JPH0676863U - Automatic chemical analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To combine various types of large, medium, and small reagent containers so that various numbers of reagent containers can be arranged. [Structure] In a reagent tray 50, an opening formed by two large and small cylinders 52 and 54 having a common central axis 51 and a bottom surface 56 therebetween is larger than the small cylinder 52 in a direction radially extending from the central axis 51. First vertical wall 5 leading to cylinder 54
8 divides the two large reagent containers 30 into chambers 60 of a size that accommodates the short bases of their horizontal trapezoidal cross sections toward the central axis 51. Each chamber 60 is divided from the center of the wall surface of the large cylinder 54. A second vertical wall 62 extending in the central axis direction to a position slightly more than half the distance to the small cylinder 52 is provided, and the first vertical wall 58 and the second vertical wall 62 are provided with the small cylinder 52. A ridge 64 extending in the vertical direction is provided at approximately the center of the distance between the large cylinders 54.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer for measuring the concentration or activity value of a target component in a sample containing multiple components such as blood and urine.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 An automatic chemical analyzer is a reaction line in which reaction vessels are arranged and transported, a sample dispensing unit that dispenses a sample into a reaction vessel in a reaction line, and a reagent injection mechanism that injects a reagent into the reaction vessel in the reaction line. And an absorptiometer that measures the absorbance of the reaction solution containing the sample and reagents in the reaction container, and a control unit that controls the operation of each unit and calculates the concentration or activity value of the sample from the absorbance from the absorptiometer. And at least.

The reagent injection mechanism in such an automatic chemical analyzer is arranged such that containers containing the reagents are arranged along a circumference in a turntable type reagent tray, and the reagent tray is rotated to bring the predetermined reagent into the reagent. After positioning to the sampling position, the reagent is aspirated by the reagent dispenser and dispensed into the reaction container in the reaction line.

As shown in FIG. 1, commonly used reagent containers include a large reagent container 30 for 100 ml, a medium reagent container 32 for 50 ml, and a small reagent container 34 for 20 ml. Reference numeral 31 is an opening. These reagent containers with different capacities are used differently depending on the difference in the amount used depending on the type of reagent, or that reagents with a short shelf life after reagent preparation are placed in a small capacity reagent container. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the reagent tray in which these reagent containers are arranged has an opening formed by a small cylinder 36 and a large cylinder 38 having a common center axis and a bottom surface therebetween. A vertical wall 40 extending radially from the central axis and extending from a small cylinder to a large cylinder is partitioned into chambers 42 for accommodating reagent containers one by one. Each chamber 42 is set to a size capable of accommodating a large capacity reagent container 30 one by one.

The large-sized reagent container 30 has a slender trapezoidal outer shape with a slender trapezoidal shape and has a body portion that is constant in the height direction, and an opening 31 is provided on the upper surface on the long bottom side of the trapezoidal shape. The medium-sized reagent container 32 has a horizontal cross-sectional shape on the long bottom side cut by a vertical plane parallel to the base of the trapezoid of the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the large-sized reagent container 30, and has a horizontal cross-sectional shape along the height direction. It has a constant body portion, and an opening 31 is provided on the upper surface at the same position as the large reagent container 30 with respect to the long base of the trapezoid. The small reagent container 34 is cylindrical and has an opening 31 on the upper surface.

One large reagent container 30 is fitted and mounted in each chamber 42 in accordance with the chamber 42. The medium-sized sample container 32 is fitted and mounted in the outer peripheral direction of the chamber 42, and the opening 31 of the large-sized reagent container 30 and the opening 31 of the medium-sized sample container 32 are arranged on the same circumference around the central axes of the cylinders 36 and 38. To position. Since the small reagent container 34 is not stable when it is fitted into the chamber 42 as it is, an adapter 46 having an opening 44 as shown in FIG. 3 is used. The opening 44 is provided with a fixing member 48 for sandwiching and fixing the body portion of the small reagent container 34. The small reagent container 34 is fitted into the opening 44, and is attached to the chamber 42 of the tray 35 together with the adapter 46. When the small reagent container 34 is attached to the tray 35 via the adapter 46, the opening 31 of the small reagent container 34 is also located on the same circumference as the opening of the large reagent container 30 and the opening 31 of the medium sample container 32. .

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Although the number of items to be measured differs depending on the inspection facility, the number of reagents that can be placed on the reagent tray 35 is limited by the number of chambers 42 of the reagent tray 35. For example, when using such a single-multi type automatic chemical analyzer as the main analyzer, it is necessary to install a large number of reagents because it requires tests of many items. Since the amount of each reagent used per day is small, a small capacity reagent container is sufficient. On the other hand, when using the same single-multi type automatic analyzer as a sub-analyzer, the number of items can be small and the number of reagents that can be installed may be small, but since each reagent is consumed in large quantities per day, it has a large capacity. You will need the reagent container. The conventional reagent injection device cannot meet both of these requirements. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic chemical analyzer having a reagent injection mechanism in which three types of reagent containers as shown in FIG. 1 can be combined to arrange various numbers of reagent containers. .

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In the present invention, the reagent storage of the reagent injection mechanism is provided with three kinds of large, medium and small reagent containers and a reagent tray for mounting these reagent containers as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 showing the embodiment, an opening formed by two large and small cylinders 52 and 54 having a common central axis 51 and a bottom surface 56 therebetween is a radial shape from the central axis 51. A chamber sized to accommodate the two large reagent containers 30 with the first vertical wall 58 extending from the small cylinder 52 to the large cylinder 54 in the direction extending in the direction of the horizontal trapezoidal cross-sections with their short bases directed toward the central axis 51. Each chamber 60 is provided with a second vertical wall 62 extending in the central axis direction from the center of the wall surface of the large cylinder 54 to a position slightly more than half the distance from the center to the small cylinder 52. The first vertical wall 58 and the second vertical wall 62. Ridge 64 extending in the vertical direction approximately in the middle portion of the distance between the small cylinders 52 and the large cylindrical 54 is configured provided.

[0010]

【Example】

 FIG. 4 shows a schematic plan view of an embodiment of an automatic chemical analyzer to which the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 2 is a reaction disk, which is intermittently rotated in the direction of arrow 15 by a rotary drive mechanism. An annular reaction line 5 is formed by arranging the reaction vessels 4 also serving as cuvettes in one row along the circumference of the cuvette roller 3 of the reaction disk 2. The reaction vessel 4 is immersed in a constant temperature water tank and kept at a constant temperature. A sample dispensing section 6 is arranged along the reaction line 5 for injecting a sample specimen into the reaction container 4. In the sample dispensing unit 6, sample containers 7 are arranged along the circumference of the turntable 8, and a sample dispenser 9 is arranged to dispense a sample from the sample container at the sample collection position 13. . A sampling nozzle 10 is provided at the tip of the sample dispenser 9, and the sampling nozzle 10 moves between a reaction container at a sample dispensing position 14 and a sample container at a sample collecting position 13 along a movement trajectory 11. . A known liquid level sensor is attached to the sampling nozzle 10 as a sample sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the sample in the sample container. A cleaning pot 12 is provided on the moving path 11 so that the sampling nozzle 10 can be cleaned.

A reagent injection mechanism 16 is arranged along the reaction line 5 in order to inject the reagent into the reaction container in which the sample is dispensed. In the reagent injection mechanism 16, a reagent container 17 is arranged along the circumference of the reagent tray 18, and a reagent dispenser 19 is arranged to dispense a reagent from the reagent container at the reagent sampling position 23. A reagent nozzle 20 is provided at the tip of the reagent dispenser 19, and the reagent nozzle 20 moves along a movement trajectory 21 between the reaction container at the reagent dispensing position 24 and the reagent container at the reagent sampling position 23. . A cleaning pot 22 is arranged on the moving track 21 so that the reagent nozzle 20 can be cleaned.

A washing and dehydrating device 26 is further arranged along the reaction line 5, and a stirring mechanism (not shown) for stirring the reaction liquid in the reaction container 4 is also arranged. Further, an absorptiometer 27 is also arranged along the reaction line 5. The absorptiometer 27 is fixed, and the absorbance of the reaction solution in the reaction container 4 is measured by rotating the reaction line 5. A series of analyzes is completed when the last used reaction container goes through the washing process in the washing unit 26. In order to measure the absorbance of all reaction vessels by the reaction vessel direct photometry method, the reaction vessels are rotated as in the example and passed in front of the fixed optical system 27, and the reaction vessels are fixed during photometry. There is a method of moving the optical system, and any method may be used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a reagent tray used in one embodiment. (A) is a plan view and (B) is a perspective sectional view showing one chamber thereof. In the reagent tray 50, an opening formed by two large and small cylinders 52 and 54 having a common central axis 51 and a bottom surface 56 therebetween has a small cylinder 52 to a large cylinder extending radially from the central axis 51. The first vertical wall 58 extending to 54 divides the two large reagent containers 30 into chambers 60 each having a size such that the short bases of the horizontal trapezoidal cross sections thereof are oriented in the direction of the central axis 51. A second vertical wall 62 extending in the central axis direction to a position slightly more than half the distance from the center of the wall surface of the large cylinder 54 to the small cylinder 52 is provided, and the first vertical wall 58 and the second vertical wall 58 are provided. The vertical wall 62 is provided with a ridge 64 extending in the vertical direction substantially at the center of the distance between the small cylinder 52 and the large cylinder 54.

The reagent tray 50 can accommodate 32 large-sized reagent containers 30 for 100 ml only. When the reagent container shown in FIG. 1 is accommodated in the chamber 60 of the reagent tray 50, if only the 100 ml container 30 is accommodated, it is accommodated as shown in FIG. 6A and 32 containers 30 are accommodated. When accommodating 50 ml containers 32, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), two can be accommodated on the outer peripheral side of each chamber 60 and one can be accommodated on the central side, and a maximum of 48 can be accommodated as a whole. . At this time, the 50 ml container 32 is fixed by the ridge 64. When accommodating 20 ml containers 34, five 20 ml containers 34 can be accommodated in each chamber 60 as shown in FIG. 6 (C). Since the 20 ml container 34a accommodated on the innermost side is not fixed as it is, it is necessary to use an adapter so that the same opening position as that of the container 32 mounted on the inner peripheral side of the 50 ml container 32 can be obtained.

The commonly used reagent containers 30, 32 and 34 are plastic molded products except for a part of the 20 ml container 34, and can be modified to some extent. Therefore, the reagent tray 50 can be easily fitted and attached.

When three types of reagent containers 30, 32, 34 are attached to the reagent tray 50, the reagent nozzles of the reagent containers arranged on the triple concentric circles such as the outermost circumference, the second circumference, and the third circumference. The reagent can be sucked through the opening. The positions of the triple concentric openings are maximum when only the 20 ml container 34 is mounted. FIG. 7 shows the opening position in that state. The first, second, and third laps from the outside. Each time the reagent tray 50 is rotated so that the opening of the container set on each circumference is on the trajectory drawn by the reagent dispensing nozzle, the predetermined reagent container is positioned at the reagent sampling position, and the opening of the reagent container at that position The reagent dispensing nozzle descends to aspirate the reagent.

Registration of the reagent is performed using the reagent position number shown in FIG. 7 as shown in the example of the display screen shown in FIG. In the screen of FIG. 8, L, M, and S represent a 100 ml container, a 50 ml container, and a 20 ml container, respectively. The numbers in the 1st and 5th columns from the left are the numbers of the room 60. The chambers 17 to 32 are illustrated by arranging the reagent containers in order of increasing total reagent volume for each chamber. In the reagent tray 50 of FIG. 5, instead of the protrusion 64 for fixing the medium-sized reagent container 32 for 50 ml, the container may be sandwiched and fixed by an elastic body.

In this embodiment, an appropriate one is selected from the three types of reagent containers shown in FIG. 1 according to the type of reagent, and the reagent containers of various numbers are combined in the reagent tray 50. It can be accommodated and can be used as both a main analyzer and a sub analyzer.

In the case of the conventional combination of the reagent tray 35 and the reagent containers 30, 32, 34, the large-capacity reagent container 30 can be directly inserted into the chamber 42 of the reagent tray and mounted, but the container having a smaller capacity than that. In the case of, a dedicated adapter was needed to fix the position of the opening. Therefore, an example in which various reagent containers can be easily fixed to the reagent tray 35 without using such an adapter will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

FIG. 9 shows a reagent container holder 70 formed of an elastic member used to fix the reagent container. The holder 70 is fitted into the vertical wall 40 of the reagent tray 35 of FIG. used. The holder 70 extends from the part where the vertical wall 40 is sandwiched to both sides, and is provided with a semicircular cutout 72 for holding and fixing the 20 ml container 34 in the outer peripheral direction, and a tip on the inner peripheral side is provided. A claw 74 for fixing the 50 ml container is provided so as to project. The holder 70 is used by inserting it into the vertical wall 40 so that a notch 42 is provided on the outer peripheral side thereof.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the three types of reagent containers of FIG. 1 are mounted on the reagent tray 35 using the holder 70. FIG. 10A shows a state in which the reagent container is not inserted. (B) to (D) show a state in which the 100 ml container 30, the 50 ml container 32, and the 20 ml container 34 are fitted, respectively. In (B), since the chamber 42 partitioned by the vertical wall 40 is originally formed in accordance with the size for mounting the 100 ml container 30, it is not necessary to use the holder 70, but a commercially available reagent container is used. It is made smaller than the chamber 42 of the reagent tray 35 and moves in the chamber 42. If the holder 70 is used, the reagent container 30 can be firmly fixed. In (C), the reagent container 32 is fixed by the claw 74 from the center of the holder 70 so as not to move toward the center. In (D), the arcuate notch 72 of the holder 70 allows the 20 ml container 34 to be sandwiched and fixed.

The holder 70 of FIG. 9 is sized to hold two 20 ml containers 34, and semicircular notches for holding and fixing the 20 ml containers 34 are shown by 72 and 72a. It is also possible to provide two of them and to act independently on each area by the cutting line 73.

In FIG. 11, a vertical ridge 76 is provided at the center of the vertical wall 40, the holder 70a has a notch 72 for a 20 ml container, and a claw 74 for fixing a 50 ml container is eliminated. It represents another example. In the case of the example in FIG. 11, the ridges 76 prevent the 50 ml container from moving toward the center. The 20 ml container is clamped and fixed in the notch 72 of the holder 70a as in the embodiment of FIG. The embodiment of FIGS. 9 to 11 does not require the conventional adapter 46, and a reagent holder having a small capacity can be fixed by a simple holder 70 or 70a.

[0024]

[Effect of device]

 In the present invention, three types of reagent containers having different capacities can be used in combination, and various combinations are possible, from a large capacity reagent container only to a small capacity reagent container only. As a result, it will be possible to support a wide range of applications from using this automated chemical analyzer for analysis of multiple items to consuming a large number of reagents with a small number of items.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing three types of reagent containers.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a conventional reagent tray.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional 20 ml container adapter.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing an automatic chemical analyzer according to one example.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a reagent tray in one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing a method of accommodating three types of reagent containers in the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the opening position of the reagent container of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen when a reagent is arranged in the same embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a holder for fixing a reagent container without using an adapter.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a method for fixing a reagent container when the holder of FIG. 9 is used, in which the right side of (A) to (D) is a plan view, and the left side is a vertical cross section at each XX line position. It is a figure.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of a holder for fixing a reagent container without using an adapter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30, 32, 34 reagent container 31 opening of reagent container 50 reagent tray 52 vertical wall of small cylinder 54 vertical wall of large cylinder 51 central axis 56 bottom 58 first vertical wall 60 chamber 62 second vertical wall 64 ridge

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A reaction line in which reaction vessels are arranged and conveyed, a sample dispensing section for dispensing a sample into the reaction vessels of the reaction line, and a reagent injection mechanism for injecting a reagent into the reaction vessels of the reaction line. And an absorptiometer for measuring the absorbance of a reaction solution containing a sample and a reagent in a reaction container, and controlling the operation of each part, and controlling the concentration or activity value of the sample by the absorbance from the absorptiometer. In the automatic chemical analyzer including at least a portion, the reagent storage of the reagent injection mechanism has a body portion in which the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the outer shape is an elongated trapezoid and is constant over the height direction,
A large-capacity large-sized reagent container having an opening on the long bottom side of the trapezoid on the upper surface, and a horizontal cross-sectional shape on the long bottom side cut by a vertical plane parallel to the base of the trapezoid of the outer shape of this large reagent container. Medium-sized medium-sized reagent container that has a body part that has an outer shape and a uniform outer horizontal cross-sectional shape in the height direction, and has an opening at the same position as the large reagent container on the long base of the trapezoid on the upper surface, and a cylindrical shape. A small-capacity small reagent container having an opening on the upper surface thereof, an opening formed by two large and small cylinders having a common central axis and a bottom surface between them, from the small cylinder in a direction radially extending from the central axis. The first vertical wall leading to the large cylinder divides the two large reagent containers into chambers of a size that accommodates the short bases of their horizontal trapezoidal cross sections in the direction of the central axis. Center of wall of large cylinder A second vertical wall extending in the central axis direction to a position slightly more than half the distance from the center to the small cylinder, and the small cylinder and the second vertical wall are provided on the first vertical wall and second vertical wall. An automatic chemical analysis device, comprising: a reagent tray having a protrusion extending in a vertical direction substantially at the center of the distance between the large cylinders.