Receptacle transport system for an analytical system
A receptacle delivery system for an instrument includes a carriage, a puck rotatably supported by the carriage, a first electric motor, and a second electric motor. The puck comprises a plurality of spring-loaded fingers arranged around a vertical axis and configured to removably support a receptacle therebetween. The first electric motor is configured to move the carriage between a first location and a second location of the instrument. The second electric motor is configured to rotate the puck about the vertical axis.
1 . A receptacle delivery system for an instrument, comprising:
a conveyor;
one or more carriers supported on the conveyor, wherein each carrier of the one or more carriers is configured to support at least one receptacle containing a fluid;
a carriage;
a puck rotatably supported by the carriage, wherein the puck is configured to removably support a receptacle such that a longitudinal axis of the receptacle is substantially coincident with a vertical axis of the puck, wherein the puck comprises a plurality of spring-loaded fingers arranged around the vertical axis of the puck and configured to removably support a receptacle therebetween;
a pick and place device configured to transfer a receptacle between one of the one or more carriers supported on the conveyor and the puck;
a first electric motor configured to move the carriage between a first location and a second location of the instrument; and
a second electric motor configured to rotate the puck about the vertical axis.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein an O-ring biases the plurality of spring-loaded fingers toward the vertical axis of the puck.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the O-ring is comprised of an elastomer.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the elastomer is selected from the group consisting of silicone, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), and rubber.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers comprises a top portion that is configured to contact the receptacle and a base portion that extends substantially transverse to the top portion, wherein the base portion of each finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers is rotatably coupled to a supporting disc of the puck at an associated pivot point.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the top portion of each finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers comprises an inclined surface, and wherein the inclined surfaces of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers are arranged in a funnel-like configuration with respect to the vertical axis of the puck.
7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the puck comprises a synchronization disc arranged coaxially with the supporting disc, and wherein each finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers includes a pin located radially inwardly of the associated pivot point and the pin of each finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers is coupled to the synchronization disc to enable the plurality of pins to move together in a synchronized manner toward or away from the vertical axis of the puck.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spring-loaded fingers comprises four equally spaced-apart fingers.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers comprises anodized aluminum at least partially coated with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene).
10 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to detect when the puck has rotated to a predetermined position in the carriage.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.
12 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensing system configured to detect whether a receptacle is seated in the puck.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the puck comprises a first passageway that extends transverse to and is offset from the vertical axis of the puck.
14 . The system of claim 13 , further comprising a sensing system configured to detect at least one of (a) whether a longitudinal axis of a receptacle seated in the puck is inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the puck, and/or (b) whether a receptacle seated in the puck is inserted to a desired depth in the puck.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the puck is rotatably supported in a housing of the carriage, and wherein the housing comprises a second passageway that extends transverse to and is offset from the vertical axis of the puck.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the sensing system comprises a signal emitter and a signal detector, and wherein when the first and second passageways are aligned, the signal detector is configured to receive a signal from the signal emitter through the aligned first and second passageways when a receptacle is not seated in the puck.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the signal emitter is an optical emitter, the signal detector is an optical detector, and the signal is an optical beam.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein, when the first and second passageways are aligned, (a) the optical emitter is configured to direct the optical beam on an incident area on an external surface of a receptacle seated in the puck and (b) the optical detector is configured to receive at least a portion of the optical beam from the optical emitter if a receptacle is not seated in the puck, wherein if the receptacle is properly seated in the puck, the incident area is offset from a longitudinal axis of the receptacle.
19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein, when a receptacle is properly seated in the puck, the incident area is offset from the vertical axis of the puck by a distance from about 3 mm to about 6 mm.
20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein, when a receptacle is properly seated in the puck, the incident area is offset from a base of the receptacle by a distance from about 3 mm to about 8 mm.
21 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the signal emitter and the signal detector are coupled to the carriage.
22 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a gripper configured to hold a carrier in a fixed location on the conveyor while the pick and place device transfers a receptacle from the carrier to the puck.
23 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers is coupled to each other finger of the plurality of spring-loaded fingers to move together in a synchronized manner toward or away from the vertical axis of the puck.