APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING AN ASSAY

Abstract

The present invention discloses an apparatus for conducting an assay, wherein the apparatus comprises a turntable (1) for receiving an assay disc (100) and to control an assay on said assay disc by rotational movement of said turntable, wherein said turntable comprises: one or more heater modules (4) to apply heat to one or more specific parts of said assay disc during rotation; a heater controller (54) to select a required heater and to control the temperature thereof, and an IR transceiver (30, 55) to allow instructions and/or heating parameters to be transferred to the heater controller wirelessly. More specifically, the present invention discloses, an apparatus for conducting an assay, wherein the heating location and rate of heating/cooling at a particular location on the assay disc may be controlled.

Claims

1-23. (canceled)

24. A turntable for receiving an assay disc and controlling an assay on the disc by rotational movement of the turntable, comprising: (a) one or more heater modules to apply heat to one or more parts of the assay disc during rotation; (b) a heater controller to select a required heater and to control the temperature thereof; and (c) an IR transceiver to allow instructions and/or heating parameters to be transferred to the heater controller wirelessly.

25. The turntable of claim 24, further comprising means to facilitate the correct positioning of the assay disc relative to the turntable.

26. The turntable of claim 25, wherein the means comprise a central spindle on the turntable corresponding to a spindle hole in the assay disc, and wherein the spindle has a longitudinal groove corresponding with a longitudinal projection on a hub of the assay disc.

27. The turntable of claim 26, wherein the horizontal dimension of the groove of the spindle decreases in a longitudinally downward direction,

28. The turntable of claim 25, wherein the means further comprises a locating projection on the turntable capable of mating with a corresponding locating recess on an assay disc.

29. The turntable of claim 25, wherein the locating projection is adjacent to or near the periphery of the assay disc.

30. The turntable of claim 24, further comprising clamping means to secure the assay disc to the turntable.

31. The turntable of claim 28, wherein the clamping means comprises a mechanical ball bearing clamping mechanism to hold the assay disc to the turntable.

32. The turntable of claim 30, wherein the clamping means comprise magnetic means for holding the assay disc in a fixed position relative to the turntable and/or for aligning and/or guiding the disc to the correct position.

33. The turntable of claim 32, wherein the magnetic means comprise disc magnets arranged in opposite pole directions in the turntable corresponding to disc magnets arranged in opposite pole directions in the assay disc.

34. The turntable of claim 24, further comprising wireless power transfer means to transfer power to heater modules in the turntable and/or to the heater controller.

35. The turntable of claim 24, wherein the IR transceiver comprises four IR emitters and one IR receiver.

36. The turntable of claim 35, wherein the four emitters are arranged in equidistance surrounding the central hub of the turntable.

37. The turntable of claim 24, wherein the turntable comprises two or more heater modules.

38. The turntable of claim 24, wherein the turntable comprises two heater modules.

39. The turntable of claim 24, wherein the heater modules are independently controlled.

40. The turntable of claim 24, wherein the power supplied to the heater can be shared and distributed among the heaters on demand.

41. The turntable of claim 24, further comprising a primary coil assembly and a secondary coil assembly.

42. An assay unit comprising the turntable of claim 24.

43. The assay unit of claim 42, further comprising means for heating and/or cooling the ambient temperature of a chamber within which the assay disc is located during the assay.

44. The assay unit of claim 43, wherein the means is a fan heater or a cooler.

45. A method for conducting an assay using the assay unit of claim 42.

Description

[0039] The present invention will now be described in further, non-limiting, detail, with reference to the following Examples and Figures in which:

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of one example of a turntable platter in accordance with the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 2 shows how magnetic locating and clamping means may be used in the present invention;

[0042] FIG. 3 shows a side view of a turntable in accordance with the present invention;

[0043] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a turntable in accordance with the present invention;

[0044] FIG. 5 shows, in exploded schematic view, some possible elements of a turntable in accordance with the present invention; and

[0045] FIGS. 6 to 11 show some components of a turntable in accordance with the present invention.

[0046] With reference to FIG. 1, turntable platter 2 comprises heaters 4 and insulators 6. The insulators 6 are inserted in between the heaters 4 and the turntable and reduce the heat loss due to conduction. As a result, they improve heat efficiency and heat rate.

[0047] The turntable platter 2 comprises a central spindle 8 which itself comprises a longitudinal groove 10 which functions as an inner guide feature to allow coarse alignment of an assay disc 100 onto the spindle 8. Turntable platter 2 comprises boss 12 which acts as a finer alignment feature.

[0048] The magnetic means of locating and securing the assay disc 100 to the turntable platter 2 are shown most clearly in FIG. 2. Most of the features of the turntable platter 2 and the assay disc 100 are omitted from this Figure for clarity. Assay disc 100 comprises spindle hole 102 for locating on spindle 18 of turntable platter 2. The turntable comprises disc magnet assembly 14 with north pole 16 and south pole 18. Assay disc 100 comprises corresponding disc magnetic assembly 104 consists of a north pole disc magnet 108 and a south pole disc magnet 110, which for clarity is shown separate from assay disc 100 in FIG. 2, though in use it is fixed to the assay disc 100, for example by using a neoprene sheet. The neoprene sheet may be pre-cut to a shape as shown in FIG. 2 that only allows the assay disc 100 to be sited on the turntable in a specific orientation. The neoprene sheet also provides a frictional grip that prevents the assay disc 100 from skidding when it is spun to high speed.

[0049] The magnet assemblies 14 and 104 are conveniently positioned at the hub of the apparatus, and accordingly in the embodiment shown, this magnet assembly 104 has hole 106 corresponding to spindle hole 102 of the assay disc.

[0050] A side view and a perspective view of a turntable in accordance with the present invention are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 respectively.

[0051] With reference to FIG. 5, turntable 1 may comprise primary infrared transceiver 30, primary coil lower holder 32, ferrite sheet 34, primary coil 36, primary coil upper holder 38, secondary coil lower holder 40, secondary coil 42, ferrite sheet 44, secondary coil upper holder 46 and assembly 48 comprising a heater controller and a secondary infrared transceiver. The lower and upper holders for both the primary coil and the secondary coil act as clamps and may conveniently be made from plastic material.

[0052] Some of the components of the turntable are shown in FIGS. 6 to 11. A schematic perspective view of the primary coil assembly 50 is shown in exploded view in relation to some of the components in FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 shows the secondary coil assembly 52 positioned on top of the primary coil assembly 50. IR transceiver primary and secondary components 30, 55 are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 respectively. A side view showing the full construction of a turntable assembly 1 is shown in FIG. 11. It starts with the BLDC motor mount component 3 as the base. The first component sitting on top of the BLDC mount is the primary IR transceiver component 30. It is followed by the primary coil component 50. Beneath turntable assembly component 2 are secondary IR transceiver component 55 and heater controller circuitry component 54. Components 55 and 54 share the same PCB board.