Specimen conveying device, specimen analysis system, and specimen pretreatment device

Abstract

To provide a conveying device capable of stably conveying an object to be conveyed.SOLUTION: A specimen conveying device 1 comprises: a plurality of electromagnets each including a tooth 20 constituted of a magnetic substance and a coil 30 wound around the tooth 20; and an object to be conveyed which includes a permanent magnet 10 and which is disposed above the electromagnets. The object to be conveyed is a container carrier that holds a specimen container in which the specimen, which is a biological sample, is accommodated, and is conveyed along at least a portion of a conveying line to an analysis section. In the analysis section, components contained in the biological sample are analyzed for biological samples that have reacted with a reagent. The coil 30 includes: a lower coil 30a located at a position closest to the object to be conveyed; and a propulsion coil 30b which is in front of the object to be conveyed in a traveling direction and which generates a thrust force on the object to be conveyed. When conveying the object to be conveyed, the lower coil 30a is excited, after which the propulsion coil 30b is excited to propel the object to be conveyed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a specimen transport device for transporting a specimen which is a biological sample, a specimen analysis system for analyzing a specimen, and a specimen pretreatment device for performing pretreatment on a specimen.

Background Art

[0002] In a specimen analysis system for clinical examination, tests for designated analysis items are performed on biological samples (specimens) such as blood, plasma, serum, urine, and other body fluids. In such a specimen analysis system, a plurality of types of devices are connected and each process can be automatically processed. That is, for the purpose of streamlining the work of the laboratory, an analysis unit in a plurality of fields such as biochemistry and immunology and a pretreatment unit for performing pretreatment necessary for analysis are connected by a transport device (transport line), and these are operated as one system.

[0003] In a conventional specimen analysis system, the transport device mainly transports specimens by a belt drive method. In this belt drive method, if any abnormality occurs in the belt and the transport of the specimen stops, the specimen cannot be supplied to each device and the analysis of the specimen is interrupted. Therefore, in a transport device using the belt drive method, sufficient attention must be paid to abnormalities (for example, wear) of the belt. For this reason, a method of transporting a specimen using electromagnetic attraction force as a thrust has been attracting attention.

[0004] Due to the advancement of medical care and the progress of an aging society, the importance of specimen processing has been increasing. Therefore, in order to improve the analysis processing ability of the specimen analysis system, a device capable of high-speed transport, mass simultaneous transport, and transport in a plurality of directions of a specimen is desired. Examples of conventional technologies for realizing such transport are described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

[0005] The laboratory sample delivery system described in Patent Document 1 includes a magnetically active device, preferably a permanent magnet, a container carrier for carrying a sample container, a transport plane for carrying the container carrier, and an electromagnetic actuator that is stationary below the transport plane and moves the container carrier on the transport plane by applying a magnetic force thereto, and is very flexible and has high transport performance.

[0006] The laboratory sample delivery system described in Patent Document 2 includes a plurality of electromagnetic actuators that move the container carrier on the transport plane by applying a magnetic force to the container carrier. By driving a coil with a drive current, one electromagnetic actuator is activated, causing an electromagnetic current. This electromagnetic current is induced by a coupling element and extends through the ferromagnetic core of the non-activated electromagnetic actuator. As a result, a magnetic pushing force is generated by the electromagnetic actuator that interacts with the permanent magnet, reducing friction and overlapping with the pulling force generated by the activated electromagnetic actuator in the desired direction. The plurality of electromagnetic actuators are activated in a plurality of steps, that is, at different times from each other.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] In the technologies described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, according to the position of a container carrier provided with a permanent magnet, an electromagnetic actuator to be activated is switched, a current is passed through the electromagnetic actuator at the position where the container carrier is to be moved, and the container carrier is stopped at the target position by the attractive force of the electromagnetic actuator on the permanent magnet. In such an electromagnetic actuator, even when the current in the coil is the same, the thrust varies greatly depending on the position of the object to be conveyed such as the container carrier. That is, in the technologies described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, there is a problem that it is difficult to control the thrust in order to convey the object to be conveyed accurately and at a stable speed without generating large fluctuations.

[0009] By feeding back the position and speed of the object to be conveyed for control, it is possible to perform precise control of the speed and suppress speed unevenness. However, especially when the moving distance of the object to be conveyed is short, since the control time is short, if the initial position of the object to be conveyed deviates from the assumed position, it is difficult to correct the difference in thrust due to this deviation in position. For this reason, a deviation of the stop position of the object to be conveyed from the target position, overshoot or undershoot from the target position may occur. Furthermore, when the object to be conveyed contains a liquid specimen, the specimen may shake due to uneven speed of the object to be conveyed, causing foaming and liquid spillage, which may have an adverse effect on the analysis of the specimen.

[0010] As described above, the conventional conveying device has a problem in stably conveying the object to be conveyed.

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide a conveying device capable of stably conveying an object to be conveyed, a specimen analysis system including this conveying device, and a specimen pretreatment device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] The specimen transport device according to the present invention includes a plurality of electromagnets each having a tooth made of a magnetic material and a coil wound around the tooth, and a permanent magnet, and a carrier to be transported disposed above the electromagnet. The carrier to be transported is a container carrier that holds a specimen container containing a specimen that is a biological sample, and is transported on at least a part of a transport line to an analysis unit. In the analysis unit, components contained in the biological sample are analyzed for the biological sample that has reacted with a reagent. The coil includes a lower coil located at the position closest to the carrier to be transported and a propulsion coil located in front of the carrier to be transported in the traveling direction of the carrier to be transported and generating a thrust force on the carrier to be transported. When transporting the carrier to be transported, after exciting the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the carrier to be transported.

[0013] The specimen analysis system according to the present invention includes a container carrier in which a carrier to be transported holds a specimen container containing a specimen that is a biological sample, a loading unit in which the carrier to be transported is disposed, an analysis unit that analyzes the transported specimen, and a specimen transport device that transports the carrier to be transported from the loading unit to the analysis unit. The analysis unit analyzes components contained in the biological sample for the biological sample that has reacted with a reagent. The specimen transport device includes a plurality of electromagnets each having a tooth made of a magnetic material and a coil wound around the tooth, and a permanent magnet, and the carrier to be transported disposed above the electromagnet. The coil includes a lower coil located at the position closest to the carrier to be transported and a propulsion coil located in front of the carrier to be transported in the traveling direction of the carrier to be transported and generating a thrust force on the carrier to be transported. When transporting the carrier to be transported, after exciting the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the carrier to be transported.

[0014] The pre-treatment device according to the present invention has a carrier that holds a specimen container containing a specimen, which is a biological sample, and is connected to a specimen analysis system for analyzing the specimen, and includes a pre-treatment unit that performs pre-treatment on the specimen to be conveyed to the specimen analysis system, and a specimen conveyance device that conveys the carrier to the specimen analysis system. The specimen analysis system includes an analysis unit that analyzes components contained in the biological sample with respect to the biological sample that has reacted with a reagent. The specimen conveyance device includes a plurality of electromagnets each having teeth made of a magnetic material and a coil wound around the teeth, and the carrier made of a permanent magnet and disposed above the electromagnets. The coil includes a lower coil located at the position closest to the carrier and a propulsion coil located in front of the traveling direction of the carrier and generating a thrust force on the carrier. When conveying the carrier, after exciting the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the carrier.

Advantages of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a conveyance device that can stably convey a carrier, and a specimen analysis system and a specimen pre-treatment device including this conveyance device can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

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Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] The specimen conveying device according to the present invention (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "conveying device") is a device that conveys an object to be conveyed, and can stably convey the object to be conveyed. The conveying device according to the present invention uses, for example, a container carrier that conveys a biological sample (hereinafter referred to as "specimen") such as blood or urine as the object to be conveyed, and can be used in a specimen analysis system that analyzes the specimen and a specimen pretreatment device that performs pretreatment necessary for the analysis of the specimen on the specimen.

[0018] In the conveying device according to the present invention, by matching the position of the object to be conveyed with the position of the coil (or teeth) that is closest to the object to be conveyed and is located in the lower part of the object to be conveyed, the initial position of the movement of the object to be conveyed is set to a predetermined position, and the thrust acting on the object to be conveyed can be stabilized, so that the object to be conveyed can be conveyed stably. Therefore, in the conveying device according to the present invention, the object to be conveyed can be accurately stopped at the target position, unevenness in the moving speed of the object to be conveyed can be prevented, and when the object to be conveyed is liquid, liquid sloshing and liquid scattering can be suppressed.

[0019] Hereinafter, a conveying device, a specimen analysis system, and a specimen pretreatment device according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used in this specification, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions of these components may be omitted.

Embodiment

[0020] The conveying device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the conveying device according to this embodiment. The conveying device 1 includes a plurality of teeth 20 made of a magnetic material and a plurality of coils 30. More specifically, the conveying device 1 includes a plurality of electromagnets each having a tooth 20 and a coil 30 wound around the tooth 20. FIG. 1 shows, as an example, a conveying device 1 having five electromagnets.

[0022] Furthermore, the conveying device 1 includes an object to be conveyed, a bridge 40 (yoke), and a conveying surface not shown in FIG. 1. The object to be conveyed includes a permanent magnet 10 and is disposed on a conveying surface above the electromagnet (that is, the tooth 20 and the coil 30) and moves horizontally on the conveying surface. The object to be conveyed is conveyed at least in part on the conveying line to the analysis unit, as will also be described in Embodiment 6 described later. In the analysis unit, for a biological sample (specimen) reacted with a reagent, the components contained in the biological sample are analyzed.

[0023] The conveying device 1 includes a control unit (for example, the control unit 120 shown in FIG. 13), and conveys the object to be conveyed to a desired position according to a control signal generated by this control unit. For example, the control unit generates a control signal for exciting the coil 30, and supplies a current to the coil 30 according to this control signal to excite the coil 30.

[0024] The conveying device 1 conveys the object to be conveyed by moving the permanent magnet 10 provided on the object to be conveyed by the magnetic poles generated by the current supplied to the coil 30. That is, the conveying device 1 generates magnetic poles in the teeth 20 in the direction in which the object to be conveyed is to be moved, and attracts the permanent magnet 10 by these magnetic poles to convey the object to be conveyed.

[0025] The object to be conveyed is, for example, a container carrier. Examples of the container carrier include a specimen holder that holds one specimen container at a time, and a specimen rack that holds a plurality of specimen containers. The specimen container is a container that houses a specimen, and is, for example, a test tube or a sample cell that can house a liquid specimen.

[0026] The object to be conveyed can include one or more permanent magnets 10. In the following description, the object to be conveyed may also be represented by the permanent magnet 10.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical direction (up and down direction) is defined as the Z direction, and two directions orthogonal to each other in a plane (horizontal plane) perpendicular to the Z direction are defined as the X direction and the Y direction. The magnetization direction (direction of the magnetic field) of the permanent magnet 10 is the Z direction. Also, when viewed from the teeth 20, the direction (upward direction) in which the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10) is located is defined as the +Z direction.

[0028] The five teeth 20 are magnetically coupled to each other by a magnetic body bridge 40 at a portion opposite to the portion facing the permanent magnet 10 in the Z direction (that is, the end portion on the -Z direction side). The teeth 20, the coil 30, and the bridge 40 constitute a magnetic circuit portion.

[0029] With such a configuration, the conveying device 1 has the advantages that it can hold a plurality of teeth 20, accurately determine the positions of the teeth 20, and increase the magnetic flux acting on the permanent magnet 10.

[0030] In this embodiment, five electromagnets (pairs of teeth 20 and coils 30) are arranged in a cross shape in the XY plane. With such an arrangement of the electromagnets, the permanent magnet 10 can move in the X direction and the Y direction. Note that although the number of electromagnets is five in this embodiment, the conveying device 1 can be provided with any number of electromagnets. The plurality of electromagnets are arranged over the area where the object to be conveyed is desired to be conveyed. The object to be conveyed can be conveyed over a wide range by the plurality of electromagnets.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed is arranged to face the end portion (+Z direction side, upper end portion) of the teeth 20 in the Z direction and moves above the conveying surface not shown in FIG. 1.

[0032] The conveying surface is provided on the upper surface portions of the plurality of electromagnets. On the conveying surface, the object to be conveyed is placed so as to be movable in the horizontal direction.

[0033] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the conveying device 1 cut along the ZX plane. FIG. 2 shows three teeth 20, three coils 30, a bridge 40 connecting the three teeth 20 to each other, the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed, and the conveying surface 15 on which the permanent magnet 10 moves. The teeth 20 and the coils 30 are located below the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10).

[0034] Hereinafter, the position of any one of the teeth 20 is defined as position A, and the position of one tooth 20 adjacent to the tooth 20 at position A is defined as position B. Also, hereinafter, when the permanent magnet 10 is directly above the tooth 20 at position A, it is said that the permanent magnet 10 is at position A, or the position of the permanent magnet 10 is position A. The same applies to position B.

[0035] Assume that the position of the permanent magnet 10 is position A in Fig. 2. The moving direction of the permanent magnet 10 is the +X direction (the direction from left to right in Fig. 2). That is, the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10) uses position A as the initial position of movement and moves from position A toward position B.

[0036] Also, hereinafter, among the plurality of coils 30, one coil 30 at the position closest to the object to be conveyed is referred to as the "lower coil 30a". The lower coil 30a is located at the lower part of the object to be conveyed (or permanent magnet 10) and is the coil 30 closest to the object to be conveyed. And, among the plurality of teeth 20, one tooth 20 at the position closest to the object to be conveyed is referred to as the "lower tooth 20a". The lower tooth 20a is located at the lower part of the object to be conveyed (or permanent magnet 10) and is the tooth 20 closest to the object to be conveyed.

[0037] To move the permanent magnet 10 in the moving direction, an electric current is passed through the coil 30 in front of the permanent magnet 10 in the moving direction (in Fig. 2, the coil 30 arranged around the tooth 20 at position B), and a magnetic pole that attracts the magnetic pole of the permanent magnet 10 is generated in the tooth 20 in front of the moving direction (in Fig. 2, the tooth 20 at position B).

[0038] Hereinafter, the coil 30 through which an electric current is passed to generate an attractive force to move the permanent magnet 10 in the moving direction, that is, the coil in front of the permanent magnet 10 in the moving direction that generates a thrust force on the permanent magnet 10, is referred to as the "propulsion coil 30b".

[0039] The permanent magnet 10 generally moves smoothly on the conveying surface 15. In this embodiment, the conveying surface 15 is a flat plate-shaped surface parallel to the XY plane (horizontal plane) and is installed at the +Z direction side end (upper end) of the tooth 20.

[0040] FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the position of the permanent magnet 10 as viewed from above (+Z direction). FIG. 3 shows five teeth 20 and the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed. The permanent magnet 10 is assumed to be at position A currently and moving from position A toward position B. Note that the tooth 20 at position A is the lower tooth 20a.

[0041] To place the object to be conveyed on the conveying surface 15, there are, for example, methods of placing it with a feeder or a robot hand, or methods of placing it by manual work. When placing the object to be conveyed on the conveying surface 15, it is preferable that the center position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed coincides with the center position of the tooth 20.

[0042] However, when the object to be conveyed is placed on the conveying surface 15, the center position of the permanent magnet 10 often deviates from the center position of the tooth 20. Such misalignment of the object to be conveyed is preferably corrected. However, especially when the number of objects to be conveyed is large, it is difficult to adjust the position for each object to be conveyed while measuring the position of the placed object to be conveyed, so it is difficult to correct the misalignment of the object to be conveyed.

[0043] When starting the conveyance of the object to be conveyed, if the center position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed deviates from the center position of the tooth 20, a difference from the originally required thrust will occur in the thrust during conveyance according to the amount of this deviation.

[0044] Also, when the object to be conveyed is being conveyed, at the position where the path of the object to be conveyed bends, or at the position where a reagent is dropped or dispensed onto the object to be conveyed, the movement of the object to be conveyed temporarily stops. At the time of this stop, it is preferable that the center position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed coincides with the center position of the tooth 20.

[0045] However, when the movement of the object to be conveyed stops, at the stop position, the center position of the permanent magnet 10 often deviates from the center position of the tooth 20. When such misalignment of the object to be conveyed occurs, a difference from the originally required thrust will occur in the thrust when the object to be conveyed starts moving again according to the amount of this deviation.

[0046] When a difference occurs in the thrust force when transporting the object to be transported due to a displacement of the object to be transported (displacement from the assumed position of the initial position of movement), a deviation from the target position of the stop position of the object to be transported, overshoot or undershoot from the target position may occur. When the object to be transported contains a liquid specimen, the specimen may sway due to uneven speed of the object to be transported, causing foaming and liquid spillage, which may have an adverse effect on the analysis of the specimen.

[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be transported and the thrust force Fx acting on the object to be transported when a constant current is passed through the coil 30 at position B. By passing a current through the coil 30 at position B, a magnetic pole is generated that attracts the permanent magnet 10 to the teeth 20 at position B.

[0048] Assuming that the object to be transported (permanent magnet 10) is at position A, the permanent magnet 10 moves in the X direction from position A to position B using the X-direction component of the attractive force generated in the teeth 20 as the thrust force Fx. The thrust force Fx acting on the permanent magnet 10 changes depending on the distance from position A. As the permanent magnet 10 approaches position B from position A, the distance between the permanent magnet 10 and position B decreases, so the thrust force Fx increases. However, as the permanent magnet 10 further approaches position B, the attractive force generated by the teeth 20 at position B has an increasing Z-direction component, and the X-direction component, i.e., the thrust force Fx, decreases. For example, at position B, the attractive force generated by the teeth 20 at position B has only a Z-direction component, and the thrust force Fx, which is the X-direction component, is zero.

[0049] As can be seen from FIG. 4, the thrust force Fx generated in the object to be transported (permanent magnet 10) changes depending on the distance (displacement amount) from position A. Therefore, when the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be transported moves to position B with a position displaced from position A as the initial position, the thrust force Fx acting on the permanent magnet 10 is different from the originally required thrust force (the thrust force when moving from position A to position B with position A as the initial position). Thus, due to the displacement of the permanent magnet 10 (displacement of the initial position), a displacement also occurs in the thrust force Fx acting on the permanent magnet 10.

[0050] For example, when the permanent magnet 10 moves from a position closer to position B than position A, the thrust Fx becomes larger than when the permanent magnet 10 is at position A, and overshoot or stopping at a position exceeding the target position occurs in the object to be conveyed. Further, when the permanent magnet 10 moves from a position farther from position B than position A, the thrust Fx becomes smaller than when the permanent magnet 10 is at position A, and undershoot, stopping at a position before the target position, or an unexpected decrease in speed occurs in the object to be conveyed.

[0051] In the conventional technology, as described above, due to the displacement (initial position displacement) of the permanent magnet 10, the thrust Fx acting on the permanent magnet 10 is displaced, and it is difficult to stably convey the object to be conveyed. For example, in the conventional technology, when conveying a plurality of objects to be conveyed, there are problems such as variations in the operation time and stop position among the objects to be conveyed, and low conveyance stability.

[0052] In the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, when conveying the object to be conveyed, while the object to be conveyed is in a stopped state, the lower coil 30a is excited to attract the object to be conveyed to the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a), and then the propulsion coil 30b is excited to propel the object to be conveyed. By attracting the object to be conveyed to the lower coil 30a, the initial position of the object to be conveyed when conveying the object to be conveyed can be set to a specific position (for example, position A).

[0053] For example, in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, when placing the object to be conveyed on the conveying surface 15, at least one of the timings such as after the movement of the object to be conveyed temporarily stops and when starting the conveyance of the stopped object to be conveyed, the lower coil 30a (that is, one of the plurality of coils 30 closest to the object to be conveyed) is excited to generate an attractive force to the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a). Then, by this attractive force, the position of the center of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed is made to coincide with the position of the center of the excited lower coil 30a (the position of the center of the lower teeth 20a).

[0054] That is, in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the object to be conveyed is stopped or when starting to convey the object to be conveyed, a current is supplied to the lower coil 30a to excite the lower coil 30a, so that the position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed (the initial position of the movement of the object to be conveyed) coincides with the position of the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a).

[0055] Note that the positions being coincident does not necessarily mean that the positions are exactly the same, and it also includes cases where the positions can be regarded as coincident. The case where the positions can be regarded as coincident is, for example, when the difference between the position of the center of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed and the position of the center of the coil 30 (the position of the center of the teeth 20) is within a predetermined allowable range.

[0056] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a current pattern supplied to the lower coil 30a. The current pattern shown in FIG. 5 is, for example, a current pattern when exciting the lower coil 30a at position A in order to make the position of the center of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed coincide with the position of the center of the lower coil 30a (lower teeth 20a) at position A when the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed is in the vicinity of position A. FIG. 5 shows, as an example, a pattern in which a current is intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a in a pulsed manner.

[0057] When the lower coil 30a (the coil 30 at position A) is excited so that the permanent magnet 10 is attracted to the lower coil 30a, a force is generated to make the position of the center of the permanent magnet 10 coincide with the position of the center of the lower coil 30a (lower teeth 20a). By this force, the position of the center of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed can be brought closer to the position of the center of the lower coil 30a, preferably making these center positions coincide, and the thrust when the object to be conveyed moves can be stabilized.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable to intermittently supply a current to the lower coil 30a (the coil 30 at position A in this embodiment) and intermittently excite the lower coil 30a. When the lower coil 30a is intermittently excited, the force acting on the object to be conveyed becomes vibratory, and the object to be conveyed can be easily moved by this vibration.

[0059] In addition, although FIG. 5 shows an example of supplying a pulsed current to the lower coil 30a, the lower coil 30a can be supplied with a current of any waveform, not limited to a pulsed current, such as a sine-wave current or a rectangular-wave current.

[0060] Also, when intermittently supplying a current to the lower coil 30a, the supply frequency of the current is preferably the natural frequency of the object to be conveyed or a frequency near the natural frequency of the object to be conveyed. When supplying a current to the coil 30 at such a frequency, the object to be conveyed can be resonated, and the object to be conveyed can be moved with a small current (i.e., a small thrust force). The position of the object to be conveyed can be effectively adjusted, and the object to be conveyed can be conveyed more stably. Note that the frequency near the natural frequency of the object to be conveyed is a frequency that can be regarded as the natural frequency of the object to be conveyed. For example, it is a frequency whose difference from the natural frequency is within a predetermined allowable range.

[0061] In this embodiment, as described above, when the object to be conveyed is stopped or when starting to convey the object to be conveyed, a current is supplied to the coil 30 (lower coil 30a) that is located below the object to be conveyed and is closest to the object to be conveyed, to excite the lower coil 30a. By making the position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed coincide with the position of the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a), the initial position of the object to be conveyed when conveying the object to be conveyed can be set to a predetermined position, and the thrust force for moving the object to be conveyed can be stabilized. Therefore, in this embodiment, the object to be conveyed can be conveyed stably, and the object to be conveyed can be stopped with high position accuracy.

Embodiment

[0062] The conveying device 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. The conveying device 1 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the conveying device 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) according to Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the conveying device 1 according to this embodiment will be mainly described with respect to the differences from the conveying device 1 according to Embodiment 1.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 4, when a current is supplied to the coil 30 at position B, the thrust Fx acting on the object to be conveyed varies depending on the position of the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10).

[0064] Here, assume that the permanent magnet 10 is located near position B, and a current is supplied to the lower coil 30a (coil 30 at position B) which is at the lower part of the permanent magnet 10 and closest to the permanent magnet 10 to excite this lower coil 30a to generate the thrust Fx, and consider the case where the position of the permanent magnet 10 is made to coincide with the position of the lower coil 30a at position B.

[0065] As can be seen from FIG. 4, the thrust Fx generated in the permanent magnet 10 is larger as the position of the permanent magnet 10 is farther from position B (that is, the greater the deviation of the position of the permanent magnet 10 from position B). Therefore, when the position of the permanent magnet 10 (object to be conveyed) is far from position B, when the lower coil 30a (coil 30 at position B) is excited, a suddenly large force acts on the permanent magnet 10, and a large accelerating force is suddenly generated on the object to be conveyed. When the object to be conveyed conveys a liquid sample, due to this large accelerating force, liquid sloshing, liquid foaming and splashing, and liquid spillage of the sample may occur.

[0066] Therefore, in this embodiment, the magnitude of the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is initially made small and gradually increased with time. By doing so, the force acting on the permanent magnet 10 can be initially made small and gradually increased with time, and the generation of a large accelerating force on the object to be conveyed can be suppressed.

[0067] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the current pattern supplied to the lower coil 30a in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, a current whose magnitude increases with time is intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a.

[0068] When the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed is located in the immediate vicinity of the lower coil 30a (coil 30 whose center position is to be aligned with that of the permanent magnet 10), since the initial value of the current is small, the generated thrust Fx is also initially small. As the magnitude of the current increases with the passage of time, the thrust Fx gradually increases. When the thrust Fx exceeds the static friction force of the object to be conveyed, the object to be conveyed starts to move, and the center position of the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10) can be aligned with the center position of the lower coil 30a.

[0069] When the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed is at a position far from the lower coil 30a, even if the initial value of the current is small, since the position of the permanent magnet 10 is far from the lower coil 30a (in Fig. 4, because the position of the permanent magnet 10 is far from position B), the thrust Fx acting on the permanent magnet 10 is large. Therefore, the object to be conveyed can be moved by this thrust Fx, and the center position of the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10) can be aligned with the center position of the lower coil 30a.

[0070] Note that although Fig. 6 shows an example of supplying a pulsed current whose magnitude increases with time, the supplied current is not limited to a pulsed shape and can have any waveform such as a sine wave shape or a rectangular shape.

[0071] In the above description, an example of gradually increasing the magnitude of the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a with time has been described. The current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a may gradually increase the energization time with time. As the energization time of the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a is increased, similar to the case of increasing the magnitude of the current, the force acting on the permanent magnet 10 can be made small initially and gradually increased with time.

[0072] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the pattern of the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a, and is a diagram showing an example of the pattern of the current whose energization time gradually increases with time.

[0073] Also, the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a may be gradually increased with time in both magnitude and energization time. That is, the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a may be gradually increased with time in at least one of magnitude and energization time.

[0074] Also, the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a may be decreased with time in at least one of magnitude and energization time, or may be arbitrarily changed. By giving an arbitrary change (for example, monotonic increase, monotonic decrease, and a combination of increase and decrease) to at least one of the magnitude and energization time of this current, it is possible to prevent a large accelerating force from being generated on the object to be conveyed, and to apply a vibrating force to the object to be conveyed to easily move the object to be conveyed.

Embodiment

[0075] The conveying device 1 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. The conveying device 1 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the conveying device 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) according to Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the conveying device 1 according to this embodiment will be mainly described with respect to the differences from the conveying device 1 according to Embodiment 1.

[0076] When a current is supplied to the coil 30 and a magnetic attractive force is generated in the teeth 20, the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed is attracted to the teeth 20 and moves. At this time, a frictional force is generated on the object to be conveyed, and in particular, in the vicinity directly above the teeth 20, there is a range where the object to be conveyed cannot be easily moved by a small thrust Fx due to this frictional force.

[0077] Therefore, in this embodiment, the direction of the current supplied to the coil 30 (lower coil 30a) located below the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10) and closest to the object to be conveyed is changed with time, and an attractive force and a repulsive force to the object to be conveyed are alternately generated in the teeth 20 (or lower coil 30a) to move the object to be conveyed. By alternately generating an attractive force and a repulsive force to the object to be conveyed, the thrust force Fx acting on the object to be conveyed becomes oscillatory, and the influence of the frictional force can be reduced by this vibration, and the object to be conveyed can be easily moved. Further, by moving the object to be conveyed away from the coil 30 by the repulsive force to the object to be conveyed, the thrust force Fx acting on the object to be conveyed can be increased (see FIG. 4), and the effect of facilitating the movement of the object to be conveyed can also be obtained.

[0078] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a current pattern supplied to the lower coil 30a in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, a current whose flowing direction alternately changes with time is intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a. Thereby, an attractive force and a repulsive force to the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed are alternately generated in the lower coil 30a. FIG. 8 shows, as an example, an example in which a current in the positive direction is a current that generates an attractive force, and a current in the negative direction is a current that generates a repulsive force.

[0079] For example, at time t1, a current in the positive direction is supplied to the lower coil 30a to generate an attractive force in the lower teeth 20a (lower coil 30a), and at the next time t2, a current in the negative direction is supplied to the lower coil 30a to generate a repulsive force in the lower teeth 20a. Then, at the next time t3, a current in the positive direction is supplied to the lower coil 30a, and at the next time t4, a current in the negative direction is supplied to the lower coil 30a, so that an attractive force and a repulsive force are alternately generated in the lower teeth 20a.

[0080] The repulsive force generated by the lower teeth 20a has not only an X-direction component (repulsive force in the X direction) but also a Z-direction component (repulsive force in the Z direction). Since the repulsive force in the Z direction is a force that moves the object to be conveyed in an undesirable direction, it is preferably made small. For this reason, in the current supplied to the coil 30, it is preferable that at least one of the magnitude and the energization time of the current that generates the repulsive force is smaller than the current that generates the attractive force. By doing so, the movement of the object to be conveyed can be gently changed, and the object to be conveyed can be stably conveyed.

[0081] FIG. 8 shows, as an example, a case where the magnitude of the current (negative-direction current) that generates the repulsive force is smaller than the magnitude of the current (positive-direction current) that generates the attractive force.

[0082] In the present embodiment, by changing the direction of the current supplied to the lower coil 30a over time and alternately generating an attractive force and a repulsive force on the object to be conveyed in the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a), the influence of the frictional force generated on the object to be conveyed can be reduced, and the position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed and the position of the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a) can be easily made to coincide.

Embodiment

[0083] The conveying device 1 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described. The conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the conveying device 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) according to Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment will be mainly described with respect to the differences from the conveying device 1 according to Embodiment 1.

[0084] In the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, as described in Embodiments 1 to 3, a current is intermittently supplied to the lower coil 30a (the coil 30 at position A in the examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) to generate an attractive force in the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a). Then, currents that generate an attractive force are alternately supplied to the lower coil 30a and the propulsion coil 30b (the coil 30 that generates a thrust force on the permanent magnet 10 in front of the traveling direction of the object to be conveyed, and the coil 30 at position B in the examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3).

[0085] For example, while intermittently supplying current to the lower coil 30a (coil 30 at position A), during a time period when no current is supplied to the lower coil 30a, current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b (coil 30 at position B). To the propulsion coil 30b, similar to the lower coil 30a, current is supplied that generates an attractive force to the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a).

[0086] In this embodiment, current that generates an attractive force is alternately supplied to the lower coil 30a and the propulsion coil 30b, to alternately generate the attractive force of the lower coil 30a and the attractive force of the propulsion coil 30b. For example, while intermittently supplying current to the lower coil 30a, during a time period when no current is supplied to the lower coil 30a, current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b that generates an attractive force. By flowing current in this way, the position of the permanent magnet 10 of the object to be conveyed can be effectively made to coincide with the position of the lower coil 30a, that is, the position of the lower teeth 20a.

[0087] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a current pattern supplied to the lower coil 30a and the propulsion coil 30b. At the upper part of FIG. 9, the current pattern supplied to the lower coil 30a is shown, and at the lower part of FIG. 9, the current pattern supplied to the propulsion coil 30b is shown.

[0088] At time t11 which is the start time of work, current is supplied to the lower coil 30a (coil 30 at position A) to generate an attractive force, and the object to be conveyed is attracted toward the lower coil 30a (that is, toward position A).

[0089] At time t12, the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is set to zero, and at the same time, current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b to generate an attractive force. Due to this attractive force, the object to be conveyed is attracted toward the propulsion coil 30b (that is, toward position B).

[0090] At time t13, the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b is set to zero, and a current is supplied to the lower coil 30a to generate an attractive force, attracting the object to be conveyed toward the lower coil 30a (i.e., toward position A).

[0091] Since the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10) is close to the lower coil 30a, the attractive force due to the current supplied to the lower coil 30a (position A) has a large attracting effect on the object to be conveyed. On the other hand, since the object to be conveyed is far from the propulsion coil 30b, the attractive force due to the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b (position B) has a small attracting effect on the object to be conveyed. Since the magnitudes of the attractive force by the lower coil 30a and the attractive force by the propulsion coil 30b are in such a relationship, the object to be conveyed can move toward the lower coil 30a (toward the lower teeth 20a, i.e., toward position A).

[0092] Preferably, the magnitude of the current supplied to the lower coil 30a (position A) is larger than the magnitude of the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b (position B). By doing so, the attractive force of the lower coil 30a can be made larger than the attractive force of the propulsion coil 30b, and the object to be conveyed can be effectively moved toward the lower coil 30a (i.e., toward position A).

[0093] In this embodiment, by alternately supplying currents to the lower coil 30a and the propulsion coil 30b to generate an oscillating force on the object to be conveyed (permanent magnet 10), the object to be conveyed can be easily moved, and the position of the object to be conveyed can be effectively made to coincide with the position of the lower coil 30a (or the lower teeth 20a). Therefore, the initial position of the object to be conveyed when conveying the object to be conveyed can be set to a predetermined position, the thrust for moving the object to be conveyed can be stabilized, and the object to be conveyed can be conveyed stably.

[0094] In the above description, as shown in FIG. 9, while intermittently supplying current to the lower coil 30a, current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b during a time period when no current is supplied to the lower coil 30a. That is, after supplying current to the lower coil 30a, when the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is set to zero, current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b. When the supply of current is switched abruptly in this way, the direction of the suction force on the object to be conveyed changes suddenly (for example, suction from position A to suction in the reverse direction to position B occurs suddenly), and the object to be conveyed may fluctuate greatly and be adversely affected.

[0095] Therefore, when the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is set to zero after supplying current to the lower coil 30a, current may be supplied to the propulsion coil 30b before the current supplied to the lower coil 30a becomes zero. Alternatively, when the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b is set to zero after supplying current to the propulsion coil 30b, current may be supplied to the lower coil 30a before the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b becomes zero. Or, these two current supply methods may be used in combination.

[0096] That is, when switching between the supply of current to the lower coil 30a and the supply of current to the propulsion coil 30b, a part of the time period for supplying current to the lower coil 30a and a part of the time period for supplying current to the propulsion coil 30b may overlap each other.

[0097] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a current pattern for supplying current to the propulsion coil 30b before the current supplied to the lower coil 30a becomes zero.

[0098] At time t21, current is supplied to the lower coil 30a, and at time t23, the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is set to zero. At time t22 before time t23, current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b. That is, at time t22, after supplying current to the propulsion coil 30b, at time t23, the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is set to zero. The time period for supplying current to the lower coil 30a overlaps with the time period for supplying current to the propulsion coil 30b between time t22 and time t23.

[0099] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a current pattern for supplying current to the lower coil 30a before the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b becomes zero.

[0100] At time t31, current is supplied to the lower coil 30a. At time t32, the current supplied to the lower coil 30a is set to zero, and current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b. At time t34, the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b is set to zero. At time t33 before time t34, current is supplied to the lower coil 30a. That is, after supplying current to the lower coil 30a at time t33, the current supplied to the propulsion coil 30b is set to zero at time t34. The time period during which current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b overlaps with the time period during which current is supplied to the lower coil 30a and between times t33 and t34.

[0101] In this way, when switching between supplying current to the lower coil 30a and supplying current to the propulsion coil 30b, by overlapping a part of the time period during which current is supplied to the lower coil 30a and a part of the time period during which current is supplied to the propulsion coil 30b with each other, it is possible to prevent the direction of the attractive force acting on the object to be conveyed from changing abruptly, and it is possible to suppress large fluctuations from occurring in the object to be conveyed.

[0102] Further, in order to make the change in the direction of the attractive force acting on the object to be conveyed gentle, when setting the current supplied to the coil to zero, this current may be gradually decreased, and when supplying current to the coil, this current may be gradually increased. By doing so, it is possible to more effectively suppress large fluctuations from occurring in the object to be conveyed.

Example

[0103] The conveying device 1 according to Example 5 of the present invention will be described. The conveying device 1 according to this example has the same configuration as the conveying device 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) according to Example 1. Hereinafter, the conveying device 1 according to this example will be mainly described with respect to the differences from the conveying device 1 according to Example 1.

[0104] FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing the transport device 1 according to this embodiment, cut along the ZX plane, similar to FIG. 2. The transport device 1 according to this embodiment includes a rolling part 50 between a body to be transported (permanent magnet 10) and a transport surface 15 on which the body to be transported moves. More specifically, the body to be transported includes a rolling part 50 on the lower surface of the body to be transported.

[0105] The rolling part 50 is a member that reduces the friction between the body to be transported and the transport surface 15 when the body to be transported moves. The rolling part 50 can be composed of any member, and for example, it can be composed of a rod-shaped member, a ball bearing, or the like.

[0106] There is friction between the body to be transported and the transport surface 15. Due to this frictional force, the smooth movement of the body to be transported on the transport surface 15 is hindered, and the movement becomes unstable. Therefore, when this friction is large, it is necessary to increase the current for exciting the lower coil 30a (coil 30 at position A in the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), and obtain a large force such that the body to be transported can overcome the frictional force and move to the central position of the lower coil 30a (or the lower tooth 20a).

[0107] The transport device 1 according to this embodiment includes a rolling part 50, which can reduce the friction between the body to be transported and the transport surface 15 when the body to be transported moves, can move the body to be transported more easily, and can stabilize the thrust for moving the body to be transported. Therefore, the transport device 1 according to this embodiment can stably transport the body to be transported.

Embodiment

[0108] The specimen analysis system and the specimen pretreatment device according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described. The specimen analysis system and the specimen pretreatment device according to this embodiment include the transport device 1 according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5 of the present invention.

[0109] First, the specimen analysis system according to this embodiment will be described. The specimen analysis system is a device that dispenses a specimen and a reagent into a reaction vessel, reacts them, and measures the reacted liquid.

[0110] Figure 13 is a diagram showing an overview of the overall configuration of the specimen analysis system 100 according to this embodiment. The specimen analysis system 100 includes a loading unit 101, an emergency rack inlet 113, a transport line 102, a buffer 104, an analysis unit 105, a storage unit 103, a display unit 118, and a control unit 120.

[0111] The loading unit 101 is a place where a specimen rack 111, which is a container carrier holding a plurality of specimen containers 122 containing biological specimens (specimens) such as blood and urine, is placed.

[0112] The emergency rack inlet 113 is a place for inserting into the apparatus a specimen rack 111 that stores a specimen rack (calibration rack) equipped with a standard solution or a specimen container 122 containing a specimen that requires emergency analysis.

[0113] The transport line 102 is a line for transporting the specimen rack 111 installed in the loading unit 101, and can be configured by the transport device 1 according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the object to be transported is the specimen rack 111, and the permanent magnet 10 provided in the object to be transported is provided on the bottom surface of the specimen rack 111. The transport device 1 transports the object to be transported from the loading unit 101 to the analysis unit 105. The specimen rack 111, which is the object to be transported, is transported at least partially on the transport line 102 up to the analysis unit 105.

[0114] The buffer 104 holds a plurality of specimen racks 111 transported by the transport line 102 so that the dispensing order of the specimens in the specimen rack 111 can be changed.

[0115] The analysis unit 105 transports the specimen rack 111 from the loading unit 101 through the buffer 104 by the transport line 102 and analyzes the transported specimen. The analysis unit 105 analyzes the components contained in the biological specimen (specimen) that has reacted with the reagent. The analysis unit 105 can have, for example, the same configuration as the analysis unit included in an existing specimen analysis system.

[0116] The storage unit 103 stores the specimen rack 111 in which the specimen container 122 holding the specimen on which the analysis in the analysis unit 105 has been completed is accommodated.

[0117] The display unit 118 is a display device for displaying the results of the analysis in the analysis unit 105. For example, the display unit 118 displays the concentration of a predetermined component contained in the specimen as the analysis result.

[0118] The control unit 120 is composed of a computer or the like, controls the operations of each mechanism of the specimen analysis system 100, and performs arithmetic processing for obtaining the concentration of a predetermined component in a specimen such as blood or urine. The transport device 1 (transport line 102) according to the embodiment of the present invention is controlled by the control unit 120.

[0119] Next, the specimen pretreatment device according to this embodiment will be described. The specimen pretreatment device is a device that performs various pretreatments necessary for the analysis of a specimen, and can be connected to the specimen analysis system.

[0120] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of the specimen pretreatment device 150 according to this embodiment. The specimen pretreatment device 150 can have the same configuration as an existing specimen pretreatment device, and includes one or a plurality of pretreatment units that perform pretreatment on the specimen to be transported to the specimen analysis system. For example, the specimen pretreatment device 150 includes a capping unit 152, a specimen storage unit 153, an empty holder stacker 154, a specimen loading unit 155, a centrifugation unit 156, a liquid volume measurement unit 157, a decapping unit 158, a sub-specimen container preparation unit 159, a dispensing unit 160, and a transfer unit 161 as pretreatment units, and also includes an operation unit 163 that controls the operations of these plurality of units.

[0121] Connected to the specimen pretreatment device 150 is a specimen analysis system 100 for performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of the components of the specimen as the transfer destination of the pretreated specimen. The specimen analysis system 100 analyzes the components contained in the biological sample (specimen) that has reacted with the reagent.

[0122] Between the plurality of units included in the specimen pretreatment device 150 and between the specimen pretreatment device 150 and the specimen analysis system 100, they can be connected by the transfer device 1 according to any one of Examples 1 to 5 of the present invention. For example, the transfer device 1 transfers a container carrier such as a specimen holder or a specimen rack 111 that holds the specimen container 122 to the specimen analysis system 100 as an object to be transferred.

[0123] The specimen analysis system 100 and the specimen pretreatment device 150 according to this embodiment are provided with the transfer device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and can stably transfer the specimen container 122 to the transfer destination, so the time until the analysis result is obtained can be shortened. In addition, there are few troubles that occur when transferring the specimen container 122, and the burden on the inspection technician can be reduced.

[0124] In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, an example in which the specimen rack 111 that holds five specimen containers 122 containing specimens is the object to be transferred has been described. The object to be transferred is not limited to such a specimen rack 111, and may be, for example, a specimen holder that holds two specimen containers 122.

[0125] In addition, in Examples 1 to 6, the object to be transferred by the transfer device 1 is not limited to container carriers such as specimen holders and specimen racks 111, and can be any object, for example, various objects that are required to be transferred on a large scale.

[0126] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiments including all the configurations described. In addition, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Also, the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, a part of the configuration of each embodiment can be deleted, or other configurations can be added or replaced.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0127] 1…Conveyor device, 10…Permanent magnet, 15…Conveyor surface, 20…Teeth, 20a…Lower teeth, 30…Coil, 30a…Lower coil, 30b…Propulsion coil, 40…Bridge, 50…Rolling part, 100…Specimen analysis system, 101…Loading section, 102…Conveyor line, 103…Storage section, 104…Buffer, 105…Analysis section, 111…Specimen rack, 113…Emergency rack inlet, 118…Display section, 120…Control section, 122…Specimen container, 150…Specimen pretreatment device, 152…Closure unit, 153…Specimen storage unit, 154…Empty holder stacker, 155…Specimen input unit, 156…Centrifugation unit, 157…Liquid volume measurement unit, 158…Open plug unit, 159…Sub-specimen container preparation unit, 160…Dispensing unit, 161…Transfer unit, 163…Operation section.

Claims

1. A plurality of electromagnets each including teeth made of a magnetic material and a coil wound around the teeth, a carrier provided with a permanent magnet and disposed above the electromagnet, and comprising: The carrier is a container carrier that holds a specimen container containing a specimen, which is a biological sample, and is transported on at least a part of a transport line to an analysis unit. In the analysis unit, components contained in the biological sample are analyzed for the biological sample reacted with a reagent. The coil includes a lower coil located at the position closest to the carrier and a propulsion coil located in front of the carrier in the traveling direction of the carrier and generating a thrust force on the carrier. When transporting the carrier, after exciting the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the carrier. A specimen transport device characterized by the above.

2. When transporting the carrier, after exciting the lower coil to attract the carrier to the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the carrier. The specimen transport device according to Claim 1.

3. Exciting the lower coil in a state where the carrier is stopped. The specimen transport device according to Claim 1.

4. When starting the transport of the carrier, exciting the lower coil. The specimen transport device according to Claim 1.

5. Supplying a current to the lower coil intermittently to intermittently excite the lower coil. The specimen transport device according to Claim 1.

6. At least one of the magnitude and the energization time of the current supplied to the lower coil changes with time. The specimen transport device according to Claim 5.

7. At least one of the magnitude and the energization time of the current supplied to the lower coil increases with time. The specimen transport device according to Claim 5.

8. The direction of the current flowing through the lower coil changes with time, and the lower coil alternately generates an attractive force and a repulsive force on the carrier. The specimen transport device according to Claim 5.

9. The current generating the repulsive force is smaller than the current generating the attractive force in at least one of the magnitude and the energization time. The specimen transport device according to Claim 8.

10. A current that generates an attractive force on the carrier is alternately supplied to the lower coil and the propulsion coil to alternately generate the attractive force of the lower coil and the attractive force of the propulsion coil. The specimen transport device according to claim 1.

11. When switching the supply of the current to the lower coil and the supply of the current to the propulsion coil, the time zone for supplying the current to the lower coil and the time zone for supplying the current to the propulsion coil overlap with each other. The specimen transport device according to claim 10.

12. The frequency of the supply of the current intermittently supplied to the lower coil is the natural frequency of the object to be transported or a frequency in the vicinity of the natural frequency. The specimen transport device according to claim 5.

13. It includes a transport surface on which the object to be transported moves. It includes a rolling part between the object to be transported and the transport surface. The specimen transport device according to claim 1.

14. The object to be transported is a container carrier that holds a specimen container containing a biological specimen as the specimen. An inlet section where the object to be transported is arranged. An analysis section that analyzes the specimen that has been transported. A specimen transport device that transports the object to be transported from the inlet section to the analysis section. Comprising: The analysis section analyzes the components contained in the biological specimen with respect to the biological specimen that has reacted with the reagent. The specimen transport device: A plurality of electromagnets each including teeth made of a magnetic material and a coil wound around the teeth. It includes a permanent magnet and the object to be transported arranged above the electromagnet. Comprising: The coil includes a lower coil at the position closest to the object to be transported and a propulsion coil in front of the object to be transported in the traveling direction of the object to be transported and that generates a thrust force on the object to be transported. When transporting the object to be transported, after exciting the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the object to be transported. A specimen analysis system characterized by the above.

15. The object to be transported is a container carrier that holds a specimen container containing a biological specimen as the specimen. A specimen analysis system for analyzing the specimen is connected. A pretreatment unit that performs pretreatment on the specimen transported to the specimen analysis system. A specimen transport device that transports the object to be transported to the specimen analysis system. Comprising: The specimen analysis system includes an analysis section that analyzes the components contained in the biological specimen with respect to the biological specimen that has reacted with the reagent. The specimen transport device: A plurality of electromagnets each including teeth made of a magnetic material and a coil wound around the teeth. It includes a permanent magnet and the object to be transported arranged above the electromagnet. Comprising: The coil includes a lower coil located at the position closest to the object to be conveyed, and a propulsion coil that is in front of the object to be conveyed in the traveling direction of the object to be conveyed and generates a thrust force on the object to be conveyed. When conveying the object to be conveyed, after exciting the lower coil, the propulsion coil is excited to propel the object to be conveyed. A specimen pretreatment apparatus characterized by the above.

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