SPECIMEN READER EMPLOYING OPTICAL AND RFID SCANNING
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- detecting, by an optical detector apparatus of a specimen reader, a change event at a particular sensing region of a plurality of sensing regions of the specimen reader, the change event indicating insertion of a specimen holder at the particular sensing region, the specimen holder including a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag;
transmitting in response to the change event, by a radio frequency (RF) transmitter of the specimen reader, an RFID interrogation signal exhibiting a range sufficient to reach the particular sensing region where the change event occurred;
transmitting, in response to the RFID interrogation signal, respective RFID response signals by RFID tags of specimen holders in sensing regions within range of the RF interrogation signal, the RFID response signals including respective RFID unique identifiers;
receiving, by an RF receiver of the specimen reader, the RFID response signals, thus providing currently received RFID unique identifiers; and
comparing, by the specimen reader, the currently received RFID unique identifiers with prior received RFID unique identifiers to identify the RFID unique identifier of a newly inserted specimen holder.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A specimen reader receives a specimen rack that includes multiple rack slots that receive respective specimen holders. The specimen holders may include an RFID and barcode. The specimen reader includes multiple sensing regions that align with respective rack slots of the specimen rack. The specimen reader optically senses the presence of specimen holders in the sensing regions that correspond to the rack slots. When the specimen reader detects a newly inserted specimen holder in a particular rack slot, the specimen reader sends RF interrogation signals to the sensing regions. The specimen holders in the sensing regions respond by transmitting their respective RFID unique identifiers. The specimen reader compares currently received RFID unique identifiers with prior received RFID unique identifiers to determine the RFID unique identifier of the newly inserted specimen holder.
35 Citations
54 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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detecting, by an optical detector apparatus of a specimen reader, a change event at a particular sensing region of a plurality of sensing regions of the specimen reader, the change event indicating insertion of a specimen holder at the particular sensing region, the specimen holder including a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag; transmitting in response to the change event, by a radio frequency (RF) transmitter of the specimen reader, an RFID interrogation signal exhibiting a range sufficient to reach the particular sensing region where the change event occurred; transmitting, in response to the RFID interrogation signal, respective RFID response signals by RFID tags of specimen holders in sensing regions within range of the RF interrogation signal, the RFID response signals including respective RFID unique identifiers; receiving, by an RF receiver of the specimen reader, the RFID response signals, thus providing currently received RFID unique identifiers; and comparing, by the specimen reader, the currently received RFID unique identifiers with prior received RFID unique identifiers to identify the RFID unique identifier of a newly inserted specimen holder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method, comprising:
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placing a specimen rack that includes a plurality of specimen holder receiving slots on a specimen reader, such that the specimen holder receiving slots align with respective sensing regions of the specimen reader, each specimen holder receiving slot exhibiting a respective rack slot identifier; detecting, by an optical detector apparatus of the specimen reader, a change event at a particular sensing region of a plurality of sensing regions of the specimen reader, the change event being an insertion change event that indicates the insertion of a specimen holder at the particular sensing region or a removal change event that indicates the removal of a specimen holder from the particular sensing region, the specimen holder including a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag; transmitting in response to an insertion change event, by an RFID reader of the specimen reader, an RFID interrogation signal exhibiting a range sufficient to reach the particular sensing region where the insertion change event occurred; transmitting, in response to the RFID interrogation signal, respective RFID response signals by RFID tags of specimen holders in the specimen rack within range of the RF interrogation signal, the RFID response signals including respective RFID unique identifiers; receiving, by the RFID receiver of the specimen reader, the RFID response signals, thus providing currently received RFID unique identifiers; and comparing, by the specimen reader, the currently received RFID unique identifiers with prior received unique RFID identifiers to identify the RFID of a newly inserted specimen holder. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A specimen reader, comprising:
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an optical detector apparatus that includes a plurality of sensing regions, the optical detector apparatus detecting an insertion change event at a particular sensing region when a specimen holder is inserted into the particular sensing region, the specimen holder including a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag; an RFID reader that transmits an RFID interrogation signal to the plurality of sensing regions when the optical detector apparatus detects an insertion change event at a particular sensing region, wherein the RFID tags of specimen holders within range of the RF interrogation signal transmit respective RFID response signals, the RFID response signals including respective RFID unique identifiers, wherein the RFID reader receives the RFID response signals thus providing currently received RFID unique identifiers; and a processor, coupled to the optical detector apparatus and the RFID reader, that compares the currently received RFID unique identifiers with previously received unique identifiers to identify the RFID unique identifier of a newly inserted specimen holder. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A specimen reader, comprising:
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an optical detector apparatus that includes a plurality of sensing regions, the optical apparatus detecting an insertion change event at a particular sensing region when a specimen holder is inserted into the particular sensing region, the optical apparatus detecting a removal change event when a specimen holder is removed from the particular sensing region, the specimen holder including a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag; an RFID reader that transmits an RFID interrogation signal to the plurality of sensing regions when the optical detector apparatus detects an insertion change event at a particular sensing region, wherein the RFID tags of specimen holders within range of the RF interrogation signal transmit respective RFID response signals, the RFID response signals including respective RFID unique identifiers, wherein the RFID reader receives the RFID response signals thus providing currently received RFID unique identifiers; and a processor, coupled to the optical detector apparatus and the RFID reader, that compares the currently received RFID unique identifiers with previously received unique identifiers to identify the RFID unique identifier of a newly inserted specimen holder. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification