JP2003232798A - Specimen sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a specimen sorting apparatus which can sort many types and much quantity of specimens in a short time. <P>SOLUTION: The specimen sorting apparatus comprises a specimen conveying rack for housing a plurality of the specimens and simultaneously conveying the specimens, a conveying line, a plurality of specimen storage units provided along the line, a sorting station for drawing the specimen from the rack and sorting the specimens to the storage unit side, a controller for controlling the sorting of the station, and specimen storage buffers provided corresponding to the specimen storage units provided between the line and the storage units, a detail sorting unit for storing the specimen of the buffer in the storage unit, and a controller for originally controlling the sorting operation without depending upon the sorting operation of the station in the sorting operation of the detail sorting unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sample sorting apparatus for sorting and processing a large number of various types of samples, and is particularly used for a sample sorting that requires sorting according to test items and uses such as blood and urine in clinical tests. The present invention relates to a sample sorting apparatus.

[0002]

[Prior art]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-142232 Collection in a clinical test in a hospital or a clinical test center,
The received samples are sorted according to analysis means, test items, urgency of processing, etc., but they are performed manually or by using automated equipment. Here, a test piece is a small piece of the test object divided into containers such as test tubes.

In the conventional automatic sample sorting system as described in the patent document 1, a large amount of samples stored in a transport rack on the transport line and transported by the holder of the sample transport unit They are chucked one by one and sorted into sample storage units for different purposes. For sorting these samples, there are some that use a multi-head robot to achieve several types of sorting at one sorting station, but since the samples are chucked one by one, the sorting time is reduced as a whole. Was getting longer.

Further, in the conventional automatic sample sorting system, when a plurality of sorting stations are sequentially installed in a transport line such as in a clinical laboratory center, when sorting a large number of various types of samples, a sorting operation is performed directly on the sample transport line. Therefore, even if the subsequent sorting of the sample corresponds to another sorting station, since it is a transport line that flows in a time series, if a certain sorting station is sorting, further sorting is performed. Even if the station was empty, the transfer rack containing the samples did not flow. In this case, it is conceivable that an overtaking mechanism or the like is provided to allow subsequent samples to flow, but there is a problem in that the order is lost and the system and management become complicated.

[0005]

For this reason, in the conventional automatic sorting system where sorting of specimens transferred in large quantities of many kinds must be processed in a short time,
Even if the number of sorting stations is increased, sorting is done in units of one, so depending on conditions such as the distribution of sorting destinations and the retention of order,
Lack of consideration for drawing out the overall sorting ability, and lack of consideration of measures for areas with a large number of sorting. Therefore, in the end, it took a long time to sort a large number of kinds of samples.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sample sorting device capable of sorting a large number of various types of samples in a short time.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the feature of the sample sorting apparatus of the present invention is that a sample is extracted from a sample transport rack on a transport line to a storage buffer section on the side of the sample storage section. The sorting station to be moved is provided above the horizontal holding member so as to be orthogonal to the transport line, the vertical holding member is provided so as to be engaged with the horizontal holding member so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the vertical holding member is provided with the vertical holding member. It is composed of a chuck holding member movably provided in a direction and at least one chuck unit composed of a plurality of chucking hands for extracting a sample from the sample transport rack and moving it to the storage buffer unit on the sample storage unit side. The present invention is specifically configured by the following means.

A sample transport rack for storing and transporting a plurality of samples at the same time, a transport line for transporting the sample transport rack, and a plurality of transport lines provided on at least one side of the transport line and provided along the transport line. A sample storage section,
A sample sorting apparatus including a sorting station for sampling a sample from the sample transport rack to sort the sample on the side of the sample storage unit, and a control unit for controlling the sorting operation of the sorting station, which corresponds to the sample storage unit. A sample storage buffer section provided between the transport line and the sample storage station for storing a sample, and a sample in the sample storage buffer section operates asynchronously with the sorting operation of the sorting station to the sample storage section. The sample detailed sorting section for storing the information is provided.

Further, a sample transport rack for storing and transporting a plurality of samples at the same time, a transport line for transporting the transport rack, and a plurality of transport lines provided on at least one side of the transport line and provided along the transport line. A sample sorting apparatus comprising: a sample storage unit; a sorting station for sampling a sample from the sample transport rack to sort the sample on the sample storage unit side; and a control unit for controlling a sorting operation by the sorting station. The sample is stored by the sorting station, which has a chucking unit which is provided between the transport line and the sample storage unit corresponding to the storage unit, and has chucking hands of the same number as the number of samples that can be stored in the sample transport rack. And a sample storage buffer unit that stores the sample stored in the sample storage buffer unit in the sample storage unit. The sample detail sorting section, which performs the storing operation in the sample storage rack for each destination, asynchronously with the sorting operation of the sorting station, is provided with the control section corresponding to the sample sorted from the sample transport rack in the sorting station. It is configured to provide a control unit for giving the sample withdrawing command to each of the chucking hands to store the sample in the storage buffer and sequentially controlling the transport of the sample transport rack at the downstream sorting station.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A sample sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the structure of the sample sorting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a sample sorting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The sample sorting apparatus is configured to load a transport line 2 that transports a sample transport rack 11 and a sample transport rack 11 that stores a plurality of samples 10 to be sorted, for example, 10 samples into the transport line 2 in order. 1 and one or more samples 10 to be sorted are extracted from the sample transport rack 11 that has been loaded into the transport line 2, and the sample storage rack 6 for each destination of the sample storage unit 6
a, a sorting station 3 for feeding to a, a sorting station control unit 40 for controlling the sorting station 3, and a sample storage rack 6 containing, for example, 50 samples for each destination.
When a plurality of samples a are arranged, for example, n columns × m rows, and the sample storage unit 6 that stores various types of samples 10 sent by the sorting station 3 and the sample storage rack 6 a are filled with the samples 10, Sample storage rack transfer section 7 including a transfer mechanism for ejecting the storage rack 6a from the sample storage section 6
And a sample storage rack transport section 9 for transporting the full sample storage rack 6a dispensed from the sample storage unit 6 to the outside of the sample sorting apparatus, for example, by a conveyor, and the sample storage rack transported to the outside of the sample sorting apparatus. The empty sample storage rack 6a that fills the place of 6a is configured by an empty rack supply unit 8 that supplies the empty sample storage rack 6a to the sample storage unit 6 using the sample storage rack transfer unit 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sorting station 3 is provided with a support frame 34 projecting above the transfer line 2 and a horizontal holding member which is held by the support frame 34 and is arranged substantially orthogonal to the transfer line 2. 33 and the horizontal holding member 33
Held by the vertical holding member 32, the chuck holding member 31 held by the vertical holding member 32, and the vertical holding member 32 held by the chuck holding member 31 on the carrying line 2. The chuck unit 30 holds the sample 10 of the sample transport rack 11 that is transported.

For example, as the horizontal holding member 33, the vertical holding member 32 is X-shaped by using an actuator composed of a combination of a screw rod and a motor incorporated in the horizontal holding member 33.
Similarly, the vertical holding member 32 moves the chuck holding member 31 in the Y direction using an actuator configured by a combination of a screw rod and a motor incorporated in the vertical holding member 32.

The chuck unit 30 has chucking hands 30a to 30n corresponding in number to the number of samples 10 that can be transported at one time by the sample transport rack 11, and the chucking hands 30a to 30n will be described later. , Each operates independently, and each sample 10 to be sorted is 1
It is configured to hold or separate a book or a plurality of books.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the sorting station control section 40 for controlling the operation of the sorting station 3 has an external interface section 41, a processing section 42, a transfer control section 43, a horizontal holding member 33 and Vertical holding member 32
It is composed of a horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45 for controlling the operation of the internal actuator and a transport rack control unit 47.

The external interface section 41 sends the sample position information of the sample transport rack 11 and the storage rack information of the nth column and the mth row of the sample storage section 6 from the sorting information instruction processing section 50 to the processing section 42. Further, the processing result is received from the processing unit 42 and returned to the sorting information instruction processing unit 50.

The processing unit 42 is an external interface unit 41.
Based on the sample position information and the storage rack information from, the control command and control result to each part are sequenced and controlled.

The transfer control unit 43 has chucking hands 30a to 30n of the chuck unit 30 held by the chuck holding member 31 via the chucking interface unit 44.
To operate independently.

The horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45 moves the chuck holding member 31 including the chucking hands 30a to 30n in the X direction and the vertical holding unit 33 in the Y direction via the horizontal / vertical movement control interface unit 46. The holding member 32 is controlled.

The transport rack control unit 47 stops the sample transport rack 11 at the stop position via the transport rack control interface unit 48, and also directs the sample storage rack 11 from which the sample 10 has been extracted to the next sorting station. Control sending.

Although FIG. 1 shows a sample sorting apparatus having one station, in practice, the transport line 2
A plurality of sample storage units 6 are arranged in order along the line, and in order to extract the samples 10 from each of them, the sorting station 3 is arranged so as to correspond to the sample storage unit 6 to configure the sample sorting apparatus.

Next, the operation of the sample sorting apparatus will be described. Sample storage rack 11 that stores a plurality of samples 10
Is loaded into the transport line 2 from the sample loading unit 1. The loaded sample storage rack 11 is transported on the transport line 2 toward the sorting station 3. Sorting station 3
At the instruction of the sorting station control unit 40, one or more samples 10 to be sorted at the sorting station 3 are extracted from the transported sample storage rack 11.

When the sampling is completed, the sample storage rack 11
Are transported on the transport line 2 toward the next sorting station. Further, even when the sample 10 to be sorted at the sorting station 3 is not in the sample storage rack 11, the sample storage rack 11 is transported on the transport line 2 toward the next sorting station.

The sorting station 3 stores in the sample storage rack 6a for each destination determined in advance by the instruction of the sorting station control section 40 which destination each of the samples 10 from which one or more samples have been extracted is destined. . In the present embodiment, the sample storage rack 6a is a rack that can store, for example, 50 samples 10, and the sample storage unit 6 is provided.
Is configured so that a plurality of destinations, for example, one column, one row to n columns, m rows can be assigned by one sorting station 3.

When the sample storage racks 6a arranged in the sample storage section 6 are filled with the samples 10 by repeating the operation of the sorting station 3, the sample storage racks 6a are moved by the transfer mechanism of the sample storage rack transfer section 7. Is used to chuck the full sample storage rack 6a and dispense it to the storage rack transport section 9. After the dispensing, the empty rack supply unit 8 fills the position of the dispensed sample storage rack 6a with an empty sample storage rack 6 that fills the place of the dispensed sample storage rack 6a.
a is supplied. The storage rack transport section 9 transports the dispensed full sample storage rack 6a to the outside of the sample sorting apparatus using, for example, a conveyor.

Next, the operation of the sorting station 3 will be described.

When the sample transport rack 11 transported on the transport line 2 stops at the stop position for extracting the sample 10, the horizontal holding member 33 of the sorting station 3 holds the sorting station control unit 40 instructed. The vertical holding member 32 including the chuck holding member 31 operates, and the chucking hands 30 a to 30 of the chuck unit 30.
n is located on the sample 10 of the sample storage rack 11.

Next, the chuck holding member 31 held by the vertical holding member 32 operates, and the chuck holding member 3 reaches a position where the chucking hands 30a to 30n of the chuck portion 30 can grip each sample 10 of the sample storage rack 11.
Drop 1 vertically.

Next, sample position information for grasping the samples 10 to be sorted from the sample storage rack 11, for example, the transport rack number of the sample transport rack 11 to be loaded into the transport line 2 and the sample position in the sample transport rack 11. The corresponding chucking hand of the chuck unit 30 operates to grab the corresponding sample 10 based on the destination code information corresponding to the above.

Next, the chuck holding member 31 held by the vertical holding member 32 operates again, the chuck holding member 31 holding the sample 10 is raised, and the sample 10 is pulled out from the sample storage rack 11.

After that, the vertical holding member 32 including the chuck holding member 31 held by the horizontal holding member 33 operates, and the chuck holding member 31 holding the specimen 10 moves in the X direction to hold the specimen 10. , The sample storage unit 6 shown in FIG.
The sample storage rack 6a for each predetermined destination is sent.

Here, the sample storage rack 11 from which the sample 10 has been extracted is transported on the transport line 2 toward the next sorting station.

Next, the control operation of the sorting station controller 40 will be described.

First, the sample position information and the storage rack information from the sorting information instruction processing unit 50 are loaded into the processing unit 42 via the external interface unit 41. When the sample position information and the storage rack information are fetched, the transport rack control unit 47 sends an instruction to stop the sample transport rack 11 to the transport line 2 in response to a command from the processing unit 42 to move the sample transport rack 11 to the stop position. Stop.

Next, in response to a command from the processing unit 42, the horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45 moves the chuck holding member 31 in the X direction and the Y direction, and the chucking hands 30a to 30n.
Is located on the sample 10 of the sample storage rack 11.

Next, according to a command from the processing section 42 issued based on the sample position information of the sample transport rack 11,
The transfer control unit 43 uses the chucking hands 30a to 30n.
Among the above, the corresponding one is controlled, and the corresponding sample 10 is controlled to be grabbed.

When the grasping operation is completed, the processing section 42 issues a command to the horizontal / vertical movement control section 45 to extract the sample 10 from the sample storage rack 11, and holds the chucking hands 30a to 30n that grasp the sample 10. By moving the chuck holding member 31 upward, the sample 10 is extracted from the sample storage rack 11.

Thereafter, the horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45 moves the chuck holding member 31 holding the sample 10 to X by the command from the processing unit 42 issued based on the storage rack information.
The sample is moved to the sample storage unit 6 side and lowered downward, the chucking hand is opened, and the sample is sent to and stored in the sample storage rack 6a for each predetermined destination.

On the other hand, the processing unit 42 issues a command to the transport rack control unit 47 to send the sample storage rack 11 from which the sample 10 has been extracted to the next sorting station, and the transport rack control unit 47 issues a transport instruction. It is sent to the transfer line 2 via the transfer rack control interface unit 48.

FIG. 4 shows the overall structure of the sample sorting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment of FIG. 1 is that a storage buffer unit 4 and a sample detailed sorting unit 5 are provided between the sorting station 3 and the sample storage unit 6.
Is the point.

The storage buffer unit 4 is a storage unit for temporarily storing the sample extracted by the sorting station 3 without directly sending it to the sample storage unit 6. By arranging the storage buffer unit 4, the sorting station 3 does not need to send the extracted sample to the sample storage unit 6, and can concentrate on extracting the sample to be sorted from the sample transport rack 11 on the transport line 2. , Each sample transport rack 11
In this case, the sampling cycle time is shortened, and the sample storage rack 11 after the sampling can be sent to the next sorting station in a short time.

The sample detail sorting section 5 is composed of an X-axis member that horizontally moves in the horizontal direction, a Y-axis member that horizontally moves in the vertical direction, a Z-axis member that moves in the vertical direction, and the like.
The samples 10 once stored in the sample storage device 6 are taken out one by one and sequentially stored in the sample storage rack 6a for each destination in the sample storage unit 6.

In this case, the number of samples to be stored in the sample storage section 6 is determined independently of the number of sample transport racks 11 and the storage buffer section 4 since each sample 10 is extracted and stored one by one. Further, the sample detailed sorting unit 5 performs the sampling and storing one by one on the mechanism for sampling and storing one or more defined samples 10 of the sorting station 3.
Since it operates asynchronously with the operation of the sorting station 3, the desired detailed sorting can be realized without affecting the overall sampling / storing performance.

However, in the case where sorting is concentrated in a specific sorting station 3, if the scale of the storage buffer unit 4 is small, the sorting station 3 will be in a waiting state. Therefore, the storage buffer unit 4 may be configured to adjust the scale of the buffer according to the degree of concentration of sorting of the sorting station 3. This allows
Even if concentrated sorting occurs at a specific sorting station 3,
By adjusting the buffer scale, it is possible to keep the sorting amount and the transport capacity of the other sorting stations 3 constant.

Further, the storage buffer unit 4 is provided with a mechanism for sequentially sending the specimens 10 to the position of the specimen detail sorting unit 5 when the specimens 10 are stored by the sorting station 3 and waiting for the sampling storage order for the detailed sorting. . The sample storage dedicated rack left in the storage buffer unit 4 that has been sorted is, for example, an empty rack and is repeatedly used.

FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the structure of the sample sorting apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1
The difference from the first embodiment of FIG. 3 is that the sample storage unit 6 of the sorting destination is symmetrical about the transport line 2 (A side, B side).
2) and the chuck portions 30 of the sorting station 3 are provided in two rows symmetrically from the center of the chuck holding member 31.

The operation of the sorting station 3 is controlled by the sorting station control unit 40 as in the first embodiment.

By providing the chuck portions 30 in two rows,
The sample 10 of the sample transport rack 11 transported on the transport line 2 by one chuck unit is grasped and extracted, and the sample 10 extracted from the sample transport rack 11 previously transported by the other chuck unit is stored in the storage buffer 4. The storing operation can be performed simultaneously, which is effective for shortening the time for sample sorting in the sample sorting apparatus in which the sample storing section 6 is arranged on the left and right of the transport line 2.

The control operation of the sorting station 3 of the sample sorting apparatus of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The chuck holding member 31 of the sorting station 3 includes two chuck portions 30A and 30B.
And are provided. The chuck portions 30A and 30B have chucking hands 30Aa to 30An and chucking hands 30Ba to 3B, respectively, as described above.
It has 0Bn and is configured to operate independently.

The sorting station control unit 40 fetches the sample position information and the storage rack information from the sorting information instruction processing unit 50 into the processing unit 42 via the external interface unit 41.

The processing unit 42, based on the storage rack information,
It is determined whether the sorting destination is the sample storage unit 6 on the A side or the sample storage unit 6 on the B side.

Next, based on this determination information, the processing section 42, for example, when storing in the A side sample storage section 6, the chucking hands 30Aa to 30An of the chuck section 30A.
A control command for moving the sample to the sample extracting position on the transport line 2 is instructed to the horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45, and the horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45 transmits the horizontal movement member 33 via the horizontal / vertical movement control interface unit 46. The vertical holding member 32 including the chuck holding member 31 held by the chuck holding member 31 is operated, and the chucking hand 30Aa of the chuck portion 30A.
30An is aligned with the sample extraction position on the transport line 2.

At this time, the chucking hands 30Ba to 30Bn of the other chuck portion 30B are located just above the opposing B-side storage buffer 4.

On the other hand, the fact that the transport rack 11 has stopped at the stop position of the transport line 2 is transmitted to the processing unit 42 via the transport rack control interface unit 48 and the transport rack control unit 47. The processing unit 42 sends a control command for opening the chucking hands 30Aa to 30An to the A-side transfer control unit 43A based on the stopped information, and the opening operation is performed via the A-side transfer control interface unit 44A. To complete.

Next, in response to a vertical movement command from the processing unit 42, the horizontal / vertical movement control unit 45 operates the chuck holding member 31 held by the vertical holding member 32 via the horizontal / vertical movement control interface unit 46, Transport rack 11
Chucking hand 30Aa to the sample withdrawal position
30An is moved downward with the open state.

When the descending operation is completed, the processing section 42 issues a control command for closing the chucking hands 30Aa to 30An corresponding to the sample position information of the sample transport rack 11 to the A side transfer control section 43A. To A,
The side transfer control unit 43A completes the closing operation via the A side transfer control interface unit 44A, and the sample 10 is gripped.

Next, the processing unit 42 completes the operation of extracting the sample from the transport rack 11 by issuing a sampling movement command in the Y direction.

After that, the processing unit 42 issues a movement command in the X direction to the horizontal and vertical movement control unit 45, and the horizontal and vertical movement control unit 45 includes the chuck holding member 31 held by the horizontal holding member 33 in the vertical direction. The chucking hands 30Aa to 30An holding the sample 10 by operating the holding member 32.
Is moved to the storage buffer 4 on the A side.

At this time, since the chucking hands 30Ba to 30Bn of the other chuck portion 30B are located just above the sample extracting position on the transfer line 2, the transfer rack 11 or the next transfer. If the sample position information of the rack 11 is present, the processing unit 42 repeatedly instructs the same control command to each control unit in sequence, operates each control unit, and opens the chucking hands 30Ba to 30Bn to the sample extraction position. Continue to move down.

When the lowering operation is completed, the processing section 42 issues a control command for closing the chucking hands 30Ba to 30Bn corresponding to the sample position information of the sample transport rack 11 to the B side transfer control section 43B. To B
The side transfer control unit 43B completes the closing operation via the B side transfer control interface unit 44B, and the sample 10 is gripped.

At this time, the processing section 42 causes the chucking hands Aa to 30An with the other specimen 10 held.
Sends a control command for the opening operation to the A-side transfer control section 43A, and the A-side transfer control section 43A performs the opening operation via the A-side transfer control interface section 44A to hold the sample 10 grasped. Is stored in the storage buffer 4 on the A side.

If there is no sample to be extracted from the transport rack 11, the processing section 42 issues a command to the transport rack control section 47 to send out the transport rack 11 which is stopped for the extraction, as the extraction operation is completed. As a result, the transport rack control unit 47 performs the feeding operation of the transport rack 11 via the transport rack control interface unit 48, and also pulls in the next transport rack 11.

The sorting storage processing is performed while controlling the series of operations by the sorting station control unit 40.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sample stored in the storage buffer 4 on the A side or the B side is stored in the sample detailed sorting section 5
By A and 5B, asynchronously with the operation of the sorting station 3, the samples are sequentially stored in the sample storage rack 6a for each destination in the sample storage unit 6.

In this case, the number of sample storage racks 6 on the A side and B side is determined independently of the number of sample transport racks 11 and storage buffer units 4 since each sample is extracted and stored one by one. . In addition, the sample detail sorting section 5
A and 5B are one or more samples 1 at the sorting station 3.
The mechanism for sampling and storing 0 is carried out one by one, but since it operates asynchronously with the operation of the sorting station 3, the detailed sorting of specimens can be shortened without affecting the overall sampling and storing performance. Can be realized in time.

However, in the case where sorting is concentrated in a specific sorting station 3, if the scale of the storage buffer unit 4 is small, the sorting station 3 will be in a waiting state. Therefore, the storage buffer unit 4 may be configured to adjust the scale of the buffer according to the degree of concentration of sorting of the sorting station 3.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of the sample sorting apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which storage buffer units are provided between the sample storage units 6 on the A side and B side and the sorting station 3, respectively. 4 are arranged in plural. In constructing a plurality of buffers, a mechanism is adopted that does not affect the performance of the sorting station 3 and does not change the control operation. As a result, even if centralized sorting occurs, by increasing the buffer size, it is possible to secure a fixed sorting amount and transport capacity at other sorting stations, and to balance detailed sorting of a large number of different types of specimens 10. Good and can be realized in a short time.

In addition, the storage buffer units 4 on the A side and the B side
When the sample 10 is stored by the sorting station 3, the sample 10 is stored up to the positions of the sample detail sorting sections 5A and 5B.
A mechanism for waiting for the order of sampling and storing for the detailed sorting is provided. Further, as described above, for example, the sample storage dedicated rack left in the storage buffer unit 4 that has been sorted is dispensed as an empty rack and repeatedly used.

FIG. 9 shows the structure of a sample sorting apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
This is an example in which only one type of sample is sorted. At least one sample 10 extracted from the sorting station 3,
The sample storage racks 6a of the A-side or B-side sample storage unit 6 are arranged and stored in this order, which is effective when a large number of sorts are required, although the sort types are small. This is because the sample 10 stored in the storage buffer unit 4 is transferred to the sample detailed sorting unit 5A,
5B is used to store one by one in the sample storage rack 6a as shown by the arrow. When the sample storage rack 6a is full, it is sent out and the next empty sample storage rack 6a is supplied.

FIG. 10 shows the structure of a sample sorting apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the above-described embodiment is that the sample-only transport conveyor 51 is arranged in the storage buffer unit. The sample 10 is transferred from the sorting station 3 to the single transfer rack 53 in the transfer buffer 52.
Stored in each of the transport buffers 52, the sample push-out mechanism 54 provided in the transfer buffer 52 causes the single transport racks 53 in which the samples 10 are stored one by one onto the single sample transport conveyor 51 in a predetermined order. As shown by, the sample storage hand position 72 is pushed out one after another without changing the order.
Sent out.

The samples 10 on the single-piece transport rack 53 that have arrived at the sample storage hand position 72 are withdrawn from the single-piece transport rack 53 by the sample detailed sorting section 5 in the order in which they arrived, and as shown by the arrow, a predetermined amount in the sample storage section 6 It is stored in the sample storage rack 6a. The empty single-piece transport rack 53 from which the sample 10 has been extracted moves on the single-piece sample transport conveyor 51 and is again supplied to the transfer buffer 52.

By constructing such a storage buffer unit, it is possible to make a buffer size compact without making useless empty buffers.

In the present embodiment, the sample storage unit 6 is arranged on one side of the transport line 2, but the sample storage units 6 may be arranged on both sides. In this case, the buffer size is Is more compact, and the device space can be saved.

FIG. 11 shows the structure of a sample sorting apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the above-described embodiment is that the storage buffer unit is of a rotary multiple buffer system. The rotary storage buffer unit includes a storage buffer 62 for storing the samples 10 from the sorting station 3, a rotary plate 61 having a plurality of storage buffers 62 mounted at n angle intervals, and a rotation for rotating the rotary plate 61 at a constant angle n angle. And a shaft 63.

Next, the operation of the rotary storage buffer section will be described.

The sorting station 3 extracts the sample 10 stored in the transport rack 11 on the transport line 2 and stores it in the empty storage buffer 62 on the rotating plate 61 on the sorting station 3 side. When stored, the rotary plate 61 rotates n angles, and the next empty storage buffer 62 moves to the storage position of the sorting station 3.

The above operation is repeated to move the storage buffer 62 storing the sample 10 to the sample storage hand position 72. Next, the sample 10 in the moved storage buffer 62
Are extracted from the storage buffer 62 by the sample detail sorting unit 5 and stored in a predetermined sample storage rack 6 a of the sample storage unit 6. The empty storage buffer 62 from which the sample 10 has been extracted rotates in sequence, moves to the storage position of the sorting station 3 again, and stores the sample.

By constructing such a rotary storage buffer unit, the structure of the buffer can be simplified and the stop position accuracy can be easily ensured.

[0081]

According to the present invention, a large number of various kinds of specimens
Since it is possible to sort samples in a short time, it is possible to provide a sample sorting device that can speed up the sorting of samples to a clinical testing center or a clinical laboratory of a hospital that needs to sort a large number of different types of samples according to testing purposes. it can.

Further, the apparatus system can be easily constructed according to the inspection scale.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of a sorting station in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a sorting station control unit that controls the operation of the sorting station in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a detailed configuration diagram of the sorting station in FIG.

7 is a functional configuration diagram of a sorting station control unit that controls the operation of the sorting station of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a sample sorting device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sample loading part, 2 ... Conveying line, 3 ... Sorting station, 4 ... Storage buffer, 5A, 5B ... Sample detailed sorting part, 6 ... Sample storage part, 6a ... Sample storage rack, 7 ... Sample storage rack transfer part , 8 ... Empty rack supply section, 9 ... Storage rack transport section, 10 ... Sample, 11 ... Sample transport rack, 30,
30A, 30B ... Chuck portion, 30a to 30n, 30Aa
-30An, 30Ba-30Bn ... chucking hand, 31 ... chuck holding member, 32 ... vertical holding member, 3
3 ... Horizontal holding member, 34 ... Support base, 40 ... Sorting station control unit, 41 ... External interface unit, 42 ...
Processing unit, 43 ... Transfer control unit, 43A ... A side transfer control unit,
43B ... B side transfer control section, 44 ... Chucking interface section, 44A ... A side transfer control interface section, 4
4B ... B side transfer control interface unit, 45 ... Horizontal and vertical movement control unit, 46 ... Horizontal and vertical movement control interface unit, 47 ... Transport rack control interface, 48 ... Transport rack control interface unit, 50 ... Sorting information instruction processing unit.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sample transport rack for storing and transporting a plurality of samples at the same time, a transport line for transporting the sample transport rack, and a plurality of transport lines provided on at least one side of the transport line and provided along the transport line. The stored sample storage section,
In a sample sorting apparatus including a sorting station that sorts samples from the sample transport rack to the sample storage unit side and a control unit that controls the sorting operation of the sorting station, the transport corresponding to the sample storage unit A sample storage buffer section provided between the line and the sample storage station for storing the sample, and the sample of the sample storage buffer section operates asynchronously with the sorting operation of the sorting station to store in the sample storage section. A sample sorting apparatus comprising: a sample detail sorting section for performing the sample sorting. 2. A sample transport rack for storing and transporting a plurality of samples simultaneously, a transport line for transporting the transport rack, and a plurality of transport lines provided on at least one side of the transport line and provided along the transport line. A sample storage device comprising: a sample storage section; a sorting station for sampling a sample from the sample transport rack; and a sorting station for sorting the sample on the side of the sample storage section; and a control section for controlling a sorting operation by the sorting station. Corresponding to the above, the sample stored by the sorting station, which is provided between the transport line and the sample storage unit, and has the chucking unit having the same number of chucking hands as the number of samples that can be stored in the sample transport rack. A storage buffer section, and a sample stored in the sample storage buffer section for a corresponding destination of the sample storage section. The sample detail sorting section that performs the storing operation in the sample storage rack of another destination asynchronously with the sorting operation of the sorting station, and the control section corresponds to the sample sorted from the sample transport rack in the sorting station. A sample sorting apparatus, which is a control unit which gives the sample withdrawing command to each of the chucking hands to store the sample in the storage buffer and sequentially controls the transport of the sample transport rack to a downstream sorting station.