JP2563177Y2 - Microscope specimen staining equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The staining device for microscope specimens according to the invention stains a sample attached to a slide glass in a state of being cut off from the affected part and sectioned for pathological research etc. It is used to do

(Prior Art) In hospitals and the like, in order to observe a sample excised from an affected part under a microscope, the sample is widely stained with an automatic staining apparatus.

For example, as shown in the drawing, such an automatic dyeing apparatus includes a support beam 2 that is movable in a lateral direction of the base 1 and a vertical beam of the base 1 along the support beam 2. Tool 3 that can move in the vertical direction, hanging arm 4 that is a locking tool that locks the basket 6 for dyeing that can move in the vertical direction, and a controller (not shown) that controls these movements. And a plurality of upper-opening processing tanks 5 and 5 storing processing liquids to be used for dyeing are mounted on the upper surface of the base 1 for microscopic observation. To stain the sample to be
A basket 6 containing one or a plurality of slide glasses to which the sample is attached is engaged with the hanging arm 4, and the basket 6 is stored in a processing tank in which various processing liquids are stored in accordance with an order stored in advance by a controller. It is performed by immersing in 5,

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the following problems have conventionally occurred in the microscope specimen staining apparatus configured and operated as described above.

That is, the basket 6 which has been immersed for a predetermined time in a certain processing tank 5 is pulled up from the processing tank 5 and transferred to the next processing tank 5, and at this time, the processing stored in the different processing tanks 5, 5 is performed. In order to avoid mixing of the liquids as much as possible, it is desirable to minimize the amount of the processing liquid adhering to the pulled basket 6.

For this purpose, it is preferable to slow down the lifting speed of the suspension arm 4 when pulling the basket 6 out of the processing tank 5.
If the ascending speed is slow, the efficiency of the dyeing operation will deteriorate.

That is, in the case of the conventional dyeing apparatus, a three-dimensional driving device for sequentially moving the basket 6 over the plurality of processing tanks 5, 5 is provided.
Since the operation was performed by the AC induction motor, it was difficult to change the moving speed of the basket 6 depending on the situation, and in practice, the moving speed of the basket 6 had to be kept constant.

For this reason, when the lifting speed of the suspension arm 4 is reduced, the lowering speed of the suspension arm 4 becomes unnecessarily slow, and the time required for the dyeing process is unnecessarily long.

Similarly, when moving the moving tool 3 in the horizontal direction, since the moving tool 3 is always moved at the same speed, it is inevitable that the time required for the dyeing process is unnecessarily long.

That is, when the basket 6 pulled up from a certain processing tank 5 is moved toward a distant processing tank 5, it is preferable to increase the horizontal movement speed. When moving, the moving tool 3 cannot be stopped reliably above the desired processing tank 5.

For this reason, conventionally, the moving speed of the basket 6 by the horizontal moving mechanism is limited to a speed at which the basket 6 can be moved between the adjacent processing tanks 5, 5. In the case of moving to 5, the time required for the movement was inevitably increased.

The microscope specimen staining apparatus of the present invention changes the speed of raising and lowering the basket 6 as well as the speed of moving horizontally near and the speed of moving horizontally far from each other. It is to solve the above-mentioned inconvenience.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As in the case of the above-described conventional staining apparatus, the microscope specimen staining apparatus of the present invention has a base 1 and a base 1 in a state in which a processing solution is stored, as shown in the drawing. A plurality of processing tanks 5 and 5, which are open on the upper side, and a basket 6 containing a slide glass to which a sample is adhered are suspended. In order to sequentially immerse in the moving means, a moving means combining a lifting mechanism and a horizontal moving mechanism is provided.

This moving means includes, for example, a support beam 2 that can move in the horizontal direction of the base 1 and a moving tool 3 that can move in the vertical direction of the base 1 along the support beam 2 as in the case of the conventional device. It is composed of a three-dimensional drive device that is vertically movable and includes a suspension arm 4 that locks a basket 6 for dyeing and a controller that controls these movements. However, when the processing tanks 5 and 5 are arranged in a line, the moving range of the horizontal moving mechanism is sufficient only in the one-dimensional direction.

Further, in the microscope specimen staining apparatus of the present invention, the moving means is driven by an electric motor whose speed can be adjusted, such as a stepping motor, and the suspension arm 4 which is an elevating mechanism of the moving means is provided. The rotation speed of the electric motor when raising the basket 6 is set lower than the rotation speed when lowering the basket 6.

At the same time, when the moving tool 3 as the horizontal moving mechanism of the moving means moves the basket 6 above the nearby processing tank, the rotation speed of the electric motor when moving the basket 6 above the distant processing tank is increased. It is slower than the rotation speed.

(Action) The action itself when the sample adhered to the slide glass is stained by the microscope specimen staining apparatus of the present invention configured as described above is exactly the same as that of the above-described conventional staining apparatus. is there.

However, in the case of the microscope specimen staining apparatus of the present invention, the moving means is driven by an electric motor whose speed can be adjusted, and the rotation speed of the electric motor is changed according to the situation. The time required for the dyeing operation can be reduced while avoiding mixing of the processing solutions stored in the tanks 5 and 5 as much as possible.

That is, by lowering the lifting speed of the suspension arm 4 when pulling the basket 6 out of the processing tank 5, the processing liquid adhered and retained by the surface tension between the basket and the slide glass stored in the basket is reduced. The time required for the dyeing process can be shortened by increasing the outflow time to reduce the amount of the processing solution attached to the pulled-up basket 6 and by ensuring a sufficient lowering speed of the suspension arm 4. .

Further, when the basket 6 pulled up from a certain processing tank 5 is moved toward the processing tank 5 far away, the moving speed of the moving tool 3 is increased to shorten the moving time, and at the same time, the nearby processing is performed. When the moving tool 3 is moved to the tank 5, the moving speed of the moving tool 3 is reduced, and the basket 6 locked by the suspension arm 4 is moved to the desired processing tank 5.
It can be stopped reliably above the.

An electric motor whose speed can be adjusted to constitute this dyeing device, its rotation speed control device and the like are not new, but the dyeing device using these is a take-out of the processing solution,
It is useful as it can reduce the carry-in amount and move the basket efficiently.

(Effects of the Invention) The staining apparatus for a microscope specimen of the present invention is configured and operates as described above, but while avoiding as much as possible the processing liquids stored in different processing tanks from mixing and deteriorating, The time required for the dyeing operation can be reduced, and high-quality dyeing can be performed in a short time. When the basket is in the processing liquid and after much of the processing liquid adhering to the basket is discharged, the raising speed of the basket is increased, and while the liquid is being discharged, the raising speed is reduced, so that the processing is performed. Increase the dyeing efficiency in conjunction with improving drainage, i.e., slow down the basket only when the basket leaves the processing solution to ensure sufficient drainage, and at other times Can be controlled to be faster. In addition, the replacement cycle of the processing solution can be lengthened to reduce the cost required for the staining treatment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawing is a perspective view showing one example of a dyeing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 1: Base, 2: Support beam, 3: Moving tool, 4: Hanging arm, 5: Processing tank, 6:
basket.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A base, a plurality of processing tanks arranged on the upper surface of the base in a state where the processing liquid is stored, and a basket containing a slide glass on which a sample is stuck, and a basket are suspended.
In order to sequentially immerse the basket in the plurality of processing tanks, in a microscope specimen staining apparatus including a moving unit combining a lifting mechanism and a horizontal moving mechanism, the driving of the moving unit is controlled by a speed-controlled electric motor. This is performed by a motor, and the elevating mechanism of the moving means lowers the rotation speed of the electric motor when raising the basket as compared with the rotating speed when lowering the basket. Dyeing microscope specimens, characterized in that the rotation speed of the electric motor when moving the basket above the nearby processing tank is slower than the rotation speed when moving the basket above the processing tank far away. apparatus.