JP2016166793A - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic analyzer capable of preventing generation of chips when dispensing a liquid from a container with a plug body using a dispensation nozzle by penetrating the plug body.SOLUTION: The automatic analyzer dispenses a liquid from a container with a plug body using a dispensation nozzle which penetrates the plug body twice or more to dispense the liquid. The automatic analyzer controls to penetrate the dispensation nozzle at a first puncture position for a first penetration operation and at a second puncture position for a second penetration operation different from the first puncture position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that sucks and discharges liquid from a container with a stopper such as a vacuum blood collection tube.

  In-vitro diagnostic automatic analyzers that analyze components of biological samples such as blood, plasma, and urine are indispensable for current diagnosis because of their processing speed, reproducibility, and accuracy.

  For example, when measuring blood, automatic analyzers generally use open containers (test tubes, sample collection tubes, vacuum blood collection tubes, etc.). However, handling a container without a stopper or removing the stopper has a risk of blood scattering. For this reason, in recent years, nozzle units and apparatuses that can collect a sample without opening a sealed container with a stopper such as a rubber stopper have become widespread in automatic analyzers. As a method, a sharp nozzle is punctured into a plug that closes the container, and the sample is sucked from the sealed container.

  However, if the plug body is punctured with a nozzle having a sharp tip and an opening at the tip, the plug body may be cut off during the nozzle puncture, and chips may be generated. Further, when the nozzle is punctured into the puncture mark of the stopper, more chips are generated. If chips are mixed in the reaction container, the measurement may be affected. If the chips are clogged in the nozzle, stable liquid suction / discharge operation cannot be performed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which the number of insertions of a nozzle into a container with a stopper is stored, and the insertion is not performed when the number of insertions exceeds an allowable number.

JP 2012-211871 A

  The technique of Patent Document 1 is useful as a technique that does not generate chips by inserting a nozzle. However, in recent years, the nozzle drive speed has become faster than before in order to improve the processing capacity, and the contact resistance between the plug body and the nozzle becomes larger, so the allowable number of times that no chips are generated is less than in the past. . When the allowable number of times is small, the sample exceeding the allowable number of times cannot be repeatedly dispensed from the same container, leading to a problem of a reduction in processing capability.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer suitable for repeated dispensing while suppressing the generation of chips in an apparatus having a high driving speed for inserting a nozzle into a plug.

  A typical configuration of the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.

  The present invention includes a dispensing mechanism having a dispensing nozzle for sucking the liquid inside the container through a stopper from a container with a stopper, and dispensing the liquid, and the stopper from the same container twice or more. When penetrating and dispensing liquid, the first puncture position to be penetrated by the first penetration operation and the second puncture position different from the first puncture position to be penetrated by the second and subsequent penetration operations are described above. It is an automatic analyzer provided with the control part which performs control which penetrates a dispensing nozzle.

  According to the present invention, when there is repeated dispensing, it is possible to reduce the number of insertions of the nozzle at the same position of the plug body by changing the puncture position, and the same while suppressing generation of chips of the plug body Can be dispensed repeatedly from containers. Alternatively, since the number of insertions of the nozzle twice or more at the same position of the plug body can be eliminated, it is possible to eliminate generation of chips caused by inserting the nozzle twice into the same position.

In addition, since there is substantially no restriction on the number of repeated dispensings, even when repeated dispensing is performed for the number of analysis items, the dispensing operation can be continued without being caught by the allowable number. That is, in this invention, since there is little possibility that it will be hooked on restriction | limiting of the frequency | count of insertion, and a stopper will be removed and it will dispense again, the fall of processing capacity can be suppressed.

  Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of embodiments.

It is the schematic of the automatic analyzer to which this invention is applied. It is the upper surface schematic diagram of the automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a side view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug that is an object of the present invention. It is a measurement flow of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug for explaining a puncture position according to the present invention. It is the upper surface schematic of the automatic analyzer of 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a top view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug for explaining a puncture position according to the second embodiment. It is the upper surface schematic diagram of the automatic analyzer of 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug for explaining a puncture position according to the third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied.

  Each mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. The automatic analyzer is provided with a computer 1 and is accompanied by an input device 2 (keyboard or touch panel).

  A plurality of containers 3 to be dispensed are installed in the sample rack 4, and the sample transport mechanism 5 transports the sample rack 4 into the automatic analyzer. The automatic analyzer includes a plug identifying function 6 that distinguishes the presence / absence of the plug of the dispensing target container 3 and the type of the plug on the transport track of the sample transport mechanism 5.

  The automatic analyzer includes a reaction disk 8 in which reaction vessels 7 are arranged circumferentially. The reaction disk 8 is rotated by a driving mechanism such as a motor, and the reaction vessel 7 is moved and retracted according to the analysis process.

  A reaction container cleaning mechanism 9 is provided on the reaction disk 8, and the liquid in the reaction container 7 is sucked according to the analysis process, and detergent and water are discharged to clean the reaction container 7.

  The automatic analyzer dispenses a sample from the dispensing target container 3 to the reaction container 7 by the sample dispensing mechanism 10. The sample dispensing mechanism 10 includes a dispensing nozzle 11 that is sharp and has an opening at the tip. Although not shown, the sample dispensing mechanism 10 is a system that measures the puncture load when puncturing the stopper of the container 3 to be dispensed, such as a dispensing nozzle 11 equipped with a sheet-like pressure sensor, or a clogging detection system. Is included.

  The automatic analyzer includes a reagent disk 13 for storing the reagent container 12, and the reagent disk 13 can store a plurality of reagent containers 12. The reagent disk 13 moves and retracts the reagent container 12 corresponding to the analysis item by rotating. The automatic analyzer dispenses the reagent from the reagent container 12 to the reaction container 7 by the reagent dispensing mechanism 14.

  The automatic analyzer includes a stirring mechanism 15 that stirs the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent in the reaction vessel 7. The automatic analyzer includes a measuring unit 16 that measures and reads the absorbance, luminescence, and turbidity of the mixed solution stored in the reaction vessel 7. The automatic analyzer can perform component analysis of the biological sample using the measurement information read by the measurement unit.

  The computer 1 includes a storage unit and a display unit, and can store information necessary for analysis and measurement results in the storage unit or display them on the display unit.

  In addition, the automatic analyzer includes a control unit 49 that controls each mechanism of the automatic analyzer. In particular, in this embodiment, the mechanism control in the control unit 49 is used to change the puncture position.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of an automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. The analysis process will be described with reference to FIG.

  An operator registers items to be analyzed in the computer 1 with respect to the dispensing target container 3 containing biological samples such as blood, plasma, and urine (hereinafter referred to as samples or specimens).

  The sample rack 4 on which the sample is set is set in the automatic analyzer by the sample pretreatment system or the operator. The automatic analyzer transports the sample placed on the sample rack 4 to the sample suction position 17 by the sample transport mechanism 5. In the sample transport process, for example, the presence or absence of the plug body of the specimen being transported by the plug body identification function 6 such as a beam sensor or a camera and the type of the plug body are determined and stored in the apparatus. When there is only one kind of plug body, the plug body identification function 6 determines only the presence or absence of the plug body.

  Before dispensing the sample (specimen) into the reaction vessel 7, the reaction vessel 7 is washed by the reaction vessel washing mechanism 9. The reaction disk 8 rotates and the cleaned reaction container 7 is moved to the sample discharge position 18.

  The sample dispensing mechanism 10 sucks an amount of the sample corresponding to the registered analysis item from the sample at the sample suction position 17. The dispensing nozzle 11 that sucks the sample is moved to the sample discharge position 18 by the sample dispensing mechanism 10 and discharges the sucked sample to the reaction container 7. In FIG. 2, the movement trajectory of the dispensing nozzle 11 from the sample suction position to the sample discharge position is shown in a circle, but the movement method of the dispensing nozzle is not only a circular one-axis rotational movement but also a linear movement. However, a plane movement or a combination of these movement methods may be used.

  The reaction disk 8 rotates and the reaction container 7 that has discharged the sample is moved from the sample discharge position 18 to the reagent discharge position 19.

  The automatic analyzer moves the reagent container 12 corresponding to the analysis item to the reagent suction position 20 by rotating the reagent disk 13.

  The reagent dispensing mechanism 14 sucks an amount of reagent corresponding to the analysis item from the reagent container 12 at the reagent suction position 20. The reagent dispensing mechanism 14 that has aspirated the reagent moves to the reagent discharge position 19 and discharges the aspirated reagent to the reaction container 7 from which the biological sample has been discharged.

  The automatic analyzer moves the reaction vessel 7 from which the sample and the reagent have been discharged to the stirring position 21 by rotating the reaction disk 8 and stirs the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent by the stirring mechanism 15.

  In the automatic analyzer, the measurement unit 16 measures the absorbance, luminescence, and turbidity of the mixed solution of the sample and reagent in the reaction vessel 7, performs component analysis of the sample, and displays the result on the display unit of the computer. The mixed solution in the reaction vessel 7 after the component analysis is discarded, and the reaction vessel 7 is washed by the reaction vessel washing mechanism 9.

  The analysis is generally performed in one analysis item and one reaction vessel, and sample dispensing is repeated according to the number of analysis items. For example, if the number of analysis items is 5, a dispensing nozzle is inserted into the plug body 5 times.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of a sealed blood collection tube with a stopper to which the present invention is applied. The plug is made of an elastic member such as rubber or silicon.

  The present invention is applied when a sample collected by a blood collection tube as shown in FIG. 3 is dispensed by the apparatus. The bottomed tube 22 of the blood collection tube is made of plastic or glass.

  The cap has a double structure consisting of a plastic cap 23 and a plug 24 made of rubber or the like, and prevents the sample from scattering when the cap is opened.

  The puncture portion 25 of the plug is adjusted in thickness, and a circular recess is formed on the upper portion of the upper cap 23 where the thickness is adjusted.

  FIG. 4 is a measurement flow of this embodiment. The following flow is performed under the control of the control unit 17.

  The automatic analyzer distinguishes the presence / absence of the plug of the sample and the type of the plug by the plug identifying function 6 in the step of transporting the sample to the sample suction position 17. The dispensing nozzle 11 of the automatic analyzer is adjusted so that the puncture position is at the center of the puncture portion of the plug body of the sample to be dispensed. This puncture position is used as a reference value.

  First, it is determined whether the sample to be dispensed has a plug (step 26). If there is no plug, the dispensing nozzle 11 performs sample suction at the reference value (step 27). If there is a plug, the number of punctures into the plug of the sample to be dispensed is confirmed (step 28).

  Here, the number of punctures from the stopper of the same container by the dispensing nozzle 11 is assumed to be i (i = 1, 2, 3...) (I is an integer). If i = 1, the sample is sucked at the reference value without correcting the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle with respect to the plug (step 29). This is because the dispensing nozzle 11 is the first insertion into the stopper and there is no puncture mark by the dispensing nozzle 11.

  When i> 1, that is, when the sample to be dispensed is dispensed twice through the plug, the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle 11 is corrected from the reference value, and the sample is aspirated (step 30). The puncture position correction amount of the dispensing nozzle 11 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The dispensing nozzle puncture load on the already punctured scar is reduced from the first puncture. Therefore, by monitoring the puncture load, it is determined whether the dispensing nozzle puncture position is different between the first puncture and the multiple punctures. That is, when the puncture load for the second and subsequent times is a low value, it is highly possible that the puncture position is the same position, so that it can be determined that the dispensing is abnormal.

  When dispensing a specimen having a plug, a puncture load is measured using a puncture load measurement system included in the sample dispensing mechanism 10 (step 31). It is determined whether or not the puncture load at i> 1 is abnormal with respect to the puncture load at i = 1 (step 32), and if abnormal, an alarm is added to the analysis item by the dispensing (step 33). For analysis items with an alarm added, dispensing is performed by recorrecting the puncture position by automatic re-examination setting of the device, or dispensing is stopped, the plug is opened by the operator's hand, and the sample is placed in the device again. Or urge them to

  After the dispensing nozzle has been punctured into the stopper, the puncture count is set to i = i + 1 (step 34), and the number of punctures by the dispense nozzle from the sample in the same container is stored in the apparatus.

  It is confirmed whether there is a request for another analysis item for the sample that has been dispensed or whether a retest is performed (step 35). If these are present, return to the determination of whether there is a plug and repeat dispensing.

  As can be seen from the flow of repeated dispensing, the number of insertions into the same container is equal to the number of analysis items unless re-examination is considered. When there is a retest, the puncture position is corrected by taking over the number of punctures so far. For example, even when measuring one analysis item, if a retest occurs, the insertion into the plug is performed for the second time, and the puncture position is corrected. Note that retesting refers to testing the same specimen again when the measurement result becomes an abnormal value.

  FIG. 5 is a top view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug for explaining a puncture position according to the present embodiment.

  The puncture position correction amount when performing puncture of the dispensing nozzle a plurality of times on the plug body will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the number of punctures i = 1, the dispensing nozzle punctures the reference value (reference position) 36 of the stopper of the sample to be dispensed. This reference value (reference position) 36 is substantially the center as viewed from the upper surface of the plug.

If i> 1, the puncture position is changed from the reference value 36. For example, if the hole diameter formed in the plug body by the dispensing nozzle 11 is 0.4 mm, when i = 2n (n = 1, 2, 3...) (N is an integer), the puncture position is 0.5 from the reference value. The puncture is performed by changing the stop position of the dispensing nozzle so that the puncture correction position a37 is increased by xi / 2 mm. In the case of i = 2n + 1 (n = 1, 2, 3,...) (n is an integer), the dispensing nozzle is set so as to be a puncture correction position b38 obtained by reducing the puncture position by 0.5 × (i−1) / 2 mm from the reference value. Change the stop position and puncture. The puncture correction position a37 and the puncture correction position b38 are positions away from the approximate center. For example, if the number of punctures is the second, the puncture correction position a37 and the puncture correction position b38 are increased by 0.5 mm from the reference value 36. Accordingly, the first and second hole centers are separated by 0.5 mm, and the radius of each hole is 0.2 mm, so that the holes can be separated by 0.1 mm without overlapping each other. Note that 0.1 mm is a margin and may be smaller or larger. On the other hand, if the number of times of puncturing is the third time, the reference value 36 is reduced by 0.5 mm. Similarly to the above, the reference value holes can be separated by 0.1 mm without overlapping. In other words, if it is an even number, increase it by 0.5 mm, and if it is an odd number, decrease it by 0.5 mm. Conversely, it may be reduced at the even number and increased at the odd number.

  Here, “increase / decrease” is an expression based on the movement distance from the upper right of the drawing until the dispensing probe passes through the drive track 50 indicated by a broken line and is positioned at the reference value 36. However, the term “drive track 50” here includes an extended track in the horizontal direction ahead of the reference value 36.

  The reason why the distance to the stop position is increased / decreased in the even number and the odd number is to allow the sample to be aspirated even when the number of punctures increases. Since the container 3 to be dispensed has a round bottom, when the amount of sample is small, it becomes difficult to suck the sample as the dispensing nozzle moves away from the center of the stopper. For this reason, if the distance to the stop position is continuously increased or decreased in one direction, a dead volume that cannot be used for analysis tends to occur. For this reason, it is desirable to repeat the increase / decrease from the viewpoint of reducing the dead volume, and to suck the sample from the vicinity of the center of the plug even when the number of punctures increases. Also, depending on the type of plug body, the distance from the center increases the plug body thickness at the penetrating part, so the sample is sucked from the vicinity of the center of the plug body due to variations in the number of punctures of the plug body Can be less affected.

  In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the drive track 50 and the stopper are overlapped, but the controller 49 controls the horizontal drive amount of the sample dispensing mechanism 10 to change the stop position of the dispensing nozzle. It is done by doing. For example, the sample dispensing mechanism 10 is driven by a pulse motor, and the movement distance can be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the number of pulses applied to the pulse motor. That is, the number of pulses corresponding to the number of times of puncturing is stored in the storage unit in advance, and the number of pulses corresponding to the number of times of puncturing is given to the pulse motor of the sample dispensing mechanism 10.

  When the number of punctures increases and as a result the puncture correction position a37 and the puncture correction position b38 reach the cap 23 outside the puncture part, puncture is not performed. In this case, it is desirable to notify the operator of an alarm that does not permit dispensing. The correction amount of the puncture position can be changed depending on the type of plug.

  The upper diagram of FIG. 5 shows the case where the sample dispensing mechanism 10 is uniaxially rotated, but the puncture position correction described above is applicable not only to the uniaxial rotation but also the linear nozzle movement of the dispensing nozzle 11. it can.

  When the dispensing nozzle 11 moves in a plane on the XY axis (lower figure in FIG. 5), first, puncture position correction similar to linear movement is applied on the X axis 39, and the puncture correction position on the X axis 39 is the puncture portion. When it is outside, puncture insertion position correction on the Y-axis 40 is applied. If there is no puncture position on the X and Y axes, X-Y puncture position correction may be combined. However, as described above, it is desirable from the viewpoint of reducing the dead volume that the sample is sucked from the position close to the center of the plug body. Therefore, after increasing or decreasing once from the reference value on the X axis, the reference is set on the Y axis. It is desirable to control the stop position of the dispensing nozzle so that the position closer to the center becomes the puncture position, such as increasing / decreasing once from the value and then increasing / decreasing on the X axis. Note that. The X-axis and the Y-axis can be considered as drive tracks including the extension track of the dispensing nozzle, similarly to the broken line in the upper diagram of FIG.

  In the above, a specific example has been described in which the correction amount is increased and decreased every time from the reference value. However, the increase and the decrease may be repeated every two times. (0.5mm increase, 1.0mm increase, 0.5mm decrease, 1.0mm decrease). In addition, although an example in which the increase amount is gradually increased has been shown, after increasing 1.0 mm from the reference value, a hole may be formed at a position 0.5 mm from the reference value. In addition, it is not always necessary to set a different position every time as a stop position of the dispensing nozzle. For example, it may be penetrated three times at the same position, corrected 0.5 mm, and penetrated three times at the same position. Various application examples are possible.

  However, as described above, when the sample is dispensed through the stopper three times from the same container, the puncture correction position b38 is the reference value with the puncture correction position a37 as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. (Reference position) It is desirable that the position is far from the substantially center, with the 36 interposed therebetween.

  As described above, when the sample is dispensed by penetrating the stopper two or more times from the same container, the first puncture position to be penetrated by the first penetration operation and the first puncture to be penetrated by the second and subsequent penetration operations It has been described that the control for penetrating the dispensing nozzle to the second puncture position different from the position is performed. Here, the different positions used in this specification means that the puncture holes are separated so as not to overlap each other, and mere errors are not included in the different positions. In order to leave the puncture holes so as not to overlap each other, it is necessary to apply a distance exceeding at least the diameter of the holes as a correction amount.

  More specifically, the dispensing mechanism moves the dispensing nozzle above the hermetic blood collection tube by driving the dispensing nozzle in the horizontal direction, and the control unit controls the sample dispensing mechanism to control the first puncture. The dispensing nozzle is positioned at a first position corresponding to a position (for example, a reference value 36) and a second position corresponding to a second puncturing position (for example, puncture correction position a37), and the dispensing nozzle is plugged at each position. Explained to lower toward the body.

  More specifically, the second position is a position on the drive track (including the extended track) of the dispensing nozzle when positioned at the first position, and the control unit controls the sample dispensing mechanism. Thus, it has been described that the dispensing nozzle is positioned at the second position on the driving track.

  According to the present invention, the presence / absence of the plug body of the specimen and the type of the plug body are discriminated by the apparatus, and the puncture position duplication is prevented by correcting the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle, and the generation of chips can be suppressed.

  In this embodiment, the generation of chips can be reduced by simply shifting the dispensing nozzle puncture position without adding new parts or manufacturing complicated parts.

  By reducing the generation of chips, mixing of chips into the reaction vessel and clogging of the dispensing nozzle are reduced, and stable analysis can be performed.

  Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described.

  In the first embodiment, the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle is changed from the reference value according to the number of punctures. However, in the second embodiment, image analysis using a camera is performed to identify the puncture mark and the puncture position. The use of a method for preventing duplication is a change when compared with the first embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of the automatic analyzer on which the camera 41 is mounted.

  A camera 41 is provided on the sample transport mechanism 5 of the automatic analyzer so as to photograph the stopper of the specimen from the upper surface. The position of the insertion mark is measured by photographing the plug of the specimen being transported from above. A correction amount is added to the reference value of the dispensing nozzle 11 from the puncture mark position information measured by the camera 41 so that the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle does not overlap the puncture mark.

  FIG. 7 is a top view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug for explaining the puncture position according to the second embodiment.

  When it is determined that the puncture mark 42 of the plug body of the sample to be dispensed is on the dispensing nozzle track 43, the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle is inserted so that the dispensing nozzle is inserted into the puncture position 44 avoiding the puncture mark 42. Add corrections to. Moreover, the movement method of the dispensing nozzle for avoiding the puncture mark 42 is not limited to the uniaxial rotation movement, and may be a linear movement, a plane movement, or a combination of these movement methods.

  As described above, the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment includes a camera that captures the puncture mark of the plug of the specimen. The control unit determines the stop position of the dispensing nozzle based on the position of the puncture mark 42 confirmed by the camera, and controls the sample dispensing mechanism to position the dispensing nozzle at the determined stop position, The dispensing nozzle is lowered toward the stopper from the positioned stop position. Thereby, puncture position duplication can be prevented and generation | occurence | production of a chip can be suppressed. In this embodiment, the nozzle puncture position is not changed based on the prediction as in the first embodiment, but the nozzle puncture can be performed a plurality of times after confirming the puncture trace of the actual plug. Chip generation can be reduced.

  In particular, when the driving speed of the sample dispensing mechanism is fast, the dispensing probe may vibrate slightly while descending. In this case, an error may occur between the targeted puncture position and the actual puncture hole. . If an error occurs, there is a risk of overlapping puncture positions. In such a case, position correction using this camera is useful.

  Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described.

  In the first and second embodiments, the generation of chips is suppressed by changing the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle, but in the third embodiment, the puncture position is changed by rotating the sample to be dispensed. This is a change when compared with the first and second embodiments.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of the automatic analyzer according to the third embodiment.

  A dispensing target container rotating unit 45 is provided at the sample suction position of the automatic analyzer. This unit 45 is controlled by the control part 49, for example, mounts a roller. By rotating the roller around the vertical direction, the container can be rotated in synchronization with the rotation of the roller.

  FIG. 9 is a top view of a sealed blood collection tube with a plug for explaining the puncture position according to the third embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, the reference puncture position of the dispensing nozzle 11 is provided in a place slightly removed from the approximate center of the puncture portion 25 of the plug body in advance. This is set as a rotation reference value (rotation reference position) 46. This is because if the reference puncture position is provided substantially at the center, the relative positional relationship between the dispensing nozzle and the puncture position does not change even when the container is rotated, so that the puncture position cannot be corrected.

  In the case of i> 1, the dispensing nozzle is punctured by rotating the dispensing object container by the dispensing object container rotating unit 45, puncturing the dispensing nozzle at the rotational puncture correction position 47, and avoiding the puncturing position. To do. Since the rotation reference value (rotation reference position) 46 is a position away from the approximate center viewed from the top surface of the plug, the rotational puncture correction position 47 is also a position away from the approximate center.

  If there is no place where the dispensing nozzle can be punctured on the same circumference, correct the puncture position of the dispensing nozzle, move the puncture position to the outer or inner circumference, and continue avoiding puncture position duplication by rotating the container Also good. FIG. 9 shows a correction position 48 obtained by moving the puncture position to the outer periphery.

  As described above, the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment includes the container rotating unit that rotates the dispensing target container at the sample suction position. The control unit rotates the container with the container rotation unit to relatively change the positional relationship between the dispensing nozzle and the puncture position, and controls the penetration of the dispensing nozzle after changing the relative position. Do. Thereby, puncture position duplication can be prevented and generation | occurence | production of a chip can be suppressed. Since the present embodiment can provide a large number of puncture positions, the possibility of overlapping puncture positions can be greatly reduced, and the generation of chips due to dispensing nozzle puncture can be reduced.

  The first to third embodiments have been described above.

  According to this embodiment, if there is repeated dispensing, the number of insertions of the nozzle at the same position of the plug body can be reduced by changing the puncture position, while suppressing the generation of chips of the plug body, It can be dispensed repeatedly from the same container. Alternatively, since the number of insertions of the nozzle twice or more at the same position of the plug body can be eliminated, it is possible to eliminate generation of chips caused by inserting the nozzle twice into the same position.

  In addition, since there is substantially no restriction on the number of repeated dispensings, even when repeated dispensing for the number of analysis items is performed, the dispensing operation can be continued without being caught by the allowable number described in Patent Document 1. That is, in this invention, since there is little possibility that it will be hooked on restriction | limiting of the frequency | count of insertion, and a stopper will be removed and it will dispense again, the fall of processing capacity can be suppressed.

  Moreover, although the example which performs a puncture load measurement in step 31-33 of FIG. 4 was shown, it is not necessarily an essential step. However, the automatic analyzer includes a puncture load measurement system that measures the load of the dispensing probe in the penetrating operation at the corrected puncture position, and the control unit has a load measured by the puncture load measurement system within an abnormal value range. When it is determined that it is within the range, it is desirable to add an alarm to the analysis result obtained by analyzing the analysis by penetrating the liquid at the corrected puncture position. This is because the corrected puncture position may have overlapped with the already punctured position, and the operator can know the possibility that plug scraps have been generated.

  It is also desirable for the control unit to determine whether the load measured by the puncture load measurement system is within the normal value range as well as the abnormal value. This is because it is possible to make the device more reliable by determining whether it is within the normal value range as well as the case of an abnormality. When measured by the puncture load measurement system, the abnormal value load is lower than the normal value load.

  In addition, the sample has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the sample, but can be applied to an apparatus having a dispensing mechanism that includes a dispensing nozzle that dispenses an internal liquid through a specimen from a container with a stopper.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described Example, Various modifications are included. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. In addition, a part of the configuration of an embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another example, and the configuration of another example can be added to the configuration of a certain example. Further, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer, 2 ... Input device, 3 ... Dispensing object container, 4 ... Sample rack, 5 ... Sample conveyance mechanism, 6 ... Plug body identification function, 7 ... Reaction container, 8 ... Reaction disk, 9 ... Reaction container washing | cleaning mechanism DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Sample dispensing mechanism, 11 ... Dispensing nozzle, 12 ... Reagent container, 13 ... Reagent disc, 14 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 15 ... Stirring mechanism, 16 ... Measuring part, 17 ... Sample suction position, 18 ... Sample Discharge position, 19 ... reagent discharge position, 20 ... reagent suction position, 21 ... stirring position, 22 ... bottomed tube, 23 ... cap, 24 ... plug body, 25 ... puncture section, 36 ... reference value (reference position), 37 ... Puncture correction position a, 38 ... Puncture correction position b, 39 ... Y axis, 40 ... X axis, 41 ... Camera, 42 ... Puncture mark, 43 ... Dispensing nozzle trajectory, 44 ... Puncture position, 45 ... Container to be dispensed Rotation unit, 46 ... rotation reference value (rotation reference position), 47 ... rotation Barbs correction position, 48 ... correction position, 49 ... control unit, 50 ... drive track

Claims (11)

A dispensing mechanism comprising a dispensing nozzle for penetrating the liquid from the container through the stopper from the container with a stopper, and dispensing the liquid;
A first puncture position for penetrating through the first penetrating operation and the first puncturing position for penetrating through the second and subsequent penetrating operations when the liquid is dispensed through the plug more than once from the same container; An automatic analyzer comprising: a different second puncture position; and a control unit that performs control for penetrating the dispensing nozzle. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The dispensing mechanism is moved above the container by driving the dispensing nozzle in a horizontal direction,
The control unit controls the dispensing mechanism to position the dispensing nozzle at a first position corresponding to the first puncture position and a second position corresponding to the second puncture position, An automatic analyzer, wherein the dispensing nozzle is lowered toward the stopper at a position. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The second position is a position on the driving track of the dispensing nozzle when positioned at the first position,
The said control part controls the said dispensing mechanism, and positions the said dispensing nozzle in the said 2nd position on the said drive track | orbit, The automatic analyzer characterized by the above-mentioned. The automatic analyzer according to claim 3,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the first puncture position is a substantially center viewed from an upper surface of the plug, and the second puncture position is a position away from the substantially center. The automatic analyzer according to claim 4,
When dispensing liquid through the stopper three times from the same container,
The control unit performs control for penetrating the dispensing nozzle to the first puncture position, the second puncture position, and the third puncture position to be penetrated after penetrating the second puncture position,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 3, wherein the third puncture position is a position away from the substantially center so as to sandwich the first puncture position with the second puncture position. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
And a camera for confirming the position of the puncture mark at the first puncture position,
The controller determines the second position based on the position of the puncture mark confirmed by the camera and controls the dispensing mechanism to position the dispensing nozzle at the determined second position. An automatic analyzer characterized in that the dispensing nozzle is lowered toward the stopper from the second position that is positioned. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
A puncture load measuring system for measuring a load of the dispensing probe in a penetrating operation at the second puncture position;
The control unit determines whether the load measured by the puncture load measurement system is within an abnormal value range, and when it is determined to be within the range, the control unit penetrates the second puncture position and dispenses liquid An automatic analyzer characterized by adding an alarm to the analysis result. The automatic analyzer according to claim 7,
The control unit determines whether the load measured by the puncture load measurement system is within a normal value range, and the abnormal value is lower than the normal value. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
And a container rotating unit for rotating the container,
The controller is configured to relatively change a positional relationship between the dispensing nozzle and the first puncture position by rotating the container with the container rotating unit, and after changing the relative position, An automatic analyzer that performs control for penetrating the dispensing nozzle into the second puncture position. The automatic analyzer according to claim 9, wherein
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein both the first puncture position and the second puncture position are positions away from a substantially center viewed from the upper surface of the stopper. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The liquid is a biological sample, the container is a sample container, and the dispensing mechanism is a sample dispensing mechanism;
Furthermore, a reaction container that contains a mixed solution in which a biological sample and a reagent are mixed, and a measurement unit that measures the mixed solution,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that component analysis of a biological sample is performed using measurement information of the measurement unit.

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