Sample container holding device

Abstract

To provide a sample container holding device with which it is possible to safely achieve positioning to determine the positions in a first and a second horizontal direction and a rotational position in a top view.SOLUTION: Provided is a sample container holding device for holding a rectangular sample container having a first side, a first corner, a second side, a second corner, a third side, a third corner, a fourth side, and a fourth corner clockwise in a top view in the order stated. The sample container holding device includes: a first restraint part for restraining the first horizontal and rotational positions of the first side, a second restraint part for restraining the second horizontal and rotational positions of the second side, a first pressing part for pressing the first side against the first restraint part by pushing the third side, and a second pressing part for pressing the second side against the second restraint part by pushing the fourth side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sample container holding device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Sample container holding devices for holding sample containers are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6050546 [Patent Document 2] JP 2015-99256 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2009-192763 A [Patent Document 4] JP 2006-98286 A [Patent Document 5] JP 2011-180411 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a sample container holding device that can stably realize positioning that determines the positions in the first and second horizontal directions and the rotational position in top view. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is as follows.

[0006] [1] A sample container holding device for holding a rectangular sample container having a first side surface, a first corner portion, a second side surface, a second corner portion, a third side surface, a third corner portion, a fourth side surface, and a fourth corner portion in this order clockwise when viewed from above, a mounting portion on which the sample container is mounted; a first restriction portion that restricts a position in a first horizontal direction and a rotational position in the top view on the first side surface by contacting the first side surface; a second restriction portion that restricts a position of the second side surface in a second horizontal direction perpendicular to the first horizontal direction and a rotational position of the second side surface in the top view by contacting the second side surface; a first pressing portion that presses the third side surface to press the first side surface against the first restriction portion; a second pressing portion that presses the fourth side surface to press the second side surface against the second restriction portion.

[0007] [2] The sample container holding device according to [1], wherein the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion are each composed of a linear motion device.

[0008] [3] the first pressing portion is located between both ends of the first restricting portion in the second horizontal direction, The sample container holding device according to [1] or [2], wherein the second pressing portion is located between both ends of the second regulating portion in the first horizontal direction.

[0009] [4] the first restriction portion has a reference surface in contact with the first side surface along the second horizontal direction, The sample container holding device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the second regulating portion has a reference surface that is in contact with the second side surface along the first horizontal direction.

[0010] [5] The sample container holding device according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the placement section is composed of shelf sections located at four corners of an open section that is open downward.

[0011] [6] A sample analyzer comprising the sample container holding device according to any one of [1] to [5].

[0012] [7] The sample analyzer according to [6], further comprising a moving unit for moving the sample container holding device holding the sample container.

[0013] [8] The sample analysis apparatus according to [7], further comprising an analysis unit that analyzes the sample contained in the sample container by moving the sample container holding device that holds the sample container using the moving unit. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a sample container holding device capable of stably realizing positioning that determines the positions in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction and the rotational position in a top view. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a top view of a sample container holding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a top view of the sample container holding device shown in FIG. 1 holding a sample container. FIG. [Figure 4] BB cross-sectional view of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a top view of a state in which the sample container holding device of the comparative example improperly holds a sample container. [Figure 6] 2 is a block diagram of a sample analyzer having the sample container holding device shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a sample container holding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sample container holding device 1 that holds a rectangular sample container 2 having a first side surface 2a, a first corner portion 2b, a second side surface 2c, a second corner portion 2d, a third side surface 2e, a third corner portion 2f, a fourth side surface 2g, and a fourth corner portion 2h in this order clockwise in a top view (see FIG. 3). The sample container holding device 1 has a mounting portion 3 on which the sample container 2 is mounted, and a mounting portion 3 that is in contact with the first side surface 2a and is configured to be in contact with the first side surface 2a. The first regulating portion 4 regulates the position in a first horizontal direction D1 and the rotational position when viewed from above, a second regulating portion 5 regulates the position in a second horizontal direction D2 perpendicular to the first horizontal direction D1 on the second side 2c and the rotational position when viewed from above by contacting the second side 2c, a first pressing portion 6 presses the first side 2a against the first regulating portion 4 by pressing the third side 2e, and a second pressing portion 7 presses the second side 2c against the second regulating portion 5 by pressing the fourth side 2g.

[0018] According to the above configuration, the position of the first side surface 2a in the first horizontal direction D1 and the rotational position in top view can be regulated by pressing the third side surface 2e with the first pressing portion 6 to press the first side surface 2a against the first restricting portion 4, and the position of the second side surface 2c in the second horizontal direction D2 and the rotational position in top view can be regulated by pressing the fourth side surface 2g with the second pressing portion 7 to press the second side surface 2c against the second restricting portion 5. Therefore, when the position regulation by the first pressing portion 6 is performed first, the second pressing portion 7 presses the sample container 2 while the position regulation by the first pressing portion 6 is performed, so that the sample container 2 is less likely to tilt when pressed by the second pressing portion 7, and therefore the position in the first horizontal direction D1 and the second horizontal direction D2 and the rotational position in top view can be stably achieved. Furthermore, when the position regulation by the second pressing unit 7 is performed first, the first pressing unit 6 presses the sample container 2 while the second pressing unit 7 is in the position regulation state, so that the sample container 2 is less likely to tilt when pressed by the first pressing unit 6, and therefore positioning can be stably achieved in this case as well. Furthermore, even when the position regulation by the first pressing unit 6 and the position regulation by the second pressing unit 7 are performed simultaneously, positioning can be stably achieved. In contrast, in a comparative example shown in Figure 5, which has a first regulating portion 4 and a second regulating portion 5, but instead of a first pressing portion 6 which presses the first side surface 2a against the first regulating portion 4 by pressing the third side surface 2e, and a second pressing portion 7 which presses the second side surface 2c against the second regulating portion 5 by pressing the fourth side surface 2g, and has a corner pressing portion 8 which presses the first side surface 2a and the second side surface 2c against the first regulating portion 4 and the second regulating portion 5 by pressing the third corner portion 2f, the above-mentioned effect cannot be obtained, and the device may be held in a tilted state as shown in Figure 5, resulting in positioning failure.

[0019] The first pressing unit 6 and the second pressing unit 7 are each composed of a linear motion device. With the above configuration, the stability of positioning can be improved. The linear motion device can be composed of, for example, a fluid pressure actuator that uses fluid pressure such as air, or an electric actuator that uses electricity. It is preferable that the operating direction (pressing direction) of the linear motion device that constitutes the first pressing unit 6 is parallel to the first horizontal direction D1, but is not limited to this. It is preferable that the operating direction (pressing direction) of the linear motion device that constitutes the second pressing unit 7 is parallel to the second horizontal direction D2, but is not limited to this.

[0020] The first pressing portion 6 is located between both ends of the first restricting portion 4 in the second horizontal direction D2, and the second pressing portion 7 is located between both ends of the second restricting portion 5 in the first horizontal direction D1. According to the above configuration, the rotational position of the first side surface 2a can be easily restricted when the first pressing portion 6 presses the first side surface 2a against the first restricting portion 4, and the rotational position of the second side surface 2c can be easily restricted when the second pressing portion 7 presses the second side surface 2c against the second restricting portion 5, thereby improving the stability of positioning.

[0021] The first restricting portion 4 has a reference surface 4a that contacts the first side surface 2a along the second horizontal direction D2, and the second restricting portion 5 has a reference surface 5a that contacts the second side surface 2c along the first horizontal direction D1. According to the above configuration, the rotational position can be easily restricted by the reference surfaces 4a and 5a, thereby improving the stability of positioning.

[0022] The placement section 3 is composed of shelves 3a located at the four corners of an open section 9 that opens downward. With the above-described configuration, the sample 10 contained in the sample container 2 held by the sample container holding device 1 can be well analyzed by an optical system 13a (see FIG. 4) through the open section 9.

[0023] As shown in Figure 6, the sample analyzer 11 in this embodiment has a sample container holding device 1. According to the above configuration, stable positioning by the sample container holding device 1 can reduce noise during analysis of the sample 10, thereby improving the accuracy of the output. Furthermore, stable positioning by the sample container holding device 1 can reduce the analysis and observation area, thereby improving the speed of the output. The sample analyzer 11 can be suitably used, for example, as a drug discovery support device.

[0024] The sample analyzer 11 has a moving section 12 that moves the sample container holding device 1 that holds the sample container 2. According to the above configuration, accurate movement through stable positioning in the sample analyzer 11 can be achieved.

[0025] The sample analyzer 11 has an analysis section 13 that analyzes the sample 10 contained in the sample container 2 by moving the sample container holding device 1 holding the sample container 2 using the moving section 12. With the above configuration, accurate analysis can be achieved using the moving section 12 and the analysis section 13 due to stable positioning. Note that the moving section 12 may be configured to move the sample container 2 during analysis in the analysis section 13, as well as to move the sample container holding device 1 holding the sample container 2 for transport to the analysis section 13. Alternatively, the moving section 12 may be configured to move the sample container holding device 1 holding the sample container 2 for transport to the analysis section 13 without moving the sample container 2 during analysis in the analysis section 13.

[0026] The moving section 12 has a moving stage 12a that can translate the sample container holding device 1 holding the sample container 2 in a first horizontal direction D1 and can translate the sample container holding device 1 holding the sample container 2 in a second horizontal direction D2. According to the above configuration, the horizontal movement of the sample container holding device 1 during analysis by the analysis section 13 can be accurately performed by the moving stage 12a.

[0027] The placement section 3 is composed of shelves 3a located at the four corners of an open section 9 that opens downward, and the analysis section 13 has an optical system 13a that detects the sample 10 contained in the sample container 2 held by the sample container holding device 1 through the open section 9. With the above configuration, the analysis of the sample 10 can be performed satisfactorily. In particular, during the analysis by the analysis section 13, the accurate movement of the sample container 2 by the moving section 12 based on stable positioning allows the detection field 13b of the optical system 13a to be stably aligned to an appropriate position in the sample container 2, as shown in FIG. 3 with the detection field 13b superimposed on the sample container 2. In contrast, in the comparative example shown in FIG. 5, the detection field 13b is easily misaligned as shown in the figure.

[0028] The optical system 13a has a microscope 13c. According to the above configuration, the microscope 13c can perform a highly accurate analysis. In this case, the moving unit 12 can be configured to move the sample container holding device 1 on the order of microns during the analysis by the microscope 13c.

[0029] The sample 10 is, for example, a cell, a tissue, etc. The sample container 2 is, but is not limited to, a microplate. The microplate is not particularly limited, but preferably has an outer dimension recommended by the SBS standard. The optical system 13a may be configured to irradiate the sample 10 with light (e.g., excitation light) and detect light from the sample 10 (e.g., light emitted by the sample 10 excited by the excitation light). The sample analysis device 11 may be configured to have a processing unit (computer) that generates an image based on the detection result by the optical system 13a. The moving unit 12 moves the sample container holding device 1 while keeping the sample container 2 in a horizontal position, but is not limited to this. The sample analysis device 11 may be configured to have a robot arm that places the sample container 2 on the sample container holding device 1, or may be configured to be placed by a person.

[0030] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the above-described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1. Sample container holding device 2. Sample container 2a 1st side 2b First corner 2c 2nd side 2d Second corner 2e 3rd aspect 2F 3rd corner 2g 4th side 2h 4th corner 3. Placement section 3a shelf 4. First Regulatory Section 4a Reference plane 5. Second Regulatory Department 5a Reference plane 6 First pressing part 7 Second pressing part 8 Corner pressing part 9 Open area 10 Samples 11 Sample analysis equipment 12 Mobile section 12a Moving stage 13 Analysis Department 13a Optical system 13b Detection field 13c Microscope D1 1st horizontal direction D2 2nd horizontal direction

Claims

1. A sample container holding device for holding a rectangular sample container having a first side surface, a first corner portion, a second side surface, a second corner portion, a third side surface, a third corner portion, a fourth side surface, and a fourth corner portion in this order clockwise when viewed from above, a mounting portion on which the sample container is mounted; a first restriction portion that restricts a position of the first side surface in a first horizontal direction and a rotational position of the first side surface in the top view by contacting the first side surface; a second restriction portion that restricts a position of the second side surface in a second horizontal direction perpendicular to the first horizontal direction and a rotational position of the second side surface in the top view by contacting the second side surface; a first pressing portion pressing the third side surface to press the first side surface against the first restricting portion; a second pressing portion that presses the fourth side surface to press the second side surface against the second restricting portion.

2. 2. The sample container holding device according to claim 1, wherein the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion are each constituted by a linear motion device.

3. the first pressing portion is located between both ends of the first restricting portion in the second horizontal direction, The sample container holding device according to claim 1 , wherein the second pressing portion is located between both ends of the second restricting portion in the first horizontal direction.

4. the first restriction portion has a reference surface in contact with the first side surface along the second horizontal direction, The sample container holding device according to claim 1 , wherein the second restricting portion has a reference surface that contacts the second side surface along the first horizontal direction.

5. 2. The sample container holding device according to claim 1, wherein the placement portion is composed of shelf portions located at four corners of an open portion that is open downward.

6. A sample analyzer comprising the sample container holder according to claim 1.

7. 7. The sample analyzer according to claim 6, further comprising a moving section for moving the sample container holding device holding the sample container.

8. 8. The sample analyzer according to claim 7, further comprising an analysis section that analyzes the sample contained in the sample container by moving the sample container holding device that holds the sample container using the moving section.

Images