Patent ID: 8864030

Claim:
A sample analyzer comprising: a measurement unit for measuring a sample contained in a sample container; a barcode reader for reading a barcode adhered to the sample container; a rotating section for rotating the sample container relative to the barcode reader so that a position at which the reading is performed by the barcode reader moves in a circumferential direction of the sample container; and a controller which executes operations, the operations comprising: controlling the rotating section and the barcode reader so that the barcode reader repeatedly reads the barcode to obtain one or more barcode reading results over the range of a predetermined rotation angle; and identifying the sample based on the number of barcode reading results obtained for the sample container over a predetermined time period, wherein identifying the sample comprises: in response to a determination that the number of barcode reading results is greater than or equal to a predetermined number: identifying a majority barcode reading result corresponding to the barcode reading result that appears most often among the barcode reading results; determining whether a ratio of the number of barcode reading results matching the majority barcode reading result over the total number of barcode reading results is greater than or equal to a predetermined ratio; and in response to a determination that the ratio is greater than or equal to the predetermined ratio, identifying the sample by the majority barcode reading result.