Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Taiichi Banno

Sugio Manabe

Masahiko Sakurada

Ryoichi Orimo

Kevin Galle

Hiroshi Takekawa

Kazuo Hijikata

Ryo Fujimori

Nagahiro Gocho

Hideaki Ida

An automatic analyzing apparatus for effecting chemical analyses for various sample liquids such as blood, urine, and the like, comprising a sample delivery pump for metering a sample liquid into a reaction cuvette, a reagent delivery pump for delivering to the reaction cuvette a given amount of a given reagent selected from a plurality of reagents contained in a reagent cassette, to form a test liquid, a feed mechanism for successively supplying reaction cuvettes along a circular reaction line, a plurality of photometering sections arranged along the reaction line for effecting a plurality of photometric and/or nephelometric and/or fluorometric measurements for each test liquid at different time instances to produce a plurality of photometric results, and circuitry for receiving the photometric results and selecting therefrom given quantitative analytical data of a given test item.

Automatic analyzing apparatus

In a distributing method for sucking a desired amount of a sample liquid in a sample vessel and discharging the thus sucked sample liquid into a reaction vessel, a probe for sucking and discharging the liquid is connected to a syringe driven by a pulse motor. A photoelectric detector is provided for detecting whether the sample liquid is existed or not up to a predetermined level in the sample vessel and an actual amount of the sample liquid aspirated by the syringe is detected by a counter which counts clock pulses during the aspirating operation. When the liquid level descends lower than the predetermined level, the counting operation is stopped. The actual amount of the aspirated liquid in the probe is compared with a desired amount stored in a memory. When the actual amount of the sucked liquid is smaller than the desired value, an alarm is produced.

Liquid distributing device for use in chemical analyzer

In a colorimetric measurement using a non-linear curve relating an absorbance to a concentration of substance to be measured, the non-linear curve is corrected by measuring an absorbance value y.sub.6 ' of only one of six standard samples of known different concentrations x.sub.1, x.sub.2 . . . x.sub.6 which are used for making the initial non-linear curve, deriving a quotient .alpha. by dividing the newly measured absorbance value y.sub.6 ' by a previously measured absorbance value y.sub.6, deriving corrected absorbance values y.sub.1 ', y.sub.2 ' . . . y.sub.5 ' by producing products .alpha.y.sub.1, .alpha.y.sub.2 . . . .alpha.y.sub.5 of the quotient .alpha. and previously measured absorbance values y.sub.1, y.sub.2 . . . y.sub.5, and by forming a corrected non-linear curve with the aid of the corrected absorbance values y.sub.1 ', y.sub.2 ' . . . y.sub.5 ' and the newly measured absorbance value y.sub.6 '.

Method and apparatus for correcting a curve relating an absorbance to a

A photometering apparatus for use in a chemical analyzer of multi-channel type includes a liquid type thermostat made of transparent material and a block made of transparent material and movably mounted on a bottom wall of the thermostat, a number of reaction vessels being constituted by depressions formed in said block in a matrix form. An absorption of a test liquid contained in respective reaction vessels on each channel is measured by projecting a light beam emitted from a light source incident perpendicularly upon the test liquid and by receiving the light beam transmitted through the test liquid, a bottom portion of the reaction vessel and the bottom wall of thermostat.

Photometering apparatus for use in chemical analyzer

A method of enhancing the accuracy and reliability of a chemical analysis, wherein a reaction is carried out by combining a sample liquid with at least one reagent to form a test liquid and the test liquid is photometrically scrutinized a plurality of times over an extended period of time to derive a number of photometric values. The derived values are then stored and a plurality of the stored photometric values are preliminarily selected from a given time frame, wherein the plurality of preliminarily selected values are less than a total number of stored photometric values. Successive preliminarily selected photometric values are compared with at least one predetermined standard to derive a comparison result and upon indication that useful data cannot be calculated from the preliminarily selected photometric values, a secondarily selecting step of selecting at least one photometric value from all of the stored photometric values, which were not preliminarily selected, is used to derive an analytical result which represents a concentration of a chemical substance in the test liquid or an activity of the test liquid.

Method of analyzing chemical substances

In a distributing device for sucking a desired amount of a sample liquid in a sample vessel and discharging the thus sucked sample liquid into a reaction vessel, a probe for sucking and discharging the liquid is connected to a syringe driven by a pulse motor. A photoelectric detector is provided for detecting whether the sample liquid is present or not up to a predetermined level in the sample vessel and an actual amount of the sample liquid aspirated by the syringe is detected by a counter which counts clock pulses during the aspirating operation. When the liquid level descends lower than the predetermined level, the counting operation is stopped. The actual amount of the aspirated liquid in the probe is compared with a desired amount stored in a memory. When the actual amount of the sucked liquid is smaller than the desired value, an alarm is produced.

An automatic chemical analyzing apparatus comprising means for feeding successive reaction vessels along a circular reaction line, a sample delivery pump for delivering a given amount of sample liquids to be tested into the reaction vessels, a reagent delivery pump for delivering a given amount of reagent (corresponding to a particular test item to be measured) selected from a plurality of reagents, a first photometering means provided along the circular reaction line for monitoring the reaction condition of a test liquid in the reaction vessel on the reaction line, a second photometering means arranged in a precise photometering section positioned underneath the reaction line, means for transporting the reaction vessel from the reaction line into the precise photometering section after the test liquid in the relevant vessel has been monitored to reach a given reaction condition.

A liquid agitation apparatus comprises a transparent reaction vessel for containing a reaction solution to be examined, a holder for holding the reaction vessel, and a rotary solenoid for imparting a mechanical vibration to the holder. The mechanical vibration from the rotary solenoid is effective to agitate the reaction solution automatically.

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Hachioji, Japan

Taiichi Banno