JP3380084B2 - Cassette transport device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette carrying device, and more particularly, to a slide glass for smearing blood to prepare a specimen or a smear and stain for preparing a specimen. The present invention relates to a cassette carrying device for carrying a cassette containing a sample slide glass to a predetermined location.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When transporting a cassette for storing a slide glass, there are cases where reliability is required for various transport-related operations such as movement and stop of the cassette. For example, a cassette containing smeared slide glass is transported to a staining section for staining, and a staining solution or a cleaning solution is dispensed into the cassette at a predetermined position of the staining section or a staining solution or a cleaning solution is dispensed from the cassette. It is necessary to properly stop the cassette in its predetermined position in order to aspirate.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 16, a cassette detecting means comprising a pair of light sensors consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is arranged at a predetermined position, and the presence or absence of a cassette being conveyed is detected by the cassette detecting means. There is used a cassette carrying device which is designed to be detected by.

[0004]

In the cassette detecting means in such a cassette carrying device, the cassette being carried is in the correct direction-for example, a predetermined amount such that the dyeing solution or the washing solution is dispensed / sucked without any trouble. Whether the cassette is present or not-because the cassette blocks the optical path from the light emitting element to the light receiving element, the presence or absence of the cassette Although it can be detected, the orientation of the cassette cannot be determined.

As shown in FIG. 16, it is particularly difficult to carry the cassette when the cassette is thin and the cassette is carried by aligning the direction orthogonal to the thickness portion with the carrying direction (white arrow direction). In some cases, there is a risk that the cassette may be conveyed to a predetermined location without being oriented in a predetermined direction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to detect whether or not a cassette for storing a slide glass, which is conveyed, is oriented in a predetermined direction, to thereby detect the cassette. An object of the present invention is to provide a cassette carrying device that can monitor various operations related to transportation, such as movement and stop, and can surely perform each operation.

[0007]

According to the present invention, one or a plurality of cassettes for accommodating a slide glass for a specimen are conveyed along a predetermined conveying line, and both sides of the conveying means. A pair of detection means for detecting the presence / absence of one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette, which are provided one by one and in a state of being opposed to each other,
The set of detection means is provided at a position downstream of the transfer line so as to be able to project and retract into the space for transporting the cassette, and when projecting, it abuts the moving cassette to stop the cassette, and when retracting, it moves There is provided a cassette carrying device including stopper means for allowing a cassette to pass through, and determination means for determining the orientation of the cassette stopped by the stopper means based on the detection result of the detection means.

[0008]

[Functions, etc.] As the slide glass for specimens, those of various sizes and materials, with or without frosted parts, those with or without frosted parts, etc., are appropriately selected for use. To be

The cassette preferably comprises a storage section and a suspension support section. The storage unit can store a predetermined number of slide glasses and can store a liquid such as a staining liquid or a cleaning liquid. The suspension support unit is connected to the storage unit and supports the storage unit in a suspended state for the purpose of transportation or storage. More preferably, a pair of suspension supports is provided. For example, such a cassette is made of plastic and has a flat shape.

The transfer line means a path along which a cassette is transferred, and is, for example, a path of a cassette from a supply section 3 to a storage section 6 described later.

As the conveying means, for example, a belt conveyor having a pair of belts arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval is used. At this time, the cassette may be provided with a storage section capable of storing the sample slide glass and the liquid, and a suspension support section connected to the storage section and supporting the storage section in a suspended state. For example, the cassette is transported by being suspended from the two belts at the suspension supporting portion.

A pair of detecting means is provided on both sides of the conveying means, one opposite each other. Then, the presence or absence of one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette conveyed by the conveying means is detected. As this detecting means, for example, a light reflection type sensor which is turned on when it is irradiated in a direction traversing the conveying means and reflected by one of the one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette, whichever is closer, is used. .

The stopper means is provided at a position downstream of the conveying line of the pair of detecting means so as to be capable of projecting and retracting into the space for conveying the cassette. Then, at the time of protrusion, the cassette is stopped by abutting on a specific portion of the moving cassette-for example, a surface on the downstream side of the transport line, one side portion and the other side portion, and when moving, the moving cassette is passed. As the stopper means, for example, a set of two rods driven by a drive source such as an air cylinder is provided, and at the time of protrusion, these rods are on the downstream side of the transport line of the cassette which is moving or on one side of the same cassette. One that comes into contact with the part and the other side part is used.

The determination means determines the orientation of the cassette stopped by the stopper means based on the detection result of the detection means. A microcomputer, for example, is used as the determination means. The determination is made such that when the detection results of the pair of detection means are both “present” -one side and the other side of the cassette are “present”, the stopped cassette faces a predetermined direction. It is determined that When the determination unit determines that the orientation of the cassette is in a predetermined direction, a predetermined operation such as a slide glass storage operation or dyeing is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the cassette does not face the predetermined direction, the predetermined operation is not performed. At this time, an error warning sound or a screen display may be output.

The cassette carrying device according to the present invention further comprises:
The stopper means is provided at a position upstream of the transport line so as to be able to project and retract into the space, and has an auxiliary stopper means for abutting the moving cassette to stop the cassette when projecting and to pass the moving cassette when retracting. Is preferred. As the auxiliary stopper means, for example, one provided with a pair of two rods is used.

When such auxiliary stopper means is provided in addition to the stopper means, the stopper means and the auxiliary stopper means operate as follows. That is,
When a plurality of cassettes are conveyed by the conveying means, the stopper means allows one preceding cassette stopped by the protrusion thereof to pass by immersion, and the auxiliary stopper means protrudes so that one succeeding cassette succeeding the preceding cassette. Stop moving. Further, after the auxiliary stopper means passes the succeeding cassette by immersion, the stopper means projects so as to stop the movement of the succeeding cassette.

When the cassette is provided with a storage portion and a pair of suspension supporting portions, the auxiliary stopper means is fitted into the respective suspension supporting portions at the time of protrusion thereof to stop the movement of the cassette. It is preferable to provide a recess for this.

The auxiliary stopper means comprises, for example, a set of two rods driven by a drive source such as an air cylinder. When the rods protrude, the rods are located at the recess of the cassette in which the rods are moving or on the downstream side of the transfer line. The one that comes into contact with the surface or one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette is used.

The stopper means and the auxiliary stopper means are provided, for example, in the dyeing section which is a part of the conveying line. In that case, it is preferable that the predetermined dyeing operation is performed when the determination unit determines that the orientation of the cassette stopped by the stopper unit and the auxiliary stopper unit at the predetermined position of the dyeing unit is correct.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this.

In FIG. 1, an automatic sample preparation device D includes a smearing section 1 for smearing blood on a sample slide glass 10, a cassette 2 for storing glass slides, and one or more cassettes 2 attached / detached. A supply unit 3 that is set as much as possible and moves forward, and a storage operation unit 4 for storing the smeared slide glass 10 sent from the smear unit 1 in the cassette 2 sent from the supply unit 3 one by one. In order to dye the smeared slide glass 10 by supplying a dyeing solution to the cassette lateral feed unit 200 that laterally feeds the cassette 2 containing the smeared slide glass 10 and the cassette 2 fed from the lateral feed unit 200. The dyeing section 5 and the storage section 6 for storing the cassette 2 that contains the stained slide glass 10 and is sent out from the dyeing section 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the smear portion 1 includes a turntable 11 for supplying a slide glass, which can be rotated normally and reversely intermittently.
The slide glass supply holes 11a are provided in the turntable 11 at two positions (“position 1” and “position 2”), and the slide glass supply holes 11a are provided.
Two rectangular parallelepiped slide glass supply cassettes 12 for stacking and storing 100 slide glasses 10 are fitted into 11a. An outlet is provided at the bottom of each cassette 12, and the slide glass 10 at the bottom is taken out one by one from the outlet.

The slide glass housed in each cassette 12 has a length of 76 mm, a width of 26 mm, and a thickness of 1.0 mm, is subjected to corner cutting and edge polishing, has a frosted portion, and has a length of the frosted portion. It is 15 mm.
The left side cassette 12 in FIG. 2 stores the slide glass 10 with a white frosted portion, and the right side cassette 12 stores the slide glass 10 with a red frosted portion. Here, the frost portion is color-coded into white and red because two types of slide glass 10 are used.
To distinguish between male / female, hospitalization / outpatient, morning / afternoon, sampler / manual, etc.

The slide glass 10 is taken out from the cassette 12 and carried to a predetermined position (first predetermined position) for smearing. At the first predetermined position, the slide glass 10
Is smeared on. The smeared slide glass 10 is carried to a predetermined position (second predetermined position) for printing.

Next, the structure of the slide glass storage cassette 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The cassette 2 is a black translucent flat and vertically long container made of polysulfone, and includes one slide glass 10
And a storage part 31 capable of storing a liquid, and two left and right suspension support parts 32 and 33 which are connected to the upper part of the storage part 31 and support the storage part 31 in a suspended state. . The storage unit 31 includes a vertical left side wall 31a, a vertical right side wall 31b, an inclined bottom wall 31c, and a vertical front wall 31.
d, vertical rear wall 31e, and these walls 31a-31
It is provided with a space surrounded by e.

This space includes a main space 34 in which the slide glass 10 and a liquid can be stored, and a main space 3.
Sub space 35 for supplying / discharging liquid (staining solution, cleaning solution, etc.) that is adjacent to the left of 4 and communicates with the main space 34
Consists of. The bottom wall 31c is provided over the main space 34 and the sub space 35, and is inclined downward from the main space 34 toward the sub space 35 by about 10 degrees.

The main space 34 and the sub space 35 are a slide glass storage upper left guide 36 provided on the left side of the slide glass storage opening 40 of the storage unit 31, and a lower left guide 37 provided below the upper left guide 36. And by
Separated. On the right side of the slide glass storage port 35, a slide glass storage upper right guide 38 that is continuous with the right suspension support portion 33 is provided. Below the upper right guide 38, the lower right guide 39 is at the same height as the lower left guide 37.
Is provided. Upper left guide 36, lower left guide 37,
The upper right guide 38 and the lower right guide 39 function as holding portions for holding the slide glass 10 in the main space 34, which is a position biased to the right side in the storage unit 31.

The lower left guide 37 of the main space 34 and the bottom wall 3
A pin 42 made of stainless steel horizontally arranged on the front wall 31d and the rear wall 31e is arranged between the pin 1c and 1c. The pin 42 has a function of holding the lower end of the slide glass 10 housed in the main space 34 in a state of being separated from the bottom wall 31c.

The height of the two left and right suspension support portions 32 and 33 is approximately 20% of the height of the storage portion 31. Between the left suspension support 32 and the upper left guide 36 is a pipette insertion port 41 for inserting a pipette for injecting / aspirating a staining solution, a cleaning solution or the like. The pipette insertion port 41 is narrowed toward the bottom and communicates with the sub space 35.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the cassette 2 is provided with recesses 32c and 33c opening forward and downward in each of the two suspension supporting portions 32 and 33. These recesses 32c and 33c are for fitting a cassette separating stopper (piston rods 107 and 107 of the second stopper 104 as an auxiliary stopper) described later. In addition, two suspension support parts 32 and 33
Each of the attracting members 99 and 100 attracted to the magnet
Is embedded. These suction members 99/100
Is for correctly positioning the cassette 2 in combination with a magnet.

Next, the overall operation of the automatic sample preparation device D will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 6 to 8 together with the more detailed structure of each part of the device D.

As shown in FIG. 6, the sample container containing the blood sample is affixed with a bar code label indicating the sample number, date, reception number, name, etc., and mounted on the sample holding rack. The rack is transported by a rack transporter (“rack transport”) and stopped in front of the blood analyzer. Then, the barcode of the barcode label attached to the sample container is read by the barcode reader. Then
The sample information is received from the rack transport device and the presence or absence of the order is confirmed. If there is no order, the procedure returns to rack transport. When there is an order, the sample in the sample container is stirred and then aspirated by the pipette 47b attached to the arm 47a of the blood dispensing mechanism 47.

On the other hand, the cassette 12 of the slide glass 10
The removal from the container and the transportation to a predetermined position for smearing are performed as described above.
become that way. That is, the "position 1" or "position 2" of the turntable 11 is confirmed (position confirmation), and the turntable 11 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise according to the confirmation result ( Positioning of the turntable 11).

Next, the slide glass 1 is placed in the cassette 12.
It is judged whether there is 0 or not, and slide glass 10
If there is not, an error message "Please set the slide glass 10" is displayed. When the slide glass 10 is present, the slide glass 10 is taken out from the cassette 12 by the method as described above. This removal is performed once every 30 seconds.

About 5 microliters of the sample sucked by the pipette 47b is dropped on the slide glass 10 taken out. The pipette 47b is then washed in the pipette washing tank 48.

Next, the slide glass 10 on which the sample has been dropped is smeared by the smearing mechanism 49 based on the wedge method at the first predetermined position of the smearing section 1. That is, the drawn glass 50 arranged at the first predetermined position is moved in the longitudinal direction of the slide glass 10 in contact with the slide glass 10 to perform smearing. When the smearing is finished, the pull glass 50
After being immersed in a drawn glass cleaning tank 51 containing a cleaning liquid for removing oil and proteins, it is pulled up and cleaned by a nozzle.

After that, the smear confirmation means 52 detects whether the smear state is good or bad. That is, when the slide glass 10 after smearing passes between a pair of optical elements (light receiving element and light emitting element) arranged above and below the slide glass 10, approximately three positions (parallel to the short sides) in the approximate center of the slide glass 10 are provided. , Which is on a straight line), and a predetermined judgment is made based on those light transmittances. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, if the smear is not good, an error message is issued, and if the smear is good, the dot glass printer 53 prints on the slide glass 10 at the second predetermined position. That is, the sample number, date, reception number, name, etc. read by the barcode reader are printed on the frosted portion of the slide glass 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the slide glass 10 on which printing has been completed is provided with a drying fan 54 arranged on the right side of the second predetermined position and a third predetermined position on the front side of the second predetermined position (storage standby described later). Forced drying is performed by the drying fan 55 arranged on the right side of the position).

In FIG. 2, an empty cassette 2, which is supported by the cassette feeding belt 3a of the supply unit 3 in a suspended manner and is conveyed from the rear to the front (in the direction of the white arrow), is vertical at the front end of the cassette feeding belt 3a. It is held by the cassette holding / transfer member 56 as it is.

That is, the cassette holding / transferring member 56 is a pair of left and right holding arms 56a, 56a which are rotatable in and out.
The holding arms 56a, 56a rotate from the outside to the inside to hold the suspension supporting portions 32, 33 of the cassette 2. 32d and 33d in FIG.
Is an engaging hole into which the engaging claws of the holding arms 56a and 56a are fitted and engaged.

The cassette holding / transferring member 56 also has a stopping mechanism for temporarily stopping the cassette 2.

The cassette 2 held in the vertical state is transferred to the left by the cassette holding / transfer member 56 and stopped in front of the third predetermined position, that is, the storage standby position. Third
The slide glass 10 that has been conveyed to the predetermined position has the storage operation unit 4 and the cassette holding / transfer member 56 at the same position.
Is stored in the cassette 2 by the operation of. Hereinafter, this storage method will be described.

The left side of FIG. 9 shows the front part of the storage operation part 4, and the right side shows the rear part of the storage operation part 4. Figure 9
In the storage operation section 4, the pair of slide glass holding sections 7 and 8 are arranged in a state of extending horizontally in the front-rear direction and parallel to each other and horizontally mounting and holding the slide glass 10.
(See FIG. 2), a forward / reverse rotatable motor 57 that serves as a drive source, two front and rear pulleys 58 and 59, and a motor 57 that is horizontally stretched between these pulleys 58 and 59. And a belt 60 that moves back and forth.

The storage operation section 4 is further provided with a guide rail 61.
A slider 62, an arm support member 63, and a support shaft 64.
And the first arm 66 pivotally supported by the support shaft 65, and the support shaft 6
Second arm 68 pivotally supported by 7 and cassette rotating member 6
9 and a connecting rod 70.

The connecting rod 70 is loosely fitted in an insertion hole formed in the arm supporting member 63 in a front-rear penetrating manner, the front end is fixed to the rear surface of the cassette rotating member 69, and the retainer 71 is attached to the rear end. There is. On the connecting rod 70, both members 63 and 69 are separated from each other, and the rear surface of the arm support member 63 is a clasp 71.
A coil spring 72 for urging so as to hit is fitted.

The first arm 66 is rotatable around the support shaft 64, and a first head 73 is provided at the upper end front portion so as to project upward. The first head 73 is retractable between the two slide glass holders 7 and 8. The second arm 68 is rotatable around the support shaft 67, and a second head 74 is provided on the upper rear end so as to project upward. The second head 74 is capable of projecting and retracting between the two slide glass holders 7 and 8. Second arm 68
Is adapted to rotate following the rotation of the first arm 66.

A roller 75 is attached to the upper part of the front end of the cassette rotating member 69. When the cassette rotating member 69 moves forward, the roller 75 contacts the rear surface of the vertically arranged cassette 2 and then contacts the rear surface of the cassette 2 and then rotates the engaging holes 32d and 33d of the cassette 2. The axis of rotation of the cassette 2 is used as a shaft. Laura 7
The outer diameter of 5 and the mounting height are
The rollers 2 are set so that the cassette 2 becomes horizontal when the cassette 2 is rotated to the maximum forward.

In FIG. 9, the solid line indicates the position (initial position) of each member before the storage operation unit 4 starts to operate. In FIG. 9, when the motor 57 rotates in the forward direction to move the belt 60 in the direction of the arrow and the support shaft 65 moves from the solid line portion to the two-dot chain line portion, the first arm 66 rotates in the clockwise direction around the support shaft 64. Move upright as shown by the chain double-dashed line. Along with this, the first head 73 also rotates in the clockwise direction around the support shaft 64, and as shown by the two-dot chain line, the first head 19a.
Can be lifted.

Then, the rear end of the upper end of the first arm 66 causes the second arm 68 to rotate counterclockwise around the support shaft 67 and become horizontal as shown by the chain double-dashed line, so that the second head 74 is lifted. To be

When the belt 60 further moves in the direction of the arrow, the first arm 66 standing upright and the second arm 6 horizontal.
The arm support member 63 moves forward together with 8. Along with this, the first head 73 pushes the rear end of the slide glass 10 (first slide glass 10-1) at the storage standby position, and the second head 74 causes the first slide glass 10-.
The rear end of the slide glass 10 (second slide glass 10-2) immediately after 1 is pushed to move the respective slide glasses 10-1 and 10-2 forward.

At this time, the arm supporting member 63 moves forward while pushing the cassette rotating member 69 via the coil spring 72. Then, the roller 75 contacts the rear surface of the vertically arranged cassette 2.

Next, the roller 75 rotates the cassette 2 forward (maximum 90 degrees) by using the engaging holes 32d and 33d of the cassette 2 as rotation axes. In the horizontally oriented cassette 2, the first slide glass 10-pressed by the first head 73 from the slide glass storage port 40-
1 is inserted. At this time, the arm supporting member 63 and the cassette rotating member 69 move to the maximum forward.

As described above, the slide glass 10 conveyed to the third predetermined position is stored at the same position in the storage operation section 4.
The cassette 2 is stored in the cassette 2 by the operation of the cassette holding / transferring member 56.

Cassette 2 accommodating slide glass 10
After being placed in a vertical state by the cassette holding / transferring member 56, the sheet is placed on the cassette lateral feed belt 3b of the lateral feed section 200 and conveyed leftward, and stopped in front of the pusher 76.

The pusher 76 sets the cassette 2 in front of it to 1
They are pushed out one by one and placed on a set of two cassette carrying belts 5a, 5a as a carrying means in the dyeing section 5. The pusher 76 allows the cassette 2 to be 1
It is sent to the dyeing unit 5 one by one.

A cassette interrupt supply member 77 is provided on the right side of the pusher 76. In addition to the cassette 2 which is placed on the cassette lateral feed belt 3b and is conveyed leftward, a slide glass for dyeing is stored 1
If desired, one interrupt cassette can be loaded into the cassette interrupt supply member 77 and placed on the cassette lateral feed belt 3b.

In the dyeing section 5, as shown in FIG.
The fourth suction / exhaust devices 78, 79, 80, 81 are sequentially provided from the front (upstream side of the transport line) to the rear (downstream side of the transport line). 1st-4th suction / exhaust device 78/79/80/81
As shown in FIG. 14, one or three pipettes 91, 92, 93 for liquid dispensing / suction are provided via a horizontal arm 90 that moves up and down by a drive unit 82.

A plurality of cassettes 2, 2 ... 2 accommodating the slide glasses 10 one by one are successively conveyed from the front to the rear by the cassette conveying belts 5a, 5a in the dyeing section 5. The cassette 2 is stopped at four positions corresponding to the first to fourth suction / exhaust devices 78, 79, 80, 81 in the transfer line during the transfer. These stop positions are referred to as a first stop position P ₁ , a second stop position P ₂ , a third stop position P ₃ and a fourth stop position P _{4 in} order from the upstream side of the transport line.

As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
At each of the fourth stop positions P _{1 to} P ₄ , there are provided a pair of light reflection type sensors 101 and 102 as detection means, a first stopper 103 as stopper means, and a second stopper 104 as auxiliary stopper means. A determination unit 109 including a microcomputer is provided as a determination unit.

The light reflection type sensors 101 and 102 are provided one on each side above the cassette carrying belts 5a and 5a, and are opposed to each other. Sensor 101/102
Detects the presence or absence of one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette 2 which is conveyed by the cassette conveying belts 5a.
That is, the light emitted from the light source of one of the sensors 101 is irradiated in a direction transverse to the cassette conveyance belts 5a, 5a at a right angle, and the side surface of the suspension support portion 33, which is the one side portion of the cassette 2, is closer. When it is reflected by, it becomes ON. The light emitted from the light source of the other sensor 102 is irradiated in a direction transverse to the cassette transport belts 5a, 5a at a right angle, and the side surface of the other suspension support portion 32 as the other side portion of the cassette 2 is provided. ON when reflected by
Becomes

The first stopper 103 is provided with a pair of vertical rods 105, 105 extending vertically from the lower side to the upper side on both sides of the cassette carrying belt 5a, 5a, and an air cylinder 106 as a drive source thereof. Become sensor 101
・ Rod 105.1 is provided at the downstream position of the conveyor line 102.
Reference numeral 05 is arranged so as to be capable of projecting upward and immersing downward into a space for transporting the cassette 2-a space above the cassette transport belts 5a, 5a.

The second stopper 104 is provided with a pair of vertical rods 107, 107 extending vertically from below to both sides of the cassette carrying belt 5a, 5a, and an air cylinder 108 as a drive source thereof. Therefore, the position of the sensor 101
The rod 107, 10 is provided at a position upstream of the conveyance line 102.
7 is arranged so as to be capable of projecting upward and sinking downward into the space.

Rods 105 and 10 of the first stopper 103
The front-rear distance between the rod 5 and the rod 107 of the second stopper 104 is set to about 1.5 times the thickness of one cassette 2 (see FIG. 11).

The determination unit 109 detects the orientation of the cassette 2 stopped by the first stopper 103 by the two sensors 101.1.
The determination is made based on the detection result of 02. That is, the cassette 2 is in a predetermined direction-the cassette 2 is the cassette transport belt 5
a. The two sensors 101 and 102 are simultaneously turned on when they are conveyed in a direction crossing at right angles to the a. 5a, but when they are obliquely oriented, the two sensors 101 and 102 are turned on.
Even if one of the 102 is turned on, the other is turned off. As a result, the determination unit 109 can correctly determine the orientation of the cassette 2.

The functions of the sensors 101 and 102, the first stopper 103, the second stopper 104, and the determination unit 109 at the first to fourth stop positions P _{1 to} P ₄ are common. Hereinafter, these functions will be described by taking the first stop position P ₁ as an example.

As shown in FIG. 11, first, the first stop position P
₁ , the first stopper 10 on the downstream side of the transfer line
The rods 105, 105 of No. 3 project, and the rods 107, 107 of the second stopper 104 on the upstream side of the transfer line are recessed.

One cassette 2-1 conveyed by the cassette conveying belts 5a, 5a has its downstream side contact with the rods 105, 105 of the first stopper 103,
It stops at the first stop position P ₁ . At this time, the one cassette (preceding cassette) 2-1 is followed by the succeeding cassette 2-2.
If there is, the succeeding cassette 2-2 comes into contact with the preceding cassette 2-1 on the downstream side and stops as shown in FIG.
Here, the presence or absence of the preceding cassette 2-1 at the first stop position P ₁ and its direction are confirmed by the two sensors 101 and 102.

The preceding cassette 2-1 has the predetermined orientation.
If stopped at the first stop position P ₁In the prescribed dyeing
Color operation is started. That is, the piston of the first intake / exhaust device 78 is
The pet 91 is lowered and the pipette 91 is set as the preceding cassette.
Insert it into the sub space 35 of 2-1 and put it in the sub space 35.
Dispense a predetermined amount of stain solution.

When the dyeing solution has been dispensed, the rods 105, 105 of the first stopper 103 are retracted, and the rods 107, 107 of the second stopper 104 are projected, as shown in FIG. As a result, the preceding cassette 2-1 stopped at the first stop position P ₁ is transferred downstream, and the succeeding cassette 2
-2 is stopped before the first stop position P ₁ . That is, the rods 107, 107 of the second stopper 104 are fitted into the recesses 32c, 33c provided in the suspension supporting portions 32, 33 of the succeeding cassette 2-2, and the succeeding cassette 2
-2 stops.

Next, the rod 1 of the first stopper 103 is again used.
05/105 protrudes and the rod 1 of the second stopper 104
07.107 is immersed, and the succeeding cassette 2-2 is stopped at the first stop position P ₁ .

In this way, the two cassettes 2-1.
Even if the 2-2 are in contact with each other, the cassettes 2-1 and 2-2 can be separated well and each cassette 2-
It is possible to stop 1.2-2 at a predetermined position.

Further, a plurality of three or more cassettes 2.2
........ 2, when the rods 107 and 107 of the second stopper 104 project as described above, the second and subsequent cassettes 2.2 and 2 are stopped before the first stop position P _1. It is possible to carry only the first cassette 2.

As described above, the two sensors 101 and 10
14 and 15 show the relationship between the detection by 2 and the projecting / immersion operation of the first stopper 103 and the second stopper 104.
Are shown together. In addition, the control unit in FIG.
Each of the determination unit 1 according to the fourth stop position P ₁ to P ₄
Based on the determination result from 09, each drive unit 82
And control each output. Here, each output unit outputs an alarm sound and an error message when it is determined that the cassette 2 faces obliquely.

When the predetermined dyeing operation is completed at the first stop position P ₁ , the cassette 2 is sequentially subjected to the predetermined dyeing operation at the _{second to} fourth stop positions P _{2 to} P ₄ , as shown in FIG. It

The cassette 2 on which all the dyeing processing has been completed is conveyed by the cassette conveying belt 5a to the left of the drying fan 97 arranged behind the fourth suction / discharge device 81, and there,
The slide glass 10 in the cassette 2 is forcibly dried by the operation of the fan 97.

The cassette 2 accommodating the slide glass 10 that has been dried is the cassette conveyor belt 5a of the dyeing section 5.
From the cassette to the cassette feeding / feeding mechanism 98. The cassette feeding / feeding mechanism 98 is the dyeing unit 5.
It is provided in a state where these are connected to the rear of the storage unit 6, and after the cassettes 2 sent out from the cassette transport belt 5a are moved to the left one by one, the two cassettes 2 in the storage unit 6 are moved. It operates so that it is sent to a set of cassette carrying belts 6a and placed.

The cassette 2 placed on the cassette carrying belt 6a of the storage section 6 by the cassette sending / feeding mechanism 98 is carried forward by the cassette carrying belt 6a. Then, the cassette 2 conveyed to the front end of the storage unit 6 hits the front wall 6b of the storage unit 6 and stops. The cassette carrying belt 6a is always rotating so that the cassettes 2 which are successively carried later may be applied to the stopped cassette 2 immediately before.

In this way, a predetermined number of cassettes 2 are accumulated on the cassette carrying belt 6a of the storage section 6.
A predetermined number of cassettes 2 are taken out from the storage unit 6.

[0080]

Since the cassette carrying device according to the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following remarkable effects.

That is, the cassette carrying apparatus according to the first aspect comprises the carrying means, the set of detecting means, the stopper means and the judging means as described above. Therefore, the slide glass accommodating cassette that has been conveyed by the conveying means to the location where the stopper means is provided is stopped by the stopper means, and a set of detecting means is provided to determine whether or not the stopped cassette is oriented in a predetermined direction. And it becomes possible to judge by the judging means, compared to the conventional case,
It is possible to more reliably perform various operations related to transportation, such as moving and stopping the cassette.

In the cassette carrying device according to the second aspect, in addition to the carrying means, the set of detecting means, the stopper means and the judging means as described above, the stopper is provided at a position upstream of the carrying line of the stopper means. And an auxiliary stopper means that operates in the same manner as the above, and the stopper means and the auxiliary stopper means pass through one preceding cassette stopped by the stopper means when a plurality of cassettes are conveyed by the conveying means. And the auxiliary stopper means 1
The movement of one succeeding cassette is stopped, and after the auxiliary stopper means passes the succeeding cassette, the stopper means is operated so as to stop the movement of the succeeding cassette. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device according to claim 1, when a plurality of cassettes are connected, the second and subsequent cassettes are stopped at a predetermined stop position, and only the first cassette is separated and carried. It becomes possible to do.

In the cassette carrying device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the cassette is provided with a storage part capable of storing the slide glass and the liquid, and a cassette connected to the storage part and supporting the storage part in a suspended state. And a suspension support portion.
Therefore, in addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device according to claim 1 or 2, a predetermined number of glass slides and a predetermined amount of dyeing liquid are stored in the storage unit, and the suspension support unit is used during transport or storage. By supporting with, the staining solution is not wasted even with a small number of specimens, and the degree of freedom in handling and controlling the slide glass is increased.

According to another aspect of the cassette carrying device of the present invention, the cassette is provided with the storage section and the suspension supporting section, and the auxiliary stopper means is fitted into each suspension supporting section when the cassette is projected. A recess is provided to lock in and stop the movement of the cassette. Therefore, the effect of the cassette carrying device according to the second aspect can be easily achieved by the simple structure of the cassette.

In the cassette carrying device according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the carrying means is provided with a pair of belts arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval and on which the respective hanging supports are placed. It is a belt conveyor. Therefore, claims 1 to 4
In addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device described in any one of the above ones, it becomes possible to easily carry and control the cassette. If the cassette is provided with the storage section and the suspension support section, the cassette can be suspended from the two belts and transported by the suspension support section. It will be even easier.

According to another aspect of the cassette carrying device of the present invention, each of the pair of detecting means is irradiated in a direction traversing the carrying means, and one of the one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette, whichever is closer, is detected. It is a light reflection type sensor that is turned on when reflected by the side portion. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the presence or absence of one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette can be individually detected by a simple structure of the device. When both are “present”, it can be determined that the cassette is oriented in a predetermined direction.

In the cassette carrying device according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the stopper means is provided with a set of two rods, and at the time of protrusion, these rods contact the surface of the moving cassette downstream side of the carrying line. Contact. Therefore, claim 1
In addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device described in any one of 1 to 6, the cassette can be stopped more easily and more reliably with a simple structure.

According to another aspect of the cassette carrying device of the present invention, the auxiliary stopper means is provided with a set of two rods, and these rods are fitted into the recesses of the cassette when protruding. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device according to any one of claims 4 to 7,
The simple structure allows the cassette to be stopped more easily and more reliably.

In the cassette carrying device according to the ninth aspect, the predetermined operation is performed when the judging means judges that the direction of the cassette stopped at the predetermined position is correct. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the cassette carrying device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, a predetermined operation, for example, a dyeing operation can be reliably performed.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cassette carrying device, wherein the stopper means and the auxiliary stopper means are provided in the dyeing section, and the judging means judges that the cassette stopped at a predetermined position of the dyeing section is in the correct orientation. Then, a predetermined dyeing operation is performed. Therefore, any one of claims 2 to 8
In addition to the above-described effects of the cassette transporting device according to the third aspect, it is possible to reliably perform a predetermined dyeing operation in the dyeing section.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of an automatic sample preparation device incorporating a cassette carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a slide glass storage cassette that is transported by the cassette transport device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cassette shown in FIG.

5 is a bottom view of the cassette of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation from the setting of the slide glass to the smearing process in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

7 is a flowchart showing an operation from detection after smearing to storage of a slide glass in a cassette in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of a staining process in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

9 is a side view showing a state before the slide glass is stored in the cassette by the storage operation section in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

10 is a front view showing the configuration of the cassette carrying device of FIG. 1. FIG.

11 is a side view showing a state where two cassettes are being conveyed to the first stop position by the cassette conveying device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state in which, after the state of FIG. 11, the two cassettes are stopped at the first stop position by the protrusion of the first stopper.

FIG. 13: After the state of FIG. 12, the preceding cassette of the two cassettes passes the first stop position due to the depression of the first stopper, and the succeeding cassette stops at the first stop position due to the protrusion of the second stopper. The side view which shows a state.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the cassette carrying device of FIG.

15 is a flowchart showing an operation in the cassette carrying device of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a conventional cassette carrying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Cassette for storing slide glass 2-1 Preceding cassette 2-2 Subsequent cassette 3 transport section 3a Cassette feeding belt (conveying means) 3b Cassette lateral feed belt (conveying means) 5 dyeing section 5a Cassette transport belt (transport means) 10 slide glass 31 Storage 32 Hanging support 32c recess 33 Hanging support 33c recess 101 sensor (detection means) 102 sensor (detection means) 103 first stopper (stopper means) 104 second stopper (auxiliary stopper means) 105 piston rod 106 cylinders 107 piston rod 108 cylinders 109 determination unit (determination means)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Masakazu Kondo 7-2-1 Minatojima Nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-3-285173 (JP, A) JP Flat 7-77530 (JP, A) JP 7-43278 (JP, A) JP 8-304244 (JP, A) Actual flat 7-12954 (JP, U) Actual flat 4-21951 (JP , U) Actual Kaihei 4-21955 (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication 6-63977 (JP, B2) Japanese Patent Publication 5-2090 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) G01N 35/00-35/10 G01N 1/00-1/44 JISST file (JOIS)

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A carrying means for carrying one or a plurality of cassettes for housing a sample slide glass along a predetermined carrying line, and one carrying means provided on both sides of the carrying means so as to face each other. And a pair of detection means for detecting the presence or absence of one side portion and the other side portion of the cassette conveyed by the conveyance means, and a space for conveying the cassette at a position downstream of the conveyance line of the pair of detection means. The stopper means is provided so as to be capable of projecting and retracting, stops the cassette by abutting against the moving cassette at the time of projecting, and passes the moving cassette at the time of retracting, and the direction of the cassette stopped by the stopper means is the detecting means. And a determination means that determines the detection result based on the detection result of 1. 2. An auxiliary device which is provided at a position upstream of a conveying line of a stopper means so as to project and retract into the space, abuts the moving cassette to stop the cassette when projecting, and allows the moving cassette to pass when retracting When the plurality of cassettes are transported by the transporting means, the stopper means and the auxiliary stopper means further allow one preceding cassette stopped by the protrusion of the stopper means to be passed by immersion. The auxiliary stopper means protrudes to stop the movement of one succeeding cassette following the preceding cassette, and after the auxiliary stopper means allows the succeeding cassette to pass through by immersion, the stopper means protrudes to stop the movement of the succeeding cassette. The cassette transport apparatus according to claim 1, which operates as described above. 3. The cassette comprises a storage part capable of storing a slide glass and a liquid, and a suspension support part connected to the storage part and for suspending the storage part. The cassette carrying device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The cassette comprises a storage part capable of storing a slide glass and a liquid, and a pair of suspension support parts connected to the storage part and for supporting the storage part in a suspended state. 3. The cassette carrying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the suspension supporting portions is provided with a recess for fitting the auxiliary stopper means when the protrusion is projected to stop the movement of the cassette. 5. The belt conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conveying means is provided with a set of two belts arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval and on which the respective suspension supports are mounted. The cassette transporting device according to one. 6. A set of sensing means is turned on when each is illuminated in a direction transverse to the transport means and reflected by the closer side of one and the other side of the cassette. The cassette carrying device according to claim 1, wherein the cassette carrying device is a light reflection type sensor. 7. The stopper means is provided with a set of two rods, and the rods come into contact with the downstream surface of the transfer line of the moving cassette when protruding.
The cassette carrying device according to any one of 1. 8. The cassette carrying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary stopper means is provided with a set of two rods, and these rods are fitted into the recesses of the cassette when protruding. 9. The cassette carrying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined operation is performed when the judging means judges that the orientation of the cassette stopped at the predetermined position is correct. 10. The stopper means and the auxiliary stopper means are provided in a dyeing section which is a part of the transport line,
The cassette carrying device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein a predetermined dyeing operation is performed when the determining means determines that the orientation of the cassette stopped at the predetermined position of the dyeing section is correct.