Patent ID: 9110043
Filing Date: 2015-08-18
Classification: B65G,G01N

Abstract:
1. A specimen analyzer comprising: a cuvette supplying device, wherein the cuvette supplying device comprises: a cuvette storage for storing cuvettes, a carrier, provided inside the cuvette storage, for carrying the cuvettes in the cuvette storage outside the cuvette storage, the carrier includes an upper sprocket arranged at the bottom of the cuvette storage having a rotation shaft connected to first transmission pulley, a lower sprocket arranged on the upper side of the cuvette storage, a belt supported around the upper and lower sprockets, and a plurality of holding plates arranged at the periphery of the belt, and the container is carried from the upper sprocket towards the lower sprocket by the plurality of holding plates when the upper sprocket is driven; a transfer unit for conveying the cuvettes existing at the bottom of the cuvette storage towards the carrier, the transfer unit includes a mounting portion on which the cuvettes existing on the bottom of the cuvette storage are mounted and a drive section for rotationally driving the mounting portion to transfer the cuvettes on the mounting portion towards the carrier, the drive section includes a second transmission pulley operatively connected to the first transmission pulley and having a greater diameter than the first transmission pulley and can decelerate the rotation of the rotation shaft to transmit it to the second transmission pulley such that the carrier rotates at a higher speed than the transfer unit, an arranging section for arranging the cuvettes carried outside the cuvette storage by the carrier at a predetermined position; a partitioning member for regulating the cuvettes at an upper layer part of a stack of cuvettes in the cuvette storage from rolling towards the carrier; an optical detector for optically interrogating a specimen accommodated in the cuvette; a container transport unit for transporting the cuvette arranged at the predetermined position to the optical detector, a motor that is used in common to drive the drive section of the transfer unit and the upper sprocket of the carrier; and wherein the arranging section comprises: a receiving portion configured to store the cuvettes carried by the carrier; and a transportation rail configured to accommodate the cuvettes stored in the receiving portion in a line, and to arrange the cuvette accommodated in the line at the predetermined position.