Patent Publication Number: US-2022219167-A1

Title: Automatic analyzer

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     An automatic analyzer is a device for automatically quantifying or qualitatively analyzing a specific component contained in a sample such as blood or urine. In an automatic analyzer, a reagent or reaction liquid containing a sample and a reagent for analysis is aspirated from an aspiration nozzle and transferred to a measurement unit or the like through a flow path connected to the aspiration nozzle. When a tube with a variable shape is provided between the aspiration nozzle and the measurement unit, the inner diameter may fluctuate due to bending or expansion and contraction of the tube, and the flow of the reaction liquid may change. The change of the flow of the reaction liquid makes the components of the reaction liquid transferred to the measurement unit non-uniform, and deteriorates the reproducibility of measurement results. 
     PTL 1 discloses an automatic analyzer that makes components of reaction liquid sent to a measurement unit uniform to improve the reproducibility of measurement results by connecting an aspiration nozzle directly to the measurement unit and allowing the aspiration nozzle fixed to the measurement unit to access a reaction vessel accommodating the reaction liquid. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     PTL 1: JP-A-2014-139589 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     However, PLT 1 does not give consideration to simplifying control of a holding unit that holds the reaction vessel and the like having access to the aspiration nozzle fixed to the measurement unit and that rotates and moves up and down. In addition to the reaction vessel, the containers having access to the aspiration nozzle include a reagent container that accommodates a reagent and a washing tank that is used to clean the aspiration nozzle, and the rotation and the ascending and lowering of the holding unit that holds the plurality of containers is repeated many times, and therefore, it is desirable that the control of the holding unit be simplified as much as possible. 
     Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide an automatic analyzer capable of simplifying control of a holding unit that holds a plurality of containers having access to an aspiration nozzle whose position is fixed and that rotates and moves up and down. 
     Solution to Problem 
     In order to achieve the above object, the invention provides an automatic analyzer including an aspiration nozzle whose position is fixed and that aspirates reaction liquid or a reagent, and a holding unit that holds a plurality of containers accommodating the reaction liquid or the reagent, and that rotates and moves up and down. The holding unit holds at least three of the containers, and an angle between adjacent containers is an integer multiple of a predetermined angle. The angle between adjacent containers is an angle between adjacent containers in a circumferential direction and an angle around a rotation center of the holding unit. 
     Advantageous Effect 
     According to the invention, it is possible to provide an automatic analyzer capable of simplifying control of a holding unit that holds a plurality of containers having access to an aspiration nozzle whose position is fixed and that rotates and moves up and down. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view showing a configuration example of an automatic analyzer. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing an example of a reaction liquid and reagent transfer unit. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view showing an arrangement example of a plurality of containers held by a holding unit. 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view showing an arrangement example of reagent containers and reagent nozzles. 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view showing an arrangement example of the reagent nozzles and an aspiration nozzle. 
         FIG. 6  is a transition diagram showing an example of an operation of the holding unit. 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view showing an arrangement example of the reagent nozzles, the aspiration nozzle, and detachable reagent containers. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the automatic analyzer according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The automatic analyzer is a device that analyzes a sample using a reaction liquid in which a sample and a reagent are reacted, such as an automatic biochemical analyzer, an automatic immunoanalyzer, an automatic gene analyzer. In addition, a mass spectrometer used for clinical examination and a coagulation analyzer that measures blood coagulation time can be mentioned. Further, the invention can also be applied to a composite system of a mass spectrometer, a coagulation analyzer, etc. an automatic biochemical analyzer, and an automatic immunoanalyzer, etc., or an automatic analysis system to which these are applied. 
     Embodiment 1 
     An example of the overall configuration of an automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 . The automatic analyzer includes a sample transport unit  102 , a reagent storage  104 , a sample dispensing unit  105 , a reagent dispensing unit  106 , a reaction promotion part  107 , a measurement unit  108 , and a control unit  113 . Each of the parts will be described below. The vertical direction is defined as Z direction, and the horizontal plane is defined as XY plane. 
     The sample transport unit  102  transports a sample container  101  accommodating a sample such as blood or urine to a sample aspiration position  110 . The reagent storage  104  stores a reagent container  103  accommodating a reagent to be used for analysis in a predetermined temperature range. 
     The sample dispensing unit  105  dispenses the sample from the sample containers  101  transported to the sample aspiration position  110  to a reaction vessel arranged in the reaction promotion part  107 . In addition, the reaction vessel to which the sample is to be dispensed and a dispensing tip to be used when dispensing the sample are stored in a consumable storage unit  111 , and are transported to a predetermined position by a consumable transport unit  112 . The reagent dispensing unit  106  dispenses a reagent from the reagent container  103  stored in the reagent storage  104  to the reaction vessel arranged in the reaction promotion part  107  and in which the sample is dispensed. The reaction promotion part  107  promotes the reaction between the sample and the reagent and generates reaction liquid by keeping the reaction vessel in which the sample and the reagent are dispensed within a predetermined temperature range. 
     The measurement unit  108  is fixed to a housing of the automatic analyzer and performs optical or electrical measurement on the reaction liquid in the reaction vessel transported from the reaction promotion part  107  by a reaction vessel transport unit  109 . For example, the absorbance of the reaction liquid, the amount of light emitted when a voltage is applied to the reaction liquid in which the reagent is added, the number of particles in the reaction liquid, the fluctuation of the current value and the voltage value when the reaction liquid comes into contact with an electrode film, etc. are measured. The reproducibility of such measurements deteriorates due to changes in the flow of the reaction liquid. Therefore, in order to reduce the changes in the flow of the reaction liquid, the reaction liquid is aspirated by an aspiration nozzle  201  (see  FIG. 2 ), which is a nozzle fixed to the measurement unit  108 . In addition, a reaction liquid and reagent transfer unit  114  allows the reaction vessel  205  (see  FIG. 2 ) accommodating the reaction liquid to access the aspiration nozzle  201  so that the aspiration nozzle  201  fixed to the measurement unit  108  can aspirate the reaction liquid. Details of the reaction liquid and reagent transfer unit  114  will be described later with reference to  FIG. 2 . The control unit  113  is a device that controls each unit included in the automatic analyzer, and is implemented by, for example, a so-called computer. 
     An example of the reaction liquid and reagent transfer unit  114  in the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . The reaction liquid and reagent transfer unit  114  has a holding unit  204  that holds a plurality of containers and that rotates and moves up and down. The holding unit  204  is arranged below the aspiration nozzle  201  fixed to the measurement unit  108 , and is rotated in the XY plane around a rotation shaft  211  or moved up and down along the rotation shaft  211  by a drive source such as a motor (not shown). The containers held by the holding unit  204  are a reaction vessel  205 , a first reagent container  206 , a second reagent container  207 , a third reagent container  208 , a cleaning tank  209 , and the like, and access to the aspiration nozzle  201  by the rotation and the ascending and lowering of the holding unit  204 . In addition, the rotation shaft  211  has a predetermined distance from the aspiration nozzle  201  in the XY plane, and the containers are arranged on the circumference of a circle centered on the rotation shaft  211  with the predetermined distance as a radius so that the containers have access to the aspiration nozzle  201 . 
     The reaction vessel  205  accommodating the reaction liquid is transported from the reaction promotion part  107  to an access point  212  by the reaction vessel transport unit  109 . The access point  212  is a position where both the reaction vessel transport unit  109  and the holding unit  204  can access. The holding unit  204  is provided with a reaction vessel installation unit  210  on which the reaction vessel  205  is installed, and when the reaction vessel installation unit  210  moves to the access point  212  due to the rotation of the holding unit  204 , the reaction vessel  205  is transferred. 
     The first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208  accommodates different types of reagents including a first reagent, a second reagent, and a third reagent, respectively, and are detachable from the holding unit  204 . The reagents accommodated in the reagent containers are auxiliary reagents that assist in measurement such as adjusting the light emission conditions of the reaction liquid and adjusting the flow path and the surface of the electrode of the measurement unit  108 . In addition, a first reagent nozzle  202  capable of supplying the first reagent to the first reagent container  206  and a second reagent nozzle  203  capable of supplying the second reagent to the second reagent container  207  are fixed to a reagent tank (not shown) . The reagent tank is fixed to the housing of the automatic analyzer. The reagent from the first reagent nozzle  202  or the second reagent nozzle  203  is supplied when the first reagent container  206  moves below the first reagent nozzle  202  or when the second reagent container  207  moves below the second reagent nozzle  203  due to the rotation of the holding unit  204 . 
     The cleaning tank  209  is used for cleaning the aspiration nozzle  201 . The cleaning of the aspiration nozzle  201  is performed by discharging cleaning water from a cleaning nozzle (not shown) to the aspiration nozzle  201  when the cleaning tank  209  moves below the aspiration nozzle  201  due to the rotation of the holding unit  204 . The cleaning water discharged to the aspiration nozzle  201  is received in the washing tank  209  and then drained. 
     Since the rotation and the ascending and lowering of the holding unit  204  that holds a plurality of containers are repeated many times, it is desirable that the control regarding the movement of the holding unit  204  be simplified as much as possible. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the containers held by the holding unit  204  are arranged so that the control regarding the movement of the holding unit  204  can be simplified. 
     An arrangement example of a plurality of containers held by the holding unit  204  in the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . The holding unit  204  in the present embodiment holds the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210 , the cleaning tank  209 , the first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208 . 
     In the present embodiment, an angle between adjacent containers is an integer multiple of a predetermined angle θa, the angle between adjacent containers being an angle between adjacent containers in a circumferential direction and an angle around the rotation shaft  211 , which is the center of rotation of the holding unit  204 . Specifically, the angles between adjacent containers between the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the cleaning tank  209 , between the cleaning tank  209  and the first reagent container  206 , between the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 , and between the second reagent container  207  and the third reagent container  208  are defined as the angle θa. In addition, the angle between adjacent containers between the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the third reagent container  208  is Nθa, which is the product of the integer N and the angle θa.  FIG. 3  shows an example of θa=45 degrees and N=4. 
     According to the present embodiment, when any one of the plurality of containers held by the holding unit  204  accesses to the aspiration nozzle  201 , driving parameters related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be shared, so that the control can be simplified. Specifically, since the holding unit  204  rotates based on an angle that is an integer multiple of the predetermined angle θa, a software related to the control can be configured in a simple manner. 
     Embodiment 2 
     Embodiment 1 describes that the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  is simplified by setting the angle between adjacent containers of the containers held by the holding unit  204  as an integer multiple of the predetermined angle θa. When the containers held by the holding unit  204  include a plurality of reagent containers accommodating reagents, and reagent nozzles supplying the reagents to each of the plurality of reagent containers, it is desirable that each reagent be supplied simultaneously from all reagent nozzles. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the reagent nozzles are arranged so that the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be simplified and a plurality of reagents can be supplied simultaneously. 
     An arrangement example of the reagent containers and the reagent nozzles held by the holding unit  204  in the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 . Similar to Embodiment 1, the holding unit  204  in the present embodiment holds the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210 , the cleaning tank  209 , the first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208 . In addition, independent of the holding unit  204 , the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  fixed to a reagent tank (not shown) are provided. 
     In the present embodiment, the angle between reagent nozzles is set such that the first reagent and the second reagent are simultaneously supplied to the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 , the angle being an angle between the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  and an angle around the rotation shaft  211  of the holding unit  204 . Specifically, the angle between the reagent nozzles is set such that when the first reagent nozzle  202  and the first reagent container  206  overlap in the XY plane, the second reagent nozzle  203  and the second reagent container  207  overlap.  FIG. 4  shows an example in which an angle between reagent nozzles θb is set to the angle between adjacent containers θa between the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 . The angle between reagent nozzles θb is not limited to the angle between adjacent containers θa, and is appropriately set according to the inner diameter of the first reagent nozzle  202  and the first reagent container  206 , and the width of the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207  in the rotation direction of the holding unit  204 . 
     According to the present embodiment, the angle between reagent nozzles is set such that when one reagent container and the reagent nozzle supplying the reagent to the reagent container overlap, the other reagent container and the other reagent nozzle overlap, so that a plurality of reagents can be supplied simultaneously. As a result, the time required for supplying the reagent can be shortened. Similar to Embodiment 1, since the drive parameters related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be shared, the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be simplified. 
     Embodiment 3 
     Embodiment 1 describes that the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  is simplified by setting an angle between adjacent containers of containers held by the holding unit  204  as an integer multiple of the predetermined angle θa. Embodiment 2 describes that the angle between reagent nozzles is set so that a plurality of reagents can be supplied simultaneously. When a reagent nozzle whose position is fixed is provided in addition to the aspiration nozzle  201 , it is not desirable for the nozzle to come into contact with a container that is not accessible. For example, in a case where the aspiration nozzle  201  comes into contact with the third reagent container  208  when the first reagent is supplied from the first reagent nozzle  202  to the first reagent container  206 , the third reagent attached to the aspiration nozzle  201  adversely affects the measurement result of the measurement unit  108 . Therefore, in the present embodiment, the nozzles are arranged so as to simplify the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  and to avoid contact between the container that is not to be accessed and the nozzle. 
     An arrangement example of a plurality of containers held by the holding unit  204 , the aspiration nozzle  201 , and the reagent nozzle in the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 5 . Similar to Embodiment  1 , the holding unit  204  in the present embodiment holds the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210 , the cleaning tank  209 , the first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208 . In addition, the angles between adjacent containers between the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the cleaning tank  209 , between the cleaning tank  209  and the first reagent container  206 , between the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 , and between the second reagent container  207  and the third reagent container  208  are the angle θa. The aspiration nozzle  201 , the first reagent nozzle  202 , and the second reagent nozzle  203  fixed to the housing of the automatic analyzer are provided. The angle between reagent nozzles θb between the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  is the angle θa. 
     In the present embodiment, the nozzles are arranged such that when any of the plurality of containers held by the holding unit  204  accesses to the aspiration nozzle  201 , the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  are positioned between the containers. Alternatively, the nozzles are arranged such that when the first reagent and the second reagent are respectively supplied from the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  to the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 , the aspiration nozzle  201  is positioned between the containers. Specifically, an inter-nozzle angle between reagent nozzles is set to a value obtained by multiplying a sum of an integer N and a decimal number a by the angle between adjacent containers θa, the angle being an angle between the aspiration nozzle  201  and the first reagent nozzle  202  and an angle around the rotation shaft  211  of the holding unit  204 .  FIG. 5  shows an example of the inter-nozzle angle θc=112.5 degrees when N=2, a=0.5, and θa=45 degrees. The decimal number a used to calculate the inter-nozzle angle θc is not limited to 0.5, and is appropriately set according to the outer diameter of the aspiration nozzle  201  or the first reagent nozzle  202 , the first reagent container  206 , and the width between the containers in the rotation direction of the holding unit  204 . 
     An example of an operation of the holding unit  204  that accesses a plurality of containers to the nozzles arranged as shown in  FIG. 5  will be described with reference to  FIG. 6 . In  FIG. 6 , the aspiration nozzle  201 , the first reagent nozzle  202 , and the second reagent nozzle  203  fixed to the housing of the automatic analyzer are shown in black. The direction in which the holding unit  204  rotates clockwise is defined as the positive rotation direction. 
     (1) Arrange Reaction Vessel 
     When the reaction vessel installation unit  210  moves to the access point  212  due to the rotation of the holding unit  204 , the reaction vessel transport unit  109  transports the reaction vessel  205  from the reaction promotion part  107  and installs the reaction vessel  205  on the reaction vessel installation unit  210 . At this time, the first reagent container  206  is arranged below the aspiration nozzle  201 . When the reaction vessel  205  is installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210 , the reaction vessel transport unit  109  retracts. 
     (2) Aspirate First Reagent 
     When the first reagent container  206  accesses the aspiration nozzle  201  due to the ascending of the holding unit  204 , the aspiration nozzle  201  aspirates the first reagent from the first reagent container  206 . By aspirating the first reagent, the flow path of the measurement unit  108  and the surface of the electrode are prepared. At this time, in the XY plane, the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  are arranged between the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the third reagent container  208 , so that the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  do not come into contact with any of the containers. 
     (3) Aspirate Reaction Liquid 
     When the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210  accesses the aspiration nozzle  201  due to the lowering and rotation by −90 degrees and ascending of the holding unit  204 , the aspiration nozzle  201  aspirates the reaction liquid from the reaction vessel  205 . Since the reaction liquid is aspirated by the aspiration nozzle  201  fixed to the housing of the automatic analyzer, the flow of the reaction liquid does not change, and the components of the reaction liquid transferred to the measurement unit  108  are uniform. At this time, in the XY plane, the first reagent nozzle  202  is arranged between the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 , and the second reagent nozzle  203  is arranged between the second reagent container  207  and the third reagent container  208 , so that the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  do not come in contact with any of the containers. 
     (4) Clean Aspiration Nozzle 
     When the cleaning tank  209  accesses the aspiration nozzle  201  due to the lowering and rotation by 45 degrees and ascending of the holding unit  204 , an outer surface of aspiration nozzle  201  is cleaned. At this time, in the XY plane, the first reagent nozzle  202  is arranged between the second reagent container  207  and the third reagent container  208 , and the second reagent nozzle  203  is arranged between the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the third reagent container  208 , so that the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  do not come in contact with any of the containers. 
     (5) Aspirate First Reagent 
     When the first reagent container  206  accesses the aspiration nozzle  201  due to the lowering and rotation by 45 degrees and ascending of the holding unit  204 , the aspiration nozzle  201  aspirates the first reagent from the first reagent container  206 . At this time, in the XY plane, the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  are arranged between the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the third reagent container  208 , so that the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  do not come in contact with any of the containers. 
     (6) Remove Reaction Vessel 
     When the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210  moves to the access point  212  due to the lowering of the holding unit  204 , the reaction vessel transport unit  109  removes the reaction vessel  205  from the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and transports the reaction vessel  205 . 
     (7) Supply First Reagent and Second Reagent 
     When the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207  respectively access the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  due to the rotation by −112.5 degrees and ascending of the holding unit  204 , the first reagent and the second reagent are respectively supplied to the first reagent container  206  and the second reagent container  207 . At this time, in the XY plane, the aspiration nozzle  201  is arranged between the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the third reagent vessel  208 , so that the aspiration nozzle  201  does not come into contact with any of the containers. 
     (8) Aspirate Second Reagent 
     When the second reagent container  207  accesses the aspiration nozzle  201  due to the lowering and rotation by 157.5 degrees and ascending of the holding unit  204 , the aspiration nozzle  201  aspirates the second reagent from the second reagent container  207 . At this time, in the XY plane, the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  are arranged between the reaction vessel installation unit  210  and the third reagent container  208 , so that the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  do not come into contact with any of the containers. 
     After “(8) Aspirate Second Reagent”, the step returns to “(1) Arrange Reaction Vessel” due to the lowering and rotation by −45 degrees of the holding unit  204 . In addition, the reaction vessel installation unit  210 , the cleaning tank  209 , the first reagent container  206 , and the second reagent container  207  held by the holding unit  204  are arranged according to an order of (3) to (5) and (8) in  FIG. 6 , that is, an order of accessing to the aspiration nozzle  201 . With such an arrangement, the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be further reduced, so that the time required for the analysis step can be shortened. 
     According to the present embodiment, the inter-nozzle angle is set such that when any of the containers accesses to the aspiration nozzle  201 , the reagent nozzles are positioned between the containers, and thus it is possible to avoid contact between the reagent nozzle and the container that does not access to the reagent nozzle. The inter-nozzle angle is set such that when the reagents are supplied from the reagent nozzles to the reagent containers, the aspiration nozzle  201  is positioned between the containers, and thus it is possible to avoid contact between the aspiration nozzle  201  and the container that does not access to the aspiration nozzle  201 . By avoiding unnecessary contact between the nozzles and the containers, contamination of the reaction liquid or the reagents can be prevented, and the reproducibility of measurement results can be improved. Similar to Embodiment 1, since the drive parameters related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be shared, the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be simplified. 
     Embodiment 4 
     Embodiment 1 describes that the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  is simplified by setting the angle between adjacent containers of the containers held by the holding unit  204  as an integer multiple of a predetermined angle θa. When a plurality of reagent containers accommodating reagents are included in the containers held by the holding unit  204 , the reagent containers are replaced according to deterioration of the reagent, change of the type of reagent, or the like. In order to improve the workability of replacing the reagent containers, it is desirable that there is no aspiration nozzle or reagent nozzle above the reagent containers. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the nozzles and the containers are arranged so that the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  is simplified and the reagent containers can be detached in a state where there is no nozzle thereabove. 
     An arrangement example of a plurality of containers held by the holding unit  204 , and the aspiration nozzle  201  and the reagent nozzles of the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 7 . Similar to Embodiment 1, the holding unit  204  in the present embodiment holds the reaction vessel  205  installed on the reaction vessel installation unit  210 , the cleaning tank  209 , the first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208 . In addition, the first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208  are detachable containers that are detachable from the holding unit  204 . Further, the aspiration nozzle  201 , the first reagent nozzle  202 , and the second reagent nozzle  203  fixed to the housing of the automatic analyzer are provided. 
     In the present embodiment, an angle around the rotation shaft  211  of the holding unit  204 , which is an angle from an end nozzle of one of the aspiration nozzle  201  and the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203  to an end nozzle of the other one of the aspiration nozzle and the first reagent nozzle  202  and the second reagent nozzle  203 , is called an angle between end nozzles. In addition, an angle around the rotation shaft  211  of the holding unit  204 , which is an angle from an end detachable container of one of a plurality of detachable containers to an end detachable container of other detachable containers of a plurality of detachable containers, is called an angle between end containers. A sum of the angle between end nozzles and the angle between end containers is set to be equal to or less than 360 degrees.  FIG. 7  shows an example in which the angle between end nozzles θd=157.5 degrees, the angle between end containers θe=90 degrees, and θd+θe=247.5 degrees, which is equal to or less than 360 degrees. 
     According to the present embodiment, the first reagent container  206 , the second reagent container  207 , and the third reagent container  208 , which are three detachable containers, can be arranged between the aspiration nozzle  201  and the second reagent nozzle  203  due to the rotation of the holding unit  204 . As a result, since there is no aspiration nozzle  201  or reagent nozzle above the detachable container, workability related to replacement of the detachable containers can be improved, and the time required for preparation of the analysis process can be shortened. Similar to Embodiment 1, since the drive parameters related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be shared, the control related to the rotation of the holding unit  204  can be simplified. 
     The four embodiments of the invention have been described above. The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the constituent elements may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiment may be appropriately combined. Further, some constituent elements may be deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the above embodiments. 
     REFERENCE SIGN LIST 
     
         
           101 : sample container 
           102 : sample transport unit 
           103 : reagent container 
           104 : reagent storage 
           105 : sample dispensing unit 
           106 : reagent dispensing unit 
           107 : reaction promotion part 
           108 : measurement unit 
           109 : reaction vessel transport unit 
           110 : sample aspiration position 
           111 : consumable storage unit 
           112 : consumable transport unit 
           113 : control unit 
           114 : reaction liquid and reagent transfer unit 
           201 : aspiration nozzle 
           202 : first reagent nozzle 
           203 : second reagent nozzle 
           204 : holding unit 
           205 : reaction vessel 
           206 : first reagent container 
           207 : second reagent container 
           208 : third reagent container 
           209 : cleaning tank 
           210 : reaction vessel installation unit 
           211 : rotation shaft 
           212 : access point