JP2012189465A - Autoanalyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an autoanalyzer including a reagent storing part for storing a reagent container with an automatically openable/closable lid on an opening of the reagent container, that protects a hand of an operator from being sandwiched upon closing the lid so as to prevent a trauma from being generated in even such a case.SOLUTION: An autoanalyzer including a reagent storing part for storing a reagent container is characterized in that a lid for closing an opening is moved by driven force such as a motor in an opening direction, and by a spring in a closing direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes various components contained in a biological sample such as blood and urine, and more particularly to an automatic analyzer that can automatically carry and mount a reagent container.

  In the field of automatic analysis, a random access type automatic analyzer that uses a plurality of reaction lines at random has been developed, and the processing capacity of analysis has been dramatically improved. As a result, the speed of reagent consumption has increased, and the opportunities for reagent container switching work have increased. In Patent Document 1, a reagent that can be automatically replaced in order to reduce the burden on the operator due to operations such as reagent registration and reagent replacement, and to minimize analysis interruption without causing a shortage of reagents during analysis. An automatic analyzer having a loading / unloading mechanism is shown.

JP 2005-037171 A

  The automatic analyzer disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a reagent charging mechanism that draws a reagent container containing a reagent into the apparatus. Although there is no description in Patent Document 1, dust is mixed in the apparatus when there is a shutter (lid) mechanism that opens and closes in accordance with the timing when the reagent loading mechanism pulls in the reagent at the position where the reagent loading mechanism pulls in the reagent. Can be prevented, which is preferable. Since such a shutter mechanism exists in the vicinity of the position where the operator installs the reagent, there is a possibility that the operator will make the most frequent contact among the mechanisms of the apparatus. there is a possibility.

  It is an object of the present invention to operate the shutter drive system without causing an abnormal operation even if something is caught between the shutter and the wall when the shutter is closed, and to minimize the load applied to the caught object. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer equipped with a mechanism with few failures and high safety.

  The configuration for achieving the above object is as follows.

  In an automatic analyzer having a reagent container housing mechanism having a reagent container housing portion for housing a reagent container and an opening portion for inserting / removing the reagent container into / from the reagent container housing portion, the opening portion includes the opening portion. A lid for closing the lid, a drive mechanism for applying a force in the direction of opening the lid, and a spring mechanism for applying a force in the opposite direction to the drive mechanism moving in the direction of opening the lid, The drive mechanism includes a force transmission mechanism that applies a force to an engagement portion that is interlocked with the lid portion, and when the force transmission mechanism is not in contact with the engagement portion, the force that the spring mechanism applies, An automatic analyzer characterized in that a force is applied in a direction to close the lid.

  Preferred embodiments include the following.

  An automatic analyzer that dispenses and reacts samples and reagents in a plurality of reaction containers and measures the reacted liquid, and is equipped with a reagent loading mechanism that draws the reagent container containing the reagent into the device. It has a shutter mechanism that opens and closes in accordance with the pull-in timing. The shutter mechanism has a motor, a spring, and two linear guides. The shutter is opened by the force of the motor, and the shutter is closed by the force of the spring. Analysis equipment.

  The lid does not need to move linearly, and may include a plate-like member that rotates around one point, and an opening is provided in a part of the plate-like member.

  Moreover, it can also be set as the lid | cover containing the plate-shaped member rotated around the axis | shaft parallel to a perpendicular direction like a sliding door.

  Even if something is caught between the shutter and the wall when the shutter is closed, the shutter drive system operates without causing abnormal operation, and the load applied to the caught object is minimized. The mechanism is small and highly safe.

The top view of the automatic analyzer of this invention. Detailed view A of the configuration of the shutter mechanism. Detailed view B of the configuration of the shutter mechanism. Detailed view C of the configuration of the shutter mechanism. Detailed view D of the configuration of the shutter mechanism.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied. Hereinafter, the procedure for transporting the reagent container 12 will be described in detail. When the reagent container 12 is placed in the reagent loading mechanism 24, the shutter mechanism 36 is opened, and the reagent container 12 is moved onto the replenishing reagent storage 20 by the reagent loading mechanism 24. The reagent container 12 moved onto the replenishment reagent storage 20 is stored in the replenishment reagent storage 20 after the RFID tag attached to the reagent container 12 is read by the reagent information reading mechanism 21. If there is a defect in the reagent or reagent container 12, the reagent container 12 is discharged from the reagent discharge mechanism 25. The reagent container 12 is rotated and discharged in a direction that is easy for the operator to take out. When there is a signal from the control unit so as to replenish the reagent in the reagent storage A28 or B29, the reagent container 12 rotates and moves under the reagent cap opening mechanism 23, and the reagent container is opened by the reagent cap opening mechanism 23. Twelve reagent caps are opened. At this time, the reagent cap is discarded in the reagent cap disposal box 34. Furthermore, the reagent container 12 rotates and moves to the position of the reagent delivery mechanism 22 and is pushed out to the reagent rotation mechanism 32.

  The reagent rotating mechanism 32 rotates after detecting that the reagent container 12 has been received by the sensor. The reagent transport mechanism 27 moves the reagent container installation mechanism 35 onto the reagent rotation mechanism 32, and then holds the reagent container 12 on the reagent rotation mechanism 32 with the reagent container installation mechanism 35, and moves the reagent container 12 over the reagent inlet A30 or B31. Until the reagent container 12 is conveyed. From there, the reagent container installation mechanism 35 is moved in the Z direction (vertical direction of the automatic analyzer), and the reagent container 12 is installed in the reagent storage A28 or B29. The reagent is dispensed from the constructed reagent container 12 into a plurality of reaction containers arranged in the reaction mechanism 33, where the sample and the reagent are reacted and measured. The emptied reagent container 12 is lifted and removed from the reagent storage A28 or B29 by the reagent container installation mechanism 35, and is transported to the reagent discharge and storage mechanism 26.

  2 to 5 are detailed views of the configuration of the shutter mechanism 36. The shutter mechanism 36 includes two linear guides, a linear guide A37 and a linear guide B38, a motor 39, a pulley 40, a belt 41, a member connecting them, a shutter 42, and a spring 43. The belt 41 reciprocates between the two pulleys 40 by the motor 39 and the pulley 40. Accordingly, the belt driving member 44 and the spring driving member 45 are configured to move along the linear guide A37 and the linear guide B38, respectively. The shutter 42 moves along the linear guide B38 together with the spring drive member 45. 2 is a state in which the shutter 42 is closed, FIG. 3 is a state in which the shutter 42 is open, FIG. 4 is a state in which the reagent container 12 is sandwiched between the shutter 42 and the base 46, and FIG. The motor 39 continues to rotate, and the belt drive member 44 has moved to the same position as the shutter 42 closed (FIG. 2).

  First, the operation from the state where the shutter 42 is closed (FIG. 2) to the state where the shutter 42 is opened (FIG. 3) will be described. The belt drive member 44 attached to the belt 41 is moved in the X direction in the drawing along the linear guide A37 by the rotational movement of the motor 39. Since the belt driving member 44 is in contact with the spring driving member 45, the spring driving member 45 and the shutter 42 attached thereto move in the X direction in the drawing along the linear guide B38 along with the belt driving member 44. As a result, the shutter 42 is opened (FIG. 3).

  Next, the operation from the state where the shutter 42 is opened (FIG. 3) to the state where the shutter 42 is closed (FIG. 2) will be described. The belt drive member 44 attached to the belt 41 is moved in the Y direction in the drawing along the linear guide A37 by the rotational movement of the motor 39. Here, since the spring 43 is attached to the spring driving member 45 and the force of the spring 43 is acting in the Y direction in the drawing, the spring driving member 45 and the shutter 42 are moved in the Y direction in the drawing as the belt driving member 44 moves. Move to. At this time, the spring drive member 45 moves together with the belt drive member 44, which is due to the force of the spring 43, and the shutter is driven by the belt drive member 44 pushing the spring drive member 45 as when the shutter 42 is opened. Does not move. As a result, the shutter 42 is closed (FIG. 2).

  The operation of the shutter 42 when the reagent container 12 is sandwiched when the shutter 42 is closed will be described below. If the reagent container 12 is sandwiched between the shutter 42 and the base during the operation from the state in which the shutter 42 is open (FIG. 3) to the state in which the shutter 42 is closed (FIG. 2), the shutter 42 moves in the Y direction shown in the figure. Stop moving. This is the state of FIG. Thereafter, the motor 39 continues to rotate, and the belt driving member 44 moves to the same position as when the shutter 42 is closed. This is the state of FIG. Since the spring drive member 45 comes into contact with the reagent container 12, the reagent container 12 is loaded by the force of the spring 43, but is not subjected to the force from the motor 39. When the reagent container 12 is removed, the shutter 42 is automatically closed by the force of the spring 43, and the shutter 42 is closed (FIG. 2).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Analysis unit 11 Buffer unit 12 Reagent container 20 Replenishment reagent storage 21 Reagent information reading mechanism 22 Reagent delivery mechanism 23 Reagent cap opening mechanism 24 Reagent insertion mechanism 25 Reagent discharge mechanism 26 Reagent discharge storage mechanism 27 Reagent transport mechanism 28 Reagent storage Storage A
29 Reagent Storage B
30 Reagent inlet A
31 Reagent inlet B
32 Reagent rotation mechanism 33 Reaction mechanism 34 Reagent cap waste box 35 Reagent container installation mechanism 36 Shutter mechanism 37 Linear guide A
38 Linear guide B
39 Motor 40 Pulley 41 Belt 42 Shutter 43 Spring 44 Belt drive member 45 Spring drive member 46 Base

Claims (3)

In an automatic analyzer equipped with a reagent container housing mechanism having a reagent container housing portion for housing a reagent container, and an opening for taking the reagent container into and out of the reagent container housing portion,
The opening includes a lid for closing the opening, a driving mechanism that applies a force in the direction of opening the lid, and a force in a direction opposite to the direction in which the driving mechanism moves in the direction of opening the lid. A spring mechanism to add,
The drive mechanism includes a force transmission mechanism that applies a force to an engagement portion that is interlocked with the lid portion, and when the force transmission mechanism is not in contact with the engagement portion, the force that the spring mechanism applies, An automatic analyzer characterized in that a force is applied in a direction to close the lid. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The lid portion includes a plate-like member that linearly moves in a direction of opening the lid portion, the engagement portion is a protrusion provided on the plate-like member, and the force transmission mechanism is in a loop shape The belt is provided with an engaging portion that moves in parallel with the straight line along which the plate-like member moves by the rotational operation of the driving portion, and engages with the protruding portion at a part of the belt. Automatic analyzer characterized by The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The lid portion includes a plate-like member that rotates around one point, and includes an opening in at least a part of the plate-like member, and the engaging portion is a protrusion provided on the plate-like member. And the force transmission mechanism includes an engaging portion that engages with the protruding portion that moves on a circumference concentric with the rotation direction of the plate-like member by the rotation operation of the driving portion. Automatic analyzer to do.

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