GB923152A - Analysis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<PICT:0923152/III/1> <PICT:0923152/III/2> An automatic analysis apparatus consists of a plurality of tubes for liquid samples and reagents, a pump to pass said liquids through said tubes in predetermined proportions during successive operations, and means for operating said pumping means at different pumping speed. The apparatus, see Fig. 1, comprises a flexible tube pump 12, preferably of the type described in Specification 817,070, through which a plurality of fluids are transmitted for the continuous treatment of a liquid for colorimetric analysis, and a colorimeter flow cell 16 which operates recorder 18. The pump is operated at two speeds, a lower speed of operation using constant speed electric motor 43 being used for transmitting fluids for treatment of sample liquids for analysis and a higher speed using motor 52 for transmitting cleansing liquids to cleanse the inner walls of the tubular passages of the apparatus and for filling the various lines with fluids at the beginning of an analysis operation. In a preferred embodiment provision is made to automatically prevent the electrical energization of both motors at the same time and for automatically limiting the period of operation of the higher speed motor so that it runs no longer than is necessary to accomplish the tube cleansing and filling operations. Fig. 4 shows a circuit diagram for controlling the operation of the motors such that when one motor is energized the other is automatically de-energized. The apparatus can be employed for the continuous analysis of a variety of substances as described in Specification 774,711.