JP2009036680A - Analyzing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an analyzing apparatus capable of restraining the waving of a liquid level in a reagent container. <P>SOLUTION: The analyzing apparatus is capable of dispensing a reagent without rotating a reagent tray with the reagent container 14a installed by rotating an upper cover 141 of a reagent storage itself by a motor 1431, gears 1432, 1433 and a rotating column 1434 to locate a suction opening 142 on the reagent container 14a storing the reagent to be dispensed. The waving of the liquid level in the reagent container can thereby be markedly restrained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an analyzer for dispensing a reagent in a reagent container into a reaction container to analyze a sample.

  Conventionally, as a device for automatically analyzing a sample such as blood or body fluid, the sample in the sample container and the reagent in the reagent container are respectively dispensed into the reaction container, and the reaction occurring between the reagent and the sample in the reaction container is performed. Analytical devices that detect optically are known. Conventionally, the reagent tray in the reagent container in which the reagent container is installed is rotated to transfer the reagent container containing the reagent corresponding to the test item below the suction opening provided in the lid of the reagent storage. Thus, the reagent is sucked through the opening.

  By the way, in order to improve the throughput of the analysis process, the reagent tray is rotated at a high speed and the capacity of the reagent container is increased. The high speed rotation of the reagent tray increases the centrifugal force on the reagent, and coupled with the increase in capacity of the reagent container, the shaking of the reagent in the reagent container increases, resulting in poor reagent dispensing accuracy, Contamination and an increase in reagent dead volume have been problems. In view of this, a reagent container has been proposed in which the shape of the container is changed so as to generate frictional resistance in the centrifugal direction to reduce the shaking of the reagent (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-275251 A

  However, even if the shape of the container is changed to reduce the shaking of the reagent as in the reagent container according to Patent Document 1, the shaking of the reagent liquid level is completely suppressed as long as the reagent tray rotates at high speed. I couldn't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described drawbacks of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an analyzer that can suppress the fluctuation of the liquid level in the reagent container.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an analyzer according to the present invention is provided with an opening for aspirating a reagent in an analyzer that analyzes a sample by dispensing a reagent in a reagent container into a reaction container. And a lid member capable of rotating at least a portion provided with the opening and a rotating mechanism for rotating the portion provided with the opening, and a plurality of reagent containers can be accommodated therein. A probe transfer mechanism capable of two-dimensionally transferring a probe for aspirating and discharging the reagent onto the reagent store; and the opening on the reagent container storing a reagent to be dispensed with respect to the rotating mechanism. The portion provided with the opening is rotated so that the portion is located, and the probe is transferred onto the reagent container storing the reagent to be dispensed with respect to the probe transfer mechanism. Characterized by comprising a control mechanism.

  In the analyzer according to the present invention, the opening is provided in a main body of the lid member, the rotation mechanism includes a rotation motor, a rotation transmission member that transmits rotation of the rotation motor, A rotation shaft column connected to the lid member at the center of the lid member, the rotation shaft column rotating according to the rotation of the rotation motor transmitted from the rotation transmission member, and the rotation transmission member The lid member connected to the rotation shaft column is rotated by transmitting the rotation of the rotation motor to the rotation shaft column via the rotation and rotating the rotation shaft column.

  In the analyzer according to the present invention, the lid member has a ring-shaped rotating member provided with the opening and is rotatable, and the ring-shaped rotating member is provided therein, and the opening is formed by the rotation of the ring-shaped rotating member. A main body having an upper portion and a lower portion opened in each region where the portion is located, and the rotation mechanism includes a rotation motor, a first rotation transmission member that transmits rotation of the rotation motor, and the main body. A rotation shaft column that rotates through the rotation of the rotation motor transmitted from the first rotation transmission member through the center of the portion, and an inner peripheral side surface of the annular rotation member, and the rotation shaft column A second rotation transmission member that transmits the rotation of the rotation motor to the ring-shaped rotation member, and the rotation of the rotation motor is transmitted to the second rotation via the first rotation transmission member and the rotation shaft column. Element And wherein the rotating the annular rotary member in contact with the rotation transmitting member of the second to transmit.

  In the analyzer according to the present invention, the lid member is a ring-shaped rotating member that is provided with the opening and is rotatable, and has an annular shape in which an uneven shape that meshes with a predetermined gear is formed on an inner peripheral side surface. A rotating member; and a main body having an opening at an upper portion and a lower portion of each region where the opening is located by rotation of the annular rotating member. Motor, a first gear that transmits the rotation of the rotation motor, and a rotating shaft column that passes through the center of the main body and rotates according to the rotation of the rotation motor transmitted from the first gear. And a second gear that meshes with the concave-convex shape on the inner peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotating member and transmits the rotation of the rotating shaft column to the ring-shaped rotating member, and the rotation of the rotating motor is the first of And wherein the rotating the annular rotary member that meshes with the second gear is transmitted to the second gear via the A and the rotating shaft pillars.

  In the analyzer according to the present invention, the lid member has a ring-shaped rotating member provided with the opening and is rotatable, and the ring-shaped rotating member inside, and the opening is formed by the rotation of the ring-shaped rotating member. And a main body member that is open so as to expose a part of the outer peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotating member, and the rotating mechanism includes the rotation motor, A rotation transmitting member that contacts an outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotating member and transmits the rotation of the rotating motor to the annular rotating member, and the rotation of the rotating motor is transmitted through the rotation transmitting member to the annular rotating member. And the ring-shaped rotating member is rotated.

  Further, in the analyzer according to the present invention, the lid member is a ring-shaped rotating member that is provided with the opening and is rotatable, and has a ring-shaped rotation in which an uneven shape that meshes with a predetermined gear is formed on the outer peripheral side surface. A member and an annular rotating member therein, and the upper and lower portions of each region where the opening is located are opened by rotation of the annular rotating member and a part of the outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotating member is exposed. A rotation member, and a gear that meshes with a concavo-convex shape on an outer peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotation member and transmits rotation of the rotation motor to the ring-shaped rotation member. The rotation of the motor for rotation is transmitted to the ring-shaped rotation member via the gear to rotate the ring-shaped rotation member.

  Further, in the analyzer according to the present invention, the control mechanism is configured such that the rotation mechanism in the rotation mechanism and the probe transfer operation in the probe transfer mechanism are based on the position information of each reagent container in the reagent storage acquired in advance. It is characterized by controlling.

  Further, in the analyzer according to the present invention, the probe transfer mechanism includes a shaft column that can be vertically moved and rotated around an axis, and the shaft column connected to the shaft column and lifted and rotated. A first arm that moves up and down in accordance with the second arm, and a second arm that has the probe provided at the tip thereof, and is connected to the first arm and is rotatable around a connection portion with the first arm. And two arms.

  Further, in the analyzer according to the present invention, the probe transfer mechanism includes a shaft column that can be vertically moved and rotated around an axis, and the shaft column connected to the shaft column and lifted and rotated. A first arm that moves up and down in accordance with the second arm, and a second arm that is provided at the tip of the probe and is slidable so that a predetermined length protrudes from the first arm. It is characterized by having.

  The analyzer according to the present invention includes a reagent container having a lid member of a reagent container in which a part provided with an opening for reagent aspiration is rotatable and a rotation mechanism for rotating the part provided with the opening, and a reagent And a probe transfer mechanism capable of two-dimensionally transferring the probe for sucking and discharging the reagent onto the reagent storage, and further, the opening is positioned on the reagent container storing the reagent to be dispensed with respect to the rotation mechanism. The portion provided with the opening is rotated, and the probe tray is rotated by moving the probe onto the reagent container containing the reagent to be dispensed with respect to the probe transfer mechanism. Since the reagent dispensing process can be performed without any problem, the liquid level in the reagent container can be remarkably suppressed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example an analyzer for analyzing a sample by reacting a liquid reagent with the sample. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

(Embodiment 1)
First, the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a description will be given of an analyzer capable of aspirating a reagent without rotating the reagent container itself by rotating the lid of the reagent container provided with the reagent suction opening instead of the reagent tray.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the analyzer according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the analyzer 1 according to the first embodiment dispenses a sample and a reagent to be analyzed into a reaction vessel 21 and optically measures a reaction that occurs in the dispensed reaction vessel 21. And a control mechanism 3 that controls the entire analyzer 1 including the measurement mechanism 2 and analyzes the measurement result in the measurement mechanism 2. The analyzer 1 automatically analyzes a plurality of specimens by the cooperation of these two mechanisms.

  The measuring mechanism 2 holds a plurality of sample containers 11a containing liquid samples such as blood and urine, and transfers a plurality of sample racks 11b that are sequentially transferred in the direction of the arrows in the drawing, and a tip of an arm 12a. A sample dispensing mechanism 12 for dispensing the sample by dispensing the sample into the reaction vessel 21 after the sample is aspirated by the probe, dispensing the sample or reagent into the reaction vessel 21, stirring, photometry or washing of the reaction vessel 21 For this purpose, a reaction table 13 for transferring the reaction container 21 to a predetermined position, a reagent container 14 capable of storing a plurality of reagent containers 14a containing reagents dispensed in the reaction container 21, an intake / exhaust syringe (not shown), A reagent dispensing mechanism 16 having a reagent probe that is connected and sucks and discharges the reagent, a stirring unit 18 that stirs the sample and the reagent dispensed in the reaction container 21, and the liquid in the reaction container 21 It comprises a measuring unit 19 for measuring the biological properties, and a cleaning unit 20 for cleaning the reaction vessel 21 to measurement by the photometric unit 19 is finished.

  The reagent storage 14 has an upper lid 141 provided with a suction opening 142 for reagent suction. The upper lid 141 is rotatable as indicated by an arrow Y1. The reagent probe in the reagent dispensing mechanism 16 shown in FIG. 1 is provided at the tip of the second arm 172 constituting the arm. The second arm 172 is connected to a first arm 171 that rotates as indicated by an arrow Y2 in accordance with the rotation of the shaft column, and is rotatable around a connection portion with the first arm 171 as indicated by an arrow Y3. The reaction table 13 is provided with a discharge opening 131 for discharging the reagent.

  The control mechanism 3 is configured using a CPU or the like, and controls the processing and operation of each unit of the analyzer 1 and inputs for acquiring various information necessary for analyzing the sample, instruction information for the analysis operation, and the like from the outside. Unit 32, analysis unit 33 for analyzing the sample based on the measurement result of photometry unit 19, storage unit 34 for storing various information including the analysis result of the sample, and various information including the analysis result of the sample Output unit 35. These units included in the measurement mechanism 2 and the control mechanism 3 are electrically connected to the control unit 31.

  In the analyzer 1 configured as described above, the sample dispensing mechanism 12 dispenses the sample in the sample container 11a to the plurality of reaction containers 21 that are sequentially conveyed in a row, and the reagent dispensing mechanism. After 16 dispenses the reagent in the reagent container 14a, the photometric unit 19 performs the spectral intensity measurement of the sample in a state where the sample and the reagent are reacted, and the analysis unit 33 analyzes the measurement result, whereby the sample The component analysis is automatically performed. In addition, a series of analysis operations are continuously and repeatedly performed by cleaning the reaction container 21 being transported after the cleaning unit 20 completes the measurement by the photometry unit 19.

  Next, a mechanism relating to reagent dispensing in the analyzer 1 will be further described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the analyzer 1 shown in FIG. In addition to the components shown in FIG. 1, the analyzer 1 has an upper lid rotating mechanism 143 as shown in FIG. The upper lid rotating mechanism 143 is connected to the control unit 31 and rotates the upper lid 141 of the reagent storage 14 under the control of the control unit 31.

  The analyzer 1 also includes a probe transfer mechanism 17 that can two-dimensionally transfer a reagent probe that sucks and discharges the reagent onto the reagent storage 14. The probe transfer mechanism 17 includes the first arm 171 and the second arm 172 described above.

  Then, the storage unit 34 stores the position information of each reagent container 14a in the reagent container 14 acquired in advance by an input process by the input unit 32, a barcode or RFID tag reading process attached to each reagent container 14a, or the like. The reagent position information D1 to be included is stored. The control unit 31 controls the rotation operation in the upper lid rotation mechanism 143 and the reagent probe transfer operation in the probe transfer mechanism 17 based on the reagent position information D1 stored in the storage unit 34. Further, the control unit 31 controls the reagent aspirating process and the reagent discharging process in the reagent dispensing mechanism 16 in accordance with the rotating operation in the upper lid rotating mechanism 143 and the reagent probe transferring operation in the probe transferring mechanism 17.

  Next, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the structure of the reagent storage 14, the upper lid rotating mechanism 143, and the probe transfer mechanism 17 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. 3 is a view for explaining the reagent storage, the upper lid rotating mechanism, and the probe transfer mechanism shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the reagent storage 14 cut on the diameter passing through the suction opening 142 shown in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the first arm 171 and the second arm 172, the probe transfer mechanism 17 can move up and down in the vertical direction as indicated by the arrow Y4 and rotate around the axis as indicated by the arrow Y2. It further has the support | pillar 173 which is. The first arm 171 is connected to the support column 173, moves up and down in accordance with the arrow Y4 of the support column 173, and rotates according to the rotation of the arrow Y2 of the support column 173. The second arm 172 is connected to the first arm 171 at the connection portion 174, and can rotate around the connection portion 174 as indicated by an arrow Y3.

  Therefore, the probe transfer mechanism 17 can two-dimensionally transfer the reagent probe 161 provided at the tip of the second arm 172 onto the reagent storage 14 by the rotation of the support column 173 and the connection portion 174. The control unit 31 moves the reagent probe 161 to a desired position on the reagent storage 14 by controlling the vertical movement of the support column 173, the rotation operation of the support column 173, and the rotation operation of the connection unit 174.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper lid rotating mechanism 143 includes a motor 1431 that rotates and rotates, a gear 1432 that transmits the rotation of the motor 1431, a rotation column 1434 that is connected to the upper lid 141 at the center of the upper lid 141, and this rotation. And a gear 1433 that is attached to the support column 1434 and meshes with the gear 1432.

  In the upper lid rotation mechanism 143, the rotation of the motor 1431 is transmitted to the rotation column 1434 through the gear 1432 installed around the rotation axis of the motor 1431 and the gear 1433 installed around the rotation axis of the rotation column 1434. As a result, the rotation support 1434 rotates according to the rotation of the motor 1431 transmitted from the gear 1433. The upper lid rotating mechanism 143 rotates the upper column 141 connected to the rotation column 1434 as indicated by the arrow Y1 shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 by rotating the rotation column 1434 as indicated by the arrow Y5. . As the upper lid 141 rotates, the suction opening 142 provided in the main body of the upper lid 141 also moves. The control unit 31 controls the rotation operation of the motor 1431 to rotate the upper lid 141 and transfer the suction opening 142 provided in the upper lid 141 to a desired position.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a process at the time of reagent dispensing will be described. First, the control unit 31 determines whether or not it is the reagent dispensing timing (step S2), and repeats the determination process of step S2 until it is determined that it is the reagent dispensing timing. When the control unit 31 determines that it is the reagent dispensing timing (step S2: Yes), the reagent unit 14a refers to the reagent position information D1 in the storage unit 34 and stores the reagent container 14a in which the reagent to be dispensed is stored. The position inside is acquired (step S4).

  Then, the control unit 31 causes the upper lid rotating mechanism 143 to rotate the upper lid 141 so that the suction opening 142 of the upper lid 141 is positioned on the opening of the reagent container 14a that stores the reagent to be dispensed ( Step S6). Thereafter, the control unit 31 causes the probe transfer mechanism 17 to transfer the reagent probe 161 to a position corresponding to the reagent container 14a containing the reagent to be dispensed (step S8). That is, the control unit 31 makes the reagent probe 161 on the suction opening 142 of the upper lid 141 located on the reagent container 14 a storing the reagent to be dispensed by the rotation of the upper lid 141 with respect to the probe transfer mechanism 17. Transport.

  Then, the controller 31 lowers the reagent probe 161 with respect to the probe transfer mechanism 17 in order to suck the reagent to be dispensed (step S10), and causes the reagent probe 161 to suck the reagent (step S12). ), The reagent probe 161 is raised with respect to the probe transfer mechanism 17 (step S14).

  Next, the control unit 31 causes the probe transfer mechanism 17 to transfer the reagent probe 161 onto the discharge opening 131 of the reaction table 13 in order to discharge the aspirated reagent into the reaction container 21 (step S16). Then, the controller 31 lowers the reagent probe 161 with respect to the probe transfer mechanism 17 in order to discharge the reagent to be dispensed into the reaction container 21 (step S18), and causes the reagent probe 161 to discharge the reagent. After that (step S20), the reagent probe 161 is raised with respect to the probe transfer mechanism 17 (step S22), and the reagent dispensing process is ended. The reagent probe 161 that has finished dispensing the reagent is washed in a probe washing tank (not shown).

  Thereafter, the control unit 31 determines whether or not to end the analysis process in the analyzer 1 (step S24). When it is determined that the analysis process is to be ended (step S24: Yes), the control unit 31 ends the reagent dispensing process as it is. On the other hand, when the control unit 31 determines that the analysis process has not been completed (step S24: No), the control unit 31 returns to step S2 to dispense the reagent to the next reaction vessel 21, and the reagent dispensing timing. It is determined whether or not.

  Here, a mechanism relating to reagent dispensing in the conventional analyzer will be described. In the conventional analyzer 1, as shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the discharge opening 131 in the reaction table 13, the position of the suction opening 242 of the upper lid 241 of the reagent storage is also fixed. In the conventional analyzer, the reagent probe is moved along the trajectory T1 connecting the ejection opening 131 and the suction opening 242 by moving the arm 271 up and down by rotating up and down as shown by the arrow Y14 of the column 273. 161 was transported.

  In the conventional analyzer, as shown in FIG. 7, the reagent tray 243 inside the reagent storage housing a plurality of reagent containers 14a is rotated as indicated by the arrow Y15 to store the reagent to be dispensed. The reagent dispensing process was performed after the reagent container 14a was moved below the suction opening 242 provided in the upper lid 241.

  However, in recent years, as the reagent tray is rotated at a high speed and the capacity of the reagent container is increased in order to improve the throughput of the analysis process, the centrifugal force on the reagent is increased due to the high speed rotation of the reagent tray. Coupled with the increase in the capacity of the reagent container, the shaking of the reagent in the reagent container increases, and even when the shape of the reagent container is changed as in the past, the reagent dispensing accuracy deteriorates and the reagent probe becomes dirty. However, the increase in the dead volume of the reagent cannot be reliably suppressed, which has been a problem.

  On the other hand, in the analyzer 1 according to the first embodiment, the upper lid rotating mechanism 143 for rotating the upper lid 141 provided with the suction opening 142 for reagent aspiration, and the reagent probe 161 are placed on the reagent storage 14. And a probe transfer mechanism 17 capable of transferring in dimension, and the upper lid 141 is rotated so that the suction opening 142 is positioned on the reagent container 14a containing the reagent to be dispensed with respect to the upper lid rotation mechanism 143. In addition, the reagent dispensing process is performed by causing the probe transport mechanism 17 to transport the reagent probe 161 onto the reagent container 14a containing the reagent to be dispensed. Therefore, the analyzer 1 can perform the reagent dispensing process without rotating the reagent tray in which the reagent container 14a is installed. That is, the analyzer 1 can perform the reagent dispensing process while fixing the position of the reagent container 14a accommodated in the reagent store 14. For this reason, according to the analyzer 1, it becomes possible to remarkably suppress the fluctuation of the reagent liquid level in the reagent container as compared with the conventional case, and the reagent dispensing due to the fluctuation of the reagent liquid level in the reagent container. Deterioration of accuracy, contamination of reagent probe, and generation of reagent dead volume can be suppressed.

  Further, in the analyzer 1, only the relatively lightweight upper lid 141 is rotated, not the heavy reagent tray in which the plurality of reagent containers 14a are arranged, so that the rotation process of the upper lid 141 is accelerated. However, it does not participate in the liquid shaking of the reagent in the reagent container 14a. Therefore, in the analysis apparatus 1, it is possible to increase the processing capacity of the entire analysis process by enabling the reagent dispensing process to be performed at high speed by speeding up the rotation process of the upper lid 141.

  In FIG. 4, the case where the rotation of the motor 1431 is transmitted to the rotation column 1434 using the gears 1432 and 1433 has been described as an example, but instead of the gears 1432 and 1433, as shown in FIG. The rotation of the motor 1431 may be transmitted to the rotation column 1434 using rollers 1432a and 1433a functioning as elastic rotation transmission members made of hard rubber. The roller 1432a is installed around the rotation axis of the motor 1431 and transmits the rotation of the motor 1431 to the roller 1433a. The roller 1433a is installed around the rotation column 1434, and transmits the rotation of the motor 1431 transmitted from the roller 1432a to the rotation column 1434. The rotation of the motor 1431 is transmitted to the rotation column 1434 via the contact surface between the roller 1432a and the roller 1433a, and the upper lid 141 is rotated by the rotation of the rotation column 1434.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, only the portion provided with the suction opening, not the entire upper lid, is rotated to reduce the weight of the entire member to be rotated.

  The analyzer according to the second embodiment includes a reagent store 314 shown in FIG. 9 instead of the reagent store 14 shown in FIG. The reagent storage 314 is provided with a suction opening 342 and rotates with a ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 rotating as indicated by an arrow Y31, and an upper lid outer peripheral portion 3411 and an upper lid inner peripheral portion 3412 having a ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 therein. A main body portion 341.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the reagent storage 314 cut on a diameter passing through the suction opening 342 shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state where the upper lid outer peripheral portion 3411 and the upper lid inner peripheral portion 3412 are removed from the reagent storage 314 in FIG. 9.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the upper surface portion of the upper lid main body portion 341 has a structure that is divided into an upper lid outer peripheral portion 3411 and an upper lid inner peripheral portion 3412, and the upper lid main body portion 341 has an annular rotary lid 3413. , The upper portion of each region where the suction opening 342 is located is open. The upper lid main body portion 341 includes an inner lid portion 3414 on the inner side of the reagent storage 314 in addition to the upper lid outer circumferential portion 3411 and the upper lid inner circumferential portion 3412, and has a hollow structure. The upper lid inner peripheral portion 3412 is supported on the inner lid portion 3414 by a coupling portion 3417.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 is a ring-shaped lid member, and is composed of an upper lid outer peripheral portion 3411, an upper lid inner peripheral portion 3412, and an inner lid portion 3414 inside the reagent storage 314. It is provided in the part 341. Since the suction opening 342 is also rotated and transferred onto each reagent container 14a as indicated by the arrow Y31 by the rotation of the annular rotary lid 3413, the inner lid 3414 on which the annular rotary lid 3413 is placed is as shown in FIG. In addition, a plurality of openings 3415 are provided corresponding to the suction ports of the reagent containers 14 a installed in the reagent storage 314. That is, the upper lid main body 341 has a structure in which the lower portion of each region where the suction opening 342 is located is opened by the rotation of the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413. The reagent probe 161 is a reagent container in which the reagent to be dispensed is accommodated through the suction opening 342 of the annular rotary lid 3413 and the opening 3415 of the inner lid 3414 transferred by the rotation of the annular rotary lid 3413. It will be inserted into 14a.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the upper lid rotating mechanism is connected to the motor 1431, the gear 1432 that transmits the rotation of the motor 1431, and the upper lid body 341 at the center of the upper lid body 341. A gear transmission column 3436 and a rotation column 3434 connected to the gear transmission column 3436 are provided at the connection portion 3435 to which the gear 1433 is attached. A gear 3432 is attached to the gear transmission column 3436, and the gear 3432 meshes with a gear 3433 disposed on the inner lid portion 3414 inside the reagent storage 314 of the upper lid main body portion 341. .

  As shown in FIG. 11, the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 has an uneven shape that can mesh with the gear 3433 on the inner peripheral side surface. The gear 3433 meshes with the concave-convex shape of the inner peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 and transmits the rotation of the rotation column 3434 and the gear transmission column 3436 indicated by the arrow Y32 to the ring-shaped rotation lid 3413.

  The upper lid rotating mechanism according to the second embodiment includes a gear 1432, a gear 1433, a rotation column 3434, a gear transmission column 3436 coupled to the rotation column 3434 and a coupling unit 3435, and an arrow Y 33 in FIG. As shown by the arrow Y34, the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 meshing with the gear 3433 is transmitted through the gear 3433 attached to the gear transmission column 3436, and the gear 3433 is rotated. As the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 rotates, the suction opening 342 provided in the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 also moves.

  The control unit 31 controls the rotation operation of the motor 1431 to rotate the upper lid rotation mechanism to rotate the ring-shaped rotation lid 3413 and move the suction opening 342 provided in the ring-shaped rotation lid 3413 to a desired position. In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, by performing the processing procedures shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 31 assigns the reagent to be dispensed to the rotation mechanism in the second embodiment. The ring-shaped rotary lid 3413 provided with the suction opening 342 is rotated so that the suction opening 342 is positioned on the stored reagent container, and the reagent to be dispensed is stored in the probe transfer mechanism 17. By transferring the reagent probe 161 onto the reagent container, the reagent to be dispensed is sucked and discharged into the reaction container 21 through the discharge opening 131 of the reaction table 13 to perform the reagent dispensing process. .

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, since the reagent dispensing process is performed by rotating the annular rotary lid 3413 provided with the suction opening 342, the shaking of the reagent liquid surface in the reagent container 14a is remarkably suppressed. The same effect as in the first embodiment is achieved.

  Further, in the second embodiment, not the entire upper lid but only the annular rotary lid 3413 provided with the suction opening 342 is rotated to reduce the weight of the entire member to be rotated. The rotational speed of 342 can be made higher than that in the first embodiment, and the reagent dispensing process can be further processed at a higher speed, thereby increasing the throughput of the entire analysis process.

  Further, when the upper lid main body portion is rotated, there is a possibility that human hands or objects come into contact with the rotating upper lid main body portion and hinder the rotation operation of the upper lid main body portion. On the other hand, in Embodiment 2, since it is the structure enclosed with the rotating ring-shaped rotation lid | cover 3413, the contact of a human hand and an object to the rotating member can be avoided reliably.

  In addition, the inner lid part in Embodiment 2 is sufficient if it has the structure which each upper part of the reagent container 14a opened. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 13, the inner lid part in Embodiment 2 may be an inner lid part 3414a having a notch 3415a in which a plurality of openings 3415 are connected instead of the opening 3415. Since the processing of the notch 3415a is simpler than the processing of many openings 3415 having a small size, the processing of the inner lid portion can be simplified.

  In addition, when the upper lid main body 341 is removed from the reagent store 314, the gear transmission strut 3436 connected to the connecting portion 3435 is also removed from the reagent store 314. When attaching the upper lid main body 341 to the reagent storage 314, it is necessary to fit the gear transmission column 3436 into the coupling unit 3435 so that the coupling column 3435 can couple the rotation column 3434 and the gear transmission column 3436. There is.

  10 and 11, the rotation of the motor 1431 is transmitted to the rotation column 3434 using the gears 1432 and 1433, and the rotation of the gear transmission column 3436 is transmitted to the ring-shaped rotation lid 3413 using the gears 3432 and 3433. The case of transmission has been described as an example, but of course not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, instead of the gears 1432 and 1433, rotation of the motor 1431 is rotated by using rollers 1432 a and 1433 a that function as elastic rotation transmission members made of hard rubber. You may transmit to the support | pillar 3434 for use. The roller 1432a is installed around the rotation axis of the motor 1431 and transmits the rotation of the motor 1431 to the roller 1433a. The roller 1433a is installed around the rotation column 3434. The rotation of the motor 1431 is transmitted to the rotation strut 3434 via the contact surface between the roller 1432a and the roller 1433a, and is transmitted to the rotation transmission strut 3436a connected at the connecting portion 3435.

  14 and 15, instead of the gears 3432 and 3433 in FIGS. 10 and 11, rotation is performed using rollers 3432a and 3433a that function as elastic transmission members made of hard rubber. The rotation of the transmission post 3436a is transmitted to the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413a. The roller 3432a is installed around the rotation transmission column 3436a. The roller 3433a contacts the roller 3432a and the inner peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413a. The rotation of the rotation transmitting column 3436a is transmitted to the inner peripheral side surface of the annular rotating lid 3413a through the contact surfaces of the rollers 3432a and 3433a. In the case shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, since the rotation of the rotation transmitting column 3436a is transmitted to the annular rotating lid 3413a using the rollers 3432a and 3433a instead of the gear, the annular rotating lid is compared with the annular rotating lid 3413a. Unlike 3413, it is not necessary to provide a concavo-convex shape that can mesh with the gear on the side surface.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, as a configuration in which the gear inside the inner lid of the reagent store and the rotation transmission column are eliminated, the entire upper lid is reduced in weight and the entire reagent store is downsized.

  The analyzer according to the third embodiment includes a reagent store 414 shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 instead of the reagent store 14 shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the reagent store in the third embodiment, and FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the reagent store 414 cut along a diameter passing through the suction opening 442 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the reagent storage 414 includes a ring-shaped rotary lid 4413 provided with a suction opening 442 and rotating as indicated by an arrow Y41, an upper lid outer peripheral portion 4411 having an annular rotary lid 4413 therein, and an inner periphery of the upper lid. An upper lid main body portion 441 constituted by the portion 4412.

  The upper surface portion of the upper lid main body 441 has a structure that is divided into an upper lid outer peripheral portion 4411 and an upper lid inner peripheral portion 4412. In other words, the upper lid main body 441 has a structure in which the upper part of each region where the suction opening 442 is located is opened by the rotation of the annular rotary lid 4413. The upper lid main body 441 is configured by an inner lid 4414 on the inner side of the reagent storage 414 in addition to the upper lid outer circumferential portion 4411 and the upper lid inner circumferential portion 4412, and has a hollow structure.

  The ring-shaped rotary lid 4413 is a ring-shaped lid member and is provided in the upper lid main body portion 441 configured by the upper lid outer peripheral portion 4411, the upper lid inner peripheral portion 4412, and the inner lid portion 4414 inside the reagent storage 414. Since the suction opening 442 is also rotated and transferred onto each reagent container 14a as indicated by the arrow Y41 by the rotation of the ring-shaped rotary lid 4413, the inner lid portion 4414 on which the ring-shaped rotary lid 4413 is placed is as shown in FIG. In addition, a plurality of openings 4415 are provided corresponding to the suction ports of the reagent containers 14 a installed in the reagent storage 414. That is, the upper lid main body 441 has a structure in which the lower portion of each region where the suction opening 442 is located is opened by the rotation of the annular rotary lid 4413. The reagent probe 161 is a reagent container in which a reagent to be dispensed is accommodated through the suction opening 442 of the annular rotary lid 4413 and the opening 4415 of the inner lid 4414 transferred by the rotation of the annular rotary lid 4413. It will be inserted into 14a. Note that the inner lid portion 4414 may have a cutout portion 3415a in which a plurality of openings 3415 are connected in the same manner as the inner lid portion 3414a shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16, the ring-shaped rotary lid 4413 has an uneven shape that can mesh with a predetermined gear over the entire outer peripheral side surface. The upper lid main body portion 441 has a structure opened so as to expose a part of the outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotary lid 4413. From the opening region of the upper lid main body 441, the uneven shape formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotating lid 4413 is exposed to the outside.

  The upper lid rotating mechanism according to the third embodiment includes a motor 1431, a gear 1432 that transmits the rotation of the motor 1431, and a gear 4432 that meshes with the uneven shape on the outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotating lid 4413. As indicated by arrows Y42 and Y43 in FIG. 16, the gear 4432 transmits the rotation of the motor 1431 transmitted through the gear 1432 to the annular rotating lid 4413.

  As described above, the upper lid rotation mechanism according to the third embodiment transmits the rotation of the motor 1431 from the outside to the ring-shaped rotation lid 4413 via the gear 1432 and the gear 4432 to rotate the ring-shaped rotation lid 4413.

  Then, the control unit 31 controls the rotation operation of the motor 1431 to rotate the upper lid rotation mechanism to rotate the ring-shaped rotation lid 4413 and transfer the suction opening 442 provided in the ring-shaped rotation lid 4413 to a desired position. . In the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, by performing the processing procedures shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 31 assigns the reagent to be dispensed to the rotation mechanism in the second embodiment. The ring-shaped rotary lid 4413 provided with the suction opening 442 is rotated so that the suction opening 442 is positioned on the stored reagent container, and the reagent to be dispensed is stored in the probe transfer mechanism 17. The reagent probe 161 is transferred onto the reagent container. Then, the controller 31 sucks the reagent to be dispensed and discharges it into the reaction container 21 through the discharge opening 131 of the reaction table 13 to perform the reagent dispensing process.

  As described above, also in the third embodiment, the annular rotary lid 4413 provided with the suction opening 442 is rotated, and the reagent dispensing process is performed without rotating the reagent tray in which the reagent container 14a is installed. Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the upper lid in the third embodiment can rotate without having the gear inside the inner lid shown in the second embodiment and the propeller for rotation transmission. For this reason, the weight can be further reduced as compared with the upper lid in the second embodiment. By reducing the weight of the entire upper lid as in the third embodiment, the work burden on the user is reduced in attaching and detaching the upper lid to / from the reagent storage 414 required for reagent container replacement in the reagent storage. can do.

  Further, in the third embodiment, since a rotation transmission support penetrating the reagent storage shown in the second embodiment is not required, the reagent storage can be downsized by this support and a support is provided. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to provide the necessary through hole in the reagent storage, it is possible to improve the sealing efficiency of the reagent storage and increase the cooling efficiency in the reagent storage.

  In FIGS. 16 and 17, the case where the rotation of the motor 1431 is transmitted to the ring-shaped rotary lid 4413 using the gears 1432 and 4432 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, instead of the gears 1432 and 4432, rollers 1432a and 4432a functioning as elastic rotation transmission members made of hard rubber are used to rotate the motor 1431 so that the roller 1432a rotates. , 4432a may be transmitted to the side surface of the annular rotary lid 4413a. The roller 1432a is installed around the rotation shaft of the motor 1431 and transmits the rotation of the motor 1431 to the roller 4432a. The roller 4432a transmits the rotation to the side surface of the annular rotary lid 4413 exposed from the side surface of the upper lid main body 441. In the case shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, since rollers 1432a and 4432a are used instead of gears, the ring-shaped rotary lid 4413a has a concave and convex shape that can mesh with the gears like the ring-shaped rotary lid 4413. There is no need to provide it.

  In addition, although the structure provided with the 2nd arm 172 which can rotate in the connection part 174 like FIG. 3 as the probe transfer mechanism 17 in Embodiment 1-3 was demonstrated to an example, not only this but FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a second arm 172a that can slide from the first arm 171a as indicated by an arrow Y3a may be provided.

  In this case, the probe transfer mechanism 17 moves up and down the first arm 171a connected to the column 173 by moving the column 173 up and down and rotates it, and projects the second arm 172a from the first arm 171a by a predetermined length. The reagent probe 161 provided at the tip of the second arm 172a is two-dimensionally transferred onto the reagent storage 14. The control unit 31 controls the vertical movement of the column 173, the rotation of the column 173, and the sliding movement of the second arm 172a to move the reagent probe 161 on the reagent storage 14 to the probe transfer mechanism 17. It is transferred to a desired position.

  In the first to third embodiments, the case where one suction opening 142, 342, 442 is provided in the upper lid 141 and the ring-shaped rotary lids 3413, 4413 has been described as an example. Of course, a plurality of suction openings are provided. A part may be provided. In this case, the control unit 31 causes the upper lid 141, the ring-shaped rotary lid 3413, and the like to the upper lid rotating mechanism 143 so that the opening closest to the reagent container containing the reagent to be dispensed is located on the reagent container. 4413 may be rotated.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an analyzer according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the analyzer shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the reagent storage shown in FIG. 2, an upper cover rotation mechanism, and a probe transfer mechanism. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the reagent storage on the diameter which passes the opening part for suction shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence at the time of reagent dispensing shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the conventional reagent store and a probe transfer mechanism. It is a figure explaining the conventional reagent store and a probe transfer mechanism. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example which cut | disconnected the reagent storage on the diameter which passes along the opening part for suction shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a reagent storage in a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the reagent container cut on a diameter passing through the suction opening shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state where the outer periphery of the upper lid and the inner periphery of the upper lid are removed from the reagent storage in FIG. 9. It is a top view of the inner cover part shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the other example of the inner cover part shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example which cut | disconnected the reagent storage on the diameter which passes along the opening part for suction shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the state which removed the upper cover outer peripheral part and the upper cover inner peripheral part from the reagent storage in FIG. It is a figure explaining the reagent storage in Embodiment 3. FIG. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the reagent storage on the diameter which passes along the opening part for suction shown in FIG. It is a top view of the inner cover part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the other example of the reagent storage shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the reagent container cut along a diameter passing through the suction opening shown in FIG. 19. It is a figure explaining the other example of the probe transfer mechanism shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Analyzer 2 Measurement mechanism 3 Control mechanism 11b Specimen rack 11 Specimen transfer mechanism 11a Specimen container 12 Specimen dispensing mechanism 12a Arm 13 Reaction table 14 Reagent storage 14a Reagent container 16 Reagent dispensing mechanism 17 Probe transfer mechanism 18 Stirring unit 19 Photometric unit 20 Washing unit 21 Reaction vessel 31 Control unit 32 Input unit 33 Analysis unit 34 Storage unit 35 Output unit 131 Discharge opening 141 Upper lid 142 Suction opening 143 Upper lid rotation mechanism 161 Reagent probe 171, 171 a First arm 172, 172 a First Two-arm 173 Post 174 Connection unit 241 Upper lid 242 Suction opening 243 Reagent tray 271 Arm 273 Post 314 Reagent storage 341 Upper lid main body 342 Suction opening 414 Reagent storage 441 Upper lid main body 442 Suction opening 1431 Motor 1432 1433 Gear 1432a, 1433a, 3432a, 3433a, 4432a Roller 1434 Rotating column 3411 Upper lid outer peripheral portion 3412 Upper lid inner peripheral portion 3413, 3413a Ring-shaped rotary lid 3414, 3414a Inner lid portion 3415 Opening portion 3415a Notch portion 3417 33 3434 Rotating strut 3435 Connecting portion 3436 Gear transmission strut 4411 Upper lid outer peripheral portion 4412 Upper lid inner peripheral portion 4413, 4413a Ring-shaped rotating lid 4414 Inner lid portion 4415 Opening portion 4432 Gear

Claims (9)

In the analyzer that analyzes the sample by dispensing the reagent in the reagent container to the reaction container,
A lid member that is provided with an opening for aspirating the reagent, and at which the portion provided with the opening is rotatable, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the portion provided with the opening; A reagent storage capable of storing a plurality of containers;
A probe transfer mechanism capable of two-dimensionally transferring a probe for sucking and discharging the reagent onto the reagent storage;
The portion provided with the opening is rotated so that the opening is positioned on the reagent container containing the reagent to be dispensed with respect to the rotating mechanism, and the dispensing mechanism is moved with respect to the probe transfer mechanism. A control mechanism for transferring the probe onto a reagent container containing a reagent to be injected;
An analyzer characterized by comprising: The opening is provided in the main body of the lid member,
The rotation mechanism is
A motor for rotation;
A rotation transmission member for transmitting rotation of the rotation motor;
A rotating shaft column connected to the lid member at the center of the lid member, the rotating shaft column rotating according to the rotation of the rotation motor transmitted from the rotation transmitting member;
And rotating the lid member connected to the rotating shaft column by transmitting the rotation of the rotating motor to the rotating shaft column via the rotation transmitting member and rotating the rotating shaft column. The analyzer according to claim 1. The lid member is
A ring-shaped rotating member provided with the opening and rotatable,
A main body having an opening at the top and a bottom of each region where the opening is located by rotation of the ring-shaped rotation member while having the ring-shaped rotation member inside,
Have
The rotation mechanism is
A motor for rotation;
A first rotation transmission member for transmitting rotation of the rotation motor;
A rotating shaft column that rotates in accordance with the rotation of the rotating motor transmitted through the center of the main body portion and transmitted from the first rotation transmitting member;
A second rotation transmitting member that is in contact with an inner peripheral side surface of the annular rotating member and transmits the rotation of the rotating shaft column to the annular rotating member;
The rotation of the rotation motor is transmitted to the second rotation transmission member via the first rotation transmission member and the rotation shaft column and contacts the second rotation transmission member. The analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the member is rotated. The lid member is
A ring-shaped rotating member provided with the opening and rotatable, the ring-shaped rotating member having an uneven shape that meshes with a predetermined gear on the inner peripheral side surface;
A main body having an opening at the top and a bottom of each region where the opening is located by rotation of the ring-shaped rotation member while having the ring-shaped rotation member inside,
Have
The rotation mechanism is
A motor for rotation;
A first gear for transmitting rotation of the rotation motor;
A rotating shaft column that rotates through the rotation of the rotating motor transmitted through the center of the main body and transmitted from the first gear;
A second gear that meshes with the concavo-convex shape of the inner peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotating member and transmits the rotation of the rotating shaft column to the ring-shaped rotating member;
The rotation of the rotation motor is transmitted to the second gear via the first gear and the rotation shaft column, and the ring-shaped rotation member meshing with the second gear is rotated. The analyzer according to claim 1. The lid member is
A ring-shaped rotating member provided with the opening and rotatable,
The ring-shaped rotating member is provided inside, and the upper and lower portions of each region where the opening is located are opened by the rotation of the ring-shaped rotating member and are opened so as to expose a part of the outer peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotating member. A body member;
Have
The rotation mechanism is
A motor for rotation;
A rotation transmitting member that is in contact with an outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotating member and transmits the rotation of the rotation motor to the annular rotating member;
The analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting rotation of the rotation motor to the ring-shaped rotation member via the rotation transmission member to rotate the ring-shaped rotation member. The lid member is
A ring-shaped rotating member provided with the opening and rotatable, the ring-shaped rotating member having an uneven shape that meshes with a predetermined gear on the outer peripheral side surface;
The ring-shaped rotating member is provided inside, and the upper and lower portions of each region where the opening is located are opened by the rotation of the ring-shaped rotating member and are opened so as to expose a part of the outer peripheral side surface of the ring-shaped rotating member. A body member;
Have
The rotation mechanism is
A motor for rotation;
A gear that meshes with the concave-convex shape on the outer peripheral side surface of the annular rotating member, and transmits the rotation of the rotating motor to the annular rotating member;
The analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting rotation of the rotation motor to the ring-shaped rotating member via the gear to rotate the ring-shaped rotating member.   The control mechanism controls rotation operation in the rotation mechanism and transfer operation of the probe in the probe transfer mechanism based on position information of each reagent container in the reagent storage acquired in advance. The analyzer according to any one of 1 to 6. The probe transfer mechanism includes:
An axial column capable of vertical elevation and rotation about the axis;
A first arm connected to the shaft column and moving up and down and rotating according to the lifting and lowering of the shaft column;
A second arm provided at a tip of the probe, wherein the second arm is connected to the first arm and is rotatable around a connection portion with the first arm;
The analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: The probe transfer mechanism includes:
An axial column capable of vertical elevation and rotation about the axis;
A first arm connected to the shaft column and moving up and down and rotating according to the lifting and lowering of the shaft column;
A second arm provided at a tip of the probe, the second arm being slidable so that a predetermined length protrudes from the first arm; and
The analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

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