Patent US3864564A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3864564A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Acquisition system for slide analysis
Assignee: Corning Glass Works
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Filing: 1973-09-26
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Granted: 1975-02-04
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Expires: 1993-09-26
Abstract
Abstract A closed loop scanning and positioning system for finding and positioning white blood cells includes a multifaceted rotating mirror, an optical system, two photoelectric sensors, two light sources and a logic circuit. The logic circuit produces signals which are used to drive a microscope stage in x and y directions to cause the blood cell to be positioned within a small aperture.
Inventors
- 👤 William J Adkins
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 23:13
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N15/00; G01N15/10; G01N15/14; G01N15/1468; G01N21/00; G01N21/17; G01N21/59; G01N21/5907; G01N21/5911; G06; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/10; G06V20/00; G06V20/60; G06V20/69
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
In a system producing an electrical output representing the optical characteristics of an analytical slide containing a specimen of interest, including: conversion means producing said electrical output representing the optical characteristics of said slide, means for projecting an optical image of said analytical slide to said conversion means, a light sensing device, means for successively scanning a portion of said optical image, said light sensing device producing an output representing the light absorption of the area of the slide being scanned, a pulse shaping means connected to the output of said light sensing device and producing an acquisition signal when the area of the slide being scanned contains a specimen of interest, and a positioning mechanism for positioning said slide, an acquisition system comprising: synchronizing means producing a synchronizing signal at a predetermined point in each scan, and logic circuitry responsive to said synchronizing signal and to said acquisition signal for producing control signals, said control signals being used to control said positioning mechanism to position said slide so that the image of a specimen of interest is centered on said conversion means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
In a system producing an electrical output representing the optical characteristics of an analytical slide containing a specimen of interest, including: conversion means producing said electrical output representing the optical characteristics of said slide, means for projecting an optical image of said analytical slide to said conversion means, a light sensing device, means for successively scanning a portion of said optical image, said light sensing device producing an output representing the light absorption of the area of the slide being scanned, a pulse shaping means connected to the output of said light sensing device and producing an acquisition signal when the area of the slide being scanned contains a specimen of interest, and a positioning mechanism for positioning said slide, an acquisition system comprising: synchronizing means producing a synchronizing signal at a predetermined point in each scan, and logic circuitry responsive to said synchronizing signal and to said acquisition signal for producing control signals, said control signals being used to control said positioning mechanism to position said slide so that the image of a specimen of interest is centered on said conversion means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
79 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said synchronizing means comprises: a rotating mirror, a light source focused on said rotating mirror, and a second light sensing device, said second light sensing device and said light source being positioned so that reflected light striking said second light sensing device is in time relation to the beginning of a scan of said mirror across said slide, said second light sensing device producing a synchronizing signal upon reception of said light.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said logic circuitry includes means for producing a normal stage motion signal if no specimen is detected during a scan said normal stage motion signal being applied to said positioning mechanism to move said slide by an increment in a direction orthogonal to the direction of scan.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
84 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said logic circuitry includes: means responsive to said synchronizing signal for producing a center pulse occurring approximately in the middle of each scan, and means responsive to the occurrence of an acquisition signal before or after said center pulse for producing directional signals representing the direction of motion of said slide along the direction of scanning required to center said specimen on an aperture of said conversion means, said directional signals being applied to control said mechanism.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system recited in claim 4 wherein said logic circuitry further comprises: means for producing a specimen-centered signal when said acquisition pulse cOincides with said center pulse thereby indicating that said specimen is centered on said aperture.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
68 words
The system recited in claim 4 wherein said means for producing a center pulse comprises: an oscillator producing clock pulses, a pulse counter, said clock pulses being applied to said pulse counter upon the occurrence of said synchronizing pulse, and a decoder, the outputs of said counter being applied to said decoder, said decoder producing said center pulse upon the occurrence of a predetermined count in said counter.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
99 words
The system recited in claim 4 wherein said means for producing directional signals comprises: a shift register having a first stage which is set by said synchronizing signal and which is reset by said center pulse and a second stage which is switched by said acquisition signal, said first stage being connected to said second stage so that the state of said first stage is set into said second stage when said acquisition signal occurs, the output of said second stage being a bistable directional signal which indicates whether said acquisition signal occured before or after said center pulse.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
110 words
The system recited in claim 6 further comprising: a second decoder, the outputs of said counter being applied to said second decoder to produce an end pulse coincident with the end of each scan, a specimen-centered flip-flop which is set by the coincidence of said acquisition signal and said center pulse, and a gate, said end pulse and the output of said specimen-centered flip-flop being applied to said gate, said gate producing a specimen-centered signal which is applied to said conversion means at the end of a scan so that said conversion means converts the optical image of a specimen which is centered on said aperture into an electrical output.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
71 words
The system recited in claim 8 further comprising: an acquisition flip-flop, said acquisition flip-flop being set by said acquisition signal, and a second gate, said end pulse and the output of said acquisition flip-flop being applied to said second gate to produce a directional signal, said directional signal being applied to said positioning mechanism to move said slide along the direction of scanning required to center said specimen on said aperture.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
96 words
The system recited in claim 9 further comprising: means for producing a normal stage motion signal if no specimen is detected during a scan, said normal stage motion signal being applied to said positioning mechanism to move said slide by an increment in a direction orthogonal to the direction of scan, and priority circuitry connected to enable said logic circuitry to produce only one of said specimen-centered, directional and normal stage motion signals to the exclusion of others in the order of priority of, a specimen-centered signal, a directional signal, and a normal stage motion signal.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system recited in claim 6 wherein said oscillator has an adjustable frequency to adjust the length of each scan.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
75 words
The system recited in claim 6 comprising: an adjustable one-shot multivibrator, said synchronizing pulse being applied to trigger said one-shot multivibrator, the output of said one-shot multivibrator being applied to said oscillator to start the production of said clock pulses, said one-shot multivibrator having an adjustable monostable time period so that said center pulse occurs at a position in said scan which coincides with the center of the field of view of said conversion means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said means for projecting includes a beam splitter which projects one slide image to said conversion means and another slide image to said rotating mirror.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said conversion means includes an aperture, said positioning mechanism being controlled to center the image of a specimen of interest on said aperture.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
79 words
The system recited in claim 4 wherein said synchronizing means comprises: a rotating mirror, a light source focused on said rotating mirror, and a second light sensing device, said second light sensing device and said light source being positioned so that reflected light striking said second light sensing device is in time relation to the beginning of a scan of said mirror across said slide, said second light sensing device producing a synchronizing signal upon reception of said light.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-02-03 | 1978-08-05 | 1979-02-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-02-03 | 1982-08-05 | 1983-02-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-02-03 | 1986-08-05 | 1987-02-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |