Patent Description:
A fully automatic immunoassay analyzer can quantitatively or qualitatively detect target analytes such as antibodies and antigens contained in a sample to be tested, for example, blood or the like. Generally, the sample to be tested and a reagent (or called reactant) are added into an empty reactor and then subjected to steps of uniform mixing, incubation, and bound-free (BF) operation (sometimes referred to simply as washing herein), and the like, and then a signal reagent is added into the reactor, to measure an optical signal or electrical signal, thereby achieving the measurement and analysis of the target analytes contained in the sample to be tested. An immunoassay analyzer is for example described in document <CIT>.

An important parameter to measure work efficiency of the immunoassay analyzer is a test throughput. The test throughput can be understood as the number of test results that can be reported by the immunoassay analyzer in a unit time, that is, the measured number of reactors containing the target analytes. The more the total number of reactors measured in a unit time, the higher the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer. Since reaction modes and test processes of analysis projects are usually different, the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer is not always constant. The maximum test throughput is usually used as a measuring standard of a test speed of the immunoassay analyzer. For the convenience of description, in the present application, unless otherwise specified, the test throughput refers specifically to the maximum test throughput of the analyzer. Regarding processing of the reactor by the immunoassay analyzer as an assembly line, if measurements of N reactors containing the target analytes is finished and the N reactors containing the target analytes leave the assembly line in the unit time, in order to ensure that the test is carried out continuously and reliably at the maximum throughput, N empty reactors must also enter the assembly line at the same time. That is, the flow of the reactor at an inlet of the assembly line (inlet flow) is equal to the flow at an outlet (outlet flow). Similarly, in order to ensure that the entire assembly line is continuous and unintermittent, the flow of the reactor at each process in the assembly line should be equal to the inlet flow and the outlet flow. That is, the flow throughout the assembly line is the same.

For conventional immunoassay analyzers, since some components thereof have a long working time and take up a large space, how to improve the test throughput on the basis of ensuring a compact structure thereof is an urgent problem to be solved.

According to various embodiments, an immunoassay analyzer as defined in claim <NUM> is provided, which can increase the test throughput on the basis of ensuring a compact structure.

The present invention is directed to an immunoassay analyzer, the main and subsidiaries aspects of which are defined by the appended claims. The immunoassay analyzer includes:.

a mixing device having a first station and a second station, the mixing device including a delivering assembly and at least two mixing assemblies, and wherein the delivering assembly is configured to drive the mixing assemblies to cyclically reciprocate between the first station and the second station, the mixing assembly is configured to carry a reactor and mix a sample and a reagent in the reactor; and.

a reaction device configured to perform an incubation, a BF operation, and a measurement to a reactant in the reactor, and the reaction device including a rotating disk.

Details of one or more embodiments of the present application are set forth in the attached drawings and description. Other features, purposes and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

In order to better describe and illustrate embodiments and/or examples of these inventions disclosed herein, reference may be made to one or more drawings. Additional details or examples used to describe the drawings should not be considered as a limitation on the scope of any of the disclosed inventions, the currently described embodiments and/or examples, and the best modes of these things currently understood.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present application more thorough and comprehensive.

It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed on" another element, it can be directly on another element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. When an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. Terms "inside", "outside", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only, and do not mean that they are the only embodiments.

Incubation of a sample and a reagent (or called reactant) specifically refers to a process of antigen-antibody binding reaction or biotin avidin binding reaction of the reactant in a reactor in a constant temperature environment before starting to be washed (undergo a bound-free (BF) operation). The reagents described herein are in one-to-one correspondence with analysis projects. That is, specific reagents corresponding to different analysis projects are generally different in terms of formula, reagent quantity, component quantity and the like. Depending on the difference in specific analysis projects, the reagent usually includes multiple components, for example, usually include <NUM> to <NUM> components, including magnetic particles, an enzyme label, a diluent, a dissociation reagent, and the like. For example, a T4 reagent (thyroxine) contains three components: magnetic particles, an enzyme label, and a dissociation agent. According to different reaction modes, multiple reagent components for one analysis project can be dispensed at one time or dispensed in multiple steps. When dispensed in steps, the multiple reagent components are defined as a first reagent, a second reagent, a third reagent, and so on according to the order of dispensation. After the incubation is finished, the BF operation is performed. The BF operation refers to a process of capturing a complex of the bound magnetic particles, antigens and labeled antibodies with a magnetic field, while removing free labeled antibodies and other unreacted or unbound ingredients (for the convenience of description, referred to simply as unbound ingredients herein). After the BF operation is finished, a signal reagent is dispensed for a signal incubation (generally for <NUM> to <NUM> minutes). Finally, the amount of luminescence (for the convenience of description, referred to as a reactant signal herein) produced by a reaction between a labeling reagent and the signal reagent is measured. The signal reagent is used to measure the generated signal (usually the amount of luminescence), which is usually a kind of general reagent, and is in one-to-many correspondence with the analysis projects. That is, different analysis projects share the signal reagent. The signal incubation refers to a process in which the signal reagent is added into the reactor subjected to the BF operation, for reaction for a period of time in a constant temperature environment, to increase the signal. It should be noted that due to the difference in the specific ingredients of the signal reagent, some luminescence systems do not require the signal incubation, and a measurement can be performed directly during or after dispensing the signal reagent. One or more types of signal reagents may be used. For example, some signal reagents include a first signal reagent, a second signal reagent, and so on. In an immunoassay device, subjected to the above processes, the antigens or antibodies contained in a sample bound to the labeling reagent is quantitatively or qualitatively measured. In addition, an immunoassay analyzer can analyze the sample through several different analysis projects.

A working period or cycle, abbreviated as a period, is the shortest time window that can be reproduced cyclically during a test, which usually has a fixed length of time. Within the time of a period, a certain number of process operations, tasks, work packages or the like are performed serially or in parallel in a controlled order. For example, the operations and tasks may be liquid pipetting, mixing, incubating, BF operation, measurement, and the like. The tasks of the same component in one period are usually performed serially. The tasks of different components in the same period depend on whether there is a dependency between the actions of related components, and correspondingly, can be performed serially or in parallel. All process operations performed in one period are performed only when required, and not necessarily repeated in the other period. In particular, some process operations may be repeated in each period, while the others may be performed every two or more periods. When multiple tests are performed continuously, since each test is usually at a different stage in a test process, among all the process operations performed in a single period, only some process operations are dedicated to be performed in one test, and some other process operations are performed in other tests. That is, in a single period, different process operations are dedicated to be used in different tests. Therefore, the test is usually completed in multiple periods, where the different process operations used to be performed in the test are performed in different periods. In order to improve test efficiency and throughput, for components with a speed bottleneck, the test may be achieved by increasing the number of components and extending the period of components, such that the working periods of different components are not necessarily the same. That is, there may be multiple parallel periods in the same system. Usually, there is a multiple relation between time lengths of the multiple parallel periods. The multiple is usually equal to the number of the same component. When there are two working periods, they are referred to as a first period and a second period, respectively. For example, when N reagent pipetting units are provided (N≥<NUM>, which is a natural number), each reagent pipetting unit works in the first period. The length of the first period is N times the length of the second period. Sequences of actions of the N reagent units are continuously "staggered in parallel" at an interval of the second period. The present application can realize an immune test with a high throughput. The typical length of the second period is <NUM> to <NUM> seconds, and the corresponding test throughput is <NUM> to <NUM> tests per hour. That is, <NUM> to <NUM> results can be continuously reported per hour.

Referring to <FIG>, an immunoassay analyzer <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present application includes a mixing device <NUM>, a reaction device <NUM>, a reagent supply device <NUM>, a sample supply device <NUM>, and a reactor supply device <NUM>. The reactor supply device <NUM> is used to provide a clean and empty reactor <NUM>. The sample supply device <NUM> is used to add a sample into the empty reactor <NUM>. The reagent supply device <NUM> is used to add a reagent into the reactor <NUM> containing the sample. The mixing device <NUM> is used to mix the reactor <NUM> containing the sample and the reagent. The reaction device <NUM> is used to incubate, wash, and measure the mixed sample and reagent in the reactor <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the reactor supply device <NUM> includes a supply silo, a sorting mechanism, a supply chute, and a supply tray. The supply silo is used to store the clean and empty reactor <NUM>. The supply silo can be located behind the reagent supply device <NUM>, such that the whole machine space can be fully utilized, and thus a structure of the immunoassay analyzer <NUM> becomes more compact. The sorting mechanism is used to sort the randomly placed reactors <NUM>, and arrange them in a certain order. The supply chute guides the sorted reactors <NUM> into the supply tray one by one. The supply tray is used to temporarily store the reactors <NUM> conveyed by the supply chute. The reactors <NUM> can be arranged at intervals along a circumferential direction of the supply tray. The supply tray can rotate around its own central axis, so as to drive the reactor <NUM> to a designated position. The designated position can be defined as a reactor supply station. The reactor <NUM> on the supply tray will be transferred to the mixing device <NUM> at the reactor supply station.

In some embodiments, the sample supply device <NUM> includes a sample rack, a sample tube, a conveying track, a sample pipetting unit <NUM>, and the like. The sample rack can cooperate with the conveying track. The sample tube is placed on the sample rack. The sample tube is used to contain the sample. For example, about five to ten sample tubes can be placed on each sample rack. When the sample rack drives the sample tube to a designated position along the conveying track, the sample pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the sample of the sample tube, and adds the sample into the empty reactor <NUM>. The sample pipetting unit <NUM> can be provided with a steel needle or a disposable suction nozzle. In order to pipet the sample smoothly, the sample pipetting unit <NUM> can move vertically up and down, move horizontally and linearly, rotate horizontally or the like.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments, the mixing device <NUM> is of a serial type. The serial type mixing device <NUM> includes a delivering assembly <NUM> and a mixing assembly <NUM>. The delivering assembly <NUM> is provided with at least two mixing assemblies <NUM>. The delivering assembly <NUM> can drive all the mixing assemblies <NUM> to move in the same direction synchronously. In short, all the mixing assemblies <NUM> are connected in series on one delivering assembly <NUM>.

The delivering assembly <NUM> includes a frame <NUM> and a conveyor disposed on the frame <NUM>. The conveyor is used to drive all the mixing assemblies <NUM> to move in the same direction synchronously, which can be composed of one or more of the transmission forms or mechanisms such as a synchronous belt, a screw drive, and a gear rack.

In some embodiments, the conveyor includes a motor <NUM>, a driving wheel <NUM>, a driven wheel <NUM>, and a synchronous belt <NUM>. The motor <NUM> is used to drive the driving wheel <NUM> to rotate. The synchronous belt <NUM> is wound around the driving wheel <NUM> and the driven wheel <NUM>. When the motor <NUM> rotates, the driving wheel <NUM> and the driven wheel <NUM> drive the synchronous belt <NUM> to move.

Each mixing assembly <NUM> includes a support base <NUM>, a driver <NUM>, and a carrying platform <NUM>. The support base <NUM> is slidably disposed on the frame <NUM> and connected to the conveyor of the delivering assembly <NUM>. Specifically, a sliding rail may be provided on the frame <NUM>. The support base <NUM> cooperates with the sliding rail. The synchronous belt <NUM> drives the frame to slide in an extending direction of the sliding rail. The driver <NUM> is mounted on the support base <NUM> and is connected to the carrying platform <NUM>. The reactor <NUM> is placed on the carrying platform <NUM>. The synchronous belt <NUM> can drive the support base <NUM> of each mixing assembly <NUM> to move in the same direction. The driver <NUM> can drive the carrying platform <NUM> to shake eccentrically, such that the reactant in the reactor <NUM> is mixed due to non-contact eccentric shaking.

The carrying platform <NUM> may be provided with at least two accommodating holes 122a. The reactors <NUM> are inserted into the accommodating holes 122a, such that the carrying platform <NUM> can carry the reactors <NUM>. In other embodiments, the accommodating hole 122a can also be replaced by a solid structure such as a bracket, as long as the reactor <NUM> can be placed on the carrying platform <NUM>.

When two mixing assemblies <NUM> are provided, one of the mixing assemblies <NUM> includes a first support base <NUM> and a first carrying platform <NUM>, and the other mixing assembly <NUM> includes a second support base <NUM> and a second carrying platform <NUM>. The first support base <NUM> has a first mounting end 1211a. The second support base <NUM> has a second mounting end 1212a. The second mounting end 1212a is provided adjacent to the first mounting end 1211a. The first carrying platform <NUM> is located at the first mounting end 1211a. The second carrying platform <NUM> is located at the second mounting end 1212a. In short, the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> are provided opposite to each other, such that the sample and the reagent can be easily added into the reactor <NUM> on the different carrying platform <NUM> at the designated positions.

Referring to <FIG>, when the above serial type mixing device <NUM> is used to mix the sample and the reagent, a serial type mixing method can be formed. The serial type mixing method mainly includes the following steps.

At S510, at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> for carrying the reactors <NUM> are provided. The same delivering assembly <NUM> is used to synchronously drive the mixing assemblies <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between a first station <NUM> and a second station <NUM>. That is, the synchronous belt <NUM> drives all the carrying platforms <NUM> to move between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>.

At S520, the sample is added into the reactor <NUM> located at the first station <NUM>. The reagent is added into the reactor <NUM> located at the second station <NUM>. The sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> are mixed. When the synchronous belt <NUM> drives the carrying platform <NUM> to move to the first station <NUM>, the synchronous belt <NUM> stops moving. Since the sample pipetting unit <NUM> is provided near the first station <NUM>, the sample pipetting unit <NUM> will pipet the sample and add it to one reactor <NUM>. After the sample is added, when the synchronous belt <NUM> drives the carrying platforms <NUM> to move to the second station <NUM>, the synchronous belt <NUM> stops moving, and the reagent can be added into the reactor <NUM> containing the sample through the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> in the reagent supply device <NUM>. When the sample and the reagent are added into the reactor <NUM>, the driver <NUM> can drive the carrying platform <NUM> to shake eccentrically, such that the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> are mixed by non-contact eccentric shaking.

At S530, the shortest time window during which the sequences of actions or tasks performed by the mixing assembly <NUM> can be cyclically reproduced, including actions of receiving the reactor <NUM>, waiting the sample pipetting unit <NUM> to add the sample, waiting the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to add the reagent, shaking eccentrically, removing the reactor <NUM> that has been mixed and the like, is recorded as the first period. That is, the minimum time interval at which the mixing assembly <NUM> performs the same action twice in succession is the first period. A value obtained by dividing the first period by the number of mixing assemblies <NUM> is recorded as the second period. From when the reactor <NUM> is moved into one of the mixing assemblies <NUM> for the first time, the reactors <NUM> are moved into each of the other mixing assemblies <NUM> sequentially at staggered intervals of one second period. It can be understood that, in order to implement the above steps, the working period of the delivering assembly <NUM> is the second period, and the working period of the mixing assembly <NUM> is the first period. The delivering assembly <NUM> can synchronously drive the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM> in each second period.

At S540, the reactors <NUM> that have been mixed are moved out of the mixing assembly <NUM> by sequentially staggering the time of the second period. Then, new reactors <NUM> are moved into the mixing assembly <NUM> from which the reactors <NUM> are removed.

The present application can realize a high throughput immunity test. The length of the second period can be any suitable value within <NUM> to <NUM> seconds, such as <NUM> seconds, <NUM> seconds, <NUM> seconds, <NUM> seconds, or the like, and the corresponding test throughput is <NUM> to <NUM> tests per hour. That is, <NUM> to <NUM> results can be continuously reported per hour.

In the following description, <NUM> seconds are taken as an example for the convenience.

The following takes the delivering assembly <NUM> driving the two mixing assemblies <NUM> to move synchronously as an example. If the immunoassay analyzer <NUM> is necessary to finish a measurement of one reactor <NUM> every <NUM> seconds, that is, reports one test result every <NUM> seconds, in this case, the time of the second period is <NUM> seconds. Regarding the entire immunoassay analyzer <NUM> as an assembly line, it is necessary to ensure that the flow throughout at all points of the assembly line are the same. Therefore, the mixing device <NUM> is also necessary to output one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds. If there is only one mixing assembly <NUM>, since a total time required for the sequence of actions performed by the mixing assembly <NUM>, including receiving the reactor <NUM>, waiting the sample pipetting unit <NUM> to add the sample, waiting the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to add the reagent, shaking eccentrically, removing the reactor <NUM> that has been mixed and the like, is greater than <NUM> seconds, the mixing device <NUM> will not be able to output one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds. Therefore, the flow of the mixing device <NUM> is lower than outlet flow of the assembly line, causing the assembly line to fail to work continuously at maximum efficiency. Therefore, the first period is set to be twice the second period, that is, the first period is <NUM> seconds. In addition, two mixing assemblies <NUM> are provided. The two mixing assemblies <NUM> perform the sequences of actions by relatively staggering the time of the second period (namely, <NUM> seconds), that is, the two mixing assemblies <NUM> are "staggered in parallel" at an interval of the second period. Based on each mixing assembly <NUM> outputting one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds, the entire mixing device <NUM> will output one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds, finally achieving the purpose of "quantity for the time".

In other embodiments, an initial station <NUM> can further be provided, such that the delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM>, and the second station <NUM>. At the initial station <NUM>, the reactor <NUM> is moved into or out of the mixing assembly <NUM>. The initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM>, and the second station <NUM> can be arranged on the same straight line, and the initial station <NUM> is located between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>, such that a moving trajectory of the mixing assembly <NUM> among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM>, and the second station <NUM> is a straight line. The initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM> can also be arranged on the same circumference, such that the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved circularly among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>. Compared with a conventional mixing assembly <NUM> fixed in a single station, the delivering assembly <NUM> of the present application drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between multiple stations, such that the mixing assembly <NUM> can perform different sequences of actions at different stations in an orderly manner, which shortens the moving trajectories of the sample pipetting unit <NUM>, the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> and the like. Thus, the mixing assembly <NUM> can achieve more flexible and efficient task operations of the reactor <NUM>, such as receiving the reactor <NUM>, receiving the sample, receiving the reagent, mixing, thereby increasing the test throughput of the whole machine.

Specifically, when the serial type mixing device <NUM> starts to work, one reactor <NUM> is added to the first carrying platform <NUM> at the initial station <NUM> for the first time. In this case, no reactor <NUM> is added to the second carrying platform <NUM>. The conveyor drives the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> to move from the initial station <NUM> to the first station <NUM>, and thus the sample is added into the reactor <NUM> on the first carrying platform <NUM>. The conveyor drives the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> to move from the first station <NUM> to the second station <NUM>, and thus the reagent is added into the reactors <NUM> containing the sample on the first carrying platform <NUM>. The first carrying platform <NUM> generates eccentric shaking, such that the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> start to be mixed. The conveyor drives the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> to return from the second station <NUM> to the initial station <NUM>, in this case, the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> arrive at the initial station <NUM> at the <NUM>th second, and thus the reactor <NUM> is added to the second carrying platform <NUM> for the first time. The conveyor drives the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> to move from the initial station <NUM> to the first station <NUM> again, and thus the sample is added into the reactor <NUM> on the second carrying platform <NUM>. The conveyor drives the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> to move from the first station <NUM> to the second station <NUM> again, and thus the reagent is added into the reactor <NUM> containing the sample on the second carrying platform <NUM>. The carrying platform <NUM> generates eccentric shaking, such that the sample and reagent in the reactor <NUM> start to be mixed. The conveyor drives the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> to return from the second station <NUM> to the initial station <NUM>, in this case, the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> arrive at the initial station <NUM> at the <NUM>th second. The reactor <NUM> is added to the first carrying platform <NUM> for the second time and is moved to the first station <NUM>. According to this mixing rule, when the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> arrive at the initial station <NUM> at the <NUM>th second, the reactor <NUM> is added to the second carrying platform <NUM> for the second time. As such, when the first carrying platform <NUM> and the second carrying platform <NUM> arrive at the initial station <NUM> at the <NUM>th, <NUM>th, and (<NUM>*N)th second (N≥<NUM>), the reactor <NUM> will be moved into the mixing device <NUM>. Similarly, since the working period of each mixing assembly <NUM> is the first period (<NUM> seconds) and the sequences of actions between the mixing assemblies <NUM> are staggered in parallel at the time interval of the second period (<NUM> seconds), one reactor <NUM> is mixed by each mixing assembly <NUM> every <NUM> seconds, and is moved out of the mixing device <NUM> to the reaction device <NUM>. Nevertheless, the entire mixing device <NUM> outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds, such that the flow of the mixing device <NUM> is equal to the outlet flow of the assembly line. In fact, when the reactor <NUM> on one of the mixing assemblies <NUM> is mixed, the mixing time is fully utilized to add the sample or the reagent into the reactor <NUM> on the other mixing assembly <NUM> to make the whole the flow of the mixing device <NUM> meet the requirements of the test throughput.

In other embodiments, when the second period is still <NUM> seconds, the time of the first period can be longer. In this case, three, four or more mixing assemblies <NUM> are provided. The first period can be set to be three times, four times, or even more times the second period. That is, the first period is <NUM> seconds or <NUM> seconds, etc. In this way, on the basis of ensuring the test throughput, the moving speed of the delivering assembly <NUM> can be reduced, the mixing time of the sample and the reagent can be prolonged, and thus the bottleneck of the moving speed of the delivering assembly <NUM> and the bottleneck of the mixing time of the sample and the reagent can be effectively solved. In the case that the moving speed of the delivering assembly <NUM> and the mixing time of the sample and the reagent are fixed, each mixing assembly <NUM> still outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds. That is, the first period is still <NUM> seconds. If it is necessary to increase the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer <NUM>, for example, it is required to output one reactor <NUM> after the measurement is completed every <NUM> seconds (the second period), the number of mixing assemblies <NUM> on the delivering assembly <NUM> can be increased to four. For another example, if it is required to output one reactor <NUM> after the measurement is completed every <NUM> seconds (the second period), the number of mixing assemblies <NUM> on the delivering assembly <NUM> can be increased to five.

At least two mixing positions can be disposed on each mixing assembly <NUM>. The mixing position is the accommodating hole 122a on the carrying platform <NUM>. When one of the mixing positions (the accommodating hole 122a) is occupied by the reactor <NUM> that is being mixed or has been mixed, another reactor <NUM> is moved into the other empty mixing position (accommodating hole 122a) on this mixing assembly <NUM>. This can solve the occupying problem of the mixing positions during the reactor <NUM> being moving into and out of the same carrying platform <NUM>, and improve the test efficiency and test throughput.

The mixing of the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> can be performed after a movement of the mixing assembly <NUM> driven by the delivering assembly <NUM> is stopped, or during the movement. For example, during the mixing assembly <NUM> returning from the second station <NUM> to the initial station <NUM>, the driver <NUM> causes the carrying platform <NUM> to eccentrically shake to mix the sample and the reagent. The mixing during the movement can make full use of the time during the movement of the mixing assembly <NUM>, to mix the sample and the reagent, ensuring that the mixing device <NUM> meets the test throughput requirements.

From the start of mixing to the completion of mixing, the time required by the reactor <NUM> loaded with the sample and the reagent is usually <NUM> to <NUM> seconds. The working period of the delivering assembly <NUM> is the first period, and the working periods of the two mixing assemblies <NUM> are the second period, such that there is enough time for the sample and the reagent to be mixed to ensure that the sample and the reagent can react with each other sufficiently and improve the accuracy of the subsequent measurement.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments, the mixing device <NUM> is of a parallel type. The parallel type mixing device <NUM> includes at least two mixing mechanisms <NUM>. Each mixing mechanism <NUM> includes a delivering assembly <NUM> and a mixing assembly <NUM>. The mixing assembly <NUM> is disposed on the delivering assembly <NUM>. The delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to move. For example, when each mixing mechanism <NUM> includes one delivering assembly <NUM> and one mixing assembly <NUM>, the displacements of individual mixing assemblies <NUM> are in parallel with each other. Structures of the delivering assembly <NUM> and the mixing assembly <NUM> are the same as the corresponding structures in the above-mentioned serial type mixing device <NUM>. That is, each delivering assembly <NUM> includes a frame <NUM> and a conveyor disposed on the frame <NUM>. Each mixing assembly <NUM> includes a support base <NUM>, a driver <NUM> and a carrying platform <NUM>, which will not be repeated here. The main difference between the parallel type mixing device <NUM> and the serial type mixing device <NUM> is that the mixing assemblies <NUM> are respectively disposed on different transport assemblies <NUM>, and the movements of the mixing assemblies <NUM> on the different transport assemblies <NUM> are not synchronized.

In some embodiments, at least one mixing mechanism <NUM> includes one delivering assembly <NUM> and at least two mixing assemblies <NUM>. The delivering assembly <NUM> drives the at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> to move synchronously. In this case, the at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> on the mixing mechanism <NUM> are in series. The mixing assemblies <NUM> on such mixing mechanism <NUM> are in parallel with the mixing assemblies <NUM> on the other mixing mechanism(s) <NUM>. That is, the mixing assemblies <NUM> in the entire mixing device <NUM> are in parallel and in series, that is, in hybrid.

Referring to <FIG>, when the above-mentioned parallel type mixing device <NUM> is used to mix the sample and the reagent, a parallel type mixing method can be formed. The parallel type mixing method mainly includes the following steps.

At S610, at least two transport assemblies <NUM> are provided, such that each delivering assembly <NUM> is provided with the mixing assembly <NUM> for carrying the reactor <NUM>, and each delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>.

At S620, the sample is added into the reactor <NUM> at the first station <NUM>, and then the reagent is added into the reactor <NUM> at the second station <NUM>, and then the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> are mixed.

At S630, the shortest time window during which the sequences of actions or tasks performed by the mixing assembly <NUM> can be cyclically reproduced, including actions of receiving the reactor <NUM>, waiting the sample pipetting unit <NUM> to add the sample, waiting the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to add the reagent, shaking eccentrically, removing the reactor <NUM> that has been mixed and the like, is recorded as the first period. That is, the minimum time interval at which the mixing assembly <NUM> performs the same action twice in succession is the first period. A value obtained by dividing the first period by the number of mixing assemblies <NUM> is recorded as the second period. From when the reactor <NUM> is moved into the mixing assembly <NUM> on one of the transport assemblies <NUM> for the first time, the reactors <NUM> are moved into the mixing assembly <NUM> on the other transport assemblies <NUM> sequentially at staggered intervals of one second period. It can be understood that, in order to implement the above steps, the working periods of each delivering assembly <NUM> and each mixing assembly <NUM> are the second period.

At S640, the reactors <NUM> that have been mixed are moved out of the mixing assembly <NUM> by sequentially staggering the time of the second period. Then, new reactors <NUM> are placed in the mixing assembly <NUM> from which the reactors <NUM> are removed.

In the following, two transport assemblies <NUM> are provided. Each delivering assembly <NUM> provided with one mixing assembly <NUM> is taken as an example for description. For the same portions as the serial type mixing method, reference is made to the above description. Assuming that the second period is <NUM> seconds, and each mixing mechanism <NUM> outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds, that is, the first period is <NUM> seconds, because the reactors <NUM> are moved into the mixing assemblies <NUM> on the other transport assemblies <NUM> sequentially by sequentially staggering the time of the second period, and finally, the entire mixing device <NUM> will output one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds, which can function as "quantity for the time" as well.

Referring to the above description of the serial type mixing method, in the parallel type mixing method, the initial station <NUM> can also be provided, such that the delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM>, and the second station <NUM>. At the initial station <NUM>, the reactor <NUM> is moved into or out of the mixing assembly <NUM>. The initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM> can be arranged on the same straight line, and the initial station <NUM> is located between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>, such that a moving trajectory of the mixing assembly <NUM> among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM> is a straight line.

Compared with a conventional mixing assembly <NUM> fixed in a single station, the delivering assembly <NUM> of the present application drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between multiple stations, which improves the test throughput of the whole machine.

Each mixing assembly <NUM> is provided with at least two mixing positions. The mixing position is the accommodating hole 122a on the carrying platform <NUM>. The two mixing positions are used simultaneously or alternately, which can improve the efficiency of the mixing assembly <NUM> mixing the reactor <NUM>. When one of the mixing positions (accommodating hole 122a) is occupied, the reactor <NUM> can be moved to the other mixing position (accommodating hole 122a) on the same mixing assembly <NUM>. The sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> can be mixed during the movement of the mixing assembly <NUM> driven by the delivering assembly <NUM> or after the movement is stopped. That is, the mixing of the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> is not limited by the moving state of the delivering assembly <NUM>, which can make the mixing device <NUM> more flexible and efficient.

Specifically, when the parallel type mixing device <NUM> starts to work, one of the transport assemblies <NUM> is recorded as a first delivering assembly <NUM>, and the other delivering assembly <NUM> is recorded as a second delivering assembly <NUM>. One reactor <NUM> is added into the carrying platform <NUM> on the first delivering assembly <NUM> at the initial station <NUM> for the first time, while no reactor <NUM> is added into the carrying platform <NUM> on the second delivering assembly <NUM>.

For the first delivering assembly <NUM>, when it moves from the initial station <NUM> to the first station <NUM>, the sample is added into the reactor <NUM> on the carrying platform <NUM> of the first delivering assembly <NUM>. When the first delivering assembly <NUM> moves from the first station <NUM> to the second station <NUM>, and the reagent is added into the reactor <NUM> containing the sample on the carrying platform <NUM> of the first delivering assembly <NUM>. The carrying platform <NUM> of the first delivering assembly <NUM> generates eccentric shaking such that the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM> start to be mixed.

For the second delivering assembly <NUM>, at the <NUM>th second after adding the reactor <NUM> into the carrying platform <NUM> on the first delivering assembly <NUM>, the reactor <NUM> is added into the carrying platform <NUM> on the second delivering assembly <NUM> for the first time, and the second delivering assembly <NUM> starts to move regularly according to the moving rule of the first delivering assembly <NUM>. As such, when the carrying platform <NUM> on the first delivering assembly <NUM> and the carrying platform <NUM> on the second delivering assembly <NUM> arrive at the initial station <NUM> at the <NUM>th, <NUM>th, and (<NUM>*n)th second, the reactor <NUM> will be moved into the mixing device <NUM>. Similarly, since the working period of each mixing assembly <NUM> is the first period (<NUM> seconds) and the sequences of actions between the mixing assemblies <NUM> are staggered in parallel at the time interval of the second period (<NUM> seconds), one reactor <NUM> is mixed by each mixing assembly <NUM> every <NUM> seconds, and is moved out of the mixing device <NUM> to the reaction device <NUM>. Nevertheless, the entire mixing device <NUM> outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds.

For the parallel type mixing method, the transport assemblies <NUM> drive the mixing assemblies <NUM> to be "staggered in parallel" at the interval of the second period (<NUM> seconds). Although each mixing mechanism <NUM> outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds (first period), the two mixing mechanisms <NUM> starts to work from the initial station <NUM> by being staggered <NUM> seconds, such that the entire mixing device <NUM> outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed every <NUM> seconds (the second period). By increasing the number of mixing mechanisms <NUM>, on the basis of the flow of the entire mixing device <NUM> meeting the test throughput requirements, the transport assemblies <NUM> can move at a slower speed, which solves the bottleneck of the moving speed of the delivering assembly <NUM> and the bottleneck of the mixing time of the sample and the reagent. For other similarities, reference is made to the relevant description of the above serial type mixing method.

When at least one delivering assembly <NUM> is provided with at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> thereon, the delivering assembly <NUM> drives all the mixing assemblies <NUM> provided thereon to move synchronously. That is, at least one mixing mechanism <NUM> includes at least two mixing assemblies <NUM>. The mixing assemblies <NUM> on the mixing mechanism <NUM> are connected in series. Therefore, the mixing assemblies <NUM> on the entire mixing device <NUM> are both connected in parallel and in series. Likewise, the reactor <NUM> is added to each mixing assembly <NUM> for the first time at the interval of the second period, and finally the entire mixing device <NUM> outputs one reactor <NUM> that has been mixed at the interval of the second period. By providing some of the mixing assemblies <NUM> to be connected in series, the structure of the entire mixing device <NUM> can be made more compact.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments, the reagent supply device <NUM> is provided adjacent to the second station <NUM>. The reagent supply device <NUM> includes the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> and a storage unit <NUM>. At least two storage units <NUM> are provided. The storage unit <NUM> is provided with a plurality of storage portions <NUM>. A reagent container is placed and stored on the storage portion <NUM>. The reagent is contained in the reagent container. The reagent pipetting unit <NUM> is used to pipet the reagent component in the reagent container on the storage portion <NUM>, and adds the reagent component into the reactor <NUM> at the second station <NUM>. The number of storage portions <NUM> can be set according to needs. Considering the use requirements, cost, and layout, <NUM> to <NUM> storage portions <NUM> are preferably disposed on each storage unit <NUM>. For example, <NUM> storage portions <NUM> are disposed on each storage unit <NUM>. In this way, two storage units <NUM> can store <NUM> reagent containers in total in situ at the same time. Each storage unit <NUM> stores all the reagent components required by the corresponding analysis project. For example, in an analysis project, it is necessary to add three reagent components that are the magnetic particles, the enzyme label, and the dissociating agent into the reactor <NUM>, and thus the three reagent components of the magnetic particles, the enzyme label, and the dissociating agent are stored in the same storage unit <NUM>. When a certain analysis project needs to load multiple reagent containers to expand the test throughput on machine corresponding this item, the multiple reagent containers can be stored in each storage unit in any suitable combination. For example, when two storage units are provided, it is necessary to load three thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) reagent containers, each for <NUM> tests. The three TSH reagent containers can be loaded in the same storage unit. Alternatively, one TSH reagent container is loaded in one storage unit, and the other two TSH reagent containers are loaded in the other storage unit.

For a conventional reagent supply device <NUM>, in order to increase the storage capacity for the analysis projects, the number of storage portions <NUM> is necessary to be increased, which causes an increase in a size of the entire storage unit <NUM>. It is disadvantageous to the layout and the manufacturing of the storage unit <NUM> when the storage unit <NUM> occupies a large area. On the other hand, for the storage unit <NUM> with a large volume and weight, the difficulty of controlling the movement of the storage unit <NUM> is also increased, resulting in the storage portion <NUM> being unable to arrive at the designated position in a short time for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent, which becomes a bottleneck for achieving high test throughput. In addition, the conventional reagent supply device <NUM> stores multiple reagent components for the same analysis project on different storage units <NUM>, which not only allows the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent of the same analysis project on multiple different storage units <NUM>, resulting in the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> having a large displacement and a complex moving logic, and being unable to achieve high test throughput, but also requires the reagent components to be contained in multiple reagent containers, resulting in high manufacturing costs and inconvenient operations for users. In addition, since multiple reagent components of the same analysis project are stored in different storage units <NUM>, when a certain storage unit fails, it will directly cause the apparatus to fail to continue testing.

According to the above embodiment of the present application, the reagent supply device <NUM> is provided with at least two storage units <NUM>, each of which has a small volume, which is advantageous to the overall machine layout and the movement control, and can further ensure that the entire reagent supply device <NUM> has a large reagent storage capacity. In addition, each storage unit <NUM> stores all the reagent components required by the corresponding analysis project, which can improve the reliability of the reagent supply device <NUM> and the tolerance to failure. When one of the storage units <NUM> fails and cannot work, the remaining storage unit <NUM> can continue to work to ensure that the reagent supply device <NUM> can still work effectively. In other embodiments, the failed storage unit <NUM> can be maintained while other storage units <NUM> are working.

The storage unit <NUM> may be a rotating disk. The rotating disk rotates periodically and intermittently, thereby driving the storage portion <NUM> to the designated position (i.e., a pipetting station <NUM>), such that the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the reagent on the storage portion <NUM> at the pipetting station <NUM>. The number of reagent pipetting units <NUM> can be equal to the number of rotating disks. Each rotating disk corresponds to one reagent pipetting unit <NUM>. Each reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the reagent from the corresponding rotating disk. As similar to the sample pipetting unit <NUM>, the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can use a steel needle or a disposable suction nozzle. In order to pipet the sample smoothly, the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can move vertically up and down, move horizontally and linearly, rotate horizontally or the like. In other embodiments, one reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can also be provided, and the one reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the reagents in multiple rotating disks.

The reagent supply device <NUM> further includes a scanner. The scanner is disposed on the storage unit <NUM>. The scanner can identify barcode information of the reagent container on the storage portion <NUM>, so as to distinguish different reagents. In order to make the structure of the entire reagent supply device <NUM> compact, the scanner is fixed. The storage unit <NUM> can further be provided with a refrigerator. The refrigerator can refrigerate the reagent in the storage portion <NUM>, thereby storing the reagent in situ for a long term.

Referring to <FIG>, in order to achieve a high throughput immune test, when the reagent supply device <NUM> is used to pipet the reagent, a pipetting method of the reagent can be formed, and the pipetting method mainly includes the following steps.

At S710, the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> and at least two storage units <NUM> for storing the reagent are provided. The reagent containers are stored on the multiple storage portions <NUM> of the storage unit <NUM>, such that each storage unit <NUM> store all the reagent components required by the corresponding analysis project.

At S720, the storage portion <NUM> is moved along with the storage unit <NUM>, such that the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the reagent from the storage portion <NUM> that has arrived at the pipetting station <NUM>. The movement of the storage unit <NUM> may be rotation. For example, the storage unit <NUM> rotates periodically and intermittently, such that the storage portion <NUM> arrives at the pipetting station <NUM> every set time, for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent.

At S730, the shortest time window during which the sequence of actions performed by each storage unit <NUM> can be reproduced cyclically is recorded as the first period. That is, the minimum time interval at which the storage unit <NUM> performs the same action twice in succession is the first period. A value obtained by dividing the first period by the number of storage units <NUM> is recorded as the second period. From when one of the storage units <NUM> drives the storage portion <NUM> to move towards the pipetting station <NUM> for the first time, the other storage units <NUM> drive the storage portions <NUM> to move towards the corresponding pipetting station <NUM> sequentially at staggered intervals of one second period.

Taking two storage units <NUM> as an example for illustration, according to the principle that the flow is equal everywhere, the value of the second period is equal to the value of the second period mentioned in the above-mentioned mixing method. Also taking <NUM> seconds as an example for illustration, that is, every <NUM> seconds, one storage unit <NUM> arrives at the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. In other embodiments, the value of the first period is the same as the value of the first period mentioned in the above-mentioned mixing method. That is, the value of the first period is <NUM> seconds. With reference to the basic principle of the above-mentioned mixing method, the two storage units <NUM> are "staggered in parallel" at a time interval of the second period. Although each storage unit <NUM> will have one storage unit <NUM> arrive at the corresponding pipetting station <NUM> every <NUM> seconds, the sequences of actions of the two storage units <NUM> start to be performed by being staggered <NUM> seconds sequentially, such that the entire reagent supply device <NUM> will have one storage portion <NUM> arrive at the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent every <NUM> seconds. By increasing the number of storage units <NUM> to shorten the time, on the basis that the flow of the entire reagent supply device <NUM> meeting the test throughput requirements, the storage unit <NUM> can be rotated at a slower speed, thereby solving the bottleneck of the moving speed of the storage unit. In other embodiments, when the number of storage units <NUM> increases, the flow of the entire reagent supply device <NUM> can be increased without changing the rotating speed of the storage unit <NUM>, thereby increasing the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer <NUM>.

In some embodiments, if the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer is appropriately reduced or other high-cost designs are adopted to increase the moving speed of the storage unit, when the moving speed of the storage unit <NUM> does not constitute a bottleneck for the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer, the sequences of actions of the multiple storage units <NUM> can be "in series synchronously". That is, the sequences of actions of the multiple storage units <NUM> are synchronized during the working period, and serialized between the working periods. Each storage unit <NUM> can position the target storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> in each working period for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. However, only one storage unit <NUM> is required to position the target storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> in each working period for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. Take providing two storage units <NUM> (denoted as a first storage unit and a second storage unit, respectively) and the working period being <NUM> seconds as an example for illustration. At the first <NUM>th second, one storage portion <NUM> of the first storage unit arrives at the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. At the second <NUM>th second, one storage portion <NUM> of the second storage unit arrives at the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. At the third <NUM>th second, one storage portion <NUM> of the first storage unit arrives at the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. According to this rule, every <NUM> seconds, two storage units <NUM> alternate in series between the periods, and have one storage unit <NUM> arrive at the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. In other embodiments, at the first, second,. Nth <NUM> second (N≥<NUM>), the first storage unit positions the storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. At the Nth, (N+<NUM>)th,. (N+M)th <NUM> second (M≥<NUM>), the second storage unit positions the storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. In short, in any work period, one of the storage units can position the storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent.

The same storage unit <NUM> stores all the reagent components required by a test corresponding to an analysis project, which is convenient for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to quickly pipet the reagent and increase the flow of the reagent supplied by the reagent supply device <NUM>. On the other hand, when the storage unit <NUM> malfunctions, the apparatus can use other storage units <NUM> to continue the test, such that the apparatus can perform the test normally without affection, which improves the tolerance to failure. In addition, all the reagent components required by a test corresponding to an analysis project are placed in the same storage unit <NUM>, and can be contained in one reagent container with multiple reagent chambers, which not only saves production and manufacturing costs, but also facilitates user operations such as loading and unloading.

During the rotation (revolution) of the storage portion <NUM> with the storage unit <NUM>, at least one chamber of the reagent container on the storage portion <NUM> (such as a magnetic particle chamber containing the magnetic particle reagent component) rotates around its own central axis, causing the magnetic particle reagent component in a form of solid suspension to generate a vortex, thereby avoiding the sedimentation of the solid matter (such as the magnetic particles) therein.

The multiple storage units <NUM> are independently provided. That is, each storage unit <NUM> can independently rotate to position the reagent on the storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM>. It should be noted that the "independent provision" herein has nothing to do with the spatial layout and physical location between the storage units <NUM>. For example, the multiple storage units <NUM> can be distributed on the apparatus separately without overlapping, or one of the storage units <NUM> can be embedded at a periphery or an inner side of another storage unit <NUM>. In other embodiments, for better layout and control, the multiple storage units <NUM> are preferably of the same structure and deployed separately. The multiple storage units <NUM> are independently provided, which can improve the flexibility of the control, further improve the supply efficiency of the reagent, thereby increasing the processing throughput of the apparatus.

The number of reagent pipetting units <NUM> may be equal to the number of storage units <NUM>. Each storage unit <NUM> corresponds to one reagent pipetting unit <NUM>. That is, each storage unit <NUM> is provided for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> corresponding thereto to pipet the reagent. Apparently, when the number of reagent pipetting units <NUM> is increased, on the basis of meeting the test throughput, the moving speed of each reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can be reduced, and the bottleneck of the moving speed of the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can be solved.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments, the reaction device <NUM> includes a rotating disk <NUM>, a transferring assembly <NUM>, a measuring device <NUM>, and a washing assembly <NUM>. The rotating disk <NUM> is provided with an incubation ring <NUM>, a washing ring <NUM> and a measuring ring <NUM>. The incubation ring <NUM>, the washing ring <NUM>, and the measuring ring <NUM> are all arranged around a rotation center of the rotating disk <NUM>. The incubation ring <NUM> is provided with incubation positions <NUM>. The incubation positions <NUM> are arranged at intervals along a circumferential direction of the incubation ring <NUM>. The washing ring <NUM> is provided with washing positions <NUM>. The washing positions <NUM> are arranged at intervals along a circumferential direction of the washing ring <NUM>. The measuring ring <NUM> is provided with measuring positions <NUM>. The measuring positions <NUM> are arranged at intervals along a circumferential direction of the measuring ring <NUM>. The reactor <NUM> can be place on each of the incubation position <NUM>, the washing position <NUM>, and the measuring position <NUM>. The incubation position <NUM>, the washing position <NUM>, and the measuring position <NUM> may be grooves or brackets, and the like suitable for carrying the reactor <NUM>. The measuring device <NUM> is connected to the rotating disk <NUM>. The measuring device <NUM> can measure an optical signal of the reactor <NUM> after adding the signal reagent, so as to further analyze the reactant. The washing assembly <NUM> is located above the washing ring <NUM>, and includes a liquid dispensing portion and a liquid pipetting portion. The liquid dispensing portion dispenses a wash buffer solution into the reactor <NUM> on the washing position <NUM>. The liquid pipetting portion can be lowered into and raised out of the reactor <NUM> on the washing position <NUM>, to draw the unbound ingredients in the reactor <NUM>. Further, in order to simplify the structure, the washing assembly <NUM> further includes a signal reagent dispensing portion configured to dispensing the signal reagent into the reactor <NUM> subjected to the BF operation on the washing position <NUM>. In some embodiments, the reaction device <NUM> further includes a waste liquid suction assembly <NUM> and a signal reagent mixing unit <NUM>. The waste liquid suction assembly <NUM> is located above the measuring ring <NUM>. After the measurement of the reactor <NUM> is finished, the waste liquid suction assembly <NUM> can be lowered into and raised out of the reactor <NUM> on the measuring position <NUM>, to draw and remove waste liquid in the reactor <NUM> (mainly the signal reagent), and finally transfer the reactor <NUM> from which the waste liquid has been drawn and removed to a disposal station, to separate solid waste and liquid waste, thereby reducing the risk of biological hazards. Further, the waste liquid suction assembly <NUM> can be connected to the liquid pipetting portion of the washing assembly <NUM>, and can be lowered to a bottom of the reactor together with the liquid pipetting portion of the washing assembly <NUM> to pipet the liquid, and then raised out of the reactor after finishing the pipetting. In this way, the function of the washing assembly <NUM> can be fully utilized, the volume of the mechanism is reduced, the cost is saved, and the problems of complicated structure, high cost and the like caused by the independent provision of the waste liquid suction assembly are avoided. The signal reagent mixing unit <NUM> is provided independently of the rotating disk <NUM>, and includes a mixing assembly similar to or same as the above-mentioned mixing assembly <NUM>, which mixes the reactor <NUM> containing the signal reagent through the eccentric shaking.

The transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> that has been mixed out of the mixing device <NUM> and moves it into the incubation position <NUM>. During the reactor <NUM> rotating with the rotating disk <NUM>, the incubation position <NUM> incubates the mixed sample and reagent in the reactor <NUM> for a set time. After finishing the incubation of the reactor <NUM>, the transferring assembly <NUM> transfers the reactor <NUM> from the incubation position <NUM> to the washing position <NUM>. During the reactor <NUM> rotating with the rotating disk <NUM>, the liquid dispensing portion of the washing assembly <NUM> can first dispense the wash solution into the reactor <NUM> at the washing position <NUM>, and then adsorb the magnetic particle composite onto an inner side wall of the reactor <NUM> through a magnetic field. Then, the liquid pipetting portion of the washing assembly <NUM> draws the unbound ingredients from the reactor <NUM>. After multiple rounds of "dispensing the washing solution-adsorption-drawing the unbound ingredients", the reactant in the reactor <NUM> are subjected to the BF operation. After fishing the BF operation of the reactant of the reactor <NUM>, the signal reagent dispensing portion can dispense the signal reagent into the reactor <NUM>. The transferring assembly <NUM> transfers the reactor <NUM> after adding the signal reagent from the washing position <NUM> to the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM>. Then, the reactor <NUM> is mixed by the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM>. In order to fully mix the signal reagent without affecting the test throughput of the apparatus, the mixing time of the signal reagent is <NUM> to <NUM> seconds. After the mixing of the reactor <NUM> containing the signal reagent is finished, the transferring assembly <NUM> transfers the reactor <NUM> from the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM> to the measuring position <NUM>. If it is necessary to continue the signal incubation of the reactor <NUM> containing the signal reagent, the measuring position <NUM> can incubate the reactor <NUM> for a set time during the reactor <NUM> rotating with the rotating disk <NUM>. When the reactor <NUM> advances to the position of the measuring device <NUM> with the rotating disk <NUM>, the measuring device <NUM> measures the reactant signal in the reactor <NUM> to analyze the reactant.

The incubation ring <NUM>, the washing ring <NUM>, and the measuring ring <NUM> are provided concentrically. That is, the incubation ring <NUM>, the washing ring <NUM>, and the measuring ring <NUM> are all centered on the rotation center of the rotating disk <NUM>. The incubation ring <NUM>, the washing ring <NUM> and the measuring ring <NUM> are arranged at intervals from inside to outside around the rotation center. That is, the measuring ring <NUM> is adjacent to an edge of the rotating disk <NUM>. The incubation ring <NUM> is adjacent to the center of the rotating disk <NUM>. The washing ring <NUM> is provided between the incubation ring <NUM> and measuring ring <NUM>. In order to meet the requirements of the incubation time of the analysis project, while ensuring the number of incubation positions <NUM> without causing the size of the rotating disk <NUM> of the reaction device <NUM> to be too large, at least two incubation rings <NUM> are provided. For example, two to ten incubation rings <NUM> may be provided. The incubation ring <NUM> closest to the rotation center is recorded as an inner incubation ring. The incubation ring <NUM> farthest from the rotation center is recorded as an outer incubation ring. According to the requirement of washing efficiency, one to two washing rings <NUM> are provided. When one measuring ring <NUM> is provided, the requirements of the measurement can be met.

The reaction device <NUM> is provided with an incubation in-out station <NUM>, a washing moving-in station <NUM>, a washing moving-out station <NUM>, and a measuring in-out station <NUM>. In order that the reactor can be moved into and out of each incubation ring <NUM>, washing ring <NUM>, and measuring ring <NUM> of the reaction device <NUM>, the number of incubation in-out stations <NUM> is not less than the number of incubation ring <NUM>, and the number of washing moving-in stations <NUM> and the number of washing moving-out stations <NUM> are equal to the number of washing rings <NUM>, respectively, and the number of measuring in-out stations <NUM> is not less than the number of measuring rings <NUM>, that is, being at least one. Further, in order to make the layout of the whole machine compact, while reducing the moving trajectory of the transferring assembly <NUM> and improving the reliability thereof, and further improving work efficiency, the washing moving-in station <NUM> and the washing moving-out station <NUM> are respectively provided at two sides of the rotation center of the rotating disk <NUM>, that is, located at two ends of the washing ring <NUM> in a dimeter direction thereof. The incubation in-out station <NUM> is on the same side as the washing moving-in station <NUM>, and the measuring in-out station <NUM> is on the same side as the washing moving-out station <NUM>. In this way, the reactor that has been moved out of the incubation in-out station <NUM> can be moved into the washing ring <NUM> from the washing moving-in station <NUM> nearby, and the reactor that has been moved out of the washing moving-out station <NUM> can be moved into the measuring ring <NUM> from the measuring in-out station <NUM> nearby.

Specifically, taking a test in a one-step reaction mode as an example, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> on the mixing device <NUM> from the incubation in-out station <NUM> to the incubation position <NUM>. When the reactor <NUM> is moved to the incubation in-out station <NUM> with the rotating disk <NUM>, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> out of the incubation position <NUM> from the incubation in-out station <NUM>, and moves the reactor <NUM> from the washing moving-in station <NUM> to the washing position <NUM>. When the reactor <NUM> is moved to the washing moving-out station <NUM> with the rotating disk <NUM>, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> out of the washing position <NUM> from the washing moving-out station <NUM>, and into the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM> for signal reagent mixing. After the mixing is finished, the reactor <NUM> is moved into the measuring position <NUM> from the measuring in-out station <NUM>. When the reactor <NUM> is moved to the position of the measuring device <NUM> with the rotating disk <NUM>, after the measuring device <NUM> finishes the measurement of the response signal, the reactor <NUM> continues to move to the position of the waste liquid suction assembly <NUM> with the rotating disk <NUM>. The waste liquid suction assembly <NUM> will draw and remove all the waste liquid in the reactor <NUM>. The reactor <NUM> from which the waste liquid has been drawn and removed continues to move to the measuring in-out station <NUM> with the rotating disk <NUM>. In this case, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> from which the waste liquid has been drawn after the measurement is finished, out of the measuring position <NUM> at the measuring in-out station <NUM>, and moves it into a disposal station. When performing tests in other reaction modes, such as delayed one-step or two-step test, the transferring assembly <NUM> can move the reactor <NUM> out of the incubation position <NUM> from the incubation in-out station <NUM>, and move the reactor <NUM> that has been moved out of the washing position <NUM> from the washing moving-out station <NUM> into the mixing device <NUM>.

The moving trajectory of the transferring assembly <NUM> among the initial station <NUM>, the incubation in-out station <NUM>, the washing moving-in station <NUM>, the washing moving-out station <NUM>, and the measuring in-out station <NUM> is a straight line. An orthographic projection of the straight line on the rotating disk <NUM> passes through the rotation center of the rotating disk <NUM>. This simplifies the movement of the transferring assembly <NUM> and improves the work efficiency of the transferring assembly <NUM> to meet the requirements of the test throughput. The straight line on which the moving trajectory of the transferring assembly <NUM> is located further goes through the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM>. The transferring assembly <NUM> can transfer the reactor <NUM> among the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM>, the measuring ring <NUM>, and the washing ring <NUM>.

In order to reduce the moving displacement of a single transferring assembly <NUM> and further improve the work efficiency and control accuracy, two transferring assemblies <NUM> may be provided, and a relay station <NUM> is provided at an inner side of the inner incubation ring of the rotating disk <NUM> (closest to the rotation center). The relay station <NUM> is used to temporarily carry the reactor <NUM>. The moving trajectory of one of the transferring assemblies <NUM> forms a first projection on the rotating disk <NUM>, and the moving trajectory of the other transferring assembly <NUM> forms a second projection on the rotating disk <NUM>. The first projection and the second projection are connected to form the same straight line at the relay station <NUM>, which is recorded as a trajectory straight line. A straight line that goes through the relay station <NUM> and is perpendicular to the trajectory straight line is taken as a reference straight line. One of the transferring assemblies <NUM> is responsible for the transfer of the part of the reactor <NUM> on the right of the reference straight line, and the other transferring assembly <NUM> is responsible for the transfer of the part of the reactor <NUM> on the left of the reference straight line. For example, during the test in a two-step reaction mode, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> out of the washing position <NUM> from the washing moving-out station <NUM>, and into the mixing assembly <NUM> to add a second reagent, the reactor <NUM> is required to be transferred from the left part to the right part of the reference straight line. Firstly, the reactor <NUM> can be transferred from the washing position <NUM> on the left part of the reference straight line to the relay station through one transferring assembly <NUM>. Then, the reactor <NUM> can be transferred from the relay station through the other transferring assembly <NUM> to the mixing unit <NUM> on the right side of the reference straight line.

In some embodiments, in order to achieve a compact layout and further improve the efficiency of coordination and cooperation between the transferring assemblies <NUM>, thereby increasing apparatus throughput, the relay station <NUM> is provided at the rotation center of the rotating disk <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in the immunoassay analyzer <NUM>, the delivering assembly <NUM>, the mixing assembly <NUM>, the sample pipetting unit <NUM>, and the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can be combined to form a diluting device. That is, the diluting device includes the delivering assembly <NUM>, the mixing assembly <NUM>, and the pipetting assembly. The pipetting assembly includes the sample pipetting unit <NUM> and the reagent pipetting unit <NUM>. In other embodiments, the structures, and positions of the delivering assembly <NUM>, the mixing assembly <NUM>, the sample pipetting unit <NUM>, and the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> can all remain unchanged. Similar to the above-mentioned mixing device <NUM>, the diluting device can also be provided with the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>. In other embodiments, the initial station <NUM> can also be omitted.

The mixing assembly <NUM> is disposed on the delivering assembly <NUM>. The mixing assembly <NUM> can carry at least two reactors <NUM> simultaneously. Take carrying two reactors <NUM> simultaneously at the same time as an example, one of the reactors <NUM> is denoted as a first reactor, and the other reactor <NUM> is referred to as a second reactor. At least two accommodating holes 122a are disposed on the mixing assembly <NUM>. The first reactor and the second reactor can be respectively placed in different accommodating holes 122a. The delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to move among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>.

During the working process of the diluting device, when the mixing assembly <NUM> is at the initial station <NUM>, the first reactor is transferred from the supply tray to the mixing assembly <NUM> through the transferring assembly <NUM>. When the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved to the first station <NUM>, the sample pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the sample and adds it into the first reactor. When the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved to the second station <NUM>, the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the diluent and adds it into the first reactor. Then, the sample and the diluent are mixed to form a diluted sample. When the mixing assembly <NUM> returns to the initial station <NUM> again, the second reactor is moved into the mixing assembly <NUM> through the transferring assembly <NUM>. When the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved to the first station <NUM> again, the sample pipetting unit <NUM> transfers a part of the diluted sample in the first reactor to the second reactor. When the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved to the second station <NUM> again, the reagent component is pipetted by the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> and added into the second reactor containing the diluted sample. Then, the diluted sample and the reagent component are mixed. When the mixing assembly <NUM> is finally moved to the initial station <NUM>, the second reactor is moved into the incubation position <NUM> of the reaction device <NUM> through the transferring assembly <NUM>. In other embodiments, the first reactor can be moved to the disposal station and be discarded. According to the above-mentioned operating rules, the diluting device can continuously output the reactor <NUM> after the diluted sample and the reagent component have been mixed, realizing automatic dilution of the sample.

Further, in order to further improve the automatic dilution efficiency of the sample, at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> are provided. Each mixing assembly <NUM> can realize the automatic dilution of the sample. The automatic dilution of the sample can be realized by the mixing assemblies <NUM> in parallel or in series. Similar to the above-mentioned serial type mixing device, the same delivering assembly <NUM> synchronously drives the mixing assemblies <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>. Similar to the above-mentioned parallel type mixing device, at least two transport assemblies <NUM> are provided. Each delivering assembly <NUM> is provided with the mixing assembly <NUM> for carrying the reactor <NUM>. Each delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, when the above-mentioned diluting device is used to realize the automatic dilution of the sample, and to mix the diluted sample and the reagent component, a diluting method can be formed. The diluting method mainly includes the following steps.

At S810, the mixing assembly <NUM> carrying the first reactor is moved to the first station <NUM>, and then the sample is added into the first reactor <NUM>.

At S820, the first reactor containing the sample is moved to the second station <NUM>, and then the diluent is added into the first reactor.

At S830, the sample and the diluent in the first reactor are mixed to form the diluted sample.

At S840, the second reactor is moved onto the mixing assembly <NUM> again. Then, the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved to the first station <NUM> again, and then a part of the diluted sample in the first reactor <NUM> is added into the second reactor.

At S850, the mixing assembly <NUM> is moved to the second station <NUM>, and then the reagent component is added into the second reactor.

At S860, the diluted sample and the reagent component in the second reactor are mixed. After the mixing of the diluted sample and the reagent component is finished, the second reactor is transferred to the incubation position <NUM> of the reaction device <NUM>.

When at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> are provided, each mixing assembly <NUM> can be used in turn in the above-mentioned diluting step. Take providing two mixing assemblies <NUM> as an example. The first mixing assembly is used when a first sample is automatically diluted, the second mixing assembly is used when a second sample is diluted, the first mixing assembly is used when a third sample is automatically diluted.

In order to improve working efficiency, both the diluent and the reagent component are placed on the same storage unit <NUM>. After a part of the diluted sample is added into the second reactor, the first reactor is moved out of the mixing assembly <NUM> and discarded to the disposal station. In other embodiments, in order to achieve solid-liquid separation, the remaining diluted sample in the first reactor can be pipetted first, and then the first reactor in which all the diluted sample is pipetted is discarded.

In order to facilitate the movement of the reactor <NUM> into or out of the mixing assembly <NUM>, the mixing assembly <NUM> cyclically reciprocates among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>. At the initial station <NUM>, the first and second reactors <NUM> are moved into or out of the mixing assembly <NUM>. Similarly, the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM> are arranged on the same straight line, and the initial station <NUM> is located between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>. The mixing assembly <NUM> mixes the sample and the diluent in the first reactor <NUM>, and the diluted sample and the reagent in the second reactor <NUM> by non-contact eccentric shaking.

It can be seen that, the diluting device of the present application integrates the mixing assemblies <NUM>, and thus can be moved between different stations to complete the automatic dilution and mixing of the sample, avoiding the pipetting unit to dilute at a fixed station and thus avoiding the reactor from being transferred to another station for mixing, thereby improving the efficiency and effect of dilution and mixing, and solving the high-throughput bottleneck problem of the immune test limited by the automatic dilution of the sample.

Referring to <FIG>, an immunoassay method can be formed by using the above-mentioned immunoassay analyzer <NUM>. Take an immunoassay in a one-step reaction mode as an example, the immunoassay method mainly includes the following steps.

At S910, at least two mixing assemblies <NUM> for carrying the reactors <NUM> are provided. The mixing assembly <NUM> drives the reactor <NUM> to reciprocate between the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>.

At S920, the shortest time window during which the sequences of actions or tasks performed by the mixing assembly <NUM> can be reproduced cyclically is recorded as the first period. That is, the minimum time interval at which the mixing assembly <NUM> performs the same action twice in succession is the first period. A value obtained by dividing the first period by the number of mixing assemblies <NUM> is recorded as the second period. From when the reactor <NUM> is moved into one of the mixing assemblies <NUM> for the first time, the reactors <NUM> are moved into each of the other mixing assemblies <NUM> sequentially at staggered intervals of one second period.

At S930, the reactors <NUM> that have been mixed are moved out of the mixing assembly <NUM> by sequentially staggering the time of the second period. Then, new reactors <NUM> are moved into the mixing assembly <NUM> from which the reactors <NUM> are removed.

At S940, an incubation, a BF operation, and a measurement are performed on the reactor <NUM> that has been moved out of the mixing assembly <NUM> and contains the reactant. The incubation time of reactor <NUM> is <NUM> to <NUM> minutes.

It can be understood that the second period is equal to the time between successively outputting two adjacent reactors <NUM> after the measurement is finished from the reaction device <NUM>, that is, the time between the immunoassay analyzer <NUM> continuously reporting two adjacent test results.

When performing a test in a reaction mode of other methods, such as the delayed one-step test and the two-step test, in the above step S940, the reactor <NUM> that has been incubated or washed can be moved into the mixing device <NUM> again according to steps of S920 and S930. Then, the second reagent is added into the reactor <NUM>, and mixed. After the mixing is finished, the incubation, the BF operation, and the measurement are performed according to step S940.

Specifically, the incubation in step S940 may further include a first incubation and a second incubation as follows.

The first incubation is to incubate the reactor <NUM> containing the sample and the first reagent for a set time.

The second incubation is to add the second reagent to the reactor <NUM> subjected to the first incubation and then incubate the reactor <NUM> for a set time.

When the incubation includes the first incubation and the second incubation, before the step of washing, the reactor <NUM> subjected to the first incubation is moved into the mixing device <NUM> again according to steps of S920 and S930. Then, the second reagent is added into the reactor <NUM>, and mixed. After the mixing is finished, the second incubation, the BF operation, and the measurement are performed according to step S940.

The reagent is added into the reactor <NUM> in two times. The reactor <NUM> is mixed by the mixing device <NUM> after each addition of the reagent component. In some embodiments, the immunoassay method further includes the following steps.

The reactor <NUM> subjected to the first incubation undergoes a first washing.

The reactor <NUM> subjected to the first washing undergoes the second incubation.

The reactor <NUM> subjected to the second incubation undergoes a second cleaning.

Specifically, after the reactor <NUM> has undergone steps S910, S920, and S930, firstly, the reactor <NUM> undergoes the first incubation through the reaction device <NUM>, and then the reactor <NUM> subjected to the first incubation undergoes the first washing through the reaction device <NUM> for the first time. After the first washing is done, the reactor <NUM> is moved into the mixing device <NUM> again according to steps of S920 and S930. Then, the second reagent is added into the reactor <NUM>, and mixed. After the mixing is finished, the incubation, the BF operation, and the measurement are performed according to step S940.

In some embodiments, for example, the same delivering assembly <NUM> drives all the mixing assemblies <NUM> to move synchronously. That is, the above-mentioned serial type mixing method is used to mix the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM>. For another example, multiple transport assemblies <NUM> are provided. Each delivering assembly <NUM> drives at least one mixing assembly <NUM> to move. That is, the above-mentioned parallel type mixing method is used to mix the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM>.

Referring to the above-mentioned serial type and parallel type mixing methods, the delivering assembly <NUM> can drive the mixing assembly <NUM> to cyclically reciprocate among the initial station <NUM>, the first station <NUM> and the second station <NUM>. At the initial station <NUM>, the reactor <NUM> is moved into or out of the mixing assembly <NUM>. The sample is added into the reactor <NUM> located at the first station <NUM>. The reagent is added into the reactor <NUM> located at the second station <NUM>.

Referring to the structure and working principle of the reaction device <NUM> described above, the reactor <NUM> can be moved from the incubation in-out station <NUM> into the incubation position <NUM> on the rotating disk <NUM> for incubation. The reactor <NUM> is moved from the washing moving-in station <NUM> into the washing position <NUM> on the rotating disk <NUM> for BF operation. Then, the reactor <NUM> subjected to the BF operation is moved out of the washing position <NUM> from the washing moving-out station <NUM>. Then, the reactor <NUM> is moved from the measuring in-out station <NUM> into the measuring position <NUM> on the rotating disk <NUM> for measurement. The moving trajectory of the transferring assembly <NUM> among the incubation in-out station <NUM>, the washing moving-in station <NUM>, the washing moving-out station <NUM>, and the measuring in-out station <NUM> is on the same straight line.

The relay station <NUM> is provided at an inner side of the inner incubation ring of the rotating disk <NUM> (closest to the rotation center). In particular, the relay station <NUM> for temporarily carrying the reactor <NUM> is provided at the rotation center, and two transferring assemblies <NUM> are provided. The moving trajectory of one of the transferring assemblies <NUM> forms a first projection on the rotating disk <NUM>, and the moving trajectory of the other transferring assembly <NUM> forms a second projection on the rotating disk <NUM>. The first projection and the second projection are connected to form a straight line at the relay station <NUM>. The incubation position <NUM>, the BF operation position, and the measuring position <NUM> are disposed on the same rotating disk <NUM>.

When the measurement is completed, firstly, the waste liquid in the reactor <NUM> is drawn and removed, and then, the reactor <NUM> from which the waste liquid is drawn and removed is discarded.

Referring the above reagent pipetting method, when the mixing assembly <NUM> is at the second station <NUM>, the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the reagent from the storage unit <NUM> and adds it into the reactor <NUM>. The pipetting of the reagent includes the following sub-steps.

The reagent pipetting unit <NUM> and at least two storage units <NUM> for storing the reagent are provided. The reagent is stored in the reagent containers on the multiple storage portions <NUM> of the storage unit <NUM>.

The storage portion <NUM> is moved along with the storage unit <NUM>, such that the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> pipets the reagent from the reagent container on the storage portion <NUM> that arrives at the pipetting station <NUM>.

The shortest time window during which the sequences of actions or tasks performed by each storage unit <NUM> can be reproduced cyclically is equal to the first period. That is, the minimum time interval at which the storage unit <NUM> performs the same action twice in succession is equal to the first period. From when one of the storage units <NUM> carrying the reagent is moved towards the pipetting station <NUM> for the first time, the other storage unit <NUM> carrying the reagent is sequentially moved towards corresponding pipetting station <NUM> at staggered intervals of one second period.

In some embodiments, when the moving speed of the storage unit <NUM> does not constitute the bottleneck of the test throughput of the immunoassay analyzer, pipetting the reagent includes the following sub-steps.

The reagent pipetting unit <NUM> and at least two storage units <NUM> for storing reagent are provided. The reagent is stored in the reagent containers on the multiple storage portions <NUM> of the storage unit <NUM>.

The sequences of actions of the multiple storage units <NUM> are synchronized in series. That is, the sequences of actions of the multiple storage units <NUM> are synchronized during the working period, and serialized between the working periods. In each working period, each storage unit <NUM> can position the target storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. However, only one storage unit <NUM> is required to position the target storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> in each working period for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent. In short, in any work period, one of the storage units will position the storage portion <NUM> to the pipetting station <NUM> for the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> to pipet the reagent.

The same storage unit <NUM> contains all the reagent components required by the corresponding analysis project. The number of reagent pipetting units <NUM> is equal to the number of storage units <NUM>. Each storage unit <NUM> corresponds to one reagent pipetting unit <NUM>.

Referring to the above diluting method, when the sample is required to be diluted, at the second station <NUM>, before adding other reagent components except for the diluent component into the reactor <NUM>, the sample in the reactor <NUM> is diluted by adding the diluent, to form the diluted sample.

For a single reactor <NUM>, take the one-step test as an example, a workflow thereof on the immunoassay analyzer <NUM> is as follows. Firstly, the empty and clean reactor <NUM> is placed on the mixing assembly <NUM> located at the initial station <NUM> from the supply tray through the transferring assembly <NUM>. Secondly, the delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to move to the first station <NUM>, and the sample pipetting unit <NUM> adds the sample to the reactor <NUM> located at the first station <NUM>. Thirdly, the delivering assembly <NUM> drives the mixing assembly <NUM> to move to the second station <NUM>, and the reagent pipetting unit <NUM> adds the reagent to the reactor <NUM> located at the second station <NUM>. The mixing assembly <NUM> mixes the sample and the reagent in the reactor <NUM>. Fourthly, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> that has been mixed from the mixing assembly <NUM> into the incubation position <NUM> of the rotating disk <NUM> through the incubation in-out station <NUM>. Fifthly, after the incubation is finished, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> out of the incubation position <NUM> at the incubation in-out station <NUM> and transfers it from the washing moving-in station <NUM> to the washing position <NUM> of the rotating disk <NUM>. Sixthly, after the BF operation is finished, the signal reagent is added into the reactor <NUM>. The transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> out of the washing position <NUM> at the washing moving-out station <NUM> and into the signal reagent mixing unit <NUM> for mixing. Then, the transferring assembly <NUM> transfers the reactor in which the signal reagent has been mixed from the measuring in-out station <NUM> to the measuring position <NUM> of the rotating disk <NUM>. The optical signal in the reactor <NUM> is measured by the measuring device <NUM>. Sixthly, the waste liquid in the reactor that has been measured is drawn and removed by the waste liquid suction assembly <NUM>. Seventhly, the transferring assembly <NUM> moves the reactor <NUM> out of the rotating disk <NUM> from the measuring in-out station <NUM> and discard it to the disposal station.

Claim 1:
An immunoassay analyzer, comprising:
- a mixing device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) having a first station (<NUM>) and a second station (<NUM>), the mixing device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprising at least one delivering assembly (<NUM>) and at least two mixing assemblies (<NUM>), and wherein the at least one delivering assembly (<NUM>) is configured to drive the mixing assemblies (<NUM>) to cyclically reciprocate between the first station (<NUM>) and the second station (<NUM>), each mixing assembly (<NUM>) is configured to carry a reactor (<NUM>) and mix a sample and a reagent in the reactor (<NUM>) as part of a sequence of actions, characterized by each mixing assembly (<NUM>) including a support base (<NUM>), a driver (<NUM>) and a carrying platform (<NUM>) driven by the driver (<NUM>); and
- a reaction device (<NUM>) configured to perform an incubation, a BF operation, and a measurement to a reactant in the reactor (<NUM>), and the reaction device (<NUM>) comprising a rotating disk (<NUM>)
wherein:
- a shortest time window during which the sequence of actions performed by the mixing assembly (<NUM>) is reproduced cyclically is recorded as a first period; and a value obtained by dividing the first period by the number of mixing assemblies is recorded as a second period; and
- the immunoassay analyzer is configured such as that from when the reactor (<NUM>) is moved into one of the mixing assemblies (<NUM>) for the first time, the reactors (<NUM>) are moved into each of the other mixing assemblies (<NUM>) sequentially at staggered intervals of one second period; the reactors (<NUM>) that have been mixed are moved out of the mixing assembly (<NUM>) and onto the rotating disk (<NUM>) by sequentially staggering the time of the second period; new reactors (<NUM>) are moved into the mixing assembly (<NUM>) from which the reactors (<NUM>) are removed.