1. A cuvette system comprising:
a disposable cuvette element for holding a sample for analysis, the cuvette element comprising an elongated strip having opposite faces; and a well for receiving the sample to be analyzed, the well being formed on the strip to hold a defined volume of a sample on the strip, a hole forming at least a portion of the well and extending through the strip; and
a reusable holder for removably receiving the cuvette element, the holder having a substantially hollow interior for receiving at least a portion of the cuvette element, the holder having a perimeter wall including a front wall and a rear wall of the holder, the front and rear walls each having a window formed by a void in each of the front and rear walls the windows being generally positioned in alignment with each other;
wherein the cuvette element and the holder are configured such that positioning of the cuvette element in the holder aligns the windows of the front and rear walls of the holder and the hole of the well in the cuvette element to produce a linear path for a beam of energy through the assembled cuvette element and holder that does not pass through material forming the cuvette element and does not pass through material forming the holder.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the well is formed by a continuous wall surrounding the hole.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the wall extends from at least one side of the strip.
4. The system of claim 2 wherein the wall is substantially cylindrical in shape.
5. The system of claim 2 wherein the wall is substantially rectangular in shape.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the cuvette element comprising at least one rail formed on at least one of the opposite faces and protruding from said face.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein a pair of the rails are formed on one of said faces, the rails each being positioned along at least a section of opposite side edge portions of the strip.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein the rails are substantially linear.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the cuvette element comprising a marking on the strip indicative of a volume of the well.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the faces of the strip define a thickness therebetween, the strip having a substantially uniform thickness.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one guide is formed in the interior of the holder for removably receiving a portion of the strip to guide movement of the strip in the interior of the holder.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein the at least one guide comprises opposing sets of guides that define opposing channels that receive opposite side edge portions of the strip of the cuvette element when the element is inserted into the interior of the holder.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein the channels are configured to hold the cuvette element in a position spaced from the front and rear walls.
14. The system of claim 1 wherein the holder has an open top end for receiving the cuvette element therethrough.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the holder has a substantially closed bottom end.
16. The system of claim 1 wherein the perimeter wall includes opposite side walls extending between the front and rear walls.
17. The system of claim 1 wherein an exterior surface of the holder has a cuboid shape.
18. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising at least one filter strip configured to filter a beam of energy passing through the filter strip; and
wherein the holder defines a plurality of positions in the interior of the holder for receiving the at least one filter strip adjacent to the strip of the cuvette element such that a beam of energy on the linear path for through the assembled cuvette element and holder also passes through the at least one filter strip.
19. The system of claim 1 wherein the well is formed by a continuous wall surrounding the hole, the wall extending from at least one side of the strip;
wherein a pair of rails are formed on one of said faces, the rails each being positioned along at least a section of opposite side edge portions of the strip, the rails being substantially linear;
wherein the faces of the strip define a thickness therebetween, the strip having a substantially uniform thickness;
wherein opposing sets of guides are formed in the interior of the holder for removably receiving a portion of the strip to guide movement of the strip in the interior of the holder, the sets of guides defining opposing channels to receive opposite side edge portions of the strip of the cuvette element when the element is inserted into the interior of the holder, the channels being configured to hold the cuvette element in a position spaced from the front and rear walls; and
wherein the holder has an open top end for receiving the cuvette element therethrough and a substantially closed bottom end.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A tilt steering apparatus, comprising:
a steering column that is pivotally displaced centered around a tilt shaft that is provided in a width direction of a section on a front side thereof, and supports a steering shaft on an inside thereof such that the steering shaft can rotate freely;
a fixed-side bracket made of a metal material that is supported by a vehicle body and comprises a pair of support plate portions that hold the steering column;
vertically long holes of the steering column that are provided in positions in each of the pair of support plate portions that are aligned with each other, and that extend in the up-down direction of the steering column;
an adjustment rod that is inserted through the vertically long holes in the width direction of the steering column;
an anchor portion on a base-end portion of the adjustment rod and that engages with one of the vertically long holes that is provided in one of the pair of support plate portions so as to be able to be displaced along the one vertically long hole;
a driven-side cam made of a metal material that constitutes a cam apparatus that expands or contracts an axial dimension thereof according to rotation of the adjustment rod, that is fitted around a portion near a tip end of the adjustment rod so as to be capable of relative rotation with respect to the adjustment rod, that comprises a driven-side cam surface formed on an outside surface thereof, and a convex engaging portion formed so as to protrude from an inside surface thereof and engaging with other of the vertically long holes that is provided in other of the pair of support plate portions so as to be able to be displaced along the other vertically long hole in a state such that rotation thereof centered around the adjustment rod is suppressed; and
a buffer member that is formed using a material that is softer than the metal material of the driven-side cam and the metal material of the fixed-side bracket, and that is attached to the convex engaging portion;
stoppers being provided in at least two locations in the buffer member that are rotationally symmetric about a center axis of the adjustment rod, and the stoppers preventing collision between the convex engaging portion and a front-side edge or a rear-side edge of the other vertically long hole when the driven-side cam rotates as the axial dimension of the cam apparatus expands or contracts, and regulate the rotation of the driven-side cam;
wherein the buffer member comprises a pair of buffer portions that have shapes to cover surfaces on both top and bottom ends of the convex engaging portion, and crank-shaped stepped surfaces that match each other are formed on the surfaces of both the top and bottom ends of the convex engaging portion and on end surfaces of the pair of buffer portions that face each other so as to match each other, and the stepped surfaces of the pair of buffer portions function as the stoppers.
2. The tilt steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
buffer-portion-side protrusions that protrude in the up-down direction are respectively provided in part in a forward-backward direction of the end surfaces of the pair of buffer portions that face each other, and convex-portion-side protrusions that protrude in the up-down direction are respectively provided in part in the forward-backward direction of the surfaces on both the top and bottom ends of the convex engaging portion, and the buffer-portion-side protrusions that come in contact with the convex-portion-side protrusions function as the stoppers.
3. The tilt steering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
the cam apparatus further comprises a drive-side cam fastened around a tip-end portion of the adjustment rod so as to be able to rotate centered around the adjustment rod and having a drive-side cam surface that is provided on an inside surface thereof so as to come in contact with the driven-side cam surface; and the convex engaging portion and the buffer member are constructed such that side surfaces of the convex-portion-side protrusions on a front side in a tightening direction of the drive-side cam, which is a rotational direction of the drive-side cam when the axial dimension of the cam apparatus is expanded, come in contact with side surfaces of the buffer-portion-side protrusions on a rear side in the tightening direction.
4. The tilt steering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a width dimension in the forward-backward direction of the buffer-portion-side protrusions is one second or greater than a width dimension in the forward-backward direction of the end surfaces of the pair of buffer portions that face each other.
5. The tilt steering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the surfaces on both the top and bottom ends of the convex engaging portion and the end surfaces of the pair of buffer portions that face each other are rotationally symmetric about the center axis of the adjustment rod.
6. A tilt steering apparatus comprising:
a steering column that is pivotally displaced centered around a tilt shaft that is provided in a width direction of a section on a front side thereof, and supports a steering shaft on an inside thereof such that the steering shaft can rotate freely;
a fixed-side bracket made of a metal material that is supported by a vehicle body and comprises a pair of support plate portions that hold the steering column;
vertically long holes of the steering column that are provided in positions in each of the pair of support plate portions that are aligned with each other, and that extend in the up-down direction of the steering column;
an adjustment rod that is inserted through the vertically long holes in the width direction of the steering column;
an anchor portion on a base-end portion of the adjustment rod and that engages with one of the vertically long holes that is provided in one of the pair of support plate portions so as to be able to be displaced along the one vertically long hole;
a driven-side cam made of a metal material that constitutes a cam apparatus that expands or contracts an axial dimension thereof according to rotation of the adjustment rod, that is fitted around a portion near a tip end of the adjustment rod so as to be capable of relative rotation with respect to the adjustment rod, that comprises a driven-side cam surface formed on an outside surface thereof, and a convex engaging portion formed so as to protrude from an inside surface thereof and engaging with other of the vertically long holes that is provided in other of the pair of support plate portions so as to be able to be displaced along the other vertically long hole in a state such that rotation thereof centered around the adjustment rod is suppressed; and
a buffer member that is formed using a material that is softer than the metal material of the driven-side cam and the metal material of the fixed-side bracket, and that is attached to the convex engaging portion;
wherein stoppers are provided in at least two locations in the buffer member that are rotationally symmetric about a center axis of the adjustment rod, the stoppers preventing collision between the convex engaging portion and a front-side edge or a rear-side edge of the other vertically long hole when the driven-side cam rotates as the axial dimension of the cam apparatus expands or contracts, and regulate the rotation of the driven-side cam; and
the cam apparatus further comprises a drive-side cam fastened around a tip-end portion of the adjustment rod so as to be able to rotate centered around the adjustment rod and having a drive-side cam surface that is provided on an inside surface thereof so as to come in contact with the driven-side cam surface; and cover portions that cover portions near both the top and bottom ends of at least side surfaces on a front side of both side surfaces of the convex engaging portion in a tightening direction of the drive cam, which is a rotational direction of the drive-side cam when the axial dimension of the cam apparatus is expanded, prevent abutment between the portions near both the top and bottom ends of the side surfaces on the front side and inside edges on the front side of the vertically long hole, and functions as the stoppers, are provided in part of the buffer member.
7. The tilt steering apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
the buffer member comprises a pair of buffer portions that cover the surfaces on both the top and bottom ends of the convex engaging portion; and the cover portions extend in the up-down direction from at least end portions on the front-side in the tightening direction of the pair of buffer portions.
8. The tilt steering apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
concave portions are formed on both the top and bottom ends of surfaces on both front and rear sides of the convex engaging portion; a width dimension in the forward-backward direction of both the top and bottom end portions of the convex engaging portion is narrower than a width dimension in the forward-backward direction of an intermediate portion in the up-down direction of the convex engaging portion;
the cover portions extend in directions toward each other from both front and rear end portions of the pair of buffer portions, and engage with the concave portions; and
both side surfaces in the forward-backward direction of the intermediate portion in the up-down direction of the convex engaging portion do not protrude further in the forward-backward direction than the cover portions.
9. A tilt steering apparatus comprising:
a steering column that is pivotally displaced centered around a tilt shaft that is provided in a width direction of a section on a front side thereof, and supports a steering shaft on an inside thereof such that the steering shaft can rotate freely;
a fixed-side bracket made of a metal material that is supported by a vehicle body and comprises a pair of support plate portions that hold the steering column;
vertically long holes of the steering column that are provided in positions in each of the pair of support plate portions that are aligned with each other, and that extend in the up-down direction of the steering column;
an adjustment rod that is inserted through the vertically long holes in the width direction of the steering column;
an anchor portion on a base-end portion of the adjustment rod and that engages with one of the vertically long holes that is provided in one of the pair of support plate portions so as to be able to be displaced along the one vertically long hole;
a driven-side cam made of a metal material that constitutes a cam apparatus that expands or contracts an axial dimension thereof according to rotation of the adjustment rod, that is fitted around a portion near a tip end of the adjustment rod so as to be capable of relative rotation with respect to the adjustment rod, that comprises a driven-side cam surface formed on an outside surface thereof, and a convex engaging portion formed so as to protrude from an inside surface thereof and engaging with other of the vertically long holes that is provided in other of the pair of support plate portions so as to be able to be displaced along the other vertically long hole in a state such that rotation thereof centered around the adjustment rod is suppressed; and
a buffer member that is formed using a material that is softer than the metal material of the driven-side cam and the metal material of the fixed-side bracket, and that is attached to the convex engaging portion;
wherein stoppers are provided in at least two locations in the buffer member that are rotationally symmetric about a center axis of the adjustment rod, the stoppers preventing collision between the convex engaging portion and a front-side edge or a rear-side edge of the other vertically long hole when the driven-side cam rotates as the axial dimension of the cam apparatus expands or contracts, and regulate the rotation of the driven-side cam; and
wherein the buffer member comprises a pair of buffer portions that have shapes to cover the surfaces on both the top and bottom ends of the convex engaging portion, and that respectively have low-rigidity portions that are formed by portions of which material has been removed and are formed in both the front and rear portions thereof; and
the low-rigidity portions protrude further in the forward-backward direction than the surfaces on both the front and rear sides of the convex engaging portion, and in a neutral state in which no rotation force in a direction that expands the axial dimension of the cam apparatus is applied, only the low-rigidity portions come in elastic contact with edges on both front and rear sides of the vertically long hole.