Reageant Bay General Information

Overview

The Reagent Bay is an active module, it communicates with the COP (Communication and Organization Processor) via the Power/CAN cable. A printed circuit board on the rear of the module maintains the modules firmware and basic operating instructions. All module subassemblies, external controls and remote measurement components interface through the embedded controller on the printed circuit board.

The Reagent Bay consists of a printed circuit board, temperature-controlled body, cover/shutter, shutter drive motor and barcode scanner.

The printed circuit board maintains firmware, communicates with the COP, provides all control for the various subassemblies of the module and collects temperature and voltage data associated with the modules proper operation. The printed circuit board also utilizes optical sensors placed to sense the presence of the reagent racks in each of the four rack locations.

The body of the Reagent module has several sets of plastic guides mounted inside, on the base, which define the locations for racks holding the reagent bottles. These defined locations for the reagent rack lanes are labeled and referred to as 1–4 starting from the left side of the bay as seen by an operator facing the system. Inside, at the rear of the module is a heat sink, which maintains the modules temperature as defined in firmware by utilizing chilled water provided by the Liquid Cooling Module.

The top of the module is enclosed by its cover and shutter assembly. The cover and shutter reduce possible contamination, help maintain temperature and reduce condensation inside the chilled bay. A NEMA 17 size stepper motor that interfaces with the modules printed circuit board drives the shutter to an open or closed position as requested by software.

A barcode scanner is located on the left side of the module as seen by an operator facing the system. This scanner records information from barcode labels affixed to the reagent bottles and reagent racks. The information collected by the barcode scanner is provided to the operating system software via the Power/CAN bus through the reagent bay modules printed circuit board. The barcode scanner must be focused on the proper rack location in order to effectively read the barcodes. An improperly focused barcode scanner will return poor results. Focus is defined in firmware stored in the modules printed circuit boards embedded controller.

Theory/Sequence of Operation

The Reagent Bay is an active module that communicates with the Communication and Organization Processor (COP) via the CAN/power cable. A printed circuit board on the rear of the module maintains the module's firmware and basic operating instructions. All module subassemblies, external controls, and remove measurement components interface through the embedded controller on the printed circuit board.

The Reagent Bay consists of a printed circuit board, temperature-controlled body, cover/shutter, shutter drive motor, and barcode scanner.

The printed circuit board maintains firmware, communicates with the COP, provides all control for the various subassemblies of the module, and collects temperature and voltage data associated with the module's proper operation. The printed circuit board also utilizes optical sensors placed to sense the presence of the Reagent Racks in each of the four rack locations.

The body of the reagent modules contains several sets of plastic guides mounted inside on the base, which define the locations for the racks holding the reagent bottles. these defined locations for the Reagent Racks are identified as 1 through 4, starting from the left side of the bay as seen by an operator facing the system. Inside, at the rear of the module is a .heat sink that maintains the module's temperature as defined in firmware by utilizing chilled water supplied by the Liquid Cooling Module.

The top of the module is enclosed by its cover and shutter assembly. The cover and shutter reduce possible contamination, help maintain temperature, and reduce condensation inside the chilled bay. A NEMA 17 size stepper motor that interfaces with the module's PCB drives the shutter to an open or closed position as requested by the software.

A barcode scanner is located on the left side of the module as seen by an operator facing the system. This scanner records information from barcode labels affixed to the reagent bottles and Reagent Racks. The information collected by the barcode scanner is provided to the operating system software via the CAN/power bus through the Reagent Bay module's PCB. The barcode scanner must be focused on the proper rack location in order to effectively read the barcodes. An improperly focused barcode scanner will return poor results. Focus is defined in firmware stored in the embedded controller on the module's PCB.