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.

A diagnostic analyzer includes a first sample process path, a second sample processing path, and a reaction vessel exchanger device. The first sample process path includes an incubation track operable to move reaction vessels along the first sample process path. The second sample process path includes a processing track, disposed below the first sample process path, which is operable to move reaction vessels along the second sample process path. The reaction vessel exchanger device is configured to transfer the reaction vessels from the first sample processing path to the second sample processing path.

A diagnostic analyzer includes a first sample process path, a second sample processing path, and a reaction vessel exchanger device. The first sample process path includes an incubation track operable to move reaction vessels along the first sample process path. The second sample process path includes a processing track, disposed below the first sample process path, which is operable to move reaction vessels along the second sample process path. The reaction vessel exchanger device is configured to transfer the reaction vessels from the first sample processing path to the second sample processing path.

Disclosed are high-throughput vessel receiving systems and methods of receiving sample vessels, such as samples stored in test tubes. A system for receiving a plurality of individual vessels that each contains a sample, and systems and apparatus for guiding, reorienting, collecting, and transporting a plurality of articles, including vessels, are disclosed.

Disclosed are high-throughput vessel sorting systems and methods of sorting sample vessels, such as samples stored in test tubes. A system for sorting a plurality of individual vessels that each contains a sample is disclosed.

Disclosed are high-throughput vessel supply systems and methods of supplying sample vessels, such as samples stored in test tubes. A system for supplying a plurality of individual vessels that each contains a sample is disclosed.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis device that combines a biochemical analysis unit and a blood coagulation analysis unit and has a high processing capacity while reducing device cost and life-cycle cost. An automatic analysis device is characterized in that when a synthetic-substrate item or latex-agglutination item from among synthetic-substrate, latex-agglutination, and clotting-time blood-coagulation-test items is made to be a first test item and the clotting-time item is made to be a second test item, if there is a measurement request for the first test item and second test item in the same specimen rack, a control unit determines the conveyance path of the specimen rack such that the first test item is measured using a biochemical analysis unit and the second test item is measured using a coagulation time analysis unit and controls a conveyance line.

An automated sample inspection system is provided with a conveyance line for conveying sample carriers; an empty sample carrier line for conveying empty sample carriers; and a buffer line for temporarily holding empty sample carriers supplied from the empty sample carrier line to the conveyance line. According to the depletion status of the buffer line of each processing system, and the depletion status of other processing systems adjacent to each processing system, the number of empty sample carriers to be conveyed from the empty sample carrier line to the buffer line of each processing system, and the number of empty sample carriers to be conveyed from the empty sample carrier line of each processing system to the empty sample carrier line of another adjacent processing system are determined. Consequently, delays in the processes in the system can be suppressed due to the suppression of the depletion of sample carriers.

A device for agitating and collecting biological liquid samples comprises an agitator of racks of tubes, a sampling apparatus capable of collecting a biological liquid sample in a tube, and a changer capable of gripping a tube on a rack received in the agitator and moving it to the sampling apparatus. The agitator is capable of agitating at least three racks simultaneously, and the device also comprises a scheduler capable of determining destination data for a tube and destination data for the rack which receives this tube, and of determining for each tube a final location based on the destination data of the tube and the destination data of the racks received in the device, which final location designates a rack, received on the agitator and a position on this rack and can be different from the location of the tube when the rack that received it has been introduced into the device, and arranged to control the changer in order to grip a tube, present it to the sampling apparatus and replace it after sampling at the final location.