JP2744013B2 - Automatic chemical analyzer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer that reacts a sample with a reagent and measures a specific component in the reaction solution.

(Prior art) For example, serum or the like collected from the human body is used as a sample, and a desired reagent is allowed to react with the sample. There is known an automatic chemical analyzer that performs the following. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of such an analyzer. The analyzer is roughly divided into a sampler section 7 for holding a sample to be analyzed and supplying it to a subsequent stage, and a sampler section 7.
And a desired reagent is reacted with the sample supplied from the dilution line section 8 and the concentration of a specific component in the reaction solution is measured by, for example, a colorimetric method. And a reaction line section 9.

A plurality of sample containers 10 containing a desired sample are set in the sampler unit 7 in advance, and the sample containers 10 are intermittently moved in a fixed cycle, for example, in the direction of the arrow. A sampling arm 11 is provided around the sampler unit 7, and a desired sample is sampled from the sample container 10 by the arm 11 and dispensed to the dilution container 12 of the dilution line unit 8. The dilution line section 8 dilutes the sample in the dilution container 12 at a magnification according to the measurement item and intermittently moves the sample in a constant cycle by a belt conveyor or the like.

A reaction line section 9 is provided around the dilution line section 8, and a plurality of reaction line sections are arranged as necessary. As an example, an example in which four of 9a to 9d are arranged is shown. A sample dispensing arm 13 (13a, 13b) is provided around the dilution line section 9, and a desired sample is aspirated from the dilution vessel 12 by the dispensing arm 13, and a reaction vessel of a desired reaction line section 9 is provided. Dispensed into 14.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of one reaction line section 9a.
For example, a reaction vessel 14 is arranged in a constant temperature water 16 of a circular constant temperature bath 15, and is intermittently moved in a fixed cycle, for example, in the direction of an arrow by a driving source (not shown). A reagent dispensing arm 17 is provided at a position B around the thermostat 15, and a stirrer is provided at a position C.
A cleaning tool 22 is provided at a position D.
In addition, each of the reaction vessels
A measurement system 21 including a light source 19 and a photodetector 20 arranged on both sides of 14 is provided. After dispensing the sample by the dispensing arm 13a at the position A in a state where the reaction containers 14 are stopped moving, the desired reagent is dispensed by the reagent dispensing arm 17 to the reaction container 14 facing the position B. Then, the reaction vessel 14 facing the position C is formed by the sample and the reagent by the stirrer 18, and the reaction liquid is stirred. In addition, light irradiation is performed on the reaction vessel 14 moving in the measurement system 21, and the concentration of the characteristic component in the reaction solution is measured by, for example, a colorimetric method, whereby chemical analysis of a desired item is performed. Alternatively, an electrolyte measuring electrode (ion-selective electrode) (not shown) is provided at a position above the dilution line section 8, and this electrode descends to aspirate the sample in the dilution container 12, so that the electrolytic mass of the specific component in the reaction solution is reduced. Is configured to be measurable. After the measurement, the reaction vessel 14 is washed and dried by the cleaning tool 22 at the position D, then moved to the position A, and the sample is dispensed again by the dispensing arm 13a. Thereafter, the same operation is repeated. .

In order to obtain accurate measurement data in such an analyzer, it is important that the reaction of the reaction solution in the reaction vessel 14 be performed stably. For this reason, the reaction vessel 14 must be kept in a constant temperature bath as shown in FIG. It is immersed in fifteen constant temperature water 16 to constant temperature, for example, 37 ° C. The constant temperature water 16 is heated by being supplied with electricity from the power source 1 to the heater 24, and is circulated in the constant temperature bath 15 via the flow path 26 by the pump 25.

Here, energization to each of the constant temperature baths 9a to 9d is performed by a common power supply 1 as shown in FIG. 7, and current is supplied to each heater of each of the constant temperature baths 9a to 9d under the same conditions. I have. FIG. 8 shows a change in the heater current supplied to each of the constant temperature baths 9a to 9d. When the power is turned on (t = 0), the maximum current (100%) is supplied, and thereby the constant temperature water is supplied. Although the temperature of 16 rises, once the water temperature rises, the heater current gradually decreases, for example, to about 50% of the maximum current in about 5 minutes, and then further decreases and is maintained in a stable state at about 20%. You. In this stable state, the constant temperature water 16 is kept at a substantially desired value, for example, at 37 ° C. as described above.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the conventional analyzer has a problem that if a plurality of thermostats are simultaneously turned on, a large current must be supplied instantaneously, so that the power supply capacity is increased. . For example, when four thermostats are provided, when the power is turned on, a current four times the maximum current of each must be supplied instantaneously, and a power source with a rating enough to withstand this is required, so cost is reduced. Up is inevitable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide an automatic chemical analyzer in which a necessary operation can be performed without simultaneously turning on power to all constant temperature baths. It is assumed that.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer having a plurality of reaction lines for performing various set-up operations after the power is turned on until the start of measurement. A constant temperature bath for maintaining the temperature of the reaction solution provided in each of the reaction line units at a constant temperature, current detection means for detecting a current supplied to each of the constant temperature baths, and setting up of the reaction line unit after power-on of the apparatus. Within a period of time, as a result of the detection by the current detecting means, when the current supplied to the first constant temperature bath decreases to a predetermined value or less, the current for starting the current supply to the second constant temperature bath And a supply means.

(Operation) When a plurality of unit modules such as a thermostat are provided, first, current is supplied only to a certain unit module, and when this current falls below a predetermined value, current is supplied to other unit modules. Supply is started, and the same operation is repeated for the other unit modules. According to such a current supply method, current is not supplied simultaneously to a plurality of unit modules, but current is sequentially supplied by sequence control with a time difference between the unit modules. Even in this case, it becomes smaller than the sum of the maximum current of each unit module. Accordingly, the rating of the power supply capacity can be reduced, so that an increase in cost can be avoided.

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic chemical analyzer according to the present invention. A current can be supplied from a power supply 1 to a thermostat unit 5 composed of, for example, four thermostats 5a to 5d as a unit module. It is connected. For each of the constant temperature baths 5a to 5d, the current detecting units 3a to 3d and the switch units 4a to 4d are also provided.
4d are connected in series, and a main current detection unit 2 is connected to the power supply 1. A main current detecting unit 2, a current detecting unit 3 (3a to 3d), and a switch unit 4 (4a to 4d) are connected to a control unit 6 including a microprocessor or the like, and the control unit 6 controls each of these units. It is configured to perform. The current from the power supply 1 can be supplied to each of the constant temperature baths 5a to 5d via the main current detection unit 2, the current detection unit 3, and the switch unit 4, and the main current detection unit 2 detects the total current of the circuit. Each of the current detectors 3a to 3d connected to each of the thermostats 5a to 5d detects a current supplied to each thermostat. Before the power supply 1 is turned on, the switches 4a to 4d are controlled to be in the off state. Each of the thermostats 5a to 5d has characteristics as shown in FIG. The power supply to the constant temperature baths 5a to 5d is not simultaneously performed, but a sequence control is performed such that current is supplied sequentially with a time difference. After turning on the power to all the thermostats 5a to 5d, and after a certain period of time, the temperature of the thermostat unit 5 is kept at a stable measurable temperature. By utilizing the setup time of a normal device, it is not necessary to set a new special time.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

For example, the power is turned on by first turning on the switch unit 4a for the constant temperature bath 5a among the four constant temperature baths 5a to 5d.
This operation is performed by the control unit 6. The heater current supplied to the constant temperature bath 5a is detected by a current detection unit 3a, and the current detection unit 3a detects a change in current as shown in the characteristic of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the heater current Ia for the thermostat 5a is equal to or less than a predetermined value, for example, the maximum current.
20% IM when reduced to (0.2IM), the control unit 6 switches unit 4b for the next thermostatic bath 5b detects this value at this time t ₁
Is controlled to turn on. As a result, the heater current Ib of the constant temperature bath 5b is supplied, and this value is detected by the current detection unit 3b. When the heater current is reduced to 0.2IM as described above, the control unit 6 detects this value is controlled so that the switch portion 4c at the time t ₂ for the next thermostatic chamber 5c. As a result, the heater current Ic of the constant temperature bath 5c is supplied,
This value is detected by the current detector 3c. Hereinafter, the heater current Ic in the same way the current Id is supplied to the next thermostatic chamber 5d at t ₃ when reduced to 0.2IM. Heater current Id is 0.
4 a thermostat 5 to 5d at t ₄ when reduced to 2IM is that reaches all stable isothermal state, the analyzer at this point becomes measurable state.

FIG. 3 shows a sequence control operation of a method of supplying the heater currents Ia to Id to the respective thermostats 5a to 5d as described above. In the four thermostats 5a to 5d, the heater current of the preceding thermostat is stable. , The heater current of the next constant temperature bath is sequentially supplied. The time T until all the four thermostats 5a to 5d are kept in a stable state can be the same as the setup time of an ordinary analyzer. In other words, the analyzer usually requires various setup times, such as reaction vessel washing, autopriming, and reaction vessel blanks, after the power is turned on and before the measurement is started. Since the time T can be used without setting the time, no extra time is required.

As described above, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, instead of simultaneously turning on the power to all the constant temperature baths, the power supply to each of the constant temperature baths is sequentially performed by giving a time difference and performing sequence control, so that the current capacity of each layer is increased. It can be smaller than the sum of the maximum currents. Therefore, a power supply having a large current capacity as in the related art can be omitted.

In this embodiment, an example in which four thermostats are provided has been described.
The number is not limited to this and can be arbitrarily provided. Further, the present invention can be applied to all modules that need to be turned on without being limited to a constant temperature bath.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, current is supplied sequentially to each thermostat with a time difference within the setup time of the apparatus, so that extra time is required to start up the apparatus. It is possible to reduce the rating of the power supply capacity without using it and reduce the cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are time charts for explaining the operation of the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the automatic chemical analyzer. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the reaction line unit in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the constant temperature bath in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional example. FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram of the current supplied to the thermostat. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power supply 2 ... Main current detection means 3 (3a-3d) ... Current detection means 4 (4a-4d) ... Switch part 5 ... Constant temperature bath part, 5a-5d ... Constant temperature bath , 6 ... Control part.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic chemical analyzer having a plurality of reaction lines for performing various set-up operations after the power is turned on and before a measurement is started, wherein a constant temperature bath for keeping a temperature of a reaction solution provided in each of the reaction lines at a constant temperature. Current detection means for detecting a current supplied to each of the constant temperature baths; and a result of detection by the current detection means within a set-up time of the reaction line section after power-on of the apparatus,
Current supply means for starting current supply to the second constant temperature bath when the current supplied to the constant temperature bath decreases to a predetermined value or less. .