JPH06300673A - Method and apparatus for automatically sampling specimen - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and an apparatus for inspecting and sampling a specimen in terms of simultaneously placing great importances at an inspecting accuracy and rapidity of an inspection result by improving operability in the case of culturing the specimen and improving the accuracy and reliability. CONSTITUTION:The method for automatically sampling a specimen comprises the steps of moving a first vessel using agar medium by a specific first conveying passage 30, moving a second vessel using liquid medium at least partly of a second conveying passage 93 along the first passage to supply the specimen to the first and second vessels by one specimen supply means 40 for extracting sample of the specimen, then displaying previously input display items on the first and second vessels by one display means 70 capable of outputting the items, and then containing the vessels in storage areas 80, 96 of end sides of the first and second passages.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sampling method and device for inspecting the number of bacteria in food or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a quantitative analysis or a qualitative analysis of a sample has been performed in order to inspect the safety of food or to analyze the components. There are various methods for this analysis. For example, a predetermined amount of a desired food sample is taken, diluted if necessary, and this sample is cultured in an appropriate medium. For example, in the case of effective bacteria such as Bifidobacterium,
Although the number of bacteria in one beverage pack is fixed, the number of bacteria to be counted in one sample container (such as a petri dish) is usually preferably 300 or less, so after diluting 10 ⁶ to 10 ⁸ times, the container Put in the medium and add the medium. This diluting / culturing work is generally performed in the sample sampling and liquid medium in the case where the number of specimens is multi-branched, the number of sampling is also large depending on the inspection item, and there are multiple types of medium. Takes a long time to inject. This culturing work is generally carried out in a sterile room or the like, which is carried out for the purpose of improving the inspection accuracy. As described above, inspection by culture naturally requires high inspection accuracy, but on the other hand, for example, when inspection is performed regularly without stopping the production line in quality control of the production process in factories, etc. If immediate feedback is important, promptness of test results is required.

[0003]

Conventionally, in the above-mentioned culturing work, since most of the work is performed manually, the burden on the worker is great and the aseptic condition is maintained. Therefore, the reliability of the work relying on human remains. Further, although the culture using the agar medium is highly reliable in the test result, it has a drawback that it takes a relatively long time to see the result. On the other hand, there is an inspection method using a liquid medium, for example, an inspection method in which the amount of carbon dioxide released by the metabolism of bacteria by culture is observed by an optical measuring device to inspect the culture state. , The inspection result can be issued very quickly. However, in such an inspection method using a liquid medium, although the inspection result can be issued quickly, there is some difficulty in the inspection accuracy. For this reason, an inspection method that satisfies the requirement of inspection accuracy and an inspection method that satisfies the promptness of the inspection result may be used together.

However, the above-mentioned two inspection methods are largely different methods such as a culture medium, a culture container, and an observation method. In the past, the same operator naturally performs both inspections. In this case, the burden on the worker will increase. Further, for example, although different workers can perform both inspections simultaneously by performing work on different inspection lines, this naturally causes a problem that many workers are required for inspection. To do. The present invention has been made in view of the problems as described above, and not only the improvement of workability and the improvement of inspection accuracy and reliability in culturing a sample such as food, but also the inspection with an emphasis on the inspection accuracy. An object of the present invention is to provide a sampling method and apparatus that can perform sampling and inspection sampling with an emphasis on swiftness of inspection results at substantially the same time.

[0005]

The above object of the present invention is to move a first container using an agar medium in a specific first transport path and to use a second container using a liquid medium in a second transport path. Even so that a part along the first transport path,
The sample is supplied to the first container and the second container by one sample supply means for pouring out a sample of the sample, and thereafter, by one display means capable of outputting a previously input display item, After displaying on the first container and the second container, each container is housed in the storage area on the terminal end side of each of the first transport path and the second transport path by an automatic sample sampling method. Can be achieved.

Further, the above object of the present invention is to provide a first container delivery device for sequentially delivering a first container using an agar medium and a second container delivery device for a second container using a liquid medium, and the first container delivered as above. 1st to move 1 container on 1st conveyance path
Adjacent to the first and second transfer means, a second transfer means configured to move at least a part of the transfer means and the first transfer means to move the second container on the second transfer path. Sample holding means for holding a plurality of samples, and a pipet tip for pouring out the sample from the sample, and an arm that can be removed from the pipette chip rack and movable to supply the sample samples to the first and second containers. And one sample supply means provided with the previously input information.
And an automatic sampling device for a sample comprising one display means for displaying on the second container and each storage unit for storing and storing the first and second containers in a state where the sample of the sample can be cultured.

[0007]

[Operation] As described above, according to the present invention, the same specimen sample can be used, and this sample can be automatically and continuously supplied to two different culture media in different containers by the same specimen supply means, and The same display means can be used to accurately display the desired information on different containers, and each container can be collected at a predetermined location on a separate transport line. It is possible to eliminate manpower in collecting and medium dispensing, and improve sampling accuracy and work speed for different kinds of tests corresponding to different requirements. Further, by fully automating the sample collection and the dispensing of the medium and the injection of the sample into the bottle containing the liquid medium in this way, all of this work can be performed in a sterile room, etc., and the sterility level is increased. It becomes easier and the reliability of the culture data can be improved.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described below. 1 is a perspective view of the automatic sampling / medium dispensing device, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. First, an outline of the apparatus of this embodiment will be given. This device is used to inspect the number of viable bacteria, E. coli, etc. in lactic acid bacteria drinks and other products that are hermetically packed.
Read the bar code of the product and the bar code of the filling machine and the type of container that are made in advance with a reader, or use the touch display to enter the product name, filling machine number, collection date, etc., The products set in the input order are automatically conveyed, the periphery of the opening is sterilized, opened, and after suctioning a specified amount,
Inject into a petri dish (inject after dilution if necessary), dispense a prescribed amount of medium and then pour, and also sample for Bayervin containing the medium for inspection, input data (filling machine number, (Product name, collection date, collection time, etc.)
Is a bar code and is attached to a petri dish lid or a Bayer bottle, for example, a large number of the petri dishes can be stacked and stored, and further, the Bayer bottle can be automatically stored in a predetermined storage unit. As shown in FIG. 9, the Bayer bottle B is filled with an appropriate amount of the liquid medium L, the mouth portion is closed by a rubber cap B1, and an aluminum stopper is provided so as to cover the outer peripheral edge portion of the cap B1. B
It is crimped at 2.

The above device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device 1 according to the present embodiment has various members and devices as will be described later on the main mount 2, and the sample holding mount 3 and the Bayer bottle are adjacent to the main mount 2. A supply unit 90 and a Bayer bin transfer unit 99 are provided. The main gantry 2 has a lower support surface 2a and an upper upper support surface 4 of the gantry 2, and a petri dish 20 which is a light transmissive container is sequentially sent to the upper support plate 4. A container delivery device 5, a pipette rack 18 in which micropipettes are arranged and stored, a pipette collection unit 19, a sample diluting unit 21, a display unit 70, a petri dish storage unit 80, a Bayer bin storage unit 96, and the like are provided.
Further, on the lower support surface 2a, the petri dish 20 sent by the sending device 5 is a specific path, for example, the transport path 3
0 and a transport means including a chain 31 having a push rod 32, which is provided adjacent to this transport path 30 from the sample holding platform 3 to the petri dish 20 (in some cases, to the sample diluting section 21, and then to the petri dish 20). ) A robot 40 as a sample supply device for pouring out a sample of a sample, a medium dispenser 50 as a medium supply device for supplying a fluid medium to the petri dish 20, and a mixing device for pouring the medium and the sample sample. Display unit 7 for automatically attaching a print sheet with specific display items to the dispensing device 60, the petri dish 20, and the Bayerbin B
0 and the like are provided.

The above-mentioned members will be described. First, the delivery device 5 is for moving (moving in the right direction in the figure) the dish in which the petri dishes 20 are stacked high as shown in the figure, for example, at least one pair (only one is shown).
The conveyor belt 7 stretched around the belt roller 6 and side plates 8 standing upright on both sides of the conveyor belt 7 are driven by a motor (not shown) or the like based on a signal as appropriate.

A support bracket 9 having a support surface positioned substantially at the same height as the conveyor belt 7 is arranged at the end of the feeding device 5, and a circular hole for dropping the petri dish 20 downward is provided in the support bracket 9. 10 are formed, and four support bars 11 are upright so as to surround the edge portion of the circular hole 10. One of the support bars 11 on the conveyor side is configured to be movable by an appropriate device (not shown) so that the stacked petri dish 20 sent by the conveyor belt 7 can be stored in the support bars 11. It is configured.

The stacked petri dish 20 supplied to the support bracket 9 is placed on the petri dish supply table 12 under the bracket 9 with the lowermost one dropped from the circular hole 10. There is. Here, a rotary shaft 13 projects at a substantially central position of the petri dish supply table 12, and is fixed to the rotary shaft 13 to rotate (rotate in a counterclockwise direction) on the supply table 12 to cut out the arm 1.
4 are provided. The cutting arm 14 pushes the side surface of the petri dish 20 located at the circular hole 10 and sends the petri dish 20 in a substantially semicircular shape. At this time, the upper and lower petri dishes 20 contact each other. When the surface has a shape that does not get caught, the bottom petri dish 20 can be sent out one by one by sliding the cut-out arm 14 simply by rotating it. However, in the case where the petri dishes are hooked at the upper and lower contact surface portions, the petri dish 20 above the second stage can be fed out by the cutting arm 14 in a state where the petri dish 20 above the second stage is lifted by a gripping device (not shown).

The petri dish 20 sent out to an appropriate position by the cutting arm 14 is lifted by the lid 20a being sucked by the lid holding member 15 having the suction disc 16 at the tip thereof. That is, the lid holding member 15 is constructed so that the arm portion moves up and down and can be horizontally rotated or moved horizontally at an appropriate angle.
Reference numeral 6 is connected to a suction means (not shown) so that suction and suction release can be appropriately performed. Petri dish 20 with the lid opened
Inside, there is a pipette 46 set at the tip of the robot 40.
Thus, the sample sample can be taken out from the desired sample container and supplied in a predetermined amount into the petri dish. When the sample is diluted and then supplied into the petri dish, the sample is injected into a test tube in the diluting section 21 containing diluting water and then appropriately stirred by a stirrer or the like attached to the lower surface (not shown) of the diluting section. After that (the same operation was repeated according to the desired dilution ratio), the mixture was supplied into the petri dish.

The robot 40 includes a leg portion 41 and the leg portion 4
1, a rotary barrel 42 horizontally rotatable, a robot arm 43 provided on the rotary barrel 42, and a tip part attached to the tip of the robot arm 43 so that the micropipette 46 can be detachably attached. And 44. The sample holder 3 is arranged to hold the sample container 25 within the reach of the robot arm 43.
The structure is, for example, a pair of sprockets 27a.
A large number of movable bases 24 are attached to a chain 27 that is stretched around the chain 27, and is appropriately rotated and driven based on a signal from a control unit 29 described later. A sterilizing device 23 for sterilizing the upper surface of the sample container 25 (at least the portion in contact with the micropipette) and the upper surface of the stopper portion of the Bayer bottle B (at least the portion in contact with the micropipette) on the sample holding base 3. Is provided.

The structure of the sterilizer 23 is not particularly limited, but for example, a band-shaped non-woven fabric impregnated with a sterilizing agent is contained in a roll form, and two motors 23a, 23b, etc. are provided as shown in the figure. For this purpose, the band-shaped nonwoven fabric is appropriately wound and brought into contact with the sterilized surface for sterilization. In addition, a type of sterilization using a UV lamp or the like can also be used. The pipette rack 18 and the pipette collection unit 19 that collects the used micropipettes 46 are naturally arranged at appropriate positions within the movement area of the robot arm.

The petri dish 20 is a petri dish supply table 12.
Is sent out to the transport path 30. In this transport path 30,
A chain 31, for example, is endlessly stretched along the inner side of the transport path via sprockets 33, 34, 35, 36 and the like, and push rods 32 fixed to the chain 31 at appropriate intervals are provided. The petri dish 20 is pushed and moved by the push rod 32. Note that the chain 32 is moved by being driven by a drive system (not shown) in any of the sprockets.

The medium dispenser 50, as shown in FIG. 3, has, for example, supply nozzles 52a, 52a for supplying three types of medium.
53a and 54a are air cylinders 52, 53 and 5, respectively.
It is attached to 4. Further, the petri dish 20 that has moved to a predetermined position (medium supply region) of the transport path 30 is temporarily stopped at this position, and is covered by the lid holding member 51 having the suction plate 51a connected to the suction means (not shown). 20a
In this state, in order to supply a predetermined medium, for example, the cylinder 52 can extend in the direction of the petri dish 20 to discharge a predetermined amount of the medium from the nozzle 52a. The medium is discharged by operating one of the medium pumps 17. After the supply of the medium is completed, the cylinder 52 returns to the standby position and the lid holding means 5
1 can be lowered and the suction of the suction plate 51a can be released to cover it.

The petri dish 20 to which the culture medium and the specimen sample have been supplied reaches the pouring device 60 after rotating the transport path 30 by approximately 90 degrees. This pour device 60 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the pour table 60a forming a part of the transport path 30 is supported by the support plate 61 in a state of being separated from the transport path 30. This support plate 6
1 is fixed to and supported by a base plate 63 via four relatively thin elastic columns 62 such as silicon tubes. A shaft 69 extending downward is fixed to a substantially central portion of the support plate 61, and an intermediate engaging member 68 that is rotatable about the shaft 69 is connected via a bearing structure. The engaging shaft 68a extending to the lower end is the shaft 6.
The axis is offset from the position of 9. This engagement shaft 68
a is engaged with an elongated hole 67a of a crank member 67, and the crank member 67 is configured to be horizontally rotated by an output shaft 67b of a speed reducer 66 driven by a motor 64. Therefore, the pour table 60a performs a substantially horizontal circular motion in a certain direction by the rotation of the motor 64 in a predetermined direction. Further, the pour table 60a can perform a circular motion in the opposite direction by reversing the rotation of the motor 64. By rotating and reversing this circular motion forward, the pour action can be performed quickly and smoothly.

At the position behind the pour operation (downstream of the conveying path), a display section 70 for displaying necessary information such as the contents of the inspection is arranged on the petri dish 20. This display unit 70 is
For example, it has a bar code printer 71, and the print sheet 20c that can be divided and peeled into an appropriate size is continuously peeled off from the feeding roll 71a and is fed to the outside of the printer in a peeled state. When sent out, the necessary information is in a state of being printed out, and the base sheet is sequentially wound on the winding roll 71c. The sent print sheet 20c is suction-held by the suction disc 72. Thereafter, the print sheet 20c is moved onto the transport path 30 by the air cylinder 74 (movement in the direction of arrow A), and this time the air cylinder 73 is operated to lower the print sheet 20c (direction of arrow B) and press it against the petri dish 20. After releasing the suction of the suction disk 71, the suction plate 71 moves up again (direction of arrow C) and returns to the standby position (direction of arrow D). The operation of the display unit 70 is started by a detection signal from the petri dish detection sensor 75.

The petri dish 20 conveyed to the petri dish storage unit 80 is stopped at predetermined storage buckets 81, 82, and 83, then lifted from the transport path 30 and stored in a stacked state. Petri dish 20 in this storage bucket 81
The transfer unit for transferring the is configured as shown in FIG. 6, for example. At the entrance of the storage bucket 81, a pair of flaps 84 having a U-shape in plan view, which are swingable upward and project to face the transport path, are provided. A pusher 85 that can reciprocate toward the storage unit 81 by the positioned cylinder 86 is provided. Further, below the transport path 30, a lifter 87 capable of lifting the petri dish 20 from the transport path.
Are arranged. The lifter 87 is operated by the cylinder 88 and the like.

When the lifter 87 lifts the petri dish 20, for example, the petri dish previously placed on the flap is pushed up from below and is lifted above the flap 84. Then, the lifter 87 is lowered with the flap 84 returned to the horizontal position, and the petri dish 20 is placed on the flap. By repeating this operation, the petri dishes 20 are stacked in a stacked state,
After that, the pushers 85 can be operated to move the stacked petri dishes 20 to the storage bucket 81. The other storage buckets 82 and 83 have the same configuration.

The operation and operation of the device 1 configured as described above will be described. First, before the operation work, the petri dish is set on the conveyor, and the medium container is set in the medium storage unit 28. Further, the sample containers are set on the moving table 24 in accordance with the processing order, and the pipette tip is set. Further, the Bayerbin B containing the liquid medium is set in the Bayerbin supply unit 90. Furthermore, if necessary, a test tube containing diluting water is set in the sample diluting section 21 such as a rack. First Petri dish 20
Sampling using will be described. The device 1
When starting the operation of the robot arm tip 4
4, a pipette tip is attached, the petri dish 20 is separated and supplied onto the transport path 30, and a predetermined sample container 25
Sterilize the upper surface of the. Next, a pipette is inserted from the upper surface of the sample container 25 to suck the sample sample. Petri dish 2
The lid No. 0 is opened by the lid holding member 15, the specimen sample is discharged into the petri dish, and then the lid of the petri dish is closed again.
After that, the dish 20 is conveyed to the medium supply area, the lid is opened by the lid holding part 51, and a predetermined medium is discharged by the medium dispenser 50 to cover the medium. Next, the petri dish 20 is moved onto the pour table 60a. This pour table 60
The a performs effective pour by performing circular movements in the right and left directions of a preset period according to the specimen sample for a specific time. After the completion of the pour, the petri dish 20 is moved to the display unit 70, where the print sheet 20c is placed on the upper surface of the petri dish 20.
Affix. After that, the petri dish 20 is placed in the petri dish storage unit 8
Transport path 30 after moving to the designated storage bucket 0
The sheets are stacked on the flap 84 so as to be lifted from the above, and stored in a storage bucket when a predetermined stacking state is achieved.

Hereinafter, the carrying section and carrying structure of the Bayer bottle and its operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, 7 and 8. The sampling operation using the Bayer bin B may be substantially synchronized with the petri dish side operation or may be an independent operation. However, when the same sample is sampled, it is preferable to set the operation timing to synchronize the Bayer bin side and the petri dish side in consideration of the operation efficiency of the robot 40 and the like. Bayer Vine B containing the liquid medium has a feed bar 92 and has two rows (two rows in the figure, but a desired number of rows depending on the test method).
From the Bayer bottle supply unit 90 provided with the bin accommodation unit 91, one or two units are supplied to the Bayer bin transport unit 99 extending in the direction orthogonal to the supply unit 90 (depending on the test method, a plurality of bottles may be supplied). Supply Bayervin). In addition,
The movement of the Bayer bin B in the bin accommodating portion 91 is performed by an intermittent movement method or the like described later by the feed bar 92. The Bayer bin B supplied to the Bayer bin transfer unit 99 is intermittently moved in a predetermined direction by the support plate 94 provided with the feed bar 95 protruding in a comb shape at a predetermined interval.

The intermittent movement in the Bayer bin transfer means the bottom surface 91a of the bin accommodating portion 91 as shown in FIG.
A plurality of feed bars 92 (five pieces up to the feed bars are shown) that project upward from the support plate 92a.
Supported by. The support plate 92a is moved forward and backward and up and down (left and right up and down in the figure) by a driving means (not shown).
Moving. Therefore, as the feed bar 92 moves from (a) to (b) in FIG. 7, for example, when viewed from the position of the movement starting point X, it moves in the direction of arrow a, so that the Bayer bin B advances to the left. After that, the feed bar 92 moves in the direction of the arrow b so as to retract below the bottom surface 91a and retracts in the direction of the arrow c (from B to D). The feed bar 92 moves in the direction of arrow d (from D to A) and projects above the bottom surface 91a. By repeating such a box operation, the Bayer bin B can be moved. This is a completely similar mechanism in the Bayer bin transport unit 99, except that the feed bar 95 is horizontally arranged.

With respect to the Bayer bottle B on the Bayer bottle transfer unit 99, the upper surface of the rubber cap B1 portion which is the bottle stopper portion is sterilized by the sterilizing device 23 described above. Thereafter, a prepared hole is formed in the cap B1 by an appropriate cut by the cutter of the prepared hole processing portion 100. After that, it moves downstream, is positioned by the sample dispensing unit 101, and the sample is injected by the robot 40. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the Bayer bin B causes the feed bar 95 (see FIG. 8) by the bin overturning portion 102 including the guide rails 102a and 102b (guide rail support structure is not shown) having two different inclinations in the vertical position. 8 is rolled over while being sent to (not shown). This rollover also serves as a pour action for mixing the sample and the medium. Then, a label is attached at the display unit 70.

This label sticking is similar to the case of the petri dish 20 at the initial stage of the sticking of the print sheet 20c, but since the bottle surface is curved, the label holding device 103 is provided. The label pressing device 103 is composed of an air cylinder 75 for horizontal movement, an air cylinder 76 for vertical movement, and a pressing portion 79 attached to the tip of the air cylinder 76 and having a curved surface portion 79a corresponding to the curved surface of the bottle. ing. Further, at the label-attached portion and its downstream side, as shown in FIG. 5, the transport plate 93 is provided with a taper surface portion 77 for fixing the position of the Bayer bin B, and a recess 78a for holding the bottle neck portion. And an upright portion 104 provided with a bottle bottom pushing member 78a. This is pushed and moved by the feed bar 95 (not shown in FIG. 5), and by moving the neck portion of the bottle along the upright plate 78, the bottle gradually rises, and finally, The bottle bottom pushing member 78 pushes up the bottle bottom portion to completely stand up. The Bayer bin B is further transported, and is laterally moved from the transport unit 93 by the pressing member 105 arranged at the end portion of the transport unit 99 to be sent to the Bayer bin storage unit 96.

Bayervin B injected with a sample as described above is detected by a measuring method using, for example, an infrared spectroscope or the like, for detecting the amount of carbon dioxide released by the metabolism of bacteria propagated in the medium. By using it, it is necessary to obtain about 2 times the test result when using agar medium.
Compared to the time of 4 to 48 hours, the test result can be issued in a very short time, for example, about several hours after injecting the sample into the medium.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be variously modified as described below. For example, in the container feeding device, not a belt conveyor type, but a structure in which the container is pushed out by an appropriate pusher, or a supply by rotating a turntable may be used.
Further, various well-known transporting means can be used, and the structure of the storage section can be appropriately changed according to the need. Further, the container may not have a shape like a petri dish, and in this case, a transport system corresponding to the container is used. Furthermore, although pour is performed in the above embodiment, this pour operation is not always necessary depending on the sample in the present invention, and in this case, the pour operation can be omitted. Further, in the above embodiment, the sticking of the print sheet was performed after the pour work, but the timing of this sticking work is not particularly limited as long as it is individually conveyed.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first container using the agar medium is moved along the first transport path, and the second container using the liquid medium is moved through the second transport path through the first transport path. One display that allows the sample to be supplied to the first container and the second container by one sample supply means for pouring out a sample of the sample, and then output the previously input display items. The same specimen sample is used because the respective containers are stored in the storage areas on the terminal end sides of the first transport path and the second transport path after being displayed on the first container and the second container by means. Then, this sample can be automatically and continuously supplied to the different containers with two different kinds of media by the same sample supplying means, and even in the final desired information display, the same displaying means can be used to accurately display on different kinds of containers. Can be displayed on Further, it is possible to collect a predetermined portion of each container in a separate conveying line. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate human labor in sample sampling, sample dilution, and medium dispensing, and to improve the accuracy and sampling speed of sampling for different types of tests corresponding to different requirements. Can be increased. Furthermore, since the sample collection and medium dispensing and the injection of the specimen into the bottle containing the liquid medium are fully automated in this way, multiple work steps can be done in a small space, and the size of the sterile room is also small. Therefore, it is possible to easily maintain the aseptic condition of the aseptic room at a high level and reduce the running cost for maintaining the aseptic condition. It is possible to improve the reliability of the culture data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an automatic sampling / medium dispensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the automatic sampling / medium dispensing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the medium dispensing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the pour portion shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a display part of the petri dish and the Bayer bin shown in FIG. 1 and a structure for erecting the Bayer bin.

FIG. 6 is a portion taken along line XX in FIG.
It is a principal part schematic side view of the part which transfers a petri dish to a storage part.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a Bayer Bin transport mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an essential part showing a structure in which the Bayer bottle is laid sideways.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a Bayer bottle used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Automatic Sampling / Medium Dispensing Device 2 Main Frame 3 Sample Holding Frame 4 Upper Support Plate Surface 5 Container Feeding Device 6 Belt Roller 7 Conveyor Belt 8 Side Plate 9 Support Bracket 10 Circular Hole 11 Support Bar 12 Petri Dish Supply Table 13 Rotating Shaft 14 Cutting Dashi arm 15 Lid holding member 16 Adsorption plate 18 Pipette rack 19 Pipette collection unit 20 Petri dish 20c Print sheet 21 Sample dilution unit 23 Sterilizer 28 Medium storage unit 29 Control unit 30 Transport path 40 Robot 50 Media culture dispenser 51 Lid holding unit 60 Pour device 70 Display unit 80 Petri dish storage unit 90 Bayer bottle supply unit 96 Bayer bottle storage unit 100 Pilot hole processing unit 101 Bayer bottle sample dispensing unit 102 Bin overturning unit 103 Label holding unit 104 Standing unit B Bayer bottle

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical indication location G01N 1/28 J 7519-2J (72) Inventor Otoru Higashishimbashi 1-1-19 Tokyo Stock Yakult Head Office (72) Inventor Nobuo Kaiji 1-1-19 Higashishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Yakult Head Office

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first container using an agar medium is specified as a first container.
By one sample supply means for moving a sample along with the second container using the liquid medium along the transport path, at least a part of the second transport path is along the first transport path. After displaying the sample on the first container and the second container by supplying the sample to the first container and the second container, and then by one display means capable of outputting the display item that has been input in advance. , Each of the containers is the first
An automatic sampling method for a sample, characterized by accommodating in a storage area on each end side of a transport path and the second transport path. 2. A first container delivery device for sequentially delivering a first container using an agar medium, a second container delivery device for a second container using a liquid medium, and a first transfer of the delivered first container. The first transporting means to be moved on the road, and at least a part of the first transporting means is arranged along the second transporting means.
Second transfer means for moving the container on the second transfer path, sample holding means adjacent to the first and second transfer means for holding a plurality of samples, and a pipette chip for pouring out the sample from the samples A sample supply means having an arm that can be freely taken out from the pipette tip rack and is movable to supply a sample sample to the first and second containers, and pre-input information for the first and second containers. 2. An automatic sample sampling device comprising one display means for displaying and a storage unit for storing and storing the first and second containers in a state in which a sample sample can be cultured.