JP2004089789A - Automatic centrifugal separation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correctly transfer sample vessels of an automatic centrifugal separation apparatus for receiving the sample vessels from various units, performing centrifugal separation on each of the sample vessels and returning the sample vessels again to the various units and to correctly discriminate whether the sample vessels are transferred correctly. <P>SOLUTION: In order to solve the above-mentioned problems a sample vessel setting position is parted vertically from a holding vessel setting position to cause no interference between the mutual positions and the sample vessel is loaded on a holding vessel at a step to support/elevate the holding vessel. The presence/absence of the sample vessel is discriminated correctly by paying attention to the sample vessel setting position, guessing whether the sample vessel is set at the normal or abnormal position from the sample vessel-set position and combining a sensor whose signal is cut off when the sample is set at the normal position with another sensor whose signal is cut off when it is set at the abnormal position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is intended for centrifugal separation of useful substances such as cells and nucleic acids in fields such as medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, and science using a so-called microplate. The present invention relates to an automatic centrifugal separator that enables the above.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For automated biochemical analysis of blood, loading containers with specimens into centrifugal buckets and suspending the buckets due to demands such as labor saving in specimen processing, quick response of test results, and prevention of infection by contacting specimens. Automatic centrifuges for pretreatment have been developed in which the rotor to be lowered is rotated to complete the centrifugation step and then the container is unloaded from the bucket. In the field of biochemistry, it is used in daily routine work, and the shape of a sample container is constant in combination with an analytical instrument, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of JP-A-10-277435 and FIG. 7 of JP-A-11-276933. As described above, the container on which the sample is mounted is moved on the line, and the container is positioned by stopping at a specific position. The sample is a tube containing blood and the container is disclosed in As shown in FIG. 3 of -276933, it had a certain length in the vertical direction, and was carried directly into the bucket in the centrifugal separator while holding the upper part.
[0003]
On the other hand, in order to separate and extract genetic substances such as DNA, there is a work of repeating a step of injecting various reagents to cause a chemical reaction and a centrifugal separation step. Connection is called). In addition, a sample container called a microplate is used for separation of the genetic material, and after setting the sample container to a specific place from the automatic dispensing machine side, as shown in FIG. 1 of JP-A-2000-176317, an automatic centrifuge is used. The handling mechanism on the side is a step of directly carrying in, centrifuging, and carrying back the container.
[0004]
The separation / extraction work of genetic material is often at the research level, and is rarely configured as a whole system by one company, and connection with automatic dispensers of each company is inevitable. In addition, there are shallow and deep wells (holes for placing samples) in the sample container (microplate) to be used. Due to differences in height, etc., they are directly gripped and loaded into the bucket in the centrifuge from above. It is difficult. For various sample containers (microplates), in order to maintain positional accuracy in the bucket, the dimensional difference between the bottom of the bucket and the bottom of the sample container needs to be small, while the handling of holding the sample container is reversed. Since the amount of operation of the mechanism is limited, it is difficult to directly hold and carry in various sample containers from above.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the handling mechanism needs to process the sample container regardless of the thickness of the sample container (microplate). It is necessary to carry out the sample container with high precision without the handling mechanism directly holding and supporting the sample container. Furthermore, it is necessary to determine normally whether or not the transfer of the sample container between the apparatuses is correctly set. It is an object of the present invention to accurately carry in a sample container regardless of the size of the sample container, to accurately determine the presence or absence of a sample container, to prevent damage to the sample, and prevent problems in the next step, and to perform automatic centrifugation with excellent operability. It is to provide a device.
[0006]
To deal with this, instead of directly holding the sample container, mount the sample container on a holding container with a hook or the like at the top so that the transport means can easily support it, support the holding container, and centrifuge The method of carrying the material into the separator was studied. However, when the sample container is set in the holding container, as described above, there is a dimensional problem between the sample container and the holding container, or a mechanism in which the handling mechanism on the automatic dispenser side takes up space in the front, rear, left, and right directions. For example, there is a case where the sample container cannot be directly set vertically in the holding container.
After setting the holding container at the lower position and setting the sample container (microplate) at a position higher than the holding container, the transfer device on the automatic centrifugal separator supports the holding container and lifts the sample container on the way up. The problem can be solved by mounting it in a holding container and carrying it into a centrifuge.
[0007]
On the other hand, regarding the transfer of the sample container to and from the automatic dispensing machine, it is important for the system to check whether the sample container has been correctly set. Whether the sample container is correctly set in the sample container transfer section in the horizontal direction can be detected by using either one of the reflection type or the transmission type. However, when the sample container is set to drop to the holding container transfer unit side, and when the reflection type sensor is used, since the reflection angle of the reflection signal is different, it can be determined that there is no sample container and an alarm can be generated. . However, when the sample container exists in an abnormal state from the very beginning, there is a possibility that the operation of placing the next sample container without the sample container is performed.
When a transmission type sensor is used, the signal is cut off in both a normal state and a falling state, so that it may be erroneously determined that the sensor is set correctly.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, paying attention to the position where the sample container is set and the position where the holding container is set, the position where the sample container is set can correspond to the handling mechanism of various automatic dispensers. Therefore, a flat portion matching the dimensions of the bottom of the sample container was used. On the other hand, the holding container is provided below the set portion of the sample container at a distance so that the sample container can be mounted during the operation on the automatic centrifugal separator side.
[0009]
As described above, since the holding container is set downward in the sample container setting section, the central portion has a spatial structure. For this reason, when the setting from the automatic dispenser side is shifted, there is a possibility that the sample container will fall into the space.Therefore, pay attention to the position where the sample container is set, analogize the sample container setting abnormal state, and return to the normal position. By combining a sensor that cuts off the signal when there is a sensor and a sensor that cuts off the signal when the sample container is in an abnormal state, the presence or absence of the sample container can be correctly determined.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the automatic centrifuge 1, and FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the automatic centrifuge 1. The automatic centrifugal separator 1 includes a centrifuge 4, a holding container 10, a conveying means 5, a door 7, a container port 8, a refrigerator 25, a rotating body chamber 27 having a loading / unloading port 26, and the like. It is controlled by the control unit 6.
The centrifugal separator 4 centrifuges the specimen container 22 by rotating a rotor as shown in FIG. 4 by a motor (not shown) to separate the specimen.
The transport unit 5 transports the holding container 10 between the container port 8 and the bucket 13 in the centrifuge 4. The transporting means 5 opens and closes the door 7 and fixes the door 7 during centrifugation.
The refrigerator 25 controls the temperature of the sample to be centrifuged by ON / OFF control from the operation / control unit.
Although not shown in detail, the automatic centrifugal separator 1 is connected to the automatic dispenser so as to be controllable by a communication line.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a view showing the container port 8. The container port 8 has a role as a delivery place of the sample container 22 to and from the automatic dispensing machine, and the sample container transfer unit 2 for setting the sample container 22, the holding container transfer unit 3 for setting the holding container 10, and the sample container 22. A transmission sensor (1) 9 for detecting the set and a transmission sensor (2) 23 for detecting the set of the holding container 10 are constituted.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the holding container 10. The holding container 10 has a role of mounting the sample container 22, and is provided with a hook 24 having a side hole 11, a groove 12, and a bottom projection 20 shown in FIG. 6. The side holes 11 are provided to reduce bending stress due to wind pressure generated in the rotating body chamber 27 by centrifugation. In addition, the bottom projection 20 has a role of reducing the surface tension generated by the liquid accumulated in the bucket 13 when the holding container 10 is carried out by reducing the contact area with the bucket 13. The hook 24 is a part that supports the holding container 10 with the finger 18.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a rotor in the centrifuge 4. The rotor includes a rotating body 15 and a bucket 13. The bucket 13 is cylindrically supported by a pin 16 fixed to the rotating body 15, and is driven by a motor (not shown). The rotating body 15 rotates by the driving of the motor, and the bucket 13 swings around the pin 16 in the outer peripheral direction by centrifugal force. The bucket 13 has a through hole 14. The through-hole portion 14 is provided for discharging the dew condensation water due to the cooling of the refrigerator 25 and the liquid in the bucket 13 spilled from the sample container 22 during transportation to the outside by the centrifugal force.
FIG. 5 is a view showing the transporting means 5. The transport means 5 is moved in the front-rear and up-down directions by driving two motors 50 and 51 shown in FIG. In addition, the fingers 18 having the protrusions 19 are opened and closed by driving the motor 17 to support and release the holding container 10.
In the holding container 10 supporting method, the transfer means 5 moves to the inside of the centrifuge 4 and the holding / holding position of the holding container 10 in the container port 8 with the finger 18 opened, and the finger 18 is closed and moved upward. . At this time, the projections 19 of the fingers 18 are moved into the groove portions 12 of the holding container 10 by the upward movement, and support the hooks 24 of the holding container 10 on the upper surface of the fingers 18. The method of releasing the holding container 10 is performed in a procedure reverse to the method of supporting the holding container 10. The engagement between the protrusion 19 and the groove 12 suppresses the movement of the holding container due to the inertial force accompanying the forward and backward movement of the transporting means 5.
FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the door 7. The door 7 is provided with a convex portion 21. When the door 7 is closed, the convex portion 21 is received in the loading / unloading port 26 of the rotator chamber 27, and has a shape in which the concave portion is as small as possible with respect to the rotator chamber 27 and is smooth. This is to reduce the generation of frictional heat due to the stirring of the air generated in the rotating body chamber 27 during centrifugation.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sample container 22.
FIG. 9 shows a transport state of the holding container 10 on which the sample container 22a having a longer height and the sample container 22b having a shorter height are mounted. The sample container 22 can be transported under the same conditions regardless of the difference in the dimension in the height direction.
(There are various types of sample containers, and the vertical and horizontal dimensions are almost the same, but the height dimension is wide from 14 mm to 54 mm.)
Next, a specific operation example of the device will be described.
First, the holding container 10 is placed on the bucket 13 before operation.
A first command is issued from an automatic dispenser (not shown) (not shown), and the automatic centrifugal separator 1 moves the conveying means 5 and slides the door 7 with the finger 18. The carry-in / carry-out port 26 is opened. Next, after transporting the holding container 10 in the centrifuge 4 to the holding container transfer unit 3, the transporting unit 5 waits at a position where the transporting unit 5 does not interfere with the automatic dispenser. After the transfer, the setting of the holding container 10 is confirmed by the signal of the transmission type sensor (2) 23, and a command completion is transmitted to the automatic dispenser.
On the automatic dispensing machine side, the sample container 22 is set in the sample container transfer unit 2 and the command 2 is transmitted.
In the automatic centrifugal separator 1, the setting of the sample container 22 is confirmed by the transmission type sensor (1) 9. If it is set correctly, the holding container 10 is transferred to the bucket 13 in the centrifuge 4 using the transfer means 5. At this time, the sample container 22 of the sample container transfer section 2 is mounted on the holding container 10. After the transfer, the transfer means 5 moves to a position where the centrifugal separator 4 and the door 7 do not interfere with each other and transmits the command 2 completion. The operations according to the first and second commands are performed an even number of times to maintain the balance in the centrifuge 4.
When a third command is issued from the automatic dispenser, the automatic centrifugal separator 1 moves the transporting means 5 and slides the door 7 with the finger 18 to close the loading / unloading port 26. After the closing, the conveying means 5 moves to a position where the bottom surface of the finger 18 contacts the center of the upper surface of the door 7 and presses the door 7. The door 7 pressing operation plays a role of preventing the door 7 from being lifted up by wind pressure generated in the rotation chamber 27 due to centrifugation, and preventing vibration of the transporting means 5 due to driving of the rotating body 15. Next, centrifugation is started according to the operating conditions (rotation speed, centrifugal speed, set temperature) according to the third command already issued from the automatic dispenser. When the centrifugation is completed, the automatic centrifugal separator 1 moves the transfer means 5, slides the door 7 with the finger 18, opens the carry-in / carry-out port 26, and transmits the completion of the third command.
When the fourth command is issued from the automatic dispenser, the automatic centrifugal separator 1 uses the transfer unit 5 to transfer the holding container 10 from the bucket 13 in the centrifuge 4 to the holding container transfer unit 3. . On the way, the sample container 22 mounted on the holding container 10 is set in the sample container transfer unit 2. Thereafter, the transport unit 5 stands by at a position where it does not interfere with the automatic dispenser, and transmits a fourth command completion to the automatic dispenser.
On the automatic dispensing machine side, the sample container 22 is unloaded from the sample container transfer unit 2 and a fifth command is transmitted.
The automatic centrifugal separator 1 uses the transfer means 5 to transfer the holding container 10 from the holding container transfer unit 3 to the bucket 13 in the centrifuge 4 and transmits a fifth command completion.
The fourth and fifth commands are executed an even number of times to process all the containers on the automatic centrifugal separator 1 side.
In one embodiment of the present invention relating to the determination as to whether or not the sample container 22 is correctly set, the transmission type sensor (1) 9 is provided in the sample container transfer section 2 in two stages. The transmission sensor (1) 9 in the upper stage is located at a position where a signal is emitted on the side surface of the normal position of the sample container 22, and can detect the presence or absence of the sample container 22. The lower transmission sensor {circle around (1)} 9 emits a signal from the normal position to the lower part, and transmits light when the sample container 22 is at the normal position. However, when the sample container 22 is not set normally due to vibration and abnormal operation on the automatic dispenser side and falls into the holding container transfer section 3, the signal of the lower transmission sensor (1) 9 is cut off. You. The signal of the upper transmission sensor (1) 9 is cut off, the signal of the lower transmission sensor (1) 9 is transparent and normal, and the lower transmission sensor is independent of the signal of the upper transmission sensor (1) 9. When the signal of (1) 9 is cut off, it can be determined that there is an abnormality, and when the signal of the upper and lower transmission type sensors (1) 9 is transmitted, it can be determined that the sample container 22 is not present. The presence / absence of the sample container 22 and whether or not the sample container 22 has been set at the normal position can be confirmed by the signals of the upper and lower two-stage transmission type sensors (1) 9, and an alarm can be properly generated in the event of an abnormality.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the automatic centrifuge which connects with various apparatuses and performs centrifugal separation of a sample, automatic centrifugation with good operability respond | corresponds to the diversity of the sample container and the handling mechanism of the connected apparatus side. A separation device can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic centrifugal separator showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a set section of a sample container and a sample holding container.
FIG. 3 is a holding container.
FIG. 4 is a centrifuge.
FIG. 5 is a transportation unit.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the holding container.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a door.
FIG. 8 shows a sample container.
FIG. 9 is a state diagram of a holding container on which a sample container is mounted.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an automatic centrifugal separator showing one embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
In the figure, 1 is an automatic centrifugal separator, 2 is a sample container transfer unit, 3 is a holding container transfer unit, 4 is a centrifuge, 5 is a transport means, 6 is an operation / control unit, 7 is a door, and 8 is a container port. , 9 is a transmission type sensor (1), 10 is a holding container, 11 is a holding container side hole, 12 is a holding container hook groove, 13 is a bucket, 14 is a bucket through hole, 15 is a rotating body, 16 is a pin, 17 is a motor, 18 is a finger, 19 is a finger projection, 20 is a holding container bottom projection, 21 is a door projection, 22 is a sample container, 22a is a thick sample container, 22b is a thin sample container, and 23 is a transmission sensor. {Circle around (2)}, 24 is a holding container hook portion, 25 is a refrigerator, 26 is a loading / unloading port of the rotating body chamber, and 27 is a rotating body chamber. 50 and 51 are motors

Claims (4)

A centrifuge, a sample container containing a plurality of samples to be centrifuged to be centrifuged by the centrifuge, a container port for receiving and transferring the sample container, and a container port and the centrifuge. An automatic centrifugal separator having a transport unit for transporting the sample container, wherein the sample container is transported by a holding container that holds the sample container. 2. The automatic centrifugal separator according to claim 1, wherein the container port is provided with a holding / receiving place for a holding container holding the sample container. 3. The automatic centrifugal separation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sample container transfer area is provided above the transfer area of the holding container at a distance. 4. The automatic centrifugal separator according to claim 3, further comprising a transmission-type sensor provided in two stages in the container port of the sample container in the container port.

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