Test piece accommodation container and test piece discharge mechanism

Abstract

To provide a mechanism capable of preventing entry of outside air into a container for housing test pieces and discharging the test pieces.SOLUTION: A test piece housing container includes: a housing member that houses test pieces inside; a movement member that moves the test pieces inside the housing member; a door member that is openably and closably provided in a side face of the housing member so as to discharge the test pieces moved by the movement member to the outside of the housing member, and cuts off the inside of the housing member from the outside in closing; a door housing part that covers the door member from the outside of the housing member and can open or close the door member inside; and a discharge port that cuts off the inside of the housing part from the outside in closing, and is openably and closably provided in the door housing part so as to discharge the test pieces discharged to the outside of the housing member to the outside of the door housing part, wherein the test piece housing container is configured so as to be capable of opening the discharge port in a state in which the housing member is closed by the door member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a test piece storage container and a test piece discharge mechanism.

Background Art

[0002] In order to continuously perform measurements using test pieces used to measure predetermined items contained in specimens such as urine, a mechanism for inserting a plurality of test pieces into a device and taking them out one by one from the inserted test pieces has been used. A specimen is spotted on the test piece taken out by such a mechanism, and the predetermined item is measured.

[0003] For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a "drum filling part" is provided in a drum container. Then, while the drum container is rotating, the test papers to be stored are hooked one by one on this "drum filling part" and dropped onto a sorter rack. Further, for example, in the automatic urine test device described in Patent Document 2, in order to solve the problem that the automatic urine test device cannot detect the deterioration of the reagent part 20a even when the reagent part 20a of the urine test paper absorbs moisture exceeding the allowable amount and deteriorates, an intermediate deterioration detection reagent part for the urine test paper is provided, and a detection means for optically detecting the deterioration of the urine test reagent part is provided.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] As in the technology described in Patent Document 1, in order to discharge the test piece outside the container, it is necessary to provide an opening in the container. However, while the opening is open, outside air containing water vapor from outside the container flows into the container, so there is a concern that the test piece may deteriorate. Also, as in the technology described in Patent Document 2, providing a reagent part for detecting intermediate deterioration of the urine test paper increases the cost of the urine test piece and, moreover, cannot counteract the deterioration of the urine test piece due to moisture. In addition, even in the technologies described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, although the test piece storage container is designed so that outside air hardly enters the inside of the storage member, when discharging the test piece from the storage member, it was not possible to prevent outside air from entering the inside of the storage member through the opening.

[0006] Therefore, an embodiment of the present disclosure aims to provide a mechanism that can discharge the test piece while preventing the entry of outside air into the container containing the test piece.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The test piece storage container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a storage member that stores the test piece inside, a moving member that moves the test piece inside the storage member, and a door member that is provided on the side surface of the storage member so as to be openable and closable in order to discharge the test piece moved by the moving member to the outside of the storage member, and that blocks the inside and outside of the storage member when closed, a door storage portion that covers the door member from the outside of the storage member and allows the door member to be opened and closed inside, and a discharge port that is provided on the door storage portion so as to be openable and closable and that blocks the inside and outside of the door storage portion when closed and discharges the test piece discharged to the outside of the storage member to the outside of the door storage portion. The discharge port is configured to be openable in a state where the storage member is closed by the door member.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] Since the embodiment of the present disclosure is configured as described above, a mechanism is provided that can discharge the test piece while preventing the entry of outside air into the container containing the test piece.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6A

Figure 6B

Figure 6C

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15A

Figure 15B

Figure 16A

Figure 16B

Figure 16C

Figure 16D

Figure 16E

Figure 16F

Figure 16G

Figure 17

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments in the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, for the reference numerals commonly attached to each drawing, even if not mentioned in the description of each of the following figures, they indicate the same object.

[0011] (1) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a front view of the test piece storage container 10 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of this test piece storage container 10. FIG. 3 shows a front perspective view of the state in which the cap 21 is removed from this test piece storage container 10. FIG. 4 shows a rear perspective view of this test piece storage container 10. In the following description, in the test piece storage container 10, the direction in which the cap 21 (FIGS. 1, 2, 4) is provided is referred to as the front, and the direction in which the connection portion 20C is provided is referred to as the rear.

[0012] The test piece storage container 10 of the present embodiment has a cylindrical side surface and a storage member 20 inside which a test piece 90 (Figs. 6A to 6C) is stored. Therefore, the length of the storage member 20 in the longitudinal direction is equal to or greater than the length of the test piece 90. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, a short cylindrical cap 21 is attached to one end side of the storage member 20. A cylindrical door storage portion 27 protruding outward is provided on the side surface of the storage member 20. The door storage portion 27 has a shape in which a part of a cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the storage member 20 and a length in the longitudinal direction equal to or greater than the length of the test piece 90 protrudes outward from the storage member 20. Further, a discharge port 28, which is an opening equal to or greater than the length of the test piece 90, is provided along the longitudinal direction of the door storage portion 27. The discharge port 28 communicates the inside and the outside of the door storage portion 27 on the lower side of the door storage portion 27.

[0013] A door member 40 having the shapes respectively shown in an external perspective view in Fig. 9 and an internal perspective view in Fig. 10 is stored in the door storage portion 27. The door member 40 has a substantially crescent-shaped cross section, in which a part of the side surface of a cylindrical shape is sandwiched by the concave curved surface of the cylindrical surface 22 of the storage member 20. The convex curved surface of the side surface is referred to as a blocking portion 45, and the concave curved surface is referred to as an inclined surface 44. Rectangular cutouts 42 are formed at two locations on the lower edge of the inclined surface 44. This lower edge is divided into three tongue-shaped elastic portions 43 by these two cutouts 42. Door shafts 41 provided on the axis of the cylindrical shape protrude from both ends of the door member 40.

[0014] The front side of the door storage portion 27 is connected to a cylindrical bearing 20B having a smaller diameter than the door storage portion 27 and bulging from the side surface of the storage member 20. One of the door shafts 41 is stored in this bearing 20B. Further, rectangular detection windows 26 are formed at two locations near the upper side of the door storage portion 27. The door member 40 is provided on the side surface of the storage member 20 in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the storage member 20.

[0015] On one side, on the other end side of the housing member 20, a cylindrical drive shaft housing portion 20A that is connected to the door housing portion 27 and bulges outward is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, a door drive shaft 46 is housed in this drive shaft housing portion 20A. The door drive shaft 46 and the door shaft 41 have the same axis. The door drive shaft 46 is held by an opening / closing operator 4 (see FIG. 13), and the door member 40 rotates by rotating around the axis. Further, on the other end side of the housing member 20, a cylindrical connection portion 20C having a slightly smaller diameter protrudes. This connection portion 20C is a portion that is connected to a rotary drive 3 (see FIG. 13) when the test piece housing container 10 is attached to the test piece discharge mechanism 1. The rotary drive shaft 36 of the rotary member 30 (FIGS. 7 and 8) is visible from an opening provided at the center of the connection portion 20C.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 5 showing the D-D' cross section of FIG. 1, the housing member 20 has a cylindrical surface 22 in which all of the inner circumferences are cylindrical. Further, a plurality of inner circumferential grooves 23 are formed along the circumferential direction on this cylindrical surface 22. Note that the inner circumferential grooves 23 may not be formed on the cylindrical surface 22. The central axis of the cylinder formed by the cylindrical surface 22 is the central axis 15 of the housing member 20.

[0017] Inside the housing member 20 of the test piece housing container 10, a long test piece 90 shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C is held. The test piece 90 in the present embodiment has a property of being easily deteriorated by moisture in the outside air or the like, and examples include urine test strips and biosensors for measuring blood glucose levels. Such a test piece uses a reagent that reacts with moisture, that is, water, and includes, for example, a component that develops color by reaction with water or a component that is decomposed by water. Therefore, the test piece housing container 10 is configured so that outside air does not enter the inside of the housing member 20. If necessary, a desiccant such as silica gel is placed inside the housing member 20. That is, even if the inflow of outside air due to temporary opening is small, each time the test piece 90 is discharged from the housing member 20, outside air flows in, so the test piece 90 that stays in the housing member 20 for a long time deteriorates due to moisture. As described below, the test piece housing container 10 of the present embodiment is configured so that substantially no outside air enters the inside of the housing member 20.

[0018] In this embodiment, a urine test strip for measuring the physical properties or the concentration or presence / absence of specific components in urine is described as an example of the test strip 90. As shown in the figure, this test strip 90 has a configuration in which a plurality of reagent pads 93 are arranged on a strip-shaped substrate 94. One end of the substrate 94 is provided with a gripping portion 95 that is gripped within a measuring device (not shown), and the other region is a reagent pad arrangement region 96 (see FIG. 6C). In the reagent pad arrangement region 96, a plurality of reagent pads 93 are arranged in series along the longitudinal direction and at a constant interval from each other.

[0019] The material of the substrate 94 is not particularly limited, and examples include resin, metal, and glass. The color of the substrate is not particularly limited and may be any of white, gray, black, colored, and transparent. The size of the substrate 94 is not particularly limited and is appropriately determined according to the inspection items, the specifications of the analyzer to be used, etc. For example, the length can be 50 to 150 mm, the width can be 2 to 10 mm, and the thickness can be 0.1 to 1.0 mm. In this embodiment, the length of the long side 92 in the long dimension of the test strip 90 is L2 (FIG. 6B), and the length of the short side 91 in the short dimension is Y (FIG. 6B). Therefore, the length in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member 20 is equal to or greater than the length of the test strip. Thus, the size of the test strip 90 that can be fitted into the test strip accommodating container 10 of this embodiment is limited.

[0020] Examples of the material of the reagent pad 93 include filter paper, glass fiber filter paper, knitted fabric, woven fabric, non-woven fabric, membrane filter, porous resin sheet, plastic film, etc. Further, the shape of the reagent pad 93 is not particularly limited, and examples include square, rectangular, circular, elliptical, etc. The size of the reagent pad 93 is not particularly limited. When the shape is rectangular, for example, the length and width can be 2 to 10 mm, and the thickness can be 0.05 to 1.0 mm. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the thick portion is X (FIG. 6C). The reagent pad 93 may be formed into a predetermined shape after holding the reagent on the above-described pad material, or the reagent may be held after forming the pad material into a predetermined shape. The holding of the reagent can be carried out, for example, by immersing the pad material in a reagent solution and drying it. Further, for the arrangement of the reagent pad 93 on the substrate 94, for example, an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive can be used. As the adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive, for example, polyurethane-based, acrylic-based, vinyl chloride-based, epoxy-based, nylon-based, hot melt-based, cyanoacrylate-based, rubber-based, etc. can be used.

[0021] Note that the thickness X of the test piece 90 is the distance of the thickest part in the test piece used in the test piece storage container 10, and in the above-described test piece 90, it is the thickness of the reagent pad 93. If the test piece 90 has a portion thicker than the reagent pad 93, the thickness of that portion is X.

[0022] In the test piece discharge mechanism 1 described later, the test piece storage container 10 is mounted such that the direction of the virtual central axis 15 (FIG. 1) of the storage member 20 is horizontal. However, the direction of this central axis 15 is not limited to the horizontal direction, and as long as it is a direction inclined with respect to the vertical direction (in other words, as long as it is not the vertical direction), it can hold the test piece 90. That is, among the angles formed by the direction of this central axis 15 and the vertical direction, the smaller of the two angles that are 90° or less is greater than 0° and 90° or less, preferably 30° or more and 90° or less, more preferably 45° or more and 90° or less, still more preferably 60° or more and 90° or less, and most preferably 90°, that is, the horizontal direction.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, which shows the state of the test piece containing container 10 with the cap 21 removed, an inlet 25 for inserting the test piece 90 into the containing member 20 is formed at the center on the front side of the containing member 20.

[0024] In the test piece containing container 10, the rotating member 30 accommodated in the containing member 20 is shown in the front perspective view of FIG. 7 and the rear perspective view of FIG. 8. The rotating member 30 has a structure in which a plurality of, specifically three, moving members 31 are arranged between a circular front plate 30A located on the front side and a circular rear plate 30B of the same diameter located on the rear side at a distance longer than the length L2 of the long side of the test piece from the front plate 30A. The moving members 31 are provided at distances longer than the length Y of the short side 91 of the test piece. The diameters of the front plate 30A and the rear plate 30B are the same as the diameter of the cylindrical shape formed by the cylindrical surface 22 of the containing member 20, and are fixed by the moving members 31 so that the central axis of the circle of the front plate 30A coincides with the central axis of the circle of the rear plate 30B.

[0025] In other words, the central axis of the front plate 30A and the central axis of the rear plate 30B coincide and serve as the rotation axis 15 of the rotating member 30. A rotation drive shaft 36 projects rearward along the central axis of the rear plate 30B from the center of the circle of the rear plate 30B (FIG. 8). When the rotating member 30 is accommodated in the cylindrical surface 22 of the containing member 20 such that the outer peripheral surfaces of the front plate 30A and the rear plate 30B are in contact, since the diameter of the cylindrical shape formed by the cylindrical surface 22, the diameter of the front plate 30A, and the diameter of the rear plate 30B are the same, the central axis 15 of the containing member 20 and the rotation axis 15 of the rotating member 30 coincide.

[0026] The rotation drive shaft 36 is connected to a rotation driver 3 described later, and when the rotational force from the rotation driver 3 is transmitted, the entire rotating member 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As a result, the moving member 31 rotates inside the containing member 20 about the rotation axis 15 that coincides with the central axis 15, thereby moving the test piece 90 inside the containing member 20. That is, the moving member 31 is formed separately from the containing member 20 and rotates with respect to the containing member 20. In other words, the moving member 31 is configured to rotate around the central axis 15 while maintaining a predetermined distance from the central axis 15 of the containing member 20.

[0027] The front plate 30A is provided with a circular opening at the center of the circle of the front plate 30A (Fig. 8), and a cylinder having the same outer diameter as the opening is fitted therein (Fig. 7). The cylinder protrudes forward from the front plate 30A. When the rotating member 30 is accommodated in the accommodating member 20, it is connected to the insertion port 25 of the accommodating member 20. Therefore, the test piece 90 inserted into the insertion port 25 of the test piece accommodating container 10 is held between the front plate 30A and the rear plate 30B.

[0028] The moving member 31 is a substantially plate-shaped member provided along the direction of the rotating shaft 15. The moving member 31 is attached to the inner circular surface of the front plate 30A and the inner circular surface of the rear plate 30B so as to be separated from the rotating shaft 15. The moving member 31 includes an outer peripheral surface facing the outer side of the rotating member 30, an inner peripheral surface facing the direction of the rotating shaft 15, a first side surface parallel to the central axis 15 and facing the rotating direction, and a second side surface parallel to the central axis 15 and facing the direction opposite to the rotating direction. The outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface are curved surfaces centered on the rotating shaft 15. The first side surface and the second side surface are surfaces connecting the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface, and are flat surfaces that expand in the direction from the outer peripheral surface toward the central axis. A plurality of sliding protrusions 35 are disposed on the outer peripheral surface along the edge of the outer peripheral surface and the first side surface. The sliding protrusion 35 is a protrusion that fits into the inner peripheral groove 23 provided on the cylindrical surface 22 when the rotating member 30 is accommodated in the accommodating member 20, and has a truncated cone shape with a bottom side that sharpens toward the outside of the rotating member 30 and is square. The surface of the sliding protrusion 35 on the rotating direction side is a flat surface that expands toward the rotating shaft 15, and forms a part of the first side surface of the moving member 31. The first side surface including the surface of the sliding protrusion 35 on the rotating direction side is the leading edge 32 of the moving member 31.

[0029] Each of the moving members 31 hits the tip portion in the rotational direction and has a tip edge 32 parallel to the central axis. At least two rectangular parallelepiped pressing pieces 33 having a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction from the tip edge 32 in the rotational direction protrude in parallel at a predetermined distance D (see FIG. 12) longer than the distance B. The number of the pressing pieces 33 is not limited to two, and it is sufficient if the test piece 90 can be held even during rotation, and one or three or more may be used. Also, as long as the test piece 90 can be held even during rotation, the longitudinal position of the pressing piece 33 is not particularly limited. Further, from the tip of this pressing piece, a rectangular parallelepiped sorting piece 34 protrudes outward, that is, toward the cylindrical surface 22 (FIG. 5). Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the moving member 31, a plurality of sliding protrusions 35 are arranged in a row along the tip edge 32 and the rear end edge 32A, respectively, toward the cylindrical surface 22 (FIG. 5). The sliding protrusions 35 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the moving member 31 and the inner peripheral groove 23 (FIG. 5) provided on the cylindrical surface 22 of the housing member 20 are formed as an uneven structure that meshes with each other. Both the pressing piece 33 and the sorting piece 34 are fixed to the moving member 31 that rotates around the central axis 15 while maintaining a predetermined distance from the central axis 15 of the housing member 20. Therefore, the pressing piece 33 and the sorting piece 34 also rotate around the central axis 15 while maintaining a predetermined distance from the central axis 15.

[0030] Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C' of Figure 1. The cylindrical surface 22 of the housing member 20 presents a cross-section that is generally circular in cross-section. The inner peripheral surface of the door member 40 provided at the opening 24 that connects the housing member 20 and the door housing portion 27 presents an arc shape flush with the cylindrical surface 22 of the housing member 20. Further, the three moving members 31 have a generally arc-shaped cross-sectional shape and are equally distributed with respect to the central axis 15. Note that the moving members 31 do not necessarily have to be equally distributed, and the number thereof is not limited to three. However, as the number increases, the number of test pieces 90 that can be held per revolution of the rotating member 30 increases according to the number, and the speed at which the test piece 90 is taken out from the test piece storage container 10 improves. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a plurality of them. However, the more the number, the narrower the interval between the front and rear moving members 31, and the higher the probability of rotation without being able to hold the test piece 90. Therefore, it is preferably three to five. Further, the sliding protrusions 35 provided on both the front end side and the rear end side of the moving member 31 are fitted into the inner peripheral groove 23 of the cylindrical surface 22 and slide along this inner peripheral groove 23 in the rotational direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. Note that if two or more sliding protrusions 35 are provided, even if they do not mesh with each other by unevenness, it is possible to prevent the test piece 90 from getting caught between the moving member 31 and the cylindrical surface 22.

[0031] Note that the center line 24A shown by a broken line in the figure is a virtual line that bisects the opening 24 along the longitudinal direction. Here, with respect to the uppermost position 31A reached by the moving member 31 inside the housing member 20, this center line 24A is at a position lowered in the rotational direction. Desirably, when the rotational angle of this uppermost position 31A is set to 0°, this center line 24A is at a position where the rotational angle is 45° or more and 90° or less, and more desirably at a position of 90°.

[0032] The moving member 31 rotates and moves the test piece 90 accommodated in the housing member 20 along the cylindrical surface 22 which is the inner peripheral surface of the housing member 20. The door member 40 is provided on the side surface of the housing member 20 so as to be openable and closable in order to discharge this test piece 90 to the outside of the housing member 20. Further, when the door member 40 is closed, it blocks the inside and the outside of the housing member 20. The door housing portion 27 covers the door member 40 from the outside of the housing member 20. The door member 40 can be opened and closed by rotating inside the door housing portion 27.

[0033] The discharge port 28 is provided to discharge the test piece 90 discharged into the outside of the housing member 20, that is, inside the door housing portion 27, to the outside of this door housing portion 27 (that is, outside the test piece housing container 10). The discharge port 28 can be opened and closed with respect to the outside by a door member 40 that rotates within the door housing portion 27. That is, when the discharge port 28 is closed, the inside and outside of the door housing portion 27 are blocked. On the other hand, when the discharge port 28 is opened, the door member 40 closes the opening 24 of the housing member 20 as will be described later. That is, in the test piece housing container 10 of the present embodiment, the discharge port 28 can be opened in a state where the housing member 20 is closed by the door member 40. For example, when the housing member 20 is opened by the door member 40, the discharge port 28 is locked, and when the housing member 20 is closed by the door member 40, the lock is released and the discharge port 28 can be opened. Such a configuration can be achieved by a physical locking mechanism or an electrical locking mechanism.

[0034] The inclined surface 44 of the door member 40 has an inner peripheral surface with a concave shape that is flush with the cylindrical surface 22, which is the inner surface of the housing member 20 when closed as shown in FIG. 11. The blocking portion 45 on the opposite side of this inclined surface 44 has a cylindrical convex shape corresponding to the inner cylindrical concave surface of the door housing portion when closed as shown in FIG. 11, and closes both the opening 24 and the discharge port 28. However, as will be described later, when the discharge port 28 is opened, this blocking portion 45 blocks the inside of the housing member from the outside.

[0035] The positional relationship between the pressing piece 33 and the sorting piece 34 of the moving member 31 and the cylindrical surface 22 is shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 12. That is, at the leading edge 32 of the moving member 31, the distance between the position closest to the cylindrical surface 22 (i.e., the tip of the sliding projection 35) and the cylindrical surface 22 is set to be less than the thickness X (FIG. 6C) of the test piece 90. Thereby, the biting-in of the test piece 90 between the moving member 31 and the cylindrical surface 22 is prevented, and as the moving member 31 rotates, the leading edge 32 can push the test piece 90 in the rotational direction. And the distance A between the position closest to the cylindrical surface 22 on the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 is set to be equal to or greater than the thickness X of the test piece 90 and less than twice X.

[0036] That is, the distance A is such that one test piece 90 can enter between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22, but two or more test pieces cannot enter. Thereby, it is prevented that two or more test pieces overlap and enter between the pressing piece 33 and the cylindrical surface 22 at the same time. In addition, in view of allowing the manufacturing error of the test piece 90 and the ease of insertion of the test piece 90, the distance A is preferably 1.1 times or more, more preferably 1.2 times or more, the thickness X of the test piece 90. Further, since the reagent pad 93 in the test piece 90 as described above is made of filter paper or the like, the thickness X may become thinner than X when pressed, so the distance A is preferably less than 1.8 times, more preferably less than 1.6 times, the thickness X of the test piece 90.

[0037] Further, with respect to the length Y (FIG. 6B) of the test piece 90 in the short-side direction, the distance B from the leading edge 32 of the moving member 31 to the sorting piece 34 in the pressing piece 33 is set to be equal to or greater than Y and less than twice Y. That is, between the pressing piece 33 sandwiched between the leading edge 32 and the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22, one test piece 90 can be accommodated in the rotational direction, but the distance is such that two or more test pieces 90 cannot be accommodated. This prevents two or more test pieces 90 from being held side by side in the rotational direction between the pressing piece 33 and the cylindrical surface 22. In consideration of allowing for manufacturing errors of the test piece 90 and the ease of insertion of the test piece 90, the distance B is preferably 1.1 times or more the length Y of the test piece 90, and more preferably 1.2 times or more. Also, since there is a risk that two or more test pieces may enter if the test piece 90 stands up, the distance B is preferably less than 1.8 times the length Y of the test piece 90, and more preferably less than 1.6 times.

[0038] Furthermore, the length C of the portion of the sorting piece 34 that protrudes from the pressing piece 33 toward the cylindrical surface 22 is set to be equal to or greater than 0.5 times and less than 1.5 times the thickness X of the test piece 90. That is, the distance is such that one test piece 90 that has entered between the pressing piece 33 sandwiched between the leading edge 32 and the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 can be held, but two or more test pieces 90 cannot be held. Due to such conditions of the distance B and the length C, even if the moving member 31 (pressing piece 33) rotates while holding two or more test pieces 90, immediately after the pressing piece 33 reaches the uppermost position 31A (that is, when it reaches a position with fewer vertical downward vectors), only the test piece 90 on the pressing piece 33 side from the moving member 31 is held inside the protruding portion of the length C of the sorting piece 34, and the other test pieces 90 cannot be held by the sorting piece 34, so they are set to fall. If it is 0.5 times or more and less than 1.0 times the thickness X of the test piece 90, it is more preferable in that it can surely fall because the other test pieces except the one test piece 90 to be held do not come into contact with the inside of the protruding portion of the length C of the sorting piece 34 at all.

[0039] Further, with respect to the length Y in the short-side direction of the test piece 90, the distance E (see FIG. 12), which is the length in the rotational direction of the leading edge 32, has a width and is set to be less than Y, and preferably less than 0.5 times the length Y of the test piece 90. Under such a condition of the distance E, the test piece held between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 can fall immediately after reaching the uppermost position 31A. Note that the distance E is approximately the same length as the distance obtained by subtracting the distance B from the distance D.

[0040] A functional block diagram of the test piece discharging mechanism 1 is shown in FIG. 13. The test piece discharging mechanism 1 is configured as a measuring device that measures the physical properties of a biological sample such as a urine sample, or the concentration or presence or absence of a specific component, using a test piece 90 coated with a specific reagent.

[0041] The control unit 100 is electrically connected to the test piece discharging mechanism 1 and controls each part. The control unit 100 controls the proximity detector 2, the rotation driver 3, the opening / closing operator 4, and the measuring unit 5 according to the hardware configuration described later. When the test piece storage container 10 is attached to the test piece discharging mechanism 1, as described above, the rotation driver 3 is connected to the rotation drive shaft 36 (FIG. 8) of the rotating member 30, and the opening / closing operator 4 is connected to the door drive shaft 46 (FIG. 4) of the door member 40. The proximity detector 2 is composed of, for example, an optical sensor or a proximity sensor, and detects the proximity of the moving member 31 to the door member 40 through the detection window 26 (FIG. 11) of the housing member 20. Note that the proximity detector 2 may detect the proximity of the test piece 90 held by the moving member 31. The control unit 100 drives the rotation driver 3 to rotate the rotating member 30 (moving member 31) and stop it in response to the detection by the proximity detector 2. The control unit 100 also drives the opening / closing operator 4 to open and close the door member 40 in response to the detection by the proximity detector 2. Further, the control unit 100 controls the measuring unit 5, which is composed of various parts and devices as a measuring device.

[0042] As shown in the hardware configuration of FIG. 14, the control unit 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, and a storage 104. Each component is connected to be communicable with each other via a bus 109.

[0043] The CPU 101 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 101 reads a program from the ROM 102 or the storage 104 and executes the program using the RAM 103 as a work area. The CPU 101 performs control of the above components and various arithmetic processes according to the program recorded in the ROM 102 or the storage 104.

[0044] The ROM 102 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 103 temporarily stores a program or data as a work area. The storage 104 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory, and stores various programs including an operating system and various data. In this embodiment, programs and various data related to measurement and determination are stored in the ROM 102 or the storage 104. Also, measurement data can be stored in the storage 104.

[0045] The control unit 100 executes control of the proximity detector 2, the rotation driver 3, the opening / closing operator 4, and the measurement unit 5 by the CPU 101 of the above hardware configuration executing the above-described program.

[0046] With the above configuration, when the proximity detector 2 detects the proximity of the moving member 31 to the door member 40 under the control of the control unit 100, the rotation driver 3 stops the rotation of the moving member 31, and the opening / closing operator 4 can close the discharge port 28 while opening the door member 40. Further, the control unit 100 can also control to open the discharge port 28 when the door member 40 is closed. Furthermore, after closing the door member 40 again, the control unit 100 can also control to resume the movement of the moving member 31. The operation of the opening / closing operator 4 can also be controlled by the control unit 100 to operate when the proximity detector 2 detects this proximity. Further, the control unit 100 controls the stop of the rotation by the rotation driver 3 when the proximity detector 2 detects this proximity, and can also control the resumption of the rotation by the rotation driver 3 when the opening / closing operator 4 closes the opening 24.

[0047] Next, the extraction of the test piece 90 by the test piece storage container 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15A (or FIG. 15B) and the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 16A to 16G. In the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 16A to 16G, the operation focusing on one moving member 31 will be described, but the operations of the other two moving members 31 are of course also executed simultaneously.

[0048] First, when the power of the test piece discharge mechanism 1 is turned on, the initial setting of the device is executed at the stage shown in S100. This initial setting also includes setting the rotating member 30 to the initial position of rotation by the control unit 100 controlling the rotation driver 3.

[0049] Then, when the preparation for measurement is completed, the control unit 100 drives the rotary driver 3 to start the rotation of the rotating member 30 at the stage shown in S110. This control unit 100 continues the rotation of the rotating member 30 until the proximity detector 2 detects the moving member 31 through the detection window 26 at the stage shown in S120. In the case of a configuration that does not include the proximity detector 2, for example, when a stepping motor is adopted as the rotary driver 3, at the stage shown in S120' of the flowchart in FIG. 15B, the rotation of the rotating member 30 can be continued until a predetermined number of steps (for example, the number of steps required from the resumption of rotation after a rotation stop until the moving member 31 approaches the opening 24 next) elapses.

[0050] During this period, in FIG. 16A, a plurality of test pieces 90 stay below the internal space of the housing member 20 and are located at the bottom. The pressing piece 33 of this moving member 31 presses the plurality of test pieces 90 staying in the rotational direction. On the other hand, the door member 40 in the closed state closes the opening 24 by the inclined surface 44 and closes the discharge port 28 by the blocking portion 45.

[0051] The moving member 31 continues to move by rotation inside the housing member while holding the test piece 90. When it comes to a position past the lowest position in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 16B, only one of the test pieces 90 that was located on the outermost side enters through the gap of width A (see FIG. 12) between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 and reaches a position where the long side 92 contacts the leading edge 32. Another test piece 90 may also partially enter the gap between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22. The other test pieces 90 are lifted upward by the pressing piece 33.

[0052] The moving member 31 continues to rotate. When the pressing piece 33 reaches the uppermost position 31A as shown in FIG. 16C, all the test pieces 90 that could not enter the gap between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 fall downward. Then, when the moving member 31 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 16D, the test pieces 90 that only partially entered the gap between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 also finally fall. However, the test pieces 90 that entered until they contacted the leading edge 32 are held by the pressing piece 33 and the sorting piece 34 and are prevented from falling.

[0053] That is, when the distance A between the position closest to the cylindrical surface 22 of the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22 satisfies X ≦ A < 2X, by rotating the moving member 31, only one test piece 90 is held at a position slightly rotated from the uppermost position 31A. Note that the distance B from the leading edge 32 of the pressing piece 33 to the sorting piece 34 satisfies Y ≦ B < 2Y, and the length C of the portion where the sorting piece 34 protrudes from the pressing piece 33 to the cylindrical surface 22 satisfies 0.5X ≦ C < 1.5X. Thus, the moving member 31 can be made to hold only the test piece 90 more reliably at a position slightly rotated from the uppermost position 31A.

[0054] Then, when the moving member 31 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 16E, at the stage shown in S120, the proximity detector 2 detects the proximity of the moving member 31 (or at the stage shown in S120′, the control unit 100 detects the elapse of a predetermined number of steps). At the stage shown in S130, the control unit 100 stops the drive of the rotation driver 3, and the rotation of the moving member 31 stops. Next, at the stage shown in S140, the control unit 100 drives the opening / closing operator 4 to rotate and open the door member 40 to the state shown in FIG. 16E.

[0055] That is, when the notch 42 reaches the position of the pressing piece 33 due to the rotation of the door member 40, at the same time, the inclined surface 44 of the elastic portion 43 imparts an impact to the test piece 90 held by the pressing piece 33 and the sorting piece 34, and discharges it to the outside from the accommodating member 20. At this time, the inclined surface 44 may collide with the pressing piece 33 or the test piece 90. At this time, the test piece 90 discharged and falling is guided to the outside of the accommodating member 20 by the inclined surface 44 of the door member 40. In this state, the door member 40 closes the discharge port 28 while opening the accommodating member 20.

[0056] When the door member 40 further rotates to reach the state shown in Fig. 16F, the door member 40 closes the opening 24 and the discharge port 28 again by the blocking portion 45. Then, the discharged test piece 90 falls along the inclined surface 44.

[0057] When the door member 40 further rotates to reach the state shown in Fig. 16G, the blocking portion 45 closes the opening 24 while opening the discharge port 28. The discharged test piece 90 is guided to the opened discharge port 28 along the inclined surface 44, and the test piece 90 discharged from the discharge port 28 to the outside of the door accommodating portion 27 moves to the measuring portion 5 by a conveying means (not shown) and is used for a predetermined measurement there.

[0058] Note that, as in the modification example of the present embodiment shown in Fig. 17, an opening / closing member 50 for opening and closing the discharge port 28 may be provided. This opening / closing member 50 can be opened and closed by the opening / closing operator 4 in the block diagram of Fig. 13.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the door member 40 always closes at least one of the opening 24 of the accommodating member 20 and the discharge port 28 of the door accommodating portion 27. In other words, since the opening 24 and the discharge port 28 are not opened at the same time, the test piece 90 accommodated in the accommodating member 20 can always be blocked from the outside air. Thereby, the test piece 90 can be prevented from being deteriorated by moisture in the outside air or the like.

[0060] In addition to the above, only one test piece 90 is passed through the gap between the sorting piece 34 and the cylindrical surface 22, and the test piece 90 that could not pass falls when it faces downward while the moving member 31 is rotating. As a result, just by the moving member 31 rotating within the accommodating member 20, only one test piece 90 is naturally gripped by the sorting piece 34 and the pressing piece 33 without applying excessive stress by pressing to the test piece 90 that could not pass, and can be taken out from the opening 24.

[0061] (2) Others In the above embodiment, the moving member 31 rotates and moves inside the cylindrical accommodating member 20, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the accommodating member 20 may have a box shape, and the inside thereof may be such that the belt-shaped moving member 31 moves in a bellows-like bending manner.

[0062] Also, in the above embodiment, the door member 40 can be opened and closed by rotating inside the door accommodating portion 27, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the door member 40 may be opened and closed like a door.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0063] 1 Test piece discharge mechanism 2 Proximity detector 3 Rotation driver 4 Opening / closing operator 5 Measuring unit 10 Test piece accommodating container 15 Rotation shaft (central axis) 20 Accommodating member 20A Drive shaft accommodating portion 20B Bearing 20C Connection portion 21 Cap 22 Cylindrical surface 23 Inner peripheral groove 24 Opening 24A Center line 25 Inlet 26 Detection window 27 Door accommodating portion 28 Outlet 30 Rotating member 30A Front plate 30B Rear plate 31 Moving member 31A Uppermost position 32 Tip edge 32A Rear edge 33 Pressing piece 34 Sorting piece 35 Sliding protrusion 36 Rotation drive shaft 40 Door member 40B Bearing 41 Door shaft 42 Notch 43 Elastic portion 44 Inclined surface 45 Blocking part 46 Door drive shaft 50 Opening / closing member 90 Test piece 91 Short side 92 Long side 93 Reagent pad 94 Substrate 95 Holding part 96 Reagent pad placement area 100 Control unit 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Storage 109 Bus

Claims

1. A housing member for housing a test piece therein; A moving member for moving the test piece inside the housing member; A door member that is provided on the side surface of the housing member so as to be openable and closable for discharging the test piece moved by the moving member to the outside of the housing member, and that shuts off the inside and outside of the housing member when closed; A door housing portion that covers the door member from the outside of the housing member and allows the door member to open and close inside; An outlet that is provided on the door housing portion so as to be openable and closable for shutting off the inside and outside of the door housing portion when closed and discharging the test piece discharged to the outside of the housing member to the outside of the door housing portion, and comprising: The outlet is configured to be openable in a state where the housing member is closed by the door member, The outlet communicates the inside and outside of the door housing portion on the lower side of the door housing portion, and is a test piece housing container.

2. The inner surface of the door member when closed becomes an inclined surface that communicates the inside of the housing member and the outlet when the outlet is opened, On the opposite side of the inner surface of the door member when closed, a blocking portion is formed that blocks the outlet when closed and blocks the inside of the housing member from the outside when opened. The test piece housing container according to claim 1.

3. The door member guides the test piece that falls from the moving member when opened to the outside of the housing member along the inclined surface. The test piece housing container according to claim 2.

4. The test piece has an elongated shape, The housing member has a cylindrical shape with a length in the longitudinal direction equal to or greater than the length of the test piece, The moving member rotates along the inner peripheral surface of the housing member, The door housing portion has a shape in which a part of a cylindrical shape with a smaller diameter than the housing member and a length in the longitudinal direction equal to or greater than the length of the test piece protrudes outward from the housing member, The discharge port is provided as an opening having a length equal to or greater than the length of the test piece along the longitudinal direction of the door housing portion. The door member is provided on the side surface of the housing member in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the housing member. The inclined surface has a concave shape that is flush with the inner surface of the housing member when closed. The blocking portion has a cylindrical convex shape corresponding to the cylindrical concave surface inside the door housing portion when closed. The test piece housing container according to claim 2 or claim 3.

5. The moving member moves inside the housing member while holding the test piece. The door member opens and closes by rotating inside the door housing portion, and when opened, imparts an impact to the test piece held by the moving member to discharge it from the housing member. The test piece housing container according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

6. The door member imparts the impact to the test piece by causing the inclined surface to collide with the test piece held by the moving member when the door member is opened by the rotation. The test piece housing container according to claim 5.

7. A test piece housing container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and a control unit that is electrically connected to and controls the test piece housing container. The control unit controls to open the discharge port when the door member is closed. A test piece discharge mechanism.

8. The control unit controls to stop the movement of the moving member when the moving member approaches the door member, then close the discharge port while opening the door member, and after closing the door member again, resume the movement of the moving member. The test piece discharge mechanism according to claim 7.

9. A proximity detector for detecting that the moving member has approached the door member is provided. The test piece discharging mechanism according to claim 8, wherein the control unit opens the door member when the proximity detector detects the proximity.

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