JP3506000B2 - Automatic dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic dispensing apparatus used for dispensing samples and reagents in the field of biochemistry and the like. [0002] An automatic dispensing apparatus is known as an apparatus used for systematically conducting a test such as a biochemical reaction of a substance. This automatic dispensing apparatus automatically performs operations such as taking out and transferring medicines and specimens in a sample storage plate. The plate for storing the sample is provided with a large number of small recesses, and various dispensing operations are performed by sucking and discharging the liquid in the recesses by the dispensing head. [0003] Dispensing materials such as a plate used for this dispensing operation, a reservoir in which a medicine is stored, and a dispensing tip mounted on a dispensing head are stocked at predetermined storage locations. Is taken out by a transfer means such as a robot arm in accordance with the condition, and transferred to a dispensing stage where dispensing is performed. After dispensing, the plate is transported to a predetermined place again. [0004] In the conventional dispensing apparatus, a multi-stage storage shelf is installed as a stock portion for plates and dispensing materials, and each time dispensing is performed, an operator stores the plate or dispensing material at a predetermined position on the storage shelf. However, after all dispensing operations have been completed, they are taken out again. [0005] However, in the conventional automatic dispensing apparatus, it is difficult to arrange the above-mentioned storage shelf on the front of the apparatus with good workability due to the layout of the apparatus. And placed inside the device. For this reason, the workability at the time of storage / removal is poor, and since the work is performed in a narrow portion, improvement in safety has been desired. In addition, when replacing plates and dispensing materials, many stages of storage shelves were manually stored and removed one by one, which required a considerable amount of time for replacement. Had to be stopped. As described above, the conventional automatic dispensing apparatus has a problem in that workability is poor when exchanging plates and dispensing materials, safety is not ensured, and it is difficult to carry out replacement work quickly. There was a point. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic dispensing apparatus which excels in workability and safety of exchanging plates and dispensing materials, and which can perform exchange work quickly. An automatic dispensing apparatus according to the present invention is an automatic dispensing apparatus for dispensing a liquid sample on a plate provided with a concave portion for accommodating the sample. A dispensing unit for dispensing by inhaling and discharging a sample to be dispensed, a stock unit for stocking a plurality of the plates, and a transport unit for transporting the plate between the stock unit and the dispensing unit, Ma
A magazine for collectively storing the plurality of plates in the stock portion, a magazine mounting means for detachably mounting the magazine, a Z-axis table for raising and lowering the magazine mounting means, and a vertical movement by the Z-axis table. Do
A back plate was provided, and the back plate was provided with slide means for horizontally sliding the magazine mounting means to the outside of the stock portion. [0010] According to the present invention, by providing the stock unit with the slide means for sliding the storage unit for storing the plate and the dispensing material to the outside, the replacement operation can be performed safely with good workability. By providing the magazine mounting means for collectively accommodating or stock part to the plate and dispensing material, it is possible to quickly carry out the replacement work. Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic dispensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of a magazine holder of the automatic dispensing apparatus, and FIGS. 3A and 3B. ,
(C) is a structural explanatory view of a lock mechanism of a magazine holder of the automatic dispensing device. First, the overall structure of the automatic dispensing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the automatic dispensing apparatus 1 includes a frame 2 configured by combining mold members and a base plate 3 fixed to the frame 2. The automatic dispensing apparatus 1 is divided into three parts, namely, a dispensing section A, a stock section B, and a processing section C by a frame 2 and a base plate 3. The dispensing section A is provided on the base plate 3 and performs a dispensing operation on a plate containing a sample.
The stock section B stocks plates and dispensing tips used in the dispensing section A. The processing section C is sent to another device such as an incubator after the dispensing operation, and performs processing such as analysis and washing of the returned plate. Next, the dispensing section A will be described with reference to FIG. On the base plate 3, three stages on which the plate 4 is placed, that is, a dispensing stage 10, a buffer stage 11, and a standby stage 12 are provided. On the dispensing stage 10, a plate 4 of a drug or a sample to be dispensed is placed. The buffer stage 11 serves as a buffer for temporarily placing a dispensing material such as the plate 4 or a dispensing tip placed in the dispensing stage 10. The standby stage 12 is connected to a lower processing unit C via a transport hole 3 a provided in the base plate 3.
This is a stage for waiting the plate 4 to be conveyed to. On the side of the dispensing stage 10, a slide table 13 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the dispensing stage 10. A first dispensing head 14 and a second dispensing head 16 are mounted on the slide table 13, and the first dispensing head 14 and the second dispensing head 16 are mounted on the slide table 13.
Are individually moved on the dispensing stage 10 along the slide table 13 by driving means (not shown). First dispensing head 14 and second dispensing head 16
Is equipped with a dispensing tip 15. By lowering the tips of these dispensing tips 15 into recesses provided in a grid on the plate 4 to inhale liquid medicines and specimens and discharging them into the recesses of other plates 4,
Perform various dispensing operations such as transferring samples between samples. The dispensing tip 15 is housed in a tip container 5 having the same lattice arrangement as the plate 4,
By dispensing the dispensing heads 14 and 16 onto the tip container 5, the dispensing tip 15 is automatically mounted. After use, the dispensing heads 14, 16
Is raised and lowered on the tip removing mechanism 19 provided in the dispensing section A, so that the dispensing tip 15 is locked on the comb-like plate of the tip removing mechanism 19 and the dispensing head 1
It is designed to be automatically removed from 4,16. Further, a lid removing unit 18 is provided at an end of the base plate 3 opposite to the slide table 13. The lid removing unit 18 removes a lid that covers the plate 4 when the plate 4 is stocked. Next, the stock section B will be described. FIG.
As shown in FIG.
0 and a tip stocker 45 are provided. The plate stocker 30 can be moved up and down by a Z-axis table 31, and the storage section of the plate stocker 30 can be slid to the outside of the stock section B by a slide means described later. Next, the plate stocker 30 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2A, the Z-axis table 31 has a Z-axis motor 31a for driving a feed screw 31b to rotate. The feed screw 31b is screwed to a nut 31c fixed to an L-shaped back plate 32. Yes. On the back plate 32, sliders 33 are arranged at three positions, two at a vertical position and one at a horizontal position. The slider 33 is provided on a guide rail 3 disposed horizontally in an L-shaped magazine holder 35.
4 is slidably fitted. Magazine holder 35
, A plurality of magazines 36 are detachably mounted. The magazine 36 is positioned by a pin 37 formed on the magazine holder 35 and fixed by a fixing lock 38. Magazine holder 35, pin 37 and fixed lock 38
Is a magazine mounting means for mounting the magazine 36. The magazine 36 has a number of storage shelves 36a, and the storage shelves 36a store the plates 4 respectively. Therefore, a large number of plates 4 are collectively stored in the magazine 35. By driving the motor 31a, the back plate 32 is raised and lowered, and the magazine 36 mounted on the magazine holder 35 is also raised and lowered. The combination of the raising / lowering operation of the magazine 36 and the vertical movement of the arm of the traveling robot described later makes it possible to arrange as many storage shelves 36a as possible in a limited space in the height direction. Further, by sliding the magazine holder 35 in the horizontal direction, the magazine 36 is pulled out from the stock part B to the outside as shown in FIG. 2B (see FIG. 1). Therefore, the slider 34 and the guide rail 33 constitute a sliding means for sliding the magazine 36 and the magazine holder 35 as storage portions to the outside of the stock portion B. Next, a method for fixing the position of the magazine holder 35 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, a fixing member 40 for fixing a position is fixed to an end of the magazine holder 35. The fixing member 40 has a U-shape, and a tapered portion 40a is formed on the vertical surface of the central cut portion.
However, the protrusion 40b is provided with a groove 40c in the vertical direction. A bracket 41 is fixed to an end of the back plate 32, and a rotating member 43 is fitted to a pin 42 erected on the bracket 41. A lever 44 is attached to the rotating member 43. When the lever 44 is turned upside down, the rotating member 43 rotates about the pin 42. With the magazine holder 35 pushed in,
As shown in FIG. 3B, the rotating member 43 matches the notch of the fixed member 40, and when the lever 44 is tilted in the direction of the arrow, the tapered portion 43a provided on the rotating member 43 becomes the tapered portion 40a of the fixed member 40. (See section AA in FIG. 3C), and the magazine holder 35 is pushed in the direction of the arrow to fix the position. At this time, as shown in the cross section BB of FIG. 3C, the end face of the back plate 32 abuts the groove 40c of the fixing member 40, whereby the magazine holder 35 is aligned in the front-rear direction. By providing the position fixing mechanism as described above, the positioning and fixing of the magazine holder 35 can be quickly performed by one-touch operation. The chip stocker 45 disposed opposite the plate stocker 30 also has the same configuration as the above-described plate stocker 30, that is, the chip container 5
The magazine holder, which is a storage section, is vertically movable and slidable in the forward direction. Next, with reference to FIG. 1, a description will be given of a ceiling traveling robot 20 which is a transport means. Overhead traveling robot 2
Numeral 0 includes a Y-axis table 21, an X-axis table 23, a lifting / lowering rotation unit 24, and a transfer head 26. The Y-axis table 21 is disposed in the longitudinal direction on the frame 2 at the end, and the X-axis table 23 has one end connected to the Y-axis table 21 and the other end formed by guide rails 22 arranged on the frame 2. Supported. Therefore, when the Y-axis table 21 is driven, the X-axis table 23 moves in the Y direction. The elevating / rotating unit 24 is coupled to the X-axis table 23, and is moved in the X direction by the X-axis table 23. The height and direction of the transfer head 26 attached to the lower end of the arm 25 are changed by vertically moving the arm 25 of the elevating and rotating unit 24 up and down, and rotating the arm 25 horizontally. The overhead traveling robot 20 transports the plate 4 and the chip container 5 between the dispensing unit A and the stock unit B. As described above, the magazine 36 is configured to be able to move up and down, so that the required number of plate stocks, that is, the transporting direction in the height direction defined by the height of the required number of storage shelves 36a is small. The transfer head 26 with a lifting stroke can be used, and a compact automatic dispensing device with a reduced overall height can be realized. This automatic dispensing apparatus is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below. In FIG. 1, the chip container 5 stored in the chip stocker 35 is held by the transfer head 26 and is mounted on the dispensing stage 10.
Next, the first dispensing head 14 (or the second dispensing head 16) used for dispensing is positioned on the chip container 5 and lowered with respect to the chip container 5, whereby the first dispensing is performed. The dispensing tip 15 is attached to the head 14. In parallel with this, a sample plate 4C and a dilution plate 4A are provided on the dispensing stage 10 in a predetermined storage shelf 36a of the magazine 36 of the plate stocker 30, respectively.
Is transported by the transfer head 26 and placed. Then, the first dispensing head 14 (or the second dispensing head 1)
6) is lowered with respect to the dilution plate 4A, and the diluted drug solution is sucked into the dispensing tip 15. Next, the first dispensing head 14 is moved to discharge the diluted drug solution in the dispensing tip 15 onto the sample plate 4C to perform dispensing. After that, the sample plate 4C that has completed the predetermined dispensing operation is transferred to the transfer head 26.
Thus, the plate is carried out of the dispensing stage 10 and stored in the storage shelf 36a of the predetermined magazine 36 of the plate stocker 30. When the dispensing operation has been completed for all the plates 4 of the magazines 36 in the stock section B, the operation of replacing the magazines 36 is performed. First, the cover door of the stock section B is opened, and the lever 44 is operated to release the fixed position of the magazine holder 35. Next, the magazine holder 35 is slid to the near side, and the magazine holder 3
5 is drawn out of the stock section B (see FIG. 2B). In this state, the fixed lock 38 is released, and the dispensed magazine 36 is removed from the magazine holder 35. Then, the magazine 36 in which the new plate 4 is already stored is mounted. Thereafter, the magazine holder 35 is pushed into the stock portion B, and the lever 44 is operated again to fix the position of the magazine holder 35. Then, by closing the cover door, the replacement operation of the magazine 36 is completed. In this replacement work, the worker can perform the work with the magazine holder 35 pulled out of the stock part B, so that the workability is good and the work in the narrow place is eliminated. Safety can be improved. In addition, the plate 4 is a magazine 3
6 can be replaced collectively, so that the time required for replacement can be shortened, and the stop time of the automatic dispensing device at the time of replacement can be minimized. According to the present invention, by providing a sliding means for sliding a storage portion for storing a plate in the stock portion to the outside, the plate can be replaced safely with good workability. Further, by providing a magazine mounting means for collectively storing plates and dispensing materials in the stock portion, the replacement operation can be performed quickly. Therefore, the stop time of the automatic dispensing device can be minimized, and the operation efficiency of the device can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic dispensing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view of a magazine holder of the automatic dispensing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 (b) is a perspective view of a magazine holder of the automatic dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 (a) is a structural description of a lock mechanism of the magazine holder of the automatic dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. (B) Structure explanation of the lock mechanism of the magazine holder of the automatic dispensing device of one embodiment of the present invention (c) Structure explanation of the lock mechanism of the magazine holder of the automatic dispensing device of one embodiment of the present invention [Description of Signs] 1 Automatic dispensing device 4 Plate 10 Dispensing stage 14 First dispensing head 15 Dispensing tip 16 Second dispensing head 20 Overhead traveling robot 26 Transfer head 35 Magazine holder 36 Magazine A Note B Stock

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Naoki Miyazaki 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Inventor Hideyoshi Kitahara 1006 Kazuma, Kazuma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 1006, Okadoma, Kamon, Fumonma-shi Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-5-40122 (JP, A) JP-A-11-271314 (JP, A) JP-A-11-287809 (JP, A) JP-A-52-134075 (JP, A) JP-A-63-90768 (JP, A) JP-A-2-67962 (JP, A) JP-A-8-304417 (JP, A) JP-A-61 JP-A-68563 (JP, A) JP-A-9-211005 (JP, A) JP-A-56-90237 (JP, A) JP-A-63-317773 (JP, A) JP-A-61-247373 JP, A) Jiko 2-687 (JP, Y2) JP 6-504136 (JP, A) JP 63-500538 (JP, A) JP 6-504369 (JP, A) (58) ) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 35/00-35/10 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (1)

(1) An automatic dispensing apparatus for dispensing a liquid sample on a plate provided with a concave portion for accommodating the sample, wherein the sample to be dispensed is sucked and discharged. and partial dispensing dispensing section Te, and the stock portion for a plurality stock the plates, and a conveying means for conveying the plate between the stock unit and the dispensing unit, also in the stock section, a plurality of the a magazine for collectively accommodating plate, a magazine mounting means for removably mounting the magazine, and the Z-axis table for lifting the magazine loading section, the temperature by the Z-axis table
An automatic dispensing apparatus , comprising: a back plate for descending; and a slide unit for horizontally sliding the magazine mounting unit to the outside of the stock unit on the back plate .