TRANSPORT SYSTEM WITH POSITION TRACKING FOR TEST SAMPLE CARRIER

摘要

A transport system is provided for a sample testing machine. The transport system includes a carrier holding a set of test sample devices and a drive subsystem for moving the carrier through the sample testing machine. The dri ve subsystem includes a reciprocating motor~driven block engaging the carrier a nd moving the carrier back and forth in a predetermined longitudinal path extending along a longitudinal axis from an entrance station to a plurality of processing stations in the sample testing machine. The processing stations a re accessed as the carrier is moved along the path. The carrier includes featur es in the form of slots that are detected by strategically placed optical interrupt sensors. As the carrier moves, the slots are detected by the senso rs to thereby continuously track the position of the carrier and the test devic es as they are moved through the instrument.