JP5986436B2 - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that performs qualitative and quantitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine.

  Automatic analyzers perform qualitative and quantitative analysis by adding and reacting with reagents that react specifically with specific components in biological samples such as blood and urine, and measuring the absorbance and luminescence of the reaction solution. Is.

  In such an automatic analyzer, the temperature of the reagent is adjusted and stored in a reagent cooler or the like while being stored in a reagent container in order to suppress deterioration. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-237021) discloses a reagent container having a housing having a first space and an air inlet for introducing air in the first space. A technique relating to an analyzer provided with a reagent storage having the second space and a cooling means for cooling the air introduced from the first space into the second space via the air inlet is disclosed.

JP 2010-256051 A

  In the above-described prior art reagent cooler, in order to suppress the adverse effect of condensation on the reagent quality caused by inflow of outside air, etc., the outside air taken in via the air inlet is touched by the condensation promotion block. To promote condensation. However, in the said prior art, it only accelerate | stimulates dew condensation and it does not consider about the process with respect to the generated dew condensation water. Therefore, if the condensed water stays in the housing, the atmosphere of the reagent container becomes high humidity, or the remaining condensed water induces mold and the like, and there is a concern about deterioration of the storage state of the reagent. There is room for further improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer capable of suppressing adverse effects due to condensation on a reagent contained in a reagent container.

(1) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention arranges a reagent container disk in which a plurality of reagent containers containing reagents used for analysis are arranged in the circumferential direction, and arranges the air and reagent from the external space. A housing that suppresses contact with the container , a cooling surface that is disposed in a lower portion of the internal space of the housing , has a funnel shape, and a cooling element that cools the cooling surface to a temperature lower than the temperature of the inner surface of the housing. the outside air introduction mechanism for blowing air in the external space of the housing to the cooling surface is taken in the housing, continuously provided with the cooling surface below the cooling surface, dew condensation water generated on the cooling surface Is provided with a discharge mechanism that discharges the outside of the housing while maintaining a dew condensation state.

(2) In the above (1), preferably, the cooling mechanism has a guide structure for guiding the flow of condensed water generated on the cooling surface to the discharge mechanism.

(3) In the above (1), preferably, the outside air introduction mechanism is a ventilation mechanism that introduces outside air into the internal space of the casing, or the cooling of the air introduced into the internal space of the casing. It is assumed that it is an air passage part that allows air flow to the mechanism, or a combination of the air blowing mechanism and the air passage part.
  (4) Furthermore, in the above (1), preferably, the cooling surface is disposed below the outside air introduction mechanism.
  (5) In addition, (1) the reagent container disk includes a fixed inner peripheral disk and an outer peripheral disk that is rotationally driven in a circumferential direction with respect to the inner peripheral disk. It is assumed that it is arranged on the inner circumferential disk.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the bad influence by the dew condensation to the reagent accommodated in the reagent container can be suppressed.

1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to a first embodiment. It is side surface fragmentary sectional drawing which extracts and shows the reagent container disc and reagent disc cover which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which extracts and shows the reagent container disc and reagent disc cover which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which expands and shows the cooling mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side surface fragmentary sectional view which extracts and shows the reagent container disk and reagent disk cover which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which extracts and shows the reagent container disk and reagent disk cover which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a side surface fragmentary sectional view which extracts and shows the reagent container disk and reagent disk cover which concern on 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view which extracts and shows the reagent container disk and reagent disk cover which concern on 3rd Embodiment.

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

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment. 2 and 3 are partial cross-sectional views showing the reagent container disk 5 and the reagent disk cover 7 extracted, FIG. 2 is a side view, and FIG. 3 is a top view. FIG. 4 is an enlarged top view showing the cooling mechanism portion in FIGS. 2 and 3.

  In FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer includes a sample container rack 2 that stores a plurality of sample containers 1 that store biological samples such as blood and urine (hereinafter referred to as samples), and a rack transport that transports the sample container rack 2. A line 3 and a plurality of reagent containers 4 containing various reagents used for sample analysis are stored and kept warm, and a reagent container disk 5 covered with a reagent disk cover (housing) 7 is mixed with the sample and the reagent. An incubator disc 9 in which a plurality of reaction vessels 8 are stored, a reaction vessel supply 6 holding a plurality of unused reaction vessels 8, and a reaction vessel 8 from the reaction vessel supply 6 to the incubator disc 9 Reaction container transfer mechanism 6a and sample dispensing mechanism 1 for dispensing a sample from the sample container 1 to the reaction container 8 of the incubator disk 9 by suction / discharge operation And the reagent container 4 accommodated in the reagent container disk 5 through a reagent dispensing port 14 (see FIG. 2 and the like) provided in the lid portion 7a configured to be detachable as a part of the reagent disk cover 7. A reagent dispensing mechanism 5a that dispenses the reagent into the reaction vessel 8 of the incubator disk 9 by suction and discharge operations, and a reaction that performs detection processing on the reaction liquid mixed in the reaction vessel 8 of the incubator disk 9 to detect specific components The measuring apparatus 11 and the control part 15 which controls operation | movement of the whole automatic analyzer are roughly provided.

  A water circulation part 18a is provided inside the reagent disk cover 7 (excluding the lid part 7a), and a medium (for example, constant temperature water) cooled to a predetermined temperature by the cooling mechanism 18 is circulated. The lid 7a also has a heat insulation (cold insulation) structure, and the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7 is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  By arranging the reagent container disk 5 in the internal space of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7, contact between the air in the external space and the reagent container is suppressed, and the temperature and quality of the reagent are affected by the external air. It is suppressed.

  The lid portion 7a of the reagent disk cover 7 is provided with an external air introduction mechanism 16 that introduces air in the external space of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7 into the internal space and blows it onto a cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 described later. Yes.

  A plurality of reagent containers 4 are arranged in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5. As the reagent container disk 5 rotates, the desired reagent container 4 is moved below the reagent dispensing port 14, and the reagent dispensing mechanism 5a dispenses the reagent through the reagent dispensing port 14. A reagent container disk reinforcing plate 5c for reinforcing the reagent container disk 5 is provided at the lower part of the outer peripheral portion of the reagent container disk 5.

  The reagent container 4 is not disposed on the inner peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5, and air flow from the outside air introduction mechanism 16 into the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7 is allowed to flow below the reagent container disk 5. A plurality of air passage portions 5b are arranged in the circumferential direction. In the present embodiment, the case where the air passage portion 5b is provided on the inner peripheral side of each reagent container 4 is shown.

  A cooling mechanism 17 is provided below the outside air introduction mechanism 16 and in the lower part of the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7 to cool the air by a cooling surface 17a provided above. The cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 has a conical shape (funnel shape) whose apex is directed downward. A discharge mechanism 17b provided continuously with the cooling surface 17a is provided at a portion corresponding to the apex below the cooling surface 17a. The cooling surface 17a is cooled by a cooling element (not shown) (for example, a Peltier element). The temperature of the cooling surface 17a (that is, the temperature of the Peltier element) is determined based on the detection results from the temperature sensors 50a and 50b installed on the bottom and side surfaces of the inner surface of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7. 15, the temperature is controlled to be lower than the temperature of the inner surface (bottom surface and side surface) of the reagent disk cover 7.

  The outside air introduction mechanism 16 is provided with a blower mechanism 16a. The air introduced into the internal space from the external space of the reagent disk cover 7 is blown onto the cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 through the air passage portion 5a of the reagent container disk 5 by the air blowing mechanism 16a. When air is cooled by being blown onto the cooling surface 17a, condensed water is generated on the cooling surface 17a, and the condensed water is discharged outside the reagent disk cover 7 through the discharge mechanism 17b while maintaining the condensed state. The The amount of air introduced by the blower mechanism 16a is controlled by the control unit 15, and based on the detection result from the temperature sensor 50c provided inside the reagent disk cover 7 (for example, inside the lid 7a), the reagent Control is performed so that the temperature (air temperature) inside the disk cover 7 falls within a predetermined temperature range.

  The cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 is provided with a guide structure 17c for guiding the flow of condensed water generated on the cooling surface 17a to the discharge mechanism 17b. The guide structure 17c is a groove structure extending radially from the discharge mechanism 17c. The guide structure 17c only needs to guide the flow of the dew condensation water to the discharge mechanism 17b and can smoothly drain the water, and may have a convex shape extending radially from the discharge mechanism 17c in addition to the groove structure. Moreover, it is good also as a shape extended helically from the discharge mechanism 17c.

  The operation in the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

  First, the unused reaction vessel 8 is set on the incubator disk 9 by the reaction vessel transfer mechanism 6a. Next, a sample is dispensed by the sample dispensing mechanism 10 from the sample container 1 of the sample container rack 2 conveyed by the rank conveyance line 3 to the reaction container 8. After dispensing the reagent, the mixture is stirred and left for a predetermined time (for example, 9 minutes). Subsequently, the reagent container disk 5 is rotated to move the reagent container 4 containing a predetermined reagent below the reagent dispensing port 14, and the reagent is dispensed from the reagent container 4 to the reaction container 8 by the reagent dispensing mechanism 5 a. It is dispensed. The reaction measuring device 11 detects the reaction liquid of the sample and the reagent mixed in the reaction vessel 8 and left for a predetermined time (for example, 7.5 minutes). The detection result is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the control unit 15.

  The outside air introduction mechanism 16 provided in the lid portion 7a of the reagent disk cover 7 introduces outside air into the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7 by the air blowing mechanism 16a for a predetermined time, and passes through the air passage portion 5a of the reagent container disk 5. And sprayed onto the cooling surface 17 a of the cooling mechanism 17. When air is cooled by being blown onto the cooling surface 17a, condensed water is generated on the cooling surface 17a, and the condensed water is discharged outside the reagent disk cover 7 through the discharge mechanism 17b while maintaining the condensed state. The At this time, the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7 has a slightly positive pressure compared to the external space, and inflow of outside air from the reagent dispensing port 14 and other gaps is suppressed.

  The effect in this Embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  In the prior art, only the outside air taken in via the air inlet is brought into contact with the dew condensation promotion block to promote dew condensation, and the treatment for the generated dew condensation water has not been considered. In such a case, the dew condensation water stays in the casing, and the atmosphere of the reagent container becomes high humidity, or the remaining dew condensation water induces mold and the like, and there is a concern about deterioration of the storage state of the reagent. . In the prior art, periodic maintenance is required to suppress the occurrence of mold and the like due to increased humidity. However, in order to perform maintenance, it is necessary to remove each mechanism in the device, which requires a lot of time and effort. Was necessary.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the reagent container disk is disposed in the internal space of the housing, and the cooling air is disposed in the lower portion of the internal space of the housing by introducing the air in the external space of the housing into the internal space. The system is cooled by spraying on the mechanism, and the dew condensation generated on the cooling surface is discharged outside the housing while maintaining the dew condensation state by the discharge mechanism provided continuously with the cooling surface. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the atmosphere of the reagent container from becoming high humidity and the condensed water that remains to induce mold and the like, and therefore, adverse effects due to condensation on the reagent contained in the reagent container. Can be suppressed.

  Further, since the outside air introduction mechanism 16 is provided with the air blowing mechanism 16a, heat exchange between the inner wall surface and bottom surface of the cooled reagent disk cover 7 and the reagent in the reagent container 4 is promoted, and the reagent is cooled more efficiently. can do.

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  5 and 6 are partial cross-sectional views showing the reagent container disk 5 and the reagent disk cover 7A according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view, and FIG. 6 is a top view. In the figure, the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  5 and 6, a water circulation part 18a is provided inside the reagent disk cover 7A (excluding the lid part 7a), and a medium (for example, constant temperature water) cooled to a predetermined temperature by the cooling mechanism 18 is provided. It is circulating. The lid 7a also has a heat insulation (cold insulation) structure, and the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7A is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  By arranging the reagent container disk 5 in the internal space of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7A, unintentional contact between the air in the external space and the reagent container is suppressed, and the temperature and quality of the reagent are controlled by the air in the external space. It is suppressed that the influence is exerted.

  The lid portion 7a of the reagent disk cover 7A is provided with an outside air introduction mechanism 16A that introduces air in the external space of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7A to a predetermined position in the internal space.

  A plurality of reagent containers 4 are arranged in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5. As the reagent container disk 5 rotates, the desired reagent container 4 is moved below the reagent dispensing port 14, and the reagent dispensing mechanism 5a dispenses the reagent through the reagent dispensing port 14.

  The reagent container 4 is not disposed on the inner peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5, and the flow of air from the outside air introduction mechanism 16A into the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7A to the lower side of the reagent container disk 5 is allowed. A plurality of air passage portions 5b are arranged in the circumferential direction. In the present embodiment, the case where the air passage portion 5b is provided on the inner peripheral side of each reagent container 4 is shown. A reagent container disk reinforcing plate 5 c that reinforces the reagent container disk 5 is provided at the lower part of the outer peripheral portion of the reagent container disk 5.

  A cooling mechanism 17 is provided below the outside air introduction mechanism 16 and in the lower part of the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7 to cool the air by a cooling surface 17a provided above. The cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 has a conical shape (funnel shape) whose apex is directed downward. A discharge mechanism 17b provided continuously with the cooling surface 17a is provided at a portion corresponding to the apex below the cooling surface 17a. The cooling surface 17a is cooled by a cooling element (not shown) (for example, a Peltier element). The temperature of the cooling surface 17a (that is, the temperature of the Peltier element) is determined based on the detection results from the temperature sensors 50a and 50b installed on the bottom and side surfaces of the inner surface of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7A. 15, the temperature is controlled to be lower than the temperature of the inner surface (bottom surface and side surface) of the reagent disk cover 7.

  The outside air introduction mechanism 16 includes an introduction pipe line 16b extending from the lid part 7a of the reagent disk cover 7 to the vicinity of the upper part of the air passage part 5b of the reagent container disk 5, and a blower disposed at the lower end of the introduction pipe line 16b. And a mechanism 16a. By the operation of the air blowing mechanism 16a, the air introduced into the internal space from the external space of the reagent disk cover 7 and passed through the introduction pipe line 16b enters the cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 via the air passage portion 5a of the reagent container disk 5. Be sprayed. When air is cooled by being blown onto the cooling surface 17a, condensed water is generated on the cooling surface 17a, and the condensed water is discharged outside the reagent disk cover 7 through the discharge mechanism 17b while maintaining the condensed state. The The amount of air introduced by the blower mechanism 16a is controlled by the controller 15, and based on the detection result from the temperature sensor 50c provided inside the reagent disk cover 7A (for example, inside the lid 7a), the reagent The temperature (air temperature) inside the disc cover 7A is controlled to be within a predetermined temperature range.

  Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Also in the present embodiment configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Further, since the air to be blown to the cooling surface 17a is passed through the introduction pipe line 16b extending from the lid portion 7a of the reagent disk cover 7 to the upper vicinity of the air passage portion 5b of the reagent container disk 5, the cooling surface 17a It is possible to suppress the diffusion of the air before hitting and to efficiently cause condensation on the cooling surface 17a.

<Third Embodiment>
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  7 and 8 are partial cross-sectional views showing the reagent container disk 5 and the reagent disk cover 7A according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a side view, and FIG. 8 is a top view. In the figure, the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  5 and 6, a water circulation part 18a is provided inside the reagent disk cover 7B (excluding the lid part 7b), and a medium (for example, constant temperature water) cooled to a predetermined temperature by the cooling mechanism 18 is provided. It is circulating. The lid 7b also has a heat insulation (cold insulation) structure, and the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7B is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  By arranging the reagent container disk 5B in the internal space of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7B, unintentional contact between the air in the external space and the reagent container 4 is suppressed. The influence on the quality is suppressed.

  The lid portion 7b of the reagent disk cover 7B is provided with an outside air introduction mechanism 16B that introduces air in the external space of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7B to a predetermined position in the internal space.

  A plurality of reagent containers 4 are arranged in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5B. The outer peripheral portion of the reagent container disk 5 is provided so as to be relatively rotatable in the circumferential direction with respect to the inner peripheral portion, and the desired reagent container 4 is supplied to the reagent dispensing port by the rotation of the outer peripheral portion of the reagent container disk 5. The reagent is dispensed via the reagent dispensing port 14a by the reagent dispensing mechanism 5a.

  The inner peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5B is fixed, and the reagent container 4 is arranged at least at a position excluding the upper side of the cooling mechanism 17. The reagent container 4 is moved between the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the reagent container disk 5B by a moving mechanism (not shown). The reagent container disk 5B is provided with a plurality of air passage portions 5d arranged in the circumferential direction for allowing the air introduced from the outside air introduction mechanism 16B to the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7B to flow downward to the reagent container disk 5B. It has been.

  A cooling mechanism 17 that cools air by a cooling surface 17a provided above is provided below the outside air introduction mechanism 16B and below the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7B. The cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 has a conical shape (funnel shape) whose apex is directed downward. A discharge mechanism 17b provided continuously with the cooling surface 17a is provided at a portion corresponding to the apex below the cooling surface 17a. The cooling surface 17a is cooled by a cooling element (not shown) (for example, a Peltier element). The temperature of the cooling surface 17a (that is, the temperature of the Peltier element) is determined based on the detection results from the temperature sensors 50a and 50b installed on the bottom and side surfaces of the inner surface of the reagent disk cover (housing) 7B. 15, the temperature is controlled to be lower than the temperature of the inner surface (bottom surface and side surface) of the reagent disk cover 7B.

  The outside air introduction mechanism 16B has an introduction pipe line 16c extending from the lid part 7b of the reagent disk cover 7B to the vicinity of the upper part of the air passage part 5d of the reagent container disk 5B, and an air blower arranged at the lower end part of the introduction pipe line 16c. And a mechanism 16a. Due to the operation of the air blowing mechanism 16a, the air introduced from the external space of the reagent disk cover 7B into the internal space and passed through the introduction pipe line 16c enters the cooling surface 17a of the cooling mechanism 17 via the air passage portion 5d of the reagent container disk 5B. Be sprayed. When the air is cooled by being blown onto the cooling surface 17a, condensed water is generated on the cooling surface 17a, and the condensed water is discharged outside the reagent disk cover 7B through the discharge mechanism 17b while maintaining the condensed state. The The amount of air introduced by the blower mechanism 16a is controlled by the control unit 15 and is based on the detection result from the temperature sensor 50c provided inside the reagent disk cover 7B (for example, inside the lid portion 7b). Control is performed so that the temperature (air temperature) inside the disc cover 7B falls within a predetermined temperature range.

  A cooling mechanism 17 is also provided below the reagent dispensing port 14a and below the internal space of the reagent disk cover 7B.

  Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Also in the present embodiment configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Further, since the air blown to the cooling surface 17a is passed through the introduction pipe line 16c extending from the lid portion 7b of the reagent disk cover 7B to the vicinity of the upper portion of the air passage portion 5d of the reagent container disk 5B, the cooling surface 17a It is possible to suppress the diffusion of the air before hitting and to efficiently cause condensation on the cooling surface 17a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sample container 2 Sample container rack 3 Rack conveyance line 4 Reagent container 5 Reagent container disk 5a Air passage part 5c Reagent container disk reinforcement board 6 Reaction container supply 6a Reaction container transfer mechanism 7 Reagent disk cover (housing)
7a Lid portion 8 Reaction vessel 9 Incubator disk 10 Sample dispensing mechanism 11 Reaction measuring device 14 Reagent dispensing port 15 Control portion 16 Outside air introduction mechanism 16a Blower mechanism 17 Cooling mechanism 17a Cooling surface 17b Discharge mechanism 17c Discharge mechanism 18 Cooling mechanism 18a Water circulation Part

Claims (5)

A case in which a plurality of reagent containers containing reagents used for analysis are arranged in the circumferential direction and mounted in the inner space, and a housing that suppresses contact between the air from the outer space and the reagent container;
A cooling surface disposed in the lower part of the internal space of the housing and having a funnel shape ;
A cooling element that cools the cooling surface to a temperature lower than the temperature of the inner surface of the housing;
An outside air introduction mechanism that takes in air in the external space of the housing into the housing and blows it on the cooling surface;
And wherein the cooling surface beneath the cooling surface and provided continuously, the dew condensation water generated on the cooling surface and to maintain the condensation condition and a discharge mechanism for discharging to the outside of the housing Automatic analyzer to do. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the cooling mechanism has a guide structure for guiding a flow of condensed water generated on the cooling surface to the discharge mechanism. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The outside air introduction mechanism is a blower mechanism that introduces outside air into the internal space of the housing, an air passage portion that allows air to flow into the cooling mechanism of air introduced into the internal space of the housing, or The automatic analyzer is a combination of the air blowing mechanism and the air passage part. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the cooling surface is arranged below the outside air introduction mechanism. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein
The reagent container disk comprises a fixed inner peripheral disk and an outer peripheral disk that is driven to rotate relative to the inner peripheral disk in the circumferential direction,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the cooling surface is disposed on the inner circumferential disk.

Images