JPH045141B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention supplies a test sample to a biochemical analyzer, specifically an analysis slide equipped with a molecular element impregnated with a reaction reagent, and This invention relates to a device for chemically analyzing changes in color density by measuring changes in color density due to reactions.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when determining whether or not a specific component is contained in blood and its content, an analysis slide equipped with an analytical element impregnated with a reaction reagent is used, and the test sample to be analyzed is placed on this analytical element. A method of supplying the sample dropwise and reacting it with a test sample in a thermostatic reaction chamber, and measuring the progress or result of the reaction, for example, by using an optical density meter to measure the change in color density due to the reaction, or other methods. Devices for measuring and analyzing by means have been known.

In the case of the above device, conventionally, the carrier of the analysis slide was configured to circulate in a square shape as a means of transporting the analysis slide on the transport path in the tunnel-shaped thermostat to the sample dispensing section and the measurement section at a constant pitch. Either a pressing member (pushing lever) was provided at each of the four corners to convey the carrier in a convex shape, or a disk was used in which grooves for inserting the analysis slide were evenly distributed on the outer periphery, and the disk was rotated intermittently.

However, in the case of , if the pressing members (pushing levers) at the four corners are pressed even slightly, they become unfeedable, and a carrier is required to store the analysis slide, which prevents the slide from moving. This had to be done for each carrier, which was inefficient.

In addition, this method not only had the problem of increasing the flat area of the device, but also had the problem that the number of analysis slides that could be processed at one time was limited to the number of insertion grooves on the outer periphery of the disk.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention is intended to solve the above problem, and allows the analysis slide to be accurately and intermittently fed in a straight line to the "dispensing site" for the sample and the "measuring site" for photometrically measuring the color change caused by the reaction between the sample and the reagent. The purpose is to resist biochemical analyzers that can continuously supply and measure a large number of analysis slides one after another.

[Structure of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a biochemistry system equipped with an intermittent conveying means that can convey analytical slides supplied on a conveying path provided in a tunnel-shaped constant temperature chamber to a sample dispensing section and a measuring section at a constant pitch. In the analysis device, the conveyance path is in a straight line from the supply end to the discharge end of the analysis slide, and
The intermittent conveyance means includes a base and a sliding plate that can move back and forth along the path length below the conveyance path, and
The base is pivotally supported through a round hole and the sliding plate is supported through a vertical hole, and when the base is fixed and the sliding plate is moved forward, it stands up so as to protrude onto the conveyance path, and the base is similarly supported. A pressing member is provided that collapses so as to be submerged under the conveyance path when the stopper sliding plate is moved backward.

In addition to the biochemical analyzer, there have been the following devices similar to the intermittent transport means described above. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-8531 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-8531
-Publication number 31639 was published. However, in the means described in these publications, after pressing an article, in order to release the pressing member from the article and lock it to the next article, the weight of the article is used to release the pressing member. It was only possible to transport items that weighed a certain amount. The present invention makes it possible to transport even extremely lightweight items such as analysis slides.

〔Example〕

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

Reference numeral 1 denotes a biochemical analyzer main body (hereinafter simply referred to as the main body), and within the main body 1 is provided centrifugal separation means 2 for separating serum from whole blood. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the centrifugal separator 2 is provided with an arm 5 having the same length extending in three directions at the upper end of the output shaft 4 of the drive unit 3, and each end of the arm 5 has a disk 6
is rotatably supported via its support shaft 6'. The disk 6 has a bottomed cylindrical body 6a and an upper plate 6b.
becomes stuck. A plurality of holes 7, 7... are equally arranged on the same circle on the outer edge of the top plate 6b of each disk 6, and each hole 7, 7... has a cylindrical container 9 that can receive a test tube 8. 3 Pin 1 as shown in figure
0, and the lower end thereof can swing outward as shown in the figure due to centrifugal force when the disk 6 rotates at high speed. The disk 6 revolves in the same circle together with the output shaft 4, which rotates one-third of a turn (120 degrees) in the direction of the arrow due to the operation of the drive unit 3, and is stopped at a predetermined position by fixed position stopping means (not shown). It is designed to be able to stop accurately at positions A, B, and C.

11 is the main body 1 corresponding to the disk stop position A
The circular hole 11 is formed in the upper surface plate 1a of the disk, and the circular hole 11 has a size such that all of the holes 7 on the upper surface of the disk can be completely exposed. This is for attaching the test tube 8 to the container 9 hanging down into the hole 7 of the disk 6. Reference numeral 12 denotes a rotation urging means for rotating the disk at a high speed at the disk stop position B, and the rotation urging means 12 is connected to the solenoid 1 as shown in FIG.
A motor 15 is installed on a movable plate 14 that can be moved up and down using one end as a fulcrum by the operation of 3.
An upwardly concave friction member 17 is provided on the conical shaft 16 of
The friction member 17 moves against the disk 6 by vertical movement of the movable plate 14.
It is configured such that it can be coupled to and separated from a downwardly convex friction member 18 provided at the lower end of the support shaft 6'.
It goes without saying that the motor 15 of the rotation urging means 12 should be one that can rotate the rotary plate at a high speed (for example, 3000 rpm or more) necessary to separate serum from whole blood in the test tube 8. Reference numeral 19 denotes a pipette insertion hole provided in the top plate 1a of the main body 1 corresponding to the stop position C of the disk, and the pipette insertion hole 19 matches one hole 7 (opening of the test tube 8) on the disk. . In addition, at the C position, the disk 6 is rotated forward and reverse by a predetermined angle by a rotary biasing means (not shown) having the same structure as the rotary biasing means at the B position, and the test sample contains the serum to be aspirated by attaching the pipette. The pipe 8 can be selected. This selection may be made by attaching, for example, a bar code to a suitable location on the disk and detecting this with a detector (not shown).

Reference numeral 20 denotes a tunnel-shaped constant temperature bath for the analysis slide 21 installed in the groove 1b provided on the top plate 1a of the main body 1, and the constant temperature bath 20 has an outer surface protected by a metal plate 22 as shown in FIG. A cross-sectional upper housing 24 formed of a heat insulating material 23 and a cross-sectional lower housing 25 are combined so that their opening sides face each other,
A heating element 26 and a heat sink 27 are arranged inside an upper housing 24 and a lower housing 25. and lower housing 2
The heat dissipation plate 27 in the heat dissipation plate 5 is formed into a cross-sectional shape, and a top plate 29 is placed between its upper ends and has a conveyance path 28 in the center with opposing grooves 28a and 28b that can lightly grip both edges of the analysis slide 21. ing.

Reference numeral 30 denotes an intermittent conveyance means for intermittently conveying the analysis slides 21 in the conveyance path 28 at a constant pitch, and the intermittent conveyance means 30 is located at the center of the inner bottom surface of the heat dissipation plate 27 in the lower housing 25 as shown in the figure. Two grooves 31a and 31b are provided along the path length direction. An H-shaped base 32 is slidably fitted into the grooves 31a and 31b. The H-shaped base 32 can be moved back and forth with a predetermined stroke by a drive device (not shown). 33 are both side walls 32 of the H-shaped base 32
A pressing member 34 is attached to the center of the horizontal shaft 33, which extends between a and 32b at a predetermined distance. Further, on the outside of both side walls 32a and 32b of the H-shaped base 32, a drive device (not shown) (which may be common to the drive device of the H-shaped base 32 or a separate one) is used to drive a predetermined direction in the path length direction. Sliding plates 35a and 35b that move back and forth in a stroke are opposed to each other. The sliding plates 35a, 35b are provided with vertical holes 36a, 3 at the same interval as the installation interval of the horizontal shaft 33.
6b, and pins 37 protruding from the upper portions of both end surfaces of the pressing member 34 are provided in the vertical holes 36a, 36b.
a and 37b are fitted. Therefore, the pressing member 3
4 stands up as shown in FIG. 6 by sliding the sliding plates 35a and 35b toward the front with the H-shaped base 32 stopped. On the other hand, when it slides backwards, it falls backwards as shown in the same figure. By combining the movement of the sliding plate with the sliding movement of the H-shaped base 32, the pressing member 34 can move forward in an upright state and move backward in a collapsed state. When the pressing member 34 stands up, its upper end protrusion 34a protrudes above the conveying path 28 of the analysis slide 21 as shown in FIG. 7, and when it falls down, it sinks below the conveying path. forward movement while standing and backward movement when lying down)
By repeating this, the analysis slide 21 is intermittently and sequentially conveyed forward.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a supply section that supplies the analysis slides 21 to the transport path 28, and the supply section 38 supplies the cassettes 3 in which the analysis slides 21 are stacked and stored, as shown in FIG.
9 is removably arranged on the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the rotating body 40.
It consists of a stationary bed 42 fixed to the upper end of the support shaft 41 of the rotating body 40, and a pusher 43 installed on the stationary bed 42. As shown in FIG. 9, the pusher 43 has a movable body 47 equipped with a pusher plate 46 slidably fitted onto two shafts 45a, 45b which are provided between opposing mounting plates 44a, 44b.
A driving pulley 49 whose movable body 47 is fixed to a conical shaft of a motor 48 disposed outside the mounting plate 44a, and a driven pulley fixed to a shaft supported by a side plate 44c erected on the other mounting plate 44b side. 50 and is moored to a rope 51 stretched between the two. Therefore, the pusher plate 4 is moved through the rope 51 by the operation of the motor 48.
6 moves forward, the cassette 3 located in front of it
The analysis slide 21 in 9 is extruded as shown and is supplied onto a conveyance path 28. In this case, the rotating body 40 is rotated by the operation of its driving means 52, and the cassette 39 loaded with the necessary analysis slides 21 can be selected to be placed in front of the pusher plate 46.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a dispensing hole for dispensing separated serum onto the analysis slide 21 that travels intermittently on the conveyance path 28;
It is provided in a penetrating manner in the upper housing 24 corresponding to the stop position. Reference numeral 54 denotes a pipette device, which is attached to the top plate 1 of the main body 1 corresponding to the stopping position C of the disk 6 constituting the centrifugal separator 2.
descend through the pipette insertion hole 19 provided in a,
After aspirating the serum in the test tube 8, it moves upward, rotates at the upward movement point, and descends above the dispensing hole 53, so that the aspirated serum can be dispensed onto the element surface 21a of the analysis slide 21. It's summery. pipetting device 54
As shown in FIG. 10, the tip of the horizontal arm rod 57 is fixed to the head of a vertical shaft 56 which is rotatably supported by a bearing member 55 provided on the upper surface plate 1a of the main body 1. A rack 59 formed on one side of the pipette main body 58 is engaged with a pinion 60 pivotally supported in the middle of the U-shaped frame 57a. The pinion 6
0 is connected to a drive means (not shown) through the inside of the horizontal arm rod 57, and the pipette main body 58 is connected to the drive means (not shown) through its forward and reverse rotation.
It is designed to be able to move up and down. Further, the vertical shaft 56 is connected to a driven gear 63 that meshes with a driving gear 62 of a motor 61 installed in the main body 1, and is rotated by forward and reverse rotation of the motor 61, so that the pipette main body 58 is inserted into the pipette insertion hole. 19 and dispensing hole 5
It is possible to rotate between the centers of 3. 64 is a suction machine, and 65 is a conduit connected to the suction machine 64.

66 is a photometric optical means, and the photometric optical means 6
6, as shown in FIGS. 8, 11, and 12, a light beam generated from a light source 67 such as a halogen lamp is converted into a photometric light beam of a desired wavelength through a lens 68 and a filter 69, and the photometric light beam is rotated. The light is distributed through a mirror device 70 and guided through an optical fiber 71 to a photometric head 72 placed close to the measurement surface (back surface of the element) of the analysis slide 21 and irradiated thereon.
This irradiation light is reflected from the measurement surface and is passed through the optical fiber 7.
3 to the light-receiving element 74, the measured value is calculated by a calculation device 75 such as a microcomputer, and the measured value can be displayed on a display window 76 of the main body 1. This measured value may be printed on a roll of recording paper (not shown) if necessary.

The photometric heads 72 are provided at a plurality of positions (four in the figure) where the analysis slide 21 traveling in the transport path 28 stops, and each optical fiber 7 is connected to each photometric head 72.
Rotating mirror devices 70 are provided on the end faces A, B, C, and D of 1.
By setting the angle of the mirror 70a, the photometric light beam can be distributed (see FIG. 11), and the photometric head 72 is moved upward when the photometric beam is irradiated to move the analysis slide 21 as shown in FIG.
It is designed to be crimped onto the measurement surface.

The reason why a plurality of photometry heads 72 are provided here is for a rate analysis method that enables a plurality of measurements due to the time difference between dispensing serum onto an analysis slide and photometry.

Reference numeral 77 is a transparent glass inclined at 45° installed in the optical path of the photometric light beam, in order to eliminate as much as possible errors in measured values due to changes in the light intensity of the photometric light beam over time, and the transparent glass 77 is used to reflect light. Some of the light passes through a correction circuit (not shown) through the light receiving element 78.
The measurement value of the photometric light beam reflected from the measurement surface of the analysis slide 21 can be corrected to a correct value by referring to the measurement surface of the analysis slide 21.

In the figure, 79 is a storage container for the analysis slides measured by the photometric optical means 66, and 80 is an operation panel into which analysis items and the like can be input.

Next, the effect will be explained.

First, a test tube 8 containing an appropriate amount of whole blood is inserted through a circular hole 11 provided in the upper surface plate 1a of the main body 1 to a disk 6 that is stopped directly below the circular hole 11. Next, operate the operation panel 80 to input analysis items, etc.
Let it start. This causes the drive unit 3 to operate and its output shaft 4 to rotate one-third of the way and then stop.
The disk at position A moves to position B, the disk at position B moves to position C, and the disk at position C moves to position A at the same time. Disk 6 with test tube 8 attached is B
When it stops at that position, the rotation urging means 12 installed at that position is activated. That is, the movable plate 14 is moved upward by the solenoid 13, and the motor 15 and the support shaft 6' of the disk 6 are directly connected through the friction members 17 and 18, thereby rotating the disk 6 at high speed. This disk 6
The centrifugal force caused by the high-speed rotation of the tube separates blood cells and serum from whole blood in the test tube due to the difference in specific gravity. After the time required for this separation has elapsed, the rotational biasing means 12 separates from the disk 6. The disk 6 is braked by a braking means (not shown) and becomes stationary. During the centrifugation at the B position, the test tube 8 is attached to the A position. After that, the drive unit 3 was activated again and its output shaft 4 rotated one-third of a turn, and the disk that completed centrifugation at position B moved to position C, and first the test tube was attached at position A. The disk reaches position B and is centrifuged in the same manner as above.

The disk 6 moved to position C stops so that one of the test tubes is aligned with the pipette insertion hole 19.
Next, the pipette main body 58 of the pipette device 54 is lowered through the pipette insertion hole 19, the tip is inserted into the serum layer in the test tube, and the suction device 64 is operated to aspirate an appropriate amount of serum. In this C position, the disk 6 rotates and the serum to be aspirated by the pipette main body 58 is selected as described above.

After suction, the pipette main body 58 is moved upward by the operation of the pinion 60, rotated by the motor 61, reaches directly above the dispensing hole 53, and then descended again to drop the serum. On the other hand, the analysis slide 21 is selectively supplied into the conveyance path 28 by the pusher 43 of the supply section 38, and the dispensing hole 5 is
Since it is located corresponding to slide 3, as mentioned above, the serum dropped from the pipette is placed on analysis slide 2.
Therefore, it is correctly supplied to the first element surface. After the serum has been dispensed onto the element surface, the analysis slide 21 moves forward and reaches the installation position of the photometric head 72 of the photometric optical means 66, where it is photometered. In this photometry, after the photometry head moves up and comes into close contact with the measurement surface of the analysis slide, the measurement surface is irradiated with a photometry light beam from a light source 67, and the reflected light is processed by a calculation device 75 such as a microcomputer via a light receiving element. The measured value is displayed on the display window 76 of the main body 1. At the same time, the information is recorded on a roll of recording paper as required.

The above operations are performed fully automatically.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a biochemical analysis device equipped with an intermittent transport means that can transport analysis slides supplied on a transport path provided in a tunnel type constant temperature chamber to a sample dispensing section and a measuring section at a constant pitch. In the device, the conveyance path is in a straight line from the supply end to the discharge end of the analysis slide, so the analysis slide can be moved in a straight line to measure the "dispensing site" of the sample and the color change due to the reaction between the sample and the reagent. It is possible to accurately feed and measure a large number of analysis slides one after another intermittently.

Furthermore, the analysis slide can be transported naked without using a carrier, and the analysis slide can be efficiently incubated.

Furthermore, the intermittent conveyance means is equipped with a base that can move back and forth along the path length below the conveyance path and a sliding plate, and the base has a round hole and the sliding plate has a vertical hole. When the base is fixed and the sliding plate is moved forward, it stands up so as to protrude onto the conveyance path, and similarly, when the base is stopped and the sliding plate is moved backward, it falls down as if submerged under the conveyance path. Since the pressing member is provided, various excellent effects can be achieved, such as the ability to transport even extremely lightweight objects such as analysis slides without any problems.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is an external perspective view of the main body, Figure 2 is a plan view of the centrifugal separation means,
3 is a cross-sectional view showing the swinging state of the test tube holding container before and after high-speed rotation, FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of the centrifugal separation means, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the conveyance path,
, is a diagram showing the operation of the pressing member of the analysis slide, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when the pressing member stands up and moves forward,
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the analysis slide supply section and photometric optical means, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pusher,
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the pipette device, FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the rotating mirror device, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the irradiation head and the analysis slide. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body, 2... Centrifugal separation means, 6... Disk, 12... Rotation biasing means, 20... Constant temperature chamber,
21... Analysis slide, 28... Conveyance path, 30...
... Intermittent conveyance means, 34 ... Pressing member, 43 ... Pusher, 54 ... Pipetting device, 66 ... Optical means for photometry, 70 ... Rotating mirror device, 72 ...
Photometric head.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a biochemical analyzer equipped with an intermittent transport means capable of transporting analysis slides supplied on a transport path provided in a tunnel-shaped thermostat to a sample dispensing section and a measurement section at a constant pitch, the transport path is The slide is in a straight line from the supply end to the discharge end, and the intermittent conveyance means includes a base and a sliding plate that can move back and forth along the path length direction below the conveyance path; The base is pivoted through a round hole and the sliding plate is pivoted through a vertical hole, and when the base is fixed and the sliding plate is moved forward, it stands up so as to protrude onto the conveyance path.
Similarly, a biochemical analysis device is provided with a pressing member that collapses so as to be submerged under the conveyance path when the base is stopped and the sliding plate is moved backward.