Patent ID: 8623293

Claim:
A sealer for cutting and sealing a conduit connecting a test sample device to a fluid receptacle containing a fluid sample, said sealer installed in an automated sample testing instrument, comprising an enclosure having an aperture: a moveable cutting element assembly having a home position within said enclosure and a deployed position outside said enclosure, said cutting element assembly comprising a cutting wire, a spring and a spring-loaded member biased by the spring adapted for engagement with said test sample device when said cutting element assembly is moved to said deployed position, and a motor for moving said cutting element assembly from said home position through said aperture in said enclosure to said deployed position; control electronics operably connected to the motor and to at least one sensor and configured for governing the operation of the motor; so that, when said cutting element assembly is moved to said deployed position, the engagement of said spring-loaded member with said test sample device urges said test sample device against a fixed structure in said instrument to thereby hold said test sample device in a fixed position while said cutting wire cuts and seals said conduit.