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US 10,837,977 B2Granted
Rack for dispensing and dispensing system
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
InventorsNoriko Abe, Yukio Hashiguchi, Makoto Umeno, Hiroshi Kumagai, Yukiko Sawada, Motohisa Kamei
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rack includes a container holder that is fixed to a stage and holds a container that contains a liquid to be dispensed and a camera that is fixed to the stage and located in a position where the camera is capable of capturing an image of the container.
Claims20
A rack for dispensing, comprising:
- a stage;
- a container holder that is fixed to the stage and holds a container that contains a liquid to be dispensed;
- a camera fixed to the stage in a position where the camera captures an image of the container held by the container holder;
- and
- a stage holder that holds the stage such that the stage is tiltable around a first axis along a direction in which the container holder and the camera are aligned with each other, wherein
- the stage holder comprises a support plate, and a hinge configured to link the stage with the support plate such that the stage and the support plate are rotatable with respect to each other around one side of the support plate along the first axis.
3 more elements
A dispensing system, comprising:
- a rack for dispensing a liquid, including a container holder that is fixed to a stage and holds a container that contains the liquid, a camera fixed to the stage in a position where the camera captures an image of the container held by the container holder, and a stage holder that holds the stage such that the stage is tiltable around a first axis along a direction in which the container holder and the camera are aligned with each other, the stage holder comprising a support plate, and a hinge configured to link the stage with the support plate such that the stage and the support plate are rotatable with respect to each other around one side of the support plate along the first axis;
- a robot configured to transport the container, tilt the rack and descent a dispenser;
- and
- a controller comprising circuitry configured to control the robot to transport the container and cause the container holder to hold the container, acquire information on a position of a liquid surface of the liquid based on the image captured with the camera, control the robot to tilt the rack around the first axis, and control the robot to cause the dispenser to descend based on the information on the position of the liquid surface when the liquid is sucked into the dispenser.
1 more element
A rack for dispensing, comprising:
- a stage;
- a container holder that is fixed to the stage and holds a container that contains a liquid to be dispensed;
- and
- a camera fixed to the stage in a position where the camera captures an image of the container held by the container holder,
- wherein the container holder includes a first part and a second part formed to sandwich a central axis of the camera such that the first part and the second part approach each other to sandwich the container, and at least one elastic member that produces repulsive force that causes the first part and the second part to approach each other.
2 more elements
A rack for dispensing, comprising:
- a stage;
- a container holder that is fixed to the stage and holds a container that contains a liquid to be dispensed;
- a camera fixed to the stage in a position where the camera captures an image of the container held by the container holder;
- and
- a stage holder that holds the stage such that the stage is tiltable around a first axis along a direction in which the container holder and the camera are aligned with each other, wherein
- the first axis is parallel to a central axis of the camera and positioned between the central axis of the camera and the stage.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.