CN113848333A

CN113848333A - Sample analysis device

Info

Publication number: CN113848333A
Application number: CN202011052404.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵金保; 杨凯; 李鑫; 郭文恒
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd; Beijing Shen Mindray Medical Electronics Technology Research Institute Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd; Beijing Shen Mindray Medical Electronics Technology Research Institute Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-29
Filing date: 2020-09-29
Publication date: 2021-12-28

Abstract

A sample analysis device, comprising: a reagent bin for bearing reagent containers, a reagent separate injection component for sucking reagents and discharging the reagents into a reaction cup, a reagent loading and unloading mechanism and a conveying mechanism; the reagent loading and unloading mechanism is provided with a plurality of container positions, each container position comprises a storage position and a discarding position, the storage positions are used for storing the reagent containers to be loaded or unloaded, and the discarding positions are used for discarding the reagent containers to be discarded; the transport mechanism is used for transporting the reagent container between the reagent bin and the reagent loading and unloading mechanism. The invention provides a novel sample analysis device which is convenient for loading and unloading reagents in real time and discarding reagent containers in real time.

Description

Sample analysis device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sample analyzer.

Background

A sample analyzer, such as a biochemical analyzer, an immunological analyzer, a blood coagulation analyzer, a cell analyzer, and the like, is an apparatus for analyzing and measuring a sample, and generally measures characteristics, chemical components, concentrations, and the like of the sample itself by adding a reagent to the sample and reacting the sample with the reagent in a predetermined manner.

Since the sample analyzer consumes the reagent continuously during the testing process, in order to ensure the continuity of the testing of the sample analyzer, the technical personnel pursue the goal of realizing seamless real-time reagent loading.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application provides a sample analyzer, which is described in detail below.

In one embodiment there is provided a sample analysis device comprising:

a reaction cup loading part for supplying and carrying empty reaction cups;

the scheduling component is used for scheduling the reaction cups;

the sample injection component is used for scheduling a sample to be injected;

the sample separate injection component is used for sucking a sample to be injected and discharging the sample into the reaction cup;

the reagent bin is used for bearing the reagent container;

a reagent dispensing member for sucking a reagent and discharging the reagent into a reaction cup;

the reagent loading and unloading mechanism is provided with a plurality of container positions, each container position comprises a storage position and a discarding position, the storage positions are used for storing the reagent containers to be loaded or unloaded, and the discarding positions are used for discarding the reagent containers to be discarded;

a transport mechanism for transporting the reagent container between the reagent magazine and the reagent loading/unloading mechanism; the conveying mechanism is used for conveying the reagent containers to be loaded from the storage positions of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism to the reagent bin, conveying the reagent containers to be unloaded from the reagent bin to the storage positions of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism, and conveying the reagent containers to be discarded from the reagent bin to the discarding positions of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism for discarding;

one or more processing units; the processing unit is used for receiving the reaction cups which are dispatched by the dispatching component and are loaded with the samples prepared by the samples and the reagents, and processing the samples in the reaction cups.

In one embodiment, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism comprises a base and a storage part, wherein the storage part is provided with the container position; the storage part is fixedly arranged on the base.

In one embodiment, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism comprises a base, a driving part and a storage part, wherein the storage part is provided with the container position; the storage part and the driving part are arranged on the base, and the driving part is used for driving the storage part to move relative to the base.

In one embodiment, the driving part drives the storage part to rotate relative to the base.

In one embodiment, the driving part drives the storage part to move linearly relative to the base.

In an embodiment, the storage portion is a disc-shaped structure, a disc-shaped surface of the storage portion being provided with the plurality of container locations.

In one embodiment, the container positions of the storage section are arranged annularly around the disc-shaped center of the storage section.

In one embodiment, the storage portion is rectangular, and the plurality of container positions are arranged on a rectangular surface of the storage portion.

In one embodiment, the container positions of the storage portion are arranged in a row.

In one embodiment, the disposal site is connected to a waste bin via a passageway through which reagent containers received by the disposal site are discarded to the waste bin.

In one embodiment, the channel is rotatably disposed with the disposal site; alternatively, the channel is arranged in such a way that it can move linearly with the disposal site.

In one embodiment, the number of the processing units is two, wherein one processing unit is a reaction part, and the other processing unit is a determination part; the reaction component is used for bearing the reaction cup and incubating a sample or a specimen in the reaction cup; the measuring part is used for bearing the reaction cup and detecting the sample in the reaction cup; the reaction component is rectangular and is provided with a plurality of reaction cup placing positions; the measuring part is rectangular and has a plurality of reaction cup placing positions.

According to the sample analysis device of the embodiment, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism is introduced, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism is provided with a plurality of container positions, each container position comprises a storage position and a disposal position, the storage positions are used for storing the reagent containers to be loaded or unloaded, and the disposal positions are used for discarding the reagent containers to be discarded.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a sample analyzer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to another embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading and unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading and unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are schematic structural views of reagent disks according to two embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of a reagent disk according to another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a schematic structural view of a reagent cartridge, a reagent loading/unloading mechanism, and a transport mechanism according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a reagent dispensing member according to an embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of a reagent dispensing member according to another embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a schematic view showing the structure of a reagent dispensing member according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a schematic view of the structure of a reagent dispensing member according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a schematic structural view of a sample analyzer according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram of a reagent scheduling method in an embodiment of an embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a flow chart of a reagent scheduling method according to another embodiment;

FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a reagent scheduling method of yet another embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a flow chart of a reagent scheduling method according to still another embodiment.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Wherein like elements in different embodiments are numbered with like associated elements. In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that some of the features may be omitted or replaced with other elements, materials, methods in different instances. In some instances, certain operations related to the present application have not been shown or described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the core of the present application from excessive description, and it is not necessary for those skilled in the art to describe these operations in detail, so that they may be fully understood from the description in the specification and the general knowledge in the art.

Furthermore, the features, operations, or characteristics described in the specification may be combined in any suitable manner to form various embodiments. Also, the various steps or actions in the method descriptions may be transposed or transposed in order, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the various sequences in the specification and drawings are for the purpose of describing certain embodiments only and are not intended to imply a required sequence unless otherwise indicated where such sequence must be followed.

The numbering of the components as such, e.g., "first", "second", etc., is used herein only to distinguish the objects as described, and does not have any sequential or technical meaning. The term "connected" and "coupled" when used in this application, unless otherwise indicated, includes both direct and indirect connections (couplings).

The sample analyzer is not taken as an example of a fully automatic coagulation analyzer to describe the consumption and loading of reagents during the testing process.

In a fully automatic coagulation analyzer, items that can be detected generally include, for example, Prothrombin Time (PT), activated thrombin time (APTT), Thrombin Time (TT), Fibrinogen (FIB), D dimer, Antithrombin (ATIII), and the like. Different types of mixed reagents/diluents and trigger reagents need to be added for different detection items, and the types of the detection reagents required correspondingly increase with the increase of the blood coagulation detection items. How to effectively manage reagents in a coagulation analyzer system is a key factor of a high-efficiency coagulation reagent management system.

In the existing blood coagulation analyzer on the market, when a reagent is lacked in the test process, the sample loading is generally suspended, the test which is on line is waited to be completed, and then a reagent cabin is opened to load and take out the reagent. Generally, the higher the test throughput, the larger the amount of sample brought on line, the longer the time required to complete the on-line sample test, and the longer the wait time when the user needs to change the reagent.

Some of these types of devices usually have a reagent loading window, a reagent buffer, a reagent unloading window, a reagent discarding window, and a main reagent tray, and so many functionally independent modules exist in the same instrument, which results in a bulky instrument and high cost.

The sample analyzer according to some embodiments of the present application provides another structure capable of implementing online real-time reagent loading, and the like, which is described in detail below.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a sample analysis device according to some embodiments of the present invention. The sample analysis apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention may include a housing 1, a cuvette loader 10, a sample injector 20, a sample dispensing unit 30, a reagent magazine 410, a reagent loader/unloader 450 and transporter 490, one or more reagent dispensing units 60, one or more processing units 50, and a scheduler 70. It should be noted that fig. 1 shows an example having two reagent dispensing units 60 and two processing units 50, but those skilled in the art will understand that this is only for illustration and is not intended to limit the number of reagent dispensing units 60 and processing units 50 to two. The components of the sample analyzer will be described in detail below.

The casing 1 is an instrument housing of the sample analysis apparatus, and may have, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped or square box shape, and its function may be to house some components in the sample analysis apparatus. For example, in some embodiments, the housing 1 includes a first side 1a along a first direction and a second side 1b along a second direction.

Reference herein to a first direction and a second direction, in some embodiments, may be perpendicular, e.g., the first direction is the Y-direction in the figure and the second direction is the X-direction in the figure.

The cuvette loader 10 is used to supply and carry empty cuvettes. In the working process of the sample analysis device, the empty reaction cups are required to be continuously used for completing individual test items, and the sample analysis device adds samples and reagents into the empty reaction cups to prepare, incubate and measure samples so as to obtain the test results of the items. The cuvette loading unit 10 may load an empty cuvette to a predetermined position, and the sample dispensing unit 30 may aspirate a sample from the sample injection unit 20 and discharge the aspirated sample into the empty cuvette at the predetermined position.

The sample introduction part 20 is used to supply a sample rack carrying samples to be tested. In some embodiments, the sample introduction part 20 may be disposed inside the cabinet 1. There are various ways to implement the sample introduction part 20.

In one implementation of the sample injection component 20, the sample injection component 20 may be a sample injection component 21, and the sample injection component 21 is configured to dispatch a sample rack carrying a sample to a sample sucking position. Fig. 2 is an example, the sample introduction part 21 may include a loading area 21a, a sample introduction channel 21b and an unloading area 21c, wherein the sample introduction channel 21b may be provided with a sample suction position. In the figure, the X direction and the Y direction are perpendicular, the X1 direction and the X2 direction are opposite directions, and the Y1 direction and the Y2 direction are also opposite directions. The user can place the sample rack carrying the sample to be tested on the loading area 21a, the loading area 21a moves the sample rack in the direction of Y1 in the figure to enter the sample inlet channel 21b, the sample rack can move along the direction of X1 in the sample inlet channel 21b and pass through the sample sucking position, the sample on the sample rack can be sucked by the sample dispensing component 30 when passing through the sample sucking position, and then the sample rack enters the unloading area 21c from the sample inlet channel 21b along the direction of Y2, and the user can take out the sample rack from the unloading area 21 c. The sample introduction part 21 is suitable for a large batch of sample test occasions, the sample introduction part 21 can be arranged independently of the sample analysis device, and when the sample analysis device needs to be connected into a test system in a production line form, the sample introduction part 21 can be directly detached.

In another implementation manner of the sample introduction part 20, the sample introduction part 20 may be a sample placing area 22, and the sample placing area 22 is used for placing a sample rack carrying a sample to be tested. Fig. 3 is an example. The sample placement area 22 may have a plurality of lanes 22a, each lane 22a may hold a sample rack, and a user may push the sample rack into the lane 22a in the direction Y1 in the figure; the sample dispensing unit 30 can sequentially aspirate the samples on the sample racks in the respective channels 22 a; after the samples on the sample rack are all sucked, the user can pull the sample rack out of the passage 22a in the direction Y2 in the figure. The sample placement area 22 does not need to schedule the sample rack, and therefore, the occupied volume is small, which is favorable for reducing the size of the sample analysis apparatus, and is very favorable for the miniaturization design of the sample analysis apparatus.

The sample dispensing component 30 is used for sucking a sample to be injected and discharging the sample into a reaction cup, for example, sucking the sample from a sample sucking position and discharging the sample into a reaction cup at a sample injection position. In some embodiments, the sample dispensing member 30 may be disposed within the housing 1. In some embodiments, the sample dispensing mechanism 30 may include a sample needle that is driven by a two-dimensional or three-dimensional drive mechanism to move in two-dimensional or three-dimensional directions. In some embodiments, the sample needle may be one or more. In order to simplify the movement locus and reduce the size and dimension of the sample analyzer, the sample suction position and the predetermined position to which the cuvette loading member 10 loads the empty cuvette may be designed to be in a straight line, for example, a straight line along the first direction, so that the sample needle only needs to reciprocate between the sample suction position and the predetermined position in the first direction, which not only increases the movement speed of the sample needle, but also is beneficial to reducing the size of the sample analyzer, and is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the sample analyzer.

Referring to fig. 4, 5 and 6, fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of the reagent chamber 410, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 and the carrying mechanism 490, fig. 5 is a perspective view of the reagent chamber 410, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 and the carrying mechanism 490 with a partial housing removed, and fig. 6 is a top view of the reagent chamber 410, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 and the carrying mechanism 490 with a partial housing removed. In some embodiments, the reagent cartridge 410 is configured to carry reagent containers, and the reagent containers in the reagent cartridge 410 are configured to be aspirated; the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 may interact with the reagent cartridge 410, such as real-time reagent loading, real-time reagent unloading, real-time reagent cup throwing, etc.; for example, in some embodiments, the reagent un-loading mechanism 450 is used to store reagent containers to be loaded, or to store unloaded reagent containers, or to receive reagent containers to be discarded for disposal. The transport mechanism 490 is used to transport the reagent container between the reagent cartridge 410 and the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450; for example, in some embodiments, the transport mechanism 490 is used to transport a reagent container to be loaded from the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent cartridge 410, or to transport a reagent container to be unloaded from the reagent cartridge 410 to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, or to transport a reagent container to be discarded from the reagent cartridge 410 to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450. The reagent cartridge 410, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, and the carrying mechanism 490 will be described below.

Reagent cartridge 410 will be described first.

As described above, the reagent cartridge 410 is used to carry reagent containers, which are used to be aspirated. Generally, the reagent cartridge 410 may provide cooling or other functions for the reagent carried, such as maintaining a temperature between 2 and 16 degrees celsius, thereby ensuring the activity of the reagent. Specifically, reagent cartridge 410 is used to maintain its internal temperature within the range required by the reagent instructions. In order to ensure the cooling effect, the reagent chamber 410 may be an enclosed structure, for example, the reagent chamber 410 may be provided with a reagent cover for heat preservation. In some embodiments, reagent cartridge 410 may be disposed within housing 1. In some embodiments, the reagent cartridge 410 includes a reagent disk 420, the reagent disk 420 includes at least one circle of reagent track 421 capable of rotating, the reagent track includes a plurality of placing positions 423 for carrying reagent containers, and the reagent track 421 rotates to move the reagent containers on the placing positions 423. In some embodiments, the reagent disk 420 comprises a plurality of turns of the reagent track 421, each reagent track 421 being capable of independent rotation. Fig. 7(a) shows an example in which the reagent disk 420 has one turn of the reagent track 421, and fig. 7(b) shows an example in which the reagent disk 420 has two turns of the reagent track 421 that can be independently rotated. The reagent track 421 can rotate and drive the reagent container carried by the reagent track to transfer, so as to rotate the reagent container to the reagent sucking position, so that the reagent dispensing component 60 can suck the reagent. The reagent disk 420 is further described below with reference to the drawings.

Referring to fig. 7(a), in some embodiments, the reagent disk 420 includes a ring of reagent rails 421, the placing positions 423 of which can be used for placing the reagent cups 424, each reagent cup 424 includes one or more cavities for containing reagents required by the project test, and one reagent is placed in one cavity; the reagent disk 420 includes a first driving assembly for driving the reagent rail 421 to rotate, and the first driving assembly drives the reagent rail 421 to rotate, so as to rotate the cavity of the reagent cup 424 containing the reagent required by the project to the corresponding reagent sucking position. In one example, each reagent cup 424 includes at least a first cavity 424a for carrying a first reagent and a second cavity 424b for carrying a second reagent, e.g., reagent cup 424 includes at least a first cavity 424a for carrying mixed reagent R1 and a second cavity 424b for carrying trigger reagent R2; the reagent bin 410 comprises a first reagent absorption position and a second reagent absorption position different from the first reagent absorption position, the first driving component drives the reagent track 421 to rotate and drives the reagent union cup 424 to rotate, so that the first cavity 424a of the reagent union cup 424 is rotated to the first reagent absorption position; the first driving assembly drives the reagent track 421 to rotate and drives the reagent cup 424 to rotate, so as to rotate the second cavity 424b to the second reagent sucking position.

Referring to fig. 7(b), in some embodiments, the reagent disk 420 includes two independently rotatable reagent tracks 421, such as the inner reagent track 421 and the outer reagent track 421. An outer ring of reagent rails 421, the placement position 423 of which can be used to carry a first reagent container; the outer ring of reagent rails 421, the placement position 423 of which can be used to carry a second reagent container. The reagent disk 420 comprises a first driving assembly for driving the reagent rail 421 of the outer ring to rotate, and the first driving assembly drives the reagent rail 421 of the outer ring to rotate and drives the first reagent container to rotate, so as to rotate the first reagent container to the first reagent absorption position; the reagent disk 420 further includes a second driving assembly for driving the reagent track 421 of the inner ring to rotate, and the second driving assembly drives the reagent track 421 of the inner ring to rotate and drive the second reagent container to rotate, so as to rotate the second reagent container to the second reagent sucking position.

While two configurations of the reagent disk 420 are described above, for example, fig. 7(a) illustrates an example of placing the reagent cup 424, fig. 7(b) illustrates an example of implementing the reagent disk 420 by a plurality of tracks capable of rotating independently, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the reagent disk 420 may also be implemented by a plurality of tracks capable of rotating independently, and at least one track or a placement position 423 on each track may be used for placing the reagent cup 424, for example, fig. 8 illustrates an example, and both the inner reagent track 421 and the outer reagent track 421 may be used for placing the reagent cup 424. By placing all types of reagents required for one test item in the same reagent sipper 424, reagent management can be facilitated. Of course, in other embodiments, the inner reagent track 421 may be provided with the needle wash and the diluent, and the outer reagent track 421 may be provided with the primary reagents for testing, such as the mixed reagent and the trigger reagent mentioned above.

This is some of the description of the reagent cartridge 410. The reagent chamber 410 can rotate and dispense the corresponding reagent required by the test item to the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reagent sucking position, for example, dispense the first reagent to the first reagent sucking position and dispense the second reagent to the second reagent sucking position.

Reagent magazine 410 needs to receive reagents to replenish reagents consumed during testing, as well as to unload reagents or discard, for example, empty reagent containers. Thus, in some embodiments, the reagent cartridge 410 further comprises a reagent container access 431 and a power door 433 openably and closably disposed at the reagent container access 431; when the electric door 433 is in the open state, the transport mechanism 490 can be allowed to transport the reagent container from the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent magazine 410 through the reagent container entrance/exit 431, or the transport mechanism 490 can transport the reagent container from the reagent magazine 410 to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 through the reagent container entrance/exit 431; at other times, the electrically operated door 433 may remain closed, thereby ensuring that the reagent chamber 410 has less heat loss and ensuring its refrigeration effect. That is, the power door 433 is opened when a reagent container is taken in or put out from the reagent well 410, and is closed at other times.

The reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 will be described below.

As described above, the reagent unloading and loading mechanism 450 is used to store reagent containers to be loaded, and/or to store unloaded reagent containers, and/or to receive reagent containers to be discarded for disposal. In some embodiments, the reagent unloading mechanism 450 is provided with a plurality of container stations including a storage location for storing reagent containers to be loaded or unloaded and a discard location for discarding reagent containers to be discarded. Here, the reagent container refers to a container carrying a reagent such as the reagent cup 424, the first reagent container 425, and the second reagent container 426. The reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 can be implemented in a variety of ways, as described in more detail below.

Referring to fig. 9, in some embodiments, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 includes a base 451 and a storage portion 460. The storage part 460 is used to store or receive a reagent container. In some embodiments, the storage portion 460 may be fixedly disposed on the base 451, i.e., the storage portion 460 is stationary — for example, fig. 9 is an example. In other embodiments, the storage unit 460 may be movably disposed on the base 451, for example, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 further includes a driving unit 452, and the driving unit 452 is configured to drive the storage unit 460 to move, for example, rotate or move linearly, relative to the base 451 — for example, fig. 10 is an example in which the storage unit 460 can rotate relative to the base 451, and fig. 12 is an example in which the storage unit 460 can move linearly relative to the base 451.

The storage portion 460 may be movable relative to the base 451, as described above, or may be stationary. The shape of the storage part 460 may be a disk-shaped structure or a rectangle.

For example, in some embodiments, the storage portion 460 is a disk-shaped structure. Fig. 9 and 10 both show examples in which the storage section 460 has a disk-shaped structure. The disc-shaped surface of the storage part 460 is provided with the above-mentioned plurality of container positions, which, as mentioned above, comprise a storage position 462 for storing reagent containers to be loaded or unloaded and a discard position 463 for receiving reagent containers to be discarded. The number of storage bits 462 is one or more, preferably the number of storage bits 462 is plural; similarly, the number of the discard bits 463 is one or more, preferably, the number of the discard bits 463 is one — for example, ten for the storage bit 462 and one for the discard bits 463 in fig. 9 and 10. In some embodiments, each container station of the storage portion is annularly disposed about the disk-shaped center of the storage portion 460. In the example where the storage portion 460 is movable (e.g., rotatable) relative to the base 451, as the storage portion 460 rotates, each container station on the storage portion rotates.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, the storage portion 460 is rectangular-such as is the case in FIGS. 11 and 12. The rectangular surface of the storage part 460 is provided with a plurality of container positions as mentioned above, which similarly comprise a storage position 462 for storing reagent containers to be loaded or unloaded and a discard position 463 for receiving reagent containers to be discarded. The number of storage bits 462 is one or more, preferably the number of storage bits 462 is plural; similarly, the number of the discard bits 463 is one or more, preferably, the number of the discard bits 463 is one — for example, the storage bit 462 is seven in fig. 11 and 12, and the discard bits 463 are an example. In some embodiments, the container bits of the storage portion are arranged in a row.

The user can place a reagent container to be loaded into the storage location 462 of the storage section 460 and can also take out an unloaded reagent container from the storage location 462, and a reagent container to be discarded, for example, an empty reagent container depleted of reagent, is transported from the reagent magazine 410 to the discard location 463 of the storage section 460 to effect the discard process of the reagent container. In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 13, the discard position 463 may be connected to the waste bin 465 via a channel 464, and reagent containers received by the discard position 463 may be discarded to the waste bin 465 via the channel 464. The waste bin 465 may house, for example, expired reagent containers, empty reagent containers, etc. In instances where the storage portion 460 is movable relative to the base 451, the channel 464 may be movable with the disposal site 463 as the storage portion 460 is moved, such as in embodiments where the storage portion 460 is rotated relative to the base 451, the channel 464 may be rotatably disposed with the disposal site 463; in embodiments where the storage portion 460 moves linearly relative to the base 451, the channel 464 is configured to move linearly with the disposal site 463. In embodiments where the channel 464 is movable with the disposal site 463, this facilitates the placement and functional reuse of the waste bin 465 in the sample analysis apparatus, e.g., the waste bin 465 may be used to house discarded reagent containers, as well as used reaction cups.

The reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 is described above, and the transport mechanism 490 will be described below.

The transport mechanism 490 is used to transport reagent containers between the reagent cartridge 410 and the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450. For example, the transport mechanism 490 is used to transport a reagent container to be loaded from a storage location of the reagent unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent magazine 410, and/or to transport a reagent container to be unloaded from the reagent magazine 410 to a storage location of the reagent unloading mechanism 450, and/or to transport a reagent container to be discarded from the reagent magazine 410 to a discard location of the reagent unloading mechanism 450 for discarding. There are a variety of implementations of the transport mechanism 490.

Referring to fig. 14 and 15, for example, in some embodiments, the transport mechanism 450 includes a two-dimensional moving mechanism 451 and a reagent container grasping section 459; the two-dimensional movement mechanism 451 is capable of driving the reagent container gripping section 459 to move one-dimensionally (for example, in the up-and-down direction of the paper plane in fig. 14) between the reagent cassette 410 and the storage section 460, and driving the reagent container gripping section 459 to move in the up-and-down direction (for example, in the direction perpendicular to the paper plane in fig. 14); the reagent container gripping section 459 is used to grip and set down a reagent container. In an example in which the transport mechanism 450 is capable of one-dimensional movement in the planar direction and vertical direction, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 may be configured such that the storage unit 460 is capable of movement relative to the base 451.

For another example, referring to fig. 16, the transport mechanism 450 includes a three-dimensional moving mechanism 453 and a reagent container grasping portion 459; the three-dimensional movement mechanism 453 is capable of driving the reagent container grasping portion 459 to move in the three-dimensional direction; the reagent container gripping section 459 is used to grip and set down a reagent container. In an example in which the transport mechanism 450 is capable of three-dimensional movement, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 may be a structure in which the storage unit 460 is fixed.

The above description is made of the reagent cartridge 410, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, and the carrying mechanism 490. The reagent magazine 410, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, and the transport mechanism 490 according to the present invention cooperate with each other, so that a test flow can be prevented from being interrupted when reagent is loaded, unloaded, and discarded. For example, a user places a reagent container to be loaded on the storage location 462 of the storage portion 460, and the transport mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to be loaded from the storage location 462 of the storage portion 460 to the reagent bin 410 at an appropriate time, so as to realize real-time loading of the reagent without interrupting the test flow; likewise, the transport mechanism 490 transports the reagent containers to be unloaded from the reagent cartridge 410 to the storage location 462 on the storage portion 460 at an appropriate time for removal by the user, which also does not affect and disrupt the normal testing flow of the reagent cartridge 410; likewise, the transport mechanism 490 transports the reagent containers to be discarded from the reagent cartridge 410 to the discard position 463 on the storage portion 460 at an appropriate timing for discard processing, which does not affect and interrupt the normal test flow of the reagent cartridge 410.

In some embodiments, the sample analysis device further comprises an information reader 470-for example, FIG. 17 is one example. The reagent container may be provided with a tag, and the information reader 470 reads tag information thereof by sensing the tag of the reagent container. The label of the reagent container stores the reagent information of the corresponding reagent, and the reagent information or the label information at least comprises the reagent type, the reagent allowance and the like, and also comprises the information of the type of the reagent container, the production date, the quality guarantee period, the batch number, the serial number, the bottle opening date, a plurality of calibration curves and the like. Thus, in some embodiments, the information reader 470 is configured to read reagent information from a reagent container by sensing label information from the reagent container in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 460. In some embodiments, the information reader 470 is also used to write information into the label of the reagent container. The information reader 470 may be an RFID reader and the label of the reagent container may be an RFID label. The information reader 470 can assist in performing the information management function of the reagent.

The above description has been made of some configurations of the reagent cartridge 410, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, and the transport mechanism 490, and the following description will be given of a workflow in which the reagent cartridge 410, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, and the transport mechanism 490 cooperate, by way of example only, without taking the case where the storage section 460 of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 is a disk-shaped structure and is rotatable with respect to the base 451, as in the above example shown in fig. 17.

The present invention can load reagent without stopping the test, the user directly puts the reagent container to be loaded on the hollow storage bit 462 of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, the driving part 452 of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 drives the storage part 460 of the disk structure to rotate, the reagent container to be loaded is transferred to the position of the information reader 470, and the information reader 470 reads the reagent information from the label of the reagent container to be loaded, which can include information such as the type of reagent, the remaining amount of reagent (also referred to as reagent loading amount), the type of reagent container, the production date, the quality guarantee period, the batch number, the flow number, the bottle opening date, and a plurality of calibration curves. After the reading and writing of the reagent information and the verification are completed, the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 rotates the compliant reagent container to a position below the reagent container grasping section 459 of the transport mechanism 450, the reagent container grasping section 459 grasps the reagent container downward, and then transports the reagent container to the reagent magazine 410, for example, to a position above the reagent container entrance 431, the electrically operated door 433 is opened, and the reagent container grasping section 459 places the reagent container into the reagent magazine 410 through the reagent container entrance 431, thereby completing the reagent loading. In the example where the reagent cartridge 410 includes two turns of the reagent track 421, the reagent container may be placed to the inner turn of the reagent track 421 or the outer turn of the reagent track 421 depending on the type of reagent. It should be noted that, when the reagent container gripping part 459 transports the reagent container to the reagent chamber 410, for example, above the reagent container access 431, a request for loading the reagent may be submitted to the test flow, and each working sequence cycle of the reagent chamber 410 has a fixed time reserved for loading the reagent — for example, 3.4 seconds are reserved for loading the reagent in 8 seconds of working sequence cycle; after waiting for the fixed reagent loading time period, the reagent tray 420 in the reagent chamber 410 places the hollow placing position 423 of the reagent rail 421 below the reagent container entrance/exit 431 or below the reagent container grasping part 459 at this time, the electric door 433 is in an open state, the reagent container grasping part 459 descends and puts down the reagent container and then lifts up again, and then the electric door 433 closes, thereby completing reagent loading.

The present invention enables reagent to be withdrawn from reagent cartridge 410 without stopping the test. When the reagent is exhausted or the user actively selects to unload the reagent, the reagent container gripping part 459 moves to the position above the reagent container entrance 431, and at this time, a reagent taking request can be submitted to the test procedure, after the fixed reagent loading time period comes, the reagent tray 420 in the reagent warehouse 410 rotates the reagent container to be taken out (for example, to be discarded or to be unloaded) to the position below the reagent container entrance 431 or below the reagent container gripping part 459 at this time through the rotating reagent track 421, the electric door 433 is in an open state, the reagent container gripping part 459 descends, then grips the reagent container, lifts up again, and then the electric door 433 closes. The reagent container gripping unit 459 moves the reagent container to the upper side of the reagent mounting/dismounting mechanism 450. If the reagent container is a reagent container to be unloaded, the drive unit 452 of the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 drives the disk-type storage unit 460 to rotate, rotates the empty storage bit 462 below the reagent container gripping unit 459, and then the reagent container gripping unit 459 places the reagent container to be unloaded onto the empty storage bit 462 below the reagent container gripping unit, thereby completing the unloading of the reagent. If the comment creating reagent container is a reagent container to be discarded, the drive unit 452 of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 drives the disk-type storage unit 460 to rotate, the discard position 463 is rotated to a position below the reagent container grasping unit 459, the reagent container grasping unit 459 places the reagent container to be discarded on the discard position 463 below the reagent container grasping unit, and the reagent container is dropped into the waste bin 465 along the passage 464.

It can be seen that in some of the above embodiments, the disposal site 463 is provided in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, and this design does not require a separate disposal site 463 in the moving direction of the reagent container grasping portion 459, thereby ensuring a compact and compact sample analyzer. In some of the above examples, the reagent container gripping part 459 can perform all functions in the planar direction only by moving in one dimension rather than two dimensions, which reduces the size and cost of the sample analyzer.

It can be seen that the sample analyzer of some embodiments can integrate the reagent loading function, the reagent unloading function, and the reagent discarding function into the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, thereby reducing the material cost of the instrument while ensuring the small volume of the instrument. When the reagent is loaded, the information reader 470 reads the label information on the reagent container, performs validity judgment, and writes information into the label after success to set the bottle opening date and clear the available times. When the reagent is unloaded, the information reader 470 writes the actual reagent remaining amount or the available test number to the label of the reagent container unloaded onto the reagent unloading and loading mechanism 450.

In some examples, the reagent management process may also be designed around the detection of the remaining amount of reagent in the reagent cartridge 410, as described in detail below.

In some instances the sample analysis device may also incorporate components having processing or control functions, such as a controller 90, to control the timing of the sample analysis device's actions and coordination of internal mechanisms, components. The controller 90 can control the timing and coordination of the operations of the reagent cartridge 410, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, the carrying mechanism 490, and the like; in some examples, the controller 90 may also control the timing and coordination of the operations of the reaction cup loading unit 10, the sample injection unit 20, the sample dispensing unit 30, the one or more reagent dispensing units 60, the one or more processing units 50, and the scheduling unit 70.

The controller 90 is capable of detecting reagent balance information in each reagent container carried by the reagent cartridge 410. Specifically, when a reagent container is loaded from the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent magazine 410, the label information of the reagent container is read by the information reader 470, so that the remaining amount or the loading amount of the reagent container, for example, a test amount of 100 times can be obtained. The controller 90 can thus know the initial amount of reagent containers loaded into the reagent magazine 410, and reduce the amount of reagent in the reagent container by 1 every time the reagent container is aspirated for testing, so that real-time amount information of each reagent container can be detected in real time. When the reagent compartment 410 is detected to have insufficient reagent remaining amount of the reagent container, the controller 90 may send a prompt message to prompt the user to insert the required reagent container; the prompt message at least includes the reagent type information of the reagent container with insufficient reagent residual quantity.

In some embodiments, when it is detected that the reagent container in the reagent chamber 410 has insufficient reagent remaining amount, the reagent type information of the reagent container is obtained, and the reagent container having the same reagent type information in the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 is determined as the reagent container to be loaded. When the reagent residual quantity of a plurality of reagent containers in the reagent bin 410 is detected to be insufficient, at least the reagent type information of the reagent container with the smallest reagent residual quantity among the plurality of reagent containers is acquired, and the reagent container in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, which has the same reagent type information as the reagent type information of the reagent container with the smallest reagent residual quantity, is determined as the reagent container to be loaded. When determining the reagent container to be loaded from the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, the controller 90 may first query whether a reagent container having the same reagent type information exists in the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 according to the obtained reagent type information of the reagent container with insufficient reagent remaining amount — the information reader 470 may read the reagent information of each reagent container on the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, as described above, the reagent information includes the reagent type information; if the inquiry reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 has a reagent container with the same reagent type information, the controller 90 determines the reagent container to be loaded, otherwise, the controller 90 sends a prompt message to prompt the user to put the required reagent container; the prompt message at least includes the reagent type information of the reagent container with insufficient reagent residual quantity. In other embodiments, the controller 90 may also determine the corresponding reagent container in the reagent unloading and loading mechanism 450 as the reagent container to be loaded when receiving a user-triggered loading command. After determining the reagent container to be loaded from the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, the controller 90 controls the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to be loaded from the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent magazine 410, whether based on the reagent amount remaining or based on a user-triggered loading instruction. In order to reduce the influence of reagent loading on the normal work flow and test of the reagent chamber 410, a reagent loading time period may be set at each work timing cycle of the reagent chamber 410, the reagent loading time period is used for reagent loading, and only when the action of reagent loading needs to be matched with the reagent chamber 410, the reagent chamber 410 is controlled to perform corresponding action at the reagent loading time period, specifically: the controller 90 controls the transport mechanism 490 to remove the reagent container to be loaded from the reagent unloading and loading mechanism 450, and the controller 90 controls the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to be loaded above the predetermined position of the reagent chamber 410 — as can be seen, these actions can be performed independently of the reagent chamber 410, and the reagent chamber 410 is not affected while performing these actions; next, the controller 90 controls the carrying mechanism 490 to put the reagent container to be loaded into the reagent chamber 410 from above the preset position of the reagent chamber 410 during the above-mentioned reagent loading period, specifically, during this reagent loading period: the controller 90 controls the empty placing position of the reagent bin 410 to be dispatched to the preset position, controls the electric door 433 to be opened, controls the conveying mechanism 490 to place the reagent container to be loaded into the empty placing position of the reagent bin 410 from the upper part of the preset position of the reagent bin, and controls the electric door 433 to be closed. In some embodiments, the controller 90 also controls the information reader 470 to write the stored reagent balance information on the label of the reagent container to be loaded to zero before controlling the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to be loaded from the reagent unloading and loading mechanism 450 to the reagent cartridge 410.

In some embodiments, when the reagent remaining amount of a reagent container in the reagent compartment 410 is detected to be zero, the reagent container is empty or the reagent container is used up, and the controller 90 determines the reagent container as the reagent container to be discarded. The controller 90 then controls the transport mechanism 490 to transport the to-be-discarded reagent container from the reagent magazine 410 to the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 for disposal. Specifically, each duty cycle of the reagent cartridge 410 includes a reagent loading period during which the controller 90 controls the transport mechanism 490 to remove a corresponding reagent container from the reagent cartridge 410 when there is a reagent container to be discarded; the controller 90 then controls the transportation mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, for example, the discarding position 463, it should be noted that the operation of "the transportation mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, for example, the discarding position 463" may be in the reagent loading time period or the non-reagent loading time period, which is not limited in the present application.

The above is the process of discarding empty reagent containers during testing, and the process of unloading reagent containers is similar. The unloaded reagent container still has residual reagent and can be loaded to a local machine or other machines to participate in the test; generally, reagent containers are unloaded from the reagent magazine 410 — at this time the reagent balance of the reagent containers is usually not zero, mainly for loading the reagent containers to other machines; in other cases, it is possible to unload the reagent containers from the reagent magazine 410 in order to recover the reagent containers themselves for reuse, at which time the reagent balance in the reagent containers is typically zero. Therefore, if it is for the purpose of recovering the reagent container itself for reuse, in this case, when it is detected that the reagent container itself needs to be recovered has a reagent remaining amount of zero, the controller 90 determines the reagent container as the reagent container to be unloaded. More generally, in some cases, the user needs to unload the reagent container with reagent remaining amount not equal to zero, and load it to other machines for testing, at this time, the controller 90 may determine the corresponding reagent container in the reagent bin 410 as the reagent container to be unloaded according to the unloading instruction triggered by the user. After determining the reagent container to be unloaded, the controller 90 controls the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to be unloaded from the reagent cartridge 410 to the reagent unloading mechanism 450 for removal by the user. Specifically, each duty cycle of the reagent cartridge 410 includes a reagent loading period during which the controller 90 controls the transport mechanism 490 to remove a corresponding reagent container from the reagent cartridge 410 when there is a reagent container to be unloaded; the controller 90 then controls the transportation mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, for example, the storage location 462 thereof, and it should be noted that the operation of "the transportation mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, for example, the storage location 462 thereof" may be in the reagent loading period or in the non-reagent loading period, which is not limited in the present application. After the transport mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to be unloaded from the reagent magazine 410 to the reagent unloading mechanism 450, the controller 90 controls the information reader 470 to write the reagent remaining amount information of the reagent container into its tag to update the reagent remaining amount information in its tag, so that the actual reagent remaining amount of the reagent container can be known by its tag when the reagent container is reloaded in the local or other machine.

It can be seen that, in order to not affect and interrupt the normal test flow of the reagent chamber 410, when designing the working sequence cycle of the reagent chamber 410, the present application introduces a fixed reagent loading time period in the working sequence cycle, which is the same time period for each working sequence cycle and the same time period for the reagent loading time period in each working sequence cycle, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, an 8 second duty cycle, where 3.4 seconds are reserved as a fixed reagent loading period, in a non-reagent loading period of the duty cycle, the reagent magazine 410 may dispatch the reagent required by the current test item to the corresponding reagent aspirating position, and when the reagent magazine 410 is to unload or discard a reagent container, in the reagent loading period: the controller 90 controls the corresponding reagent container in the reagent bin 410 to be dispatched to a preset position, controls the electric door 433 to be opened, controls the conveying mechanism 490 to take the reagent container out of the preset position of the reagent bin 410, and controls the electric door 433 to be closed; this sequence of actions may be designed to be completed within the reagent loading time period so that normal test flow of reagent cartridge 410 is not affected and interrupted.

It can be seen that the working sequence cycle of the reagent chamber 410 is designed to have a fixed reagent loading time period, which can be used for reagent loading, reagent unloading and reagent discarding, and if no reagent needs to be loaded, unloaded and discarded, then no corresponding action can be taken for this reagent loading time period; in order to reduce the disturbance to the reagent chamber 410, only one of the three tasks of reagent loading, unloading and discarding can be performed in the reagent loading time period of each working timing cycle, and when at least two tasks of reagent loading, unloading and discarding are required simultaneously, reagent loading can be performed preferentially, reagent unloading can be performed next time, and reagent discarding can be performed again; of course, if the reagent magazine 410 currently has no empty place 423 for placing the reagent containers to be loaded, it is obvious that unloading or disposal of the reagent is therefore performed first.

The above description is of some structures and operations of the reagent cartridge 410, the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, and the carrying mechanism 490, and the description of other components in the sample analyzer is continued.

The processing unit 50 is configured to receive a cuvette carrying a sample and process the sample in the cuvette. The sample herein refers to a reaction solution composed of a sample and a reagent. There may be one or more processing units 50.

Referring to fig. 18, in some embodiments, at least one of the processing units 50 is a reaction component 51 for incubating a sample or specimen, and the reaction component 51 is used for carrying a reaction cup and incubating the sample or specimen in the reaction cup. In some embodiments, the reaction member 51 has a rectangular shape with a plurality of reaction cup placement positions. In general, the reaction component 51 can heat the reaction solution or sample in the reaction cup in each reaction cup placement position to incubate the sample, for example, the sample in the reaction cup is heated and maintained at 37 ± 0.5 ℃, and the specific heating time and heating temperature can be determined by the heating parameters corresponding to different test items. In some embodiments, the reaction member 51 has a length direction arranged in a first direction, for example, in a Y direction in the figure.

In some embodiments, at least one of the processing units 50 is a measuring unit 52 for measuring a sample, and the measuring unit 52 is used for carrying a reaction cup and detecting the sample in the reaction cup; in some embodiments, the measurement member 52 has a rectangular shape with a plurality of reaction cup placement positions. In general, the measuring unit 52 may be provided with one detecting unit (not shown) for each cuvette placement position, each detecting unit being for detecting a sample in a cuvette in the corresponding cuvette placement position. In some embodiments, the length direction of the measurement member 52 is arranged in a second direction different from the first direction, for example, in the X direction in the figure.

In some embodiments, the reaction part 51 and the assay part 52 are disposed in an adjacent manner around the reagent cartridge 410. In some specific embodiments, the reaction member 51 and the measurement member 52 are disposed along the first side 1a and the second side 1b, respectively, and surround the reagent cartridge 410 in an adjacent manner.

The rectangular reaction unit 51 and the rectangular measurement unit 52 are respectively disposed along the first side 1a and the second side 1b and adjacently surround the reagent cartridge 410, thereby saving space, reducing the size of the sample analyzer, and facilitating the interaction of the reagent cartridge 410 with the reaction unit 51 and the measurement unit 52 via the reagent dispensing unit 60.

In some embodiments, the sample introduction part 20, such as the sample introduction part 21, the reaction cup loading part 10, the reaction part 51, and the assay part 52, is disposed around the reagent cartridge 410. The reagent bin 410 is used as the center, the scheduling track of the whole detection process of the reaction cup is designed around the reagent bin 410, the design is novel, and the space is saved.

Each processing unit 50 may be configured with a corresponding index of action, e.g. the reaction part 51 is configured with at least one index 51a for placing a cuvette, the number of index 51a in the index may be one or more; when the position of the middle-of-incubation index 51a for placing the cuvette is set to 1, the middle-of-incubation index 51a may be set to a position-adjustable manner so that the cuvette placed on the middle-of-incubation index 51a can be positionally corresponding to each reagent needle in the first reagent dispensing unit (the first reagent dispensing unit corresponds to the reaction unit, and reagents are added to the cuvette in the reaction unit) to receive the reagent dispensed by each reagent needle. In some embodiments, an in-incubation translocation 51a is disposed between reagent cartridge 410 and reaction member 51. The measuring part 52 is provided with at least one measuring transfer site 52a for placing a cuvette, and the number of the measuring transfer sites 52a may be one or more; in some embodiments, the assay transfer site 52a is disposed between the reagent cartridge 410 and the assay component 52. When the position of the index 52a for placing the cuvette in the measurement is set to 1, the index 52a may be set to a position-adjustable manner so that the cuvette placed on the index 52a can be positionally-associated with each of the reagent needles in the second reagent dispensing unit (the second reagent dispensing unit is associated with the measurement unit, and reagent is added to the cuvette in the measurement unit) to receive the reagent dispensed from each of the reagent needles.

In fig. 18 is shown that the number of the translocation 51a in the incubation is one, and each translocation 51a in the incubation has two placement positions of the cuvette, for example, a first position and a second position for placing the cuvette; the number of the index 52a in the measurement is one, and each index 52a in the measurement has two placement positions for the cuvettes, for example, a third position and a fourth position for placing the cuvettes.

The reagent dispensing unit 60 is used to aspirate and discharge a reagent into a reaction cuvette, for example, a reaction cuvette at which a reagent is aspirated from a reagent aspirating site and discharged to a reagent adding site. For example, the reagent dispensing component 60 can aspirate a first reagent from a first reagent aspirating site mentioned herein and discharge the first reagent into a reaction cup; the reagent dispensing component 60 is capable of aspirating a second reagent from the second reagent site mentioned herein and discharging the second reagent into the reaction cup. In some embodiments, the reagent dispensing member 60 may be disposed within the housing 1.

The reagent dispensing unit 60 may be implemented by a reagent needle. Thus, in some embodiments, the reagent dispensing component 60 includes a reagent needle for aspirating reagent from the reagent cartridge 410 and discharging it into a reaction cup.

In view of the number of the reagent needles, in some embodiments, the reagent dispensing unit 60 may have a plurality of reagent needles, each of which is provided so as to be movable independently of each other. The reagent needle may be specifically configured such that: each processing unit 50 is configured with a set of reagent needles; the reagent needles are used for sucking the reagent from the reagent chamber 410 and discharging the reagent into the reaction cups of the corresponding processing units 50, and each set of the reagent needles at least includes two reagent needles. For example, a set of reagent needles may be provided for the reaction unit 51 and a set of reagent needles may be provided for the measurement unit 52. In particular some embodiments, the reaction component 51 may be configured with a first set of reagent needles arranged in a linear motion between a reagent aspirating position and an incubation index 51a for aspirating reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharging into a reaction cup located at the incubation index 51a, the first set of reagent needles comprising at least one reagent needle; similarly, the measurement unit 52 may be provided with a second group of reagent needles provided in a linear motion between a reagent aspirating position for aspirating a reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharging the reagent into a cuvette positioned at the measurement indexing position 52a, the second group of reagent needles including at least one reagent needle.

In view of the number of reagent dispensing units 60, in some embodiments, the number of reagent dispensing units 60 is equal to the number of processing units 50, and one reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponds to one processing unit 50. Fig. 1 to 3 above are all such examples. Specifically, there may be two reagent dispensing units 60, one of the reagent dispensing units 60 may correspond to the reaction unit 51, and the other reagent dispensing unit 60 may correspond to the measurement unit 52. Each processing unit 50 is provided with one reagent dispensing component 60, and the action of the reagent adding flow of the detection item is decomposed, namely, each reagent dispensing component 60 only needs to add corresponding reagent to the reaction cup of the corresponding processing unit 50, so that the sample adding of the corresponding reagent of the detection item is finished separately, and the efficiency is improved.

Next, a specific configuration of the reagent dispensing unit 60 will be described.

Referring to fig. 19, each of the reagent dispensing units 60 includes a plurality of reagent needles 61, a guide assembly 62 for guiding the plurality of reagent needles 61 to move linearly, and a second driving assembly 63 for driving the plurality of reagent needles 61 to move linearly along the guide assembly 62. The guide unit 62 is provided in a direction determined by the reagent aspirating position and the index of the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60, so that the reagent needle 61 aspirates the reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharges the reagent into the cuvette indexed by the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60. For example, the left reagent dispensing unit 60 in FIG. 19, the guide member 62 is disposed in the direction determined by the reagent aspirating position and the incubation index 51a of the reaction unit 51, so that the reagent needle 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 aspirates the reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharges the reagent into the cuvette positioned at the incubation index 51 a; the right-hand reagent dispensing unit 60 in fig. 19 is provided with a guide unit 62 in a direction determined by the reagent aspirating position and the measurement transfer position 52a of the measurement unit 52 so that the reagent needle 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 aspirates a reagent from the reagent aspirating position and discharges the reagent into a cuvette positioned at the measurement transfer position 52 a. In some embodiments, the number of the second driving assemblies 53 of each reagent dispensing unit 60 is equal to the number of the reagent needles 61, and the independent driving force output ends of the second driving assemblies 53 respectively act on the reagent needles 61 to drive the reagent needles 61 to move linearly along the guide assembly 52 between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position independently of each other. For example, the example shown in fig. 19 is an example in which each reagent dispensing unit 60 includes two reagent needles 61, and each reagent needle 61 is independently driven by a respective second driving unit 63.

The guide assembly 52 can be implemented in a variety of ways, a few of which are enumerated below.

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram of a side surface of the reagent dispensing unit 60. In some embodiments, the guide assembly 62 of each reagent dispensing unit 60 comprises: a cross member 62a, and a plurality of guides 62b arranged in parallel and along the length direction of the cross member 62 a; the beam 62a is provided along a direction determined by the aspirating reagent position and the index in the reagent of the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60; the number of the guides 62b is equal to the number of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60, and the plurality of reagent needles 61 are slidably connected to the plurality of guides 62b, respectively, so that the reagent needles 61 are linearly moved along the guides 62b between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position. In some embodiments, two reagent needles 61 are provided per reagent dispensing unit 60; two guide pieces 62b of each reagent dispensing unit 60 are provided, and each of the two guide pieces 62b is a linear guide; the two linear guide rails are respectively arranged at two sides of the beam 62a along the long axis direction of the beam 62a, fig. 21 shows a schematic diagram of one side of the beam 62a, and the structure at the other side exposes one reagent needle 61; the two reagent needles 61 are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails on the two sides of the cross beam 62a and are connected with the linear guide rails in a sliding manner; the reagent needle 61 moves linearly along the linear guide where it is located between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position.

This is an embodiment in which one reagent dispensing unit is realized by providing one reagent needle on each side of one beam. In another embodiment, a single reagent dispensing unit may be implemented by two parallel beams, and only one reagent needle is disposed on each beam, which will be described in detail below.

Referring to fig. 21 and 22, in some embodiments, the guide assembly 62 of each reagent dispensing unit 60 includes: a plurality of cross members 62a arranged in parallel, and a plurality of guides 62b provided on the plurality of cross members 62a, respectively, and arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cross members 62 a; a plurality of the beams 62a are provided in a direction determined by the aspirating reagent position and the index in the reagent of the processing unit 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60; the number of the guides 62b is equal to the number of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60, and the plurality of reagent needles 61 are slidably connected to the plurality of guides 62b, respectively, so that the reagent needles 61 are linearly moved along the guides 62b between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent adding position. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of guides 62b of each reagent dispensing unit 60 is a linear guide, and the plurality of linear guides are respectively disposed along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of beams 62 a; the plurality of reagent needles 61 are respectively arranged on the linear guide rails of the plurality of cross beams 62a and are connected with the linear guide rails in a sliding manner; the reagent needle 61 moves linearly along the linear guide where it is located between the reagent aspirating position and the reagent loading position.

In some embodiments, the cross beam 52a of the guide assembly 52 in each reagent dispensing unit 60 is fixed to a position above the index in the test sample of the processing cell 50 corresponding to the reagent dispensing unit 60 and the reagent aspirating position.

The reagent dispensing component 60 with multiple needles moving linearly is realized through a beam structure, the movement track of the reagent needle 61 does not occupy too much space and the layout interference on other components is reduced as much as possible, so that the structure of the sample analysis device can be more compact, and the miniaturization design of the sample analysis device is very facilitated.

In some embodiments, the reagent needles 61 of different reagent dispensing units 60 do not intersect with each other along the linear movement path, so that the movement of the reagent needles 61 of different reagent dispensing units 60 is not interfered with each other, which is beneficial to improving the testing speed.

In some embodiments, there is at least one processing unit 50, and the reagent adding index includes the same number of cuvette placement positions as the number of reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the processing unit 50. For example, in the example shown in fig. 18, the reaction part 51 has a medium adding reagent translocation, that is, a medium incubation translocation 51a in the figure, and the medium incubation translocation 51a can accommodate two reaction cups; the number of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reaction unit 51 is two. In fig. 18, the reagent adding transfer position of the measuring unit 52 is a transfer position 52a in the figure, and two cuvettes can be placed in the transfer position 52 a; the number of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the measurement unit 52 is two. In some embodiments, the number of reagent aspirating sites is the same as the number of reagent needles. For example, in fig. 18, since two reagent dispensing units 60 are provided in common and two reagent needles 61 are provided for each reagent dispensing unit 60, the number of aspirating reagent sites is four. The number of the reagent needles is the same as that of the reagent adding positions, so that each reagent needle can clearly divide labor to add reagents into reaction cups on the respective reagent adding positions, and the test speed is improved.

In some embodiments, the reagent needles 61 in the same reagent dispensing unit 60 are used to aspirate the same type of reagent. For example, the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reaction unit 51 are all used for aspirating the first reagent, and the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the measurement unit 52 are all used for aspirating the second reagent. The different reagent dispensing members 60 are used for sucking different reagents, so that the reagent dispensing members 60 are clearly divided, and the test speed is improved.

In some embodiments, each of the reagent needles 61 of the reagent dispensing unit 60 is provided with a heating unit (not shown) for heating the reagent aspirated by the reagent needle. Since each reagent dispensing unit 60 includes a plurality of reagent needles 61, and there are no two reagent needles as an example, each reagent needle 61 is further provided with a heating member, and since there are two reagent needles 61, each reagent needle 61 has sufficient time, for example, twice the time, to heat the aspirated reagent while maintaining the original speed, so that the reagent reaches the corresponding processing unit 50, the temperature of the reagent is relatively close to the predetermined temperature, that is, the reagent is sufficiently preheated.

The above is some description of the reagent dispensing unit 60. The following description will discuss the relationship and the corresponding configuration between the reagent dispensing unit 60 and the processing unit 50, taking the number of the processing units 50 as two, and specifically, the reaction unit 51 and the measurement unit 52 as an example.

In some embodiments, the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the reaction unit 51 is a first reagent dispensing unit, and the reagent dispensing unit 60 corresponding to the measurement unit 52 is a second reagent dispensing unit, which will be described in detail below.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing component 60 comprises a first beam 62a and a first set of reagent needles comprising at least a plurality, e.g., two, of the first reagent needles 6 b; the plurality of first reagent needles 61 are provided on the first beam 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the first beam 62a to suck the first reagent from the first reagent sucking site and discharge the first reagent into the cuvette located at the position 51a during incubation. In some embodiments, the first beam 62a is disposed along the direction defined by the first reagent absorption site and the middle incubation position 51a, and the first beam 62a is fixedly disposed at an upper position corresponding to the first reagent absorption site and the middle incubation position 51 a.

In some embodiments, the first cross member 62a of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 is provided in one piece, and the plurality of first reagent needles 61 are provided in parallel on the one first cross member 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the first cross member 62 a. Taking the first group of reagent needles having two first reagent needles 61 as an example, two linear guide rails are respectively disposed on two sides of the first beam 62a along the long axis direction thereof, the two first reagent needles 61 are respectively disposed on the linear guide rails on two sides of the first beam 62a, and the first reagent needles 61 make linear motion between the first reagent sucking position and the incubation middle position 51a along the linear guide rails on which the first reagent needles are disposed. This is an embodiment in which the first reagent dispensing unit is realized by providing one first reagent needle on each of both sides of one first beam.

In some embodiments, the number of the first beams 62a of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 is equal to the number of the plurality of first reagent needles 61 of the first group of reagent needles, one first reagent needle 61 is disposed on each of the first beams 62a, and two first beams 62a are disposed in parallel. In some specific embodiments, each of the plurality of first beams 62a is provided with a linear guide along the long axis direction thereof, and the plurality of first reagent needles 61 are respectively provided on the linear guides of the plurality of first beams 62a for the first reagent needles 61 to perform linear motion between the first reagent sucking position and the incubation middle position 51 a. This embodiment of the first reagent dispensing unit is realized by a plurality of, for example, two parallel first beams, and only one first reagent needle is provided for each first beam.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes a plurality of driving mechanisms, such as second driving assemblies, which independently drive the plurality of first reagent needles to move linearly, the number of the plurality of second driving assemblies is equal to the number of the plurality of first reagent needles, and independent driving force output ends of the plurality of second driving assemblies respectively act on the plurality of first reagent needles to drive the plurality of first reagent needles to move linearly along the long axis direction of the first beam between the first reagent sucking position and the middle incubation position 51 a.

Without taking the above example where the index 51a includes the first position and the second position for placing the cuvette during incubation as an example, in the case where the first reagent dispensing unit 60 has two first reagent needles 61, one of the first reagent needles 61 is linearly moved along the first beam 62a between the first aspirating position and the first position, and the other of the first reagent needles 61 is linearly moved along the first beam 62a between the first aspirating position and the second position.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes first Z-direction driving assemblies 64 for driving the first reagent needles 61 of the first group of reagent needles to move in the vertical direction, respectively, the number of the first Z-direction driving assemblies 64 being the same as the number of the first reagent needles 61 of the first group of reagent needles; the first Z-drive assemblies 64 each include: a first Z-direction guide 64a for guiding the movement of the first reagent needle 61 in the vertical direction, and a first Z-direction drive 64b for driving the first reagent needle to move along the first Z-direction guide; the first reagent needle 61 is slidably connected to the first cross beam 62a via the first Z-direction guide 64a and the first Z-direction drive 64b, so that the first reagent needle 61 can move in the vertical direction relative to the first cross beam 62a under the drive of the first Z-direction drive 64 b. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, in the case of a reciprocating linear motion, the reagent needle needs to be moved in a vertical direction when reaching each position to perform operations of sucking and discharging the reagent.

In some embodiments, the first reagent needle 61 may further be provided with a heating member (not shown) for heating the reagent sucked by the first reagent needle.

The above description is of the first reagent dispensing unit 60, and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 will be described below.

The second reagent dispensing unit 60 includes a second beam 62a and a second group of reagent needles, which includes at least a plurality of, for example, two second reagent needles 61; the plurality of second reagent needles 61 are provided on the second cross member 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the second cross member 62a to suck the second reagent from the second reagent sucking site and discharge the second reagent into the cuvette positioned at the measurement center position 52 a. In some embodiments, the second beam 62a is disposed along the direction defined by the second reagent sucking position and the assay transit position 52a, and the second beam 62a is fixedly disposed at an upper position corresponding to the second reagent sucking position and the assay transit position 52 a.

In some embodiments, the second beam 62a of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 is provided in one piece, and the plurality of second reagent needles 61 are provided in parallel on the one second beam 62a and linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the second beam 62 a. Taking the second group of reagent needles as an example, two first reagent needles 61 are provided on both sides of the second beam 62a along the long axis direction thereof, one linear guide rail is provided on each of both sides of the second beam 62a, the two second reagent needles 61 are provided on the linear guide rails on both sides of the second beam 62a, and the second reagent needles 61 linearly move between the second reagent sucking position and the measurement transfer position 52a along the linear guide rails on which the second reagent needles are provided. This is an embodiment in which the second reagent dispensing unit is realized by providing one second reagent needle on each of both sides of one second beam.

In some embodiments, the number of the second beams 62a of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 is equal to the number of the second reagent needles 61 of the second group of reagent needles, one second reagent needle 61 is disposed on each of the second beams 62a, and two second beams 62a are disposed in parallel. In some specific embodiments, each of the plurality of second beams 62a is provided with a linear guide along the long axis direction thereof, and the plurality of second reagent needles 61 are respectively provided on the linear guides of the plurality of second beams 62a for the second reagent needles 61 to perform linear motion between the second reagent sucking site and the assay transfer site 52 a. This embodiment of the second reagent dispensing unit is realized by a plurality of, for example, two parallel second beams, and only one second reagent needle is provided for each second beam.

In some embodiments, the second reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes a plurality of driving mechanisms, such as a third driving unit, different from the second driving unit and configured to drive the plurality of second reagent needles to move linearly independently of each other, the number of the third driving units is equal to the number of the plurality of second reagent needles, and independent driving force output ends of the plurality of third driving units respectively act on the plurality of second reagent needles to drive the plurality of second reagent needles to move linearly between the second reagent site and the assay transfer site along the long axis direction of the second beam. The second drive assembly and the third drive assembly may be identical in construction.

Without taking the case where the index 52a includes the third position and the fourth position for placing the cuvette in the above measurement as an example, in the case where the second reagent dispensing unit 60 has two second reagent needles 61, one of the second reagent needles 61 is linearly moved along the second beam 62a between the second pipetting reagent position and the third position, and the other second reagent needle 61 is linearly moved along the second beam 62a between the second pipetting reagent position and the fourth position.

In some embodiments, the second reagent dispensing unit 60 further includes second Z-direction driving assemblies 64 for driving the second reagent needles 61 of the second group of reagent needles to move in the vertical direction, respectively, the number of the second Z-direction driving assemblies 64 being the same as the number of the second reagent needles 61 of the second group of reagent needles; the second Z-drive assemblies 64 each include: a second Z-direction guide 64a for guiding the movement of the second reagent needle 61 in the vertical direction, and a second Z-direction drive 64b for driving the second reagent needle 61 to move along the second Z-direction guide 64 a; the second reagent needle 61 is slidably connected to the second cross beam 62a through the second Z-direction guide 64a and the second Z-direction driving member 64b, so that the second reagent needle 61 can move in the vertical direction relative to the second cross beam 62a under the driving of the second Z-direction driving member 64 b.

In some embodiments, the second reagent needle 61 may further be provided with a heating member (not shown) for heating the reagent sucked by the second reagent needle.

In some embodiments, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 has a first movement locus as a locus of linear movement of the plurality of first reagent needles 61 between the first reagent aspirating position and the in-incubation index 51 a; a locus of linear motion of the plurality of second reagent needles 61 included in the second reagent dispensing unit 60 between the second aspirating reagent site and the measurement transfer site 52a is a second motion locus; wherein the first motion profile does not intersect the second motion profile.

The first reagent dispensing unit 60 and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 may have the same structure except that they are arranged in different directions, the first reagent dispensing unit 60 is arranged in the direction of the reaction unit 51 to be engaged with the reaction unit 51, and the second reagent dispensing unit 60 is arranged in the direction of the measurement unit 52 to be engaged with the measurement unit 52.

The above is some description of the reagent dispensing unit 60. The reagent dispensing unit 60 performs a reciprocating linear motion of the reagent needle 61 between the reagent aspirating position of the reagent magazine 410 and the reagent loading position of the corresponding processing unit by a beam structure, thereby aspirating and discharging the corresponding reagent.

The movement of different reagent dispensing components 60 is independent and not interfered with each other, thus playing an obvious role in the space miniaturization of the instrument and the improvement of the testing speed.

The scheduling unit 70 is used to schedule the cuvettes, for example, the scheduling unit 70 schedules cuvettes positioned at the loading position and loaded with sample to each processing unit 50 according to the flow of detection, for example, the scheduling unit 70 schedules cuvettes loaded with a reagent, for example, a first reagent, at the position 51a during incubation to the reaction unit 51, and schedules cuvettes loaded with a reagent, for example, a second reagent, at the position 52a during measurement to the measurement unit 52. The following describes a specific configuration of the scheduling unit 70.

Referring to fig. 23, in some embodiments, the dispatching component 70 includes a first transferring component 71, a second transferring component 73, and a third transferring component 75, and in order to cooperate with the three transferring

components

71, 73, and 75, in some embodiments, the sample analysis device further includes a first buffer centering bit 77 and a second buffer centering bit 78. In some embodiments, the first buffer middle-shift bit 77 may adopt a fixed buffer bit design, and only one cuvette placement bit is provided, that is, only one cuvette can be placed, which is beneficial to reduce the size and dimension of the sample analysis apparatus; similarly, the first buffer centering bit 78 may be designed as a fixed buffer bit, and only one cuvette placement bit is provided, i.e., only one cuvette can be placed, which is advantageous for reducing the size and size of the sample analysis apparatus. Of course, in some embodiments, the first cache middle bit 77 and the second cache middle bit 78 may be designed to have multiple cuvette placement positions when a fixed cache bit design is used, so that more cuvette placement positions are scheduled. Even more, in some embodiments, the first buffer centering bit 77 may be designed as a moving or rotating buffer bit, for example, the first buffer centering bit 77 may include a cup placing bit that can be driven to move or rotate, so that during the process of the first transfer unit 71 transferring the cups to the first buffer centering bit 77, the first buffer centering bit 77 may also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to receive the cups transferred by the first transfer unit 71, and in addition, when the second transfer unit 73 needs to transfer the cups on the first buffer centering bit 77, the first buffer centering bit 77 may also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to enable the second transfer unit 73 to more quickly capture the cups on the first buffer centering bit 77; similarly, the second buffer index 78 may include a cup placement position that can be driven to move or rotate, such that during the transfer of a cup by the second transfer unit 73 to the second buffer index 78, the second buffer index 78 can also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to receive a cup transferred by the second transfer unit 73, and further, when the third transfer unit 73 needs to transfer a cup on the second buffer index 78 away, the second buffer index 78 can also be controlled to move or rotate to a predetermined position to enable the third transfer unit 75 to more quickly capture a cup on the second buffer index 78; through the design, the whole transfer process of the reaction cup is quicker and less time-consuming, and the efficiency and the testing speed of the sample analysis device are improved.

The first transfer member 71, the second transfer member 73 and the third transfer member 75 can be implemented in various ways, such as a rail-type transfer member for transferring the cuvettes by placing the cuvettes on a rail; for example, the reaction cups are placed on the rotating disc type structure, and the reaction cups carried by the rotating disc are transported to corresponding positions through the transportation of the rotating disc; the first transfer unit 71, the second transfer unit 73, and the third transfer unit 75 are implemented, for example, by driving a cup grasping hand by a two-dimensional or three-dimensional driving mechanism, grasping a reaction cup by the cup grasping hand, and then driving the cup grasping hand to move by the two-dimensional or three-dimensional driving mechanism, thereby implementing transfer of the reaction cup to a corresponding position, which will not be described below in a manner of implementing the transfer unit by the cup grasping hand.

The transfer elements and their function will be explained below.

The first transfer unit 71 is used to transfer the cuvette after the sample application to the first buffer position 77. In some embodiments, the first transferring member 71 moves linearly in a first direction, for example, the Y direction in the figure, and transfers the reaction cuvette with the sample loaded thereon to the first buffer for indexing 77. Because the first transfer component 71 moves along a straight line to move the reaction cups, the volume of the sample analysis device occupied by the reaction cups in the transfer process is relatively reduced, and the miniaturization design of the sample analysis device is facilitated.

Referring to fig. 24, in some embodiments, the sample analysis device can further include a sample loading position 10a, a pre-dilution position 10b, a first cup throwing position 10c, and a second cup throwing position 10 d. In some embodiments, the first transfer component 71 can move along a first direction, e.g., Y direction in the figure, between the sample loading position 10a, the pre-dilution position 10b, the first cup throwing position 10c and the first buffer indexing position 77. The sample addition site 10a may be a predetermined position to which the empty cuvette is loaded by the cuvette loading unit 10 as mentioned above, and in general, the sample dispensing unit 30 sucks a sample from the sample addition site and discharges the sample into the cuvette located at the sample addition site 10a to complete sample addition. In some cases, the sample needs to be pre-diluted, and therefore in this case, the first transferring member 71 first transfers the empty cuvette at the loading position 10a to the pre-dilution position 10b, the sample dispensing member 30 sucks the sample from the sample sucking position and discharges the sample into the cuvette at the pre-dilution position 10b, and then the sample in the cuvette at the pre-dilution position 10b is diluted; in this process, the cuvette loading unit 10 loads a new empty cuvette to the sample application site 10a, and then the sample dispensing unit 30 sucks the pre-diluted sample from the cuvette in the pre-dilution site 10b and discharges the pre-diluted sample to the sample application site 10a, thereby completing sample application; the first transfer unit 71 transfers the cuvettes at the pre-dilution position 10b to the cup-throwing position 10c for cup-throwing.

As described above, in some embodiments, the first transfer member 71 only needs to move in the first direction, and therefore, the driving member of the first transfer member 71 may be a two-dimensional driving member for driving the cup grasping hand of the first transfer member 71 to move in the first direction and the vertical direction, wherein the first direction may be the Y direction in the figure, and the vertical direction is the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure. In some embodiments, the cup grasping hand of the first transferring member 71 grasps, for example, a cuvette at the sample adding position 10a along a second direction, for example, an X direction in the figure, so that the first transferring member 71 does not affect the sample dispensing member 30 to discharge a sample into the cuvette when grasping the cuvette, and thus the sample dispensing member 30 can complete sample adding of the cuvette while grasping the cuvette by the first transferring member 71, thereby saving time and improving measurement speed and efficiency.

The above are some descriptions of the first transfer member 71.

The second transfer unit 73 is used to transfer the cuvette in the index 77 in the first buffer to the reaction unit 51, and to transfer the cuvette in the reaction unit 51 after completion of the incubation of the sample to the index 78 in the second buffer. In some embodiments, second transfer component 73 transfers the cuvettes indexed 77 in the first buffer to reaction component 51 and transfers the cuvettes incubated with the sample in reaction component 51 to second buffer by linear movement in a first direction, e.g., the direction of the figure, and a second direction, e.g., the direction X of the figure. Because the second transfer component 73 moves along the straight line to move the reaction cups, the volume of the sample analysis device occupied by the reaction cups in the conveying process is relatively reduced, and the miniaturization design of the sample analysis device is facilitated.

In a specific transfer process, the second transfer unit 73 may first transfer the cuvette in the index 77 in the first buffer to the index 51a during incubation, the reagent dispensing unit 60 may aspirate the reagent and discharge the reagent into the cuvette in the index 51a during incubation, and the second transfer unit 73 may then transfer the cuvette in the index 51a during incubation to the reaction unit 51.

In some embodiments, the second transfer member 73 can move in a first direction (e.g., Y direction in the figure), a second direction (e.g., X direction in the figure), and a vertical direction (e.g., perpendicular to the drawing sheet), so the driving member of the second transfer member 73 can be a three-dimensional driving member for driving the cup grasping hand of the second transfer member 73 to move in the first direction, the second direction, and the vertical direction.

In some embodiments, the cup grasping hand of the second transfer component 73 grasps the reaction cup along a second direction, for example, the X direction in the figure, so that the second transfer component 71 does not affect the reagent dispensing component 60, for example, the first reagent dispensing component, to add the reagent to the reaction cup when grasping the reaction cup, thereby enabling the reagent dispensing component 60 to complete reagent adding to the reaction cup while grasping the reaction cup by the second transfer component 73, saving time and improving measurement speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, the direction in which the second transfer part 73 grips the cuvette and the direction in which the first group of reagent needles moves linearly are greater than 90 degrees, so that the action of the second transfer part 73 gripping the cuvette and the action of adding the reagent to the first group of reagent needles are less likely to conflict with each other, and the two actions can be performed independently and in parallel reasonably.

In some embodiments, the second transfer component 73 transfers the cuvette from the incubation position 51a to the reaction component 51, and also mixes the sample in the cuvette. For example, after the second transfer unit 73 transfers the cuvette after the sample addition from the first buffer to the index 77 and places the cuvette in the index 51a during incubation, the reagent dispensing unit 60 sequentially adds a reagent such as the first reagent to the cuvette at the index 51a during incubation, and the second transfer unit 73 picks up the cuvette after the reagent addition, mixes the cuvette and transfers the cuvette to the reaction unit 51; specifically, the second transfer component 73 can drive the cup grabbing hand to shake rapidly through the driving component 71b to mix the sample in the reaction cup grabbed by the cup grabbing hand uniformly. The second transfer part 73 has a blending function, so that the sample analysis device does not need to be provided with an independent blending mechanism, the structure of the sample analysis device is more compact, and the cost is reduced; in addition, the second transfer component 73 is used for uniformly mixing when grabbing the reaction cups for transfer, so that time is saved, and the reaction cups do not need to be specially dispatched to a corresponding uniformly mixing mechanism for uniformly mixing.

The above are some descriptions of the second transfer member 73. The second transfer part 73 can and realizes transfer of cuvettes between the first buffer indexing 77, the incubation indexing 51a, the reaction part 51 and the second buffer indexing 78 by linear movement in the first direction and the second direction.

The third transfer unit 75 is used to transfer the cuvette transferred 78 in the second buffer to the measurement unit 52. In some embodiments, the third transfer component 75 transports the cuvettes indexed 78 in the second buffer to the assay component 52 by linear motion in a first direction, e.g., the direction of the figure, and a second direction, e.g., the direction X of the figure. Because the third transfer member 75 moves linearly to move the cuvette, the volume of the sample analyzer occupied by the cuvette during transportation is relatively reduced, which is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the sample analyzer.

In a specific transfer process, the third transfer unit 75 may first transfer the cuvette in the second buffer indexing position 78 to the measurement indexing position 52a, the reagent dispensing unit 60 may aspirate the reagent and discharge the reagent into the cuvette in the measurement indexing position 52a, and the third transfer unit 75 may transfer the cuvette in the measurement indexing position 75a to the measurement unit 52. In some embodiments, when the third transfer unit 75 transfers the cuvette from the second buffer index 78 to the assay index 52a, the third transfer unit 75 may not place the cuvette in the assay index 52a, but still grasp the cuvette, in which case the reagent dispensing unit 60 aspirates and dispenses the reagent to the cuvette, so that the time for the cuvette to be indexed 78 from the second buffer into the assay unit 52 is reduced, thereby improving the testing speed. In some embodiments, the third transferring member 75 may move along a first direction (e.g., Y direction in the figure), a second direction (e.g., X direction in the figure), and a vertical direction (e.g., perpendicular to the drawing sheet), so that the driving member of the third transferring member 75 may be a three-dimensional driving member for driving the cup grasping hand of the third transferring member 75 to move along the first direction, the second direction, and the vertical direction.

In some embodiments, the cup grasping hand of the third transferring member 75 grasps the reaction cup along the first direction, for example, the Y direction in the figure, so that the reagent dispensing member 60, for example, the second reagent dispensing member, does not affect the reagent dispensing member 60 to add the reagent to the reaction cup while the third transferring member 75 grasps the reaction cup during the whole reagent adding process, thereby enabling the reagent dispensing member 60 to complete reagent adding to the reaction cup while the third transferring member 75 grasps the reaction cup, saving time, and improving the measuring speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, the direction in which the third transferring member 75 grips the cuvettes and the direction in which the second group of reagent needles moves linearly are greater than 90 degrees, so that the action of the third transferring member 75 gripping the cuvettes and the action of the second group of reagent needles adding are less likely to conflict with each other, and the third transferring member 75 gripping the cuvettes and the second group of reagent needles adding can perform corresponding actions very reasonably independently and in parallel.

In some embodiments, the third transfer member 75 mixes the sample in the cuvette during the transfer from the assay transfer position 52a to the assay member 52. For example, when the third transfer component 75 transfers a cuvette from the second buffer 78 to the assay index 52a — in some embodiments, the third transfer component 75 indexes the cuvette 52a during transfer without dropping the cuvette, while still grasping the cuvette; the reagent dispensing unit 60 then adds a reagent such as a second reagent to the cuvette at the transfer position 52a, and the third transfer unit 75 then mixes the sample in the grasped cuvette and transfers the sample to the measuring unit 52; specifically, the third transfer component 75 can drive the cup grabbing hand to shake rapidly through the driving component 71b to mix the sample in the reaction cup grabbed by the cup grabbing hand. The third transfer part 75 has a blending function, so that the sample analysis device does not need to be provided with an independent blending mechanism, the structure of the sample analysis device is more compact, and the cost is reduced; in addition, the third transfer unit 75 transfers the cuvettes to the original transfer path, for example, by indexing the cuvette 52a during the measurement, thereby saving time and eliminating the need to schedule the cuvettes to a corresponding mixing mechanism for mixing.

In some examples, the third transferring component 75 may further grab a reaction cup that has been measured in the measuring component 52 after the reaction cup is dispatched to the measuring component 52, and then transfer the reaction cup to the second cup throwing position 10d for cup throwing, and in some embodiments, the second cup throwing position 10d may be disposed near the second buffer indexing position 78 or between the measuring component 52 and the second buffer indexing position 78, so that the third transferring component 75 may incidentally perform cup throwing on the reaction cup that has been measured in the measuring component 52 when indexing 78 from the measuring component 52 to the second buffer to transfer the reaction cup on the second buffer indexing position 78, thereby saving time and improving testing efficiency.

The above are some descriptions of the third transfer component 75. The third transfer unit 75 can and realizes transfer of cuvettes between the second buffer indexing position 78, the assay transfer position 52a, the assay unit 52 and even the second cup throwing position 10d by linear motion in the first direction and the second direction.

The above is a description of the scheduling component 70 according to some embodiments of the present invention, and the present application completes the rapid transportation of the cuvettes through three transportation components, namely, the first transportation component 71, the second transportation component 73, and the third transportation component 75, and the scheduling path of the cuvettes is simple and direct, which is beneficial to speed up of the sample analysis device; the transition between these three transfer units is accomplished in coordination with two cache indexes, namely first cache index 77 and second cache index 78, and is also simple and compact in structure.

Some specific work flows of the sample analyzer will be described below.

The sample analysis device in some embodiments may be operated as such.

The cuvette loader 10 supplies and carries empty cuvettes. For example, the cuvette holding member 10 can hold an empty cuvette at a predetermined position, and the predetermined position can be used as a sample addition position. The sample introduction part 20, for example, the sample introduction part 21, dispatches the sample rack carrying the sample to the sample suction position. The sample dispensing unit 30 suctions a sample from the sample suction position and dispenses the sample into a cuvette, and for example, the sample dispensing unit suctions the sample from the sample suction position and discharges the sample into a cuvette located at the sample application position to complete sample application.

The drive means of the reagent carrying part 60 drives the reagent carrying part 60 to rotate so that the reagent container carrying the first reagent is located at the first reagent uptake location. At least one of the two reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 sucks the first reagent in the reagent container through the first reagent sucking site, and moves linearly between the first reagent sucking site and the index of the reagent in the reaction unit 51 to dispense the first reagent into the reaction cup indexed by the reagent in the reaction unit 51. The translocation in the reagent of the reaction part 51 may be the translocation in incubation 51a mentioned herein. In some embodiments, the two first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 are linearly moved between the first reagent aspirating positions and the indexing in-reagent positions of the reaction unit 51 independently of each other. Thus, the two first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 can independently, for example, alternately perform the operation of adding the first reagent to the cuvette positioned at the reagent adding position of the reaction unit 51, thereby improving the testing speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, each of the first reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing unit 60 sequentially performs a plurality of preset actions to complete the first reagent adding operation, and at least one of the preset actions between every two first reagent needles 61 does not overlap in time sequence. In this way, the two reagent needles 61 of the first reagent dispensing component 60 can avoid occupying as little common resources as possible, so that the number of components providing corresponding common resources can be reduced, and the sample analysis apparatus can be more compact; in addition, the timing of the operations of the two first reagent needles 61 is arranged in such a manner that the mutual influence between them is avoided as much as possible, which is advantageous for speeding up the sample analyzer.

The scheduling unit 70 schedules the cuvette into which the first reagent has been dispensed to the reaction unit 51 for incubation, and schedules the cuvette after incubation to the reagent to be added to the measurement unit 52 for indexing. The reagent-mediated translocation of the assay part 52 may be the assay-mediated translocation 52a mentioned herein.

The reagent disk 420 of the reagent cartridge 410 is rotated so that the reagent container carrying the second reagent is located at the second reagent aspiration position. At least one of the two reagent needles of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 sucks the second reagent in the reagent container through the second reagent sucking site, and performs linear motion between the second reagent sucking site and the index of the measuring unit, thereby dispensing the second reagent into the cuvette indexed by the index of the measuring unit 52. In some embodiments, the two second reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 are linearly moved independently of each other between the second aspirating reagent position and the indexing of the reagent in the measurement unit 52. Thus, the two second reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 can independently, for example, alternately perform the operation of adding the second reagent to the cuvette in the measuring unit 52 at the index during reagent addition, thereby improving the test speed and efficiency. In some embodiments, each of the second reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing unit 60 sequentially performs a plurality of preset actions to complete the second reagent adding operation, and at least one of the preset actions between every two second reagent needles 61 does not overlap in time sequence. In this way, the two reagent needles 61 of the second reagent dispensing component 60 can avoid occupying as little common resources as possible, so that the number of components providing corresponding common resources can be reduced, and the sample analysis apparatus can be more compact; in addition, the action time sequence of the two second reagent needles is arranged, and the mutual influence between the two second reagent needles is avoided to the greatest extent, which is favorable for the speed increase of the sample analysis device.

The scheduling unit 70 schedules the cuvette into which the second reagent has been dispensed to the measuring unit 52 for item detection, and schedules the cuvette after detection to a disposal/recovery device, such as the second cup-throwing position mentioned herein.

The above are some descriptions of the sample analyzing apparatus of the present invention. In some embodiments, the invention also discloses a reagent scheduling method, which can be used for discarding reagents in a test process. Referring to fig. 25, the reagent scheduling method in some embodiments includes the following steps:

reagent residue detection step 1000: and detecting the reagent residual amount information of each reagent container carried by the reagent bin.

Specifically, when a reagent container is loaded from the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent magazine 410, the label information of the reagent container is read by the information reader 470, so that the remaining amount or the loading amount of the reagent container, for example, a test amount of 100 times can be obtained. Therefore, the initial amount of reagent containers loaded into the reagent magazine 410 can be known, and the reagent amount of the reagent containers is reduced by 1 every time the reagent containers are sucked for testing, so that the real-time amount information of each reagent container can be detected in real time.

Rejection object determination step 1100: when the reagent residual quantity of the reagent container in the reagent bin is detected to be zero, the reagent container is determined as the reagent container to be discarded.

It is understood that when the reagent remaining amount of the reagent container in the reagent compartment 410 is detected to be zero, it indicates that the reagent of the reagent container is exhausted or an empty reagent container, and then the step 1100 determines the reagent container with the reagent remaining amount of zero as the reagent container to be discarded.

A discarding step 1200: and controlling the conveying mechanism to convey the reagent container to be discarded from the reagent bin to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism so as to perform discarding treatment.

Specifically, each duty cycle of the reagent magazine 410 comprises a reagent loading period, and when there is a reagent container to be discarded, step 1200 controls the transport mechanism 490 to take the corresponding reagent container out of the reagent magazine 410 during the reagent loading period; then, in step 1200, the transportation mechanism 490 is controlled to transport the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, for example, the discarding position 463 thereof, and it should be noted that the operation of "the transportation mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, for example, the discarding position 463 thereof" may be in the reagent loading time period or the non-reagent loading time period, which is not limited in the present application.

The above is the process of discarding empty reagent containers during testing, and the process of unloading reagent containers is similar. The unloaded reagent container still has residual reagent and can be loaded to a local machine or other machines to participate in the test; generally, reagent containers are unloaded from the reagent magazine 410 — at this time the reagent balance of the reagent containers is usually not zero, mainly for loading the reagent containers to other machines; in other cases, it is possible to unload the reagent containers from the reagent magazine 410 in order to recover the reagent containers themselves for reuse, at which time the reagent balance in the reagent containers is typically zero. Therefore, if it is for the purpose of recovering the reagent container itself for reuse, in this case, when it is detected that the reagent container itself needs to be recovered has a reagent remaining amount of zero, the reagent container can be determined as the reagent container to be unloaded. More generally, in some cases, a user needs to unload a reagent container with a reagent balance not equal to zero, load the reagent container into another machine for testing, and at this time, the corresponding reagent container in the reagent bin 410 is determined as a reagent container to be unloaded according to an unloading instruction triggered by the user, and then unload the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450.

Therefore, referring to fig. 26 and 27, the reagent scheduling method in some embodiments includes the following steps:

uninstalled object determination step 2100: and when an unloading instruction triggered by a user is received, determining a corresponding reagent container in the reagent bin as a reagent container to be unloaded.

For example, a user may determine a reagent container in the reagent cartridge as a reagent container to be unloaded by using an input tool such as a mouse or a keyboard.

An unloading step 2200: and controlling a conveying mechanism to convey the reagent container to be unloaded from the reagent bin to a reagent loading and unloading mechanism for a user to take out.

Specifically, each duty cycle of the reagent cartridge 410 includes a reagent loading period, and when there is a reagent container to be unloaded, step 2200 controls the transport mechanism 490 to remove the corresponding reagent container from the reagent cartridge 410 during the reagent loading period; step 2200 then controls the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, e.g., to storage location 462 thereof, wherein the action of "the transport mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, e.g., to storage location 462 thereof" may be during a reagent loading period or during a non-reagent loading period, which is not limited in this application. After the transport mechanism 490 transports the reagent container to be unloaded from the reagent magazine 410 to the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450, the unloading update step 2300 may be further performed: the control information reader 470 writes the reagent remaining amount information of the reagent container into its tag to update the reagent remaining amount information in its tag, so that when the reagent container is reloaded in the local or other machine, the actual reagent remaining amount can be known by its tag.

During the above-mentioned unloading or discarding of reagent containers, the reagent magazine 410 will also have corresponding actions, such as, when a reagent magazine is to be unloaded or a reagent container to be discarded, during the reagent loading period: step 2200 is to control the corresponding reagent container in the reagent bin to be dispatched to a preset position, control the electric door to be opened, control the conveying mechanism to take out the reagent container from the preset position of the reagent bin, and control the electric door to be closed.

The above is a description of unloading and discarding of the reagent container, and the following is a description of loading of the reagent container.

Referring to fig. 28, the reagent scheduling method in some embodiments includes the following steps:

Specifically, when a reagent container is loaded from the reagent loading/unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent magazine 410, the label information of the reagent container is read by the information reader 470, so that the remaining amount or the loading amount of the reagent container, for example, a test amount of 100 times can be obtained. Therefore, the initial amount of reagent containers loaded into the reagent magazine 410 can be known, and the reagent amount of the reagent containers is reduced by 1 every time the reagent containers are sucked for testing, so that the real-time amount information of each reagent container can be detected in real time. In some examples, when the reagent bin is detected to have insufficient reagent remaining amount of the reagent container, sending a prompting message through a remaining amount prompting step to prompt a user to put a required reagent container; the prompt message at least includes the reagent type information of the reagent container with insufficient reagent residual quantity.

Load object determination step 1300: when the fact that the reagent surplus of the reagent container in the reagent bin is insufficient is detected, the reagent type information of the reagent container is obtained, and the reagent container with the same reagent type information in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism is determined to be the reagent container to be loaded; or when a loading instruction triggered by a user is received, determining a corresponding reagent container in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism as a reagent container to be loaded.

Specifically, the step 1300 of determining the loaded object further includes: and detecting whether a reagent container is placed in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism, and if so, controlling to read the reagent information of the reagent container, wherein the reagent information comprises reagent type information. In this case, the loading target determining step 1300, when it is detected that the reagent remaining amount of the reagent container in the reagent compartment is insufficient, acquires the reagent type information of the reagent container with the insufficient reagent remaining amount; inquiring whether a reagent container with the same reagent type information exists in the reagent loading and unloading mechanism or not according to the acquired reagent type information of the reagent container with insufficient reagent residual quantity; if yes, step 1300 determines the reagent container with the same reagent type information as the reagent container to be loaded; if not, step 1300 sends a prompt message to prompt the user to place the required reagent container; the prompt message at least includes the reagent type information of the reagent container with insufficient reagent residual quantity.

A loading step 1400: and controlling a conveying mechanism to convey the reagent container to be loaded to the reagent bin from the reagent loading and unloading mechanism.

In order to reduce the influence of reagent loading on the normal work flow and test of the reagent chamber 410, a reagent loading time period may be set at each work timing cycle of the reagent chamber 410, the reagent loading time period is used for reagent loading, and only when the action of reagent loading needs to be matched with the reagent chamber 410, the reagent chamber 410 is controlled to perform corresponding action at the reagent loading time period, specifically: step 1400 controls the transport mechanism 490 to take the reagent container to be loaded out of the reagent loading and unloading mechanism 450, and step 1400 controls the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to be loaded to a position above the preset position of the reagent cartridge 410 — as can be seen, these actions can be accomplished independently of the reagent cartridge 410, and when these actions are performed, the reagent cartridge 410 is not affected; next, step 1400 controls the carrying mechanism 490 to place the reagent container to be loaded into the reagent chamber 410 from above the preset position of the reagent chamber 410 during the above-mentioned reagent loading period, specifically, during this reagent loading period: step 1400 controls to dispatch the empty placement position in the reagent bin 410 to a preset position, controls to open the electric door 433, controls the conveying mechanism 490 to place the reagent container to be loaded on the empty placement position in the reagent bin 410 from the upper side of the preset position in the reagent bin, and controls to close the electric door 433. In some embodiments, step 1400 also controls the information reader 470 to write the stored reagent balance information on the label of the reagent container to be loaded to zero before controlling the transport mechanism 490 to transport the reagent container to be loaded from the reagent unloading mechanism 450 to the reagent cartridge 410.

Reference is made herein to various exemplary embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope hereof. For example, the various operational steps, as well as the components used to perform the operational steps, may be implemented in differing ways depending upon the particular application or consideration of any number of cost functions associated with operation of the system (e.g., one or more steps may be deleted, modified or incorporated into other steps).

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Additionally, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the principles herein may be reflected in a computer program product on a computer readable storage medium, which is pre-loaded with computer readable program code. Any tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be used, including magnetic storage devices (hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical storage devices (CD-to-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray discs, etc.), flash memory, and/or the like. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including means for implementing the function specified. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified.

While the principles herein have been illustrated in various embodiments, many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, materials, and components particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements may be employed without departing from the principles and scope of the present disclosure. The above modifications and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this document.

The foregoing detailed description has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is to be considered in an illustrative and not a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Also, advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any element(s) to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the term "coupled," and any other variation thereof, as used herein, refers to a physical connection, an electrical connection, a magnetic connection, an optical connection, a communicative connection, a functional connection, and/or any other connection.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined only by the claims.

Claims

1. A sample analysis apparatus, comprising:

a reaction cup loading part for supplying and carrying empty reaction cups;

the scheduling component is used for scheduling the reaction cups;

the sample injection component is used for scheduling a sample to be injected;

the reagent bin is used for bearing the reagent container;

2. The sample analyzer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reagent loading/unloading mechanism includes a base and a storage section, and the storage section is provided with the container position; the storage part is fixedly arranged on the base.

3. The sample analyzer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reagent loading/unloading mechanism includes a base, a driving portion, and a storage portion on which the container site is provided; the storage part and the driving part are arranged on the base, and the driving part is used for driving the storage part to move relative to the base.

4. The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the driving part drives the storage part to rotate with respect to the base.

5. The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the driving part drives the storage part to move linearly with respect to the base.

6. The sample analysis device according to claim 2 or 4, wherein the reservoir is a disc-shaped structure, the disc-shaped surface of the reservoir being provided with the plurality of container sites.

7. The sample analysis device of claim 6, wherein each receptacle site of the storage portion is annularly disposed about a disk-shaped center of the storage portion.

8. The sample analysis device according to claim 2 or 5, wherein the storage portion is rectangular, and the plurality of container positions are provided on a rectangular surface of the storage portion.

9. The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the container positions of the storage portion are arranged in a row.

10. The sample analysis device of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the disposal site is connected to a waste bin via a passageway through which reagent containers received by the disposal site are discarded to the waste bin.

11. The sample analysis apparatus of claim 10, wherein the channel is rotatably disposed with the disposal site; alternatively, the channel is arranged in such a way that it can move linearly with the disposal site.

12. The sample analyzing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of the processing units is two, one of the processing units being a reaction part, the other processing unit being a measurement part; the reaction component is used for bearing the reaction cup and incubating a sample or a specimen in the reaction cup; the measuring part is used for bearing the reaction cup and detecting the sample in the reaction cup; the reaction component is rectangular and is provided with a plurality of reaction cup placing positions; the measuring part is rectangular and has a plurality of reaction cup placing positions.