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EP0510686A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Automatic analyzing apparatus capable of reading container data and method of handling reagents employed in the same

Assignee: Hitachi Ltd
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Filing: 1992-04-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-04-24
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Abstract

Abstract When a lid (5) of a reagent container housing unit (7) is closed, an opening/closing detector (4) outputs a signal. A control unit (11) gives an instruction of moving a row of reagent containers (1) and a bar code reader (3) relative to each other to a driving unit and an instruction of starting the data reading operation to the bar code reader (3). When the lid (5) of the container housing unit is closed, all the data which have been already read are reset. An automatic analyzing apparatus can select, in place of the data reading mode, the liquid level detection mode in which a level of the liquid in each of the reagent containers is detected.

Inventors

  • 👤 Katsuaki Takahashi
  • 👤 Hiroshi Mitsumaki
  • 👤 Takehiko Yotsugi

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 17:28
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N35/00; G01N35/00584; G01N35/00594; G01N35/00613; G01N35/00663; G01N35/10; G01N35/1002; G06; G06K; G06K7/00; G06K7/0008; G06K7/10; G06K7/10544; G06K7/10821; G06K7/10861; G01N2035/00673; G01N35/00722; G01N35/00732; G01N2035/00742; G01N2035/00752; G01N35/02; G01N35/04; G01N2035/0439; G01N2035/0441; G01N2035/0443; G01N2035/0451; G01N35/1009; G01N2035/1025; G01N35/1081; G01N35/1083; G01N2035/1086; G01N35/025; G01N35/1065

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim 92 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus including a container housing unit having an opening through which a container with data on a liquid contained therein inscribed thereon is loaded, and a reading device for reading the data of the container loaded in said container housing unit, said apparatus comprising: a lid for covering the opening; a signal output unit for outputting a signal when the opening has been closed by said lid; a control unit for starting the data reading operation by said reading device on the basis of the output of the signal.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 18 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein opening of said lid erases the already read data.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 53 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the data reading operation is performed, a row of containers placed in said container housing unit and said reading device are moved relative to each other, during which time the data inscribed on the containers are read by said reading device in sequence.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 29 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said container housing unit has container conveying means for moving the row of container intermittently during the data reading operation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 42 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid delivery device having a pipette probe having a liquid level sensor, said liquid delivery device detecting a level of the liquid in the container while said lid is being closed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 37 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising selection means for selection one of a data reading mode performed by said reading device and a liquid level detection mode performed by said liquid delivery device.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 78 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a registration unit in which data on types of reagents in the reagent containers which are to be housed in said container housing unit are registered beforehand, and wherein said control unit stops the operation of said liquid delivery device when the type of the reagent obtained on the basis of the inscribed data does not correspond to any of the types of reagents which have been registered.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 34 words
An automatic analyzing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein during the liquid level detection, the row of containers placed in said container housing unit and said pipette probe are moved relative to each other.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 58 words
A reagent handling method for reading data inscribed on a reagent container loaded in a container housing unit by a reading device, said method comprising the steps of; outputting a signal when a lid of said container housing unit has been closed; and starting a data reading operation of said reading device on the basis of the signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 37 words
A reagent handling method according to claim 9, wherein while said lid is being closed, a liquid delivery device having a liquid level sensor is activated to detect a level of the liquid in the reagent container.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 44 words
A reagent handling method according to claim 10, wherein when a type of reagent which is read by said reading device does not correspond to any of types of reagents which are expected, said liquid delivery device does not start the reagent delivery operation.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 21 words
A reagent handling method according to claim 9, wherein opening of said lid erases the data which has been already read.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 54 words
A reagent handling method according to claim 9, wherein when the data on the plurality of reagent containers are read by said reading device and either of the reagents which have been read does not correspond to types of reagents which have been registered beforehand, the disagreeing reagent is displayed on a display device.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 62 words
A reagent handling method according to claim 13, wherein said display device is a screen display device which can perform display in a plurality of colors, the reagents which correspond to the registered data being displayed on the screen in a color different from that in which the reagents which do not correspond to the registered data are displayed on the screen.

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