Sample conveyors

Claim 2

A sample conveyor for a measuring system, comprising: a plurality of cassettes each provided with sample receiving locations distributed regularly in the cassette and each having mechanical means for supporting a sample at each said location; means for moving said cassettes consecutively and stepwise along a closed path for sequentially bringing said locations opposite a transfer station; and means at said transfer station for forcibly opening said mechanical means so that the sample in said cassette can be moved out of the cassette.

Claim 3

A conveyor according to claim 1, having a plurality of open-bottom cassette carriers each constructed to receive one cassette, wherein said moving means are constructed to move said carriers stepwise on a stationary horizontal plate.

Claim 4

A conveyor according to claim 1, wherein said mechanical means comprises bottom wall means supporting said samples, said wall means being closed in released condition and constructed to be forcibly opened by said means at the transfer station.

Claim 5

A conveyor according to claim 3, wherein said bottom wall means consist of transversal lips projecting inwardly from resiliently deformable fingers connected to a rigid cassette frame and which can be spread apart from each other by said means at the transfer station.

Claim 6

A conveyor according to claim 4, wherein said means at the transfer station comprise fingers movable between a rest position in which their spacing is smaller than the spacing of said fingers in released condition and an actuating position in which their spacing is increased.

Claim 7

A conveyor according to claim 5, having means for actuating said fingers in time relation with the actuation of a lift mechanism supporting the sample when the latter is released from the lips.

Claim 8

A conveyor according to claim 1, including means associated with each said cassette for receiving a programming plug and means for reading coded data on the plug of the next cassette to be brought to said transfer station and for automatically programming the measuring system responsive to the data coded on the programming plug.

Claim 9

A conveyor according to claim 2, wherein said means for moving the cassette carriers are controllable for the steps to be adjustable at different values, all said values but one being multiples of the value of the last step.

Claim 10

In a conveyor having a number of cassette carriers and means for moving said carriers stepwise along a closed path including a transfer station, a cassette provided with a plurality of locations regularly distributed in a row along the direction of movement of the cassette at the transfer station when located in one said carrier, said cassette having bottom wall means at each said location, said wall means in rest condition being constructed to support a corresponding sample in said cassette and being arranged for being forcibly openable for releasing the sample.

Claim 11

In a conveyor having a number of cassette carriers and means for moving said carriers stepwise along a closed path including a transfer station, a cassette provided with a plurality of locations regularly distributed in a row along the direction of movement of the cassette at the transfer station when located in one said carrier, said cassette having bottom wall means at each said location, said wall means in rest condition being constructed to support a corresponding sample in said cassette and being arranged for being forcibly openable for releasing the sample.

Claim 12

A cassette according to claim 9, wherein said bottom wall means comprises two horizontal lateral lips carried by respective resilient vertical legs projecting downwardly from a rigid cassette frame and integral with the latter.

Claim 13

A conveyor according to claim 10, wherein the lips have downward projections beyond the lips adapted to cooperate with means for forcibly opening said legs.

Claim 14

A sample conveyor for an automatic radioactivity measuring system, comprising a plurality of cassette carriers, means for moving said carriers consecutively along a closed path passing at a transfer station, each carrier being constructed to receive a cassette having sample receiving locations distributed at equal intervals in a row, said carrier being constructed to receive a plurality of different types of cassettes having different spacings between said locations, all said spacings being multiples from each other, and said means for moving the carriers being constructed to optionally move said carriers past the transfer station with steps equal to anyone of said spacings.

Claim 15

A sample conveyor for an automatic radioactivity measuring system, comprising a plurality of cassette carriers, means for moving said carriers consecutively along a closed path passing at a transfer station, each carrier being constructed to receive a cassette having sample receiving locations distributed at equal intervals in a row, said carrier being constructed to receive a plurality of different types of cassettes having different spacings between said locations, all said spacings being multiples from each other, and said means for moving the carriers being constructed to optionally move said carriers past the transfer station with steps equal to anyone of said spacings.

Claim 16

A conveyor according to claim 12, wherein each said carrier is constructed to receive a removable plug indicating the spacing between the locations of the cassettes carried by the carrier, and means are provided for sensing said plug and adjusting said step responsive to the indication given by said plug.

Claim 17

A conveyor according to claim 1, wherein said mechanical means comprises resiliently deformable fingers means at each said location and said finger means being formed with transversal lip means for retaining a sample at said location.

Claim 18

A sample conveyor according to claim 1 wherein each said cassette is a one-piece molding of plastic material and wherein said mechanical means comprises a plurality of fingers, each having an end connected to a rigid part of the cassette and another end formed with an inwardly directed transverse lip, said lip so-dimensioned that it projects into the space limited by said rigid portion when said finger is in a released condition for retaining one of said samples, said means and said transfer station being constructed for resiliently flexing said fingers by an amount sufficient for the lips thereof to release the corresponding samples.