Automated analyzer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10605818-B2
Application number	US-201615740028-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2016
Priority date	Jul 27, 2015
Publication date	Mar 31, 2020
Grant date	Mar 31, 2020

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to stably hold the lid of a reagent container in an open state without being influenced by reagent container lid opening and closing operations. An automated analyzer is provided with reagent containers 116-118, a cassette 100, a reagent container lid opening and closing mechanism, and a lid holding mechanism 131. The reagent containers 116-118 accommodate the reagent and have lids 101a-101c that pivot about a pivot point. The reagent containers 116-118 are mounted on the cassette 100. The reagent container lid opening and closing mechanism opens and closes the lids 101a-101c. The lid holding mechanism 131 holds the lids 101a opened by the reagent container lid opening and closing mechanism.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An automated analyzer comprising:
a reagent refrigerator that cold-insulates one or more reagents stored in one or more containers, the one or more containers each having a corresponding lid which is rotationally movable to be opened and closed;
wherein the reagent refrigerator includes
a container holder that is mounted with a plurality of the containers;
a lid opening/closing mechanism that rotationally moves the lids of the containers mounted in the container holder so as to open and close the lids, and
a lid holding mechanism that comes into contact with a part of a first lid of a first container of the one or more containers in a state in which the lids are opened by the lid opening/closing mechanism;
wherein the lid holding mechanism includes
a holding mechanism base part that is fixed to the reagent refrigerator;
a holding drive part that has a protrusion, the protrusion is rotationally movable in a direction which is different from a rotational movement direction of the lids, and the protrusion centering on a support pin, so as to come into contact with the first lid to maintain the first lid in the opened position; and
an elastic member that has one end fixed to the holding mechanism base part and the other end fixed to the holding drive part, and generates a bias force with respect to the holding drive part; and
wherein, in a case where the first lid is in the closed position, the protrusion of the holding drive part does not come in contact with the first lid, in a case where the first lid transitions from the closed state to the opened state, the holding drive part comes into contact with the first lid, and is rotationally moved centering on the support pin to a position where the first lid is not hindered from being rotationally moved when an external force is applied to the holding drive part, and, in a case where the first lid is in the opened state, the holding drive part rotationally moves the protrusion to a position to maintain the first lid in the opened position due to a biasing force of the elastic member exerted on the holding drive part.

2. The automated analyzer according to claim 1 ,
wherein the lid holding mechanism holds the first lid of a container located at the opened position where dispensing and stirring of a reagent in the first container is performed.

3. The automated analyzer according to claim 2 ,
wherein the lid opening/closing mechanism closes the lids of the one or more containers not held by the lid holding mechanism while the lid holding mechanism is holding the first lid of the first container in the opened position.

4. The automated analyzer according to claim 2 ,
wherein the first container of which the first lid is held by the lid holding mechanism in the opened position is a container storing a first reagent to be stirred by a reagent stirring rod.

5. The automated analyzer according to claim 4 ,
wherein the lid opening/closing mechanism closes the lids of the one or more containers storing the one or more reagents which are not stirred while the first reagent stored in the first container in the opened position is being stirred.

6. The automated analyzer according to claim 1 ,
wherein the elastic member is a tension spring.

Assignees

• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Noda Kazuhiro
• Sakashita Yukinori
• Miyakawa Takushi
• Kambara Katsuhiro

Classifications

• G01N2035/0405

  manipulating closing or opening means, e.g. stoppers, screw caps, lids or covers · CPC title

• G01N35/04 Primary

  Details of the conveyor system {(G01N35/021 - G01N35/028 take precedence)} · CPC title

• G01N35/10

  Devices for transferring samples {or any liquids} to, in, or from, the analysis apparatus, e.g. suction devices, injection devices {(G01N35/0099 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• G01N2035/00435

  Refrigerated reagent storage · CPC title

• G01N33/00

  Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00 · CPC title