Patent ID: 8071025

Claim:
An automatic analyzer having a plurality of reaction cuvettes in which the contents of the reaction cuvettes are analyzed by use of a light source and an optical detector, comprising: a first reagent disk and a second reagent disk, on each of which a plurality of reagent containers are arranged along a circumference; a reaction disk on which the plurality of reaction cuvettes are arranged along a circumference; a first set of a first reagent dispensing probe and a second reagent dispensing probe provided for said first reagent disk for sucking a reagent from said reagent containers and ejecting the sucked reagent into said reaction cuvettes, each of said first and second reagent dispensing probes for said first reagent disk being disposed between said first reagent disk and said second reagent disk; a second set of a first reagent dispensing probe and a second reagent dispensing probe provided for said second reagent disk for sucking a reagent from said reagent containers and ejecting the sucked reagent into said reaction cuvettes, each of said first and second reagent probes for said second reagent disk being disposed between said first reagent disk and said second reagent disk; each of said reagent dispensing probes consisting of a first arm operated to rotate about a first rotary shaft, a second arm having a pipetting tube mounted thereto adjacent an outer end thereof and operated to rotate about a second rotary shaft disposed on said first arm, and means for rotating said first arm and said second arm independently of each other; said first reagent dispensing probe arranged to dispense a first reagent into one of said reaction cuvettes at a first timing and said second reagent dispensing probe arranged to dispense a second reagent into said one of said reaction cuvettes at a second timing or at a third timing, one of said first reagent dispensing probe and said second reagent dispensing probe for each of said reagent disks sucking said first or second reagent received in a reagent container arranged on each of said reagent disks, respectively, during a predetermined cycle; and a controller for controlling operations of said first and second reagent dispensing probes, the controller being configured to control dispensing of the first reagent by the first reagent dispensing probe of the first reagent disk and by the first reagent dispensing probe of the second reagent disk so that the dispensing is performed in an alternating manner.