JP4542287B2 - Reagent container opening / closing unit and barcode attaching unit - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a reagent container opening / closing unit used in an automatic sample analyzer that analyzes a sample prepared from a reagent and a sample, and relates to a reagent container opening / closing unit that can be automatically opened and closed when a reagent contained in a reagent container is aspirated. Regarding the unit .
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, specimens such as serum and plasma stored in containers and measurement reagents such as reaction reagents and diluents are dispensed with a liquid dispensing device such as a dispensing pipette to prepare and analyze samples. . In particular, in tests such as blood coagulation tests and immunological tests, automatic analyzers that continuously dispense a plurality of specimens and measurement reagents and measure their reactions are used. Since these automatic analyzers vary in the amount of reagent consumption and the number of requests for each measurement item, the time for replacement of these reagents also differs. In addition, in order to set a large number of samples and measure a large number of items, it may take a long time from the start of measurement to the end of measurement. For this reason, the measurement reagent and the sample may be used in the analyzer for a long time.
[0003]
If the reagent or sample is left set in the analyzer for a long time as described above, the reagent will deteriorate due to evaporative drying, contamination with dust, etc., and the analysis result will be affected. Therefore, in order to increase the storage stability, the opening of the container is reduced or the container storage part is kept cold. However, it is difficult to prevent deterioration of reagents and specimens by itself.
[0004]
Therefore, in order to prevent the deterioration of the reagent, there has been proposed an apparatus provided with a mechanism for automatically closing the opening of the reagent container with a lid except when the reagent is aspirated.
(A) An automatic analyzer having a function of closing a reagent container opening by providing a mechanism having a member corresponding to the opening of the reagent container and automatically operating the mechanism. Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-185964, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-160050, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-31835, and the like.
[0005]
(B) Using a container having a lid connected as a reagent container, the analyzer is provided with a rotation mechanism portion having a member for hooking the lid, and the rotation mechanism is rotated to open the reagent container lid. The automatic analyzers provided are disclosed in JP-A-1-61667, JP-A-8-94624, and the like.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the apparatus (a) of the prior art described above, the mechanism for closing the opening of the container must be configured to correspond to the container, and the configuration of the analyzer is limited. And when a reagent adheres to the member which plugs up an opening part, the contamination to the reagent used next may occur. Further, since the container and the lid are separate, it is necessary to attach and remove the lid before and after the measurement, and it is necessary to store the lid in another place during the measurement.
[0007]
In the conventional apparatus (b), a lid is coupled to the reagent container in order to solve the problem. However, the automatic analyzer requires a rotation mechanism unit and a moving mechanism unit for causing the rotation mechanism unit to hook the lid of the reagent container. This complicates the structure of the mechanism and its operation control. In particular, incorporating such a complicated mechanism in an automatic analyzer causes an increase in the size of the apparatus, and the processing speed decreases due to the complexity of the operation control. Will be invited. Furthermore, the lid of the reagent container needs to be configured to maintain an open state even after being opened by the rotation mechanism unit, and the structure of the container is limited.
[0008]
An object of the present invention, the sample automatic analyzer, Ru near to provide a reagent container opening and closing unit that allows easy opening and closing of the lid with a simple configuration during aspiration of the reagent.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The reagent container open / close unit of the present invention is a reagent container open / close unit used in an automatic sample analyzer for analyzing a sample prepared from a reagent and a sample, and has an opening at the upper end and contains the reagent inside A lid support having a through-hole coupled to the opening of the container, a lid for opening and closing the through-hole of the lid support, a connection part for partially connecting the lid support and the lid, and protruding from the upper surface of the lid And when the reagent in the reagent container is aspirated by the dispensing pipette of the sample automatic analyzer, the lid rotates upwards around the connection part by receiving a horizontal force. The through hole is opened, and after the reagent in the reagent container is aspirated by a dispensing pipette, the open lid receives a force in the opposite direction to the horizontal force, so that the lid rotates downward around the connection part. It is formed so as to close the through hole with a lid Lifting body, characterized by comprising a first fitting part, a second fitting part that are fittable formed on the first fitting portion of the other of the lid support.
[0011]
The pipetting pipette in the present specification has a pipette body and a liquid quantification means such as a syringe or a pump connected to the pipette body. For example, an automatic analyzer preferably operates as follows. That is, when the pipette body is inserted into the specimen container or reagent container that is the source of the suction, the liquid quantification means connected to the pipette body starts the suction operation and dispenses a certain amount of specimen or reagent. When the pipette body is moved toward the reaction container which is the discharge destination and inserted into the reaction container, the liquid quantification means starts the discharge operation and dispenses a predetermined amount of sample or reagent. Next, cleaning water or air is supplied to the pipette body and discharged from the tip. Alternatively, the cleaning water is sucked and discharged from the tip. The pipette main body thus cleaned is relatively moved again between the sample container, the reagent container, and the reaction container.
[0012]
The pipette elevating means herein, preferably those belts are wound on the pulley, or the pipette by a drive such as a ball screw can be precisely moved in the vertical direction. The base moving means in the present invention is preferably one that can precisely move the base in the horizontal direction by driving a belt wound around a pulley or a ball screw.
[0013]
The reagent setting part of this specification, refers to a site for mounting the reagent container. A reagent installation unit that can be moved as required is used.
[0014]
In this specification, the reagent container is a container having an opening at the top, and a reagent container opening / closing unit is attached to the opening .
[0015]
The nail | claw part formed in a lid means the site | part which protruded to the outer side of the lid | cover. And in order to hold | maintain the state which open | released the lid | cover, trough parts, such as V shape, are formed between a nail | claw part and a lid seeing from the rotation fulcrum side of a lid | cover. Therefore, it is preferable that the claw portion is formed so as to protrude from the rotation fulcrum of the lid. The shape of the claw portion is appropriately selected so as to correspond to the shape of the protruding portion of the dispensing mechanism portion.
[0016]
The reagent container to which the reagent container opening / closing unit is attached is configured so that the opening / closing direction of the lid is oriented when the reagent container is installed in the reagent installing unit. For example, if a container body and lid are integrally formed, or a container that can be attached to the container body in only one direction even if it is not integral, the reagent container is attached to the reagent installation section. The shapes of the reagent container and the reagent installing part are appropriately selected so that they can be installed only in one direction. If the relative direction of the lid is not determined when the lid is attached to the container body, for example, when a reagent container is installed by using a structure in which a plurality of reagent containers can be connected to the lid. The opening and closing direction of the lid can be oriented.
[0017]
In this specification, the protrusion provided on the base of the dispensing mechanism unit means that the claw part of the lid is applied from the opposite side to the rotation fulcrum of the lid in accordance with the relative movement of the dispensing mechanism unit with respect to the container. By moving to the rotation fulcrum side of the lid, the claw part of the lid is pressed to release the lid, and the part can be held between the lid and the claw part of the lid to keep the lid open. If the shape is selected so as to be compatible with the lid and the claw portion of the lid, a simple protrusion may be provided on the base. Or if it is usually set back so that it protrudes only when necessary, the degree of freedom is increased in the arrangement and structure of the dispensing mechanism and the reagent. For example, an air cylinder or a solenoid can be used to reciprocate linearly up and down using a piston as a protrusion.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration of the reaction system, measurement system, etc. is the same as that of conventionally known apparatuses.
The automatic analyzer 10 is mainly composed of a dispensing mechanism unit 12, a sample installing unit 14, a reagent installing unit 16, a reaction container installing unit 18 and a measuring unit 20. The dispensing mechanism unit 12 includes a dispensing pipette lifting / lowering unit 26 that is provided on the base 22 and moves the dispensing pipette 24 up and down, and a base moving unit 28 that moves the base 22 in the biaxial directions of the XY axes. .
[0019]
Dispensing pipette 24 is held by holding section 30 at its upper end, and the upper end of the dispensing pipette is connected to liquid quantifying section 31 (see FIG. 2) via a tube. The liquid determination unit 31 is a syringe driven by a motor here. Further, a cleaning liquid chamber for supplying a cleaning liquid is connected to the syringe through a valve.
[0020]
The pipette lifting / lowering unit 26 is stretched between a pair of pulleys 32 and 34 that are separated from each other in the vertical direction on the base 22, a motor 35 that rotationally drives one of the pulleys 32 and 34, and the pulleys 32 and 34. Belt 36 and the holding part 30 of the pipette 24 is fixed to the belt 36.
[0021]
The protruding portion is composed of a piston 38 of the air cylinder 40. The air cylinder 40 creates a state in which the piston 38 protrudes and a state in which the piston 38 is retracted by operating air supplied from the outside.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of the automatic analyzer 10. A control unit 42 includes a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, timer, counter, and the like. The control unit 42 is connected to the pipette elevating unit 26, the liquid quantifying unit 31, the base moving unit 28, the driving source 40 of the projecting unit 38, various positioning sensors, and the like. Etc. are connected.
[0023]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reagent unit 60 comprising a plurality of reagent containers 50, 56, 58 used in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of the reagent unit. 5 shows a state in which the opening 59 of the reagent container is sealed by the lid 52, and FIG. 6 shows a state in which the opening 59 of the reagent container is opened. The lid 52 of the reagent container has a structure that can be opened and closed by rotating by a rotation fulcrum 54 of a support 53 attached to the container main body 51. A claw portion 55 is provided on the upper surface of the lid 52. The structure of the lid 52, the support 53, the rotation fulcrum 54, the claw portion 55, and the fitting portions 62 and 64 described later are common to the reagent containers 50, 56, and 58.
The lid support 53 of the reagent container 50 is provided with fitting portions 62 and 64 so that it can be coupled with the lid support of the adjacent reagent containers 56 and 58. By opening two or more reagent containers to each other and storing them as reagent units in the reagent installing section 16, the opening and closing directions of the lids of the containers are defined. Further, the lid 52 is configured to seal the opening 59 of the container body 51 by strongly pressing it against the container body 51 side. In this state, the reagent unit 60 is stored in a cold storage. When installing in the apparatus, the sealed state is released by hand, and the opening 59 of the container body is closed by the weight of the lid.
[0024]
The operation of the automatic analyzer 10 of this embodiment will be described.
First, the base 22 is moved to the sample mounting unit 14 by the base moving unit 28, and the dispensing pipette 24 is lowered to suck a predetermined amount of the sample in the sample container. Thereafter, the dispensing pipette 24 is raised and the base 22 is moved horizontally to the reaction vessel setting section 18, and the dispensing pipette 24 is lowered to dispense the aspirated sample.
[0025]
Next, the reagent aspirating operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the lid opening / closing operation.
(A) The base 22 moves toward the reagent installing unit 16 (moves leftward in the figure). The piston 38 of the air cylinder 40 is protruded before reaching the reagent installing portion 16.
(B) With the horizontal movement of the base 22, the protrusion 38 comes into contact with the claw portion 55 of the reagent container 50 and presses leftward to rotate the lid 52 around the rotation fulcrum 54 in the counterclockwise direction. Open.
(C) The base 22 is stopped, the dispensing pipette 24 is lowered, and the reagent is quantitatively collected from the reagent container 50. Meanwhile, since the protruding portion 38 is located in the V-shaped valley portion 57 formed by the claw portion 55 and the upper surface of the lid 52, the lid 52 is held with the container opening 59 open.
(D) When the quantitative sampling is completed, the dispensing pipette 24 is raised.
(E) As the base 22 moves to the right, the protrusion 38 comes into contact with the upper surface of the lid 52 of the reagent container 50 and presses it to the right, thereby rotating the lid 52 around the rotation fulcrum 54 in the clockwise direction. Then close the lid 52.
(F) The piston 38 of the air cylinder 40 is retracted. The base 22 moves to the reaction container setting unit 18 and dispenses the aspirated reagent into the sample.
[0026]
As described above, the example in which the projecting portion expands and contracts has been described. However, as shown in FIG. The basic functions are the same.
[0027]
The automatic analyzer used in the present invention is such that a protrusion is added to the base of the dispensing mechanism and a claw is added to the lid of the container, and the lid can be opened and closed with a simple structure. Also, since no particular change is required for the dispensing operation, the operation control is easy and there is no fear of reducing the processing speed.
[0028]
Further, since the lid of the reagent container is held in an open state, there is no problem that the lid closes during suction of the dispensing pipette.
[0029]
In the above-described embodiment, the reagent container is structured to be sealed when the lid is pressed against the opening. Therefore, in FIG. 7E, after the protrusion 52 is moved by the horizontal movement of the base 22, the lid 52 is rotated clockwise and closed, and then the protrusion 38 presses the lid 52 downward. In this case, the reagent container can be automatically sealed. By performing this control at the end of the measurement operation, it is possible to further prevent the reagent from being dried and deteriorated. Further, when the measurement is resumed, the cover 52 can be released from the sealed state by rotating the protruding portion 38 accompanying the horizontal movement of the base 22 and can be rotated counterclockwise to be opened.
When all the measurements are completed, if the lid 52 is pressed downward by the protruding portion 38 and the reagent container is automatically sealed as described above, the contents of the reagent container taken out from the automatic analyzer are spilled. Without fear, it can be stored in the cool box as it is.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
According to the reagent container opening / closing unit of the present invention, when a reagent is sucked by a dispensing pipette, the lid is opened by receiving a horizontal force, and is opened after the reagent in the reagent container is sucked by the dispensing pipette. since the lid by the state of the lid receives a force of the horizontal force and the opposite direction is closed, it is possible to easily open and close the lid of the reagent containers with a simple structure.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a principal block diagram of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of a reagent unit used in the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of an example of a reagent unit used in the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where an opening is sealed in an example of a reagent container used in the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which an opening is opened in an example of a reagent container used in the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a view showing the opening / closing operation of the lid of the reagent container in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a view showing another embodiment of the protruding portion of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 Dispensing mechanism part 14 Specimen setting part 16 Reagent setting part 18 Reaction container setting part 20 Measuring part 22 Base 24 Dispensing pipette 26 Dispensing pipette lifting / lowering part 28 Base moving part 38, 66 Protruding part 50, 56, 58 Reagent Container 52 Lid 54 Rotation fulcrum 55 Claw

Claims (5)

A reagent container opening / closing unit used in an automatic sample analyzer for analyzing a sample prepared from a reagent and a sample,
A lid support having an opening at the upper end and having a through hole coupled to the opening of the reagent container containing the reagent therein; a lid for opening and closing the through hole of the lid support; a lid support and a lid; And a protrusion protruding from the upper surface of the lid, and when the reagent in the reagent container is aspirated by the dispensing pipette of the sample automatic analyzer, the protrusion is in the horizontal direction. By receiving the force, the lid rotates upward around the connection part to open the through hole, and after the reagent in the reagent container is sucked by the pipetting pipette, the opened lid is in the direction opposite to the horizontal force. When the force is received, the lid rotates downward around the connection portion to close the through-hole, and the lid support body includes the first fitting portion and the first fitting of the other lid support body. reagent container closing uni characterized in that a second fitting part that are fittable formed on engaging portion Door.   The container opening / closing unit according to claim 1, wherein the lid support, the lid, and the connecting portion are integrally formed. A third fitting portion which is the first engaging portion or the second fitting portion matable to form a container closing unit according to claim 1, and a bar code adhering unit barcode is affixed Bar code affixing unit provided. A container opening / closing unit formed by connecting a plurality of container opening / closing units according to claim 1 . A container opening / closing unit with a barcode applying portion, wherein the barcode attaching unit according to claim 3 is connected to the container opening / closing unit according to claim 1 or 4 .

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