Analytical device

Abstract

Provided is an analysis device comprising: a motor; a rotating body that comprises a plurality of pairs of a filter and a mobile magnet; a gear transmission mechanism that comprises a drive gear and a driven gear meshing with each other and that converts rotation of the motor into rotation of the rotating body; a control unit that controls the motor so as to repeatedly rotate the rotating body in the forward direction and stop the same, and thereby stops the plurality of filters at a usage position one at a time; and a fixed magnet. The position of the mobile magnet relative to the filter is the same in all pairs when viewed from the rotation axis of the rotating body. Additionally, the fixed magnet is disposed at a position where, by exerting magnetic force on one among the plurality of mobile magnets when one of the plurality of filters is stopped at the usage position, the teeth of the driven gear can be pressed against the teeth of the drive gear.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an analytical device. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, analytical devices such as the real-time PCR device shown in Patent Document 1 and the microscope shown in Patent Document 2 conventionally use filters to detect specific light emitted from a sample. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-081898 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-174824 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An appropriate filter must be used depending on the type of light to be detected or the type of reagent used. Therefore, when the type of reagent changes, the filter must be switched. As the number of reagent types increases, the switching frequency increases. The filter must be accurately positioned each time it is switched. Furthermore, the longer it takes to switch filters, the longer it takes to complete the analysis.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an analytical device that can accurately position multiple filters and can switch filters in a short time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The analytical device according to the present disclosure includes a motor, a rotor having a plurality of pairs of filters and moving magnets, a gear transmission mechanism including a drive gear and a driven gear that mesh with each other and converts the rotation of the motor into rotation of the rotor, a control unit that controls the motor to repeatedly rotate and stop the rotor in a forward direction, thereby stopping the plurality of filters one by one at a use position, and a fixed magnet, wherein the relative position of the moving magnet with respect to the filter as viewed from the rotation axis of the rotor is the same for all of the plurality of pairs, and when one of the plurality of filters is stopped at the use position, the fixed magnet exerts a magnetic force on one of the plurality of moving magnets, thereby moving the teeth of the driven gear toward the teeth of the drive gear. forward surface of The device is positioned so that it can be pressed against the object. The forward surface is a tooth surface that is located at the front side in the direction of rotation when the drive gear rotates in the forward direction of the drive gear. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an analyzer that can accurately position a plurality of filters and can switch filters in a short time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] Side view of nucleic acid amplification device [Figure 2] Plan view of the rotating body and its surroundings [Figure 3] Side view of the rotating body [Figure 4] Schematic diagram of gear transmission mechanism [Figure 5] Enlarged view of the drive gear and driven gear [Figure 6] 10 is a side view of the rotor and its surroundings according to the second embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The analytical device according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description, a nucleic acid amplification device, which is one type of analytical device, will be used as an example, but the present disclosure is not limited to nucleic acid amplification devices and can be applied to various analytical devices (e.g., microscopes) that include an optical system with a filter.

[0010] (First embodiment) 1 is a side view of a nucleic acid amplification device 1 according to the first embodiment. The nucleic acid amplification device 1 includes a housing 2. Inside the housing 2, a reaction unit 3 in which a plurality of samples are placed is disposed. Near the reaction unit 3, an opening is formed for inserting samples into the housing 2 and removing samples from the housing 2.

[0011] The side on which the reaction unit 3 and the opening are formed is the front side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1, and the opposite side is the rear side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1. The direction from the rear side to the front side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1 is the X-axis direction in FIG. 1. The right and left sides when viewed from the front side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1 are the right and left sides of the nucleic acid amplifier 1. The direction from the right side to the left side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1 is the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1. The side closer to the surface on which the nucleic acid amplifier 1 is installed is the bottom side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1, and the opposite side is the top side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1. The direction from the bottom side to the top side of the nucleic acid amplifier 1 is the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1. The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions are common to all figures.

[0012] A light source 4, a camera 5, a rotating body 6, a base 7, and a motor 8 are arranged at the rear side of the housing 2. A control unit 9 is also arranged inside the housing 2.

[0013] Light source 4 emits excitation light in the negative direction of the Z axis as indicated by the arrow. Camera 5 is fixedly disposed at the center of rotor 6 so as not to rotate, and faces in the positive direction of the X axis. Base 7 supports rotor 6 rotatably.

[0014] The rotating body 6 includes a first rotating plate 11 and a second rotating plate 12. The first rotating plate 11 and the second rotating plate 12 have circular outer peripheries and are arranged parallel to each other. The rotating body 6 includes a shaft 13 extending along the Z-axis direction. The shaft 13 rotatably supports the first rotating plate 11 and the second rotating plate 12. The shaft 13 is integrally connected to the first rotating plate 11 and the second rotating plate 12 and rotates integrally with the first rotating plate 11 and the second rotating plate 12. The central axis of the shaft 13 is the rotation axis of the rotating body 6.

[0015] A plurality of filter cubes 14 are arranged between the first rotary plate 11 and the second rotary plate 12. In this embodiment, eight filter cubes 14 are arranged at equal angular intervals. Each filter cube 14 includes a filter 15 arranged parallel to the XY plane, a dichroic mirror 16, and a filter 17 arranged perpendicular to the XY plane. The dichroic mirror 16 is arranged so as to be inclined at 45° with respect to the filters 15 and 17.

[0016] Between the first rotary plate 11 and the second rotary plate 12, a gap is formed through which light can pass freely.

[0017] Therefore, the excitation light irradiated from the light source 4 passes through the filter 15 provided in the filter cube 14 that is positioned facing the light source 4 (i.e., the "use position" described later) among the multiple filter cubes 14, and is reflected by the dichroic mirror 16. The reflected excitation light is incident on the sample in the reaction unit 3 as shown by the arrow. The excitation light emitted by the sample irradiated with the excitation light passes through the dichroic mirror 16 as shown by the arrow, passes through the filter 17, and is incident on the camera 5. This optical system allows analysis to be performed using one of the multiple filter cubes 14, specifically one of the multiple filters (or filter sets).

[0018] The motor 8 generates power to rotate the rotating body 6. A gear transmission mechanism, which will be described later, is arranged between the motor 8 and the rotating body 6. The rotating body 6 rotates as the motor 8 rotates. The motor 8 is a stepping motor that can rotate in both forward and reverse directions. The control unit 9 controls the motor 8 to repeatedly rotate and stop the rotating body 6 in the forward direction, thereby stopping the multiple filters 17 (or filters 15) one by one at their usage positions.

[0019] Fig. 2 is a front view of the rotor 6, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the rotor 6. The rotor 6 is equipped with eight filter cubes 14 arranged at equal intervals around the rotation axis (i.e., the central axis of the shaft 13). The first rotating plate 11 has openings at positions facing the filters 15 equipped in each filter cube 14. The filters 15 can be seen from outside the rotor 6 through these openings.

[0020] A movable magnet 18 is attached to the surface of the second rotating plate 12 facing the base 7. Although only one representative movable magnet 18 is depicted in Fig. 3, in reality, the same number of movable magnets as the number of filters 15 are attached to the second rotating plate 12, as shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 2.

[0021] One filter 15 (or one filter 17) and one moving magnet 18 constitute one pair. When viewed from the rotation axis of the rotating body 6, the relative position of the moving magnet 18 with respect to the filter 15 (or filter 17) is the same for all of the multiple pairs. In other words, the multiple filters 15 (or multiple filters 17) are lined up on a single circumference centered on the rotation axis, and the multiple moving magnets 18 are also lined up on a single circumference centered on the rotation axis. Therefore, if one of the multiple filters 15 (or filters 17) is designated the first filter and the other is designated the second filter, and the moving magnets 18 that form pairs with the first and second filters are designated the first and second moving magnets, respectively, these components have the following relationship: When the rotating body 6 is rotated to position the second filter where the first filter was located before the rotation, the second moving magnet is positioned where the first moving magnet was located before the rotation.

[0022] The use position 20 shown in Figures 2 and 3 is the position where the filters 15 and 17 used in the analysis are placed.

[0023] A fixed magnet 19 is attached to the surface of the base 7 facing the rotor 6. The specific attachment position of the fixed magnet 19 will be described later.

[0024] 4 is a schematic diagram of a gear transmission mechanism. The gear transmission mechanism includes at least two gears, a drive gear 21 and a driven gear 22, which mesh with each other.

[0025] The drive gear 21 is configured to rotate in the forward direction when the motor 8 rotates in the forward direction. When the drive gear 21 rotates in the forward direction, the driven gear 22 rotates in the forward direction. When the driven gear 22 rotates in the forward direction, the rotating body 6 rotates in the forward direction. The same is true for the reverse direction. Note that in Figure 4, the solid arrow indicates the forward direction, and the dashed arrow indicates the reverse direction.

[0026] 5 is a partially enlarged view of the drive gear 21 and the driven gear 22. The drive gear 21 has a plurality of teeth 21A. Each tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 has a forward surface 21B that is located at the front of the rotational direction when the drive gear 21 rotates in the forward direction, and a reverse surface 21C that is located at the front of the rotational direction when the drive gear 21 rotates in the reverse direction. The driven gear 22 has a plurality of teeth 22A. Each tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 has a forward surface 22B that is located at the front of the rotational direction when the driven gear 22 rotates in the forward direction, and a reverse surface 22C that is located at the front of the rotational direction when the driven gear 22 rotates in the reverse direction.

[0027] When the drive gear 21 rotates in the forward direction, the forward surface 21B of the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 pushes against the reverse surface 22C of the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22. This transmits rotation from the drive gear 21 to the driven gear 22. At this time, backlash exists between the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 that is pushing against the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 and the tooth 22A that is located one tooth behind the pushed tooth 22A in the rotational direction. This backlash is essential for the drive gear 21 and the driven gear 22 to mesh smoothly.

[0028] However, due to the existence of this backlash, there is room for the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 to wobble between the two teeth 21A of the drive gear 21 after the motor 8 and the drive gear 21 have stopped. In other words, there is a possibility that the rotor 6 may wobble, albeit slightly, around the rotation axis after the rotor 6 has stopped rotating. This wobble may result in inaccurate positioning of the filter 15 (or filter 17).

[0029] Therefore, a fixed magnet 19 is attached to the nucleic acid amplification device 1 according to this embodiment. The fixed magnet 19 is positioned so that it can exert a force on the rotor 6 via the movable magnet 18 to rotate the rotor 6 in the reverse direction. In other words, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so that it can press the teeth 22A of the driven gear 22 against the teeth 21A of the drive gear 21 by exerting a magnetic force on the movable magnet 18 that is paired with the filter 15 (or filter 17) that is stopped at the use position 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Specifically, the fixed magnet 19 is attached at a position so that it can press the reverse-direction surfaces 22C of the teeth 22A of the driven gear 22 against the forward-direction surfaces 21B of the teeth 21A of the drive gear 21. The arrows in FIG. 3 indicate repulsive forces.

[0030] In this embodiment, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so as to exert a repulsive force on the moving magnet 18, i.e., to press the rotor 6 in the opposite direction. In other words, when the filter 15 (or filter 17) to be positioned at the use position 20 is positioned at the use position 20, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned in front of the moving magnet 18 that is paired with the filter 15 (or filter 17) and within the range of the magnetic force that can be applied to the filter 15 (or filter 17). Note that when the moving magnet 18 has a north pole on the upper side and a south pole on the lower side, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so as to have a south pole on the upper side and a north pole on the lower side. When the moving magnet 18 has a south pole on the upper side and a north pole on the lower side, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so as to have a north pole on the upper side and a south pole on the lower side.

[0031] Therefore, the nucleic acid amplification device 1 according to this embodiment can accurately position each filter 15 (or filter 17) at the use position 20.

[0032] Furthermore, when the rotating body 6 is stopped, the reverse-direction surface 22C of the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 is pressed against the forward-direction surface 21B of the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21. In other words, there is no gap between the reverse-direction surface 22C of the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 and the forward-direction surface 21B of the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21. Therefore, when the motor 8 and the drive gear 21 start to rotate in the forward direction to rotate the rotating body 6 in the forward direction, no wasted time is generated to close the gap between the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 and the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22. In other words, the rotating body 6 can be rotated simultaneously with the start of rotation of the motor 8. Therefore, the filter 15 (or filter 17) can be quickly switched by rotating the rotating body 6 in the forward direction.

[0033] When a plurality of filters 15 (or filters 17) are stopped one by one at the use position 20 due to the repeated forward rotation and stopping of the rotor 6, the number of times the stopped rotor 6 is started to rotate in the forward direction inevitably increases. Therefore, the more times the forward rotation is started, that is, the more filters are switched, the greater the effect of the fixed magnet 19 in shortening the switching time by pressing the teeth 22A of the driven gear 22 against the teeth 21A of the drive gear 21.

[0034] Furthermore, by pressing the teeth 22A of the driven gear 22 against the teeth 21A of the driving gear 21, the rotor in the motor 8 can be stopped at an appropriate position relative to the stator. This makes it less likely that the motor 8 will lose synchronization when it starts to rotate.

[0035] The control unit 9 may be configured to return the rotor 6 to its initial state by controlling the motor 8 to rotate the rotor 6 once in the reverse direction. The initial state is the state when the nucleic acid amplifier 1 starts an analysis, for example, a state in which a predetermined one of the multiple filters 15 (or filters 17) is located at the use position 20. By configuring the control unit 9 in this way, the rotor 6 can be returned to its initial state with a single operation at the start of an analysis operation or after the completion of an analysis operation, allowing analysis using the next sample to be started promptly.

[0036] Because the fixed magnet 19 exerts a magnetic force on the moving magnet 18, a gap is generated between the reverse-direction surface 21C of the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 and the forward-direction surface 22B of the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 when the rotating body 6 is rotated in the reverse direction. Therefore, when the motor 8 and the drive gear 21 are rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the driven gear 22 and the rotating body 6 in the reverse direction, dead time is generated to close the gap between the reverse-direction surface 21C of the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 and the forward-direction surface 22B of the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22. However, the reverse rotation of the rotating body 6 is limited to when the rotating body 6 is returned to its initial state. Therefore, the impact of the dead time required to close the gap between the reverse-direction surface 21C of the tooth 21A of the drive gear 21 and the forward-direction surface 22B of the tooth 22A of the driven gear 22 is minimized.

[0037] In this embodiment, the distance from the rotation axis of the rotating body 6 to the fixed magnet 19 is greater than the distance from the rotation axis to each of the moving magnets 18. In other words, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so that it does not overlap with each of the moving magnets 18 in a front view when the rotating body 6 rotates. This prevents excessive fluctuations in the magnetic force that the fixed magnet 19 exerts on each of the moving magnets 18 when the rotating body 6 is rotated, which would otherwise cause large fluctuations in the torque required to rotate the rotating body 6. In other words, the rotating body 6 can be rotated smoothly. Note that the distance from the rotation axis of the rotating body 6 to the fixed magnet 19 may be shorter than the distance from the rotation axis to each of the moving magnets 18.

[0038] (Second embodiment) 6 is a side view of the periphery of the rotor 6 of the nucleic acid amplifier 1 according to the second embodiment. Below, a description of matters common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0039] In the second embodiment, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned at a position where it exerts an attractive force on the moving magnet 18, that is, where it attracts the rotating body 6 in the opposite direction. In other words, when the filter 15 (or filter 17) to be positioned at the use position 20 is positioned at the use position 20, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned slightly behind the moving magnet 18 that is paired with the filter 15 (or filter 17). The arrows in FIG. 6 indicate the attractive force. Note that when the moving magnet 18 has a north pole on the upper side and a south pole on the lower side, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so that it has a north pole on the upper side and a south pole on the lower side. When the moving magnet 18 has a south pole on the upper side and a north pole on the lower side, the fixed magnet 19 is positioned so that it has a south pole on the upper side and a north pole on the lower side.

[0040] (Variation) The analysis device according to the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described so far, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0041] For example, the shaft 13 may be fixed to the base 7. In this case, the shaft 13 supports the first rotating plate 11 and the second rotating plate 12 via bearings.

[0042] Furthermore, the extension direction of the rotation axis of the rotor 6 may be in any direction. For example, the rotor 6 may be configured to rotate around a rotation axis extending in the X-axis direction, that is, around an axis extending horizontally.

[0043] Furthermore, as long as the relative position of the moving magnet 18 with respect to the filter 15 (or filter 17) is the same in all of the multiple pairs as viewed from the rotation axis of the rotating body, the multiple filters 15 (or filters 17) arranged on the rotating body 6 may be arranged at unequally spaced intervals around the rotation axis.

[0044] Furthermore, as long as the relative position of the moving magnet 18 with respect to the filter 15 (or filter 17) as viewed from the rotation axis of the rotor is the same for all of the multiple pairs, the position of the moving magnet 18 paired with the filter 15 (or filter 17) can be arbitrary. This will be described with reference to FIG. 2. For example, the moving magnet 18 paired with the filter 15 located at the use position 20 may be the moving magnet 18 located at the use position 20 (hereinafter referred to as the first magnet in this paragraph), or it may be the moving magnet 18 located at a position 180° opposite the use position 20 across the rotation axis (hereinafter referred to as the second magnet in this paragraph). When the moving magnet 18 paired with the filter 15 located at the use position 20 is the first magnet, the fixed magnet 19 is located at the position shown in FIG. 2. When the moving magnet 18 paired with the filter 15 located at the use position 20 is the second magnet, the fixed magnet 19 is located at a position 180° opposite the position shown in FIG. 2 across the rotation axis. 2 , the fixed magnet 19 exerts a repulsive force on the second magnet so as to rotate the rotor 6 in the opposite direction. As a result, the filter 15 (or filter 17) is positioned in the use position 20, and the teeth 22A of the driven gear 22 are pressed against the teeth 21A of the drive gear 21.

[0045] 4 shows a state in which the output shaft of the motor and the drive gear 21 are directly connected, but it goes without saying that the drive gear 21 does not have to be directly connected to the output shaft of the motor 8. Also, while Fig. 4 shows a state in which the driven gear 22 and the shaft 13 are directly connected, it goes without saying that the driven gear 22 does not have to be directly connected to the shaft 13. It goes without saying that the gear transmission mechanism may have three or more gears, and in this case, the drive gear 21 and the driven gear 22 may be located anywhere within the gear transmission mechanism as long as they mesh with each other.

[0046] The driving gear 21 and the driven gear 22 may be configured by two gears whose rotation axes are parallel to each other, or by gears whose rotation axes intersect with each other. The driving gear 21 and the driven gear 22 may also be configured by a combination of an internal gear and an external gear.

[0047] The disclosures of the specification, drawings and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-031877, filed on March 2, 2022, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. [Industrial Applicability]

[0048] The present disclosure contributes to improving the efficiency of analytical work in analytical devices such as nucleic acid amplifiers, and has great industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Nucleic acid amplification device 2. Case 3 Reaction Units 4 light source 5. Camera 6 Rotating bodies 7. Bass 8 motors 9 Control Unit 11 First rotating plate 12 Second rotating plate 13 Shaft 14 Filter cube 15 filters 16 Dichroic Mirror 17 Filters 18 Moving Magnet 19 Fixed magnet 20 Usage position 21 Drive gear 21A tooth 21B Forward plane 21C Opposite side 22 Driven gear 22A tooth 22B Forward plane 22C Opposite side

Claims

1. A motor; a rotating body having a plurality of pairs of filters and moving magnets; a gear transmission mechanism including a drive gear and a driven gear that mesh with each other and converts rotation of the motor into rotation of the rotating body; a control unit that controls the motor to repeatedly rotate and stop the rotor in a forward direction, thereby stopping the plurality of filters one by one at a use position; a fixed magnet; a relative position of the moving magnet with respect to the filter as viewed from the rotation axis of the rotating body is the same for all of the plurality of sets; the fixed magnet is disposed at a position where, when one of the plurality of filters is stopped at the use position, it can exert a magnetic force on one of the plurality of moving magnets to press the teeth of the driven gear against the forward-direction surfaces of the teeth of the driving gear, The forward surface is a tooth surface that is located at the front side in the rotation direction when the drive gear rotates in the forward direction of the drive gear. Analyzer.

2. The control unit is configured to control the motor to rotate the rotating body once in the direction opposite to the forward direction, thereby returning the rotating body to its initial state. The analytical device of claim 1 .

3. The distance from the rotation axis to the fixed magnet is different from the distance from the rotation axis to the moving magnet. The analytical device of claim 1 .

4. The fixed magnet is arranged to exert a repulsive force on the plurality of moving magnets. The analytical device of claim 1 .

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