Analysis system

An analysis system of the fast centrifugal analyzer type comprising

• a thermally insulated compartment with a storage region, a plurality of multicuvette rotors of long thermal time constant material, means to support said multicuvette rotors in spaced stacked relation in said storage region,
• a loading region in said compartment,
• an analysis region in said compartment with measuring apparatus in sensing relation to said analysis region,
• transport mechanism for transporting rotors sequentially from said storage region to said loading region for loading with sample and reactant materials and then to said analysis region for chemical analysis,
• a thermal energy exchange system comprising a refrigerant circuit having a refrigerant circuit portion, means for flowing refrigerant through said refrigerant circuit portion,
• flow control means for varying without blocking the flow of refrigerant through said refrigerant circuit portion,
• flow circulation means for flowing a gas stream through a recirculation loop in heat exchange relation to said refrigerant circuit portion and through said compartment,
• means for sensing the temperature of said gas stream and operating said flow control means to control refrigerant flow in said refrigerant circuit portion to maintain the temperature of said gas stream at a controlled stabilized analysis temperature,
• said flow circulation means circulating gas at said controlled stabilized analysis temperature through the storage region to provide efficient thermal interchange between stored rotors to stabilize the temperature of those stored rotors at the analysis temperature prior to transfer of a rotor from said storage region to said loading region for loading with sample and reactant materials, said flow circulation means including means for directing a first gas stream through spaced rotors in said rotor support means, and a second gas stream beneath said rotor support means through said compartment and across said loading and analysis regions.

A fast centrifugal analyzer system comprising a first thermally insulated compartment,

• means for storing sample and reagent materials in said first compartment,
• a second thermally insulated compartment that is thermally insulated from said first compartment, a supply station and a loading station in said second compartment,
• means for maintaining said first compartment at an appropriate storage temperature including means for circulating a first stream of gas at said storage temperature through said first compartment,
• means for maintaining said second compartment at a controlled and stabilized analysis temperature that is higher than said storage temperature including means for circulating a second stream of gas at said analysis temperature through said second compartment,
• a plurality of centrifugal analyzer rotors, each said centrifugal analyzer rotors having a plurality of cuvettes,
• means for storing said plurality of centrifugal analyzer rotors of long thermal time constant material in said second compartment at said supply station including means for directing said second stream of gas over said rotors at said supply station to equilibrate said stored analysis rotors to said analysis temperature,
• a thermal energy exchange system comprising a refrigerant circuit having first and second parallel circuit portions, means for flowing refrigerant through said two parallel circuit portions, and flow control means for varying without blocking the flow of refrigerant through each said parallel circuit portion,
• said means for maintaining said first compartment at an appropriate storage temperature including said first stream circulation means for flowing said first stream through a first closed loop in heat exchange relation to said first parallel circuit portion and through said first compartment and means for sensing the temperature of said first stream and operating said flow control means to control refrigerant flow in said first parallel circuit portion to maintain the temperature of said first stream substantially at said storage temperature,
• said means for maintaining said second compartment at said analysis temperature including said second stream circulation means for flowing said second stream through a second closed recirculation loop in heat exchange relation to said second parallel circuit portion and through said second compartment, and means for sensing the temperature of said second stream and operating said flow control means to control refrigerant flow in said second parallel circuit portion to maintain the temperature of said second stream substantially at said analysis temperature,
• transport means in said second compartment for transporting a thermally equilibrated rotor from said supply station to said loading station,
• transfer means including heater means for transferring predetermined quantities of sample and reagent materials from said first compartment for loading into a cuvette of an equilibrated rotor at said loading station, and
• means in said second compartment for analyzing the mixtures of sample and reagent materials in the cuvettes of a rotor.

A centrifugal analyzer system comprising a first thermally insulated compartment,

• means for storing sample and reagent materials in said first compartment,
• a second thermally insulated compartment that is thermally insulated from said first compartment, a supply station and a loading station in said second compartment,
• means for maintaining said first compartment at an appropriate storage temperature including means for circulating a first stream of gas at said storage temperature through said first compartment,
• means for maintaining said second compartment at a controlled and stabilized analysis temperature that is higher than said storage temperature including means for circulating a second stream of gas at said analysis temperature through said second compartment,
• a plurality of centrifugal analyzer rotors of long thermal time constant material, each said rotor having a plurality of cuvettes,
• means for storing said plurality of centrifugal analyzer rotors in said second compartment at said supply station including means for directing said second stream of gas over rotors at said supply station to equilibrate each rotor to said analysis temperature,
• a thermal energy exchange system comprising a refrigerant circuit having first and second parallel circuit portions, each said parallel circuit portion including a capillary tube section that has a length of less than one meter and an inner diameter of less than one millimeter, means for flowing refrigerant through said two parallel circuit portions, and flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant through each said parallel circuit portion, said flow control means including a heater for each said capillary tube section, each said capillary section tube and its heater being proportioned so that refrigerant flow is never blocked by said flow control means,
• said means for maintaining said first compartment at an appropriate storage temperature including said first stream circulation means for flowing said first stream through a first closed loop in heat exchange relation to said first parallel circuit portion and through said first compartment and means for sensing the temperature of said first stream and operating said flow control means to control refrigerant flow in said first parallel circuit portion to maintain the temperature of said first stream substantially at said storage temperature,
• said means for maintaining said second compartment at said analysis temperature including said second stream circulation means for flowing said second stream through a second closed recirculation loop in heat exchange relation to said second parallel circuit portion and through said second compartment, and means for sensing the temperature of said second stream and operating said flow control means to control refrigerant flow in said second parallel circuit portion to maintain the temperature of said second stream substantially at said analysis temperature,
• transport means in said second compartment for transporting a thermally equilibrated rotor from said supply station to said loading station,
• transfer means including heater means for transferring predetermined quanitites of sample and reagent materials from said first compartment for loading into a cuvette of an equilibrated rotor at said loading station, and
• means in said second compartment for analyzing the mixtures of sample and reagent materials in the cuvettes of a rotor.

A centrifugal analyzer system comprising a first thermally insulated compartment,

• means for storing sample and reagent materials in said first compartment,
• a second thermally insulated compartment adjacent to and thermally insulated from said first compartment, said first and second compartments including a thermally insulated common wall, a passage in said common wall, a supply station and a loading station in said second compartment,
• means for maintaining said first compartment at an appropriate storage temperature including means for circulating a first stream of gas at said storage temperature through said first compartment,
• means for maintaining said second compartment at a controlled and stabilized analysis temperature that is higher than said storage temperature including means for circulating a second stream of gas at said analysis temperature through said second compartment,
• means for storing a plurality of centrifugal analyzer rotors of long thermal time constant material in said second compartment at said supply station including means for directing said second stream of gas over rotors at said supply station to equilibrate each rotor to said analysis temperature,
• transport means in said second compartment for transporting a thermally equilibrated rotor from said supply station to said loading station,
• transfer means for transferring predetermined quantities of sample and reagent materials from said first compartment for loading into a cuvette of an equilibrated rotor at said loading station, said transfer mechanism including a pair of liquid handling probes, a probe transport carriage on which said liquid handling probes are mounted, a drive for moving said transport carriage through said passage in said common wall between said first and second compartments,
• said transport carriage including a reagent storage chamber connected to one of said liquid handling probes and a sample storage chamber connected to the other of said liquid handling probes, each said storage chamber having a capacity of less than one milliliter, and heater means including thermal energy supplying means in heat exchange relation with said storage chambers, and
• means in said second compartment for analyzing the mixtures of sample and reagent materials in the cuvettes of a rotor.

A system of the centrifugal analyzer type including a thermally insulated compartment

• a plurality of multicuvette rotors of long thermal time constant material,
• a storage region in said compartment for said plurality of multicuvette rotors,
• means to support said multicuvette rotors in spaced stacked relation in said compartment, a loading region in said compartment, an analysis region in said compartment with measuring apparatus in sensing relation to a multicuvette rotor at said analysis station, and transport mechanism for transporting multicuvette rotors sequentially from said storage station to said loading station for loading with sample and reactant materials and then to said analysis station for chemical analysis in said compartment,
• flow circulation means for flowing an air stream through a recirculation loop that includes said compartment, said air stream circulating means including
• main thermal energy exchange means in said recirculation loop, said main thermal energy exchange means including a refrigerant circuit having means for flowing refrigerant through the circuit that includes a compressor, evaporator means, evaporator pressure regulator means, and flow control means for controlling the flow of refrigerant through said circuit that includes capillary tube section and a heater for said capillary tube section, said capillary tube having a length of less than one meter and an inner diameter of less than one millimeter, and said capillary tube and its heater being proportioned so that refrigerant flow is never blocked by said flow control means,
• auxiliary heater means in said recirculation loop, means for sensing the air temperature of said air stream,
• means for generating a desired temperature signal for said air stream,
• comparison means responsive to said desired temperature signal and the actual temperature signal of said air stream for producing an error signal, and means responsive to said error signal for controlling said main thermal energy exchange means to establish an air stream temperature and for controlling said auxiliary heater means to provide supplemental adjustment of the temperature of said air stream to provide a controlled stabilized air stream temperature, the response time of said auxiliary heater control being at least ten times faster than the response time of said main thermal energy exchange control, and
• means in said compartment for directing a first air stream through the spaced rotors in the lower part of said stack, and a second air stream beneath said rotor stack through said compartment and across said loading and analysis stations, said air stream at said controlled stabilized temperature being circulated through said compartment to provide efficient thermal interchange between said stored multicuvette rotors to stabilize the temperature of those stored rotors at the temperature of said air stream prior to transfer of said rotors from said storage region to said loading region for loading with sample and reactant materials.