Patent ID: 7995216

Claim:
A sampling system comprising: a collection instrument through which a sample is collected from a surface to be analyzed; means for moving the collection instrument and the surface toward and away from one another and wherein there exists a desired positional relationship between the collection instrument and the surface for sample collecting purposes; means for capturing an image of at least a portion of the collection instrument or a shadow thereof and for generating signals which correspond to the captured image; means for receiving the signals which correspond to the captured image and for determining an actual positional relationship between the collection instrument and the surface from the captured image; and comparison means for comparing the actual positional relationship between the collection instrument and the surface to the desired positional relationship and for initiating the movement of the collection instrument and the surface toward and away from one another when the difference between the actual positional relationship between the collection instrument and the surface and the desired positional relationship is outside of a predetermined range so that by moving the surface and the collection instrument toward or away from one another, the actual positional relationship approaches the desired positional relationship; and wherein the means for determining the actual positional relationship between the collection instrument and the surface from the captured image includes means for calculating a distance between a reference location on the image and the collection instrument or the shadow thereof in the image so that the determination of the actual distance between the collection instrument and the surface utilizes the calculated distance, and wherein the means for determining the actual positional relationship is adapted to utilize line average brightness (LAB) techniques with the captured image for determining the actual distance between the collection instrument and the surface.