JP2011117862A - Autoanalyzer and drive control device of motor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an autoanalyzer capable of easily moving a constituent element containing a dispensing arm by manual operation at the start of the autoanalyzer, and preventing the wasteful consumption of power, and a drive control device of a stepping motor. <P>SOLUTION: The autoanalyzer has a rotor operated in conjunction with the dispensing arm, a stator, the stepping motor provided at one of the rotor and a stator and having a plurality of coils excited by supplied currents, a drive means for changing over the target coil supplying the currents, a power supply for supplying the currents to the respective constituent elements containing the drive means, and a control means for stopping the supply of the currents to all the plurality of coils when power is fed to the drive means and subsequently starting the supply of the currents to the plurality of coils when receiving a predetermined indication and successively rotating the rotor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer and a motor drive control device, and more particularly, to an automatic analyzer and a motor for dispensing a sample and a reagent into reaction containers to generate reaction solutions and measuring the component amounts of the reaction solutions. The present invention relates to a drive control device.

  Generally, in an automatic analyzer, when a sample (sample) is dispensed from a sample container to a reaction container or when a reagent is dispensed from a reagent container to a reaction container, first, above the opening of the sample container or in the reagent container. The dispensing arm rotates so that it is located above the opening (suction position). When the dispensing arm finishes rotating, the dispensing arm descends and the tip of the dispensing probe is in the sample container. Alternatively, the sample or reagent is immersed in the reagent in the reagent container, and the sample or reagent is sucked into the dispensing probe by a suction operation using a vacuum pump or the like.

  Here, when the dispensing arm rises and the dispensing probe is pulled out of the sample container or reagent container, the dispensing arm is positioned so that the dispensing probe is located above the opening (discharge position) of the reaction container. When the rotation is completed, the dispensing arm descends, the tip of the dispensing probe enters the reaction container, and the sample or reagent is discharged into the reaction container by a preset amount. When this discharge is completed, the dispensing arm moves up and the dispensing probe comes out of the reaction vessel.

  Since the tip of the dispensing probe is immersed in the sample or reagent, the sample or reagent adheres to the tip of the dispensing probe. Therefore, when the dispensing arm is lifted or rotated after the tip of the dispensing probe is immersed in the sample or reagent, the sample or reagent attached to the tip of the dispensing probe is scattered depending on the operating state of the dispensing arm. There is a risk. Due to the scattering of the sample or reagent adhering to the tip of such a dispensing probe, contamination (contamination) occurs when the scattered solution enters another reaction container, sample container, or reagent container. The accuracy when measuring is reduced.

  To prevent contamination (contamination), the dispensing arm is rotated so that the dispensing probe is placed in the washing position after the dispensing of the sample or reagent is completed and the dispensing probe is removed from the reaction vessel. Then, after the dispensing probe is washed, the dispensing arm is rotated so that the dispensing probe is positioned at the standby position to prepare for the next sample or reagent dispensing. The series of sample or reagent dispensing operations is thus completed.

  There is an automatic analyzer that uses a stepping motor as a power source when the dispensing arm is rotated, raised, and lowered in a series of dispensing operations of the sample or reagent (Patent Document 1).

  A stepping motor does not require a feedback signal for controlling an object to be operated, and has an advantage that a positioning error of the object does not accumulate. For example, as a PM type stepping motor, a rotor, a stator, a permanent magnet provided on the rotor, a plurality of poles provided on the stator, a plurality of coils wound around each pole and excited by a supplied current Coil. Among them, in a two-phase stepping motor, poles 1 to 4 are provided along the rotation direction of the rotor, and a coil A, which is one electric wire, is wound around the poles 1 and 3, and further, one electric wire. The coil A ′ is wound. In the coils A and A ′, currents supplied to the coils A and A ′ flow in opposite directions. A coil B, which is one electric wire, is wound around the pole 2 and the pole 4, and a coil B ', which is one electric wire, is wound around the pole 2 and the pole 4. In the coil B and the coil B ′, currents supplied to the coils B and B ′ flow in opposite directions. When a current is supplied to the coil A, the poles 1 and 3 become the N pole and the S pole, and when a current is supplied to the coil A ', the poles 1 and 3 become the S pole and the N pole. Further, when a current is supplied to the coil B, the poles 2 and 4 become the N pole and the S pole, and when a current is supplied to the coil B ′, the poles 2 and 4 become the S pole and the N pole.

  Such a stepping motor drive control device has a drive means (switching circuit) for switching a coil to be supplied with current, a power supply for supplying current to the drive means, and a control means for controlling the drive means. ing.

  When each coil of the above-described two-phase stepping motor is excited by, for example, a one-phase excitation method, when the drive means switches the current supply target to the coil A, the magnetic force generated in the coil A causes the pole 1 to have the N pole (Pole 3 becomes the S pole), and the N pole of Pole 1 draws the S pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor, and the S pole of Pole 3 draws the N pole of the permanent magnet. Next, when the driving means switches the current supply target to the coil B, the magnetic force generated in the coil B causes the pole 2 to become the N pole (the pole 4 becomes the S pole), and the N pole of the pole 2 becomes the rotor. While pulling the south pole of the permanent magnet, the south pole of the pole 4 pulls the north pole of the permanent magnet. Next, when the drive means switches the current supply target to the coil A ′, the magnetic force generated in the coil A ′ causes the pole 3 to become the N pole (pole 1 becomes the S pole), and the pole 3 has the N pole. While pulling the south pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor, the south pole of the pole 1 pulls the north pole of the permanent magnet. Next, when the drive means switches the current supply target to the coil B ′, the magnetic force generated in the coil B ′ causes the pole 4 to become the north pole (the pole 2 becomes the south pole), and the pole 4 has the north pole. While pulling the south pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor, the south pole of the pole 2 pulls the north pole of the permanent magnet.

  As described above, the poles 1, 2, 3, and 4 that have become N poles in order by switching the objects to which the driving means supplies current in the order of the coils A, B, A ′, and B ′ are the permanent magnets of the rotor. At the same time, the poles 3, 4, 1, 2 that have become the S poles in turn draw the N pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor, and rotate the rotor once.

  When the rotor is rotated by a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction, the driving means finishes switching the coil to which current is supplied, and the magnetic force generated in the coil to which current is supplied at the end causes the rotor to move to a predetermined position with the holding torque. Hold with the force called. For example, when the object to be supplied with current is the coil A at the end of the rotation of the rotor, the pole 1 becomes the north pole and the pole 3 becomes the south pole due to the magnetic force generated in the coil A. Pulls the south pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor, and the south pole of the pole 3 pulls the north pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor and holds the rotor.

  When the dispensing arm is rotated using such a stepping motor as a power source, the rotor of the stepping motor is interlocked with the dispensing arm. When power is supplied to the driving means at the time of starting up the automatic analyzer, the coil to which the driving means supplies current is determined in advance, and the rotor is held in a predetermined position by the magnetic force generated in the coil supplied with current. . For example, when the drive unit supplies current to the coil A when the power is turned on, the pole 1 becomes the N pole and the pole 3 becomes the S pole by the magnetic force generated in the coil A, and the pole 1 has the N pole. Pulls in the south pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor and the south pole of the pole 3 pulls in the north pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor and holds the rotor, thereby holding the dispensing arm in the initial position (for example, the standby position). .

  As a component using the stepping motor as a power source, in addition to a dispensing arm, for example, a sample disk on which sample containers are arranged in a circumferential direction and a reagent container are arranged and placed in a circumferential direction. There is an automatic analyzer having a reagent disk and a reaction disk on which reaction vessels are arranged in a circumferential direction (Patent Document 2).

  In each component other than the dispensing arm, similarly to the dispensing arm, when the power is turned on at the time of starting the automatic analyzer, the rotor is set to a predetermined value by the magnetic force generated in the coil to which current is supplied. Held in position, thereby holding each component in the initial position.

  Further, in the automatic analyzer, a sample and a reagent are dispensed into a reaction container, and the component amount of the generated reaction solution is measured. The reaction vessel is accommodated in the reaction chamber. A heater is provided for raising and maintaining the internal temperature of the reaction chamber at a predetermined temperature.

  When the automatic analyzer is started up, the internal temperature of the reaction chamber is raised to a predetermined temperature by supplying a current to the heater. After raising the internal temperature of the reaction chamber to a predetermined temperature, it becomes possible to measure the amount of components of the reaction solution. In addition, if the internal temperature of the reaction chamber becomes lower than the predetermined temperature during the measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution, current is supplied to the heater, and if the internal temperature of the reaction chamber reaches the predetermined temperature, Supply is stopped and the internal temperature of the reactor is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

JP-A-9-274047 JP 2000-346853 A

However, in the conventional automatic analyzers described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, respectively,
When power is supplied to the driving means at the time of start-up, as described above, the coil to which the driving means supplies current is determined in advance, and the rotor is moved to a predetermined position by the magnetic force generated in the coil that supplies current. Holding, thereby holding the dispensing arm in an initial position, for example. Other components using the stepping motor as a power source are also held at predetermined positions in the same manner as the dispensing arm when the power is turned on.

  When performing maintenance and inspection of the dispensing probe after turning on the power to the drive means, the dispensing arm is held in the initial position by the magnetic force generated in the coil, so it is easy to manually operate the dispensing arm. There was a problem that it could not be moved. The same problem sometimes occurs when other components other than the dispensing nozzle are moved manually.

  In addition, since current is continuously supplied to the coil of the stepping motor in order to hold the dispensing arm at the initial position, there is a problem that wasteful power is consumed.

  Assuming that the dispensing arm is easily moved by hand during the idling period from when the power is turned on to the drive means until the internal temperature of the reaction chamber reaches the predetermined temperature, stepping without turning on the power. When the motor coil is de-energized, the heater power is not turned on, so the internal temperature of the reaction chamber cannot be raised to the set temperature. Therefore, there is a problem that the idling period is prolonged.

  In addition, during measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution, for example, if the power supply to the drive means is turned off in order to easily move the failed dispensing arm by hand, the power supply to the heater is also turned off to react. There exists a possibility that the internal temperature of a store | warehouse | chamber may become lower than predetermined temperature. In this case, since it is necessary to measure the component amount of the reaction solution after raising the internal temperature of the reaction chamber to a predetermined temperature again, the period until the measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution is resumed is prolonged. There was a problem.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, and it is possible to easily move the components including the dispensing arm manually after turning on the power to the driving means, thereby preventing unnecessary power consumption. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic analyzer and a motor drive control device that can be used.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention focuses on bringing the motor coil into a non-excited state when the automatic analyzer is started up.
Specifically, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic analyzer for measuring a component amount of a reaction solution generated from a sample and a reagent, a rotor interlocked with components constituting the automatic analyzer, a stator, A motor having a plurality of coils provided on one of the rotor or the stator and excited by a supplied current, a driving means for switching the coil to be supplied with the current, and the driving means. When the power source for supplying the current to each component and the power source is turned on to the driving means, the supply of the current is stopped for any of the plurality of coils, and then a predetermined instruction And a control means for starting the supply of the current to the plurality of coils and rotating the rotor.
Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic analyzer that measures the amount of components of a reaction solution generated from a sample and a reagent, and a dispensing source container in which the sample or the reagent is placed and respectively disposed at a suction position; Aspirating the sample and the reagent from the reaction containers arranged in a predetermined direction and sequentially moving to a discharge position provided in the predetermined direction, and the respective dispensing source containers arranged in the suction position, The dispensing probe that discharges the aspirated sample and the reagent to the reaction container moved to the discharge position, respectively, and the dispensing probe rotates so as to reciprocate between the suction position and the discharge position. A dispensing arm, a rotor interlocked with the dispensing arm, a stator, and a plurality of coils provided on one of the rotor or the stator and excited by a supplied current A stepping motor, a driving means for switching the coil to be supplied with the current, a power source for supplying the current to each component including the driving means, and when the power is turned on to the driving means, Control that stops supplying current to any of a plurality of coils, and then starts supplying current to the plurality of coils and sequentially rotates the rotor when a predetermined instruction is received. And an automatic analyzer.
Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention is used in an automatic analyzer that measures the amount of components of a reaction solution generated from a sample and a reagent, and a rotor that interlocks with the components that constitute the automatic analyzer, a stator, In a motor drive control device provided on one of the rotor or the stator and having a plurality of coils excited by a supplied current, a drive means for switching the coil to be supplied with the current, and the drive means A power source that supplies the current to each of the components including the power source, and when the power source is turned on to the driving means, the supply of the current is stopped to any of the plurality of coils, and then predetermined. Control means for starting supply of the current to the plurality of coils and rotating the rotor when the received instruction is received. A drive control device.

  According to the present invention, when the automatic analyzer is started up, the components including the dispensing arm can be easily moved manually, and wasteful power consumption can be prevented.

  Further, according to the first, second and other embodiments of the present invention, the components including the dispensing arm are easily moved manually until a predetermined instruction is received after the drive means is turned on. This makes it possible to prevent wasteful power consumption.

1 is an overall view of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the drive device of a dispensing arm. It is the figure which showed notionally the stator and coil of a stepping motor. It is a block diagram of the drive control apparatus of a stepping motor. It is a figure which shows the excitation state of the coil at the time of the maintenance inspection of a dispensing probe. It is an excitation signal time chart.

  A configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall view of an automatic analyzer, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dispensing arm driving device.

  First, the basic configuration of the automatic analyzer will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The automatic analyzer 10 includes a first and second reagent storage 100, a reagent container 101 for storing a reagent, a reagent arm 102, a reagent probe 103, a reagent storage case 110, a sample storage 200, and a sample for storing a sample (biological sample). It has a container 201, a sample arm 202, a sample probe 203, a reaction chamber 300, a reaction container 301, a stepping motor 40, a driving means 50, a power source 51, a control means 52, and other components. Here, the reagent arm 102 and the sample arm 202 correspond to a dispensing arm, and the reagent probe 103 and the sample probe 203 correspond to a dispensing probe. The reagent container 101 and the sample container 201 correspond to a dispensing source container.

  The first and second reagent containers 100 basically have the same configuration. Below, the 1st reagent store 100 is mainly demonstrated and the description which overlaps with the 1st reagent store 100 is abbreviate | omitted about the 2nd reagent store 100. FIG. The reagent storage 100 is provided with a stepping motor that sequentially places a plurality of reagent containers 101 to a suction position by placing the reagent containers 101 in a circumferential direction and rotating the reagent containers 101 in the circumferential direction. A reagent storage drive section (not shown) is included. The reagent container 101 contains a reagent that selectively reacts with a specific component contained in the sample.

  The reagent container 101 of the second reagent storage 100 stores a reagent that makes a pair with the reagent stored in the reagent container 101 of the first reagent storage 100.

  The sample store 200 includes a sample rack 230 that is a disk sampler on which a plurality of sample containers 201 are arranged in a circumferential direction, and the sample racks 230 are rotated in the circumferential direction so that the plurality of sample containers 201 are arranged in the circumferential direction. A sample storage drive unit (not shown) including a stepping motor that sequentially conveys the sample to the suction position.

  A plurality of reaction vessels 301 are accommodated in the reaction chamber 300. The reaction chamber 300 has a reaction line 330 on which a plurality of reaction vessels 301 are arranged in a circumferential direction, and a rotation position of the reaction line 330 in the circumferential direction, thereby sequentially discharging the plurality of reaction vessels 301 to a discharge position. And a reaction chamber drive unit (not shown) including a stepping motor to be transported.

  A reagent probe 103 is provided at the tip of the reagent arm 102. The reagent probe 103 sucks the reagent from the reagent container 101 transported to the suction position, and discharges the sucked reagent to the reaction container 301 transported to the discharge position. The reagent arm 102 rotates to reciprocate the reagent probe 103 between the suction position and the discharge position. A sample probe 203 is provided at the tip of the sample arm 202. The sample probe 203 sucks the sample from the sample container 201 transported to the suction position, and discharges the sucked sample to the reaction container 301 transported to the discharge position. The sample arm 202 rotates so as to move the sample probe 203 between the suction position and the discharge position.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the automatic analyzer 10 will be described in more detail. A reagent probe drive unit (stepping motor) for lowering and raising the reagent probe 103, moving the reagent probe 103 between the suction position and the discharge position, and further moving the reagent probe 103 to the cleaning position and the standby position ( A reagent suction / discharge section having a pump (not shown) for sucking and discharging the reagent by the reagent probe 103, a solenoid valve (not shown), and an actuator (not shown) for driving the solenoid valve. Is provided. When the reagent arm 102 rotates and the reagent probe 103 moves from the standby position to the suction position, the reagent probe drive unit lowers the reagent probe 103. The electromagnetic valve is activated and the reagent is aspirated from the predetermined reagent container 101 by the reagent probe 103.

  Next, the solenoid valve is operated, and the reagent probe driving unit raises the reagent probe 103. When the reagent arm 102 rotates and the reagent probe 103 moves from the suction position to the discharge position, the reagent probe driving unit lowers the reagent probe 103. The electromagnetic valve is activated, and the sample is discharged into the predetermined reaction container 301 by the reagent probe 103. Next, the solenoid valve is actuated and closed, and the reagent probe driving unit raises the reagent probe 103. The reagent arm 102 rotates, the reagent probe 103 moves from the discharge position to the cleaning position, and after the cleaning of the reagent probe 103 is completed, it moves to the standby position.

  A sample probe driving unit (including a stepping motor) for lowering and raising the sample probe 203, moving the sample probe 203 between the suction position and the discharge position, and further moving the sample probe 203 to the cleaning position and the standby position ( A sample suction / discharge section having a pump (not shown) for sucking and discharging the sample by the sample probe 203, a solenoid valve (not shown), and an actuator (not shown) for driving the solenoid valve. Is provided. When the sample arm 202 rotates and the sample probe 203 moves from the standby position to the suction position, the sample probe driving unit lowers the sample probe 203. The electromagnetic valve is activated, and the sample is sucked from the predetermined sample container 201 by the sample probe 203.

  Next, the electromagnetic valve is activated, and the sample probe driving unit raises the sample probe 203. When the sample arm 202 rotates and the sample probe 203 moves from the suction position to the discharge position, the sample probe driving unit lowers the sample probe 203. The electromagnetic valve is activated, and the sample probe 203 discharges the sample to the predetermined reaction container 301. Next, the electromagnetic valve is actuated and closed, and the sample probe driving unit raises the sample probe 203. The sample arm 202 rotates, the sample probe 203 moves from the discharge position to the cleaning position, and after the cleaning of the sample probe 203 is completed, it moves to the standby position.

  As described above, the reaction container 301 into which the sample and the reagent are dispensed is moved toward the photometric unit 190 by the reaction chamber driving unit. Until then, the sample and the reagent in the reaction vessel 301 are stirred by a stirrer (not shown). The photometry unit 190 irradiates the stirred reaction container 301 with light, and measures the absorbance at the set wavelength from the transmitted light.

  As described above, the dispensing arm (the reagent arm 102 and the sample arm 202), the reagent storage 100, the sample storage 200, and the reaction storage 300 correspond to components using a stepping motor as a power source. In the following description, the drive device for the reagent arm 102 will be described as a representative of the drive device for the dispensing arm, and the description of the drive device for other components will be omitted.

  A basic schematic configuration of the driving device for the reagent arm 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. A reagent probe 103 is fixed to the tip of the reagent arm 102 perpendicular to the axial direction of the reagent arm 102. The end of the reagent arm 102 is fixedly supported on the upper end of a spline shaft 123 provided perpendicular to the axial direction of the reagent arm 102.

  A rotation mechanism 124 is fixed substantially in the middle of the spline shaft 123, and a spline side pulley 125 is provided on the rotation mechanism 124 on a concentric circle. Between the spline-side pulley 125 and a motor-side pulley 127 that is fixed to the frame (not shown) of the automatic analyzer 10 and that is fixed to the rotating shaft of the stepping motor 40 that constitutes the drive source of the rotating mechanism 124. The rotation belt 128 is stretched, and the spline side pulley 125 is rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the motor side pulley 127.

  The lower end of the spline shaft 123 is pivotally supported by a block 129, and a nut 121 of a ball screw 120 is fixed to the block 129. Further, the ball screw 120 is directly connected to the rotating shaft of a stepping motor 40A for vertical movement fixed to the frame of the automatic analyzer 10, and the nut 121 moves up and down as the ball screw 120 rotates. The block 129 moves up and down.

  The drive device for the reagent arm 102 has been described above. Next, the stepping motor 40 and the drive control device for the stepping motor 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually showing a stator and a coil of a stepping motor, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a drive control device for the stepping motor 40. The two-phase PM type stepping motor 40 will be described below as an example, but the stepping motor 40 is not limited to the two-phase type and the PM type.

  The stepping motor 40 includes a rotor 41 interlocked with a dispensing arm, a stator 42, and a plurality of coils 43 provided on the stator 42 and excited by supplied current.

  The rotor 41 is provided with a permanent magnet. The stator 42 is provided with four poles at 90 ° intervals along the rotation direction of the rotor 41. FIG. 4A shows the poles 1 to 4 provided at the positions of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °, and the coils 43A to 43B ′ wound around the poles 1 to 4, respectively. In FIG. 4A, each coil is shown wound around each pole, but in reality, the coils 43A to 43B 'are wound as shown below.

  A coil 43A, which is a single electric wire, is wound around a 0 ° pole 1 and a 180 ° pole 3, which face each other at the rotation center of the rotor 41, and further, a coil 43A ′, which is a single electric wire, is wound. In the coils 43A and 43A ', the currents supplied to the coils 43A and 43A' flow in opposite directions. In addition, the coil 43A and the coil 43A 'have a common terminal COM. FIG. 4B shows the coil 43A and the coil 43A ′ wound around the pole 1 and the pole 3, respectively.

  Similarly, a coil 43B, which is one electric wire, is wound around the 90 ° pole 2 and the 270 ° pole 4, which face each other at the rotation center of the rotor 41, and further, a coil 43B ′, which is one electric wire, is wound. Yes. In the coils 43B and 43B ', the currents supplied to the coils 43B and 43B' flow in opposite directions. In addition, the coil 43B and the coil 43B 'have a common terminal COM. Note that the coil 43B and the coil 43B 'are also wound around the pole 2 and the pole 4, respectively, similarly to the coil 43A and the coil 43A' shown in FIG.

The drive control device for the stepping motor 40 includes a drive unit 50 that switches a coil to be supplied with current, a power source 51 that supplies current to the drive unit 50, and a control unit 52 that controls supply of current to the coil. ing.

  The drive means 50 has, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) composed of cells arranged on the array and wiring elements. FIG. 3 shows a switch group conceptually representing the FPGA.

  The coils 43A and 43A 'are both connected to the positive electrode of the power source 51 through the terminal COM. The other terminal INA of the coil 43A is connected to the negative electrode of the power source 51 through the switch 50A. Similarly, the other terminal INA- of the coil 43A 'is connected to the negative electrode of the power source 51 via the switch 50A'.

  The coils 43B and 43B 'are both connected to the positive electrode of the power supply 51 through the terminal COM. The other terminal INB of the coil 43B is connected to the negative electrode of the power source 51 through the switch 50B. Similarly, the other terminal INB− of the coil 43B ′ is connected to the negative electrode of the power source 51 via the switch 50B ′.

  Next, a configuration for raising and maintaining the internal temperature of the reactor 300 to a predetermined temperature will be described with reference to FIG.

  The automatic analyzer 10 includes a heater 62, a switch 62A, and a temperature detection means 63. One end of the heater 62 is connected to the positive electrode of the power source 51, and the other end of the heater 62 is connected to the negative electrode of the power source 51 via the switch 62A. When the start switch 60 is turned on and the power supply 51 is turned on to the drive unit 50, the control unit 52 receives the detection signal from the temperature detection unit 63 and determines that the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 is lower than the predetermined temperature. In this case, the switch 62A is turned on, and when it is determined that the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 has reached a predetermined temperature, the switch 62A is turned off. During the idling period from when the power source 51 is turned on to the driving means 50 until the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 reaches a predetermined temperature and the component amount of the reaction solution can be measured, the control means 52 is as described above. The switch 62A is controlled.

  After the idling period elapses, the control unit 52 receives the detection signal from the temperature detection unit 63 and turns on the switch 62A when determining that the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 is lower than the predetermined temperature. When it is determined that the internal temperature has reached a predetermined temperature, the switch 62A is turned off.

  Next, a series of operations of the automatic analyzer 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an excitation state of the coil during maintenance inspection of the dispensing probe, and FIG. 6 is a timing chart of the excitation signal. In addition, the drive device of a component is demonstrated on behalf of the drive device of the reagent arm 102, and description of the drive device of another component is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, when starting up the automatic analyzer 10, when the start switch 60 is turned on and the power supply 51 is turned on to the drive means 50, the control means 52 turns off all of the four switches 50A to 50B ′. The voltages of the terminals INA to INB ′ of the coils 43A to 43B ′ are all at the H level. Similarly, since the voltage at the terminal COM is at the H level, no current is supplied to any of the coils 43A to 43B ', and the non-excited state (the non-excited state of the coil shown in FIG. 5) is entered.

  Thereby, the poles 1 to 4 of the stator 42 do not draw the N pole or S pole of the rotor 41 and do not hold the rotor 41. For example, it is possible to easily perform maintenance and inspection of the reagent probe 103 by moving the reagent arm 102 to the front side (operator side) easily by manual operation. Since all of the four coils 43A to 43B 'are in the non-excited state, it is not necessary to consume useless power.

  Note that, when the maintenance and inspection of the reagent probe 103 is performed after the power source 51 is turned on to the driving unit 50, the coil of the stepping motor is in an unexcited state regardless of the position of the reagent arm 102. However, after moving the reagent arm 102 to a predetermined position (for example, a standby position or an initial position), any of the coils of the stepping motor may be in a non-excited state.

  Further, when the automatic analyzer 10 is started up, when the start switch 60 is turned on and the power supply 51 is turned on to the heater 62, the control means 52 receives the detection signal from the temperature detection means 63, and the internal temperature of the reactor 300 is increased. Is determined to be lower than the predetermined temperature, the switch 62A is turned on, current is supplied to the heater 62, and when it is determined that the internal temperature of the reactor 300 has reached the predetermined temperature, the switch 62A is turned off. Then, supply of current to the heater 62 is stopped.

  During the idling period from when the power supply 51 is turned on until the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 reaches a predetermined temperature, the heater 62 continues to be supplied with current, and thus continuously increases the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 to the predetermined temperature. . Thereby, there is no waste of time until the internal temperature of the reactor 300 is raised to a predetermined temperature, and it is possible to prevent the idling period from being prolonged.

  After the idling period has elapsed, the control unit 52 receives the detection signal from the temperature detection unit 63 and turns on the switch 62A when the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 is determined to be lower than the predetermined temperature. When current is supplied and it is determined that the internal temperature of the reactor 300 has reached a predetermined temperature, the switch 62A is turned off, and supply of current to the heater 62 is stopped. Thereby, the internal temperature of the reactor 300 is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  Next, a stepping motor drive control apparatus according to a comparative example will be described with reference to FIG. The difference between the stepping motor drive control device according to the comparative example and the above-described embodiment is the configuration of the control means.

  In the comparative example, when the automatic analyzer 10 is started up, when the start switch 60 is turned on and the power supply 51 is turned on to the drive means 50, the control means (not shown) excites a predetermined coil. For example, the control unit turns on the switches 50A and 50B, turns off the switches 50A ′ and 50B ′, the voltages of the terminals INA and INB of the coils 43A and 43B become L level, and the voltage of the terminal COM Since it becomes the H level, a current is supplied to the coils 43A and 43B, and an excitation state (excitation state of the coil shown in FIG. 5) is established. Due to the magnetic force generated in the coil 43A, the pole 1 becomes the north pole, the pole 3 becomes the south pole, the north pole of the pole 1 draws the south pole of the permanent magnet of the rotor, and the south pole of the pole 3 becomes the south pole of the rotor 41. The N pole of the permanent magnet is pulled in and the rotor 41 is held, thereby holding the reagent arm 102 in the initial position (for example, the standby position).

In the comparative example, when the maintenance / inspection of the reagent probe 103 is performed after the power supply 51 is turned on to the driving unit 50, the reagent arm 102 is manually moved to the front side (operator side). This is difficult to carry out against the holding force of the rotor 41. Further, since the current is continuously supplied to the predetermined coil, useless power is consumed.
Above, description about the comparative example with respect to this embodiment is complete | finished.

  Next, the measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution performed after the idling period has elapsed in this embodiment will be described. Regarding the measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution, as described above, the reagent containers 101 are sequentially transported to the suction position by the reagent storage drive unit (not shown). In addition, the sample container 201 is sequentially transported to the suction position by the sample storage drive unit (not shown). Further, the reaction vessel 301 is sequentially conveyed to the discharge position by a reaction chamber driving unit (not shown). The driving device for the reagent arm 102 rotates the reagent arm 102 so that the reagent probe 103 moves between the suction position and the discharge position. The driving device for the sample arm 202 rotates the sample arm 202 so that the sample probe 203 moves between the suction position and the discharge position.

  The reagent storage drive unit, the sample storage drive unit, the reaction storage drive unit, the reagent arm drive device, and the sample arm 202 drive device each include a stepping motor and a stepping motor drive control device. . These stepping motors and stepping motor drive control devices basically have the same configuration. Hereinafter, the drive device for the reagent arm 102 will be described as a representative, and description of the other drive devices will be omitted.

  After the idling period has elapsed, in response to a predetermined instruction (for example, an instruction to start measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution), the control means 52 controls the driving means 50, and the driving means 50 is a target for supplying current. Switch a coil. Further, the control means 52 controls the switch 62A of the heater 62 to maintain the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 at a predetermined temperature.

  The drive unit 50 rotates the rotor 41 in a predetermined direction by switching the coil 43A to the coil 43B ′ to which current is supplied. FIG. 6 shows voltage levels of the terminal INA of the coil 43A to the terminal INB- of the coil 43B ′ switched by the driving means 50 based on the two-phase excitation method.

  At clock 0, the control unit 52 turns on the switch 50A and the switch 50B, and the driving unit 50 sets the voltage levels of the terminals of the coils 43A to 43B 'to L, H, L, and H. Thereby, current is supplied to the coil 43A and the coil 43B, respectively, the pole 1 and the pole 2 become the N pole, and the pole 3 and the pole 4 become the S pole. Pole 1 pulls the south pole of rotor 41, pole 3 pulls the north pole of rotor 41, pole 2 rolls the north pole of the rotor, and pole 4 rolls the south pole of the rotor. As a result, the rotor 41 rotates in the clockwise direction.

  At clock 1, the control unit 52 switches the switch 50A from on to off, switches the switch 50A ′ from off to on, and the driving unit 50 sets the voltage levels of the terminals of the coils 43A to 43B ′ to H, L, Set to L, H. As a result, the current stops in the coil 43A, the pole 1 becomes the S pole, the current is supplied to the coil 43A ', and the pole 3 becomes the N pole. The pole 2 pulls in the south pole of the rotor 41, the pole 4 pulls in the north pole of the rotor 41, the pole 3 burns the north pole of the rotor, and the pole 1 burns the south pole of the rotor. As a result, the rotor 41 rotates in the clockwise direction.

  At clock 2, the control unit 52 switches the switch 50B from on to off, switches the switch 50B ′ from off to on, and the driving unit 50 sets the voltage levels of the terminals of the coils 43A to 43B ′ to H, L, Set to H, L. As a result, the current stops in the coil 43B, the pole 2 becomes the S pole, the current is supplied to the coil 43B ', and the pole 4 becomes the N pole. Pole 3 pulls the south pole of rotor 41, pole 1 pulls the north pole of rotor 41, pole 4 rolls the north pole of the rotor, and pole 2 rolls the south pole of the rotor. As a result, the rotor 41 rotates in the clockwise direction.

  At clock 3, the control means 52 switches the switch 50A ′ from on to off, switches the switch 50A from off to on, and the driving means 50 sets the voltage levels of the terminals of the coils 43A to 43B ′ to L, H, Set to H, L. As a result, the current stops in the coil 43A ', the pole 3 becomes the S pole, the current is supplied to the coil 43A, and the pole 4 becomes the N pole. The pole 4 pulls in the south pole of the rotor 41, the pole 2 pulls in the north pole of the rotor 41, the pole 1 burns the north pole of the rotor, and the pole 3 rolls the south pole of the rotor. As a result, the rotor 41 rotates in the clockwise direction.

  The rotor 41 rotates once by the clock 0 to the clock 3. Then, it returns to clock 0 again. Then, by repeating the control from clock 0 to clock 3, the rotor 41 continues to rotate.

  When the reagent probe 103 moves to a predetermined position (for example, a suction position), the rotation of the rotor 41 is stopped. When the rotation of the rotor 41 stops at clock 0, current is supplied to the coils 43A and 43B, respectively, so that the pole 1 and the pole 2 become the N pole, and the pole 3 and the pole 4 become the S pole. The pole 1 pulls in the south pole of the rotor 41, and the pole 3 pulls in the north pole of the rotor 41. Thereby, the rotor 41 is held and the reagent arm 102 is held at the stop position.

  Next, a case will be described in which the reagent arm 102 is manually operated during the measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution, for example, for the purpose of checking the reagent probe 103 and the like.

  In response to the instruction by the operation of the operation unit 61, the control unit 52 turns off all of the four switches 50A to 50B ′, and the voltages of the terminals INA to INB ′ of the coils 43A to 43B ′ are all set to the H level. Become. Similarly, since the voltage at the terminal COM is at the H level, no current is supplied to any of the coils 43A to 43B ', and the non-excited state (the non-excited state of the coil shown in FIG. 5) is entered. Thereby, the pole 1 of the stator 42 does not draw the south pole of the rotor 41, and the pole 3 does not draw the north pole of the rotor 41. As a result, the reagent probe 103 can be easily inspected and the like by easily moving the reagent arm 102 to the front side (operator side) by hand operation without holding the rotor 41, for example. Further, since the controller 52 does not stop the supply of current to the heater 62, the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 can be maintained at a predetermined temperature, and immediately after the inspection of the reagent probe 103, the component amount of the reaction solution is measured. It will be possible to resume.

  When the reagent arm 102 is moved manually during measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution, the coils 43A to 43B ′ are brought into a non-excited state after the reagent arm 102 is rotated to a predetermined position. Also good. Since the reagent arm 102 after being rotated to a predetermined position is manually moved, the reagent arm 102 can be moved more safely.

  For example, the rotation position of the reagent arm 102 is detected by an encoder (detection means) attached to the rotation shaft of the rotor 41. When receiving the instruction by the operation of the operation unit 61, the control unit 52 turns on or off the switches 50A to 50B ′, switches the coil to which the driving unit 50 supplies current, and places the rotor 41 in a predetermined direction. The reagent arm 102 is rotated by a fixed amount, and the reagent arm 102 is rotated to a predetermined position (for example, a standby position). Upon receiving a signal that the reagent arm 102 has rotated to a predetermined position, the control means 52 stops the rotation of the rotor 41.

  In the above embodiment, the stepping motor 40 and the drive control device for the stepping motor 40 in the driving device for the reagent arm 102 have been described as representatives. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reagent chamber driving unit, the sample chamber driving unit, and The reaction chamber drive unit can also have the same configuration as the stepping motor 40 and the drive control device for the stepping motor 40 described above. In this case, the rotor 41 of the stepping motor 40 is interlocked with the components of each drive unit. When the control means stops supplying the current to any of the coils, each component can be easily moved manually, and wasteful power consumption can be prevented. By continuing to supply current to the internal temperature of the reactor 300, the internal temperature of the reactor 300 continuously rises to a predetermined temperature, and it becomes possible to prevent the idling period from becoming longer. In addition, even during measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution, the control means stops the supply of current to any of the coils in response to an instruction by the operation of the operation unit 61, so that each component can be handled manually. It can be easily moved by operation. Even if the supply of current to the coil is stopped, the supply of current to the heater 62 is not stopped. Therefore, the internal temperature of the reaction chamber 300 can be maintained at a predetermined temperature, and the period until the measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution is resumed. Prolonging can be prevented.

  In addition, even if the supply of current to the coil is stopped, the supply of current to other components that require current supply is not stopped. From this point also, the start and restart of measurement of the component amount of the reaction vessel can be accelerated. Can be achieved.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the stepping motor 40 is representatively described as a power source that supplies power to the components constituting the automatic analyzer 10, but a motor other than the stepping motor 40 may be used. For example, a brushless DC motor that switches the polarity of a direct current according to the detection position of the rotor may be used. The brushless DC motor is driven and controlled by a pulse width modulation (PWM) method. Further, a linear motor that linearly moves a rotor placed on a stator that extends long in a straight line by changing a magnetic field may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic analyzer 100 Reagent container 101 Reagent container 102 Reagent arm 103 Reagent probe 110 Reagent container case 120 Ball screw 121 Nut 123 Spline shaft 124 Rotating mechanism 125 Spline side pulley 127 Motor side pulley 128 Rotating belt 129 Block 200 Sample container 201 Sample Container 202 Sample arm
203 Sample probe 300 Reaction chamber 301 Reaction vessel 40 Stepping motor 50 Driving means 51 Power supply 52 Control means 60 Start switch 61 Operation part 62 Heater 63 Temperature detection means

Claims (6)

In an automatic analyzer that measures the amount of components of a reaction solution generated from a sample and a reagent,
A motor having a rotor interlocked with components constituting the automatic analyzer, a stator, and a plurality of coils provided on one of the rotor or the stator and excited by a supplied current;
Driving means for switching the coil to be supplied with the current;
A power supply for supplying the current to the components including the driving means;
When the power supply is turned on to the driving means, the supply of the current is stopped to any of the plurality of coils, and then when a predetermined instruction is received, Control means for starting supply of current and rotating the rotor;
The automatic analyzer characterized by having. In an automatic analyzer that measures the amount of components of a reaction solution generated from a sample and a reagent,
A dispensing source container in which a sample or a reagent is placed and arranged at a suction position;
Reaction vessels arranged in a predetermined direction and sequentially moving to a discharge position provided in the predetermined direction;
A dispensing probe that aspirates the sample and the reagent from each dispensing source container disposed at the aspiration position, and discharges the aspirated sample and reagent into the reaction container moved to the ejection position; ,
A dispensing arm that rotates to reciprocate the dispensing probe between the suction position and the discharge position;
A stepping motor having a rotor interlocked with the dispensing arm, a stator, and a plurality of coils provided on one of the rotor or the stator and excited by a supplied current;
Driving means for switching the coil to be supplied with the current;
A power supply for supplying the current to each component including the driving means;
When the power supply is turned on to the driving means, the supply of the current is stopped to any of the plurality of coils, and then when a predetermined instruction is received, Control means for starting the supply of current and sequentially rotating the rotor;
The automatic analyzer characterized by having. A reaction chamber containing the reaction vessel, a heater for heating the internal temperature of the reaction chamber, and a temperature detection means for detecting the internal temperature of the reaction chamber,
Further, the control means receives a detection signal from the temperature detection means after turning on the power, and when the internal temperature of the reaction chamber is determined to be lower than a predetermined temperature, supplies current to the heater, and the reaction 3. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the internal temperature of the storage has reached the predetermined temperature, supply of current to the heater is stopped.   Furthermore, the control means stops the supply of the current to any of the plurality of coils when receiving an instruction from the operation unit during measurement of the component amount of the reaction solution. The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Having detection means for detecting the rotation position of the dispensing arm;
Further, when the control means receives an instruction by operating the operation section and determines that the dispensing arm is not in a predetermined position based on detection by the detection means, the control means rotates the rotor. The automatic analyzer according to claim 4, wherein the driving unit is controlled to rotate the dispensing arm to the predetermined position. Used in an automatic analyzer that measures the amount of components of a reaction solution generated from a sample and a reagent, and is provided on one of the rotor and the stator, and the rotor interlocked with the components constituting the automatic analyzer. In a drive control device for a motor having a plurality of coils excited by a supplied current,
Driving means for switching the coil to be supplied with the current;
A power supply for supplying the current to the components including the driving means;
When the power supply is turned on to the driving means, the supply of the current is stopped to any of the plurality of coils, and then when a predetermined instruction is received, Control means for starting supply of current and rotating the rotor;
A motor drive control device comprising:

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