U.S. patent application number 10/503238 was filed with the patent office on 2005-07-21 for drive arrangement for a strip of cuvettes in an analytical device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Stago Instruments. Invention is credited to Abou-Saleh, Khaled, Perin, Patrick, Poutrel, Philippe, Rousseau, Alain.
Application Number | 20050159512 10/503238 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27619836 |
Filed Date | 2005-07-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050159512 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rousseau, Alain ; et
al. |
July 21, 2005 |
Drive arrangement for a strip of cuvettes in an analytical
device
Abstract
The invention relates to a drive arrangement for a series of
cuvettes (C) forming a strip (2) fixed by means of a film (3) in an
automatic analytical device (1), comprising at least one toothed
belt (12), the teeth of which engage with the corresponding forms
of the cuvettes. The above finds application in an automatic
analytical device, particularly for the determination of the rate
of change of the physical state of a medium.
Inventors: |
Rousseau, Alain; (Paris,
FR) ; Abou-Saleh, Khaled; (Courbevoie, FR) ;
Perin, Patrick; (Saint Cyr L'Ecole, FR) ; Poutrel,
Philippe; (Auvers Sur Oise, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Browdy & Neimark
Suite 300
624 Ninth Street NW
Washington
DC
20001
US
|
Assignee: |
Stago Instruments
125 Avenue Louis Roche
Gennevilliers
FR
92230
|
Family ID: |
27619836 |
Appl. No.: |
10/503238 |
Filed: |
August 2, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
January 28, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR03/00256 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
523/455 ;
525/107; 525/476; 528/418; 528/421 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 35/026 20130101;
Y10T 436/11 20150115; Y10T 436/114998 20150115; Y10T 436/114165
20150115; G01N 35/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
523/455 ;
525/107; 525/476; 528/418; 528/421 |
International
Class: |
C08F 008/00; C08L
063/00; C08G 059/00; C08G 065/04; C08K 005/09; C08K 005/10; C08G
077/00; C08G 077/38; C08L 083/00; C08F 283/00; C08F 283/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 1, 2002 |
FR |
02/01236 |
Claims
1. Device for driving a series of bowls joined together by a film
so as to form a strip in an automatic analysis instrument, this
device comprising at least one notched belt whose notches act on
the bowls so as to ensure driving of the strip, wherein said bowls
have an opening at the level of which two opposing shoulders extend
projecting towards the outside of the bowl, said shoulders having
configurations which cooperate with the notched belt to ensure at
the same time said drive, a centering and an indexing of the
bowls.
2. Device according to claim 1, wherein said film is fixed to said
shoulders and is able to be removed.
3. Device according to claim 2, wherein said shoulders each have
two oblique edges with respect to the longitudinal axis of the
strip so that the strip/bowls unit has a rack function.
4. Device according to claim 3, wherein said shoulders have the
shape of an isosceles trapezium whose major base is integral with
the bowl.
5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the lateral borders of the
film each have a serrated profile whose teeth are accentuated by
the presence of the shoulders of the bowls.
6. Device according to claim 1, wherein said belt is an endless
belt guided at each extremity by rollers.
7. Device according to claim 6, wherein at lest one of the rollers
is driven in rotation by a motor.
8. Device according to claim 1, wherein the notches of said belt
are spaced by a distance equal to a multiple of the width of the
bowls.
9. Device according to claim 8, wherein said notches have an
involute to a circle profile corresponding to a rack with a normal
teeth shape.
10. Device according to claim 1, wherein said bowls are fixed and
are able to be removed.
11. Device according to claim 1, wherein said bowls are guided by a
rail.
12. Device according to claim 11, wherein said rail has a U-shaped
cross section whose two vertical wings are extended at a right
angle by two shoulders.
13. Device according to claim 11, wherein the shoulders of the bowl
rest on the shoulders of the rail.
Description
[0001] The present invention concerns an improvement of an
automatic analysis device able to be used, especially for
determining the modification times of a medium in a physical
state.
[0002] This device is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable
to determination of the blood coagulation time in accordance with a
process according to which the blood sample is placed at the bottom
of a bowl containing a ferromagnetic ball driven in a periodic
movement under the effect of an external magnetic field. The
modifications of the movements of the ferromagnetic ball (for
example the amplitude and/or frequency variations), which are
representative of changes of the physical state of the blood, are
then detected with the aid of suitable means.
[0003] This type of device is described in the patent EP 0 325 874
filed in the name of the Diagnostica Stago company.
[0004] It comprises a bowl distributor for sole usage, each bowl
comprising a bent inward bottom constituting the rolling path of
the ball, and a face opposite the bottom having an opening.
Transversal edges of this opening extend two shoulders at a right
angle with respect to the faces of the bowls. The bowls are placed
side by side and fixed on a flexible support strip which seals off
their openings but said bowls can be removed. The strip equipped
with bowls can be wound onto a coil able to be engaged on an
element provided in a storage and distribution compartment of the
device. The bowls run off one by one into a detection station.
[0005] It proves that this solution has the drawback of not
guaranteeing a proper positioning of the bowl in the detection
station. The analysis of the movements of the ball thus risks being
false. This therefore may lead to there being a risk of error
concerning the result of the analysis.
[0006] The object of the invention is thus to eliminate these
drawbacks.
[0007] To this effect, the invention concerns a device for moving a
set of bowls forming a strip and joined together by a film in an
automatic analysis device comprising at least one notched belt
whose serrations gear with suitable adaptations of the bowls.
[0008] Advantageously, said bowls may have an opening at the level
of which two opposing shoulders extend and projecting outside of
the bowl on which said adaptations are embodied.
[0009] In addition, said shoulders may each have two oblique edges
with respect to the longitudinal axis of the strip so that the unit
formed by the strip and bowls has two serrated lateral edges.
[0010] Thus, the bowls/strip unit has a rack function.
[0011] Moreover, the lateral borders of the film each have a
serrated profile whose teeth are accentuated by the presence of the
bowl shoulders.
[0012] By means of the gearing of the serrations of the belt
between the teeth of the unit formed by the film and the bowls, the
movement makes it possible to index the position of the bowls.
[0013] This device exhibits no play during handling in either
direction.
[0014] One embodiment of the invention is shown hereafter and given
by way of non-restrictive example with reference to the
accompanying drawings on which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an automatic
analysis device of medium size;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a bowl mounted
on the film;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic top view of the film equipped with
its bowls and the rack drive system.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a vertical diagrammatic section along A/A of FIG.
3.
[0019] In this example, the automatic analysis device introduces a
bowl feeding comprising a series of about a hundred bowls C forming
a strip 2.
[0020] As shown on FIG. 2, the bowls C embodied by moulding a
transparent plastic material each have a parallelpiped flat-shaped
body whose bent inward bottom FI constitutes a rolling path for a
ferromagnetic ball BE. Opposite this bottom FI, the bowl C has an
opening at the level of which its two opposing edges BO.sub.1,
BO.sub.2 are extended at a right angle by two respective shoulders
R.sub.1, R.sub.2 each provided with a cylindrical protuberance PC
extending from the side opposite the body. These two protuberances
are intended to be engaged forcefully in two respective holes TR
respectively provided on the two lateral borders of the film. The
shoulders R.sub.1, R.sub.2 have for example the shape of a
rectangular trapezium whose large base is integral with the bowl.
The lateral borders of a support film 3 then have in the gaps of
the shoulders R.sub.1, R.sub.2 of successive bowls trapezoid cuts
whose oblique edges extend to the right of the oblique edges of the
shoulders R.sub.1, R.sub.2. By means of these arrangements, the
lateral borders of the film each have a serrated profile whose
teeth are accentuated by the presence of the shoulders R.sub.1,
R.sub.2 of the bowls.
[0021] The film is flexible and is constituted by an absorbent
material, such as paper. The top of each bowl is pierced with an
orifice 4 so as to allow the passage of a pipette.
[0022] According to the device shown on FIG. 4, the strip of bowls
2 is guided by a rail 5. This rail has a U-shaped cross section
whose two vertical wings are extended at a right angle by two
shoulders R.sub.3, R.sub.4, the shoulders R.sub.1, R.sub.2 of the
bowls resting on the shoulders R.sub.3, R.sub.4. The strip
successively passes through a pipette station 6, a detection
station 7 and a cutting station 8 at the outlet of which each bowl
is recovered in a container 9 provided for this purpose.
[0023] The functioning of these various stations is controlled by a
processor P comprising a central unit and peripheral units, such as
a screen 10/keyboard 11 unit.
[0024] The movement of the film is provided by a drive mechanism
introducing an endless belt 12 guided at each extremity by rollers
13, 14, one of the latter being driven in rotation by a step motor
M. This belt comprises a serration whose notches are spaced by a
distance equal to a multiple of the width of the bowls (for example
4-5 bowls). These notches have an involute to a circle profile
which corresponds to a normal teeth-shaped rack so as to fully gear
between the teeth of the serrated profile of the strip; these teeth
thus accurately move the strip of bowls with automatic centering
and compensation of any possible play (the notches being more or
less engaged deeply between said teeth).
[0025] The pipette station 6 is controlled by an automated
height-adjustable vertical pipette 15 so as to be able to assume a
lower rinsing or pipette position and an upper position allowing it
to move inside a horizontal plane.
[0026] This pipette 15 is fixed at one of its extremities of an arm
16 mounted rotating by its other extremity around a vertical
spindle 17. The driving in rotation of the arm 16 is ensured by a
motor controlled by the processor P.
[0027] By means of this particularly simple mechanism, the pipette
15 can be successively brought to the pipette area of the pipette
station 6, a rinsing area 18 diametrically opposite, and to two
sampling areas 19, 20 placed symmetrically with respect to the axis
passing through the pipette area 6 and the rinsing area 18.
[0028] The sampling areas 19, 20 are situated inside the path of
the receptacles R.sub.1, R.sub.2 borne by two respective carrousels
CR.sub.1, CR.sub.2 moving in rotation around two vertical spindles
21, 22 and controlled by two motors controlled by the processor
P.
[0029] One of these carrousels CR.sub.1 is used to contain the
receptacles of the blood samples to be analysed, whereas the other
carrousel CR.sub.2 contains the receptacles R.sub.2 allocated to
the various reactive agents able to be used within the context of
the analyses it is desired to carry out.
[0030] Of course, the processor P is programmed so as to control
pipette sequences appropriate to the nature of the analyses to be
conducted and possible successively comprising:
[0031] a prior rinsing of the pipette 15,
[0032] the taking of a sample dose contained in one of the
receptacles R.sub.1 of the carrousel CR.sub.1,
[0033] the injection of this dose into a bowl C situated in the
pipette station 6,
[0034] the rinsing of the pipette 15,
[0035] the taking of a reactive agent dose contained in one of the
receptacles R.sub.2 of the carrousel CR.sub.2,
[0036] the injection of this reactive agent dose into the bowl
C,
[0037] the identification of the blood samples to be analysed and
that of the reactive agents being automatically carried out by
means of a bar code reader 23 able to carry out reading of the bar
codes present on the receptacles R.sub.1, R.sub.2 borne by the
carrousels CR.sub.1, CR.sub.2.
[0038] In this example, for these readings, the sole bar code
reader 23 is mounted at the extremity of an arm 24 pivoting around
a vertical spindle 25 so as to be able to occupy three positions,
namely:
[0039] a position P.sub.1 for reading the bar codes of the
receptacles R.sub.1 of the carrousel CR.sub.1,
[0040] a position P.sub.2 for reading the bar codes of the
receptacles R.sub.2 of the carrousel CR.sub.2, and
[0041] a position P.sub.3 for reading the receptacles placed by the
operator in a reading station, for example so as to enter
information exploited by the processor within the context of
functioning of the device.
[0042] The measuring station 7 here comprises three successive
measuring positions each comprising (FIG. 4) a pair of coaxial
electromagnets E.sub.1, E'.sub.1-E.sub.2, E'.sub.2-E.sub.3,
E'.sub.3 situated on both sides of the film 3 at the right of the
lateral faces of the bowls C.
[0043] The station 7 also comprises:
[0044] an infrared light source 26 situated above the bowl,
[0045] an electronic camera 27 situated below the bowls borne by
the film on which the image of the ball illuminated by the light
source is projected.
[0046] The use of several measuring positions on the path of the
film has the advantage of permitting greater flexibility of
operation.
[0047] The electromagnets E.sub.1, E'.sub.1-E.sub.2,
E'.sub.2-E.sub.3, E'.sub.3 are excited by a power circuit PR
controlled by the processor P so as to generate a magnetic pulse
field able to drive the ball BE along an alternative movement at
the bottom of the bowl C.
[0048] The camera 27 is coupled to the processor C which analyses
in real time the image by means of an appropriate software so as to
measure the amplitude of the oscillations of the ball BE and
determine the critical instant when this amplitude lowers below a
specific threshold (for example 50% of the initial amplitude).
[0049] Of course, the processor P counts the time between the
moment when the reactive agent has been injected into the bowl C
and the critical instant so as to deduce from this a coagulation
time.
[0050] The movements of the film are synchronised with the
operating times of each of the stations of the device and in
particular with the magnetic field pulses generated by the
coils.
[0051] The pipette station could possibly be situated at the same
location as the measuring station.
[0052] Of course, the invention is not limited to the previously
described embodiment.
[0053] Thus, for example, each infra red/camera source unit could
have a field comprising several bowls each excited by a pair of
separate electromagnets so as to follow the bowl over a forward
distance of several steps with a processor programmed so as to
simultaneously detect the movements of the balls of different
bowls.
* * * * *