| 摘要 |
<p>An apparatus (10) for sealing an array of tubes 42 comprises a rack support 30 for supporting the array of tubes with their upper rims 43 disposed in a horizontal plane, an anvil plate (200; fig4) having an array of holes (206) for placement over the tubes 42, a punch station 60 comprising a punch tool (62; fig 9) having a column of punch pins (66; fig 9), a sealing station 70 comprising a sealing tool (72; fig 9) having a column of heated pins (76; fig 9) and a sealing membrane transport mechanism for delivering sealing material to the punch station. The membrane is disposed between the punch pins and the anvil plate with the punch pins configured to pierce through a membrane so as to separate individual discs from the membrane to overlie associated tube rims. The heated pins are configured to pass from above into the through holes to apply heat to the individual discs to seal the discs to the rims of the tubes. The punch tool has multiple punch pins and the sealing tool has multiple heated pin arranged in a linear array corresponding to a column of the array of tubes. A method of operating the apparatus is also disclosed.</p> |
