JPH10239322A - Automatic forwarding dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To selectively automatically dispense specimens at high speed which is complicate and takes time, by transferring forward from a dispense position, child specimen containers of a row dispersed from a parent specimen, dropping the containers at a container collection position to a dispensed samples pack line and collecting the containers. SOLUTION: A child specimen rack intermittent transfer mechanism 22 transfers child specimen containers 21 with the same timing as that of the transfer of a row of parent sample containers to a child specimen dispense position (d) arranged in parallel to a parent specimen dispense position (c). Thereafter, the mechanism 22 transfers the child specimen containers 21 from the disperse position (d) to a forward collection position (e). At the position (e), empty child specimen containers 21 are dropped by a drop.selection device which drops only containers without the specimen dispensed, and then the child specimen containers 21 are transferred to a container collection position forward from the collection position (e). At the container collection position, a drop and selection device which drops containers with the specimens drives to control the child specimen containers 21 with the specimens to be dropped to a dispensed specimen pack line 80 arranged below the container collection position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for automatically selecting and dispensing specimens having the same type of test request and filling the specimen beforehand, and transferring the same specimen to a dedicated test apparatus in a state where the specimen does not fall out. And an automatic front-loading dispensing apparatus for preparing a sample for sending.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a major testing center tests a huge number of samples a day, but at present, the work of separating patient samples into tests is generally performed by an automatic dispensing apparatus. is there.

[0003] In general, among the tests using serum separated by centrifugation, 90% or more of the items to be tested by a large biochemical analyzer are usually used. Therefore, in order to perform the test of 90% or more quickly, in a test center or the like that performs a large number of sample tests, the samples for biochemistry are combined into one at the sample reception, and all the samples are first collected by the automatic dispensing apparatus. At present, serum is collected and analyzed with a large-sized biochemical analyzer.

In the case of general hospitals where the number of tests is small, centrifuged samples are dispensed manually or by an existing automatic dispensing device that can selectively dispense samples one by one for separate tests such as a large biochemical analyzer. It should be noted, but this has the problem that it takes a very long time.

On the other hand, in an inspection center that analyzes and processes a large number of samples, 5 to 10 tubes are simultaneously dispensed using a dispensing device capable of completely dispensing one to one child samples from a parent sample. High-speed processing.

However, some patients do not have the items to be analyzed with a large biochemical analyzer, and if all of them are dispensed mechanically one-on-one, samples not to be analyzed will be wasted, and only samples to be analyzed will be lost. When dispensing selectively, undispensed sample containers (empty containers that do not contain samples) will be mixed in the dispensed sample. There has been a problem that the processing capacity of the analyzer is reduced by the amount of the container.

[0007] For this reason, in order to reduce the processing capacity of the analyzer, the inspection center or the like collects only the sample to be analyzed by the large biochemical analyzer after centrifugation, and an empty container containing no sample is generated. Not to do 5
At present, 10 to 10 tubes are simultaneously dispensed by an automatic dispensing device and analyzed by a large biochemical analyzer.

[0008]

However, in the current automatic dispensing apparatus, it is impossible to selectively dispense 5 to 10 tubes at the same time so as not to generate an empty container in which a sample does not enter. The above-mentioned extra work of collecting only a sample for a large biochemical separation device in advance is necessary, and this requires a great deal of manpower and time, so eliminating this extra work, and There has been a strong demand in the inspection field for an apparatus capable of performing high-speed and selective dispensing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to perform this extremely complicated, time-consuming and time-consuming selective dispensing operation without human intervention. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic front-loading dispensing apparatus which can automatically perform the dispensing operation.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an automatic front-loading dispensing apparatus, comprising: a parent sample rack for vertically holding a centrifuged parent sample container; A child sample rack in which at least as many child sample containers as containers are held upright, a mechanism for intermittently transferring each of these parent sample racks and child sample racks in parallel and in parallel, and a parent sample that has reached the dispensing position A dispensing nozzle device for dispensing a sample to a child sample container corresponding to the parent sample container after simultaneously aspirating all the samples for which dispensing has been requested, and wherein the child sample rack is The bottom of the container holding hole is
The child sample rack intermittent transfer mechanism is configured to hold the opened state at least from the dispensing position, and transfers the child sample containers in the row where the parent sample has been dispensed from the dispensing position to the tip. And a drop selection device that drops the dispensing container downward at the dispensing container collection position so that the dispensing container is dropped and collected on the dispensing sample pre-filling line disposed below the position. It is characterized by the following.

In the present invention, an elastic body is disposed in the container holding hole of the secondary sample rack, and the secondary sample container is held in a suspended state via the elastic body. Further, in the present invention, the child sample rack has a plurality of rows, similarly to the parent sample rack, and the pre-dispensing sample filling line is arranged in parallel with the sample rack row.

In the present invention, the child sample rack is configured so that the bottom plate moves together with the child sample container at least up to the dispensing position and does not move beyond the dispensing position. Further, the child sample container is configured to be held in a suspended state in a suspended state by being held by an elastic body provided in each child sample container holding hole of the child sample rack, and from the top at the dispensing container collection position. You may comprise so that it may fall to a pipetting sample pre-filling line with a container dropping device. According to the present invention, the undispensed container may be dropped to the collecting section in the same manner as the operation at the dispensing container collecting position, or may be held in the rack as it is.

Further, in the present invention, the dispensing tips mounted on the nozzle tip of the dispensing nozzle device are prepared in a row at least as many as the number of parent specimen containers in a row. Before performing the dispensing operation, a dispensing tip is configured to be attachable to all of the nozzle tips, and each of these nozzles is configured to be independently movable in a vertical direction. Only the dispensing tip at the position corresponding to the parent sample position to be dispensed is attached to the nozzle tip based on the dispensing information of the parent sample row just before the above, and is located at the position corresponding to the parent sample position not dispensed. The dispensing tip is characterized in that the dispensing tip is drive-controlled so as not to be attached to the tip of the nozzle.

In the present invention, a sequential number for each destination test is printed by the printing means on the child sample container on the basis of the parent sample information, so as to prevent a mistake in sample mixing. It is characterized by having.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic front-filling dispensing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment has a parent sample rack 10 for vertically standing and holding a centrifugally separated parent sample container 11, and the same number of the parent sample containers 11 ( The same number of child sample containers 21 may be used.
0 and the child sample rack 20 and the parent sample rack transport mechanism 12 and the child sample rack transport mechanism 2 for intermittently transporting them in parallel and intermittently.
2, an elastic body 24 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) for suspending the child sample container 21 in the container holding hole 23 of the child sample rack 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and a parent sample container reaching the dispensing positions c and d. 1
A dispensing nozzle device 30 for dispensing a sample to a child sample container 21 corresponding to the parent sample container 11 after simultaneously aspirating a sample for which a test dispensing request has been made from 1 and a dispensing nozzle device 30 in front of the child sample dispensing position d. An undispensed container collecting device 40 disposed at an undispensed container collecting position e, and a dispensing container collecting device 50 disposed at a dispensing container collecting position f in front of the undispensed container collecting position e. ,
A dispensing sample prefilling line 60 disposed below the dispensing container collecting position f, a dispensing tip 70 detachably attached to the tip of each dispensing nozzle of the dispensing nozzle device 30, Child sample container 2 pre-filled in pre-filled sample line 60
A transfer device 90 for transferring 1 to a large biochemical analyzer rack 80 by a required number (five in this embodiment), and a microprocessor (MPU) for organically linking and driving these components. ) And the like (not shown). In FIG. 1, reference numeral a denotes a parent sample rack input position, reference numeral b denotes a child sample rack input position, reference numeral 13 denotes an ID code reading device that reads a barcode ID 14 provided on the parent sample rack 10, and Reference numeral 61 denotes a printer for printing sequential numbers for destination inspection, and reference numeral 81 denotes a rack ID reader.

In this embodiment, the parent sample rack 10 has a base specimen container holding hole having a bottom and a U-shaped cross section for holding the parent sample container 11 in an approximately U-shape. Ten are set up neatly and are configured to hold 100 samples. Of course, this parent sample rack 1
The number of the parent sample containers 11 held at 0 is not limited to the present embodiment, as long as it has at least the same number and arrangement as the child sample containers 21 held at the child sample rack 20. The number of rows and the number of columns can be appropriately selected.

The child sample rack 20 is composed of the parent-child rack 10
Similarly to this embodiment, in this embodiment, the child sample container holding holes 23 of 10 rows × 10 columns are opened,
It is configured to hold zero samples. Of course, the number of child sample containers 21 held in the child sample rack 20 is the same as that of the parent sample rack 10, except that the bottom plate 25 is slidably fitted to the bottom of the child sample rack 20. It is a point.

That is, the bottom plate 25 that opens and closes the bottom of the child sample container holding hole 23 of the child sample rack 20 is configured to move together with the child sample rack 20 up to the child sample dispensing position d. At the undispensed container collecting position e and the dispensing container collecting position f ahead of the sample dispensing position d, the open state without the bottom plate 25 is maintained. Specifically, a stopper (not shown) is provided at the child sample dispensing position d to abut only the bottom plate 25 to restrict further sliding of the bottom plate 25 but allow the child sample rack 20 to move. do it.

The parent sample rack transfer mechanism 12 sequentially and intermittently transfers one row of the parent sample rack 10 to the parent sample dispensing position c. For example, the parent sample rack 10 is moved by a known piston pressing mechanism or the like. It can be configured to move along a guide rail or to be guided by a known belt transfer mechanism.

The child sample rack transfer mechanism 22 is configured similarly to the parent sample rack transfer mechanism 12, and is driven and controlled in synchronization with the parent sample rack transfer mechanism 12.

That is, the child sample rack intermittent transfer mechanism 22
Is a child sample dispensing position d juxtaposed with the parent sample dispensing position c.
Then, after transferring the child sample container 21 at the same timing as the transfer of the parent sample container row, the child sample container 21 is transferred from the child sample dispensing position d to the previous undispensed container collection position e. At the position e, after the empty child sample container 21 is dropped by the drop selecting device 27 that drops only the undispensed container downward, the child sample container 21 is further dispensed from the undispensed container collection position e. The child sample container 21 to which the sample dispensing has been performed by the drop selection device for transferring the container to the container collection position f and dropping the dispensing container downward is located before the dispensed sample disposed below the position f. Drive control is performed so as to drop to the filling line 80. Of course, the order of the collecting positions of the containers may be reversed, and in this case, a drop selection device for dropping and collecting the undispensed containers is unnecessary. When the collection of all the dispensing containers in one rack is completed, the bottom plate is stored again in the rack.

As shown in FIG. 3, the child sample container holding hole 23 of the child sample rack 20 is larger than the diameter of the child sample container 21 (rubber stopper G) and is opened. For example, in order to cope with a case where the child sample containers having different diameters are used in a mixed manner, the child sample container 21 is moved by the dispensing container collecting position f and the elastic body 24 as shown in FIG. It is configured to be held in a suspended state.

The elastic body 24 is composed of four short elastic pieces 24.
a first elastic body 24A having a
4c and a second elastic body 24B.

The first elastic body 24A has a diameter slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the child specimen container 20 (rubber stopper G), and has a substantially C-shaped planar shape. Base 2
4b, and the four short elastic pieces 24a extending at required intervals along the circumferential direction of the base 24b, and the lower end of each elastic piece 24a is gently tapered in the diameter reducing direction. Are formed in an arc.

On the other hand, the second elastic body 24B is formed in the same size as the base 24b of the first elastic body 24A, and
A base portion 24d having a substantially C-shaped planar shape and the four long elastic pieces 24c extending at required intervals along the circumferential direction of the base portion 24d. The lower end of the elastic piece 24c is formed so as to gently draw an arc in the diameter reducing direction. Further, four concave grooves 24e are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the base 24d, and the concave grooves 24e are formed.
The four short elastic pieces 24 of the first elastic body 24A
a is fitted and positioned.

The base 2 of the first elastic body 24A
As shown in FIG. 3, the base 4d and the base 24d of the second elastic body 24B are integrally assembled in a superposed state, and the outer peripheral lower edge of the base 24d of the second elastic body 24B is It is configured to be locked to the step 23a of the child sample container holding hole 23.

By configuring the elastic body 24 as described above,
The four short elastic pieces 24a of the first elastic body 24A elastically hold the upper part of the child specimen container 21, and the four long elastic pieces 24c of the second elastic body 24B are elastically connected to the child specimen container. Since the intermediate portion 21 is elastically held, the child sample container 21 is held upright in the child sample container holding hole 23 of the child sample rack 20 in a suspended state. Of course, in the present invention, instead of the elastic body 24, this is formed by a plurality of leaf springs, and this leaf spring is disposed in the child specimen container holding hole 23, whereby the child specimen container 21 is formed.
May be erected and suspended in the child sample container holding hole 23 of the child sample rack 20 in a suspended state.

The dispensing nozzle device 30 has the same number of nozzles as the parent sample container 11 (child sample container 21) arranged in a line.
After the disposable dispensing tip 70 is detachably attached to the tip, the nozzle and the dispensing tip 70 are transferred to the parent sample dispensing position c, descend, are immersed in the parent sample, and Of the parent sample is aspirated. At this time, only the parent sample requested to be tested is aspirated, and the control device MPU controls the suction so that the parent sample not requested is not aspirated. The basic configuration and operation of the dispensing nozzle device 30 and the dispensing tip 70 are the same as those of the known dispensing nozzle device, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here. In the device 30, the dispensing tips 70 attached to the nozzle tip are prepared in a row at least as many as the number of parent specimen containers in one row. The dispensing tips 70 are configured to be attachable to all nozzle tips, and each of these nozzles is configured to be independently movable in the vertical direction by a known XYZ movement mechanism (not shown). The nozzle is an ID code reader 13 disposed before the parent sample dispensing position c.
Only the dispensing tip 70 at the child sample dispensing position corresponding to the parent sample position to be dispensed is attached to the nozzle tip based on the parent sample dispensing information from The dispensing tip 70 at the position is driven and controlled by the control device so as not to be attached to the tip of the nozzle. By selecting and mounting the dispensing tip 70 in this manner, waste of the dispensing tip can be eliminated.

The parent sample sucked by the dispensing nozzle device 30 is then dispensed into the corresponding child sample container 21. Therefore, in the corresponding child sample container row in which the parent sample has been dispensed, those in which the parent sample has been dispensed and those in which the parent sample has not been dispensed will be mixed. The row is transferred to the next undispensed container collection position e.

At the undispensed container collection position e, the undispensed container collection device 40 is operated, and only the child sample container 21 from which the parent sample has not been dispensed is pressed down.

As shown in FIG. 3, the undispensed container collecting device 40 includes a base member 47a and the base member 47a.
And a plurality of pressing rods 47b protruding from the lower surface of the main body.

Each of the pressing rods 47b is configured to be able to move in and out according to a command from the control device. Therefore, the pressing rods 47b located directly above the child sample container 21 into which the parent sample has been dispensed are controlled. Even if the base member 47a is retracted by the command of the apparatus and the base member 47a is lowered, the drive control is performed so that the parent sample container does not press the dispensed child sample container 21.

That is, after the child sample rack 20 is transferred to the undispensed container collecting position e, the base member 47a is lowered by the elevation drive (not shown) at the undispensed container collecting position e, The pressing rod 47b located directly above the child sample container 21 descends while maintaining the protruding state in accordance with a command from the control device MPU, so that the undispensed child sample container 21 held upright on the child sample rack 20 is held. Is pushed down, the locked state of the undispensed specimen container 21 by the elastic member 24 is released, and the undispensed specimen container 21 is released.
Is dropped into a collection container (not shown).

Although not shown, the dispensing container collecting device 50 is composed of a base member and a plurality of pressing rods projecting from the lower surface of the base member. The rack 20 is transferred to the dispensing container collection position f, and is lowered by the elevation drive (not shown) at the position f, so that the dispensing child sample container 2 erected and held in the child sample rack 20.
1 is depressed downward to release the locking state of the dispensing sample container 21 by the elastic body 24, and the child sample container 21 is dropped onto a predetermined dispensing sample prefill line 60. Have been. In the dispensing container collecting device 50, unlike the undispensed container collecting device 40, it is not necessary to configure each pressing rod so as to be able to protrude and retract. Of course, the undispensed container collection device 4
0 to the dispensing container collection position f from the undispensed container collection position e
The dispensing container collecting device 50 can also be abolished by setting the pressing rods 47b of the undispensed container collecting device 40 to all project and lowering the same. In addition, when the dispensing container is located beyond the collection position, the operation of the pressing rod is reversed.

Thus, the dispensing container collecting device 5
The dispenser sample container 21 dropped to the dispensing sample prefilling line 60 by 0 is, for example, moved in the horizontal direction to press and move the dispenser sample container 21 in one direction (FIG. (Not shown), the dispensed sample is prefilled along the prefill line 60.

A sequential number printing printer 61 for each destination inspection is disposed at the beginning of the dispensed sample front-loading line 60. The number of an inspection rack (sampling rack) such as an inspection device for installing a dispensed sample is printed as a sequential number corresponding to the number read in advance by the rack ID reader 81 on the dispenser sample container 21, The sequential number is sent to the control device, and the correspondence with the parent sample is automatically recorded.

The dispensing sample pre-filling line 60 may be configured so as to pre-fill the extruded dispensing sample container 21 as described above. Although this may be automatically performed, although not particularly shown, for example, a child sample container holding unit having the same configuration as the above-described elastic body 24 is provided in each pre-filled sample line 60, although not shown. It is desirable that the body be slidably disposed along the dispensing sample prefill line 60 so that the body is prefilled so that there is no omission.

The prefilled dispenser sample container 2
1 is transferred to the analyzer rack 80 by a required unit number (five in this embodiment), for example, by a transfer device 90 constituted by a robot arm or the like. Alternatively, a rack such as an analyzer may be made to stand by beneath the front position and dropped by a required number of units.

In the above embodiment, the case where the parent sample racks and the child sample racks are operated in one-to-one correspondence has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the racks may be required. The operation may be performed by grouping the units by the number of units and setting the trays on the trays, or by operating the trays in which a required number of container holding holes are opened in columns and rows.

Further, the collected undispensed container can be installed on a new child sample rack and reused as it is, so that there is an advantage that no waste occurs.

[0042]

As described above, according to the automatic front filling dispensing apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to perform highly complicated, time-consuming and time-consuming selective dispensing operation at a high speed without human intervention. Can be done

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic front filling dispensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a child sample container and a resilient member of the distribution device.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the configurations of a child sample container, a resilient member, and a child sample rack of the distribution device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 automatic front-loading dispensing device 10 parent sample rack 11 parent sample container 12 parent sample rack transfer mechanism 20 child sample rack 21 child sample container 22 child sample rack transfer mechanism 23 container holding hole 24 elastic body 30 dispensing nozzle device 40 not yet Dispensing container collecting device 50 Dispensing container collecting device 60 Dispensing sample prefill line

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A parent sample rack for vertically standing and holding a centrifugally separated parent sample container, a child sample rack for standing and holding at least as many child sample containers as the parent sample container, and each of these parent sample racks. A mechanism for intermittently transferring the child sample racks in parallel and in parallel, and simultaneously sucking all samples for which dispensing has been requested from the parent sample that has reached the dispensing position, and then transferring the sample to the child sample container corresponding to the parent sample container A dispensing nozzle device for dispensing, and the child sample rack is configured such that the bottom of the child sample container holding hole holds at least the state opened from the dispensing position, The intermittent transfer mechanism for the child sample rack is a drop selection device that transfers the child sample containers in the row where the parent sample has been dispensed from the dispensing position to the destination, and drops the dispensing container downward at the dispensing container collection position. The dispensing container below the position An automatic front-loading dispensing apparatus characterized in that it is configured to drop into a pre-dispensing sample pre-filling line disposed therein and collect it. 2. The child sample rack according to claim 1, wherein an elastic body is disposed in the container holding hole of the secondary sample rack, and the secondary sample container is held in a suspended state via the elastic body. Automatic front-loading dispensing device as described. 3. The automatic prefilling / dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the prefilled sample filling line is arranged in parallel with the child sample rack. 4. The sub-sample rack, wherein a bottom plate of the sub-sample rack moves together with the sub-sample container at least up to the dispensing position and does not move beyond the position. The automatic front filling dispensing device according to claim 3. 5. A dispensing tip mounted on the tip of the nozzle of the dispensing nozzle device is prepared in a row at least as many as the number of parent specimen containers in a row, and performs a dispensing operation at a sample dispensing position. Previously, dispensing tips are configured to be attachable to all the nozzle tips, and each of these nozzles is configured to be able to move independently in the up and down direction. Based on the dispensing information in the row, only the dispensing tip at the position corresponding to the parent sample position to be dispensed is attached to the nozzle tip, and the dispensing tip at the position corresponding to the parent sample position not dispensed is the nozzle. The automatic front filling dispensing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drive is controlled so as not to be attached to the distal end portion. 6. The child sample container according to claim 1, wherein a sequential number for each destination test is printed by a printing unit based on the parent sample information. The automatic front-filling dispensing device according to any one of the above.