JPH10227800A - Sample dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sample dispenser which can effectively distribute the sample. SOLUTION: A sample in a sample container on a rack t1 located on a distributing position 1 of a main line T, is distributed into the corresponding sample containers on the racks a1, b1 on the distributing position 1 of the sub-lines A, B two by two by using two nozzles. But when the sample is distributed two by two, the last sample container on the rack t1 is remained, so that the sample is simultaneously distributed into the corresponding sample containers on the rack a1, b1, by using two nozzles, from the last sample container and the first sample container on the following rack t2. Thereby the sample in the sample containers remained on the rack t2 can be completely distributed two by two by using two nozzles.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a sample dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to a sample dispensing apparatus suitable for dispensing a sample such as blood or urine in a clinical test.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Blood and other specimens collected from a subject are tested for diagnosing a disease state based on components contained therein,
It can be run on various analyzers to make the measurements. It is necessary to dispense the sample into the container according to the test item of the analyzer. The sample dispensing device performs this operation.

[0003] There are various dispensing devices, and a general dispensing device has one nozzle head which can move freely in three-dimensional directions. A disposable tip is attached to this nozzle head (the nozzle head itself and the nozzle head with the tip attached thereto are simply referred to as nozzles hereinafter), and a sample (generally referred to as a parent sample) collected from a subject is aspirated. Dispensing is performed by discharging into an empty container installed on a rack. A sample newly generated by dispensing (generally referred to as a child sample) is carried to an analyzer for analysis, and in the case of a nozzle with a tip, the tip used for dispensing is discarded and replaced.

However, there is a limit to the processing capacity of a sample dispenser with one nozzle, and efforts have been made to improve the processing speed by using a sample dispenser having a plurality of nozzles. According to the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-347467, it is possible to perform efficient dispensing in one rack such as front-loading dispensing by a sample dispensing apparatus using a variable pitch nozzle. I have.

[0005]

As described above, a sample dispensing apparatus having a plurality of nozzles is effective for improving the processing speed. Therefore, it is efficient to perform processing with two nozzles. However, a problem when using a two-nozzle dispensing apparatus is that when the number of specimens to be dispensed among the racks installed in the rack is an odd number, a 1: 1 dispensing is performed.
When dispensing one rack at a time, one nozzle is always left when the last sample in the rack is dispensed.
This results in an inefficient dispensing and thus a reduction in sample throughput.

When this sample dispensing apparatus is connected to a sample transport system, sending a parent sample and a child sample whose dispensing has been completed to an analyzer or the like located downstream as soon as possible leads to an improvement in processing capacity. 2n + 1 installed on the rack
Dispensing (n is a natural number) samples always requires n + 1 dispensing operations for the above reasons, and there is a limit to the time required to send the rack to an analyzer or the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sample dispensing apparatus capable of improving the efficiency of sample dispensing.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sample dispensing apparatus comprising: first and second racks each having a plurality of sample containers arranged along a predetermined direction; A sample transport device that transports the second rack in the predetermined direction and temporarily stops so as to be arranged in series in the same order along the predetermined direction, and a plurality of nozzles, A sample dispensing apparatus for dispensing a plurality of samples in the sample containers of the first and second racks by using the plurality of nozzles while the first and second racks are temporarily stopped; One of a plurality of dispensing operations of the sample by the plurality of nozzles is a dispensing operation performed over the first and second racks.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The problem described above occurs when the number of sample containers in the first rack (the front rack) is divided by the number of nozzles, leaving a remainder. For example, when the number of nozzles is two, the above-described problem occurs when the number of sample containers in the first rack is larger than the number of nozzles and is odd, for example, five.

In this case, the distance (pitch) between the two nozzles
Can be changed, and the above-described problem can be solved by simultaneously performing the dispensing process on the first and second racks. That is, the front rack (first
During the dispensing of the sample in the last sample container of the first rack, the nozzle pitch is widened, and the sample of the first sample container of the rear rack (second rack) is also dispensed at the same time. Accordingly, when the dispensing process of an odd number of samples is performed by two nozzles, the dispensing process can always be performed in units of two samples, and the inefficiency of extra nozzles can be eliminated.

The unloading of the rack from the sample dispensing position is carried out to the next step at an appropriate timing after the dispensing process for each rack is completed. Appropriate timing means that after dispensing parent racks and child racks located at the front, they are transported to the next process even if parent racks and child racks located at the rear are dispensed. It is. Thus, for example, 2m + is added to the first rack (the first rack).
1n, 2n + 1 (m,
(n is a natural number), the time required to unload the rack from the sample dispensing position and send it out to the analyzer or the like is considered as the number of dispensing operations required for each rack. The rack is m for both the ordinary example and the example of the present invention.
In the second rack, the dispensing of the first 2 samples has already been completed in the example of the present invention, whereas the dispensing of the remaining 2n samples has been completed in the second rack. The rack can be sent out n times. That is,
The dispensing operation time of one dispensing operation for every two racks can be reduced, and the processing speed can be improved.

If an even number of samples are installed in the second rack, the first sample has been dispensed and the remaining number is odd. However, simultaneous dispensing with the third rack is performed in the above manner. Should be performed.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the present embodiment, an example of 1: 1 dispensing in a case where five sample racks are used as racks, and five parent racks are provided with five samples, and a 100% dispensing request is made.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a sample dispensing apparatus according to the present invention. A nozzle mounting base 2X movable in the X direction is mounted on two arms 1Y movable in the Y direction. A nozzle portion 3Z movable in the Z direction is attached to the base 2X. The disposable nozzle tips attached to the tip of the nozzle part 3Z are supplied by the tip rack 4, and the two nozzle parts 3Z are arranged in a line in the X direction by approaching the two arms 1Y with the nozzle tips attached. can do. In addition, the parent rack containing the sample is T
1 or from T2 on the sample dispensing device, and is conveyed to the sample dispensing position through the parent line T. The child rack containing no sample is supplied from A1 and B1, and is supplied to the dispensing position through the child lines A and B, respectively. The sample dispensing apparatus has a main controller 11, and performs various controls and communication such as a dispensing request.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view (three-dimensional view) of the dispensing unit,
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the dispensing unit of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a schematic elevation view of a chisel mounting base in the dispensing unit of FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4, and particularly FIGS. 3 and 4,
For the movement in the X direction, the motors 8a and 8b are driven to transmit the rotation of the motors to the belt 10, and the belt 10 is rotated.
Is operated in the X direction indicated by the arrow. By interlocking the motor 8a and the motor 8b, two nozzles can operate simultaneously in the X direction.

For the movement in the Y direction, the motors 7a, 7
By driving the motor b, the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the belt 10, and the arm 1Y fixed to the belt 10 is operated in the Y direction indicated by the arrow. When a sample dispensing operation is performed over two racks, the rotation direction of the motor 7a and the motor b is reversed to change the distance between the two nozzles. When dispensing a sample within the range of one rack, dispensing is performed with the same rotation direction of the motor 7a and the motor 7 and a fixed distance between the two nozzles. By linking the motor 7a and the motor 7b, the two nozzles can operate in the Y direction simultaneously. As for the movement in the Z direction, the motors 9a and 9b are driven to rotate the
To move the nozzle portion 3Z fixed to the belt 10 in the Z direction indicated by the arrow. By linking the motors 9a and 9b, two nozzles can operate in the Z direction at the same time.

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of the parent rack and the child rack at the dispensing position. The parent racks t1 and t2 conveyed through the parent line T are connected to a stopper 5 (FIGS. 7 to 1).
4) stop at a certain interval at the dispensing position. The child rack a supplied through the child line A
1, a2 and child rack b supplied through child line B
Similarly, the parent rack t1,
Stop at the same interval as t2. The parent racks t1, t2, the child racks a1, a2 and the child racks b1, b2 are arranged in series along the T line, the A line, and the B line, respectively.
And each of those racks has five sample containers arranged along the corresponding line. Nozzles n1 and n2
Can operate in the X, Y and Z directions, as already mentioned.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the operation flow of the apparatus shown in FIG. Referring to the figure, first, a rack is transported to the dispensing position by two racks for each of the T line, the A line, and the B line (1). The two racks are stopped at the dispensing position by two stoppers on each line. At this time, the dispenser performs a chip discarding operation regardless of whether the tip is mounted on the two nozzles (2).

At this time, the main controllers 11 to 2
The dispensing information for the rack (10 samples), the sample container information of the dispensing destination, and the dispensing start instruction information are transmitted (3). The initial value of the number of dispensing times N is set to 1 (4). After receiving the information, the dispenser mounts the nozzle tips on both the first and second nozzles (5), and calculates the dispensed amount on the A line and the B line (6).

Thereafter, both nozzles are moved above the parent sample (7). Here, it is necessary to determine the pitch between the nozzles. However, the dispensing algorithm of the present invention dispenses two racks by performing five dispensing operations, and differs from the other cases only during the third dispensing operation. Since the dispensing is performed over two racks, the pitch between the two nozzles needs to be increased to a pitch p2 described later. In other dispensing operations, dispensing is performed at a pitch p1 of two sample containers in the same rack. That is, the number of dispensing times N is determined (8), and when the nozzle pitch is N ≠ 3, it is set to p1 (9), and N =
In the case of 3, the sample dispensing operation is started, which will be referred to as P2. First, the liquid level of the sample is detected (11), and the determination is performed (12). When the detection is performed, the sample liquid amount is estimated (13). If the liquid level cannot be detected because there is no sample, or if dispensing cannot be performed because the sample liquid volume is small, discard the chip. (14).

When the amount of the sample liquid is sufficient, the nozzle sucks the sample (15). Here, the result of the sample suction is checked (16). If an abnormality such as the nozzle piercing the separating agent present between the serum and the blood clot is detected during the sample aspiration process, the sample once aspirated is returned (17), and the tip is discarded (14). If the nozzle is normal, the nozzle moves to the A line, and the sample is ejected (1).
8) Then, the sample is further moved on the B line to discharge the sample (1).
9) Then, the chip is discarded (14).

At this point, the first dispensing, that is, the dispensing of the first two samples in the first rack, is completed. Here, the number of dispensing is checked (20). Is already carried out from the dispensing position, and the rack located at the rear is moved to the position of the rack located in front of the rack located at the position (1). (22) The above procedure is repeated with the number of injections N = 4 (return to step 1-2).

When this dispensing is the fifth dispensing operation, the rack positioned backward is actually moved forward after the third dispensing operation is completed. The dispensing has also been completed, and the dispensing of all the samples for two racks has been completed, and this rack is also unloaded from the dispensing position (23). At this stage, dispensing of samples from a total of 10 sample containers has been completed, and the dispensing result information performed on these 10 samples is sent to the main controller 11 to complete a series of dispensing operations (step Return to 1-1). If N is 1, 2 or 4, (22) the steam procedure is repeated with N as 2, 3 and 5 respectively (return to step 1-2).

FIGS. 8 to 15 show the movement of the rack. The dispensing operation of the sample and the unloading of the rack will be described with reference to these drawings. With respect to the parent rack transported on the parent line T, first, the sample ID and the rack ID are read by the barcode reader R1, thereby determining what sample container contains the sample at each position of the rack. Create rack information indicating that

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the parent rack t1 is at the dispensing position 1, and the parent rack t2 is at the dispensing position 2.
At a certain interval by the stopper 5. These stoppers 5 also serve as a rack detector 6, and detect arrival of the rack when the rack comes into contact with the stopper 5. Accordingly, the child racks a1 and a2 are supplied through the child line A, and the child racks b1 and b2 are supplied through the child line B.
The child rack b1 is at the dispensing position 1 of the child line A and the child line B, respectively, and the child rack a2 and the child rack b2 are respectively stopped at the dispensing position 2 of the child line A and the child line B by the stopper 5. Can be At this time, the intervals between the two racks in the X direction of the racks on the parent line T, the child line A, and the child line B are the same.

The dispensing apparatus inquires of the main controller 11 about the dispensing contents based on the sample ID and the rack ID previously read, and starts dispensing the sample. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, first, the dispensing apparatus adjusts the pitch of the two nozzles n1 and n2 to the pitch p1 of the sample container, and sets two child samples from the first sample of the parent rack t1. The dispensing to a1 and the child rack b1 is started. The nozzle pitch p1 and the pitch p2 described later are known from the registration of the rack and the sample position performed in advance. Nozzle n
1 and the nozzle n2 discard the chip every time one dispensing is completed, and replace it with a new chip.

As shown in FIG. 10, after dispensing up to the fourth sample of the parent rack t1 by two dispensing operations as described above, as shown in FIG. The nozzle pitch is changed from the sample container pitch p1 to p2, and the fifth sample in the parent rack t1 and the first sample in the parent rack t2 are simultaneously dispensed. At this stage, parent rack t1
Since the dispensing to the child rack a1 and the child rack b1 has been completed, the parent rack t1, the child rack a1, and the child rack b1 are unloaded from the dispensing position 1 as shown in FIG.

After that, the parent rack t1, the child rack a1, and the child rack b1 are transported to a unit located downstream, where the analysis is performed. Also, the parent rack t2 at the dispensing position 2,
The child rack a2 and the child rack b2 are moved to the dispensing position 1.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 13, when the next parent rack t3 is being transported from the unit located upstream, the parent rack t3, the child rack a3, and the child rack b3 are made to wait at the dispensing position 2. . Since the first sample has been dispensed to the parent rack conveyed to the dispensing position 1, the pitch of the two nozzles of the dispenser is returned to p1 and the second sample of the parent rack is moved from the second sample to the parent rack. Dispense into the child rack a2 and the child rack b2 by two samples. As shown in FIG.
Since all dispensing operations up to the fifth sample in the parent rack t2 are completed by the first dispensing operation, as shown in FIG.
The parent rack t2, the child rack a2, and the child rack b2 are unloaded from the dispensing position 1 and transported to a unit located downstream.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, when the parent rack t3, the child rack a3, and the child rack b3 are waiting at the dispensing position 2, they are moved to the dispensing position 1, and
When the parent rack t4 is being transported from a unit located upstream, the parent rack t4, the child rack a4, and the child rack b
4 is conveyed to the dispensing position 2.

Hereinafter, the above dispensing operation is repeated.

[0032]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sample dispensing apparatus capable of improving the efficiency of sample dispensing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sample dispensing apparatus showing an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dispensing unit in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the dispensing unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevation view of a nozzle mounting base of the dispensing unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of parent racks and child racks at dispensing positions in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

7 is an operation flowchart of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, which is connected after the operation flowchart shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view showing a moving state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view showing a movement state of a rack in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1Y: arm, 2X: nozzle mounting base, 3Z: nozzle portion, 4: tip rack, 5: stopper, 6: rack detector, 7a: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b: motor, 9a,
9a motor, 10: belt, R1: bar code reader,
T: parent line, A, B: child line, t1, t2: parent rack, a1, a2: child rack, b1, b2: child rack, n
1, n2: nozzle, p1, p2: pitch between sample containers.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Igarashi 882 Momo, Oaza, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki Pref.

Claims (6)

[Claims] A first rack having a plurality of sample containers arranged along a predetermined direction; and a first and a second rack transporting the first and second racks in the predetermined direction. And a sample transport device for temporarily stopping so as to be arranged in series in the same order along the predetermined direction, and a plurality of nozzles, wherein the plurality of nozzles are provided while the first and second racks are temporarily stopped. A sample dispensing device for dispensing a plurality of samples in the sample containers of the first and second racks using a plurality of nozzles, and dispensing a plurality of the samples by the plurality of nozzles. One of the operations is a dispensing operation performed over the first and second racks. 2. A pitch of the plurality of nozzles when the dispensing operation of the sample by the plurality of nozzles is performed over the first and second racks, wherein the dispensing operation is performed by the first and second racks. 2. The sample dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sample dispensing apparatus is different from that performed when each sample is performed in each of the two racks. 3. The pitch of the plurality of nozzles when the dispensing operation of the sample by the plurality of nozzles is performed over the first and second racks is determined by the dispensing operation of the first and second racks. 2. The sample dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the size of the sample dispenser is larger than that when performed in each of the two racks. 4. The sample dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of the sample containers in the first rack is an odd number, and the number of the nozzles is two. 5. The sample dispensing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the odd number is 5. 6. A sub-sample rack having a plurality of sub-sample containers each receiving said dispensed sample, wherein said sub-sample containers are arranged along a direction parallel to said predetermined direction. The sample transport apparatus transports the first and second child racks in a direction parallel to the predetermined direction, and serially and in parallel with the first and second child racks in the parallel direction. The sample dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sample dispensing device is temporarily stopped so as to be arranged in parallel with each of the two racks.