KR102121852B1 - Process tube and carrier tray - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system and method for efficiently storing and transporting process tubes 102 into carrier tray 300 prior to and during amplification of nucleotides in process tubes 102. The disclosed process tube 102 includes a fixed region with an annular ledge 204, neck 228, and protrusion 212. The fixed region of the process tube 102 can secure the process tube 102 in the port of the carrier tray 300, but nevertheless the process tube 102 is within the rigid heater well 402 of the gene amplifier 400. Allows the process tube 102 to be adjusted or floated for alignment.

Description

Process tube and carrier tray {PROCESS TUBE AND CARRIER TRAY}

The technique described herein generally relates to process tubes used in amplification processes and trays in which process tubes are safely stored for transport and processing, as well as methods of making and using it.

The medical diagnostics industry is an important element of today's healthcare infrastructure. However, with current in vitro diagnostic analyzes, routines have become a bottleneck in patient care, no matter how. It is generally desirable to automate one or more steps, understanding that diagnostic assays of biological samples can be broken down into several key steps. For example, biological samples, such as those obtained from a patient, can be used in nucleic acid amplification assays to amplify a target nucleic acid of interest (eg, DNA, RNA, or similar). A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) performed in a thermal cycler device is one such amplification assay used to amplify a sample of interest.

Once amplified, the presence of a target nucleic acid or amplification products of the target nucleic acid (eg, a target amplicon) can be detected, where the target nucleic acid and/or the presence of a target amplicon is targeted (eg , Target pathogens, genetic mutations or modifications, or the like). Often, nucleic acid amplification assays involve multiple steps, which may include nucleic acid extraction and preparation, nucleic acid amplification, and target nucleic acid detection.

In many nucleic acid-based diagnostic assays, biological, environmental, or other samples to be analyzed are obtained and mixed with reagents for processing. Such processing may include combining nucleic acids extracted from the biological sample with amplification and detection reagents such as probes and fluorophores. Processing of samples for amplification is currently a time-consuming and labor intensive step.

The processing of samples for amplification mainly takes place in dedicated process tubes used to hold DNA samples to be extracted before and during the amplification process. In some cases, process tubes are placed directly in the gene amplifier for amplification. In some cases, to simplify the procedure, process tubes are first tube for pre-amplification processing (filling tubes with amplification reagents, drying reagents, and hot stamping them to mark tubes). It is located within the rack. Process tubes are often removed from the tube rack by a laboratory technician and individually and independently positioned to contact the heater unit of the genetic amplifier. It is inefficient, time consuming and difficult to automate to place the process tubes individually into the gene amplifier. Additionally, these processes are susceptible to human error.

In some cases, racks containing process tubes can be positioned directly within the genetic amplifier. However, this approach has too many drawbacks because process tubes can move within the rack during handling and transport and consequently are not likely to accurately align with the heaters of the genetic amplifier. Additionally, intervention by laboratory technicians is required to align and fit the tubes with the heaters of the amplifier. Also, if the process tubes are not rigidly connected to the rack, the process can be removed during the marking of the process tubes, pulled up by a stamping device and removed out of the rack.

Many of the difficulties in handling and transporting process tubes within a rack are due to the shape of the tubes commonly used in amplification processes. The process tubes are generally conical, which has a larger outer diameter at the top of the process tube than the bottom of the process tube. Some process tubes have a cylindrical shape, which has a constant diameter from top to bottom. The ports of the rack where the process tubes are located must have a larger diameter than the maximum outer diameter of the process tubes (at the top of the process tube). To address the tolerances associated with manufacturing process tubes and racks, the ports in the rack are often significantly larger than the outer diameter of the process tubes, which allows the tubes to move around in the rack and potentially fall out. Without a secure fit within the rack, the process tube can tilt to one side or the other. Having multiple process tubes in a rack can cause tilting process tubes to collide and break with each other and/or to lose samples and/or reagents stored therein. Also, it can be very difficult to align the different tilted process tubes with the rigid heaters of the genetic amplifier.

Accordingly, there is a need for trays and process tubes that tightly fit them together to enable safe and efficient handling and transport of process tubes before and during amplification. There is also a need for process tubes that have the ability to adjust or float in a tray to facilitate alignment with the heaters of the genetic amplifier.

Discussion of the background art herein is included to explain the context of the inventions described herein. This should not be regarded as an admission that any material mentioned on the priority date of any claim is public, known, or part of general and ordinary knowledge.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein contemplate a process tube having an annular ledge, a protrusion, and a securement area that includes a neck between the ledge and the protrusion. The process tube also includes a body extending below the protrusion and a top ring extending vertically upward from an annular ledge defining an opening in the tube.

In certain embodiments, the outer surface of the neck can be parallel to the longitudinal axis through the process tube. The protrusion can include an apex, an upper slope from the apex to the neck, and a lower slope from the apex to the body. The angle of the upper slope on the protrusion may be steeper than the angle of the lower slope on the protrusion. The annular ledge of the process tube can have an upper surface, a lower surface, and an outer surface. The protrusion may have a larger outer diameter than the outer diameter of the neck. The annular ledge may have a larger outer diameter than the outer diameter of the protrusion. The process tube can further include a base under the body that defines a lower end of the process tube.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein include a process tube strip having a plurality of process tubes. The plurality of process tubes are connected by tabs adjacent to the annular ledges of the plurality of tubes.

Certain embodiments contemplate a process tube having an annular ledge extending laterally from the tube, the annular ledge comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and an outer surface. The process tube can include a top ring extending vertically upward from the top surface of the annular ledge defining an opening in the process tube. The process tube can further include an annular projection extending laterally from the process tube at a location on the tube below the annular ledge. The protrusion may have a vertex, an upper slope, and a lower slope. The process tube can include a neck between the annular ledge and the protrusion, a body below the protrusion, and a base defining the bottom of the tube.

Embodiments of the disclosed process tube can be configured to fit tightly within a carrier tray. The carrier tray can have a shelf and a base, the shelf has a plurality of ports passing through the upper end of the shelf, and the ports have an inner wall. In certain embodiments, the protruding portion of the disclosed process tube can have an outer diameter greater than the diameter of the port of the carrier tray. The neck of the process tube can have an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the port of the carrier tray. The process tube can fit tightly into the port of the carrier tray.

In certain embodiments of the process tube, the lower surface of the annular ledge of the process tube may lie on the outside of the shelf top, and the upper slope of the protrusion may lie on the bottom edge of the inner wall of the port. A gap may exist between the neck of the process tube and the inner wall of the port, which allows the process tube to be tilted or adjusted within the port of the carrier tray.

Additional embodiments of the invention contemplate a system having a carrier tube having a plurality of ports passing through it and a process tube having a fixed area. The fixing region of the process tube can include an annular ledge, neck, and protrusion. The fixing area of the process tube can be fitted tightly into the port of the carrier tray. In such a system, the annular ledges and protrusions of the process tube can have an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the port of the carrier tray, and the neck of the process tube can have an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the port. When the process tube fits tightly into the port of the carrier tray, the process tube can be tilted or adjusted within the port of the carrier tray.

1A shows an isometric view of an exemplary process tube strip as described herein.
1B is a side plan view of the process tube strip of FIG. 1A.
1C is a top view of the process tube strip of FIG. 1A.
1D shows an isometric view of another exemplary process tube strip as described herein.
1E shows an isometric view of another exemplary process tube strip as described herein.
2A shows an isometric view of an exemplary single process tube as described herein.
2B is a cross-sectional view of the process tube of FIG. 2 taken along line 2B of FIG. 1C.
3A shows an exemplary carrier tray as disclosed herein.
3B shows a plurality of exemplary process tube strips in the carrier tray of FIG. 3A.
4 is a cross-sectional view of twelve process tubes positioned in a carrier tray prior to fixing process tubes in a carrier tray.
5 is a cross-sectional view of two exemplary process tubes positioned in a carrier tray prior to securing process tubes in a carrier tray.
6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A of FIG. 3B of the 12 process tubes of FIG. 4 after securing the process tubes in a carrier tray.
6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B of FIG. 3B of the process tube strip positioned within the carrier tray after securing the process tubes in the carrier tray.
7 is a cross-sectional view of the process tubes of FIG. 5 positioned within a carrier tray after fixing process tubes in a carrier tray.
8 is an isometric view of an exemplary heater assembly of a genetic amplifier.
9 is a cross-sectional view of exemplary process tubes positioned within a heater well of a heater assembly as described herein.

Before the embodiments are further described, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described, which may be changed as such. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

When a range of values is provided, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the value between the upper and lower limits of the range for the tenth unit and any other stated value in or between the stated range. It will be understood that values are encompassed within the embodiments. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may be included within the smaller ranges independently, and are also encompassed within the embodiments subject to anything explicitly excluded within the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either of those included limits are also included in the embodiments.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments pertain. Although any methods and materials similar to those described herein can also be used in the practice or testing of embodiments, preferred methods and materials are now described.

Singular forms "work" as used herein and in the appended claims include a plurality of indications unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “one method” includes a plurality of such methods and equivalents known to those skilled in the art.

Throughout the detailed description and claims of the specification, variations thereof such as the words “comprises” and “comprising” and “consist” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, entities or steps.

The process tubes and carrier trays described herein can be used to provide a safe and efficient system for preparing, storing, and transporting process tubes prior to use in a gene amplifier, and also to accurately process process tubes within the gene amplifier during amplification. It can be used together to securely position.

1A shows an isometric view of an exemplary process tube strip 100 in accordance with embodiments described herein. 1B is a side plan view of the process tube strip of FIG. 1A. 1C is a top view of the process tube strip of FIG. 1A. 1A-1C, the process tube strip 100 is a collection of process tubes 102 connected together by a connector tab 104. The exemplary process tube strip 100 also has a top end tab 106 representing the top of the process tube strip 100 and a bottom representing the bottom of the process tube strip 100, as shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. End tabs 108 may be included. The process tube strip 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C includes eight process tubes 102 connected together in a process tube strip 100. However, one of ordinary skill in the art may, in other embodiments, process tube strip 100 be connected to any other number of process tubes, eg, 40, 30, 20, 19, 18, 17 connected within a process tube strip. , 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, or two process tubes 102. One embodiment of the process tube strip 100 can include a mark or label on the top surface of the top and bottom end tabs 106, 108. In one embodiment, the top end tab 106 can be marked with an “A” representing the top of the process tube string 100, and the bottom end tab 108 is the process tubes in the process tube strip 100 ( Can be marked with an alphabetic letter corresponding to the number of 102) (eg, "H" for process tube strip 100 having 8 process tubes 102 connected together in process tube strip 100) Will be marked on the bottom end tab 108 of the process tube strip 100). However, one of ordinary skill in the art can easily mark various upper and lower end tabs of the process tube strip 100 in order to achieve the same purpose, as well as various other characters, for example, keyboard characters such as "1" and "8". It will be easily recognized that it can be used. Thus, top and bottom end tabs 106, 108 can be used to indicate the number of process tubes 102 in the process tube strip 100 and the top and bottom of the process tube 102. In addition, the end tabs 106, 108 are, for example, the contents of the process tubes 102, the type of assay performed within the process tube strip 100, and the date of manufacture of the process tube strip 100 And color marking, barcode, or some other indication to identify the place.

1D is another embodiment of a process tube strip 100 that includes a ledge extension 110 on each of the process tubes 102. 1E is a further embodiment of a process tube strip 100 that includes a tube tag 112 located on the ledge extension 110 of each process tube 102. These embodiments will be discussed in more detail below.

The process tubes 102 can contain or house solids or liquids. For example, process tubes 102 can hold reagents and/or samples, such as nucleic acid samples to be used in amplification assays. Although the process tubes 102 can be circular cross-sections, other cross-sections are also possible and conform. The process tubes 102 can be manufactured through a single configuration, but in certain cases the process tubes may be constructed from two or more parts fused or otherwise joined together as applicable. Typically, process tubes have an opening configured to receive/receive a pipette tip for depositing and/or recovering fluid into process tube 102.

In some embodiments, process tube 102 may be constructed from polypropylene or other thermoplastic polymers known to those skilled in the art. Alternatively, process tubes 102 can be constructed from other suitable materials, such as polycarbonate or similar. In some embodiments, polypropylene is preferably supplemented with a pigment such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, or calcium carbonate, or the like. Preferably, the process tubes 102 are made using materials that do not emit fluorescence and thus do not interfere with the detection of the amplified nucleic acid in the process tube 102.

2A and 2B show isometric and cross-sectional views of an exemplary single process tube 102, respectively. Connector tabs 104 are shown in FIG. 2A, which connect process tube 102 to other process tubes 102 on either side of process tube 102. In FIG. 2B, the illustrated connector tab 104 includes a connector recess 232 on the underside of the connector tab. In some embodiments, connector recess 232 provides a separation point for easily splitting other process tubes 102 connected as part of process strip 100. The process tubes 102 are placed in the carrier tray 300 to mix and match different process tubes 102 with different dry reagents, and to match the required operation of the amplification assay of the genetic amplifier. It can be split apart by the end user to rearrange. Connector tabs 104 may also be positioned at the ends of the process tube strip 100 and between the process tubes 102 at the top or bottom end tabs 106, 108. This connector tab 104 allows the end process tube 102 to be easily removed and also mixed and matched with process tubes 102 from other process tube strips 100, or used individually within a genetic amplifier. To make.

2A and 2B, the process tube 102 can have a top ring 202, which defines an opening 226 at the top of the process tube 102. The top ring 202 extends around the perimeter of the opening 226. As part of the process tube 102, an annular ledge 204 extends laterally off the side of the process tube 102 below the top ring 202. In this way, the top ring 202 extends upward from the top surface 206 of the annular ledge 204. In addition to the upper surface 206, an annular ledge 204 is also defined by the outer surface 208 and the lower surface 210. Below the annular ledge 204 is the neck 228 of the process tube 102, which extends vertically from the annular ledge 204 parallel to the longitudinal axis 230 of the process tube 102. As shown in FIG. 2B, the exterior of the process tube 102 at the neck 228 may be parallel to the longitudinal axis 230 passing vertically through the process tube 102. In other embodiments, the outer neck 228 may have an angle relative to the longitudinal axis 230 to help remove the process tube 102 from the injection mold during the manufacturing process.

Below the neck 228 of the exemplary process tube 102 as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B is a protrusion 212 that extends laterally from the side of the process tube 102. The protrusion 212 is defined by the upper slope 214 when extending from the neck 228 to the apex 215 of the protrusion 212. The apex 215 of the protrusion 212 has the maximum outer diameter of the protrusion 212, so that the protrusion 212 includes a lower slope 216 extending from the apex 215 down the outside of the process tube 102. . The upper slope 214 of the protrusion 212 is inclined away from the longitudinal axis 230, and the lower slope 216 is again inclined towards the longitudinal axis 230. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B, the angle of the upper slope 214 on the protrusion is steeper than the angle of the lower slope 216 on the protrusion 212. The lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212 meets the elongated body portion 218 of the process tube 102. The body 218 is inclined toward the longitudinal axis 230, similar to the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212, but has a less steep angle than the lower slope 215 of the protrusion 212. The body 218 extends to the base 220 of the process tube 102. The base 220 includes an annular bottom ring 224 on the bottom of the process tube 102, defined by a divot 222 within the bottom of the process tube 102. In this embodiment, the top ring 202, annular ledge 204, neck 228, protrusions 212, and body 218 are coaxial with the longitudinal axis 230.

The annular ledge 204, neck 228, and protrusion 212 together define a fixed region 200 of the process tube 102. As will be described in more detail below, the fixed region 200 is a plurality of process tubes in the form of a process tube 102 (or process strip 100) for transfer and subsequent processing in the heater of the genetic amplifier. Provided is a method for easily and firmly attaching (102) to a carrier.

As described above, process tubes 102 may be manufactured as a strip 100 of tubes 102 connected together by connector tabs 104. A number of process tube strips 100 can then be tightly inserted into the carrier tray 300. 3A shows an exemplary carrier tray 300. 3A, the carrier tray 300 may house a plurality of ports 306 within the shelf 302 of the carrier tray 300. The plurality of ports 306 may be configured to receive individual process tubes 102, and the number of ports 306 in a column of the carrier tray 300 is preferably process tube strips 100 ) Can be designed to fit the length. Thus, the number of ports 306 in the y-direction can be designed to correspond to the number of process tubes 102 in the process tube strip 100. In one embodiment, the carrier tray 300 is such that a process tube strip 100 consisting of 8 process tubes 102 is inserted and secured in the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300 in the y-direction. To be able to have 8 ports 306 in y-direction.

In one embodiment, the ports 306 in the carrier tray 300 are oval shaped with a larger cross-sectional diameter in the y-direction. In this way, larger diameter cross-sections of the oval ports 306 are aligned in the same direction as the process tube strips 100 when inserted into the carrier tray 300.

3B shows a plurality of process tube strips 100 tightly fitted in an exemplary carrier tray 300. Once the process tubes 102 are tightly inserted into the carrier tray 300, assay reagents, eg, amplification and detection reagents, can be added to the process tubes 102 in an automated manner. In some embodiments, liquid reagents can be pipetted into individual process tubes 102, and then a carrier tray 300 is formed into the shape of the inner base 220 of the process tube 102. It can optionally be placed in a dryer to dry the liquid reagents in the bottom of the process tubes into a mass. In some embodiments, liquid reagents are not dried in process tubes 102. In some embodiments, each process tube 102 in carrier tray 300 is charged with the same reagents. In other embodiments, some or each of the process tubes 102 in the process tube strip 100 may be filled with different reagents or samples.

After the drying of the reagents in embodiments in which the reagents are dried or after the introduction of the reagents in embodiments in which the reagents are not dried, the process tubes 102 are filled with the desired reagents. It can be marked with an indicator to identify the contents (eg, specific reagents). In some embodiments, marking of the process tubes 102 places the top ring 202 of the process tube 102 in a specific color that represents the contents (eg, reagents) of the process tubes 102. This can be achieved by hot stamping. The top ring 202 also provides a surface on which sealing adhesive can be applied to seal the opening 226 of the process tube 102.

As described above, FIG. 1D shows a process tube strip 100 in which each process tube 100 includes a ledge extension 110 extending from one side of the annular ledge 204 of the process tube 100 It shows. The ledge extension 110 provides additional surface area on the annular ledge 204 for marking of individual process tubes 102. In one embodiment, the ledge extension 110 is a keyboard identifier (eg, A, B, C, etc., or 1, 2, to identify individual process tubes 102 in the process tube strip 100). 3, etc.). In one embodiment, as an alternative to hot stamping the top ring 202, the ledge extension 110 of the process tube 102 is followed by the introduction of reagents in the process tubes 102 followed by the process tubes 102 ) Can be hot stamped or otherwise marked to identify the contents (eg, reagents). Also, a 2-D bar code (ink or laser) can be printed directly on the ledge extension 110.

1E, individual process tubes 102 of the process tube strip 100 may include a tube tag 112 attached to the top of the ledge extension 110. The tag 112 is in addition to marking the top ring 202 of the process tubes 102 (eg, hot stamping) to identify contents, such as reagents within a particular process tube 102, or Can be used with this. The tag 112 can be a two-dimensional matrix barcode (eg, QR code or Aztec code) encoded with data that identifies the contents of the associated process tube 102. When using the tag 112 to display the contents of the process tube 102, the camera (eg, CCD camera) is used to ensure that the correct amplification assays are performed with the associated reagents and of the process tube 102. Can be used to scan and check contents. The camera can quickly and efficiently identify the contents of each process tube 102 by reading the tag 112, thus allowing the user to pair the specific amplification assays and incorrect reagents required for a given polynucleotide sample. Avoid the possibility of errors.

In some cases, the same reagents can be added to each process tube in carrier tray 300. In one example, each tube strip 100 can include eight process tubes 102, so that the tube strips can fit tightly into a 96-port carrier tray 300. The same reagents can then be added to each of the 96 process tubes in carrier tray 300. If all process tubes 102 are provided with the same reagents, all process tubes 102 in the entire carrier tray 300 can be hot stamped in the same color. A plurality of carrier trays 300 may be stacked and delivered together to the end user. In some embodiments, some or each of the process tubes 102 in the process tube strip 100 may be filled with different reagents or samples. In these cases, the process tube 102 containing the same reagents can be marked with the same color. Different colors can be used to identify process tubes 102 that contain different reagents.

The end user may need different stamped process tubes 102 to run different amplification assays with different reagents provided. In some cases, the end user may need to use different reagents in the amplification assay, so the carrier tray 300 with all process tubes 102 of the same reagents may not be used. In this case, in order to achieve the desired number and type of reagents for a given amplification assay, the end user removes one or more process tube strips 100 from the single-color carrier tray 300 and removes them. It can be exchanged for differently colored process tube strips 100 in the carrier tray 300. It is also contemplated that a manufacturer can provide an end user with a carrier tray 300 having differently colored process tube strips 100.

The end user can further refine the set of different reagents in the amplification assay by splitting the individual process tube strips 100 separately in the connector recess 232 between the process tubes 102. For example, the 8-tube process tube strip 100 can be split into smaller sets of process tubes with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 process tubes 102. . Splitting the process tube strips 100 separately allows the end user to include process tubes 102 of different reagents in the same column of the carrier tray 300.

As described above, FIG. 3B provides an example of process tubes 102 when the process tubes are already securely secured in the carrier tray 300. 4 is a cross-sectional view of twelve process tubes 102 located within a carrier tray 300 prior to securing process tubes 102 in a carrier tray 300. Although this figure is similar to sectional view 6A shown in FIG. 3, but this is the process tubes placed in the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300 prior to fixing the process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300 ( 102). 3B and 4, the carrier tray 300 has a base 304 and a shelf 302, and the base 304 is wider and longer than the shelf 302, and thus, more than the shelf 302. It has a larger planar surface area. The shelf 302 of the carrier tray 300 includes a shelf side 308 and a shelf top 310. The shelf top portion 310 is a horizontal flat portion of the shelf 302 and covers the top of the carrier tray 300. The shelf top 310 includes an outer surface 312 and an inner surface 314. Since the base 304 of the carrier tray 300 is wider and longer than the shelf 302, the base 304 horizontally connects the bridge 320 connecting the shelf side 308 and the base side 305. Includes. Bridge 320 includes an inner surface 322. The shelf side 308 of the shelf 320 on the carrier tray 300 extends downward from the shelf top 310 and engages the base 304 of the carrier tray 300 at the bridge 320. As shown in FIG. 4, process tubes 102 of the process tube strip 100 can be located within ports 306 in the shelf 320 of the carrier tray 300.

5 is a close-up cross-sectional view of two exemplary process tubes 102 positioned within an exemplary carrier tray 300 prior to securing process tubes 102 in a carrier tray 300. Prior to securing the process tube 102 in the carrier tray 300, the process tube 102 can be placed within the port 306 of the carrier tray 300. The outer diameter of the body 218 of the process tube 102 is smaller than the diameter of the port 306, so that the body 218 of the process tube 102 can be inserted through the port 306. The protrusion 212 on the process tube 102 has a larger diameter than at least one diameter of the port 306. For example, in the case where the port 306 is elliptical, the smaller diameter of the port 306 (eg, the width diameter in the x-direction of FIGS. 3A and 3B) is greater than the diameter of the protrusion 212 small. In some embodiments, the larger diameter of the port 306 (eg, the length diameter in the y-direction of FIGS. 3A and 3B) may be larger than the diameter of the protrusion 212. Thus, when the body 128 of the process tube 102 is inserted into the port 306, the body 218 enters the bottom area of the carrier tray 300, but the fixed area 200 (projection 212, The top portion and top ring 202 of the process tube 102, including the neck 228, and the annular ledge 204) are prevented from entering the port 306. In this way, the protrusion 212 is placed on the top edge 318 of the port 306. More specifically, the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212 is placed on the top edge 318 of the port.

In some embodiments, the apex 212 of the protrusion 212 is circular with a constant outer diameter. For the elliptical port 306, in one embodiment, the port 306 can have a length diameter greater than the width diameter. In this embodiment, the diameter of the port 306 width (in the x direction) may be smaller than the diameter of the apex 215 of the protrusion 212. Thus, the process tube 102 is placed on the top edge 318 of the port 306 at the protrusion 212. In one embodiment, the port 306 length diameter (in the y direction) may be larger than the diameter of the apex 215 of the protrusion 212. Thus, a small gap is provided on the two ends (y-direction) of the port 306, which allows easier fixing of the process tube 102 in the port 306, and also, if necessary It allows for easier removal of the process tube 102 from the port 306. In other embodiments, port 306 may be circular with a constant diameter.

As the process tube 102 is placed in the port 306 against the top edge 318 of the port, the process tube 102 is secured in the port 306 of the carrier tray 300 as it is placed in the port 306. ) Can be applied to the top of the process tube 102 to further push the port into the port 306. A force to secure the process tube 102 in the port 306 can be applied to the top ring 202 of the process tube 102, or a force can be applied to the top surface 206 of the annular ledge 204. Can be.

The step of securing the process tube 102 in the port initially involves applying sufficient force to the top of the process tube 102 to force the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212 into the port 306. Entails. The lower slope 216 is angled toward the longitudinal axis 230 of the process tube 102. As pressure continues to be applied to the top of the process tube 102, the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212 is the port until the apex 215 of the protrusion 212 reaches the port top edge 318. Slide down along the top edge 318. Port top edge 318 may be rounded or inclined to facilitate movement of protrusion 212 through port 306.

When the process tube 102 is pushed into the port 306, portions of the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212 moved into the port 306 do not contact the port inner wall 316, which is the lower slope This is because it forms an angle toward the longitudinal axis 230. When the lower slope 216 extends upward toward the apex 215 of the protrusion 212, the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212 gradually widens (the outer diameter increases). The larger the diameter of the lower slope 216, the greater the resistance to pushing the process tube 102 into the port 306. Thus, a resistance force is created against the force applied to push the process tube 102 into the port 306. As the process tube 212 moves further down into the port 306, the resistance to the process tube 102 increases (and the force required to push the process tube 102 increases). The resistance to the process tube 102 continues to increase until the apex 215 of the protrusion 212 reaches the top edge 318 of the port.

In the embodiment of the carrier tray 300 with oval ports 306, the larger diameter of the port 306 in the y direction causes the process tube 102 to be pushed into the port 306 and the carrier tray 300 It can more easily allow it to be fixed within, thereby reducing the force required to secure the process tube. The elliptical port 306 can provide an extra space (eg, a gap) between the protrusion 212 of the process tube 102 and the port interior 316 on the two ends, which is a process tube 102 ) To be flexed and extended in the y direction and compressed in the x direction.

When the entire lower slope 216 passes through the port top edge 318, the apex 215 of the protrusion passes through the port top edge 318, and the apex 215 of the protrusion 212 is the port inner wall 316 Will come into contact with. The vertex 215 is the widest portion (largest outer diameter) of the protrusion 212. As the vertex 215 fits through the port 306 and is pressed against the port inner wall 316, the process tube 102 undergoes maximum deformation and flexes to the maximum. As the force continues to be applied on the top of the process tube 102, the apex 215 abuts the inner wall 316 of the port until it completely passes through the port 306 at the lower edge 319 of the port 306. It is forced to slide down. As vertex 215 passes through bottom edge 319, deformation on process tube 102 is released and process tube 102 tightly "snaps" into a position within port 306, It will be fixed in the carrier tray 300. The force required to secure each process tube 102 of the process tube strips 100 in the carrier tray 300 may range from approximately 0.7 pounds force to approximately 1.7 pounds force. In one embodiment, the force required to insert and secure process tube 102 into port 306 may be approximately 1 pound force. In one embodiment, the force required to insert and secure process tube 102 into port 306 may be approximately 1.18 pound force.

The carrier tray 300 may preferably be designed for efficient stacking and transport of carrier trays 300. The carrier tray 300 may be constructed from thermoplastic polycarbonate resin. 3, 4 and 5, the carrier tray 300 may include a bridge 320 on the top of the base 220. The bridge 320 provides a platform on which the bottom surface 326 of other empty carrier trays 300 can be located. When the two carrier trays 300 are stacked on top of each other, the bridge interior 322 of the top carrier tray 300 is placed on the shelf top portion 310 of the bottom carrier tray 300, and the top carrier The lower surface 326 of the tray 300 is placed on the bridge 320 of the lower carrier tray 300.

When carrier trays 300 are populated with process tube strips 100, they can be efficiently stacked in a similar manner. The body 218 of the process tubes 102 in the top carrier tray 300 can be located in the opening 226 of the process tubes 102 in the bottom carrier tray 300. Similarly, the process tubes 102 in the top carrier tray 300 can further receive the body 218 of the process tubes 102 in another carrier tray 300 to be stacked on top of it.

6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A of FIG. 3B of the 12 process tubes 102 shown in FIG. 4. 6A shows process tubes 102 now secured within the carrier tray 300. 3B of FIG. 3B provides a view of each of the 12 process tubes 102 from the process tube strip 100 in different orientations. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B of FIG. 3B of the entire process tube strip 100 located in the carrier tray 300 after securing the process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300. As shown in FIG. 6B, the cross-sectional diameter of the oval port 306 in the y direction may be larger than the diameter of the protrusion 212.

FIG. 7 is a close-up view of two of the process tubes 102 shown in FIG. 6A, which correspond to the process tubes 102 of FIG. 5 after securing the process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300. As shown in FIG. 7, the cross-sectional diameter of the oval port in the x direction may be smaller than the diameter of the protrusion 212. When the apex 215 of the protrusion 212 passes through the bottom edge 319, the top slope 214 of the protrusion 212 comes into contact with it, and the bottom of the port 306 at the bottom of the fixed area 200 Stay leaning on the edge. In addition, when the apex 215 passes through the lower edge 319, the lower surface 210 of the annular ledge 204 comes into contact with it, at the top of the fixed region 200, outside the shelf top of the shelf 302 Stay leaning against (312). At the top of the fixed area 200, the annular ledge 204 is sufficiently wide at at least two points around the port 306 to prevent the annular ledge 204 from passing through the port 306. In one embodiment, the annular ledge 204 may have a diameter large enough to cover all points around the port 306. For example, the annular ledge 204 can have a larger diameter than the length and width diameters of the port 306. The height of the fixed area (from the lower surface 210 of the annular ledge 204 to the place on the upper slope 214 of the protrusion 212) is the port between the port top edge 318 and the port bottom edge 319 ( 306).

As shown in FIG. 7, the neck 228 of the process tube 102 can have an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the port 306, which is the gap between the process tube 102 and the port inner wall 314. (324). In one embodiment, the outer diameter of the neck 228 may be a fixed circular diameter. As the port 306 can be oval shaped and have a longer length diameter on one side and a smaller width diameter on the other side, the width of the gap 324 is the length side of the port 306 (y direction ) And the width side (x direction). For example, the size of the gap 324 on each length side of the port 306 can be approximately twice the size of the gap on each width side of the port 306.

Gap 324 provides an adjustment point for process tube 102 in fixed region 200. The gap 324 is primarily between the neck 228 of the process tube 102 and the port inner wall 316, but the gap 324 is also along a portion of the upper slope 214 of the protrusion 212 and It exists along a portion of the lower surface 210 of the annular ledge 204. The gap 324 extends slightly in the upper portion of the anchoring region 200, which means that the rounded corners of the port top edge 318 provide an additional distance between the neck 228 and port 306 of the process tube 102. It is because. The gap 324 can provide the process tube 102 with some degree of free movement within the port 306 of the carrier tray 300, even when the process tube 102 is secured within the port 306. have.

The process tube 102 can be adjusted in the port 306 while it remains fixed within the port 306, which is the upper slope 214 and port of the protrusion 212 when the process tube 102 needs to be tilted This is because the point of contact between the lower edges 319 can be adjusted. When the process tube 102 is tilted, the positions of the contact points between the fixed region 200 of the process tube 102 and the port 306 of the carrier tray 300 will be adjusted. For example, when the process tube is tilted to one side, the contact point on one side of the process tube 102 between the upper slope 214 and the port lower edge 319 moves near the top of the upper slope 214, ; Another point of contact on the other side of the tube moves near the bottom of the top slope 214 (near the vertex 215). Similar adjustments are possible at the top of the fixation area 200, such that the neck 228 can be tilted towards the round port top edge 318 on one side of the process tube 102, and the process tube 102 can be tilted. It can be tilted away from the port top edge 318 on the other side.

When placing a plurality of process tubes in the carrier tray 100 as part of the process tube strip 100, the gap 324 allows the process tube 102 to be adjusted. Due to possible manufacturing variations of carrier trays 300 and process tubes 102, each carrier tray 300 can be sized slightly differently, and each process tube 102 is within carrier trays 300. It can be fitted differently. Considering that the process tubes 102 are usually attached together as part of the process tube strip 102 when inserted into the carrier tray 300, the carrier tray 300 and the process tubes are not relaxed if considerations are not relaxed The manufacturing variations of 102 can hinder the exact placement of the entire process tube strip 100 in the carrier tray 300. For example, the correct insertion of the process tube 102 into the carrier tray 300 at one end of the process tube strip 100 allows the process into the carrier tray 300 at the other end of the process tube strip 100. It can interfere with the correct insertion of the tubes 102, since the process tubes 102 can be misaligned in either the x-direction (lateral) or y-direction (front-to-back). Even if misaligned, if the rigid process tube strip 100 is forcibly pushed into the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300, the rigid attachment of the process tubes 102 causes the process tubes 102 to This can prevent it from being laid flat on the carrier tray 300, which can interfere with the hot stamping process.

The present invention addresses these problems in a number of ways, such that when the process tube strip 100 is inserted and manipulated in the carrier tray 300, the process tubes 102 are tilted and adjusted within the port 306. It includes making things possible. Since the gap 324 enables this motion, the process tubes 102 can be tilted and adjusted within the port 306. The elliptical shape of the port 306 also improves the possible adjustment in the y direction. Also, the connector tabs 104 connecting the process tubes 102 are thin and flexible enough to allow operability and adjustment between the individual process tubes 102 when inserting the process tubes into the carrier tray 300. . In addition, connector recess 232 on connector tab 104 (see FIG. 2B) enables increased flexibility between individual process tubes 102 when inserting process tubes into ports 306. In this way, the gaps 324, oval ports 306, and connector tabs 104 are adjusted on the carrier tray 300 and always flat when inserting the process tube strip 100 into the carrier tray 300. Provides the ability to sit in the process tube 102. In addition, the ability of the process tube 102 to tilt or adjust within the carrier tray 300 facilitates the insertion of the process tube 102 into the heater of the genetic amplifier, which is discussed in more detail below.

When the process tubes 102 are secured in the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300, the process tubes 102 may undergo preparation processing for use in the genetic amplifier. Liquid reagents can be introduced into fixed process tubes 102. Process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300 may undergo heating or other processes for drying or lyophilization to dry the liquid reagents in the process tubes 102. While fixed in the carrier tray 300, process tubes 102 can also be hot stamped to mark the process tubes 102, indicating the type of reagents added to the process tubes 102. . Hot stamping may be in the form of color stamping on top ring 202 and/or annular ledge 204.

The process of applying a force to secure the process tubes 102 in the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300, the process of injecting liquid reagents into the fixed process tubes 102, the process tubes 102 The process of drying the liquid reagents within, and the process of hot stamping the process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300 can all be automated and the assembly and manufacturing site of the process tubes 102 and the carrier trays 300 can be automated. Can be performed at The assembled carrier trays 300 comprising the prepared process tubes 102 are then processed into the extracted nucleic acid samples prior to performing an amplification assay on the samples in the process tubes 102 in the genetic amplifier. It can be sent to the end user for further processing, such as putting into 102. The addition of extracted nucleic acid samples to process tubes 102 serves to reduce the dried reagents to enable the reagents to be associated with the nucleic acid samples in the reconstituted solution.

As described above, to achieve the desired number and type of reagents for a given amplification assay, the end user removes one or more process tube strips 100 from the single-color carrier tray 300, They can be exchanged for differently colored process tube strips 100 in another carrier tray 300. The force required to remove the process tube strip 100 may be approximately half the force required to insert it. In one embodiment, the insertion force for the process tube strip 100 may range from approximately 0.7 pound force to 1.7 pound force, and the removal force for the process tube strip 100 may be approximately 0.3 pound force to 0.8 pound force. Can have a range of In one embodiment, the insertion force for the process tube strip 100 may be approximately 1 pound force, and the removal force for the process tube strip 100 may be approximately 0.5 pound force. In one embodiment, the force required to secure process tube strip 100 in port 306 may be approximately 1.18 pound force, and the force required to remove process tube strip 100 is 0.60 pound force. The predefined insertion force and removal force for the process tube strips 100 ensure that the process tube strip 100 is not excessively difficult to be removed from or inserted into the carrier tray 300, and also to process tube strips The fields 100 are prevented from falling out of the carrier tray under normal processing conditions.

It should be noted that the same carrier tray 300 (housing the process tube 102) where mixing of reagents and nucleic acid samples takes place can be fed directly into the gene amplifier. Thus, there is no need for the end user to mix reagents and nucleic acids in one tube and then transfer the mixed solution to another tube or even move the first tube to another tray. In the present invention, process tubes 102 containing reagents and immobilized in a carrier tray 300 can receive samples, eg, nucleic acid samples, and then process tubes 102 to a carrier tray Without removing from 300, it can be introduced into a gene amplifier for amplification assays.

It is also contemplated that solid reagents may be added to the process tubes 102 in addition to or instead of the liquid reagents. It is also noted that empty process tubes 102 and carrier trays 300 can be supplied to the end user and that the end user can inject solid or liquid reagents into the process tubes 102 before adding nucleic acid samples. Is considered.

A fixing force, which is the force required to push the process tube 102 tightly into the port 306, can be simultaneously applied to a plurality of (or all) process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300. Alternatively, if necessary, a fixing force can be applied independently to one individual process tube 102 at a time. The holding force can be applied in an automated manner and can be performed simultaneously with an automated step of filling the process tubes 102 with reagents and an automated step of hot stamping the process tubes 102. In some cases, the same device can be used to hot stamp process tubes 102 and apply a fixation force thereto. Alternatively, separate devices can be used for the application of hot stamping and fixation forces.

When a separate holding force device and a hot stamping device are used, the process tubes 102 are secured in the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300 prior to hot stamping the top ring 202 of the process tubes 102. To fix it, a fixing force can be applied first. In some cases, an automated hot stamping device can secure the top ring 202 of the process tubes 102 when applying pressure to the top ring 202. Due to the novel way in which the process tubes 102 in the embodiments described herein are secured within the carrier tray 300, the process tubes 102 when the hot stamping device is pulled away from the stamped process tube 102 ) Is not pulled out of the carrier tray 300 and up. In addition, since the process tubes 102 are fixed in the carrier tray 300, the process tubes 102 can be transported without the risk of the process tubes 102 falling out of the carrier tray 300. The embodiments disclosed herein also preferably overcome other problems present in other PCR tube trays, such as bundling of tubes falling out of alignment of the tray or tubes on one side of the tray.

8 is an isometric view of an exemplary heater assembly 400 for use in a genetic amplifier (not shown). Amplification assays (such as PCR or isothermal amplification) can be performed in the gene amplifier. The heater assembly 400 is part of the thermal cycling-subsystem of the genetic amplifier and can operate in conjunction with other subsystems of the genetic amplifier, such as the detection subsystem. The exemplary heater assembly 400 shown in FIG. 8 is a 96-well assembly comprising 96 heater wells 402, but other assemblies are contemplated (eg, 48-well assemblies, etc.). The heater assembly 400 includes a flat top surface 404 between the heater wells 402 and the side surface 410. Each heater well 402 is conical and consists of an inner wall 406 and a well bottom 412. Heater wells 402 in heater assembly 400 are arranged in an array of 8 rows and 12 columns to correspond to the spatial arrangement of process tubes 102 in carrier tray 300.

Each heater well 402 can receive a process tube 102. In order to simultaneously place all process tubes 102 in the carrier tray 300 in the heater assembly 400, the carrier tray 300 may be positioned directly above the heater assembly 400 of the genetic amplifier. Although not shown in FIG. 8, there is a required circuitry or casing around the heater assembly 400 to transfer heat to the heater wells 402.

Due to possible manufacturing variations of carrier trays 300 and process tubes 102, each carrier tray 300 can be sized slightly differently, and each process tube 102 is within carrier trays 300. It can be fitted differently. When the process tubes 102 are firmly attached to the carrier tray 300, manufacturing tolerances can prevent all of the process tubes in the 96-tube carrier tray 300 from being accurately positioned within the heater wells 402. . For example, fitting the processor tube 102 into a heater well 402 on one side of the heater assembly 400 is such that the process tube 102 on the other side of the heater assembly 400 has its individual heater well 402. It can interfere with accurate and tight positioning. As described above, due to the gap 324 between the port inner wall 316 and the fixation region 200 of the process tube 102, the process tubes 102 are slightly when secured in the carrier tray 300. It can be adjusted or floated. Connector recess 232 on connector tab 104 (see FIG. 2B) also allows increased flexibility between individual process tubes 102 when inserting process tubes into heater wells 402. Enabling the process tubes 102 to float within the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300 allows the process tubes to be accurately and securely fitted into the heater wells 402 of the heater assembly 400. 102).

9 is a cross-sectional view of two exemplary process tubes 102 located within the heater well 402 of the heater assembly 400. When the process tube 102 is positioned within the heater well 402, the body 218 of the process tube 102 comes into physical contact with and mates with the inner wall 406 of the heater well 402. . In some embodiments, the heater well 402 is deeper than the body 218 of the process tube 102 so that the process tube 102 is secured within the port 306 of the carrier tray 300, The carrier tray 300 is positioned over the heater assembly 400 and the base 220 of the process tube 102 does not extend to the bottom well 412 of the well. In this way, a gap 414 is created between the base 220 of the process tube 102 and the well bottom 412. The gap 414 ensures that the body 218 of the process tube 102 remains in physical contact with the well inner wall 406; If the base 220 of the process tube 102 first hits the bottom within the heater well bottom 412 before the body 218 contacts the well inner wall 406, the gap is the wall 406 and the process tube ( It can exist between the bodies 218 of the 102), which can cause poor heat transfer between the heater well 402 and the process tube 102. Thus, the gap 414 under the process tube 102 ensures that there is no gap between the wall 406 and the body 218 of the process tube 102. The heater well 402 can surround the body 218 of the process tube 102 and provide uniform heating of the contents of the process tube 102 during the gene amplification steps of the amplification assay. When the process tube 102 is positioned within the heater well 402, the heater well 402 can surround the body 218 of the process tube to a position just below the lower slope 216 of the protrusion 212.

The above description discloses a number of methods and systems of the embodiments disclosed herein. The embodiments disclosed herein are susceptible to modifications of manufacturing methods equipment, as well as modifications of methods and materials. These modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art from practice of the invention disclosed herein or consideration of the invention. Consequently, the embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but rather are intended to cover all modifications and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Example 1

This example illustrates a specific process for preparing a carrier tray 300 with process tubes 102 to be provided to the end user.

1. Prepare 12 process tube strips comprising 8 connected process tubes formed from polypropylene.

2. A carrier tray with 96 ports in an 8 x 12 array is made from polycarbonate.

3. Twelve process tube strips are placed in the carrier tray.

4. The process tubes of the process tube strips are fixed in the ports of the carrier tray by applying a force to the top ring of the process tube.

5. Each process tube in the carrier tray is filled with the same specific liquid reagent.

6. The carrier tray is heated to dry the reagents in the process tubes.

7. Process tubes are hot stamped with specific colors to indicate the assay in which they will be used.

8. The carrier tray is stacked and packaged with other carrier trays having the same or different reagents and shipped to the end user.

9. The end user can use the entire carrier tray as is, or reduce the carrier tray and refill the carrier tray or trays with individual process tube strips or mixtures of tubes of various reagent types.

Example 2

This example determines the force required to secure the process tube strips 100 in the ports 306 of the carrier tray 300 and then the force required to remove the process tube strips from the ports 306. The test results and test procedures are described.

An Amtek AccuForce Cadet Force Gage (0-5 pounds) was used to measure the force required to secure and remove process tubes 102 within ports 306.

Test procedure

1. Place one strip of tubes in the column of the carrier tray (not yet secured in the carrier tray).

2. Turn the gauge on.

3. Set the gauge to 0 with the gauge in the upright position.

4. Clear the gauge.

5. Slowly press each tube in the strip starting at the “A” row with a gauge at a slight angle from vertical to 2-3 degrees until all the tubes are in place.

6. Record the value of the column number and force on the gauge as insertion values.

7. Press the clear button to clear the memory.

8. Place the second strip of tubes in the second column. Repeat steps 5-7.

9. Repeat steps 5-7 for the remaining strips 3-12.

10. Turn the carrier tray upside down and slowly push the tubes out of the carrier starting with the "A" row starting with the first strip.

11. Record the column number and force value on the gauge as removal values.

12. Press the clear button to clear the memory.

13. Repeat steps 10, 11 and 12 for the remaining process tube strips.

14. Rearrange the 12 process tube strips in the carrier tray and repeat steps 3-13.

Results

The results of the force test are provided in Table 1. Table 1 shows the force required to insert and secure all process tubes 102 in the process tube strip 100 into the carrier tray 300. As shown, the average insertion force for securing the process tube strips 100 in the carrier tray 300 was 1.18 pound force and the average removal force was 0.60 pound force.

Table 1-Process tube insertion and removal testing

Claims (29)

As a system,
A carrier tray comprising a plurality of oval ports, each port having a length diameter greater than a top edge, a bottom edge, an inner wall, and a width diameter; And
And a process tube that snaps tightly into the port of the carrier tray,
The process tube,
A securement area on the outside of the process tube, the fixation area comprising an annular ledge, a protrusion, and a neck between the ledge and the protrusion, wherein the protrusion at the apex of the protrusion The outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the neck and the outer diameter of the port, the fixed area;
As a body extending below the protrusion, the protrusion includes an upper slope from the apex to the neck, and a lower slope from the apex to the body, wherein an angle of the upper slope on the protrusion is the lower portion on the protrusion The body steeper than the angle of the slope, the upper slope of the protrusion being inclined away from the longitudinal axis of the process tube, and the lower slope of the protrusion being inclined toward the longitudinal axis of the process tube; And
And a top ring extending vertically upward from the annular ledge and defining an opening in the tube, wherein the cross section of the process tube is circular.
The method according to claim 1,
The outer surface of the neck is parallel to the longitudinal axis passing through the process tube.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the annular ledge comprises an upper surface, a lower surface, and an outer surface.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the protrusion has an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the neck.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the annular ledge has an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the protrusion.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a base below the body and defining a lower end of the tube.
As a process tube strip,
Wherein the process tube strip comprises a plurality of process tubes of claim 1.
The method according to claim 7,
Wherein the plurality of process tubes are connected by a connector tab adjacent the annular ledges of the plurality of process tubes.
The method according to claim 8,
The connector tabs include a connector recess on its underside, a process tube strip.
As a system,
A carrier tray comprising a plurality of elliptical ports, each port having a top diameter, a bottom edge, an inner wall, and a length diameter greater than the width diameter; And
And a process tube that snaps tightly into the port of the carrier tray,
The process tube,
An annular ledge extending laterally from the process tube, the annular ledge comprising an upper surface, a lower surface, and an outer surface;
A top ring extending vertically upward from the top surface of the annular ledge and defining an opening in the process tube;
An annular projection extending laterally from the process tube at a position on the process tube below the annular ledge, the projection having an apex, an upper slope, and a lower slope, wherein the angle of the upper slope on the projection is above the projection The annular projection, which is steeper than the angle of the lower slope, wherein the upper slope of the projection is inclined away from the longitudinal axis of the tube, and the lower slope of the projection is inclined toward the longitudinal axis of the tube;
A neck between the annular ledge and the protrusion;
A body under the protrusion; And
And a base defining a lower end of the process tube, wherein the cross section of the process tube is circular.
delete The method according to claim 10,
The carrier tray includes a shelf and a base, the shelf comprising a plurality of ports through the upper end of the shelf, the ports having an inner wall.
delete delete The method according to claim 12,
Wherein the protrusion of the process tube has an outer diameter greater than at least the width diameter of the port in the carrier tray.
The method according to claim 15,
Wherein the neck of the process tube has an outer diameter smaller than the length and width diameters of the port in the carrier tray.
The method according to claim 12,
Wherein the process tube fits tightly within the port of the carrier tray.
The method according to claim 17,
Wherein the bottom surface of the annular ledge of the process tube lies on the outside of the shelf top, and the top slope of the protrusion lies on the bottom edge of the inner wall of the port.
The method according to claim 17,
A gap exists between the neck of the process tube and the inner wall of the port.
The method according to claim 19,
The gap enables the process tube to tilt within the port of the carrier tray.
The method according to claim 10,
Wherein the process tube is a flat extension extending laterally from the annular ledge, the extension further comprising the flat extension, providing a surface for marking the process tube.
As a system,
A carrier tray comprising a plurality of elliptical ports, each port having a top edge and a bottom edge and an inner wall; And
A process tube that snaps tightly into a port of the carrier tray, the process tube comprising a fixed area on the outside of the tube, the fixed area consisting of an annular ledge, a protrusion and a neck between the ledge and the protrusion, The protrusion comprises an apex, an upper slope from the apex to the neck, and a lower slope from the apex to the body, wherein the angle of the upper slope on the protrusion is steeper than the angle of the lower slope on the protrusion, The upper slope of the protrusion is inclined away from the longitudinal axis of the tube, and the lower slope of the protrusion is inclined toward the longitudinal axis of the tube, and includes the process tube,
The process tube snaps tightly into the port of the carrier tray, such that the bottom surface of the ledge lies on the top surface of the carrier tray and the upper slope of the protrusion contacts the bottom edge of the port, and the The system of the process tube is circular in cross section.
The method according to claim 22,
Wherein the ports of the carrier tray include a length diameter greater than the width diameter.
The method according to claim 23,
Wherein the annular ledge of the process tube has an outer diameter greater than the length and width diameters of the ports of the carrier tray, and the neck of the process tube has an outer diameter less than the length and width diameters of the ports. .
The method according to claim 23,
Wherein the protrusion of the process tube has an outer diameter greater than at least the width diameter of the port.
The method according to claim 22,
Wherein the process tube is tiltable within the port of the carrier tray. The method according to claim 1,
The process tube is bent to the maximum with maximum deformation when the vertex slides through the port of the carrier tray, and the deformation of the process tube is released when the vertex passes through the bottom edge of the port. And the process tube snaps tightly into place.
The method according to claim 10,
The process tube is bent to the maximum with maximum deformation when the vertex slides through the port of the carrier tray, the deformation of the process tube is released and the process when the vertex passes through the bottom edge of the port System in which the tube snaps securely in place.
The method according to claim 22,
The process tube is bent to the maximum with maximum deformation when the vertex slides through the port of the carrier tray, the deformation of the process tube is released and the process when the vertex passes through the bottom edge of the port System in which the tube snaps securely in place.

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