Reagent cooler and automatic analyzer equipped with same

Abstract

This reagent cooling box is characterized by comprising a reagent disc that can hold a plurality of reagent containers that can hold a reagent, a container that holds the reagent disc thereinside, a drive device that makes the reagent disc rotate in the horizontal direction, and a fan that is provided to the reagent disc so as to be capable of blowing air in the rotation direction of the reagent disc.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a reagent refrigerator and an automatic analyzer equipped with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of nucleic acid amplification technology used in testing nucleic acids contained in biological samples is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The PCR method uses a heat-resistant polymerase and primers to exponentially amplify the target nucleic acid by repeatedly raising and lowering the temperature many times, and is widely used in the fields of genetic engineering and biological testing and detection methods.

[0003] Genetic testing devices that perform PCR fully automatically are known. Generally, genetic testing devices do not operate continuously day and night; for example, they are turned on in the morning and operated for about 8 hours before being turned off. When the genetic testing device is operating, PCR reagents are stored inside the device in order to test multiple test items in parallel. In order to suppress non-specific amplification during amplification using PCR reagents or to prevent deterioration of the reagents themselves, the reagents are generally stored in a refrigerator when they are stored for a long period of time after preparation. Therefore, after operating the genetic testing device, the reagents to be used are taken out of the refrigerator and set in the device.

[0004] If PCR reagents are stored in a PCR device at room temperature for more than about 8 hours, the PCR may be affected by the deterioration of the reagents or by concentration due to drying. For this reason, technology has been considered to install a reagent storage unit in the device and keep the PCR reagents cool in the reagent storage unit.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that "includes a reagent storage 30 having a reagent case 36 with an opening for accommodating a reagent container 6 containing a first reagent and a reagent cover 37 for sealing the opening, a ventilation section 31 for ventilating the air in the reagent storage 30, and a cooler 35 for cooling the inside of the reagent storage 30, and the first reagent in the reagent container 6 stored in the reagent storage 30 and the outside air flowing into the reagent storage 30 by the ventilation section 31 are cooled via the reagent case 36." According to the method of Patent Document 1, it is possible to prevent deterioration of analysis data due to contamination by components evaporated from the reagent (see Abstract of Patent Document 1).

[0006] Patent Document 2 discloses the following technology (see Abstract of Patent Document 2): "The interior of the reagent refrigerator 119 of an automatic analyzer is surrounded by a triple-wall structure, and cooled fluid (cooling water 122d) is circulated inside the triple-wall structure. Air cooled by heat exchange (cooled air 121b) is directly introduced into the reagent refrigerator 119, thereby enabling efficient cooling with a compact device. Furthermore, by raising the pressure inside the reagent refrigerator 119 to above atmospheric pressure using the cooled air 121b, cold air is blown out from the reagent suction hole 113, and outside air is prevented from flowing in through this reagent suction hole 113, thereby suppressing the occurrence of condensation inside the reagent refrigerator 119" (see Abstract of Patent Document 2).

[0007] Patent Document 3 discloses the following technology: "A reagent refrigerator that prevents condensation and equalizes the temperature inside the refrigerator is provided with low power consumption and a simple structure. The refrigerator has refrigerant piping installed inside the outer wall of reagent refrigerator 103 for circulating refrigerant inside the outer wall, air outlet pipe 109 installed inside the outer wall for directing outside air present outside the reagent refrigerator into the interior of the reagent refrigerator, and air blowing means 114 installed in the air outlet pipe for diffusing the outside air through the air outlet pipe into the interior of the reagent refrigerator. The outside air cooled by the outer wall and taken into the interior of the reagent refrigerator creates positive pressure in the reagent refrigerator and equalizes the internal temperature" (see Abstract of Patent Document 3).

[0008] Patent Document 4 discloses the following technology (see Abstract of Patent Document 4): "Inside reagent refrigerator 300, there is provided a blower 340 for circulating air inside reagent refrigerator 300, the air outlet of blower 340 is directed diagonally downward toward bottom surface 370 of the reagent refrigerator, and blower 340 blows air toward bottom surface 370 of reagent refrigerator 300." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-112730 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2013-185980 A [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2020 / 255488 [Patent Document 4] JP 2015-64220 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] However, in the reagent cooler of Patent Document 1, cold air is introduced from the central axis side, so the cold air cannot be introduced evenly in the circumferential direction, and uneven cooling occurs in the circumferential direction unless the reagent tray is constantly rotated.

[0011] In the method of Patent Document 2, air currents are generated along the bottom surface of the reagent refrigerator, making it difficult for vertical convection to occur and making it impossible to eliminate the temperature distribution of high temperatures at the top and low temperatures at the bottom, making it difficult to uniform the temperature inside the reagent refrigerator.

[0012] In Patent Document 3, the magnitude of the circumferential flow velocity inside the reagent refrigerator is affected by the positional relationship between the cold air inlet and suction port, making it difficult to make the temperature inside the reagent refrigerator uniform.

[0013] In Patent Document 4, the direction in which the fan is installed is intended to generate airflow at the top load / unload port, and it is difficult to uniform the temperature and the occurrence of condensation in the circumferential direction inside the reagent cooler.

[0014] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technique for efficiently stirring the inside of a reagent refrigerator and making the temperature distribution uniform. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] The reagent refrigerator disclosed herein is characterized by comprising a reagent disk capable of holding a plurality of reagent containers containing reagents, a container for housing the reagent disk therein, a drive device for rotating the reagent disk horizontally, and a fan provided on the reagent disk oriented so as to blow air in the direction of rotation of the reagent disk.

[0016] Further features related to the present disclosure will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings. Also, the aspects of the present disclosure are achieved and realized by the elements and combinations of various elements and the following detailed description and the appended claims. The description of the present specification is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope or application of the present disclosure in any way. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the technique of the present disclosure, it is possible to efficiently mix the inside of the reagent refrigerator and to make the temperature distribution uniform. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of an automatic analyzer according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a reagent cooler according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the positional relationship of each component of the reagent refrigerator. [Figure 4]FIG. 13 is a circumferential development view for explaining a method of attaching an axial flow fan to a reagent disk. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a circumferential development for explaining the effect of the axial flow fan. [Figure 6] 1 is a graph showing temperature changes at each measurement point when the axial fan was not operated. [Figure 7] 1 is a graph showing temperature changes at each measurement point when an axial fan is operated. [Figure 8] 13 is a graph showing the temperature change inside the reagent refrigerator when the lid is opened from a cooled state and then closed again. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] [First embodiment] <Example of automatic analyzer configuration> Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an automatic analyzer according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the automatic analyzer includes a reagent cooler 100, a specimen container disk 102, an incubator disk 105, a dispensing mechanism 106, a detection unit 107, a reaction container storage unit 109, a dispensing tip storage unit 110, a disposal unit 111, a transport device 112, a dispensing tip mounting unit 113, and a controller 200.

[0020] The specimen container disk 102 contains a plurality of specimen containers 101 that contain biological samples (hereinafter referred to as specimens) such as blood and urine. The reagent cooler 104 contains a plurality of reagent containers 8 that contain various reagents used in analyzing the specimens. The incubator disk 105 contains a plurality of reaction containers 34 for reacting the specimens with the reagents.

[0021] The dispensing mechanism 106 drives a probe (not shown in FIG. 1) attached to an arm that rotates around a rotation axis, and dispenses the specimen from the specimen container 101 to the reaction container 34 by suction and discharge operations, and dispenses the reagent from the reagent container 8 to the reaction container 34. The detection unit 107 detects the characteristics of the reaction liquid of the specimen and reagent dispensed into the reaction container 34.

[0022] The controller 200 is, for example, a computer device, and controls the operation of the entire automatic analyzer. The controller 200 also receives the detection results from the detection unit 107, and performs analysis of the measurement target substance in the sample.

[0023] The reaction vessel storage section 109 stores a plurality of unused reaction vessels 34. The dispensing tip storage section 110 stores a plurality of unused dispensing tips 32. The disposal section 111 discards used reaction vessels 34 and dispensing tips 32.

[0024] The transport device 112 has an actuator that holds the reaction vessel 34 and the dispensing tip 32 and is movable in three axial directions. The transport device 112 transports the reaction vessel 34 stored in the reaction vessel storage unit 109 to the incubator disk 105, transports the dispensing tip 32 stored in the dispensing tip storage unit 110 to the dispensing tip attachment unit 113, and discards used reaction vessels 34 in the disposal unit 111. The dispensing tip 32 is attached to the tip of the probe of the dispensing mechanism 106 in the dispensing tip attachment unit 113.

[0025] <Example of reagent cooler configuration> Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the reagent refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the reagent refrigerator 100 includes a heat-insulating container 1, a heat-absorbing container 2, a heat removal means 3, a heat dissipation means 3b, a rotating shaft 4, a rotation positioning means 5, a reagent disk 6, an axial fan 7, a reagent container 8, a dispensing hole 9, a drain port 10, a bearing shaft sealing means 11, and a support stand 12. The reagent refrigerator 100 is connected to a controller 200.

[0026] The insulated container 1 is the housing of the reagent cooler 100. The insulated container 1 can be manufactured, for example, by forming an outer shell with a plastic mold and filling the inside of the outer shell with a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam. If durability is not a consideration, the outer shell may be omitted. The insulated container 1 has a lower insulated container 1a and an upper insulated container 1b, and the upper insulated container 1b covers the upper part of the opening of the lower insulated container 1a. By manufacturing the insulated container 1 in this manner, it becomes easy to disassemble and assemble the reagent cooler 100 and to perform maintenance inside. The joint between the lower insulated container 1a and the upper insulated container 1b can be made into a spigot structure as shown in FIG. 2, for example, to maintain airtightness. The upper insulated container 1b has a detachable lid 1c. The part of the lid 1c that is fitted to the upper insulated container 1b can be made of the same material as the upper insulated container 1b.

[0027] The heat endoscopy container 2 can be manufactured by processing a plate of a highly thermally conductive metal (e.g., copper) using a sheet metal or can manufacturing method. As shown in Fig. 2, the vertical cross section of the heat endoscopy container 2 has a U-shape at both ends and is open at the top. As described later, the planar shape of the heat endoscopy container 2 is circular, with a concentric hole provided in the center. In other words, the heat endoscopy container 2 defines a ring-shaped space that is open at the top.

[0028] The heat removal means 3 is provided on the bottom and side of the heat absorption container 2. The heat removal means 3 may be a pipe for flowing a refrigerant, or a thermoelectric element (a so-called Peltier element), etc. Although not shown in the figure, a refrigerant whose temperature is kept constant can be supplied from the outside to the pipe for flowing the refrigerant. When the heat removal means 3 is a refrigerant pipe, the part where the refrigerant pipe or the like is taken out from the insulated container 1 to the outside can be wrapped in a heat insulating material. This makes it possible to maintain the thermal insulation of the inside of the insulated container 1.

[0029] 2, when the heat removal means 3 provided on the bottom surface of the heat absorption container 2 is a Peltier element, the heat dissipation surface opposite to the side in contact with the heat absorption container 2 becomes hot. Therefore, by providing the heat dissipation means 3b on the outer bottom surface of the heat insulating container 1, heat can be dissipated from the heat dissipation surface of the heat removal means 3.

[0030] The heat removal means 3 may be in close contact with the heat absorption container 2 via thermally conductive grease to obtain good thermal conduction, or may be joined by brazing. The heat absorption container 2 and the heat removal means 3 can be housed in the insulated container 1 as an integrated structure. The insulated container 1 does not need to be in close contact with the integrated structure of the heat absorption container 2 and the heat removal means 3, and a suitable air layer may exist between the insulated container 1 and the integrated structure. However, by preventing this air layer from circulating with the outside, the thermal insulation of the inside of the insulated container 1 can be maintained.

[0031] The rotational positioning means 5 is composed of a motor such as a stepping motor, gears, etc. The rotational positioning means 5 rotates the rotating shaft 4. The reagent disk 6 is fixed to the rotating shaft 4 and rotates with the rotation of the rotating shaft 4. A gap is provided between the rotating shaft 4 and the heat absorption container 2. The reagent disk 6 is configured to be able to suspend and hold a plurality of reagent containers 8. A user can place the reagent containers 8 on the reagent disk 6 by opening the lid 1c.

[0032] The rotating shaft 4 is rotatably restrained by a bearing seal means 11, and the heat endothermic container 2, reagent disk 6 and rotating shaft 4 are arranged coaxially in the vertical direction. This makes it possible to prevent interference between the heat endothermic container 2 and the reagent container 8 due to rotation of the reagent disk 6. The bearing seal means 11 is arranged between the insulated container 1 and the rotating shaft 4, and prevents communication between the air inside the reagent refrigerator 100 and the outside air. The bearing seal means 11 can be composed of, for example, a rolling bearing, a mechanical seal, a labyrinth seal, or the like.

[0033] The axial fan 7 is fixed to the reagent disk 6 and rotates in the heat endothermic container 2 together with the rotation of the reagent disk 6. In other words, the reagent disk 6 supports the reagent containers 8 and the axial fan 7 such that the bottoms of the reagent containers 8 and the axial fan 7 are located below the reagent disk 6. Therefore, the axial fan 7 does not collide with the reagent containers 8 suspended on the reagent disk 6.

[0034] The axial flow fan 7 is a fan whose suction direction and discharge direction are on a straight line and whose suction side area and discharge side area are equal. The type of fan is not limited to the axial flow fan 7 as long as the suction direction and discharge direction are on a straight line and the suction side area and discharge side area are equal. Instead of the axial flow fan 7, for example, a cross-flow fan or a sirocco fan can be used. The arrangement of the axial flow fan 7 will be described later in detail. FIG. 2 shows an example of an axial flow fan 7 with a rectangular frame, but the frame may be cylindrical or frameless. However, by using an axial flow fan 7 with a size such that the axial projected area including the frame of the axial flow fan 7 is 50% or more of the cross-sectional area of ​​the heat absorption container 2, the inside of the reagent cooler 100 can be efficiently cooled.

[0035] The axial fan 7 is connected to an external power source 7c via a wire 7a, and is turned on and off by the power source 7c. A connector 7b is provided on the upper insulated container 1b, and the wire 7a can be attached and detached at the connector 7b. By removing the wire 7a, the reagent cooler 100 can be easily disassembled, assembled, and maintained. The driving force for the axial fan 7 may be a battery, and the battery may be mounted on the reagent disk 6.

[0036] The wiring 7a gets twisted inside the reagent cooler 100 due to the rotation of the reagent disk 6. However, since the reagent disk 6 can rotate in both directions by the rotation positioning means 5 and has a maximum range of movement of about two rotations in one direction, there is no problem in fixing the wiring 7a if it is a normal vinyl-coated cable. If the reagent disk 6 can only rotate in one direction or if the range of movement of the reagent disk 6 in one direction is large, the connector 7b can be a rotary connector.

[0037] The dispensing hole 9 is provided in the upper heat-insulating container 1b, and a dispensing pipette can be inserted into the dispensing hole 9 from the outside to dispense the reagent in the reagent container 8.

[0038] The drain outlet 10 is provided on the bottom surface of the endothermic container 2, and drains condensation water generated inside the reagent refrigerator 100. A cock valve 10a is provided at the drain outlet 10. The cock valve 10a is closed during cooling inside the reagent refrigerator 100, and opened after operation is completed to drain the condensation water. If cooling is performed with the cock valve 10a open, the cooled and denser heavy air is discharged downward from the drain outlet 10, and a flow is generated that draws high-temperature outside air into the reagent refrigerator 100 through the dispensing hole 9, causing the temperature inside the reagent refrigerator 100 to rise suddenly.

[0039] The support base 12 supports the heat-insulating container 1 and the rotational positioning means 5 .

[0040] The controller 200 controls the driving of the rotational positioning means 5, the ON / OFF control of the power source 7c, and the driving of the cock valve 10a. The controller 200 may be a controller that controls the overall operation of the automatic analyzer in which the reagent refrigerator 100 is mounted, or may be a controller dedicated to the reagent refrigerator 100. Note that instead of the control by the controller 200, a user may manually control the driving of the rotational positioning means 5, the ON / OFF control of the power source 7c, and the driving of the cock valve 10a.

[0041] 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the positional relationship of each component of the reagent refrigerator 100. The reagent disk 6 has two installation positions 208 for the reagent containers 8 in the radial direction. When dispensing the reagent, the installation positions 208 for the reagent containers 8 and the dispensing holes 9 are located on the same radius. There are no particular limitations on the circumferential position of the installation positions 208 for the reagent containers 8 as long as they can be positioned below the dispensing holes 9 by driving the rotation positioning means 5. Although the dispensing holes 9 are only provided on one radius in FIG. 3, they may be provided on multiple radii.

[0042] When two axial fans 7 are provided, they can be attached at a central angle of 180°, as in attachment positions 207a and 207b. When three axial fans 7 are provided, they can be attached at a central angle of 120°, as in attachment positions 207a, 207c, and 207d. In this way, when multiple axial fans 7 with the same performance are provided, the air in the reagent refrigerator 100 can be uniformly agitated by arranging them at equal intervals. The number of axial fans 7 may be one.

[0043] The airflow directions 217a to 217d of the axial fans 7 are indicated by arrows, and multiple axial fans 7 are arranged so that air is blown in the same circumferential direction. When multiple axial fans 7 are used, the drive voltages are set equal so that the operating conditions of each axial fan 7 are the same, and ON / OFF control is also performed simultaneously.

[0044] The lid 1c is indicated by a thick dotted line in Fig. 3. The lid 1c covers an upper portion of a partial area of ​​the heat endothermic container 2. If the user wants to continue operating the axial fan 7 when placing the reagent container 8 on the reagent disk 6, the safety of the user can be ensured by rotating and positioning the reagent disk 6 so that the axial fan 7 is not located under the lid 1c, as shown in Fig. 3.

[0045] FIG. 4 is a circumferential development view for explaining a method of attaching the axial fan 7 to the reagent disk 6. The axial fan 7 is fixed to the reagent disk 6 by a fixing means 301. For example, the fixing means 301 may be fastened by a screw or caulking using elastic deformation. When the reagent is not dispensed from the reagent container 8, the reagent disk 6 is held by the rotation positioning means 5 so that the axial fan 7 is located directly below the dispensing hole 9 as shown in FIG. 4. This makes it difficult for the reagent stored in the reagent cooler 100 to be affected by the air outside the reagent cooler 100. During cooling, the dispensing hole 9 is in a stable stratified state with a low temperature at the bottom and a low temperature at the top, so that mixing with the outside air due to natural convection is unlikely to occur. In order to further eliminate the influence of mixing with the outside air due to natural convection, a spacer 302 is installed at a position facing the dispensing hole 9 on the reagent disk 6 above the axial fan 7, and the communication part between the inside of the reagent cooler 100 and the outside can be made as small as possible. The spacer 302 is formed from a thermally insulating material, such as a thermally insulating plastic.

[0046] <Verification of the effectiveness of axial fans> Fig. 5 is a circumferential development view for explaining the effect of the axial fan of the first embodiment. Temperatures were measured at four measurement points 401 to 404 shown in Fig. 5 when the axial fan 7 was operated during cooling of the reagent refrigerator 100 and when the axial fan 7 was not operated. Measurement point 401 is a measurement point for the temperature of the endothermic container 2. Measurement point 402 is a measurement point for the temperature of the lower side of the internal space of the endothermic container 2. Measurement point 403 is a measurement point for the temperature of the upper side of the internal space of the endothermic container 2. Measurement point 404 is a measurement point for the temperature of the bottom surface of the upper insulating container 1b.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a graph showing the temperature change at each measurement point when the axial fan 7 is not operating. The vertical axis shows temperature, and the horizontal axis shows elapsed time. Cooling temperature range 53 shows the target temperature for cooling the reagent by reagent cooler 100. Plot 501 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 401. Plot 502 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 402. Plot 503 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 403. Plot 504 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 404. At each of measurement points 401 to 404, measurement starts from room temperature 54 at the start of measurement.

[0048] 6, when the axial fan 7 is not operating, plot 502 showing the temperature change in the lower part of the internal space of the heat endoscopy container 2 shows a rapid temperature drop and enters the cold storage temperature range 53. In contrast, plot 504 showing the temperature change in the upper part of the internal space of the heat endoscopy container 2 shows a slower temperature drop and does not reach the cold storage temperature range 53 within the range displayed on the graph. From this, it was found that a temperature gradient occurs in the internal space of the heat endoscopy container 2 when the axial fan 7 is not operating.

[0049] FIG. 7 is a graph showing the temperature change at each measurement point when the axial fan 7 is operated. The display range (scale) in FIG. 7 is the same as in FIG. 6. Cooling temperature range 63 indicates the target temperature for cooling the reagent by reagent cooler 100. Plot 601 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 401. Plot 602 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 402. Plot 603 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 403. Plot 604 shows the temperature measurement result at measurement point 404. At each of measurement points 401 to 404, measurement starts from room temperature 64 at the start of measurement.

[0050] 7, when the axial flow fan 7 is operated, the plot 603 showing the temperature change on the upper side of the internal space of the heat endothermic container 2 and the plot 602 showing the temperature change on the lower side of the internal space of the heat endothermic container 2 change at approximately the same temperature, and it is found that the temperature gradient is eliminated. Then, both the plot 602 and the plot 603 enter the cold storage temperature range 63 at a certain time 65, and high-speed cooling is achieved.

[0051] <Summary of the First Embodiment> As described above, the reagent refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment comprises a reagent disk 6 capable of holding a plurality of reagent containers 8 for containing reagents, a heat absorbing container 2 and a heat insulating container 1 (containers) for housing the reagent disk 6 therein, a rotational positioning means 5 (drive device) for rotating the reagent disk 6 in a horizontal direction, and an axial fan 7 (fan) provided on the reagent disk 6 in an orientation capable of blowing air in the direction of rotation of the reagent disk 6.

[0052] In this way, a primary circulating flow is generated in the reagent cooler 100 by blowing air with the axial fan 7 attached with its axis facing the circumferential direction of the reagent disk 6. This circulating flow only experiences pressure loss when it collides with the reagent container 8, and there is no pressure loss due to fixed flow paths such as suction and discharge piping, so the maximum wind speed obtainable by the axial fan 7 can be achieved. In addition, since the reagent container 8 is in the middle of the circulating flow, the circulating flow collides with the reagent container 8 and generates a complex secondary flow. This causes the air to be agitated not only in the circumferential direction but also in the vertical direction, so that the temperature distribution in the reagent cooler 100 becomes uniform. As a result, the heat transfer coefficient of the heat-absorbing surface of the inner surface of the reagent cooler 100 increases, and the amount of heat transferred (per unit time) from the air to the container of the reagent cooler 100 increases. Therefore, since the air in the reagent cooler 100 can be agitated efficiently, the time from when the power is turned on until the temperature in the reagent cooler 100 is cooled from room temperature to the refrigerating temperature of the reagent can be shortened.

[0053] [Second embodiment] In the second embodiment, a method of driving the axial fan 7 when the cover 1c is opened or closed will be described.

[0054] When the lid 1c is opened and closed when placing the reagent container 8 on the reagent disk 6, outside air enters the reagent refrigerator 100, causing the temperature inside the reagent refrigerator 100 to rise. Therefore, in the reagent refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, the axial fan 7 is stopped before the lid 1c is opened, and the axial fan 7 resumes blowing air after the lid 1c is closed. This allows for an early recovery from the temperature rise caused by the opening and closing of the lid 1c. The reason for this is that when the lid 1c is opened, a temperature gradient (temperature distribution) in the vertical direction is generated without stirring the air by the axial fan 7 blowing air, so that vertical convection can be suppressed, thereby minimizing heat exchange due to the intrusion and replacement of outside air. In addition, due to the increase in the heat transfer coefficient on the heat absorbing surface of the inner surface of the reagent refrigerator 100 described above and the effect of uniforming the temperature distribution by stirring the air, the temperature gradient and temperature rise caused by the opening of the lid 1c can be quickly eliminated when the lid 1c is closed.

[0055] Hereinafter, the results of an experiment in which the cover 1c was opened and closed while the axial fan 7 was operating and while the axial fan 7 was not operating, and the temperature change inside the reagent refrigerator 100 was measured, will be described.

[0056] Fig. 8 is a graph showing the temperature change inside reagent refrigerator 100 when lid 1c is opened from the cold storage state and then closed again. As in Figs. 6 and 7, the vertical axis indicates temperature and the horizontal axis indicates elapsed time. Cold storage temperature range 73 is the same temperature range as cold storage temperature range 53 in Fig. 6 and cold storage temperature range 63 in Fig. 7. Plots 702a and 702b show the temperature measurement results at measurement point 402. Plots 703a and 703b show the temperature measurement results at measurement point 403.

[0057] During the time up to timing 74, the reagent refrigerator 100 is operating at a cold storage temperature, and the axial fan 7 is driven. Plots 702a and 703a show the temperature change when the lid 1c is opened at timing 74 with the axial fan 7 still operating, and then closed at timing 75. On the other hand, plots 702b and 703b show the temperature change when the axial fan 7 is stopped just before timing 74 when the lid 1c is opened, and then operation of the axial fan 7 is resumed just after the lid 1c is closed at timing 75.

[0058] 8, the temperature rise of plot 703b is smaller than the temperature rise of plot 703a, and the temperature returns to normal quickly. This shows that by stopping the axial fan 7 when the lid 1c is opened and operating the axial fan 7 when the lid 1c is closed, the reagent cooler 100 can be cooled quickly to the cooling temperature even if the temperature inside the reagent cooler 100 rises.

[0059] [Variations] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present disclosure, and it is not necessary to include all of the configurations described. In addition, a part of an embodiment can be replaced with a configuration of another embodiment. In addition, a configuration of another embodiment can be added to a configuration of an embodiment. In addition, a part of the configuration of each embodiment can be added to, deleted from, or replaced with a part of the configuration of another embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1. Insulated container 2…Heat absorption container 3…Heat removal means 4...Rotation axis 5...Rotational positioning means 6…Reagent disk 7...Axial fan 8…Reagent container 9…Dispensing hole 10…Drain port 11...Bearing shaft seal means 100…Reagent cooler 200…Controller

Claims

1. a reagent disk capable of holding a plurality of reagent containers each containing a reagent; a container for accommodating the reagent disk therein; a drive device for rotating the reagent disk in a horizontal direction; a fan provided on the reagent disk in a direction capable of blowing air in a rotation direction of the reagent disk.

2. 2. The reagent cooler according to claim 1, wherein the suction direction and the discharge direction of the fan are aligned on a straight line, and the area of ​​the suction side is equal to the area of ​​the discharge side.

3. 2. The reagent cooler according to claim 1, wherein the fan is any one of an axial flow fan, a cross flow fan, and a sirocco fan.

4. 2. The reagent cooler according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said fans are provided on said reagent disk at equal intervals so as to blow air in the same direction.

5. The fan is disposed below the reagent disk; The reagent cooler according to claim 1 , further comprising a spacer provided between an upper surface of the reagent disk above the fan and the container.

6. 2. The reagent cooler according to claim 1, wherein the reagent disk supports the reagent containers and the fan such that the bottoms of the reagent containers and the fan are positioned below the reagent disk.

7. The container comprises: a thermally conductive endothermic vessel having an opening at its top and housing the reagent disk; a heat insulating container for accommodating the heat absorbing container; 2. The reagent cooler according to claim 1, further comprising a lid provided above the opening.

8. 8. The reagent cooler according to claim 7, wherein the container further comprises a heat removal device provided on a side surface or a bottom surface of the heat absorbing container.

9. The reagent cooler further includes a controller that controls the driving of the fan. the container comprises a lid; The controller:

2. The reagent cooler according to claim 1, wherein the fan is stopped when the lid is opened while the inside of the container is in a cold state, and the fan is operated after the lid is closed.

10. An automatic analyzer comprising the reagent cooler according to claim 1.

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