Photoanalysis apparatus

Claim 2

Apparatus for simultaneous optical measurement of several characteristics of each particle of a group of small particles such as blood cells while the particles are suspended in a liquid, comprising a source of light, a housing comprised of a material which transmits light from said source and defining an optical chamber, means for moving the particle suspending liquid through said housing in a thin narrow stream to convey the particles in sequence through the stream one by one, means for directing light from said light source into one side of said housing to intersect with the thin stream of particles in a narrow beam substantially converging at the intersection with the stream of particles and operable to intercept the entire particle stream, and at least two photoresponsive pick-up elements positioned outside of said housing at different angular positions with respect to the direction of said beam when measured from the intersection of the beam with the stream of particles, said photoresponsive pick-up elements being effective to simultaneously detect different optical reactions of each particle to illumination from the beam.

Claim 3

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said photoresponsive pick-up elements is positioned in alignment with the light beam on the side of said housing opposite to said light source to receive the un-scattered illumination from the light beam to thereby detect the amount of light absorbed by each particle being measured.

Claim 4

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up elements are respectively angularly positioned to intercept light at different ranges of angles with respect to the direction of the light beam for the detection of the relative intensities of light scattered by each particle at said respective ranges of angles.

Claim 5

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the maximum value of each transverse dimension of the thin stream of particle-suspending liquid is of the same order of magnitude as the maximum dimensions of said particles.

Claim 6

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for directing light from said light source is operable to direct the light in said narrow beam such that the angle between the directions of the outermost portions of the beam does not exceed a very small predetermined value.

Claim 7

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said different optical reactions of said particles to illumination from the beam are recorded and used as different parameters in combination in determining the characteristics of the particles.

Claim 8

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said photoresponsive pick-up elements comprises the combination of an optical reflector positioned at a predetermined angular position with respect to the direction of said beam to intercept and reflect the desired optical reaction of each particle and a photoelectric device positioned to receive said optical reaction reflected by said reflector.

Claim 9

Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein two optical reflectors are positioned on opposite sides of said beam to intercept and reflect the desired optical reaction of each particle to a single photoelectric device positioned to receive the optical reactions reflected by said reflectors.

Claim 12

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up element is positioned outside of said housing and in a position which is displaced away from the point of intersection of the light beam with the thin stream of particles in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the light beam.

Claim 13

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said cylindrical tube member defining said optical chamber is in the form of a circular cylinder.

Claim 14

Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein there is provided a second photoresponsive pick-up element positioned and arranged in direct alignment with the light beam on the side of said housing opposite to said light source to receive the unscattered illumination from the light beam to thereby detect the amount of light absorbed by the particles being measured.

Claim 15

An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said tube member is mounted for movement about a pivot axis substantially parallel to said tube axis and displaced away from the tube axis in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of said beam, an adjustable positioning means for adjusting said tube member by rotation about said mounting axis to center said tube member in said beam of light.

Claim 16

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said means for moving the particle suspending liquid through said tube member in a thin stream includes means for providing a sheath of liquid flowing in an annular configuration through said tube member and surrounding said thin stream to thereby confine the thin stream of particle suspending liquid to a dimension smaller than the interior diameter of said tube member.

Claim 17

Apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein said tube member includes a substantially uniform constricted central bore, said central bore being widened substantially at the inlet end thereof, the shape of the widening of the inlet end of said bore being such that the change in diameter is substantially an exponential function of the displacement along the axis of said tube in the widening end portion thereof.

Claim 20

Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up element is positioned on the side of said housing opposite to said light source.

Claim 21

Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein there is provided a second photoresponsive pick-up element positioned and arranged in direct alignment with the light beam on the side of said housing opposite to said light source to receive the unscattered illumination from the light beam to thereby detect the amount of light absorbed by the particles being measured.

Claim 22

Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein there is provided a second photoresponsive pick-up element which is positioned on the same side of said housing as said light source for the detection of light back-scattered from the particles being measured concurrently with the detection of forward scattering by said first-mentioned photoresponsive pick-up element, said second photoresponsive pick-up element being displaced away from the direct path of said light beam in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of the thin stream of particles.

Claim 23

Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up element is positioned on the same side of said housing as said light source for the detection of light back-scattered from the particles being measured.

Claim 24

Apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein there is provided a second photoresponsive pick-up element positioned and arranged in direct alignment with the light beam on the side of said housing opposite to said light source to receive the unscattered illumination from the light beam to thereby detect the amount of light absorbed by the particles being measured.

Claim 25

Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said means for directing said light is operable to form said light beam into said substantially elliptical shape in which the length of the minor axis is of the same order of magnitude as the maximum dimension of the particles to be observed and the major axis of the elliptical beam shape is substantially greater than the maximum dimension of the particles to be observed to thereby accommodate for variations in the path of movement of said particles with relation to the light beam as the particles move through the light beam.

Claim 26

Apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein said means for directing said light comprises a substantially cylindrical lens device.

Claim 27

Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said housing comprises a cylindrical tube member and the direction of the thin stream of particle suspending liquid is in an axial direction through the interior of said tube member.

Claim 28

Apparatus as claimed in claim 24 wherein said means for moving the particle suspending liquid through said tube member in a thin stream includes means for providing a sheath of liquid flowing in an annular configuration through said tube member and surrounding said thin stream to thereby confine the thin stream of particle suspending liquid to a dimension smaller than the interior diameter of said tube member.

Claim 29

Apparatus as claimed in claim 25 wherein the interior of said tube member is flared outwardly at the entrance end thereof to provide a funneling effect to reduce the diameter of the entering flow of the stream of particle suspending liquid and the sheath liquid.

Claim 30

Apparatus as claimed in claim 24 wherein said light source is a source of monochromatic coherent light.

Claim 31

Apparatus as claimed in claim 27 wherein said light source is a laser.

Claim 32

ApparaTus as claimed in claim 28 wherein said laser is a helium-neon laser.

Claim 33

Apparatus as claimed in claim 28 wherein said laser is an argon laser.

Claim 34

Apparatus as claimed in claim 28 wherein said means for directing said light includes a combination of lenses providing an optical telescope to concentrate the beam of light from said laser into a beam of reduced cross-section.

Claim 35

Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up element is positioned and arranged to detect light scattered by the particles over a predetermined narrow range of angles as measured away from the direction of the light beam at the point of intersection with the position of the thin stream of particles in a plane parallel to the direction of the light beam and transverse to the major axis of the elliptical shape of the light beam.

Claim 36

Apparatus as claimed in claim 32 wherein there are provided at least two photoresponsive pick-up elements for detecting light scattered by the particles over said predetermined range of angles, said photoresponsive pick-up elements being symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the light beam to intercept light scattered by the particles over the same range of angles on both sides of the light beam.

Claim 37

Apparatus as claimed in claim 33 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up elements are positioned on the side of said housing opposite to said light source, and wherein there is provided an additional photoresponsive pick-up element positioned and arranged in direct alignment with the light beam on the side of said housing opposite to said light source to receive the illumination from the light beam passing between said scattered light photoresponsive pick-up elements to thereby detect the amount of light absorbed by the particles being measured.

Claim 38

Apparatus as claimed in claim 34 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up elements are operable to provide electrical signal changes in response to the reception of optical radiation, and wherein there is provided means for receiving and registering said electrical signal changes.

Claim 39

Apparatus as claimed in claim 33 wherein there are provided a plurality of pairs of scattered light photoresponsive pick-up elements symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the light beam to detect light scattered over different exclusive ranges of angles for each pair, each pair of photoresponsive pick-up elements being electrically connected together to provide a combined electrical signal, and the members of each pair being arranged to intercept light scattered over the same range of angles on the opposite sides of the light beam.

Claim 40

Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said photoresponsive pick-up element comprises a radiation position sensing device providing one electrical output signal corresponding to the position of a spot of light on the surface thereof and another electrical signal corresponding to the intensity of the light spot, said device having the position sensing axis thereof arranged in a plane substantially perpendicular to the major axis of the light beam and parallel to the direction of light transmission in the light beam so that the position sensing signal of said device in response to scattered light provides an indication of the angle of the peak of the distributed radiation scattered from each particle.

Claim 41

In an apparatus for optical measurement of the characteristics of small particles such as blood cells while the particles are suspended in a liquid, a cylindrical tube defining an optical chamber member and comprised of a material which transmits light at the wave length at which the optical measurement is to be carried out, said chamber member having a substantially uniform cylindrical bore of restricted cross-section extending from an inlet end to an outlet end through a substantial portion of the length thereof, said cylindrical bore being flared outwardly at the inlet end thereOf to form a funnel-like configuration, an inlet mounting member engaging said chamber member at the inlet end thereof, an outlet mounting member engaging said chamber member at the outlet end thereof, said inlet and outlet mounting members being arranged to clamp said tube member therebetween, and each of said mounting members including a sealing ring engaging with the respective end surfaces of said chamber member to establish a liquid tight seal therewith, said inlet mounting member including an axially extending flange at the surface thereof arranged to protrude into the enlarged funnel-shaped opening of said central bore of said tube member to center said tube member with respect to said mounting members, said inlet mounting member including a central tube for the transmission of particle carrying liquid into the center bore of said chamber member, said inlet mounting member also including an annular inlet opening surrounding said central tube for conveying a sheath of liquid into the inlet end of said tube member to form a liquid sheath around said particle carrying liquid.

Claim 42

In an apparatus for optical measurement of the characteristics of small particles such as blood cells while the particles are suspended in a liquid, a cylindrical tube defining an optical chamber member and comprised of a material which transmits light at the wave length at which the optical measurement is to be carried out, said chamber member having a substantially uniform cylindrical bore of restricted cross-section extending from an inlet end to an outlet end through a substantial portion of the length thereof, said cylindrical bore being flared outwardly at the inlet end thereOf to form a funnel-like configuration, an inlet mounting member engaging said chamber member at the inlet end thereof, an outlet mounting member engaging said chamber member at the outlet end thereof, said inlet and outlet mounting members being arranged to clamp said tube member therebetween, and each of said mounting members including a sealing ring engaging with the respective end surfaces of said chamber member to establish a liquid tight seal therewith, said inlet mounting member including an axially extending flange at the surface thereof arranged to protrude into the enlarged funnel-shaped opening of said central bore of said tube member to center said tube member with respect to said mounting members, said inlet mounting member including a central tube for the transmission of particle carrying liquid into the center bore of said chamber member, said inlet mounting member also including an annular inlet opening surrounding said central tube for conveying a sheath of liquid into the inlet end of said tube member to form a liquid sheath around said particle carrying liquid.