JP2000258432A - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm a surplus time to improve workability by quantitatively displaying a remaining time up to a restart time of the device on an intermittent moving device. SOLUTION: For example, a sample dispensing mechanism 30 as an intermittent moving device is provided with a counter 304, and during stop of intermittent movement of an arm part 302 while operating an automatic analyzer, informs a user of a remaining time up to beginning of reoperation of the arm part 302 is quantitatively shown as a numeral. When all the display of the counter 304 becomes zero, the sample dispensing mechanism 30 begins operation such as rotation or up/down movement. As a result, when a user wishes a temporary touch and an operation of the device, he can correctly know a remaining time up to actually moving of the arm part 302 during stop of the arm part 302, and he can touch and operate, in case of need, the automatic analysis device in the mean time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an intermittent moving means for processing a sample, a reagent or a mixture thereof,
For example, the present invention relates to an automatic analyzer including a dispensing unit, a stirring unit, an electrolyte measuring unit, a washing unit, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic analyzer is an apparatus which automates a procedure of mixing a reagent (sample) of a body fluid such as blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid or a tissue with a reagent and examining a reaction by light to analyze a component. .
This automatic analyzer enables a large amount of analysis and investigation at the same time, and is widely used in hospitals, inspection institutions, etc., and greatly contributes to improvement of workability.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional automatic analyzer 1.

In FIG. 3, first, a sample in a sample container 201 (test tube or the like) provided on a sampler 2 is quantitatively taken out by a sample dispensing mechanism 3 and divided into a plurality of reaction tubes 4 made of hard glass or the like. Noted. For example, if the sample is serum, the reaction tube 4 is kept at a temperature around the human body (about 37 ° C.).

Next, various reagents are stored and installed in the reagent containers 5 and 6, respectively, in the reagent containers 51 and 61, respectively. Each reagent is dispensed into the reaction tube 4 by the dispensing mechanism 7 or 8 as needed.

After the reagent is dispensed, the sample and the reagent in the reaction tube 4 are stirred and mixed by the stirring unit 9 having a stirrer.

Then, the absorbance of the sample in the reaction tube 4 is measured by a photometer (not shown), and the amount of a specific component of the sample is analyzed.

[0008] If necessary, the electrolyte measuring section 10 measures the component amount of the specific electrolyte in the reaction tube 4.

After the analysis of the specific component amount and the measurement of the specific electrolyte, the reaction tube 4 is washed by the washing unit 11.

[0010] By such a series of operations, the analysis of each sample set in the sampler 2 is repeatedly performed.

The processing in each step and the processing connection between the steps are performed by the sample dispensing mechanism 3, the reagent dispensing mechanism 7, the reagent dispensing mechanism 8, the stirring unit 9, and the electrolyte measuring unit 10 according to the sequence control. This is performed by intermittent movement at a predetermined timing.

The above steps and the processing speed between the steps are as follows:
It can be adjusted by the amount of sample and reagent.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sample dispensing mechanism 3 shown in FIG.

The sample dispensing mechanism 3 is provided with an arm 302 having a probe 301 as a sample insertion portion, on a rotating shaft 303. The rotating shaft 303 rotates and moves up and down to move the arm 302 and insert the probe 301 into the sample container 201. Then, a predetermined amount of the sample is sucked and dispensed into the reaction tube 4.

LED (Light Emitting)
(Diode) 12 is a warning device that notifies that the arm unit 302 is in a state immediately before starting operation. When the lamp of the LED 12 is turned on or blinks, the user is notified that the arm 302 moves after a predetermined time.

Although not shown, the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 and the reagent dispensing mechanism 8 are similarly provided with an LED for notifying the user that the operation has just started.

[0017]

By the way, during the operation of the analysis process by the automatic analyzer 1, the visual confirmation that the correct reagent set has been performed, the visual confirmation of the remaining amount of the reagent, the replacement of the reagent, and the dropping of the material are performed. In some cases, the user may want to temporarily contact the device 1 to perform an operation for removal in the event that the device 1 is removed. In such a case, the arm 3 of the sample dispensing mechanism 3
If the timing of 02 is not stationary, the contact and work cannot be performed.

However, according to the conventional automatic analyzer 1, the warning by the LED, which is the warning device, is performed when the user desires a temporary contact and operation with the device 1, or performs the contact and the operation. In the middle, it is difficult to grasp how much time the arm 302 actually starts to move, and it was not possible to easily make contact with the device to perform the operation.

Further, if the above-mentioned contact and work are performed while the arm unit 302 is stopped, there is a risk that the arm unit 302 may come into contact with a human body due to sudden start of operation, which may disturb the dispensing process or injure the user. there were.

Furthermore, when the above-mentioned contact and work are required, if the operation of the automatic analyzer 1 is temporarily stopped or stopped, it takes a long time to restart the operation, that is, start up, and the work efficiency is reduced. There was a problem of doing.

[0021]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and allows a user to easily reduce the remaining time until an intermittent moving means in a stopped state, for example, a dispensing mechanism or the like starts moving again. The purpose of the present invention is to realize an automatic analyzer that can be grasped at a high speed and has the following features.

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic analyzer having an intermittent moving means for processing a sample, a reagent or a mixture thereof, wherein the intermittent moving means determines the remaining time up to a predetermined time during stoppage. An automatic analyzer, comprising: a display unit for displaying an image.

In the automatic analyzer, the time point is
It is preferable that the intermittent moving means starts moving again.

According to such a configuration, the user can accurately know, for example, the remaining time from when the intermittent moving means is temporarily stopped to when the operation is resumed. And make necessary contact and work.

As a result, it is not necessary to stop the automatic analyzer, and the workability can be improved.

Further, it is possible to prevent the user from being injured and the processing from being interrupted by the contact between the intermittent moving means and the human body during operation.

In the above automatic analyzer, the time point is
The intermittent moving means may be a time point not exceeding a time point at which the intermittent moving means starts moving again.

According to such a configuration, the user can accurately know the remaining time from when 5 seconds elapse after the pause to when 5 seconds before the operation is resumed, for example, by the intermittent moving means. In the meantime, it is possible to make necessary contact and work with the automatic analyzer.

As a result, it is not necessary to stop the automatic analyzer, and the workability can be improved.

Further, it is possible to prevent the user from being injured and the processing from being interrupted due to the contact between the intermittent moving means and the human body during operation.

In the automatic analyzer, when there are a plurality of the intermittent moving means, it is preferable that the display means is provided corresponding to each of the intermittent moving means.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to accurately grasp the remaining time from the time when each intermittent moving means is temporarily stopped until the time when it starts moving again, so that the contact with the automatic analyzer and the work as necessary can be performed. It becomes possible.

As a result, further improvement in workability and safety can be realized.

In the above automatic analyzer, it is preferable that the intermittent moving means is at least one of a dispensing means, a stirring means, an electrolyte measuring means and a washing means.

Further, in the automatic analyzer, at least one of the dispensing means, the stirring means, the electrolyte measuring means and the washing means may have an arm portion.

According to such a configuration, the user can set the remaining time from when the dispensing means, the stirring means, the electrolyte measuring means or the washing means or their arms are, for example, temporarily stopped to resume the operation. It is possible to know accurately, and during that time, it is possible to make necessary contact and work with the automatic analyzer.

As a result, it is not necessary to stop the automatic analyzer, and the workability can be improved.

Further, it is possible to prevent the user from being injured and the processing from being hindered by the contact between the movable arm portion, the stirrer and the like during operation and the human body.

[0039]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, the overall view of the automatic analyzer according to the present invention has no LED 12;
The appearance is the same as that of the automatic analyzer 1 shown in FIG. 3 except that the sample dispensing mechanism 3 is replaced with a sample dispensing mechanism 30 to be described later.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the dispensing mechanism 30 of the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a sample dispensing mechanism 30 has the same configuration as the conventional sample dispensing mechanism 3 and a counter 30.
4 is provided. The counter 304 quantitatively indicates to the user the remaining time until the arm unit 302 starts operating again during the operation of the automatic analyzer 1 while the intermittent movement of the arm unit 302 is stopped. It is. When the arm section 302 temporarily stops, a standby time from when the arm section 302 temporarily stops until the operation is resumed is set to the counter 304 as an initial value, and starts counting down at the same time. That is, the arm 3
An initial value is set so that the display of the counter 304 becomes 0 when 02 starts the operation again.

Note that the display content displayed by the counter 304 may be a quantitative content that allows the user of the automatic analyzer to know the remaining time, and is not necessarily a time display such as minutes or seconds.

According to such a configuration, the count value is
The conversion unit for converting into a count value based on time such as minutes or seconds is not required again, and the apparatus can be simplified.

The display content of the counter 304 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a quantitative counter display other than the time display.
When all the counter displays become 0, the sample dispensing mechanism 30 starts operation such as rotation or vertical movement.

According to such a configuration, when the user desires temporary contact and work with the device 1, the remaining time until the arm 302 actually starts to move while the arm 302 is stopped is accurately determined. In the meantime, it is possible to perform necessary contact and work with the automatic analyzer 1 during that time.

As a result, when contact and work are required,
It is not necessary to temporarily stop or stop the automatic analyzer 1, and the workability can be improved.

Further, it is possible to prevent injuries and interruption of dispensing processing due to contact between the arm portion 302 and the human body during operation.

In the automatic analyzer 1 shown in FIG. 3, the dispensing means includes not only the sample dispensing mechanism 3 but also the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 and the reagent dispensing mechanism 8. A counter for quantitatively displaying the time may be provided.

According to such a configuration, the user can set the remaining time until the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 and the reagent dispensing mechanism 8 actually start operating while the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 or the reagent dispensing mechanism 8 is stopped. Accurate information can be obtained, and contact and work with the automatic analyzer 1 can be performed as needed.

The counter for displaying the remaining time does not need to be provided on the arm 302 as in the counter 304 shown in FIG. 1, and for example, as shown in FIG. A configuration provided in the vicinity may be adopted. Further, the configuration may be such that each counter is provided on the console of the automatic analyzer 1 not shown.

The counters 304 and 305 not only display the remaining time until the arm 302 starts moving again while the arm 302 is stopped, but also display the remaining time until the arm 302 is temporarily stopped during operation. The configuration may be as follows. In this case, the time from the start of the operation to the temporary stop is set as an initial value in the counter 304 and the counter 305, and the remaining time until the arm 302 starts moving again while the arm 302 is stopped is displayed. Can be realized by the same configuration and sequence control.

It is preferable that the display method be able to distinguish between the remaining time before starting to move again during the stop and the remaining time before stopping again during the operation so as not to be confused.

According to such a configuration, the user can know how long the contact and the work can be performed, and there is an advantage that the preparation for the contact and the work becomes easy.

Further, the automatic analyzer 1 shown in FIG. 3 has a stirring section 9, an electrolyte measuring section 10, and a washing section 11 in addition to each dispensing mechanism. ,
The cleaning unit 11 also has a stop time and an operation time. Also, depending on the device, the stirring unit 9, the electrolyte measuring unit 10, the washing unit 1
Some have either one of the movable arms. The sample container 201, the reaction tube 4, and the reagent container 5 are operated even during the operation of the stirring unit 9, the electrolyte measurement unit 10, and the washing unit 11.
1. Temporary contact and operation with the apparatus 1 may be required due to damage to the reagent container 61 or the like. Therefore, in order to judge the timing of the contact and the work, a counter for displaying the remaining time before starting to move again during the above-mentioned stop and the remaining time until temporarily stopping again during the operation is provided for each. Is also good.

According to such a configuration, the user can set the remaining time until the stirrer 9, the electrolyte measuring unit 10, and the washing unit 11 start moving again while stopped, and the remaining time until temporarily stopping during operation. Accurate grasp can be made, and contact and work with the automatic analyzer can be performed as necessary.

Further, the stirrer 9 and the electrolyte measuring unit 1 during operation
0. Injury due to contact between the cleaning unit 11 and the human body and interruption of each process can be prevented.

As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, as shown in the following (1), (2), (3) and (4) To
Various modifications can be made without changing the gist.

(1) In the above embodiment, when the arm 302 is temporarily stopped, the standby time from when the arm 302 is temporarily stopped to when the arm 302 is restarted is set to the counter 304 as an initial value, and the countdown is started at the same time. Then, the arm portion 302 starts moving again when the display becomes all zero.

However, the display of the counter 304 is not limited to the standby time from the temporary stop until the operation is restarted, and may be any display that can secure a time that does not hinder the work of the operator.

That is, the counter 304 is provided in the arm 3
It is also possible to display the remaining time from when a predetermined time has elapsed after the temporary stop of 02 (for example, 5 seconds after the temporary stop) to when the operation is restarted.

The time when the display of the counter 304 becomes all 0 may be a predetermined time before the restart of the arm unit 302 (for example, 5 seconds before the restart). Therefore, the counter 304 may be configured to display the remaining time from when the arm unit 302 stops temporarily until a predetermined time before the restart operation. Further, the counter 304
May be configured to display the remaining time from a point in time when a predetermined time has elapsed after the arm 302 has temporarily stopped until a point in time before the restarting operation has started.

In each of the above configurations, the configuration may be such that the operator can arbitrarily set the predetermined time from the temporary stop and the predetermined time before the restart.

In such a configuration, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be expected.

(2) In the above embodiment, when the operation of the arm section 302 is started, the counter 3 is set with the remaining time from the start of the operation of the arm section 302 to the temporary stop as an initial value.
04, the countdown is started at the same time, and when the display becomes all 0, the arm section 302 may temporarily stop.

On the other hand, similarly to the above (1), the display of the counter 304 indicates that the arm 302 at the start of the operation.
Is not limited to the remaining time from the start of the operation to the temporary stop, as long as the operator can secure a time that does not hinder the work.

That is, the counter 304 is provided in the arm 3
It is also possible to display the remaining time from the point in time when a predetermined time has elapsed after the restart of the operation of 02 (for example, the point in time when 5 seconds have elapsed after the start of the operation) to the time when the operation is temporarily stopped.

The time when the display of the counter 304 becomes all 0 may be a predetermined time before the arm 302 is temporarily stopped (for example, 5 seconds before the temporary stop). Therefore, the counter 304 may be configured to display the remaining time from the start of the operation of the arm unit 302 to a predetermined time before the temporary stop. Further, the counter 30
4 may be configured to display the remaining time from a point in time when a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation of the arm unit 302 has started to a point in time before the temporary stop.

In each of the above configurations, it is preferable that the operator can arbitrarily set a predetermined time from the start of the operation and a predetermined time before the operation is temporarily stopped.

In such a configuration, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be expected.

(3) In the above embodiment, the remaining time is numerically displayed by the counters 304 and 305.
A display means for geometrically displaying the remaining time, for example, a configuration for quantitatively displaying the remaining time by the length of a line segment or a divided area of a circle may be used. Further, the display means may be a combination of numerical display and geometric display.

With such a configuration, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be expected.

(4) In the above embodiment, the remaining time is visually recognized, but the remaining time may be recognized by hearing, that is, voice.

According to such a configuration, in addition to the same effect as in the case of visually recognizing, there is no need to shift the line of sight during the inspection, and the work safety can be improved.

[0075]

As described in the above embodiment, the display means notifies the user of the remaining time until the operation of the arm unit is resumed while the arm unit or the like is stopped, thereby enabling the automatic analyzer to operate during the operation. Can be determined whether temporary contact and work are possible. As a result, it is possible to further improve workability and safety.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a dispensing mechanism of an automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a vicinity of a dispensing mechanism of the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment and a display means installed in the vicinity.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a conventional automatic analyzer.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the vicinity of a dispensing mechanism of a conventional automatic analyzer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic analyzer 2 ... Sampler 201 ... Sample container 4 ... Reactor tube 5 ... Reagent container 51 ... Reagent container 6 ... Reagent container 61 ... Reagent container 7 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism 8 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism 9 ... Stirrer 10 ... Electrolyte measuring section 11 Cleaning section 30 Sample dispensing mechanism 301 Probe 302 Arm section 303 Rotating axis 304 Counter 305 Counter

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An automatic analyzer having an intermittent moving means for performing processing on a sample, a reagent, or a mixture thereof, wherein the intermittent moving means quantitatively determines a remaining time up to a predetermined time during a stop. An automatic analyzer comprising a display means for displaying. 2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the time point is a time point at which the intermittent moving means starts moving again. 3. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the time point is a time point that does not exceed a time point at which the intermittent moving means starts moving again. 4. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of said intermittent moving means, said display means is provided corresponding to each of said intermittent moving means. 5. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the intermittent moving unit includes at least a dispensing unit, a stirring unit,
An automatic analyzer characterized by being either an electrolyte measuring means or a washing means. 6. The automatic analyzer according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the dispensing unit, the stirring unit, the electrolyte measuring unit, and the washing unit includes an arm unit.