JP7461796B2 - Testing unit and sample analyzer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a test unit and a sample analyzer including the test unit.

When analyzing the concentration of components contained in a specimen such as urine, a method of determining the measurement part provided on the specimen by image processing is known (for example, Patent Document 1). Technology using a lens diffuser plate is also known (for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, technology related to dual wavelength photometry is also known (for example, Patent Document 3).

Patent No. 6379385 Japanese Patent No. 6043229 Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-000779

When multiple light sources are arranged in one direction, the distance (optical path length) between the point of interest on the measurement unit and each light source will be different. As a result, when using these light sources, a problem occurs in that measurements based on dual-wavelength photometry cannot be performed well.

The present invention aims to provide an inspection unit that can perform measurements based on dual-wavelength photometry well, even when multiple light sources arranged in one direction are used, and a sample analyzer that includes this inspection unit.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 is an inspection unit that inspects a measurement unit using light irradiated to the measurement unit, comprising an irradiation unit that irradiates diffused light toward the measurement unit, an imaging unit that images the measurement unit, a moving unit that moves the measurement unit relative to the irradiation unit and the imaging unit along a forward/backward direction, a generation unit that generates a judgment index based on the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit, and a judgment unit that judges the measurement item associated with the measurement unit based on the judgment index, and the irradiation unit has a plurality of light sources that are each capable of emitting light independently and are arranged along an arrangement direction that intersects with the forward/backward direction, a lens diffuser plate that diffuses the emitted light by transmitting the emitted light from each light source, and a light guide unit that is provided between each light source and the lens diffuser plate and guides the emitted light to the lens diffuser plate, and the diffusing light of the lens diffuser plate in the arrangement direction is diffusing the emitted light of the lens diffuser plate. The divergence angle is set so that the light from the irradiation unit is sequentially irradiated to each part of the measurement unit by the relative movement of the measurement unit by the moving unit, and the irradiation unit can repeatedly irradiate at least light of a first wavelength emitted from a first light source among the multiple light sources and light of a second wavelength emitted from a second light source among the multiple light sources and different from the first wavelength while alternately switching between them, the imaging unit has an imaging element in which multiple light receiving elements are arranged one-dimensionally along the array direction, and obtains two-dimensional imaging data corresponding to the measurement unit by imaging the measurement unit that is moved relatively by the moving unit, and the generation unit generates the judgment index by calculating, for each corresponding pixel data, the first imaging data imaged based on the light of the first wavelength and the second imaging data imaged based on the light of the second wavelength among the two-dimensional imaging data.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the inspection unit of claim 1, the irradiation unit can repeatedly irradiate the light of the first wavelength, the light of the second wavelength, and the light of a third wavelength that is emitted from a third light source among the plurality of light sources and is different from each of the first and second wavelengths while switching in this order, the generation unit generates a first judgment index by performing calculations for each corresponding pixel data for the first and second imaging data, and generates a second judgment index by performing calculations for each corresponding pixel data for the second imaging data and the third imaging data imaged based on the light of the third wavelength, and the judgment unit judges the measurement item using at least one of the first and second judgment indexes as the judgment index.

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that in the inspection unit described in claim 1 or claim 2, the emitted light is guided to the lens diffuser plate through a light guide hole formed in the light guide section, and the inner peripheral length of the light guide hole in a direction perpendicular to the irradiation direction of the diffused light increases with increasing distance from each light source.

The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that in the inspection unit described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the imaging section images the light reflected by the measurement section.

The invention of claim 5 is characterized in that in the inspection unit described in any one of claims 1 to 4, each light source is a point light source.

The invention of claim 6 is a sample analyzer comprising an inspection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a sample processing unit that ejects the sample onto the measurement section provided on the test piece, and a transfer unit that transfers the test piece, after the sample has been supplied to the measurement section, from the sample processing unit to the inspection unit.

In the inventions described in claims 1 to 6, the light from each light source arranged along the array direction can be transmitted through a lens diffuser. This makes it possible to uniformize the intensity of light of each wavelength irradiated from the irradiation unit to the measurement unit. Therefore, the distances (optical path lengths) between the point of interest on the measurement unit and each light source can be treated as being the same. As a result, even when light emitted from multiple light sources is used, measurements based on dual-wavelength photometry can be performed satisfactorily.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a sample analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a left side view showing an example of a configuration of an inspection unit in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view showing an example of a configuration of an inspection unit in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing an example of a configuration of an inspection unit in an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the irradiation part taken along line BB in FIG. 4. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the irradiation part taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a plurality of light sources. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a configuration of a test specimen. FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of a configuration of a test specimen. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control unit. 4 is a timing chart for explaining the timing of capturing images of light emitted from each light source.

The following describes in detail the embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

1. Configuration of the sample analyzer
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a sample analyzer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the sample analyzer 1 is an apparatus for testing the concentrations of components (e.g., glucose, protein, etc.) in biological samples such as urine and blood. As shown in Fig. 1, the sample analyzer 1 mainly includes a sample processing unit 10, a transfer unit 40, an inspection unit 70, and a control unit 90.

In addition, to facilitate understanding of each component shown in the drawings, the following figures are accompanied by an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system, where necessary, with the Z axis direction being the vertical direction and the XY plane being the horizontal plane.

The specimen processing unit 10 ejects the specimen supplied from a specimen storage container (not shown), such as a test tube, to a desired position (e.g., the measurement section 7a of the specimen 7 placed on the transfer unit 40). The transfer unit 40 transfers the specimen 7, whose measurement section 7a has been supplied with the specimen, from the specimen processing unit 10 to the inspection unit 70.

The inspection unit 70 captures an image of the measuring part 7a provided on the test piece 7, and performs image processing on the captured image data to determine the measurement item corresponding to the measuring part 7a. The detailed configuration of the inspection unit 70 will be described later.

The control unit 90 is electrically connected to each of the sample processing unit 10, the transport unit 40, and the testing unit 70 via signal lines 99, and controls the operations of these elements 10, 40, and 70. The detailed configuration of the control unit 90 will be described later.

2. Configuration of the inspection unit
2 to 4 are a left side view, a bottom perspective view, and a bottom view, respectively, showing an example of the configuration of the inspection unit 70. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the irradiation unit 85 seen from the line B-B in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the irradiation unit 85 seen from the line A-A in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a plurality of light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c), in which each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is seen from the lens diffusion plate 88 side.

The inspection unit 70 inspects the liquid specimen based on the brightness distribution of the measurement unit 7a provided on the test piece 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the inspection unit 70 mainly includes a moving unit 71, an imaging unit 80, and an irradiation unit 85.

Here, "brightness" refers to the brightness of the object surface. In this embodiment, the value of each pixel captured by the imaging unit 80 corresponds to a brightness value, and the distribution of the values of each pixel (i.e., the image data) corresponds to the brightness distribution.

The moving unit 71 moves the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85 in the forward and backward direction (the direction of the arrow AR1). As shown in FIG. 2, the moving unit 71 is disposed below the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85. As a result, when the moving unit 71 is driven, the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85 are moved directly above the measurement unit 7a.

The imaging unit 80 is moved in the forward and backward direction (the direction of the arrow AR1) by the moving unit 71, thereby capturing an image of the measuring unit 7a. As shown in FIG. 2, the imaging unit 80 mainly has an imaging element 81 and a lens system 83.

The lens system 83 forms an image of light reflected by, for example, the test specimen 7 on the imaging element 81. As shown in FIG. 2, the imaging unit 80 is set so that the optical axis of the lens system 83 is parallel to the arrow AR2.

The imaging element 81 is a line sensor capable of acquiring grayscale images, with multiple light receiving elements arranged one-dimensionally along the array direction (the direction of the arrow AR4). As a result, the imaging element 81 converts the light focused by the lens system 83 into an electrical signal according to the intensity of this light. Here, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor may be used as the imaging element 81.

The irradiation unit 85 irradiates diffused light, for example, toward the measurement unit 7a of the test piece 7. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the irradiation unit 85 is fixed to the housing 80a of the imaging unit 80 (see Figs. 2 and 3) so that the irradiation direction (arrow AR3 direction) of the light irradiated from the irradiation unit 85 is inclined with respect to the optical axis of the lens system 83 (parallel to the arrow AR2 direction). As shown in Fig. 6, the irradiation unit 85 mainly has multiple light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c), a light guide unit 87, and a lens diffuser plate 88. Here, the "irradiation direction" refers to the direction parallel to the central axis of the diffused light irradiated from the irradiation unit 85.

Each of the multiple light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is a point light source, for example an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and each can emit light independently (light emission control is possible).

As shown in FIG. 5, the light source 86 is fixed to a plate-shaped cover 89 disposed on the top of the light guide 87. Also, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is arranged along an arrangement direction (arrow AR4 direction) that intersects with the forward/backward direction (arrow AR1 direction).

In this embodiment, the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c emit light having wavelengths corresponding to red (R: first wavelength), green (G: second wavelength), and blue (B: third wavelength), respectively. In other words, the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c emit light having wavelengths different from each other.

The lens diffuser 88 diffuses the light emitted from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) by transmitting the light. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the lens diffuser 88 is provided at the bottom of the light guide 87 so as to close the straight hole 87b.

A large number of micro-lens arrays are randomly arranged on the incident surface 88a of the lens diffuser 88 (see Figure 6). As a result, when light from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is incident on the incident surface 88a, the incident light is scattered within the range of the diffusion angle 88b due to the refraction function of the lens array.

In addition, the diffusion angle 88b of the lens diffuser 88 in the arrangement direction (direction of arrow AR4) is set so that the measurement section 7a of the test piece 7 is moved by the moving section 71, and the light from the irradiation section 85 is sequentially irradiated to each section of the measurement section 7a.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the intensity of light from light source 86a can be made uniform in the portion of measuring unit 7a that is within the range of diffusion angle 88b (for example, at least elliptical portion 8 on measuring unit 7a that extends along the arrangement direction (direction of arrow AR4)). Similarly, the intensity of light from light sources 86b, 86c can also be made uniform in this elliptical portion 8. Therefore, by moving measuring unit 7a relative to irradiation unit 85, light from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) can be effectively irradiated onto the entire measuring unit 7a.

Here, if a diffuser plate made of, for example, a milky acrylic plate is provided below the light-guiding section 87 instead of the lens diffuser plate 88, the following problem occurs with the inspection unit 70 of this embodiment.

In other words, when a diffuser made of a milky acrylic plate is used, the light passing through this diffuser is diffused over the entire range. As a result, when this diffuser is used, the amount of light that reaches the measurement unit 7a is significantly reduced compared to when the lens diffuser 88 is used.

In particular, when the light from multiple light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is repeatedly irradiated while switching between them in this order, as in the inspection unit 70 of this embodiment, the lighting time of each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is shorter than the lighting time when a single light source is used. Therefore, when the above-mentioned diffusion plate made of a milky acrylic plate is used in the inspection unit 70 of this embodiment, the problem of reduced light intensity becomes more pronounced, leading to a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio.

In contrast, as in the inspection unit 70 of this embodiment, when a lens diffuser 88 having the above-mentioned diffusion angle 88b is provided at the bottom of the light guide 87 and the measurement unit 7a is moved relative to the irradiation unit 85, the irradiation of light from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) is mainly limited to the measurement unit 7a. In other words, by limiting the irradiation range of the light from the irradiation unit 85, the decrease in the amount of light in this irradiation range can be suppressed and a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio can be prevented.

The light guide 87 guides the light emitted from the light source 86 to the lens diffuser 88. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the light guide 87 is a cylinder in which a light guide hole 87a and a straight hole 87b are formed along the irradiation direction, and is provided between the light source 86 and the lens diffuser 88. As a result, the light emitted from the light source 86 is guided to the lens diffuser 88 via the light guide hole 87a and the straight hole 87b.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the inner circumferential length of the light guide hole 87a (the length along the inner circumferential wall 87c of the light guide section 87) in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the diffused light (the direction of the arrow AR3) increases as it moves away from the light source 86. That is, the light guide hole 87a widens from the light source 86 toward the lens diffuser plate 88.

As a result, the light emitted from the light source 86 is reflected by the inner wall 87c of the light guide hole 87a, which widens from the light source 86 toward the lens diffuser plate 88, and by the inner wall 87c of the straight hole 87b, before reaching the lens diffuser plate 88.

As described above, when the moving unit 71 is driven, the test piece 7 is moved relative to the imaging unit 80 and irradiation unit 85 of the inspection unit 70. Therefore, by imaging the measurement unit 7a moved by the moving unit 71, the imaging unit 80 can obtain two-dimensional imaging data corresponding to this measurement unit 7a (more specifically, the measurement surface 7c on the measurement unit 7a) (see Figures 8 and 9).

Figures 8 and 9 are a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing an example of the configuration of the test piece 7. Here, the test piece 7 is a test paper for qualitatively or quantitatively measuring the concentration of a component dissolved in a liquid sample. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the test piece 7 mainly has a measuring portion 7a and a base portion 7b.

The measurement unit 7a is associated with a specific measurement item (e.g., a specific component dissolved in the sample). When a liquid sample is supplied to the measurement surface 7c on the measurement unit 7a, the brightness of the measurement surface 7c changes according to the concentration of the corresponding measurement item (component).

The base 7b is a support for placing the measurement unit 7a, and the color of the base 7b is set to a high brightness (e.g., white). In determining the measurement items, the brightness index on the reference surface 7d on the base 7b is used as the reference value of brightness.

<3. Procedure for determining measurement items by the inspection unit>
Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control unit 90. Here, the process of determining the measurement items will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 11 is a timing chart for explaining the timing of capturing images of the light emitted from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c). As shown in Fig. 10, the control unit 90 mainly has a CPU 91, a memory 92, and a communication control unit 94.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 91 executes operation control and data processing according to a program 92a in a memory 92. In addition, the calculation functions corresponding to the blocks (respectively denoted by reference numerals 95 and 96) described within the CPU 91 in FIG. 10 are realized by the CPU 91.

The generating unit 95 generates judgment indices (first and second judgment indices) to be used by the judging unit 96 based on the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit 80. The judging unit 96 judges the measurement item corresponding to the measurement surface 7c based on the judgment indices (first judgment indices and/or second judgment indices) generated by the generating unit 95.

Here, the generating unit 95 generates a first judgment index using first imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86a (light of the first wavelength) and second imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86b (light of the second wavelength). The generating unit 95 also generates a second judgment index using this second imaging data and third imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86c (light of the third wavelength).

Furthermore, the control unit 90 having the generating unit 95 and the judging unit 96 executes the judgment of the measurement item by the following procedure. As shown in FIG. 11, the irradiating unit 85 repeatedly irradiates the light (light of the first wavelength) emitted from the light source 86a (first light source), the light (light of the second wavelength) emitted from the light source 86b (second light source), and the light (light of the third wavelength) emitted from the light source 86c (third light source) among the multiple light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) while switching in this order. In this case, when the measuring unit 7a is moved below the imaging unit 80 and the irradiating unit 85 by the moving unit 71 while the switching process of the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c is repeated in this order, the light from the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c is sequentially irradiated to each part of the measuring unit 7a.

Also, as shown in FIG. 11, the imaging unit 80 executes imaging processing at the timing when light is emitted from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c).

As a result, the light from each of the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c is irradiated onto the measurement unit 7a, and the entire measurement unit 7a is irradiated by each of the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c. Therefore, two-dimensional imaging data (two-dimensional array data) of the measurement surface 7c imaged based on the light from each of the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c can be obtained as the first to third imaging data, respectively.

In this way, by moving the measurement section 7a of the test specimen 7 once in one direction along the forward/backward direction (the direction of the arrow AR1) below the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c, it is possible to obtain first imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86a (light of the first wavelength), second imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86b (light of the second wavelength), and third imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86c (light of the third wavelength).

Next, the generation unit 95 calculates a brightness standard (white standard) corresponding to each of the first to third wavelengths by using the imaging data (one-dimensional or two-dimensional array data) of the reference surface 7d imaged based on the light of each of the light sources 86a, 86b, and 86c. Then, the generation unit 95 corrects the corresponding first to third imaging data based on each calculated brightness standard.

Then, the generating unit 95 generates a first judgment index (two-dimensional array data) by performing calculations on each corresponding pixel data for the first and second imaging data corrected based on the brightness standard. Similarly, the generating unit 95 generates a second judgment index (two-dimensional array data) by performing calculations on each corresponding pixel data for the second and third imaging data corrected based on the brightness standard.

More specifically, when each data included in the first imaging data is represented as P1(i,j) and each data included in the second imaging data is represented as P2(i,j), the first judgment index (two-dimensional array data) may be generated by calculating the ratio between the corresponding pixel data (i.e., the ratio between a pixel of interest P1(i1,j1) in the first imaging data and a pixel P2(i1,j1) corresponding to P1(i1,j1).

Similarly, when each data included in the third imaging data is represented as P3(i,j), the second judgment index (two-dimensional array data) may be generated by calculating the ratio between corresponding pixel data (i.e., the ratio between a pixel of interest P2(i2,j2) in the second imaging data and a pixel P3(i2,j2) corresponding to P2(i2,j2)).

Then, the judgment unit 96 selects at least one of the first and second judgment indicators as a judgment indicator, and judges the measurement item based on this selected judgment indicator.

The communication control unit 94 can transmit control signals to the moving unit 71, the image sensor 81, the light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c), and the like in the inspection unit 70 connected via a signal line 99 (see FIG. 1). This allows the communication control unit 94 to operate the moving unit 71, the image sensor 81, the light sources 86, and the like at a predetermined timing.

4. Advantages of the Inspection Unit of the Present Embodiment
As described above, in the inspection unit 70 of this embodiment, the light from each of the light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) arranged at a distance along the arrangement direction (the direction of the arrow AR4) can be transmitted through the lens diffuser 88. This makes it possible to uniformize the intensity of the light of each wavelength (first to third wavelengths) irradiated from the irradiation unit 85 to the measurement unit 7a.

Therefore, the distance (optical path length) between each part on the measurement unit 7a and each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) can be treated as being the same. As a result, even when using light emitted from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c), measurements based on dual-wavelength photometry can be performed satisfactorily.

5. Modifications
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and various modifications are possible.

(1) In the embodiment of the present invention, the moving unit 71 has been described as moving the test specimen 7 relative to the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85 may be moved relative to the test specimen 7, or each of the test specimen 7, the imaging unit 80, and the irradiation unit 85 may be moved. In other words, the moving unit 71 moves the measurement unit 7a provided on the test specimen 7 relative to each of the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85 in the forward and backward direction (the direction of the arrow AR1).

(2) In the embodiment of the present invention, the test piece 7 is described as having a single measuring unit 7a, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the test piece 7 may have multiple measuring units 7a (two or more).

(3) In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the generating unit 95 has been described as correcting the corresponding first to third imaging data based on each brightness standard and then generating the first and second judgment indicators, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the generating unit 95 may generate the first and second judgment indicators based on the first to third imaging data that have not been subjected to brightness correction.

(4) In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the imaging unit 80 has been described as capturing an image of the light reflected by the measurement unit 7a, but this is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a measurement unit that is light-transmittable, the imaging unit 80 may capture an image of the light that has passed through this measurement unit, and may create a judgment index using the imaging data acquired by this imaging process.

(5) In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the multiple light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) included in the irradiation unit 85 have been described as repeatedly irradiating light of wavelengths corresponding to red (R: first wavelength), green (G: second wavelength), and blue (B: third wavelength) while switching in that order, but the wavelengths of light emitted from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) are not limited to this.

For example, from each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c),
(A) Light having wavelengths corresponding to red (R: first wavelength), blue (B: second wavelength), and green (G: third wavelength),
(B) Light having wavelengths corresponding to green (G: first wavelength), red (R: second wavelength), and blue (B: third wavelength),
(C) light of wavelengths corresponding to green (G: first wavelength), blue (B: second wavelength), and red (R: third wavelength);
(D) light having wavelengths corresponding to blue (B: first wavelength), green (G: second wavelength), and red (R: third wavelength); and
(E) Light having wavelengths corresponding to blue (B: first wavelength), red (R: second wavelength), and green (G: third wavelength),
Either of the above may be emitted.

(6) In the embodiment of the present invention, the light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) (see FIG. 7) included in the irradiation unit 85 are described as being installed at equal intervals, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the interval between light sources 86a and 86b and the interval between light sources 86b and 86c may be different.

(7) In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the size (diameter in the case of FIG. 7) of each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) included in the irradiation unit 85 has been described as being approximately the same, but this is not limited to this. For example, the size of each light source 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) may be different.

(8) In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the generation unit 95 has been described as generating a judgment index using three lights (RGB) with different wavelengths, but this is not limited to the above. For example, a judgment index may be generated using two lights with different wavelengths, or a judgment index may be generated using four or more lights with different wavelengths.

For example, when two lights with different wavelengths are used, the determination process may be performed as follows. That is, the irradiation unit 85 repeatedly irradiates light (light of a first wavelength) emitted from the light source 86a (first light source) and light (light of a second wavelength) emitted from the light source 86b (second light source) among the multiple light sources 86 (86a, 86b, 86c) while alternately switching between them. In this case, when the measurement unit 7a is moved below the imaging unit 80 and the irradiation unit 85 by the moving unit 71 while the switching process between the light sources 86a and 86b is repeated, the light from the light sources 86a and 86b is sequentially irradiated to each part of the measurement unit 7a.

In this way, by moving the measurement section 7a of the test specimen 7 once in one direction along the forward/backward direction (the direction of the arrow AR1) below the light sources 86a and 86b, first imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86a (light of the first wavelength) and second imaging data captured based on the light of the light source 86b (light of the second wavelength) can be obtained.

Next, the generation unit 95 calculates a brightness standard (white standard) corresponding to each of the first and second wavelengths by using the imaging data (one-dimensional or two-dimensional array data) of the reference surface 7d imaged based on the light of each light source 86a, 86b. The generation unit 95 then corrects the corresponding first and second imaging data based on each calculated brightness standard.

Next, the generating unit 95 generates a judgment index (two-dimensional array data) by performing calculations for each corresponding pixel data of the first and second imaging data corrected by the brightness standard. The judging unit 96 then judges the measurement item based on this judgment index.

When using two lights with different wavelengths, in addition to the combination of light sources 86a and 86b, the combination of light sources 86b and 86c may be used, or the combination of light sources 86a and 86c may be used.

(9) In addition, the generating unit 95 of this embodiment has been described as generating the first and second judgment indicators, but is not limited to this. For example, the generating unit 95 may generate the third judgment indicator (two-dimensional array data) by calculating the ratio between a pixel P3 (i3, j3) of interest in the third imaging data and a pixel P1 (i3, j3) corresponding to P3 (i3, j3).

(10) Furthermore, in this embodiment, the generating unit 95 and the determining unit 96 have been described as being realized in software by the CPU 91 based on the program 92a stored in the memory 92, but this is not limited thereto. The generating unit 95 and the determining unit 96 may also be realized in hardware, for example, by electronic circuits.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Sample analyzer 7 Test specimen 7a Measurement section 10 Sample processing unit 40 Transport unit 70 Inspection unit 71 Movement section 80 Imaging section 81 Imaging element 85 Irradiation section 86 Light source (86a, 86b, 86c)
87 Light guide section 87a Light guide hole 88 Lens diffusion plate 88b Diffusion angle 90 Control unit 91 CPU
95 Generation unit 96 Determination unit

Claims (6)

An inspection unit that inspects a measurement unit using light irradiated to the measurement unit,
(a) an irradiation unit that irradiates diffuse light toward the measurement unit;
(b) an imaging unit that images the measurement unit;
(c) a moving unit that moves the measurement unit relative to each of the irradiation unit and the imaging unit in an advance/retract direction;
(d) a generation unit that generates a determination index based on the imaging data acquired by the imaging unit;
(e) a judgment unit that judges the measurement item associated with the measurement unit based on the judgment index;
Equipped with
The irradiation unit is
(a-1) a plurality of light sources each capable of independently emitting light and arranged along an arrangement direction intersecting the forward and backward direction;
(a-2) a lens diffuser plate that diffuses the emitted light by transmitting the emitted light from each light source;
(a-3) a light guiding section provided between each light source and the lens diffusion plate, the light guiding section guiding the emitted light to the lens diffusion plate;
It has
a diffusion angle of the lens diffuser in the arrangement direction is set such that the light from the irradiation unit is sequentially irradiated to each portion of the measurement unit by the movement unit moving the measurement unit relatively,
The irradiation unit includes at least
Light having a first wavelength emitted from a first light source among the plurality of light sources;
light emitted from a second light source among the plurality of light sources and having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength;
It is possible to repeatedly irradiate by switching between the two.
The imaging unit includes:
an imaging element in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged one-dimensionally along the array direction;
acquiring two-dimensional image data corresponding to the measurement unit by imaging the measurement unit that is relatively moved by the moving unit;
The generation unit generates the judgment index by performing calculations for each corresponding pixel data of the two-dimensional imaging data, the first imaging data being captured based on light of the first wavelength and the second imaging data being captured based on light of the second wavelength. 2. The inspection unit according to claim 1,
The irradiation unit includes:
light of the first wavelength; and
light of the second wavelength; and
light emitted from a third light source among the plurality of light sources and having a third wavelength different from each of the first and second wavelengths;
It is possible to repeatedly irradiate while switching between these sequences.
The generation unit is
(i) generating a first judgment index by performing a calculation for each corresponding pixel data of the first and second imaging data; and
(ii) generating a second determination index by performing a calculation for each corresponding pixel data of the second imaging data and third imaging data captured based on the light of the third wavelength;
The inspection unit, characterized in that the judgment section judges the measurement item using at least one of the first and second judgment indicators as the judgment indicator. 3. The inspection unit according to claim 1,
the emitted light is guided to the lens diffusion plate through a light guide hole formed in the light guide section,
An inspection unit, characterized in that an inner circumferential length of the light guiding hole in a direction perpendicular to the irradiation direction of the diffused light increases with increasing distance from each light source. In the inspection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The imaging section captures an image of light reflected by the measurement section. In the inspection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An inspection unit, wherein each light source is a point light source. 1. A sample analyzer comprising:
An inspection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
a sample processing unit that discharges a sample onto the measurement portion provided on the test piece;
a transport unit that transports the test piece, the measurement portion of which has been supplied with a sample, from the sample processing unit to the inspection unit;
A sample analyzer comprising:

Images