Modular reagent cartridge

Details Modular reagent cartridge Modular reagent cartridge

1998-06-29

2000-11-21

Le, Long V.

Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser

Control element responsive to a sensed operating condition

422 63, 422104, 206504, 206509, 220 234, 220 238, G01N 3510, B01L 900, B65D 2102

Patent

active

061498726

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a reagent cartridge for the supply of ready-to-use, biochemical reagents in liquid form, whose purpose is to enable a simple loading into and use in a fully automatic analyzer.
Reagent vessels are known in principle from the prior art. Thus, for example, the EP 0 564 970 A3 describes a socalled reagent kit, which contains three reagent vessels in a square frame. The floor and the lid of the housing have openings, which allow air to circulate through the interior of the housing, in order to guarantee uniform cooling of the reagent vessels.
The EP 0 435 481 A2 describes an analyzer with a rotating disk, on which the reagent vessels are arranged. Every two of the vessels, which have the shape of a piece of cake, are connected together into a double package by means of a lid that can be snapped on. To facilitate production, the double package can also be designed as one piece.
Finally the EP 0 502 638 A2 describes an automatic analyzer with a plurality of longitudinal reagent vessels, which are transported by an automatic handling system. To enable the transport of these reagent vessels, they are provided wish lateral flanges and projections.
The invention is based on the problem of providing a means for handling reagents, which enables flexible handling even with the most varying reagent charges.
This problem is solved by the features of claim 1. According to the invention, a modular reagent cartridge is provided that is produced by connecting several reagent vessels directly Lo each other by means of coupling devices moulded on as one piece.
The invention provides, first of all, a modular system of reagent vessels, whereby the individual vessels can be connected into a reagent cartridge by means of coupling devices that are moulded on in one piece. Such a cartridge can then be inserted into an analyzer with only one manipulation. Furthermore, owing to the modular construction of the reagent cartridge the reagent vessels can be processed individually during the filling process; and, following completed production, these reagent vessels can be assembled into a reagent cartridge in a single fabrication step. In so doing, no other coupling elements or the like are necessary. Rather the individual reagent vessels are connected directly to each other without intercalation of additional connecting elements. Thus, arbitrary combinations of the most varying reagent charges are always guaranteed. Thus, the reagent cartridge of the invention offers handling advantages that did not exist before and that also save time especially in the course of the production process, since the reagent vessels can be filled in the onassembled state; and following fabrication of the cartridges they can be handled as one unit. At the same time any defective vessels can be replaced easily with new vessels, without having to replace the entire cartridge. In addition, it is possible to combine together in one cartridge reagent vessels of varying sizes and/or volume, whereby the combination may be arbitrary. This means simultaneously that a large number of different reagent cartridges does not have to be prepared. Rather each cartridge can be put together individually with the desired combination of vessels.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
According to a first advantageous embodiment, at least one reagent vessel may exhibit a preferably snap-in connecting device, in order to produce a force-locking connection between the reagent cartridge and an analyzer. Such a reagent vessel, which can constitute to some extent a base element of the modular system, enables a force-locking connection between the reagent cartridge and the analyzer, which can be produced arbitrarily often and readily disconnected again owing to the special locking mechanism. The locking connection is also moulded on advantageously as one piece to the reagent vessel.
According to another design of the invention, a reagent vessel comprises a holding frame and at Least one container, which has less

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