An apparatus for sorting containers of biological samples, for an automation system of an analysis laboratory, said apparatus comprising:
- a transport line of containers of biological samples, including:
- a plurality of carriers each arranged to receive and stably support a container for a biological sample,
- a first conveyor belt on which said plurality of carriers are transported, in an aligned succession along a substantially horizontal transport direction, and
- a first guide lane of the plurality of carriers transported on said first conveyor belt, defined by two side walls extending above and at two sides of the first conveyor belt, between which the plurality of carriers are guided,
- a plurality of parallel sorting lines spaced apart from each other, extending from a succession of areas of said transport line, on a side of the transport line, in directions substantially horizontal and substantially orthogonal to the horizontal transport direction of said transport line,
- each sorting line of the plurality of sorting lines including:
- a second conveyor belt substantially coplanar with the first conveyor belt of said transport line and orthogonal thereto, having an inlet end adjacent to an area of said transport line at which a side wall of the two side walls of the transport line arranged on a side facing the sorting line has an interruption, for the passage of carriers of the plurality of carriers addressed to the sorting line,
- a second guide lane of the sorting line, defined by another two side walls extending above and at two sides of the second conveyor belt of the sorting line, between which the carriers transported along the sorting line are guided,
- a respective diverter device associated with each sorting line and arranged adjacent to said area of the transport line from which the sorting line starts, on the side opposite to said sorting line, said diverter device comprising a diverter member transversely movable to the transport line from an inoperative backward position to an advanced position in which it is able configured to divert a carrier of the plurality of carriers from the transport line to the sorting line, and an actuator of the movement of the diverter member,
- said apparatus further comprising:
- at least one detector device along said transport line, upstream of said sorting lines, configured to detect an information support carried by each carrier, and
- an electronic controller configured and programmed to receive from said detector device an identifying information of each carrier and to consequently control the actuators of said diverter members, in such a way as to cause the diversion of each carrier towards a selected sorting line, to which the carrier is destined,
- wherein:
- said electronic controller is configured to control the actuators of said diverter members in such a way that each diverter member, when activated, has a forward movement which includes a first movement up to a first position in a middle of the transport line, wherein the diverter member remains static for a not null time, to intercept an upcoming carrier of the plurality of carriers, so as to avoid a cross collision with the intercepted carrier such as to induce an instability of the container carried by the intercepted carrier and a second further movement up to the advanced position, to push the intercepted carrier in the respective sorting line,
- said transport line is configured to sufficiently space from each other the carriers in order to allow each diverter member to perform the first forward movement, to stop in said position in the middle of the transport line, to carry out the second forward movement, and then a return movement to its inoperative backward position, without interfering with the carrier that follows the intercepted carrier along the transport line.