EP0329120A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Luminescence test and exposure apparatus
Assignee: RMS LABORATORIES Inc
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Filing: 1989-02-16
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-02-16
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus for performing and measuring chemical reactions includes a reaction test apparatus having reaction wells wherein reactants are controllably mixed, and exposure apparatus which receives and positions the reaction test apparatus adjacent a photographic film. Each of the reaction wells includes at least two reaction chambers, arranged in a side by side fashion. All but the final reaction chamber have upwardly sloping sides, so that liquid placed in one reaction chamber can flow to the next reaction chamber when the apparatus is tilted. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction wells are supported in a plate that is structurally integral with the wells but separates the wells from each other. The test plate is retained in the exposure apparatus, and liquid is controllably flowed from one reaction chamber to the next by tilting the exposure apparatus. The apparatus of the invention is particularly suited for measuring reactions that produce luminescence of short duration, as the reactants can be conveniently mixed in darkness, while the film is being exposed.
Inventors
- 👤 Jon C. Wannlund
- 👤 Jerry W. Smith
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 12:03
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01L; B01L3/00; B01L3/50; B01L3/502; B01L3/5025; B01L3/50255; G; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/01; G01N21/03; G01N21/75; G01N21/76; G01N2021/0325; G01N2021/0328; G01N2021/0357; G01N21/17; G01N2021/1765; G01N2021/1768; G01N2201/00; G01N2201/04; G01N2201/0446; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T436/00; Y10T436/11; Y10T436/111666; Y10T436/25; Y10T436/25375
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
A reaction test apparatus for testing a liquid therein, comprising: at least one test well, the test well including a first reaction chamber having a first upwardly sloping interior wall, a second reaction chamber disposed adjacent the top of the first upwardly sloping interior wall of the first reaction chamber, whereby tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the first reaction chamber to flow from the first reaction chamber to the second reaction chamber along the first upwardly sloping interior wall, and further having a second upwardly sloping interior wall oppositely disposed to the location of the first reaction chamber, and a final reaction chamber disposed adjacent the top of the second upwardly sloping interior wall of the second reaction chamber, whereby tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the second reaction chamber to flow from the second reaction chamber to the final reaction chamber along the second upwardly sloping interior wall, and further having a transparent bottom so that light produced in the final reaction chamber may be monitored from beneath the final reaction chamber; and a support for the test well.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
A reaction test apparatus for testing a liquid therein, comprising: at least one test well, the test well including a first reaction chamber having a first upwardly sloping interior wall, a second reaction chamber disposed adjacent the top of the first upwardly sloping interior wall of the first reaction chamber, whereby tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the first reaction chamber to flow from the first reaction chamber to the second reaction chamber along the first upwardly sloping interior wall, and further having a second upwardly sloping interior wall oppositely disposed to the location of the first reaction chamber, and a final reaction chamber disposed adjacent the top of the second upwardly sloping interior wall of the second reaction chamber, whereby tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the second reaction chamber to flow from the second reaction chamber to the final reaction chamber along the second upwardly sloping interior wall, and further having a transparent bottom so that light produced in the final reaction chamber may be monitored from beneath the final reaction chamber; and a support for the test well.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a plurality of substantially identical test wells, each of which wells has the structure set forth in claim 1.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the test wells and the support are made of a plastic.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the plastic has a dispersion of light diffracting particles dispersed through the plastic.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the portion of the support between the test wells includes a web section having grooves therein to reduce the transmission of light through the support from one well to the adjacent well.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
114 words
A reaction test apparatus for testing a liquid placed therein, comprising: at least one test well, said test well having therein a lower reaction cup having a final reactant therein; an upper reaction cup positioned above said lower reaction cup and having a penultimate reactant therein, said upper reaction cup further having an orifice in the bottom thereof disposed such that liquid flowing through said orifice is discharged into said lower reaction cup, so that a pressure applied to the top of said upper reaction cup forces liquid contained in said upper reaction cup downwardly through said orifice into said lower reaction cup; and a support for said test well and the cups thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
114 words
A reaction test apparatus for testing a liquid placed therein, comprising: at least one test well, said test well having therein a lower reaction cup having a final reactant therein; an upper reaction cup positioned above said lower reaction cup and having a penultimate reactant therein, said upper reaction cup further having an orifice in the bottom thereof disposed such that liquid flowing through said orifice is discharged into said lower reaction cup, so that a pressure applied to the top of said upper reaction cup forces liquid contained in said upper reaction cup downwardly through said orifice into said lower reaction cup; and a support for said test well and the cups thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 6, where the support includes: an upper plate supporting said upper reaction cups, and a lower plate supporting said lower reaction cups, said upper and lower plates being keyed to register said upper and lower reaction cups.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus includes a plurality of substantially identical test wells, each of which wells has the structure set forth in claim 6.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
93 words
A reaction test apparatus for assessing reactions by the production of luminescence, comprising: two adjacent test wells, each test well including a first reaction chamber having a first upwardly sloping interior wall, a second reaction chamber disposed adjacent the top of the first upwardly sloping interior wall of the first reaction chamber, whereby tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the first reaction chamber to flow from the first reaction chamber to the second reaction chamber along the first upwardly sloping interior wall; and a web section supporting but separating the two wells.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
93 words
A reaction test apparatus for assessing reactions by the production of luminescence, comprising: two adjacent test wells, each test well including a first reaction chamber having a first upwardly sloping interior wall, a second reaction chamber disposed adjacent the top of the first upwardly sloping interior wall of the first reaction chamber, whereby tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the first reaction chamber to flow from the first reaction chamber to the second reaction chamber along the first upwardly sloping interior wall; and a web section supporting but separating the two wells.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 9, further including means for preventing light from passing from one of the two wells to the other of the two wells through the web section.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for preventing includes at least one groove in the web section to reduce the transmission of light through the web section.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for preventing includes a distribution of light diffracting particles dispersed through the web section to reduce the transmission of light through the web section.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second reaction chamber for each of the two test wells is supplied from the same first reaction chamber.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
152 words
Luminescence exposure apparatus for conducting luminescence reaction tests on specimens contained within a test well in a reaction test apparatus, comprising: a lower housing including a flat, upwardly facing internal surface for receiving a piece of film thereupon, a fixed shutter covering the upwardly facing surface and having a plurality of openings therethrough positioned to correspond to the locations of the test wells in the reaction test apparatus, biasing means on the fixed shutter for resisting the downward movement of the reaction test apparatus, when the reaction test apparatus is placed upon the fixed shutter, and a movable shutter between the internal interior wall and the fixed shutter; and an upper housing including translation means for controllably urging the reaction test apparatus downwardly against the resistance of the biasing means, thereby contacting the bottom of the reaction well in the reaction test apparatus with the piece of film in the lower housing.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
152 words
Luminescence exposure apparatus for conducting luminescence reaction tests on specimens contained within a test well in a reaction test apparatus, comprising: a lower housing including a flat, upwardly facing internal surface for receiving a piece of film thereupon, a fixed shutter covering the upwardly facing surface and having a plurality of openings therethrough positioned to correspond to the locations of the test wells in the reaction test apparatus, biasing means on the fixed shutter for resisting the downward movement of the reaction test apparatus, when the reaction test apparatus is placed upon the fixed shutter, and a movable shutter between the internal interior wall and the fixed shutter; and an upper housing including translation means for controllably urging the reaction test apparatus downwardly against the resistance of the biasing means, thereby contacting the bottom of the reaction well in the reaction test apparatus with the piece of film in the lower housing.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
54 words
The exposure apparatus of claim 14, further including an extension on one end of the apparatus, the extension having an inclined surface on the bottom thereof to limit the angular rotation of the exposure apparatus to a predetermined amount when the apparatus is placed onto a flat surface and rotated toward the inclined surface.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
41 words
The exposure apparatus of claim 14, wherein the upper housing further includes pressure application means for applying a pressure to the top of the reaction wells in the reaction test apparatus responsive to a force applied externally to said exposure apparatus.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
32 words
The exposure apparatus of claim 14, further including the reaction test apparatus, which comprises a plurality of reaction wells, and the fixed shutter has openings therethrough for each of the reaction wells.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
106 words
The exposure apparatus of claim 14, further including the reaction test apparatus, which comprises: at least one test well, the test well including a first reaction chamber having a first upwardly sloping interior wall, and a final reaction chamber disposed at a location such that tilting of the apparatus causes liquid in the first reaction chamber to flow from the first reaction chamber to the final reaction chamber along the first upwardly sloping interior wall, and further having a transparent bottom so that light produced in the final reaction chamber may be monitored from beneath the final reaction chamber; and a support for the test well.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
49 words
The exposure apparatus of claim 18, further including in the reaction test apparatus a second reaction chamber intermediate the first reaction chamber and the final rection chamber, and disposed so that liquid flowing from the first reaction chamber to the final reaction chamber flows through the second reaction chamber.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
52 words
The exposure apparatus of claim 14, further including locking means for preventing improper operation of the apparatus, the locking means including a movable shutter lock, the movable shutter lock preventing the opening of the movable shutter when the reaction test apparatus is not in contact with the film in the lower housing.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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