JPH0666817A - Biochemical analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure highly reliable operation of a point depositing means to point-deposit sample liquid on a chemical analysis slide, and realize a compact structure. CONSTITUTION:A point depositing nozzle 91 is provided at the end of a point depositing arm 88, a point depositing means 16 is standingly provided on a pivotally-supported rotary table 82 to give swinging drive and elevating operation to the point depositing arm 88 in such a manner that a feed screw stem 86 is rotatable around the center of rotation, and at least one guide lock 84 is standingly provided apart from the center. The point depositing arm 88 which has the base supported so as to be elevated and moved along the feed screw stem 86 and the guide lock 84 is linked with the feed screw stem 86 via a screw structure so as to be elevated and moved with its rotation. An elevating motor is arranged to give rotating drive to the feed screw stem 86 and a swinging motor is set up to give rotating drive to the rotary table 82.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention deposits the above sample solution on a chemical analysis slide containing a reagent that causes an optical density change by a chemical reaction with a predetermined biochemical substance contained in the sample solution such as blood and urine. The present invention relates to a biochemical analysis device for determining the substance concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in a sample solution by measuring the optical density of the chemical analysis slide, and particularly to a spotting means for spotting the sample solution on the chemical analysis slide. It is about structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dry type chemical analysis slide capable of quantitatively analyzing a specific chemical component or formed component contained in a sample solution by simply spot-feeding a small drop of the sample solution. Has been put to practical use. In addition, in order to perform a quantitative analysis of chemical components in a sample solution using such a chemical analysis slide, after spotting the sample solution on the chemical analysis slide, place this in an incubator (incubator). Incubation for a predetermined time to cause a color reaction (dye formation reaction), and then for measurement that includes a wavelength selected in advance by combining a predetermined biochemical substance in the sample solution with a reagent contained in the chemical analysis slide This chemical analysis slide is irradiated with irradiation light to measure its optical density, and from this optical density, a calibration curve showing the correspondence between the optical density and the substance concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance obtained in advance is used. A biochemical analyzer configured to determine the substance concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in a sample liquid is used.

Further, in this biochemical analyzer, as a spotting means (sampler) for spotting the sample solution on the chemical analysis slide, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-216733, The spotting arm equipped with the spotting nozzle is driven to rotate and is moved up and down, a nozzle tip is attached to the tip of the spotting nozzle, and the sample solution is sucked into the nozzle tip from the sample cup of the sample storage unit before the spotting. It is known that the sample liquid is moved to a spot and a predetermined amount of the sample liquid is discharged and spotted on the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide at the spotting portion.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the rotary shaft which supports the spotting arm and is pivotally operated,
It is configured to raise and lower together with the spotting arm from the base, and a storage space for arranging its drive mechanism and a space for lowering the rotary shaft are required below the base,
The height of the lower part of the base becomes large, the entire device becomes large,
It is difficult to have a compact structure such as setting on a table.

That is, the spotting means in the biochemical analysis device is reliably operated by a simple drive mechanism when performing various operations for spotting the sample liquid, and a highly reliable and compact device is provided. Required to do so.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a spotting means for spotting a sample solution on a chemical analysis slide so as to swivel and move up and down, so that it can be installed on a table as a compact structure with a small occupied space. The object of the present invention is to provide a new biochemical analyzer.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the biochemical analyzer of the present invention is provided with a spotting nozzle at the tip of the spotting arm, and the spotting arm is swiveled and moved up and down. The means is rotatably supported on a turntable,
A feed screw shaft is rotatably erected at the center of rotation, at least one guide rod is erected at a position away from the center, and the spotting arm is vertically movable along the feed screw shaft and the guide rod. The base is supported, and further, the spotting arm is linked via a screw structure so as to move up and down according to the rotation of the feed screw shaft, and a lifting motor for rotationally driving the feed screw shaft is arranged, A rotating motor for rotating the rotary table is installed and configured.

[0008]

[Operation and effect] In the biochemical analyzer as described above,
When the spotting nozzle is moved up and down, the lifting motor is rotationally driven to rotate the feed screw shaft forward or reverse, and the spotting arm is guided by the guide rod via the screw structure according to the rotation of the feed screw shaft. Is lifted up and down. Further, when the spotting nozzle is swung, when the swivel motor is driven to swivel the rotary base, the spotting arm is pivotally operated integrally with the rotary base via the guide rod. When the spotting arm is rotated and moved up and down, the guide rod prevents the spotting arm from swinging and improves the accuracy of the moving position of the spotting nozzle. Further, the rotary table other than the spotting arm, the feed screw shaft, the guide rod, etc. do not move up and down, there is no member to be retracted downward, there is no need for a storage space at the bottom, and the size in the height direction of the device is small. Therefore, the device can be made compact while ensuring a highly reliable operation.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan configuration of a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment.

The biochemical analysis apparatus 10 comprises a slide standby section 12 for accommodating an unused chemical analysis slide 11 and a spotting section 13 for sequentially depositing a sample solution such as serum or urine on the chemical analysis slide 11.
And an incubator 14 for accommodating the chemical analysis slide 11 and keeping it at a constant temperature for a predetermined time, and transporting means 15 sequentially deposits the chemical analysis slide 11 from the slide waiting section 12 in sequence.
Transport to 13. With respect to the chemical analysis slide 11 located in this spotting part 13, the spotting arm 88 of the spotting means 16 (sampler) is driven to rotate and is moved up and down, and the nozzle tip 25 is attached to the spotting nozzle 91 at the tip of the spotting arm 88. After mounting (see FIG. 4), the sample liquid is sucked into the nozzle tip 25 from the sample cup 26 of the sample container 17 to deposit a predetermined amount on the slide 11.

The chemical analysis slide 11 thus spotted is inserted into the storage section 55 of the incubator 14 by the conveying means 15, and the coloration degree (reflection optical density) of the chemical analysis slide 11 kept at a constant temperature in the incubator 14 is measured. Measured by the photometric head 27 of the means 18, and further, the chemical analysis slide after the measurement
The transport means 15 drops and discharges 11 into a waste hole 56 on the center side of the incubator 14. The spotting means 16 is provided with a syringe means 19 for sucking and discharging the sample liquid by the nozzle tip 25, and the nozzle tip after use.
The reference numeral 25 is a tip extracting portion 20 arranged in the vicinity of the incubator 14 and is removed from the spotting nozzle 91 and dropped and discarded downward. Further, the chemical analysis slide 11 has a reagent layer arranged in a rectangular mount, and has a spotting hole and a photometric hole in the upper and lower parts of the mount, respectively.

Explaining the structure of each part, first, the conveying means.
As shown in FIG. 2 which is a front view of the cross-section, 15 is a carrier 30 that extends linearly toward the center of the incubator 14, and legs 30a at the front and rear ends thereof are installed on a plate-shaped base 31 below. , The slide stand-by portion 12 is provided at the substantially central portion of the carrier table 30.
However, the spotting portion 13 is disposed on the incubator 14 side of the spotting portion 13.

A slide guide 32 for holding the chemical analysis slide 11 is formed in the slide standby portion 12,
A plurality of unused chemical analysis slides 11 are usually stacked and held on the slide guide 32. Above slide guide
32 is mounted in the concave portion of the carrying table 30 so that the chemical analysis slide 11 at the lowermost part is located at the same height as the carrying surface of the carrying table 30, and one sheet is provided on the front surface side of the lowermost part. An opening 32a is formed through which only the chemical analysis slide 11 can pass. Further, an opening through which an insertion member 36 described later can be inserted is formed on the rear surface side, and a groove 32b communicating with a slit 30b described later formed on the carrier 30 is formed on the bottom surface. It should be noted that the slide guide 32 may be set with a cartridge in which a plurality of chemical analysis slides 11 are stacked and housed.

A slide retainer 33 having a circular opening 33a is installed on the spotting portion 13 in front of the slide waiting portion 12, and the slide retainer 33 is provided inside a cover 34 fixed above the carrier table 30. The cover 34 is housed so that it can be moved up and down slightly.
An opening 35a for spotting is also formed in the glass plate 35 fixed above the glass plate.

The chemical analysis slide 11 is conveyed by the forward movement of the plate-shaped insertion member 36 placed on the conveyance table 30. That is, a slit 30b extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the center of the carrier table 30, and the insertion member 36 is slidably placed on the slit 30b.
A block 37 is fixed to the bottom of the rear end of the insertion member 36 from below through a slit 30b, and the block 37 is provided slidably in the front-rear direction along the slit 30b.
Further, the insertion member is provided on the carrier table 30 at a position rearward of the slide standby portion 12 by the slide guide 32.
An auxiliary plate 38 for pressing the 36 is provided, and the auxiliary plate 38 is a cover.
It is held in 39 so that it can move up and down slightly.

A slider is provided below the block 37.
40 is attached, and the slider 40 is attached to the carrier table 30.
It is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by a guide rod 41 arranged along the. Further, a part of a belt 44 wound around pulleys 42, 43 arranged in front of and behind the carrier 30 is fixed to the slider 40. Then, the rear pulley 43 is rotationally driven by the transport motor 45, the insertion member 36 is moved in the front-rear direction by the block 37 that moves integrally with the slider 40, and the tip end of the insertion member 36 chemically moves the lower end of the slide guide 32. Push the rear end of the analytical slide 11 to move the chemical analytical slide 11 linearly to the spotting portion 13
From the incubator 14 to the incubator 14.

The chemical analysis slide 11 at the lower end of the slide guide 32 is transported to the spotting section 13 by driving the transport motor 45, and the chemical analysis slide 11 on which the sample solution is spotted is further inserted into the storage section 55 of the incubator 14. Then, attach the chemical analysis slide 11 after measurement to the waste hole in the center of the incubator 14.
The drive control of the carry motor 45 is performed so that the carry motor is carried to 56.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the sectional front structure of the incubator 14 is such that the disk-shaped rotating member 50 is rotatable with respect to the bearing portion 53 through the bearing 52 by the rotating cylinder 51 having the lower center. An upper member 54 is supported and disposed on the rotating member 50. The upper member 54 has a flat bottom surface, and the upper surface of the rotating member 50 has a plurality of recesses (six in the illustrated case) formed on the circumference at predetermined intervals to form a slit-shaped space between the members 50, 54. An accommodating portion 55 is formed, the height of the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 55 is provided to be the same as the height of the conveying surface of the conveying table 30 of the conveying means 15, and the rotating member 50 approaches the tip of the conveying table 30. The outer peripheral part of is located.

Further, the inner hole of the rotary cylinder 51 is formed in the waste hole 56 of the chemical analysis slide 11 after the measurement, and the diameter of the waste hole 56 is set to a dimension through which the chemical analysis slide 11 can pass. Also, in the central portion of the rotating member 50, the waste hole 56
Is formed with an opening 50a. The central portion of the storage portion 55 communicates with the central opening 50a at the same height as the storage portion 55, and when the chemical analysis slide 11 located in the storage portion 55 moves to the center side as it is, the waste is removed. It is configured to drop into the reject hole 56.

The upper member 54 is provided with a heating means (not shown), and the temperature of the chemical analysis slide 11 in the storage portion 55 is kept constant by adjusting the temperature thereof, while the upper member 54 corresponds to the storage portion 55. A holding member 57 is provided which holds the mount of the chemical analysis slide 11 from above to prevent evaporation of the sample liquid. A cover 58 is provided on the upper surface of the upper member 54, while the incubator 14 is covered by an upper cover 59 at the upper and side portions and a lower cover 60 at the bottom to shield light.

Further, an opening for photometry is provided at the center of the bottom surface of each storage section 55 for storing the chemical analysis slide 11 of the rotating member 50.
55a is formed, and the reflection optical density of the chemical analysis slide 11 is measured by the photometric head 27 disposed below through the opening 55a. Further, the rotating member 50 is formed with an accommodating portion 61 (see FIG. 1) for the density reference plate on the same circumference as the accommodating portion 55, and white and black for calibrating the photometric head 27 are formed in this portion. Two density reference plates 62 are installed.

Here, in the rotational driving of the incubator 14, a timing belt 64 is wound around the outer peripheral portion of the rotary cylinder 51 supporting the rotary member 50.
Is also wound around the drive pulley 66 of the drive motor 65, and the reciprocating rotation drive of the drive motor 65 drives the reciprocating rotation of the rotating member 50 (FIG. 1).
reference). Then, the rotation operation of the incubator 14 is
For the photometric head 27 disposed below the predetermined rotation position of the incubator 14, first, the density of the white reference plate is detected, and subsequently, the density of the black reference plate is detected and calibrated, and then sequentially. Chemical analysis slide 11 inserted in storage 55
The optical density of the color reaction is measured, and after this series of measurements, reverse rotation is performed to return to the reference position, and reciprocal rotation drive is performed within the specified angle range so that the next unit can be measured. To control.

Further, below the incubator 14, a recovery box 70 for recovering the chemical analysis slide 11 after measurement is arranged. The collection box 70 has a storage chamber 71 formed below the waste hole 56 at the center of the rotary cylinder 51.
In view of the arrangement of various other devices, the accommodation chamber 71 is formed wide at one side with respect to the center point of the incubator 14. In addition, in the corner portion of the accommodation chamber 71, a spotting means described later is provided.
An inclined portion 72 on which the nozzle tip 25 to be replaced for each sample liquid in 16 is dropped is formed. The inclined portion 72 is located below the tip extracting portion 20 from which the nozzle tip 25 is dropped, and the bottom surface of the inclined portion 72 tilts the falling nozzle tip 25 to guide it toward the center of the accommodation chamber 71. It is formed on a slope (20 to 45 °) that lowers the 71 side.

Further, the waste hole is provided at the bottom of the accommodation chamber 71.
A protrusion 73 is erected at a position displaced from the center of the storage chamber 71 to the side opposite to the widened portion of the storage chamber 71. This protrusion 73
Has a spherical or needle-like tip, and has a function of contacting the chemical analysis slide 11 falling from the disposal hole 56 and changing the falling direction to disperse the slide.

Next, the spotting means 16 has a bearing member 80 installed on the base 31 as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, a ring-shaped base portion 82a of a turntable 82 is rotatably supported via a bearing 81. The base of the turntable 82
A flange member 82b is attached to the upper part of the 82a so as to rotate integrally therewith, and a center side portion of the flange part 82b extends downward and is formed in a tubular shape.

Guide rods 84, 84 are erected on both sides of the flange member 82b of the rotary table 82 on the outer peripheral side, and the upper end portions of the guide rods 84, 84 on both sides are fixed to the connecting member 85, so that Guide rods 84, 84 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. A feed screw shaft 86 is rotatably supported in the vertical direction at the center of rotation of the connecting member 85, the upper end of the feed screw shaft 86 is rotatably supported by the connecting member 85, and the lower end portion thereof is the rotating member. The base 82 is rotatably supported by the central portion of the flange member 82b, and the lower end portion is projected from the flange member 82b and a pulley 87 is fixed thereto.

Further, the bases of the spotting arms 88 are supported by the guide rods 84, 84 on both sides so as to be vertically movable.
Sleeves 89, 89 into which the guide rods 84, 84 are fitted are inserted in the spotting arm 88 of the supporting portion. Further, the feed screw shaft 86 penetrates the spotting arm 88, and a nut member 90 that is screwed into the feed screw shaft 86 is provided in the penetrating portion 88, and both are linked through this screw structure to form a feed screw. axis
The spotting arm 88 is configured to move up and down according to the rotation of 86.

At the tip of the spotting arm 88, there is provided a spotting nozzle 91 penetrating in the vertical direction for sucking and discharging the sample liquid. A shaft portion of the spotting nozzle 91 is slidably inserted into the spotting arm 88, and is urged downward by a spring 92. Further, a pipette-shaped nozzle tip 25 is detachably attached to the tip of the spotting nozzle 91, and the unused nozzle tip 25
Is set in the sample accommodating portion 17, which is fitted and held at the tip of the spotting nozzle 91 by the downward movement of the spotting arm 88, and after use, the nozzle tip 25 is inserted in the engaging groove 20a of the tip extracting portion 20. When the upper end of the tip is engaged, the spotting arm 88 is moved upward to remove the fitting, and the tip pick-up portion 20 is dropped from the opening 20b into the lower recovery box 70 for disposal (see FIG. 1). .

In the pivoting operation of the spotting arm 88, the timing belt 94 is engaged with the tooth portion formed on the outer peripheral portion of the base portion 82a (or the flange member 82b) of the rotary table 82,
This timing belt 94 is the drive pulley for the turning motor 95.
It is wound around 96 (see FIG. 1) and is rotated and moved to a predetermined position by the drive control of the forward and reverse rotation of the turning motor 95. In addition, the vertical movement of the spotting arm 88, that is, the feed screw shaft
For the rotational drive of 86, a timing belt 99 is hung between the pulley 87 at the lower end portion and the drive pulley 98 of the lifting motor 97 (see FIG. 1), and a predetermined forward and reverse rotation drive control of the lifting motor 97 is performed. Moved to height.

Next, in the mechanism for sucking and discharging the sample liquid into the nozzle tip 25, an air passage 101 having an opening at the tip is formed at the center of the spotting nozzle 91, and the air passage 101 An air pipe (not shown) is connected to the upper end portion. The other end of the air pipe is connected to the upper end portion of the syringe 102 of the syringe means 19, and the syringe 102 is a syringe-like air pump and has a columnar support member 10.
The tubular portion 102a is fixedly supported by the stopper 104, and the operating portion 102b at the tip of the rod connected to the piston fitted inside the tubular portion 102a is engaged and fixed to the elevating member 105. This elevating member 105 is a guide shaft arranged in the vertical direction.
It is supported so as to move up and down along 106, and a belt 109 hung on upper and lower pulleys 107 and 108 is fixed to the end thereof. The lower pulley 108 has a syringe motor 110
Is driven, the pulley 108 is rotated by the driving, and the elevating member 105 is operated via the belt 109, and the syringe 10
It is configured to perform suction and discharge by the operation of 2.

Then, while the tip of the nozzle tip 25 is immersed in the sample solution in the sample cup 26, the piston of the syringe 102 is moved downward by the spotting means 16 to perform suction, and then the spotting part 13 is rotated. Then, a predetermined amount of the chemical analysis slide 11 is spotted. The nozzle tip 25 and the sample cup 26, the spotting portion 13, and the tip extracting portion 10 prepared in the sample storage portion 17 are all on the swirl locus of the tip of the spotting nozzle 91 accompanying the swiveling of the spotting arm 88. It is set to be located.

In the biochemical analyzer 10 of the above-described embodiment, the spotting arm 88 of the spotting means 16 is driven by the lifting motor 97 so that the feed screw shaft 86 is rotated to move up and down, and is also rotated. The rotary table 82 is rotated by the drive of the motor 95 to perform a swivel operation, and the drive control thereof controls the mounting of the nozzle tip 25, the suction of the sample solution, and the swaging of the spotting nozzle 91 in accordance with a predetermined swivel motion and a vertical motion. The operations such as wearing and discarding of the nozzle tip 25 are sequentially performed.

When the rotary base 82 is swung, the relative rotational position of the spotting arm 88 with respect to the fixed feed screw shaft 86 changes in accordance with the swiveling of the spotting arm 88, and the spotting arm 88 moves up and down by a small amount. However, in order to correct this fluctuation, the elevation motor 97 is drive-controlled to rotate the feed screw shaft 86 in the same direction as the turning direction and at the same angle in response to the turning operation. Drive control may be performed so that the vertical position of the spotting arm 88 does not change.

In the spotting means 16, the guide rod 84 may be one and the feed screw shaft 86 may support the spotting arm 88 so as to vertically move in the horizontal state. It is preferable to support the two guide rods 84, 84 and the feed screw shaft 86 as described above in terms of improving the positional accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a main part mechanism of a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of a portion of a conveying unit.

FIG. 3 is a sectional front view of an incubator portion.

FIG. 4 is a sectional front view of a portion of the spotting means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Biochemical analyzer 11 Chemical analysis slide 13 Spot attachment part 16 Point attachment means 20 Tip extraction part 25 Nozzle tip 82 Rotating table 84 Guide rod 86 Feed screw shaft 87 Pulley 88 Point attachment arm 90 Nut member 91 Point attachment nozzle 94,99 Timing belt 95 Swing motor 97 Lifting motor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A spotting nozzle is provided at the tip of a spotting arm, and a sample solution is spotted on a reagent layer of a chemical analysis slide by a spotting means that rotates the spotting arm and moves up and down. In a biochemical analysis device for determining the concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in the sample solution by measuring the optical density of a chemical analysis slide after deposition, the spotting means is a rotary table rotatably supported, A feed screw shaft is rotatably provided at the center of rotation, at least one guide rod is provided at a position distant from the center, and the feed arm is vertically movable along the feed screw shaft and the guide rod. The base is supported, and further, the spotting arm is linked through a screw structure so as to move up and down according to the rotation of the feed screw shaft, and an elevating motor for rotationally driving the feed screw shaft is provided. Tomo , Biochemical analysis apparatus, characterized in that the rotation motor for rotating the turntable is installed. 2. Guide rods are provided upright on both sides of the feed screw shaft, a pulley is arranged at the lower end of the feed screw shaft penetrating the rotary table, and a timing belt driven by a lifting motor is engaged. The biochemical analyzer according to claim 1, wherein