Patent ID: 6945129

Claim:
Apparatus for analysis of liquid samples, comprising: a support ( 4 ) for carrying, in a vertical position, plural sample tubes; a removal and distribution unit ( 8 ) for removing from each carried sample tube a portion of a contained liquid sample and for distributing a fraction of the removed portion into at least one receptacle ( 74 ) as a distributed fraction, said removal and distribution unit comprising a hollow needle ( 45 ) connected to an aspiration/delivery means ( 47 ) and fixed in vertical position to a vertically movable needle carrier ( 48 ), and drive means ( 53 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 61 ) to move the needle carrier, said support ( 4 ) comprising a circular plate with peripheral tube carriers ( 5 ), each tube carrier comprising a recess with a vertical access to receive and support a sample tube, said circular plate being adapted to turn about a vertical axis to bring in position successively an selectively the tube carriers ( 5 ) to a workstation where the removal and distribution unit ( 8 ) is located such that the removal and distribution unit can act on a positioned sample tube ( 6 ) brought to and positioned in the workstation, each tube carrier ( 5 ) connected to the circular plate ( 4 ) by a connection ( 31 ) with two degrees of freedom, a first of the two degrees of freedom being a vertical translatory movement and a second of the two degrees of freedom being a freedom of movement of rotation about a horizontal axis oriented tangentially relative to the circular plate, a support means ( 44 ) adapted to support the tube carrier ( 5 ), each tube carrier ( 5 ) constituted by a cylindrical sleeve ( 24 ) and two pivots ( 25 ) defining the horizontal axis with two degrees of freedom, an end of each cylindrical sleeve ( 24 ) supported by a mounting member ( 28 ) secured to the circular plate, each of the two pivots ( 25 ) resiliently supported in a vertical notch ( 32 ) by a flexible spring ( 33 ).