Specimen holder

Abstract

The present invention does not require a direction control unit for the specimen tray, and can achieve cost reduction and time reduction. By providing a high friction member (102) on the bottom surface of the specimen tray (100), the center (14) of the friction force (11) between the conveying surface and the bottom surface is offset to a position separated from the rotation center of the bottom of the specimen tray (100). Thus, by friction between the conveying surface and the bottom surface when the specimen tray (100) is conveyed, the orientation of the specimen tray (100) is aligned with respect to the conveying direction (10), and the tray ID (101) and the specimen ID label (151) can be directed toward the barcode reader.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a specimen inspection automation system, and more particularly to a specimen rack serving as a transport unit for a specimen container. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in specimen inspection for the purpose of diagnosis in the medical field, the use of automated equipment has been promoted to save labor and speed up the inspection. In such an automated specimen inspection system, a pre-processing device, an automatic analysis device, and a post-processing device for blood specimens are connected by a conveyor line to promote full automation of the blood analysis and processing operations.

[0003] In the specimen inspection automation system, the following structure is generally adopted: the specimen carrier that carries and transports the specimen container is transported by a conveying unit composed of a belt conveyor or the like. In addition, a barcode label recording the specimen identifier (ID) information is attached to the specimen container, and is used as information to associate various treatments on the specimen with the specimen. In the specimen inspection automation system, in order to obtain information such as the content of various pre-treatments, the branch destination of the conveying unit, and the inspection items in the analysis device, the ID information is read by a barcode reader installed in each processing unit or before it, and the information registered in the upper information system is queried, and various treatments on the specimen are performed based on the registered information.

[0004] Conventionally, a specimen holder, especially one intended to transport a specimen container, is often cylindrical in shape in order to be able to transport the specimen in the same manner in any direction on a plane according to the degree of freedom of change in the traveling direction. In such a cylindrical specimen holder, the specimen holder rotates during transportation, and therefore, in order to read the specimen ID attached to the specimen container or the specimen holder by a barcode or a two-dimensional code, the specimen ID needs to be directed toward an ID reading unit such as a barcode reader.

[0005] Therefore, a rotating unit for the specimen tray and the specimen container is usually provided together with the ID reading unit. In Patent Document 1, the specimen tray pressing roller stopped before the information reading device presses the belt to concentrate the friction force, thereby rotating the specimen tray and reading the ID information.

[0006] Prior art literature

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-156923 Summary of the invention

[0009] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0010] As described above, when reading a barcode or two-dimensional code attached to a cylindrical specimen holder, the barcode or the like needs to be placed directly opposite to the reader, and a direction control unit for the specimen holder such as a rotating mechanism is required. As a result, time is required to drive the direction control unit for controlling the orientation of the specimen holder, resulting in high system costs and long inspection time.

[0011] An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a specimen holder capable of achieving cost reduction and time reduction.

[0012] Solutions to Solve Problems

[0013] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a specimen holder for holding a specimen container, wherein the center of a bottom surface that contacts a conveying surface for conveying the specimen container and the center of friction between the conveying surface and the bottom surface are offset.

[0014] Effects of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, the direction control unit can be omitted, the cost of the system can be reduced, and the processing throughput can be improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a top view showing a structure of a conveying unit based on the claw feeding method of Example 1.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a side view showing the conveyance by the claw feeding method of Example 1.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the conveyance by the claw feed method of Example 1 as viewed from the bottom surface side of the carriage.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating the operating principle of the first embodiment as viewed from the bottom surface of the bracket.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing a modified example of implementing the eccentricity of the friction force of the bottom surface of the bracket of Example 1 by using the bottom surface shape.

[0021] Figure 6 It is a top view showing the structure of the conveying unit based on the belt conveying method of Example 2.

[0022] Figure 7 It is a side view showing the conveyance by the belt conveying method of the second embodiment.

[0023] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing the conveyance by the belt conveyance method of Example 2 as viewed from the bottom side of the bracket.

[0024] Fig. 9It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a sample inspection automation system using the sample holder of each embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in sequence with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a configuration example of a sample inspection automation system using a sample holder will be described.

[0026] Fig. 9 The sample inspection automation system 1 is composed of a sample pre-processing system 50, a sample transport system 51, an automatic analyzer 53, and a system operation unit 54 having a general computer structure.

[0027] In the specimen inspection automation system 1, specimens to be inspected are processed while being collected in specimen containers. The specimen containers are inserted into specimen racks described in detail later by manual work of an operator or an automatic insertion unit, and are transported within the specimen inspection automation system 1 by the specimen transport system 51 to undergo various processes.

[0028] The sample pre-processing system 50 is a part that performs sample pre-processing before analysis. The sample pre-processing system 50, which is equipped with a sample storage unit 55, performs sample pre-processing processes such as sample acceptance, centrifugal separation of samples that require centrifugal separation, acquisition of information such as the amount of liquid in the sample, uncapping of sample containers, and dispensing of samples into multiple containers. The sample transport system 51 is a transport line unit for transporting a tray carrying a sample between the sample pre-processing system 50 and the automatic analyzer 53.

[0029] An analysis device connection unit 52 is placed between the specimen transport system 51 and the automatic analysis device 53. The specimen transported from the specimen transport system 51 to the automatic analysis device 53 is transported to the analysis device through the analysis device connection unit 52, thereby preventing the specimens to be analyzed from being blocked in a row on the specimen transport system 51. The specimen transport system 51 is composed of two conveyor line units that serve as an outgoing path and a returning path. The specimen that has completed pretreatment in the specimen pretreatment system 50 is transported to the automatic analysis device 53 through the conveyor line unit of the specimen transport system 51. The automatic analysis device 53 is a device that performs various analysis processes on the specimen. The specimen that has completed the analysis process is transported to the specimen storage section 55 equipped in the pretreatment module 50, etc., through the conveyor line unit of the specimen transport system 51 for storage.

[0030] [Example 1]

[0031] Embodiment 1 is an embodiment of a specimen carrier that implements specimen transport by a claw feeding transport method in the above-mentioned specimen inspection automation system, and is an embodiment of a specimen carrier having a structure in which the center of the bottom surface that is in contact with the conveying surface for conveying a specimen container and the center of the friction force between the conveying surface and the above-mentioned bottom surface are offset. In addition, the offset is a deviation between the center of the bottom surface and the center of the friction force, and is a distance that is not zero.

[0032] Figure 1 1 is a top view showing the structure of the specimen tray of this embodiment that is transported by the claw feeding method. The transport unit shown in this embodiment is composed of a transport guide 200, a claw feeding mechanism 210, and a barcode reader 201. The specimen tray 100 carrying the specimen container 150 is transported by being pressed along the transport guide 200 by the claw feeding mechanism 210.

[0033] At this time, in the specimen inspection automation system 1, it is necessary to obtain information on the transport destination and processing content of each specimen. Therefore, the specimen tray is transported to the reading area of ​​the barcode reader, the specimen ID is read and an inquiry is made to the superior system. In the conventional transport method using a cylindrical specimen tray, as described above, it is difficult to transport the specimen ID in a constant direction, so in order to read the specimen ID at the reading position, a method of rotating the tray and the specimen is adopted. The following is a detailed description of the specimen ID orientation alignment method of this embodiment in contrast.

[0034] Figure 2 It is a side view of the specimen holder 100 and the transport unit according to the present embodiment. Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the conveying by the claw feeding method of this embodiment as viewed from the bottom side of the tray. The specimen tray 100 is conveyed while sliding on the conveying surface 202 and being pressed in the direction of arrow 10 by the conveying claw 211. The bottom surface of the specimen tray 100 is a sliding surface with the conveying surface 202, so it is preferable to use a material with a low friction coefficient and capable of being pressed with a small force.

[0035] Furthermore, the present embodiment is characterized in that a high friction member 102 is provided at a position deviated from the central axis 12 of the specimen tray on the bottom surface of the specimen tray 100. That is, by providing the high friction member 102 having a greater friction force than other portions at a position deviated from the central axis of the specimen tray 100, the center 14 of the friction force acting on the bottom surface of the specimen tray 100 can be set at a position separated from the central axis 12 of the specimen tray 100.

[0036] In this embodiment, the friction force 11 generated by the sliding due to the transport is generated in the direction 180 degrees opposite to the direction of travel of the tray indicated by the arrow 10. That is, when the specimen tray 100 is viewed as a reference, the friction force 11 acts in the same direction as the direction 15 in which the transport surface 202 moves. Depending on the position of the friction force 11, the force that rotates the specimen tray 100 relative to the central axis 12 changes, and the specimen tray 100 can be aligned in a predetermined orientation such as the position of a barcode reader by transport.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a diagram for explaining the operation principle of the direction alignment of the sample tray 100 based on the friction force 11 in this embodiment, as viewed from the bottom surface side of the sample tray 100 . Figure 4 (a) shows an example where the friction force 11 does not act on the rotational force. Figure 4 (b) shows an example in which a rotational force acts by the friction force 11. As clearly shown in the figure, a bracket ID 101 is provided on the side surface at a position substantially perpendicular to the center 14 of the friction force.

[0038] In this embodiment, as described above, the friction force 11 acts in the direction of the transport surface 202 relative to the moving direction 15 of the specimen holder 100. Figure 4 As shown in (b), when there is a component of the friction force 11 in a direction perpendicular to the straight line formed by the bracket central axis 12 and the center of the friction force 14, a rotational force 13 acts. The rotational force 13 rotates the specimen bracket 100, and the bracket ID 101 rotates accordingly.

[0039] Figure 4 (a) is an example of a state in which the direction is aligned by the friction force 11. The straight line formed by the center axis 12 of the bracket and the center 14 of the friction force 11 is parallel to the direction of the friction force 11, so there is no component of the friction force in the direction of the rotational force 13, and no rotational force acts. Therefore, the specimen bracket 100 is aligned in a constant direction relative to the conveying direction. That is, by setting the recording position of the ID 101 on the specimen bracket 100 at a position read by the barcode reader 201 set in a constant positional relationship relative to the conveying guide 200, the display direction of the ID 101 can be aligned in a readable direction consistent with the alignment of the specimen bracket 100.

[0040] Furthermore, when the specimen container 150 is set on the holding portion 105 of the specimen tray 100, the specimen ID label 151 is set in the same direction as the ID 101 of the specimen tray at a position where the window 106 formed on the holding portion 105 is substantially perpendicular to the ID 101 and the specimen ID label 151 attached to the specimen container 150 can be read. In this way, the specimen ID label 151 of the specimen tray 100 held on the holding portion 105 of the specimen tray 100 can be aligned with respect to the conveying direction. In this way, by setting the specimen ID label 151 toward the window 106 of the holding portion at a position substantially perpendicular to the tray ID 101, the tray ID 101 and the specimen ID label 151 can be read by the same reader.

[0041] As described above, the specimen tray 100 is automatically oriented by the claw feeding method of this embodiment, so there is no need to use a direction control unit. As long as the specimen tray 100 is transported to the barcode reader 201, the ID is aligned toward the barcode reader side and can be read immediately.

[0042] In addition, in the above description, the ID reading unit is recorded as a barcode reader, and the read object is recorded as a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional code, but it is not limited thereto. As another example, a method of reading characters using a camera or other imaging unit, a method of reading a tag equipped with an RFID, etc. can also be used.

[0043] By using the transport unit of the specimen tray of this embodiment, the ID can be read with a simple mechanism. In addition, the time for rotating the specimen tray using the direction control unit is not required when reading the ID, so the processing throughput can be improved.

[0044] In the above-mentioned present embodiment, a high friction member is used to offset the center of the sample holder and the center of the friction force, but the method of offsetting the center of the friction force is not limited thereto. For example, the center of the friction force can be offset by the shape of the bottom surface of the sample holder.

[0045] Figure 5 : This is a diagram showing a modified example in which the center of the friction force is deviated by forming projections and depressions on the bottom surface of the bracket. That is, a non-contacting portion is engraved on the bottom surface of the specimen bracket 100 in such a way that the center of the friction force is deviated from the rotation center of the specimen bracket. As shown in the figure, the convex portion on the bottom surface of the specimen bracket 100 is a conveying surface contact portion 103 of the bottom surface of the bracket, and frictional force is generated by sliding with the conveying surface. The concave portion on the bottom surface of the bracket is a conveying surface non-contact portion 104 of the bottom surface of the bracket, and since it does not slide with the conveying surface, no frictional force is generated. In this modified example, a non-rotationally symmetrical shape is formed by the conveying surface contact portion and the conveying surface non-contact portion of the bottom surface, in other words, by the projections and depressions formed on the bottom surface.

[0046] like Figure 5 As shown, by setting the shape of the conveying surface contact portion 103 of the bottom surface of the bracket to be a non-rotationally symmetrical shape with respect to the bracket center axis 12, the center 14 of the friction force can also be offset to a position away from the center axis 12 of the specimen bracket 100. In this way, by setting the shape of the contact surface to be a non-rotationally symmetrical shape with respect to the center of the bottom surface, the center of the friction force is offset, thereby being able to use Figure 2 The high friction member 102 shown also automatically aligns the orientation of the bracket by sliding.

[0047] As described above, the specimen tray of this embodiment can align its orientation during transportation by arranging the center of frictional force at a position separated from the rotation axis of the bottom thereof, and can orient the tray ID in a constant direction without using a direction control unit.

[0048] [Example 2]

[0049] Next, as a second embodiment, an embodiment of a transport unit having a structure for performing specimen transport by a belt conveyor method in the above-mentioned specimen inspection automation system will be described.

[0050] Figure 6 1 is a top view showing the structure of a conveying unit based on a belt conveying method of this embodiment. The conveying unit shown in this embodiment is composed of a conveying rail 200, a conveying belt 302, a conveying belt driving motor 303, a bracket stopper 310, and a barcode reader 201. The specimen bracket 100 carrying the specimen container 150 is carried on the conveying belt 302 driven by the conveying belt driving motor 303 along the conveying rail 200 and is transported by the conveying unit. The specimen bracket used can be the same as the specimen bracket described in Example 1.

[0051] Figure 7 It is a side view of the specimen holder 100 and the transport unit according to the present embodiment. Figure 8 This is a diagram of the conveying based on the belt conveying method of this embodiment as viewed from the bottom side of the specimen tray. The specimen tray 100 is conveyed to the ID reading position in front of the barcode reader 201. A tray stopper 310 for stopping the tray 100 is provided at the ID reading position. The tray stopper 310 has a retractable stopper arm 311 for blocking the tray 100 and stopping it. By moving the stopper arm 311 in and out, the stopping and conveying of the specimen tray 100 can be controlled at the ID reading position. The specimen tray 100 conveyed to the ID reading position is stopped at the ID reading position by the stopper arm 311. At this time, the conveyor belt 302 is kept in a driven state, the bottom surface of the tray and the surface of the conveyor belt slide, and stop at the ID reading position. The bottom surface of the specimen tray 100 is a sliding surface with the conveying surface, so it is preferable to use a material with a low friction coefficient and that can be pressed with a small force.

[0052] In this embodiment, the friction force 16 generated by the sliding of the bottom surface of the sample tray 100 and the belt surface, that is, the conveying surface 202 as the contact surface with the bottom surface of the tray is generated in the same direction as the arrow 10 indicating the moving direction of the sample tray. That is, when the sample tray 100 is viewed as a reference, the friction force 16 acts in the direction 15 in which the conveying surface 202 moves. Therefore, by stopping the sample tray 100 with the tray stopper 311, the sample tray 100 can be moved in the same manner as described in Example 1. Figure 4 The orientation of the specimen holder 100 is aligned using the same principle as described above.

[0053] As described above, in this embodiment, the specimen tray 100 is stopped by the tray stopper 311 so that the orientation of the specimen tray is automatically aligned. Therefore, if the tray stopper 311 is provided before the barcode reader 201, the ID can be read with a simple mechanism.

[0054] In addition, in this embodiment, the sample holder 100 is aligned by sliding on the conveying surface, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A mechanism that partially slides on the contact portion with the bottom surface of the holder may be provided at the ID reading position to align the sample holder.

[0055] According to the present invention described in detail above, it is possible to provide a sample test automation system capable of performing alignment without using a mechanism for rotating the orientation of a sample tray or a sample tray direction control unit, and capable of performing ID reading simply and reliably.

[0056] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and includes various modified examples. For example, the above-mentioned embodiments are examples described in detail for better understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to all the structures that must be described.

Claims

1. A specimen holder for holding a specimen container, wherein the center of a bottom surface and the center of a friction force between a conveying surface and the bottom surface are offset, the bottom surface being a contact surface that comes into sliding contact with the conveying surface that conveys the specimen container, in, By providing the bottom surface with a high friction member having a greater friction force than other portions, the center of the friction force is offset.

2. The specimen holder according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bracket identifier is provided on a side surface at a position substantially perpendicular to a straight line formed by a center of the bottom surface and a center of the frictional force.

3. The specimen holder according to claim 2, characterized in that: A holding portion is provided on the upper portion of the specimen holder and holds the specimen container. The holding portion has a window that enables reading of a specimen label attached to the specimen container being held, at a position substantially perpendicular to the tray identifier.

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