JP5698466B2 - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that automatically analyzes a sample such as serum, and more particularly to rack position detection and movement control when a sample is dispensed.

  Usually, when measuring blood components with an automatic analyzer, the blood is centrifuged and the supernatant (serum) on which unnecessary substances are precipitated is measured as a sample. In this measurement, a predetermined reagent that reacts with a component to be measured (measurement item) is added to a sample, and its color development state or the like is measured by optical means or the like to obtain its concentration.

  In an automatic analyzer, measurement of a plurality of samples is often performed as a series of processes, and there are cases where the number of samples is from ten to hundreds. Therefore, it is measured in a state where it is placed on a sample setting table generally called a sampler.

  When component analysis of a sample is performed using such an automatic analyzer, the sample needs to be arranged on a sampler installed at a predetermined position in the automatic analyzer. This sampler adopts an optimum form unique to various automatic analyzers, and the form is various.

  By the way, the part most frequently accessed by the operator of the automatic analyzer is a sampler. Therefore, the usability of the sampler is important from the viewpoint of operator work efficiency. Patent Document 1 shows an example of a configuration of a sampler and a rack in a conventional automatic analyzer, and an operation when a rack is drawn from the sampler to a reaction unit during dispensing.

  In the conventional automatic analyzer, the operation when the rack is drawn from the sampler to the reaction part at the time of dispensing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an operation related to drawing a rack into a reaction unit in a conventional automatic analyzer.

  The automatic analyzer is composed of a reaction part H and a sampler part S. The reaction part H is an area where a color reaction is performed by adding a reagent to serum or the like. The sampler part S is an area for sequentially transporting samples.

  The sampler section S includes a transport unit 20, a tray (not shown) that is mounted on the transport unit 20 and transported, and a rack 30 that is mounted on the tray. The conveying means 20 is arranged along the left-right direction (X-axis direction in FIG. 6) on the front side of the automatic analyzer, and is configured to be able to rotate forward and backward. For example, a belt conveyor is used as the transport unit 20.

  The rack 30 has a long shape when viewed from above the automatic analyzer (in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of racks 30 are arranged in the transport unit 20 along the X-axis direction so that the longitudinal direction of the racks 30 is parallel to the Y-axis direction. In each rack 30, five sampling containers 31a to 31e can be arranged from the front in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction in FIG. 6).

  A rack retractor 251 is arranged on the lower surface of the automatic analyzer. The tip of the output shaft R1 of the rack retractor 251 is bent upward to form a hooking portion (not shown). A recess is formed on the bottom surface of the rack 30. The hooking part is hooked on this concave part, and the rack 30 is moved from the sampler part S to the reaction part H side.

  The rack lateral movement device 24 moves the rack 30 drawn by the rack drawing device 251 to the left. Thereafter, the rack push-back device 252 pushes the rack 30 from the rear and returns it to the sampler section S side along the sampling lane R2. At this time, the automatic analyzer moves the rack 30 forward by one pitch by the rack push-back device 252 so that each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e is sequentially moved to the sampling point P1, and a sampling arm (not shown). The sample is sucked from each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e.

  On the left side of the sampling lane R2, a rack detection sensor 234, a pitch sensor 236, and a rack detection sensor 238 are provided. As the rack detection sensor 234, the pitch sensor 236, and the rack detection sensor 238, for example, a reflective optical sensor or the like is used. Each of the sensors described above detects the reflection portion provided on the left side surface of the rack 30 and the detection result is output to the rack pushback device 252 (or a control unit that controls the operation of the rack pushback device 252).

  The rack push-back device 252 identifies the position of the rack 30 based on the combination of the outputs of the rack detection sensor 234, the pitch sensor 236, and the rack detection sensor 238, and moves the rack 30 forward. The rack push-back device 252 sequentially moves the rack 30 in the forward direction so that each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e is moved to the sampling point P1. The sampling point P1 is an area where the sampling arm 21 (not shown in FIG. 6) sucks a sample from each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e.

  For example, when the sampling container 31a is located at the sampling point P1, the rack detection sensor 234 and the pitch sensor 236 are OFF, and the rack detection sensor 238 is ON. Further, when the sampling container 31b is located at the sampling point P1, the rack detection sensor 234 is OFF, and the pitch sensor 236 and the rack detection sensor 238 are ON. In this way, the position of the rack 30 is detected by associating the ON / OFF combination of a plurality of sensors with the position of the rack 30.

  Hereinafter, the operation of moving the rack 30 sequentially so that each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e is moved to the sampling point P1 during dispensing is referred to as “pitch movement”.

JP-A-9-196926

  When controlling the pitch movement of the rack 30 at the time of dispensing described above, the sensitivity of the rack detection sensor 234, the pitch sensor 236, and the rack detection sensor 238 used for detecting the position of the rack 30, and the physical of each sensor The position is required to be stable over the long term.

  However, the side surface of the rack 30 is easily soiled when a tester holds the rack, or by splashes of other samples. Due to this contamination, each of the sensors (234, 236, and 238) described above cannot detect the reflection portion provided on the left side surface of the rack, resulting in a malfunction.

  In addition, it is necessary that the reflection part to be detected by each of the sensors (234, 236, and 238) described above be accurately positioned in the detection area of the sensor. For this reason, it is easily affected by disturbances such as variations in the stop position caused by braking during rack movement, and rattling of the rack and vibrations when the rack is stopped, which also leads to malfunction of the sensor. Due to such a malfunction of the sensor, it may be assumed that even if the sensor is normally operating, it is detected as an error and may cause the measurement operation to stop or the sample to be mistaken.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the position of the rack can be accurately determined at the time of dispensing by mitigating the influence of disturbance due to changes in state such as dirt on the rack, rattling of the rack, and operation of the rack. The purpose is to detect and enable stable rack movement.

In order to achieve the above object, the first embodiment of the present invention is configured so that a plurality of sample containers can be arranged in a straight line, and serves as a position reference at an end in the direction in which the sample containers are arranged. A rack provided with a bar code, a transport means for transporting the plurality of arranged racks on a predetermined transport path, and the rack disposed in the transport means is pulled in a direction perpendicular to the transport path, and the rack A rack that sequentially moves each of the sample containers arranged in the rack to a predetermined suction position by moving the sample containers in a direction in which the sample containers are arranged, and moves the rack onto the transport path after the suction operation. and moving means, said rack when moving in the direction in which the sample container is arranged, wherein by detecting the position of the bar code to identify the position of the rack the La And a rack position specifying means for notifying the click moving means, said rack position specifying means comprises a bar code reader for measuring distance, said bar code reader is configured to allow the raster scan, the The rack position specifying means can calculate the ratio of the width of the barcode to be scanned to the scanning range of the barcode by detecting both ends of the barcode by the raster scan , and the ratio and the ratio Correspondence with the position of the rack is calculated in advance, the rack position specifying means calculates the ratio, and the pitch movement in the pitch movement in the direction in which the sample containers of the rack are arranged based on the correspondence detecting the position of the bar code, said rack moving unit were identified said rack position specifying means rack Position based on the an automatic analyzer and controls so that the to pitch move the rack to the suction position.

  In the automatic analyzer according to the present invention, the position reference portion serving as a reference for detecting the position of the rack is the end in the direction in which the sample containers of the rack are arranged, that is, when the operator directly operates the rack. Provided in a position where it is difficult to touch. Thereby, it becomes possible to make it difficult to receive the influence of the state change accompanying the stain | pollution | contamination etc. of a position reference part.

It is a top view of the automatic analyzer which concerns on this invention. It is an enlarged plan view of the II part in FIG. FIG. 3 is an arrow view from the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2 for explaining the configuration of the rack. It is an example of the measurement result of the relationship between the position of the rack in the sampling lane and the width of the rack ID (barcode) with respect to the scanning range of the barcode by a specific barcode reader. It is an enlarged plan view for demonstrating the structure which provided the reflection member in the II section in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement which concerns on drawing-in of the rack to the reaction part in the conventional automatic analyzer.

(First embodiment)
The configuration of the automatic analyzer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automatic analyzer according to the present invention. In the following, the left-right direction of the automatic analyzer (left-right direction in FIG. 1) is the X-axis direction, the front-rear direction (up-down direction in FIG. 1) is the Y-axis direction (upward in FIG. The height direction (the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1) will be described as the Z-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer B includes a reaction unit H and a sampler unit S. The reaction part H is an area where a color reaction is performed by adding a reagent to serum or the like. The sampler part S is an area for sequentially transporting samples.

  In the reaction part H, a first reagent container 12 in which reagent containers 12a are arranged concentrically is arranged on the right side of a horizontally long rectangular base 11. A first reagent arm 14 is disposed along the left side surface of the first reagent storage 12. The first reagent arm 14 moves the reagent container 12a to a reaction line 15 described later. A second reagent store 13 is arranged on the left side of the first reagent store 12. A second reagent arm 16 is disposed along the right rear side surface of the second reagent storage 13. Further, a reaction line 15 for adding a reagent to the sample and reacting the sample is disposed so as to surround the second reagent storage 13 and the second reagent arm 16. On the left side of the reaction line 15, a photometric unit 17 for measuring a sample to which a reagent is added is arranged. A stirrer 18 for stirring the sample and the reagent in the reaction line 15 is disposed on the left rear side of the reaction line 15. Further, a cleaning / drying unit 19 for cleaning / drying the used reaction line 15 is arranged on the right rear side of the reaction line 15.

  A sampling arm 21 is arranged on the sampler part S side of the table 11. The sample is dispensed from the sampling container 31 to the reaction line 15 by the sampling arm 21 (the sampling container 31 will be described later). A rack ID barcode reader 22 is disposed on the right side of the sampling arm 21. The rack ID barcode reader 22 reads a barcode (hereinafter referred to as “rack identification barcode”) 301a indicating the rack ID formed on the rear end surface (rack back surface) of the rack 30 (the rack 30 and the like will be described later). ).

  The sampler section S includes a transport unit 20, a tray (not shown) that is mounted on the transport unit 20 and transported, and a rack 30 that is mounted on the tray. The conveying means 20 is arranged along the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction in FIG. 1) of the table 11 and is configured to be able to rotate forward and backward. For example, a belt conveyor is used as the transport unit 20. At this time, a path through which the tray and the rack 30 placed on the tray are transported by the transport unit 20 corresponds to a transport path.

  The configuration of the rack 30 and the configuration of the II part will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. Part II shows a part where the rack 30 is drawn from the sampler part S to the reaction part H. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a portion II in FIG. FIG. 3 is an arrow view from the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2 for explaining the configuration of the rack. The rack pull-in device 251 and the rack push-back device 252 have the same configuration as that of the conventional automatic analyzer, and are not shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rack 30 has a long shape when viewed from above the automatic analyzer (in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 3). The rack 30 is configured such that five sampling containers 31a to 31e are inserted and self-supported in the Z-axis direction. A label (not shown) on which an identification code for identifying the rack is printed is attached to the front surface of the rack 30. A label printed with a rack identification bar code 301 a for identifying the rack is attached to the rear surface 301 of the rack 30.

  Reference is now made to FIG. The rack detection sensor 231 is located on the front side of the position where the rack 30 in the transport unit 20 is pulled into the reaction unit H. The rack detection sensor 231 detects the end of the rack 30 on the near side in the Y-axis direction. As a result, the rack detection sensor 231 detects that the rack 30 has been moved to a position where the rack 30 is pulled into the reaction unit H by the transport unit 20. As the rack detection sensor 231, a reflection type optical sensor or the like is mainly used.

  When the rack 30 is detected by the rack detection sensor 231, the rack ID barcode reader 22 reads the rack identification barcode 301a provided on the back surface 301 of the rack. The rack ID barcode reader 22 outputs the identification information read from the rack identification barcode 301a to a control unit (not shown) of the automatic analyzer B (the automatic analyzer B is drawn into the reaction unit H by this identification information). Rack 30 to be specified).

  On the lower surface of the automatic analyzer B, a rack retractor 251 is arranged in the same manner as a conventional automatic analyzer (see FIG. 6). Note that the configuration of the rack pull-in device 251 is the same as the conventional one. When the rack ID bar code reader 22 reads the rack identification bar code 301a, the rack retracting device 251 causes the rack 30 to be located in a predetermined position (predetermined in the reaction unit H located behind the transport unit 20 in the Y-axis direction). Position) pulled into H1. Specifically, the front end of the output shaft R1 of the rack retractor 251 is bent upward to form a hooking portion (not shown). A recess is formed on the bottom surface of the rack 30. The hooking part is hooked on this concave part, and the rack 30 is moved from the sampler part S to the reaction part H side.

  At this time, the rack detection sensor 233, the pitch sensor 235, the rack detection sensor 237, and the rack detection sensor 239 are combined to detect the position of the rack 30 in the rack pull-in operation. The rack detection sensor 233, the pitch sensor 235, and the rack detection sensor 237 are located on the right side of the rack 30 drawn by the output shaft R1. The rack detection sensor 239 is located behind the rack. By detecting the position of the rack 30, the operation of the rack retracting device 251, specifically, the operation related to the stop to the predetermined position H 1, the emergency stop operation at the time of abnormality, etc. are controlled. As the rack detection sensor 233, the pitch sensor 235, the rack detection sensor 237, and the rack detection sensor 239, a reflection type optical sensor or the like is mainly used.

  For example, when the rack pull-in device 251 starts pulling in the rack 30, the rack detection sensor 233 is turned on. Further, when the rack 30 passes the detection area of the rack detection sensor 233, the rack detection sensor 233 is turned off, and the pitch sensor 235, the rack detection sensor 237, and the rack detection sensor 239 are turned on. Thereby, it is detected that the rack 30 has moved to the position H1. In response to the notification from each sensor, the rack pull-in device 251 detects that the rack 30 has been moved to the position H1, and stops the operation related to the pull-in of the rack 30. Note that the control related to the pull-in of the rack 30 is the same as the conventional one, and a specific description thereof is omitted.

  The rack lateral movement device 24 moves the rack 30 drawn to the predetermined position H1 by the rack drawing device 251 to the left sampling lane R2. A position sensor 261 is provided behind the sampling lane R2 in the Y-axis direction. The rack 30 is pushed out to the detection range of the position sensor 261 by the rack lateral movement device 24. When the rear surface 301 of the rack 30 is detected by the position sensor 261, the rack lateral movement device 24 completes (stops) the leftward movement of the rack 30 (the position sensor 261 will be described later). At this time, the conveying means 20 moves to the left in conjunction with the movement of the rack 30 to the left. Thereby, the opening S1 in which the rack 30 on the transport unit 20 is placed moves to the left in conjunction with the movement of the rack 30 to the left.

  When the rack 30 is moved to the sampling lane R2, the rack push-back device 252 pushes out the rack 30 from the rear and returns it onto the conveying means 20 on the sampler section S side along the sampling lane R2. At this time, the automatic analyzer B shifts the rack 30 forward by the rack push-back device 252 so that the sampling containers 31a to 31e are sequentially moved to the sampling point P1, and the sampling arm 21 (FIG. 1). The sample is sucked from each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e.

  The control related to the pitch movement of the rack 30 will be described in more detail. A position sensor 261 is provided behind the sampling lane R2 in the Y-axis direction. The position sensor 261 specifies the position of the rack 30 on the sampling lane R2.

  At this time, the position sensor 261 specifies the position of the rack 30 on the sampling lane R2 by measuring the distance from the position sensor 261 to the back surface 301 of the rack 30. In order to accurately measure this distance, the optical path of the laser for the position sensor 261 to measure the distance is arranged in the direction in which the rack 30 is pitch-moved when viewed from the Z-axis direction, that is, the sampling containers 31a to 31e are arranged. The position sensor 261 may be installed so as to be parallel to the direction (parallel to the sampling lane R2).

  A specific configuration of the position sensor 261 will be described with an example. The position sensor 261 can calculate, for example, the ratio of the width of the barcode to be scanned to the barcode scanning range (hereinafter referred to as “label width information”) by detecting both ends of the barcode. A laser raster bar code reader is used. In this case, the position sensor 261 uses the rack identification bar code 301 a provided on the back surface 301 of the rack 30 as a scan target.

  At this time, the laser used by the position sensor 261 for scanning the barcode is irradiated in a substantially fan shape with the light source as a base point. For this reason, the scanning range of the position sensor 261 is formed so as to become wider as the distance from the position sensor 261 increases. Therefore, as the rack 30 is moved farther from the position sensor 261 by the rack push-back device 252, the ratio of the width of the rack identification barcode 301a to the scan range of the position sensor 261 becomes narrower. Therefore, when the rack 30 is moved, the position of the rack 30 on the sampling lane R2 can be specified by obtaining the label width information in advance when the sampling containers 31a to 31e are moved to the sampling point P1. It becomes.

  FIG. 4 is a measurement result of the relationship between the position of the rack 30 in the sampling lane R2 and the label width information by the position sensor 261. In FIG. 4, the vertical axis indicates label width information when the scanning range of the barcode reader is 10,000. The horizontal axis indicates the position of the rack 30. For example, “1” on the horizontal axis in FIG. 4 indicates the first pitch. That is, “1” indicates a case where the sampling container 31a is located at the sampling point P1. Similarly, “5” on the horizontal axis in FIG. 4 indicates the fifth pitch. That is, “5” indicates a case where the sampling container 31e is located at the sampling point P1.

  For example, in FIG. 4, when the label width information (value on the vertical axis) is 4350 at the first pitch, the sampling container 31a is located at the sampling point P1. From this point, when the rack 30 is moved one pitch in the forward direction of the Y axis and the sampling container 31b is moved to the sampling point P1, the rack pusher is moved so that the rack 30 is moved to a position where the label width information becomes 3200 of the second pitch. The return device 252 may be controlled.

  At this time, if the position sensor 261 cannot read the rack identification barcode 301a within the normal value, the movement of the rack 30 by the rack push-back device 252 may be stopped as an error.

  The position sensor 261 is not limited to the configuration using the above-described barcode reader as long as the position of the rack 30 on the sampling lane R2 can be detected. For example, a distance measuring sensor may be used as the position sensor 261. In this case, the distance from the position sensor 261 to the back surface 301 of the rack 30 is detected, and the position of the rack 30 is specified.

  When the dispensing of the samples from all the sampling containers 31a to 31e is completed, the rack push-back device 252 pushes the rack 30 along the sampling lane R2 in the front direction in the Y-axis direction, and on the conveying means 20 (on the conveying path). The rack 30 is returned to the opening S1 where the rack 30 was placed.

  At this time, the rack detection sensor 234 and the rack detection sensor 232 are combined to detect the position of the rack 30 that is moved onto the conveying means 20. By detecting the position of the rack 30, the operation of the rack pushback device 252 related to the stop of the rack 30 on the transport means 20, the emergency stop operation at the time of abnormality, and the like are controlled. For the rack detection sensors 232 and 234, a reflection type optical sensor or the like is mainly used.

  For example, when the rack push-back device 252 starts to move the rack 30 toward the transport unit 20, the rack detection sensor 234 is turned on. When the rack 30 passes the detection area of the rack detection sensor 234, the rack detection sensor 234 is turned off and the rack detection sensor 232 is turned on. Thereby, it is detected that the rack 30 has moved onto the conveying means 20. In response to the notification from each sensor, the rack push-back device 252 stops the operation related to the pushing of the rack 30 onto the conveying means 20.

  The rack retracting device 251, the rack lateral moving device 24, and the rack pushing-back device 252 described above correspond to the rack moving means.

  Further, the position sensor 261 only needs to be able to detect the position of the rack 30 along the sampling lane R2, and is not necessarily disposed behind the sampling lane R2 in the Y-axis direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the position sensor 261 can be arranged at a position different from that in FIG. 2 by providing a reflecting member 262. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, among the optical paths of the optical sensor for the position sensor 261 to measure the distance, a part of the optical path in contact with the detection target of the sensor pitches the rack 30 when viewed from the Z-axis direction. It is sufficient if it is parallel to the direction of movement.

  As described above, in the automatic analyzer according to this embodiment, the position reference portion (for example, the rack identification barcode 301a) that serves as a reference for detecting the position of the rack in the pitch movement of the rack accompanying the sample suction operation. ) Is provided at the end (the rear surface 301 of the rack) in the direction in which the sample containers of the rack are arranged. This end is a position that is difficult to touch even when the operator directly operates the rack. Therefore, it becomes possible to make it difficult to be affected by a state change caused by contamination of the position reference portion.

  In addition, a plurality of states relating to the position of the rack are detected by sensing a specific position reference portion (for example, the rack identification barcode 301a) by a single sensor (position sensor 261). As a plurality of states, for example, the state where each of the sampling containers 31a to 31e is located at the sampling point P1 corresponds. This makes it possible to avoid malfunctions such as detecting the original state as a different state as in the configuration of a conventional automatic analyzer using a plurality of sensors. Specifically, the malfunction corresponds to erroneous recognition such that the state where the sampling container 31b is located at the sampling point P1 is erroneously recognized as the state where the sampling container 31c is located. As a result, even when operating normally, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of malfunctions such as the measurement operation being stopped due to being detected as an error, or the patient specimen (sample) being mistaken. Further, it is possible to correctly recognize the malfunction of the rack movement, and it is possible to stop the abnormal operation without error.

B Automatic analyzer H Reaction part S Sampler part 11 units 12 1st reagent storage 13 2nd reagent storage 14 1st reagent arm 15 Reaction line 16 2nd reagent arm 17 Photometry part 18 Stirrer 19 Washing / drying unit 20 Conveying means 21 Sampling arm 22 Rack ID barcode reader 231, 232, 233, 234, 237, 238, 239 Rack detection sensor 235, 236 Pitch sensor 24 Rack lateral movement device 251 Rack retracting device 252 Rack pushing back device 261 Position sensor 30 Rack

Claims (4)

A rack in which a plurality of sample containers are configured to be arranged in a straight line, and a bar code serving as a reference for a position is provided at an end in a direction in which the sample containers are arranged; and
Transport means for transporting the plurality of arranged racks on a predetermined transport path;
Each of the sample containers arranged in the rack is predetermined by drawing the rack arranged in the conveying means in a direction perpendicular to the conveying path and moving the rack in a direction in which the sample containers are arranged. Rack moving means for sequentially moving to the suction position and moving the rack onto the transport path after a suction operation;
Rack position specifying means for detecting the position of the barcode to identify the position of the rack and notifying the rack moving means when moving the rack in the direction in which the sample containers are arranged;
The rack position specifying means includes a bar code reader for measuring a distance, and the bar code reader is configured to be capable of raster scanning, and the rack position specifying means has both ends of the bar code at the raster. It is possible to calculate the ratio of the width of the barcode to be scanned with respect to the scanning range of the barcode by detecting by scanning, and the correspondence between the ratio and the position of the rack is calculated in advance.
The rack position specifying means calculates the ratio, detects the position of the barcode in the pitch movement in the direction in which the sample containers of the rack are arranged based on the correspondence relationship,
The rack moving means, based on the position of the rack where the rack position specifying means specified, and controls so that the to pitch move the rack to the suction position,
An automatic analyzer characterized by that. The correspondence relationship is a correspondence relationship between the ratio and the position of the rack when the plurality of sample containers are respectively located at sampling points.
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1. The barcode reader includes a light source, and is installed so that at least a part of an optical path of light emitted from the light source is parallel to the pitch movement direction.
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above. The barcode reader includes a light source, and performs the raster scan with the scan range as a substantially sector shape based on the light source.
The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:

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