Specimen sorting system

• US 20040267403A1
• Filed: 05/14/2004
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Teruaki Itoh
• Original Assignee: Teruaki Itoh
• Inventors: Itoh, Teruaki
• Application Number:
  US10/845,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20040267403A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/214
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/0205 by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00782 reprogrammmable code
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00801 Holders for sample carriers, e.g. trays, caroussel, racks
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/0467 Switching points ("aiguillages")
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00732 Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/04 Details of the conveyor system G01N35/021 - G01N35/028 take precedence

Abstract

In a specimen sorting system, the presence of a specimen case holder can easily be detected, and specimen-related information relating to a specimen in a specimen case that is held by the specimen case holder can be obtained at the same time. In this specimen sorting system, an information transmission/reception tag is attached to the specimen case holder, and an information transmitter/receiver is disposed near the side of a conveyor lane that conveys the specimen case holder. The specimen case held by the specimen case holder is sorted on the basis of information transmission/reception between the information transmission/reception tag and information transmitter/receiver.

Claims

1. A specimen sorting system wherein an infor-mation transmission/reception tag is attached to a specimen case holder that holds a specimen case, an information transmitter/receiver is disposed near a side of a conveyor lane that conveys the specimen case holder, and the specimen case that is held by the specimen case holder is sorted on the basis of information transmission/reception between the information transmission/reception tag and the information transmitter/receiver.

2. The specimen sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the information transmission/reception between the information transmission/reception tag and the information transmitter/receiver is effected by a radio wave method.

3. A specimen sorting system that conveys and sorts a specimen case holder that holds a specimen case containing a specimen, comprising:

an information transmission/reception tag that is attached to the specimen case holder and is capable of transmitting/receiving specimen-related information relating to the specimen;

conveyor means for conveying the specimen case holder;

an information transmitter/receiver that is disposed near a side of the conveyor means and is capable of transmitting/receiving the specimen-related information to/from the information transmission/reception tag; and

sorting means for sorting the specimen case holder on the basis of the specimen-related information obtained from the information transmitter/receiver.