JP4808699B2 - Analysis equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an analyzer for analyzing an analysis device containing a sample solution collected from a living organism or the like by transferring it toward a measurement chamber by centrifugal force.

  Conventionally, as a method for analyzing a liquid collected from a living organism or the like, a method for analyzing using a device for analysis in which a liquid channel is formed is known. The analytical device can control the fluid using a rotating device, and utilizes centrifugal force to dilute the sample liquid, measure the solution, separate the solid component, transfer and distribute the separated fluid, Since a solution and a reagent can be mixed, various biochemical analyzes can be performed.

  The analytical device 50 described in Patent Document 1 that transfers a solution using centrifugal force injects a sample liquid as a specimen into the measuring chamber 52 from an injection port 51 with an insertion instrument such as a pipette as shown in FIG. After the sample liquid is held by the capillary force of the measuring chamber 52, the sample liquid is transferred to the separation chamber 53 by the rotation of the analyzing device. An analytical device that uses such centrifugal force as a power source for liquid feeding can be used as a preferred shape because microchannels for liquid feeding control can be arranged radially by using a disk shape, and no wasted area is generated. It is done.

The sample solution and the diluting solution are mixed and stirred by accelerating / decelerating or rotating forward and backward in the same rotation direction of the turntable on which the analysis device 50 is set.
JP 7-500910 Gazette

  However, in the conventional configuration, the inertial force of the analytical device and the response of the driving device are problems, and sufficient acceleration for mixing and stirring cannot be obtained in a short time. This is the current situation.

This is particularly noticeable in the case of mixing a very small amount of fluid, and there is a case where mixing and stirring are insufficient even if sufficient time is spent.
The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an analyzer capable of obtaining necessary acceleration even in a shorter time compared with the conventional method in mixing and stirring a small amount of fluid. .

  The analysis apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is an analysis apparatus in which an analysis device having a microchannel structure for transferring a sample liquid toward a measurement chamber by centrifugal force is set. A first drive means for providing a rotational movement; a second drive means for selectively engaging the first drive means and for providing a reciprocating motion to the analytical device; the first drive means and the second drive; A third driving means is provided for relative movement to a position where the means is engaged and a position where the means is not engaged.

  The analyzer according to claim 2 of the present invention is the analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the first driving means is composed of a turntable on which an analysis device is set and a first motor that rotationally drives the turntable. The second driving means includes a lever supported so as to be reciprocating or swingable in a tangential direction of the turntable, and a second motor for driving the lever to reciprocate or swing. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the analyzer according to the second aspect, wherein the first gear portion is formed on the outer periphery of the turntable of the first driving means, and the tip of the lever of the second driving means is formed. A second gear portion that meshes with the first gear portion is formed.

  The analyzer according to claim 4 of the present invention is the analyzer according to claim 2, wherein the first motor is an outer rotor type motor, the first gear portion is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer rotor, and the second drive A second gear portion that meshes with the first gear portion is formed at the tip of the lever of the means.

  According to this configuration, by engaging the second driving means with the first driving means, the analysis device set in the first driving means is given a reciprocating motion. The required acceleration can be obtained even in a short time compared to the case of mixing and stirring the sample solution and the diluted solution by accelerating / decelerating, rotating forward or reverse in the same rotation direction of the motor of the driving means.

Below, each embodiment of the analyzer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
(Embodiment 1)
1 to 10 show an analyzer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

8 to 10 show the analytical device.
8A and 8B show a state where the protective cap 2 of the analytical device 1 is closed and an open state. FIG. 9 shows an exploded state with the lower side in FIG. 8A facing upward, and FIG. 10 shows an assembly drawing thereof.

  This analytical device 1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 includes a base substrate 3 having a microchannel structure having fine irregularities on the surface, a cover substrate 4 covering the surface of the base substrate 3, and a diluent. Are composed of four parts including a diluent container 5 that holds a protective cap 2 and a protective cap 2 for preventing sample liquid scattering.

The base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 are joined with the diluent container 5 and the like set therein, and the protective cap 2 is attached to the joined substrate.
By covering the openings of several concave portions formed on the upper surface of the base substrate 3 with the cover substrate 4, a plurality of storage areas and a flow channel of a microchannel structure that connects between the storage areas are formed. . 11 is a diluting liquid container housing unit, 23 is a separation cavity, 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d are air holes, 28 is an overflow channel, 29 is an overflow cavity, 31 is a reference measurement chamber, 33 is a capillary cavity, and 34 is The connecting channel, 36 is an overflow cavity, 37 is a capillary channel, 38 is a metering channel, 40 is a measurement chamber, and 41 is a connecting channel.

  Necessary ones of the storage areas are loaded with reagents necessary for various analyses. One side of the protective cap 2 is pivotally supported so that it can be opened and closed by engaging with the shafts 6 a and 6 b formed on the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4. When the sample liquid to be examined is blood, the gap between the flow paths of the microchannel structure on which the capillary force acts is set to 50 μm to 300 μm.

  The outline of the analysis process using this analytical device 1 is that the sample solution is spotted on the analytical device 1 in which a diluent is set in advance, and at least a part of the sample solution is diluted with the diluent, and then measurement is performed. It is what.

The analysis device 1 is set on the turntable 101 of the analysis apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
A groove 102 is formed on the upper surface of the turntable 101, and is formed on the rotation support portion 15 and the protective cap 2 formed on the cover substrate 4 of the analysis device 1 when the analysis device 1 is set on the turntable 101. The rotation support portion 16 thus engaged engages with and accommodates the groove 102.

  When the analysis device 1 is set on the turntable 101 and the door 103 of the analyzer is closed before the turntable 101 is rotated, the set analysis device 1 is moved to the movable piece 104 provided on the door 103 side. As a result, the position on the rotation axis of the turntable 101 is pressed against the turntable 101 by the biasing force of the spring 105, and the analysis device 1 is integrated with the turntable 101 rotated by the rotation driving means 106. Rotate. Reference numeral 107 denotes an axial center of the turntable 101 during rotation.

FIG. 7 shows the overall configuration of the analyzer 100.
The analysis apparatus 100 includes a rotation drive unit 106 for rotating the turntable 101, an optical measurement unit 108 for optically measuring the solution in the analysis device 1, and a rotation speed and a rotation direction of the turntable 101. And a control means 109 for controlling the measurement timing of the optical measurement means, a calculation part 110 for processing a signal obtained by the optical measurement means 108 and calculating a measurement result, and a result obtained by the calculation part 110 are displayed. And a display unit 111 for doing so.

  The rotation driving means 106 not only rotates the analyzing device 1 around the rotation axis 107 in a predetermined direction at a predetermined rotation speed via the turntable 101 but also centers the rotation axis 107 at a predetermined stop position. The analyzing device 1 can be swung by reciprocating left and right in a predetermined amplitude range and cycle.

  The optical measuring means 108 includes a laser light source 112 (which may be a light emitting diode) for irradiating the measuring unit of the analytical device 1 with a specific wavelength light, and an analytical device among the laser light emitted from the laser light source 112. 1 and a photodetector 113 that detects the amount of transmitted light that has passed through 1.

  The analysis device 1 is rotationally driven by the turntable 101 so that the sample solution taken in from the injection port 13 is rotated around the rotation axis 107 located on the inner periphery of the injection port 13. The solution is transferred inside the analysis device 1 using the centrifugal force generated in this way and the capillary force of the capillary channel provided in the analysis device 1.

1 to 4 show details of the rotation driving means 106 in the analyzer 100.
The first driving means 71 for giving the rotational motion to the set analytical device 1 is attached to the outer rotor type first motor 71a and the output shaft of the first motor 71a, and the analytical device 1 is set. And the turntable 101. A first gear portion 74 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 101.

  In addition to the first driving means 71, the rotation driving means 106 performs a reciprocating motion of the turntable 101 at a predetermined stop position to the left and right with a predetermined amplitude range and period around the rotation axis 107. A second driving means 72 that selectively engages the first driving means 71 and reciprocates the analyzing device 1, and a position where the first driving means 71 and the second driving means 72 are engaged (FIG. 1). (B)) is provided with a third drive means 73 for relative movement to a position (FIG. 1 (a)) that is not engaged. In this embodiment, the second driving means 72 is moved with respect to the first driving means 71.

The 2nd drive means 72 and the 3rd drive means 73 are comprised as shown in FIGS.
A second motor 72a, a third motor 73a, and the like are attached to the chassis 75 to which the first motor 71a is attached. A support shaft 78 is attached to a support table 77 that is slidably attached to the chassis 75 in the direction of arrow 76 (see FIGS. 1A and 2).

  A lever 79 is pivotally supported on the support shaft 78. A second gear portion 80 that can mesh with the first gear portion 74 of the turntable 101 is formed at one end of the lever 79 on the turntable 101 side. A recess 81 is formed at the other end of the lever 79. An eccentric cam 83 attached to the output shaft 82 of the second motor 72a is engaged with the recess 81. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the lever 79 removed from the support shaft 78.

With this configuration, when the second motor 72a is energized, the lever 79 swings between the solid line position and the virtual line position via the eccentric cam 83.
The lever 79 is configured to be biased by a helical spring (not shown) so that the backlash of the lever 79 during the swinging is reduced.

  The third driving means 73 includes the third motor 73a attached to the chassis 75, the worm 85 attached to the output shaft 84 of the third motor 73a, and the worm 85 attached to the chassis 75 so as to be rotatable. And a rack 87 that is formed on the support table 77 and meshes with the worm wheel 86. A tension coil spring 88 is interposed between the support table 77 and the chassis 75 so that backlash between the worm wheel 86 and the rack 87 is reduced.

  Since it comprised in this way, until the detection switch 91 detects the support table 77 as shown in FIG.1 (b), it supplies with electricity to the 3rd motor 73a, and the worm wheel 86 is shown to the arrow 89 direction (refer Fig.1 (a)). 1, the support table 77 in which the rack 87 meshes with the worm wheel 86 slides so as to approach the turntable 101, and as shown in FIG. 1B, as shown in FIG. 80 engages with the first gear portion 74 of the turntable 101, and when the second motor 72a is maintained in the energized state in this state, the turntable 101 is driven to swing by the lever 79 in the tangential direction of the turntable 101. Therefore, by increasing the rotation speed of the second motor 72a, it is sufficient to stir a small amount of fluid in the analytical device 1 even in a short time. The speed can be obtained by a short time.

  In the above embodiment, the lever 79 of the second driving means 72 is moved closer to the turntable 101. However, the first turntable 101 is moved closer to the lever 79 of the second driving means 72. , The second gear portions 74 and 80 are meshed with each other and agitated and swung, or the turntable 101 of the first driving means 71 and the lever 79 of the second driving means 72 are brought close to each other to make the first and first The analysis device 1 can be agitated and swung by meshing the two gear portions 74 and 80, and the third driving means 73 is moved to a position where the lever 79 and the turntable 101 are engaged with each other. It can be said that this can be realized by relatively moving the first driving means 71 and the second driving means 72.

  In each of the above embodiments, the analysis device 1 is agitated and swung by the engagement of the first gear portion 74 of the turntable 101 and the second gear portion 80 of the lever 79. Without providing the second gear portion 80, the first gear portion 74 of the turntable 101 is brought into contact with a member having friction received at one end of the lever 79 to engage the turntable 101 and the lever 79. This can be realized even if configured as described above.

  In each of the above embodiments, the second driving means 72 is engaged with and driven by the first gear portion 74 provided on the turntable 101, but the outer rotor 90 of the first motor 71a is driven. The first gear portion 74 is formed on the outer periphery, and the second gear portion 80 of the second driving means 72 is engaged with the first gear portion 74 or the second driving means 72 that is driven to swing is the first motor. It is also possible to abut the outer peripheral portion of the outer rotor 90a of 71a and cause the analyzing device 1 to reciprocate left and right with a predetermined amplitude range and period around the rotation axis 107.

(Embodiment 2)
11 and 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention.
In the rotation driving means 106 of the first embodiment, the second driving means is driven to swing in the tangential direction of the turntable so as to give a reciprocating motion to the analyzing device. FIG. 11 and FIG. The second embodiment of the present invention is different in that the second driving means is configured to reciprocate in the tangential direction of the turntable. Furthermore, the only difference is that the drive source of the third drive means is a solenoid.

Hereafter, the operation | movement is demonstrated in detail about the difference from Embodiment 1. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a chassis 75 to which the first motor 71a is attached is provided with a second motor 72a, a solenoid 204, support shafts 203a and 203b, a support shaft 209, and the like.

  A lever 201 is slidably supported on the support shafts 203a and 203b by a spacer 210 and a fastening member 212. The side of the lever 201 on the turntable 101 side is bent and formed so as to be parallel to the rotor of the first motor 71a, and the rotor of the first motor 71a is formed at the tip of the bent side 201b. A friction member 202 made of cork, butyl rubber or the like that can be brought into frictional contact with is attached. The lever 201 has a recess 211 and is engaged with an eccentric cam 83 attached to the output shaft 82 of the second motor 72a.

With this configuration, when the second motor 72a is energized, the lever 201 reciprocates as shown by the arrow 213 in FIG.
The third driving means 73 includes a solenoid 204 attached to the chassis 75, a lever 206 engaged with the solenoid 204, and an intermediate portion pivotally supported by a support shaft 209 implanted in the chassis 75, and one end of the lever 206. And a lever 205 that engages with a shaft 206b that is implanted. The other end 205b of the lever 205 is inserted into the hole 214 of the lever 201 and engaged with the tip of the bent side 201b.

  Further, the lever 205 biases the tip of the bent side 201b having the action of the leaf spring of the lever 201 in the direction of the arrow 215 in FIG.

  With this configuration, when the solenoid 204 is energized, the lever 206 is moved by the solenoid 204, and at the same time, the lever 205 rotates around the support shaft 209 as shown by the arrow 216 in FIG. The leaf spring shape portion at the tip of the first member is restored, and the friction member 202 comes into contact with the rotor of the first motor 71a.

  When the second motor 72a is maintained in the energized state in this state, the turntable 101 is driven to swing by the lever 79 in the tangential direction of the turntable 101. Therefore, the rotational speed of the second motor 72a is increased. Thus, even in a short time, an acceleration sufficient to stir a minute amount of fluid in the analytical device 1 can be obtained in a short time.

  In the above embodiment, the lever 201 of the second driving means 72 is moved closer to the first motor 71a. However, the first motor 71a is moved closer to the lever 201 of the second driving means 72. The analysis device 1 can be agitated and oscillated by causing the first driving means 71 and the lever 201 of the second driving means 72 to approach each other. It can be said that this can be realized by relatively moving the first driving means 71 and the second driving means 72 to a position where the lever 201 and the first motor 71a are engaged with each other.

  The friction member 202 is engaged with the first motor 71a. However, as in the first embodiment, the friction member 202 of the lever 201 is changed to a gear member, and the turntable 101 or the first motor 71a is changed. This can also be realized by being configured to engage with the provided first gear portion 74.

  The present invention can perform mixing and stirring of an analysis device used for component analysis of a liquid collected from a living organism in a short time, and maintains analysis accuracy and contributes to improvement of analysis efficiency.

The top view of the state from which engagement with the 1st drive means of the rotational drive means of the analyzer of Embodiment 1 of this invention and the 2nd drive means was cancelled | released, and a 1st drive means and a 2nd drive Plan view with the means engaged The perspective view of the rotation drive means of the embodiment Side view of the rotation driving means of the same embodiment The top view of the state which removed the lever of the 2nd drive means of the embodiment The perspective view of the state which opened the door of the analyzer of the embodiment Cross-sectional view of the relevant part with the analysis device set in the analyzer Block diagram of the analyzer of the same embodiment FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the analytical device according to the embodiment of the present invention with the protective cap closed and opened. Exploded perspective view of the analysis device of the same embodiment A perspective view of the analytical device with the protective cap closed as seen from the back The top view which shows the drive front and back of the rotational drive means of Embodiment 2 of this invention The perspective view of the rotation drive means of the embodiment Partially cutaway perspective view of analysis device of Patent Document 1

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Analytical device 2 Protective cap 3 Base substrate 4 Cover substrate 5 Diluent container 6a, 6b Shaft 11 Diluent container accommodating part 13 Inlet 15, 16 Rotation support part 23 Separation cavity 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d Air hole 28 Overflow Flow channel 29 Overflow cavity 31 Reference measurement chamber 33 Capillary cavity 34 Connection channel 36 Overflow cavity 37 Capillary channel 38 Metering channel 40 Measurement chamber 41 Connection channel 71 First drive means 71a First motor 72 First 2 driving means 72a second motor 73 third driving means 73a third motor 74 first gear part 75 chassis 76 sliding direction of the support table 77 77 support table 78 support shaft 79 lever 80 second gear part 81 Concave portion 82 Output shaft of second motor 72a 83 Eccentric force 84 Output shaft of the third motor 73a 85 Worm 86 Worm wheel 87 Rack 88 Pulling coil spring 90 Outer rotor of the first motor 71a 100 Analyzing device 101 Turntable 102 Groove 103 Door 104 Movable piece 105 Spring 106 Rotation drive means 107 Rotation Axis 108 Optical measuring means 109 Control means 110 Calculation section 111 Display section 112 Laser light source 113 Photo detector 201 Lever 201b Bending side 202 Friction member 203a, 203b Support shaft 204 Solenoid 205 Lever 206b Shaft 207 Pulling coil spring 209 Support shaft 210 Spacer 211 Recessed portion 212 fastening member 214 hole of lever 201

Claims (4)

An analysis apparatus in which an analysis device having a microchannel structure for transferring a sample liquid toward a measurement chamber by centrifugal force is set,
First drive means for imparting rotational motion to the set analytical device;
Second driving means for selectively engaging the first driving means and for reciprocating the analytical device;
An analyzer provided with a third driving means for moving relative to a position where the first driving means and the second driving means are engaged and a position where they are not engaged. The first drive means includes a turntable on which the analysis device is set and a first motor that rotationally drives the turntable,
2. The second driving means includes a lever that is supported so as to be reciprocating or swingable in a tangential direction of the turntable, and a second motor that drives the lever to reciprocate or swing. The analyzer described. Forming a first gear portion on the outer periphery of the turntable of the first driving means;
The analyzer according to claim 2, wherein a second gear portion that meshes with the first gear portion is formed at a tip of the lever of the second driving means. The first motor is an outer rotor type motor, and a first gear portion is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer rotor,
The analyzer according to claim 2, wherein a second gear portion that meshes with the first gear portion is formed at a tip of the lever of the second driving means.

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