Apparatus for detecting an amount of liquid remained in a vessel
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting a residual amount of a liquid to be delivered by a delivery nozzle which is moved downward into contact with the surface of the liquid for selectively withdrawing a portion of the liquid, said apparatus comprising:
- means for detecting a distance along which the nozzle is moved downward from a reference level until the tip of the nozzle contacts the surface of the liquid;
andcalculating means for processing said detected distance to calculate a residual amount of the liquid, said calculating means comprising means for deriving a difference between said detected distance and a predetermined maximum distance, and a calculating unit to calculate the residual amount of the liquid from said difference.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An amount of a reagent remaining in a reagent bottle is detected by measuring a distance along which a delivery nozzle is moved downward from a reference level until the tip of nozzle is immersed into the reagent. The distance is measured by counting clock pulses supplied from an oscillating unit which produces the clock pulses during a time interval from the initial downward movement of the nozzle to an instant when the nozzle tip is immersed into the liquid. A count value is compared with a predetermined maximum count value by a comparing unit to derive a difference therebetween. The difference thus derived indicates a residual amount of the liquid. The number of times by which the liquid may be delivered is obtained by dividing the detected residual amount by a unit amount which is delivered by a single delivery operation.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting a residual amount of a liquid to be delivered by a delivery nozzle which is moved downward into contact with the surface of the liquid for selectively withdrawing a portion of the liquid, said apparatus comprising:
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means for detecting a distance along which the nozzle is moved downward from a reference level until the tip of the nozzle contacts the surface of the liquid; and calculating means for processing said detected distance to calculate a residual amount of the liquid, said calculating means comprising means for deriving a difference between said detected distance and a predetermined maximum distance, and a calculating unit to calculate the residual amount of the liquid from said difference. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification