Signalling member and method for programming automatic radioactivity-measuring system

Claim 1

A radioactivity measuring system for independent qualitative determination of separate isotopes in different batches of radioactive samples by liquid scintillation radiation counting accumulated automatically in a plurality of energy level measurement channels selected in response to specific measurement programs inserted into said measuring systems comprising: a conveyor means having a multiplicity of links into which sample bottles may be inserted; a plurality of control towers each having coded information preset into a multiplicity of holes at least one of said control towers being placed into a particular one of said links and said coded information containing one or more of a multiplicity of measurement channel commands to be performed upon such sample bottles as may be inserted in following links; an indexing means to position one of said links in a counting index position; a detector assembly means producing a first signal when a link in said counting index position is empty, a second signal when said link contains a sample bottle, and third signal when said link contains a control tower, said detector assembly means also having a coded output signal generated in response to said holes of said control tower when said detector assembly means third signal is present; a conveyor drive mechanism means responsive to said detector assembly means first signal to advance said conveyor to move a next following link into said counting index position until sAid detector assembly means produces a second or third signal; a memory means for storing said detector assembly coded output signal when said detector assembly means third signal is present; a memory write-in means for writing said detector assembly coded output signal into said memory when said detector assembly means third signal is present; a memory reading means for determining the contents of said memory when said detector assembly means second signal is present; a counting chamber means into which a sample bottle is positioned for measurement; an elevator means responsive to said detector assembly means second signal to lower said sample bottle from said index position into said counting chamber for measurement and to return said sample bottle to said index position after said measurement; and, a logic means responding to said memory reading means for connecting to said counting chamber means a sequence of one or more measurement channels corresponding to said measurement channel commands when said detector assembly means second signal is present and said elevator means has lowered said sample bottle into said chamber.