JP6913199B2 - Holder for holding the cover film - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a holder that holds a coverslip attached to a slide glass to which a specimen is attached.

In a pathological examination, a specimen sample obtained by slicing a biological material is attached to a slide glass and then stained, and then a coverslip is attached to the surface of the slide glass to protect the specimen and observed under a microscope. Is being done.
In the present specification, the cover slip is a concept including both a cover film and a cover glass.

Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for attaching a cover film to the surface of a slide glass.
The cover film sticking device of Patent Document 1 includes a basket in which a plurality of slide crows before sticking the cover film are stored, and a take-out device for taking out the slide glass from the basket.
The basket in which the slide glass before the cover film is attached is immersed in a transparent agent such as xylene to prevent the specimen from drying.

A solvent for dissolving the encapsulant or the encapsulant previously applied to the cover film is dropped onto the slide glass taken out of the basket.
The cover film is pulled out from the winding body and cut to a predetermined length by a cutter. The cut cover film having a predetermined length is pressed and attached to the slide glass on which the encapsulant is dropped.
Then, the slide glass to which the cover film is attached is returned to the basket.

Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus for attaching a cover glass to a surface of a slide glass.
Similar to the cover film attaching device of Patent Document 1, the cover glass attaching device of Patent Document 2 includes a basket containing a plurality of slide crows before attachment and a take-out device for taking out the slide glass from the basket. ing. The basket in which the slide glass before the cover glass is attached is immersed in a transparent agent such as xylene to prevent the specimen from drying.

A plurality of cover glasses are stored in a holder in a laminated state. The cover glass is taken out from the holder one by one by the suction pad provided on the rotating arm.
When the cover glass is attached to the slide glass, the rotating arm rotates so that the cover glass is tilted and abuts on the slide glass from one end side to expel air.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-300233 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-337280

In many cases, an encapsulant is applied to the cover film and the cover glass in advance, and at the time of attachment, the encapsulant is dissolved with a penetrating agent to enclose the cover film and the cover glass. However, if the combination of the encapsulant and the transparent agent used is not appropriate, there is a problem that air bubbles may be mixed in at the time of sticking, and the cover film and the cover glass may be peeled off after encapsulation. ..

In this way, if the combination of the transparent agent and the cover film or cover glass is not appropriate, the specimen may be dried and damaged, or air bubbles may be mixed in to narrow the scope of the microscope and make pathological diagnosis impossible. May occur. In particular, it is a big problem that the sample sample is dried and lost, and when air bubbles are mixed in, some parts cannot be observed due to the air bubbles, and data omission becomes a big problem. In this case, even if the encapsulation can be performed again, there is a problem that the time required for the speculum is lost and the work efficiency is lowered.
Then, when the problem of inconsistency between the above-mentioned transparent agent and the type of cover film or the type of cover glass occurs, it is difficult to identify the cause, and it is possible to make a true improvement. Have difficulty.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a holder for holding a coverslip, which can improve the compatibility between the transparent agent and the type of coverslip.

According to the holder for holding the cover film according to the present invention, the holder is attached to the cover film attaching device and holds the cover film, and includes at least the initial values of the type and length of the cover film held. It is characterized in that a cover film storage unit for storing cover film information is provided.
According to this configuration, in the cover film attaching device, the cover film information is read from the attached holder, and if it does not match, another cover film is held without using the cover film of the holder attached to the attachment part. The holder can be reattached. Therefore, it is possible to reduce encapsulation errors such as air bubbles being mixed.

Further, the cover film storage unit can rewrite the stored data, and the holder is calculated by the remaining amount calculation unit that calculates the remaining length of the cover film provided in the cover film attaching device. It may be characterized in that the remaining length of the holding cover film is written.
According to this configuration, the holder can be removed from the cover film attaching device after the work is completed, and the accurate remaining amount can be grasped the next time it is used. Therefore, since it is possible to assume the time to replace the cover film, it is not necessary to constantly monitor the device. Furthermore, it is not necessary to route the length of the cover film guaranteed to be enclosed.

Further, the cover film information may be characterized in that the expiration date of the cover film is included.
According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the cover film whose expiration date has passed from being used, so that it is possible to reduce encapsulation mistakes and the like.

According to the holder for holding the coverslip of the present invention, it is possible to reduce encapsulation errors such as air bubbles.

It is a perspective view which shows the appearance structure of the holder of a cover film. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure which looked at the cover film sticking apparatus from the front. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment that cover slip information is a bar code, and a notification part is a monitor. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment that cover slip information is a bar code, and the notification part is a speaker. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment that cover slip information is a bar code, and the notification part is an external device connected by a communication device. It is a block diagram which shows the embodiment when the cover slip information is stored in RFID. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mounting part of the conventional cover film. It is a front view which shows the appearance structure of the holder of a cover glass. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure which looked at the cover glass sticking apparatus from above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the cover glass sticking apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment that cover slip information is a bar code, and a notification part is a monitor. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment that cover slip information is a bar code, and the notification part is a speaker. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment that cover slip information is a bar code, and the notification part is an external device connected by a communication device. It is a block diagram which shows the embodiment when the cover slip information is stored in RFID.

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a sticking device using a cover film as a cover slip will be described.
First, the cover film will be described.
The cover film 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a resin film, and is mounted in the sticking device in a state of being wound around the ring-shaped holder 11. The length of the cover film 10 is about 60 m, and it is used after being pulled out from the wound state and cut to a predetermined length.

Cover slip information 14 is written on the surface of the holder 11. As the description method, a bar code, a QR code, or the like can be adopted.
The cover slip information 14 includes at least the type of cover film. Further, the cover slip information may include the length of the cover film, the expiration date, and the like.

The type of cover film may be the product number of the cover film, but the content is whether or not the cover film is coated with an encapsulant, and if so, what is the type of encapsulant. include. If only the cover film part number is used as the cover slip information, the cover film part number and whether or not the cover film is coated with the encapsulant, and if so, the encapsulant It is necessary to associate and memorize what kind is.

Next, the cover film attaching device will be described with reference to FIG.
The cover film attaching device 30 includes a dipping tank 32 in which a penetrating agent is stored. Further, a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which the sliced specimens are attached are housed in the basket 21. The basket 21 has a shape in which a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which thinly sliced specimens are attached are inserted and housed so as to be perpendicular to the bottom surface portion. The basket 21 is housed in the dipping tank 32, and the slide glass 22 is immersed in the transparent agent.

The cover film attaching device 30 includes a take-out arm 34 for taking out the basket 21 from the immersion tank 32. The take-out arm 34 is provided with a grip portion 36 for gripping the basket 21 at its tip, and rotates in a vertical plane about a rotation shaft 35 directed in the horizontal direction to take out the basket 21 from the immersion tank 32.
The take-out arm 34 rotates 90 degrees in the vertical plane and rotates to a position where the slide glass 22 in the basket 21 taken out from the immersion tank 32 becomes horizontal.

The basket 21 that has been rotated to a position where the slide glass 22 is horizontal is placed on an elevating table 37 that moves up and down in the vertical direction. The lift 37 raises the basket 21 to the standby position (reference numeral A in FIG. 2).
At the standby position, a push ejector 38 for pushing out the slide glass 22 one by one from the basket 21 is provided.

The push ejector 38 pushes out the slide glass 22 from the basket 21 and moves the slide glass 22 to a predetermined position B on the horizontal table 40.
At this predetermined position B, the cover film 10 is attached to the slide glass 22.

The cover film 10 is wound around the holder 11 as described above, and is mounted on the mounting portion C on which the holder 11 is mounted.
When mounting the holder 11 on the mounting portion C, it is necessary to mount the holder 11 so that the cover slip information 14 written on the surface of the holder 11 is in a direction and a position that can be read by the reading portion described later. be.

The cover film 10 is pulled out horizontally from the upper part of the holder 11 and goes downward through the roller 44. The cover film 10 is further passed through a pair of feed rollers 46 and is located at an angle such that it approaches the slide glass 22 arranged at a predetermined position B from diagonally above.
On the predetermined position B side of the feed roller 46, a cutter 48 that cuts the cover film 10 to a predetermined length and a pair of cover rollers 50 that feed the cover film 10 cut to a predetermined length above the slide glass 22. Is provided.

Further, at the predetermined position B, a dispensing nozzle 52 for dropping the encapsulant is provided. The dispensing nozzle 52 is connected to a pump and a pipe (not shown), and sucks the encapsulant from the solvent bottle 55 via the pump and the pipe (not shown). The tip of the dispensing nozzle 52 is arranged above the sample sample of the slide glass 22 arranged at the predetermined position B, and the encapsulant can be dropped onto the upper surface of the sample sample.

The cover film 10 cut to a predetermined length is attached to the slide glass 22 by the attachment roller 54, which is an attachment portion.
The slide glass 22 to which the cover film 10 has been attached is horizontally moved by the return ejector 56 so as to be housed in the original position in the basket 21.

When the attachment of the cover film 10 to the one slide glass 22 is completed, the elevating table 37 raises the basket 21 by the thickness of the one slide glass 22. Then, the next unattached slide glass 22 is pushed out from the basket 21 to the predetermined position B, and the cover film 10 is attached.

When the attachment of the cover film 10 to all the slide glasses 22 in the basket 21 is completed, the elevating table 37 rises, and the basket 21 is placed in the storage portion 58 for storing the basket 21 after the cover film is attached. Let it be stored.

Further, the encapsulant or the like overflowing from the slide glass 22 is dropped and collected in the waste liquid tray 59 arranged below the predetermined position B, and stored in the waste liquid bottle 60 arranged below the waste liquid tray 59. ..

Next, the reading of the coverslip information and the use of the coverslip information will be described with reference to FIG.
A reading unit 62 for reading the cover slip information written on the surface of the holder 11 is provided in the vicinity of the mounting portion C of the cover film attaching device 30.

In the present embodiment, the case where the cover slip information is a bar code as shown in FIG. 1 has been described. Therefore, an example in which a bar code reader is adopted as the reading unit 62 will be described.
The reading unit 62 may be a CCD camera or the like instead of a barcode reader. A QR code can also be used as cover slip information, but in this case, the reading unit 62 is a CCD camera, and the read data is analyzed by an application for identifying the QR code.

The operation of reading the cover slip information of the bar code reader 62 is executed based on the instruction from the control unit 64.
The control unit 64 controls the entire operation of the cover film sticking device 30, and is composed of a CPU, a memory, and the like. The operation control program is stored in the memory in advance, and the operation of the cover film attaching device 30 is realized by executing the operation control program.

As described above, the operation of the cover film attaching device 30 includes driving the take-out arm 34 for taking out the basket 21 from the immersion tank 32, driving the elevating table 37 for raising the taken-out basket 21, pushing ejector 38, and returning. Drive of the ejector 56, drive of the feed roller 46 for introducing the cover film 10 to the predetermined position B, drive of the cutter 48 for cutting the cover film 10 to a predetermined length, dispensing operation by the dispensing nozzle 52, driving of the sticking roller 54. Etc. are included.

The control unit 64 is provided with a storage unit 65 that stores the type of the penetrating agent currently stored in the immersion tank, and the conformity information between the type of the penetrating agent and the type of the cover film.
It is necessary for the operator to store this information in the storage unit 65 in advance.

The type of cover film includes whether or not an encapsulant is applied to each cover film in advance, and if so, the type of the encapsulant.
Further, the conformity information stored in the storage unit 65 is information on whether or not the type of the penetrating agent stored in the immersion tank 32 and the type of the plurality of encapsulants are compatible with each other.

From the cover slip information read from the barcode reader 62, the control unit 64 extracts information about whether or not the cover film is pre-applied with the encapsulant, and if so, what kind of cover film it is. , The determination unit 66 as one function of the control unit 64 determines that the encapsulant is not applied to the cover film, or the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank are determined. It is judged that they are compatible, or that the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the permeable agent currently stored in the immersion tank are not compatible.

The control unit 64 determines that the encapsulant is not applied to the cover film by the determination unit 66, and that the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the penetrating agent currently stored in the immersion tank are compatible. In that case, do nothing in particular. However, when the control unit 64 determines that the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the permeable agent currently stored in the immersion tank do not match, the control unit 64 notifies the operator via the notification unit 68 to that effect. do.
As the notification unit 68, a monitor 68 such as a liquid crystal can be adopted. The control unit 64 displays on the monitor 68 that "the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the transparent agent do not match", and prompts the operator to replace the cover film.

The control unit 64 also indicates that the encapsulant applied to the cover film is not applied to the cover film, and that the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the permeable agent currently stored in the immersion tank are compatible with each other. It may be displayed on the monitor 68.

Further, the result determined by the determination unit 66 may be stored in the storage unit 65 instead of being notified by the notification unit 68.

Further, the cover slip information may include the expiration date of the cover film.
In this case, the control unit 64 is provided with a calendar function in advance (not shown). When the cover slip information read by the barcode reader 62 includes an expiration date, the expiration date detection unit 70 as a function of the control unit 64 compares the current date with the expiration date. When the expiration date detection unit 70 detects that it is within the expiration date, it does nothing in particular, and when it detects that the expiration date has passed, it displays that fact on the monitor 68 and the operator. Encourage the replacement of the cover film.

Further, the cover slip information may include a lot number. In this case, the above expiration date is not necessary. Also in this case, the control unit 64 needs to be provided with a calendar function and data in which the lot number and the expiration date are associated with each other (not shown).
The expiration date detection unit 70 of the control unit 64 calculates the expiration date from the data stored in advance based on the lot number read by the barcode reader 62, and compares the current date with the expiration date. When the expiration date detection unit 70 detects that it is within the expiration date, it does nothing in particular, and when it detects that the expiration date has passed, it displays that fact on the monitor 68 and the operator. Encourage the replacement of the cover film.

The cover slip information may include the date of manufacture of the cover film. In this case, the above expiration date is not necessary. Also in this case, the control unit 64 needs to be provided with a calendar function and data in which the manufacturing date and the expiration date are associated with each other in advance (not shown).
The expiration date detection unit 70 of the control unit 64 calculates the expiration date from the data stored in advance based on the manufacturing date read by the barcode reader 62, and compares the current date with the expiration date. When the expiration date detection unit 70 detects that it is within the expiration date, it does nothing in particular, and when it detects that the expiration date has passed, it displays that fact on the monitor 68 and the operator. Encourage the replacement of the cover film.

The monitor 68 is not only used for notifying the conformity between the encapsulant and the transparent agent of the cover film and / or for notifying the expiration date, but also serves as a monitor for displaying the normal sticking work. It may be a monitor of.

The notification unit is not limited to the monitor, but as shown in FIG. 4, the contents such as "the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the transparent agent do not match" and "the expiration date has passed" are described. It may be composed of a voice generation unit 71 that outputs voice and a speaker 73.
In the case of this configuration, the voice generation unit 71 stores voice data such as "the encapsulant applied to the cover film and the transparent agent do not match" or "the expiration date has passed" in advance. is necessary.

Further, as the notification unit, when the encapsulant and the transparent agent do not match and / or the expiration date has passed, the speaker 73 may notify the operator by a buzzer sound other than voice.

As shown in FIG. 5, the notification unit may be a communication device 76 capable of data communication with an external device. The communication device 76 is connected to a communication line 77 such as the Internet so as to be capable of data communication, and can notify the external device 78 connected to the communication line 77. Examples of the external device 78 include a mobile communication device such as a smartphone and an ordinary personal computer.
For example, when the encapsulant and the permeable agent are incompatible and / or the expiration date has expired, the communication device 76 indicates that the encapsulant and the permeable agent are incompatible and / or the expiration date has expired. That is transmitted to the external device 78. As a result, the above information can be notified to the person who owns the external device 78.

The control unit 64 determines whether or not the encapsulant and the penetrating agent are compatible as the judgment result of the judgment unit 66, and / or whether or not the expiration date as the detection result of the expiration date detection unit 70 has passed. Is stored in the storage unit 65.
By storing these results in the storage unit 65, traceability can be ensured when some problem is discovered after the attachment, and the cause can be easily investigated.

In the first embodiment described above, examples of the cases of the monitor 68, the speaker 73, and the external device 78 have been described as the notification unit, but the present invention has a configuration in which these are appropriately combined. It may be adopted.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment describes a mode in which the coverslip information is stored in the data rewritable coverslip storage unit. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the RFID 71 is adopted as the coverslip storage unit will be described with reference to FIG.
The RFID 71 is embedded in any part of the holder 11.
Further, the cover film attaching device 30 is provided with a reader / writer 72 capable of reading and writing data from the RFID 71.

As the cover slip information stored in the RFID 71, in addition to the cover slip type and the expiration date, the initial value of the cover film length is stored in the new cover film, and the cover film in the used cover film. Includes the remaining length of. Further, as in the first embodiment, the lot number or the production date of the cover film may be stored as the cover slip information instead of the expiration date.

The cover film attaching device 30 is provided with a usage amount calculation unit 74 for calculating the usage amount (length) of the cover film. The usage amount calculation unit 74 is provided as one function of the control unit 64. The usage amount calculation unit 74 can be calculated by multiplying the number of cover films cut to a predetermined length by the cutter 48 by the predetermined length of one cover film.

Further, the cover film attaching device 30 is provided with a remaining amount calculation unit 75 that calculates the remaining length of the cover film wound around the holder 11 based on the used length of the cover film.
The remaining amount calculation unit 75 is provided as one function of the control unit 64. The remaining amount calculation unit 75 subtracts the usage length calculated by the usage amount calculation unit 74 from the initial value of the cover film length to obtain the remaining length of the cover film wound around the holder 11. Can be calculated.

The reader / writer 72 can write the remaining length of the cover film in the RFID 71 based on the remaining length of the cover film calculated by the remaining amount calculation unit 75.
If the holder 11 is unused from the beginning, the RFID 71 stores the initial value of the cover film length, so that the reader / writer 72 rewrites this initial value or sets the initial value. Separately, the remaining length is memorized.
Further, when the holder 11 used last time is used, the remaining length is stored in the RFID 71, so that the reader / writer 72 rewrites the remaining length.

If the cover film is left mounted in the cover film attaching device 30, the cover film is plastically deformed at a portion bent with a particularly large curvature among the locations where the cover film is routed by rollers, pulleys, or the like. There is a possibility that it will end up. If the cover film is plastically deformed, the encapsulation performance will deteriorate and the device control will be adversely affected the next time it is used. Therefore, the cover film wound around the holder 11 is removed from the cover film attaching device 30 after the operation of the cover film attaching device for one day is completed, and is attached to the cover film attaching portion C again when it is used next time. It is used by attaching it.
At this time, since the remaining amount of the cover film is stored in the RFID 71, the control unit 64 reads the remaining amount of the cover film from the RFID 71 and displays it on the monitor 68. You can figure out if you should replace it.

Further, FIG. 7 shows the peripheral structure of the mounting portion C of the conventional cover film. Note that, in FIG. 7, the peripheral structure of the mounting portion C shown in FIG. 2 is substantially the same except for the routing portion, and the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the conventional configuration, the length that can be attached to all the maximum number of slide glasses 22 of the slide glasses stored in the basket 21 from the time the cover film is pulled out from the holder 11 to the predetermined position B which is the attachment position. The cover film is routed to secure the amount.
By doing so, even if the sensor (not shown) detects that the cover film pulled out from the holder 11 is finished, at least all the covers stored in the basket 21 currently being attached are stored. A cover film can be attached to the slide glass.
Therefore, the sample sample of the slide glass is not left in a state of being exposed to the air for a long time, and damage to the sample sample can be avoided.

In this regard, in the present embodiment, in order to accurately grasp the remaining amount of the cover film, as shown in FIG. 2, the cover film pulled out from the holder is the length of the maximum number of slide glasses that can be stored in the basket. Since it can be introduced in the predetermined position B without routing, it is not necessary to secure extra space for the routing, and the long routing prevents fingerprints from sticking or breaking. can.

The control unit 64 may collect the usage history of the cover film sticking device 30 and store the collected usage history from the reader / writer 72 in the RFID 71 of the holder 11.
In this way, even if the cover film attaching device 30 itself cannot read the usage history due to a failure or the like, the usage history can be read from the holder 11.

In the second embodiment described above, an example in which the monitor 68 is used as the notification unit has been described, but the speaker 73 or the external device 78 may be used as the notification unit, or a configuration in which these are appropriately combined. May be adopted.

The reader / writer 72 may be provided separately outside the cover film attaching device 30 instead of inside the cover film attaching device 30 (not shown). In this case, the cover slip information can be read and written from the outside of the cover film attaching device 30.

(Third Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the cover glass attaching device 90 that employs the cover glass as the cover slip will be described.
First, the cover glass and the holder will be described with reference to FIG.
Unlike the cover film, the cover glass 80 is formed in advance to a predetermined length at the time of use. A plurality of (usually about 100 to 300) cover glasses 80 are laminated and stored on the holder 82, and the holder 82 is mounted in the cover glass attaching device 90.

The holder 82 shown here has a bottom surface portion 82a and four pillar portions 82b extending in the vertical direction from the four corners of the bottom surface portion 82a. Recesses 82c are formed inside each pillar 82b so that the four corners of the cover glass 80 are housed.
The space between the pillars 82b of the holder 82 and the upper surface are opened so that the cover glass 80 can be easily stored and taken out from the holder 82. The holder 82 may have a structure in which all sides and the bottom surface are surrounded by wall surfaces and only the upper surface is open.

Cover slip information 84 is written on the surface of any part of the holder 82. In FIG. 8, it is described on any side surface of the pillar portion 82b.
As the description method, a bar code, a QR code, or the like can be adopted.
The coverslip information 84 includes at least the type of cover glass. Further, the coverslip information may include an expiration date and the like.

Next, the configuration of the cover glass attaching device will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 10.
The cover glass attaching device 90 includes a dipping tank 92 in which a penetrating agent is stored. Further, a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which the sliced specimens are attached are housed in the basket 21. The basket 21 has a shape in which a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which thinly sliced specimens are attached are inserted and housed so as to be perpendicular to the bottom surface portion. The basket 21 is housed in the dipping tank 92, and the slide glass 22 is immersed in the transparent agent.

Above the immersion tank 92, a take-out mechanism portion 94 for pulling the slide glass 22 upward from the basket 21 is arranged. The take-out mechanism unit 94 grips the upper end edge of the slide glass 22 and ascends, and after ascending to a predetermined height, rotates the slide glass 22 in the horizontal direction to arrange the slide glass 22 at the first station D.

The first station D is provided at a starting point position in the traveling direction of the slide glass 22 in the transport device 96. The transfer device 96 transfers the slide glass 22 in the order of the first station D, the second station E, the third station F, and the fourth station G.

The second station E is provided with a dispensing nozzle 98 that dispenses an encapsulant or a solvent that dissolves the encapsulant previously applied to the cover glass on the slide glass 22. The tip of the dispensing nozzle 98 is inserted into a container 100 containing a solvent that prevents the encapsulant from solidifying.

The third station F is a place where the cover glass 80 is attached to the slide glass 22.
Above the third station F, a mounting portion 102 on which the holder 82 in which the cover glass 80 is housed is placed is provided. Further, a suction pad 104 for sucking and holding the cover glass 80 is provided above the third station F and above the mounting portion 102.
At the third station F, the suction pad 104 sucks and holds one cover glass 80, and the suction pad 104 descends with respect to the slide glass 22 placed on the third station F to attach the cover glass 80. To wear. In the present embodiment, the suction pad 104 corresponds to the attachment portion within the scope of claims.

The fourth station G is a station on which the slide glass 22 to which the cover glass 80 is attached is placed and is stored in the storage unit 106.
On the downstream side of the fourth station G in the transport direction, a storage mechanism unit 108 for gripping the slide glass and storing it in the storage unit 106 is provided.
The storage mechanism unit 108 grips the slide glass 22 mounted on the fourth station G and moves to the downstream side in the transport direction. Then, the storage mechanism unit 108 lowers the gripped slide glass 22 to store the slide glass 22 to which the cover glass 80 is attached to the storage unit 106 located below the storage mechanism unit 108.

A reading unit 110 that reads out coverslip information written on the surface of the holder 82 is provided in the vicinity of the third station F or the vicinity of the fourth station G (not shown in FIG. 10).

Subsequently, the coverslip information and its use will be described with reference to FIG.
In the present embodiment, the case where the cover slip information is a bar code as shown in FIG. 8 has been described. Therefore, an example in which a bar code reader is adopted as the reading unit 110 will be described.
The reading unit 110 may be a CCD camera or the like instead of a barcode reader. A QR code can also be used as cover slip information, but in this case, the reading unit 110 is used as a CCD camera, and the read data is analyzed by an application for identifying the QR code.

The operation of reading the cover slip information of the barcode reader 110 is executed based on the instruction from the control unit 112.
The control unit 112 controls the entire operation of the cover glass sticking device 90, and is composed of a CPU, a memory, and the like. An operation control program is stored in the memory in advance, and the operation of the cover glass attaching device 90 is realized by executing the operation control program.

As the operation of the cover glass attaching device 90, as described above, the operation of the take-out mechanism unit 94 for taking out the slide glass 22 from the immersion tank 92 and placing it on the first station D, and the intermittent transfer of the transfer device 96. The operation, the dispensing operation of the dispensing nozzle 98, the taking out of the cover glass 80 by the suction pad 104 and the attachment operation to the slide glass 22, the storage operation of the slide glass 22 of the storage mechanism unit 108 into the storage unit 106, and the like are included. It is a thing.

The control unit 112 is provided with a storage unit 113 that stores the type of the penetrating agent currently stored in the immersion tank and the compatibility information between the type of the penetrating agent and the type of the cover glass.
It is necessary for the operator to store this information in the storage unit 113 in advance.

The type of cover glass includes whether or not an encapsulant is pre-applied to each cover glass, and if so, the type of the encapsulant.
Further, the conformity information stored in the storage unit 113 is information on whether or not the type of the penetrating agent stored in the immersion tank 92 and the type of the plurality of encapsulants are compatible with each other.

The control unit 112 extracts information about whether or not the encapsulant is pre-applied to the cover glass, and if so, what kind of cover glass is, from the coverslip information read from the barcode reader 110. , The determination unit 114 as one function of the control unit 112 determines that the encapsulant is not applied to the cover glass, or the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank are determined. It is judged that they are compatible, or that the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the permeating agent currently stored in the immersion tank are not compatible.

The control unit 112 determines that the encapsulant is not applied to the cover glass by the determination unit 114, and determines that the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the penetrating agent currently stored in the immersion tank are compatible. In that case, do nothing in particular. However, when the control unit 112 determines that the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the permeable agent currently stored in the immersion tank do not match, the control unit 112 notifies the operator via the notification unit to that effect. ..
As the notification unit, a monitor 116 such as a liquid crystal can be adopted. The control unit 112 displays on the monitor 116 that "the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the transparent agent do not match", and prompts the operator to replace the cover glass.

The control unit 112 also indicates that the encapsulant is not applied to the cover glass, and that the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank are compatible with each other. It may be displayed on the monitor 116.

Further, the cover slip information may include the expiration date of the cover glass.
In this case, the control unit 112 is provided with a calendar function in advance (not shown). When the cover slip information read by the barcode reader 110 includes an expiration date, the expiration date detection unit 118 as a function of the control unit 112 compares the current date with the expiration date. When the expiration date detection unit 118 detects that it is within the expiration date, it does nothing in particular, and when it detects that the expiration date has passed, it displays that fact on the monitor 116 and the operator. Encourage the replacement of the cover glass.

Further, the cover slip information may include a lot number. In this case, the above expiration date is not necessary. Also in this case, it is necessary to provide the control unit 112 in advance with a calendar function and data in which the lot number and the expiration date are associated with each other (not shown).
The expiration date detection unit 118 of the control unit 112 calculates the expiration date from the data stored in advance based on the lot number read by the barcode reader 110, and compares the current date with the expiration date. When the expiration date detection unit 118 detects that it is within the expiration date, it does nothing in particular, and when it detects that the expiration date has passed, it displays that fact on the monitor 68 and the operator. Encourage the replacement of the cover glass.

The coverslip information may include the date of manufacture of the cover glass. In this case, the above expiration date is not necessary. Also in this case, the control unit 112 needs to be provided with a calendar function and data in which the manufacturing date and the expiration date are associated with each other (not shown).
The expiration date detection unit 118 of the control unit 112 calculates the expiration date from the data stored in advance based on the manufacturing date read by the barcode reader 110, and compares the current date with the expiration date. When the expiration date detection unit 118 detects that it is within the expiration date, it does nothing in particular, and when it detects that the expiration date has passed, it displays that fact on the monitor 116 and the operator. Encourage the replacement of the cover glass.

The monitor 116 is not only used for notifying the conformity between the encapsulant of the cover glass and the transparent agent and / or for notifying the expiration date, but also serves as a monitor for displaying the normal sticking work. It may be a monitor of.

The notification unit is not limited to the monitor, but as shown in FIG. 12, the contents such as "the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the transparent agent do not match" and "the expiration date has passed" are described. It may be composed of a voice generation unit 120 and a speaker 122 that output voice.
In the case of this configuration, the voice generator 120 stores voice data such as "the encapsulant applied to the cover glass and the transparent agent do not match" or "the expiration date has passed" in advance. is necessary.

Further, the notification unit may notify the operator by a buzzer sound other than voice from the speaker 122 when the encapsulant and the transparent agent do not match and / or the expiration date has passed.

As shown in FIG. 13, the notification unit may be a communication device 124 capable of data communication with an external device. The communication device 124 is connected to a communication line 125 such as the Internet so as to be capable of data communication, and can notify the external device 126 connected to the communication line 125. Examples of the external device 126 include mobile communication devices such as smartphones and ordinary personal computers.
For example, when the encapsulant and the permeable agent are incompatible and / or the expiration date has passed, the communication device 124 indicates that the encapsulant and the permeable agent are incompatible and / or the expiration date has passed. That is transmitted to the external device 126. As a result, the above information can be notified to the person who owns the external device 126.

The control unit 112 determines whether or not the encapsulant and the penetrating agent are compatible as the judgment result of the judgment unit 114, and / or whether or not the expiration date as the detection result of the expiration date detection unit 118 has passed. Is stored in the storage unit 113.
By storing these results in the storage unit 113, traceability can be ensured when some problem is discovered after the attachment, and the cause can be easily investigated.

In the third embodiment described above, examples of the cases of the monitor 116, the speaker 122, and the external device 126 have been described as the notification unit, but the present invention has a configuration in which these are appropriately combined. It may be adopted.

(Fourth Embodiment)
A fourth embodiment describes a mode in which the coverslip information is stored in a data rewritable coverslip storage unit. The same components as those in the third embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the RFID 128 is adopted as the coverslip storage unit will be described with reference to FIG.
The RFID 128 is embedded in any part of the holder 82.
Further, the cover glass attaching device 90 is provided with a reader / writer 130 capable of reading and writing data from the RFID 128.

As the cover slip information stored in the RFID 128, in addition to the cover slip type and the expiration date, the initial value of the number of cover glasses in the case of a new cover glass is stored, and the cover in the used cover glass. The remaining number of glasses is included. Further, as in the third embodiment, the lot number or the manufacturing date of the cover glass may be stored as the cover slip information instead of the expiration date.

The cover glass attaching device 90 is provided with a usage amount calculation unit 132 for calculating the usage amount (number of sheets) of the cover glass. The usage amount calculation unit 132 is provided as one function of the control unit 112. The usage amount calculation unit 132 can calculate the number of times the cover glass is used by counting the number of times the suction pad 104 is taken out from the holder 82.

Further, the cover glass attaching device 90 is provided with a remaining amount calculation unit 134 that calculates the remaining number of cover glasses in the holder 82 based on the number of used cover glasses.
The remaining amount calculation unit 134 is provided as one function of the control unit 112. The remaining amount calculation unit 134 can be calculated by subtracting the number of sheets used calculated by the usage amount calculation unit 132 from the initial value of the number of cover glasses.

The reader / writer 130 can write the remaining number of cover glasses in the RFID 128 based on the remaining number of cover glasses calculated by the remaining amount calculation unit 134.
If the holder 82 is unused from the beginning, the RFID 128 stores the initial value of the number of sheets, so that the reader / writer 130 rewrites this initial value or leaves it separately from the initial value. Remember the number of sheets.
Further, when the holder 82 used last time is used, the remaining number of sheets is stored in the RFID 128, and the reader / writer 130 rewrites the remaining number of sheets.

The usage amount calculation unit 132 and the remaining amount calculation unit 75 calculate the remaining amount of the cover film when the worker finishes the work of the day, that is, turns off the power switch of the cover film attaching device 30. It is advisable to execute the operation as a trigger.

For the purpose of preventing the encapsulant applied to the cover glass 80 from drying, the holder 82 in which the cover glass 80 is housed is a cover glass attaching device after the operation of the cover glass attaching device for one day is completed. It is removed from the 90 and placed on the mounting portion 102 again when it is used next time.
At this time, since the remaining number of cover glasses is stored in the RFID 128, the control unit 112 reads the remaining amount of the cover glass from the RFID 128 and displays it on the monitor 116. It is possible to know whether the 80 (holder 82) should be replaced.

The control unit 112 may collect the usage history of the cover glass attaching device 90 and store the collected usage history from the reader / writer 130 in the RFID 128 of the holder 82.
In this way, even if the cover glass attaching device 90 itself cannot read the usage history due to a failure or the like, the usage history can be read from the holder 82.

In the fourth embodiment described above, an example in which the monitor 116 is used as the notification unit has been described, but the speaker 122 or the external device 126 may be used as the notification unit, and these may be used as appropriate. A combination of configurations may be adopted.

The reader / writer 130 may be provided separately outside the cover glass sticking device 90 instead of inside the cover glass sticking device 90 (not shown). In this case, the cover slip information can be read and written from the outside of the cover glass attaching device 90.

10 Cover film 11 Holder 14 Cover slip information 21 Basket 22 Slide glass 30 Cover film attachment device 32 Immersion tank 34 Extraction arm 35 Rotating shaft 36 Grip 37 Lifting table 38 Push ejector 40 Horizontal table 44 Roller 46 Feed roller 48 Cutter 50 Cover roller 52 Dispensing nozzle 54 Sticking roller 55 Solvent bottle 56 Return ejector 58 Storage part 59 Waste liquid tray 60 Waste liquid bottle 62 Bar code reader (reading part)
64 Control unit 65 Storage unit 66 Judgment unit 68 Monitor (notification unit)
70 Expiration date detection unit 71 Voice generation unit 72 Reader / writer 73 Speaker (notification unit)
74 Usage calculation unit 75 Remaining amount calculation unit 76 Communication device 77 Communication line 78 External device (notification unit)
80 Cover glass 82 Holder 82a Bottom part 82b Pillar part 82c Recession 84 Cover slip information 90 Cover glass sticking device 92 Immersion tank 94 Extraction mechanism part 96 Conveyor device 98 Dispensing nozzle 100 Container 102 Mounting part 104 Suction pad 106 Storage part 108 Storage Mechanism unit 110 Bar code reader (reading unit)
112 Control unit 113 Storage unit 114 Judgment unit 116 Monitor (notification unit)
118 Expiration date detection unit 120 Voice generation unit 122 Speaker (notification unit)
124 Communication device 125 Communication line 126 External device (notification unit)
130 Reader / writer (reading unit)
132 Usage calculation unit 134 Remaining amount calculation unit

Claims (3)

A holder that is attached to the cover film attaching device and holds the cover film.
A holder for holding a cover film , which is provided with a cover film storage unit for storing at least cover film information including initial values of the type and length of the cover film to be held. The cover film storage unit is rewritable with stored data, and is held by the holder, which is calculated by the remaining amount calculation unit that calculates the remaining length of the cover film provided in the cover film attaching device. The holder for holding the cover film according to claim 1, wherein the remaining length of the cover film is written. Wherein the cover film information, holder for holding the cover film according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein it contains the expiration date of the cover film.

Images