JP4153098B2 - Sample storage cassette - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sample storage cassette for storing a plurality of slide glasses each loaded with a sample.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Such a sample storage cassette has a form as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The specimen storage cassette 50 shown here has a slide glass storage section 60 inside, and has opposed ends (long side ends) of a plurality of (here, 8) rectangular slide glasses (not shown). A supporting stepped portion 61 is provided on the inner side wall 51. The space between the upper and lower step portions 61 is a slide glass insertion portion 62, and the slide glass can be put into the storage portion 60 by inserting the long side end of the slide glass straight into the insertion portion 62. The slide glass is supported by the step portion 61.
[0003]
In the upper part 52 of the cassette 50, a plurality (four in this case) of holes 70 for identifying the cassette are formed in one row. The bottom portion 53 is formed with two grooves 71 extending in the transverse direction from end to end.
The sample storage cassette 50 as shown in FIG. 6 is used in, for example, a cell analyzer, and is transferred one by one in a certain direction by a feed mechanism. This feed mechanism is shown in FIG. The feed mechanism 80 has two rails 81 corresponding to the grooves 71 in the bottom 53 of the cassette 50. The rail 81 is fitted in the groove 71, and the cassette 50 is transferred in the direction of the arrow by pressing the side surface 54 of the cassette 50 by pressing means (not shown).
[0004]
On the other hand, four sensors 85 for detecting the identification holes 70 in the upper part 52 of the cassette 50 are arranged on the feeding mechanism 80 according to the number of the holes 70, and the cassette 50 fed by the feeding mechanism 80 is the sensor 85. From the detected signal.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the sample storage cassette 50 as described above has the following problems (1) to (3).
(1) Since the feed mechanism 80 is configured to push the side surface 54 of the cassette 50, the cassette 50 can be mounted even if the direction in which the cassette 50 is placed on the feed mechanism 80 is reversed left and right (front and back) or upside down. Unless the cassette 50 is correctly placed on the feeding mechanism 80, the entire apparatus including the feeding mechanism 80 becomes malfunctioning.
(2) In the cassette 50, the step 61 for supporting the slide glass is provided only on the opposing side wall 51, so that there is a problem that the slide glass is inserted obliquely. That is, a state where one long side end portion of the slide glass is inserted on a certain step portion 61 and the other long side end portion is not inserted on the corresponding step portion 61 but is inserted on the upper or lower step portion 61. The slide glass can be put in the storage unit 60 as it is.
(3) Since the identification holes 70 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the cassette 50, a plurality (four) of sensors 85 are required to identify the cassette 50.
[0006]
The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems {circle around (1)} to {circle around (3)}, and prevents the slide glass from being obliquely inserted into the cassette, so that even one sensor can identify the cassette. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sample storage cassette that realizes the above-described configuration and prevents the cassette from being transferred unless it is properly placed on the feeding mechanism.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a sample storage cassette according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a step portion for supporting the opposed end portions of at least one slide glass on the opposed side walls, and a plurality of identification indicators on the upper portion. The guide for guiding the slide glass is arranged at substantially the same level as the step portion between the step portions of the opposing side wall, and the plurality of identification indicators are cassettes. They are arranged in the transfer direction.
[0008]
In this sample storage cassette, in addition to the stepped portion on the opposite side wall, a guide corresponding to the stepped portion is disposed between the stepped portions. Therefore, when the opposite end portion of the slide glass is inserted on the stepped portion, the guide is Guide the slide glass. Here, if the slide glass is to be inserted obliquely, the slide glass hits the guide, and the slide glass cannot be inserted into the cassette, and the slide glass can be prevented from being inserted obliquely by the guide.
[0009]
In addition, since a plurality of identification indexes are arranged in the cassette transfer direction, the plurality of identification indexes can be sequentially detected by the sensor when the cassette is sent in the transfer direction, so that the cassette can be identified by one sensor. .
Further, a groove extending from end to end in the cassette transfer direction is provided at least in a portion other than the center of the bottom portion, and a buried portion for filling the groove is provided in a part of the groove, and the feed mechanism is provided in the buried portion of the groove. Since the cassette is transferred by locking the movable engaging claw (Claim 2), when the cassette is placed on the feed mechanism in the left-right (front-rear) reverse direction, the engaging claw is engaged with the groove. It cannot stop and the cassette is not fed by the feeding mechanism. Of course, even when the cassette is turned upside down, the cassette is not transferred because the engaging claw is not locked. Therefore, the cassette is fed only when the cassette is correctly set in the feeding mechanism.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments.
A perspective view of a sample storage cassette according to the embodiment is shown in FIG. 1, and a bottom view thereof is shown in FIG. The specimen storage cassette 10 is configured to be inserted into the slide glass storage section 20 of the cassette 10 with the long side end of a rectangular slide glass (not shown) facing in the front-rear direction. Steps 21 that respectively support the opposite ends of the short side of the slide glass (eight here) are provided so that the gap 22 between the upper and lower step 21 is inserted into the short side of the slide glass. 22 If the short side end of the slide glass is inserted straight into the insertion part 22, the slide glass can be stored in the storage part 20, and the short side end part of the slide glass is supported by the step portions 21 on both sides.
[0011]
As a feature of the cassette 10, between the step portions 21, guides 25 for guiding the slide glass are provided on the rear wall 15 so as to correspond to each step portion 21 at “substantially the same level” as each step portion 21. The guide 25 is located approximately in the middle between the step portions 21 and extends from the rear wall 15 toward the front opening to about half of the length of the step portion 21. However, the guide 25 does not need to be about half the length of the stepped portion 21 and may be approximately the same length as the stepped portion 21 (the extent that extends to the front opening), at least when inserting the slide glass. It may be long enough to guide the slide glass reliably. Further, the width of the guide 25 is not specified, and may be wider than that illustrated. Further, the guide 25 may be connected to the stepped portion 21 in addition to protruding from the rear wall 15. That is, the guide 25 may be bridged from the step portions 21 on both sides.
[0012]
Here, the guide 25 is set to “substantially the same level” as the step portion 21. If the guide 25 is set to the same level as the step portion 21, the guide 25 is inserted in addition to the action of guiding the slide glass at the time of insertion. Later, if the guide 25 is at a slightly lower level than the stepped portion 21, the guide action is equivalent, but the support action after insertion is not exhibited. .
[0013]
Another feature of the cassette 10 is that a plurality of (in this case, four) holes 30 are formed in the upper portion 12 of the cassette 10 in one row in the transfer direction of the cassette 10 as will be described later, as a plurality of identification indices for identifying the cassette. Has been. The identification index does not necessarily need to be the hole 30, and a black, white, light-reflective, etc. seal may be affixed, or a convex portion or a concave portion, as long as the cassette 10 can be identified.
[0014]
As another feature, two grooves 31 and 32 are formed around the upper portion 12, the bottom portion 13, and the side portion 14 of the cassette 10. The grooves 31 and 32 are in symmetrical positions in the front-rear direction, and at the bottom 13, the groove 31 is partially filled with the groove 33 and is cut off at the buried portion 33 (see FIG. 2).
The feeding mechanism for transporting the cassette 10 in a certain direction has a structure as schematically shown in FIG. 3, for example. The feed mechanism 40 has one transfer path 41 corresponding to one (front side) groove 31 of the cassette 10, and the engaging claw 42 moves in the direction of the arrow along the transfer path 41. Therefore, when the engaging claw 42 is locked to the embedded portion 33 of the groove 31, the cassette 10 is transferred by the engaging claw 42.
[0015]
When the slide glass is stored in the sample storage cassette 10 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the step portion 21 and the guide 25 are sequentially assigned the symbols (a, b, c,...) From the bottom to slide. For example, if the glass G1 is correctly inserted on the step portions 21f on both sides, the slide glass G1 can be inserted to the end while being guided by the guide 25e, and can be completely stored in the storage unit 20. After the insertion, the slide glass G1 is supported at the short side end portion by the step portion 21f and at the center portion by the guide 25e.
[0016]
On the other hand, if the slide glass G2 is to be inserted obliquely, for example, in FIG. 4, the left short-side end portion is on the step portion 21b, and the right short-side end portion is one step above the step portion 21c. When trying to insert, the long side edge part of the slide glass G2 hits the guide 25b, and the slide glass G2 cannot be completely inserted into the storage part 20. Of course, when the guide 25 extends to the front opening, the slide glass G2 cannot be inserted obliquely from the beginning.
[0017]
Next, the transfer of the sample storage cassette 10 by the feeding mechanism 40 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the feed mechanism 40 has the engaging claw 42 that moves along the transfer path 41. Therefore, if the cassette 10 is correctly placed on the feed mechanism 40 as shown in FIG. Forty transfer paths 41 correspond to each other, and the engaging claw 42 engages with the embedded portion 33 of the groove 31 so that the cassette 10 is transferred in the direction of the arrow.
[0018]
When the cassette 10 is placed on the feed mechanism 40 in the left-right (front-back) reverse direction, the groove 32 corresponds to the transfer path 41. Since there is no embedded portion in the groove 32, the engaging claw 42 passes only along the groove 32, and the cassette 10 is not transferred. Moreover, even if the cassette 10 is set upside down or upside down and left and right reversed, or set sideways, the engaging claw 42 similarly moves only along the groove 31 or 32. The cassette 10 is not transferred.
[0019]
On the other hand, since the identification holes 30 are arranged in a line in the feeding direction (arrow direction) of the cassette 10, one identification sensor (for example, a photoelectric sensor having a light projecting element and a light receiving element) 45 on the feeding mechanism 40. It is only necessary to provide. That is, when the cassette 10 is transported in the direction of the arrow, the holes 30 are detected in order by the sensor 45, so that it is not necessary to provide a plurality of sensors as shown in FIG.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the sample storage cassette of the first aspect, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the slide glass is inserted obliquely, the slide glass hits the guide, and the slide glass cannot be put inside the cassette, and the slide glass can be prevented from being inserted obliquely by the guide.
(2) Since a plurality of identification indicators are arranged in the transfer direction of the cassette, the plurality of identification indicators can be sequentially detected by a sensor when the cassette is sent in the transfer direction, so that the cassette is identified by one sensor. it can.
(3) If the cassette is placed on the feed mechanism in the left-right direction or the upside-down direction, etc., the cassette is not sent by the feed mechanism, but only when the cassette is correctly set on the feed mechanism. The cassette is sent. Thereby, malfunction of an apparatus provided with a feed mechanism can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sample storage cassette according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cassette.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a feeding mechanism for transporting the cassette in a certain direction.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state when the slide glass is properly and obliquely inserted into the cassette.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state when the cassette is transferred by a feeding mechanism.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a sample storage cassette according to a conventional example.
7 is a perspective view showing a state when the cassette of FIG. 6 is transferred by a feeding mechanism. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sample storage cassette 11 Opposite side wall 12 Upper part 13 Bottom part 14 Side part 15 Rear wall 20 Slide glass storage part 21 Step part 25 Guide 30 Identification hole (identification index)
31, 32 Groove 33 Buried portion 40 Feed mechanism 42 Engaging claw G1, G2 Slide glass

Claims (3)

In the sample storage cassette having a step portion for supporting the opposite end portions of at least one slide glass on the opposite side wall inside, and a plurality of identification indexes on the upper portion, and transported in a fixed direction by a feeding mechanism,
A specimen storage cassette, wherein a guide for guiding a slide glass is disposed at substantially the same level as the stepped portion between the stepped portions of the opposing side walls, and the plurality of identification indexes are arranged in the cassette transfer direction. A groove extending from the end to the end in the cassette transfer direction is provided at least in a portion other than the center of the bottom, and a buried portion for filling the groove is provided in a part of the groove, and the movement provided in the feeding mechanism is provided in the buried portion of the groove. 2. The specimen storage cassette according to claim 1, wherein the cassette is transferred by locking a possible engaging claw. The sample storage cassette according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide glass is rectangular, and the step portion of the opposing side wall supports a short side end portion of the rectangular slide glass.

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