JP2012021778A - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing tank which can generate a chaotic flow of water and washing liquid in it without using driving means such as a motor.SOLUTION: An automatic analyzer comprises an agitating rod for agitating a reagent, a washing liquid for washing the agitating rod, and a washing tank for containing the washing liquid, the agitating rod being washed with the washing liquid contained in the washing tank. The washing tank is connected with a discharge mechanism for discharging the washing liquid, and a plurality of discharge ports are provided between the washing tank and the discharge mechanism.

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer, and more particularly, to a nozzle that performs suction and discharge of a liquid and a cleaning mechanism for a stirring rod that performs liquid stirring.

  Conventionally, an automatic analyzer for analyzing a sample such as blood or urine biochemically or immunologically is known. Such an automatic analyzer generally includes a dispensing nozzle for dispensing a sample or a reagent. Some automatic analyzers include a stirring bar for stirring a reagent or a reaction solution obtained by mixing a reagent and a specimen.

  Since the dispensed or stirred solution adheres to the dispensing nozzle after dispensing or the stirring rod after stirring, contact with the next solution as it is causes contamination of the sample / reagent and performs the analysis correctly. I can't. For this reason, an automatic analyzer is generally provided with a cleaning device for cleaning nozzles and stirring bars with water or a cleaning liquid. The cleaning device is required to reliably remove the attached liquid.

  On the other hand, an automatic analyzer is required to improve the number of samples that can be analyzed per unit time, that is, the throughput. In order to improve the throughput, shortening the time required for one measurement is effective in terms of cost and apparatus size reduction. For this purpose, it is necessary to shorten the time of all processes related to measurement such as dispensing, measurement, and washing, and it is also necessary to shorten the washing time of the dispensing nozzle after dispensing or the stirring rod after stirring as much as possible. The

  From the above, it can be said that a sufficient cleaning can be realized in a short time when the requirements for the cleaning mechanism of the dispensing nozzle and the stirring bar in the automatic analyzer are summarized.

  As a means for performing sufficient cleaning in a short time, there is a method of generating a turbulent flow such as a swirl in water or cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank.

  Patent Document 1 describes a method of installing a blade that can be rotated by a driving means such as a motor in a cleaning tank of a reagent dispensing nozzle. By rotating the blades installed in the cleaning tank, a spiral water flow is generated in the cleaning water stored in the tank. When the nozzle after dispensing is placed in the washing tank in which the water flow is formed, the nozzle is strongly washed by the water flow, and the attached reagent can be washed and removed efficiently in a short time.

  Patent Document 2 describes a method of installing an ultrasonic generation mechanism in a cleaning tank. Liquid convection can be formed by irradiating water or cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank with ultrasonic waves. By inserting the nozzle into the liquid formed by the convection, as in the case of Patent Document 1, the cleaning effect is enhanced and efficient cleaning can be realized in a short time.

  Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 describe a method of generating convection in a liquid using sound waves instead of the ultrasonic waves used in Patent Document 2.

  All of the methods described in these patent documents aim to form a turbulent flow such as a vortex or convection in the washing tank, and by using the turbulent flow, the nozzle after dispensing into the simply accumulated water is used. It achieves a higher cleaning effect than putting it in, and realizes efficient nozzle cleaning in a short time.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-286771 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-9670 JP 2001-337095 A JP 2009-68879 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, in order to generate a spiral water flow in the water in the cleaning tank, the blades installed in the cleaning tank are rotated using driving means such as a motor. In the techniques of Patent Documents 2 to 4, an ultrasonic wave or a sound wave generator is installed in the cleaning tank.

  In any case, it is necessary to install the drive mechanism in or near the cleaning tank. In the washing tank, the nozzle or the stirring bar is washed with a liquid such as water or a washing liquid. For this reason, the above drive mechanism installed in or near the interior may come into contact with the liquid, and it is necessary to provide a necessary protection mechanism. Therefore, the mechanism is complicated and expensive. In addition, the risk of failure increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a cleaning tank capable of generating a turbulent water flow of water and cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank by a method that does not use a driving means such as a motor. With the goal.

  The present invention comprises a stirring rod for stirring the reagent, a cleaning liquid for cleaning the stirring rod, and a cleaning tank for storing the cleaning liquid therein, and the stirring is performed by the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank. In the automatic analyzer for cleaning a stick, the cleaning tank is connected to a discharge mechanism for discharging the cleaning liquid, and a plurality of discharge ports are provided between the cleaning tank and the discharge mechanism. An automatic analyzer is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the liquid in the cleaning tank is discharged from the plurality of discharge ports to the outside of the cleaning tank, the streamline becomes complicated, and a turbulent flow can be generated in the liquid in the cleaning tank. The messy flow generated by this makes it possible to wash the nozzle or the stirring bar strongly. In the present invention, since it is not necessary to add a mechanism such as a motor in order to generate a turbulent water flow, it is possible to avoid complication of the apparatus.

The example of the immunoassay apparatus to which this invention is applied. The detail of the stirring rod washing tank to which this invention is applied. Of the present invention, an example in which a plurality of discharge ports are installed asymmetrically with respect to the surface including the central axis of the cleaning tank is shown. The example which installed the some discharge port in both the bottom face and side surface of a washing tank among this invention is shown.

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

(Description of automatic analyzer)
First, an outline of an automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

  The automatic analyzer mainly includes a reagent erection unit 101, an incubator 102, a reagent dispensing nozzle 103, a reaction detection unit 104, a sipper 105 for transporting a reaction solution from the incubator to the reaction detection unit, a sample dispensing nozzle 106, a disposable reaction container 107, The sample dispensing tip 109, the reaction container and sample dispensing tip transport mechanism 111, the reagent stirring mechanism 112, the stirring rod cleaning mechanism 113, and the reagent dispensing nozzle cleaning mechanism 114 are configured.

  First, the reaction vessel 107 installed in the reaction vessel holder 108 is installed on the incubator 102 by the transport mechanism 111. The sample is placed in a sample container 117 such as a test tube, and is placed on the sample transport rack 118 and carried to a sample aspirating place. The sample dispensing tip 109 set in the sample dispensing tip holder 110 is carried to the tip mounting place 119 by the transport mechanism 111. Here, a sample dispensing tip 109 is attached to the tip of the sample dispensing nozzle 106, the sample is sucked by the sample nozzle with the tip attached, and discharged to the reaction container on the incubator at the sample dispensing location 120. The tip after sample dispensing is discarded from the tip disposal place 123 into a disposal box not shown.

  After reacting for a predetermined time on the incubator, the reaction solution is transported to the reaction detection unit 104 by the sipper 105, and a signal from the reaction solution is detected. Further, the sipper 105 aspirates the buffer solution 121 and the detection channel cleaning solution 122 in addition to the reaction solution in accordance with a predetermined operation instruction. The reagent dispensing nozzle 103 after the reagent dispensing is washed by the reagent dispensing nozzle washing mechanism 114. Further, the stirring rod after the reagent is stirred is washed by the stirring rod washing mechanism 113.

  Next, the main part of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  Details of the stirring rod cleaning mechanism 113 are shown in FIG. Above the cleaning device is a discharge port 201 for supplying water or a cleaning liquid (hereinafter collectively referred to as a cleaning liquid), from which a cleaning liquid 212 is discharged. The discharge port 201 is connected to a pump 204 via a liquid supply passage 203 for cleaning liquid.

  An electromagnetic valve 205 is installed in the middle of the liquid supply passage 203, and the discharge / stop of the cleaning liquid is controlled by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve. The cleaning apparatus main body is provided with a cleaning tank 207 for cleaning the stirring rod 206, and the cleaning tank 207 is provided with a discharge port 208 for discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning tank. A discharge unit 209 that collects the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning tank is installed in the lower part of the cleaning tank. The discharge unit 209 is sent to the waste liquid tank 211 through the waste liquid channel 210. It is desirable that the shape of the discharge part is inclined so that the cleaning liquid flowing out from the discharge port 208 of the cleaning tank 207 is immediately discharged to the waste liquid flow path 210. Further, it is desirable that the inner diameters of the discharge part 209 and the waste liquid channel 210 are at least twice as large as the inner diameter of the discharge port 208 of the cleaning tank. This is to reduce the resistance of the discharge part and the waste liquid flow path, and prevent the cleaning liquid discharged in these parts from stagnating and flowing backward to the cleaning tank side. For the same reason, it is necessary to arrange the waste liquid flow path 210 so as to be uniformly lowered from the cleaning device side to the waste liquid tank 211 side so that the waste liquid does not stay in the middle.

  In this embodiment, the relationship between the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied from the discharge port 201 to the cleaning tank 207 and the amount discharged from the cleaning tank 207 through the discharge port 208 is set so that the supply amount is larger than the drainage amount. As a result, the cleaning liquid accumulates in the cleaning tank 207 while the electromagnetic valve 205 is opened. The stirring rod 206 is placed in the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank and cleaned by rotating or standing still. As for how to store the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, the difference between the supply amount and the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid described in this embodiment is used, and a method of closing the discharge port 208 with a movable lid, It is also possible by installing a solenoid valve in the middle of the flow path 210 to block the flow.

  When the cleaning liquid 213 in the cleaning tank 207 is discharged from the discharge port 208, the cleaning liquid is discharged simultaneously from the plurality of installed discharge ports. For this reason, the liquid in the cleaning tank 207 has a flow toward each outlet. When these flows collide and interfere with each other, the liquid flow in the cleaning tank 207 is disturbed, and a messy cleaning liquid flow in the cleaning tank effective for cleaning the stirring rod 206 can be formed. In particular, when the cleaning liquid 213 is discharged from the discharge port 208 in the state where the cleaning liquid 213 in the cleaning tank 207 is stirred (flowed) by the stirring rod 206, a messy cleaning liquid flow is formed. Cheap.

  As described above, since the stirring rod 206 is cleaned in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank in which a messy flow is formed, the cleaning can be performed efficiently.

  In the present embodiment, the example applied to the cleaning device for the stirring rod for stirring the reagent has been described. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to the cleaning of the stirring rod, and the reagent nozzle cleaning device and the specimen nozzle cleaning device. , It can also be applied to a reaction solution stirring rod cleaning device.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the discharge port is installed asymmetrically with respect to the surface including the central axis 301 of the cleaning tank. In addition, about structures other than a washing tank and a discharge part, it is the same as that of the Example shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the flow line of the cleaning solution toward each outlet becomes more complicated, and the flow disturbance can be amplified.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which the discharge ports are installed on both the bottom surface and the side surface of the cleaning tank in the present invention. In addition, about structures other than a washing tank and a discharge part, it is the same as that of the Example shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, since a streamline toward the discharge port is generated even on the upper side of the cleaning tank, the influence of a messy flow can be exerted up to the upper part of the cleaning tank.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Reagent mounting part 102 Incubator 103 Reagent dispensing nozzle 104 Reaction detection part 105 Shipper 106 Specimen dispensing nozzle 107 Reaction container 108 Reaction container holder 109 Specimen dispensing tip 110 Specimen dispensing tip holder 111 Transport mechanism 112 Reagent stirring mechanism 113 Stirring bar cleaning mechanism 114 Reagent dispensing nozzle cleaning mechanism 116 Reagent dispensing location 117 Sample container 118 Sample transport rack 119 Chip mounting location 120 Sample dispensing location 121 Buffer 122 Detection flow path cleaning solution 123 Chip disposal location 201 Discharge port 203 Liquid flow path 204 Pump 205 Solenoid valve 206 Stirring rod 207 Cleaning tank 208 Discharge port 209 Discharge part 210 Waste liquid flow path 211 Waste liquid tanks 212 and 213 Cleaning liquid 301 Central axis

Claims (4)

A stirring bar for stirring the reagent, a cleaning liquid for cleaning the stirring bar, and a cleaning tank for storing the cleaning liquid therein, and cleaning the stirring bar with the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank In the automatic analyzer to perform
The automatic analysis apparatus, wherein the cleaning tank is connected to a discharge mechanism that discharges the cleaning liquid, and a plurality of discharge ports are provided between the cleaning tank and the discharge mechanism. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the cleaning liquid is discharged from the plurality of discharge ports when the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is being stirred by the stirring rod. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the positions of the plurality of discharge ports are provided so as to be asymmetric with respect to a plane including the central axis of the cleaning tank. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein positions of the plurality of dischargers are provided at a bottom portion and a side portion of the cleaning tank.

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