JPS58156835A - Chemical analysis and measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce size, by providing a thermostat, a rotary table having plural holders of specimens to be analyzed along the outside periphery, and a device for measuring the specimen arranged opposite to the periphery. CONSTITUTION:A chemical analysis and measurement device comprises a thermostat 1, a rotary table 2 having plural specimen holders 6 along the outside periphery, and a meter for measuring the specimen arranged opposite to the periphery of the table 2. The use of said rotary table 2 dispenses with a holding mechanism contg. movable parts, and permits size reduction, and chemical analysis of liquid specimens with high efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a chemical analysis and measurement device, and more particularly to a device for chemically analyzing and measuring a liquid sample using an analytical element impregnated with a reaction reagent.

In general, it is often necessary to know whether or not a specific component is contained in the liquid sample, or the content thereof, with respect to human body fluids or other liquid samples, and for this reason, chemical analysis using reaction reagents is popular. There are two methods for chemical analysis of liquid samples: the dry method and the wet method. Of these, the dry method uses a liquid sample analysis element consisting of a thin plate-like porous body impregnated with a specific reagent inserted into a mount. The liquid sample to be analyzed is supplied dropwise to this analytical element using a thermostatic chamber, and the liquid sample is placed in a thermostatic chamber for reaction to cause the liquid sample and reagent to react.
This is a method of measuring the progress status or results of 161, for example, by measuring the change in color density due to the reaction using an optical density meter, or by other means, and it is possible to treat a liquid sample as a solid in practice. Very convenient in that respect.

Therefore, in the analysis of such liquid samples, it is often necessary to analyze each liquid sample for a large number of items, and it is necessary to use a large number of liquid bile samples to perform such analyzes with high efficiency. It's a shame to be lost.

(8) In the conventional dry method analysis method, a large number of analytical elements each containing a liquid sample are placed in a constant temperature bath to allow the reaction between the liquid sample and the reagent to proceed, and the reaction required in each analytical element is carried out. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the analytical element is transferred to a measurement area by a transfer mechanism, and a measuring device placed in the measurement area performs a constant determination of the analytical element.

However, in such a method, a large number of analytical elements are placed in a constant temperature bath in a so-called disordered state, and the reaction time required for each analytical element is dependent on the type of reagent G of the analytical element. Therefore, it is necessary to have regularity in the order in which each of the large number of analytical elements reaches the point at which it should perform measurements, since these are different specific times and require strict cylindricity. Extremely difficult, special G,
In order to measure and detect the progress of the reaction, it is necessary not only to perform one measurement on the same analytical element, but also to perform a second measurement after allowing it to react for a predetermined period of time since the first measurement. , the situation becomes even more complicated when analysis using such an analytical element is also performed.

For the reasons mentioned above, in conventional methods, the number of analytical elements capable of simultaneously performing analytical processing is limited to a small number, and therefore it is not possible to perform phase separation with high efficiency. Due to the problem of purchasing the mechanism, the thermostatic chamber had to be made considerably thicker, which also had the disadvantage of causing various other problems.

Furthermore, when using multiple measuring instruments, each measuring instrument has its own subtle characteristics that differ between the English and Japanese measurements, which results in the loss of the linearity of the measured values. It is necessary to measure the elements using the same measurement RN.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a chemical analysis and measurement device that is small in size and can perform chemical analysis of a liquid sample with high efficiency.

The special feature of the present invention is a constant temperature bath, a rotary table provided in the constant temperature bath and having a plurality of analytical element holding parts along the outer periphery thereof, and the above-mentioned constant temperature (5) An element insertion port, an analytical element outlet, an analytical element measuring device provided in the @ wet bath so as to face the outer periphery of the rotary table, and a drive for rotating the rotary table step by step. Ij 1m corner, and at rest in the stepwise rotation of the rotary table,
At a point where any of the analytical element holding parts of the rotary table are located at the same time in a position corresponding to each of the analytical element insertion port, the analytical element outlet, and the analytical element measuring device, respectively. An embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a rotary table 2 is supported in a constant temperature reaction chamber 1 by a vertical rotary shaft 3 so as to rotate in a horizontal plane. A drive shaft 5, which is driven by a rotational drive source (not shown) such as a motor, is connected via a gear mechanism 4 provided at the tip protruding from the thermostatic chamber l. The rotary table 2 has a circular shape as shown in FIG. ) are arranged at equal angular intervals θ (in the illustrated example, θ=801%) around the entire circumference of the rotary table, and as shown in FIG. It is formed by the four parts 7 with the upper surface portion including the outer periphery of the table 2 removed, and the back wall surface 71 and both side wall directions 72° 73 of the four parts 7 conform to the external shape of the analytical element E shown by the broken line in FIG. It outlines the
The bottom wall surface 74 of the recess 7 is a slope that slopes downward as it goes inward in the radial direction of the rotary table 20, and a through hole 8 penetrating the +t% wall 75 of the recess 7 is formed in the bottom wall surface 7↓.
It is formed at a position corresponding to the reagent part R in the center of the analytical element E held in the four parts 7.

Further, along the outer periphery of the rotary table 2, an analyte inlet IO and an analyte outlet 11 are formed on the peripheral wall of the constant temperature chamber 1, and an analyte inlet IO and an analyte lid in the rotating direction of the rotary table 2 are formed. A measuring device 12 consisting of, for example, a reflective color density liver is fixedly provided between the outlet 11 and the
The positional relationship of the measuring device 12 and the analytical element outlet 11 with respect to the analytical element inlet (7) IO is set to be an integral multiple of the angular interval θ between the adjacent analytical element holding parts 6゜6, -m-. At the same time, the drive 1Iil is set so that the rotary table 2 is rotated in a stepwise manner by the angle θ, that is, the rotation is stopped at the angle θ and the rotation is stopped at the angle θ repeatedly.
The rotation unit IIl source connected to II5 is controlled, and one of the body resting positions 1a of the rotary table 2 during the stepwise rotation or the analytical element holding parts 6゜6, -m- is connected to the analytical element supply port 10. A collateral mechanism (not shown) is provided for FliIIoI to be in an opposed state.

First, an analysis element feeding mechanism is provided which feeds analysis elements one by one through the analysis element feeding port 1o.

The analytical element feeder groove in the illustrated example forms a cylindrical analytical element stack housing section 17 for storing and holding analytical element stacks S in an upper chamber 16 provided so as to be stacked on top of the thermostatic chamber 1. A delivery tlr 41g is provided to send out one analysis element located at the lowest position from this analysis element stack S, and the receiver takes the analysis element from this delivery IM structure 18 in its raised position and transfers it to the analysis element supply port 10. An elevator 19 that descends to the same level as the descending position is provided, and when this elevator 19 is in the descending position, the analytical element placed thereon is sent onto the IIJ1 transfer table 2 through the analytical element child supply port 10. A feeding mechanism 2o is provided to do this.

A sample supply outlet 21 is provided for dropping a liquid sample onto the analysis element placed on the elevator 19.

To explain in detail, the sending mechanism 18 has a sending rod 33 that reciprocates on a rail 82 by a crank arm 31 connected to a rotationally driven disc 3o, and this sending rod 33 is biased. # on the left side of the diagram
The rod inserts into the analytical element stack housing 17 along the bottom wall 17A through the rod insertion port 84, pushes out the lowest analytical element, and carries it out through the exit 85 into the elevator located at the ascending level 1u. 19 onto the mounting surface 4o.

The sample feeder ff121 is moved to the elevator 19 (
9) Drop one or several drops of the liquid sample onto the analytical element placed above.

The elevator 19 is vertically movably supported by guide rods 41 extending vertically on both sides of its mounting surface, and is moved to its raised position by a motor 44 via a drive belt 43 suspended on a group of pulleys 42. It is then raised to the lowering position indicated by the @ line.

The feeding mechanism 20 has the same configuration as the feeding mechanism 18, and when the feeding rod 46 is biased, the analytical element on the elevator 19 in the lowered position is pushed and the analytical element is supplied. It is sent into the thermostatic chamber 1 from the opening LO.

The measuring device 12 also has an upper portion 5o and a lower portion 51 that closely face the upper and lower surfaces of the outer peripheral edge of the rotary table 2, respectively, and are located within the upper portion 5° in a corresponding manner. The analytical element in the analytical element holding unit 6 that is in the analytical element holding unit 6 is
A clamping member is provided for clamping between the two, and in the lower part 51 is a reflection type color Q degree #I detection unit that measures the color density in the reagent portion R of the clamped analytical element (10). That is, a light projector that projects measurement light onto the analytical element through the through hole 8 of the analytical element holding section 6, and a light receiver that receives the reflected light from the analytical element are provided.

The Mt+ analytical element outlet 11 is connected to the analytical element inlet 10.
In connection therewith, a 1L through hole 8 for ejecting the analytical element on the analytical element holding part 6 to the outside of the thermostatic chamber 1 located corresponding to the analytical element cultivating port 11 is provided.
A mechanical ejection mechanism is provided for removing and ejecting the analytical element from the analytical element holding part 6 after being inserted through the analytical element holding part 6.

Since the chemical analysis and measurement apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration, in the illustrated example, the delivery filis that sends out one analytical element from the analytical element stack S, the elevator 19, the feeding machine m2ozw, and the liquid sample supply WINmzl,
The analytical element to which the liquid sample has been added is supplied via the analytical element supply port 1o to the corresponding analytical element holding section of the rotary table 2, which is at rest at that time. This analytical element is held and conveyed by the analytical element holding part of the rotary table 2 which rotates step by step. During this pause time, the measurement 512 is performed, and when the device is further transported and paused at the position corresponding to the analytical element outlet 11, it is transferred to the thermostatic chamber via the analytical element outlet 1. It is discharged from l.

In the present invention, the analytical element inlet IO, analytical element outlet 11, and The measuring device 12 is installed, and the rotary table 2 is rotated step by step using an angle θ as a unit of rotation, and the rest position in this stepwise rotation is as follows.
Analytical element holding 11S6.6. --- is always located at a position corresponding to the analytical element inlet IO1, the analytical element outlet 11, and the measuring device 12. During the downtime, the analytical element to be reacted is supplied from the analytical element supply port 10 to the corresponding analytical element holding part, the required measurement of the analytical element in the corresponding analytical element holding part is carried out by the measuring instrument 12, and A total of eight types of processing operations can be performed at the same time, including discharging analytical elements that have completed measurement from the corresponding analytical element holding portions from the analytical element discharge port 11, and this simultaneous processing operation is performed at each rest time. Therefore, the required chemical analysis processing can be achieved with extremely high efficiency.

The time required for the reaction must match the time from when the analytical element is supplied from the analytical element supply port IO to the analytical element holding part 6 of the rotary table 2 until the analytical element reaches the position of the measuring instrument 12. The analytical element holding section 6.
6. --An angular interval θ, the angular relationship of the measuring device 12 to the analyte sample supply port 10, that is, the value of n when this is expressed as nθ (n is an integer), and 1 in the stepwise rotation of the rotary table 2. The required reaction time can be obtained by appropriately setting the adjacency of the rest times and the time required for one rolling motion.

In addition, in the present invention, the rotary table 2 is arranged so that the angular interval θ of one (13) analysis element holding portions 8, 6, -- is not the angle of one stepwise rotation, but an angle that is an integral multiple of θ. Stepwise rotation may be performed as a unit. In this case, if the angle of one stepwise rotation is mθ (m is an integer), then the analytical element holder that follows the m@th analytical element holder is sequentially attached to the measuring instrument 12 etc. with respect to the negative analytical element holder. After passing through the position corresponding to the measuring device 12 at least once, the supplied analytical element reaches the position corresponding to the measuring device 12 and is measured. Of course, in this case, it is necessary to select the value of the integer m in relation to the total number of analytical element holding parts, but when the reaction requires a relatively long time, it is possible to avoid making the apparatus large-sized. This can be easily achieved.

Furthermore, in cases where the same analytical element should be measured twice or more with a predetermined reaction time in between,
Rotary table 2 at a fixed unit angle as described above.
In the method of rotating stepwise, the membrane training device 1 is rotated several times.
(14) at a position corresponding to 2, and furthermore, the rotational drive source of the rotary table 2 can be controlled by a specific lock number to control the analytical element holder to which a specific analytical element has been supplied. It is also possible to make the measuring device 12 move quickly to the corresponding position G, perform the measurement, and then return to the original Otsumoto-like process when the measurement is completed.

As described above, since the rotary table 2 is used, the present invention can fully meet the various demands. As a specific means for controlling the rotary table 2, the known System 1 method may be used.

As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to achieve chemical analysis of a liquid sample with high efficiency in a small size, but the illustrated embodiment further provides the following advantages. That is, each of the analytical element holding parts 6 is made up of four parts 7, and the contours of the four parts 7 are adapted to the outer shape of the analytical element, and the bottom wall surface 74 is inclined downwardly inward and toward the rotary table 20 in the radial direction. Because it has a slope that allows the analysis element to be sent from outside the outer periphery of the rotary table 2 (
15) Rotation of the rotary table 2 is easily and reliably achieved, the analytical element is securely settled in the analytical element holding part in a predetermined position, and furthermore, the rotation of the rotary table 2 is achieved without involving the holding mechanism including the movable part. In fact, the analytical element can be held fixedly on the rotary table 2, and its transportation can be achieved reliably without any adverse effects such as misalignment, resulting in great reliability. can get.

Although the present invention has been described above focusing on one embodiment, various modifications can be made to the present invention.

For example, the analyte feeder groove in the example shows a specific example, and other devices having a similar function,
It is also possible to use a device that can feed analytical elements to which a liquid reagent has been added one by one onto the rotary table 2 from the analytical element supply port 10. In addition, a number of analytical element stack housing sections 17 are provided, each of which stores a different type of analytical element, and the analytical element selected by the appropriate selection groove is supplied. , the operation of the rotary table 2 is controlled according to the type of analysis element selected.
It is possible to do 1. Further, the analytical element holding portion of the rotary table 2 is not limited to the above-mentioned example, and the through hole 8 is not required especially if the measuring device 12 is capable of measuring the upper surface of the analytical element. Further, any measuring device 12 can be used, for example, one having a stylus.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a chemical analysis and measurement device that is small in size and can perform chemical analysis of a liquid sample with high efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the chemical analysis and measurement device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the rotary table, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the analytical element holding part. . ■... Constant temperature bath 2... Rotary table 6.
...Analysis element holding part 7...Four parts 8...Through hole
IO...Analyzing element inlet 11...Analyzing element outlet 12...Measuring instrument 16...Upper chamber
11... Analytical element stack housing section
18...Feed al L mechanism (17) 19...Elevator 2o...Feeder groove 21.
...Liquid sample supply device E...Analytical element S...Analytical element stack R
...Reagent part γ1 diagram Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) a constant temperature chamber, a rotary table provided in the constant temperature chamber and having a number of analytical element holding parts along the outer periphery thereof, and an analytical element insertion port and an analytical element outlet formed in the constant temperature chamber; comprising: an analytical element measuring instrument disposed to face the outer periphery of the rotary table in the thermostatic chamber; and a drive mechanism that rotates the rotary table step by step;
When the rotary table is at rest in the stepwise rotation, one of the phase splitting element holding parts of the rotary table is located at a position corresponding to each of the analytical element insertion port, the analytical element outlet, and the analytical element measuring device. A chemical analysis and measurement device characterized in that they are located at the same time.