Granted Patent B2

US 7,034,941 · App. 10/607,146 · Granted Apr 25, 2006

Abstract

Claims (21)

1. A method of determining one or more color characteristics of a colored microsphere comprising:

providing a microarray of microspheres, including at least one colored microsphere that has a color characteristic;

producing a magnified optical image of individual microspheres of said microarray;

locating an image of a microsphere at the aperture of a spectrometer to confine the color region of interest of the located microsphere in order to determine one or more color characteristics thereof; and

determining said one or more color characteristics of said located microsphere by means of said spectrometer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing provides a microarray of randomly distributed microspheres at least one of which has a color characteristic.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said color characteristic of said at least one microsphere is one or more of color type and color level.

4. The method of claim 1 including moving said micro array relative to said spectrometer aperture to locate a desired microsphere image in said aperture.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein at least two times the area defined by the diameter D of the microspheres image is located in said aperture of said spectometer.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein between 0.5 and two times the area defined by the diameter D of the microsphere image is located in said aperture of said spectometer.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein less than 0.5 times the area defined by the diameter D of the microsphere image is located in said aperture of said spectometer.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said provided microarray of microspheres further includes a microsphere containing no colorant and wherein said one or more color characteristics of said colored microsphere are determined by comparison to said microsphere containing no colorant.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein color or colors of said colored microsphere is determined by detecting light emitted by and/or reflected from said colored microsphere over a range of wavelengths including visible and/or ultraviolet light.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the level of said detected color or colors in said colored microsphere is determined by the measured intensity of said wavelengths of said emitted or reflected light.

11. A method of determining the color type and color intensity of a colored microsphere comprising:

providing a microarray of randomly distributed microspheres including at least one colored microsphere having color type and color intensity characteristics and at least one microsphere containing no colorant;

providing a spectrometer having an aperture, said spectrometer detecting light over a range of wavelengths including visible and/or ultraviolet light;

producing a background image detected by said spectrometer when no light is emitted by or reflected from said microarray of microspheres;

producing a reference image detected by said spectrometer by locating a magnified image of said microsphere containing no colorant in the aperture of said spectrometer after said microsphere has been illuminated to produce emitted or reflected colorless light;

producing a sample image detected by said spectrometer by locating a magnified image of said at least one colored microsphere in the aperture of said spectrometer after said microsphere has been illuminated to produce emitted or reflected colored light; and

detecting the color type and color intensity of said at least one colored microsphere as a function of said detected reference image, background and image and sample image.

Assignments (9)