JPS6361957A - Chemical analysis instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit photometry with extremely high accuracy and at a small quantity of light by forming a recess for insertion of a reading head to be fitted with the front end of a reading head to the reading head side of a slide supporting part of an incubator. CONSTITUTION:A reading aperture 20f which permits the light transmission between a slide 26 housed in the slide supporting part 20a of the incubator 20 positioned between a chemical analysis slide 26 housed in a housing chamber 24 and the reading head 22 is formed to the above-mentioned supporting part. The recess 20e to be fitted with the reading head in which one end of the aperture 20f is opened at the bottom is formed to the surface on the head 22 side of the supporting part 20a and the front end of the head 22 is insertably formed to the recess 20e. The spacing between the slide 2 and the head 22 can, therefore, be maintained still small even if the heat capacity is increased by increasing the thickness of the supporting part 20a of the incubator 20, by which the reduction of the spacing and the increase of the heat capacity are simultaneously attained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to improvements in chemical analysis devices, and particularly to improvements in incubators built into the devices.

(Prior Art) Qualitative or routine analysis of specific chemical components in a liquid sample is a commonly performed operation in various industrial fields. In particular, quantitative analysis of chemical components or formed components in biological body fluids such as blood and urine is extremely important in the biochemical and clinical fields.

In recent years 1. A dry type chemical analysis slide was developed that enables quantitative analysis of specific chemical components or organic components contained in a sample solution by simply applying small droplets of the sample solution (Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983-1999). No. 21677, JP-A-55-1
64356, etc.) has been put into practical use.

These chemical analysis slides allow sample liquid analysis to be performed more easily and quickly than conventional wet analysis methods, so their use is particularly important in medical and research fields where a large number of samples need to be analyzed. It is preferable in some places.

Analysis of chemical components in a sample solution using such a chemical analysis slide involves depositing the sample solution on the chemical analysis slide, storing it in an incubator, and
The temperature is maintained (incubated) for a predetermined period of time to cause a color reaction (dye formation reaction), and then measurement irradiation light containing a wavelength pre-selected based on the combination of sample components and reagents contained in the reagent layer of a chemical analysis slide is applied to this sample. A chemical analysis slide is irradiated with light and its reflected optical density is measured, thereby quantitatively analyzing the chemical components and the like.

As a chemical analysis device for performing chemical analysis using the above-mentioned chemical analysis slide, the applicant has proposed, for example, the 6th chemical analysis device.
As shown schematically in FIG. 7 (plan view) and FIG. 7 (front view), a plurality of slide storage chambers 2 for storing chemical analysis slides 1 are formed in a straight line, and each storage chamber an incubator 3 that stores a slide 1 and maintains the slide at a constant temperature; and an incubator 3 that irradiates the slide 1 with sample liquid, which is housed in the incubator 3 and is maintained at a constant temperature, with irradiation light, and irradiates the slide 1 with the irradiation light. a reading head 4 for measuring (photometering) the density of reflected light (reflected optical density) reflected by the incubator 3;
The reading head 4 is positioned below each storage chamber 2 by relatively moving the reading head 4 in the direction of the arrow claw, and the reading head 4 is positioned below each storage chamber 2. We have proposed a compact and simple-structured device configured to perform photometry through each reading aperture 5 (Japanese Patent Application No. 60-135611, No. 60-135).
612 etc.).

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, the chemical analysis device configured as described above has the following problems.
Since the slide 1 directly contacts the outside air through the reading opening 5, the temperature of the slide 1 is easily affected by the temperature of the outside air with which it is in contact, making it impossible to effectively maintain the constant temperature of the slide. This problem arises.

For this reason, for example, a method of fitting a glass into the reading opening may be considered, but in that case, dirt tends to adhere to the surface of the glass, and this dirt causes a problem in that the photometry accuracy decreases. Therefore, it is desirable to solve this drawback by making the reading opening a simple through hole and stabilizing the temperature of the outside air in the vicinity thereof.

In addition, in the above-mentioned apparatus, it is desirable to make the distance between the slide 1 and the reading head 4 as small as possible, since if the distance becomes large, the amount of irradiation light emitted from the reading head 4 must be increased. In order to reduce the distance between them, the slide support part 3a of the incubator must be made thinner, which reduces the volume of the incubator 3 and its heat capacity.As a result, a new slide with a lower temperature is stored in the storage chamber 2. There is also the problem that the temperature drop in the incubator becomes large in this case, which is undesirable.

Furthermore, the device as described above has the disadvantage that external light enters through the gap 6 between the tip of the reading head 4 and the incubator 3, and the reading head 4 reads this light, resulting in a photometry error.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to stabilize the external air temperature near the reading opening, reduce the distance between the reading head and the chemical analysis slide, increase the heat capacity of the incubator, and prevent the harmful effects of external light on the reading head. The object of the present invention is to provide a chemical analysis device that can simultaneously achieve the following with a simple structure.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the chemical analysis device according to the present invention has a structure in which the tip of the reading head is fitted into the reading head side of the slide support of the incubator. A reading head fitting recess is formed, and a reading opening that allows light transmission between the reading head and the reading head is formed at a position of the reading head fitting recess opposite to the accommodated slide. .

(Function) As described above, the chemical analysis device according to the present invention includes a reading head-fitting large recess formed in the slide support portion of the incubator, and a reading opening opened at the bottom of the recess. This reading head insertion recess serves to prevent air from flowing, and the air within the recess remains and stagnates there, making it difficult for temperature changes to occur.

Therefore, the external air temperature near the reading opening is stable.

In addition, a reading head insertion recess is formed in the slide support portion,
Since the reading head is fitted into the recess, the thickness of the slide support part can be increased while keeping the distance between the slide and the reading head small. At the same time it is possible to increase the heat capacity of the incubator.

Furthermore, since the tip of the reading head is similarly fitted into the reading head insertion recess, the tip of the reading head is covered by the recess, and external light can be prevented from entering the reading head.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the chemical analysis device according to the present invention is configured as described above, it can stabilize the external air temperature near the reading opening, reduce the distance between the reading head and the chemical analysis slide, and It is possible to simultaneously achieve an increase in the thermal capacity of the sensor and to prevent the harmful effects of external light on the reading head.As a result, extremely high-precision photometry is possible, and it can be performed with a small amount of light. .

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 are diagrams schematically showing the main parts of an embodiment of the chemical analysis device according to the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a partially cutaway front view, and FIG. Figure 3 shows ■-■ of Figure 2.
FIG.

As shown in the figure, the chemical analysis apparatus in this embodiment includes an incubator 20 and a reading head 22.

The incubator 20 has ten storage chambers 24 formed therein in a row on the same plane. Inside each storage chamber 24 are chemical analysis slides 26, 26...
They are stored one by one and kept at a constant temperature. This incubator 20 has a built-in heater (not shown) so that the temperature of the storage chamber 24 can be adjusted as necessary to maintain a constant temperature of the slide 26.

A reading head 22 is arranged below the incubator 20 to measure the light of each slide 26 in the storage chamber from below. This reading head 22 irradiates the chemical analysis slides 26 in each storage chamber with irradiation light from below and measures (photometers) the optical density of the reflected light. It is moved as necessary by a linear motor or the like on a rail (not shown) extending in the longitudinal direction of the incubator (in the six directions of arrows), and is positioned directly below each storage chamber 24. be.

The chemical analysis slide 26 is constructed by disposing a dry multilayer film 26b in which a support, a reagent layer, and a developing layer are laminated in this order in a holding frame 26a having a circular hole for dropping a liquid sample. Samples such as urine and blood (substance to be measured)
A predetermined number of drops is added and incubated at a constant temperature to cause a color reaction.

More specifically, the incubator 20 includes a storage chamber 24
A slide support part 20a that supports the chemical analysis slide 26 inserted into the slide support part 20a, a vertically movable pressing member 20c that faces the slide support part 20a and is urged downward by a spring 20b, and the pressing member 20c is movable. The main body member 20d supports the slide support part 20.
A slide storage chamber 24 is formed between the main body member 20d and the main body member 20d.

A reading head fitting recess 20e into which the leading end 22a of the reading head is fitted is provided on the reading head side which is the lower side of the slide support part 20a. tip 22 of
A is formed in a linear concave groove shape along the row of each storage chamber 24 so that a can move along the rail and be located directly below each storage chamber 24.

A slide 26 (in particular, the multilayer film 26b of the slide stored at a predetermined position on the slide support portion 20e) and the read head 22 are housed in positions facing each storage chamber 24 of the reading head insertion recess 20e. A reading aperture 2Of is formed to allow light to pass between the two. This reading aperture 2Of is preferably formed to have a trapezoidal cross section so that photometry by reflection can be carried out effectively. In such a configuration, the chemical analysis slide 26 is inserted into a predetermined position on the slide support part 20a of the incubator 20, and maintained at a constant temperature while being pressed by the pressing member 20c, and the reading head 22 is inserted into a predetermined position on the slide support part 20a of the incubator 20. Photometry of the slide 26 is performed through the reading opening 20f while the slide 26 is fitted into the reading head fitting recess 2Oe.

Inserting a new chemical analysis slide with a sample liquid droplet into each storage chamber 24 and discharging an old photometered chemical analysis slide from each storage chamber 24 can be carried out using the new slide 26 as shown in FIG. 3, for example. ' is pushed in the direction of arrow B, and the old slide 26 is pushed out in the direction of arrow C by the slide 26'.

In the above embodiment, the incubator 20 is fixed and the reading head 22 moves, but the reading head 22
It is also possible that the incubator 20 is fixed and the incubator 20 is movable.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the type in which the incubator 20 and the reading head 22 move relatively linearly as described above, but is also applicable to a type in which both move relatively circularly. An outline of the main parts of an embodiment of such type is shown in Fig. 4 (front view) and Fig. 5 (sectional view taken along the line v-v in Fig. 4). Equipped with an annular incubator 20 having 12 equally distributed storage v24,
A reading head 22 is fixedly disposed below the incubator 20 at a predetermined position as shown in the figure, and the incubator 20 rotates at a predetermined angle (45 degrees in this embodiment) about a rotation axis 28 to read each storage chamber 24. can be positioned on the reading head 22. Further, on the lower surface of the slide support portion 20a of this incubator, there is a reading head fitting recess 20e in which the incubator 20 can be rotated with the distal end portion 22a of the reading head fitted from below.
is formed in the shape of a circular concave groove along the row of the storage chambers 24, and the distal end portion 22a of the reading head is fitted into the concave portion 20e. Further, similar to the embodiment described above, a reading opening 2Of is formed in the slide support portion 20a for each storage i24, and opens downward and communicates with the reading head insertion recess 20e. Of course, in this case as well, the incubator 20 may be fixed and the reading head 22 may be moved along the recess 20e.

As described above, in the chemical analysis apparatus according to the present invention, the slide supporting portion of the incubator is located between the slides stored in the storage chamber and the reading head, and the light transmission between the slides stored in the storage chamber and the reading head is provided. A reading opening that enables the reading head is formed on the surface of the slide support on the reading head side. The leading end of the reading head is formed so that it can be inserted into the reading head.

Since the above-mentioned recess is formed and the reading head is fitted into the recess, the distance between the slide and the reading head can still be kept small even if the thickness of the slide support of the incubator is increased to increase the heat capacity. It is possible and
A reduction in the spacing and an increase in heat capacity can be achieved simultaneously.

Furthermore, since the air in the recess remains and stagnates in the recess, there is little exchange of air, and therefore the temperature of the outside air near the reading opening can be stabilized.

Furthermore, since the read head is covered by a recess,
It is possible to prevent the harmful effects of external light on the reading head.

The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof, and is not limited to what is shown in the examples.

In addition to the incubator and reading head shown in the embodiments, the apparatus according to the present invention may be equipped with various means such as a sample liquid spotting means, slide insertion and ejection means, and other means as required.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are diagrams schematically showing essential parts of an embodiment of a chemical analysis device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2, FIG. 4 and FIG. The figure is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of FIG. 4 taken along the v-v line, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams schematically showing an example of a chemical analysis device already proposed by the applicant. 6 is a plan view, and FIG. 7 is a front view. 20...Incubator 20a...Slide support portion 20e...Reading head insertion recess 2Of...Reading opening 22... Reading head 24...Storage chamber 26...Chemical analysis slides Fig. 3 Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] An incubator that stores a plurality of chemical analysis slides and maintains them at a constant temperature; and an incubator that is movable relative to the plurality of slides stored in the incubator, and measures the reflected optical density by irradiating each slide with irradiation light. a reading head, and a reading head fitting recess into which a distal end of the reading head is fitted is provided on the reading head side of the slide support portion of the incubator located between the stored slide and the reading head. A chemical analysis device comprising: a reading opening that allows light transmission between the reading head and the reading head at a position opposite to the accommodated slide in the reading head insertion recess.