Patent ID: 9446409
Filing Date: 2016-09-20
CPC Classification: B01J,B01L,G01N,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. An apparatus for dispensing reagent beads contained in a reagent bead storage device, the apparatus comprising a housing, a clutch, and the device, wherein the device comprises: a bead carrier having two ends along its longitudinal axis and comprising a plurality of wells between the two ends; a plurality of reagent beads disposed in the plurality of wells; and a cover tape releasably attached to the bead carrier to cover the plurality of wells and retain the plurality of reagent beads in the plurality of wells of the bead carrier, wherein the two ends of the bead carrier are placed in a close proximity and the bead carrier is configured in a circular shape with the cover tape on the outside of the circular shape; and wherein a leading end of the cover tape is connected to the clutch, which is located outside of the perimeter defined by the circular shape, and wherein the clutch is configured to pull the leading edge of the cover tape to peel the cover tape from the bead carrier to expose the plurality of wells individually to dispense the plurality of reagent beads from the plurality of wells, wherein the device and the clutch are enclosed in the housing, with the cover tape facing a stripping wall of the housing, and wherein the stripping wall is a continuous wall having a first end (a stripping edge) and a second end (an opposite edge), which are located in a close proximity to each other defining a stripping gap between the stripping edge and the opposite edge, and a dispense opening provided adjacent the opposite edge on a side of the stripping wall opposite from the stripping edge, the leading end of the cover tape is inserted through the stripping gap, wherein the clutch is configured to pull the leading end of the cover tape against the stripping edge to peel the cover tape from the bead carrier to move the plurality of wells of the bead carrier toward the dispense opening and expose the plurality of wells individually to dispense the plurality of reagent beads from the plurality of wells through the dispense opening.