from the sample and reagent containers and supplies
it to -the actual analyzer.
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Devices of the aforementioned kind are described e.y.
in the ~Cobas-Bio~ pamphlet published in 197~ by
Messrs. F. Ho~fmann-La Roche & Co., of Basle.
Great care, of course, must be taken when filling
the sample holder with material for investigation and the
rea-!ent holders with the required reagents. Since a single
plate can hold up to 25 sample or reagent containers and
it is not necessary to fill all the containers during
10 every operation of -the analyzer, it is d~sirable -to have a
simple method of marking those containers which are filled
with material for analysis or reagents, or those con-
tainers which are not to be included in the analysis in
progress. In the known systems, the usual method is to put
15 a spot of paint on the edge or cover of the container.
An object of the invention is to simplify the marking
of the containers and, more partic~}larly, make it inde-
pendent of other aids.
To this end, the invention provides an additional
abutment disposed below the edge at the periphery o~ the
container and deformable in the centripetal direction.
Thus the present invention provides a plastics tubular
sample or reagent container for analytical devices, which
devices comprise an automatic pipetting means, the body of
the container being insertable in apertures in a plate which
forms part of the analyzer and serves as carrier of the
container, which has at its upper part a peripheral edge
for bearing on the plate, characterised by an abutment dis-
posed below the edge at the periphery of the container and
deformable in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis
of the container.
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The object achieved by the additional abutment is
that, when the container is gently inserted in the appro-
priate apertures of the pla~e, it first enters the aper-
ture only as far as the additional abutment. It is only
after slight pressure has been exerted by the finger on
the container that the additional abutrnent is deformed
in the centripetal direction and the container slips further
into the aperture until its normally-provided edge finally
bears on the pla-te. When the device is in operation, it
can easily be arranged that all filled contalners are
pressed deeply into the plate apertures whereas unfilled
or not-yet filled containers or those not needed for the
analysis in progress are pressed only as far as the
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additional abutment. I-t will thus be visibLe at a glance,
which containers are already full and which are ready to
receive addi-tional ma-terial or are not included in the
current analysis.
The proposed additional abutment can be in the form
of a bead extending completely or partly around the peri-
phery. Alternatively it can comprise one or more projec-
tions formed e.g. on the outer periphery of the container
10 and projecting radially. The important poin-t is tha-t -the
additional abutment must be easily deformable so tha-t it
can yield to simple pressure from the finger and the con-
tainer can be pressed to the maximum depth into the aper-
ture in the plate. It has been found advantageous if the
15 additional abu-tment is disposed in the upper part of the
container.
The invention wilL now be explained in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. l is a perspective view of a plate in which two
containers according to -the invention are inserted;
Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of a container according
to the invention, in which the additional abutment is a
25 bead and
Fig. 3 shows another embodiment of the container
according to the invention, in which the additional abut-
ment comprises projections.
Fig. l shows a plate (general reference l). The plate
30 comprises a plastics body 2 integral with an edge 3 formed
with a number of aper-tures 4 for receiving con-tainers 5.
At the centre of the plate -there is a cylinder 6 for
inserting the plate in the pipet-ting means of the ana-
lyzer.
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Fig. 1 and, more particularly, Figs. 2 and 3 show-that the sample or reagent con-tainer 5 subs-tantially com-
prises a tubular main body, which has a conical point and
is closed at its bottom 7. At the opposite end there is a
filling opening 8 which, in the illus-trated exarnple, can
be closed by a cap or cover 9. Cover 9 is non-releasably
secured to the top end of contalner 5 by a plas-tics Elap
10 .
After the con-tainer has been filled, cover 9 is in-
serted in the filling opening 8, whereupon the container
ls lnserted into apertures 4 in plate 1. Af-ter the analy-
zer has been started up, a sampling needle from the auto-
matic pipetting means penetrates the cover and removes
the pre-programmed amount from the con-talner.
As also shown in the drawings, container 5 has a peri-
pheral edge 11 which bears on the sample plate and pre-
vents the contalner fal:Ling any further through apertures
4. According -to the invention, the con-tainers have an
additional abutment 12 formed on the outer periphery be-
low edge 11. The additional abutment is deformable in the
centrlpetal directlon. It can thus hold the container
initially in the position shown at the bottom of Fig. 1,
but after slight pressure has been exerted on the -top,
the container can pass through aperture 4 and be brought
into the position shown at the left of Fig. 1.
The additional abutment can have various forms. Fig.
2 shows the case where abutment 12 is in the form of a bead
14 extending completely around the periphery. Fig. 3 shows
another embodiment, in which the abutmen-t 12 comprises
a number of projections 15. Of course, the abutment can
also be deformed if, when pressure is exerted on -the top
of the container the flexible container wall yields so
that the abutment can pass through apertures 4.
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PreEerably, the additional abutment 12 is disposed
at the top of container 5 as shown in the drawings. Con-
tainers 5 are preferably made of high density polyethy-
lene (HD PE). The diameter of abutment 12 is e.g. between
5 8.30 and 8035 mm, in which case aper-tures 4 will prefera-
bly have a diameter between 8.20 and 8.24 mm.
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