System for adjusting automatic analysis, method for adjusting automatic analysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10041963-B2
Application number	US-201314377304-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2013
Priority date	Feb 16, 2012
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

Various mechanisms of an automatic analysis device are adjusted to suppress the occurrence of a difference in adjustment quality between an experienced person and an inexperienced person. An adjustment system includes a current position information acquiring unit for acquiring information indicating a current position of an adjustment object, a predetermined position information storage unit preliminarily storing information indicating a predetermined position where the adjustment object should be located and an adjustment value calculation unit which, by comparing the information indicating the current position of the adjustment object acquired by the current position information acquiring unites with information indicating the predetermined position of the adjustment object that has been stored in the predetermined position information storage unit, calculates an adjustment value that is required for adjusting the position of the adjustment object from the current position to the predetermined position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An adjusting system for adjusting the position of an adjustment object forming a part of an automatic analysis device that automatically carries out an analysis on a sample, the adjusting system comprising:
a predetermined position information memory to previously store information indicating a predetermined position at which the adjustment object should be positioned, including an image indicating the adjustment object located at the predetermined position;
a computer coupled to the adjustment object and the predetermined position information memory, the computer being programmed to
pick up an image of at least one portion of the adjustment object and, based upon the image of the adjustment object, acquire information indicating a current position where the adjustment object is currently located;
by comparing the information indicating the current position of the adjustment object that is obtained with the information indicating a predetermined position of the adjustment object that is stored in the predetermined position information memory, calculate an adjustment value that is a value required for adjusting the position of the adjustment object from the current position to the predetermined position, by comparing the image of the adjustment object located at the current position with the image of the adjustment object located at the predetermined position as superimposed on a same display screen and by indicating the deviation therebetween; and

adjust the position of the adjustment object using the calculated adjustment value;
wherein the adjustment objects includes a movable arm of the automatic analysis device and a pipette connected to the movable arm;
wherein the information indicating the predetermined position at which the adjustment object should be positioned includes a predetermined position of an identification mark on the movable arm;
wherein the information indicating the current position where the adjustment object is currently located includes a current position of the identification mark on the movable arm at a current time;
wherein the information indicating the predetermined position at which the adjustment object should be positioned further includes a predetermined position of an identification mark on the pipette connected to the movable arm, the identification mark on the pipette and the identification mark on the movable arm representing two separate locations of the adjustment object;
wherein the information indicating the current position where the adjustment object is currently located further includes a current position of the identification mark on the pipette connected to the movable arm at the current time; and
wherein the adjustment value is an average of the differential distance between the predetermined position and the current position of the identification mark on the movable arm at the current time and a differential distance between the predetermined position and the current position of the identification mark on the pipette at the current time.

2. The adjusting system for an automatic analysis device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the computer is programmed to pick up the image of the at least one portion of the adjustment object by using a camera.

3. The adjusting system for an automatic analysis device according to claim 2 ,
wherein a current position identification mark that is a mark for use in identifying the current position of the adjustment object is attached to the adjustment object, and by picking up an image of the current position identification mark by the camera, the computer is programmed to acquire information indicating the current position of the adjustment object.

4. The adjusting system for an automatic analysis device according to claim 3 ,
wherein predetermined position identification mark information, which is information corresponding to the current position identification mark and serves as information indicating a predetermined position identification mark in the previously stored predetermined position image for use in identifying the predetermined position of the adjustment object, is previously stored in the predetermined position information memory, and by comparing the position of the current position identification mark in a current position image that has been picked up and the information indicating the predetermined position identification mark, the computer is programmed to calculate the adjustment value.

5. A method for adjusting the position of an adjustment object forming a part of an automatic analysis device that automatically carries out an analysis on a sample, comprising the steps of:
picking up an image of at least one portion of the adjustment object and, based upon the picked upon image and by use of a computer, acquiring information indicating a current position where the adjustment object is currently located;
by comparing the information indicating the current position of the adjustment object thus acquired and information indicating a predetermined position where the adjustment object should be located and which has been stored in the predetermined position memory, calculating an adjustment value that is a value required for adjusting the position of the adjustment object from the current position to the predetermined position;
wherein the predetermined position information memory previously stores an image indicating the adjustment object located at the predetermined position, as said information indicating the predetermined position of the adjustment object;
displaying, superimposed on a same display screen, the image of the adjustment object located at the current position and the image of the adjustment object located at the predetermined position;
wherein the adjustment value is calculated by comparing the image of the adjustment object located at the current position with the image of the adjustment object located at the predetermined position as superimposed on the same display screen and indicating the deviation therebetween; and
adjusting the position of the adjustment object using the calculated adjustment value;
wherein the adjustment object includes a movable arm of the automatic analysis device and a pipette connected to the movable arm;
wherein the information indicating the predetermined position at which the adjustment object should be positioned includes a predetermined position of an identification mark on the movable arm;
wherein the information indicating the current position where the adjustment object is currently located includes a current position of the identification mark on the movable arm at a current time;
wherein the information indicating the predetermined position at which the adjustment object should be positioned further includes a predetermined position of an identification mark on the pipette connected to the movable arm, the identification mark on the pipette and the identification mark on the movable arm representing two separate locations of the adjustment object;
wherein the information indicating the current position where the adjustment object is currently located further includes a current position of the identification mark on the pipette connected to the movable arm at the current time; and
wherein the adjustment value is an average of the differential distance between the predetermined position and the current position of the identification mark on the movable arm at the current time and a differential distance between the predetermined position and the current position of the identification mark on the pipette at the current time.

6. The adjusting system for an automatic analysis device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the computer is programmed to calculate the adjustment value by comparing the image of the adj

Assignees

• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Ha Chikook

Classifications

• G01N35/00732

  Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers · CPC title

• G06T7/0002

  Inspection of images, e.g. flaw detection · CPC title

• G01N2035/0494

  Detecting or compensating piositioning errors · CPC title

• G01N35/1011

  Control of the position or alignment of the transfer device · CPC title

• G01N35/00594 Primary

  Quality control, including calibration or testing of components of the analyser · CPC title