Patent ID: 11921125
Assignee: LEICA BIOSYSTEMS IMAGING, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A digital slide scanning apparatus, comprising:
a slide rack having multiple slots, each slot configured to hold a glass slide, each slot including an insertion opening at a first end of the slot in a front portion of the slide rack and a barrier at a second end of the slot in a rear portion of the slide rack;
a sensor pair comprising a transmitter element and a receiver element;
a motor configured to adjust positioning of the slide rack with respect to the sensor pair through a sequence of positions corresponding to the multiple slots;
the sensor pair being positioned between the first end and the second end such that the sensor pair is configured for line-of-sight communication through the multiple slots as the motor causes movement through the sequence; and
a processor configured to, as the motor causes movement through the sequence, receive and analyze signals from the sensor pair to determine slot status for each slot.