According to one embodiment, an automatic analyzing apparatus includes a feeder and a mixer unit. The feeder is configured to feed a first liquid and a second liquid. The mixer unit includes an inflow part, an internal space, and an outflow part. The mixer unit is configured so that the first liquid and the second liquid fed from the feeder enter through the inflow part, the first liquid and the second liquid entering through the inflow part flow inside the internal space, and the first liquid and the second liquid flowing inside the internal space exit through the outflow part according to an inflow entering through the inflow part.

A sample processing station includes two or more container holders on a platform that is rotatable about a central axis of rotation. Each holder is configured to rotate about a secondary axis of rotation. The station includes a capping/decapping mechanism to cap or decap a container held in one of the container holders and an elevator with a chuck guide that contact the container holder as the chuck is lowered by the elevator to positon the chuck with respect to the cap of the container held in the holder and to hold jaws of the container holder in a closed position. In embodiment, the chuck guide includes a yoke with opposed arms and spindles located near distal ends of the arms that engage beveled shoulders of the container holder.

Described is an automated analyzer capable of effectively cleaning a dispensing probe without using a sweeping cleaning member. The automated analyzer includes: a receptacle holding portion for holding a plurality of receptacles in which aliquots of liquid are stored, an immersion cleaning solution holding portion for storing an immersion cleaning solution, an aliquot dispenser equipped with a drive mechanism for holding a dispensing probe operative to collect the aliquots of liquid from the receptacles, a measurement controller for controlling the drive mechanism and the dispensing probe such that the aliquots of liquid are successively collected at given cycles from the receptacles, and an immersion cleaning controller for controlling the drive mechanism and the dispensing probe such that an immersion cleaning operation is carried out for an immersion time that is at least twice as long as the period of each of the given cycles.

A sample analyzer includes a suction unit configured to suction a sample in a sample container through a stopper installed in an opening of the sample container; a rack transport unit configured to transport a sample rack holding a sample container along a transport path, and position the sample container held by the sample rack at a suction position by the suction unit; a sample transport unit in which a sample container other than the sample container transported by the rack transport unit is installed and which is configured to transport the installed sample container to the suction position provided on the transport path; a measurement unit configured to measure a sample suctioned by the suction unit from the sample container positioned at the suction position; and an analysis unit configured to analyze the sample based on the measurement result of the measurement unit.

A fluid diverting module includes a multi-position fluid diverting device comprising three-dimensional movable flow-paths with minimal tortuosity in the movable portion (the rotor) of the fluid diverting device. In some embodiments, the device is also equipped with a filtration module that is capable of filtering solid particulates from fluidic samples. The invention relates to an area of non-disruptive sampling from various sample sources including ones containing solids. The fluid diverting device maintains fluid communication between the sample source and a pressure creating device in all positions of the fluid diverting device, thus conserving the pressure inside the sample source during sampling. The sampling operation is controlled from a controller, which is equipped with a software for manual or intelligent control.

A piercer washing port is provided at a position on the trajectory of a piercer differing from the sampling position. The piercer washing port is cylindrically shaped and has an opening for inserting the piercer in the upper surface and a washing space for housing the piercer inserted from the opening. Air injection ports for injecting air and washing liquid expelling ports for expelling water serving as a washing liquid are provided on the inside wall surface of the piercer washing port. The air injection ports are provided at four locations equally spaced on the periphery along the inside wall surface of the washing space. The washing liquid expelling ports 44 are provided at four locations equally spaced on the periphery along the inside wall surface of the washing space at different positions than those of the air injection ports.

Methods, systems and apparatuses using: (i) a flow control unit including: piping inlets and outlets for connecting thereby to different parts located at different locations of a water facility (WF) and of the apparatuses themselves and multiple controllable valves, each being deployed at a different inlet or outlet of the multiple piping inlets and outlets; (ii) a detection unit including at least one sensor for sensing characteristics of the WF in various locations and/or states of the WF; and a controller, configured to control operation of the valves, for measuring one or more characteristics of a selected detection location or state of the WF or of water manipulated within the apparatuses. The methods, systems and apparatuses may further be configured to apply manipulations over a water sample, sampled from the WF and/or over water from the WF and measure responses to the applied manipulation(s).

An online liquid autosampler may include a pipette, a depyrogenation system, a sample source, and a movement system. The depyrogenation system may be configured to selectively depyrogenate the pipette. The sample source may be configured to provide a liquid to be sampled to the pipette. The movement system may be coupled to one or more of the pipette, the depyrogenation system, or the sample source. The movement system may be configured to: position the pipette within the depyrogenation system for depyrogenation; position a tip of the pipette within the sample source to aspirate a sample of the liquid from the sample source; and position the pipette to dispense an aliquot of the sample of the liquid into an aliquot sample target.

An automatic analyzer controls a sequence including optical measurement and cleaning and includes a discharge mechanism including a discharge nozzle for discharging a liquid into a reaction vessel; and an overflow suction mechanism including an overflow suction nozzle for sucking an overflow amount of the liquid in the reaction vessel. In a liquid discharge step included in a cleaning process and interposed between a preceding step using a detergent and a succeeding blank value measurement step, the automatic analyzer establishes a first state where a lower end of the discharge nozzle is located in a height-wise lower part of the reaction vessel and a lower end of the overflow suction nozzle is located in an upper part of the reaction vessel, and provides control to carry out the discharge of liquid from the discharge nozzle and the suction of the overflow amount of liquid through the overflow suction nozzle.

An ultrasonic cleaner includes: a cleaning tank; an ultrasonic transducer; a vibration head which extends from the ultrasonic transducer toward the cleaning tank and of which a tip portion includes a cylindrical hole having a longitudinal direction aligned to a vertical direction; and an air layer or a metallic member that is provided in an area formed by projecting at least the vibration head in the vertical direction under the cleaning tank, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is driven at a frequency at which the vibration head is vibrated resonantly in a vibration mode accompanied by a deformation in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical hole and a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, wherein an area formed by projecting at least the vibration head in the vertical direction in a bottom portion of the cleaning tank is formed of a material mainly including resin.