Automatic sample changer

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING A RADIOACTIVE SAMPLE FROM A STORAGE STATION TO A COUNTING STATION WHERE RADIATION FROM THE SAMPLE IS TO BE COUNTED, COMPRISING DRIVE MEANS, AXIALLY ALIGNED STATIONARY, ELONGATED FIRST AND SECOND SHIELDED STORAGE CHAMBERS EACH ADAPTED TO STORE A STACK OF SAMPLE CONTAINING HOLDERS, AN ELONGATED SLIDE HAVING AN APERTURE THEREIN FOR RECEIVING A SAMPLE CONTAINING HOLDER, THE SLIDE BEING INTERMEDIATE SAID FIRST AND SECOND CHAMBERS AND NORMAL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXES THEREOF, THE SLIDE BEING ADAPTED TO BE MOVED TO A STORAGE POSITION AND A COUNTING POSITION, SAID APERTURE BEING IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND CHAMBERS WHEN THE SLIDE IS IN ITS STORAGE POSITION AND BEING AT THE COUNTING STATION WHEN THE SLIDE IS IN ITS COUNTING POSITION, TRANSFER MEANS UNDER CONTROL OF THE DRIVE MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO TRANSFER ONE SAMPLE CONTAINING HOLDER FROM SAID FIRST CHAMBER TO SAID APERTURE AND ANOTHER SAMPLE CONTAINING HOLDER FROM SAID APERTURE TO SAID SECOND CHAMBER WHENEVER THE SLIDE IS IN ITS STORAGE POSITION, THE DRIVE MEANS CAUSING REPETITIVE REVERSIBLE LINEAR MOTION OF THE SLIDE BETWEEN ITS STORAGE AND COUNTING POSITIONS.