Patent · US Expired

Specimen sensing apparatus

US7078698B2 · kind B2 · utility

30Cited by
2References
1Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 23, 2003
Grant dateJul 18, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 22, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01F23/2921
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A specimen sensing apparatus according to the present invention includes a specimen container which is vertically positioned by a container holder of a columnar rack type and conveyed by a belt conveyor, an infrared CCD camera configured to pick up an infrared image of the specimen container, a visible image converter which converts the infrared image picked up by the infrared CCD camera into a visible image, an image signal processing unit which processes and converts one of the infrared image and the visible image into a signal that is suitable to measure a specimen amount, and a specimen amount measuring unit which measures an amount of specimen contained in the specimen container in response to the signal processed by the image signal processing unit.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.