JPH10311835A - Reagent stocker of automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reagent stocker of an automatic analyzer which allows easy handling of reagent containers by enabling all of lids for the reagent containers mounted on a turntable to be opened or closed simultaneously. SOLUTION: In the reagent stocker of an automatic analyzer, a plurality of reagent containers 6 each containing a reagent are placed inside a turntable 20 rotated by a drive mechanism 29 and are arranged radially about the rotating shaft 27 of the turntable 20, and lids 36 for closing openings 35a, 35b in the tops of the reagent containers 6 are provided on the tops of the reagent containers 6 in such a way as to be freely opened and closed. In this case, a plunger shaft 45 which is moved up and down by a drive mechanism 47 other than the drive mechanism 29 is provided concentric with the rotating shaft 27 and is thrust up so that all the lids 36 are opened simultaneously by its plunger part 46.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reagent stocker for storing a reagent used in an automatic analyzer such as an enzyme immunoassay used for detecting and measuring a biological substance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, various reagents are dispensed into a sample tube containing a sample for analysis. Generally, a plurality of reagent tubes containing a reagent are placed on a turntable. The reagent stocker which holds the reagent container is used.

FIG. 8 shows a conventional reagent stocker. In this figure, reference numeral 81 denotes a turntable which is held by a motor 82 so as to be rotatable in the direction of an arrow 83. The turntable 81 accommodates therein a plurality of reagent containers (not shown) each containing a reagent radially around a rotation axis, and seals an opening at the top of each reagent container. Cover 84 for opening and closing is provided. Reference numeral 85 denotes a lid opening / closing mechanism that is provided around the turntable 81 and includes an air cylinder and the like for opening and closing the lid 84.

In the reagent stocker configured as described above, a container containing a desired reagent is provided with a lid opening / closing mechanism 85.
Is detected by a position detection mechanism (not shown) to stop at a predetermined position in the vicinity of, the plunger shaft 86 is pushed up in the direction of arrow 87 by operating the lid opening / closing mechanism 85, and the lid of the desired container is closed. 84 was opened.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional reagent stocker, only one lid 84 at a specific position can be opened, and a plurality of lids 84 cannot be opened at the same time. Further, there is a problem that the opening / closing operation of the lid cannot be performed until the rotating turntable 81 stops, and a plurality of reagents cannot be continuously sucked. In addition, handling such as replacing the reagent container is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to simultaneously open and close all lids for a reagent container mounted on a turntable, thereby facilitating the reagent container. The present invention is to provide a reagent stocker for an automatic analyzer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a reagent stocker) that can be handled at a time.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of reagent containers containing reagents are radially arranged around a rotation axis in a turntable rotated by a driving mechanism. In a reagent stocker of an automatic analyzer in which a lid for sealing the opening is provided at the top of each reagent container so as to be openable and closable, a plunger shaft vertically moved by a drive mechanism different from the drive mechanism is defined as the rotation axis. The plunger shaft is pushed up so that all the lids are simultaneously opened by the plunger portion.

In the above reagent stocker, the plunger shaft provided coaxially with the turntable is pushed upward by a driving mechanism such as a stepping motor or an air cylinder to open the lids for all the reagent containers at the same time. it can. When the plunger shaft is moved downward, the lid simultaneously returns to the closed state. This opening and closing operation of the lid can be performed not only when the turntable is stationary but also when it is rotating. Since the plunger shaft can be raised to keep the lid open, the reagent container can be easily handled such as replacement of the reagent container.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a main part of a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay device as an automatic analyzer provided with a reagent stocker of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a case of the device. 1, a solid phase container 2 having an inner surface coated with an antibody and having a buffer solution therein.
An antibody stocker 3 for stocking a sample, a sample stocker 5 for stocking a plurality of sample containers 4 containing a sample as a sample, and a plurality of reagent containers 6 containing various reagents that react with various components (FIG. 7) The solid phase container 2 is held in a holding part (not shown) formed on the reagent stocker 7 for storing the solid state container 7 and the conveyor belt 8 and transported in a predetermined direction. An incubator 9 for causing the reaction and a measuring unit 10 to which the reacted sample is supplied are provided at predetermined positions.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a solid phase container supply arm for supplying the solid phase container 2 to the incubator 9; 12 a seal breaker for breaking a seal of the solid phase container 2 and sucking a buffer solution therein; Is a sample dispensing arm for dispensing a sample into the solid phase container 2 after aspiration of the buffer solution;
Reference numeral 5 denotes a reagent dispensing arm for dispensing a reagent into the solid phase container 2 to which the sample has been supplied, reference numeral 16 denotes an arm for supplying a sample after a predetermined reaction has been completed to the measurement unit 10, and reference numeral 17 denotes a measurement unit 10 to which the sample has been supplied. And a chemical supply arm for supplying a luminescent reagent and a washing liquid to the arm.

The structure of the reagent stocker 7 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 18 denotes a stocker case, and a turn table 20 is provided in a heat retaining case 19 further provided in the case 18. In order to cool the reagent to a predetermined low temperature state, the stocker case 18 is formed of, for example, a Peltier element in which the cooling unit 21 is projected into the heat retaining case 19 and the heat exchange unit 22 is projected outside the stocker case 18. A cooling device 23 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the turntable 20 is divided into a plurality of partitions 25 by equally dividing the circumference so that a plurality of reagent containers 6 can be radially accommodated therein.
And 26 is a central cylindrical portion thereof (FIG. 3).
reference). The turntable 20 is configured to be able to rotate in a predetermined direction by a rotation drive mechanism configured as follows.

That is, a cylindrical rotary shaft 27 protruding below the stocker case 18 is fixed to the bottom lower surface of the turntable 20, and the rotary shaft 27 is a bearing provided on the lower outer surface of the stocker case 18. The output shaft 30 of, for example, a stepping motor 29, which is held by the section 28 and is provided below the stocker case 18, is connected by a reduction gear mechanism 31. The reduction gear mechanism 31 includes a small-diameter gear 32 fixed to the output shaft 30 and a large-diameter gear 33 fixed to the rotating shaft 27. Reference numeral 34 denotes a reinforcing member.

Here, the reagent container 6 housed in the turntable 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. The reagent container 6 is centered on the rotation center (rotation shaft 27) of the turntable 20. Are provided radially so as to equally divide the circumference, and have a flat shape having an isosceles trapezoidal shape whose height is larger than that of the lower base, and openings 35a and 35b are provided on the upper surface at appropriate intervals. Have.

5 to 7, reference numeral 36 denotes a lid for opening and closing the openings 35a and 35b of the reagent container 6. The lid main body 37 is rotated by the outer peripheral wall 38 of the turntable 20 and the central cylindrical portion 26. It is held on a pivot shaft 39 that is freely held. In this embodiment, the pivot shaft 39 is provided not at the same direction as the radial direction of the turntable 20 but at an angle θ with the radial direction as shown in FIG.

The lid body 37 has an opening 3 on its lower surface.
5a and 35b are provided with caps 40a and 40b made of silicone rubber for sealing the turntable 2.
The end 41 on the 0 center side extends in the direction toward the central cylindrical portion 26 of the turntable 20. In addition, this lid body 37
Is urged in a direction to always close the openings 35a and 35b by a coil spring 42 provided so as to fit the pivot shaft 39 outside. A member 43 fixes the other end of the coil spring 42.

A mechanism for opening and closing the lid 36 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Reference numeral 44 denotes a plunger shaft inserted through the cylindrical rotary shaft 27 and provided concentrically therewith. The upper end is a plunger part 45.
And a cam follower 46 is provided at the lower end of the turntable 20. The plunger part 4
Reference numeral 5 is formed so that the peripheral portion of the upper surface thereof is formed in a curved surface. Further, the plunger shaft 44 is positioned such that the plunger portion 45 does not always contact the tip portion 41 of the lid 36. A stepping motor 47 moves the plunger shaft 44 up and down.
The cam plate 49 is formed at an eccentric position of the cam plate 49.

The operation of the reagent stocker having the above configuration will be described. Now, it is assumed that the plunger shaft 44 is at the lowest position. At this time, the plunger portion 45 does not come into contact with the distal end portion 41 of the lid 36, and therefore, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 35b is sealed. In this state, when the stepping motor 47 is rotated, the cam plate 49 is rotated, and the cam 50 is moved to the cam follower 4.
6, the plunger shaft 44 is pushed up.
The upward movement of the plunger shaft 44 causes the plunger portion 45
Pushes up the lid body tip 41 of the lid 36 from below. As a result, each lid body 37 rotates about the pivot shaft 39, and the lid 36 moves as shown by the phantom line in FIG.
The openings 35a and 35b of all the reagent containers 6 are opened.

To keep the openings 35a and 35b open, the stepping motor 47 is used.
Can be stopped, and the dispensing of the reagent and the replacement of the reagent container 6 can be performed. When the plunger shaft 44 is moved downward by rotating the stepping motor 47 in the same direction, for example,
5 is released from the lid 36, and all the lids 36 are released.
Simultaneously returns to the closed state.

The lid 36 is opened and closed by turning the turntable 20.
This can be performed not only when the camera is stationary but also when the camera is rotating, and there is no need to form a special sequence. In addition, since the plunger shaft 44 can be raised to keep the lid 36 open, the reagent container 6
The reagent container 6 can be easily handled such as replacement of the reagent container.

In the lid 36, the opening / closing pivot 39 is not the same as the radial direction, and the angle θ
The opening operation of the lid 36 by the plunger 45 can be performed smoothly.

In the above-described embodiment, the stepping motor 47 is used as a driving mechanism of the plunger shaft 44.
However, other driving mechanisms such as an air cylinder may be used.

Further, it goes without saying that the above reagent stocker can be widely applied to automatic analyzers other than the chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay.

[0024]

According to the reagent stocker of the present invention,
A plunger shaft that moves up and down by a drive mechanism different from the drive mechanism that drives the turntable is provided concentrically with the rotation axis of the turntable, and the plunger shaft is pushed up, so that all the lids are simultaneously opened. be able to.

The opening / closing operation of the lid can be performed arbitrarily regardless of the stationary or rotating state of the turntable. The lid can be arbitrarily operated such as continuously sucking a plurality of reagents or replacing a reagent container. It can be done easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a main part of a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay provided with a reagent stocker of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a planar shape of the reagent stocker.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the reagent stocker.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the reagent stocker.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a plan configuration of a lid in the reagent stocker.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lid.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a reagent container is accommodated in one section of the reagent stocker.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

6 ... reagent container, 20 ... turntable, 27 ... rotating shaft,
29: rotation motor, 35a, 35b: opening, 36:
Lid, 44: Plunger shaft, 45: Plunger part, 47 ...
Open / close motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of reagent containers accommodating reagents are radially arranged around a rotation axis in a turntable that is rotated by a driving mechanism, and an opening is sealed above each reagent container. In a reagent stocker of an automatic analyzer provided with a lid that can be freely opened and closed, a plunger shaft that moves up and down by a drive mechanism different from the drive mechanism is provided concentrically with the rotation shaft, and the plunger shaft is pushed up by the plunger part. A reagent stocker for an automatic analyzer, wherein all lids are simultaneously opened.