Patent ID: 8397473

Claim:
An apparatus for automatically closing test tubes with caps, which comprises: a test tube closing device, a cap sensor disposed in the test tube closing device, and a cap recruiting and loading device, said cap recruiting and loading device including: a loading chamber, a curved channel for transferring caps to said loading chamber in a position reversed from its initial position, a vertically disposed channel member communicating with said loading chamber, a horizontally disposed pusher member adapted to push the cap from said loading chamber into said channel member, said cap sensor being adapted to control the activation of the horizontally disposed pusher, a stem member slidably disposed within said channel member for transferring the cap vertically to the test tube closing device, and sensors adapted to detect the displacement of the stem are disposed in the bottom and top portions of the vertically disposed channel, said sensors cooperating with the horizontally disposed pusher for transferring the caps to said vertically disposed channel, wherein the test tube closing device includes a movable head which is adapted to grip and rotate the cap which was pushed up by the stem member, thereby closing the test tube.