Container storage, automatic analysis device, and container storage method

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a container case 8 that retains a QC sample container 4 containing a liquid; an annular holder 9 configured so that a plurality of the container cases 8 can be disposed therein; and a cooling device. The container case 8 comprises: a first cylinder section 8a having a first diameter d1; and a second cylinder section 8b positioned vertically below the first cylinder section 8a and having a second diameter d2 smaller than the first diameter d1. At least part of the second cylinder section 8b is held so as to be exposed from the annular holder 9. The cooling device cools at least the second cylinder section 8b exposed from the annular holder 9.

Description

Container storage, automatic analyzer, and container storage method

[0001] The present invention relates to a container storage cabinet suitable for an automatic analyzer that analyzes biological samples such as blood and urine, and in particular to a container storage cabinet that stores containers containing standard samples and quality control samples in individual cases, an automatic analyzer, and a method for storing containers.

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an automatic analyzer in which "the interior of a reagent refrigerator is surrounded by a triple-wall structure, and cooled fluid (cooling water) is circulated inside the triple-wall structure, and air cooled by heat exchange (cooled air) is directly introduced into the interior of the reagent refrigerator, thereby enabling efficient cooling with a compact device.Furthermore, by using the cooled air to increase the pressure inside the reagent refrigerator above atmospheric pressure, cold air is blown out from the reagent suction hole, preventing outside air from flowing in through this reagent suction hole and suppressing condensation inside the reagent refrigerator."

[0003] JP 2013-185980 A

[0004] Automated analyzers are devices that automatically analyze blood and other biological samples and output the results, and have become essential equipment in hospitals and medical testing facilities. Such automated analyzers are required to perform a wider variety of tests in a shorter time.

[0005] Such automated analyzers require quality control using standard samples and quality control samples whenever necessary, such as when starting up each morning or when adding new reagents, which places a burden on the operator.Therefore, there is a demand for automated analyzers that can achieve quality control without the operator having to add standard samples and quality control samples each time.

[0006] Such an automatic analyzer requires a repository for storing standard samples and quality control samples, which are sometimes collectively referred to as QC samples or QC specimen samples.

[0007] Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which reagents to be used in reactions in an automatic analyzer are placed in containers for each reagent in a storage device, and these containers are placed in a reagent installation section in a reagent refrigerator (hereinafter simply referred to as a refrigerator), and further, the interior of the reagent refrigerator is kept cool, for example, at around 5 to 12°C, to prevent deterioration of the reagents.

[0008] There are many types of QC specimens because they differ depending on the analysis item. Therefore, it is desirable that the repository be able to store 100 or more specimens, and that the repository be configured to be compact by storing specimens efficiently and at a high density.

[0009] Here, to prevent deterioration of QC samples, contamination with foreign matter, and changes in concentration due to evaporation, it is desirable to store them in a cooled state, and it is also desirable for the temperature inside the storage cabinet to be uniform and with little temperature variation. Hereinafter, the storage cabinet may be referred to as a cold storage cabinet.

[0010] In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, a reagent refrigerator equipped with a reagent container installation section in which multiple reagent containers are installed has a triple-wall structure with two spaces, and the air passing through one space is cooled by cooling water passing through the other space, and the cooled air is then sent to the reagent storage cabinet for cooling. For this reason, it has become clear that the structure is complex and there is room for improvement in cooling efficiency and reliability.

[0011] The present invention provides a container storage cabinet, an automatic analyzer, and a container storage method that are capable of improving the cooling efficiency of samples in containers and improving reliability compared to conventional structures.

[0012] The present invention includes multiple means for solving the above-mentioned problems, and one example thereof is a device comprising a container case for holding a container for containing a liquid, a holder configured to be able to arrange multiple container cases, and a cooling device, wherein the container case comprises a first region having a first diameter and a second region located vertically below the first region and having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, at least a portion of the second region being held so as to be exposed from the holder, and the cooling device cools at least the second region exposed from the holder.

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the sample in the container and also to improve reliability compared to conventional structures. Objects, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the following description of the embodiments.

[0014] 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a B-B cross-sectional view of a container storage device according to an embodiment; FIG. 3 is an A-A cross-sectional view of a container storage device according to an embodiment; FIG. 4 is a four-sided view showing the configuration of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment; FIG. 5 is a CC cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment; FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment; FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the opening and closing operation of the lid according to an embodiment; FIG. 8 is a plan view and a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state in which a container case and a lid according to an embodiment are arranged close to each other in the radial direction of a storage cabinet; FIG. 9 is an F-F cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment; FIG. 10 is an F-F cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment, illustrating a fully open state of the lid and an operation for removing a container; FIG. 11 is a partial top view showing the arrangement of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment in a storage cabinet; FIG. 12 is a top view showing an example of the arrangement of a container case and a lid according to an embodiment in a storage cabinet; FIG. 13 is a D-D cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an encoder according to an embodiment; FIG. 14 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the arrangement and mounting configuration of a rotating disk, a holder member, and a container case of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment; FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the configuration of a holder member of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the arrangement and mounting configuration of a rotating disk, a holder member, and a container case of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an A-A cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment and the flow of cold air. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment and the flow of cold air. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the flow of cold air when a container is removed from a container case in a storage cabinet according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is an A-A cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment and the flow of cold air. FIG. 6 is a view showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, comprising a second holder member capable of supporting a different container case.

[0015] Examples of the container storage, automatic analyzer, and container storage method of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 21. In the drawings used in this specification, identical or corresponding components are designated by identical or similar reference numerals, and repeated description of these components may be omitted.

[0016] First, the overall configuration of an automatic analyzer 2 including a container storage device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the automatic analyzer 2.

[0017] The automatic analyzer 2 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a container storage device 1 for storing QC sample containers 4 used for measurements in an analyzer 3, an analyzer 3 that is a device for measuring the physical properties of samples and that needs to ensure analytical accuracy using QC samples, etc., a pre-processing device 5 that performs various pre-processing on the samples prior to analysis in the analyzer 3, and a post-processing device that performs various post-processing on the samples, etc. after analysis of the samples.

[0018] The control device 6 is equipped with, for example, a control computer, drive circuits for each drive motor, a control circuit for the barcode reader, a memory device for read barcodes, a signal detection circuit for various sensors, a control circuit for the cooling device, a display circuit for the monitor, etc., and controls various operations of the container storage device 1.

[0019] The automatic analyzer 2 may include two or more analyzers 3, pre-processing devices 5, post-processing devices, and container storage devices 1, or these may be omitted as necessary, and can be modified appropriately according to the system configuration. Even in such cases, they are connected to each other by the first transport path 7, and sample containers and racks carrying sample containers can be moved and exchanged.

[0020] Next, the configuration of the container storage device 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2, 3, and 1. Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the container storage device, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 3, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2.

[0021] In this embodiment, the holder is an annular holder 9 that can securely arrange the container cases 8 in triple concentric circles, and the container cases 8 are arranged concentrically on the annular holder 9 with respect to the central axis 10 of the storage cabinet. However, the holder is not limited to an annular shape and can be either a disk shape or a fan shape, and is not limited to these shapes. Furthermore, the container cases 8 do not need to be held concentrically on the holder, and can be arranged in other ways. In the following description, the containers may be referred to as specimen containers or QC specimen containers.

[0022] In the following description, the up / down, left / right, front / rear directions are based on the up / down, left / right, front / rear directions shown in Figures 1 to 3. In this embodiment, the front / rear direction is the radial direction of the storage cabinet 11 along A-A, and is a direction perpendicular to the first transport path 7. The left / right direction is a direction parallel to the first transport path 7, which is perpendicular to A-A.

[0023] The general configuration of the container storage device 1 according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3. The container storage device 1 has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped housing 12, and a roughly cylindrical storage cabinet 11 is provided inside the housing 12.

[0024] The configuration of the storage facility 11 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. The storage facility 11 is cylindrically arranged around a vertically oriented storage central axis 10. To maintain the interior of the storage facility 11 at a low temperature, for example, below 10°C, the outer cylindrical surface and the top and bottom surfaces are covered with insulating material 13 with low thermal conductivity, and the storage facility 11 is cooled by a cooling device 14, for example, using low-temperature air. The insulating material 13 houses a rotating disk 16 that can rotate freely around the rotation axis.

[0025] Inside the storage facility 11, there is provided a disk-shaped rotating disk 16 rotatably supported around a support shaft 15 that is provided coaxially with the storage facility central axis 10. The rotating disk 16 is rotatable by being connected via a disk drive shaft 17 to a drive motor 18, for example, a stepping motor, via a timing belt 19, and can be stopped at a predetermined angular position by a rotary encoder (hereinafter referred to as encoder 56) that uses an angle detection sensor 58. The detailed configuration will be described separately.

[0026] A plurality of container cases 8 are arranged concentrically and radially around the central axis of the storage cabinet 11 via annular holders 9 on the rotating disk 16, and each container case 8 houses a QC specimen container 4 containing a liquid 86 (see FIG. 5, etc.) such as a QC specimen sample. In this embodiment, the container cases 8 are arranged in three concentric circles, i.e., along an outer circumferential circle 20c, a middle circumferential circle 20b, and an inner circumferential circle 20a.

[0027] Each container case 8 is fixed to the annular holder 9 by, for example, screw fastening or so-called snap fitting that utilizes elastic deformation of a resin member.

[0028] The annular holder 9 is made up of concentric circles that are rotatable around a rotation axis, and is configured so that a plurality of container cases 8 can be arranged in double or more concentric circles. The configuration will be described in detail later.

[0029] A fixed disk 21 is provided in the gap between the rotating disk 16 and the heat insulating material 13, and has an outer cylindrical portion 21a provided concentrically with the rotating disk 16 and further outward than the rotating disk 16, and a disk portion 21b provided below the rotating disk 16.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, a cooling device 14 is provided connected to the bottom surface of the storage cabinet 11 in order to cool the inside of the storage cabinet 11 .

[0031] This cooling device 14 is surrounded by heat insulating material 13 and has an intake port 22 on one side that draws in air from inside the storage cabinet 11 where the QC sample containers 4 are located, and an exhaust port 23 on the other side.The cooling device 14 is equipped with an approximately U-shaped cold air duct 24 connected to the bottom of the storage cabinet 11, a cold air blower fan 25a for introducing air from inside the storage cabinet 11 into the cold air duct 24 via the intake port 22, a cold air blower fan 25b for blowing the air cooled in the cold air duct 24 into the storage cabinet 11 where the QC sample containers 4 are located via the exhaust port 23, and a cooling element 26.

[0032] On the inner wall of the cold air duct 24, cooling fins 27 are provided in contact with the low-temperature side of a cooling element 26, which is, for example, a Peltier element that generates a temperature difference when a voltage is applied, and protrude into the cold air duct 24 to cool the air blown through the cold air duct 24. In addition, heat dissipation fins 28 are provided in contact with the high-temperature side of the cooling element 26 and are arranged facing the outside of the cold air duct 24, and heat is dissipated to the outside via an exhaust port 30 by a heat dissipation fan 29.

[0033] A shutter opening 32 is provided on the rearward-facing radius of a drum top cover 31 that constitutes the top surface of the storage cabinet 11 .

[0034] The shutter opening 32 in this embodiment is substantially rectangular, with one side extending in the front-to-rear direction and the other side being shorter than the first side and perpendicular to the first side. The length of one side is such that the container cases 8 located on the outer circumferential circle 20c and the inner circumferential circle 20a of the triple concentrically arranged container cases 8 are exposed in a plan view, and the length of the other side is such that one of the container cases 8 is exposed in a plan view, and the shutter opening 32 has an opening dimension sufficient to allow a QC sample container 4 to be placed in or removed from the container case 8 by a container gripping device 33 (described later). In the following description, one side of the shutter opening 32 may be referred to as the long side, and the other side as the short side.

[0035] A shutter 34 that is opened and closed by a shutter opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is provided in the shutter opening 32. An airtight seal material (not shown) is provided around the shutter 34 to prevent outside air from entering the cooled storage cabinet 11 when the shutter 34 is closed, and the gap between the shutter opening 32 of the storage cabinet 11 and the shutter 34 is sealed.

[0036] By rotating the rotating disk 16 and stopping it at a position where the central axis of the QC sample container 4 stored in a specified container case 8 provided in the storage cabinet 11 coincides with the shutter opening 32, the specified QC sample container 4 can be positioned within the range of the shutter opening 32.

[0037] A lid opening / closing device 35 is provided adjacent to the shutter opening 32 on the same radius in a direction approaching the central axis 10 of the storage cabinet 11. The lid opening / closing device 35 can act on a lid 36 provided on the top surface of a container case 8 stored in the storage cabinet 11 through the shutter opening 32 in the open state to open and close the lid 36.

[0038] The lid opening / closing device 35 has a cylindrical support rod 38 extending rearward and downward from the lower end of an opening / closing arm 37 that is movable in the front-to-rear and up-to-down directions, and an opening / closing hook 39 extending symmetrically in the left-to-right direction is provided at the lower end of the support rod 38. The support rod 38 and the opening / closing hook 39 form a roughly inverted T shape when viewed from the front or rear.

[0039] The container gripping device 33 (gripper) has an opening / closing claw (gripping claw) 40 at its lower end that can grip and release the QC sample container 4 held in the container case 8, and is supported by the second transport path 41 so as to be movable in the front-to-back and up-and-down directions. When the lid 36 is open, the container gripping device 33 can take the QC sample container 4 out of the storage cabinet 11, move it to the first transport path 7, and place it on a container rack (not shown) on the first transport path 7.

[0040] 4 to 7, the configuration of the container case 8 and the lid 36 provided on the top surface of the container case 8, and the opening operation of the lid 36 by the lid opening / closing device 35 will be described. The container lid may also be simply referred to as the lid.

[0041] Figure 4 is a four-sided view showing the configuration of the container case 8 provided with the lid 36, with Figure 4(a) being a top view, Figure 4(b) being a rear view, and Figure 4(c) being a side view showing the lid 36 in a fully open state, and the dot-dash line showing the lid 36 in a fully closed state. Figure 4(d) is a front view. Figure 5 is a cross section CC of the container case 8 and the lid 36, showing the lid 36 in a fully closed state. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the container case 8 and the lid 36, showing the lid 36 in a fully closed state.

[0042] 7 is a perspective view from above and rear showing the operation of opening the lid 36 from a closed state by the action of the opening / closing hook 39 of the lid opening / closing device 35. In FIGS. 4 to 7, the QC sample container 4 is set in the container case 8.

[0043] The container case 8 has a generally stepped cylindrical shape with an opening 8c of diameter d0 on its upper surface, which is configured to allow insertion and removal of the QC sample container 4 held by the container holding device 33. Furthermore, its upper portion is a first cylindrical portion 8a with a first diameter d1 that is larger, and vertically below the first cylindrical portion 8a is a second cylindrical portion 8b that is concentric with the first cylindrical portion 8a and has a second diameter d2 that is smaller than the first cylindrical portion 8a. A step 42 is formed between the first cylindrical portion 8a and the second cylindrical portion 8b, and the container case 8 is placed on the annular holder 9 at the step 42.

[0044] The first cylindrical portion 8a is configured such that the gripping claws 40 of the container gripping device 33 are inserted into a cylindrical gap between the outer periphery of the QC sample container 4 held therein and the inner periphery of the first cylindrical portion 8a, and the gripping claws 40 are opened and closed to grip and release the QC sample container 4. Therefore, when the gripping claws 40 are lowered in an open state to grip the QC sample container 4, an appropriate gap is required so that the gripping claws 40 do not come into contact with the upper end of the QC sample container 4 or the opening 8c on the top surface of the container case 8. Therefore, there is a limit to how narrow the first diameter d1 can be made.

[0045] The bottom surface of the case, which is the lowest surface of the second cylindrical portion 8b, is provided with an annular seal member 43 made of a flexible material such as rubber and having an inner peripheral hole with a diameter slightly smaller than the outer cylindrical surface of the QC sample container 4. When the QC sample container 4 is inserted and held in the container case 8, this seal member 43 maintains an airtight seal between the outer cylindrical surface of the QC sample container 4 and the seal member 43, and the lower end of the QC sample container 4 is exposed below the annular holder 9.

[0046] At positions on the bottom disk portion 68 of the rotating disk 16 (see Figure 8, etc., described below) corresponding to each QC sample container 4, there are provided holding holes 69 that support the lower ends of the QC sample containers 4, and in cooperation with the annular sealing member 43, they hold the QC sample containers 4 vertically without contacting the inner circumference of the container case 8.

[0047] The container case 8 has a lid support shaft 44 provided on the outer edge of an opening 8c on its top surface, and the lid 36 that opens and closes the opening 8c is pivotally supported so as to be able to open and close freely around the lid support shaft 44. When the lid 36 is closed, a disk-shaped sealant 45 provided on the underside of the lid 36 comes into contact with the inside of the opening 8c of the container case 8, sealing the inside of the container case 8.

[0048] The lid support shaft 44 is provided between the adjacent container case 8' and a case hinge portion 46, which is a portion of the container case 8 extending forward, and a lid hinge portion 47, which is a portion of the lid 36 extending forward, so that when a container case 8 of the same shape is placed closely in front of the container case 8, the lid support shaft 44 does not interfere with the adjacent container case 8. In other words, the gap between adjacent container cases 8' is the smallest gap on the central axis, and the cases can be placed as close as about 1 mm, for example.

[0049] On the other hand, since the container cases 8 are cylindrical, the distance between them increases the further they are from the central axis, so it is preferable that the maximum width W1 of the case hinge portion 46 be slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the upper end of the container case 8 and be set within a range that does not interfere with the projection surface of the adjacent container case 8' in a plan view. The maximum width W2 of the lid hinge portion 47 is slightly smaller than the inner width of the case hinge portion 46 to provide a gap in the left-right direction, allowing the lid 36 to be opened and closed freely around the lid support shaft 44.

[0050] An example of a suitable position for the lid support shaft 44 will be described with reference to Figure 4(c). The lid 36 is provided with a sealant 45 that enters the container case 8 through the opening 8c in the top surface of the container case 8 and abuts against the inner periphery of the container case 8 to maintain airtightness when the lid 36 is fully closed. When the lid 36 is fully open, it is desirable to set the full-open angle to 90 degrees or more, for example, approximately 100 to 105 degrees, so that the sealant 45 is positioned outside the opening 8c in the top surface of the container case 8 in a plan view.

[0051] By opening the opening 8c on the top surface of the container case 8 in this manner, the gripping claws 40 of the container gripping device 33 are prevented from getting in the way when inserted into the container case 8 to grip the QC sample container 4, which is advantageous because it improves the reliability of the attachment and detachment operation of the QC sample container 4.

[0052] Here, in order to set the fully open angle of the lid body 36 to, for example, approximately 100° to 105°, the frontmost part of the case hinge portion 46 of the container case 8 is shaped to convex upward to form a locking surface 48, and part of the lid body 36 is shaped to form a locking protrusion 49 that convex outward in the left-right direction, so that when the lid body is fully open, the locking protrusion 49 abuts against the locking surface 48, which has the effect of accurately maintaining the fully open state.

[0053] A hook receiving portion 50 is provided on the top surface of the generally disk-shaped lid body 36 for opening and closing the lid body 36 by the action of an opening / closing hook 39. As shown in Figure 4(a) , the hook receiving portion 50 has a generally U-shape in plan view, and an end surface 51 of the hook receiving portion on the rear side is open.

[0054] As shown in Figure 4(b) when viewed from the rear, the hook receiving portion end surface 51 forms an inverted T-shaped lid groove 53, which is shaped so that the inverted T-shaped support portion 38 and the opening / closing hook 39 can be inserted into and removed from the lid groove 53. The shape of the lid groove 53 is symmetrical on both sides of the support portion 38, with the hook receiving portion 50 in between. The lid groove 53 is sometimes referred to as a recess. The rear end of the upper surface of the lid 36 may form a lid protrusion 52 parallel to the hook receiving portion end surface 51. The rear end of the upper surface of the lid 36, behind the hook receiving portion end surface 51, forms a flat region 50a.

[0055] From region 50a, support rod 38 moves horizontally forward and is inserted into anteroposterior lid groove 53 provided on the top surface of hook receiver 50 via hook receiver end surface 51, and opening / closing hook 39 is inserted between the top surface of lid body 36 and lid groove top surface 54 parallel to the top surface of lid body 36. Pushing support rod 38 downward closes lid body 36, and lifting support rod 38 with opening / closing hook 39 positioned below lid groove top surface 54 opens lid body 36.

[0056] The hook receiving portion 50 has a shape that protrudes from the upper surface of the lid body 36. The shape of the hook receiving portion 50 is such that it does not interfere with the lid body 36 or hook receiving portion 50 of the adjacent container case 8' when the lid body 36 is fully open.

[0057] The series of operations for opening the lid 36 will be explained with reference to Figure 7: (a) The opening / closing arm 37 is moved horizontally and lowered vertically so that the opening / closing hook 39 comes into contact with the upper surface of the lid 36 in an area 50a rearward of the hook receiving portion end surface 51. (b) The opening / closing arm 37 is moved horizontally in a direction approaching the lid support shaft 44. The opening / closing hook 39 is inserted into the hook receiving portion 50. (c) The opening / closing arm 37 is lifted. The lifting of the opening / closing hook 39 opens the lid 36 via the hook receiving portion 50. (d) The opening / closing arm 37 is moved horizontally toward the lid support shaft 44 to fully open the lid 36.

[0058] By the above operation, the cover 36 can be changed from the closed state to the fully open state.

[0059] Next, the positional relationship between the container cases 8 when the container cases 8 are arranged on the radii of three concentric circles in a straight line on the center line will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG.

[0060] Fig. 8(a) is a plan view, and Fig. 8(b) is a left side view, in which the annular holder 9 and the rotary disk 16 other than the container case 8 are shown in cross section. Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of Fig. 8(b) that also shows the container case 8 in cross section. The front is close to the central axis of the rotary disk 16, and the rear is close to the outer periphery of the rotary disk 16. Fig. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 9, in which the lid 36 of the container case 8 arranged on the middle circumference 20b is in a fully open state.

[0061] Figure 8 etc. shows a state in which the center-to-center distance between the container case 8 located on the inner circumference circle 20a, which is located at the front, and the container case 8 located on the middle circumference circle 20b is a minimum value L1, and the container cases 8 are located with a "minimum gap" of about 1 mm, for example.

[0062] In this case, the lid body support shaft 44 of the container case 8 arranged on the intermediate circle 20b, or the lid hinge portion 47 and case hinge portion 46 that constitute the lid body support shaft 44, overlap with the container case 8 arranged on the inner circle 20a in a side view, and the front end of the case hinge portion 46 of the container case 8 arranged on the intermediate circle 20b is located forward of the rear end of the container case 8 arranged on the inner circle 20a, or the lid protrusion portion 52 of the lid body 36.

[0063] In other words, the front end of the case hinge portion 46 arranged on the middle circumference circle 20b and the rear end of the container case 8 or the lid protrusion portion 52 of the lid body 36 arranged on the inner circumference circle 20a have an overlapping area of ​​"OL" when viewed from the side, and are arranged on the same radial line of the concentric circles.

[0064] By arranging container cases 8 having such a shape around the lid support shaft 44 close to each other in the front-to-back direction, the arrangement density of the container cases 8 can be increased, the diameter of the rotating disk 16 can be reduced, and the storage facility 11 can be made smaller.

[0065] However, such close placement is limited to the case where adjacently placed container cases 8 are placed on the same line along the front-to-rear direction, in other words, the opening direction of the lid body 36 .

[0066] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10, even when a pair of container cases 8, 8 arranged on the middle circle 20b and the inner circle 20a are arranged close to each other at a distance L1 (first radial distance), the dimensions are such that the hook receiving portions 50 provided on the upper surface of the lid body 36 of the container case 8 arranged on the middle circle 20b do not interfere with each other when the lid body 36 is fully opened.

[0067] 8 to 10 , the distance between the container cases 8 arranged on the inner circumferential circle 20b and the container cases 8 arranged on the outer circumferential circle 20c is a distance L2 (second radial distance) greater than the minimum value L1. Therefore, the lid support shafts 44 of the container cases 8 arranged adjacent to each other at the first radial distance overlap in side view, while the lid support shafts 44 of the container cases 8 arranged adjacent to each other at the second radial distance leave a gap in side view. In other words, the container cases 8 arranged outside the first circle (inner circumferential circle 20a) and on the same radial line of the concentric circle (inner circumferential circle 20b) are arranged closer to the first circle than to the circumference of the second circle (outer circumferential circle 20c).

[0068] Specifically, in a pair of container cases 8, 8 arranged at a distance L2 by being arranged on the outer circumferential circle 20c and the intermediate circumferential circle 20b, the lid body support shaft 44 of the container case 8 arranged on the outer circumferential circle 20c, or the lid hinge portion 47 and case hinge portion 46 constituting the lid body support shaft 44, are separated by a distance GAP from the container case 8 arranged on the intermediate circumferential circle 20b in side view, and the front end of the case hinge portion 46 arranged on the outer circumferential circle 20c is located rearward of the rear end of the container case 8 arranged on the intermediate circumferential circle 20b, or the lid protrusion portion 52 of the lid body 36. In other words, a gap of "GAP" is generated between the front end of the case hinge portion 46 arranged on the outer circumferential circle 20c and the rear end of the container case 8 arranged on the intermediate circumferential circle 20b, or the lid protrusion portion 52 of the lid body 36.

[0069] With such an arrangement, the container cases 8 arranged on the outer circle 20c and the container cases 8 arranged on the middle circle 20b do not necessarily have to be arranged in a straight line in the front-to-back direction, i.e., in the opening direction of the lid body 36, and will not interfere with each other, so they can be arranged in a position moved in the direction of the arrow relative to the "center line," i.e., in a position shifted from the middle circle.

[0070] As shown in Figure 10, the lid 36 is configured to open toward the center of the concentric circle, and in Figure 10, the state in which it is fully open toward the rear side of the container storage device 1, i.e., toward the outer periphery of the rotating disk 16, is shown by a dashed dotted line. When the lid 36 opens in this manner, the maximum radius of the rotating disk 16 expands from outer diameter 55a to outer diameter 55b. In other words, configuring the lid 36 to open forward, i.e., toward the central axis of the rotating disk 16, is suitable for reducing the size of the rotating disk 16, and therefore the size of the storage cabinet 11.

[0071] 11 shows an example in which container cases 8, 8, 8 of the same shape are arranged on three concentric circles, that is, an inner circle 20a, a middle circle 20b, and an outer circle 20c. Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a part of the state in which the container cases 8 are arranged in three layers on the rotary disk 16.

[0072] 11, the container cases 8 are arranged every 12° on the inner circumference 20a and the middle circumference 20b, and every 9° on the outer circumference 20c. That is, an example is shown in which three container cases 8 are arranged every 36° on the inner circumference and middle circumference, and four container cases 8 are arranged every 36° on the outer circumference.

[0073] On the "center line," the container cases 8, 8, 8 arranged on the inner circumferential circle 20a, the middle circumferential circle 20b, and the outer circumferential circle 20c are arranged in a straight line, as in FIG.

[0074] The container cases 8, 8 on the inner circumference 20a and the intermediate circumference 20b are arranged on circumferences with a difference in radius of a minimum distance L1. The radius R1 of the inner circumference 20a is determined as the radius that allows adjacent container cases 8 to be arranged on the circumference at a minimum interval, for example, a predetermined number N1 (an integer), evenly spaced with a gap of about 1 mm. If the diameter of the container case 8 is d and the minimum adjacent gap is δ, the circumference length is determined as (π × R1 × 2) = (d + δ) × N1. The arrangement radius of the intermediate circumference 20b is (R1 + L1), and since the number of container cases 8, 8 arranged on the intermediate circumference 20b and the inner circumference 20a is the same, it is also N1.

[0075] If the difference in radius between the outer circle 20c and the intermediate circle 20b is also L1, the placement radius on the outer circle 20c is (R1 + 2 × L1), and the number of container cases 8 placed on the inner circle 20a, the intermediate circle 20b, and the outer circle 20c are all equal, with the total number being (3 × N1).

[0076] Here, if the difference in radius between the inner circle 20b and the outer circle 20c is set to L2 (>L1), and the container cases 8 arranged on the inner circle 20b and the case hinge portions 46 of the container cases 8 arranged on the outer circle 20c are arranged at a distance such that they do not interfere with each other, the number of container cases 8 arranged on the outer circle 20c can be increased compared to the inner circle 20a or the inner circle 20b.

[0077] That is, if the radius of the outer circumferential circle 20c is (R1+L1+L2) and the number of container cases 8 to be arranged is N2 (>N1) (an integer), then up to the maximum integer N2 that satisfies the circumferential length {π×(R1+L1+L2)×2}≧{(d+δ)×N2} can be arranged. That is, since the radius of the outer circumferential circle 20c is large, the circumferential length is also large, and the number of arrangements can be increased.

[0078] In this way, there are provided a first pair (pair of inner circumference circle 20a and middle circumference circle 20b) of concentric circles arranged adjacent to each other at a first radial interval, where the number of container cases 8 that can be placed on the circumference of each circle is equal, and a second pair (pair of middle circumference circle 20b and outer circumference circle 20c) of concentric circles arranged adjacent to each other at a second radial interval wider than the first radial interval, where the number of container cases 8 that can be placed on the circumference of each circle is different.Furthermore, when the number of container cases 8 that can be placed on the circumference of the first of the concentric circles (inner circumference circle 20a, middle circumference circle 20b) is defined as the first placement number, and the number of container cases 8 that can be placed on the circumference of the second of the concentric circles (outer circumference circle 20c) that is arranged outside the first circle is defined as the second placement number, the second placement number is greater than the first placement number.

[0079] In this embodiment, the total number of container cases 8 is (2×N1+N2).

[0080] In this configuration, when the number N2 of arrangements on the outer peripheral circle 20c is greater than the number N1 of arrangements on the intermediate circle 20b, the container cases 8 on the intermediate circle 20b and the container cases 8 on the outer peripheral circle 20c do not necessarily need to be arranged on a straight line, but may be arranged on a straight line or may be deviated from the straight line. Hereinafter, arrangement on a straight line may be referred to as an in-phase arrangement or an in-phase arrangement. Furthermore, arrangement deviated from the straight line may be referred to as an out-of-phase arrangement.

[0081] If the inner circumference circle 20a, the middle circumference circle 20b, and the outer circumference circle 20c are all arranged out of phase with each other, the difference in radius between the inner circumference circle 20a and the middle circumference circle 20b and the difference in radius between the middle circumference circle 20b and the outer circumference circle 20c will both be L2 (>L1), and therefore the outer circumference circle 20c will be enlarged, which places a limit on how compact the storage facility 11 can be.

[0082] That is, for example, by arranging the inner circumference circle 20a and the middle circumference circle 20b in the same phase and arranging the middle circumference circle 20b and the outer circumference circle 20c in a different phase, the increase in the radius of the outer circumference circle 20c can be suppressed to a level that prevents interference with the lid hinge portion, while the number of container cases 8 arranged can be increased, which has the effect of improving the arrangement efficiency of the container cases 8 and making the storage facility 11 smaller.

[0083] In another embodiment, the inner circumference circle 20a and the middle circumference circle 20b can be arranged out of phase, with the number of middle circumference circles 20b being greater than the number of inner circumference circles 20a, and the middle circumference circle 20b and the outer circumference circle 20c can be arranged in the same phase, with the number of middle circumference circles 20b and the outer circumference circle 20c being equal.

[0084] As a result, in a triple or more concentric circle arrangement, by combining an in-phase arrangement and an out-of-phase arrangement, it is possible to simultaneously achieve a reduction in the size of the storage facility 11 and an increase in the number of container cases 8. Furthermore, since it is possible to arrange container cases 8, 8, 8 of the same shape on the inner circumference 20a, the middle circumference 20b, and the outer circumference 20c, there is an effect that parts can be standardized, facilitating production, maintenance work, and parts management.

[0085] A method for calculating the appropriate number of arrangements for each concentric circle will be described in detail later.

[0086] In the case of a double concentric arrangement, in the case of an in-phase arrangement, the same number of container cases 8 as can be placed on the inner circumference are also placed on the outer circumference, and if the container cases 8 are arranged so that the circumferential gap between adjacent container cases 8 placed on the inner circumference is minimized, the position or placement radius (inner circumference radius + L1) of the container cases 8 on the outer circumference is determined, and the dimensions of the storage facility 11 are almost uniquely determined from this.

[0087] On the other hand, if an unequal number arrangement is used, the arrangement radius of the container cases 8 on the outer periphery will be (inner radius + L2), so although the diameter dimension of the storage facility 11 will be larger than in the case of an in-phase arrangement, more container cases 8 can be arranged along the outer periphery arrangement circle than on the inner periphery, thereby increasing the number of container cases 8 that can be stored, improving implementation efficiency and achieving higher density.

[0088] Next, with reference to FIG. 12 and FIG. 11 as appropriate, a preferred example of the triple concentric circle arrangement of the container case 8 will be shown.

[0089] 12 is a plan view showing a configuration in which 30 container cases 8 are arranged at equal angular intervals, i.e., every 12°, on each of the inner and middle circles 20a and 20b, and 40 container cases 8 are arranged at equal angular intervals, i.e., every 9°, on the outer circle 20c. The total number of container cases 8 in this embodiment is 100. Here, the radial direction facing rearward of the rotating disk 16 is defined as the "origin" direction of the rotating disk 16, and in the "origin" direction, the container cases 8 on the inner circle 20a, middle circle 20b, and outer circle 20c are arranged in a straight line.

[0090] The container cases 8 on the inner circle 20a and the intermediate circle 20b are arranged every 12°, and the container cases 8 on the outer circle 20c are arranged every 9°, so that the container cases 8 on the inner circle 20a, the intermediate circle 20b, and the outer circle 20c are arranged in a straight line every 36°, which is the least common multiple of 12 and 9. In other words, the same arrangement pattern is repeated 10 times every 36° around the 360° circumference of the rotating disk 16. The number of container cases 8 arranged in one arrangement pattern is 1 / 10 of the total number of arrangements on the inner circle 20a, the intermediate circle 20b, and the outer circle 20c, so there are three container cases each on the inner circle 20a and the intermediate circle 20b, and four container cases on the outer circle 20c.

[0091] Next, the configuration of the encoder 56 that measures the rotation angle will be described with reference to Fig. 13. The encoder 56 is provided to rotate the rotary disk 16 and accurately stop a predetermined container case 8 when it has moved to the position of the shutter opening 32. This encoder 56 includes an encoder disk 57 formed of substantially double concentric circles, and an angle detection sensor 58, which is, for example, a transmission type optical sensor, and an origin detection sensor 59, which correspond to the respective circumferences.

[0092] The encoder disk 57 is configured to rotate integrally with the rotating disk 16. An origin light shielding portion 60 is provided at only one predetermined location on the inner periphery of the encoder disk 57, which shields the origin detection sensor 59 from light when the rotating disk 16 is positioned at the origin angle, making it possible to detect the origin angle position of the rotating disk 16.

[0093] N pairs of comb-like slits 61, which are gaps, and light-shielding portions 62 are alternately provided at regular angular intervals on the outer periphery of the encoder disk 57, so that light transmission and light blocking are repeated as the encoder disk 57 rotates, and the number of repetitions is counted by an angle detection sensor 58 to detect the rotation angle of the rotary disk 16. In this configuration, the angle φ formed between adjacent slits 61 is the resolution of the encoder 56.

[0094] Here, for example, if the encoder disk 57 is made of resin, the circumferential width of the outer periphery light-shielding portion 62 must be at least the same as a typical thickness, for example, 2.5 mm to 3 mm, otherwise there is a risk of breakage, and therefore there is a limit to the number of slits N per circumference of the encoder disk 57.

[0095] As an example, if the diameter of the encoder disk 57 is 200 mm, the circumference is 628 mm, and if the widths of the slits 61 and the light-shielding portions 62 are equal, each 3 mm, the number of slits per circumference is approximately 104, and if the widths are each 2.5 mm, the number of slits N is approximately 125. Here, as an example, if the number of slits N is 120, which is a divisor of 360°, the slits will be provided every angle φ = 3°, and this value becomes the angular resolution of the encoder 56.

[0096] In this way, in order to ensure the strength of the light-shielding portion 62, it is desirable not to make the angular resolution excessively small.

[0097] Furthermore, since the number of slits 61 that can be provided around the circumference of the encoder disk 57 is proportional to the circumferential length, i.e., proportional to the diameter, it is necessary to enlarge the diameter of the encoder disk 57 in order to increase the number of slits N. In other words, since it is desirable to reduce the diameter of the encoder disk 57 in order to reduce the size of the storage cabinet 11, it is most desirable to have a configuration in which the number of container cases 8 stored is increased while the number of slits N is small.

[0098] In another embodiment, if the number of container cases 8 on the inner circle 20a, the intermediate circle 20b, and the outer circle 20c are equal and arranged in a radial line at predetermined angles, the number of slits 61 in the encoder 56 only needs to be provided one for each predetermined angle, and the number of slits N is small. For example, if the number of container cases 8 on the inner circle 20a, the intermediate circle 20b, and the outer circle 20c is 30 each, arranged every 12°, and the total number of container cases 8 is 90, then 30 slits need only be provided every 12°. However, since the circumferential length of the outer circle 20c is long, the circumferential gaps between the container cases 8 on the outer circle 20c become large, increasing wasted space and limiting the miniaturization of the storage cabinet 11 or the improvement of storage efficiency.

[0099] In this embodiment, 30 inner circumferential circles 20a and 30 middle circumferential circles 20b are arranged every 12°, and 40 outer circumferential circles 20c are arranged every 9°. Since the greatest common divisor of 12° and 9° is 3°, if the resolution of the encoder 56 is set to 3°, the encoder 56 can detect the angular positions corresponding to all of the container cases 8. In other words, a predetermined container case 8 can be moved to the position of the shutter opening 32, and the QC sample container 4 in the container case 8 can be attached or detached by the container gripping device 33.

[0100] The number of slits N of the encoder 56 is 120, which is the least common multiple of the numbers of slits arranged on the circumference, 30 and 40, and the resolution of the encoder in this case is 360 / 120=3°.

[0101] As described above, in this embodiment, the container cases 8 on the inner circumference 20a, middle circumference 20b, and outer circumference 20c are arranged in a straight line at intervals of 36°. If the encoder disk 57 is positioned so that the angle detection sensor 58 detects the container cases 8 in a straight line along the shutter opening 32 and positions and stops the rotating disk 16 when the container cases 8 are arranged in a straight line along the shutter opening 32, then the angle detection sensor 58 can simultaneously position three container cases 8 by detecting only one slit 61, which is also efficient and effective in reducing the number of slits N of the encoder 56.

[0102] When the origin is detected, it is preferable to set the container cases 8 of the inner circumference 20a, the middle circumference 20b, and the outer circumference 20c to be arranged in a straight line at the shutter opening 32. That is, without rotating the rotary disk 16 at the origin position, it is possible to check the opening and closing operation of the lid bodies 36 by the lid opening / closing device 35 for the container cases 8 of the inner circumference 20a, the middle circumference 20b, and the outer circumference 20c, and to check the attachment and detachment operation of the QC sample containers 4 by the container gripping device 33. This has the effect of enabling the initialization operation or operation check at the time of daily power-on to be performed in a short time.

[0103] Here, as an example, when the container cases 8 are arranged in double or triple concentric circles, the relationship between the number of arrangements on each circumference and the angular resolution of the encoder 56 will be explained using the case of triple concentric circles as an example.

[0104] As explained above, it is desirable to have a combination of arrangement numbers that can reduce the number of slits N of the encoder 56. This number of slits N of the encoder 56 is the least common multiple of the numbers of containers arranged on each circumference of the triple circle. In other words, it is desirable to have a combination of arrangement numbers that can reduce the least common multiple of the numbers arranged on each circumference. It goes without saying that such a combination of arrangement numbers has common prime factors for each arrangement number, and the smaller the prime factors themselves, the smaller the least common multiple.

[0105] If the arrangement numbers are configured using only the smallest prime factor 2, the arrangement numbers on the outer periphery in the case of heterogeneous arrangement will be twice as many as those on the inner periphery. For example, from the inside, they will be 16, 16, 32, or 32, 32, 64. In this case, the arrangement numbers N on the inner and outer peripheries differ by two and a half, so the outer periphery circle 20c is significantly larger than the inner periphery circle 20a and the middle periphery circle 20b, which makes the storage facility 11 larger and limits the amount of miniaturization possible.

[0106] In other words, since the number N of the inner circumference circle 20a and the middle circumference circle 20b that can be arranged is only half the number of the outer circumference circle 20c, there is a large circumferential gap between the container cases 8 arranged on the inner circumference side, and the total number of container cases 8 that can be stored is small compared to the arrangement radius, which is not efficient.

[0107] The number of slits N in the encoder 56 is small because it is equal to the number arranged on the outer circumference 20c, but there is a problem in that the total number of container cases 8 stored is small, which is not conducive to miniaturizing the storage cabinet 11 and is not efficient.

[0108] For this reason, it is preferable to base the number on a monotonically increasing sequence with prime factors of only 2 and 3, rather than with prime factors of only 2.

[0109] As explained above, a sequence a(n) consisting of only prime factors 2 and 3, with pairs of the same value occurring consecutively and monotonically increasing, is used, and consecutive values ​​of the sequence a(n) are associated with each other from the inner periphery in ascending order. By multiplying these values ​​by a constant coefficient K, the number of container cases 8 to be arranged and the resolution of the encoder 56 are determined. Because the sequence a(n) consists of only prime factors 2 and 3, the increase in the least common multiple LCM can be kept to a minimum even if n increases, which has the effect of preventing the resolution of the encoder 56 from becoming too small.

[0110] In addition, in three or more concentric circles, the same number arrangement and the different number arrangement alternate on adjacent circumferences.

[0111] To generalize this, where M and K are integers, the number of container cases 8 arranged in M ​​concentric circles can be determined by multiplying M consecutive numbers, including different numbers, from a sequence a(n) that monotonically increases with two identical values ​​occurring in succession, with 2 and 3 as the only prime factors, by K, and arranging the container cases 8 on the circumference in order from the innermost to the innermost in ascending order of numbers, thereby achieving the effects described above.

[0112] In this embodiment, a preferred arrangement of the container case 8 that contains the QC sample container 4 and has a lid 36 on its top surface has been described, but what is placed on the annular holder 9 is not limited to the container case 8, and it may be a container with a bottom that has a lid on its top surface with a similar structure to that described above and contains a liquid such as a sample or reagent inside. Alternatively, the lid 36 may not be provided.

[0113] Furthermore, all the container cases 8 do not have to be identical, and for example, the container cases 8 or containers arranged on the inner and outer peripheries may have different shapes.

[0114] In the example shown in Figure 12 where the number of container cases 8 arranged is 30 / 30 / 40 from the inner circumference, totaling 100, the same arrangement pattern is repeated 10 times every 36° around the 360° circumference of the rotating disk 16, as described above.

[0115] Therefore, the annular holder 9 for holding the container cases 8 on the rotating disk 16 is not a single part, but is made into 10 holder members 63 divided into approximately fan-shaped sections at angles of 36° each, and each holder member 63 can hold 10 container cases 8.

[0116] In this way, the annular holder 9 is installed in each of the regions formed by dividing the circumference of the rotating disk 16 into an integer number N by setting boundaries that intersect with the circumference, and in this case, it is desirable that each region be formed by dividing the circumference of the rotating disk 16 into equal integer number N parts from the rotation axis toward the outer periphery.

[0117] It is preferable that the boundary line 64 between adjacent holder members 63 is shaped to connect adjacent container cases 8 on the inner circumference 20a and the middle circumference 20b, and adjacent container cases 8 on the outer circumference 20c.

[0118] Each holder member 63 is provided with ten arrangement holes for holding ten container cases 8. The ten arrangement holes are arranged on concentric circles, with three holes on the inner circumference circle 20a and the middle circumference circle 20b at intervals of 12°, and four holes on the outer circumference circle 20c at intervals of 9°. The holes on the inner circumference circle 20a, the middle circumference circle 20b, and the outer circumference circle 20c are arranged in a straight line on the radii of the concentric circles, and one set of holes is provided on the holder member 63.

[0119] Alternatively, the arrangement pattern can be repeated twice to form a 360° circumference by dividing the holder members 63 into five approximately sectorial shapes each having an angle of 72°. In this case, each holder member 63 can hold 20 container cases.

[0120] If the holder members 63 are formed in a fan shape, each individual holder member 63 can be made smaller than the integrated annular holder 9, which has the effect of reducing shrinkage and deformation during molding and making it easier to achieve part precision, particularly when the holder members 63 are formed from resin. Furthermore, if each holder member 63 is formed as a part of the same shape, it is possible to standardize the parts, which provides various advantages in terms of manufacturing, and is therefore more preferable.

[0121] If the boundary lines 64 between adjacent holder members 63 are spaced apart by, for example, 0.5 mm and have no overlapping portions in the vertical direction, it becomes possible to attach and detach only one holder member 63 independently to the rotating disk 16.

[0122] Therefore, when it becomes necessary to replace a holder member 63 for some reason, it can be replaced without affecting the other holder members 63, which has the effect of facilitating maintenance work and completing the work in a short time.

[0123] Furthermore, the container case 8 can be configured to be detachable from the annular holder 9 while maintaining its placement space, and can also be configured to be detachable from the annular holder 9 independently of other container cases 8.

[0124] Next, the configuration of the holder member 63 and the rotary disk 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17 and FIGS. 8 to 12 as appropriate.

[0125] 14 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the rotary disk 16 and the configuration for fastening the holder member 63 to the rotary disk 16. The configuration of screws or snap fits for fixing the container case 8 to the holder member 63 is omitted for convenience of illustration.

[0126] In this embodiment, the holder member 63 is divided into ten approximately sector-shaped portions each having an angle of 36°, and each holder member 63 holds ten container cases 8. The container cases 8 are configured so that the QC sample containers 4 held therein can be attached and detached in the vertical direction relative to the container case 8 by the container gripping device 33. When attaching or detaching a QC sample container 4, the QC sample container 4 is attached or detached against the frictional force between the seal member 43 provided on the container case 8 and the QC sample container 4. Therefore, the attachment of the holder member 63 must have both sufficient rigidity to prevent the container case 8 from shifting or tilting due to the frictional force when attaching or detaching the QC sample container 4, and high precision so that the container gripping device 33 can reliably grip the QC sample container 4.

[0127] The rotating disk 16 has an innermost mounting surface 65 fastened to the upper surface of the disk drive shaft 17 with screws (not shown), and transmits the rotational torque of the drive motor 18 to the disk drive shaft 17 while reducing the speed via a timing belt 19, thereby rotating together with the disk drive shaft 17. The lower end of the disk drive shaft 17 is a circular encoder disk 57, which is provided with a pair of a slit 61 and a light shielding portion 62, and an origin light shielding portion 60, as shown in FIG.

[0128] The outer peripheral side of the mounting surface 65 forms a cylindrical portion 66 that rises from the mounting surface 65 in a cylindrical shape and has a thickness in the vertical direction, so that the configuration has high rigidity and can ensure strength.

[0129] The outer periphery of the columnar portion 66 extends downward in a columnar shape to form an inner cylindrical wall surface 67 that forms the inner wall surface of the region that houses the container case 8 on the inner periphery side.

[0130] It further comprises an annular bottom disk portion 68 connected to the lower part of the inner cylindrical wall surface 67, a disk outer peripheral cylindrical wall surface 70 that rises cylindrically upward from the outer periphery of the bottom disk portion 68 and forms the outer wall surface of the area that houses the outer peripheral container case 8, and an outer peripheral flange portion 71 that is provided above the disk outer peripheral cylindrical wall surface 70 with a larger diameter than the disk outer peripheral cylindrical wall surface 70 and extends upward.

[0131] An opening is provided between adjacent container cases 8 on the inner periphery from the inner cylindrical wall surface 67 to the upper surface of the columnar portion 66, forming a rotary disk intake port 72 that draws cooling air to cool the inside of the storage facility toward the inside of the rotary disk 16.

[0132] The inner cylindrical wall surface 67 further has cylindrical positioning pins 75a extending upward in the same number as the holder members 63, which are used to position the holder members 63 between adjacent rotary disk intake ports 72, and in the portion between adjacent rotary disk intake ports 72 that does not have positioning pins 75a, an inner screw boss 76 is provided for fastening the holder members 63 with a screw.

[0133] In this embodiment, three container cases 8 are arranged on the inner periphery of one holder member 63, and therefore the inner peripheral screw bosses 76 are provided at two locations, one on either side of the positioning pin 75a. In this manner, in each region formed by each holder member 63 that constitutes the annular holder 9, the holder member 63 is fixed to the rotary disk 16 at a plurality of first positions (the inner peripheral screw bosses 76 and the screws 95) on the innermost side.

[0134] Although the case where there are two first positions (the inner peripheral screw boss 76 and the screw 95) has been described, the number of first positions may be one or three or more, and is not particularly limited.

[0135] The positioning pin 75a and the inner peripheral screw boss 76 are provided along the inner cylindrical wall surface 67, which has high rigidity, and therefore have high positioning accuracy and high rigidity.

[0136] Between the inner circumferential circle 20b and the outer circumferential circle 20c, two outer circumferential screw bosses 77, 77 are provided for each holder member 63 in the gap between the container cases 8 arranged on the inner circumferential circle 20b and the outer circumferential circle 20c. The outer circumferential screw bosses 77 are implanted into the bottom disk portion 68 of the rotary disk 16 and have a height that allows the holder members 63 to be fixed. As an example, the upper surface of the outer circumferential screw boss 77 may be at the same height as the upper surface of the inner circumferential screw boss 76. The inner circumferential screw boss 76 and the outer circumferential screw boss 77 are provided with female threads facing downward so that they can be screwed.

[0137] In this way, in each area formed by each holder member 63 that constitutes the annular holder 9, the holder member 63 is fixed to the rotating disk 16 not only at the first position but also at multiple second positions (peripheral screw bosses 77 and screws 95) that are further outward than the first position.

[0138] The preferred positions of these outer peripheral screw bosses 77, 77 will be described later.

[0139] Although the case where there are two second positions (the outer screw boss 77 and the screw 95) has been described, the second positions may also be one or three or more, just like the first positions, and are not particularly limited.

[0140] However, it is desirable to have two first and / or second positions, since it is desirable from the viewpoint of ease of manufacture and maintenance to firmly fix the first and / or second positions without increasing the number of screw fastening points.

[0141] An opening is provided in the disk outer cylindrical wall surface 70 corresponding to the container case 8 placed on the outer periphery, and serves as a rotating disk outlet 78 that discharges cooling air to cool the inside of the storage facility 11 from the outside toward the inside of the rotating disk 16.

[0142] A positioning pin 75 b that pairs with the positioning pin 75 a is provided between the outer periphery of the rotary disk 16 and the container case 8 arranged on the outer periphery circle 20 c and is used to position the holder member 63 .

[0143] The outer peripheral flange portion 71 is provided with, for example, two claw receiving holes 90 per holder member 63, into which the hook claw portions 88, which are protrusions extending from the holder member outer periphery 63c toward the outer periphery, are inserted.

[0144] Ribs 87 a are provided radially upward from the top surface of the bottom disk portion 68 , and the inner periphery of the ribs 87 a is in contact with the inner cylindrical wall surface 67 .

[0145] Furthermore, ribs 87b may be provided radially downward from the lower surface of the bottom disk portion 68.

[0146] The shape of the holder member 63 will be described with reference to the cross-sectional views of FIG. 15 and FIG.

[0147] 15 is a plan view of the holder member 63, which has a roughly 36° sector shape obtained by dividing the circumference of the annular holder 9 into ten parts, with the inner periphery being an arc-shaped holder member inner periphery 63b and the outer periphery being an arc-shaped holder member outer periphery 63c. The holder member 63 can be molded from, for example, polyacetal (POM) resin.

[0148] In this embodiment, the holder member 63 is provided with ten case holding holes 91 for holding the container cases 8, penetrating vertically. Three holes A1, A2, and A3 are provided at 12° intervals on the inner circumferential circle 20a, three holes B1, B2, and B3 are provided at 12° intervals on the middle circumferential circle 20b, and four holes C1, C2, C3, and C4 are provided at 9° intervals on the outer circumferential circle 20c. Here, holes A1, B1, and C1 are arranged in a straight line on a radius of a circle concentric with the support shaft 15, which is the central axis of the rotary disk 16. The distance between the inner circumferential circle 20a and the middle circumferential circle 20b, i.e., the distance between A1 and B1, is L1 shown in FIG. 8, and the distance between the middle circumferential circle 20b and the outer circumferential circle 20c, i.e., the distance between B1 and C1, is L2.

[0149] Furthermore, there are provided three plate-like tongues 92a, 92b that protrude further inward from the inner circumferential circle 20a, which is the innermost circumferential side of the substantially fan-shaped holder member 63. The central tongue 92a adjacent to A2 of the case holding hole 91 is provided with a positioning pin receiving hole 93a that corresponds to the positioning pin 75a provided on the rotary disk 16. The diameter of the positioning pin receiving hole 93a is slightly larger than the diameter of the positioning pin 75a, so that the holder member 63 can be attached to and detached from the rotary disk 16 from above, and the required mounting precision can be obtained when the holder member 63 is attached to the rotary disk 16.

[0150] Tongue-like portions 92b, 92b protruding from the holder member inner periphery 63b adjacent to A1 and A3 of the case holding holes 91 toward the central axis have screw holes 94b1, 94b2 corresponding to the inner peripheral screw bosses 76, 76, and are configured to be fastenable to the rotating disk 16 with screws 95. These inner peripheral screw bosses 76, 76 and screw holes 94b1, 94b2 are arranged on a circumference of radius R1 (sometimes referred to as the "first radius") from the rotational center axis of the rotating disk 16.

[0151] Of the case holding holes 91 arranged on the outer circumferential circle 20c, a positioning pin receiving hole 93b is provided on the underside close to the rotating disk 16 between C2 and C3 at a position corresponding to the positioning pin 75b. The positioning pin receiving hole 93b is an oval hole with its longitudinal direction facing the support shaft 15, and the width of the oval hole is slightly larger than the diameter of the positioning pin 75b, so that it does not hinder the holder member 63 from being attached to or detached from the rotating disk 16 from above, and also ensures the necessary attachment accuracy when the holder member 63 is attached to the rotating disk 16. Because the positioning pin receiving hole 93b is an oval hole, it can be reliably fitted even if there is an error in the distance between the positioning pins 75a and 75b on the rotating disk 16 and the distance between the positioning pin receiving hole 93a and 93b on the holder member 63.

[0152] That is, by fitting the positioning pin 75a into the positioning pin receiving hole 93a and the positioning pin 75b into the positioning pin receiving hole 93b, the holder member 63 can be positioned with high precision relative to the rotary disk 16. Furthermore, since the positioning pin receiving hole 93a is provided along the inner cylindrical wall surface 67 of the rotary disk 16, the positioning precision is high and the strength is also great, which has the effect of enabling the holder member 63 to be positioned with high precision.

[0153] In the area surrounded by B1 and B2 of the intermediate case retaining holes 91 and C1 and C2 of the outer peripheral case retaining holes 91, and in the area surrounded by B3 of the intermediate case retaining holes 91 and C3 and C4 of the outer peripheral case retaining holes 91, screw holes 94a1 and 94a2 are provided at positions corresponding to the outer peripheral screw bosses 77 and 77 provided on the rotating disk 16, respectively, so that the holder member 63 can be fastened by screws. These outer peripheral screw bosses 77 and screw holes 94a1 and 94a2 are arranged on a circumference of a radius R2 (sometimes referred to as the "second radius") from the rotational center axis of the rotating disk 16. Here, (second radius) > (first radius).

[0154] Here, a description will be given of suitable positions of the screw holes 94a1, 94a2 and the screw holes 94b1, 94b2.

[0155] It is desirable that all of the case holding holes 91 are reliably and firmly fixed when the holder member 63 is fastened with screws. To achieve this, it is preferable to provide screw holes adjacent to the case holding holes 91, and it is desirable that there are no openings such as other holes or narrow portions with weak strength between the case holding holes 91 and the screw holes.

[0156] The screw hole 94b1 provided on the inner periphery of the holder member 63 is disposed adjacent to the case holding holes 91 A1 and A2, with no other holes or narrow portions between the screw hole 94b1 and the case holding holes 91. Similarly, the screw hole 94b2 is disposed adjacent to the case holding holes 91 A2 and A3, with no other holes or narrow portions between the screw hole 94b2 and the case holding holes 91.

[0157] The screw holes 94a1 corresponding to the outer screw bosses 77, 77 are provided in the area surrounded by B1 and B2 of the middle case retaining holes 91 and C1 and C2 of the outer case retaining holes 91, and are therefore arranged adjacent to B1, B2, C1, and C2 of the case retaining holes 91.

[0158] The screw hole 94a2 is provided in an area surrounded by C3 and C4 of the outer case retaining holes 91 and B3 of the middle case retaining holes 91, and is therefore positioned adjacent to B3, C3, and C4 of the case retaining holes 91.

[0159] In other words, the seven case holding holes 91, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, and C4, which are provided on the middle and outer circumferences, are all adjacent to either of the screw holes 94a1 or 94a2, which is advantageous because it allows all of the container cases 8 to be firmly and precisely fixed to the rotating disk 16 via the holder member 63.

[0160] As an example of a different screw hole position, a case where a screw hole is provided at the alternative screw hole position 94c will be described.

[0161] In this case, although B2 and B3 of the case retaining holes 91 on the middle periphery and C3 of the case retaining holes 91 on the outer periphery are adjacent to the alternate screw hole position 94c, there is still room for improvement in strength because there is a narrow portion between B3 and C3 of the case retaining holes 91 between C4 of the case retaining holes 91 and the alternate screw hole position 94c. Also, because the distance between the alternate screw hole position 94c and C4 of the case retaining hole 91 is greater than the distance between the screw hole 94a and C4 of the case retaining hole 91, there is still room for more reliably suppressing the lifting of C4 of the case retaining hole 91 even when the screw 95 is fastened at the alternate screw hole position 94c.

[0162] Compared to such examples, the effect of selecting a position on the holder member 63 adjacent to the case holding hole 91 and providing screw holes 94a1 and 94a2 for fastening is clear, and this is preferable because it can improve the fixing strength and accuracy of the container case 8 via the holder member 63.

[0163] As an example of further screw hole positions, the first position may be two positions, one being a position evenly spaced from A1, A2, B1, and B2 of the case holding holes 91, and the other being a position evenly spaced from A2, A3, B2, and B3 of the case holding holes 91, and the second position being two positions near the hook claw portion 88.

[0164] As described above, the holder member 63 is fastened to the rotating disk 16 at two locations on its inner circumferential side, the inner peripheral screw boss 76 located at the "first radius," and at two locations on its outer peripheral side, the outer peripheral screw boss 77 located at the "second radius." The outer peripheral screw boss 77 has a cantilevered column structure erected from the bottom disk portion 68 of the rotating disk 16, but by fastening its upper end to the holder member 63, it is firmly fixed to the inner peripheral screw boss 76 via the holder member 63. Furthermore, since the upper ends of the two outer peripheral screw bosses 77 are fastened to the same holder member 63, the rotating disk 16 and the holder member 63 have a highly rigid structure similar to a rigid frame structure via a total of four screws, and can hold the container case 8 with high precision. This has the effect of providing a highly reliable rotating disk structure that is resistant to deformation and easily maintains its dimensional accuracy.

[0165] The screw holes 94a1, 94a2 on the outer periphery are located more inward than the container case 8 arranged on the outer periphery circle 20c. Therefore, a plurality of hooking claw portions 88 that are convex further outward are arranged on the holder member outer periphery 63c that is located more outer than the container case 8, and claw receiving holes 90 that are holes into which the hooking claw portions 88 can fit are formed in the outer periphery flange portion 71 provided on the outermost periphery of the rotating disk 16. When the holder member 63 is set in a predetermined position on the rotating disk 16, the hooking claw portions 88 fit into the claw receiving holes 90, preventing the holder member outer periphery 63c from floating upward relative to the rotating disk 16.

[0166] This configuration, combined with the fastening by screws, allows the holder member 63 to be fixed even more firmly to the rotating disk 16, and has the effect of providing sufficient rigidity to prevent deformation or bending due to vertical forces, particularly when attaching or detaching the QC sample container 4 from within the container case 8 via the container holding device 33.

[0167] Next, the flow of cooling air inside the storage cabinet 11 and the cooling of the container cases 8 and QC specimen containers 4 by the cooling device 14 will be described with reference to Figures 16 to 20, 3 and 14 as appropriate.

[0168] Figure 16 is a plan view of the rotating disk 16, and also shows the boundary line 64 of the holder member 63 and the arrangement of the second cylindrical portion 8b (second diameter), which is a cylindrical, narrow-diameter portion of the container case 8 in the storage facility 11 that protrudes downward from the holder member 63.

[0169] Figure 17 is a partially enlarged view of the A-A cross section of a container storage device similar to Figure 3. For the sake of explanation, the cold air outlet 23 and intake 22 are shown facing in the opposite direction to the left and right relative to the central axis of rotation of the storage cabinet 11 compared to Figure 3, but their function is the same.

[0170] FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the heat insulating material 13 of the storage cabinet 11, the rotating disk 16, the fixed disk 21 provided between the heat insulating material 13 and the rotating disk 16, and the flow of cool air.

[0171] FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the flow of cool air when the QC sample container 4 is removed vertically upward from the container case 8.

[0172] FIG. 20 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the flow of cool air when the rotary disk 16 rotates.

[0173] First, the flow of cool air when the rotary disk 16 is stopped will be described.

[0174] As shown in Figure 3, in the cooling device 14, cold air cooled by the cooling element 26 is blown into the internal space of the storage cabinet 11 from an outlet 23 located vertically below the annular holder 9 in the storage cabinet 11 and on the outer periphery of the rotating disk 16, and the air is drawn in from an intake port 22 located on the inner periphery of the storage cabinet 11 and on the inner periphery of the rotating disk 16, thereby creating a circulating flow within the storage cabinet 11 from the outer periphery to the inner periphery.

[0175] 18 , the heat insulating material 13 is substantially cylindrical, and its outer periphery extends vertically upward to form an outer periphery fixing portion 73 that supports the outer periphery of the fixed disk 21. Its inner periphery extends vertically upward to form an inner periphery fixing portion 74 that supports the inner periphery of the fixed disk 21. Furthermore, a separation wall 79 is provided on the outer periphery of the inner periphery fixing portion 74, with its upper surface in contact with the bottom surface of the fixed disk 21, as a partition wall that includes the intake port 22 in the region between the inner periphery fixing portion 74. The discharge port 23 is provided in the region between the separation wall 79 and the outer periphery fixing portion 73, i.e., outside the region between the inner periphery fixing portion 74 and the separation wall 79.

[0176] Since the cold air is discharged from the discharge port 23 into the inside of the thermal insulation material 13, the area on the outer periphery of the separation wall 79 becomes a positive pressure section 80 maintained at a positive pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. Since the cold air is drawn in from the intake port 22, the area on the inner periphery of the separation wall 79 becomes a negative pressure section 81 maintained at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure.

[0177] Since the outside of the separating wall 79 of the fixed disk 21 is maintained at a positive pressure, the cool air flows into the inside of the fixed disk 21 through the discharge opening 83, which is an opening provided in the outer peripheral portion 82 of the fixed disk. The presence of this discharge opening 83 leaves the vertically downward side of the second cylindrical portion 8b of the container case 8 and the vertically downward side of the annular holder 9 open.

[0178] Since the area inside the separation wall 79 of the fixed disk 21 is maintained at negative pressure, the cold air that flows into the interior of the fixed disk 21 from the discharge opening 83 is sucked in through the intake opening 85, which is an opening provided on the side of the cylindrical portion 84 of the fixed disk that protrudes in a cylindrical shape and is located in a range inner than the separation wall 79 of the fixed disk 21.

[0179] The cold air that flows into the interior of the fixed disk 21 from the discharge opening 83, which is an opening provided on the outer periphery 82 of the fixed disk, flows into the interior of the rotating disk 16 from the rotating disk discharge port 78, which is an opening provided on the outer periphery of the rotating disk 16, and cools the container case 8.

[0180] As shown in Figure 16, a container case 8 with an outer circumference 20c is provided just inside the rotating disk outlet 78 on the outer periphery of the rotating disk 16, so that the cold air flowing in from the rotating disk outlet 78 flows along the container case 8 with an outer circumference 20c and enters the interior of the rotating disk 16.

[0181] The cold air that has cooled the container case 8 is sucked in through the rotating disk intake port 72 provided in the cylindrical portion 66 on the inner periphery of the rotating disk 16, passes through the intake opening 85 provided in the inner periphery of the fixed disk 21, and is sucked in through the intake port 22 provided in the insulation material 13.

[0182] That is, the cool air flows from the outer periphery to the inner periphery, cooling the surface of the container case 8 .

[0183] Because the cold air flows from the outer periphery toward the inner periphery of the rotating disk 16, cooling the container cases 8, the temperature rises slightly toward the inner periphery, which is downstream. Meanwhile, because the interior of the rotating disk 16 is a cylindrical space and the inner periphery is shorter than the outer periphery, it is clear from the law of conservation of mass that the cold air flowing from the outer periphery toward the inner periphery of the rotating disk 16 accelerates radially and increases in flow velocity. Since the heat transfer coefficient increases toward the inner periphery where the surface flow velocity is faster, even a slight temperature rise in the inner periphery results in a large heat transfer coefficient. Therefore, a storage facility 11 can be realized in which the temperature difference between the inner and outer peripheries of the container cases 8 due to their placement is small, i.e., the storage facility 11 has uniform cooling capacity with little difference between the inner and outer peripheries.

[0184] Here, as shown in Figure 17, part of the cold air that flows into the rotating disk 16 from the discharge opening 83 provided on the outer periphery of the fixed disk 21 flows into the upper part of the holder member 63 through the narrow gap between the inner wall of the outer cylindrical portion 21a of the fixed disk 21 and the outer periphery of the rotating disk 16.

[0185] On the other hand, most of the cool air flows in along the outer periphery of the container case 8 through the discharge opening 83 of the fixed disk 21 and flows in the area below the holder member 63 .

[0186] The area above the holder member 63 is the first area where the container case 8 has a large diameter (first diameter d1), and as is clear from the plan view shown in Figure 11, the gap between the container cases 8 is small, so the flow path through which the cold air flows is narrow and the flow path resistance is high, resulting in a low flow rate of the cold air.

[0187] The area below the holder member 63 is the second area where the container case 8 has a small diameter (second diameter d2), and as shown in Figure 16, the gap between the container cases 8 is large, so the flow path through which the cold air flows is wide and the flow path resistance is small, resulting in a large flow rate of the cold air.

[0188] The cold air separated above and below the holder member 63 cools the container case 8, then passes through the rotating disk intake port 72 provided on the inner periphery of the rotating disk 16, the intake opening 85 provided on the fixed disk 21, and returns to the cooling device 14 through the intake port 22 of the insulation material 13.

[0189] As shown in FIG. 9 , a liquid 86, such as a QC sample, is stored in a QC sample container 4 held in a container case 8. If the maximum liquid level of the liquid 86 is set to, for example, the same as the holder member 63, the range of the liquid 86 is roughly the second region corresponding to the narrow diameter portion of the container case 8. The distance between the outer surface of the QC sample container 4 and the inner surface of the container case 8 is short, for example, about 1 mm, so the heat transfer coefficient between the outer surface of the container case 8 and the surface of the liquid 86 on the inner surface of the container is high. Therefore, a temperature difference is unlikely to occur, and the liquid 86 can be cooled efficiently. In this way, by preferentially flowing a large amount of cold air into the region below the holder member 63, the liquid 86 can be cooled even more efficiently.

[0190] Furthermore, the QC sample containers 4 are supported by a seal member 43 provided on the second cylindrical portion 8b at the bottom of the container case 8, and the second cylindrical portion 8b at the bottom of the container case 8 and the area of ​​the QC sample containers 4 below the seal member 43 are exposed to the space within the rotary disk 16. That is, the liquid 86 in the QC sample containers 4 that is essentially located in the area below the seal member 43, together with the second cylindrical portion 8b exposed from the annular holder 9, is directly cooled by the cold air supplied from the cooling device 14, so there is almost no temperature difference between the cold air and the liquid 86. Therefore, the liquid 86 in the QC sample containers 4 can be efficiently cooled, and there is little temperature difference between the cold air and the liquid 86, which has the effect of reliably cooling the liquid 86 and making it suitable for long-term storage.

[0191] Next, referring to FIG. 19, the flow of cool air when the QC sample container 4 is removed upward from the container case 8 by the gripping claws 40 of the container gripping device 33 is shown.

[0192] As explained above, the cylindrical side surface of the QC sample container 4 is held airtight by the annular seal member 43 at the lower end of the container case 8 .

[0193] Here, the control device 6 controls the container holding device 33 to grasp the QC sample container 4 held in the container case 8 and move the QC sample container 4 above the sealing member 43, thereby removing the QC sample container 4 from the container case 8.

[0194] Figure 19 (a) shows the state in which the gripping claws 40 have descended into the large diameter portion of the container case 8 to grip the QC sample container 4, Figure 19 (b) shows the state in which the gripping claws 40 have risen, moving the QC sample container 4 upward by H1, and the bottom of the QC sample container 4 has moved above the sealing member 43, and Figure 19 (c) shows the state in which the gripping claws 40 have risen further, moving the QC sample container 4 upward by H1, and the bottom of the QC sample container 4 has moved even higher than the step portion of the container case 8.

[0195] 19(a) to the state shown in Fig. 19(b), the side surface of the QC sample container 4 moves above the seal member 43, so that the QC sample container 4 acts like a piston, causing cold air near the bottom of the rotating disk 16 to flow through the seal member 43 into the container case 8. When the QC sample container 4 is further raised to the state shown in Fig. 19(c), the narrow diameter portion of the container case 8 is filled almost entirely with cold air near the bottom of the rotating disk 16.

[0196] This phenomenon is remarkable because the inner diameter of the second region of the container case 8 is roughly equal to the outer diameter of the QC sample container 4, leaving only a small gap, and the air inside the container case 8 after the QC sample container 4 is removed is filled with the cold air near the bottom, which is the coldest air inside the rotating disk 16. If the lid 36 is closed using the lid opening / closing device 35 after the QC sample container 4 is removed, the air that once flowed into the container case 8 remains mostly inside the container case 8, thereby suppressing temperature rise.

[0197] When returning the QC sample container 4 to the container case 8, the lid opening / closing device 35 is used again to open the lid body 36, the QC sample container 4 is inserted using the container holding device 33, and then the lid opening / closing device 35 is used again to close the lid body 36.This means that the inside of the container case 8 is filled with cold air, which suppresses temperature rise and keeps the liquid 86 in the QC sample container 4 at a low temperature, making it suitable for long-term sample storage.

[0198] Next, the flow of cool air when the rotating disk 16 is rotated will be described. The bottom disk portion 68 of the rotating disk 16 is provided with radial ribs 87a and 87b. The ribs 87a are provided on the side of the bottom disk portion 68 of the rotating disk 16 where the annular holder 9 and the like are present, and the ribs 87b are provided on the side of the bottom disk portion 68 of the rotating disk 16 where the fixed disk 21 and the like are present, each radiating from the central axis. With this configuration, the ribs 87a and 87b act as a so-called centrifugal fan, and when the rotating disk 16 is rotated, centrifugal force causes cool air near the bottom disk portion 68 to flow along the ribs 87a and 87b from the inner periphery to the outer periphery, as indicated by arrow V.

[0199] As explained above, the cold air from the cooling device 14 is at a positive pressure on the outer periphery side of the separation wall 79, so there is always a flow of cold air as shown by arrow U flowing from the outer periphery to the inner periphery regardless of whether the rotating disk 16 is stopped or not.

[0200] On the other hand, as the rotary disk 16 rotates, an additional flow of cold air is generated in the vicinity of the bottom disk portion 68, flowing from the inner periphery to the outer periphery, further increasing the positive pressure on the outer periphery side.

[0201] As a result, the cold air flow in the space between the bottom disk 68 and the holder member 63 flows from the outer periphery to the inner periphery near the upper holder member 63, whereas the cold air flow in the opposite direction, from the inner periphery to the outer periphery, near the bottom disk 68. As a result, a cold air vortex 96 as shown in Figure 20 is generated in the radial cross section, stirring the cold air in the space between the bottom disk 68 and the holder member 63. This results in a more uniform temperature distribution of the cold air within the rotating disk 16, reducing temperature variations. Furthermore, the cold air near the bottom directly cools the QC sample containers 4 exposed at the bottom end of the container case 8, which effectively cools the QC sample containers 4 and the liquid in the containers.

[0202] Furthermore, as the container cases 8 rotate together with the rotary disk 16 via the holder member 63, vortices are generated on the downstream side of each container case 8, further stirring the cold air. As the cold air moves violently relative to the container cases 8, the temperature boundary layer on the surface of the container case 8 becomes thinner, further reducing the temperature difference between the cold air temperature and the surface of the container case 8, accelerating the cooling of the container cases 8 and further improving the cooling of the QC specimen containers 4 in the container cases 8 and the liquid 86 in the QC specimen containers 4.

[0203] As described above, by using the cooling device 14 to create positive pressure on the outer periphery of the rotating disk 16 and negative pressure on the inner periphery, the amount of air flowing vertically downward from the annular holder 9 out of the air discharged from the outlet 23 is greater than the amount of air flowing vertically upward from the annular holder 9, and a steady flow of cold air from the outer periphery to the inner periphery is generated within the rotating disk 16, while when the rotating disk 16 rotates, the radially arranged ribs 87a, 87b create a flow in the opposite direction from the inner periphery to the outer periphery near the bottom of the rotating disk 16.By intermittently rotating and stopping the rotating disk 16, the flow of the cold air vortex 96 has the effect of equalizing the internal temperature.

[0204] Another embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 21. Similar to Figure 12, Figure 21 is a plan view showing the holder members 63 divided into sectors every 36° and arranged in a circular ring shape and fastened with screws. The difference from the embodiment is that the holder members 63 are not all the same shape, and a second holder member 63a capable of holding a second container case 97 with a larger diameter is intermixed. While only one second holder member 63a is provided in the example of Figure 21, the number is not limited to one and multiple second holder members may be provided. Alternatively, a third holder member capable of holding a third container case with a different diameter may also be intermixed.

[0205] With this configuration, container cases 8 containing QC sample containers 4 of different sizes can be stored mixed together in the storage cabinet 11, which has the effect of making it possible to store multiple types of QC sample, and providing a storage cabinet 11 with high expandability.

[0206] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0207] The container storage device 1 of the above-described embodiment comprises a container case 8 that holds a QC sample container 4 containing a liquid, a ring-shaped holder 9 that is configured to allow multiple container cases 8 to be arranged therein, and a cooling device, wherein the container case 8 comprises a first cylindrical portion 8a having a first diameter d1 and a second cylindrical portion 8b that is positioned vertically below the first cylindrical portion 8a and has a second diameter d2 that is smaller than the first diameter d1, and at least a portion of the second cylindrical portion 8b is held so as to be exposed from the ring-shaped holder 9, and the cooling device cools at least the second cylindrical portion 8b exposed from the ring-shaped holder 9.

[0208] In this way, since the structure cools the second cylindrical portion 8b with a small diameter below the container case 8, the area of ​​the QC sample container 4 where the liquid 86 is mainly present can be efficiently cooled with few intervening objects (part of the QC sample container 4, part of the second cylindrical portion 8b of the container case 8). This improves cooling efficiency and also improves cooling reliability as cooling is performed more reliably.

[0209] In addition, the cooling device has a cooling element 26 that generates cold air, an outlet 23 that discharges the cold air generated by the cooling element 26 toward the area where the second cylindrical portion 8b is located, and an intake port 22 that takes in air that has passed through the area where the second cylindrical portion 8b is located, so that cooling can be performed without taking in outside air, thereby achieving further improvement in cooling efficiency.

[0210] Furthermore, the device is further provided with a rotating disk 16 that holds the annular holder 9 on its circumference and is configured to rotate freely around a rotation axis, and the outlet 23 is arranged on the outer side of the circumference of the rotating disk 16, or the device is further provided with a rotating disk 16 that holds the annular holder 9 on its circumference and is configured to rotate freely around a rotation axis, and the intake port 22 is arranged on the inner side of the circumference of the rotating disk 16, so that the flow of cooling air within the rotating disk 16 flows mainly from the outer side to the inner side, which has the effect of reducing the temperature difference in the container case 8 caused by the positioning of the inner and outer peripheries and can generate a more uniform air flow, thereby further improving the reliability of cooling.

[0211] Furthermore, since the outlet 23 is located vertically below the annular holder 9, cold air can flow preferentially between the bottom surface of the rotating disk 16 and the annular holder 9, thereby allowing for more effective cooling below the container case 8 and further improving cooling efficiency.

[0212] Furthermore, of the air ejected from the outlet 23, the amount of air flowing vertically below the annular holder 9 is greater than the amount of air flowing vertically above the annular holder 9, so that most of the cold air flows through the area below the holder member 63, thereby more efficiently cooling the liquid 86 in the QC sample container 4.

[0213] The cooling system further comprises an insulating material 13 that houses the rotating disk 16 so that it can rotate freely around the rotation axis, and a fixed disk 21 that is provided between the rotating disk 16 and the insulating material 13, and the insulating material 13 has an outer peripheral fixed portion 73 that is provided on the outermost side and extends vertically upward to support the outer peripheral portion of the fixed disk 21, an inner peripheral fixed portion 74 that is provided on the innermost side and extends vertically upward to support the inner peripheral portion of the fixed disk 21, and a separation wall 79 whose upper surface contacts the bottom surface of the fixed disk 21 and is provided on the outer periphery of the inner peripheral fixed portion 74 so as to include the intake port 22 within its area and include the discharge port 23 outside its area, thereby easily realizing a structure that allows the cooling air supplied from the discharge port 23 to be more efficiently supplied to the area of ​​the liquid 86 and the air after cooling to be exhausted.

[0214] In addition, the vertically downward side of the second cylindrical portion 8b of the container case 8 and the vertically downward side of the annular holder 9 are open, and the QC sample container 4 is held so that at least a portion of the exposed part of the second cylindrical portion 8b of the container case 8 is exposed from the open annular holder 9.This allows the area of ​​the QC sample container 4 that mainly holds the liquid 86 to be cooled with only the container in between, resulting in a configuration that maximizes cooling efficiency.

[0215] Furthermore, the device further includes a rotating disk 16 that holds the annular holder 9 on its circumference and is configured to rotate freely around a rotation axis, and the rotating disk 16 has radial ribs 87a, 87b formed on the bottom thereof, so that when the rotating disk 16 is rotated, a flow in the opposite direction to the circulating flow that flows from the inner periphery to the outer periphery is created near the bottom disk portion 68, causing a cold air vortex 96 to be generated in the radial cross section, which stirs the cold air in the space between the bottom disk portion 68 and the holder member 63 and makes the temperature inside the storage cabinet 11 uniform. This has the effect of providing a container storage device 1 with less temperature unevenness and highly reliable cooling performance.

[0216] The apparatus further includes a container gripping device 33 that can grip and detach the QC sample container 4 and attaches and detaches the QC sample container 4 to and from the container case 8, a control device 6 that controls the operation of the container gripping device 33, and a seal member 43 that is interposed between at least a part of the second cylindrical portion 8b of the container case 8 and the QC sample container 4 held in the container case 8. The control device 6 grips the QC sample container 4 held in the container case 8, and moves the QC sample container 4 above the seal member 43 to remove the QC sample from the container case 8. By controlling the container holding device 33 to remove the container 4, when the QC sample container 4 is removed upward from the container case 8 by the gripping claws 40 of the container holding device 33, the QC sample container 4 acts like a piston, causing cold air near the bottom of the rotating disk 16 to flow into the container case 8 through the sealing member 43, thereby maintaining the container case 8 filled with cold air, thereby suppressing the temperature rise inside the container case 8 and more efficiently maintaining the liquid 86 in the QC sample container 4 at a low temperature.

[0217] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0218] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Container storage device (container storage cabinet) 2... Automatic analyzer 3... Analyzer (analysis section) 4... QC sample container (container) 5... Pretreatment device 6... Control device (control section) 7... First transport path 8... Container case 8a... First cylindrical section (first area) 8b... Second cylindrical section (first area) 8c... Opening (opening) 9... Circular holder (holder) 10... Storage cabinet central axis 11... Storage cabinet 12... Housing 13... Heat insulating material (jacket) 14... Cooling device 15... Support shaft 16... Rotating disk (holder holding disk) 17... Disk drive shaft 18... Drive motor 19... Timing belt 20a... Inner circumference circle 20b... Middle circumference circle 20c... Outer circumference circle 21... Fixed disk 21a... Outer cylindrical section 21b... Disk section 22... Intake port (cooling device) 23... Discharge port (cooling device) DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 24...Cooling air duct 25a, 25b...Cooling air blower fan (cooling device) 26...Cooling element (cooling device, cold air generating section) 27...Cooling fin 28...Heat dissipation fin 29...Heat dissipation fan 30...Exhaust port 31...Drum upper lid 32...Shutter opening 33...Container gripping device (container gripping mechanism) 34...Shutter 35...Lid opening / closing device 36...Lid body (lid section) 37...Opening / closing arm 38...Support section 39...Opening / closing hook 40...Opening / closing claw (gripping claw) 41...Second conveying path 42...Step section 43...Sealing member 44...Lid body support shaft (lid support shaft) 45...Sealing material 46...Case hinge section 47...Lid hinge section 48...Engaging surface 49...Engaging protrusion 50...Hook receiving section 51...Hook receiving section end face 52...Lid protrusion 53...Cover groove 54...Cover groove upper surface 55a, 55b...Outer diameter 56...Encoder 57...Encoder disk 58...Angle detection sensor 59...Origin detection sensor 60...Origin light-shielding portion 61...Slit 62...Light-shielding portion 63...Holder member 63a...Second holder member 63b...Holder member inner circumference 63c...Holder member outer circumference 64...Boundary line 65...Mounting surface 66...Cylindrical portion 67...Inner cylindrical wall surface 68...Bottom disk portion 69...Retaining hole 70...Disc outer cylindrical wall surface 71...Outer flange portion 72...Rotating disk intake port 73...Outer peripheral fixing portion 74...Inner peripheral fixing portion 75a, 75b...Positioning pin (positioning member) 76...Inner peripheral screw boss 77...Outer peripheral screw boss 78...Rotating disk discharge port 79...Separation wall 80...Positive pressure portion 81... Negative pressure portion 82... Fixed disk outer periphery 83... Discharge opening 84... Fixed disk cylindrical portion 85... Intake opening 86... Liquid 87a,87b... Rib 88... Hooking claw portion 90... Claw receiving hole 91... Case holding hole 92a, 92b... Tongue-shaped portion 93a, 93b... Positioning pin receiving hole 94a1, 94a2, 94b1, 94b2... Screw hole 94c... Screw hole alternative position 95... Screw 96... Cold air vortex 97... Second container case,

Claims

1. A container storage facility comprising: a container case for holding containers for containing liquid; a holder configured to allow a plurality of said container cases to be arranged; and a cooling device, wherein said container case comprises a first region having a first diameter and a second region located vertically below said first region and having a second diameter smaller than said first diameter, at least a portion of said second region being held so as to be exposed from said holder, and said cooling device cools at least said second region exposed from said holder.

2. A container storage cabinet as described in claim 1, wherein the cooling device has a cold air generating section which generates cold air, an outlet which discharges the cold air generated by the cold air generating section toward the area where the second area is located, and an intake port which draws in air that has passed through the area where the second area is located.

3. A container storage as described in claim 2, further comprising a holder holding disk which holds the holder on its circumference and is configured to be freely rotatable around a rotation axis, and the discharge port is located on the outer periphery of the holder holding disk.

4. A container storage cabinet as described in claim 2, further comprising a holder holding disk which holds the holder on its circumference and is configured to be freely rotatable around a rotation axis, and the air intake is located on the inner side of the circumference of the holder holding disk.

5. A container storage as claimed in claim 2, wherein the discharge port is provided vertically below the holder.

6. A container storage cabinet as described in claim 5, wherein, of the air discharged from the outlet, the amount of air flowing vertically below the holder is greater than the amount of air flowing vertically above the holder.

7. A container storage cabinet as described in claim 3 or 4, further comprising: a jacket that houses the holder holding disk so that it can rotate freely around a rotation axis; and a fixed disk provided between the holder holding disk and the jacket, wherein the jacket has: an outer circumferential fixed portion provided on the outermost side, extending vertically upward to support the outer circumferential portion of the fixed disk; an inner circumferential fixed portion provided on the innermost side, extending vertically upward to support the inner circumferential portion of the fixed disk; and a separation wall whose upper surface contacts the bottom surface of the fixed disk and is provided on the outer periphery of the inner circumferential fixed portion so as to include the air intake port within its area and include the air outlet port outside its area.

8. A container storage cabinet as described in claim 1, wherein the vertically downward side of the second region of the container case and the vertically downward side of the holder are open, and the container is held so that at least a portion of the portion exposed in the second region of the container case is exposed from the open holder.

9. A container storage as described in claim 1, further comprising a holder holding disk which holds the holder on its circumference and is configured to be freely rotatable around a rotation axis, and wherein radial ribs are formed on the lower part of the holder holding disk.

10. A container storage cabinet as described in claim 1, further comprising: a container gripping mechanism capable of gripping and detaching the container to attach and detach the container to and from the container case; a control unit which controls the operation of the container gripping mechanism; and a sealing member interposed between at least a portion of the second region of the container case and the container held in the container case, wherein the control unit controls the container gripping mechanism to remove the container from the container case by moving the container above the sealing member while gripping the container held in the container case.

11. An automatic analyzer comprising: a container storage unit according to claim 1; and an analysis unit that performs analysis using the liquid contained in the container.

12. A method for storing containers in a container storage facility comprising: a container case for holding containers containing liquid; and a holder configured to allow a plurality of the container cases to be arranged therein, wherein the container case comprises a first region having a first diameter and a second region located vertically below the first region and having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, at least a portion of the second region being held so as to be exposed from the holder, and at least the second region exposed from the holder is cooled.

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