Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5902549?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=ELIST
Timestamp: 2014-03-08 10:59:14
Document Index: 378337758

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 5', 'art 5', 'art 64', 'art 66', 'art 64', 'art 66', 'art 17', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 17', 'art 5']

Patent US5902549 - Analyzer system having sample rack transfer line - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA plurality of analyzer units for serum, a plurality of analyzer units for blood plasma, and a plurality of analyzer units for urine are arranged along a main transfer line for transferring a sample rack from a rack providing portion to a rack storage portion. A reagent bottle for inspecting liver function...http://www.google.com/patents/US5902549?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5902549 - Analyzer system having sample rack transfer lineAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS5902549 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 08/813,872Publication dateMay 11, 1999Filing dateMar 7, 1997Priority dateMar 11, 1996Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1145799C, CN1168471A, DE69732058D1, DE69732058T2, EP0795754A2, EP0795754A3, EP0795754B1, EP1505396A2, EP1505396A3, US7700043, US20080181817Publication number08813872, 813872, US 5902549 A, US 5902549A, US-A-5902549, US5902549 A, US5902549AInventorsTomonori Mimura, Hiroshi Mitsumaki, Tadashi Ohishi, Taku SakazumeOriginal AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (12), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (36), Classifications (21), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetAnalyzer system having sample rack transfer lineUS 5902549 AAbstract A plurality of analyzer units for serum, a plurality of analyzer units for blood plasma, and a plurality of analyzer units for urine are arranged along a main transfer line for transferring a sample rack from a rack providing portion to a rack storage portion. A reagent bottle for inspecting liver function is contained in each reagent delivery mechanism of two analyzer units among the plurality of analyzer units for serum. When the reagent for inspecting liver function in one of the two analyzer units is to be short, analysis for the liver function analysis item in the samples can be continued by transferring a sample rack from the rack providing portion to the other analyzer unit.
We claim: 1. An analyzer system comprising a transfer line for transferring a sample rack from a rack providing portion to a rack storage portion, and a plurality of analyzer units arranged along said transfer line, each of said analyzer units analyzing a sample by using a reagent, and each of said analyzer units including a delivery mechanism for delivering the sample from the sample rack for analysis of the sample, and a delivery mechanism for delivering a reagent from a reagent bottle for analysis of the sample, the analyzer system further comprising:first and second analyzer units capable of analyzing a specific analysis item; and a control means for judging whether or not a reagent corresponding to said specific analysis item in the first analyzer unit is to be short as the reagent is consumed; said control means controlling said transfer line so that said sample rack is transferred to said second analyzer unit instead of said first analyzer unit for said specific analysis item if it is judged that said reagent is to be short. 2. An analyzer system according to claim 1, whereinsaid control means interrupts an analysis function for said specific analysis item in said first analyzer unit in which the reagent is judged to be short, and performs a subsequent analysis for said specific analysis item in said second analyzer unit. 3. An analyzer system according to claim 1, whereinsaid control means stores each calibration result performed by said first and said second analyzer units in respect to said specific analysis item into a memory corresponding to each of said analyzer units, and uses said result to calculate the concentration of said specific analysis item. 4. An analyzer system according to claim 1, whereinsaid control means selects a first analyzer unit for executing analysis for said specific analysis item of the following samples among a plurality of analyzer units based on a condition of having a minimum number of samples waiting for analysis if it is judged that said reagent is not to be short. 5. An analyzer system according to claim 1, which comprises:at least three analyzer units, said control means allocating an analysis item having a large number of analysis requests to first and second analyzer units of said at least three analyzer units and an analysis item having a least number of analysis requests to a third analyzer unit of said at least three analyzer units, a status of allocating analysis items to said at least three analyzer units being displayed on a display unit. 6. An analyzer system according to claim 1, whereinsaid specified analysis item comprises at least one of a liver function inspection analysis item and an emergency inspection analysis item. 7. An analyzer system according to claim 1, which further comprises:a display unit for displaying which analyzer unit among the plurality of analyzer units should be used for analyzing said specific analysis item. 8. An analyzer system according to claim 1, whereinsaid control means recognizes the kind of a sample on said sample rack based on a read-out result of identification information labeled on said sample rack or said sample container in said rack when said sample rack is to be transferred by said transfer line, and then transfers said sample rack to an analyzer unit in which an analysis condition for said recognized kind is set. 9. An analyzer system according to claim 1, which further comprises:an instruction means for instructing a start-up operation and a shutdown operation for each of said plurality of analyzer units, said control unit transferring said sample rack through said transfer line to an analyzer unit other than that whose operation is suspended. 10. An analyzer system according to claim 1, whereinsaid control means controls said transfer line so that when analysis for said specific analysis item cannot be processed by said first analyzer unit, a sample rack fed to said transfer line and having a sample to be analyzed for said specific analysis item is transferred to said second analyzer unit. Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below, referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4. FIG. 1 shows a schematic construction of the multi-sample analyzer system enabling to analyze samples such as blood serum, blood plasma and urine. In the analyzer system shown in FIG. 1, an analyzer unit supplying samples in a dispenser method as shown in FIG. 2 and an analyzer unit supplying samples in a pipette method are involved. The analyzer units 3A, 3F and 3G in FIG. 1 are dispenser-method based analyzer units, each having fixed analysis channels in which a plurality of sample injection nozzles are assigned to specific samples individually. The analyzer units 3A, 3F and 3G having an analysis channel not fixed but accessed randomly are pipette-method based analyzer units in which a single reagent pipetting nozzle supplies a designated reagent corresponding to the individual analysis items in a controlled sequence.
The sample identification information is labeled with bar codes on the outer wall of the reagent bottles 12, 12A and 12B used for the individual analysis items to be contained in the reagent delivery mechanisms in the analyzer units 3A to 3G. The reagent identification information includes the reagent manufacturing lot number, the size of the reagent bottle, the available amount of reagent fluid for analysis, the valid date of the reagent for analysis, the sequential distinctive number assigned to the individual bottle, the analysis item code and so on. The sample identification information is read out by the bar code read-out unit, and assigned to any of the specific analyzer unit 3A to 3G. The set position of the reagent bottle in the reagent delivery mechanism, the maximum number of analysis operations calculated by the available amount of the reagent fluid and the amount of the reagent fluid used at a single analysis operation, the specification of the analysis item, and the identification number of the analyzer units in which the reagent is transferred, are stored in the memory unit 45.
An example of the structure of the dispenser-method based analyzer unit is described by referring to FIG. 2. The reaction part 5A of the analyzer unit 3A has two rows of transparent reaction vessels 46a, each series arranged on a concentric circle, and each series has a multi-spectral photometer 15a for spectroscopic operation on the light emitted from the light source 14a and passed through the reaction vessel 46A. In the neighboring area of the reaction part 5A, arranged are the sample pipetting mechanism 48a having a pipette nozzle connected to the sample pipetter pump 47a, the first reagent nozzle-group support part 64 and the second reagent nozzle-group support part 66 connected to the reagent dispenser pump 60, the first stirring mechanism 65 and the second stirring mechanism 67, and the reaction vessel rinse mechanism 19a. The reagent bottles 12 for the first reagent and the second reagent (only for the necessary analysis items) for the plurality of analysis items are arranged in the reagent cooler 62 and their reagent temperature is maintained a designated value. The reagent fluid in the individual reagent bottle 12 is supplied to the corresponding reagent ejection nozzle on the array of reaction vessels by the reagent dispenser pump 60. In this embodiment, the dispenser-method based reagent delivery mechanism 32 in the analyzer unit 3A shown in FIG. 1 includes the reagent dispenser pump 60 shown in FIG. 2, the reagent cooler 62 containing plural reagent bottles 12, the first reagent nozzle-group support part 64 and the second reagent nozzle-group support part 66.
The individual sample rack 1 supplied from the rack providing part 17 is transferred by the main transfer line 20, and in case that the analysis process by the analyzer unit 3A is necessary, the sample rack 1 so transferred is loaded on the sampling line 4A of the analyzer unit 3A. When the sample on the sample rack 1 is positioned on the pipetting position, a designated amount of the sample fluid is extracted from the sample rack and pipetted into the reaction vessel 46a by the pipette nozzle of the sample pipetting mechanism 48a. The specified reagent corresponding to the designated analysis item is injected into the reaction vessel located on a designated position in the series of reaction vessels, and biochemical reaction occurs in it. After a designated period of time, the optical characteristic of the reactive fluid contained in the reaction vessel 46a is measured by the multi-spectral photometer 15a. The output signal from the multi-spectral photometer 15a is processed by the logarithmic converter 30a and the A/D converter 31a both controlled by the analysis computer 6A, and is transferred to the central control computer 40. The dispenser-method based analysis systems 3F and 3G have the similar structure to the structure of the analyzer unit 3A.
Next, an example of the pipetter-method based analyzer unit is described by referring to FIG. 3. A biochemical reaction for the sample and the reagent related to the designated analysis item is undergone in the reaction vessel arranged in the reaction part 5B in the analyzer unit 3B. The sample rack 1 moved from the main transfer line 20 to the sampling line 4B (FIG. 1) is located at the pipetting position, where a designated amount of the specified sample in the sample rack 1 is picked up and pipetted into the reaction vessel 46b by the pipette nozzle of the sample pipetting mechanism 48b. The sample pipetting mechanism 48b has a sample pipetter pump 47b. The temperature in the reaction part 5B is maintained at a constant value, for example, 37
The row of reaction vessels 46b into which the samples are pipetted are moved in a rotational direction, a designated amount of reagent is picked up by the reagent pipetting mechanism 8A from the reagent bottle 12A positioned at the designated pipetting position corresponding to the specified analysis item, and the first reagent is injected into the reaction bottle 46b positioned at the reagent injection position. After the reaction fluid including the sample fluid and the injected reagent fluid is stirred by the stirring mechanism 13A at the stirring position, the series of reaction vessels are moved a rotational direction until the reaction vessel 46b reaches the first reagent injection position, where the reagent pipetting mechanism 8B samples out the reagent from the reagent bottle 12A positioned at the reagent pipetting position corresponding to the specified analysis item, and injects the reagent into the reaction vessel. Next, the reaction fluid contained in the reaction vessel is stirred by the stirring mechanism 13B. Thereafter, the light beam from the light source 14b penetrates through the reaction vessel 46B in accordance with the rotational movement of the series of reaction vessels, and the light beam penetrated through the reaction fluid contained in the reaction vessel 46b is detected by the multi-spectral photometer 15b. The spectral signals corresponding to the designated analysis item are processed by the logarithmic converter 30b and the A/D converter 31b, both controlled by the analyzer unit computer 6B, and the processed digital signal is forwarded to the central control computer 40. The reaction vessel 46b completed with designated analysis processes is rinsed by the rinse mechanism 19b and recycled. The analyzer unit 3C, 3D and 3E have a similar structure to the analyzer unit 3B.
Accompanying the loading operation of the reagent bottle into the reagent delivery mechanism of the individual analyzer units 3A to 3G, the reagent identification information of the individual reagent bottles is registered into the central control computer 40 so as to correspond to the designated analyzer unit. In this case, the reagent used for an identical analysis item is loaded onto a plurality of analyzer units categorized in a group of analyzer units handling an identical sample class. For example, the analyzer units 3A, 3B and 3C are categorized in a group of analyzer units for the serum samples. In this case, the reagent bottles used for GOT and GPT generally as frequently requested analysis items and the reagent bottles used for calcium, UA and BUN as emergency analysis items are loaded in the reagent delivery mechanism 32 of the analyzer unit 3A. Also, the reagent bottle used for GOT and GPT as the liver function inspection analysis item and used for the analysis items not so often requested are loaded in the reagent delivery mechanism 26 of the analyzer unit 3B. The reagent bottle used for calcium, UA and BUN as emergency analysis items and for the inspection analysis items not so often requested are loaded in the reagent delivery mechanism 27 of the analyzer unit 3C. The reagent for the specific analysis item that is to be multiply-loaded on the plural analyzer unit is determined by the analysis operator in considering the operational condition of the individual inspection facility.
Accompanying the loading operation of the reagent bottles 12, 12A and 12B on the individual reagent delivery mechanisms, the reagent identification information labeled on the individual reagent bottle is read out. The information already registered as the analysis condition parameters is searched with the reagent bottle code as the search key, and the analysis items corresponding to the individual reagent bottle, the size of the bottle, the maximum number of inspection operations enabled with the reagent content in the single reagent bottle, and the set position of the reagent bottle are made to be related to one another and registered in the central control computer 40. At the same time, the maximum number of inspection analysis operations is estimated with the number of all the reagent bottles for the identical analysis item in the plurality of analyzer units enabling the identical analysis item is also registered in the central control computer and displayed on a CRT 43 if necessary.
As one of the sample racks 1 on the rack providing part 17 is moved forward to the main transfer line 20, the identification information of the sample rack 1 or the identification information of the sample container 2 is read out by the identification information read-out unit 50. The classification of the sample on the corresponding sample rack 1 is judged by the central control computer 40 with reference to the read-out information, and the group of the analyzer unit with analysis conditions defined for its corresponding sample classification is determined. Finally according to this determination result, one of the analyzer units categorized in the selected group of the analyzer units is selected as the destination to which the sample rack or the sample container is transferred. In this embodiment, the sample to be inspected is assumed to be for serum analysis and the selected group of the analyzer unit to which the sample rack containing this sample is to be transferred is one including the analyzer units 3A, 3B and 3D.
The sample rack 1 with its destination defined as, for example, the analyzer unit 3B, and with a designated sample to be inspected for the specified analysis item is transferred by the main transfer line 20 extended to the specified analyzer unit 3B, and stops at the entrance port to the sampling line 4B of the analyzer unit 3B. Next, the sample rack 1 is loaded onto the sampling line 4B and, and after the specified sample in the sample rack 1 located at the pipetting position is picked up and pipetted into the reaction part 5B by the sample pipetting mechanism 48b, the sample rack 1 is transferred back to the main transfer line 20. In case that there still remain samples on the sample rack 1 which contain the analysis items to be processed by another analyzer unit, the sample rack 1 is transferred to the analyzer unit 3C by the main transfer line 20, and loaded on the sampling line 4C for the pipetting operation.
The amount of the reagent fluid left in the reagent bottle used for the individual analysis items in the individual analyzer units is monitored by the central control computer 40. As for the method for monitoring the reagent fluid left in the reagent bottle, often used are a method in which the fluid level sensor attached to the reagent pipette nozzle detects the reagent fluid level in the reagent bottle when the corresponding reagent fluid is picked up and pipetted, or a method in which a pre-input maximum analyzable number is subtracted by one every pipetting of the reagent. In either of the methods described above, whether the amount of the reagent fluid used for the designated analysis items is enough or short is determined by the central control computer 4 considering the remaining analyzable number reaches the pre-determined value or not. The lower bound value pre-determined in this case is, for example, zero, 1 or 2. For example, in case that the amount of the reagent fluid for GOT stored in the specified analyzer unit 3B is proved to be short, the analysis of GOT by the analyzer unit 3B is interrupted and at the same time, the analysis of GOT is switched to the analyzer unit 3A which may contain enough of the reagent fluid for GOT inspection. Therefore, the samples to be processed for GOT inspection analysis operation are forwarded directly to the analyzer unit 3A to which the operation priority for GOT inspection is assigned thereafter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an analyzer system, and particularly to an analyzer system suitable for transferring a sample rack to a plurality of analyzer units though a transfer line, and analyzing and processing designated analysis items for a plurality of samples.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a multiple sample analyzer system which enables an efficient analysis operation even for the analysis item which is requested by a large number of samples, and enables an automated analysis operation without interrupting the analysis operation for the analysis item for which the reagent fluid is short while the analyzer unit is operated.
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