Patent Description:
An automatic analyzer is a device that automatically makes quantitative analysis or qualitative analysis of a specific component contained in a specimen such as blood or urine. Various reagents are used for the analysis of specimens by the automatic analyzer. In order to obtain a stable analysis result, it is necessary to prevent condensation of the reagent due to evaporative drying or degradation of the reagent due to contamination with dust or the like. For this reason, the reagent that is used for analysis is stored in a reagent vessel with an openable and closable lid and the lid of the reagent vessel is opened and closed as necessary. In many cases, a plurality of reagent vessels having an upward opening are arranged in one direction and the lid corresponding to each opening is opened and closed along the direction in which the reagent vessels are arranged.

Patent Literature <NUM> discloses an automatic analyzer in which a plurality of lids openable and closable around a hinge are brought from a hermetically closed state to a half-open state or from a half-open state to a hermetically closed state, or from a half-open state to an open state or from an open state to a half-open state. <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> are examples of a container lid opener attached to a container rack.

However, in Patent Literature <NUM>, the lid in an open state may interfere with dispensing of a reagent. In other words, an excessively open lid may cover the opening of an adjacent vessel or an insufficiently open lid may cover the opening of the corresponding opening and thus the lid of the reagent vessel may cover the path where the reagent dispensing unit is inserted into the opening.

Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide an automatic analyzer that prevents the lid of the reagent vessel from interfering with dispensing of a reagent.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic analyzer for analyzing a specimen that is characterized by comprising: a reagent dispensing unit for dispensing a reagent from a reagent bottle in which a plurality of reagent vessels storing reagents used for the analysis of the specimen are arranged in one direction; and a reagent rack in which the reagent bottle is stored. The reagent rack includes a lid opening unit for opening a lid corresponding to an upward opening of the reagent vessel along the direction in which the reagent vessels are arranged, and a lid fixing unit for fixing the lid to the outside of a path where the reagent dispensing unit is inserted into the opening.

The present invention also provides an automatic analyzer for analyzing a specimen that is characterized by comprising: a reagent dispensing unit for dispensing a reagent from a reagent bottle in which a plurality of reagent vessels storing reagents used for the analysis of the specimen are arranged in one direction; a reagent rack in which the reagent bottle is stored; and a lid support unit for opening a lid corresponding to an upward opening of the reagent vessel along the direction of arrangement of the reagent vessels and maintaining an open state of the lid, as the reagent rack moves downward.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic analyzer that prevents the lid of a reagent vessel from interfering with dispensing of a reagent.

Hereinafter, an automatic analyzer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described referring to accompanying drawings. In the description and accompanying drawings, constituent elements with the same functions are designated by the same reference signs and repeated description thereof is omitted. The drawings schematically show the embodiment and may express real objects in a simplified form.

Referring to <FIG>, an explanation is given below of an example of the entire configuration of an automatic analyzer that automatically makes quantitative or qualitative analysis of a specific component contained in a specimen such as blood or urine. The automatic analyzer includes a reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM>, an incubator <NUM>, a reagent dispensing unit <NUM>, a specimen dispensing unit <NUM>, an analysis unit <NUM>, a transport unit <NUM>, a disposal box <NUM>, and a control unit <NUM>.

The reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM> stores a reagent bottle <NUM> and a specimen vessel <NUM> and keeps them at a prescribed temperature. A rack tray <NUM> that partitions the space in which reagent bottles <NUM> and specimen vessels <NUM> are stored is provided inside the reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM>. Details of the rack tray <NUM> will be explained later referring to <FIG>. The reagent bottle <NUM> stores a plurality of reagents that are used for analysis. Details of the reagent bottle <NUM> will be explained later referring to <FIG> and <FIG>. The specimen vessel <NUM> stores a specimen such as blood or urine. A reagent aspiration hole <NUM> and a specimen aspiration hole <NUM> are provided on the upper surface of the reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM> and a reagent stored in the reagent bottle <NUM> and a specimen stored in the specimen vessel <NUM> are aspirated through the reagent aspiration hole <NUM> and the specimen aspiration hole <NUM>, respectively. Inside the reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM>, as the rack tray <NUM> rotates, the desired reagent bottle <NUM> or specimen vessel <NUM> is positioned under the reagent aspiration hole <NUM> or the specimen aspiration hole <NUM>.

The incubator <NUM> keeps a reaction vessel <NUM> placed on the circumference at a fixed temperature and rotates to move the reaction vessel <NUM> to a specified position. An empty reaction vessel <NUM> to be placed in the incubator <NUM> is transported from a vessel tray <NUM> by the transport unit <NUM>. A reagent and a specimen are dispensed into an empty reaction vessel <NUM> by the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> and specimen dispensing unit <NUM> from the reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM>. More specifically, the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> is moved on a circular arc indicated by the dotted line in <FIG> and inserted into the reagent bottle <NUM> to aspirate a specified quantity of reagent and dispense the reagent into the empty reaction vessel <NUM>. The specimen dispensing unit <NUM> is also moved on a circular arc indicated by the dotted line and aspirates a specified quantity of specimen and dispenses the specimen into the reaction vessel <NUM> into which the reagent has been dispensed. The reagent and specimen that have been dispensed into the reaction vessel <NUM> react with each other by being kept at a fixed temperature and the result of reaction is analyzed by the analysis unit <NUM>.

In order to prevent contamination of the specimen, the dispensing tip <NUM> of the specimen dispensing unit <NUM> may be replaced each time the specimen is dispensed. The dispensing tip <NUM> is transported by the transport unit <NUM> from a tip tray <NUM> to a tip mounting position <NUM> provided on the upper surface of the disposal box <NUM>, and mounted on the specimen dispensing unit <NUM> at the tip mounting position <NUM>. The dispensing tip <NUM> that has been used to dispense the specimen is disposed of into a disposal hole <NUM> in the disposal box <NUM>. The reaction vessel after analysis is also disposed of into the disposal hole <NUM>.

The control unit <NUM> controls operation of the abovementioned various units and, for example, it is a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Specifically, rotary motions and temperature control of the reagent and specimen storage unit <NUM> and the incubator <NUM>, dispensing motions of the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> and specimen dispensing unit <NUM>, analysis by the analysis unit <NUM>, transportation by the transport unit <NUM> and so on are controlled by the control unit <NUM>.

An example of the rack tray <NUM> is explained below referring to <FIG>. The rack tray <NUM> includes a disk unit <NUM>, a cylindrical unit <NUM>, a column unit <NUM>, an inner partition <NUM>, and an outer partition <NUM>. The disk unit <NUM> is a circular plate and may have an opening. The cylindrical unit <NUM> is a cylindrical member that is concentric to the disk unit <NUM> and located on the disk unit <NUM> and has an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the disk unit <NUM>. The column unit <NUM> is a columnar member that is concentric to the disk unit <NUM> and located on the disk unit <NUM> and has a smaller outer diameter than the outer diameter of the cylindrical unit <NUM> and a smaller height than the height of the cylindrical unit <NUM>.

The inner partition <NUM> is a plate that equally divides the space between the cylindrical unit <NUM> and column unit <NUM> in the circumferential direction. A reagent rack <NUM> in which a plurality of reagent bottles <NUM> are mounted is housed in the space surrounded by two inner partitions <NUM> adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction and the cylindrical unit <NUM>. In each space that houses the reagent rack <NUM>, one or more ribs <NUM> and one or more inner pins <NUM> are provided. The rib <NUM> is located on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical unit <NUM> and extends from the upper surface of the disk unit <NUM> along the axial direction of the cylindrical unit <NUM>, and part of the reagent rack <NUM> slides on it. The inner pin <NUM> is located on the upper surface of the disk unit <NUM> inside the cylindrical unit <NUM> and used to determine the position of the reagent rack <NUM> by being fitted to the reagent rack <NUM>. The rack tray <NUM> in <FIG> has six inner partitions <NUM> arranged radially from the column unit <NUM> to the cylindrical unit <NUM> and can house six reagent racks <NUM>.

The outer partition <NUM> is a plate that equally divides the space between the cylindrical unit <NUM> and disk unit <NUM> in the circumferential direction. A specimen rack <NUM> in which a plurality of specimen vessels <NUM> are mounted is housed in the space surrounded by two outer partitions <NUM> adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction and the cylindrical unit <NUM> and disk unit <NUM>. In each space that houses the specimen rack <NUM>, one or more outer pins <NUM> are provided. The outer pin <NUM> is located on the upper surface of the disk unit <NUM> outside the cylindrical unit <NUM> and used to determine the position of the specimen rack <NUM> by being fitted to the specimen rack <NUM>.

An example of the reagent bottle <NUM> is explained below referring to <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> and <FIG> include two side views and a top view of the reagent bottle <NUM> as well as a front view. The reagent bottle <NUM> is structured in a manner that a plurality of reagent vessels <NUM> are integrated by a case <NUM>. The reagent vessels <NUM> each have an upward opening <NUM> and a lid <NUM> for covering the opening <NUM> and are arranged in one direction. <FIG> shows a reagent bottle <NUM> in which three lids <NUM> are closed and <FIG> shows the reagent bottle <NUM> in which the three lids <NUM> are open.

The lid <NUM> is connected to the reagent vessel <NUM> by a hinge <NUM> and opened and closed with the hinge <NUM> as an axis along the direction in which the reagent vessels <NUM> are arranged. A protrusion <NUM> that is used to open and close the lid <NUM> is provided on the lid <NUM>. For example, the protrusion <NUM> protrudes toward a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the lid <NUM> is opened and closed, and has a cylindrical shape. When the opening <NUM> is covered by the closed lid <NUM>, evaporative drying of the reagent stored in the reagent vessel <NUM> and contamination of the reagent with dust or the like can be prevented. When dispensing the reagent, the reagent is aspirated by the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> inserted into the reagent vessel <NUM> through the opening <NUM> with the lid <NUM> open.

An IC tag <NUM> for use in data management of the reagent bottle <NUM> may be attached to the case <NUM>. The IC tag <NUM> may record data on the reagent bottle <NUM> or an identifier to identify the reagent bottle <NUM>. If an identifier is recorded on the IC tag <NUM>, the data on the reagent bottle <NUM> and the identifier are associated and stored in a storage unit that the control unit <NUM> can access. The operator can confirm the orientation of the reagent bottle <NUM> from the position where the IC tag <NUM> is attached.

If an excessively open lid <NUM> covers an adjacent opening <NUM> or an insufficiently open lid <NUM> covers the corresponding opening <NUM>, the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> cannot be inserted into the reagent vessel <NUM>, resulting in a reagent dispensing failure. Therefore, in this embodiment, a lid fixing unit for fixing the lid <NUM> to the outside of the path for the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> is provided on the reagent rack <NUM> so that dispensing of the reagent cannot be interrupted.

An example of the reagent rack <NUM> is explained below referring to <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic perspective view of the reagent rack <NUM> as a single item, <FIG> is a schematic perspective view of the reagent rack <NUM> in which reagent bottles <NUM> are inserted with the lids <NUM> closed, and <FIG> is a schematic perspective view of the reagent rack <NUM> with the lids <NUM> of the reagent bottles <NUM> closed. The reagent rack <NUM> includes a handle <NUM>, a lid support unit <NUM>, and a bottle storage unit <NUM>.

The handle <NUM> is gripped by the operator to carry the reagent rack <NUM> and connected to the bottle storage unit <NUM> by two fixed shafts <NUM>.

The bottle storage unit <NUM> has a plurality of partition walls <NUM> arranged radially and a bottom surface <NUM> and a reagent bottle <NUM> is housed in the space surrounded by two adjacent partition walls <NUM> and the bottom surface <NUM>. In <FIG>, seven partition walls <NUM> are arranged and six reagent bottles <NUM> can he housed. The bottom surface <NUM> has a positioning hole <NUM> as a hole into which an inner pin <NUM> is fitted, and a rib passage groove <NUM> as a groove through which a rib <NUM> passes.

Each of the partition walls <NUM> has a leaf spring <NUM> that has a shape protruding from the surface of the partition wall <NUM> and can be displaced along the concave-convex portion on the side surface of the reagent bottle <NUM>. As the leaf spring <NUM> fits into the recess of the reagent bottle <NUM>, the position of the reagent bottle <NUM> is fixed. In other words, this prevents the reagent bottle <NUM> from falling from the reagent rack <NUM> under its own weight when the reagent rack <NUM> is carried or reduces the possibility that the reagent bottle <NUM> floats up from the bottle storage unit <NUM>.

The lid support unit <NUM> is located between the handle <NUM> and the bottle storage unit <NUM> and can move along the fixed shaft <NUM> and has a contact unit <NUM> and a plurality of lid guide units <NUM>. The lid support unit <NUM> can slide on the bottle storage unit <NUM> and may be connected with a sliding shaft <NUM> as a guide for vertical movement of the lid support unit <NUM>. A difference in level may be provided at the lower end of the sliding shaft <NUM> to limit the range of movement of the lid support unit <NUM>.

The contact unit <NUM> is located so as to be in contact with the upper surface of the column unit <NUM> when the reagent rack <NUM> is placed in the rack tray <NUM>. Specifically, when the reagent rack <NUM> is placed in the rack tray <NUM>, the contact unit <NUM> is in contact with the upper surface of the column unit <NUM> and thereby moves the lid support unit <NUM> upward.

The lid guide unit <NUM> is located above each of the partition walls <NUM> and when the reagent rack <NUM> is placed in the rack tray <NUM>, the lower surface of the lid guide unit <NUM> is in contact with the upper surface of the rib <NUM>. Specifically, when the reagent rack <NUM> is placed in the rack tray <NUM>, the lid support unit <NUM> is also moved upward by contact of the lower surface of the lid guide unit <NUM> with the upper surface of the rib <NUM>. The lid guide units <NUM> that are adjacent to each other are arranged with the distance equal to the outer diameter of the opening <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM> and connected by a semicircular unit 51A. The semicircular unit 51A has the same shape as the side surface of the opening <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM> and prevents the reagent bottle <NUM> from being inserted in the reverse direction. Details of the semicircular unit 51A will be explained later referring to <FIG>.

A slope <NUM> and a stopper <NUM> are provided on the upper surface of each of the lid guide units <NUM>. The slope <NUM> is an inclined surface on which the protrusion <NUM> of the lid <NUM> slides when the lid support unit <NUM> moves upward, and functions as a lid opening unit that opens the lid <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM>. The stopper <NUM> is a wall surface that stands on the slope <NUM>, and functions as a lid fixing unit that fixes the lid <NUM> to the outside of the path for the reagent dispensing unit <NUM>. Specifically, as the lid support unit <NUM> moves upward, the lid <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM> is opened and fixed to the outside of the path for the reagent dispensing unit <NUM>. Details of the slope <NUM> and stopper <NUM> will be described later referring to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>.

How the reagent rack <NUM> opens the lid <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM> will be explained referring to <FIG>. <FIG> is a plan view of the reagent rack <NUM> before insertion of the reagent bottle <NUM> with the lid <NUM> closed and a sectional view taken along the line A-A, <FIG> is a plan view of the reagent rack <NUM> after insertion of the reagent bottle <NUM> with the lid <NUM> closed and a sectional view taken along the line A-A, and <FIG> is a plan view of the reagent rack <NUM> with the lid <NUM> of the reagent bottle <NUM> open and a sectional view taken along the line A-A.

The reagent bottle <NUM> with the lid <NUM> closed is inserted into the reagent rack <NUM> from the outer circumferential side as shown in <FIG>. In the process in which the reagent bottle <NUM> is inserted, the leaf spring <NUM> is displaced along the concave-convex portion of the side surface of the reagent bottle <NUM> and as the side surface of the opening <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM> is placed in the semicircular unit 51A, the leaf spring <NUM> is fitted into the recess of the side surface of the reagent bottle <NUM> and the position of the reagent bottle <NUM> is fixed. When the reagent bottle <NUM> is fixed in the reagent rack <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, the protrusion <NUM> is at the uppermost position of the slope <NUM> and the lid <NUM> remains closed. When the reagent rack <NUM> is inserted into the rack tray <NUM> with the reagent bottle <NUM> fixed in the reagent rack <NUM>, the contact unit <NUM> is in contact with the upper surface of the column unit <NUM> and the lower surface of the lid guide unit <NUM> is in contact with the rib <NUM>. As the reagent rack <NUM> is further inserted into the rack tray <NUM>, the lid support unit <NUM> moves upward. The upward movement of the lid support unit <NUM> causes the protrusion <NUM> to slide on the surface of the slope <NUM> while being pushed upward and the lid <NUM> opens as shown in <FIG>. The lid <NUM> that has opened is fixed to the outside of the path for the reagent dispensing unit <NUM> by the stopper <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, an explanation is given below of the case that the reagent bottle <NUM> is inserted into the reagent rack <NUM> in the reverse direction. When the reagent bottle <NUM> is inserted correctly, as shown in <FIG> the side surface of the opening <NUM> of the reagent vessel <NUM> fits into the semicircular unit 51A. On the other hand, if the reagent bottle <NUM> is inserted in the reverse direction, the shape of the portion to be connected to the hinge <NUM> does not fit the semicircular unit 51A and the reagent bottle <NUM> protrudes from the reagent rack <NUM>. When the reagent bottle <NUM> protrudes from the reagent rack <NUM>, the reagent rack <NUM> cannot be inserted into the rack tray <NUM>, thereby preventing the reagent bottle <NUM> from being inserted in the reverse direction.

Referring to <FIG>, an explanation is given below of the state in which the reagent rack <NUM> storing the reagent bottles <NUM> is inserted in the rack tray <NUM>. <FIG> is a plan view of the rack tray <NUM> in which the reagent rack <NUM> is inserted and a sectional view taken along the line B-B. As the operator holds the handle <NUM> and inserts the reagent rack <NUM> from above the rack tray <NUM>, the column unit <NUM> pushes up the contact unit <NUM> and the rib <NUM> pushes up the lid guide unit <NUM> and the lid guide unit <NUM> moves upward. As the lid guide unit <NUM> moves upward, the protrusion <NUM> slides on the surface of the slope <NUM> and the lid <NUM> opens.

An example of the slope <NUM> and stopper <NUM> is explained below referring to <FIG> is a plan view of the lid guide unit <NUM> and <FIG> are sectional views taken along the line C-C of <FIG>. The slope <NUM> has a cross-sectional shape that follows the locus of the protrusion <NUM> when the lid <NUM> is opened and for example, it may be a combination of different inclined surfaces as shown in <FIG> or a surface including a smooth curve as shown in <FIG>. Since the slope <NUM> has a cross-sectional shape that follows the locus of the protrusion <NUM>, when the protrusion <NUM> is positioned at the bottom surface of the slope, the lid <NUM> does not become insufficiently open, thereby preventing the opening <NUM> corresponding to the lid <NUM> from being covered. In addition, when the cross-sectional shape of the slope <NUM> includes a smooth curve, the protrusion <NUM> slides smoothly. Furthermore, when the protrusion <NUM> is in contact with the stopper <NUM>, the lid <NUM> does not become excessively open, thereby preventing the adjacent opening <NUM> from being covered by the lid <NUM>.

Another example of the slope <NUM> and stopper <NUM> is explained below referring to <FIG> is a plan view of the lid guide unit <NUM> and <FIG> are sectional views taken along the line C-C of <FIG>. Preferably, height h of the slope <NUM> from the bottom surface to the top surface should be larger than outer diameter d of the protrusion <NUM>. With h>d, it is difficult for the protrusion <NUM> to deviate from the space surrounded by the slope <NUM> and stopper <NUM>, so the lid <NUM> is prevented from being excessively open. Preferably, the stopper <NUM> should have a surface that forms an angle with the bottom surface of the slope <NUM> that is equal to or greater than a right angle. For example, <FIG> shows that the stopper <NUM> standing vertically has an inclined surface 53A at its upper end and <FIG> shows that the stopper <NUM> is inclined upward. When the stopper <NUM> has a surface that forms an angle with the bottom surface of the slope <NUM> that is equal to or greater than a right angle, the protrusion <NUM> is prevented from being caught by the upper end of the stopper <NUM> when the reagent bottle <NUM> is taken out of the reagent rack <NUM>.

Claim 1:
An automatic analyzer for analyzing a specimen, comprising:
a reagent dispensing unit (<NUM>) for dispensing a reagent from a reagent bottle (<NUM>) in which a plurality of reagent vessels (<NUM>) storing reagents used for the analysis of the specimen are arranged in one direction, and
a reagent rack (<NUM>) in which the reagent bottle (<NUM>) is stored, wherein
the reagent rack (<NUM>) includes a lid opening unit for opening a lid (<NUM>) of the reagent vessel (<NUM>) corresponding to an upward opening of the reagent vessel (<NUM>) along the direction in which the reagent vessels (<NUM>) are arranged, and a lid fixing unit for fixing the lid (<NUM>) to the outside of a path where the reagent dispensing unit (<NUM>) is inserted into the opening,
the lid (<NUM>) includes a protrusion (<NUM>) that protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the lid (<NUM>) opens,
the lid opening unit is a slope provided on an upper surface of the reagent rack (<NUM>), on which the protrusion (<NUM>) slides, and
the lid fixing unit is a wall surface that stands on the slope.