JP2016180638A - Automatic analysis device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently realize the cooling of reagent bottles in the entire device without increasing the device in size or raising costs.SOLUTION: An automatic analysis device according to the present invention has: a first reagent cooling box having a reagent disk for holding a reagent bottle in which a reagent used in analysis is accommodated, a drive part for driving the rotation of the reagent disk, a lid of the reagent disk placed above the reagent disk, and a cooling device for cooling the reagent bottle; a second reagent cooling box for holding a reagent bottle differing from the reagent bottle held by the reagent disk; and a connection part for connecting an internal space between the first reagent cooling box and the second reagent cooling box. The reagent disk has a gas blower device for sending a cooling gas inside the first reagent cooling box into the second reagent cooling box via the connection part, the drive part driving the rotation of the reagent disk and thereby making the gas blower device send the cooling gas and cooling the reagent bottle held in the second reagent cooling box.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that performs quantitative and qualitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine, and in particular, a mechanism for holding a reagent by a rotating disk and holding a reagent in addition to a disk for holding a reagent. The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer equipped with

  Automatic analyzers that automatically perform quantitative and qualitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine are very popular, especially in large hospitals and clinical laboratories that need to process many patient specimens in a short time. Various automatic analyzers of large, medium and small sizes have been developed. In particular, in the case of an apparatus for analyzing a large number of samples, a plurality of reagents for sample analysis are held, and the reagents are automatically moved to the position where the reagents are used in use, and the laboratory technician puts the samples and reagents at predetermined positions. There is also one that automatically executes the analysis result output just by installing (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2005-37171 JP2012-194072A

  Currently, the processing capacity of the apparatus is greatly improved, and the reagent may be used up in a short time. In order to prevent the reagent from running out, it is desirable to keep the reagent in another place in the apparatus as a spare. In addition, it is generally necessary to store reagents used in the apparatus at a low temperature of 4 to 12 ° C. For this reason, the above-described reagent holding location needs to be maintained at a temperature suitable for the reagent. Further, it is necessary that the spare reagent is prepared so that the apparatus can be used immediately when the remaining amount of the reagent in use is reduced so that the reagent does not run out.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that a reagent is kept in another place in the apparatus as a spare, and it is further disclosed that the reagent in this place should be kept cold. However, there is no disclosure about how to cool the spare reagent.

  In order to keep the spare reagent cold, it may be possible to provide a separate cold insulation mechanism or the like. However, in this case, there is a concern about an increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

  Further, the automatic analyzer described in Patent Document 2 has a disk having a mechanism in which a reagent bottle is installed inside a reagent cold storage box and moved to a reagent suction position by rotating. In addition, the center of the disk has a fan that circulates the air inside the cool box. Air passes through the upper part of the cool box and is circulated by the fan to the lower part of the cool box. The circulated air is cooled by a cooler installed at the bottom portion in the cool box, and the atmosphere in the box can be cooled by the rotation of the fan. However, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, there is no disclosure about cooling the spare reagent. In addition, in the form of circulating to the lower part of the cool box by a fan, if the cool box of the spare reagent is placed at the top of the normal reagent cool box, the high temperature atmosphere tends to stagnate at the top and is installed in the apparatus. It is not easy to cool the atmosphere of the whole reagent. Also in this configuration, it is necessary to provide a fan or the like that circulates in the cool box, and there is a concern about the increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to efficiently realize the cold preservation of the reagent of the entire apparatus without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus.

  The representative invention according to the present application is as follows.

  A reagent disk for holding a reagent bottle for storing a reagent used for analysis, a drive unit for rotating the reagent disk, a lid for the reagent disk arranged above the reagent disk, and cooling for cooling the reagent bottle A first reagent cold box having a device, a second reagent cold box holding a reagent bottle different from the reagent bottle held by the reagent disk, and the first reagent cold box and the second reagent cold box. A connecting part that connects an internal space, and the reagent disk has a gas blowing part that blows the cooling gas in the first reagent cooler into the second reagent cooler via the connecting part. The drive unit is an automatic analyzer that rotates the reagent disk to blow the cooling gas by the gas blowing unit and cools the reagent bottle held in the second reagent cooler.

  Thus, by providing a gas ventilation part in a reagent disk, the whole atmosphere can be cooled not only to the 1st reagent cool box but also to the 2nd reagent cool box connected by the connection part.

  In an apparatus having a second reagent cool box, an apparatus is provided that can cool a reagent in a second reagent cool box without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus.

It is a principal part block diagram of an automatic analyzer. It is a top view of a reagent cool box. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the small division in a reagent disk. It is an expansion perspective view of the small division in a reagent disk. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of the cooled gas at the time of reagent disk rotation. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of an automatic analyzer.

  In the invention according to the present application, a gas blowing section is provided in the reagent disk itself, and the reagent disk is driven to rotate, whereby the cooling gas is blown to the second reagent cooler holding the spare reagent. Here, the provision of the gas blower in the reagent disk itself does not provide a mechanism for blowing air with the power of a rotation drive mechanism different from the mechanism for rotationally driving the reagent disk, but a member capable of blowing gas to the reagent disk itself. Means that it is attached. And the reagent disk containing a gas ventilation part means that this member rotates with rotation of a reagent disk. In this way, by providing the reagent disk itself with a blowing function, it is possible to suppress an increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

  Embodiment 1 will be described below.

  First, the configuration of the automatic analyzer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the automatic analyzer. A biochemical automatic analyzer is shown as an example.

  On the reaction disk 101, a plurality of reaction containers 102 for mixing a specimen (sample) such as blood or urine and a reagent are arranged on the circumference. A plurality of reagent bottles 110 can be placed on the circumference of the reagent disk 109. Near the reaction disk 101, a transport line 117 for moving a sample rack 116 on which a sample container 115 containing a sample such as a test tube is placed is installed. Between the reaction disk 101 and the reagent disk 109, reagent dispensing mechanisms 107 and 108 that can be rotated and moved up and down are installed, and a reagent probe 107a is provided. A reagent syringe 118 is connected to the reagent probe 107a. A sample dispensing mechanism 111 that can rotate and move up and down is installed between the reaction disk 101 and the transport line 117, and includes a sample probe 111a. A sample syringe 119 is connected to the sample probe 111a. The sample probe 111a moves while drawing an arc around the rotation axis, and sucks and discharges the sample from the sample container 115 to the reaction container 102.

  Around the reaction disk 101, a cleaning mechanism 103, a light source, a spectrophotometer 104, stirring mechanisms 105 and 106, a reagent disk 109, and a transport line 117 are arranged, and a cleaning pump 120 is connected to the cleaning mechanism 103. . Washing tanks 113, 130, 131, 132, and 133 are installed on the operation ranges of the reagent dispensing mechanisms 107 and 108, the sample dispensing mechanism 111, and the stirring mechanisms 105 and 106, respectively. The sample container 115 contains a sample, and the sample container 115 is placed on the sample rack 116 and is carried by the transport line 117.

  Each mechanism is connected to the controller 121, and the controller 121 controls each mechanism.

  The light emitted from the light source is applied to the mixed liquid of the specimen and the reagent mixed in the reaction container 102. The irradiated light is received by the spectrophotometer 104, and the controller 121 calculates the concentration of a predetermined component contained in the specimen from this light amount (the amount of transmitted light or scattered light of the mixed liquid). In addition, a reagent changes with analysis items. In this way, automatic biochemical analysis is performed.

  Next, the automatic analyzer according to the present application will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part related to the present invention in an automatic analyzer.

  In FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer contains a reaction container 1 for reacting a sample and a reagent, a reaction disk 2 in which the reaction containers are arranged in a ring shape, and a reagent in order to stably store the reagent used in the analysis. A reagent cold storage 5 (first reagent cold storage) that cools and stores the reagent bottles that have been stored and a reagent cold storage 6 (second reagent cold storage) that cools and stores the reagents before being stored in the reagent cold storage 5 are provided. A reagent disk 12 is accommodated in the reagent cold box 5, and the reagent cold box 6 holds a reagent bottle different from the reagent bottle held by the reagent disk. In FIG. 1, the reagent cooler 6 is provided above the reagent cooler 5, but these positions are not particularly limited in the present invention. However, space saving can be realized by providing it above. In addition, the transfer of the reagent bottles from the reagent cooler 6 to the reagent cooler 5 may be performed manually or may be provided with a mechanism for automatically transporting as described in Patent Document 1.

  The reagent dispensing mechanism 7 sucks a predetermined amount of sample from the reagent bottle and discharges it to the reaction container 1. The apparatus analyzes the discharged reagent and the sample sucked and discharged from another container. Other mechanisms and structures are used in the analysis process, but are not particularly limited in the present invention.

  The reagent cool box 5 is provided with a lid 14 so that the cold air in the reagent cool box 5 is difficult to escape and the cold keeping effect is enhanced. The lid 14 is provided with a reagent suction hole 16 so that the reagent probe of the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 can be inserted into the reagent suction hole 16 to suck the reagent from the reagent bottle.

  The reaction container 1, the reaction disk 2, and the reagent dispensing mechanism 7 correspond to the reaction container 102, the reaction disk 101, and the reagent dispensing mechanisms 107 and 108 in FIG. 6, respectively.

  Next, the configuration of the reagent cooler in the automatic analyzer will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a top view of the reagent refrigerators 5 and 6 as viewed from directly above. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

  The reagent cooler 5 includes a reagent disk 12 provided with a plurality of small sections 11 for installing the reagent bottle 4, a reagent jacket 13 having a peripheral wall formed in a shape for accommodating the reagent disk 12, and a reagent jacket. 13 (reagent disk 12) includes a lid 14 of the reagent cooler 5 that covers the upper opening, and a drive unit 17 (see FIG. 3) that drives the reagent disk 12 to rotate. In this embodiment, the reagent disk 12 has a configuration in which a plurality of small sections 11 are formed so that a plurality of reagent bottles 4 can be held on the circumference. One reagent bottle 4 can be installed in each small compartment.

  Each reagent bottle 4 has a reagent suction port 15 for sucking a reagent on the upper surface of the bottle, and each reagent bottle is installed in each small section with the reagent suction port 15 opened. A reagent suction hole 16 is provided at a predetermined position of the lid 14, and when the reagent is sucked, the driving unit 17 rotates the reagent holding disk 12 so that the reagent suction port 15 of any reagent bottle 4 is placed under the reagent suction hole 16. Move to. The reagent in the reagent bottle 4 moved to the reagent suction hole 16 is sucked through the reagent suction port 15 using the reagent dispensing probe of the reagent dispensing mechanism 7.

  Next, FIG. 3 will be described. The atmosphere 18 inside the reagent cooler 5 is isolated from the outside air by the reagent jacket 13 and the lid 14 (except for the reagent suction hole 16). The atmosphere 18 includes the cooling gas cooled by the cooling device 19 and cools the reagent bottle 4. Further, the cooling bottle 20 is circulated by the circulation device 20 to cool the reagent bottle 4. In order to increase the circulation efficiency, a space for circulating the cooling air is provided outside the reagent disk 12.

  For example, the cooling device 19 is a pipe that circulates cold water, for example, and as a cooling technique, a technique of bringing the pipe into contact with gas and cooling the gas can be considered. In addition, the circulation device 20 may be a fan, for example, which blows a cooled gas, blows the cooled gas to the reagent cooler 5, collects the gas from the reagent cooler 5 and circulates it.

  In addition, the atmosphere 21 inside the reagent cooler 6 is surrounded by walls on the upper surface and the surrounding four directions, thereby being isolated from the outside air. On the other hand, the reagent cold storage 5 is electrically connected to the inside of the reagent cold storage 6 through a connection portion 24 that connects the internal space. That is, the atmosphere 18 inside the reagent cooler 5 is electrically connected to the atmosphere 21 inside the reagent cooler 6 via the connection portion 24.

  In addition, although the reagent bottle 4 inside the reagent cooler 6 is supported by members, it is not shown in the figure. Moreover, the connection part 24 is comprised by the mesh member like a mesh, for example, and it can introduce | transduce the cooling gas of the reagent cold storage 5 to the reagent cold storage 6 simultaneously with supporting a reagent bottle. Further, at least one of the upper surface and the surrounding four directions of the reagent cool box 5 is a side surface that opens and closes in order to take out the reagent bottle. Note that the removal may be manual or automatic.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are views showing an example of the gas blower, and both are enlarged perspective views of the small section 11 provided in the reagent disk 12 in FIG.

  The reagent bottle 4 is first installed in the reagent cool box 6 and then manually or automatically installed in the small compartment 11 of the reagent cool box 5. The reagent bottle 4 installed in the reagent cooler 6 from the outside is installed in the small section 11 of the reagent disk 12 in the small section 11 where no reagent is installed. The wall surface of the small section has an inclined surface 22 on the wall surface so as not to hinder the holding of the reagent bottle 4.

  The inclined surface 22 has an inclination of θ with respect to the horizontal plane. For example, θ is in the range of 95 to 120 degrees. Conventionally, the angle θ is 90 degrees, and many reagent bottles 4 can be mounted. However, in the present application, this surface is inclined in the rotation direction of the reagent disk in order to function as a gas blower. If θ is greater than 120 degrees, adjacent reagent bottles 4 may not be densely arranged, so it is desirable that the angle be within this degree.

  Thus, by arranging the inclined surface 22 in the rotation direction of the reagent disk in the section where the reagent bottle 4 is held, the cooling gas can be blown to the reagent cooler 6 as described later. In particular, in a state where the reagent bottle 4 is held in this section, the distance between the side surface on the inclined surface side of the reagent bottle 4 and the inclined surface 22 increases upward. For this reason, a gap is formed between the inclined surfaces 22 of the reagent bottle 4, and a gas such as air can be taken into the gap, and the inclined surface 22 becomes a kind of fan. With the function of this fan, the cooling gas can be swung upward as the reagent disk 12 rotates.

  Although it is desirable to provide this inclined surface 22 with respect to all the divisions, it is not necessary to provide the inclined surface 22 with respect to all the divisions. One inclined surface 22 may be provided for several sections. However, it is desirable that the inclined surface 22 is disposed at a position that is point-symmetric with respect to the center of the reagent disk 12 in terms of air blowing stability.

  Moreover, the rib 23 arrange | positioned in a part of reagent disk 12 is demonstrated as an example of another gas ventilation part. Ribs 23 are provided on the outer peripheral side surface of FIG. The rib 23 has a size that does not hinder the holding of the reagent bottle 4. The position may be in various forms, and as shown in the figure, it may be arranged on the upper part of the partition for forming the small section 11 in which the reagent bottle 4 is arranged, or is arranged on the outer peripheral side surface of the reagent disk 12. It is also possible. In addition, it is an illustration and both are not necessary. Either one may be used. Moreover, it is not necessary to apply in combination with the inclined surface 22, however, providing the rib 23 as an extension of the inclined surface 22 is preferable because the rib itself is also inclined at an angle of θ, so that the air blowing capability is further increased. Also, the ribs perpendicular to the rotation surface of the reagent disk are basically sufficient for the outer peripheral side surface, but may be provided inclined with respect to the rotation surface of the reagent disk. In this case, the cooling gas blowing direction can be randomly switched between the upper and lower directions depending on the rotation direction of the reagent disk, and the cooling uniformity can be further increased. This is because the reagent disk randomly rotates clockwise or counterclockwise during analysis, and the rotation distance varies depending on the analysis item and the arrangement of the reagent bottles.

  In addition, the ribs 23 are desirably provided for all the sections in the same manner as the inclined surface 22, but are not necessarily provided for all the sections. One rib 23 may be provided for several sections. However, it is desirable that the ribs 23 be arranged at positions that are point-symmetric with respect to the center of the reagent disk 12 in terms of air blowing stability.

  Here, the rib 23 will be described. The rib 23 is not particularly limited in shape, but has a shape protruding toward the outside of the reagent disk 12 from the periphery of the rib 23 as shown in the drawing in order to blow at least the cooling gas. . The rib 23 only needs to be able to blow air as a function, but in terms of size, for example, it is desirable that the rib 23 protrudes by 2 cm or more.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.4 (b), you may provide the rib 23 in an inner peripheral side surface.

  In addition, the reagent bottle 4 installed in the small section 11 has a structure in which a hole is opened in the wall surface portion (inner peripheral side wall or bottom portion) so that the cooling air circulating in the reagent cooler is in direct contact with it. It has a structure that enables efficient cooling with the circulating cooling gas.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows the flow of the cooled gas when the reagent disk rotates.

  The reagent disk 12 is rotated by the action of the drive unit 17 to the reagent suction hole 16 in order to dispense the reagent when the apparatus is used. The cooled gas in the reagent cooler 5 is blown toward the reagent cooler 6 by the action of the gas blower such as the inclined surface 22 attached to the wall surface of the small section 11 by the rotation of the reagent disk 12 or the rib 23. Cool the atmosphere. In other words, the driving unit 17 drives the reagent disk 12 to rotate, so that the gas blowing unit blows the cooling gas in the reagent cooler 5 into the reagent cooler 6 through the connection unit 24.

  As a result, the atmosphere 21 inside the reagent cooler 6 is cooled, so that it is possible to prevent deterioration due to temperature effects in all the reagent bottles installed in the apparatus.

  As described above, by providing the reagent disk 12 with the gas blower represented by the inclined surface 22 and the rib 23, the reagent in the reagent cooler 6 can be kept cool without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus. In particular, during the analysis, the reagent disk 12 rotates appropriately to dispense the reagent, so that the inside of the reagent cooler 6 can be cooled without providing a circulation device for the reagent cooler 6.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the configuration in which the connection unit 24 is disposed above the reagent cooler 5 and the reagent cooler 6 is disposed above the reagent cooler 5 via the connection unit 24 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this arrangement, but with this arrangement, it is possible to save the space of the apparatus. In addition, since the cooling gas is likely to stagnate below the warm gas, a higher cooling effect of the reagent cooler 6 can be expected due to the action of raising the cooling gas upward by the gas blower in such an arrangement.

  An example in which the reagent cold storage 6 can be cooled even when the apparatus is not operating in the same configuration as in the first embodiment will be described.

  The reagent disk 12 is rotationally driven by the drive unit 17. The drive unit 17 normally rotates only when the reagent is aspirated. Therefore, when the reagent is installed in the reagent cooler 6, the reagent cooler has a threshold value, and the device does not perform reagent dispensing for a certain period of time and the reagent disk 12 does not rotate. The reagent disk 12 is rotated in order to agitate the atmosphere in 5. As a result, the cooled atmosphere 18 sent into the reagent cooler 5 by the cooling device 19 and the circulation device 20 circulates periodically, and is set in the reagent cooler 6 even when the device is not driven. The deterioration of the reagent can be prevented.

  That is, the drive unit 17 rotates the reagent disk 12 when the reagent disk 12 does not rotate for a certain period of time, blows the cooling gas by the gas blowing unit, and holds the reagent bottle 4 in the reagent cooler 6. It is desirable to cool.

  In addition, although the inclined surface 22 and the rib 23 were demonstrated as a representative example as a gas ventilation part, if it is provided in a reagent disk and has an effect which ventilates cooling gas, it will not be restricted to this.

  In the above two embodiments, the mechanism for cooling the reagent bottle 4 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this application. That is, even when the reagent is heated, it is possible to provide a reagent cool box that prevents the reagent from being deteriorated by adopting the same configuration.

  Moreover, it is not limited to a reagent, It is also possible to apply to the sample storage store | warehouse | chamber in which several sample containers are stored, adjusting temperature with air. In this case, it has a small section for holding the sample containers one by one, and the structure wall surface portion on which the small section is installed has an inclined surface, one of the ribs, or both. The structure is driven by a rotating mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reaction container, 2 ... Reaction disk, 4 ... Reagent bottle, 5 ... Reagent cooler (1st reagent cooler), 6 ... Reagent cooler (2nd reagent cooler), 7 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 11 ... Small compartment, 12 ... reagent disc, 13 ... reagent jacket, 14 ... lid, 15 ... reagent suction port (of reagent bottle 4), 16 ... reagent suction hole, 17 ... driving unit, 18 ... (reagent cold storage) Atmosphere, 19 ... cooling device, 20 ... circulator, 21 ... atmosphere (inside reagent cooler 6), 22 ... inclined surface, 23 ... rib, 24 ... connecting portion, 101 ... reaction disk, 102 ... Reaction vessel, 103 ... Cleaning mechanism, 104 ... Spectrophotometer, 105, 106 ... Stirring mechanism, 107, 108 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 107a ... Reagent probe, 109 ... Reagent disc, 110 ... Reagent bottle, 111 ... Sample dispensing Mechanism, 111a ... sump Probe 113, 130, 131, 132, 133... Washing tank 115 Specimen container 116 Specimen rack 117 117 Transport line 118 Reagent syringe 119 Sample syringe 120 120 Wash pump 121 Controller 121

Claims (6)

A reagent disk for holding a reagent bottle for storing a reagent used for analysis, a drive unit for rotating the reagent disk, a lid for the reagent disk arranged above the reagent disk, and cooling for cooling the reagent bottle A first reagent refrigerator having an apparatus;
A second reagent cooler holding a reagent bottle different from the reagent bottle held by the reagent disk;
A connecting portion for connecting the internal space of the first reagent cold storage and the second reagent cold storage;
The reagent disk has a gas blower that blows the cooling gas in the first reagent cooler into the second reagent cooler via the connection part,
The automatic analyzer is configured to cool the reagent bottle held in the second reagent cooler by rotating the reagent disk to blow the cooling gas by the gas blower. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The gas blowing section is either an inclined surface arranged in the rotation direction of the reagent disk in a section of the reagent disk in which the reagent bottle is held, or a rib arranged in a part of the reagent disk. An automatic analyzer characterized by that. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The gas blower is the inclined surface, and the distance between the inclined surface side surface of the reagent bottle held in the compartment and the inclined surface is upward in a state where the reagent bottle is held in the compartment. The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the inclined surface is arranged on the reagent disk so as to become larger toward the surface. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The gas blowing part is the rib, and is arranged on an upper part of a partition for forming a section in which the reagent bottle of the reagent disk is arranged, or on an outer periphery or an inner peripheral side surface of the reagent disk. An automatic analyzer. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The connecting portion is disposed above the first reagent cold storage,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the second reagent cooler is disposed above the first reagent cooler via the connection portion. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The driving unit rotates the reagent disk when the reagent disk does not rotate for a certain period, blows the cooling gas by the gas blowing unit, and holds the cooling gas in the second reagent cooler. An automatic analyzer characterized by cooling a reagent bottle.