JPH0720132A - Reagent bottle cover structure for reagent supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow opening/closing of a reagent bottle through a simple structure while ensuring enclosure thereof. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of reagent bottles 2 are arranged on a reagent table 1 which is shifted properly to set a reagent bottle 2 containing a reagent M to be supplied at a reagent take out position A where the reagent M is taken out from the reagent bottle 2 by means of a reagent pipetting mechanism 3. In such reagent supply system, a spherical sealing body 4 is placed at the circular opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2. Furthermore, an opening/closing means 5 retreats the sealing body 4 of the reagent bottle 2 set at the reagent take out position A temporarily from the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 and resets the sealing body 4 at the opening 2a of reagent bottle 2 when the mechanism 3 finishes the reagent take out operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reagent supply device used in an automatic analyzer for performing physicochemical analysis, biochemical analysis, immunological analysis and the like, and more particularly to a lid for a reagent bottle containing a reagent. Regarding the structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, taking immunological analysis as an example, in recent years, RIA method, E
The IA method and the latex agglutination reaction method are known, and as an automatic analyzer using these, a predetermined amount of a sample in a sample cup is sucked by a sample pipetting mechanism for sample suction dispensing of serum etc. After dispensing the sample into the reaction cell, the reagent pipetting mechanism dispenses a predetermined reagent into the reaction cell, and after stirring the sample and the reagent with a stirrer, the reaction between the sample and the reagent is optically detected. There are some that are designed to be analyzed.

In such an automatic analyzer, a plurality of types of reagents are required to perform various tests, and thus a reagent bottle containing a plurality of types of reagents is usually opened on a rotatable reagent table. There has already been provided a device in which the reagent pipetting mechanism is moved to the reagent extraction position by the reagent pipetting mechanism and an appropriate amount of the reagent necessary for the inspection is taken out from the reagent bottle and taken out. In this type, the upper part of the reagent bottle is covered with a dustproof cover, and the reagent outlet is opened only at a position corresponding to the reagent removal position of the dustproof cover, and the reagent is removed by the reagent pipetting mechanism through the reagent outlet. Although it can operate, it cannot completely prevent the infiltration of dust into the reagent bottle, and causes a situation in which the reagent in the reagent bottle evaporates unnecessarily. As a conventional technical means for solving such a situation, a slide plate as a lid member is provided at an upper portion of the opening portion of the reagent bottle so as to be movable back and forth, and the slide plate is advanced to open the reagent bottle opening portion. It is provided that the opening of the reagent bottle is opened by retracting the slide plate while closing the container.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional lid structure for a reagent bottle, a positioning mechanism for accurately positioning the slide plate with respect to the closed position and the open position of the opening of the reagent bottle. Is required and, in addition, it involves fine adjustment work for the positioning mechanism,
The lid structure of the reagent bottle becomes complicated. In particular, when the number of reagent bottles increases, the slide plates of the reagent bottles must be designed in consideration of the movement strokes of the slide plates so that they do not interfere with each other, and the lid structure of the reagent bottles becomes more complicated. . Further, in the conventional lid structure of the reagent bottle, since the slide plate is provided at the upper part of the opening of the reagent bottle so as to be able to move forward and backward, the opening of the reagent bottle and the slide plate are completely adhered. It cannot be done, and inevitably a minute gap is formed between the two. For this reason, the closure of the opening of the reagent bottle is still incomplete, and the unnecessary evaporation phenomenon of the reagent and the infiltration phenomenon of dust have not yet been completely avoided.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above technical problems, and can open and close the opening of a reagent bottle with a simple structure, and moreover, ensure the closure of the opening of the reagent bottle. The present invention provides a reagent bottle lid structure for a reagent supply device which can be

[0006]

That is, the present invention is
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of reagent bottles 2 are arranged on the reagent table 1 and the reagent table 1 is appropriately moved to set the reagent bottle 2 containing the reagent M to be supplied to the reagent extraction position A. In a reagent supply device in which the reagent M in the reagent bottle 2 is taken out by the reagent pipetting mechanism 3, a spherical sealing body 4 mounted so as to seal the circular opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2, The spherical sealing body 4 of the reagent bottle 2 arranged at the reagent take-out position A is temporarily retracted from the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2, and the retracted spherical shape is reached when the reagent take-out operation by the reagent pipetting mechanism 3 is completed. The sealing body 4 is again attached to the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2.
And a sealing body opening / closing means 5 for returning to.

In such a technical means, the reagent table 1 may be any one as long as it can position and arrange a plurality of reagent bottles 2 at a predetermined position, and the movement form thereof is not only rotation but also linear movement. Those that move forward and backward can be appropriately selected. Further, from the viewpoint of minimizing the contamination of the environment around the reagent bottle 2, it is preferable to design the upper part of the reagent bottle 2 so as to be covered with a dust-proof cover. The reagent outlet may be opened at the specified location.
Further, the number of reagent withdrawal positions A is not limited to one and may be plural. Furthermore, the reagent pipetting mechanism 3 may be appropriately selected as long as it has a pipette capable of sucking and holding an appropriate amount of the reagent in the reagent bottle 2, but other reagents may be pipetted when taking out different kinds of reagents. It is necessary to provide a washing means and a means for exchanging the pipette for each reagent so as to avoid the situation of mixing in the inside.

The spherical sealing body 4 may basically be a spherical body having a diameter slightly larger than the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2, but the reagent bottle may be changed depending on the movement of the reagent table 1. It is necessary to have a weight that does not drop from the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 when the reagent 2 moves. Further, as the material of the spherical sealing body 4, stainless steel or the like may be appropriately selected as long as it has corrosion resistance to various reagents.

Further, the sealing body opening / closing means 5 may be appropriately changed in design as long as it can move the spherical sealing body 4 back and forth between the closed position and the open position of the opening 2a. Since the body 4 is inherently liable to roll, the spherical sealing body 4 is restrained in a position along a predetermined locus during forward / backward movement (not only in a completely fixed restraint state but also in a restrained state with some play). Need to be designed). In this case, as a mode of the sealing body opening / closing means 5, for example, when an engaging arm of the spherical sealing body 4 is provided at the tip of the shuttle that moves back and forth and the shuttle is set to the advanced position. While allowing the spherical sealing body 4 of each reagent bottle 2 to pass through the engaging arm portion as it is, when retracting the spherical sealing body 4, the spherical sealing body 4 is engaged with the engaging arm. If the spherical sealing body 4 is a magnetic body, an electromagnet is provided at the tip of the shuttle that moves forward and backward, and the spherical sealing body 4 is engaged and disengaged by turning on and off the electromagnet. It is possible to appropriately select the spherical sealing body 4 such that the spherical sealing body 4 is retracted by the movement of the shuttle when the spherical sealing body 4 is locked.

[0010]

According to the technical means as described above, the spherical sealing body 4 has a circular opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 due to its own weight.
The spherical sealing body 4 completely closes the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 because it is placed so as to seal the container. Further, since the sealing body opening / closing means 5 temporarily retracts the spherical sealing body 4 of the reagent bottle 2 arranged at the reagent extraction position A from the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2, it is arranged at the reagent extraction position A. The opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 is opened, and at this stage, the reagent taking-out operation by the reagent pipetting mechanism 3 is performed. Then, at the time when the reagent taking-out operation by the reagent pipetting mechanism 3 is completed, the sealing body opening / closing means 5 restores the retracted spherical sealing body 4 to the reagent bottle 2 again.
Then, the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 is closed and the opening 2a of the reagent bottle 2 is closed.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below based on the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. 2 and 3 are explanatory views showing the entire system of an embodiment of an automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied. The automatic analyzer according to this embodiment is configured for immunological analysis using the latex agglutination reaction method, and includes a sample sampling device 10 for sampling a plurality of samples (serum in this example), and a sampling device. A predetermined reagent (latex reagent in this example) is dispensed to the sample thus obtained, and the two are stirred to react the sample with the reagent, and a sample reaction measuring device 20 for optically measuring the reaction result. A control system 30 that controls the sample sampling device 10 and the sample reaction measuring device 20 according to a predetermined sequence and outputs the reaction result of the sample and the reagent.

First, the specimen sampling apparatus 10 will be described. Reference numeral 101 is a disk-shaped sample table that holds a predetermined number of sample cups (specimen cups) 102 and dilution cups 103 in a concentric loop shape. A sample cup 102 containing a sample to be inspected and a dilution cup 103 capable of containing a diluted solution of the sample are intermittently transferred. Further, as many disposable nozzle tips 104 as the number of sample cups 102 are detachably held in a loop shape at the outermost periphery of the sample table 101. Further, reference numeral 105 is a serum pipetting mechanism for sampling serum as a sample (sample suction operation and sample dispensing operation), and has a sample pipette 106 that can be moved up and down and rotated freely.
The nozzle tip 104 is removably attached to the tip of 6 for each sample inspection, and a required amount of the sample in the sample cup 102 is sucked, or the sample and the diluent are dispensed into the dilution cup 103 as needed. Alternatively, the sampled sample is dispensed to the cavet 202 described later. In addition, reference numeral 107 is a serum constant-volume pump (sampling pump), 108 is a diluent tank, 109 is a constant-quantity pump for dilution, and 110 is a plurality of items for the same sample, and the nozzle tip 104 is washed and reused for re-examination. Cleaning tank, 111 drainage tank, 112 cleaning tank pump, 113 cleaning pump, 114 water supply tank, 11
Reference numeral 5 is a dustproof cover that covers the upper portion of the sample table 101, and reference numeral 116 is a sample extraction hole formed in a part of the dustproof cover 115.

Next, the sample reaction measuring device 20 will be described. Reference numeral 201 is a required number of cuvettes (reaction cells).
Reference numeral 202 is a reaction table that is held in a loop shape at a predetermined pitch interval, and is driven by step rotation to drive the cuvette 20.
2 is intermittently transferred in a fixed direction. Also,
Reference numeral 203 is a cuvette supply / disposal device that supplies a new cuvette 202 into the reaction table 201 and discards the cuvette 202 that has been inspected. The dust-proof cover 204 is provided with a reagent dispensing hole 205 and a sample dispensing hole (not shown).

Further, reference numeral 210 is a reagent supply device for supplying a reagent into the cuvette 202 of the reaction table 201, and the details of the reagent supply device 210 according to this embodiment are shown in FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 211 is a disk-shaped reagent table which is rotatably provided coaxially with the reaction table 201 and is rotated independently of the reaction table 201 by a drive motor (a pulse motor in this embodiment) 212. A plurality of (20 in this embodiment) reagent bottles 213 containing various latex reagents are arranged in a loop on the reagent table 211.

Further, reference numeral 214 is a positioning holder for positioning and holding each reagent bottle 213 arranged on the reagent table 211. A column 215 is erected at the center of the reagent table 211 and a circular plate is formed on the column 215. 21
6 is provided, and positioning holding holes 217 corresponding to the locations of the reagent bottles 213 are provided along the circumferential direction of the circular plate 216.
The reagent bottles 213 are positioned and held by inserting and arranging the respective reagent bottles 213 in the space 17.

Further, reference numeral 218 indicates the reagent table 21.
1 is a dust-proof cover that covers the upper space of No. 1, and a reagent extraction hole 219 is formed in a part of this dust-proof cover 218. Furthermore, reference numeral 220 is a reagent pipetting mechanism for sucking a required amount of the reagent in each reagent bottle 213 at the reagent extraction hole 219 and dispensing it into the cuvette 202 into which the sample has been dispensed. It has a freely operable reagent pipette 221. When a different reagent is sucked and dispensed, the reagent pipette 221 is once washed in the reagent washing tank 222. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 223 is a reagent metering pump.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a reagent bottle lid mechanism 230 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is provided. In the figure, the reagent bottle lid mechanism 230 is formed with a diameter dimension slightly larger than the inner diameter dimension of the circular opening 224 of each reagent bottle 213, and is placed so as to seal the opening 224 of the reagent bottle 213. And a sealing ball opening / closing mechanism 232 for temporarily retracting the sealing ball 231 from the opening 224 and returning it to the original position.

In this embodiment, the sealed sphere opening / closing mechanism 232 is an evacuation position in which the tip end faces the reagent ejection port 219 on the back side of the dustproof cover 218 and a retreat from the reagent ejection port 219. A shuttle 233 supported so as to be movable back and forth between positions, a rotary solenoid 234 installed substantially at the center of the surface of the dustproof cover 218 to move the shuttle 233 forward and backward, and integrally formed at the tip of the shuttle 233. Engaging arm 2 that engages with the sealing ball 231 of the reagent bottle 213 set at the reagent take-out position
35 and a disc-shaped guide plate 2 which is fixedly supported at the center of the reagent holder 214 and movably supports the sealing sphere 231 when retracting the sealing sphere 231 to the retracted position.
And 36.

In particular, in this embodiment, the shuttle 23 is
As shown in FIG. 8A, the engagement arm 235 of No. 3 has a flat plate-shaped portion 241 extending along the forward / backward direction of the shuttle 233, and in the forward / backward direction (X direction) of this flat plate-shaped portion 241. A pair of arm portions 242, 243 are provided so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so as to project downward, and the flat plate-shaped portion 241 has a circular engagement hole 244 formed of a tapered surface having an angle θ (about 60 degrees in this embodiment). And the sealing sphere 23 of each reagent bottle 213 in the direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction on the back surface of the flat plate-shaped portion 241.
Interference prevention shaving groove 24 having an arcuate cross section so as not to interfere with 1.
5 is formed, and further, inside the distal end side arm portion 242, the sealing sphere 2 inside the engagement arm 235 at the time of starting the retraction of the shuttle 233.
A restraining shaving groove 246 having an arcuate cross section for stably restraining the position of 31 is formed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the guide plate 236 and the opening 22 of the reagent bottle 213 are formed.
There is almost no gap formed between the upper surface of the guide plate 236 and the opening 2 of the reagent bottle 213.
24 is substantially flush with the upper end surface. Then, when the sealing sphere 231 is placed on the guide plate 236, the upper part of the sealing sphere 231 has the engaging hole 2 above.
It is designed to be loosely fitted in the position 44.

Further, reference numeral 270 is an optical measuring device for optically measuring the reaction between the sample and the reagent at a predetermined inspection stage. In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, a semiconductor laser 271 is used as a light source, The amount of change in the forward scattering intensity that changes with the progress of the antigen / antibody reaction in the cuvette 202 in the optical path is captured and measured by the integrating sphere 272, and at the same time, the transmitted light intensity is also measured. Take compensation measures against interference factors other than
It is for obtaining the turbidity value.

A so-called microcomputer system is adopted as the control system 30 in this embodiment, and as shown in FIGS.
Executes a predetermined inspection program, and operates the sample sampling device 10 and the sample reaction measuring device 30 via the control system circuit 302. In addition, reference numeral 303 is a liquid crystal display for displaying inspection results, 304 is an operation panel for instructing inspection menus, 305 is a printer for outputting inspection results, and 306 is a case where data such as inspection results is stored on a floppy disk, for example. It is a floppy disk drive used for.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the sample sampling device 10 dispenses each sample into the cuvette 202, and the sample reaction measuring device 20 dispenses an appropriate reagent into the cuvette 202 into which the sample has been dispensed. After that, the sample and the reagent are stirred by a stirrer (not shown), and then the reaction result of the sample and the reagent is measured by the optical measuring device 270.

Here, the reagent dispensing process by the sample reaction measuring device 20 will be described in detail. When a predetermined reagent is designated in an inspection having an inspection program of the control system 30, the reagent table 211 is driven by the drive motor 212. It rotates to a predetermined position, and the reagent bottle 213 containing the corresponding reagent stops at the reagent extraction hole 219 (reagent extraction position). At this time, all the opening portions 224 of the reagent bottles 213 are completely closed by the sealing balls 231 and the engaging arm 235 of the sealing ball opening / closing mechanism 232 is in the reagent extraction hole 219.
However, as shown in FIG. 6, the sealing sphere 231 of each reagent bottle 213 passes through the lower space of the engaging arm 235 without interfering with it.

When the predetermined reagent bottle 213 stops at the reagent take-out position, the rotary solenoid 234 operates to retract the shuttle 233. At this time, the engaging arm 235 at the tip of the shuttle 233 is moved to the position shown in FIGS.
As shown in (a) and (b), the corresponding reagent bottle 213
The sealing sphere 231 of the reagent bottle 231 is restrained and held, and is rolled on the guide plate 236 to open the opening 224 of the reagent bottle 213.
Temporarily evacuate from. In this state, the opening 224 of the reagent bottle 213 at the reagent take-out position is in an open state, and the reagent pipetting mechanism 220 lowers the reagent pipette 221 into the reagent take-out hole 219, and the inside of the reagent bottle 213 at the reagent take-out position. After sucking the required amount of the reagent, the reagent pipette 221 is raised and rotated to the reagent dispensing position, and then the reagent is dispensed into the cuvette 202 in which the sample is dispensed.

When the reagent suction / dispensing operation by the reagent pipetting mechanism 220 is completed, the shuttle 233 in the retracted position is returned to the original position by the operation of the rotary solenoid 234. At this time, the sealing sphere 231 in the engaging arm 235 rolls following the movement of the shuttle 233, and is placed on the opening 224 at the stage of reaching the position of the opening 224 of the reagent bottle 213. The opening 224 is completely closed.

[0027]

As described above, the reagent bottle lid structure of the reagent supply device according to the present invention has the following basic effects. That is, since the circular opening of the reagent bottle can be completely closed by the spherical sealing body, unnecessary evaporation of the reagent in the spherical sealing body can be completely avoided. Further, in constructing the sealing body opening / closing means for the spherical sealing body, since the spherical sealing body is naturally positioned with respect to the opening portion of the reagent bottle, there is no need for positioning means for the opening portion of the reagent bottle. Moreover, since it is not necessary to consider the directionality of the spherical sealing body itself with respect to the opening of the reagent bottle, there is no concern that the structure of the sealing body opening / closing means itself becomes complicated as in the conventional case, and the reagent bottle The lid structure can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a reagent bottle lid structure of a reagent supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic analyzer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a reagent supply device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a closed state of the reagent bottle lid mechanism corresponding to line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an opening operation state of the reagent bottle lid mechanism.

FIG. 8 (a) shows details of an engaging arm portion of a sealing ball opening / closing mechanism when the reagent bottle lid mechanism is closed, and FIG. 8 (b) shows an engaging arm of the sealing ball opening / closing mechanism when the reagent bottle lid mechanism is opened. It is a principal part sectional explanatory view which shows the relationship between a part and a sealing sphere.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reagent table, 2 ... Reagent bottle, 2a ... Circular opening part, 3 ... Reagent pipetting mechanism, 4 ... Spherical sealing body, 5
... Sealing body opening / closing means, A ... Reagent extraction position, M ... Reagent

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reagent bottle (2) containing a reagent (M) to be supplied by arranging a plurality of reagent bottles (2) on the reagent table (1) and moving the reagent table (1) appropriately. In the reagent extraction position (A), and the reagent (M) in the reagent bottle (2) is taken out by the reagent pipetting mechanism (3), the circular opening of the reagent bottle (2) A spherical sealing body (4) placed so as to seal the portion (2a), and a reagent extraction position (A)
The spherical sealing body (4) of the reagent bottle (2) placed in the container is temporarily retracted from the opening (2a) of the reagent bottle (2), and the reagent removal operation by the reagent pipetting mechanism (3) is completed. A reagent bottle for a reagent supply device, comprising: a sealing body opening / closing means (5) for returning the spherical sealing body (4), which is retracted at the time point, to the opening (2a) of the reagent bottle (2) again. Lid structure.