Phasing detector for continuous flow systems
First Claim
1. In a continuous flow test system, having a plurality of sensor channels, each channel including means for providing an output related to a characteristic to be measured in said channel, an apparatus for phasing data output from those channels when the time delay of sample flow through a channel varies, said apparatus comprising:
- a phasing sample, introducable into said sample flow in said channels, having a detectable characteristic;
means for detecting and providing an indication of the presence of the phasing sample in each of said channels; and
data processing means, responsive to said indication, for measuring and reporting the time delay of said phasing sample through each channel and correlating the time delays of each channel with output from said means for providing, said data processing means providing said characteristics to be measured in each channel at a predetermined time regardless of variations in time delays among channels.
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Abstract
A phasing system is provided for parallel channel continuous flow systems wherein the individual test channels have different flow times although intersample timing is constant. A phasing sample is introduced and its presence is sensed at the output of each of the parallel test channels. The presence of the phasing sample is detected by means of an analog detector, a digitizer, and a digital computation system. After detection of the phasing sample in a channel the time at which it arrives at the detector is marked. Since intersample timing is constant and the time when the sample is introduced into the parallel channels is known, the time at which subsequent samples should arrive at the detector can be established for each channel. Time zones are opened for each channel and each detector which correspond to the times plus or minus a certain tolerance at which subsequent samples can be expected to arrive. In a preferred embodiment, two light emitting diode/photo-transistor combinations operating on different frequencies are utilized to give a differentiated output upon sensing the presence of a colored phasing solution at the beginning of a automated blood grouping process.
28 Citations
12 Claims
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1. In a continuous flow test system, having a plurality of sensor channels, each channel including means for providing an output related to a characteristic to be measured in said channel, an apparatus for phasing data output from those channels when the time delay of sample flow through a channel varies, said apparatus comprising:
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a phasing sample, introducable into said sample flow in said channels, having a detectable characteristic; means for detecting and providing an indication of the presence of the phasing sample in each of said channels; and data processing means, responsive to said indication, for measuring and reporting the time delay of said phasing sample through each channel and correlating the time delays of each channel with output from said means for providing, said data processing means providing said characteristics to be measured in each channel at a predetermined time regardless of variations in time delays among channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of blood grouping utilizing an apparatus with a plurality of sensor channels, each channel with a means for measuring a blood grouping characteristic and a means for detecting the presence of a phasing solution, said apparatus capable of automatically sampling a plurality of blood samples, said method comprising the steps of:
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applying a phasing sample to said apparatus for sampling; recording the time delay, between the initial sampling of the phasing sample and the detection of the presence of the phasing sample by said means for detecting, for each channel; and recording data from said means for measuring in accordance with said recorded time delay such that the data from the channels corresponds timewise to a single blood sample regardless of variations in different channel time delays. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification