JPH0363552A - Biochemical analysis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the degradation in analysis accuracy to be known by putting a mark to an output medium when a cover is opened during the execution of the analysis. CONSTITUTION:A maintenance switch 91 is set at an on side at the time of execution of maintenance. A switch 67 is mounted to the cover 11 and is turned off when the cover 11 is opened. The voltage from a power source line 90 is, therefore, applied on a line 93e only when the cover 11 is opened during, measurement. A microcomputer 92 investigates the signal of a dip switch 69 upon detection of the signal and sends the abnormal mark to a printer 95 when the switch is off. The computer stops the power supply to respective apparatus when the switch is on.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a biochemical analyzer that chemically analyzes specific components in a sample liquid, and more particularly, to a biochemical analyzer that includes a reagent that undergoes a color reaction with the sample liquid. This relates to a biochemical analysis device that uses chemical analysis slides and test films.

(Prior Art) Qualitative or quantitative analysis of specific chemical components in sample liquids is widely practiced in various fields. In particular, quantitative analysis of chemical components or formed components in biological body fluids such as blood and urine is extremely important in the field of clinical biochemistry.

In recent years, dry-type chemical analysis slides have been developed that can quantitatively analyze specific chemical components or formed components contained in a sample solution by simply applying small droplets of the sample solution.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-21677, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-184358
(number, etc.) has been put into practical use. These chemical analysis slides allow you to analyze sample liquids more easily and quickly than traditional wet analysis methods.
It is becoming particularly suitable for use in medical institutions, research laboratories, etc. where it is necessary to analyze a large number of sample liquids.

To perform quantitative analysis of chemical components in a sample solution using such a chemical analysis slide, the sample solution is placed on the chemical analysis slide and then placed in an incubator for a predetermined period of time. A color reaction (pigment formation reaction) is caused by constant temperature maintenance (incubation), and then measurement irradiation light containing a wavelength preselected by a combination of components in the sample solution and reagents contained in the reagent layer of a chemical analysis slide is applied. is irradiated onto this chemical analysis slide and its reflected optical density is measured.

In addition, in order to automatically and continuously analyze the sample liquid, a long tape-shaped test film containing a reagent is stored in place of the slide described above, and the test film is pulled out one after another and the sample liquid is spotted. , incubation, and measurement devices have also been proposed (eg, US Pat. No. 3,528,480).

In biochemical analyzers that use specimens such as chemical analysis slides and test films mentioned above, a cover that can be opened and closed is generally attached for internal inspection and maintenance, and a means for keeping the specimen at a constant temperature or the like is installed. The means for measuring optical density will be covered by this cover when the device is in use.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) On the other hand, in biochemical analyzers that use specimens such as chemical analysis slides and test films as described above, problems such as jamming of slides in the slide transport system may occur. In that case, if you open the above cover while measuring the optical density of the specimen, external light may enter the optical density measuring means, or the incubation temperature may deviate from the set temperature, causing the analytical results to be may become abnormal.

In conventional biochemical analyzers, no measures have been taken to deal with this careless opening of the cover, so that incorrect analysis results may be regarded as correct.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a biochemical analyzer that can notify the user of the device that the analysis result is inaccurate due to careless opening of the cover. The purpose is to

(Means and effects for solving the problem) The biochemical analyzer according to the present invention spots a sample liquid on a specimen such as a chemical analysis slide, and then measures the optical density of the specimen while keeping the specimen at a constant temperature. A biochemical analyzer configured to quantitatively analyze a specific component in a sample solution and having the above-mentioned cover, a cover that detects that the above-mentioned cover has been opened and emits a signal indicating that. An open state detection means is connected to the cover open state detection means, and when the biochemical analyzer receives the above signal while the biochemical analyzer is in operation, a means for outputting the results of quantitative analysis is used to detect the cover on the output medium. The device is characterized by being provided with a control means for displaying or recording a mark indicating that the device has been opened.

As described above, the medium for outputting the results of quantitative analysis is
If a mark indicating that the cover has been opened is displayed, the operator will notice this mark when viewing the analysis results, and can confirm that the accuracy of the analysis results is low.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. An incubator, slide transport means, slide insertion means, etc. are arranged inside the main body 10, and these are covered by a cover 11. This cover 11 is the inner part of the hatched area in FIG. 1, and is opened by lifting the front part to open the inside of the device. Thereby, maintenance, inspection, etc. inside the device can be easily performed. In addition, on the front of the device,
A cover switch 67 made of, for example, a limit switch is provided to detect the open state of the cover 11.

On the outside of the biochemical analyzer, there are a display section 13 for displaying measurement data, etc., a delivery port 12 for sending out a sheet 12A on which the data displayed here is printed, and operation keys 14 for operating this display, etc. It is provided. Further, a slide guide 15a for holding unused chemical analysis slides is formed in the slide special equipment section 5 on the right side, and a plurality of unused chemical analysis slides are normally held in a stacked manner on this slide guide 15a. . Note that a cartridge storing and holding a plurality of stacked chemical analysis slides may be attached to this slide guide 15a.

A spotting means 2 for spotting a predetermined sample liquid onto the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide is provided on the back side of the slide special equipment section 15.
0 is placed. The spotting means 20 includes a spotting arm 21 that protrudes forward and rotates up and down around its rear end, a spotting pipette 22 that extends downward from the front end of the spotting arm 21, and a spotting arm 21 that rotates vertically and It consists of an operation button 23 for aspirating and spotting the sample liquid onto the spotting pipette 22. When spotting is performed using this spotting means 20, the spotting arm 21 is operated by operating the operation button 23.
lift the spotting pipette 22 by rotating it upward, and enter the tip of the spotting pipette 22 into the sample liquid in the container to aspirate a predetermined amount of the sample liquid into the spotting pipette 22,
Next, the spotting arm 21 is rotated downward again to spot a predetermined amount of the sample liquid from the spotting pipette 22 onto the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide located below.

Fig. 2 shows the main parts of the biochemical analyzer shown in Fig. 1 with the cover removed, and Fig. 3 shows the I-I of Fig. 2.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion taken along line I.

The internal structure of this biochemical analyzer will be explained below with reference to both figures.

Inside the biochemical analyzer, there is an incubator 30 for maintaining a constant temperature of the chemical analysis slide 1 onto which a sample solution is applied by the above-mentioned spotting means 2o, and an incubator 30 for maintaining a constant temperature of the chemical analysis slide 1, which is kept at a constant temperature. Furthermore, the chemical analysis slide 1 is transferred from the slide special equipment section 15 to each storage chamber 3 of the incubator 30.
It has a slide conveyance system that conveys the material to the inside of the container. This slide conveyance system will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. In addition to the above means, a battery 16, a printed wiring board I7 for the control circuit, and a light source 18a for the measuring means 40 are provided.
, a magnetic disk drive mechanism 18b, etc. are arranged, but detailed explanations thereof will be omitted. In the following description, the direction indicated by arrow F will be referred to as the front, the direction indicated by arrow R will be referred to as rear, and the right and left sides in FIG. 2 will be referred to as right and left, respectively.

The incubator 30 extends in the left-right direction,
Inside it, there are multiple storage rooms 33.33. ...33 are formed side by side in the left and right direction. These storage rooms 33.
33. . . 33 each have an artificial opening and an exit opening, the entrance openings are formed side by side in the rear of the storage chamber 33, and the exit openings are formed in front of the storage chamber 33, side by side in the left and right. The chemical analysis slide 1 is inserted into the storage chamber 33 from the entrance opening and is discharged from the exit opening. Disposal box 8
Will be discarded within 0.

Further, the storage chamber 33 has a lower member 32 on which the chemical analysis slide 1 is placed and an upper member 31 that presses down the chemical analysis slide 1 placed on the lower member 32 from above. Chemical analysis slide 1 is kept at constant temperature.

Below the lower member 32, there is a long groove 3 extending in the left-right direction that receives a measurement head 4 for measuring the optical reflection density of the chemical analysis slide 1 stored in the storage chamber 33.
2b1 and the measuring head 41 have an opening 32c for measuring the optical reflection density.

The measuring head 41 is guided by guide rods 43a and 43b and moved left and right within the long groove 32b by a wire 44 connected to a holding base 42 that holds the measurement head 41 being pulled by a drive motor 45, and then stored. The optical reflection density of each chemical analysis slide 1 stored in the chamber 33 is measured. Furthermore, this measurement head 41 has two concentration reference plates 2a.
, 2b, and also measure the optical reflection density of these density reference plates 2a, 2b for calibration. Furthermore, this measurement head 41 also moves below the supply stand 19, and while the chemical analysis slide 1 of the slide special equipment section 15 is being transferred by the supply lever 52, which will be described later, the optical reflection density of the chemical analysis slide 1 ( Fog). A barcode reader 25 is provided below the slide transfer path from the slide special equipment section 15 to the supply table 19, and when the chemical analysis slide 1 passes there, the barcode reader 25
The barcode indicating the type of reagent, loft number, etc. written on the mount is read.

Based on the optical reflection density measured as above,
A specific component in the sample liquid spotted on the chemical analysis slide 1 is quantitatively analyzed, and the results are displayed on the display section 13 or recorded on a sheet discharged from the outlet 12.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the incubator 30 showing the arrangement of heaters for maintaining a constant temperature inside the incubator 30. The arrangement of the heaters in the incubator 30 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

Heaters 32d, 32e; 12f, 32g are arranged vertically near both ends in the left-right direction of a portion of the lower member 32 of the incubator 30 that extends downward across the groove 32b (see FIG. 3). A temperature sensor 32h is arranged further to the left of the heater 32d, and the currents of the left heaters 32d and 32e are controlled so that the temperature sensor 32h always indicates a constant temperature. A temperature sensor 321 is arranged further to the right of the heater 32f', and the currents of the right heaters 32r and 32g are controlled so that the temperature sensor 321 always indicates a constant temperature.

Three heaters 3 are installed in the upper member 31 of the incubator 30.
1a, 31b, and 31e are arranged horizontally. Further, a temperature sensor 31d is arranged to the left of the heater 31a.

These heaters 31a, Blb, and 31c are for heating the incubator 30 almost uniformly from above.
The currents flowing through these heaters 31a, 31b, and 31c are controlled so that the temperature sensor 31d always indicates a constant temperature.

Next, the slide conveyance system will be explained with reference to FIG. A block 51 is held on two guide rods 50 extending in the front-rear direction so as to be movable along them.
A slide supply lever 52 is attached to this block 51. The block 51 is moved back and forth by a supply lever drive motor 53.

A supply stand I9 is disposed behind the slide special equipment section 15, and a shuttle (left-right movable stand) 54 that moves in the left-right direction is located further behind it. This shuttle 54 is fixed to the upper part of the holding table 55,
The holding table 55 is movable along two guide rods 56. A part of a wire 57 (see FIG. 3) stretched in an endless manner is locked on this holding stand 55, and as this wire 57 is moved by the shuttle drive motor 5B, the holding stand 55, that is, the shuttle 54 moves in the left and right direction. A slide push-in bar 59 is held above the shuttle 54 and is held so as to be movable back and forth. The slide push-in bar 59 also has an insertion claw 60 at a position facing the artificial opening of each storage chamber 33 of the incubator 30. This slide push bar 5
9 is moved in the above direction by the insertion bar drive motor 61.

The operation of the slide conveyance system having the above configuration will be explained below. First, the block 51 is placed in the position shown in FIG. When the lever drive motor 53 is activated from this state and the block 51 is moved to the rear side, the lowest one of the chemical analysis slides 1 stored in, for example, a cartridge and stacked on the slide special equipment section 15 is moved. It is pushed by the slide supply lever 52 and transferred onto the supply table 19. The supply stand 19 is provided with an opening 19a, through which the fog density of the chemical analysis slide 1 is measured by the foregoing head 41.

Thereafter, a predetermined amount of sample liquid is spotted onto the chemical analysis slide 1 using the spotting pipette 22 . Next, by moving the slide supply lever 52 further backward, the chemical analysis slide 1 is transferred onto the shuttle 54. Once the chemical analysis slide 1 has been advanced to this position, the lever drive motor 53 is reversed and the block 51 is returned to the position shown in FIG. Furthermore, when the block 51 returns to its original position in this way, the slide supply lever 52 can swing freely in the direction in which the tip thereof faces rearward so that the slide supply lever 52 does not move the slide 1 on the slide special section 15. has been done.

Chemical analysis slide 1 is placed on shuttle 54 as described above.
When it is transferred, the shuttle drive motor 58 is activated, and the shuttle 54 is moved to a position facing the predetermined storage chamber 33. Then, the insertion bar drive motor 61 operates,
The slide insertion bar 59 is moved forward a predetermined distance from the position shown in FIG. As a result, the chemical analysis slide 1 on the shuttle 54 is inserted into the insertion claw 60 of the slide insertion bar 59.
is pushed forward by the storage chamber 3 through said inlet opening.
It can be kept within 3. At this time, if there is a slide 1 whose optical density has been measured in the storage chamber 38, that slide 1 is pushed by the newly inserted slide 1 and dropped into the waste box 80.

The chemical analysis slide 1 stored in the storage chamber 33 as described above is kept at a constant temperature as described above, and the optical density of the portion colored by reaction with the sample liquid is measured by the measurement head 41.

In this embodiment, one of the members that guides the left and right ends of the slide 1 on the shuttle 54 is designed so that the chemical analysis slide 1 stored in each storage chamber 33 at the end in a series of biochemical analyzes can be discarded. , configured to also act as a sliding waste lever. That is, this slide disposal lever 62 is provided with an abutment protrusion 63 on the inside, and is movable in the front and rear directions on the shuttle 54, and is biased rearward by a biasing means (not shown). When discarding the last chemical analysis slide 1, the shuttle 54 is stopped at a position where the slide discard lever 62 faces the center of the storage chamber 33. In this state, the slide push bar 59 is moved forward as described above. When you move to that closet wind 6
0 comes into contact with the abutment protrusion 63 and the slide disposal lever 6
Press 2. As a result, the slider t<-62 moves forward against the urging force and drops the slide 1 in the storage chamber 33 into the waste box 80.

As described above, the cover 11 may be opened inadvertently while the optical density of the chemical analysis slide 1 is being measured. Below, we will explain how to deal with such a situation. FIG. 6 shows the cover switch 8 mentioned above.
7 shows a control unit B5 to which 7 is connected. This control section 65 is mounted on the wiring board 17, as shown in FIG. 2.3.

As shown in FIG. 6, the line 90 connected to the power supply section can be turned on at the request of the analyzer user.

Maintenance switch 9 that is in one of the OFF states
1 is connected. The cover switch 67 is connected to this maintenance switch 91 and also to a microcomputer 92.

The microcomputer 92 controls the connection/disconnection of the 24V motor drive line 93a, heater drive lines 93c, 93d, 93f, and 6V lamp drive line 93b, and each device to be connected thereto. The microcomputer 92 also has a cover switch 67 that is ON and OFF.
Depending on the FF state, a status signal of the cover 11 is input via the cover data input line 92e.

The heater drive lines 93c, 93d, and 93f' are for driving each heater of the incubator 30 described above. Further, the motor drive line 93 is for driving the measuring head moving motor 45, and the lamp drive line 93b is for driving the light source 18a of the measuring means 40. and microcomputer 9
In 2, this is also turned on at the request of the analyzer user.
A line 93g is connected to which a dip switch 68 which is set to an OFF state is interposed.

In the above configuration, there are four combinations of the setting state of the maintenance switch 91 and the state of the cover switch 67, shown below.

When the cover 11 is closed normally, the state shown in (1) or (3) is established, and regardless of the setting state of the maintenance switch 91, the 24V lines 13a, 93c, 93d,
93r and 6V line 93b are controlled by the microcomputer 92 and connected to each device.

When the cover 11 is opened during operation of the analyzer, the cover switch 67 is turned off, and a status signal indicating "cover open" is input to the microcomputer 92 via the line 93e. When this signal is input, the microcomputer 92 sends an abnormal mark recording instruction signal S to the printer 95. This printer 95 is originally intended to record quantitative analysis results on the recording sheet 12A discharged from the outlet 12 shown in FIG. When recording, a predetermined mark indicating that the cover 11 is opened is also recorded. This is the same in the case of ■ and in the case of ■. By recording such a mark, the analyzer operator can know that the accuracy of the analysis result is low.

In this embodiment, in the case of ■, that is, when the maintenance switch 91 is set to the OFF state and the cover 11 is opened, the 24V lines 93a, 93c, 93d,
Since the circuit configuration is such that the 6V lines 93f' and 6V lines 93b and WSIji are separated from each other, all of the heaters and motors 45 in the incubator 30 are forcibly stopped. Therefore, if safety when the cover 11 is opened is particularly required, it is preferable to set the maintenance switch 91 to the OFF state. As described above, in the case of ■, it is known that the apparatus has malfunctioned due to the stoppage of the motor 45, etc., so the above-mentioned mark recording does not need to be performed.

On the other hand, in the case of ■, that is, maintenance switch 9
1 is set to the ON state and the cover 11 is opened, the 24V lines 93a, 93c, 93d, 93f and the 6V line 93b remain connected to the power supply side. The dip switch 68 described above is provided to select the control process of the microcomputer 92 in this case. That is, the dip switch 68 is OFF.
If the F state is set, the mark recording instruction signal S
Only the output of is performed.

On the other hand, if this dip switch 68 is set to the ON state, the microcomputer 92
3a, 93c, 93d, 93f' and 6V line 9
3b from each device to be supplied with drive current by them. By switching the dip switch 68 in this way, one of the two functions can be selected.
You can choose one.

The mark indicating that the navigation bar 11 has been opened may be displayed on the display section 13 in addition to being recorded on the sheet 12A as in the above embodiment.

Further, although an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a biochemical analyzer using chemical analysis slides has been described, the present invention is similarly applicable to other biochemical analyzers that use the aforementioned test film. .

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in detail above, in the biochemical analyzer of the present invention, when the cover of the apparatus is opened during analysis, the means for outputting the analysis results is used to insert the cover into the output medium. Since the cover is configured to display or record a mark indicating that the cover has been opened, it is possible to clearly know that the accuracy of the analysis results has decreased due to the cover being opened. Therefore, according to the present device, the reliability of biochemical analysis is definitely improved compared to conventional devices.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main parts of the biochemical analyzer shown in FIG. 1 with the cover removed; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the cross-sectional shape of the portion taken along line I-I in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a front view of the incubator showing the arrangement of heaters, and Figure 5 is the above-mentioned biochemical analysis. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the slide transport system of the apparatus. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing the control section in the biochemical analyzer. 1...Chemical analysis slide IO...Main body...
Cover 12A...Record sheet 15...
Slide special unit 15a...Slide guide 20.
... Spotting means 25 ... Barcode reader 3
0... Incubator 31... Upper member 31a
, 31b, 31c, 32d, 32e, 32f', 32g
- Heaters 31d, 32h, 321...Temperature sensor 3
2... Lower member 33... Storage chamber 40...
・Measuring means 41...Measuring head 42...
Holding stand 52...Slide supply lever 53
... Supply lever drive motor 54 ... Shuttle 58
... Shuttle drive motor 59 ... Slide insertion bar 60 ... Insertion claw 6I
... Insertion bar drive motor 65 ... Control section 67 ...
・Cover switch 68... Deep switch 9
1...Maintenance switch

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A sample liquid is spotted on a test body containing a reagent that chemically reacts with a specific component in the sample liquid, and the optical density of the test body is measured while keeping the test body constant at a set temperature. A biochemical analyzer configured to quantitatively analyze a specific component in the biochemical analyzer and having a cover that can be opened and closed to cover the means for measuring optical density, detecting that the cover has been opened and notifying the user to that effect. a cover open state detection means that emits a signal indicating the state; and a cover open state detection means connected to the cover open state detection means,
control means for displaying or recording a mark indicating that the cover has been opened on the output medium using the means for outputting the quantitative analysis results when the biochemical analyzer receives the signal during operation; A biochemical analyzer characterized by being provided with.