JP7369057B2 - automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer.

Conventionally, there is an automatic analyzer described in Patent Document 1. This device consists of a colorimetric measurement section for analyzing and quantifying proteins and ions in blood, components in urine, etc., and an ion analysis section for analyzing ions in blood, and performs several hundred tests per hour. However, large-scale equipment has a processing speed of more than 8,000 tests.

In particular, in order to increase processing speed in the colorimetric measurement section, a large number of reaction cells, which also serve as containers for chemical reactions and cuvettes for optical measurements, are installed around the circumference of the reaction disk on the top of the main body of the automatic analyzer. This is a device that sequentially mixes, reacts, and measures samples through pipeline processing.

Further, Patent Document 2 describes a technique for efficiently functioning an efficient exhaust heat and cooling means for a reaction reagent unit in an automatic analyzer.

According to the technology described in Patent Document 2, the casing is divided into an upper part that is a low temperature part and a lower part that is a high temperature part, a power source that generates heat, a control unit, and a duct are housed in the lower part, and a reaction reagent unit is housed in the upper part. The internal layout of the device allows for more efficient cooling.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-316237 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-083979

A typical automatic analyzer consists of an automatic sample/reagent dispensing mechanism that dispenses samples and reagents into reaction cells, an automatic stirring mechanism that stirs the samples and reagents in the reaction cell, and an automatic stirring mechanism that stirs the samples and reagents in the reaction cell. A photometer that measures the physical properties of the reaction solution, an automatic cleaning mechanism that suctions and discharges the reaction solution after measurement and cleans the reaction cell, and a reaction system that maintains the reaction cell at a constant temperature and performs a stable chemical reaction. It includes a tank mechanism, a reagent cold storage for keeping reagents cold, and a control unit that controls these operations.

In a photometer, the light flux emitted from the light source passes through the reaction solution in the reaction cell, and then is guided to the spectrometer, where the light intensity value measured at a specific wavelength is compared with the light intensity value previously measured for a solution at a reference concentration. The chemical components in the solution to be measured are analyzed by calculating the absorbance.

The reagent cooler is cooled using air, water, or a similar fluid as a medium. The fluid is cooled by a separately provided cooling unit and circulates between the cold storage and the cooling unit. The cooling unit also serves as a cooling section for controlling the temperature of the reaction tank mechanism to be constant.

Cooling units often use vapor compression heat pumps, which utilize the heat of vaporization and condensation of refrigerants, the same as those used in air conditioners. This is because, as mentioned above, a certain level of cooling capacity is required for the purpose of constant cooling for temperature control of the reaction tank mechanism, and it is possible to efficiently obtain a large cooling capacity.

Among automatic immunoanalyzers that have small reaction vessels and do not require large cooling capacity, there is a type that cools the refrigerator by attaching a Peltier heat pump cooling unit directly to the refrigerator.

However, in recent years, large-sized automatic immunoanalyzers often require a large cooling capacity to control the temperature of each part and keep reagents cold, and there is a tendency to use vapor compression heat pump cooling units.

In the fields of chemical and medical analysis, miniaturizing the amount of samples used for analysis is a major issue. That is, as the number of analysis items increases, the amount of specimen that can be allocated to a single item is becoming smaller. Furthermore, in cases where the collected specimen itself is small, such as a pediatric specimen, analysis of a very small amount of specimen, which was previously considered to be an advanced analysis, is now being routinely performed.

When analyzing a trace amount of a sample using an automatic analyzer, the stability of the temperature environment inside the device is more important than ever. This is because the volume of the working fluid in the dispensing channel for the specimen or reagent changes due to temperature changes, which affects the accuracy of aspiration and dispensing of dispensing. This effect becomes relatively larger as the dispensed amount becomes smaller because the volume change of the working fluid is proportional to the length of the dispensing channel and the magnitude of the temperature change. Furthermore, as the photometer expands and contracts due to changes in the temperature of the housing, the imaging relationship of light changes, which affects the measured values.

The main factor that causes fluctuations in the temperature environment inside an automatic analyzer is the cooling unit of the vapor compression heat pump. This cooling unit is controlled by repeatedly operating and stopping in order to keep the reagent cool within a certain temperature range. The amount of heat released by the cooling unit differs when it is in operation and when it is stopped, which causes changes in the temperature environment inside the device.

In order to suppress the influence of the cooling unit on the temperature environment inside the automatic analyzer, the output of the cooling unit may be adjusted to control the cooling unit to operate at a constant rate.

Generally, an inverter method is used to adjust the output of the cooling unit of a vapor compression heat pump such as an air conditioner. Inverter systems change the frequency of the operating power supply to adjust the rotational speed of the compressor and fan motor, thereby adjusting the output of the cooling unit.

However, since the cooling capacity is not simply proportional to the rotation speed of the compressor and the response speed is long, adjusting the cooling capacity to a certain level using an inverter method has the problem of high control difficulty and instability.

In addition, because the inverter method changes the operating power frequency, it inevitably generates harmonics and noise, which can be a factor that deteriorates measurement accuracy and EMC performance in automatic analyzers that measure minute signals. The problem is that it becomes.

Another method for adjusting the output of the cooling unit is to use a Peltier heat pump cooling unit. Peltier heat pumps change their heat transport capacity in proportion to the applied voltage, so output adjustment is easy, responsiveness is good, and they do not generate noise unlike inverter systems.

However, Peltier heat pumps generally have lower efficiency than vapor compression heat pumps, and as the cooling capacity increases, the heat generated by the elements rapidly increases, so there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a large cooling capacity.

It is also conceivable to achieve more efficient cooling by changing the layout within the device as described in Patent Document 2.

However, the interior of an automatic analyzer is becoming denser every year as it becomes more multi-functional, and combined with the trend of trace analysis, measures against temperature effects using the layout described in Patent Document 2 are approaching their limits.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to provide an automatic analyzer equipped with a cooling unit with adjustable cooling capacity, to stabilize the temperature environment inside the automatic analyzer, and to be able to accurately measure even a trace amount of sample. The goal is to realize the device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

In an automatic analyzer, an analysis section having a reagent cold storage for keeping reagents cold, a reaction section having a reaction tank and reacting the sample with the reagent, and a measurement section measuring the components of the sample, and a continuous a first temperature control unit that operates to adjust the temperature, a second temperature control unit for output adjustment, and a control unit that controls the operations of the first temperature control unit and the second temperature control unit, The first temperature control unit is a part other than the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit, the second temperature control unit is the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit, and the control unit The temperature of the reagent is controlled to be constant by the total temperature adjustment of the temperature adjustment by the first temperature control unit and the temperature adjustment by the second temperature control unit.
In an automatic analyzer, an analysis section having a reagent cold storage for keeping reagents cold, a reaction section having a reaction tank and reacting the sample with the reagent, and a measurement section measuring the components of the sample, and a continuous a first temperature control unit that operates to adjust the temperature, a second temperature control unit for output adjustment, and a control unit that controls the operations of the first temperature control unit and the second temperature control unit, The first temperature control unit is a part other than the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit, and the second temperature control unit is a part other than the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit and the Peltier heat pump cooling unit. The controller is configured to control the temperature of the reagent so that the temperature of the reagent becomes constant by the total temperature adjustment of the temperature adjustment by the first temperature control unit and the temperature adjustment by the second temperature control unit. Control.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an automatic analyzer that is equipped with a cooling unit whose cooling capacity can be adjusted, stabilizes the temperature environment inside the automatic analyzer, and is capable of accurately measuring even a trace amount of a sample. can.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic analyzer to which Example 1 of the present invention is applied. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling system (temperature control system) in Example 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram outlining the adjustment of cooling capacity in Example 1 of the present invention. It is a control operation flowchart of the cooling unit in Example 1 of this invention. FIG. 3 is a control function block diagram regarding cooling operation of the control unit in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of information exchange between each unit in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the cooling system in Example 2 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the cooling system in Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the cooling system in Example 4 of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Example 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic analyzer to which Example 1 of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer includes an analysis section 110 and a control section 111. The analysis section 110 also includes a reagent disk 105 on which a reagent container 113 is arranged, a reaction disk 109 to which a plurality of reaction cells 101 are fixed and rotationally driven, a reagent dispensing mechanism 108, a sample dispensing mechanism 106, A photometer 103 (measuring section) is provided.

The analysis unit 110 also includes a sample container 107, a water discharge mechanism 102 (cell cleaning water/cell blank water injection mechanism), and a waste liquid discharge mechanism 104 (suction of sample, reagent, cleaning water, and cell blank water after measurement). mechanism).

The sample dispensing mechanism 106 aspirates the sample contained in the sample container 107 and discharges it into the reaction cell 101 arranged on the reaction disk 109 . Further, the reagent dispensing mechanism 108 sucks the reagent contained in the reagent container 113 and discharges it into the reaction cell 101 arranged on the reaction disk 109 . The reaction disk (reaction section) 109 has a reaction tank 211, which will be described later.

As will be described later, the photometer 103 includes a light source (not shown) that irradiates light onto the reaction cell 101 that mixes the sample and reagent, and a detector (not shown) that detects the transmitted light that has passed through the reaction cell 101. )including. In addition, a stirring mechanism (not shown) for stirring the reaction liquid in the reaction cell 101 is also provided around the reaction disk 109 .

A plurality of reaction cells 101 arranged in a circle are rotated around a reagent disk 105 at regular intervals by a reaction disk 109 for operation of each analysis process. The rotational drive of the reaction disk 109 is controlled by the control section 111.

The control unit 111 also includes a storage unit (not shown) that stores information necessary for analysis by the analysis unit 110, and uses the information stored in this storage unit to control various types of analysis units 110. Control the mechanism.

Before measuring a sample, the reaction cell 101 is cleaned by the waste liquid discharge mechanism 104 and the water discharge mechanism 102.

Next, when the reaction cell 101 passes in front of the photometer 103, a cell blank measurement is performed. The cell blank measurement is performed to measure the absorbance of the reaction cells 101 filled with water by the water discharge mechanism 102, and to correct the zero point of each reaction cell 101 during sample measurement. The photometer 103 is a measurement unit that measures the components of the specimen.

After completing the cell blank measurement, water is sucked out from the reaction cell 101 by the waste liquid discharge mechanism 104.

Subsequently, after a part of the sample is aspirated from the sample container 107 by the sample dispensing mechanism 106, the sample dispensing mechanism 106 moves above the reaction cell 101 and discharges the sample into the Han-oh reaction cell 101. .

Subsequently, the reaction cell 101 is moved by the reaction disk 109, the reagent is dispensed from the reagent container 13 to the reaction cell 101 by the reagent dispensing mechanism 108, the reagent and the sample are mixed and reacted, and a reaction liquid is generated. . When the reaction cell 101 containing the reaction solution rotates at regular intervals and passes in front of the photometer (measuring unit) 103, absorbance is measured once or multiple times each time it passes, and the components of the sample are measured. be measured.

An automatic analyzer performs a series of these movements in a fixed cycle.

The above is an overview of the automatic analyzer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling system (temperature control system) in Example 1 of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, an overview of the reagent cooling system and reaction tank temperature control system of the automatic analyzer according to Example 1 will be described. Note that since the cooling unit adjusts the temperature, it may perform not only cooling but also heating. Therefore, the cooling unit has the same meaning as a temperature control unit that adjusts the temperature.

In FIG. 2, the reagent cold storage system includes a vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 (first temperature control unit) and a reagent cold storage 209. The vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 also includes a compressor 202, a condenser 203, an evaporator 204, a cold water tank 205, a cold water tank temperature measurement sensor 206, and a cold water circulation pump 207.

The vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 is energized regardless of whether the analysis section 110 and the control section 111 are in operation or stopped because it is necessary to keep the reagent cool at all times.

Therefore, the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 does not require any external control, and the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 operates independently. The compressor 202 compresses the refrigerant, and the condenser 203 lowers the temperature of the refrigerant, thereby liquefying the refrigerant. By evaporating the liquefied refrigerant in the evaporator 204, surrounding heat is removed and the cold water inside the cold water tank 205 is cooled.

The vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 is equipped with its own control unit (not shown), and measures the temperature of the cold water inside the cold water tank 205 with a cold water tank temperature measurement sensor 206, so that the cold water temperature is kept at a predetermined constant temperature. The operation and stopping of the compressor 202 is controlled so that the range is within the range.

Specifically, control is performed such that the operation of the compressor 202 is stopped when the chilled water temperature reaches the lower limit of a certain temperature range, and the operation of the compressor 202 is started when the chilled water temperature reaches the upper limit of the certain temperature range. conduct.

The cold water, whose temperature is controlled within a certain range, reaches the reagent cold storage 209 through the cold water flow path 208 by the cold water circulation pump 207, and cools the reagent cold storage 209 and the reagent cassettes 210 stored therein. do. Thereafter, the cold water returns to the cold water tank 205 and continuously circulates between the cold water tank 205 and the reagent cooler 209.

Furthermore, the cold water whose temperature is controlled within a certain range also has the role of controlling the temperature of the water in the reaction tank. The analysis section 110 of the automatic analyzer includes a reaction tank 211 for keeping the reaction cell 101 at a constant temperature. The reaction tank 211 is filled with reaction tank water whose temperature is accurately controlled to a constant temperature.

The reaction tank water is passed through the reaction tank water flow path 213 by the reaction tank water circulation pump 212, the reaction water cooling pipe 214 inside the cold water tank 205 of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201, and the reaction tank water heater 215 for reaction. Return to tank 211. The reaction tank water cooling pipe 214 is cooled by cold water in the cold water tank 205, and while the reaction tank water passes through the reaction tank water cooling pipe 214, the temperature of the reaction tank water is slightly lower than the control target temperature. cooled down. After that, the reaction tank water is heated to the control target temperature by the reaction tank water heater 215, so that the temperature of the reaction tank water can be controlled with high accuracy.

Next, the configuration of the main parts of the cooling unit in Example 1 of the present invention will be explained.

In addition to the configuration of the automatic analyzer described above, a Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 (second temperature control unit) and a cold water temperature measurement sensor 302 are provided.

The Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 is attached to the cold water flow path 208 disposed between the cold water circulation pump 207 and the reagent cooler 209 in order to adjust the temperature of the cold water flowing into the cold water flow path 208 . It may be placed near the cold water flow path 208.

The cold water temperature measurement sensor 302 is placed near the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 and measures the temperature of the cold water flowing into the cold water flow path 208.

The control unit 111 receives information about the cold water temperature inside the cold water flow path 208 from the cold water temperature measurement sensor 302, and adjusts the output of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 so that the cold water temperature reaches the target temperature. The target temperature of the cold water needs to be within the temperature control range of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201.

Further, the cooling capacity of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 in Example 1 of the present invention can be designed to have a value calculated below.

The ratio of the cooling capacities of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 is determined by the minimum cooling capacity and maximum cooling capacity required by at least one of the environment of the analysis section 110 and the device state. Ru.

Specifically, if the required minimum cooling capacity is Wmin and the maximum cooling capacity is Wmax, the specification Qjspec of the cooling capacity of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 and the specification of the cooling capacity of the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301. The relationship between Qpspec can be expressed as in the following equation (1).
Qpspec/Qjspec=(Wmax-Wmin)/(Wmax+Wmin)
...(1)

As in the above formula (1), the ratio of the cooling capacities of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 and the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 is calculated by subtracting the minimum cooling capacity Wmin from the maximum cooling capacity Wmax. It is the value divided by the sum of the capacity Wmax and the minimum cooling capacity Wmin.

Further, the cooling capacity specifications Qjspec and Qpspec are designed to have the relationship expressed by the following equation (2).
Qpspec+Qjspec=Wmax...(2)

From the above equations (1) and (2), the values to which Qjspec and Qpspec should be designed are as shown in the following equations (3) and (4).
Qjspec=(Wmax+Wmin)/2...(3)
Qpspec=(Wmax-Wmin)/2...(4)

However, the relationship between the cooling capacity specifications Qjspec and Qpspec is based on the condition that the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 is also used as a heating unit, and the maximum heating capacity and cooling capacity of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 are equal. This relationship is to meet specifications without waste. In reality, the specification of the cooling capacity of both cooling units 201 and 301 is determined by taking into account the margin in the above relationship.

The above is the configuration of the cooling unit in Example 1 of the present invention.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an outline of the adjustment of cooling capacity in Example 1 of the present invention will be described. The horizontal axis in FIG. 3 indicates the cooling capacity required by the analyzer, and the vertical axis indicates the total cooling capacity of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 and the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301. Further, the portion indicated by the broken line indicates the cooling capacity of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201, and the filled area indicates the cooling and heating capacity of the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301. Therefore, the total cooling capacity of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 changes as shown by the solid line.

The analysis unit 110 requires different cooling capacity depending on the state of the automatic analyzer and the environmental temperature. For example, when a large amount of reagent cassette 210 at room temperature is to be cooled, or when the environmental temperature is high and a lot of heat flows into the analysis section 110 from the environment, making it difficult for heat generated from various parts in the analysis section 110 to dissipate. requires large cooling capacity.

Conversely, when the reagent cassette 210 is cooled and in a steady state, or when the environmental temperature is low and there is little heat flowing into the analysis section 110 from the environment, and the heat generated from various parts in the analysis section 110 is easily dissipated. , the required cooling capacity is smaller.

In this way, the analysis unit 110 requires different cooling capacity depending on the state and environment.

Although the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 actually has some variation in its cooling capacity depending on the environmental temperature, for the sake of simplicity, it will be assumed that it always exhibits a constant cooling capacity.

In the case of a reagent cooling system composed of a single vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201, the cooling capacity of the cooling unit 201 is set so that the above-mentioned required cooling capacity exceeds the maximum value required within the usage conditions. Set. As described above, since the compressor 202 is operated and stopped intermittently so that the cold water is within a certain temperature range, the cycle of this operation and stop changes dependently, so that the above-mentioned necessary conditions are achieved. This corresponds to the change in cooling capacity.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment of the present invention, while the analyzer 110 is powered on, the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 does not operate and stop intermittently, but operates continuously.

Therefore, the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 continuously exhibits the cooling capacity of the specification Qjspec.

Therefore, the cooling capacity Qj of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 in the operating state in Example 1 of the present invention is determined by the following formula ( 5) can be expressed as follows.
Qj=Qjspec=(Wmax+Wmin)/2...(5)

Furthermore, the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 has both heating and cooling functions, as described above. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the heating capacity is expressed as a negative value, and the cooling capacity Qp of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 in the operating state in the first embodiment of the present invention is within the range shown in the following equation (6). can be expressed.
-Qpspec≦Qp≦Qpspec (6)

As mentioned above, the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 has a feature that the output can be adjusted seamlessly, so the cooling capacity Qp of the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 has a value within the range shown in equation (6). Can be taken arbitrarily.

Here, the total cooling capacity Qs when the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 are viewed as one unit is expressed as the following equation (7) by the sum of the cooling capacities Qj and Qp. .
Wmin≦Qs=Qj+Qp≦Wmax (7)

As mentioned above, the total cooling capacity Qs when the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 are viewed as one unit is between the minimum cooling capacity and the maximum cooling capacity required by the analysis section 110. can be adjusted seamlessly.

The above is an outline of the adjustment of cooling capacity in Example 1 of the present invention.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the operational flow of control based on the usage status of the automatic analyzer in Example 1 of the present invention and the control function of the control unit 111 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a control operation flowchart of the cooling units 201 and 301 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a control function block diagram regarding the cooling operation of the control section 111. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 111 includes an analysis unit power-on determination unit 111A, a first control unit 111B that controls the first cooling unit 201, and a second control unit that controls the second cooling unit 301. 111C.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the analysis unit power-on determination unit 111A determines whether the analysis unit 110 is powered on (step S1). In step S1, when the power of the analysis section 110 is off, the analysis section power-on determination section 111A transmits the information to the first control section 111B. The first control unit 111B controls the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201, which is the first cooling unit, to operate intermittently in accordance with the information from the analysis unit power-on determination unit 111A.

However, the output of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 is not adjusted. At this time, the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301, which is the second cooling unit, does not operate.

The function of the analysis section 110 here is only to keep the reagent cool, and since there is little inflow of heat from other units, the required cooling capacity is set to be equal to or less than Qjspec. In this case, the temperature of the cold water is maintained by the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 having a function of turning the operation on and off within a certain temperature range. Due to the intermittent operation of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201, the temperature environment inside the analysis section 110 constantly fluctuates, but since the power of the analysis section 110 is off, the analysis performance is not affected.

In step S1, when the power of the analysis section 110 is on, the analysis section power-on determination section 111A transmits information indicating that the power of the analysis section 110 is on to the first control section 111B and the second control section 111C. The process then proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the first control unit 111B causes the first cooling unit 201 to operate continuously. Then, the second control unit 111C starts adjusting the output of the second cooling unit 301.

Next, in step S4, the second control unit 111C determines whether the cold water temperature (medium temperature) measured by the temperature sensor 302 has reached the control target temperature (control target temperature).

In step S4, if the cold water temperature has not reached the control target temperature, the process proceeds to step S5, and the second control unit 111C uses a Peltier heat pump cooling unit, which is a second cooling unit, to bring the cold water temperature close to the control target temperature. The unit 301 is operated at 100% output. The second control unit 111C returns to step S4 after the cold water temperature reaches the control target temperature.

In step S4, if the cold water temperature has reached the control target temperature, the process proceeds to step S6, and the second enforcement unit 111C controls the second cooling unit 301 so that the cold water temperature matches the control target temperature. Perform output adjustment. The second cooling unit 301 can be defined as a temperature control unit for output adjustment.

Note that the control method of the second control section is not particularly limited in the present invention, but as an example, control can be realized by appropriately determining parameters using PID control.

The above is the flow of cooling unit control according to the usage status of the automatic analyzer in Example 1 of the present invention.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the exchange of information between each unit in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 6, the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201, which is the first cooling unit, starts autonomous control within the above-described fixed temperature range when the control unit 111 turns on the power.

A control unit (apparatus control unit) 111 that controls the analysis unit 110 receives temperature information of cold water, which is a cooling medium, from a cold water temperature measurement sensor 302 . The control unit 111 compares the received temperature information with a predetermined control target temperature, and adjusts the output of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301, which is the second cooling unit, according to the difference. This output adjustment changes the temperature of the cold water. The control unit 111 receives cold water temperature information from the cold water temperature sensor 302 again, and adjusts the output of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301.

The interval at which the control unit 111 receives information from the cold water temperature sensor 302 needs to be appropriately determined in consideration of the time constant of the system and the like in order to perform stable control.

The above-described series of operations is repeated to stably control the temperature of the cold water, so the output of the cooling units 201 and 301 does not change significantly, and the temperature environment inside the analysis section 110 is stabilized, allowing analysis of trace amounts of sample. is possible.

The above is the exchange of information between each unit in the present invention.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the second cooling unit senses (measures) the temperature of a medium such as water or air that cools the reagent cold storage 209 using the cold water temperature sensor 302, and adjusts the temperature to the target temperature. A control unit 111 controls the output of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301. Since the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 can easily become a heating unit by reversing the applied voltage, the range of adjustment can be expanded by utilizing its characteristics.

Since the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201, which is the first cooling unit, operates continuously, the amount of cooling and the amount of exhaust heat during operation are constant. The Peltier heat pump cooling unit 201 changes its output until the temperature of a medium such as water or air reaches the target temperature, but once the temperature of the medium reaches the target temperature, temperature fluctuations within the analysis section 110 have calmed down. After that, control the temperature of the medium to stabilize it. Therefore, there is almost no change in output, and the amount of cooling and exhaust heat during operation are also approximately constant.

In other words, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the reagent cold storage 209 is The temperature of the reaction tank 211 is adjusted, the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 is operated continuously, and the output of the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 is adjusted so that the cold water temperature is controlled to be constant.

Therefore, it is possible to realize an automatic analyzer that has a large cooling capacity, suppresses temperature fluctuations, and can accurately measure even a minute amount of a sample.

(Example 2)
Next, Example 2 of the present invention will be described.

It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, some or more of the components in Example 1 may be replaced with other examples below. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention are constructed by combining the embodiments of the constituent elements.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling system in Example 2 of the present invention. The general configuration of the automatic analyzer is the same as that in Example 1, so illustration and detailed description will be omitted.

The difference between Example 1 and Example 2 is that in Example 2, the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 of Example 1 is omitted, and the condenser of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201, which is the first cooling unit, is omitted. A blower fan (cooling fan) 216 that cools the air blower 203 is configured as a second cooling unit. Therefore, in Example 2, the first cooling unit is the portion of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit 201 shown in Example 1 other than the blower fan 216, and the second cooling unit is the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit. 201 is a blower fan 216.

The operational flow in the second embodiment is similar to the flow shown in FIG. Further, the functional blocks of the control unit 111 in the second embodiment are the same as those in the example shown in FIG. However, in FIG. 5, the second cooling unit 301 is replaced with the second cooling unit 216. Further, the exchange of information between each unit in the second embodiment is similar to the example shown in FIG. 6. However, in FIG. 6, the second cooling unit 301 is replaced with the second cooling unit 216.

In the present invention, the first cooling unit is assumed to have a large output and high efficiency, but whose operation is difficult to finely adjust, and the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit 201 corresponds to this.

In the first embodiment, a vapor compression heat pump cooling unit that performs simple on-off intermittent operation is assumed, but the cooling capacity can be controlled to a certain extent by changing the speed of the blower fan 216 that cools the condenser 203.

If the range of the required cooling capacity Wmax and Wmin described above can be covered by changing the speed of the blower fan 216 steplessly or in several steps, the second embodiment can be achieved even if the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 is omitted. The same effects as in Example 1 can be expected.

Furthermore, even if it is not possible to cover the entire range of required cooling capacity, by using the first cooling unit 201 and the second cooling unit 216 in combination, it is possible to It is expected that the maximum cooling capacity will be reduced, making the unit smaller and reducing power consumption.

The speed change control of the blower fan 216, which is the second cooling unit, can be performed not only based on the cold water temperature but also based on the environmental temperature.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In addition, in Example 2, as in Example 1, an example in which the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 is arranged and the combination of the ventilation fan 216 and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit 301 is used as a second cooling unit is also an embodiment of the present invention. This is an example.

(Example 3)
Next, Example 3 of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling system in Example 3 of the present invention. The general configuration of the automatic analyzer is the same as that in Example 1, so illustration and detailed description will be omitted.

The difference between the first embodiment and the third embodiment is that in the second embodiment, a heater 303 is arranged at the position where the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 is arranged instead of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 of the first embodiment, A heater 303 is configured as a second cooling unit.

The operation flow in the third embodiment is similar to the flow shown in FIG. Further, the functional blocks of the control unit 111 in the third embodiment are similar to the example shown in FIG. 5. However, in FIG. 5, the second cooling unit 301 is replaced with a second cooling unit 303. Further, the exchange of information between each unit in the third embodiment is similar to the example shown in FIG. 6. However, in FIG. 6 , the second cooling unit 301 is replaced with the second cooling unit 301 .

The second cooling unit is one whose output can be easily adjusted. In the first embodiment, a Peltier type heat pump is used, but in terms of output adjustment, the present invention is applicable even if the total cooling capacity of the system is adjusted using a heater instead of a heat pump.

In the third embodiment as well, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

However, in the case of the third embodiment, it is necessary to satisfy the required cooling capacity Wmax only with the first cooling unit 201, and the cooling unit becomes larger compared to the first embodiment. Furthermore, the energy efficiency of Example 3 is inferior to that of Example 1.

(Example 4)
Next, Example 4 of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling system in Example 4 of the present invention. The general configuration of the automatic analyzer is the same as that in Example 1, so illustration and detailed description will be omitted.

The difference between the first embodiment and the fourth embodiment is that in the fourth embodiment, instead of the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 of the first embodiment, a blower fan (cooling fan) is installed at the position where the Peltier heat pump cooling unit 301 is arranged. ) 304 is disposed, and a blower fan 304 that adjusts the temperature of the medium that controls the temperature of the reagent cold storage 209 is configured as a second cooling unit.

The operational flow in the fourth embodiment is similar to the flow shown in FIG. Further, the functional blocks of the control unit 111 in the fourth embodiment are the same as those in the example shown in FIG. However, in FIG. 5, the second cooling unit 301 is replaced with a second cooling unit 304. Further, the exchange of information between each unit in the fourth embodiment is similar to the example shown in FIG. 6. However, in FIG. 6, the second cooling unit 301 is replaced with a second cooling unit 304.

The second cooling unit is one whose output can be easily adjusted. In the first embodiment, a Peltier type heat pump is used, but in terms of output adjustment, the present invention is applicable even if the total cooling capacity of the system is adjusted using the ventilation fan 304 instead of using a heat pump.

In the fourth embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

101... Reaction cell, 102... Water discharge mechanism, 103... Photometer (measuring unit), 104... Waste liquid discharge mechanism, 105... Reagent disk, 106... Sample dispensing mechanism, 107... Sample container, 108... Reagent dispensing mechanism, 109... Reaction disk (reaction section), 110... Analysis section, 111... Control section, 111A... Analysis section power on judgment 111B...first control unit, 111C...second control unit, 113...reagent container, 201...vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit (first temperature control unit), 202... Compressor, 203... Condenser, 204... Evaporator, 205... Cold water tank, 206... Cold water tank temperature measurement sensor, 207... Cold water circulation pump, 208... Cold water flow path, 209... Reagent cold storage, 210... Reagent cassette, 211... Reaction tank, 212... Reaction tank water circulation pump, 213... Reaction tank water channel, 214... Reaction tank water cooling pipe, 215...Reaction tank water heater, 216...Blower fan, 301...Peltier heat pump cooling unit (second temperature control unit), 302...Cold water temperature measurement sensor, 303...Heater, 304...Blower fan

Claims (5)

A reagent cooler that keeps reagents cold;
an analysis section having a reaction tank, a reaction section for reacting the sample and the reagent, and a measurement section for measuring the components of the sample;
a first temperature control unit that operates continuously;
a second temperature control unit for output adjustment;
a control unit that controls operations of the first temperature control unit and the second temperature control unit;
Equipped with
The first temperature control unit is a part other than the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit, and the second temperature control unit is the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit,
The control unit controls the temperature of the reagent to be constant by a total temperature adjustment of the temperature adjustment by the first temperature control unit and the temperature adjustment by the second temperature control unit. Automatic analysis equipment. A reagent cooler that keeps reagents cold;
an analysis section having a reaction tank, a reaction section for reacting the sample and the reagent, and a measurement section for measuring the components of the sample;
a first temperature control unit that operates continuously;
a second temperature control unit for output adjustment;
a control unit that controls operations of the first temperature control unit and the second temperature control unit;
Equipped with
The first temperature control unit is a part other than the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit, and the second temperature control unit is a part other than the blower fan of the vapor compression heat pump cooling unit and the Peltier heat pump cooling unit. is a combination of
The control unit controls the temperature of the reagent to be constant by a total temperature adjustment of the temperature adjustment by the first temperature control unit and the temperature adjustment by the second temperature control unit. Automatic analysis equipment. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2 ,
The ratio of the cooling capacities of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit is determined by the minimum cooling capacity and maximum cooling capacity required by at least one of the environment of the analysis section and the state of the equipment. An automatic analyzer characterized by : The automatic analyzer according to claim 3 ,
The ratio of the cooling capacities of the vapor compression type heat pump cooling unit and the Peltier type heat pump cooling unit is determined by subtracting the minimum cooling capacity from the maximum cooling capacity, and calculating the ratio between the maximum cooling capacity and the minimum cooling capacity. An automatic analyzer characterized in that the value is divided by the sum of the values . The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
An automatic analyzer comprising: a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of a medium for controlling the temperature of the reagent cold storage; and wherein the control section receives temperature information of the medium measured by the temperature sensor.

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