Patent ID: 7331474
Filing Date: 2008-02-19
Classification: B01L,G01N

Abstract:
1. A specimen-container rack adapted for use with a magnetic transport mechanism designed to produce a moving magnetic field atop a rack-supporting surface for the purpose of advancing individual specimen-container racks in mutually-perpendicular directions atop said surface, said specimen-container rack comprising: (a) a rack housing comprising (i) an upper section for receiving, aligning and spacing a plurality of specimen-containers, and (ii) a base section operatively connected to the said upper section and having a bottom surface adapted to slidingly engage said rack-supporting surface, said base section serving to support said upper section so that said containers are in a generally upright orientation, and (b) a pair of U-shaped, magnetically-attractive members, each U-shaped member comprising a pair of spaced leg-members connected together by an integral bridging portion, each of said leg members having a distal end spaced from said bridging portion, each of said U-shaped members being supported at spaced nominal positions on said base section in which the respective leg members depend downwardly towards said bottom surface of the base section, and in which said distal ends of said leg members terminate in a plane closely spaced from the bottom surface of said base section.