JP2000258435A - Specimen container support rack conveyance device in analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable high-speed sampling by shortening a sampling time of a specimen. SOLUTION: When sampling of a specimen into specimen containers 1 of a first conveyance rack 2a is executed, next conveyance rack 2b is stopped on a first temporary position by a first temporary stopper 9. And besides, next conveyance rack after next 2c is stopped by a fixed rack stopper 4, and confirmation of the specimen containers 1 is executed. When the conveyance rack 2a is passed through a second temporary position, the first temporary stopper 9 is set as a non-stopper position, and a second temporary stopper 10 is set as a stopper position, and the next conveyance rack 2b is stopped on the second temporary position by the second temporary stopper 10. When sampling of the conveyance rack 2a is finished, a moving rack stopper 7 is returned to a primary position, and the second temporary stopper 10 is set as a non-stopper position, and the next conveyance rack 2b is stopped by the moving rack stopper 7, and sampling is started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an analyzer such as an automatic biochemical analyzer for analyzing a plurality of items on an analytical sample such as a biological sample such as blood or urine. In particular, the present invention belongs to the technical field of a sample container supporting rack transport device for transporting a transport rack that supports a predetermined number of sample containers containing an analysis sample and is used in the analyzer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic biochemical analyzer for analyzing a biological sample such as blood or urine samples a biological sample from each sample container into each reaction cell supported on a reaction disk by a sample pipette nozzle. The reagent sucked from a plurality of reagent disks by a reagent pipette nozzle is added to the mixture, and the biological sample and the reagent are reacted while stirring in the reaction cell, and the reaction state is detected by a detector such as a multi-wavelength photometer. By doing so, the biological sample is analyzed for a plurality of items.

In such a conventional automatic biochemical analyzer, in order to transport a sample container containing a biological sample to a sample sampling location, a sample container which sequentially transports a transport rack supporting a predetermined number of sample containers is used. A support rack transport device is used. As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional sample container supporting rack transport device transports a transport rack 2 that supports a predetermined number (five in the illustrated example) of sample containers 1 at predetermined intervals, and the transport rack 2 is transported by the conveyor 3. A fixed rack stopper 4 (corresponding to first rack stopper means of the present invention) which is immovable in the moving direction and is movable between a stopper position for stopping the transport rack 2 and a non-stopper position for not stopping the transport rack 2. It is stopped at a predetermined sample container confirmation position. The switching setting means of the fixed rack stopper 4 between the stopper position and the non-stopper position is conventionally well-known, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0004] At the sample container confirmation position, the presence or absence of the sample container 1 is confirmed by, for example, the sample container presence / absence sensor 5 and the barcode reader 6, and the biological sample contained in the sample container 1 is confirmed. Done. afterwards,
When the fixed rack stopper 4 is withdrawn from the rack conveyance path of the conveyor 3, the stop of the conveyance rack 2 by the fixed rack stopper 4 is released, and the conveyance rack 2 is again moved on the conveyor 3 by the movable rack stopper 7 (the second rack of the present invention). (Corresponding to stopper means).

When the first sample container 1 of the transport rack 2 comes to the biological sample sampling position, the movable rack stopper 7 stops the transport rack 2. The switching setting means of the movable rack stopper 7 between the stopper position and the non-stopper position and the moving means in the conveyor conveyance direction are conventionally well-known, and thus description thereof will be omitted. In this state, the biological sample is sampled from the first sample container 1 of the transport rack 2 by the sample pipette nozzle. When the sampling of the biological sample from the first sample container 1 is completed, the moving rack stopper 7 is moved by an interval between the adjacent sample containers 1 in the transport direction of the conveyor 3 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. ,Stop. Then, the second sample container 1 of the transport rack 2 stops at the sampling position. Then, the biological sample is sampled from the second sample container 1 in the same manner as described above. Thereafter, by repeatedly moving and stopping the movable rack stopper 7 in the same manner, the sampling of the biological sample from each sample container 1 of the transport rack 2 is sequentially performed.

After the sampling from the last sample container 1 of one transport rack 2 is completed, the movable rack stopper 7 is set to the non-stopper position and the next transport rack 2 is set.
After returning to the initial position serving as the sampling position of the first sample container 1, the stopper is again set to the stopper position, and the next transport rack 2 is stopped at this position. As a result, the transport rack 2a for which sampling has been completed is transported by the conveyor 3 to the right collecting position (not shown) and collected as in the conventional case.

On the other hand, the sampling cycle from the sampling of the sample from the sample container 1 in one transport rack 2 to the start of the sampling from the next sample container 1 is set to 3 seconds. In this sampling cycle, when the movable rack stopper 7 is returned to the initial position after the sampling from all the sample containers 1 of one transport rack 2 is completed, the next transport rack 2 after the confirmation of the biological sample is completed.
The first sample container 1 just comes to the sampling position, and the transport control is timely appropriate.

[0008]

In recent years, the number of biological samples to be analyzed has been greatly increased. Therefore, it is required to reduce the time required for sampling from a large number of sample containers 1 as much as possible. ing. Therefore, in order to meet this demand, it is conceivable to simply shorten the above-mentioned sampling period.

[0009] However, in the sample container supporting rack transport device for a biological sample used in the conventional analyzer described above,
When sampling from all the sample containers 1 of one transport rack 2 is completed and sampling is performed from the sample container 1 of the next transport rack 2 that has been confirmed, the next transport rack 2 is moved from the confirmation position to its first position. It is necessary to move the sample container 1 to the sampling position.
Is relatively long, it takes a long time to move the transport rack 2 from the confirmation position to the sampling position. This moving time is appropriate in the above-mentioned conventional sampling cycle, but becomes a problem when the above-mentioned sampling cycle is shortened. In other words, even if the sampling cycle is shortened and the movable rack stopper 7 returns to the initial position, it still takes time until the next transport rack 2 comes to the sampling position, and the time required for sampling as a whole is almost reduced. Not done. As described above, the conventional sample container supporting rack transport device has a problem that it is difficult to shorten the sampling cycle, that is, to perform high-speed sampling.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to further reduce the time required for sampling a sample and to support a sample container in an analyzer capable of high-speed sampling. It is to provide a rack transport device.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is carried by a carrying means,
First rack stopper means for stopping a transport rack supporting a predetermined number of sample containers containing an analysis sample at a check position for checking the sample containers at least while the sample containers are being checked; and Second rack stopper means for stopping the transport rack at a sampling position for sampling the analysis sample in the sample container at least while the analysis sample is being sampled, and transferring the transport rack at least from the confirmation position to the sampling position. In the sample container supporting rack transport device in the analyzer that sequentially transports racks, third rack stopper means for temporarily stopping the transport rack is provided between the confirmation position and the sampling position,
The third rack stopper means, while sampling the analysis sample from the sample container supported by one transport rack, moves the next transport rack, which has been confirmed, to the confirmation position and the sampling position. The transport rack so that the next transport rack is transported toward the sampling position after the sampling of the analysis samples from all the sample containers in the one transport rack is completed. Is controlled.

In the invention according to claim 2, the third rack stopper means has a first provisional stopper and a second provisional stopper, and the provisional stop position is a first provisional stop position and a second provisional stop position. After the sampling of the one transport rack is started, the first temporary stopper stops the next transport rack at the first temporary stop position, and then the second temporary stopper stops the next transport rack. A rack is stopped at the second temporary stop position, and after the sampling of the one transport rack is completed, the next transport rack is transported toward the sampling position.

[0013]

In the sample container supporting rack transporting apparatus of the analyzer of the present invention thus configured, the confirmation is completed while sampling the analysis sample from the sample container supported by one transport rack. The next transport rack is stopped by the third rack stopper at a temporary stop position between the confirmation position and the sampling position. When the sampling of the analysis samples from all the sample containers on one transport rack is completed, the temporary stop of the next transport rack by the third rack stopper is released, and the next transport rack is transported to the sampling position. , The first
When the second sample container has reached the sampling position, the next transport rack is stopped.

Thus, after the sampling of one transport rack is completed, the moving distance from the time when the next transport rack is transported toward the sampling position to the time when the next transport rack stops is greatly reduced as compared with the related art. Therefore, the entire sampling period from the start of sampling of one transport rack to the start of sampling of the next transport rack is shortened, and high-speed sampling can be realized.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a view similar to FIG. 3, schematically illustrating an example of an embodiment of a sample container supporting rack transport device in an analyzer according to the present invention. The same components as those shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sample container supporting rack transport device of this embodiment constitutes a third rack stopper means of the present invention disposed between the fixed rack stopper 4 and the movable rack stopper 7. Provisional rack rack stopper means 8
It has. This provisional rack rack stopper means 8
Comprises a first provisional rack stopper 9, a second provisional rack stopper 10, and a rack stopper switching means 11 for switching and driving the first and second rack stoppers 9, 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 are provided so as to be out of phase with each other by 90 ° and to be interlocked with each other. When the first provisional rack stopper 9 is set at the stopper position protruding above the conveyor line of the conveyor 3, the second provisional rack stopper 10 is set at the non-stopper position retreating from the conveyor line of the conveyor 3, and 2, the first and second provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 are rotated counterclockwise in FIG.
When the second provisional rack stopper 10 is rotated and set to the stopper position protruding above the conveyor line of the conveyor 3, the first provisional rack stopper 10 is retracted from the conveyor line of the conveyor 3 as shown by a two-dot chain line. Is set at the non-stop position.

The rack stopper switching means 11 is constituted by a motor, and the first and second provisional rack stoppers 9, 10 are selectively rotated clockwise or counterclockwise by the motor. , First and second
The provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 are selectively switched to the stopper position or the non-stopper position. Other configurations of the sample container supporting rack transport device of this example are the same as those of the conventional sample container supporting rack transport device shown in FIG.

The operation of the thus-configured sample container supporting rack transport device of this embodiment will be described. In the following description of the operation, for convenience of explanation, a, b,...
Will be added. In the initial state, the fixed rack stopper 4, the movable rack stopper 7, and the second provisional stopper 10 are respectively set at the stopper positions so as to protrude on the conveyor line of the conveyor 3, and the first provisional stopper 9 is moved from the conveyor line of the conveyor 3. It is set to the retracted non-stopper position.

In the same manner as in the above-described conventional sample container supporting rack transfer device, first, the transfer rack 2a supports a predetermined number (five in the illustrated example) of sample containers 1 accommodating a biological sample by the conveyor 3. The transport rack 2 a is stopped at the confirmation position by the fixed rack stopper 4, and a predetermined confirmation of the sample container 1 is performed. When the confirmation is completed, the fixed rack stopper 4 is retracted from the transport line of the conveyor 3. Since the transport rack 2a is set at the stopper position, the transport rack 2a that has been confirmed is transported by the conveyor 3 toward the sampling position.

Before the transport rack 2a comes into contact with the second temporary rack stopper 10 before reaching the sampling position, the transport rack 2a is stopped at the second temporary stopper position. This transport rack 2
When “a” has passed the position of the fixed rack stopper 4, the fixed rack stopper 4 is set to the stopper position again.
As a result, the next transport rack 2b comes into contact with the fixed rack stopper 4 and stops at the confirmation position, and the confirmation of each sample container 1 supported by the next transport rack 2b is started as described above. Thus, the sample container supporting rack transport device is in the state shown in FIG.

From this state, the rack stopper switching means 1
1 is driven to drive the second provisional rack stopper 1
0 rotates and is set to the non-stopper position, and the first provisional rack stopper 9 is rotated and set to the stopper position. Then, the transport rack 2a, which has been stopped at the second temporary stopper position by the second temporary rack stopper 10, is further transported by the conveyor 3, comes into contact with the movable rack stopper 7, and stops again. In this state, the first sample container 1 of the transport rack 2a is set at the sampling position, as in the above-described conventional case, and the sampling of the sample from the first sample container 1 is performed. Thereafter, the moving rack stopper 7 is moved at intervals of the sample containers 1 in the conveying direction of the conveyor 3 in the same manner as in the conventional case, thereby sampling from the sample containers 1 on the conveying rack 2a.

During this time, each sample container 1 in the next transport rack 2b is checked, and when those checks are completed, the fixed rack stopper 4 is set to the non-stopper position as described above. Then, the next transport rack 2b is transported by the conveyor 3, and stops at the first temporary stopper position by contacting the first temporary rack stopper 9. When the next transport rack 2b has passed the position of the fixed rack stopper 4,
As described above, the fixed rack stopper 4 is set to the stopper position again. Further, the next next transport rack 2c is transported by the conveyor 3 and abuts against the fixed rack stopper 4 and stops at the confirmation position, and in the same manner as described above, each sample container 1 supported by the next next transport rack 2c is removed. Confirmation starts. Thus, the sample container supporting rack transport device is in the state shown in FIG.

Samples from the sample containers 1 supported on the first transport rack 2a are sampled sequentially, and the first transport rack 2a is connected to the second temporary rack stopper 10
Is completed, the motor of the rack stopper switching means 11 is driven again, and the second provisional rack stopper 10 is moved.
Is rotated again to be set to the stopper position, and the first provisional rack stopper 9 is rotated to be set to the non-stopper position. Then, the next transport rack 2 stopped at the first temporary stopper position by the first temporary rack stopper 9.
b is further conveyed by the conveyor 3, abuts the second provisional rack stopper 10, and the next conveyance rack 2b stops at the second provisional stopper position. Thus, the sample container supporting rack transport device is in the state shown in FIG.

All sample containers 1 in the first transport rack 2
When the sampling of the sample from is completed, the movable rack stopper 7 is set to the non-stopper position, and is returned to the initial position, and then set to the stopper position again, as in the above-described conventional case. As a result, the transport rack 2a for which sampling has been completed is transported by the conveyor 3 to the right collecting position (not shown) and collected as in the conventional case. At the same time, the motor of the rack stopper switching means 11 is driven,
The second provisional rack stopper 10 rotates again to be set to the non-stopper position, and the first provisional rack stopper 9
Is rotated and set to the stopper position. Then, the next transport rack 2b which has been stopped at the second temporary stopper position by the second temporary rack stopper 10 is further transported by the conveyor 3, comes into contact with the moving rack stopper 7, and stops again, and the next transport rack 2b is stopped. The first sample container 1 is set at the sampling position, and the first sample container 1
The sampling of the sample from is performed.

At this time, the next transport rack 2b is already in the second
Since it is stopped at the provisional stopper position and only moves from the second provisional stopper position to the sampling position of the first sample container 1, the movement distance α is much shorter than the conventional movement distance β. In addition, the time required for movement is greatly reduced. During this time, each sample container 1 of the next next transport rack 2c is checked, and when those checks are completed, the fixed rack stopper 4 is set to the non-stopper position as described above. Then, the next next transport rack 2c
Is conveyed by the conveyor 3 and abuts on the first provisional rack stopper 9 to be stopped at the first provisional stopper position. When the next next transport rack 2b has passed the position of the fixed rack stopper 4, the fixed rack stopper 4 is set to the stopper position again as described above. Thereafter, the check step of each sample container 1 at the check position is sequentially performed on the transfer racks 2 successively transferred by the conveyor 3,
A first provisional stop step at the provisional stopper position, a second provisional stop step at the second provisional stopper position, a sampling step of the sample of each sample container 1 at the sampling position, and a collection position of the transport rack 2 where sampling has been completed. A recovery step is performed.

As described above, according to the sample container supporting rack transfer device of this embodiment, before the sampling of the samples from all the sample containers 1 supported by one transfer rack 2 is completed, the provisional rack stopper means is provided. 8, the next transport rack 2 is previously stopped at the second provisional stopper position closer to the sampling position, and the next transport rack 2 is stopped.
When sampling is performed on the next transport rack 2
Need only be moved from the second provisional stopper position until the first sample container 1 of the next transport rack 2 reaches the sampling position, the next transport after the movable rack stopper 7 returns to the initial position. The moving distance α of the rack 2 can be greatly reduced. As a result, the time required for this movement of the next transport rack 2 can be greatly reduced. Therefore, when the sampling cycle of the sample in each sample container is shortened as described above, the sampling period of the sample between the sample containers is reduced. You can take advantage of the shortening effectively,
Sampling of the sample of the first sample container of one transport rack 2 is started and before the sampling of the sample of the first sample container of the next transport rack 2 is started, the entire sampling period. Can be further reduced. Thus, according to the rank transport device of this example, high-speed sampling can be realized. Other operational effects of the sample container supporting rack transport device of this example are the same as those of the conventional example shown in FIG.

In the above-described example, the rack stopper switching means 11 is constituted by a motor, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be constituted by another driving means such as an air cylinder. it can. Also, in the above example,
Although the first and second provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 are operated in conjunction with each other, the first and second provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 are controlled.
The provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 can be independently operated and controlled. Further, in the above-described example, the first and second provisional rack stoppers 9 and 10 are moved between the stopper position and the non-stopper position by rotation. 9,
10 can also be moved between a stop position and a non-stop position by linear movement.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the sample container supporting rack transfer device in the analyzer of the present invention, the sampling of the sample of the first sample container in one transfer rack starts from the next sampling. The sampling cycle before the start of sampling the sample in the first sample container of the transport rack can be further reduced. Thereby, according to the present invention, high-speed sampling can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an embodiment of a sample container supporting rack transport device in an analyzer according to the present invention, and explaining the operation thereof.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the provisional rack stopper means in the example shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the right side in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a sample container supporting rack transport device in a conventional analyzer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... sample container, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c ... transport rack, 3 ...
Conveyor, 4: Fixed rack stopper, 5: Sample container presence / absence sensor, 6: Bar code reader, 7: Moving rack stopper, 8: Temporary rack stopper means, 9: First provisional stopper, 10: Second provisional stopper, 11 ... Rack stopper switching means

Claims (2)

[Claims] A transport rack, which is transported by transport means and supports a predetermined number of sample containers accommodating an analysis sample, is stopped at least at a position where the sample container is confirmed while the sample container is being confirmed. 1 rack stopper means, and a second rack stopper means for stopping the transport rack, which has been confirmed, at a sampling position for sampling the analysis sample in the sample container while at least the analysis sample is being sampled, A sample container supporting rack transport device in an analyzer that sequentially transports the transport rack from at least the confirmation position to the sampling position, wherein the transport rack is temporarily stopped between the confirmation position and the sampling position; Rack stopper means is provided, and the third rack stopper means 1
While sampling the analysis sample from the sample container supported by one transport rack, the next transport rack that has been confirmed is stopped at a temporary stop position between the confirmation position and the sampling position. After the sampling of the analysis samples from all the sample containers of the one transport rack is completed, the transport of the transport rack is controlled so as to transport the next transport rack toward the sampling position. A sample container supporting rack transport device in an analyzer. 2. The third rack stopper means has a first provisional stopper and a second provisional stopper, and the provisional stop position is set to a first provisional stop position and a second provisional stop position. After the sampling of one transport rack is started, the first temporary stopper stops the next transport rack at the first temporary stop position, and then the second temporary stopper moves the next transport rack to the second temporary stop position. 2. The sample container supporting rack transport apparatus in the analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the sample transport rack is transported toward the sampling position after the sampling of the one transport rack is completed.