Specimen conveyance device

Abstract

Provided is a specimen conveyance device enabling quick and easy replacement of a sliding part without changing a magnetic attractive force generated between magnetic poles and a magnetic body. This specimen conveyance device 501 conveys a specimen container 103 placed on the top surface of a conveyance plane 108 by means of electromagnetic force working between a magnet or magnetic body 104 and magnetic poles 107. The specimen conveyance device 501 comprises a reference position frame 202 that detachably supports the conveyance plane 108, said frame having a top surface position-regulating part 202A that contacts the top surface of the conveyance plane 108 and regulates the position of the top surface, and elevating mechanisms 301, 302, 303, 304 that support the bottom surface of the conveyance plane 108 and move the top surface of the conveyance plane 108 in the direction of contacting the bottom surface of the top surface position-regulating part 202A and the direction of moving away from the top surface position-regulating part 202A.

Description

Sample transport device

[0001] The present invention relates to a specimen transport device in a specimen testing automation system that performs the processes required for analyzing biological samples (hereinafter referred to as "specimens") such as blood, plasma, serum, urine, and other body fluids.

[0002] Sample testing automation systems for clinical testing perform tests on samples. Doctors' diagnoses and treatment plans are determined based on the results of these tests, so there is a demand for sample transport equipment that can automatically transport large volumes of samples to the analyzer without stopping, and sample transport equipment that can quickly resolve any problems that may arise.

[0003] An electromagnetic transport system is a sample transport device that transports a large amount of samples.

[0004] For example, a conveying system described in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of coils arranged along a conveying direction, each of the plurality of coils including a stator including a winding and a core, and a magnet arranged to face the plurality of coils. The conveying system also includes a mover that is movable along the conveying direction by electromagnetic forces that the magnet receives from the plurality of coils, and the stator includes one of a first conveying member and a second conveying member for guiding the moving mover in the conveying direction.

[0005] The first conveying member includes an upper conveying member and a lower conveying member installed so as to be positioned above and below the second conveying member, respectively, and the movable member has the other of the first conveying member and the second conveying member. The conveying position of the movable member is adjusted so that the upper surface of the magnet is positioned below or above an equilibrium position where the magnetic attractive force generated between the core and the magnet is balanced with the gravity acting on the movable member. The movable member is conveyed with the second conveying member in contact with the lower conveying member or the upper conveying member depending on the conveying position.

[0006] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-125979

[0007] The conveying system described in Patent Document 1 can reduce contaminants generated from the sliding parts of the mover and stator without increasing the size and complexity of the device.

[0008] However, in the conveying system described in Patent Document 1, the conveying position of the mover can be adjusted by balancing the magnetic attraction force generated between the core and the magnet and the gravity acting on the mover. However, since the conveying member for adjusting the conveying position is in contact with another conveying member, it is possible to reduce the amount of contaminants generated, but it is difficult to avoid the generation of contaminants and deterioration from the sliding parts.

[0009] It is difficult to prevent the sliding parts from generating contaminants or from deteriorating, so when the sliding parts deteriorate, they must be replaced with new sliding parts.

[0010] Replacing the sliding part in a specimen transport device requires stopping the device's operation, so it is desirable to perform the replacement in a short time. Furthermore, even after replacing the sliding part, the positional relationship (mutual distance) between the mover and the stator must remain the same as before the replacement of the sliding part. Therefore, when replacing the sliding part, an adjustment work is required to reinstall the mover and the stator so that the distance between them is constant.

[0011] This work is complicated, requires a large amount of work, and takes a long time.

[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide a specimen transport device in which the sliding part can be easily replaced in a short time without changing the magnetic attraction force generated between the magnetic pole and the magnetic body.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

[0014] A specimen transport device that transports specimen containers placed on the upper surface of a transport plane by electromagnetic force acting between a magnet or magnetic body and a magnetic pole has an upper surface position determining unit that contacts the upper surface of the transport plane and determines the position of the upper surface, and a lifting mechanism that supports the lower surface of the transport plane and moves the upper surface of the transport plane in a direction that brings the upper surface of the transport plane into contact with the lower surface of the upper surface position determining unit and in a direction that moves the upper surface away from the upper surface position determining unit, and is equipped with a reference position frame that detachably supports the transport plane.

[0015] According to the present invention, a specimen transport device can be provided in which the sliding part can be easily replaced in a short time without changing the magnetic attraction force generated between the magnetic pole and the magnetic body.

[0016] The distance between the magnetic pole and the magnetic material can be kept constant even when the thickness of the conveying plane becomes thin due to wear caused by sliding and the conveying plane is replaced, when the thickness of the replaced conveying plane differs from the thickness of the conveying plane before replacement due to variations in thickness, or when multiple conveying planes are overlapped but the number of conveying planes is changed.

[0017] Other problems, configurations and effects will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0018] Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the entire sample testing automation system including a sample transport apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of a sample transport apparatus according to a comparative example for comparison with the embodiments of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a side view of the sample transport apparatus according to the first embodiment; Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the lifting mechanism according to the first embodiment; Fig. 5 is a side view of the sample transport apparatus according to the second embodiment; Fig. 6 is a side view of the sample transport apparatus according to the third embodiment; Fig. 7 is a side view of the sample transport apparatus according to the fourth embodiment;

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a specimen transport device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] In the following examples, the components (including element steps, etc.) are not necessarily essential unless specifically stated otherwise or unless they are clearly considered essential in principle, etc. In addition, in the drawings used in this specification, identical or corresponding components are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and repeated explanations of these components may be omitted.

[0021] First Embodiment A specimen transport device 501 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall schematic configuration of a specimen testing automation system 1000 equipped with a specimen transport device 501 according to Example 1, and FIG. 2 is a side view of an apparatus according to a comparative example of the specimen transport device 501.

[0023] First, the overall configuration of a sample testing automation system 1000 equipped with a sample transport device 501 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0024] The specimen testing automation system 1000 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a system equipped with an analyzer 502 for automatically analyzing components of a specimen 101 (see FIG. 2) such as blood or urine.

[0025] The main components of the specimen testing automation system 1000 are a plurality of specimen transport devices 501 (eight in FIG. 1) that transport transport containers 102 (see FIG. 2) loaded with specimen containers 103 (see FIG. 2) containing specimens 101 or empty transport containers 102 not loaded with specimen containers 103 to a predetermined destination, one or more analyzers 502 (one in FIG. 1), and a control device 503 that performs integrated management of the specimen testing automation system 1000.

[0026] The analyzer 502 is a unit that performs qualitative and quantitative analysis of the components of the sample 101 transported by the sample transport device 501. The analysis items in this unit are not particularly limited, and the configuration of a known automatic analyzer that analyzes biochemical items or immunological items can be adopted. Furthermore, a plurality of analyzers 502 can be provided. In this case, the specifications of the analyzers 501 may be the same or different, and are not particularly limited.

[0027] Each transport device 501 is a device that transports a specimen container 103 containing a specimen 101 mounted on a transport container 102 to a destination (such as an analyzer 502 or an outlet) by sliding the specimen container 103 on a transport plane 108 (see FIG. 2) of a transport path using an electromagnetic force acting between a magnetic pole 107 (see FIG. 2) and a magnetic body 104 (see FIG. 2) provided on the transport container 102. Details thereof will be described in detail using FIG. 2 and subsequent figures.

[0028] The control device 503 controls the operation of the entire system including the transport device 501 and the analysis device 502, and is composed of a computer having a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an input device, a storage device, a CPU, a memory, etc. The control of the operation of each device by the control device 503 is executed based on various programs recorded in the storage device.

[0029] The control processes for the operations executed by the control device 503 may be integrated into one program, or may be divided into multiple programs, or may be a combination of these. Furthermore, some or all of the programs may be realized by dedicated hardware or may be modularized.

[0030] 1, the case where one analysis device 502 is provided is described, but the number of analysis devices is not particularly limited and may be two or more. Similarly, the number of transport devices 501 is also not particularly limited and may be one or more.

[0031] Furthermore, the specimen testing automation system 1000 may be provided with various specimen pre-processing and post-processing units that perform pre-processing and post-processing on the specimen 101 in addition to or in place of the analyzer 502. The detailed configuration of the specimen pre-processing and post-processing units is not particularly limited, and the configuration of a known pre-processing unit may be adopted.

[0032] Next, the configuration of a transport device 501A according to a comparative example to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] 2, a plurality of transfer containers 102, each carrying a specimen container 103 containing a specimen 101, are provided in the transfer device 501A. A magnet or magnetic body 104 is disposed on the bottom of each of the plurality of transfer containers 102.

[0034] The magnetic body 104 is made of a permanent magnet such as neodymium or ferrite, but may also be made of other magnets and soft magnetic materials, or may be an appropriate combination of these.

[0035] The conveying plane 108 is formed of a flat surface with low friction, and the magnetic poles 107 are arranged on the back side (lower side) of the conveying plane 108. In other words, the magnetic poles 107 are arranged on the lower surface side of the conveying plane 108.

[0036] The one or more conveying planes 108 are held by a frame 201 .

[0037] The transport container 102 having the magnetic material 104 slides on the transport plane 108. To generate the transport force, a plurality of magnetic poles 107 are provided below the transport plane 108, each of which is composed of a cylindrical core 106A and a coil 106B wound around the outer periphery of the core 106A.

[0038] In the specimen transport device 501A, the magnetic pole 107 is responsible for transporting the magnetic body 104, that is, transporting the transport container 102 or the transport container 102 with the specimen container 103 loaded therein.

[0039] A drive unit 109 is connected to the magnetic pole 107, which applies a predetermined voltage to cause a predetermined current to flow through the coil 106B. When a voltage is applied by the drive unit 109, the magnetic pole 107 functions as an electromagnet and attracts the magnetic material 104 of the transfer container 102 located on the transfer plane 108 by electromagnetic force. After the transfer container 102 is attracted by the magnetic pole 107, the drive unit 109 stops applying voltage to the magnetic pole 107, and the drive unit 109 applies voltage to a different magnetic pole 107 adjacent to the magnetic pole 107 in the same manner as described above, thereby attracting the magnetic material 104 of the transfer container 102 to the adjacent magnetic pole 107. Note that the generated drive force (electromagnetic force) is not limited to an attractive force and may be a repulsive force.

[0040] By repeating the procedure of applying the magnetic force to different adjacent magnetic poles 107 for all magnetic poles 107 of the multiple transport devices 501A that make up the transport path, the sample 101 contained in the sample container 103 held in the transport container 102 in which the magnetic material 104 is provided is transported to a destination within the sample testing automation system.

[0041] The control unit 110 calculates the current to be passed through each coil 106B using various information such as position information, speed information, and weight information of the transfer container 102, and outputs a command signal to each drive unit 109. The drive unit 109 applies a voltage to the corresponding coil 106B based on the command signal.

[0042] Furthermore, in the above configuration, the magnetic pole 107 is fixed to the base of the conveying device and the conveying container 102 having the magnetic body 104 is conveyed, but it is also possible to have a configuration in which the magnetic body 104 is fixed and the conveying container 102 having the magnetic pole 107 such as an electromagnet is conveyed.

[0043] Next, a characteristic configuration of the conveying device 501 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0044] The conveying device 501 includes a reference position frame 202. The reference position frame 202 includes a lifting mechanism 301 that can move up and down. The lifting mechanism 301 holds the conveying plane 108, for example, by sliding up and down. The reference position frame 202 has an upper surface position determining portion 202A that has a convex structure, for example, and by moving the lifting mechanism 301, the upper surface of the conveying plane 108 is raised until it contacts the lower surface of the upper surface position determining portion 202A of the reference position frame 202. In other words, the lifting mechanism 301 supports the lower surface of the conveying plane 108 and moves the upper surface of the conveying plane 108 in a direction that brings it into contact with the lower surface of the upper surface position determining portion 202A and in a direction that moves it away from the upper surface position determining portion 202A.

[0045] This allows the upper surface of the transport plane 108 to be positioned at the reference position of the reference position frame 202.

[0046] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the lifting mechanism 301, as viewed from the side opposite to the surface supporting the conveying plane 108 of the lifting mechanism 301 shown in FIG. 3 (as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3).

[0047] 4, a slit (vertical groove) 301C is formed in the reference position frame 202, through which the lifting mechanism 301 can move up and down. The lifting mechanism 301 can be fixed at any position in the slit 301C by a fixing member 301A and a fastening member 301B such as a screw via the slit 301C. By adjusting the fastening member 301B, the lifting mechanism 301 can move up and down within the slit 301C.

[0048] In other words, the lifting mechanism 301 has a fixing member 301A and a fastening member 301B, is inserted into a vertical groove 301C formed in the reference position frame 202, is moved within the vertical groove 301C, and is fixed to the reference position frame 202 by the fixing member 301A and the fastening member 301B.

[0049] The method of sliding the lifting mechanism 301 up and down and fixing it can be configured using a known mechanism.

[0050] The magnitude of the magnetic force acting between magnetic poles is proportional to the product of the magnetic quantities of each and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the magnetic poles. For example, if the magnetic pole 107 of the sample transport device 501 is an electromagnet that applies a pulse voltage to the coil 106B and the magnetic body 104 contained in the transport container 102 is a permanent magnet, if the thickness of the transport plane 108 between them is changed, the distance between the magnetic poles will change. This will change the magnitude of the magnetic force, and therefore the transport behavior of the transport container 102 will change if the same pulse voltage is applied as before the thickness of the transport plane 108 was changed.

[0051] Therefore, it is important to keep the distance between the electromagnet and the permanent magnet constant.

[0052] There are several possible reasons why the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104 changes.

[0053] One reason is that the thickness of the conveying plane 108 becomes thinner due to wear caused by sliding. In this case, wear occurs only in the portion where the conveying container 102 being conveyed and the conveying plane 108 slide against each other, and no wear occurs on the upper surface of the conveying plane 108 that contacts the lower surface of the upper surface position determination unit 202A that holds the conveying plane 108. Therefore, it is conceivable that the thickness of the conveying plane 108 in the portion held by the reference position frame 202 and not subject to sliding with the conveying container 102 remains unchanged, and only the portion of the conveying plane 108 where the conveying container 102 has been conveyed becomes thinner. In this case, the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104 becomes closer than it was at the initial conveying plane, and the magnitude of the magnetic force acting between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104 changes, which makes it necessary to replace the conveying plane 108.

[0054] Another problem is that the thickness of the transport plane 108 after replacement differs from the thickness of the transport plane 108 before replacement. If the thickness of the transport plane 108 differs before and after replacement due to manufacturing variations, the distance between the magnetic poles will differ if the transport plane 108 is held from below, as in the sample transport device 501A shown in Figure 2. This changes the magnitude of the magnetic force acting between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104.

[0055] Another example is when multiple stacked conveying planes 108 are changed in number. For example, suppose multiple stacked conveying planes 108 are held by a frame 201 as shown in Figure 2, and the topmost conveying plane 108 is scraped or deteriorated by a conveying container 102. If the topmost conveying plane 108 is removed and the next lower conveying plane 108 is used as the topmost plane, a new conveying plane 108 that is neither scraped nor deteriorated will appear at the top.

[0056] However, in this case, the thickness of the conveying plane 108 will be reduced by the amount of the removed protective material. For example, the same applies when one or more protective materials (sheets or films) are stacked on the conveying plane 108. If the topmost protective material is removed because it has been worn or deteriorated, the next protective material can be used as the topmost protective material. In this case, the thickness will also be reduced by the amount of the removed protective material.

[0057] In this way, it is conceivable that the change in thickness of the transport plane 108 will cause a change in the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104. In this case, one method can be considered in which the voltage to be applied is adjusted in accordance with the changed distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104, and the attractive force applied to the transport container 102 is changed, thereby preventing a change in the attractive force applied to the transport container 102 and preventing a change in the transport behavior of the transport container 102.

[0058] However, in order to increase the stability of the force applied to the transfer container 102, it is important to keep the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104 as constant as possible.

[0059] When the transport plane 108 needs to be replaced, for the reasons described above, it must be reinstalled so that the distance between the magnetic pole 107 of the sample transport device 501 and the magnetic material 104 contained in the transport container 102 remains constant.

[0060] It is a lot of work and not easy for the user to replace the transport plane 108 while appropriately adjusting the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic material 104. Furthermore, a large-scale specimen testing automation system 1000 may be equipped with hundreds of transport devices 501, which means that the transport plane 108 must be replaced more frequently, which is even more time-consuming.

[0061] By providing the reference position frame 202 to the conveying device 501, the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic material 104 is defined by the reference position. Also, when the conveying plane 108 is raised by the lifting mechanism 301, it is only necessary to raise the conveying plane 108 so that the upper surface of the conveying plane 108 presses against the reference position frame 202. Therefore, the conveying plane 108 can be held at the position defined by the reference position frame 202 without having to measure or adjust the distance between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic material 104 each time.

[0062] As described above, the specimen transport device 501 of the first embodiment includes the lifting mechanism 301 that holds and can raise and lower the transport plane 108, and the reference position frame 202 that serves as a reference position for the transport plane 108. By using the lifting mechanism 301 to raise the transport plane 108 until it contacts the upper surface position determining portion 202A of the reference position frame 202, the transport plane 108 can be easily positioned without changing the positional relationship between the magnetic pole 107 and the magnetic body 104. This allows the user to easily replace the transport plane 108 of the specimen transport device 501.

[0063] In other words, according to Example 1 of the present invention, a specimen transport device 501 can be provided in which the sliding part can be easily and quickly replaced without changing the magnetic attraction force generated between the magnetic pole and the magnetic body.

[0064] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0065] 5, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 denote the same parts, and therefore a repeated explanation will be omitted.

[0066] In Example 1, an elevator mechanism 301 was used that slid up and down to hold the conveying plane 108 relative to the reference position frame 202, but in Example 2, a change is made in that an elevator mechanism 302 is used that holds the conveying plane 108 using a screw or the like pushed out from the reference position frame 202.

[0067] 5 shows a side view of a specimen transport device of Example 2. Instead of the lifting mechanism 301 of the transport device 501 of Example 1, this configuration uses a lifting mechanism 302 having a push-out mechanism such as a screw (a screw in the illustrated example) 302A attached to the reference position frame 202 to lift the transport plane 108 until it contacts the lower surface of the upper surface position determining portion 202A of the reference position frame 202. The lifting mechanism 302 is fixed to the reference position frame 202, and moves the screw or push-out mechanism attached to the reference position frame 202 upward to move the transport plane 108 upward.

[0068] As a result, while the lifting mechanism 301 of Example 1 requires the conveying plane 108 to be fixed using a fixing member 301A and a fastening member 301B, the lifting mechanism 302 of Example 2 can fix the conveying plane 108 using a screw or an extrusion mechanism, thereby simplifying the configuration and making the fixing work easier.

[0069] That is, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and in addition, the configuration is simple and the fixing work can be made easy.

[0070] Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0071] 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 denote the same parts, and therefore a repeated explanation will be omitted.

[0072] In Example 1, an elevator mechanism 301 was used that slid up and down to hold the conveying plane 108 relative to the reference position frame 202, but in Example 3, the changes compared to Example 1 are that a first gear 303A is arranged in the vertical direction of the elevator mechanism 303 that holds the conveying plane 108, a second gear 303B is arranged on the reference position frame 202, engages with the first gear 303A, and drives the elevator mechanism 303, and a handle 303C is arranged on the reference position frame 202 and rotates the second gear 303B.

[0073] FIG. 6 shows a side view of a specimen transport device 501 according to the third embodiment.

[0074] 6, a first gear 303A and a second gear 303B form a rack and pinion. The first gear 303A is formed on the elevator 303, and the elevator 303 is supported so as to be movable in the up and down direction (support members are not shown).

[0075] The handle 303C is connected to the central shaft of the second gear 303B, and by rotating the handle 303C, the second gear 303B rotates, and the first gear 303A is driven vertically. The central shaft of the second gear 303B extends from the front side to the back side of the paper in FIG. 6 and is rotatably supported (supporting members are not shown). An appropriate stopper (not shown) is also provided to stop the vertical movement of the elevator 303.

[0076] With the configuration of Example 3, whereas in Examples 1 and 2, the user had to insert their hands or tools inside the specimen transport device 501, which has a narrow operating range, in order to raise the transport plane 108, the handle 303C located on the outside of the transport device 501 in Example 3 can be used to easily move the lifting mechanism 303 up and down, thereby moving the transport plane 10 up and down.

[0077] That is, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and also to easily move the lifting mechanism 303 up and down, thereby moving the conveying plane 10 up and down.

[0078] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0079] 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 denote the same parts, and therefore a repeated explanation will be omitted.

[0080] In Example 1, an elevator mechanism 301 was used that slid up and down to hold the conveying plane 108 relative to the reference position frame 202, but in Example 4, the elevator mechanism holds the conveying plane by the elastic force of a spring 304A or the like pushed out from the elevator mechanism 304 of the reference position frame 202, which is a change compared to the first example.

[0081] 7 shows a side view of a specimen transport device 501 of Example 4. Instead of the lifting mechanism 301 of the transport device 501 of Example 1, a lifting mechanism 304 is provided on the reference position frame 202, and an elastic pushing member 304A such as a spring (a spring is shown in the example) attached to the lifting mechanism 304 automatically pushes up the transport plane 108 until it contacts the upper surface position determining portion 202A.

[0082] As a result, while in Examples 1, 2, and 3, user action was required to raise the conveying plane 108, in Example 4, the conveying plane 108 can be automatically raised and maintained by the pushing force of the elastic pushing member 304A.

[0083] Furthermore, when replacing the conveying plane 108, in Examples 1, 2, and 3, it is assumed that the conveying plane 108 is replaced by loosening the hold of the conveying plane 108 by each lifting mechanism 301, 302, 303 that holds the conveying plane 108 and then removing the conveying plane 108 horizontally. However, in the case of the elastic pushing member 304A such as a spring in Example 4, it is assumed that the conveying plane 108 can be removed upward by pushing down one side of the conveying plane 108 and tilting the conveying plane 108.

[0084] If the transport plane 108 of the specimen transport device 501 is two rows wide or less, it is sufficient to be able to replace the transport plane 108 by removing it horizontally, but if the transport plane 108 of the specimen transport device 501 is three rows wide or more, it is useful to remove the transport plane 108 upward.

[0085] According to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and in addition, it is possible to more easily replace the conveying plane 108.

[0086] In the above-mentioned first to fourth embodiments, the illustrated examples are examples in which there is one conveying plane 108, but the present invention is also applicable to examples in which multiple conveying planes 108 are supported by the reference position frame 202.

[0087] Furthermore, in the above-described Examples 1 to 4, the magnetic material 104 is provided on the transport container 102 on the transport plane 108, and multiple magnetic poles 107 are arranged below the transport plane 108, but the present invention can also be applied to an example in which the magnetic pole 107 is provided on the transport container 102 on the transport plane 108, and multiple magnetic materials 104 are arranged below the transport plane 108.

[0088] 1000...Sample testing automation system, 101...Sample, 102...Transportation container, 103...Sample container, 104...Magnetic material, 106A...Core, 106B...Coil, 107...Magnetic pole, 108...Transportation plane, 109...Drive unit, 110...Control unit, 201...Frame, 202...Reference position frame, 202A...Top surface position determination unit, 301, 302, 303, 304...Lifting mechanism, 301A...Fixing member, 301B...Tightening member, 301C...Slit, 302A...Pushing mechanism, 303A...First gear, 303A...Second gear, 303C...Handle, 304A...Elastic pushing member, 501, 501A...Sample transport device, 502...Analyzer, 503...Control device

Claims

1. A specimen transport device which transports specimen containers placed on an upper surface of a transport plane by electromagnetic force acting between a magnet or magnetic body and a magnetic pole, comprising: an upper surface position determining part which comes into contact with the upper surface of the transport plane and determines the position of the upper surface; and a lifting mechanism which supports the lower surface of the transport plane and moves the upper surface of the transport plane in a direction which brings the upper surface of the transport plane into contact with the lower surface of the upper surface position determining part and in a direction which moves the upper surface away from the upper surface position determining part, and is characterized by having a reference position frame which detachably supports the transport plane.

2. A specimen transporting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the magnetic pole is arranged on the underside of the transport plane, the magnet or magnetic body is arranged on a transport container that transports the specimen container, and the lifting mechanism has a fixing member and a fastening member, is inserted into a vertical groove formed in the reference position frame, is moved within the vertical groove, and is fixed to the reference position frame by the fixing member and the fastening member.

3. A specimen transport device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the magnetic pole is arranged on the underside of the transport plane, the magnet or the magnetic body is arranged on a transport container that transports the specimen container, and the lifting mechanism has a push-out mechanism that pushes out the underside of the transport plane and brings the upper surface of the transport plane into contact with the underside of the upper surface position determination section.

4. A specimen transporting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the magnetic pole is arranged on the underside of the transport plane, the magnet or the magnetic body is arranged on a transport container that transports the specimen container, a first gear arranged in the vertical direction of the lifting mechanism, a second gear arranged on the reference position frame, meshing with the first gear and driving the lifting mechanism, and a handle arranged on the reference position frame for rotating the second gear.

5. A specimen transporting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the magnetic pole is arranged on the underside of the transport plane, the magnet or the magnetic body is arranged on a transport container that transports the specimen container, and the lifting mechanism has an elastic pushing member that pushes out the underside of the transport plane and brings the upper surface of the transport plane into contact with the underside of the upper surface position determining portion.

6. A specimen transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a plurality of said transport planes are supported by said reference position frame.

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