Patent Description:
For the purpose of improving an insufficient degassing performance accompanying speeding up of a device, PTL <NUM> describes an automatic analyzer including a water supply pump that supplies a liquid, a degassing device that degasses the liquid supplied by the water supply pump, a circulation flow path that returns a degassed liquid to a flow path before degassing, and at least one of a sample sampling mechanism and a reagent sampling mechanism that uses the degassed liquid, in which each sampling mechanism includes a water supply control valve, a pressure switching valve is installed inside the circulation flow path, the degassed liquid is supplied to the sample sampling mechanism and reagent sampling mechanism while the pressure switching valve is closed, and the degassed liquid circulates in the degassing device via the circulation flow path while the pressure switching valve is open.

PTL <NUM> discloses an autoanalyzer that can eliminate influence of cleaning agents and improve operability at the time of maintenance while reducing maintenance time. The autoanalyzer comprises: a deionized water tank for storing deionized water; a micro-bubble generating unit that causes micro-bubbles to be generated in the deionized water and injects the deionized water having the micro-bubbles into the deionized water tank; a flow passage switching section for switching a flow passage connecting a deionized water generating device and the deionized water tank to a flow passage connecting the deionized water generating device and the micro-bubble generating unit in order to supply the deionized water generated by the deionized water generating device to the micro-bubble generating unit; and a controller for controlling the flow passage switching section in order to supply the deionized water to the micro-bubble generating unit.

PTL <NUM> discloses an automatic analyzing device, wherein in a water channel returning from a first water supply terminal to a water storage tank of the channel circulating between a water storage tank and the first water supply terminal, an aspirator is inserted, and a suction port of the aspirator is connected to a vacuum buffer tank, and then a deaerating unit and subtanks are connected to the vacuum buffer tank.

Many of the automatic analyzers use syringe pumps as a dispensing mechanism, and it is preferable to fill the inside with an incompressible fluid such as water (hereinafter, referred to as system water) in order to propagate the pressure instantly and accurately.

Since air bubbles in the system water will affect the pressure propagation, it is preferable to use degassed water as the system water in order to improve dispensing accuracy, and the automatic analyzer having such a configuration is described in PTL <NUM> described above.

Here, it is unnecessary to use the degassed water as the system water for purposes other than pressure propagation in the dispensing mechanism. Therefore, when the degassed water is supplied to a place where the degassed water does not need to be used, a mechanism for producing and storing the degassed water such as the degassing device becomes large, and the device itself becomes large, and thus it is preferable to avoid this situation.

In PTL <NUM>, the degassed liquid is returned to the flow path before degassing and circulated many times to improve the insufficient degassing performance. In addition, PTL <NUM> describes an example in which a small buffer tank is provided when a large amount of water is required.

However, if this buffer tank is provided separately from the tank that supplies water to the device as described in PTL <NUM>, the device becomes large and complicated, and thus it is clear that there is room for further miniaturization and simplification.

An object of the invention is to provide an automatic analyzer capable of miniaturizing and simplifying a system that supplies and uses system water as compared with related art.

The invention includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems, and one example thereof is an automatic analyzer including a first system that does not need to use degassed water, a second system where it is preferable to use the degassed water and that includes a degassing device for producing the degassed water and a pump for delivering the degassed water, and a common tank where a first compartment for storing water to be supplied to the first system and a second compartment for storing the degassed water to be supplied to the second system are formed, wherein the analyzer further includes a water supply pipe for supplying water from an external water supply source to the first compartment, wherein the water level in the first compartment is controlled by a water level sensor, which controls a water supply valve in the water supply pipe so as to keep the water level within a certain range, wherein the second system includes a circulation system that includes pipes that connect the degassing device, the pump, and the second compartment of the common tank, and a usage system that includes pipes that connect the degassing device and a usage unit that uses the degassed water, and the inside of the common tank is provided with a partition for forming the first compartment and the second compartment and a water passage part allowing water to move from the first compartment to the second compartment.

According to the invention, it is possible to miniaturize and simplify the system for supplying and using the system water as compared with the related art. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be further clarified with the following description of embodiments.

An embodiment of an automatic analyzer of the invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

First, a schematic overall configuration of the automatic analyzer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG> illustrates an overall schematic configuration of the automatic analyzer according to the embodiment of the invention.

An automatic analyzer <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> is a device that automatically analyzes a sample, and includes a sample disk <NUM>, a sample dispensing mechanism <NUM>, reaction cells <NUM>, a reaction tank <NUM>, a reagent disk <NUM>, a reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM>, a stirring mechanism <NUM>, a photometer <NUM>, a cell cleaning mechanism <NUM>, cleaning tanks <NUM> and <NUM>, a cleaning tank <NUM>, and a control unit <NUM>.

The sample disk <NUM> is an apparatus for setting sample containers containing samples in a device, and holds a plurality of sample containers. In addition, in addition to or in place of the sample disk <NUM>, a conveyance mechanism for conveying a sample holder holding one sample container or a sample rack holding a plurality of sample containers can be provided.

A plurality of reaction cells <NUM> where a sample such as blood or urine reacts with a reagent are stored in the reaction tank <NUM> in a state of being separated from each other at predetermined intervals along a circumferential direction. Constant temperature water flows in the reaction tank <NUM> so as to keep the reaction cells <NUM> and a reaction liquid therein at a constant temperature.

The reagent disk <NUM> is a storage container in which a plurality of reagent bottles containing reagents corresponding to measurement items can be stored in a circumferential shape. The reagent disk <NUM> is kept cold.

The sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> is installed between the reaction tank <NUM> and the sample disk <NUM>, and. is configured to be rotatable and vertically movable in. an arc shape. A sample probe is provided at a tip thereof.

The sample probe moves while drawing an arc around a rotary shaft of the sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> to execute various dispensing operations of aspirating the sample for measurement from the sample container or the reaction cell <NUM> and discharging the sample to the reaction cell <NUM>.

The reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> is installed adjacent to the reaction tank <NUM> and the reagent disk <NUM> and is configured to be rotatable and vertically movable in an arc shape, and a reagent probe is provided at the tip thereof.

The reagent probe moves while drawing an arc around the rotary shaft of the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> to execute the dispensing operation of aspirating the reagent from the reagent bottle and discharging the reagent to the reaction cell <NUM>.

The stirring mechanism <NUM> includes, for example, a stirring blade or a spatula-shaped rod (not illustrated) provided at the tip, and performs stirring by infiltrating the stirring blade or rod into the reaction liquid, which is a mixture of the sample and the reagent in the reaction cell <NUM>, and rotating the stirring blade or the rod. In addition, the stirring mechanism <NUM> is not limited to such a mechanism, and may be a mechanism based on ultrasonic waves.

The photometer <NUM> is a device for performing a colorimetric analysis of the reaction liquid obtained by making the sample reacting with the reagent in the reaction cell <NUM>, and is disposed to face a light source (not illustrated) disposed inside the reaction tank <NUM> so as to sandwich the reaction cells <NUM>.

The cell cleaning mechanism <NUM> is a device that aspirates the reaction liquid for which analysis has been completed and cleans the reaction cell <NUM>.

The washing tank <NUM> for washing the sample probe of the sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> is installed between the reaction tank <NUM> and the sample disk <NUM>. In addition, the washing tank <NUM> for washing the reagent probe of the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> is installed between the reaction tank <NUM> and the reagent disk <NUM>. Further, the cleaning tank <NUM> for cleaning the stirring mechanism <NUM> is installed between the reaction tank <NUM> and the stirring mechanism <NUM> to prevent contamination.

The control unit <NUM> is connected to the apparatus in the automatic analyzer <NUM> described above, and controls an overall operation of the automatic analyzer <NUM>. The control unit <NUM> is a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like, and performs arithmetic processing for obtaining a concentration of a predetermined component in the sample from a detection result of the photometer <NUM>.

The control of the operation of each apparatus by the control unit <NUM> is executed based on various programs recorded in a storage device. In addition to various programs used for the measurement of the sample, the storage device stores various parameters input via an input device, information on a measurement target sample (sample type information, and the like), measurement results, and the like.

In addition, control processing on the operation executed by the control unit <NUM> may be integrated into one program, may be divided into a plurality of programs, or may be a combination thereof. Further, a part or all of the programs may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or may be modularized.

Further, the control unit <NUM> of the present embodiment executes a control that enables the analysis to be started after the water is degassed by the degassing device <NUM> for a certain period of time from the start-up of the automatic analyzer <NUM>. Details of the above will be described below.

In such an automatic analyzer, the cleaning tanks <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> and the cell cleaning mechanism <NUM> use non-degassed water to clean the target apparatus. On the other hand, in the sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> and the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM>, the degassed water is used during the dispensing operation of the sample and the reagent or during internal washing. In addition, as blank water in the reaction cell <NUM> or the constant temperature water in the reaction tank <NUM>, either the degassed water or the non-degassed water may be used.

The above is the overall configuration of the automatic analyzer <NUM>.

The analysis processing of the sample performed by the automatic analyzer <NUM> as described above is generally executed according to the following procedure.

First, the sample container containing the sample to be analyzed is installed on the sample disk <NUM>, and is rotated and moved to a sample sorting position.

The sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> discharges the aspirated sample into the reaction cell <NUM> on the reaction tank <NUM>, the reagent aspirated from the reagent bottle on the reagent disk <NUM> is further added by the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> to the reaction cell <NUM>, and the sample and the reagent in the reaction cell <NUM> are mixed and stirred by the stirring mechanism <NUM>.

Then, optical characteristics of light passing through the reaction liquid held in the reaction cell <NUM> from the light source by the photometer <NUM> are measured by the photometer <NUM>, and the measurement result is transmitted to the control unit <NUM>.

The control unit <NUM> obtains the concentration of a specific component in the sample by the arithmetic processing based on the transmitted measurement result. Notification of an analysis result is given to a user via a display device and the analysis result is recorded in the storage device.

Next, details of a cleaning system, which is an example of a mechanism using the degassed water and the non-degassed water of the automatic analyzer <NUM> of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to <FIG> is a schematic configuration diagram of the cleaning system of the automatic analyzer of the invention.

As illustrated in <FIG>, water <NUM> is filled inside a tank <NUM>. A partition <NUM> is provided inside the tank <NUM>, and the tank <NUM> is divided into a first compartment <NUM> for storing water to be supplied to a first system <NUM> and a second compartment <NUM> for storing the degassed water to be supplied to a second system <NUM>.

In addition, the partition <NUM> does not completely partition the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM>, and is provided with a water passage part <NUM>.

The water passage part <NUM> secures a passage for the water <NUM> to move between the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM>, and allows the water <NUM> stored in the spaces to move back and forth. However, easiness of moving back and forth can be limited.

A water supply pipe <NUM> and a first aspiration pipe <NUM> are inserted in the first compartment <NUM>, and a second aspiration pipe <NUM> and a return pipe <NUM> are inserted in the second compartment <NUM>.

A water usage system of the device is divided into the first system <NUM> that does not need to use the degassed water and the second system <NUM> where it is preferable to use the degassed water, the first system <NUM> aspirates and uses water from the first compartment <NUM> through the first aspiration pipe <NUM>, and the second system <NUM> aspirates and uses water from the second compartment <NUM> through the second aspiration pipe <NUM>.

Water is supplied to the tank <NUM> from an external water supply source through the water supply pipe <NUM>. A water level is controlled by a water level sensor (not illustrated), and a water supply valve <NUM> is controlled so as to keep the water level within a certain range.

In the first system <NUM>, the water aspirated by a first pump <NUM> through the first aspiration pipe <NUM> and a first aspiration flow path <NUM> is used through a first discharge flow path <NUM>. For example, a cleaning tank <NUM> is used as a usage destination of the first system <NUM>, and an outer surface of a nozzle used in the analysis can be cleaned. The discharge of cleaning water is controlled by a valve <NUM>.

In addition, the cleaning tank <NUM> is a general term for the cleaning tanks <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> and the cell cleaning mechanism <NUM> described above.

Further, although not illustrated, there are other usage destinations other than the cleaning tank <NUM>, and the tip of the first discharge flow path <NUM> is branched for each usage destination, each branch includes a valve, and the discharge is controlled by each valve.

In the second system <NUM>, the water is aspirated by a second pump <NUM> through the second aspiration pipe <NUM> and a second aspiration flow path <NUM>. A degassing device <NUM> is provided in the middle of the second aspiration flow path <NUM>, and the aspirated water is degassed when passing through the degassing device <NUM>.

The degassing device <NUM> may be made of a hollow fiber membrane of silicon, and by creating a negative pressure on the outside of the hollow fiber membrane, when a liquid passes through the inside of the hollow fiber membrane, only gas in the liquid is separated from a wall surface of the hollow fiber.

The tip of the second pump <NUM> is connected to a second discharge flow path <NUM>, but a part of the second pump <NUM> is branched at a branch <NUM> and returned to the second compartment <NUM> via a return flow. path <NUM> and the return pipe <NUM>.

A circulation system includes the return flow path <NUM> and the aspiration flow path <NUM> that connects the degassing device <NUM>, the second pump <NUM>, and the second compartment <NUM> of the tank <NUM>, and a usage system includes a connection flow path <NUM> and the discharge flow path <NUM> that connects the degassing device <NUM> and a usage unit that uses the degassed water.

For example, the sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> or the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> is used as the usage destination of the second system <NUM>, and the sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> or the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> includes a syringe pump <NUM>, a nozzle <NUM>, and a connection flow path <NUM> thereof.

The nozzle <NUM> may be moved to the sample container or the reaction cell <NUM> by a nozzle moving mechanism (not illustrated).

Since it is necessary to instantly and accurately propagate a pressure fluctuation generated by the syringe pump <NUM> to the nozzle <NUM>, it is preferable that the system water used inside the sample dispensing mechanism <NUM> and the reagent dispensing mechanism <NUM> is the degassed water.

After the dispensing is completed, the inside of the nozzle <NUM> needs to be cleaned, and the discharge of the water used at that time is controlled by a valve <NUM>.

A plurality of dispensing mechanisms may be used, and usage destinations other than the dispensing mechanism where it is preferable to use the degassed water may be used.

The tip of the second discharge flow path <NUM> is branched for each of these usage destinations, each branch includes a valve, and the discharge is controlled by each valve.

It is preferable to dispose the aspiration ports of the first aspiration pipe <NUM> and the second aspiration pipe <NUM> near the lower side of the tank <NUM> so as to reduce the possibility that air bubbles are present by floating bubbles generated during water supply or changes in room temperature, etc..

Discharge ports of the water supply pipe <NUM> and the return pipe <NUM> do not need to be under the tank <NUM>, whereas by disposing these discharge ports at positions lower than a water surface, it is possible to further prevent a fact that air will be entrained when the water surface falls such that dissolved air is increased, and thus it is preferable that these discharge ports are also below the water surface.

A diameter of the nozzle <NUM> may be made extremely small in order to dispense a small amount with high accuracy. Accordingly, in order to clean the inside of the nozzle <NUM>, it is preferable to use a type of second pump <NUM> that can apply high pressure, such as a gear pump.

Since liquid passes through the hollow fiber membrane of the degassing device <NUM>, if a flow path resistance is large and an aspiration pressure of the second pump <NUM> is insufficient, another pump may be further provided in front of the degassing device.

Alternatively, since it is possible to perform degassing in a circulating manner, it is conceivable to reduce the flow path resistance even if a degassing ability at the time of one passage is reduced, and it is possible to adopt a configuration which does not include another pump. If a small degassing device with a small flow path resistance can be used, the device may be miniaturized and a cost may be reduced.

Next, the details and variations of the partition <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG> are diagrams illustrating examples of a partition related to a tank that stores cleaning water of the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment.

The partition <NUM> includes a single rectangular parallelepiped plate as illustrated in the lower side of <FIG>, and is provided to prevent the degassed water returned to the tank <NUM> after passing through the degassing device <NUM> from spreading to the entire tank <NUM> and being used for the first system <NUM> which does not need to use the degassed water. Accordingly, wasteful use of the degassed water may be prevented, and the dissolved oxygen concentration may be efficiently reduced.

In addition, the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> may be completely partitioned by the partition <NUM>, but there is a problem that the device will be complicated because it is necessary to control the water level in each compartment, and it is necessary to provide the water level sensor and the water supply valve in each compartment and control the water levels separately.

Therefore, in the invention, the inside of the tank <NUM> is not completely partitioned by the partition <NUM>, and the water passage part <NUM> capable of allowing the water <NUM> to move back and forth is provided in a part of the partition <NUM>.

It is preferable that a cross-sectional area of the water passage part <NUM> is made small as long as there is no trouble for the water to move back and forth. In this way, it is preferable to prevent the degassed water from diffusing toward a first compartment <NUM> side.

In addition, when water flows from the second compartment <NUM> that uses the degassed water to the first compartment <NUM> that uses the non-degassed water through the water passage part <NUM>, this case is still better than a case where no partition <NUM> is present at all, but there is still the problem that waste will occur. Therefore, it is preferable that the water flow of the water passage part <NUM> is unidirectional from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM>. <FIG> is for illustrating characteristics of the partition <NUM> for that purpose. In <FIG>, the tank <NUM> is the same as the tank <NUM> in <FIG>, but the water supply pipe <NUM> and the return pipe <NUM> are not illustrated for ease of understanding. The same applies to the following <FIG>.

In order to create a flow of the water <NUM> from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>, the water surface drop in the second compartment <NUM> should be made faster than the water surface drop in the first compartment <NUM>.

Specifically, if water consumption per unit time of the first system <NUM> is VA, water consumption per unit time of the second system <NUM> is VB, a cross-sectional area of the first compartment <NUM> is AA and a cross-sectional area of the second compartment <NUM> is AB when the tank <NUM> is viewed from an upper surface side in a vertical direction, the water surface drops hA and hB per unit time in the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> are hA = VA/AA (<NUM>) hB = VB/AB (<NUM>), respectively.

Since VA and VB may be considered to be known in an operation of the device, hA < hB (= VA/AA < VB/AB) , that is, from the above Equations (<NUM>) and (<NUM>), it is preferable to provide the partition <NUM> at a position where AA/AB, which a ratio of the cross-sectional area AA of the first compartment <NUM> to the cross-sectional area AB of the second compartment <NUM>, satisfies the relation of AA/AB > VA/VB with respect to VA/VB, which is the ratio of the water consumption VA per unit time of the first compartment <NUM> to the water consumption VB per unit time of the second compartment <NUM>.

By providing the partition <NUM>, the tank <NUM> may be provided with a function of storing the degassed water, and the device configuration may be simplified without separately providing a buffer tank.

Next, variations of the partition <NUM> and the water passage part <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG> and the subsequent figures.

The water passage part <NUM> does not need to be provided on an upper portion side inside the tank <NUM>. For example, there is one water level sensor having a certain detection range, and the water level sensor detects a lower limit of the water level to supply water, detects an upper limit, and controls to stop the water supply.

When trying to control the water levels of both the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> with this water level sensor, if a lower limit side of a boundary of the water passage part <NUM> is above the lower limit of the detection range of the water level sensor, when the water surface falls below the lower limit of the water passage part <NUM>, the water level of a compartment on the side where the water level sensor is not installed is unknown. In such a case, it is conceivable to provide the water level sensors separately in the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM>.

It is conceivable to lower the lower limit of the water passage part <NUM>, but as described above, there is a concern that enlarging the water passage part <NUM> will not ensure an efficient amount of the degassed water. In order to overcome such a disadvantage, it is conceivable to provide a water passage part 6a at the lower portion as illustrated in <FIG>.

In <FIG>, a water level sensor <NUM> has a detection range 29a, and a partition 3a is provided with the water passage portion 6a at the lower end. In such a case, the water surface drop hA in the first compartment <NUM> and the water surface drop hB in the second compartment <NUM> are considered to be the same as those illustrated in <FIG> in which the water passage part 6a is at the top, and the flow from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> can be secured by providing the partition 3a at a position where the cross-sectional area AA of the first compartment <NUM> and the cross-sectional area AB of the second compartment <NUM> satisfy hA < hB.

Also in such a case, it is preferable that the aspiration ports of the first aspiration pipe <NUM> and the second aspiration pipe <NUM> are located at lower positions of the tank <NUM> as described above.

However, when the water passage part 6a is provided in the lower portion of the tank <NUM>, if the water passage part 6a and the aspiration port of the second aspiration pipe <NUM> are close to each other, the non-degassed water that flows from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> may be in a manner of first-in first-out, and thus it can be said that there is room for further obtaining an effect of circulating degassing by making the non-degassed water pass through the degassing device <NUM> a plurality of times to sufficiently degas by improving this.

Therefore, it is preferable to increase a distance between an outlet of a water passage part 6b on the second compartment <NUM> side and the aspiration port of the second aspiration pipe <NUM> by forming partitions 3b and 3c by two plates, and providing a space between the partitions 3b and 3c made of two or more plates, as illustrated in <FIG>.

The partition 3c as illustrated in <FIG> rises from a bottom surface of the tank <NUM> on the second compartment <NUM> side with respect to the partition 3b, and a position of an upper end thereof is located below a detection lower limit of the water level sensor <NUM>. With such partitions 3b and 3c, the water passage part 6b may be separated from the aspiration port of the second aspiration pipe <NUM>.

The narrow space between an opening of the water passage part 6b seen from the first compartment <NUM> and the opening of the water passage part 6b seen from the second compartment <NUM> can be regarded as the water passage part 6b in the entire space. When distinguishing from the one-plane partition <NUM> and the water passage part <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>, this space may be called a water passage area. If the water passage area is present, the diffusion of the water <NUM> inside the tank <NUM> is less likely to occur, which is advantageous for securing an efficient amount of the degassed water. In order to enhance the effect, the partition 3b and the partition 3c may be arranged alternately. Further, when providing the partitions, it is preferable that the outlet of the water passage area on the second compartment <NUM> side is on the upper portion side of the second compartment <NUM>.

In addition, the partition is formed of a single rectangular parallelepiped plate, and a height of the water passage part does not have to be uniform in a horizontal direction.

For example, when the tank <NUM> is rotated <NUM> degrees from an illustrated direction of <FIG> and the like, a partition 3d may be formed by a slit in the vertical direction as illustrated in <FIG>. This slit-shaped opening serves as a water passage part 6d.

It is preferable that the slit is cut below the detection lower limit of the water level sensor <NUM>. An area of the water passage part 6d is controlled because it does not spread in the horizontal direction, and the diffusion of the degassed water can be prevented.

In addition, the water passage part may be shaped like a circular or polygonal hole, and a plurality of slit-shaped or hole-shaped water passage parts may be provided on one partition. In such a case, the arrangement of the partitions can be devised to provide the water passage area, and a plurality of water passage parts and water passage areas having various shapes can be combined.

Further, as illustrated in <FIG>, in order to form a one-way flow from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> more reliably, it is possible to constitute a partition 3e with a single plate, constitute a water passage part 6e with an opening hole provided on the partition 3e between the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM>, and provide the opening hole with a check valve <NUM> that allows a flow of water from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> and obstructs the flow of the degassed water from the second compartment <NUM> to the first compartment <NUM>.

In the check valve <NUM>, when the water level in the second compartment <NUM> drops below the water level in the first compartment <NUM>, the non-degassed water flows from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> due to a pressure difference, but the degassed water does not flow to the first compartment <NUM> side because the valve is closed from the second compartment <NUM>.

In addition, in this case, in order to control the water level in both compartments with one water level sensor, it is preferable to install the water level sensor <NUM> in the first compartment <NUM>.

The partition <NUM> is unnecessarily formed of a single vertical plate.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, a partition 3f can be provided diagonally inside the tank <NUM>. In such a case, the water level drops in the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> should be considered based on the cross-sectional area of each compartment when the partition 3f is viewed from above.

By providing the partition 3f, a volume ratio between the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> can be changed while maintaining the flow from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM>. As a result, it is possible to exert an effect of increasing a degree of freedom in designing the tank <NUM>.

In particular, the second compartment <NUM> requires a certain volume in order to maintain an efficient dissolved oxygen concentration due to the relation between the water consumption and the amount of returned water. If the first compartment <NUM> is made smaller, the volume of the entire tank <NUM> may be made smaller.

Here, in the case of the vertical one-plane partition <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG> and the like, a cross-sectional area ratio that realizes the water level drop becomes the volume ratio as it is, so that it cannot be reduced to a value equal to or larger than the area ratio. Meanwhile, since the volume ratio can be changed while maintaining the cross-sectional area ratio for causing the targeted water surface drop by providing the partition 3f diagonally as illustrated in <FIG>, the size of tank <NUM> can be reduced. As a result, the tank <NUM> can be further miniaturized.

<FIG> illustrates a case where the partition <NUM> is formed of a plurality of planes. Also in such a case, it is preferable to consider the water level drop of each compartment based on the cross-sectional area of each compartment when the partition <NUM> is viewed from above.

In addition, the partition does not necessarily have to stand from the bottom surface of the tank <NUM>, and the partition <NUM> may come out from a side surface of the tank <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Naturally, the heights of the aspiration ports of the first aspiration pipe <NUM> and the second aspiration pipe <NUM> may be different. Also in such a case, it is preferable to aspirate water from the bottom of each compartment. By adopting such a structure, the degree of freedom in design is further increased, and the capacity of the tank <NUM> can be greatly reduced depending on the water consumption, which leads to further miniaturization of the device.

Further, another embodiment of the tank will be described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating another example of the tank of the automatic analyzer of the present embodiment, and <FIG> is a diagram illustrating another example of installation of the pipe connected to the tank.

In the automatic analyzer <NUM>, the tank <NUM> may be cleaned for maintenance, and thus it is preferable that the tank <NUM> and pipes are removable from each other. In addition, the tank and the pipe will be returned to original positions after being removed, and thus it is preferable that the structure is such that the tank and the pipe can be easily returned.

Therefore, it is preferable that the tank <NUM> includes the water supply pipe <NUM> and the first aspiration pipe <NUM> that constitute the first system <NUM>, the second aspiration pipe <NUM> and the return pipe <NUM> that constitute the second system <NUM>, and a tank cap <NUM> that fixes the water level sensor <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

Further, it is preferable that the tank cap <NUM> is provided with a fixing position notification unit indicating a fixing position so as to prevent the orientation of the first aspiration pipe <NUM> of the first compartment <NUM> and the second aspiration pipe <NUM> of the second compartment <NUM> from being fixed in an opposite direction when being returned to original positions. As an example of the fixing position notification unit, a mark may be provided or a shape of the tank cap <NUM> may be asymmetrical.

In addition, as described above, the pipes do not have to be inserted from the upper portion side of the tank <NUM>, and for example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the water supply pipe <NUM>, the first aspiration pipe <NUM>, the second aspiration pipe <NUM>, and the return pipe <NUM> may protrude from a bottom of a tank 1a. Further, the pipes may protrude from the side surface of the tank.

The tank and the pipe may be integrated, and the pipe and the flow path may be provided with connectors to connect the connectors to each other. It is more preferable to have a mechanism to prevent erroneous piping, such as marking the connector.

Further, the concentration of the dissolved air in the second compartment <NUM> is often unknown immediately after the start-up of the automatic analyzer <NUM>. Therefore, it is preferable that the control unit <NUM> enables the analysis to be started after degassing the system water to a certain level by circulating the system water that passes through the degassing device <NUM> through the circulation system for a certain period of time from the start-up of the automatic analyzer <NUM>. For example, it is possible to prevent the device from starting operation until a certain period of time has passed. In addition, it may be incorporated in a preparatory operation at the time of starting the device.

Next, an effect of the present embodiment will be described.

The above automatic analyzer <NUM> of the present embodiment includes the first system <NUM> that does not need to use the degassed water, the second system <NUM> where it is preferable to use the degassed water and that includes the degassing device <NUM> for producing the degassed water and the second pump <NUM> for delivering the degassed water, and the tank <NUM> where the first compartment <NUM> for storing water to be supplied to the first system <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> for storing the degassed water to be supplied to the second system <NUM> are formed, in which the second system <NUM> includes the circulation system that includes the aspiration flow path <NUM> that connects the degassing device <NUM>, the second pump <NUM>, and the second compartment <NUM> of the tank <NUM>, and the return flow path <NUM>, and the usage system that includes the discharge flow path <NUM> that connects the degassing device <NUM> and the usage unit that uses the degassed water, and the connection flow path <NUM>, and the inside of the tank <NUM> is provided with the partitions <NUM>, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, and <NUM> for forming the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM> and the water passage parts <NUM>, 6a, 6b, 6d, 6e, 6f, and <NUM> where water moves between the first compartments and the second compartment <NUM>.

With such a structure, the tank <NUM> that accommodates the degassed water and the non-degassed water can be shared, so that the degassed water supply system can be miniaturized and has a simple configuration, and the automatic analyzer <NUM> itself can be miniaturized.

In addition, since partitions <NUM>, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, and <NUM> are provided so that AA/AB, which is the ratio of the cross-sectional area AA of the first compartment <NUM> to the cross-sectional area AB of the second compartment <NUM>, is larger than VA/VB, which is the ratio of the water consumption VA per unit time of the first compartment <NUM> to the water consumption VB per unit time of the second compartment <NUM>, when the tank <NUM> is viewed from the upper surface side in the vertical direction, the flow of the water <NUM> from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> can be effectively formed, the degassed water can be effectively prevented from flowing to the first compartment <NUM> side that retains the non-degassed water, and the degassed water can be used efficiently on the side that uses the degassed water.

Further, by constituting the partition 3d with a single plate, and forming the water passage part 6d with at least one of the slit, a circular hole, and the polygonal hole provided on the partition 3d, the inside of the tank <NUM> can be separated with a simple configuration, and the water passage part can be secured.

In addition, by constituting the partition 3d with a single plate, constituting the water passage part 6d with the opening hole provided on the partition 3d between the first compartment <NUM> and the second compartment <NUM>, and providing the opening hole with the check valve <NUM> that allows the flow of water from the first compartment <NUM> to the second compartment <NUM> and obstructs the flow of the degassed water from the second compartment <NUM> to the first compartment <NUM>, the degassed water and the non-degassed water in the water passage part 6d can be prevented from being mixed, and the degassed water can be generated and used more efficiently.

Further, by constituting the partitions 3b and 3c with two or more plates, and providing the water passage part 6b with a space formed between the two or more plates, the degassed water and the non-degassed water in the water passage part 6b can be prevented from being mixed, and the degassed water can be generated and used more efficiently.

In addition, since the volume ratio can be changed while maintaining the cross-sectional area ratio for causing the targeted water surface drop by providing the partition 3f diagonally in a vertical direction, the size of tank <NUM> can be reduced. As a result, the tank <NUM> can be further miniaturized.

Further, since the tank <NUM> includes the tank cap <NUM> that fixes the pipes constituting the first system <NUM> and the second system <NUM>, the pipes can be removed together by removing the tank cap <NUM>, and burden on a user during maintenance can be reduced.

In addition, by providing the tank cap <NUM> with the fixing position notification unit that indicates the fixing position, it is possible to reliably prevent the tank cap <NUM> from being inserted backward such that the first system <NUM> and the second system <NUM> are fixed in opposite directions, and the degassed water and the non-degassed water are used in opposite directions, and thus the operation of the device can be greatly stabilized.

Further, since the control unit <NUM> that controls the operation of the apparatus in the automatic analyzer <NUM> is further included, and the control unit <NUM> enables the analysis to be started after degassing water with the degassing device <NUM> for a certain period of time from the start-up of the automatic analyzer <NUM>, analytical reliability of the automatic analyzer <NUM> can be improved.

Claim 1:
An automatic analyzer (<NUM>), comprising:
a first system (<NUM>) that does not need to use degassed water;
a second system (<NUM>) where it is preferable to use degassed water and that includes a degassing device (<NUM>) for producing the degassed water and a pump (<NUM>) for delivering the degassed water; and
a common tank where a first compartment (<NUM>) for storing water to be supplied to the first system (<NUM>) and a second compartment (<NUM>) for storing the degassed water to be supplied to the second system (<NUM>) are formed, wherein the analyzer further includes a water supply pipe (<NUM>) for supplying water from an external water supply source to the first compartment (<NUM>), wherein the water level in the first compartment (<NUM>) is controlled by a water level sensor, which controls a water supply valve (<NUM>) in the water supply pipe (<NUM>) so as to keep the water level within a certain range, wherein
the second system (<NUM>) includes a circulation system that includes pipes that connect the degassing device (<NUM>), the pump (<NUM>), and the second compartment (<NUM>) of the common tank, and a usage system that includes pipes that connects the degassing device (<NUM>) and a usage unit that uses the degassed water, and
the inside of the common tank is provided with a partition (<NUM>) for forming the first compartment (<NUM>) and the second compartment (<NUM>) and a water passage part (<NUM>) allowing water to move at least from the first compartment (<NUM>) to the second compartment (<NUM>).