JPS62119459A - Centrifugal-type automatic chemical analysis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase specimen processing quantity at effective application of an injector of specimen and reagent, by installing a rotor for cuvette for reaction and photometric measurement on an identical rotating shaft through a clutch in a plurality of stages. CONSTITUTION:When a cuvette rotor 4 is rotating intermittently, a specimen and a No.1 reagent are dividedly injected by a divided pouring nozzle 30 into a specimen receiver 17 of the cuvette 5. Upon finishing of the entire divided pouring, the cuvette rotor 4 emerges into a high-speed rotating mode and the specimen and the No.1 reagent are introduced into a reaction and photometric measurement cuvette member 14 for starting an analysis operation. At this moment, a specimen divided injector 8 is displaced to a position 'B' and a cuvette rotor 4' is led to a rotating mode of the step for divided injection of the specimen and the No.1 reagent injected. When the specimen and the No.1 reagent the into all the cuvettes 6', the cuvette rotor 4' emerges into the high- speed rotating mode and the analyses are made following the same procedures.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analyzer, and in particular, a centrifugal automatic analyzer for analyzing specimens such as plasma, serum, urine, other body fluids, secretions, and biological samples. Regarding chemical analysis equipment.

(b) Conventional technology Among body fluids and biological samples, blood, for example, circulates in the body and provides substances such as oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to the tissues, and serves to carry away waste products from the tissues.7+ Erasep Add wholesale I molecule + ts4 ni night drama W I'll Jh jJ1
It is a comprehensive reflection of the body, and if there is a lesion somewhere in the body, it will change accordingly. Therefore, component analysis values of blood and the like are used for diagnosing various diseases, determining treatment effects, and providing treatment guidelines.

Moreover, for such medical information, diagnostic accuracy is higher when multiple analysis items are combined than from a single analysis item. As a result, high analytical accuracy is required.

However, most of the analyzes used for diagnosis and treatment guidelines target patients, and the amount of blood collected is limited depending on the patient's medical condition. Especially for infants, the amount of blood collected is smaller than the total amount. Therefore, the amount of blood collected is severely limited.

Therefore, in order to meet these demands and reduce the running costs of reagents, the amount of samples handled by automatic chemical analyzers has been miniaturized.For example, in oven-type and closed-type automatic chemical analyzers, The cuvettes and reaction vessels are j! F l-< /1% 1F
2l/1-f A-(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The miniaturization of the cuvettes and reaction vessels as described above in oven-type and closed-type automatic chemical analyzers has the effect of reducing the surface area of samples and reagents. Due to tension, it is difficult to inject samples and reagents into cuvettes and reaction vessels, and it is also difficult to remove air bubbles that get mixed into cuvettes and reaction vessels when injecting samples such as specimens and reagents. Become, remain,
This is considered a problem in terms of analysis accuracy.

In contrast to oven-type and closed-type automatic chemical analyzers, centrifugal automatic chemical analyzers allow for easy degassing even if the cell section is significantly downsized because centrifugal force acts on them. Since the introduction of the sample and reagent into the cell section is also carried out automatically and smoothly due to the action of centrifugal force, this is advantageous in dealing with the miniaturization of the sample.

However, in centrifugal automatic chemical analyzers, in order to generate centrifugal force, the reaction/photometric cuvette or reaction disk must be rotated at high speed, and operations such as opening, sample injection, reagent injection, etc. Since analysis cannot be carried out, a batch method has to be used, and after the start of analysis, the sample injector, reagent injector, washing liquid injector, etc. become idle, which is a problem.

The present invention aims to solve problems caused by batch processing in a centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer. (d) Means for solving the problems The present invention provides one multistage reaction and photometry cuvette,
The present invention provides a centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer that can increase throughput per unit time.

The present invention provides a centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer equipped with a reaction and photometry cuvette that rotates around a rotating shaft, in which rotors to which the reaction and photometric cuvettes are attached are provided in multiple stages on the same rotating shaft, and at least , a centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer characterized in that one rotor is connected to a rotating shaft via a clutch.

In the present invention, various types of cuvettes for reaction and photometry can be used, including a transformer disc type that includes a plurality of cuvettes and is attached to a rotor, and a type that has a plurality of cuvettes attached to a rotor. In the case of a transfer disk type, it is preferable that it is divided into two or more parts at intervals to facilitate attachment to the rotor. However, even if cuvettes are arranged in multiple stages, injecting samples and reagents can be easily performed.
The first cuvette, sample receiver, and reagent receiver are located around the rotor.
It is preferable that they are arranged in clusters.

In the present invention, at least one of the sample injector, the reagent injector, and the washing liquid injector is configured so that the dispensers such as the sample injector, the reagent injector, and the washing liquid injector can inject into the cuvettes of two or more rotor stages. - is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction. In this case, the sample injector, reagent injector, and cleaning liquid injector are arranged at appropriate intervals around the rotor so that the injection operations can be performed simultaneously.

In the present invention, in order to be able to independently and precisely adjust the rotation of the cuvette rotor without regard to the rotation of the rotating shaft, the cuvette rotor is controlled by a clutch. ``Currently putting sweetfish in the warehouse - 7'' As the clutch, any clutch can be used as long as it can transmit torque from the rotating shaft rotating at high speed and cut off V accurately in a very short time.

Such latches include hysteresis clutch,
There are Paug clutches, eddy current clutches, etc.

When a clutch is provided, a driving member such as a driving plate having a driving portion formed on its upper surface is connected and fixed to the rotating shaft, and a passive member having a passive portion or a passive portion is provided on the lower surface of the cuvette rotor, and the driving portion and the driving member are connected to each other. The torque of the rotating shaft is transmitted by engagement of the passive part, and the torque is cut off by disengagement. In this case, it is preferable for the cuvette rotor to be supported on the rotating shaft via a bearing or the like that cannot be moved in the axial direction, since this makes the structure simple.

In the present invention as well, the cuvette rotor rotates intermittently for individual cuvettes when injecting a sample, a reagent, a cleaning solution, etc. into the cuvette. Preferably, a brake is arranged together with the brake. In this case, the braking of the cuvette rotor is shortened to u, ? Any braking mechanism that can be used to open the door accurately can be used. Such a brake includes an electromagnetic brake and the like. If a brake is provided, a stator is provided for each cuvette rotor, and the stator is
In addition to providing a braking part or a braking member having a braking part, a cuvee? A brake receiving part or a receiving member including a brake receiving part is provided on the lower surface of the rotor, which is braked when engaged with the braking part. To stop the rotation of the cuvette rotor, current is passed through the electromagnetic coil of the stator to engage the brake part and the brake receiving part.

Although clutches and brakes can be provided for at least one cuvette rotor, it is preferable to provide clutches and brakes for each rotor, that is, for all rotors, since the rotation of the rotor can be adjusted for each rotor.

In order to make it easier to control the rotational speed of the rotor, the present invention has the following features:
It is preferable to provide a rotation speed detector for each rotor.As the zero rotation speed detector, a tachometer capable of measuring a wide range of high-speed rotation to low-speed rotation, such as a magnetic tachometer or a power-generating tachometer, is used. .

(E) Function The present invention provides a plurality of stages of rotors for mounting cuvettes for reaction and photometry on the same rotating shaft, and connects at least one rotor, or preferably all rotors, to the rotating shaft via a clutch. In addition, each of the sample injector, reagent injector, and cleaning liquid injector is provided to be movable in the vertical direction over, for example, more than one rotary stage, so that, for example, multiple stages of a
- For one rotor in the evening, the drive part of the corresponding clutch can be actuated to connect the passive part of the rotor to the rotating shaft and rotate the rotor.

When the rotor has rotated by one cuvette, it is disengaged from the clutch and the corresponding brake is actuated to brake the brake receiver of the rotor, even while the rotating shaft is rotating. Regardless, the rotation of the a-yellow can be stopped. In this way, for example, by repeating the operation of the clutch and the operation of the brake at predetermined intervals, the rotor can be rotated intermittently, regardless of the rotation of the rotating shaft.

According to the present invention, by combining the operations of the latch and the brake, rotation in various rotation modes such as high-speed rotation, medium-speed rotation, and intermittent rotation can be performed independently.

Therefore, for example, the clutches and brakes of the first-stage rotor among the plurality of rotors are actuated alternately, and only the first-stage rotor is cuvetteed separately from the other rotors.
The sample injector, e.g., a sample dispenser, may then dispense, e.g., the sample and the first reagent, only into the cuvettes of the first stage rotor.

In addition, when the sample and first reagent have been completely dispensed into the cuvettes of the first stage rotor, the brake operation is stopped.
First stage rotor receiver! The ilJ section can be engaged with the drive section by actuation of the drive section of the clutch, and only the first stage rotor can be moved to high speed rotation, where stirring and deaeration are performed as in the conventional case. Thereafter, the clutches and brakes are operated as appropriate, and the rotor is operated according to the conventional rotation mode, regardless of the rotation of the rotating yuzu, for example, to perform the photometry process of the sample blank, the dispensing process of the second reagent, and the stirring/desorption process. Be able to perform air processes, reaction/measurement processes, washing/drying processes, etc.

Similarly to the first stage rotor, the sample and first reagent are sequentially dispensed and analyzed by the operation of the corresponding clutches and brakes for the second stage and lower rotors, regardless of the rotation of the rotating shaft. will be started.

In the present invention, a rotational speed detector is provided to detect the rotational speed of the rotor, and the operation of the clutch driving section and the brake braking section can be controlled by a control method such as a sequence program. .

In the present invention, the sample injector, reagent injector, and cleaning liquid injector can be shared by multiple rotors, and the sample processing loss per injector increases in proportion to the number of shared rotors. do.

In addition, in the present invention, injection of a amount of a sample such as a specimen is performed by
It is not affected by the surface tension of the sample or reagent.

(F) Example Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited in any way by this description and exemplification.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the main parts of an example of an apparatus in which rotors are provided in three stages, which is an embodiment of the centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view schematically showing the cuvette rotor portion of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged sectional view of the torque transmitting portion of FIG. 1 of the present invention.

The centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer 1 of this example has a rotating shaft 3 connected to an electric motor 2. On this rotating shaft 3, there are three upper and lower stages of cuvette rotors 4, 4", 4°, each having an electromagnetic brake unit. It is connected to the rotating shaft via a torque transmitting part 5.5', 5'' having a diameter.

In the cuvette rotor 4, a divided transformer 7, in which a plurality of cuvettes 6 are formed, a T-disk type reaction/photometering disk 7 is assembled so as to surround the rotating shaft in an annular manner. ”The installation is fixed.

A sample dispenser 8, a reagent dispenser, a washing liquid dispenser, a photometric device (none of which are shown), etc. are provided so as to surround the cuvette rotors 4.4', 4''.

The circumferential ends of the cuvette rotors 4.4', 4'' are partially in contact with the tachometers 9.9', 9'', and the rotational speed of each of the cuvette rotors 4.4', 4'' is measured. The output ends of the tachometers 9.9' and 9'' are connected to the input sections 11.11' and 1 of the cuvette rotor rotation control device 10, respectively.
1". The output parts 12° 12', 12" of the cuvette rotor rotation control device are connected to the torque transmission part 5, respectively.
It is connected to input sections 13, 13', 13'' of 95'15''. Here, the cuvette rotor rotation control device 10
The device detects the rotational speed of the cuvette rotors 4, 4', 4'' and controls the current flowing through the coils to control the rotational speed of the cuvette rotor to a desired value.

Transformer 7 installed on cuvette rotor 4.4', 4''
An example of a T-type reactive and photometric disc 7°7'g7'' is shown in FIG.

The reaction/photometering disks 7.7', 7'' have a plurality of cubelas (6, 6') along their outer peripheries, respectively.

6" is formed, each cubera) 6.6'.

At 6'', a photometric measuring section 14 is provided at the outermost end of the reaction section, and optical window sections 15 and 15' for photometry are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the optically transparent window. It is formed by arranging members. Reaction and photometry disk 7
．． 7',? 6.6', 6''
The reaction and photometry cuvette 1 part 14 has a passage 16 on the inside.
The sample receiving portion 17 communicates with a reagent receiving portion 19 via a layered passage 18.

By forming the passages in layers in this way, it is possible to make the reaction start time constant, and it is also possible to inject the second reagent. In this example, one reagent receiving section 19 is provided corresponding to the sample receiving section 17, but a plurality of reagent receiving sections 19 may be arranged in parallel to form a passage in the sample receiving section 17 or the reaction photometry cuvette section 14. It is also possible to communicate by doing so.

Torque transmission parts 5, 5' used in this example.

5'' has a disc-shaped drive member 20 for a clutch connected to the rotating shaft 3. A fixing base member 21 is provided below this disc-shaped drive member 20. A drive annular groove 22 is formed in the disc-shaped drive member 20, and a clutch drive electromagnetic coil 23 disposed on the fixed base member 21 is provided along the groove 22. The fixing base member 21 includes a brake!!lt portion 24 for a brake that protrudes outside the driving annular groove 22 in a cylindrical cup shape.
This brake wall portion 24 is provided with:
Braking electromagnetic coils 25, 25' are provided in two annular rows together with the wall portion 24. In this example, the braking electromagnetic coils 25, 25' are circuited so that they are automatically energized when the driving electromagnetic coil 23 is de-energized. Also, on this braking wall portion 24, m4t! is located between the two rows of braking electromagnetic coils 25°25'. A braking annular groove 26 is formed below the rim, and braking is performed by means of a current. The clutch mechanism and braking mechanism may be of various types, such as a hysteresis type or an eddy current type.

On the other hand, on the lower surface of the cuvette rotor 4.4', 4'', a clutch passive member 27 that protrudes downward in the shape of a circular cup is provided at a position corresponding to the drive annular groove 22 of the disc-shaped drive member 20 for the clutch. A brake receiving member 2 for a brake is located at a location corresponding to the annular brake groove 26 on the fixed base member 21 and protrudes downward in a cylindrical cup shape.
8 is provided. Cuvette rotor 4.4', 4"
is rotatably but immovably supported on a rotating shaft via a bearing member 29 such as a bearing.

In such a torque transmission part 5.5', 5''-1,
When the driving electromagnetic coil 23 is energized, the clutch passive member 27 of the cuvette rotor is attracted to the groove 22 by the magnetic force and rotates together with the clutch disc-shaped driving member 20. When the driving electromagnetic coil 23 is de-energized, the clutch passive member 27 is disengaged, and the If hubette rotor 4 rotates freely due to inertia. on the other hand,
In this example, the braking electromagnetic coils 25.25' of the torque transmitting parts 5.5', 5'' are energized when the driving electromagnetic coil 23 is de-energized.
When the driving electromagnetic coil 23 is de-energized, the braking electromagnetic coil 25, 25' is energized, forming an eddy current in the brake receiving member 28 to stop or decelerate the rotation of the cuvette rotor. can.

The automatic chemical analyzer fil of this example is formed as described above, so that the cuvette rotor is rotated by passing current through the driving electromagnetic coil 23 of the torque transmission section, and then When the energization is stopped, the braking electromagnetic coil 25, 25' is automatically energized, and the cuvette rotor stops.

An example of an analysis process chart performed using the centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer of this example is shown in the following table.

(Table) Analysis process table ◇ Rotation mode
Decay) 1 step sample and t! 41 reagent dispensing 2
〃 〃 3 High speed stirring/deaeration 4 Medium speed reaction 5 〃 Sample blank measurement 6 Step 2nd reagent dispensing 7 High speed stirring/deaeration 8 Medium speed reaction/measurement 9 Step Drainage/pure water Suzuki 10 〃 Detergent/ Minute attention High speed Detergent/Cleaning 12 Medium speed 〃 13〃 〃 14 Step Discharge/Pure water Suzuki 15 High speed
Drying 16 Medium speed 〃 1 step Sample and WS1 reagent dispensing clutch 81
S5 driving electromagnetic filter 23 and braking electromagnetic coil 25.
The intermittent rotation of the cuvette rotor 4 by one cuvette by the alternating operation of the rotor 25' is the rotation mode of the steps shown in the table at 7 degrees 1, 2, 6 degrees 9.10, 13.14. Therefore, for the cuvette rotor 4, the rotation mode of the 7Aze 1 step is:
This is obtained by operating the torque transmission section 5 as described above.

Therefore, the sample receiving part 1 of the cuvette 6 of the cuvette rotor 4 is
7, the sample and the first reagent are dispensed from the dispensing nozzle 30 of the sample dispenser 8 at position A.

When the predetermined sample and the first reagent have been dispensed to all the tubes of the cuvette rotor 4, the torque transmission f65
The drive electromagnetic coil 23 is energized, and the Cubeah rotor 4 rotates at high speed for the next 7Azes 3.

Enter the transfer mode, introduce the sample and the first reagent into the reaction/photometric cubela) 8s14, perform the analysis process of 7Aze 3, and perform the analysis steps following 7Aze 3 in sequence.Here, sample dispensing. The device 8 moves to the position B, and at the same time turns on and off the power to the electromagnetic coil 23 for driving the torque transmission section 5' of the cuvette rotor 4', setting the cuvette rotor 4' to a rotation mode of 7 steps and 1 step. Then, from the dispensing nozzle 30 of the reagent dispenser, which has been moved to position B, the cuvette 6 of the cuvette rotor 4'
Dispense the sample and the first reagent into the sample receiving section 17 of ♀-
When the sample and first reagent have been dispensed into all the cuvettes 6' in the evening 4', the cuvette rotor 4' shifts to a high speed rotation mode of 7A3. On the other hand, during this time, the cuvette rotor 4'
It is possible to stop the energization of 3 and enter the medium speed rotation mode of 7A x 4.

When the sample and the first reagent have been dispensed into all the cuvettes 6' of the cuvette rotor 4', the driving electromagnetic coil 23 of the torque transmission n5' is energized and the cuvette rotor 4' enters a high-speed rotation mode. The sample and the first reagent are placed in the reaction and photometry cuvette part 14 from the sample receiver 11s17.
7Aze 3 is introduced, and the analysis process of 7Aze 3 is performed, and thereafter the analysis process following 7Aze 3 is performed sequentially. Here, the sample dispenser 8 moves to position C. Therefore, Cubea) rotor 4
By repeating energization and de-energization of the driving electromagnetic coil 23 of the torque transmission section 5'', the cuvette rotor 4'' enters a rotation mode of 7 steps and 1 step, and the sample dispenser 8 at position C The sample and the first reagent are dispensed into the cuvette F6'' of the cuvette rotor 4#. In this way, the sample and the first reagent are dispensed into the cuvette 6# in all of the cuvette rotors 4#, and when the dispensing of the sample and the first reagent is completed, the high speed rotation mode of 7A's 3 is entered. . On the other hand, the first stage cuvee/ ) rotor 4
In this darkness, the driving electromagnetic filter 23 of the torque transmission section 5
By repeating energization and de-energization of 7.
You can move from aids 5 to 6. In addition, the second stage cuvette rotor 4' stops energizing the driving electromagnetic coil 23 of the torque transmission section 5' and enters the medium speed rotation mode of 7A's 4. The subsequent analysis steps are performed sequentially.

Therefore, in this example, the sample dispenser 8 is moved from the C position. In this example, for convenience of explanation, the number of stages of the cuvette rotor is set to three, but even so, the idle time of sample dispensing 'a8' is halved. This idle time can be reduced by increasing the number of stages of the cuvette rotor and by increasing the number of cuvettes per stage.
It can be further reduced.

Further, in the case of three stages as in this example, for example, the two stages of upper and lower cuvette rotors 4, 4'' may be connected and fixed to a rotating shaft, and the intermediate cuvette rotor 4' may be connected via a clutch.

In this case, for example, it is possible to organize the analysis process so that Phases 1 and 2 are performed in two stages, 7A's 9 and (/'10 are performed in the lower stage, and an intermediate analysis process is performed in the middle stage). can.

1-1 In this example, we have mainly explained the dispensing of the sample and the first reagent using the sample dispenser, so we have not explained the reagent dispenser and cleaning liquid dispenser other than the sample dispenser. ,
Similar to the sample dispenser, operating the torque transmission section to perform the dispensing operation reduces the idle time, similar to the sample dispenser.

(g) Effects of the Invention In the present invention, the rotor to which the cuvette for reaction and photometry is attached is provided in multiple stages on the same rotating shaft via clutches, preferably also via brakes, so that the rotation of the rotating shaft is controlled. It is possible to take various rotation modes without being forced to move, and the number of rotor stages can be increased without increasing the number of injectors such as sample injectors, reagent injectors, or cleaning liquid injectors. Therefore, compared to conventional devices, the centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention can be used effectively during analysis without leaving the sample injector, reagent injector, or cleaning liquid injector idle. This makes it possible to significantly increase the amount of samples processed per unit.

Furthermore, in the present invention, at least one of the sample injector, reagent injector, or cleaning liquid injector can be moved vertically by two or more rotary stages. The injection of samples, reagents, washing liquid, etc. into the reaction/photometric cuvette attached to the rotor will be performed by sharing, and the operation time thereof will increase in proportion to the number of rotors sharing the responsibility. Compared to conventional devices, the centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer requires a sample injector,
The idle time of syringes such as reagent dispensers, washing liquid syringes, etc. is greatly reduced, and sample throughput can be significantly increased.

As described above, the present invention can sufficiently compensate for the drawbacks of the batch method of conventional centrifugal automatic chemical analyzers, and solve the problems associated with the 1lffi system for automatic chemical analyzers. And the impact it has is huge.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the essential parts of an example of an apparatus in which a rotor is provided in two stages according to an embodiment of the centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view schematically showing the Kievett rotor section. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the torque transmission portion of FIG. 1 of the present invention. Regarding the codes, 1 is a centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer, 2 is
is an electric motor, 3 is a rotating shaft, 4.4″, 4# is a cuvette rotor, 5 is a torque transmission unit, 6 is a cuvette, 7 is a disk, 8 is a sample dispenser, 9 is a tachometer, 10 is a rotor rotation control device , 14 is a cuvette section for reaction and photometry, 15.1
5' is an optical window part, 17 is a sample receiving part, 19 is a reagent receiving part, 20 is a disc-shaped drive member for a clutch, 21 is a fixing base member, 23.25.25'' is an electromagnetic coil, and 24 is a braking wall. Department,
26 is an annular groove for braking, 27 is a passive member, 28 is a brake receiving member, and 29 is a bearing member. Agent

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer equipped with a reaction and photometry cuvette that rotates around a rotation axis, the rotors to which the reaction and photometry cuvettes are mounted are provided in multiple stages on the same rotating shaft, and at least one rotor is A centrifugal automatic chemical analyzer characterized by being connected to a rotating shaft via a clutch.