Patent ID: 9581608
Date: 2017-02-28
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. A sample analyzer, comprising: a first rack which includes a first number of supporters for supporting containers that contain biological samples of subjects; a second rack which includes a second number of supporters for supporting containers that contain standard samples, wherein the second number of supporters is different from the first number of supporters; a transporting section, including at least one motor, a pulley, a transport path, a rotary encoder and a belt, configured to transport the first rack, and configured to transport the second rack; an information obtaining section, outside of the transporting section, which comprises at least one of a barcode reader and an antenna and is configured to obtain rack identification information indicating the first rack or the second rack from a first recording part affixed on a rack transported by the transporting section; a memory configured to store the rack identification information indicating the second rack in association with a measurement item; a measurement section, outside of the transporting section and comprising a reactor and separation sections, configured to measure a sample in one of the containers, transported by the transporting section, by using at least an optical detector to analyze amounts of light produced by a first reaction in the container and a second reaction in another container, and a controller configured to determine, by a value of rack identification information sensed by at least a sensor located in the transporting section, whether the rack transported by the transporting section is the first rack or the second rack based on the obtained rack identification information in the information obtaining section; the controller is further configured, when it has been determined that the rack transported by the transporting section is the second rack based on the obtained rack identification information, to control the transporting section to perform a transporting operation according to the second rack and control the measurement section to perform the measurement of the standard samples in the containers supported by the second rack in a predetermined order for preparing a calibration curve based on the measurement item associated with the rack identification information; and the controller is also further configured to prepare the calibration curve used for analyzing a measurement result of a biological sample, by plotting points of the calibration curve according to the amounts of light detected by the optical detector linked to the controller, wherein the second rack is the first rack with an attached adapter having the second number of supporters for supporting containers; the sample analyzer further comprises a detector configured to detect a rack with the attached adapter; and the controller is further configured to execute a process to issue a warning when the information obtaining section has obtained identification information of the first rack and the detector has detected the rack with the attached adapter, and the controller is also further configured to determine that the rack transported by the transporting section is the second rack through use of the detector which is linked to the controller.