JPH09208044A - Specimen carriage system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a specimen carriage system of simple structure in which a moving mechanism of a label reader is dispensed with. SOLUTION: A bar code label is attached to a forward end surface or a rear end surface in the longitudinal direction of specimen racks 56, 58. A bar code reader 54 to read the bar code label is provided on one side of a horizontally carrying line 48. Because the bar code label can be moved opposite to one side by the horizontally carrying line 48, the bar code reader 54 can be used in the bar code reading and carrying control when the bar code label is positioned in front of the bar code reader, and the bar code reader 54 need not be moved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sample transport system for transporting a sample rack holding a sample, and more particularly to reading an identification label used for transport control of a sample rack.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in a system for inspecting and analyzing a sample such as blood, in order to process a large amount of sample,
It is widely practiced to automate the dispensing and analysis and also the transportation to each device. The sample is placed in a container such as a test tube and transported using a sample rack such as a test tube stand. For example, 5 racks, 10 racks,
There is a 50-piece stand. An identification label is attached to the sample rack for the purpose of automatically controlling the destination. Optically readable information is recorded on the identification label, and specifically, a barcode label is generally used.

This identification label is generally attached to the front end surface or the rear end surface of the sample rack in the longitudinal direction. One of the reasons is that when a large number of sample racks are stored, it is convenient to arrange the side surfaces parallel to the longitudinal direction of the sample racks densely for the convenience of the storage location. You may be able to confirm the affixing of the label or its contents.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a conventional sample transport device, and is a diagram for explaining how to read a conventional identification label. The sample racks 2 are stored in the plurality of rack supply units 4 for each rack type. Under the control of the supply control unit 6, the rack supply unit 4 sends the sample racks one by one to a vertical transfer line 8 that transfers the sample racks in the longitudinal direction. Here, the barcode label, which is an identification label, is attached to the front end surface in the sending direction. The bar code reader 10, which is a label reader, is arranged on one side of the vertical transport line 8 so as not to hinder the transport of the sample rack, and when the sample rack is stopped at the position 12, the vertical transport line It is configured so as to approach 8 and read the bar code on the tip surface of the sample rack. The read bar code information is sent to the switching control unit 14. The horizontal transport line 16 transports the sample rack horizontally from the vertical transport line 8. The switching control unit 14 controls the horizontal transport line 16 based on the read bar code information, and when necessary, a sample rack,
It is guided to another vertical transport line 20 different from the vertical transport line 8.

[0005]

The conventional sample transport system as described above has a problem in that the moving mechanism of the label reader is required and the structure becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sample transport system having a simple structure which does not require a moving mechanism of a label reader.

[0007]

A sample transport system according to the present invention comprises a vertical transport line for transporting the sample rack in the longitudinal direction of the sample rack and a horizontal transport for transporting the sample rack laterally from the vertical transport line. A line reader and a label reader that is provided on either side of the horizontal transport line and that optically reads the identification label of the sample rack, and a control unit that controls transport according to the label reading result. And

According to the present invention, since the label reader is provided on the wall surface of the lateral conveyance line facing the identification label, the identification label can be read without moving.

[0009]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a sample rack transported by the sample transport apparatus according to the present invention. 1 (a) to 1 (c) respectively show those capable of holding 50, 10, and 5 tube-shaped sample containers such as test tubes. A bar code label 30 is attached as an optically readable identification label to at least one surface in the longitudinal direction of these sample racks.
A rack number is recorded on the barcode label 30.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the sample transport apparatus according to the present invention. This sample transporting apparatus uses a vertical transport line 44 to transport sample racks accumulated in rack supply sections 40, 42 located on the left side in the figure on the right side where devices such as a dispensing device (not shown) are located. It is conveyed to the outlet 46. A horizontal transport line 48 is provided in the middle of the vertical transport line 44, and the sample rack can be transported laterally with respect to the transport direction of the vertical transport line 44. Connected to this horizontal transport line 48 is another vertical transport line 50, which has an outlet 52. With the configuration roughly described above, the transport apparatus can distribute the delivery of the sample rack to different transport destinations as needed.

The rack information recorded on the bar code label 30 of each sample rack is used for distribution of the transport destination. In the carrying apparatus of the present invention, a bar code reader 54 as a label reader for reading the bar code label 30 is provided on one side (left side in the drawing) of the lateral carrying line 48.

Next, the detailed structure and operation of the present conveying device will be described. Sample racks 56 and sample racks 58 of different types are separately stored in each of the rack supply units 40 and 42. In the rack supply units 40 and 42, the sample rack 5
Reference numerals 6 and 58 are arranged side by side so that the side surfaces parallel to the longitudinal direction thereof are aligned and the surface on the left side of the sample rack in the figure (the rear end surface with reference to the transport direction of the vertical transport line) is the surface to which the barcode label 30 is attached. Have been accumulated.

The rack supply units 40 and 42 are a supply control unit 60.
Controlled by the sample rack 56 on the vertical transport line 44,
58 are sequentially transmitted from the head of the column. Vertical transport line 4
In No. 4, the sample rack is first transported to the connection position with the horizontal transport line 48. The horizontal transport line 48 receives the sample rack from the vertical transport line 44 and sends it to the barcode reader 54.
Convey laterally to the front. The barcode reader 54 laser-scans the rear end surface of the sample rack to read barcode information from the barcode label 30. The switching control unit 62 controls conveyance according to the label reading result. That is, the switching control unit 62 recognizes the rack number of the sample rack from the barcode information, determines the transport destination, controls the horizontal transport line based on this transport destination, and loads the sample rack from the front of the barcode reader 54. It is passed to either the vertical transport line 44 or the vertical transport line 50. The vertical transport lines 44 and 50 send the passed sample racks to the outlet 4 respectively.
Transport to 6, 52.

In determining the transport destination, the track information of the sample rack held in the host computer 64 is referred to. Here, if there is a sample rack whose transport destination cannot be determined for some reason, the switching control unit 62 controls the lateral transport line 48 so as not to interfere with the transport of the subsequent sample rack, and transfers it to the save unit 66. Transport the sample rack. In such a case, for example, when the route information is not registered in the host computer 64 or when the rack supply units 40 and 42 are manually stored,
It is conceivable that the barcode label 30 could not be read because the longitudinal direction of the sample rack was reversed. The sample rack saved in the save unit 66 is manually processed.

The host computer 64 is a switching control unit 62.
In addition to providing the route information to the device, it can also be used for cooperation between the supply control unit 60 and the switching control unit 62, and for performing integrated control including the transport destination device of the sample rack. For example, when the evacuation unit overflows or when some abnormality is detected in the vertical / horizontal transport lines, the host computer 64 instructs the supply control unit 60 to stop the sample rack output. In addition, the information processing device receives the information regarding the processing difficulty of the sample in the transport destination device, and controls the transport speed of the transport device. Further, when the sample rack is laterally transported from the position of the barcode reader 54 to the vertical transport line 50, the switching control unit 62 simultaneously moves this operation and the subsequent sample rack from the vertical transport line 44 to the position of the barcode reader 54. It is possible to carry out the operation of laterally conveying to. By doing so, the throughput of sample rack transportation can be improved, but the pace of sample rack transportation can change depending on the destination. Therefore, the host computer 64 controls the supply control unit 60 in accordance with the control of the switching control unit 62 and adjusts the sample rack sending pace.

In the present invention, since the bar code reader 54 is arranged on one side of the horizontal transport line 48 facing the bar code label 30 of the sample rack, the pushing operation is unnecessary and the structure of the apparatus is simple. Become. The barcode label 30 may be attached to different positions in different sample racks, and in such a case, a plurality of barcode readers 54 may be provided as necessary.

[0017]

According to the sample transport system of the present invention, the moving mechanism of the label reader is not required, and the structure is simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a sample rack.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a sample transport device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional sample transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 56, 58 sample racks, 4 rack supply units, 6,
60 supply control unit, 8, 20, 44, 50 vertical transfer line, 10,54 bar code reader, 14, 62 switching control unit, 16, 48 horizontal transfer line, 30 bar code label, 40, 42 rack supply unit, 64 Host computer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sample transport system for transporting a sample rack having an identification label affixed to a front end face or a rear end face in the longitudinal direction, comprising: a vertical transport line for transporting the sample rack in the longitudinal direction of the sample rack; A horizontal transport line that transports the sample rack laterally from the transport line, a label reader that is provided on either side of the horizontal transport line and optically reads the identification label of the sample rack, and the result of the label reading And a control unit that performs transport control according to the above.