A system and method for independently routing container-located vehicles to create different finished products are disclosed. The vehicles are independently routable along a track system to deliver the containers to at least one unit operation station. At least some of the vehicles have a unique route associated therewith that is assigned by a control system to facilitate simultaneous production of different finished products.

A conveyor assembly for transporting a carrier coupled to a receptacle to a processing station located within a housing of an instrument. The conveyor assembly includes a spur conveyor subassembly and a buffer conveyor subassembly for transporting the carrier from a host conveyor assembly to the spur conveyor subassembly. The spur conveyor subassembly includes (i) a rotatable diverter having at least one recess for receiving and moving the carrier between the buffer conveyor subassembly and the spur conveyor subassembly and (ii) a gripper configured to grasp the carrier and move it from the diverter to the processing position located within the housing of the instrument.

A specimen processing system comprising a pre-processing device performing analysis pre-processing of a specimen contained in a specimen container, an analyzing device performing analysis processing of the specimen having been subjected to the pre-processing by the pre-processing device, a specimen transport unit transporting the specimen container between the pre-processing device and the analyzing device, and a transfer unit transferring the specimen between the analyzing device and the specimen transport unit, the specimen transport unit comprising a transport unit body, an extending line unit, a direction turning unit, and a terminal unit, and further provided with one control board that is mounted on the transport unit body or the transfer unit and controls operation of the transfer unit, the transport unit body, the extending line unit, the direction turning unit, and the terminal unit as transport control of the specimen container.

An automated analyzer is provided with one or more dispensing lines 109, 209 that are each for loading and unloading, at one end thereof, a sample rack 101 having placed therein one or more sample containers accommodating a sample for analysis and for conveying the sample rack back and forth from a dispensing position for dispensing the sample from the sample containers and sample rack removal parts 111, 211 that are provided adjacent to the other ends of the dispensing lines 109, 209 and provide and receive sample racks to and from the dispensing lines 109, 209. According to this configuration, it is possible to convey an urgent sample while suppressing device complexity, preventing cost from increasing, and also maintaining speed.

Provided is a sample transport system capable of avoiding insertion of a sample into an automatic analysis device even when the inability of the automatic analysis device to carry out processing is detected after the sample is transported from a sample preprocessing system. A carrier transfer machine determines whether a sample transferred from a sample transport system unit can be analyzed by an automatic analysis device based on sample information about the sample and information about whether a reagent is loaded in the automatic analysis device, and, if a determination is made that the sample cannot be analyzed, moves a sample container holder to the sample transport system unit without transferring a sample container to a carrier. As a result, it is possible to avoid inserting a sample into an automatic analysis device that is not capable of carrying out analysis on the sample and eliminate unnecessary operations and time.

A sample carrier handling devices for manipulating a sample carrier is presented. The sample carrier carries a sample container containing a sample which is used in a diagnostics laboratory. The sample carrier handling device has a housing which is at least partially closed, defining a circumferential surface. A pull-push-element of the sample carrier handling device pulls, pushes, or pulls and pushes the sample carrier with an end-portion of the pull-push-element. The pull-push-element defines a central axis. The pull-push-element is arranged in the housing so that during a movement of the pull-push-element the central axis of the pull-push-element changes its direction while the end portion of the pull-push-element remains in an axis of motion.

It is possible to realize a sample container transfer device capable of handling a plurality of racks in which a sample container can be efficiently transferred from a preprocessing system to a carrier used in an analysis system and can be transferred to a plurality of kinds of carriers of the analysis system. A plurality of kinds of racks A and racks B is held by an empty rack holding area 330. The racks A or the racks B can be used for conveyance of specimen containers according to the application of a specimen. After a fixed number of specimen containers separated by a separation mechanism 301 according to an application are collected by stoppers 303a and 303b, the specimen containers are conveyed to a transfer start position 309 to be transferred from a holder to a rack. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an occurrence of a state in which the rack does not have a part where no specimen is mounted.

A conveyor assembly for transporting a carrier coupled to a receptacle to a processing station located within a housing of an instrument. The conveyor assembly includes a spur conveyor subassembly and a buffer conveyor subassembly for transporting the carrier from a host conveyor assembly to the spur conveyor subassembly. The spur conveyor subassembly includes (i) a rotatable diverter having at least one recess for receiving and moving the carrier between the buffer conveyor subassembly and the spur conveyor subassembly and (ii) a gripper configured to grasp the carrier and move it from the diverter to the processing position located within the housing of the instrument.

A conveyor assembly for transporting a carrier coupled to a receptacle to a processing station located within a housing of an instrument. The conveyor assembly includes a spur conveyor subassembly and a buffer conveyor subassembly for transporting the carrier from a host conveyor assembly to the spur conveyor subassembly. The spur conveyor subassembly includes (i) a rotatable diverter having at least one recess for receiving and moving the carrier between the buffer conveyor subassembly and the spur conveyor subassembly and (ii) a gripper configured to grasp the carrier and move it from the diverter to the processing position located within the housing of the instrument.

An automated conveyor assembly for transporting a carrier coupled to processing receptacle from (i) a carrier conveyor assembly to (ii) a processing position within an instrument, where the automated conveyor assembly includes a gripper configured to selectively grasp a carrier and move between (i) a first position and (ii) the processing position in the instrument. The automated conveyor assembly further includes a diverter defining a recess configured to receive a carrier, the diverter being rotatable between (i) a first position at which the recess is aligned with the carrier conveyor assembly and (ii) a second position at which the recess is aligned with the first position of the gripper.