JP2015175667A - Automatic analysis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the processing capability of an automatic analysis apparatus while substantially receiving no influence by the size of the automatic analysis apparatus.SOLUTION: An automatic analysis apparatus 100 includes: a plurality of inner circumferential reaction tubes 90a accommodating mixed liquids and arranged circumferentially; a plurality of outer circumferential reaction tubes 90b accommodating the mixed liquids and arranged circumferentially, whose centers in the arrangement direction are mutually different and whose arrangement interval is arranged in a circle so as to be smaller than the length in the arrangement direction of the inner circumferential reaction tube 90a; a reaction disk for accommodating the plurality of inner circumferential reaction tubes 90a and the plurality of the outer circumferential reaction tubes 90b; a light source 71 for irradiating light; an optical detection part 78 for detecting light which transmits the mixed liquid.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an automatic analyzer that analyzes a mixed solution of a sample and a reagent.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an automatic analyzer that chemically measures a liquid mixture of a sample such as blood or urine of a patient and a reagent using optical characteristics thereof. In this automatic analyzer, the number of reaction tubes changes according to the processing capacity (test / h). The automatic analyzer with high processing capacity adopts the pair cell method, and the automatic analyzer with low processing capacity adopts the single cell method. It is common to do. However, both methods have a problem that the diameter of the thermostatic bath increases because the number of reaction tubes increases as the processing capacity of the automatic analyzer increases, and the reaction tubes are arranged in one circumferential shape. There is a limit in the heavy one. To solve this problem, a technology is provided in which a reaction line on the inner circumference side and a reaction line on the outer circumference side are provided, and the optical path creation unit is arranged in a wide space formed between the reaction line on the inner circumference side and the reaction line on the outer circumference side. There is.

JP 2010-217041 A

  However, in the proposal in the prior art, an optical path creation unit is arranged between the reaction line on the inner peripheral side and the reaction line on the outer peripheral side, and two light sources or two separate light detection units are used. Therefore, there is a problem that the size of the automatic analyzer becomes large.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object thereof is to increase the processing capability of the automatic analyzer without significantly affecting the size of the automatic analyzer.

  An embodiment of the present invention is an automatic analyzer for analyzing a mixed solution of a sample and a reagent, which contains a plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes that contain the mixed solution and are arranged circumferentially, and the mixing A plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes that contain liquid and are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the inner peripheral reaction tube, the centers of the outer peripheral reaction tubes being different from each other in the arrangement direction, A plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes arranged circumferentially so as to be smaller than the arrangement direction length of the reaction tubes, the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes and the plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes are accommodated and rotatable. A reaction disk, a light source for irradiating the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube or the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube, the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube or the outer peripheral side A light detection unit that detects light transmitted through the mixed solution in the reaction tube.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic analyzer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an analysis unit used in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an upper plan view showing the configuration of the photometry unit used in the first embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic upper plan views showing the arrangement of the outer peripheral reaction tube and the inner peripheral reaction tube used in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic top plan view showing a schematic configuration of a photometry unit used in the first embodiment. FIG. 6A is a schematic upper plan view showing a mode in which light shielding portions are provided on both side surfaces of the outer peripheral reaction tube in the modification of the first embodiment, and FIG. It is the general | schematic upper top view which showed the aspect by which the light-shielding part was provided in the both sides | surfaces of the inner peripheral side reaction tube. FIG. 7 is a schematic top plan view showing a schematic configuration of a photometry unit used in the second embodiment.

First Embodiment << Configuration >>
The automatic analyzer according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 to FIG. 6 are diagrams for explaining the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer 100 includes an analysis unit 22 that measures light by irradiating a liquid mixture of a sample such as a standard sample or test sample of each inspection item and a reagent of each inspection item, And an analysis control unit 27 that drives and controls each analysis unit related to the measurement of the unit 22. The test sample is, for example, patient blood or urine.

  In addition, the automatic analyzer 100 generates the calibration data and the analysis data by processing the standard data and the test data generated by the measurement in the analysis unit 22 and the data processing unit 30 generates the calibration data and the analysis data. A system that controls the output unit 40 for printing and displaying calibration data and analysis data, the operation unit 50 for inputting various command signals, the analysis control unit 27, the data processing unit 30, and the output unit 40. And a control unit 60.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the analysis unit 22 includes a sample container 17 that stores a sample such as a standard sample or a test sample, a sample disk 5 that holds the sample container 17, and a plurality of circumferentially arranged samples. It has the reaction tube 90 and the thermostat 11 which accommodates this reaction tube 90 at predetermined temperature so that constant temperature is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the reaction tube 90 is arranged circumferentially on a plurality of inner circumferential reaction tubes 90 a arranged circumferentially and on the outer circumferential side of the inner circumferential reaction tube 90 a. A plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b. And the some outer periphery side reaction tube 90b and the some inner periphery side reaction tube 90a are arrange | positioned on the virtual circle of a different radius which has concentricity, and are arrange | positioned by 2 rows. The center of the virtual circle is located at the same position as the center of rotation of a reaction disk 4 (see FIG. 2) described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the analysis unit 22 also includes a plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a and a plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b, and also includes a reaction disk 4 that can be rotated. As an example, 164 or 165 inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a are provided, and 165 outer reaction tubes 90b are provided. In FIG. 2, for simplicity, the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b are collectively shown as a reaction tube 90.

  A plurality of reaction tube holders (cassettes) 95 for holding a plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a and a plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b are attached to the reaction disk 4 (FIG. 4A). b)). Then, the reaction tube holding portion 95 holding the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90 a and the plurality of outer reaction tubes 90 b is sequentially attached to the reaction disk 4, whereby a plurality of inner reaction tubes 90 a and a plurality of reaction tubes 4 are attached to the reaction disk 4. The outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is accommodated. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the reaction tube holding unit 95 has one end of the region where the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is placed (the lower end of FIG. 4A) when viewed from above. ) Protrudes, and the other end (the upper end of FIG. 4A) of the region on which the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is placed protrudes or is viewed from above, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B. In this case, the other end of the region where the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is placed (the upper end of FIG. 4B) protrudes, and one end of the region where the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is placed (FIG. 4 ( b) The lower end part) may protrude. By adopting such an aspect, each reaction tube holding portion 95 can be sequentially attached to the reaction disk 4 without creating a useless space. As a result, the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral side reaction are attached to the reaction disk 4. The tube 90b can be accommodated without creating a useless space as much as possible.

[Analysis unit 22]
Below, the analysis part 22 is demonstrated first.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the analysis unit 22 sucks the sample in the sample container 17 held on the sample disk 5 and discharges the sample into the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a or the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b to perform dispensing. A sample dispensing probe 16 and a sample dispensing arm 10 that holds the sample dispensing probe 16 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable are provided.

  The analysis unit 22 also includes a first reagent container 6 that contains a reagent that reacts with a component of a test item included in the sample, a first reagent container 1 that stores the first reagent container 6, and the first reagent container. 1 has a first reagent rack 1a for rotatably holding a first reagent container 6 stored in the first container. In addition, the first reagent dispensing for dispensing by sucking the reagent in the first reagent container 6 held in the first reagent rack 1a and discharging it into the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a or the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. A probe 14 and a first reagent dispensing arm 8 that holds the first reagent dispensing probe 14 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable are also provided. The analysis unit 22 also includes a second reagent container 7 for storing the reagent, a second reagent container 2 for storing the second reagent container 7, and the second reagent container 7 stored in the second reagent container 2. A second reagent rack 2a that is rotatably held is also provided. In addition, the reagent in the second reagent container 7 held in the second reagent rack 2a is sucked and discharged into the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a or the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b to be dispensed. A probe 15 and a second reagent dispensing arm 9 that holds the second reagent dispensing probe 15 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable are also provided.

  The analysis unit 22 also includes a stirrer 18 for stirring the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent dispensed in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent dispensed in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, And a stirring arm 20 for holding the child 18 so as to be movable up and down. Further, the analysis unit 22 ends the measurement with the photometry unit 13 that optically measures the mixture liquid in the inner reaction tube 90a and the mixture solution in the outer reaction tube 90b by irradiating light, and the photometry unit 13. A reaction tube cleaning unit 12 for cleaning the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is also provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the photometry unit 13 includes a light source 71 that emits light, a slit 72 that restricts light from the light source 71, a heat ray absorption filter 73 that removes heat components from the light that has passed through the slit 72, and The focal point of the light transmitted through the heat ray absorption filter 73 is the circumference (virtual circumference) where the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a are arranged and the circumference (virtual circumference) where the plurality of outer reaction tubes 90b are arranged. ) And the upstream condensing lens 74 (corresponding to the “condensing part” in the claims) and the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a or the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. A downstream condensing lens 75 that condenses the light that has passed through the slit 76 and a diffraction grating 77 that splits the light that has passed through the slit 76. In the present embodiment, the upstream condenser lens 74 is located at an intermediate point between the circumference where the plurality of inner reaction tubes 90a are arranged and the circumference where the plurality of outer reaction tubes 90b are arranged. It is a mode of focusing.

  By the way, in the present embodiment, as described above, the upstream-side condenser lens 74 is provided with the circumference in which the plurality of inner-side reaction tubes 90a are arranged and the plurality of outer-side reaction tubes 90b. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the focal point of the light transmitted through the heat ray absorption filter 73 is placed on the circumference where the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a are arranged. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which the light beams transmitted through the heat ray absorption filter 73 are focused on the circumference on which the plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b are arranged. In the above description, the upstream condenser lens 74 is used to collect the light transmitted through the heat ray absorption filter 73. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the slit 76 using a concave lens or the like is used. The light that has passed through can be made parallel light, and then irradiated to the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the photometry unit 13 includes a light detection unit 78 having a plurality of photodiodes (PDAs) that detect a spectrum separated by the diffraction grating 77 for each wavelength and convert it into an electrical signal, and a light detection unit. A signal processing unit 79 that processes the detection signal from 78 to generate standard data and test data is also provided. Then, the standard data and the test data generated by the signal processing unit 79 are output to the data processing unit 30. By the way, the light source 71 and the slit 72 described above are stored in the lamp house 82.

  At the time of measurement, the light emitted from the light source 71 is applied to the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a or the mixed solution of the sample and the reagent in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. And the light which permeate | transmitted the liquid mixture of the sample and reagent in the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a or the liquid mixture of the sample and reagent in the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b will be detected by the light detection part 78 mentioned above. .

  The light source 71 is, for example, a halogen lamp that can obtain high output stability from the near ultraviolet region to the near infrared region so that various inspection items can be analyzed, and is strong in the direction of the optical axis 70 (see FIG. 3). Irradiate light. The light source 71 is turned on when the operation unit 50 (see FIG. 1) is operated to turn on the power to the automatic analyzer 100, and the power is turned off to stop the supply of power to the automatic analyzer 100. Turn off the light. The light source 71 of the present embodiment is lit from when the power ON operation is performed until the power OFF operation is performed. The light source 71 is not limited to the halogen lamp as described above, and an LED may be used, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the slit 72, the heat ray absorption filter 73, the upstream condenser lens 74, the downstream condenser lens 75, the slit 76, and the diffraction grating 77 are arranged on the optical axis 70. By the way, although this Embodiment demonstrates using the aspect with which light is irradiated from the inner peripheral side of the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a, it is not restricted to this, Light is transmitted from the outer peripheral side of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which is irradiated.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, in the present embodiment, the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b and the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a are arranged in a zigzag pattern. In this embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4 (see FIG. 2), both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a (that is, horizontal to the optical axis 70). 3), the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b overlap each other, but a part of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a other than both ends in the width direction is adjacent to the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. It is designed to be in between. Further, in the present embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b overlap the adjacent inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a. A part of the side reaction tube 90b other than both ends in the width direction is located between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other.

  More specifically, in the present embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the inner reaction tube 90a are connected to the outer reaction tube 90b adjacent to each other. Although overlapping, the "center" in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is positioned between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other. Further, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the outer reaction tube 90b overlap the adjacent inner reaction tube 90a, but the width of the outer reaction tube 90b is the same. The “center” of the direction is positioned between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other.

  It should be noted that such an aspect is only an example. That is, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a overlap the adjacent outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, but the width of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a. A portion other than both ends in the direction is only located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other, and the other positional relationship is not limited in any way, or the diameter from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4 When viewed along the direction, both ends of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b in the width direction overlap the adjacent inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a, but parts of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b other than both ends in the width direction are adjacent to each other. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which it is only positioned between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a and is not subject to any limitation with respect to other positional relationships.

  Regarding the positional relationship between the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, the locus of the discharge port of the sample dispensing probe 16 by the rotation of the sample dispensing arm 10 and the first reagent dispensing arm 8 rotate. At least one of the trajectory of the discharge port of the first reagent dispensing probe 14 and the trajectory of the discharge port of the second reagent dispensing probe 15 by rotating the second reagent dispensing arm 9. One inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and one outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, which are targets for supplying a sample or a reagent, may be positioned below two or more (FIGS. 4A and 4B). (See “Dotted Line”). When such an aspect is adopted, the sample supplied from the sample dispensing probe 16, the reagent supplied from the first reagent dispensing probe 14, and the reagent supplied from the second reagent dispensing probe 15 are included. At least one of them can be supplied to both the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b corresponding to the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a by a single rotation. Therefore, the efficiency of supplying the sample or reagent can be increased. The sample dispensing probe 16, the first reagent dispensing probe 14, and the second reagent dispensing probe 15 correspond to “probes” in the claims, and the sample dispensing arm 10, the first reagent dispensing arm 8, and The second reagent dispensing arm 9 corresponds to an “arm” in the claims.

  Further, the locus of the discharge port of the sample dispensing probe 16 due to the rotation of the sample dispensing arm 10, the locus of the discharge port of the first reagent dispensing probe 14 due to the rotation of the first reagent dispensing arm 8, And, the “center” of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is located below at least one of the loci of the discharge port of the second reagent dispensing probe 15 due to the rotation of the second reagent dispensing arm 9. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which the “center” of the outer peripheral reaction tube 90 b corresponding to the inner peripheral reaction tube 90 a is positioned. When such an aspect is adopted, the sample supplied from the sample dispensing probe 16 and the reagent supplied from the first reagent dispensing probe 14 in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. , And at least one of the reagents supplied from the second reagent dispensing probe 15 can be supplied more reliably.

  Incidentally, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the sample or reagent is placed below the trajectory of the discharge port of the sample dispensing probe 16, the first reagent dispensing probe 14, or the second reagent dispensing probe 15. Only one inner periphery side reaction tube 90a and one outer periphery side reaction tube 90b to be supplied are positioned, and an inner periphery side reaction tube 90a and an outer periphery side reaction tube not to be supplied with a sample or a reagent are provided. 90b is not positioned. For this reason, it can prevent that a sample, a reagent, etc. mix into the inner periphery side reaction tube 90a or the outer periphery side reaction tube 90b which is not made into object by liquid dripping etc. accidentally.

  If the sample dispensing arm 10, the first reagent dispensing arm 8, and the second reagent dispensing arm 9 have substantially the same length, the sample dispensing probe 16 and the first reagent dispensing are used. One inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and one outer peripheral reaction tube 90b to be supplied with a sample or reagent are placed below the trajectories of all the discharge ports of the injection probe 14 and the second reagent dispensing probe 15. It is preferable in that it can be positioned.

[Other units]
Next, units other than the analysis unit 22 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the analysis control unit 27 includes a mechanism unit 28 having a mechanism for driving each analysis unit of the analysis unit 22 and a control unit 29 for controlling each mechanism of the mechanism unit 28. The mechanism unit 28 rotates the sample disk 5, the first reagent rack 1a, and the second reagent rack 2a, and then stops the mechanism disk 28 and the reaction disk 4, for example, every 4.5 seconds of analysis cycle. And a mechanism for rotating it by a predetermined angle (for example, about 90 degrees) and then stopping it. Further, the mechanism unit 28 rotates and vertically moves each of the sample dispensing arm 10, the first reagent dispensing arm 8 and the second reagent dispensing arm 9, and then stops the stirring arm. It also has a mechanism for stopping after that. The mechanism unit 28 also has a mechanism for moving the reaction tube cleaning unit 12 up and down and then stopping it. Each time the reaction disk 4 is rotated by a predetermined angle (for example, about 90 degrees), a plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a and a plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b are sequentially provided on the optical path of the light emitted from the light source 71. The light from the light source 71 is sequentially irradiated to the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. Test data relating to each of the inner reaction tube 90a and the outer reaction tube 90b passing through the optical path of the light emitted from the light source 71 is generated by the signal processing unit 79 (see FIG. 3), and the data processing unit. 30 and stored in a later-described data storage unit 32 (see FIG. 1) of the data processing unit 30. Note that when extracting data of light transmitted through the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the center in the width direction of the outer reaction tube 90b, continuous data detected by the light detection unit 78 is extracted. The inner periphery side reaction tube that passes through the optical path of the light emitted from the light source 71, starting from data of light transmitted through the center in the width direction of the inner periphery side reaction tube 90a or the center in the width direction of the outer periphery side reaction tube 90b. What is necessary is just to extract data at the fixed timing according to the space | interval of 90a and the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the data processing unit 30 includes a calculation unit 31 that processes standard data and test data output from the photometry unit 13 of the analysis unit 22 to generate calibration data and analysis data for each inspection item. The data storage unit 32 stores calibration data and analysis data generated by the calculation unit 31.

  The calculation unit 31 converts the standard data output from the photometry unit 13 into absorbance data, and the relationship between the standard value and the absorbance data from the converted absorbance data and a standard value preset for the standard sample of the absorbance data. Is generated, and the generated calibration data is output to the output unit 40, or the calibration data is stored in the data storage unit 32.

  In addition, the calculation unit 31 converts the test data output from the photometry unit 13 into absorbance data, and reads out calibration data of test items corresponding to the converted absorbance data from the data storage unit 32. And the calculating part 31 produces | generates the analytical data represented as a density | concentration value or an activity value from the absorbance data converted from the read calibration data and test data, and outputs the generated analytical data to the output part 40. The analysis data is stored in the data storage unit 32.

  The data storage unit 32 includes a memory device such as a hard disk, and stores the calibration data output from the calculation unit 31 for each inspection item. Moreover, the analysis data of each inspection item output from the calculation unit 31 is stored for each test sample.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the output unit 40 prints and outputs calibration data, analysis data, and the like output from the calculation unit 31 of the data processing unit 30, and displays and outputs these calibration data, analysis data, and the like. And a display unit 42.

  The operation unit 50 shown in FIG. 1 has input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a button, and a touch key panel, and analyzes parameters, reagent information, test sample identification information and test items for each test item, test items, and the like. It is used to perform input operations for setting identification information and inspection items to be inspected for each sample.

  The system control unit 60 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a CPU and a storage circuit. The system control unit 60 stores in the storage circuit input information such as analysis parameter information of each test item, reagent information, identification information for each test sample, and test items input by an operation from the operation unit 50. After that, based on the input information, the analysis control unit 27, the data processing unit 30, and the output unit 40 are integrated to control the entire system.

"effect"
Next, effects that are achieved by the present embodiment configured as described above and that have not yet been described will be described.

  According to the present embodiment, a plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b and a plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a are arranged on virtual circles of different radii having concentricity and arranged in two rows. Then, when viewed along the radial direction from the center of rotation of the reaction disk 4 located at the same position as the center of the virtual circle, as shown in FIG. 3, both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a are mutually connected. Although it overlaps with the adjacent outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other, and passes through the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a. The transmitted light passes between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other. Further, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the outer reaction tube 90b overlap the adjacent inner reaction tube 90a, but the width of the outer reaction tube 90b is the same. The center of the direction is located between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other, and the light passing between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other is transmitted through the center in the width direction of the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. It has become. For this reason, more reaction tubes 90 can be placed, and as a result, the processing capability of the automatic analyzer 100 can be increased.

  In this embodiment for explaining this point, when viewed along the radial direction from the center of rotation of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a are connected to the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b adjacent to each other. Overlap. In this way, by arranging the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b so that both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a overlap with the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b adjacent to each other, the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is arranged at a close interval. As a result, more outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b can be mounted. Further, when viewed along the radial direction from the center of rotation of the reaction disk 4, both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b overlap the adjacent inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a. Thus, by arranging the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a so that both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b overlap the adjacent inner peripheral reaction tube 90a, the interval between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a is reduced. Therefore, a larger number of inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a can be placed. From these things, in this Embodiment, more reaction tubes 90 can be mounted and by extension, the processing capability of the automatic analyzer 100 can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, a part (more specifically, the center in the width direction) of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a other than both ends in the width direction. ) Are located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other. As described above, since a part other than both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other, other than both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a. Light that has passed through a part of the mixed liquid can be detected by the light detection unit 78 without passing through the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. For this reason, the liquid mixture in the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a can be analyzed without being affected by the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b itself or the liquid mixture in the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b.

In the present embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, a part other than both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b (more specifically, the center in the width direction). Are located between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other. As described above, a portion other than both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is located between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other, and therefore passes between the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other. The transmitted light passes through the liquid mixture located at a part other than both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral reaction tube 90 b and can be detected by the light detection unit 78. For this reason, the liquid mixture in the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b can be analyzed without being influenced by the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a itself or the liquid mixture in the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, only one light source 71 and one light detection unit 78 are used, and the circumference (virtual circumference) in which the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is arranged and a plurality of outer circumferences are provided. Since the space between the circumference (virtual circumference) where the side reaction tube 90b is arranged is not wide, it is possible to prevent the photometric unit 13 from becoming large. In addition, since the space between the circumference where the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is arranged and the circumference where the plurality of outer reaction tubes 90b are arranged is not wide, a conventional automatic analyzer is used. Even if the diameter of the thermostat used is not increased or the diameter of the thermostat is increased, the amount of increase can be kept low.

  By the way, rather than greatly increasing the number of reaction tubes to be processed, an embodiment is adopted in which the automatic analyzer 100 according to the present embodiment processes the same number or almost the same number of reaction tubes as a conventional automatic analyzer. You can also. According to such an aspect, the diameter of the thermostat 11 can be reduced without changing the processing capability of the conventional automatic analyzer, and the automatic analyzer 100 can be downsized.

  Further, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, an optical path creation unit is arranged between an inner peripheral reaction line and an outer peripheral reaction line, and between the inner peripheral reaction line and the outer peripheral reaction line. The space of is taken widely. For this reason, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the number of reaction tubes placed on the inner reaction line and the number of reaction tubes placed on the outer reaction line are greatly different. There will be a difference between the processing capacity in the peripheral reaction line and the processing capacity in the outer reaction line. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the space between the circumference where the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is arranged and the circumference where the plurality of outer reaction tubes 90b are arranged is not wide, and the outer circumference side The reaction tube 90b and the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a are arranged in a zigzag pattern. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the number (for example, 165) of the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b located on the outer peripheral side and the number of the inner peripheral reaction tubes 90a positioned on the inner peripheral side are the same (for example, 165). Or it can be made into the substantially same number (for example, 164), and can be set as the substantially same processing capability by the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side.

  In the present embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, the “center” in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other. positioned. By adopting such a mode in which the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other, the mixing positioned in the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is performed. The mixed liquid can be analyzed using light transmitted through the liquid, and high analysis accuracy can be expected.

  Similarly, in the present embodiment, when viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk 4, the “center” in the width direction of the outer reaction tube 90b is between the inner reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other. Is located. Thus, the liquid mixture located in the center of the width direction of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b is adopted by adopting a mode in which the center in the width direction of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b is positioned between the inner peripheral side reaction tubes 90a adjacent to each other. The mixed liquid can be analyzed using the light transmitted through, and high analysis accuracy can be expected.

  Incidentally, in the above description, the light is irradiated from the inner peripheral side of the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and light is irradiated from the outer peripheral side of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b. It is also possible to adopt a mode to be used. In this case, the light passing between the outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b adjacent to each other is part of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a other than both ends in the width direction, more specifically, the width of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a. The light passes through the center of the direction and can be detected by the light detection unit 78. Further, the light transmitted through a part other than both ends in the width direction of the outer reaction tube 90b, more specifically, the center in the width direction of the outer reaction tube 90b passes between the adjacent inner reaction tubes 90a. The light passes through and can be detected by the light detection unit 78.

[Modification]
By the way, the light-shielding part 96b may be provided in the one side surface or both side surfaces of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b (refer Fig.6 (a)). By providing such a light-shielding portion 96b, the light transmitted through the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is scattered and enters the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, affecting the measurement of the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. This is because it can be expected to prevent this. In addition, in Fig.6 (a), it is the aspect by which the light-shielding part 96b is provided in the both sides | surfaces of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b. Further, a light shielding portion 96a may be provided on one side surface or both side surfaces of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a (see FIG. 6B). Thus, by providing the light shielding portion 96a on one side surface or both side surfaces of the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a, the light transmitted through the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a also enters the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b, and the outer peripheral reaction It can be expected to prevent the measurement of the mixed liquid in the tube 90b. In addition, in FIG.6 (b), it is the aspect by which the light-shielding part 96a is provided in the both sides | surfaces of the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a. Moreover, it is not restricted to such an aspect, The light-shielding part 96a, 96b may be provided in the one side or both sides | surfaces of both the inner periphery side reaction tube 90a and the outer periphery side reaction tube 90b.

  In addition, as an example of the light shielding portions 96a and 96b described above, a leaf spring for pressing the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a or the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b from the side can be used, or the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a or the outer peripheral tube can be used. The side reaction tube 90b whose side surface is filled with a predetermined color such as black can also be used.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, a half mirror 170 that reflects part of the light emitted from the light source 71 is provided. And light (for example, 50% of light) that has passed through the half mirror 170 among the light emitted from the light source 71 passes through one of the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a and the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b. Of the light emitted from the light source 71 and used for the measurement, the light reflected by the half mirror 170 (for example, 50% light) is reflected by the total reflection mirror 171 and is reflected in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a. It is used to measure the other of the mixed solution and the mixed solution in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b.

  For this reason, in the first embodiment, every time the reaction disk 4 is rotated by a predetermined angle (for example, about 90 degrees) every 4.5 seconds of analysis cycle, the light emitted from the light source 71 is In this embodiment, the side reaction tube 90a and the outer side reaction tube 90b are sequentially irradiated. However, in this embodiment, in the second embodiment, the reaction disk 4 is loaded every 4.5 seconds, for example. When a certain moment when rotating at a predetermined angle (for example, about 90 degrees) is captured, the light emitted from the light source 71 is simultaneously applied to the inner reaction tube 90a and the outer reaction tube 90b. Become.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the upstream side first light collection for adjusting the focal point of the light that has passed through the half mirror 170 to one of the mixed solution in the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a and the mixed solution in the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b. A lens 74a (corresponding to the “first condensing part” in the claims) and the focal point of the light reflected by the half mirror 170 are mixed in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. An upstream second condensing lens 74b (corresponding to the “second condensing part” in the claims) is provided to match the other liquid mixture.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the downstream first condensing lens that condenses light transmitted through one of the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b to the first slit 76a. 75a, a first diffraction grating 77a that splits the light that has passed through the first slit 76a, and a first light detector 78a that detects the light split by the first diffraction grating 77a are provided. Similarly, a downstream second condensing lens 75b that condenses light transmitted through the other of the mixed solution in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the mixed solution in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b to the second slit 76b; A second diffraction grating 77b that splits the light that has passed through the slit 76b and a second light detector 78b that detects the light split by the second diffraction grating 77b are provided. Incidentally, even in this embodiment, when it is determined that it is not necessary to collect light, parallel light is used instead of the condensed light as described above, as described in the first embodiment. You can also.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the light that has passed through the half mirror 170 among the light emitted from the light source 71 is used to measure the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90 a and is emitted from the light source 71. Of the emitted light, the light reflected by the half mirror 170 and reflected by the total reflection mirror 171 is used to measure the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. The upstream first condenser lens 74 a focuses the light that has passed through the half mirror 170 on the mixed solution in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90 a, and the upstream second condenser lens 74 b is reflected by the half mirror 170. The focal point of the light reflected by the total reflection mirror 171 is adjusted to the liquid mixture in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. Further, the downstream first condenser lens 75a collects the light transmitted through the mixed solution in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a in the first slit 76a, and the downstream second condenser lens 75b in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b. The light transmitted through the liquid mixture is condensed on the second slit 76b.

  In the second embodiment, other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Also in this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Since it has been described in detail in the first embodiment, the description of the effects in this embodiment will be limited to those specific to this embodiment.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, each time the reaction disk 4 is rotated by a predetermined angle (for example, about 90 degrees), a plurality of inner peripheral sides are arranged on the optical path of the light emitted from the light source 71. The reaction tube 90a and the plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes 90b sequentially pass. However, in the present embodiment, when a certain moment when the reaction disk 4 is rotating is captured, the light emitted from the light source 71 is simultaneously applied to the inner reaction tube 90a and the outer reaction tube 90b. It becomes.

  The light transmitted through the liquid mixture in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a is detected by the first light detector 78a, and the light transmitted through the liquid mixture in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b is detected by the second light detector 78b. It becomes. Then, the signal processing unit 79 (see FIG. 3) processes the detection signal from the first light detection unit 78a to generate test data, and outputs the test data to the data processing unit 30, and this data processing unit The test data is stored in 30 data storage units 32 (see FIG. 1). Similarly, the signal processing unit 79 (see FIG. 3) processes the detection signal from the second light detection unit 78b to generate test data, and outputs the test data to the data processing unit 30. The test data is stored in the data storage unit 32 (see FIG. 1) of the unit 30.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, both the light transmitted through the mixed solution in the inner peripheral reaction tube 90a and the light transmitted through the mixed solution in the outer peripheral reaction tube 90b are detected at the same timing. can do. For this reason, when extracting the data of the light which permeate | transmitted the center of the width direction of the inner peripheral side reaction tube 90a and the center of the outer peripheral side reaction tube 90b in the width direction, the continuous light detected by the 1st light detection part 78a is extracted. It is only necessary to extract data at the same timing from continuous data detected by the second light detector 78b, and the data can be extracted more easily.

  In the present embodiment, two light detection units, the first light detection unit 78a and the second light detection unit 78b, are used. Each of the first light detection unit 78a and the second light detection unit 78b is used. Can be positioned adjacent to each other. For this reason, the amount of increase in the size of the photometry unit 13 can be kept low.

  Lastly, the description of the embodiments and the disclosure of the drawings described above are merely examples for explaining the invention described in the claims, and the description of the embodiments or the disclosure of the drawings described above is included. The invention described in the scope of claims is not limited by this.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Reaction disk, 8 ... 1st reagent dispensing arm, 9 ... 2nd reagent dispensing arm, 10 ... Sample dispensing arm, 14 ... 1st reagent dispensing probe, 15 ... Second reagent dispensing probe, 16 ... Sample dispensing probe, 71 ... Light source, 74 ... Upstream condenser lens (condenser), 74a ... Upstream first condenser lens ( (First condensing unit), 74b ... upstream second condensing lens (second condensing unit), 78 ... light detection unit, 90a ... inner reaction tube, 90b ... outer reaction tube, 100 ... automatic analyzer , 170 ... half mirror

Claims (8)

In an automatic analyzer that analyzes a mixture of sample and reagent,
A plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes that contain the mixed liquid and are arranged circumferentially;
A plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes that contain the mixed liquid and are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the inner peripheral reaction tube, the centers in the arrangement direction being different from each other, and the arrangement interval of the outer peripheral reaction tubes is A plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes arranged circumferentially so as to be smaller than the arrangement direction length of the peripheral reaction tubes;
The plurality of inner periphery side reaction tubes and the plurality of outer periphery side reaction tubes are accommodated, and a reaction disk that can be rotated,
A light source for irradiating the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube or the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube;
A light detection unit that detects light transmitted through the mixed solution in the inner peripheral reaction tube or the mixed solution in the outer peripheral reaction tube;
An automatic analyzer characterized by comprising: When viewed along the radial direction from the center of rotation of the reaction disk, both ends in the width direction of the inner periphery side reaction tube overlap the adjacent outer periphery side reaction tube, but the width direction of the inner periphery side reaction tube A portion of the outer peripheral reaction tube is located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other, and light transmitted through a portion other than both ends of the inner peripheral reaction tube in the width direction is adjacent to each other. The light passing between the outer peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other or transmitted through a part other than both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube, or
When viewed along the radial direction from the center of rotation of the reaction disk, both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral reaction tube overlap the inner peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other, but in the width direction of the outer reaction tube. A part other than both ends is located between the inner peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other, and the light passing between the inner peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other is one other than both ends in the width direction of the outer reaction tube. The light which permeate | transmitted the part or permeate | transmitted a part other than the both ends of the width direction of the said outer peripheral side reaction tube passes between the said inner peripheral side reaction tubes adjacent to each other. Automatic analyzer.   When viewed along the radial direction from the rotation center of the reaction disk, the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral reaction tube is located between the outer peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other, or the outer peripheral reaction tube 3. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2, wherein the center in the width direction is positioned between the inner peripheral reaction tubes adjacent to each other.   The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes and the plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes are arranged in a staggered manner. A half mirror that reflects a portion of the light emitted from the light source;
Of the light emitted from the light source, light that has passed through the half mirror is used to measure one of the mixed solution in the inner peripheral reaction tube and the mixed solution in the outer peripheral reaction tube,
Of the light emitted from the light source, the light reflected by the half mirror is used to measure the other of the mixed liquid in the inner peripheral reaction tube and the mixed liquid in the outer peripheral reaction tube. The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A probe having a discharge port, for supplying a sample or a reagent to the inner reaction tube and the outer reaction tube;
An arm for holding and rotating the probe;
Further comprising
One inner peripheral reaction tube and one outer peripheral reaction tube to be supplied with a sample or reagent are positioned below the trajectory of the discharge port of the probe when rotated by the arm. The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes and the plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes are positioned at the same time.   An inner reaction tube other than the one inner reaction tube and an outer reaction tube other than the one outer reaction tube below the locus of the discharge port of the probe when rotated by the arm. The automatic analyzer according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of inner peripheral reaction tubes and the plurality of outer peripheral reaction tubes are positioned so as not to be positioned.   The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a light-shielding portion is provided on one side surface or both side surfaces of the outer peripheral reaction tube.

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