Patent ID: 9731847
Date: 2017-08-15
CPC Classifications: B01L,B65B,G01N

Claim:
1. A method of determining test elements of multiple types stored in a clinical analyzer, said method comprising: positioning groups of test elements in a container disposed in a drawer of the clinical analyzer, the container comprising at least one sleeve, rack or support with positioning guides; closing the drawer of the analyzer, wherein the closing of the drawer energizes an optical sensor bar disposed within the analyzer; using the optical sensor bar of the analyzer, sensing test elements within the container containing multiple groups of test elements, wherein a gap capable of being sensed and detected by the optical sensor bar of the clinical analyzer is provided between each group of test elements positioned in the container, each of said test elements comprising an immunohematologic test card or cassette having a top surface including a foil wrap and in which the gap is detected based upon lack of a reflectance signal as measured by the optical sensor and indicative of an empty slot in the container; determining the type of test element within each group of test elements by sensing at least one of the elements within each group of test elements, each of said test elements including machine-readable information indicative of the type of test element and in which the determining step comprises the step of reading the machine-readable information within the clinical analyzer; generating data indicative of the number of test elements in each group and number of groups of multiple types of test elements from said sensing based on the detection of at the least one said gap by the optical sensor relative to the container; and using said generated data to provide a quantity of the multiple test elements stored in the clinical analyzer for each group of test elements, wherein at least the sensing and generating steps are automatically performed each time the analyzer drawer is opened and closed.