JPS6126861A - Biochemical analyzing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To heat and maintain a measuring element locked to a rotary disk at necessary temperature accurately and speedily by conveying the measuring element on the top surface of a constant temperature board in sliding contact state. CONSTITUTION:The disk 5 is rotated and stopped at intervals of the set angle of a lock groove 10 and the measuring element 11 is inserted successively into an insertion port 20. Then, the measuring element 11 is heated by an electric heater 3 and its temperature is detected by a sensor such as a thermocouple, and the element comes into sliding contact with the top surface of the constant temperature board 2 controlled to maintain temperature set by a temperature setter. Consequently, the heat of the constant temperature board 2 is conducted directly to the measuring element 11, which is preheated accurately to reaction temperature. Then, an operator dispenses a sample to be analyzed from a dispensation port 22 by using a pipet, etc., and operates an unshown operation board to start analyzing the sample. Thus, the measuring element 11 is heated uniformly, so an accurate measured value is obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a biochemical analyzer, and more particularly to a device for chemically analyzing and measuring a liquid sample using a measuring element impregnated with a reaction reagent. .

[Conventional technology]

In general, in liquid samples such as blood and serum, it is often necessary to know whether or not a specific component is contained in the liquid sample, or the content thereof, and for this purpose, chemical analysis using reaction reagents is performed.

There are two methods for chemical analysis of liquid samples: the dry method and the wet method. Of these, the dry method uses a liquid sample measurement element consisting of a thin plate impregnated with a specific reagent sandwiched between mounts. A liquid sample to be analyzed is supplied dropwise to the element, placed in a thermostatic chamber for reaction, and the liquid sample and reagent are allowed to react, and the progress or results of the reaction are monitored.

For example, this method is a method of measuring and detecting a change in color density due to a reaction using an optical density meter or other means, and is very convenient in that a liquid sample can actually be treated as a solid.

However, it is difficult to drop a large number of samples onto a measuring element one by one and measure the change in color density caused by one reaction using an optical density meter. Using discs that can be locked at evenly spaced positions,
A biochemical analyzer has been developed in which the disk is installed so that it can be rotated at a constant angle, and the measuring elements are sequentially moved to measurement positions to perform photometry. However, in the past, the inside of the reaction thermostat containing the disk was heated to a temperature (for example, around 37 degrees) at which the measuring element easily reacted using heat from a hot air generator or electric heater.
There was a problem in that the temperature atmosphere inside the tank varied, making it impossible to uniformly heat the tank, making it impossible to obtain accurate measured values.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a biochemical analyzer that can accurately and rapidly maintain a measurement element at a required temperature.

[Structure of the invention]

This invention accommodates a heat retention medium such as water, and.

A constant temperature plate equipped with an electric heater and temperature control maintenance means, and a rotating disk that can be moored and transported so that a measuring element comes into sliding contact with the top surface of the constant temperature plate, and is configured so that heat from the constant temperature plate can be directly transmitted to the measuring element. This is what I did.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

1. In the biochemical analyzer main body (hereinafter referred to as "main body"),
A constant temperature plate 2 having a circular planar shape is installed on the bottom plate 1b of the main body 1 via leg members (not shown). The constant temperature plate 2 is hollow so as to accommodate a heat retaining medium a such as water, and an electric heater 3 is attached to the lower surface. The temperature of the upper surface of the constant temperature plate 2 heated by the electric heater 3 is controlled by a temperature control and maintenance device 50 as shown in the third figure. The temperature control and maintenance device 50 detects temperature with a temperature sensor 51 such as a thermocouple, and compares the upper surface temperature of the thermostatic plate 2 with the temperature set by the temperature setting device 52 using a comparator 53.

If the temperature on the top surface of thermostatic plate 2 is high, turn off electric heater 3.
It is controlled so that it is turned on when the temperature is low. Note that when heating the heat retaining medium a in the thermostatic plate 2, it takes a little longer to initially raise the temperature than other heating methods, but this can be controlled by increasing the power of the electric heater 3, so this is not a problem. There isn't.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a rotating shaft whose upper and lower ends are supported by the upper plate 1a and the bottom plate 1b of the main body 1 through a hole 2a penetrating the center of the constant temperature plate 2, and a rotating shaft 9 that can be slid in the axial direction is attached to the upper part of the rotating shaft 4. A disk 5 is fitted so as to be fixed in the rotational direction, and a fan 9 for stirring the heat retaining medium in the constant temperature plate 2 is provided.

The disk 5 is rotated by the pressing force of a spring 7 fitted to the rotating shaft 5 and the pressing force of a spring member 8 having a spring 8'' that presses the ball 8' so that it comes into contact with the upper surface of the peripheral edge of the disk 5. It is designed to be able to rotate closely or close to the upper surface of the constant temperature plate 2. It is sufficient that the spring members 8 are provided at several locations equidistantly arranged around the circumference of the disk.

Reference numeral 10 denotes engagement grooves for the measuring element 11 provided at equidistant locations on the lower surface of the periphery of the disk 5. 5
As it rotates, it comes into sliding contact with the upper surface of the constant temperature plate 2, and is preheated during transportation. A through hole 12 is provided on the upper surface of the disk 5 corresponding to the engagement groove 10 for dispensing a test sample onto the measuring element 11 with a pipette.

Note that 13 is an elongated hole for discharging the measuring element 11 from the engagement groove 10, and 14 is a cross hole for making visible an identification symbol such as a person's name written on the surface of the measuring element 11.

15 is a code display 11a for specifying the inspection item of the measuring element 11; an exposure hole through which an IC is exposed; the detector 16 installed on the upper plate 1a of the main body 1 corresponds to the exposure hole 15; Reference numeral 17 is a code display for specifying the address of the engagement groove located, for example, with respect to one engagement groove 10, and is provided radially on the upper surface of the center portion of the disk 5. Corresponding to the code display 17 is an address detector 18 installed on the upper plate 1a of the main body 1. The analysis items and addresses of the measurement elements read by the detector 16 and the address detector 18 are stored in a storage device (not shown).

19 is a drive source that drives the rotating shaft 4 of the disk 5;
The drive source 19 is held-coupled to the rotating shaft 5. The rotating shaft 4 can be accurately stopped at a predetermined position by a stopper mechanism (not shown).

20 is an insertion opening for the measuring element 11 to be inserted into the engagement groove 10 provided on the periphery of the disk 5, and the insertion opening 20 is inserted into the side wall of the main body 1 at an appropriate position so as to match the engagement groove IO when the disk 5 is stopped. It is provided. The insertion slot 20 is equipped with a device (not shown) that accommodates measurement elements for each of various inspection items in a stacked manner and selectively supplies the necessary measurement elements. It is more preferable to enable automatic insertion at 21 (only shown).

22 is a pipette dispensing port for dispensing the test sample into the measuring element 11 which is moored in the engagement groove 10 of the disk 5 and is conveyed on the thermostatic plate 2; The upper plate 1a of the main body l corresponding to the upper plate 1a is provided in a penetrating shape.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a photometry section that optically measures the progress or result of the reaction of the sample to be tested with the measuring element 11 after dispensing, and changes in color density due to the reaction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the photometering section 23 converts the light beam generated from a light source 25 such as a 10-gen lamp into a photometering beam of a desired wavelength through a lens 26 and a filter 27, and converts the light beam into a photometering beam having a desired wavelength through a mirror 28. The light is bent and guided through an optical fiber 29 to a photometry head 30 installed close to the measurement surface (back surface of the element) of the measurement element 11 and irradiated thereon. This irradiation light is reflected from the measurement surface and transmitted to the light receiving element 32 through the optical fiber 31, and is calculated by a calculation device (not shown) such as a microcomputer, and the measured value is displayed in the display window ( (not shown). This measured value may be printed on a roll of recording paper (not shown) if necessary.

In addition, 33 is a transparent glass inclined at 45" installed in the optical path of the photometric light beam in order to minimize the error in the measured value due to changes in the light intensity of the photometric light beam over time. A part of the light reflected from the measuring element 33 is referred to a correction circuit (not shown) via the light receiving element 34 so that the measured value of the photometric light beam reflected from the measuring element can be corrected to a correct value.

35 is a discharge mechanism for discharging the measuring element 11 after being measured, and 36 is a container for storing the discharged measuring element outside the main body.

Next, the effect will be explained.

First, rotate the two discs 5 for each installation angle of the engagement groove 10,
After stopping, the measuring elements 11 are sequentially inserted through the insertion opening 27. The inserted measuring element is heated by the electric heater 3, detected by a thermoelectric temperature sensor 51, and the upper surface of the constant temperature plate 2 is controlled to maintain the temperature set by the temperature setting device 52. Since it comes into sliding contact with the metal, the heat is directly transmitted and the salinity is accurately preheated to the 2-reaction salinity. After that, the operator takes the test sample to be analyzed from a test tube or the like into a pipette (not shown), dispenses it from the 9-dispense spout, and 1. specifies the analysis item by operating the operation panel (not shown). If the apparatus is started without specifying, the disk rotates by the required angle and a predetermined measuring element is stopped on the upper surface of the photometric head of the photometric section. Here, a photometric light beam from a light source is irradiated onto the measurement surface, and the reflected light is processed by a calculation device such as a microcomputer via a light receiving element, and the measured value is displayed on a display window of the main body.

At the same time, it is recorded on a roll of recording paper as required.

Then, the measured measurement element is discharged through the discharge mechanism into a storage container provided outside the main body.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a thermostatic plate containing a heat retaining medium such as water and equipped with an electric heater and a temperature control maintenance means, and a measuring element moored so as to be in sliding contact with the upper surface of the thermostatic plate. This is because it is characterized by being equipped with a rotating disk that can be transported.

Due to the action of a heat-retaining medium such as water, the temperature distribution of the thermostatic plate is less likely to be uneven after the temperature rises. Heat can be supplied directly to the element. Therefore, the measuring element can be heated to a desired temperature accurately and quickly, which is an excellent effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the entire device, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram of the temperature control and maintenance means of the thermostatic plate. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the measuring element and its locking groove, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the insertion opening of the measuring element, and FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the photometry section. 1. Main body 2 - Constant temperature plate 4 - Rotating shaft 5 - Disk 50 - Temperature control and maintenance device 51 - Temperature sensor 51 - Temperature setter 52 - Comparator Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Figure 6 I

Claims (1)

[Claims] It is equipped with a constant temperature plate that accommodates a heat retaining medium such as water and is equipped with an electric heater and temperature control maintenance means, and a rotating disk that can be moored and transported so that the measuring element is in sliding contact with the top surface of the constant temperature plate. Characteristic biochemical analyzer.