Patent ID: 8137617

Claim:
An analytical instrument to be mounted in use to an analytical apparatus, the analytical instrument comprising at least one reaction vessel for causing reaction between a sample and a reagent, and a thin film heater that when engergized, provides heat to an inside of said at least one reaction vessel; wherein the thin film heater includes a thin film heat-producing resistor, and a first and a second thin film electrodes electrically connected to the thin film heat-producing resistor to apply voltage to the thin film heat-producing resistor; wherein the first thin film electrode, the thin film heat-producing resistor and the second thin film electrode are laminated in a film thickness direction in the mentioned order to form a heating laminate in which the first thin film electrode is formed on a first surface of the thin film heat-producing resistor while the second thin film electrode is formed on a second surface of the thin film heat-producing resistor opposite to the first surface of the thin film heat-producing resistor; wherein the thin film heat-producing resistor is generally annular and includes an inner circumferential edge and an outer circumferential edge, the thin film heat-producing resistor also including a radially extending cutout that extends from the inner circumferential edge to the outer circumferential edge, one of the first and second thin film electrodes including a first projection located at the radially extending cutout of the thin film heat-producing resistor closer to the inner circumferential edge, the other of the first and second thin film electrodes including a second projection located at the radially extending cutout of the thin film heat-producing resistor closer to the outer circumferential edge, the first and second projections being radially separated from each other at the radially extending cutout of the thin film heat-producing resistor.