JP5634856B2 - Reagent cold storage and sample analyzer equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a reagent cold storage for storing and cooling a reagent container containing a reagent, and a sample analyzer equipped with the reagent cold storage.

Conventionally, a sample analyzer for analyzing a measurement sample prepared by mixing a sample and a reagent is known. In this sample analyzer, the reagent is stored in a predetermined reagent cool box while being stored in a reagent container, and is kept cool at a predetermined temperature in the reagent cool box to prevent deterioration.
Patent Document 1 below discloses an automatic analyzer equipped with a reagent cold storage. The reagent cooler of this automatic analyzer includes a bottomed cylindrical reagent case, a reagent cover that closes the upper opening of the reagent case, a reagent disk that is provided in the reagent case and on which a plurality of reagent containers are placed, A cooling unit that cools the bottom surface of the reagent case and a fan that circulates cool air in the reagent case are provided. The fan is disposed substantially at the center in the reagent case, and is configured to circulate cold air in the reagent cooler by blowing an air flow downward substantially vertically toward the bottom surface in the reagent case.

JP 2009-8611 A

  The reagent cooler of the sample analyzer contains a plurality of reagent containers. In order to keep all the reagent containers at a uniform temperature, it is necessary to circulate cold air widely throughout the reagent cooler. The However, in the analyzer described in Patent Document 1, since the air flow generated by the fan is blown substantially vertically toward the center of the bottom surface of the reagent case, the spread of cold air outward in the horizontal direction becomes insufficient, A temperature difference tends to occur between the central region in the reagent storage and the horizontal outer region.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can circulate cold air widely so that the temperature inside the cool box body provided with the first and second reagent holders can be made uniform , It is an object of the present invention to provide a reagent cooler that can efficiently cool a reagent container held in a first reagent holder and a reagent container held in a second reagent holder, and a sample analyzer equipped with the reagent cooler.

(1) The reagent cooler according to the first aspect of the present invention is:
A reagent refrigerator used in a sample analyzer that analyzes a sample using a reagent,
A cool box body having a storage space for the reagent container therein;
A first reagent holder provided in the cold storage body and arranged in a state in which a plurality of reagent containers are arranged in an annular shape;
A second reagent holder provided outside the first reagent holder and arranged in a state in which a plurality of reagent containers are arranged in an annular shape;
A cooling unit for cooling the air inside the cool box body;
An air blower that is provided inside the first reagent holder, generates an air flow that blows toward the inner surface of the cool box body, and circulates cold air in the cool box body; and
The inner surface has an inclined surface that is inclined so that the height of the inner surface gradually decreases from the center side of the sprayed region to which the airflow is sprayed toward the periphery thereof ,
On the inner surface, there is a wind direction changing member that changes an air flow direction so that an air flow that flows outward through the inclined surface of the sprayed region passes between the first reagent holder and the second reagent holder. It is provided .

In the reagent cooler of the present invention, the direction of the air flow blown to the inner surface of the cooler main body by the air blower is changed outwardly around the sprayed region by the inclined surface provided in the sprayed region of the inner surface. And diffused along the inner surface. Therefore, it is possible to widely circulate the cold air by spreading the air flow to the outside in the cool box main body, and it is possible to make the temperature in the cool box main body uniform.
Moreover, the air flow which flows between a 1st reagent holder and a 2nd reagent holder is produced | generated, and a reagent can be cooled efficiently.

(2) The inner surface to which an air flow is blown from the air blowing part is formed in a circular shape, the air blowing part is disposed on the center line of the inner surface, and the sprayed region is at the center of the inner surface. Preferably there is.
According to this structure, the distance from the area | region where an airflow is sprayed to the edge part of the inner surface of a reagent cooler can be made uniform, and an airflow can be spread uniformly in a reagent cooler.

(3) It is preferable that the inner surface has an inclined surface on the radially outer side from the sprayed region.
According to this configuration, the airflow generated by the blower is changed in the radially outward direction by being blown onto the inclined surface formed in the sprayed region, and further inclined radially outward from the sprayed region. The surface promotes radial outward diffusion. Therefore, it is possible to widely circulate the cold air to a region on the radially outer side in the cool box main body.

(4) It is preferable that the inclined surface outside the sprayed region is formed so as to be gentler than the inclined surface of the sprayed region.
According to this configuration, the blown area where the airflow is directly blown from the blower section and the inclined surface in the vicinity thereof are formed to be steeply inclined, so that the direction of the airflow is more reliably changed radially outward. be able to.

(5) It is preferable that the inclined surface outside the sprayed region is provided with a guide member that extends radially outward from the sprayed region and guides the airflow in the radial direction.
According to this configuration, the air flow whose direction has been changed radially outward by being blown to the sprayed region can be efficiently guided radially outward by the guide member, and is more radial in the cool box body. It is possible to distribute the air flow to the outer region.

( 6 ) It is preferable that the said wind direction change member inclines with respect to the direction orthogonal to the airflow which flows to radial direction outward from the said to-be-sprayed area | region.
According to this configuration, the air direction changing member allows an air flow to flow radially outward while generating an air flow flowing between the plurality of reagent containers, and more radially outward in the cool box body. Air flow can be distributed to the area.
(7) A plurality of the wind direction changing members are arranged in a circular shape around the sprayed region, and a gap is formed between each of the wind direction changing members so that air flows outside the wind direction changing member. May be.
(8) The cool box body has a peripheral wall outside the second reagent table,
It is preferable that the inclined surface is made of a material having higher thermal conductivity than the peripheral wall, and cools the air flow generated by the air blowing unit by being cooled by the cooling unit.

(9) When the air blowing unit is configured to blow an air flow downward toward the bottom surface in the cool box body, the cooling unit is configured to cool the bottom surface in the cool box body. And it is preferable that the dew condensation water collection part which collects dew condensation water is provided in the low-order side of the said inclined surface formed in the bottom face in the said cool box main body.
When airflow is blown to the bottom surface of the cool box body cooled by the cooling unit, condensation occurs on the bottom surface, but the condensed water that adheres to the bottom surface flows along the inclined surface. Can be collected in the department.

(10) A sample analyzer according to a second aspect of the present invention includes the reagent cooler described in any of (1) to (9) above.

According to the present invention, the cold air can be circulated widely in the cold storage body provided with the first and second reagent holders , the internal temperature can be made uniform, and the reagent container held in the first reagent holder and The reagent container held in the second reagent holder can be efficiently cooled .

It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the sample analyzer provided with the reagent cold storage which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the sample analyzer shown by FIG. It is a top view which shows the inside of a reagent cooler. It is a schematic sectional drawing of a reagent cooler. It is a top view which shows the bottom face in a cool box main body. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the principal part of a reagent cooler. It is a perspective view explaining the effect | action of a guide member and a wind direction change member. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the reagent cold storage which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the reagent cold storage which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of a sample analyzer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a sample analyzer equipped with a reagent cooler according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The sample analyzer 1 is, for example, a blood coagulation measuring device, an immune analyzer, or a biochemical analyzer, and performs a predetermined measurement on a measurement sample prepared by mixing a sample collected from a human body and a reagent. This is an apparatus for analyzing a sample based on the measurement result. The sample analyzer 1 includes a measuring device 2 and a control device 4 that is electrically connected to the measuring device 2. In addition, inside the measuring apparatus 2, a reagent cold storage 10 for storing a plurality of reagent containers containing reagents and keeping them cold is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the sample analyzer shown in FIG. The measurement device 2 of the sample analyzer 1 includes a sample supply unit 12, a transport drive unit 13, a dispensing unit 14, a measurement unit 15, a control circuit 16, and the like, in addition to the reagent cooler 10. The sample supply unit 12 has a function of setting a sample rack holding a sample container (test tube or the like) holding a sample and positioning each sample container at a predetermined dispensing position by transporting the sample rack. ing. Moreover, the conveyance drive part 13 has a function which conveys the reagent container accommodated in the reagent cold storage 10 and positions it in a predetermined dispensing position.

  The dispensing unit 14 has a function of dispensing a sample or a reagent from a sample container or a reagent container positioned at a predetermined dispensing position in order to prepare a measurement sample. The measurement unit 15 has a function of performing a predetermined measurement on a measurement sample prepared by mixing the specimen and the sample. The control circuit 16 includes a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, a communication interface, and the like, and performs operations of the sample supply unit 12, the reagent cooler 10, the transport drive unit 13, the dispensing unit 14, the measurement unit 15, and the like. While controlling, it is connected to the control apparatus 4 so that communication is possible, and has the function to transmit / receive various information to / from the control apparatus 4.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 4 includes a personal computer 401 (PC) or the like, and includes a control unit 4a, a display unit 4b, and a keyboard 4c for inputting information. The control unit 4a has a function of transmitting an operation start signal of the measurement device 2 to the control circuit 16 of the measurement device 2 and analyzing information about the measurement result obtained by the measurement device 2. The display unit 4b has a function of displaying the analysis result obtained by the control unit 4a.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the inside of the reagent cooler, and FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the reagent cooler.
The reagent refrigerator 10 stores the reagent container 19 containing the reagent used for the preparation of the measurement sample in a cold state at a low temperature, for example, about 10 ° C. The reagent is prevented from being altered by being stored at a low temperature.

  The reagent cold storage 10 includes a cold storage main body 21 having a storage space for the reagent container 19 therein, a reagent arrangement unit 22 arranged in the cold storage main body 21 and arranging a plurality of reagent containers 19 in a predetermined arrangement, A cooler (cooling unit) 23 that cools the air inside the cool box body 21 and a blower fan (blow unit) 24 that circulates the air inside the cool box body 21 are provided.

  The cool box body 21 can open and close a case 28 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape by a disk-shaped bottom wall 26 and a peripheral wall 27 rising upward from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 26, and the upper opening of the case 28. And a lid (upper wall) 29 for closing. A sealed space surrounded by the case 28 and the lid 29 is a cooling chamber, and the reagent placement unit 22 is provided in the cooling chamber. The bottom wall 26 of the case 28 is formed in a two-layer structure of an outer layer 31 and an inner layer 32. The outer layer 31 is formed of a material having low thermal conductivity such as polystyrene foam, and the inner layer 32 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum. Similar to the outer layer 31, the peripheral wall 27 and the lid 29 are made of a material such as polystyrene foam having low thermal conductivity.

  The reagent placement unit 22 includes an annular first reagent holder 34 centering on the central axis O of the cool box main body 21, and a concentric shape with the first reagent holder 34 on the radially outer side of the first reagent holder 34. And a second reagent holder 35 having an annular shape disposed on the surface. Each of the first reagent holder 34 and the second reagent holder 35 is formed with a plurality of groove-shaped or hole-shaped first holding portions 36 and second holding portions 37 for holding the reagent containers 19 arranged in an annular shape. ing. Then, by inserting the reagent container 19 into the first holding part 36 and the second holding part 37 respectively, the reagent container 19 is held by the first reagent holder 34 and the second reagent holder 35.

  The reagent placement unit 22 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to place two types of large and small reagent containers 19a and 19b, and the first reagent holder 34 is used to place a large reagent container 19a. The second reagent holder 35 is used to arrange a small reagent container 19b. The reagent container 19a is taller than the reagent container 19b, and is formed to have a longer front and rear length (length in the holder radial direction). The first reagent holder 34 and the second reagent holder 35 have the reagent containers 19a and 19b arranged so that the heights of the upper ends of the large and small reagent containers 19a and 19b are substantially the same.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first reagent holder 34 and the second reagent holder 35 are supported from below by an annular first rotary table 38 and second rotary table 39, respectively. An annular first ring gear 40 and second ring gear 41 are provided below the first rotary table 38 and the second rotary table 39. The first ring gear 40 and the second ring gear 41 are respectively provided with a bearing and a roller (not shown). Thus, it is rotatably supported at a position away from the bottom wall 26 of the cool box body 21. Further, the first ring gear 40 and the second ring gear 41 are engaged with a first drive gear 42 and a second drive gear 43 that are rotatably supported by the bottom wall 26 of the cool box main body 21, and this first drive The gear 42 and the second drive gear 43 are rotationally driven by a stepping motor or the like that constitutes the above-described transport drive unit 13 (see FIG. 2).

  The first ring gear 40 and the second ring gear 41 can rotate independently about both the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction about the central axis O of the cool box body 21. Then, by the rotation of the first ring gear 40 and the second ring gear 41, the first reagent holder 34 and the second reagent holder 35 are respectively rotated, and the respective reagent containers 19 held by these are conveyed to a predetermined dispensing position. The

  Although not shown in the drawings, the lid 29 of the cool box main body 21 has a suction hole into which the pipette of the dispensing unit 14 is inserted in order to suck the reagent from the reagent container 19 transported to a predetermined dispensing position. In addition, an opening / closing part or the like that can be partially opened / closed is formed to replenish or replace the reagent container 19 with respect to the reagent holder.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the inner layer 32 constituting the bottom wall 26 of the cool box main body 21 has a part of the lower surface thereof exposed downward by cutting away a part of the outer layer 31. The cooler 23 is provided on the exposed surface of the inner layer 32. In the present embodiment, the three coolers 23 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction (120 ° intervals) around the central axis O of the cool box body 21 (see FIG. 5).

  The cooler 23 of the present embodiment uses a Peltier element, and when energized, it takes heat from the inner layer 32 and cools the inner layer 32. The cooler 23 is configured to directly cool the inner layer 32 having high thermal conductivity, thereby cooling the air in the cool box body 21 using the inner layer 32 as a cooling medium. The cooler 23 is not limited to one using a Peltier element, and may be configured to cool the heat transfer layer by air cooling or water cooling, for example.

  The blower fan 24 is disposed on the central axis O of the cool box body 21 and at a position away from the bottom wall 26 and the lid 29 of the cool box body 21 in the vertical direction. And the ventilation fan 24 produces | generates the airflow which flows toward the downward direction by blowing out the air suck | inhaled from upper direction below. The airflow generated by the blower fan 24 is blown to the center of the bottom surface (the top surface of the bottom wall 26) in the cool box body 21. Since the inner layer 32 of the bottom wall 26 is cooled directly by the cooler 23, the air in the cool box body 21 can be efficiently cooled by blowing an air flow directly on the inner layer 32. Moreover, since the several cooler 23 is arrange | positioned at equal intervals centering on the central axis O, the air in the cooler main body 21 can be cooled substantially equally regarding the circumferential direction. Note that the number of the coolers 23 is not limited to three, and may be one, two, or four or more. When the number of the coolers 23 is one, it is preferable to cool the center part of the bottom wall 26.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the bottom surface in the cool box main body. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the reagent cooler.
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the bottom surface (the top surface of the bottom wall 26) in the cool box main body 21 is an inclined surface that inclines with a downward gradient from the central portion on the central axis O toward the radially outward direction. 49, 50. Specifically, a frustoconical first protrusion 48 that protrudes upward is formed on the central axis O of the bottom surface in the cool box body 21. The top surface of the first protrusion 48 is a substantially horizontal flat surface, and the outer peripheral surface is formed on an inclined surface (first inclined surface) 49 that becomes lower as it goes radially outward. Further, the outer side in the radial direction than the first projecting portion 48 is formed on a second inclined surface 50 which is inclined more gently than the first inclined surface 49, and the second inclined surface 50 is formed inside the cool box main body 21. It reaches the outer end of the bottom in the radial direction.

  At least a part or all of the first inclined surface 49 is formed in a region (a sprayed region) A in which an air flow is directly blown by the blower fan 24 (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the direction of the air flow blown to the bottom surface in the cool box main body 21 is changed to a flow outward in the radial direction by the first inclined surface 49 (see arrows a1 in FIGS. 4 and 6). Further, the air flow whose direction is changed by the first inclined surface 49 flows further radially outward along the second inclined surface 50 (see arrow a2), and reaches the peripheral wall 27 of the cool box main body 21. .

  The direction of the air flow that has reached the peripheral wall 27 is changed upward along the peripheral wall 27 (see arrow a3), and flows upward along the peripheral wall 27. Thereafter, the direction of the air flow is changed by the lid 29 and becomes a flow toward the central axis O of the cool box main body 21 (see arrow a4), and is sucked by the blower fan 24 (see arrow a5) and then blown downward again. The

By the flows a1 to a5 as described above, the air (cold air) cooled by the cooler 23 circulates in the entire interior of the cool box body 21 and maintains the temperature of the entire interior of the cool box body 21 uniformly.
In the cool box main body 21, only the inner layer 32 of the bottom wall 26 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity, and the peripheral wall 27 and the lid 29 are formed of a material having low thermal conductivity. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of condensation at 29 and prevent the condensation water from adhering to the reagent container.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a disc-shaped partition plate 52 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the blower fan 24. The partition plate 52 is disposed slightly below the reagent container 19 disposed in the first and second reagent holders 34 and 35 and extends radially outward to a position approaching the first reagent holder 34. ing. The partition plate 52 is controlled so that the air flow blown downward from the blower fan 24 is not directly sucked into the blower fan 24 by short-circuiting the radially inner side of the first reagent holder 34.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a plurality of guide members 53 that guide the air flow outward in the radial direction are provided on the bottom surface in the cool box main body 21. The guide member 53 is made of a thin plate material, protrudes upward from the bottom surface, and extends radially outward from the outer peripheral surface (first inclined surface) 49 of the first protrusion 48. The guide member 53 is formed over the entire range of the first inclined surface 49 and the second inclined surface 50.

  As described above, the airflow blown to the first inclined surface 49 by the blower fan 24 is changed in diameter until reaching the peripheral wall 27 even after the direction of the airflow is changed outward in the radial direction by the first inclined surface 49. The direction is controlled by the guide member 53 so that the flow outward in the direction (radial direction) is maintained. Therefore, the air flow can reach the peripheral wall 27 of the cool box main body 21 more reliably, and the cold air can be circulated in a wider range.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the guide member 53, the radially inner portion 53a is formed as high as the first protrusion 48, and the radially outer portion 53b is more than the inner portion 53a. It is formed low. Therefore, the direction of the air flow generated by the blower fan 24 is controlled so as to surely flow radially outward by the portion 53a of the tall guide member 53 immediately after being blown to the first inclined surface 49. .

The guide member 53 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, like the inner layer 32 of the bottom wall 26, and is directly cooled by the cooler 23. Therefore, the air flow generated by the blower fan 24 is condensed by touching the guide member 53, and the condensed water adheres to the guide member 53.
The tall portion 53 a of the guide member 53 is provided in a range radially inward of the first reagent holder 34. And since this tall part 53a naturally has a large area, condensation of air is promoted. Therefore, the air blown out from the blower fan 24 is sufficiently dehumidified by the tall portion 53a of the guide member 53 before reaching the lower region of the first reagent holder 34, and the inside of the cool box main body 21 in a low humidity state. Will be circulated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dew condensation from occurring on the surface of the reagent container 19, the peripheral wall 27, the lid 29, and the like.

  The condensed water adhering to the bottom wall 26 and the guide member 53 of the cool box main body 21 flows radially outward along the first inclined surface 49 and the second inclined surface 50. And the recessed groove 54 dented below is formed in the outer periphery in the radial direction rather than the 2nd inclined surface 50 of the bottom wall 26 of the cool box main body 21, and dew condensation water is contained in this recessed groove 54. To be collected. Therefore, the concave groove 54 constitutes a condensed water collecting part, and the first inclined surface 49 and the second inclined surface 50 not only control the air flow but also as a water gradient that guides the condensed water to the concave groove 54. It also has the function of

  One or a plurality of drain holes 55 are formed in the concave groove 54, and a suction device (not shown) is connected to the drain holes 55 via a drain tube 56. And it is comprised so that the dew condensation water stored in the ditch | groove 54 can be discharged | emitted by operating a suction device for every fixed time.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a wind direction changing member 57 that protrudes substantially in the circumferential direction is provided at the radially outer end of each guide member 53. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the guide member 53 and the wind direction changing member 57. The wind direction changing member 57 changes the direction of the airflow that flows radially outward along the guide member 53 to an upward flow (see arrow a6). And as FIG. 5 shows, the air direction change member 57 is arrange | positioned between the radial direction of the row | line | column of the reagent container 19a and the row | line | column of the reagent container 19b. Therefore, the air flow whose direction is changed upward by the wind direction changing member 57 is guided between the reagent container 19a and the reagent container 19b as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 (see arrow a6). It flows to the upper side in the cool box main body 21 through the said space | interval. By generating such a flow a6, the reagent containers 19a and 19b can be cooled more efficiently.

  In order to change the air flow upward, it is most preferable that the air direction changing member 57 is orthogonal to the guide member 53, that is, orthogonal to the air flow toward the radially outer side. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the wind direction changing member 57 of the embodiment does not cross the guide member 53 but intersects at an angle α (see FIG. 7) slightly larger than 90 °. This does not change the air flow that hits the wind direction changing member 57 completely upward, but allows the air flow to flow diagonally outward in the radial direction, and reaches the peripheral wall 27 of the cool box body 21. This is to ensure the amount of air flow. Further, a gap t is formed between each wind direction changing member 57 formed in the two guide members 53 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction, and the gap t serves as a flow port for the air flow, and the air flow has a diameter. It is designed to flow outward in the direction (see arrow a7). This also ensures a sufficient amount of airflow reaching the peripheral wall 27 of the cool box body 21.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a reagent cool box according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the reagent cooler 10 of the present embodiment, a second projecting portion 58 projecting downward is formed on the central axis O of the inner surface (lower surface) of the lid 29. The second projecting portion 58 has a truncated cone shape, a top surface that is a substantially horizontal flat surface, and an outer peripheral surface that is formed on an inclined surface (third inclined surface) 59 that gradually decreases outward in the radial direction. Yes. The second projecting portion 58 is opposed to the first projecting portion 48 formed on the bottom wall 26 in the vertical direction, and is formed in a shape that is substantially vertically inverted from the first projecting portion 48. Further, the lower surface of the lid 29 is formed on a substantially horizontal surface except for the second projecting portion 58.

In the present embodiment, the second protrusion 58 can appropriately guide the air flow to the blower fan 24 (see arrow a5) and circulate cool air more smoothly.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, in order to change the direction of air flow more smoothly at the boundary between the bottom wall 26 and the peripheral wall 27 and the boundary between the peripheral wall 27 and the lid 29, It is preferable to form a rounded air guide portion 60.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a reagent cooler 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
The reagent cooler 10 of the present embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the air flow generated by the blower fan 24 is directed upward. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first protrusion 48 having the first inclined surface 49 is formed on the inner surface of the lid 29 of the reagent cooler 10, and the second inclined surface 50 is also formed. Although not shown, the guide member 53 and the wind direction changing member 57 described in the first embodiment are provided on the inner surface of the lid 29. Therefore, except for the fact that the direction of the air flow is reversed, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments are obtained.
In the reagent cooler 10 of the present embodiment, the second protrusion 58 described in the second embodiment is formed on the central axis O on the upper surface of the bottom wall 26. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately guide the air flow to the blower fan 24 and circulate cool air more smoothly.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the invention described in the claims.
For example, the first inclined surface 49 and the second inclined surface 50 formed on the bottom surface in the cool box body 21 may have the same inclination angle. That is, the bottom surface in the cool box main body 21 may be formed as an inclined surface having a uniform inclination angle without distinguishing between the first inclined surface 49 and the second inclined surface 50.

  In addition, an inclined surface may be formed only on the airflow sprayed area A on the bottom surface in the cool box body 21. That is, only the first inclined surface 49 may be formed on the bottom surface, and the outer surface in the radial direction may be a substantially horizontal surface. In this case, the concave groove 54 may be formed adjacent to the radially outer side of the first inclined surface 49.

  In the said embodiment, although the 1st protrusion part 48 which has the 1st inclined surface 49 was formed in the truncated cone, the outer peripheral surface may be formed in the polygonal truncated pyramid. Moreover, the protrusion part may be formed in the cone shape or the pyramid shape where the front-end | tip sharpened. The second protrusions 58 shown in the second and third embodiments may also be formed in a truncated pyramid shape, a cone shape, or a pyramid shape.

  The cool box main body 21 is not limited to a columnar shape (cylindrical shape), and may be a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, or the like. Moreover, although the ventilation fan 24 of the said embodiment blows an airflow with respect to the inner surface of the bottom wall 26 or the lid | cover 29 in the cool box main body 21, an airflow is given to the inner surface of the surrounding wall (side wall) 27. You may spray. Moreover, the ventilation part 24 may be comprised so that the air outside the cool box main body 21 may be taken in, and it blows on the inner surface of the cool box main body 21. FIG.

  The present invention is not limited in any way by the shape or size of the reagent container 19 accommodated in the reagent cold storage 10. For example, the reagent container 19 may be a cylindrical bottle, or all the reagent containers 19 accommodated therein may have the same shape.

1: Sample analyzer 10: Reagent cooler 19: Reagent container 21: Cold cooler main body 22: Reagent placement unit 23: Cooler (cooling unit)
24: Blower fan (fan section)
26: Bottom wall 49: First inclined surface 50: Second inclined surface 53: Guide member 54: Concave groove (condensation water collecting part)
57: Wind direction changing member

Claims (10)

A reagent refrigerator used in a sample analyzer that analyzes a sample using a reagent,
A cool box body having a storage space for the reagent container therein;
A first reagent holder provided in the cold storage body and arranged in a state in which a plurality of reagent containers are arranged in an annular shape;
A second reagent holder provided outside the first reagent holder and arranged in a state in which a plurality of reagent containers are arranged in an annular shape;
A cooling unit for cooling the air inside the cool box body;
An air blower that is provided inside the first reagent holder, generates an air flow that blows toward the inner surface of the cool box body, and circulates cold air in the cool box body; and
The inner surface has an inclined surface that is inclined so that the height of the inner surface gradually decreases from the center side of the sprayed region to which the airflow is sprayed toward the periphery thereof ,
On the inner surface, there is a wind direction changing member that changes an air flow direction so that an air flow that flows outward through the inclined surface of the sprayed region passes between the first reagent holder and the second reagent holder. A reagent cold storage characterized by being provided . The inner surface to which an air flow is blown from the blower is formed in a circular shape,
The air blowing part is disposed on the center line of the inner surface,
The reagent cooler according to claim 1, wherein the sprayed region is in the center of the inner surface.   The reagent cooler according to claim 2, wherein the inner surface has an inclined surface on a radially outer side from the sprayed region.   The reagent cool box according to claim 3, wherein the inclined surface outside the sprayed region is formed so as to be gentler than the inclined surface of the sprayed region. Wherein the outer inclined surface from the spray area, the extending direction from the spray area radially outward, according to claim 3 or 4 guide member for guiding the air flow in the radial direction are provided Reagent cooler. The reagent cool box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the air direction changing member is inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the air flow flowing radially outward from the sprayed region . A plurality of the wind direction changing members are arranged in a circular shape around the sprayed region, and a gap is formed between each of the wind direction changing members so that air flows outside the wind direction changing member. The reagent cold storage as described in any one of Claims 1-6. The cool box body has a peripheral wall on the outside of the second reagent table,
The inclined surface is made of a material having higher thermal conductivity than the peripheral wall, and cools the airflow generated by the blower by being cooled by the cooling unit. The reagent refrigerating machine according to claim 1. The air blowing unit is configured to blow an air flow downward toward the bottom surface in the cool box body as the inner surface,
The cooling unit is configured to cool the bottom surface in the cool box body,
The reagent cold storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a dew condensation water collecting part for collecting dew condensation water is provided on a lower side of the inclined surface formed on the bottom surface in the cold storage body. . The sample analyzer provided with the reagent cool box of any one of Claims 1-9.

Images