JPH02221866A - Automatic analyzing instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely detect an abnormal stack in reaction containers which are discharged after analysis and stored by discriminating whether or not reaction containers are stacked outside a storage container by using the output of a detecting means. CONSTITUTION:A reaction container supply mechanism 6 supplies reaction containers to a turntable 3 in order, which conveys the reaction container 1 on a reaction line to take a specific analysis and reaction containers 1 after the analysis are disposed by a scraping-out mechanism 7 from the table 3 are stored in the storage container 8. Then the presence of a reaction container 1 between the table 3 and storage container 8 is detected by a light emitting element 11 and a light receiving element 12 to discriminate the stacking of reaction containers 1 outside the storage container 8 by a discrimination processing part 13 from the detection output. When the processing part 13 discriminates the stacking, a 1st control circuit 15 stops the reaction container supply mechanism 6 and scraping-out mechanism 7, so no new reaction container 1 is supplied to the table 3 and no reaction container 1 is disposed from the table 3 to the storage container 8.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer using disposable reaction vessels, and particularly to an automatic analyzer that uses disposable reaction vessels, and is particularly capable of detecting abnormalities in the accommodation condition of reaction vessels discarded from the reaction line after analysis. Regarding automatic analysis equipment that can be used.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, in automatic analyzers using disposable reaction vessels, a method is adopted in which the reaction vessel after analysis is removed from the reaction line and stored in a predetermined storage container.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 56-24554 discloses a turntable that moves in an endless reaction line, a cuvette supply mechanism that sequentially supplies cuvettes as reaction vessels to the turntable, and a cuvette supply mechanism that sequentially supplies cuvettes as reaction vessels to the turntable. Disposal means and a folding device are described for sequentially discarding cuvettes that have undergone a predetermined analysis from a turntable in front of the mechanism and dropping them downward. In conventional apparatuses having such a disposal means, cuvettes removed from the reaction line fall through a substantially constant path into a storage container at a predetermined position and are stored in a stacked manner. After being stored, the cuvettes are taken out of the apparatus together with the container and disposed of by regular inspection by the operator.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional technology, the reaction containers removed from the reaction line follow a substantially constant falling path and are piled up in a predetermined storage container, so they may pile up abnormally quickly. Conventionally, as mentioned above, the accommodation status of the reaction vessels in the storage container was regularly inspected and managed by the operator, so even if an abnormal pile-up occurred, it was impossible to notice this. It may spill out and eventually reach the transfer part of the turntable or other equipment, damaging the equipment.
This had the drawback of stopping or disrupting the operation of the transfer section.

The present invention has focused on the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer that can reliably detect an abnormal pile-up of reaction containers that have been removed and accommodated after analysis.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer that can reliably prevent damage to the apparatus even if an abnormal accumulation of reaction vessels occurs.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] The automatic analyzer of the present invention is an automatic analyzer that measures a sample by dispensing a sample, reagent, etc. into a reaction container that is transferred along a predetermined reaction line. a transfer means for transferring the reaction vessels along a predetermined reaction line; a reaction vessel supply means for sequentially supplying the plurality of reaction vessels to the transfer means; and a reaction vessel supply means for transferring the reaction vessels that have been analyzed in the reaction line. a storage container located below the reaction container disposal means for accommodating the reaction container discarded by the reaction container disposal means; A method characterized by comprising a detection means for detecting the presence of the reaction container, and an identification means for identifying whether or not the discarded reaction vessels are piled up outside the storage container based on the output from the detection means. It is.

Further, in the automatic analyzer of the present invention, when the identification means identifies that the reaction containers are piled up outside the storage container, in response to this, the reaction container supplying means supplies the reaction containers and the reaction container is The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for stopping the disposal of the reaction container by the disposal means.

The operation is such that the reaction vessels are sequentially supplied to the transfer means by the reaction vessel supply means, the reaction vessels are transferred on the reaction line by the transfer means, a predetermined analysis is performed, and the reaction vessels after the analysis are transferred to the transfer means. The container is discarded from the transfer means by the container disposal means and stored in the storage container. Then, the detection means detects the presence of the reaction container between the transfer means and the storage container, and based on this detection output, the identification means identifies that the reaction containers are piled up outside the storage container.

When the identification means identifies a pile-up, the control means stops the reaction container supply means 5 and the reaction container disposal means, so that a new reaction container can be supplied to the transfer means, and a new reaction container can be sent from the transfer means to the storage container. This also eliminates the possibility of the reaction vessel being discarded.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from above.

First, a turntable 3, on which a plurality of disposable reaction vessels l each having a flat bottom are placed on the upper surface of a recess 2 formed low in an L-shape along the circumference, is moved by a motor 4 at an arrow mark in FIG.
The 0th order is provided to rotate intermittently in the direction of
An analysis unit 5 on a reaction line lined with pipettes, measuring instruments, etc. (not shown) when viewed from the rotation direction of arrow A of the turntable 3
In front of the turntable 3, a plurality of reaction vessels 1 are sequentially placed.
A reaction vessel supply mechanism 6 is provided with a gate that opens and closes at predetermined intervals so that the reaction vessel can be dropped and landed in the recess 2 of the vessel. Also, in front of the reaction container supply mechanism 6 when viewed from the rotational direction of the turntable 3, the reaction container 1 is inserted into an L-shaped recess 2 by engaging the opening of the reaction container 1 on which the turntable 3 is placed. A scraping mechanism 7, which has an arm that scrapes it out to the outer periphery and drops it downward, is placed above the turntable 3. Next, below the turntable 3, a large number of reaction vessels 1 are placed directly below the scraping mechanism 7. A storage container 8 that can accommodate the objects is arranged. An inlet 9 is opened at the upper end of the storage container 8 and is large enough to allow the reaction container 1 to pass therethrough, and a waste 'WR 10 is arranged in the path through which the reaction container 1 removed from the reaction line by the scraping mechanism 7 falls. . Waste tube 1
A pair of light-emitting elements 11 and light-receiving elements 12 are arranged on the side wall of the lower end of the storage container 8 near the entrance 9 of the storage container 8, and are horizontally opposed to each other. 11 and 12 are installed one step further back so that the test solution does not come into contact with them. These pixel elements 11 and 12 are connected to the CRT 14 through the identification processing section 13. 1st control circuit 15° 2nd control circuit 1
It is electrically connected to 6. The identification processing section 13 constantly sends electrical signals to the light emitting element 11 and tracks changes in the amount of light received by the light receiving element 12. Further, if the light received by the light receiving element 12 is interrupted for a certain period of time or more, the identification processing section 13 detects the CRT 14. First control circuit 15
．． It sends an output signal to the second control circuit 16. CR
T14 displays an abnormality mark at a predetermined position on the screen by receiving an output signal from the identification processing section 13. The first control circuit 15 stops the operation of the scraping mechanism 7 and the reaction vessel supply mechanism 6 by receiving the output signal from the identification processing section 13. Further, after receiving the output signal from the identification processing section 13, the second control circuit 16
Next, the operation of the motor 4 and analysis unit 5 required for one analysis will be explained. A reaction container supply mechanism 6 sequentially places reaction containers 1 on the recess 2 of a turntable 3 which is intermittently rotated in the direction of arrow A by a motor 4 . The reaction container 1 placed on the recess 2 is subjected to a predetermined analysis by the analysis unit 5 while being transferred in the six directions of arrows, and then reaches directly below the scraping mechanism 7. The scraping mechanism 7 uses an arm to scrape the reaction volume 8I after analysis sequentially below the turntable 3, and the scraped reaction container 1 falls into the storage container 8 through the waste tube 10 and the container 9 and is stored therein. In this way, a large number of reaction vessels 1 are accumulated in the storage vessel 8 one after another, and when they eventually pile up above the entrance 9, the light emitted from the light emitting element 11 is blocked from the light receiving element 12 for a certain period of time or more. The identification processing unit 13 identifies this and
RT14. The first control circuit 15° sends an output signal to the second control circuit 16. In response to this, the CRT 14 displays an abnormality mark on the screen for the operator to confirm.

Further, the first control circuit 15 immediately stops the reaction vessel supply mechanism 6 and the scraping mechanism 7. Furthermore, the second control circuit 16
Even after the reaction vessel supply mechanism 5 and the scraping mechanism 6 are stopped, the rotation of the turntable 3 and the analysis by the analysis unit 5 are continued as usual, and the last supplied reaction vessel l is
When the analysis is completed, the turntable 3 and analysis unit 5 are stopped.

9, the identification processing unit 13 identifies this based on the signals detected from the light emitting element 11 and the light receiving element 12, so that an abnormal pile up in the container 8 can be reliably detected.

Furthermore, since the fact that the reaction vessels 1 are abnormally piled up is displayed on the CRT 14, such an abnormality can be immediately visually recognized by the operator.

Further, since the first control circuit 15 immediately stops the reaction container supply mechanism 6 and the scraping mechanism 7 after detecting such an abnormality, it is possible to reliably prevent reaction containers 1 from piling up in the future.

Furthermore, even after the second control circuit 16 detected such an abnormality, the operation of the motor 4 and the analysis unit 5 continued for the time required for one analysis and then stopped. Analysis can be completed for all reaction vessels 1 on the turntable 3.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various other modifications are possible. However, it may be provided near the turntable 3 or over the entire length of the waste tube 10. In this case, it is possible to detect the extent to which the reaction containers 1 are piled up.

Further, in addition to displaying on the CRT 14, an alarm may be issued, and the identification processing section 13 may count the number of times the light is interrupted based on the reaction vessel l falling into the accommodation vessel 8. CRT the capacity of reaction container 1
14 can also be displayed. Further, in the embodiment, the reaction line was formed in an endless manner by using the turntable 3, but it is also possible to form the reaction line in only one direction using a belt conveyor type transfer device.

In particular, in this case, since the reaction container 1 after analysis can be dropped naturally from the turning point of the belt, there is no need for a special reaction container disposal means such as the scraping mechanism 7, and at least one belt In this case, a portion acting as a transfer means and a portion acting as a reaction vessel disposal means coexist. Furthermore, the means for detecting the reaction container 1 includes a light emitting device.
In addition to optical detection means such as the light receiving elements 11 and 12, other detection means may also be used, such as means for measuring capacitance. In this case, the degree of piling up can be spatially detected based on changes in capacitance.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, there is provided a detection means for detecting the presence of the reaction container located above the storage container that accommodates the reaction container discarded by the transfer means after analysis, and a detection means for detecting the presence of the reaction container, Since an identification means for identifying whether reaction containers are piled up or not is provided, abnormal pileup in the storage containers can be reliably detected.

Further, according to the present invention, when the reaction containers detected by the detection means are identified by the identification means as being caused by an abnormal pileup, the reaction containers are supplied by the reaction container supply means and the reaction containers are removed by the reaction container disposal means. Since the disposal has been stopped,
It is possible to reliably prevent damage to the analyzer due to the reaction containers piled up from the storage containers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from above. 1 Reaction container 2・・・・・・・・・・・・・Concavity 3 Turntable 4 ・・・・・・・・・・・・・Motor 5 ・・・・・・・・・−・・ 7 ・−・・−・・−・・ 8 ・・・−・・−・・ 9 ・・・・・−・・ lO・・−−−−−−・ 11 ・・・・・・−・・ 12 ・・・・−・−・・ 13 ・・・−−−・ 14−・−・・−・−・ 15 ・−・−・・・・ 16 −・−−−・・−・Analysis unit Reaction container supply mechanism Scraping mechanism Storage container inlet Waste tube Light emitting element Light receiving element Identification processing section RT First control circuit Second control circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an automatic analyzer that measures samples by dispensing samples, reagents, etc. into reaction containers that are transferred along a predetermined reaction line, transfer that transfers multiple reaction containers along a predetermined reaction line. a reaction vessel supply means for sequentially supplying the plurality of reaction vessels to the transfer means, a reaction vessel disposal means for discarding the reaction vessels that have been analyzed in the reaction line from the transfer means, and a reaction vessel disposal means. a storage container located below the means for accommodating the reaction container discarded by the reaction container disposal means; a detection means for detecting the presence of the reaction container at a position above the storage container; and an output from the detection means. and identification means for identifying whether or not the discarded reaction containers have piled up outside the storage container. (2) When the identification means identifies that reaction containers have piled up outside the storage container, in response to this, the reaction containers are supplied by the reaction container supply means and the reaction containers are disposed of by the reaction container disposal means. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising a control means for stopping the automatic analysis apparatus.