Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9057714
Timestamp: 2018-02-20 20:37:58
Document Index: 554289672

Matched Legal Cases: ['application No. 2', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2008', 'Application No. 09152928', 'application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2']

US9057714B2 - Reagent and sample handling device for automatic testing system - Google Patents
US9057714B2
US9057714B2 US12612791 US61279109A US9057714B2 US 9057714 B2 US9057714 B2 US 9057714B2 US 12612791 US12612791 US 12612791 US 61279109 A US61279109 A US 61279109A US 9057714 B2 US9057714 B2 US 9057714B2
US12612791
US20100111765A1 (en )
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/122,280, filed May 4, 2005. This divisional application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/122,280, filed May 4, 2005.
Testing sample biological specimens is commonly done to, for example, check for the presence of an item of interest, which item may be or include all or portions of a specific region of DNA, RNA, fragments, complements, peptides, polypeptides, enzymes, prions, proteins, messenger RNA, transfer RNA, mitochondrial RNA or DNA, antibodies, antigens, allergens, parts of biological entities such as cells, virons or the like, surface proteins, functional equivalents of the above, etc. Specimens such as a patient=s body fluids (e.g., serum, whole blood, urine, swabs, plasma, cerebra-spinal fluid, lymph fluids, tissue solids) can be analyzed using a number of different tests to provide information about a patient's health.
In such testing, it is imperative that the specimens be handled in a manner which prevents contaminants from being introduced to the specimens, whether from the outside environment or between specimens. Obviously, where the HIV virus from one specimen is inadvertently allowed to contaminate the specimen of a different patient, the resulting false positive test result could potentially have catastrophic psychological effect on the patient, even should subsequent testing later discover the error. Moreover, since such testing is highly sensitive, even the smallest amounts of contamination can cause erroneous test results. In such sophisticated testing, it is also imperative that the various reagents which may be used in the testing be properly handled as well, not only to avoid contaminants but also to ensure that the proper reagent in proper quantities is used at appropriate times.
The Architect7 i2000 systems of Abbott Laboratories of Abbott Park, Ill. is a high throughput analyzer providing automated operation in which the operator may be freed from interacting with the analyzer for long periods of time. With that device, bulk supplies of reagents can be manually loaded onto a refrigerated carousel, with the analyzer then automatically obtaining the desired samples and reagents for the processing station at which testing procedures are accomplished. The containers for the reagents and samples are barcoded for automatic tracking on the system. Each reagent container can contain sufficient reagents for many tests so that, depending upon usage and the types of tests most commonly performed, some reagent containers can be maintained on the carousel for long periods of time. Particularly for reagents which are made with suspended microparticles, consistent use and dosages may be negatively impacted due to settling of the microparticles over time.
As described in further detail hereinafter, at least one of the reagent containers 94 a may be suitably secured to the carrier 40 so as to pivot with a drive gear 98 which is positioned on the bottom side of the reagent carrier 40. When that container 94 a is positioned adjacent the bar code reader 46 for reading of its bar code (see FIG. 5 d), the motor drive 48 may be advantageously engaged with the drive gear 98 so as to cause the drive gear 98 and attached bottle seat 95 and reagent container 94 a to rotate as indicated by arrow 90 d=.
At this point, the computer control for the handling device 22 will have the identity of each reagent container 94 a-94 c, and the reagent carrier 40 a may then move clear of the bar code reader 46 and pivot as indicated by arrows 90 e and 90 e′ in FIG. 5 e, respectively, and then be lowered and moved to the other end of the platform 30 as indicated by arrows 90 f and 90 f=, respectively, for storage on the carousel 34 as described hereinafter.
As illustrated in FIGS. 5 g and 5 h, once the sample bar codes 100 have been read to store the sample identifying information in the controlling computer, the sample carrier 42 can be cleared from the bar code reader 46 as indicated by arrows 90 g and 90 g= (much as the reagent carrier 40 is cleared in FIG. 5 e) and then either returned to a selected location 54 on the platform 30 to await further handling when the system 20 is ready to perform selected tests on it, or it can be placed in a ready position behind the platform 30 (see arrow 90 h in FIG. 5 h) where it is readily accessible to the pipettor or other suitable transfer device used to draw sample material and move it to the testing portion of the system 20.
a carrier couplable to the loading platform, the carrier comprising:
a first bottle seat rotatably coupled to the base to secure a first container to the base;
a pivot shaft extending through the base and coupled to the first bottle seat;
a first drive member coupled to the pivot shaft beneath the base to rotate the first bottle seat; and
a second bottle seat fixedly coupled to the base to secure a second container to the base;
a reader to read first identification indicia associated with the first container and second identification indicia associated with the second container;
a transporter to transport the carrier;
a second drive member positioned adjacent the reader; and
control the transporter to transport the carrier to a first position adjacent the reader to engage the first drive member with the second drive member; and
control the second drive member to rotate the first drive member when the first drive member is engaged with the second drive member to rotate the first container seated on the first bottle seat, while the second container is not rotated, to position the first identification indicia on the first container to be read by the reader.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first drive member is a gear.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first container or the second container is to hold a reagent.
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a storage carousel to store a plurality of containers, wherein the transporter is to move the carrier between the loading platform and the carousel.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the storage carousel is rotatably drivable about an axis, and the carousel comprises a plurality of storage locations generally radially oriented relative to the axis.
6. The system of claim 5 further comprising a ring gear substantially centered on the axis to engage the first drive member of the carrier, whereby rotation of the carousel about the axis rotates the first bottle seat about the pivot shaft to agitate contents of the first container.
7. The system of claim 4, wherein the carousel comprises a connector at each of a plurality of storage locations to couple a plurality of carriers to the carousel.
8. The system of claim 7 further comprising a release control to release at least one of the connectors to move at least one of the carriers from the carousel.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the connectors includes at least one pocket to receive a tab on the carrier to secure the carrier to the storage location.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the connector is biased in a first direction to guide the tab to the pocket.
11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a release control to move the connector in a second direction opposite the first direction to free the tab from the pocket.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the release control comprises a lever to be actuated by the transporter to move the connector in the second direction.
13. The system of claim 10 further comprising a spring to bias the connector in the first direction.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein the first container has a first height, and the second container has a second height, the second height being greater than the first height.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein the carrier further comprises a detection element and the system comprises a detector to detect the detection element when the carrier is in proximity to the detector, and the transporter is enabled to load a second carrier when the detection element is not detected.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the detection element is a magnet.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the base includes an upwardly extending wall and the detection element is coupled to the wall.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the wall includes an extension to accommodate a human finger.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein the platform comprises a position indicator to identify a position of the carrier relative to the platform.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the position indicator is pivotally coupled to the platform.
21. The system of claim 1, wherein the first identification indicia is oriented horizontally around at least a portion of an outer surface of the first container and the second identification indicia is oriented vertically along at least a portion of an outer surface of the second container.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the controller is to:
control the transporter to transport the carrier to a second position, different than the first position, to present the second identification indicia on the second container to the reader to be read by the reader while the second container is not rotated.
control the transporter to transport the carrier to (1) a first position where the second identification indicia on the second container is read by the reader, without rotating the second container, and (2) a second position where the first drive member is engaged with the second drive member; and
control the second drive member to rotate the first drive member when the carrier is in the second position to rotate the first container seated on the first bottle seat to position the first identification indicia on the first container to be read by the reader.
US12612791 2005-05-04 2009-11-05 Reagent and sample handling device for automatic testing system Active 2025-10-11 US9057714B2 (en)
US11122280 Division US7628954B2 (en) 2005-05-04 2005-05-04 Reagent and sample handling device for automatic testing system
US14731060 Continuation US20150268259A1 (en) 2005-05-04 2015-06-04 Reagent and sample handling device for automatic testing system
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