Patent ID: 8276632

Claim:
A labeling and preparation device for test tubes, comprising: at least one storage section positioned on a first layer and placing at least one pallet, on which a set of test tubes is loaded upright according to a type of a test tube, at a preset position; at least one transfer section positioned on a second layer and selecting at least one test tube from the set of the test tubes in cooperation with movement on an x-y plane parallel to the pallets and clamping or releasing the at least one selected test tube in cooperation with z-axial movement perpendicular to the pallets; a labeling section positioned on a third layer and receiving the at least one selected test tube transferred from the transfer section, and attaching a label, on which information related to a sample was previously recorded, on a circumference of the at least one selected test tube positioned in a through-hole-like stop space of the labeling section, the stop space having a cavity greater than a diameter of the test tube transferred from the transfer section and being tapered in a downward direction so that a width of an upper portion of the stop space is wider than a width of a lower portion thereof, thereby guiding drop transfer of the test tube from the transfer section in the upper portion of the stop space and stopping the test tube in the lower portion thereof; an ejection section positioned on a fourth layer and ejecting the at least one selected test tube, to which the label is attached and which is transferred from the labeling section, to an outside; a controller presetting one of the type-specific test tubes placed on the storage section and controlling drivers of the transfer section, the labeling section and the ejection section; and a drop transfer passage between the transfer section and the labeling section, the at least one selected test tube being dropped downward through the drop transfer passage due to weight of the at least one selected test tube, wherein the drop transfer passage is provided, on an inner surface thereof, with a flexible material having elasticity in order to prevent damage of the test tube when dropped downward, and wherein the first through the fourth layers are positioned vertically on top of one another such that the at least one selected test tube is transferred between the transfer section, the labeling section, and the ejection section in a top-down fashion.