ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 13 -- United States Patent no. 12,521,767, issued on Jan. 13, was assigned to AOI SEIKI Co. LTD. (Kumamoto, Japan).
"Sorting apparatus and sorting method" was invented by Teruaki Itoh (Kumamoto, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "According to an aspect of the invention, a sorting apparatus comprises; a holder station in which a plurality of holders each configured to hold a specimen container in an upright state are disposed; a sort conveyance unit including a plurality of sort conveyance paths configured to convey the holders; a transfer unit including a plurality of transfer arms, each configured to hold one of the holders and transfer the holder to any one of the so...