JP3159759U - Automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide an automatic analyzer that prevents the temperature in a reagent cooler from being raised by opening and closing the door, thereby improving the stability of the reagent, and taking into account the prevention of condensation on the inner wall of the reagent cooler. . An air curtain of an air layer capable of shutting off outside air and cold inside the compartment when an opening / closing door is opened is generated in a reagent opening / closing opening provided in a reagent cover of the reagent cold storage. An air curtain device 17 is provided. When the opening / closing door 16 opens, the opening 15a is shielded by an air curtain generated by the operation of the cool air blower fan, thereby blocking the entry and exit of cool air and outside air. [Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer equipped with a reagent cold storage suitable for automatic analysis for quantitative and qualitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine.

  In an automated analyzer that performs quantitative and qualitative analysis of biological samples such as blood and urine, a reagent that specifically reacts with a measurement target component in the biological sample and changes its physical properties is mixed with the biological sample and reacted. .

  With the advance of medicine, the number of components to be measured is increasing, and the types of reagents used in accordance with this increase. It is not efficient to take out many of these reagents from the reagent storage for each analysis, install them, and restore them after use. In general automatic analyzers, a reagent cooler is often provided on the equipment. .

  The top cover of the reagent cooler is usually provided with an opening for taking in and out the reagent and a hole for sucking the reagent, but high-temperature and high-humidity air from these openings enters the cooler. If this is not taken into consideration, the temperature distribution may become non-uniform.

  In addition, when hot and humid outside air that has entered through the opening comes into contact with the back surface of the top cover and falls below the dew point, condensation may form on the back of the top cover and the resulting water droplets may drip into the reagent bottle. .

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which condensation is collected at one place by inclining the back surface of the upper cover, and the condensation is mixed into the reagent container.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for preventing dew condensation without allowing high temperature and high humidity outside air to enter the cabinet by blowing cold air from all reagent outlets.

JP 08-262030 A JP 2006-84366 A

  In the above conventional technology, it is assumed that high temperature and high humidity outside air enters the storage room when the reagent bottle is put into and out of the reagent storage box, so that there is a difference in the temperature distribution in the reagent storage box. There is a possibility.

  Therefore, there is a problem that the reagent is easily influenced by temperature as well as the influence of condensation. Since the analysis results may be affected by the temperature of the reagent, there is a concern that even if the analysis is performed using the same reagent, the reproducibility of the analysis results may be reduced if the temperature distribution in the reagent cooler is biased .

  Therefore, the present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems, prevents the temperature inside the reagent cooler from becoming high by opening and closing the door, aims to improve the stability of the reagent, and prevents condensation on the inner wall of the reagent cooler. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analyzer that takes into account the above.

  The present invention provides an automatic analyzer equipped with a reagent cold storage having a reagent storage section in which a plurality of reagent containers are installed.In the reagent cold storage, a container access opening for inserting and removing the reagent container in the reagent storage section, The present invention is characterized in that an air curtain device for generating a shielding air flow layer is provided in the opening / closing opening of the container.

  According to the present invention, the opening of the reagent cooler is shielded by the air curtain of the shielding air flow layer, so that the air can be prevented from entering and leaving the reagent storage. Thereby, the outflow of cold air in the reagent storage unit is prevented, and the stability of the reagent can be enhanced. Further, since there is no entry of outside air including humidity into the reagent storage unit, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dew condensation on the inner wall of the reagent storage unit due to moisture of the outside air, and stable and highly reliable analytical measurement is performed.

The schematic explanatory drawing of the automatic analyzer which concerns on the Example of this invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. The detailed external view of the reagent cooler according to the embodiment of the present invention. The sectional view of the reagent cold storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view showing a reagent cover, an opening, an opening / closing door, a shielding plate, and a linkage mechanism (linkage means) of a reagent cold storage according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic diagram of the reagent cover, opening part, and shielding board of a reagent cold storage which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the cross-flow fan of an air blower. The figure which shows the control circuit which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the air blower of an air curtain apparatus, and the switch of a detection means.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The automatic analyzer has a sample disk 1, a reaction container 4, and a reagent cooler 11.

  The sample disk 1 has a plurality of sample containers 2 containing samples arranged on the circumference thereof. The sample container 2 is moved to the pipetting position by the rotation of the sample disk 1, and a required amount of the sample is transferred to the reaction container 4 by the sample dispensing probe 3.

  The reaction vessel 4 is attached with a thermostat 9 and a photometer 10. The thermostat 9 is temperature-controlled so as to keep the reaction vessel 4 at a constant temperature, and promotes a chemical reaction between the sample dispensed in the reaction vessel 4 and the reagent. The components of the reacted sample are measured with a photometer 10.

  The reagent cooler 11 includes a reagent cooler 7 and a cooler 12. The reagent cool box 7 has a reagent disk 5. A plurality of reagent containers 6 containing reagents are arranged on the circumference of the reagent disk 5. The reagent disk 5 serves as a reagent storage unit for storing the reagent container 6.

  In order to prevent the reagent in the reagent container 6 stored in the reagent storage unit from being denatured by the surrounding environment, the reagent is stored in the reagent cooler 7 whose temperature is controlled to a low temperature. The reagent disk 5 is rotatably supported by a drive unit 18 such as a motor.

  The drive unit 18 rotates in the forward and reverse directions. By rotating the reagent disk 5, the reagent bottle 6 is moved to the pipetting position, and a necessary amount of reagent is transferred to the reaction container 4 where the sample has been transferred first by the reagent dispensing probe 8, and dispensing is performed.

  The reagent cooler 11 provided in the automatic analyzer will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the cooler 12 of the reagent cooler 11 includes a heat pump mechanism such as a condenser, a radiator, a compressor, and a circulation fan through which the refrigerant circulates, and is cooled to 5 ° C. to 10 ° C. Is supplied to the reagent cooler 7.

  The reagent cooler 7 includes a rotatable reagent disk 5 in which a plurality of reagent bottles 6 storing reagents can be arranged on the circumference, a reagent jacket 13 for storing the reagent disk 5, and an inner lid attached to the reagent jacket 13. 14 and a reagent cover 15 that covers the upper opening of the reagent jacket 13.

  The reagent jacket 13 and the reagent cover 15 are formed of a heat insulating material having a thickness of 5 cm to 10 cm, and keep the heat insulation of the reagent cold storage 7.

  The reagent cover 15 of the reagent cooler 7 is provided with an opening 15a for taking in and out the reagent, and an openable / closable door 16 that opens and closes the opening 15a. Similar to the reagent cover 15, the open / close door 16 is formed of a thick heat insulating material.

  The entrance / exit hole 15 b of the reagent dispensing probe 8 is provided in the reagent cover 15. The reagent dispensing probe 8 is taken in and out of the entrance / exit hole 15b, and the reagent is sucked out from the reagent container 6 to be dispensed into the reaction container. Since the entrance / exit hole 15b is smaller than the opening 15a, a lid such as an open / close door is not provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner lid 14 has a reagent disk 5 that houses the reagent bottle 6, and an annular partition wall 14 a that is provided on the lower side of the reagent disk 5 and separates the inner periphery and the outer periphery. .
The inner lid 14 also serves as a cold air circulation part through which cold air circulates.

  In the cold air circulation section, the cold air taken in from the cold air inlet 13a of the cooler 12 passes through the square hole 14b of the inner lid 14 and the round hole 14c of the inner lid 14, passes through the round hole 14d of the outer peripheral portion, and reaches the lowermost stage. It has the structure of the circulation path drawn in from the outer peripheral side to the cold air extraction port 13b of the cold air circulation part.

  When the door 16 is in a closed state, the cold air taken in from the cold air inlet 13a passes through the square hole 14b of the inner lid 14 and the round hole 14c of the inner lid 14, and passes through the round hole 14d on the outer peripheral portion. Then, the air is drawn into the cold air outlet 13b of the cold air circulation section from the outer peripheral side of the lowermost stage.

  In the reagent jacket 13, a cold air inlet 13 a for taking in the cold air of the cooling medium sent from the cooler 12 into the reagent jacket 13 and a cold air outlet 13 b for recovering the cooling medium circulated in the reagent cooler 7 to the cooler 12. Is provided.

  Next, an air curtain device, which is a main part of the present invention, will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.

  The air curtain device 17 is provided on the reagent cover 15 of the reagent cold storage 7. That is, the air curtain device 17 includes a blower 17c, an air jet 17b that ejects air blown from the blower 17c, an air suction port 17a into which air sucked into the blower 17c flows, and an inflow slit 17d for the blown air. And a shielding plate 19 for opening and closing the air suction port 17a.

  A cross-flow fan 170 shown in FIG. 7 is used as the blower 17c. The once-through fan 170 has a small outer diameter, is long in the axial direction, and has a high blowing pressure, which is convenient for generating a wide air curtain. Further, since the cross-flow fan 170 has a small diameter and an elongated shape, it can be accommodated in the thin reagent cover 15 having a thickness of 5 cm to 10 cm.

  The air inlet 17a is provided so as to face inward of the reagent storage unit in which the reagent container 6 is stored. The air ejection port 17b and the inflow slit 17d for the ejection air are provided so as to face each other at the inner edge of the opening 15a.

  The cold air in the reagent storage unit is sucked from the air suction port 17a, sent by the blower 17c, and ejected from the air jet port 17b. The jetted jet flows so as to cross the opening 15a, flows into the inflow slit 17d, and flows into the air suction port 17a through the reagent storage unit.

  Since the opening 15a of the reagent cooler 7 is shielded and closed by the air curtain of the shielding air flow layer generated by the jet flow, the flow of air into the reagent storage unit and the outflow of cold air are prevented.

  The air curtain device 17 includes a linkage mechanism (linking means) that links the shielding plate 19 and the open / close door 16 in a linked manner.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a gear 16b is provided on the rotating shaft 16a of the door 16 and a gear 19b is provided on the rotating shaft 19a of the shielding plate 19, and the gears 16b and 19b are engaged with each other, and a linkage mechanism (linking means). Configure.

  Since the shielding plate 19 and the opening / closing door 16 are linked by the linkage mechanism (linking means), when the opening / closing door 16 is closed, the shielding plate 19 closes the air inlet 17a as shown in FIG. When 16 is opened, the shielding plate 19 operates to open the air inlet 17a as shown in FIG. 6 (b).

  Further, the air curtain device 17 has detection means for detecting opening / closing of the opening / closing door 16. This detection means has a switch 180 that is turned on and off by opening and closing the door 16 as shown in FIG. The switch 180 can be provided in the linkage mechanism (linking means) or the open / close door 16.

  The operation of the blower 17c of the air curtain device 17 is controlled by a control circuit including the switch 180 of the detection means. When the door 16 is opened, the switch 180 is turned on to operate the blower 17c. When the door 16 is closed, the fan 17c is stopped.

  Next, the operation will be mainly described.

  Cold air of a cooling medium cooled by the cooler 12 is supplied into the reagent cooler 7 covered with the reagent jacket 13.

  Cold air flows into the reagent cooler 7 from the cold air inlet 13a, circulates in the reagent cooler 7, flows out of the cool air outlet 13b, and returns to the cooler 12. The cold air cooled again by the cooler 12 is supplied again into the reagent cool box 7 and the circulation is repeated.

  With this circulation of cold air, the reagent in the reagent bottle 6 placed and stored on the reagent disk 5 in the reagent cooler 7 is kept cool at 5 ° C. to 10 ° C. and provided for dispensing the reaction container 4.

  When the open / close door 16 is in a closed state under such cold insulation, the cold air taken in from the cold air inlet 13a passes through the square hole 14b of the inner lid 14 and the round hole 14c of the inner lid 14, and the outer peripheral portion 14d and is drawn into the cool air outlet 13b of the cool air circulation section from the outer peripheral side of the lowermost stage.

  When the open / close door 16 is open, the air curtain device 17 installed in the reagent cover 15 operates. That is, the cold air taken in from the air inlet 17a is blown out from the air outlet 17b by the blower 17c and circulated so as to be sucked into the inlet slit 17d. The opening 15a of the reagent cool box 7 is shielded and closed by an air curtain that blows out from the air outlet 17b and faces the inflow slit 17d.

  Even when the open / close door 16 is thus opened, the opening 15a of the reagent cooler 7 is shielded and closed by the air curtain, so that the cool air in the reagent cooler 7 does not flow out and the temperature in the refrigerator is stabilized. . For this reason, the reagent in the reagent container 6 is maintained in a stable state.

  Further, since there is no inflow of outside air containing humidity in the cooled reagent cold storage 7, no condensation occurs in the storage. Since the concentration of the reagent does not change due to dripping of condensed water, a stable measurement value can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the blower 17c blows out the cold air from the air jet port 17b. However, when the flow of the cold air circulating in the reagent cooler 7 is sufficiently large (the wind speed is strong), the blower 17c is operated. It is also possible to blow out from the air jet port 17b using the flow of the cold air circulating without.

  In the above embodiment, the cooler 12 is used as air cooling means, but a Peltier element (electronic cooling element) can be used instead of the cooler 12. It is also possible to use the cooler 12 and the Peltier element (electronic cooling element) in combination, and to use the Peltier element (electronic cooling element) for cooling the air curtain.

  Further, when a Peltier element (electronic cooling element) is used in combination, the outside air can be cooled by the electronic cooling element and used for an air curtain.

  Further, by using an air curtain for the entrance / exit hole 15b of the reagent dispensing probe 8, it is possible to suppress the outflow of cold air from the entrance / exit hole 15b.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sample disk, 2 ... Sample container, 3 ... Sample dispensing probe, 4 ... Reaction container, 5 ... Reagent disk, 6 ... Reagent bottle, 7 ... Reagent cooler, 8 ... Reagent dispensing probe, 9 ... Constant temperature bath, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Photometer, 11 ... Reagent cooler, 12 ... Cooling machine, 13 ... Reagent jacket, 14 ... Inner lid, 15 ... Reagent cover, 16 ... Opening / closing door, 17 ... Air curtain device, 18 ... Drive part, 19 ... Shielding Board.

Claims (6)

In an automatic analyzer equipped with a reagent cold storage having a reagent storage section for installing a plurality of reagent containers,
The reagent refrigerating machine has an automatic loading / unloading opening for loading / unloading the reagent container into / from the reagent storage section and an air curtain device for generating a shielding air flow layer at the loading / unloading opening of the container. A reagent cooler, and a cooler for supplying cold air to the reagent cooler,
The reagent cooler includes a reagent storage unit in which a plurality of reagent containers are installed, a cool air introduction chamber that is adjacent to the reagent storage unit and that introduces cool air from the cooler, and a cool air discharge chamber that returns cool air to the cooler An automatic analyzer having a cold air circulation unit, a cold air introduction port for introducing cold air from the cold air introduction chamber to the reagent storage unit, and a cold air discharge port for discharging cold air from the reagent storage unit to the cold air discharge chamber,
The reagent cooler is a container loading / unloading opening for loading / unloading the reagent container into / from the reagent storage section, an opening / closing door for opening / closing the container loading / unloading opening, a detection means for detecting an open / closed state of the opening / closing door, An automatic analyzer comprising an air curtain device for generating a shielding air flow layer along a container opening / closing opening. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The air curtain device includes: a blower; an air jet for ejecting air blown from the blower; an air suction port through which air sucked into the blower flows; and a shielding plate for opening and closing the air suction port. Have
An automatic analyzer comprising: linkage means for linking operation so that the shielding plate opens when the door is opened and the shielding plate is closed when the door is closed. The automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The air curtain device further cools the cool air sucked from the air blower, an air jet port for ejecting air blown from the blower, an air suction port for air sucked into the blower, and the air suction port. An automatic analyzer comprising a cooling and drying means for drying. In the automatic analyzer as described in any one of Claims 2-4,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that the detecting means detects the opening and closing of the door and controls the operation of the air curtain device. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1 or 2,
The reagent cooler has an entrance / exit hole for a reagent dispensing probe that dispenses a reagent from the reagent container, and generates an air flow layer for shielding that prevents entry / exit of air into the reagent storage unit in the entrance / exit hole. Automatic analyzer characterized by.

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