The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 27, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 31, 1996
Glen A Carey, Grafton, OH (US);
Michael L Malek, North Olmsted, OH (US);
Chiron Diagnostics Corporation, East Walpole, MA (US);
Abstract
Method and apparatus for transportation and processing of multiple protocol assays within an automated immunoassay analyzer instrument. The apparatus includes a cuvette ring movably coupled to a magnet ring. In one embodiment, the magnet ring and cuvette ring are provided having circular shapes. A temperature controlled housing is disposed about the cuvette and magnet rings to provide a rotary incubation and particle separation chamber. The cuvette ring holds a plurality of cuvettes each of which may have a different assay disposed therein. The cuvette ring advances the cuvettes around the circumference of the incubation chamber. A plurality of discrete processing centers for aspiration and dispensing fluid samples, reagents and wash fluids are disposed at predetermined positions about the incubation chamber. The cuvette ring moves cuvettes in both clockwise and counter clockwise directions around the incubation chamber to position particular cuvettes at particular ones of the plurality of discrete processing centers to thus accommodate different protocols of each of the assays. By controlling the manner in which the cuvette ring moves within the incubation chamber, a plurality of different protocol assays each of which require different incubation times, can be simultaneously processed in the analyzer instrument.