Apparatus for automated processing biological samples

An apparatus for automatic processing of at least one biological sample accommodated on at least one carrier member, comprising:

• a housing frame;
• a plurality of reagent containers;
• a plurality of container racks within the housing, each of the container rack being configured for supporting at least one of the plurality of reagent containers;
• a robotic reagent dispensing head within the housing that performs ongoing robotic processing, including dispensing of reagents obtained from the plurality of reagent containers;
• at least one sample processing section within the housing accommodating the at least one biological sample;
• at least one reagent section within the housing accommodating at least one of the plurality of carrier racks;
• a cover for protecting said at least one sample processing section and said at least one reagent section in said housing, said cover enclosing the sample processing section and the reagent section and defining an interior space between the housing and the cover;
• at least one climate control device for controlling the environment within said interior space defined by the cover;
• a sensor device for providing feedback signals to the climate control device;
• and
• a data processing device configured to control the at least one climate control device, wherein the data processing device comprises a processing protocol including instructions to apply a predetermined amount of reagents in a predetermined sequence to the at least one biological sample,
• wherein a first container rack is configured to permit a first reagent container supported by the first container rack, to be removed from the apparatus without opening the cover or interrupting the dispensing of reagents with the robotic reagent dispensing head, and
• wherein a second container rack is configured to permit a second reagent container supported by the second container rack to be inserted into the apparatus without opening the cover or interrupting the dispensing of reagents with the robotic reagent dispensing head.