Patent ID: 9466040
Filing Date: 2016-10-11
CPC Classification: G01N,G06Q,G16H

Claim Text:
1. An automatic analysis system comprising: an operations terminal; a device management server communicatively coupled to the operations terminal; a laboratory-information management server communicatively coupled to the device management server; and one or more testing device groups; wherein the operations terminal, device management server and the laboratory information server each include a respective central processing unit (CPU) and a respective memory coupled to the respective CPU; wherein the device management server is configured to: constantly determine a determined current position of each specimen in the devices by using an order of take-in and take-out of one or more specimens that are input in the automatic analysis system, information on predetermined transfer routes according to details of tests, and signals of specimen detection sensors arranged in each of the one or more testing device groups, constantly provide the operation terminal with the determined current position, constantly calculate a staying time of each specimen in one of wait regions up to a predetermined length of period from current time in the devices by simulating, based on operational models of the devices, an operation of each device in accordance with a take in/out schedule plan assuming an initial state in which each specimen is at the determined current position; and repetitively evaluate a final take in/out schedule by: producing an initial take in/out schedule plan for taking in or taking out an urgent specimen in preference to a normal specimen; performing the simulation in accordance with the initial schedule plan; and, when the staying time of one of the specimens in one of the wait regions exceeds an allowable staying time in the wait region, correcting, in the initial take in/out schedule plan, the timing or the order of take-in and take-out of at least one of the specimens other than the specimen of which staying time exceeds the allowable staying time, remove one or more processed specimens using a robotic arm communicatively coupled to the device management server based on the final take in/out schedule; wherein: the operational models are each defined by states of a corresponding one of the devices and state transitions, the states of the device being defined by a number of specimens in each of the wait regions in the device, each state transition prescribing a transition condition, a necessary processing time, and a next state, for a corresponding one of the states of the device, and the operational models include an operational model for an aliquoter, and the states of the device and the state transitions defining the operational model of the aliquoter include a definition of an operation for producing one or more secondary specimens according to an aliquot ratio.