Patent ID: 7731898

Claim:
A reagent container assembly for holding reagent containers and for installation in a substantially cylindrical cavity of an analyzer, the cavity having a bolt arranged at a bottom center thereof, said reagent container assembly comprising: a housing defining at least one circular array of chambers which receive the reagent containers, said housing having a top edge of an upper part defining an opening above said chambers; a cover for said upper opening of said housing, said cover having only a single opening configured to allow removal of a reagent container from one of the chambers in the housing or insertion of the reagent container into one of the chambers of housing; and locking means arranged within said housing, said locking means comprising a locking sleeve and a locking pin, said locking means locks said cover at all times both to prevent rotation of the cover with respect to the analyzer when the reagent container assembly is positioned in said cavity of the analyzer, and to prevent rotation of said cover with respect to said housing when the reagent container assembly is removed from its position in said cavity of the analyzer, and said locking means cooperates with the bolt arranged at the bottom center of said cavity of the analyzer when the reagent container assembly is installed in the analyzer to unlock said housing by said cooperation and to allow rotation of said housing with respect to said cover within said cavity of the analyzer.