JPH08304412A - Slide glass housing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a slide glass housing apparatus which enables proper housing of a slide glass for a sample sequentially into cassettes transpotable with a plurality thereof being separated from one another. CONSTITUTION: An automatically sample making device is provided with a smearing part, a cassette, a transporting part, a housing operation part (slide glass housing device) 4, a dyeing part and a preservation part. The slide glass housing device 4 is provided with a slide glass holding parts 7 and 8, a motor 57, pulleys 58 and 59, a belt 60, a guide rail 61, a slider 62, an arm support member 63, a first arm 66, a second arm 68 and a cassette rotary member 69. The slide glass housing device 4 houses slide glass 10 smeared into a cassette 2 one at a time from a slide glass housing port 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slide glass storage device, and more particularly to a slide glass for the purpose of transporting a sample slide glass to a predetermined place or dyeing the slide glass. The present invention relates to a slide glass storage device for storing a glass in a cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for preparing specimens by dyeing slide glasses on which blood has been smeared one by one, the device disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 55-45855 (device A), The one disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 56-52244 (device B) and the one disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 58-196438 (device C) are known.

In the apparatus A, a plurality of narrow dyeing tanks are arranged side by side, and a slide glass is held by a clip and transferred.
I try to dye the slides one by one. In the apparatus B, a plurality of dyeing tanks are fixedly transported on a belt conveyor, one slide glass is stored at each predetermined position, a dyeing solution is dispensed, and dyeing is performed. After the dyeing, the slide glasses are discharged one by one from the dyeing tank.
In the device C, one slide glass is put in a dyeing container containing a dyeing solution for dyeing.

[0004]

In the apparatus A, the dyeing tank is fixed, so that the slide glass is lifted and put into the dyeing tank from above. In device A, one of the operations for transferring the slide glass and inserting it into the dyeing tank is performed.
The part that holds the slide glass with a clip has not been automated, and the specific configuration when it is automated is unknown. In the case of automation, there is a question about the certainty for keeping the holding position of the slide glass (it may shift during the transfer), and it is difficult to surely insert it into the dyeing tank.

In the apparatus B, since the dyeing tank is fixed to the belt conveyor, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in taking in and out the slide glass and operating the belt conveyor is low. Moreover, the specific structure for storing the slide glass in the dyeing tank is unknown.

The apparatus C does not consider automation, and does not disclose any specific structure for housing the slide glass in the dyeing tank.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a slide capable of sequentially storing the slide glass for a sample in a cassette capable of transporting a plurality of separated glass sheets in order. An object is to provide a glass storage device.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a slide glass storage device for storing a slide glass for a specimen and a liquid, and a cassette having a slide glass storage opening for storing the slide glass. A cassette holding / transfer mechanism for holding the cassette with the slide glass storage port facing upward and transferring it to a predetermined storage position, and a cassette for temporarily stopping the cassette transferred by the cassette holding / transfer mechanism at the storage position. A stop mechanism, a cassette rotation mechanism for rotating the cassette temporarily stopped by the cassette stop mechanism at the storage position until the slide glass storage opening is substantially horizontal, and the slide glass is placed substantially horizontally. Slide glass holder for holding the slide glass and the slide placed on the slide glass holder It is equipped with a slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism for transferring the laths to the storage position substantially horizontally and inserting the laths into the cassette from the substantially horizontally oriented slide glass storage port, one slide glass at a time. There is provided a slide glass storage device characterized by being stored in a cassette.

[0009]

[Functions, etc.] As the slide glass for specimens, those of various sizes and materials, with or without frosted parts, those with or without frosted parts, etc., are appropriately selected for use. To be As an example, the length is 76 mm, the width is 26 mm, and the thickness is 0.9 to 1.2 m.
m, with corner cut and edge polishing, and colored frosted part, the length of the frosted part is 15 ~
Some are 20 mm.

The slide glass storage cassette comprises a storage portion. The storage unit can store a predetermined number (preferably one) of slide glasses and can store a liquid such as a staining liquid or a cleaning liquid. As the cassette, for example, a transparent one made of a flat plastic is used. The cassette has a slide glass storage opening for storing the slide glass.

The cassette holding / transfer mechanism holds the cassette and transfers it to a predetermined storage position. The holding and transfer are performed with the slide glass storage port facing upward. As a cassette holding / transfer mechanism, for example,
A belt conveyor is used which comprises a pair of belts arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval.

The cassette stop mechanism temporarily stops the transferred cassette at the position. The cassette stopping mechanism may be incorporated in the cassette holding / transferring mechanism, or may be separately provided as a stopper or other stopping means without being incorporated in the mechanism.

The cassette rotation mechanism rotates the temporarily stopped cassette until its slide glass storage port is oriented substantially horizontally. As a method for rotating the cassette, a cassette holding and transferring mechanism sandwiches the upper and lower sides of the cassettes arranged substantially vertically, and the lower part of the rear surface of the cassette is rotated forward by about 90 degrees by a member for rotating. Alternatively, there is a method in which both side portions of the cassettes arranged substantially vertically are supported by horizontal shaft members and the shaft members are rotated by about 90 degrees.

The slide glass holding portion is provided in the vicinity of the storage position, and holds and holds the slide glass substantially horizontally and preferably in a state in which it can be transported in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism transfers the slide glasses placed on the slide glass holder to the storage position one by one. Then, the slide glass is inserted into the cassette through the slide glass storage opening which is substantially horizontal. This slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism is provided with, for example, a member and a part for pushing the rear end of the slide glass forward (in the storage position direction) -a head portion of an arm member described later-.

[0016] Cassette rotation mechanism and slide glass transfer
It is preferably operated synchronously with the insertion mechanism. That is, although the slide glass is transferred by the transfer operation of the slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism, the slide glass is inserted into the cassette by the cassette rotation mechanism so that the cassette is horizontally oriented in its slide glass storage port. It is performed by the inserting operation of the slide glass transfer / inserting mechanism after waiting until the slide glass is rotated.

In this way, the slide glasses are stored in the cassette one by one. Here, when the slide glass is smeared, after the slide glass is stored in the cassette, for example, a staining solution is supplied into the cassette and the slide glass is subjected to predetermined staining.

In the slide glass storage device of the present invention, preferably, the slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism has an arm support member capable of substantially horizontal reciprocating linear movement, and a pivotally supported one end of the arm support member. An arm member having a head portion provided at the other end and a driving force supply portion provided at the other end, and a drive means for supplying a driving force to the arm member and the arm support member via the driving force supply portion of the arm member. The cassette rotation mechanism is provided with a cassette rotation member that is connected to the arm support member of the slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism and that contacts the cassette by the movement of the arm support member to rotate the cassette. By driving the means, the arm member rotates and the arm support member moves, so that the head portion of the arm member pushes the slide glass and the cassette rotating portion. There are used those into contact with the cassette.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this.

First, the overall structure of the automatic sample preparation device will be described. In FIG. 1, an automatic sample preparation device D includes a smear section 1 for smearing blood on a sample slide glass 10, a slide glass storage cassette 2, and one or more cassettes 2 which are detachably set. And a feeding operation section 3 for feeding the slide glass 10 having been smeared from the smearing section 1 to the cassette 2 fed from the feeding section 3 (according to the present invention). Slide glass storage device 4), a cassette lateral feed section 200 for laterally feeding the cassette 2 containing the smeared slide glass 10, and a smeared slide by supplying a dyeing solution to the cassette 2 fed from the lateral feed section 200. For storing the dyeing part 5 for dyeing the glass 10 and the cassette 2 that contains the dyed slide glass 10 and is sent out from the dyeing part 5. And a tubular portion 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the smear portion 1 is provided with a slide glass supply turntable 11 so as to be capable of forward and reverse intermittent rotation, and the slide glass supply hole 1 is provided in the turntable 11.
1a is provided at two places (“position 1” and “position 2”), and the slide glass supply holes 11a and 11 thereof are provided.
A rectangular parallelepiped slide glass supply cassette 12 in which 100 slide glasses 10 are stacked and stored in a.
It is one in which two are fitted. An outlet is provided at the bottom of each cassette 12, and the slide glass 10 at the bottom is taken out one by one from the outlet.

The slide glass 10 accommodated in each cassette 12 has a length of 76 mm, a width of 26 mm, and a thickness of 1.0 mm, is subjected to corner cutting and edge polishing, has a frosted portion, and has a length of the frosted portion. Is 15 mm.

The slide glass 10 is taken out from the cassette 12, conveyed to a predetermined position for smearing, and further conveyed to a predetermined position for printing on the smeared slide glass 10.

Next, the structure of the slide glass storage cassette 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The cassette 2 is a black translucent flat and vertically long container made of polysulfone, and is composed of one slide glass 10
And one storage part 31 capable of storing liquid, and two left and right suspension support parts 32 and 33 connected to the upper part of the storage part 31 and for supporting the storage part 31 in a suspended state. Become. The storage unit 31 includes a vertical left side wall 31a, a vertical right side wall 31b, an inclined bottom wall 31c, and a vertical front wall 3.
1d and a vertical rear wall 31e, and a space surrounded by these walls 31a to 31e.

This space includes a main space 34 in which the slide glass 10 and a liquid can be stored, and a main space 3.
Sub space 35 for supplying / discharging liquid (staining solution, cleaning solution, etc.) that is adjacent to the left of 4 and communicates with the main space 34
Consists of The bottom wall 31c is provided over the main space 34 and the sub space 35, and is inclined downward from the main space 34 toward the sub space 35 by about 10 degrees.

The main space 34 and the sub space 35 are a slide glass storage upper left guide 36 provided on the left side of the slide glass storage opening 40 of the storage portion 31, and a lower left guide 37 provided below the upper left guide 36. And by
Separated. On the right side of the slide glass storage port 35, a slide glass storage upper right guide 38 that is continuous with the right suspension support portion 33 is provided. Below the upper right guide 38, the lower right guide 39 is at the same height as the lower left guide 37.
Is provided. Upper left guide 36, lower left guide 37,
The upper right guide 38 and the lower right guide 39 function as holding portions for holding the slide glass 10 in the main space 34, which is a position biased to the right side in the storage unit 31.

The lower left guide 37 of the main space 34 and the bottom wall 3
A pin 42 made of polysulfone that is horizontally provided on the front wall 31d and the rear wall 31e is arranged between the pin 1c and 1c.
The pin 42 has a function of holding the lower end of the slide glass 10 housed in the main space 34 in a state of being separated from the bottom wall 31c.

The height of the two left and right suspension support portions 32 and 33 is approximately 20% of the height of the storage portion 31. Between the left suspension support 32 and the upper left guide 36 is a pipette insertion port 41 for inserting a pipette for injecting / aspirating a staining solution, a cleaning solution or the like. The pipette insertion port 41 is narrowed toward the bottom and communicates with the sub space 35. That is, on the left suspension support part 32, the downwardly inclined part 32a having an inclination angle of about 60 degrees from the horizontal is provided on the upper left guide 3.
6 is provided to face the left side wall 31 of the storage unit 31.
On the upper part of a, a downward sloped portion 31f having an inclination angle of about 75 degrees from the horizontal is a downward sloped portion 32 of the suspension support 32 on the left side.
It is provided in series with a. This makes the sub space 3
5 is narrowed toward the lower side in the vicinity of the descending inclined portion 31f.

The descending inclined portion 31f at the upper portion of the left side wall 31a of the storage portion 31 functions as an illegal setting preventing portion for preventing the cassette 2 from being set to a state other than a predetermined state. The predetermined state is a state in which the cassette 2 is set at a predetermined position in a predetermined direction in a transfer unit or the like for transferring the cassette 2.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with a downward slope 31f between the left suspension support 32 and a vertical left wall 31a, while the right wall 31b is provided vertically to the right suspension support 33. Has been. In other words, the storage portion 31 of the cassette 2
Is asymmetrical. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the reverse set preventing member having a predetermined vertical cross-sectional shape along one side wall 43a of the table 43 for setting an empty cassette 2 having a vertical cross-section. By arranging 44, the cassette 2 can be correctly set in the determined direction.

In FIG. 9, 45 and 46 are a pair of conveyor belts for vertically suspending and conveying the cassette 2 by the suspension supporting portions 32 and 33. Also, 32b and 33b
Is a guide groove provided on the lower surface of the suspension supporting portions 32 and 33. Then, the cassette 2 is a conveyor belt 45/46.
The side wall 43a of the table 43 when being supported and transported by the
The upper edge of 43b fits into the guide grooves 32 and 33.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the cassette 2 is provided with recesses 32c and 33c, which are open forward and downward, in the two suspension supporting portions 32 and 33, respectively. These recesses 32c and 33c are for fitting a cassette separating stopper described later. In addition, attraction members 99 and 100 that are attracted to the magnets are embedded in the two suspension support portions 32 and 33, respectively.
These attraction members 99 and 100 are combined with a magnet to correctly position the cassette 2. A left middle guide may be further provided between the upper left guide 36 and the lower left guide 37. In that case, the main space 34 and the sub space 35 are partitioned by the upper left guide 36, the lower left guide 37, and the left middle guide, so that the drying effect of the slide glass 10 described later can be further improved.

Next, the overall operation of the automatic sample preparation device D will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 10 to 12 together with the configuration of each part of the device D.

As shown in FIG. 10, a sample container containing a blood sample is attached with a bar code label showing a sample number, a date, a reception number, a name, etc., and mounted on a sample holding rack. This rack is transported by the rack transport device (“rack transport”) and stopped in front of the automatic sample preparation device D. Then, the barcode of the barcode label attached to the sample container is read by the barcode reader. Next, the sample information is received from the rack transport device and the presence or absence of the order is confirmed. Here, when there is no order, the procedure returns to rack transportation and the rack is transported. When there is an order, the sample in the sample container is stirred and then aspirated by the pipette 47b attached to the arm 47a of the blood dispensing mechanism 47.

The removal of the slide glass 10 from the cassette 12 and the conveyance to a predetermined position for smearing will be described. First, "Position 1" on the turntable 11
Alternatively, "position 2" is confirmed (position confirmation), and the turntable 11 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise according to the confirmation result (positioning of the turntable 11).

Then, the slide glass 1 is placed in the cassette 12.
It is judged whether there is 0 or not, and slide glass 10
If there is not, an error message "Please set the slide glass 10" is displayed. When the slide glass 10 is present, the slide glass 10 is taken out from the cassette 12 by the method as described above. This removal is performed once every 30 seconds.

About 5 microliters of the sample sucked by the pipette 47b shown in FIG. 2 is dropped on the slide glass 10 taken out. The pipette 47b is then washed in the pipette washing tank 48.

Next, the slide glass 10 on which the sample has been dropped is smeared by the smearing mechanism 49 based on the wedge method at the first predetermined position of the smearing section 1. That is, the drawn glass 50 arranged at the first predetermined position is moved in the longitudinal direction of the slide glass 10 in contact with the slide glass 10 to perform smearing. When the smearing is finished, the pull glass 50
After being immersed in a drawn glass cleaning tank 51 containing a cleaning liquid for removing oil and proteins, it is pulled up and cleaned by a nozzle.

Thereafter, the smear confirmation means 52 detects whether the smear state is good or bad. That is, when the slide glass 10 after smearing passes between a pair of optical elements (light receiving element and light emitting element) arranged above and below the slide glass 10, approximately three positions (parallel to the short sides) in the approximate center of the slide glass 10 are provided. , Which is on a straight line), and a predetermined judgment is made based on those light transmittances. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, if the smear is not good, an error message is issued, and if the smear is good, the dot glass printer 53 prints on the slide glass 10 at the second predetermined position. That is, the sample number, date, reception number, name, etc. read by the barcode reader are printed on the frosted portion of the slide glass 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the slide glass 10 on which printing has been completed has a drying fan 54 disposed on the right side of the second predetermined position and a third predetermined position (storage standby described later) on the front side of the second predetermined position. Forced drying is performed by the drying fan 55 arranged on the right side of the position).

The slide glass 10 horizontally moves leftward from the first predetermined position to the second predetermined position and horizontally forward from the second predetermined position to the third predetermined position. To detect the horizontal movement of
The following means are provided. That is, between the first predetermined position and the second predetermined position, a pair of optical transmission sensors with slits are provided in front of and behind the horizontally arranged slide glass 10, and from the second predetermined position to the third predetermined position. In between, slide glass 10 placed horizontally
A pair of light transmission sensors with slits are provided on the left side and the right side.

The height dimension of the slit on the light receiving side in these two types of light transmission sensors for detecting the movement of the slide glass 10 is set to be equal to or less than the thickness of the slide glass 10. The light emitting side uses a pulse current to obtain the light quantity. With these two types of light transmission sensors, it becomes possible to detect the horizontally moving slide glass 10 even if there is a moving mechanism above or below the slide glass 10.

In FIG. 2, an empty cassette 2, which is supported by the cassette feeding belt 3a of the supply unit 3 in a suspended manner and is conveyed from the rear to the front (in the direction of the white arrow), is vertical at the front end of the cassette feeding belt 3a. In this state, the cassette holding / transfer member 5 as a cassette holding / transfer mechanism
Held by 6. That is, the cassette holding / transferring member 56 is a pair of left and right holding arms 56a that are rotatable in and out.
・ Has 56a. The holding arms 56a and 56a have engaging claws 56b and 56b as engaging portions, respectively. By rotating these holding arms 56a, 56a from the outside to the inside, the suspension support 32,
Hold 33. 32d and 33d in FIG. 6 are the engaging claws 56b and 56b of the holding arms 56a and 56a at that time.
Is an engaging hole that fits in and engages. Hold cassette
The transfer member 56 also includes a stop mechanism for temporarily stopping the cassettes 2 one by one.

The cassette 2 held in the vertical state is transferred to the left by the cassette holding / transfer member 56 and stopped in front of the third predetermined position, that is, the storage standby position. Third
The slide glass 10 that has been conveyed to the predetermined position has the storage operation unit 4 and the cassette holding / transfer member 56 at the same position.
Is stored in the cassette 2 by the operation of. The storage operation unit 4-the slide glass storage device 4-according to the invention will be described below.

The left side in FIG. 13 shows the front part of the slide glass storage device 4, and the right side shows the rear part of the slide glass storage device 4. In FIG. 13, the slide glass storage device 4 is a set of two slide glass holders 7 and 8 (horizontally arranged horizontally and in parallel with each other for horizontally mounting and holding the slide glass 10). (See 2)
A forward / reverse rotatable motor 57 that serves as a drive source (driving means), two front and rear pulleys 58 and 59, and a horizontal stretched between the pulleys 58 and 59 that is driven by the motor 57 to move the front and rear. And a belt 60 that moves to.

The slide glass storage device 4 further includes a guide rail 61 horizontally arranged above the belt 60, a slider 62 which is guided by the guide rail 61 to move back and forth, and an arm mounted on the upper surface of the slider 62. The support member 63, a support shaft 64 and a belt 60 provided at a front protruding portion on the front side of the upper portion of the arm support member 63.
A first arm 66 as an arm member pivotally supported by a support shaft 65 provided on the upper end of the arm support member 63, and an arm member Two arms 68, a cassette rotating member 69 slidably attached to the guide rail 61 in front of the arm supporting member 63, and a connecting rod 70 connecting the arm supporting member 63 and the cassette rotating member 69 are provided. There is.

The connecting rod 70 is loosely fitted in an insertion hole formed in the arm supporting member 63 in a front-rear penetrating manner, the front end is fixed to the rear surface of the cassette rotating member 69, and the retainer 71 is attached to the rear end. There is. The connecting rod 70 has an arm supporting member 63.
And the cassette rotating member 69, the two members 63, 69 are separated from each other so that the rear surface of the arm supporting member 63 is a retainer 71.
A coil spring 72 for urging so as to hit is fitted.

The first arm 66 is rotatable around the support shaft 64, and a first head 73 as a head portion is provided on the front portion of the upper end so as to project upward. First head 7
The reference numeral 3 is capable of projecting and retracting between the two slide glass holding portions 7 and 8. The second arm 68 is rotatable around the support shaft 67, and a second head 74 as a head portion is provided on the upper rear end so as to project upward. The second head 74 is capable of projecting and retracting between the two slide glass holders 7 and 8. The second arm 68 is adapted to rotate following the rotation of the first arm 66.

A roller 75 is attached to the upper part of the front end of the cassette rotating member 69. When the cassette rotating member 69 moves forward, the roller 75 comes into contact with the rear surface of the vertically arranged cassette 2 and then the engagement hole 32d of the cassette 2.
The cassette 2 is rotated forward with 33d as a rotation axis. The outer diameter and mounting height of the roller 75 are
The cassette rotating member 69 and the roller 75 are set so that the cassette 2 becomes horizontal when the cassette 2 is rotated to the maximum forward.

In FIG. 13, the solid line indicates the position of each member (initial position) before the slide glass storage device 4 starts to operate.
Indicates. In FIG. 13, when the motor 57 rotates in the forward direction to move the belt 60 in the direction of the arrow and the support shaft 65 moves from the solid line portion to the two-dot chain line portion, the first arm 66 rotates in the clockwise direction around the support shaft 64. Move upright as shown by the chain double-dashed line. Along with this, the first head 73 also rotates clockwise around the support shaft 64, and the first head 19a is lifted as indicated by the chain double-dashed line.

Then, the rear end of the upper end of the first arm 66 causes the second arm 68 to rotate counterclockwise around the support shaft 67 and become horizontal as shown by the chain double-dashed line, so that the second head 74 is lifted. To be

When the belt 60 is further moved in the direction of the arrow, the first arm 66 which is upright and the second arm 6 which is horizontal.
The arm support member 63 moves forward together with 8. Along with this, the first head 73 pushes the rear end of the slide glass 10 (first slide glass 10-1) at the storage standby position, and the second head 74 causes the first slide glass 10-.
The rear end of the slide glass 10 (second slide glass 10-2) immediately after 1 is pushed to move the respective slide glasses 10-1 and 10-2 forward.

At this time, the arm supporting member 63 moves forward while pushing the cassette rotating member 69 via the coil spring 72. Then, the roller 75 contacts the rear surface of the vertically arranged cassette 2.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Rotates the cassette 2 to the maximum forward (90 degrees in angle) with the engagement holes 32d and 33d of the cassette 2 as the rotation axes. The first cassette 73, which is pushed horizontally by the first head 73, moves from the slide glass storage opening 40 to the horizontal cassette 2.
The slide glass 10-1 is inserted. At this time, the arm supporting member 63 and the cassette rotating member 69 move to the maximum forward. The solid line in FIG. 14 indicates the position (end position) of each member at that time.

The position of the second slide glass 10-2 at the end position of FIG. 14 is the first position at the initial position of FIG.
It is equal to the position of the slide glass 10-1. In addition, immediately after the second slide glass 10-2 at the final position, the third slide glass 1 following the second slide glass 10-2.
0-3 are being transported.

From the final position shown in FIG. 14, when the motor 57 rotates in the reverse direction to move the belt 60 in the direction of the arrow and the support shaft 65 moves from the solid line portion to the two-dot chain line portion, the first arm 66 moves to the support shaft 64. Rotate counterclockwise around and tilt as shown by the chain double-dashed line. Along with this, the first head 73
Also rotates around the support shaft 64 in the counterclockwise direction, and the first head 19a lowers as shown by the chain double-dashed line.

Then, the rear portion of the upper end of the first arm 66 is lifted and the second arm 68 is rotated in the clockwise direction around the support shaft 67, and the second head 74 is lowered as indicated by the chain double-dashed line. Then, when the belt 60 moves further in the direction of the arrow,
The arm support member 63 moves rearward together with the first arm 66 and the second arm 68, and the rear surface of the arm support member 63 contacts the retainer 71 of the connecting rod 70. When the arm supporting member 63 moves further rearward, the cassette rotating member 69 is connected via the connecting rod 70.
Also moves backward and returns to the initial position.

When returning from the final position to the initial position, the first
Since the head 19a and the second head 74 are in a lowered state as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 14, they do not interfere with the second slide glass 10-2 and the third slide glass 10-3.

As described above, the slide glass 10 conveyed to the third predetermined position is stored in the cassette 2 at the same position by the operation of the slide glass storage device 4 and the cassette holding / transferring member 56. The cassette 2 accommodating the slide glass 10 is placed in a vertical state by the cassette holding / transferring member 56, then placed on the cassette lateral feed belt 3b and conveyed leftward, and stopped in front of the pusher 76.

The pusher 76 sets the cassette 2 in front of it to 1
They are pushed out one by one and placed on a set of two cassette transport belts 5a in the dyeing section 5. The pushers 76 send the cassettes 2 to the dyeing section 5 one by one.

A cassette interrupt supply member 77 is provided on the right side of the pusher 76. Then, in addition to the cassette 2 which is placed on the cassette lateral feed belt 3b and conveyed leftward, an interrupt cassette containing a slide glass for dyeing is loaded into the cassette interrupt supply member 77 as desired, and the cassette lateral feed is performed. It can be placed on the belt 3b.

As shown in FIG. 11, the slide glass 10
The Maygrunwald liquid for dyeing (hereinafter, abbreviated as “May liquid”) is dispensed into the cassette 2 which has been stored and sent to the dyeing section 5 in an amount of about 6 ml. This starts the dyeing process described below.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the dyeing section 5 is provided with the first to fourth suction / exhaust devices 78, 79, 80, 81 sequentially from the front to the rear. The first intake / exhaust device 78 is
It is for dispensing May liquid in the cassette 2, and includes a horizontal arm 90 and a first pipette 91 for dispensing vertically inserted into a pipette hole provided near the left end of the arm 90. I have it.

The May solution supplied through the staining solution supply tube (not shown) is dispensed from the first pipette 91 into the sub space 35 of the cassette 2 in an amount of about 6 ml. The dispensed May liquid is also supplied to the main space 34 of the cassette 2 to immerse the smeared portion of the slide glass 10 in the main space 34. Next, after the cassette 2 is transported to the left of the second suction / discharge device 79 by the cassette transport belt 5a,
There, it is temporarily stopped.

The second sucking / discharging device 79 is for discharging the May liquid and dispensing the May diluting liquid, and is vertically inserted into the pipette hole provided on the left of the first pipette 91 in the arm 90. A second pipette 92 for suction and a first
The pipette 91 is provided with a third pipette 93 for dispensing which is vertically inserted into a pipette hole provided on the right side of the pipette 91. First
~ The third pipettes 91, 92, 93 are arranged in one row.

Once the cassette 2 is stopped on the left side of the second suction / discharge device 79, the May liquid in the cassette 2 is removed from the second suction / discharge device 79.
All are sucked by the second pipette 92 and are discharged through a liquid discharge tube (not shown) (May liquid discharge).
As shown in FIG. 12, the time from the May liquid dispensing to the May liquid discharge, that is, the time of the May fixing treatment can be arbitrarily set within 1 to 5 minutes.

After the May fixing process is completed, the second intake / exhaust device 7
About 6 ml of the May dilution liquid supplied through the staining liquid supply tube 9 (not shown) is poured from the first pipette 91 into the sub space 35 of the cassette 2. The dispensed May dilution liquid is also supplied to the main space 34 of the cassette 2 to immerse the May glass fixing portion (smear portion) of the slide glass 10 in the main space 34. Next, the cassette 2 is transported to the left of the third suction / discharge device 80 by the cassette transport belt 5a, and then temporarily stopped there.

The third suction / discharge device 80 is for discharging the May dilution liquid and dispensing the Giemsa liquid, and has the same structure as the second suction / discharge device 79. Once the cassette 2 is stopped to the left of the third suction / discharge device 80, the May diluent in the cassette 2 is all sucked by the second pipette 92 of the third suction / discharge device 80 and discharged through a liquid discharge tube (not shown). (Discharge of May diluent). The time from dispensing the May dilution liquid to discharging the May dilution liquid, that is, the time for the May dyeing treatment, is 1
It can be arbitrarily set within 5 minutes.

The May dyeing process is omitted when the total dyeing process time and the running cost are reduced, and the slide glass 10 is washed instead. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, water (for example, ion-exchanged water) or a buffer (for example, phosphate buffer solution) for washing is supplied from the third pipette 93 of the second suction / discharge device 79 into the cassette 2 from which the May solution has been discharged. ) Is dispensed, and then the water or buffer is discharged by the second pipette 92 of the third suction / discharge device 80, whereby the slide glass 10 is washed. In addition, a similar cleaning process may be performed after the May dyeing process.

When the May dyeing process or the washing process is completed, the Giemsa solution for dyeing supplied through the dyeing solution supply tube (not shown) of the third suction / exhaust device 80 is transferred from the first pipette 91 to the sub space 35 of the cassette 2. 6 ml is dispensed. The dispensed Giemsa solution is also supplied to the main space 34 of the cassette 2 to immerse a portion (smear portion) of the slide glass 10 on which the May dyeing treatment or the washing treatment is performed in the main space 34. Next, the cassette 2 is transported to the left of the fourth suction / discharge device 81 by the cassette transport belt 5a, and then temporarily stopped there.

The fourth sucking / discharging device 81 is for discharging Giemsa solution and for dispensing washing water, and is a first pipette for vertically pouring washing water which is vertically inserted into a pipette hole provided in the arm 90. 94, a second pipette 95 in the arm 90, which is vertically inserted into a pipette hole provided to the left of the first pipette 94 for preventing overflow, and a pipette provided to the right of the first pipette 94 in the arm 90. Third pipette 9 for liquid suction inserted vertically into the hole
6 is provided. First to third pipettes 94/95/9
6 are arranged in one row.

When the cassette 2 is once stopped to the left of the fourth suction / discharge device 61, the Giemsa solution in the cassette 2 is removed from the third pipette 9.
Liquid suction tube (not shown)
Is discharged through (Gimza liquid discharge). As shown in FIG. 12, the time from the Giemsa solution dispensing to the Giemsa solution discharge, that is, the time of the Giemsa dyeing treatment can be arbitrarily set between 5 and 20 minutes.

After the Giemsa dyeing process is completed, the cleaning water (for example, ion-exchanged water) supplied through the cleaning water supply tube (not shown) of the fourth suction / discharge device 81 is replaced by the first pipette 9.
Dispensed from 4. The dispensed cleaning water fills the main space 34 and the sub-space 35 of the cassette 2, and cleans the slide glass 10 at the Giemsa-stained portion (smear portion). Next, the wash water in the main space 34 and the sub space 35 is sucked by the third pipette 96 and discharged through a liquid discharge tube (not shown). Repeat such dispensing of wash water and suction / discharge four times,
Finish the washing process.

The cassette 2 which has been washed with water is conveyed by the cassette conveying belt 5a to the left of the drying fan 97 arranged behind the fourth suction / exhaust device 81, and the slide glass 10 in the cassette 2 is transferred to the fan 97 by the cassette conveying belt 5a. It is dried by operation. This drying time can be arbitrarily set between 1 and 15 minutes. At this time, the drying air is blown into the sub space 35 from the pipette insertion opening 41 of the cassette 2 and is blown out to the slide glass storage opening 40 through the main space 34, so that the slide glass 10 is efficiently dried.

The cassette 2 accommodating the slide glass 10 that has been dried is the cassette conveyor belt 5a of the dyeing section 5.
From the cassette to the cassette feeding / feeding mechanism 98. The cassette feeding / feeding mechanism 98 is the dyeing unit 5.
It is provided in a state where these are connected to the rear of the storage unit 6, and after the cassettes 2 sent out from the cassette transport belt 5a are moved to the left one by one, the two cassettes 2 in the storage unit 6 are moved. It operates so that it is sent to a set of cassette carrying belts 6a and placed.

The cassette 2 placed on the cassette carrying belt 6a of the storage unit 6 by the cassette sending / feeding mechanism 98 is carried forward by the cassette carrying belt 6a. Then, the cassette 2 conveyed to the front end of the storage unit 6 hits the front wall 6b of the storage unit 6 and stops. The cassette carrying belt 6a is always rotating so that the cassettes 2 which are successively carried later may be applied to the stopped cassette 2 immediately before.

In this way, a predetermined number of cassettes 2 are accumulated on the cassette carrying belt 6a of the storage section 6. A predetermined number of cassettes 2 are taken out from the storage unit 6.

[0079]

Since the slide glass storage device according to the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following remarkable effects.

That is, in the slide glass storage device according to the first aspect, the cassette holding / transferring mechanism, the cassette stopping mechanism, the cassette rotating mechanism, and the slide glass transferring / inserting mechanism are provided. Since the slide glasses are stored in the cassette one by one, it is possible to store a plurality of slide glasses in the cassette one by one in a preferable manner.

In the slide glass storage device according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the cassette rotating mechanism and the slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism are operated in synchronization with each other, the slide glass can be stored more efficiently without waste of operation. It can be suitably performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the slide glass accommodating device, wherein the slide glass transferring / inserting mechanism includes the arm supporting member, the arm member and the driving means as described above, and the cassette rotating mechanism comprises: The above-described cassette rotating member is provided, and the arm member is rotated and the arm supporting member is moved by the driving of the driving means, whereby the head portion of the arm member pushes the slide glass and the cassette rotating member is moved. Since it comes into contact with the cassette, the effect of the slide glass storage device according to the first or second aspect can be easily and reliably achieved by the cooperative operation of the arm member and the cassette rotating member.

In the slide glass storage device according to the fourth aspect, the cassette holding / transferring mechanism comprises a pair of holding arms capable of holding the cassette from both sides, and the pair of holding arms and Each of the cassettes is provided with an engaging portion for holding the cassette, and the mutual engagement of these engaging portions allows the cassette to be reliably sandwiched and held by the pair of holding arms. The effect obtained by the slide glass storage device according to any one of items 1 to 3 can be more reliably achieved by a simple and cost-effective configuration.

According to another aspect of the slide glass storage device of the present invention, the engaging portion of the holding arm is a pair of engaging claws, and the engaging portion of the cassette is a pair of engaging claws. Since the holes are holes, the cassette is reliably sandwiched and held by the pair of holding arms by the mutual engagement between the engaging claws and the engaging holes. The effect can be achieved with a very simple and cost-effective construction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of an automatic sample preparation device incorporating a slide glass storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a slide glass storage cassette used in the slide glass storage device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cassette shown in FIG.

5 is a bottom view of the cassette of FIG.

6 is a side view of the cassette of FIG.

7 is a sectional view taken along the line P-P in FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line QQ of FIG.

9 is a rear view showing a state in which the cassette of FIG. 3 is correctly set on a table and is conveyed by a conveyor belt.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation from the setting of the slide glass to the smearing process in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation from detection after smearing to storage of a slide glass in a cassette in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the staining process in the automatic sample preparation device of FIG.

13 is a side view showing a state before the slide glass is stored in the cassette by the slide glass storage device of FIG. 1. FIG.

14 is a side view showing a state after the slide glass is stored in the cassette by the slide glass storage device of FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Cassette for storing slide glass 4 Storage operation part (slide glass storage device) 7 Slide glass holding part 8 Slide glass holding part 10 Slide glass 32 Suspension support part 32d Engagement hole (engagement part) 33 Suspension support part 33d Engagement Aperture (engagement part) 40 Slide glass storage port 56 Cassette holding / transfer member (cassette holding / transfer mechanism) (stopping mechanism) 56a Holding arm 56b Engaging claw (engaging part) 60 Belt (driving means) 66 First Arm (arm member) 68 Second arm (arm member) 69 Cassette rotating member (cassette rotating mechanism) 73 First head (head portion) 74 Second head (head portion)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A slide glass storage device for storing a slide glass in a cassette capable of storing a sample slide glass and a liquid and having a slide glass storage opening, wherein the cassette has a slide glass storage opening facing upward. Cassette holding / transfer mechanism for holding the cassette in a state and transferring it to a predetermined storage position, a cassette stop mechanism for temporarily stopping the cassette transferred by the cassette holding / transfer mechanism at the storage position, and a temporary stop by the cassette stop mechanism. A cassette rotation mechanism for rotating the stopped cassette at the storage position until its slide glass storage opening becomes substantially horizontal sideways; and a slide glass holding portion for mounting and holding the slide glass substantially horizontally. , The storage positions of the slide glasses placed on the slide glass holding portion one by one It is equipped with a slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism for transporting the slide glass in a substantially horizontal direction and inserting it into the cassette from the slide glass storage opening that is in a substantially horizontal direction. Glass slide storage device characterized by. 2. The slide glass storage device according to claim 1, wherein the slide glass is stored in the cassette one by one by operating the cassette rotation mechanism and the slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism in synchronization. 3. A slide glass transfer / insertion mechanism, an arm support member capable of substantially horizontal reciprocating linear movement, and a pivotally rotatably supported by the arm support member, and a head portion provided at one end and the other end at the other end. The cassette rotation mechanism comprises an arm member provided with a driving force supply section and a drive means for supplying a driving force to the arm member and the arm support member via the driving force supply section of the arm member. The glass transporting / inserting mechanism is provided with a cassette rotating member that is connected to the arm supporting member and that contacts the cassette by the movement of the arm supporting member to rotate the cassette, and the arm member is rotated by driving the driving means. 3. The head supporting member of the arm member pushes the slide glass and the cassette rotating member abuts on the cassette when the arm supporting member moves. Slide glass storage device. 4. The cassette holding / transporting mechanism comprises a pair of holding arms capable of sandwiching and holding the cassette from both sides, and a member for holding the cassette in each of the pair of holding arms and the cassette. A joint part is provided.
The slide glass storage device according to any one of 3 above. 5. The slide glass storage device according to claim 4, wherein the engaging portion of the holding arm is a pair of engaging claws, and the engaging portion of the cassette is a pair of engaging holes into which the engaging claws fit. .