JP5393321B2 - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer for qualitative / quantitative analysis of various components contained in a biological sample such as blood and urine, and in particular, rack transport provided with a plurality of rack transport lines and transporting racks between the rack transport lines. Regarding the mechanism.

  In automatic analyzers and automatic analysis systems that connect multiple analyzers, a rack standby mechanism that combines the analyzers and analyzers in pairs and waits for sample racks depending on the operating status of the analyzer, A rack is transported to a mechanism constituting the system such as a rack carry-in / out mechanism composed of a transport unit and a rack storage unit via a plurality of rack transport lines. In order to efficiently transport the rack to each mechanism, a rack transport mechanism is used when the rack is transported between a plurality of rack transport lines.

  When transporting racks from one line to another, the rack is moved in the rack transport direction if the top surface height of the rack transport line after movement is set slightly lower than the top surface height of the rack transport line before movement. It is possible to move horizontally in the direction perpendicular to. Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which racks are transported in parallel with a rack interposed therebetween in order to transport the racks across a plurality of transport lines.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-30618

  In recent years, in order to improve the processing efficiency of the apparatus, a rack transport mechanism that can move the rack bidirectionally between a plurality of lines is desired. However, since the invention described in Patent Document 1 simply grabs the rack and translates it to the destination rack transport line, the upper surface height of the destination rack transport line is equal to the upper surface of the original rack transport line. If the height is set higher than the height, the lower surface of the rack is caught on the upper surface of the rack transport line of the transport destination, which may cause rack transport failure or rack sliding. In order to solve this, there is a method in which the rack is gripped and then lifted to a certain height, and then transported.However, simply transporting the gripper portion that grips the rack due to vibration during transport causes the rack to slide. There is a risk of falling onto the transfer line. If the rack slides down during transport and the sample adheres to the transport line or analyzer, the device must be stopped and restored.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a rack transport mechanism that prevents a rack from slipping from the rack transport mechanism and being caught on the rack transport line during rack transport between a plurality of rack transport lines, and preventing the rack from being dropped during transport. It is to be.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration.

A rack that holds at least one container containing a liquid, a plurality of transport lines that transport the rack, and the rack that is on one transport line out of the plurality of transport lines to another transport line And a rack transport mechanism for transporting, and a rack transport mechanism comprising:
The rack transport mechanism includes two gripper plate supports that are installed in parallel and are connected by springs in directions approaching each other, and two sheets that are located inside the two gripper plate supports and move up and down by a vertical movement mechanism. A gripper portion having a gripper plate and an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the gripper plate support;
A rack transport mechanism, comprising: a stopper portion having a claw portion that moves in conjunction with the gripper plate and supports the lower surface of the rack.

  The vertical movement mechanism that moves the gripper plate up and down may be any mechanism that can convert the rotation of the motor into the vertical movement. For example, a stepper cam is provided on the rotating shaft of a pulley that rotates with the rotation of the motor, and the cam follower attached to the gripper plate moves along the gradient of the stepped cam by the rotation of the motor. Can move up and down. Alternatively, a screw may be spirally formed on a shaft that rotates as the motor rotates, and the gripper plate may be designed to move up and down by the rotation of the screw.

  The mechanism for opening and closing the gripper plate may be any mechanism that can change the rotation of the motor in the direction in which the rack is sandwiched.

  The stopper part is configured so that the claw contacts the lower surface of the rack and is supported from below, and the claw functions in conjunction with the gripper part holding the rack or lifting the rack. Anything having such a function may be used. For example, in the case where the lower surface of the rack is supported in conjunction with the gripping plate clamping operation, the rack does not slide down during the lifting operation, so that more accurate operating is possible. Further, when the gripper plate supports in conjunction with the operation of lifting the rack, the configuration of the stopper portion can be made more compact than in the case described above.

  According to the present invention, since the rack is supported by the stopper portion so as not to slip off from the gripper portion during transportation, the rack can be prevented from being caught and dropped on the top surface of the rack transportation line. Furthermore, the drive unit that controls the operation of the gripper part that lifts after the rack is gripped and releases the grip after the rack is placed also controls the operation of the stopper part that supports the rack and releases the support. Since it is not necessary, it is possible to provide a rack transport mechanism that is reduced in cost and space.

The block diagram of the automatic analysis system in the Example of this invention. FIG. 4 is a top view of the rack transport mechanism according to the first embodiment and an operation explanatory diagram of the gripper portion and the stopper portion. FIG. 3 is a top view of a rack transport mechanism and an operation explanatory diagram of a gripper part and a stopper part when a rack is held in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a top view of a rack transport mechanism and an operation explanatory diagram of a gripper part and a stopper part when lifting a rack in the first embodiment. Enlarged view of stepped cam and cam follower. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of a stopper portion in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a top view of a rack transport mechanism in Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of a gripper part and a stopper part in the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of a gripper portion and a stopper portion when a rack is held in the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is an operation explanation part of a stopper part in Embodiment 2. FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a view of the entire apparatus for showing the role of the rack transport mechanism of the present invention in an automatic analyzer as viewed from above. In FIG. 1, a rack loading / unloading mechanism 100 for loading and unloading a rack 230, a rack conveyance feeding line 210 for conveying the rack 230 between the rack loading / unloading mechanism and each functional module, a rack conveyance return line 220, and a rack conveyance The rack standby mechanism 300 is disposed along the feed line 210 and the rack transport return line 220, transports the rack 230 between the rack transport feed line 210 and the rack transport return line 220, and temporarily waits for the rack 230. , The rack standby mechanism 300 has a rack standby mechanism transport line 301 for transporting the rack 230 and is paired with each rack standby mechanism 300 to be arranged on the left side of the rack standby mechanism 300. Attached module 500, rack transport feed line 210, rack transport Ri is shown an example constituted automatic analyzer in the rack transport mechanism 600 for transporting the rack 230 between the line 220 and the rack standby mechanism 300.

  The flow of automatic analysis is shown below.

  The rack 230 is transported from the rack carry-in / out mechanism 100 via the rack transport feed line 210, and the rack 230 is transported from the rack transport feed line 210 to the rack standby mechanism transport line 301 and the rack standby mechanism 300 by the rack transport mechanism 600. The rack 230 is transported to the rack standby mechanism 300 after the analysis is completed, and is transported to the rack transport return line 220 by the rack transport mechanism 600. To the storage section of the rack carry-in / out mechanism 100.

  Next, the details of the rack transport mechanism 600 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 10, taking as an example the operation of transporting the rack 230 from the rack transport feed line 210 to the rack standby mechanism transport line 301.

  The following embodiment is an embodiment relating to a stopper mechanism that supports the rack 230 when the rack 230 is raised, and this embodiment is defined as the first embodiment.

  The operation of each part in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2A is a view of the rack transport mechanism 600 viewed from above, and FIG. 2B is a view of the rack transport mechanism 600 viewed from the side. In this figure, the direction in which the rack 230 is transported on the transport feed line 210 is the X axis, and the direction in which the rack 230 is transported from the rack transport feed line 210 to another line by the rack transport mechanism 600 is the Y axis. The height direction of the device is defined as the Z axis.

  The rack transport mechanism 600 includes a gripper unit 610 that holds the rack 230 and lifts it in the Z direction, a rack moving unit 620 that moves the gripper unit 610 in the Y direction, and a gripper unit 610 that supports the rack 230 so that it does not slide down during transport. It is comprised from the stopper part 630 attached to. The gripper section 610 is provided with a pulley 613 that transmits driving force by a motor 611 and a belt 612, a pulley rotation shaft 614, a cam follower 615, and two gripper plates 616 that can move up and down in the Z direction. It is composed of a tension spring 617. The pulley 613 is provided with two bearings 618, and a stepped cam 619 is attached to the rotating shaft 614 of the pulley.

  Consider a case where there is a rack 230 on the rack transport feed line 210 and the rack 230 is transported to the rack standby mechanism transport line 301. First, the rack transport mechanism 600 is positioned directly above the rack 230. At this time, the gripper unit 610 is in an open state, that is, two bearings 618 attached to the pulley 613 push the two gripper plates 616 open, and the cam follower 615 and the cam 619 are not in contact with each other. ing.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, the gripper unit 610 drives the gripper unit motor 611 to rotate the pulley 613 in order to hold the rack 230 stopped at the transport position by the gripper plate 616. As a result, the position of the bearing 618 moves, and the two gripper plates 616 are closed in the direction of the arrow by the pulling force of the pulling spring 617 to hold the rack 230 (see FIG. 3A).

  When the gripper motor 611 is further rotated, the bearing 618 does not come into contact with the gripper plate 616 as shown in FIG. 4A, and the cam follower 615 rides on the high step portion of the cam (FIG. 4B and FIG. 4). 5). As a result, the two gripper plates 616 and the stopper portion 630 attached to the gripper plate 616 rise in the Z direction. When the gripper 610 presses the claw 631 protrusion 633 of the stopper 630 in the direction of the arrow, the claw 631 associated with the protrusion 633 also moves in the direction of the arrow so that the claw 631 does not slide down the rack 230. It was possible to support the lower surface (FIG. 6).

  After the rack 230 moves to the rack standby mechanism conveyance line 301, the gripper unit 610 rotates the gripper unit motor 611 in the direction to lower the rack 230 and opens the gripper plate 616. As a result, the pressing of the gripper 610 that presses the protrusion 633 of the stopper 630 in the direction of the arrow is released, and the claw 631 moves in the direction opposite to the arrow by the tension of the stopper spring 632 to support the lower surface of the rack 230. solve.

  This operation is performed by rotating the gripper motor 611 in the reverse direction to the case of holding the rack 230, and is performed in the reverse order to the holding operation. As the gripper plate 616 moves up and down, the support of the stopper portion 630 on the lower surface of the rack 230 can be interlocked.

  In the first embodiment, the stopper portion 630 is driven by a gripper portion motor 611 attached to the gripper portion 610, and is configured to support and release the rack 230 in conjunction with the vertical movement of the gripper plate 616. Even if the motor for supporting the gripper plate 616 up and down and the stopper 630 is provided separately and separately, the effect of supporting the grip of the rack and the lower surface of the rack can be obtained.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the operation of the transport mechanism of the rack 230 that enables bidirectional movement between the two lines has been described. However, the operating range of the rack transport unit of the rack transport mechanism is widened so that a plurality of stop positions are provided. For example, the rack 230 can be transported between two or more lines.

  In the first embodiment, the stopper portion 630 that supports the lower surface of the rack 230 so that the rack 230 does not slide down from the gripper portion after the rack 230 is lifted has been described. However, before or simultaneously with the gripping of the rack 230, the rack 230 is A second embodiment of the stopper portion 630 to be supported will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  Although the basic configuration in the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 7, the details other than the stopper portion 630, the rack transport feed line 210, and the rack standby mechanism transport line 301 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the details of the description are omitted. To do.

  FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the stopper 630, the rack transport feed line 210, and the rack standby mechanism transport line 301. The stopper 630 is fixedly attached to the gripper plate 616, and the dimensions A and B of the rack transport feed line 210 and the rack standby mechanism transport line 301 in the Y direction (the width direction of the transport line relative to the rack traveling direction) are The configuration is such that it is smaller than the Y-direction (width) dimension C (FIG. 8).

  The rack moving unit 620 is positioned above the rack 230 in the rack conveyance feed line 210. Thereafter, when the gripper motor 611 is driven to move the bearing, the gripper plate 616 moves in the direction of the arrow, and holds the rack 230 (FIG. 9). At that time, the stopper portion 630 attached to the gripper plate 616 also moves in the direction of the arrow, and supports the lower surface of the rack 230 (FIG. 10). Thereafter, the rack 230 is moved upward by the stepped cam and the cam follower, the rack 230 is transferred to the rack conveyance feed line 210, and after being placed on the line, when the gripper motor 611 is rotated again, the gripper plate 616 is moved to the direction indicated by the arrow. At the same time as moving the direction opposite to the direction to release the holding of the rack 230, the stopper portion 630 attached to the gripper plate 616 also moves in the direction opposite to the arrow to release the support of the lower surface of the rack 230.

  In this embodiment, the timing of supporting the lower surface of the rack 230 can be adjusted by the mechanism of the stopper portion 630 and the size of the claw. When the size of the claw is smaller than the fluctuation of the gripper plate in the Y-axis direction before and after holding the rack, the lower surface can be supported after the rack 230 is held and lifted. Further, when the size of the claw is larger than that and smaller than the difference between the width dimension A of the rack transport line and the width dimension C of the rack, the rack 230 is racked at an earlier timing than the holding by the gripper plate 616. Since the lower surface of 230 is supported and lifted after the support, more reliable rack transportation is realized.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the stopper portion 630 is driven by a gripper portion motor 611 attached to the gripper portion 610, and the support and release of the rack 230 are interlocked with the operation of holding and releasing the gripper plate 616. However, even if the motor for holding the gripper plate 616 and the motor for supporting the rack 230 are independently provided, the effect of holding the rack 230 and supporting the lower surface of the rack 230 can be obtained.

  Furthermore, as in the first embodiment, the transport of the rack 230 between the two lines has been described. However, the rack transport mechanism is expanded in the operating range of the rack moving unit, and a plurality of stop positions are provided, so that a plurality of stop positions can be obtained. The rack 230 can be transported.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Rack carrying in / out mechanism 210 Rack conveyance feed line 220 Rack conveyance return line 230 Rack 300 Rack standby mechanism 301 Rack standby mechanism conveyance line 400 Analyzer 500 Attachment module 600 Rack conveyance mechanism 610 Gripper part 611 Gripper part motor 612 Belt 613 Pulley 614 Pulley Rotating shaft 615 Cam follower 616 Gripper plate 617 Pulling spring 618 Bearing 619 Cam 620 Rack moving section 621 Rack moving section motor 630 Stopper section 631 Claw 632 Stopper spring 633 Projection section

Claims (10)

A rack for holding at least one container containing liquid;
A plurality of transport lines for transporting the rack;
A rack transport mechanism including a rack transport mechanism for transporting the rack on one transport line to another transport line among the plurality of transport lines,
The rack transport mechanism is
Two gripper plate supports that are installed in parallel and are connected by springs in a direction approaching each other and open and close, and two grippers that are inside the two gripper plate supports and move up and down to hold the rack A gripper portion having a plate,
A claw portion that supports a lower surface of the rack, and the claw portion includes a stopper portion that switches between a state in contact with the lower surface of the rack and a state of not in contact with the operation of the gripper portion. Features a rack transport mechanism. The rack transport mechanism according to claim 1,
The rack transport mechanism, wherein the mechanism for causing the stopper portion to function is common to at least one of a mechanism for opening and closing the gripper portion and a mechanism for raising and lowering the gripper portion. The rack transport mechanism according to claim 1,
The gripper part is
A pulley rotated by a motor;
A bearing for changing the contact state with the gripper plate support by rotation of the pulley and opening and closing the gripper plate;
A stepped cam that rotates with the rotation of the pulley and has a height gradient in the rotational direction;
A rack transport mechanism, comprising: a cam follower fixed to the gripper plate and configured to change a height along a gradient of the stepped cam. In the rack conveyance mechanism in any one of Claims 1-3,
The stopper portion is
A support portion that supports the claw portion, a stopper spring that connects the support portion and the gripper plate, and a protrusion that contacts the gripper plate support and pushes the stopper spring when the gripper plate rises. Prepared,
The rack transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a length of the claw portion is larger than a thickness of the gripper portion. In the rack conveyance mechanism in any one of Claims 1-3,
The stopper portion is
A support portion for supporting the claw portion and fixing and connecting to the gripper portion;
The length of the claw portion is smaller than the distance between the wall surface of the rack and the gripper plate before the rack is held by the gripper plate, and larger than the thickness of the gripper plate. mechanism. In a rack transport mechanism that transports a rack that holds a container containing a liquid,
A gripper portion having two gripper plate supports that are installed in parallel and connected by springs that act in a pulling direction to open and close, and two gripper plates that move up and down and hold the rack;
A claw portion that supports a lower surface of the rack, and the claw portion includes a stopper portion that switches between a contact state and a non-contact state with the lower surface of the rack in conjunction with the vertical movement of the gripper plate. A rack transport mechanism. The rack transport mechanism according to claim 6,
As the gripper plate is raised, the stopper portion is pressed against the gripper plate support, and the lower surface of the rack is supported by the pressing. The rack transport mechanism according to claim 6 or 7,
Moreover, the the two makes the chromophore at the distal end over motor drives the gripper plate support, before a pulley that rotates by driving the liver over data, and stage Tsukeka arm attached to the rotary shaft of the pulley, the Prepared,
Rack transport mechanism, characterized in that the step Tsukeka the two gripper plates by arm moves up and down operation. A rack for holding at least one container containing liquid;
A plurality of transport lines for transporting the rack;
In the rack transport method in a rack transport mechanism, comprising a rack transport mechanism that transports the rack on one transport line to another transport line among the plurality of transport lines,
The rack transport mechanism is
A gripper portion having two gripper plate supports that open and close, and two gripper plates that move up and down and hold the rack;
A stopper portion having a claw portion for supporting the lower surface of the rack,
Lifting the rack after holding the side of the rack on the transport line between the gripper plates; and
In the step of lifting the rack, the stopper portion is pressed against the gripper plate support so that the lower surface of the rack is supported by the claw portion;
And a step of transporting the rack to another transport line. The rack transport method according to claim 9, wherein
The rack transporting method characterized in that holding of the side surface of the rack, lifting of the rack, and support of the lower surface of the rack are performed by one motor drive.

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