Alerting for instruments that transfer physical samples
First Claim
1. An instrumentation alerting system for monitoring a readiness of a second chemical processor to receive a physical transfer of a chemical analyte from a first chemical processor, the instrumentation alerting system comprising:
- a timer configured to count time elapsed since receiving a transfer-ready signal;
an alarm configured to trigger when the elapsed time counted by the timer exceeds a specified threshold, whereby the alarm trigger indicates that at least one of the first chemical processor and the second chemical processor is not operating properly; and
a circuit, when connected to a communication link between the first chemical processor and the second chemical processor, configured to;
monitor for the transfer-ready signal from the first chemical processor, wherein the transfer-ready signal indicates that;
i) the first chemical processor received a receive-ready signal from the second chemical processor over the communication link;
ii) the first chemical processor has completed processing the chemical analyte; and
iii) the first chemical processor is ready to physically transfer the chemical analyte to the second chemical processor; and
restart the timer based on receipt of the transfer-ready signal from the first chemical processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for alerting for instruments that transfer physical samples are disclosed. An alarm module, placed within a communication pathway of a first chemical processor and a second chemical processor, includes a timer configured to count time elapsed since receiving, from the first chemical processor, a transfer-ready signal indicating that 1) the first chemical processor received a receive-ready signal from the second chemical processor; ii) the first chemical processor has completed processing a chemical analyte; and iii) the first chemical processor is ready to physically transfer the chemical analyte to the second chemical processor. Upon receiving the transfer-ready signal from the first chemical processor, the timer is restarted. An alarm triggers when the elapsed time counted by the timer exceeds a specified threshold. The alarm is audible or visual. Upon the triggering of an alarm, an alert notification (e.g., an email, a text message, etc.) is transmitted.
21 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An instrumentation alerting system for monitoring a readiness of a second chemical processor to receive a physical transfer of a chemical analyte from a first chemical processor, the instrumentation alerting system comprising:
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a timer configured to count time elapsed since receiving a transfer-ready signal; an alarm configured to trigger when the elapsed time counted by the timer exceeds a specified threshold, whereby the alarm trigger indicates that at least one of the first chemical processor and the second chemical processor is not operating properly; and a circuit, when connected to a communication link between the first chemical processor and the second chemical processor, configured to; monitor for the transfer-ready signal from the first chemical processor, wherein the transfer-ready signal indicates that; i) the first chemical processor received a receive-ready signal from the second chemical processor over the communication link; ii) the first chemical processor has completed processing the chemical analyte; and iii) the first chemical processor is ready to physically transfer the chemical analyte to the second chemical processor; and restart the timer based on receipt of the transfer-ready signal from the first chemical processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of monitoring a readiness of a second chemical processor to receive a chemical analyte from a first chemical processor, the method comprising:
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starting a timer that counts time elapsed since receiving a transfer-ready signal; monitoring for the transfer-ready signal from the first chemical processor, the transfer-ready signal indicating that; i) the first chemical processor received a receive-ready signal from the second chemical processor; ii) the first chemical processor has completed processing the chemical analyte, and iii) the first chemical processor is ready to transfer the chemical analyte to the second chemical processor; restarting the timer after receiving the transfer-ready signal; triggering an alarm if the elapsed time counted by the timer exceeds a specified threshold, whereby the alarm trigger indicates that at least one of the first chemical processor and the second chemical processor is not operating properly. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of monitoring a readiness of a third chemical processor to receive a chemical analyte from a second chemical processor, the method comprising:
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processing a chemical analyte by a first chemical processor; transferring, from the first chemical processor to the second chemical processor, the processed chemical analyte; further processing the processed chemical analyte by the second chemical processor to produce a further processed chemical analyte; starting a time that counts time elapsed since receiving a transfer-ready signal; monitoring for the transfer-ready signal from the second chemical processor, the transfer-ready signal indicating; i) that the second chemical processor received a receive-ready signal from the third chemical processor; ii) that the second chemical processor has completed processing the chemical analyte, and iii) that the second chemical processor is ready to transfer the chemical analyte to the third chemical processor; restarting the time after receiving the transfer-ready signal; and triggering an alarm if the elapsed time counted by the timer exceeds a specified threshold, whereby the alarm trigger indicates that at least one of the first chemical processor, the second chemical processor, and the third chemical processor are not operating properly.
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Specification