JP6886837B2 - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that analyzes biological samples such as blood and urine, and more particularly to an automatic analyzer that enables analysis of more analysis items.

Patent Document 1 is a background technique in this technical field. In Patent Document 1, a first reagent storage means for storing a reagent used for a reaction in an automatic analyzer that dispenses a sample and a reagent into a plurality of reaction vessels to react with each other and measures the reacted liquid. , An automatic analyzer including a second reagent storage means for storing reagents as an auxiliary and a reagent transfer means for transporting a reagent from a second reagent storage means to a first reagent storage means is described.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-37171

The method of managing reagents used in automatic analyzers such as biochemical automatic analyzers and immunoassays is as follows: the operator installs a reagent bottle on the reagent disk, and then an RFID reader or barcode reader installed inside the device. It is a normal operation to acquire the identification information attached to the reagent bottle by the reading mechanism of the reagent and manage the reagent.

On the other hand, in recent years, it has been known that reagent bottles are installed and reagents are managed by using a mechanism for automatically loading and unloading reagent bottles to and out of reagent discs.

The automatic loading and unloading of reagent bottles has the advantages of reducing the burden on the operator due to work such as reagent registration and reagent exchange, as well as minimizing reagent shortage during analysis and minimizing analysis interruption.

Further, with the improvement of the analysis speed of the automatic analyzer in recent years, the consumption of reagents has increased and the interval of reagent bottle replacement has become shorter.

Under such circumstances, in order to manage reagents accurately, it is important to have a technique for confirming that the reagent bottles are normally installed on the reagent discs.

In addition, if the device operates with the reagent bottle placed in an abnormal state with respect to the reagent disc, in the worst case, the reagent bottle comes into contact between the reagent disc and the lid, and the reagent bottle or the reagent disc There is a pity that it will be damaged.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer capable of reliably detecting that a reagent bottle has been normally placed on a reagent disk.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted.
The present invention includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems. For example, an automatic analyzer that dispenses a sample and a reagent into a reaction vessel and reacts them, and measures the reacted liquid. It has an opening / closing lid for carrying in / out the reagent bottle containing the reagent, and has a reagent storage unit for storing the reagent bottle and a reagent for transporting the reagent bottle to the reagent storage unit. The opening / closing lid includes a transport unit and a detection mechanism for detecting whether or not the reagent bottle has been normally installed in the reagent storage unit by the reagent transport unit. The reagent bottle is normally installed in the reagent storage unit. If the reagent bottle and the opening / closing lid do not interfere with each other and the opening / closing lid is not closed, the detection mechanism includes the opening / closing lid and a closing sensor that detects whether or not the opening / closing lid is closed. It is characterized in that it is composed of.

According to the present invention, it is possible to confirm that the reagent bottle is normally installed on the reagent disk, and it is possible to provide an automatic analyzer with high reliability of reagent management performance. Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

It is a figure which showed the schematic diagram of the whole structure of the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is a figure which showed the autoloader mechanism provided in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is the schematic when the reagent bottle is normally installed on the reagent disk in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is the schematic when the reagent bottle was not installed normally on the reagent disk in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is the schematic of the sensor provided in the opening / closing cover in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the reagent bottle presence / absence sensor provided in the autoloader mechanism in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is the schematic of the guide of the taper provided in the reagent disk in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is an opening / closing part provided on the cover in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the operation which confirms that it was installed normally on the reagent disk at the time of carrying in the reagent bottle in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the operation which confirms that it was installed normally on the reagent disk at the time of carrying out the reagent bottle in the automatic analyzer of this embodiment.

An embodiment of the automatic analyzer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. First, the overall configuration of the automatic analyzer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer is an apparatus for dispensing a sample and a reagent into a reaction vessel 2 and reacting them, and measuring the reacted liquid, and is a reaction disk 1 and a reagent disk (reagent storage unit). ) 9, Sample transfer mechanism 17, Reagent dispensing mechanism 7, 8, Reagent syringe 18, Sample dispensing mechanism 11, Sample syringe 19, Cleaning mechanism 3, Light source 4a, Spectral luminometer 4, Stirring mechanism 5, 6, It includes a cleaning pump 20, a cleaning tank 13, 30, 31, 32, 33, a controller 21, and an autoloader mechanism 100 (see FIG. 2).

Reaction vessels 2 are arranged on the circumference of the reaction disk 1. A sample transfer mechanism 17 for moving the rack 16 on which the sample container 15 is placed is installed near the reaction disk 1.

A sample dispensing mechanism 11 that can rotate and move up and down is installed between the reaction disk 1 and the sample transport mechanism 17, and includes a sample probe 11a. A sample syringe 19 is connected to the sample probe 11a. The sample probe 11a moves while drawing an arc around the rotation axis to dispense the sample from the sample container 15 to the reaction container 2.

A plurality of reagent bottles 10 containing reagents can be placed on the circumference of the reagent disc 9. The reagent disc 9 is kept cold and is covered with a cover provided with a suction port 111 (see FIG. 2). The reagent disk 9 of this embodiment is provided with any device (for example, RFID sensor, etc.) for obtaining information on the reagent in the reagent bottle 10 recorded on the RFID tag attached to the reagent bottle 10. It is assumed that it has not been done.

The reagent dispensing mechanisms 7 and 8 that can rotate and move up and down are installed between the reaction disk 1 and the reagent disk 9, and are provided with reagent probes 7a and 8a, respectively. A reagent syringe 18 is connected to the reagent probes 7a and 8a. The reagent probes 7a and 8a move while drawing an arc around the axis of rotation, access the inside of the reagent disk 9 from the suction port 111, and dispense the reagent from the reagent bottle 10 to the reaction vessel 2.

A cleaning mechanism 3, a light source 4a, a spectrophotometer 4, and stirring mechanisms 5 and 6 are further arranged around the reaction disk 1. A cleaning pump 20 is connected to the cleaning mechanism 3. Cleaning tanks 32, 33, 13, 30, and 31 are installed within the operating range of the reagent dispensing mechanisms 7 and 8, the sample dispensing mechanism 11, and the stirring mechanisms 5 and 6, respectively. The sample container 15 contains a biological sample (sample) such as blood, is placed on a rack 16 and is carried by a sample transport mechanism 17. Further, each mechanism is connected to the controller 21.

The controller 21 is composed of a computer or the like, controls the operation of each mechanism in the automatic analyzer, and performs arithmetic processing for obtaining the concentration of a predetermined component in a sample such as blood or urine.

The above is the overall configuration of the automatic analyzer.

The analysis process of the test sample by the automatic analyzer as described above is generally performed in the following order.

First, the sample in the sample container 15 placed on the rack 16 transported near the reaction disk 1 by the sample transfer mechanism 17 is subjected to the reaction container 2 on the reaction disk 1 by the sample probe 11a of the sample dispensing mechanism 11. Distribute to. Next, the reagent used for the analysis is dispensed from the reagent bottle 10 on the reagent disk 9 into the reaction vessel 2 into which the sample was previously dispensed by the reagent dispensing mechanisms 7 and 8. Subsequently, the stirring mechanism 5 stirs the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent in the reaction vessel 2.

Then, the light generated from the light source 4a is transmitted through the reaction vessel 2 containing the mixed solution after stirring, and the luminous intensity of the transmitted light is measured by the spectrophotometer 4. The luminous intensity measured by the spectrophotometer 4 is transmitted to the controller 21 via the A / D converter and the interface. Then, a calculation is performed by the controller 21, the concentration of a predetermined component in a liquid sample such as blood or urine is obtained, and the result is displayed on the display unit 21a or the like or stored in a storage unit (not shown).

Next, the configuration of the autoloader mechanism 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the autoloader mechanism 100.

As described above, a lid 112 is attached to the position of the reagent probe suction port of the reagent bottle 10 to seal the inside, and when setting in the automatic analyzer, the lid 112 can be removed and installed in the device. It is common. However, in recent years, there is a method of making a notch-shaped hole in the lid 112, inserting the reagent probes 7a and 8a into the notch-shaped hole, and sucking the reagent in the reagent bottle 10. Since the opening of the lid 112 of the reagent has a slight notch, the contact of the reagent with the outside air is minimized, and the deterioration of the reagent is improved as compared with the conventional case. In such a case, if the operator installs the unopened new reagent bottle 10 in the automatic analyzer, the operator makes a hole in the lid 112 of the reagent bottle 10 and automatically installs it on the reagent disk 9. The mechanism for that is the autoloader mechanism 100.

The autoloader mechanism 100 is arranged on the upper part of the reagent disc 9 and has a configuration as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the autoloader mechanism 100 includes a reagent loading unit 103, a reagent loading mechanism 102, a reagent transfer mechanism (reagent transfer unit) 101, a needle cleaning tank 108, a needle drying port 109, an RFID sensor 115, a support column 117, and a metal plate 118. Each of these mechanisms is attached to one metal plate 118 except for the support column 117.

The reagent loading unit 103 is a portion for the operator to install the reagent bottle 10 when charging the reagent bottle 10 into the automatic analyzer, and the reagent loading unit 103 is moved vertically on FIG. 2 by the reagent loading mechanism 102. It works. The operating range of the reagent loading unit 103 is set within the apparatus by fastening it on the metal plate 118 on which the autoloader mechanism 100 is arranged. The reagent loading unit 103 has a structure in which a plurality of reagent bottles 10 can be installed in a straight line, and is, for example, a tray having a plurality of reagent bottle slots for installing the reagent bottles 10.

In the reagent loading mechanism 102, the reagent loading unit 103 moves on the rail by the power of a motor or the like along a guide installed between the charging position of the reagent bottle 10 into the device and the standby position of the reagent loading unit 103. It is configured to be able to.

The reagent transport mechanism 101 is a mechanism for transporting the reagent bottle 10 installed in the reagent loading unit 103 into the reagent disk 9, and has a notch shape in the gripper mechanism 106 for gripping the reagent bottle 10 and the lid 112 of the reagent bottle 10. The reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104, the vertical drive motor (not shown) that moves the reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104 up and down, and the gripper mechanism 106 and the reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104 are moved in the left-right direction on FIG. The horizontal drive motor 131 that drives the lid is a component.

The reagent transport mechanism 101 operates in the left-right direction on FIG. 2 between the position of the reagent mounting portion 103 in FIG. 2 and the position of the opening / closing cover 113. That is, the reagent loading unit 103 moves in the vertical direction on FIG. 2, and the reagent transport mechanism 101 operates in the horizontal direction on FIG. 2, so that the operating directions are orthogonal to each other. Further, in the reagent transport mechanism 101, a position where the reagent bottle 10 is gripped by the gripper mechanism 106 and a position where the reagent bottle 10 is carried in and out of the reagent disc 9 are linearly arranged.

The reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104 is attached with a needle 105 for making a notch in the reagent bottle lid 112. In the reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104, cleaning of the needle 105 after making a notch in the lid 112 is performed in the needle cleaning tank 108 arranged parallel to the operating direction of the reagent transport mechanism 101, and in the next step, The washing water is removed at the needle drying port 109 arranged parallel to the operating direction of the reagent transport mechanism 101. As a result, when making a notch in the lid 112 of the reagent bottle, the reagent is not diluted with washing water. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the needle cleaning tank 108 and the needle drying port 109 are arranged parallel to the operating direction of the reagent transport mechanism 101.

The gripper mechanism 106 has a hook claw 106a (see FIG. 6) for gripping the reagent bottle 10, and grips the reagent bottle 10 by hooking the hook claw 106a on the notch of the reagent bottle 10.

The opening / closing cover (opening / closing lid) 113 is a cover for preventing the cold air inside the cooled reagent disc 9 from escaping, and is normally in a closed state. When the reagent transport mechanism 101 accesses the reagent disc 9, the opening / closing cover 113 opens so that the reagent bottle 10 can be carried in and out of the reagent disc 9.

The RFID sensor 115 is arranged on the operation path of the reagent loading unit 103, and obtains the information of the reagent in the reagent bottle 10 recorded on the RFID tag attached to the reagent bottle 10. The reagent information is information such as the type and filling amount of the reagent contained in the reagent bottle. Further, instead of the RFID sensor 115, a mechanism capable of reading a bar code and reading reagent information such as a bar code reader can be provided.

The above is the configuration of the autoloader mechanism 100.

Next, the operation from the operator installing the reagent bottle 10 on the reagent loading unit 103 to carrying it into the reagent disc 9 will be described.

When the operator wants to carry a new reagent bottle 10 into the reagent disk 9 of the apparatus, he / she first presses the button switch (not shown) of the apparatus for the first time. The device recognizes that the first press of the button switch has been performed by the operator. As a result, the reagent loading mechanism 102 operates, the reagent loading unit 103 starts to move from the standby position, and moves to the front side of the device (lower side in FIG. 2).

After the reagent loading unit 103 arrives in front of the device, the operator installs the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent loading unit 103. After installing the required number of reagent bottles 10 in the reagent loading unit 103, the operator presses the button switch again.

After recognizing that the operator has pressed the button switch, the reagent information is read by the RFID sensor 115 mounted on the autoloader mechanism 100. When the reagent information is read, it is displayed on the display unit 21a that the reagent information is provisionally registered.

After reading the reagent information, the reagent loading unit 103 moves to a lower position of the reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104. Next, the reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104 descends toward the lid 112 of the reagent bottle 10, and the needle 105 opens a notch to the extent that the reagent probes 7a and 8a can be inserted into the lid 112. After making a notch in the lid 112 of the reagent bottle 10, the reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 104 rises, and the reagent transport mechanism 101 moves to the position of the needle cleaning tank 108 to wash the needle 105, and cleans the needle 105. To do. After that, it moves to the needle drying port 109 and the needle 105 is dried.

After drying, the reagent loading mechanism 102 operates the reagent loading unit 103 to move the notched reagent bottle 10 to a lower position of the gripper mechanism 106. After that, the gripper mechanism 106 is lowered to grab the reagent bottle 10, and then the opening / closing cover 113 is opened. After that, as the gripper mechanism 106 rises, it moves to the position of the open opening / closing cover 113, and the reagent bottle 10 carried to the position of the empty reagent disc 9 is carried in. After carrying in, the gripper mechanism 106 is returned to the position of the reagent loading portion 103 again.

The above operation is repeated for all the reagent bottles 10 which are mounted on the reagent loading unit 103 and need to be carried into the reagent disc 9. After all the reagent bottles 10 which are installed in the reagent loading section 103 and need to be carried in are carried into the reagent disc 9, the opening / closing cover 113 is closed.

When the opening / closing cover 113 is normally closed, it is recognized that the reagent bottle 10 is normally installed on the reagent disc 9, and the registration of the reagent information is completed. At this time, the display unit 21a attached to the apparatus indicates that the reagent information has been fully registered from the provisional registration state.

The above is the reading of the reagent information from the installation of the reagent bottle 10 by the autoloader mechanism 100, the operation of drilling the lid 112 of the reagent bottle 10, the operation of carrying in the reagent disk 9, and the registration of the reagent information.

When the reagent placed in the reagent disc 9 becomes empty, the reagent bottle 10 is carried out according to the following flow. The carry-out timing of the reagent bottle 10 may be carried out even during the analysis after the completion of the final dispensing of the reagent dispensing mechanisms 7 and 8 or after the output of the analysis result.

First, the controller 21 opens the open / close cover 113. Further, the reagent transport mechanism 101 moves to the position of the open / close cover 113. The gripper mechanism 106 then grips the empty reagent bottle 10. In parallel with this, the reagent loading unit 103 moves from the standby position and stops at a position where the empty reagent bottle slot of the reagent loading unit 103 is below the trajectory of the gripper mechanism 106.

Next, the reagent transfer mechanism 101 moves to the position of the reagent loading mechanism 102 while the empty reagent bottle 10 is gripped by the gripper mechanism 106. In parallel with this, the opening / closing cover 113 is closed. At that time, it is determined that the reagent bottle 10 has been normally carried out, and the display unit 21a indicates that the registered reagent information has been deleted. Then, the gripper mechanism 106 places the empty reagent bottle 10 in the empty reagent bottle slot of the reagent loading unit 103. After that, the reagent loading mechanism 102 returns to the standby position.

After that, the display unit 21a or the like notifies the operator that the empty reagent bottle 10 can be taken out.

Upon receiving this notification, the operator removes the empty reagent bottle 10 out of the device.

If the reagent bottles 10 are installed in all the reagent slots of the reagent mounting unit 103 and the reagent bottles 10 installed in the reagent disk 9 are empty and you want to dispose of them outside the apparatus, the reagent disk 9 is used. Provide one or several empty reagent slots for the number that can be installed. Then, the reagent bottle 10 installed in the reagent loading section 103 is carried into the reagent disk 9 without making a cut in the lid 112, and the empty reagent bottle 10 is grasped by the gripper mechanism 106 and placed on the reagent loading section 103. After that, the operator carries out the empty reagent bottle 10. After carrying out, the reagent bottle 10 without the notch installed in the reagent disc 9 can be returned to the empty reagent slot again. The same operation is possible if an empty slot is provided in the reagent loading unit 103.

Here, the operation of confirming the reagent bottle 10 on the reagent disc 9 by the gripper mechanism 106 is important. The reason will be described below.

As described above, the loading / unloading operation of the reagent bottle 10 in the autoloader mechanism 100 is performed by gripping by the gripper mechanism 106.

Therefore, if the hook claw 106a of the gripper mechanism 106 is normally caught in the notch of the reagent bottle 10, the reagent bottle 10 is normally carried into the reagent disc 9, and the opening / closing cover 113 is closed, so that the reagent information Registration is complete. On the other hand, if the hook claw 106a does not normally enter the notch, the reagent bottle 10 is dropped on the reagent disk 9 or the metal plate 118 before being carried into the reagent disk 9, and cannot be installed normally. It is conceivable that the opening / closing cover 113 does not close. In this case, the reagent information cannot be registered. Moreover, since the carry-in process is not completed, the analysis does not proceed. Furthermore, if the reagent disc 9 operates erroneously, it is conceivable that the reagent disc 9 and the like will be damaged as described above.

Further, when carrying out from the reagent disc 9, if the hook claw 106a is normally caught in the notch of the reagent bottle 10, the reagent bottle 10 is carried out from the reagent disc 9 and the opening / closing cover 113 is closed, so that the reagent is discharged. Information deletion is complete. However, if the hook claw 106a does not normally enter the notch, the hook claw 106a is dropped on the reagent disc 9, and the opening / closing cover 113 does not close, so that the reagent information cannot be deleted and the analysis does not proceed. there is a possibility.

Further, it is conceivable that the reagent bottle 10 which could not be normally installed on the reagent disk 9 or could not be carried out may be installed on the reagent disk 9 again without being taken out of the apparatus by the operator. In this case, erroneous reagent information may be registered or deleted due to a difference in the orientation of the reagent bottle 10 or a difference in the positions of the inner and outer circumferences of the reagent disc 9.

Therefore, in order to manage the reagent information accurately, it is necessary to detect the abnormal installation of the reagent bottle 10 and avoid the abnormal installation. Therefore, the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment has a detection mechanism capable of detecting the reagent bottle 10 abnormally placed on the reagent disk 9 during reagent transfer. In addition, it should be noted.
The detection mechanism for detecting whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has been normally installed on the reagent disk 9 by the reagent transport mechanism 101 may have a structure capable of detecting an abnormal installation state of the reagent bottle 10, but the automatic analysis of the present embodiment may be used. In the device, as detection mechanisms, an opening / closing cover 113, a closing sensor 300 for detecting whether or not the opening / closing cover 113 is closed, and a bottle presence / absence sensor 301 provided in the reagent transport mechanism 101 for confirming the presence / absence of the reagent bottle 10 are provided. And shall be composed of.

The detection mechanism may be composed of the opening / closing cover 113 and the closing sensor 300 that detects whether or not the opening / closing cover 113 is closed, but the reagent bottle 10 is installed normally more accurately. It is desirable to use the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 to detect whether or not the bottle has been used.

The opening / closing cover 113 for detecting whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has been normally installed on the reagent disc 9, the closing sensor 300, and the surrounding structure thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a schematic view when the reagent bottle is normally installed on the reagent disc, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram when the reagent bottle is not normally installed on the reagent disc. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the sensor provided on the opening / closing cover, and FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the reagent bottle presence / absence sensor provided on the autoloader mechanism.

The height relationship between the opening / closing cover 113, the reagent disc 9, and the reagent bottle 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the height 9h from the opening / closing cover 113 to the rotating disk 9a of the reagent disk 9 when the opening / closing cover 113 is closed is substantially the same as the height 10h of the reagent bottle 10. That is, although 9h is larger than 10h, the difference between 9h and 10h is very small compared to the values of 9h and 10h themselves. With this relationship, as shown in FIG. 3, when the reagent bottle 10 is normally installed on the reagent disc 9, the opening / closing cover 113 does not touch the reagent bottle 10, so that the opening / closing cover 113 is closed. Can be done.

However, as shown in FIG. 4, when the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed on the reagent disk 9, the reagent bottle 10 touches the opening / closing cover 113, that is, the reagent bottle 10 and the opening / closing cover 113 interfere with each other, so that the opening / closing cover 113 is opened / closed. The cover 113 cannot be closed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the closing sensor 300 for detecting that the opening / closing cover 113 does not close includes the gripper mechanism 106 of the reagent transport mechanism 101 that returns to the home position when the opening / closing cover 113 is normally closed. The proximity sensor is located at a position where it can detect. As the proximity sensor, for example, a method using an eddy current generated in a metal body constituting the gripper mechanism 106 to be detected by electromagnetic induction, a method of capturing a change in electrical capacity due to the approach of the detector, a magnet or a reed. A method using a switch can be considered.

The closing sensor 300 is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 5, and other than that, an optical switch that detects the gripper mechanism 106 of the reagent transport mechanism 101 that has returned to the home position when the opening / closing cover 113 is normally closed. A limit switch is conceivable. In addition, it can be a limit switch or the like provided on the opening / closing cover 113 or the lid 9b of the reagent disc 9 and switched to ON when the opening / closing cover 113 is normally closed.

As shown in FIG. 6, the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 is fixed to the gripper mechanism 106 of the reagent transport mechanism 101, and when the reagent bottle 10 is caught by the hook claw 106a of the gripper mechanism 106, the reagent bottle 10 is held. It is a proximity sensor that detects. The bottle presence / absence sensor 301 is not limited to the proximity sensor, and an optical switch, a limit switch, or the like can be used.

Since the opening / closing cover 113 and its surroundings have the above-mentioned configuration, if the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed on the reagent disc 9 at the time of carrying in, the opening / closing cover 113 always comes into contact with the reagent bottle 10. Since the open / close cover 113 cannot be closed, the device can detect an abnormal installation state.

Further, in the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment, the controller 21 determines that the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed on the reagent disc 9 when the reagent bottle 10 is carried in and out of the reagent disc 9. The gripper mechanism 106 of the reagent transfer mechanism 101 is operated so as to confirm that 10 is not stored in the reagent disk 9. The details of the operation will be described later.

Further, the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment is provided with a guide 202 for supporting the reagent bottle 10 to be normally installed on the reagent disc 9. The configuration of the guide 202 provided on the reagent disc 9 will be described below with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a taper guide provided on the reagent disc.

If the reagent bottle 10 comes off from the gripper mechanism 106 when the reagent bottle 10 is carried in, it cannot be accurately predicted where it will fall on the metal plate 118 of the apparatus. Further, even if the reagent bottle 10 comes off from the gripper mechanism 106 and falls on the lid 9b of the reagent disc 9, the opening / closing cover 113 can be closed, but this should be avoided if possible.

Therefore, in order to detect the reagent bottle 10 detached from the gripper mechanism 106, it is desired to guide the reagent bottle 10 to the opening / closing cover 113 as much as possible.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, on the upper surface side of the lid 9b of the reagent disk 9, when the reagent bottle 10 is accidentally removed from the gripper mechanism 106 of the reagent transport mechanism 101, the reagent bottle 10 is opened and closed on the cover 113. A guide 202 having a shape tapered with respect to the surface opposite to the opening / closing cover 113 when the opening / closing cover 113 is opened is provided so as to guide to the position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the autoloader mechanism 100 of the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment is provided with a cover 200 so as to cover a part of the autoloader mechanism 100. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of an opening / closing portion provided on the cover.

Here, if the reagent bottle 10 cannot be normally installed in the reagent disc 9, the operator will remove the reagent, but if it takes time to remove the cover 200, it will take time to restart / start the analysis. Occurs the problem of slowing down. In addition, the workload of the operator will increase.

In order to solve these problems, in case the reagent bottle 10 cannot be normally installed on the reagent disc 9, an opening 201 for an operator to access the opening / closing cover 113 of the reagent disc 9 is provided on the front surface of the cover 200. Provided in.

Next, the flow of the process of detecting whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has been normally installed when the reagent bottle 10 is carried into the reagent disc 9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an operation for confirming that the reagent bottle was normally installed on the reagent disk when the reagent bottle was carried in by the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment.

The details of the method of carrying the reagent bottle 10 into the reagent disk 9 are as described above, and when recognizing that the reagent bottle 10 is set in the reagent loading unit 103 (step S120), the reagent information is transmitted by the RFID sensor 115. The reagent information is read and temporarily registered (step S121), and the delivery of the reagent bottle 10 to the reagent disk 9 is started (step S122).

When the reagent bottle 10 is carried in, the reagent bottle 10 falls off during the carry-in without being normally separated from the hook claw 106a of the gripper mechanism 106 provided in the autoloader mechanism 100 (step S123), and the inside of the reagent disc 9 There is a high possibility that the reagent cannot be installed normally and the state shown in FIG. 4 will occur.

At the time of delivery, the gripper mechanism 106 executes an operation of placing the reagent bottle 10 on the reagent disk 9 regardless of whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has fallen off, and the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 disappears from the presence of the reagent. It is determined that the bottle 10 has been installed, and the bottle 10 is returned to the standby position.

At this time, the opening / closing cover 113 operates to close in order to complete the registration of the reagent information, but since the reagent bottle 10 has not been installed normally, the opening / closing cover 113 cannot be closed, and the closing sensor 300 causes an abnormality. The installation state is detected (step S124).

At this time, the apparatus is stopped because the information of the reagent bottle 10 cannot be registered (step S125). When stopped, it is desirable to display an alarm on the display unit 21a that the reagent information remains temporarily registered and the main registration cannot be completed.

It is a normal operation for the operator to remove the reagent bottle 10 that has not been installed normally (step S126), but it is possible that the operator mistakenly installs the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent disc 9 (step S127). ..

After recognizing that the reset operation of the device has been executed by the operator (step S128), the controller 21 of the automatic analyzer confirms whether or not the reagent bottle 10 is installed in the reagent disk 9 by the gripper mechanism 106. (Step S129).

When the reagent bottle 10 is removed by the operator as in step S126, it is determined in step S129 that the reagent bottle 10 is not on the reagent disc 9, and the process proceeds to step S132. On the other hand, when the operator installs the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent disc 9 as in step S127, it is determined that the reagent bottle 10 is present in step S129, and the process proceeds to step S130.

At this time, it is desirable that the excitation of the reagent disc 9 is always kept ON. This is a measure to prevent the reagent disc 9, which rotates freely when not excited, from rotating. By turning on the excitation, the gripper mechanism 106 can be moved inside and outside during the reset operation. In the case of the reagent disc 9 in which the reagent bottle 10 can be installed, it is only necessary to check two places, one is vacant and the other is next to the reagent bottle 10 in order to carry in the reagent bottle 10. This is because the time to confirm the installation location of the is shortened.

When the reagent bottle 10 is removed from the reagent disk 9, the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 detects that the reagent bottle 10 is absent in step S129, and the controller 21 deletes the reagent information (step S132).

When the reagent bottle 10 is placed on the reagent disc 9, the reagent bottle 10 is removed by the gripper mechanism 106 (step S130). At this time, the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 detects that the reagent bottle 10 is present (step S131), determines that the reagent bottle 10 has been removed from the reagent disk 9, and the controller 21 deletes the reagent information (step S132).

Next, when the reagent bottle 10 is carried out from the reagent disc 9, the flow of the process of detecting whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has been normally carried out will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an operation for confirming that the reagent bottle was normally installed on the reagent disk when the reagent bottle was carried out in the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment.

The method for carrying out the reagent bottle 10 from the reagent disc 9 is as described above. The reagent bottle 10 is set in the reagent loading unit 103 (step S140), the reagent information is registered after the carry-in, and the reagent is used (step S141). ).

After using all the reagents in the reagent bottle 10, the process of carrying the reagent bottle 10 out of the automatic analyzer is started (step S142).

When the reagent bottle 10 is carried out, if it is not normally caught by the hook claw 106a of the gripper mechanism 106 provided in the autoloader mechanism 100, the reagent bottle 10 falls off from the gripper mechanism 106 (step S143), as shown in FIG. There is a high possibility that it will not be able to be carried out.

The gripper mechanism 106 determines that the reagent has been taken out from the reagent disc 9 and tries to return to the standby position. However, if the reagent bottle 10 falls off from the hook claw 106a of the gripper mechanism 106, the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 does not have the reagent bottle 10. Is determined (step S144).

At this time, the controller 21 stops the device (step S145). When stopped, it is desirable to display an alarm on the display unit 21a that the reagent information cannot be deleted.

It is a normal operation for the operator to remove the reagent bottle 10 that has not been normally carried out (step S146), but it is possible that the operator accidentally installs the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent disk 9 again (step S147). ).

After recognizing that the reset operation of the device has been executed by the operator (step S148), the controller 21 of the automatic analyzer confirms whether or not the reagent bottle 10 is installed in the reagent disk 9 by the gripper mechanism 106. (Step S149). At this time, it is desirable that the excitation of the reagent disc 9 is always kept ON as in the case of carrying in.

When the reagent bottle 10 is removed by the operator as in step S146, it is determined in step S149 that the reagent bottle 10 is not on the reagent disc 9, and the process proceeds to step S152. On the other hand, when the operator installs the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent disk 9 again as in step S147, it is determined that the reagent bottle 10 is present in step S149, and the process proceeds to step S150.

When the reagent bottle 10 is removed from the reagent disk 9, the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 detects that the reagent bottle 10 is absent in step S149, and the controller 21 deletes the reagent information (step S152). By providing the function of automatically deleting the information of the reagent bottle 10 at the time of such an error detection, the operator does not directly delete the information of the reagent, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

When the reagent bottle 10 is re-installed on the reagent disc 9, the reagent bottle 10 is removed by the gripper mechanism 106 (step S150). At this time, the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 detects that the reagent bottle 10 is present (step S151), determines that the reagent bottle 10 has been removed from the reagent disk 9, and the controller 21 deletes the reagent information (step S152).

Next, the flow of processing for detecting that the reagent bottle 10 that has not been normally installed has been carried out from the reagent disc 9 will be described.

As described above, if the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed on the reagent disk 9, the operator may install the reagent bottle 10 on the reagent disk 9 again (step S127 in FIG. 9 and step 10 in FIG. 10). S147).

In that case, similarly to step S129 of FIG. 9 and step S149 of FIG. 10, the controller 21 of the automatic analyzer goes to check whether or not the reagent bottle 10 is installed in the reagent disk 9 by the gripper mechanism 106. The operation is executed, and the unloading operation of the reagent bottle 10 is executed. At that time, it is confirmed that the reagent bottle 10 has been removed from the reagent disc 9 by the bottle presence / absence sensor 301 provided in the autoloader mechanism 100 and the upper limit point sensor (not shown) of the gripper mechanism 106.

Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described.

In the above-described automatic analyzer of the present invention, the reagent disc 9 for storing the reagent bottle 10 containing the reagent, the reagent transport mechanism 101 for transporting the reagent bottle 10 to the reagent disc 9, and the reagent bottle 10 are provided by the reagent transport mechanism 101. It is provided with a detection mechanism for detecting whether or not the reagent disk 9 has been normally installed.

As described above, as the analysis speed of the automatic analyzer is improved, the consumption of reagents is increasing and the interval of reagent bottle replacement is becoming shorter. In particular, when the autoloader mechanism 100 is provided, the reagent bottle 10 is automatically transported by the autoloader mechanism 100. Therefore, if the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed in the reagent disk 9, the reagent disk operates. 9 may be damaged. In order to provide a highly reliable apparatus, it is required to be able to confirm that the reagent bottle 10 is normally installed on the reagent disc 9.

With the configuration as described above, in the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment, the reagent bottle 10 is abnormally placed on the reagent disk 9 in order to detect whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has been normally installed on the reagent disk 9 by the reagent transport mechanism 101. It is possible to suppress the operation of the device while it is installed in such a state.

Further, the reagent disc 9 has an opening / closing cover 113 for carrying in / out the reagent bottle 10, and the opening / closing cover 113 has a case where the reagent bottle 10 cannot be normally installed on the reagent disc 9. Since the reagent bottle 10 and the opening / closing cover 113 do not close due to interference, even if the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed in the reagent disk 9, the opening / closing cover 113 does not close by touching the reagent bottle 10 and is normal. It can be easily detected that it is not installed in. Therefore, it is possible to surely take measures to normally install the reagent bottle 10 on the reagent disc 9, and it is possible to improve the reagent management ability of the automatic analyzer.

Further, the detection mechanism is composed of the opening / closing cover 113 and the closing sensor 300 that detects whether or not the opening / closing cover 113 is closed, so that the reagent bottle 10 can be reliably used as a reagent even though it has a simple configuration. It is possible to detect whether or not the reagent bottle 10 has been normally installed in the disk 9, and it is possible to suppress the operation of the device while the reagent bottle 10 is installed in the reagent disk 9 in an abnormal state with a higher probability. Further, it is possible to detect the reagent disk 9 without separately arranging a reading mechanism such as an RFID reader or a bar code reader, and it is possible to simplify the device configuration and reduce the cost.

Further, the detection mechanism is further provided in the reagent transport mechanism 101 and has a bottle presence / absence sensor 301 for confirming the presence / absence of the reagent bottle 10, so that the reagent can be normally taken out from the reagent disk 9 at the time of carrying out. The presence or absence of the bottle 10 can be detected, and the reagent information can be reliably deleted. Therefore, even if the reagent cannot be taken out normally, it is possible to manage the reagent information more easily and accurately.

Further, the height 9h from the opening / closing cover 113 to the reagent disc 9 when the opening / closing cover 113 is closed is substantially the same as the height 10h of the reagent bottle 10, so that the reagent bottle 10 is normally attached to the reagent disc 9. If it cannot be installed, the reagent bottle 10 and the opening / closing cover 113 can be prevented from interfering with each other and closing, so that abnormal installation of the reagent bottle 10 can be detected more reliably.

Further, the reagent transport mechanism 101 stores the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent disc 9 if the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed in the reagent disc 9 when the reagent bottle 10 is carried in and out of the reagent disc 9. By confirming that the reagent bottle 10 has not been installed normally, it can be detected that the operator has installed the reagent bottle 10 in the reagent disk 9, and the reagent bottle 10 is attached to the reagent disk 9. Since it is possible to more reliably suppress the occurrence of an erroneously installed state, the accuracy of reagent information management can be further improved.

Further, the reagent disc 9 has a guide 202 on the upper surface side that guides the reagent bottle 10 into the reagent disc 9 when the reagent bottle 10 is accidentally removed from the reagent transport mechanism 101. By forcibly dropping the reagent bottle 10 into the opening / closing cover 113 when the reagent bottle 10 comes off, it can be guided into the reagent disk 9 and interfere with the opening / closing cover 113, and more accurately, it can be normally performed in the reagent disk 9. It is possible to detect whether or not it has been installed.

Further, a cover 200 for covering the reagent transport mechanism 101 and an opening 201 provided in the cover 200 for accessing the reagent disk 9 when the reagent bottle 10 cannot be normally installed on the reagent disk 9 are provided. Furthermore, even if the reagent bottle 10 is not normally installed on the reagent disk 9, it is possible to access the opening / closing cover of the reagent disk 9 by opening only the opening 201, resulting in abnormal installation. The reagent bottle 10 can be taken out smoothly.

Further, the configuration of the reagent disc 9 can be simplified by providing a device for reading the reagent information of the reagent bottle 10 put into the automatic analyzer outside the reagent disc 9 instead of providing it inside the reagent disc 9. Therefore, the device configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

<Others>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. The above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, an automatic analyzer provided with an autoloader mechanism 100 for automatically carrying the reagent bottle 10 into the reagent disk 9 has been described as an example, but the autoloader mechanism 100 does not necessarily have to be provided. However, the present invention is also applied to, for example, an automatic analyzer provided with a detection mechanism including an opening / closing cover 113 and a closing sensor 300 for detecting whether or not the opening / closing cover 113 is closed. It is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment.

1 ... Reaction disk 2 ... Reaction container 3 ... Cleaning mechanism 4 ... Spectrophotometer 4a ... Light source 5, 6 ... Stirring mechanism 7, 8 ... Reagent dispensing mechanism 7a, 8a ... Reagent probe 9 ... Reagent disk (reagent storage)
9a ... Rotating disk 9b ... Lid 10 ... Reagent bottle 11 ... Sample dispensing mechanism 11a ... Sample probe 13 ... Washing tank 15 ... Sample container 16 ... Rack 17 ... Sample transfer mechanism 18 ... Reagent syringe 19 ... Sample syringe 20 ... Cleaning Pump 21 ... Controller 21a ... Display units 30, 31, 32, 33 ... Cleaning tank 100 ... Autoloader mechanism 101 ... Reagent transfer mechanism (reagent transfer unit)
102 ... Reagent mounting mechanism 103 ... Reagent mounting part 104 ... Reagent bottle lid opening mechanism 105 ... Needle 106 ... Gripper mechanism 106a ... Hooking claw 108 ... Needle cleaning tank 109 ... Needle drying port 111 ... Suction port 112 ... Lid 113 ... Opening / closing cover (Opening and closing lid)
115 ... RFID sensor 117 ... prop 118 ... metal plate 131 ... horizontal drive motor 200 ... cover 201 ... opening 202 ... guide 300 ... closing sensor 301 ... bottle presence / absence sensor

Claims (7)

It is an automatic analyzer that dispenses a sample and a reagent into a reaction vessel and reacts them, and measures the reacted liquid.
It has an opening / closing lid for loading and unloading the reagent bottle containing the reagent, and has a reagent storage unit for storing the reagent bottle and a reagent storage unit.
A reagent transport unit that transports the reagent bottle to the reagent storage unit, and
A detection mechanism for detecting whether or not the reagent bottle was normally installed in the reagent storage unit by the reagent transport unit is provided .
When the reagent bottle cannot be normally installed in the reagent storage unit, the opening / closing lid does not close due to interference between the reagent bottle and the opening / closing lid.
The detection mechanism is an automatic analyzer comprising the opening / closing lid and a closing sensor that detects whether or not the opening / closing lid is closed. In the automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The detection mechanism is an automatic analyzer further provided in the reagent transport unit and having a bottle presence / absence sensor for confirming the presence / absence of the reagent bottle. In the automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that the height from the opening / closing lid to the reagent storage unit when the opening / closing lid is closed is substantially the same as the height of the reagent bottle. In the automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
When the reagent bottle is carried in and out of the reagent storage unit, the reagent transport unit stores the reagent bottle in the reagent storage unit if the reagent bottle is not normally installed in the reagent storage unit. An automatic analyzer characterized by confirming that it has not been done. In the automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
The reagent storage unit is an automatic analyzer characterized in that the reagent storage unit has a guide on the upper surface side that guides the reagent bottle into the reagent storage unit when the reagent bottle is accidentally removed from the reagent transport unit. In the automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
A cover that covers the reagent transport section and
An automatic analyzer further comprising an opening provided in the cover for accessing the reagent storage unit when the reagent bottle cannot be normally installed in the reagent storage unit. In the automatic analyzer according to claim 1,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that an information acquisition unit for reading information on the reagent charged into the automatic analyzer is further provided outside the reagent storage unit.

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