JPH0134124Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for stopping a microplate at a predetermined position in an automatic analyzer based on an immunoagglutination reaction.

In an automatic analyzer based on immunological agglutination reaction, it is necessary to stop the microplate at each position for sample dispensing, reagent dispensing, and photometry during the microplate transportation process. As such a microplate stopping device, the applicant has previously proposed such a microplate stopping device in Japanese Patent Application No. 155021/1988 titled "Analysis Method and Apparatus Based on Immunological Agglutination Reaction." This device will be explained below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a microplate transport mechanism. The microplate 1 is housed in a cassette 2, guided by guide members 4 and 5 on a conveyor belt 3, and conveyed in the direction of arrow A. In the microplate stopping device previously proposed by the applicant for the microplate 1 transported in this manner, the second
As shown in the figure, two pawls 7 and 8 held so as to be rotatable in a vertical plane are formed on both ends of the shaft 6, and grooves 9 and 10 are formed at both ends to engage one end of these pawls, respectively.
Rotating member 12 that can rotate in a horizontal plane about 1
is connected to one end of the rotating member 12, and the rotating member 12 is connected to one end of the rotating member 12.
A microplate stopping device is composed of a solenoid 13 that rotationally drives the solenoid 13 and a spring 13a that biases the drive shaft of the solenoid 13 in the opposite direction to the driving direction of the solenoid 13. The claws 7 and 8 are rotated to project in the direction of the microplate, and the claws 7 and 8 are alternately projected into the groove 14-n (n is 1 to 12, for example) provided on the side of the cassette 2 containing the microplate 1.
The microplate 1 and the cassette 2 are stopped intermittently by engaging the protrusions 15 on the sides of the microplate 1 and the cassette 2 alternately. This intermittent stop operation is shown in Figure 3 A to C.
Explain with reference to. It is assumed that the cassette 2 is transported upward in FIGS. 3A to 3C by the belt 3 shown in FIG. 3A is the state shown in FIG. 2, for example, the solenoid 13 is deenergized (off), the pawl 7 enters the groove 14 of the cassette 2, the protrusion 15-4 comes into contact with the pawl 7, and the cassette is closed. 2 is stationary. The distance between the claws 7 and 8 (including the thickness of the claw 7) is approximately 1/2 the pitch d of the protrusion formed on the cassette 2. Next, the solenoid 13 is energized (turned on) for a predetermined period of time. Then, the rotating member 12 rotates clockwise, and as shown in FIG. Upon contact, the cassette 2 moves approximately d/2 and once stops. In this state, the claw 7 that has retreated touches the protrusion 15-4 of the cassette 2 and the protrusion 1.
It faces the next groove 14 defined by 5-5. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, when the solenoid 13 is deenergized, the rotating member 12 rotates counterclockwise, and the third
As shown in Figure C, the pawl 8 retreats from the groove 14 and the pawl 7
enters the groove 14 defined by the protrusions 15-4 and 15-5, and the protrusion 15-5 comes into contact with the claw 7, stopping the movement of the cassette 2. These Figure 3A
The cassette 2 and therefore the microplate 1 move by one pitch, with the operations from C to C being one cycle.

By the way, with this microplate stopping device, even if the microplate 1 is being conveyed in an ideal state parallel to the guide members 4 and 5 as shown in FIG. 1, when the microplate 1 is stopped by this stopping device, As shown in FIG. 4, the stopped microplate 1 is stopped against the driving force of the conveyor belt 3 by being hooked at one point by the claw 8, so that it is stopped tilted by an angle θ. When dispensing a sample or reagent or photometrically detecting the reaction state to this stopped microplate 1, the dispenser and photometer move in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the microplate is transported. Therefore, the dispensing position of the specimen and reagent and the photometry position of the reaction state are shifted by the amount that the microplate 1 is tilted, so there is a problem that the dispensing and photometry cannot be performed accurately. In order to reduce this inclination angle θ, the guide member 4,
The gap between the microplate 5 and the cassette 2 can be reduced, but in this case, the cassette 2 will come into contact with the guide members 4 and 5 a lot, and this will create resistance, making it impossible to transport the microplate 1 reliably. There was a problem.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems with the microplate stopping device previously proposed by the applicant, and to obtain a microplate stopping device that can accurately stop the microplate at a predetermined position without tilting it. It is.

In order to achieve this purpose, the microplate stopping device of the present invention includes a microplate that has a plurality of engaging portions consisting of protrusions or grooves at regular intervals on the side, and a microplate that is conveyed along a predetermined conveyance path. a conveying means, a guide member extending along the conveying means and guiding both sides of the microplate, and protruding and retracting from the guide member at predetermined positions on the conveyance path to alternately engage with the engaging portion of the microplate. transporting the microplate along at least two locking members that intermittently stop the microplate by stopping the microplate, and the other guide member corresponding to the position where the locking member protrudes on the one guide member; The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with pressure contacting means that is biased in a direction perpendicular to the direction.

The microplate stopping device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments of the present invention, members corresponding to the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are given the same reference numerals. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the microplate 1 shown in this embodiment is not housed in a cassette, but is placed directly on the belt 3, guided by guide members 4 and 5, and conveyed in the direction of arrow A. . The side wall of this microplate 1 has grooves 14 formed in the rack 2 of the microplate 1 used in the apparatus shown in FIGS.
A plurality of grooves 20 formed in the same manner as the protrusion 21-1
~21-n. The claws 7 and 8 have the same structure as the device shown in FIG. 2, and their tips can be inserted through the guide member 4 and projected into the microplate transport path. Axis 11
Driving a solenoid 13 in which one end of the pawls 7 and 8 are respectively engaged with grooves 9 and 10 formed at both ends of a rotating member 12 that can rotate around , and a spring 13a is attached to one end of the rotating member 10. Connect the axes. Their construction and operation are similar to those shown in FIG. A microplate pressure contact plate 22 through which the guide member 5 can be inserted and projected is provided at a portion on the guide member 5 side corresponding to these latching mechanisms. This pressure contact plate 22
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the guide member 5 is mounted with mounting bolts 25 in the opening 23 of the guide member 5 through a guide groove 24 so as to be able to slide in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the microplate. It is biased in the direction of arrow B by a provided spring 26. 6th
As shown in the figure, the end of the press-contact plate 22 on the side opposite to the microplate transport path is bent downward, and a rotating arm 28 that can rotate around a shaft 27 is attached to this part.
The engaging part 29 provided at one end of the is engaged. A spring 30 and a solenoid 31 are provided at the right end of this rotating arm 28 in FIG.
The rotation arm 28 can be rotated counterclockwise by driving the rotation arm 28.

Next, the microplate stopping operation in this microplate stopping device will be explained. The microplate 1 guided by the guide members 4 and 5 and conveyed by the belt 3 comes into contact with the claw 8 and stops. At this time, the microplate 1 rotates slightly using the claw 8 as a fulcrum, and stops in a slightly tilted state similar to the apparatus described in FIGS. 1 to 4. Thereafter, when the rotating arm 28 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG.
6 is pushed toward the microplate 1 and comes into contact with the microplate 1, and the microplate 1
is pressed against the guide member 4. Thereby, the microplate 1 can be positioned parallel to the guide members 4 and 5 and stopped. Hold the microplate 1 again with the belt 3 in the direction of arrow A in Figure 5.
When transferring in this direction, the driving of the solenoid 31 is stopped, the rotating arm 28 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 6, and the pressure contact plate 22 is retracted. Thereafter, the solenoid 13 is activated to retract the pawl 8, causing the pawl 7 to protrude, and after the protrusion 21-2 comes into contact with the pawl 7 and the microplate 1 stops, the solenoid 31 is activated again to protrude the pressure contact plate 22. Microplate 1
is pressed against the guide plate 4 to position it. In this way, each time the microplate 1 is intermittently stopped by sequentially protruding the claws 7 and 8 in turn, the microplate 1 can be pressed against the guide member 4 by the pressure contact plate 22 and stopped.

The microplate stopping device of the present invention configured as described above can accurately fix the microplate in close contact with the guide member on one side, so that the reaction vessel array formed on the microplate can be aligned at right angles to the guide member. Since the distance from the guide member to the reaction container of the microplate can be kept constant and micro-vibration of the microplate can be eliminated, it is possible to accurately dispense samples and reagents to the microplate and photometrically detect the reaction state. This is a microplate stopping device that can

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the utility model registration claims. As an example, in the above embodiment, a hooking groove is provided in the microplate itself,
The microplate itself was stopped, but the microplate was housed in a cassette like the microplate used in the device of the earlier application shown in Figs. 1 to 4, and the microplate was stopped for each cassette. Of course, it is also possible to do so. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, each time the microplate 1 is stopped by the claws 7 and 8, the pressure contact plate 22 is projected and the microplate 1 is moved to the guide member 4.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the claws 7 and 8 may be made to protrude alternately, and the pressure plate 22 may be made to protrude each time the microplate is fed by one pitch of the reaction container. The guide member 4 may be pressed against the guide member 4.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which a microplate is guided by a guide member and conveyed on a belt, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the configuration of a microplate stopping device previously proposed by the applicant. Figures 3A, B, and C are diagrams showing the intermittent stopping operation of the microplate by the microplate stopping device in Figure 2, and Figure 4 shows the state in which the microplate is stopped by the device in Figure 2. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the configuration of the microplate stopping device of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the microplate pressing mechanism of the device shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 1...Microplate, 2...Cassette, 3
...Conveyor belt, 4, 5...Guiding member, 6...
Shaft, 7, 8...claw, 9, 10...groove, 11...
Shaft, 12... Rotating member, 13... Solenoid, 1
3a...Spring, 14...Groove, 15-1~n...Protrusion, 20...Groove, 21-1~21-n...Protrusion,
22... Pressure plate, 23... Opening, 24... Guide groove, 25... Mounting bolt, 26... Spring, 27
... shaft, 28 ... rotation arm, 29 ... engaging part,
30...Spring, 31...Solenoid.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A microplate having a plurality of engaging portions consisting of protrusions or grooves at regular intervals on its sides, a conveyance means for conveying the microplate along a predetermined conveyance path, and a conveyance means for conveying the microplate along a predetermined conveyance path. a guide member that extends along the means and guides both sides of the microplate; and a guide member that protrudes from and retreats from the guide member at predetermined positions on the conveyance path and alternately engages with the engaging portion of the microplate, thereby guiding the microplate. at least two locking members that are stopped intermittently; and the microplate is moved in a direction perpendicular to the microplate transport direction along the other guide member corresponding to the position where the locking member protrudes in the one guide member. A microplate stopping device characterized by being provided with an energized pressure contact means.