TUBE SORTER, SAMPLE PROCESSING SYSTEM, AND SAMPLE TRANSPORTING METHOD

• US 20140037517A1
• Filed: 07/29/2013
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sysmex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sysmex Corporation
• Inventors: TAKAI, Kei
• Granted Patent: US 9,505,005 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/562
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 9/06 Test-tube stands; Test-tube holders
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 65/00 Loading or unloading of vehicles B65G67/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/0465 Loading or unloading the conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/02 using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations G01N35/0098 and G01N35/0099 take precedence

Abstract

A tube sorter comprising: a rack stocker configured to have stocked therein a sample rack capable of holding one or more sample tubes; a transporting section configured to transport a sample rack; a tube conveyor configured to perform an unloading operation of unloading a sample tube from a sample rack that was transported by the transporting section and a loading operation of loading the sample tube onto a sample rack supplied from or stocked in the rack stocker; and a rack conveyor configured to convey an empty sample rack or a sample rack to be emptied to the rack stocker, is disclosed.

Claims

1. A tube sorter comprising:

a rack stocker configured to stock therein a sample rack capable of holding one or more sample tubes;

a transporting section configured to transport a sample rack;

a tube conveyor configured to perform an unloading operation of unloading a sample tube from the sample rack that was transported by the transporting section and a loading operation of loading the sample tube onto a sample rack supplied from or stocked in the rack stocker; and

a rack conveyor configured to convey an empty sample rack or a sample rack to be emptied, that was transported by the transporting section, to the rack stocker.

2. The tube sorter according to claim 1, wherein

the transporting section includes a transport path for transporting a sample rack,

the tube conveyor unloads a sample tube from a sample rack on the transport path, and

when all of sample tubes on a sample rack are unloaded by the tube conveyor, the rack conveyor conveys the sample rack from the transport path to the rack stocker.

3. The tube sorter according to claim 1, wherein

the transporting section includes a transport path for transporting a sample rack,

the rack conveyor conveys a sample rack from the transport path to the rack stocker, and

the tube conveyor unloads a sample tube from the sample rack on the rack stocker.

4. The tube sorter according to claim 2, wherein

the rack conveyor conveys an empty sample rack from the rack stocker to the transport path, and

the tube conveyor loads a sample tube onto the empty sample rack conveyed to the transport path.

5. The tube sorter according to claim 2, wherein

the tube conveyor loads a sample tube onto an empty sample rack on the rack stocker, and

the rack conveyor conveys the sample rack on which the sample tube has been loaded, from the rack stocker to the transport path.

6. The tube sorter according to claim 2, wherein

when a predetermined condition is satisfied, even if a sample rack has become empty by all of sample tubes having been unloaded by the tube conveyor, the rack conveyor does not convey the sample rack from the transport path to the rack stocker, and

the tube conveyor loads a sample tube unloaded from another sample rack onto the empty sample rack on the transport path.

7. The tube sorter according to claim 1, further comprising:

a tube storage section capable of storing therein one or more sample tubes, wherein

the tube conveyor unloads a sample tube from a sample rack transported by the transporting section and stores the unloaded sample tube in the tube storage section, as the unloading operation, and loads a sample tube stored in the tube storage section onto a sample rack supplied from the rack stocker, as the loading operation.

8. The tube sorter according to claim 2, wherein

the rack conveyor includes a mechanism for pushing out a sample rack located at a predetermined position in the transport path, into a direction that crosses the transport path, and

the rack stocker is arranged at a position at which to receive the sample rack pushed out from the predetermined position.

9. The tube sorter according to claim 8, wherein

the rack stocker comprises a storage region capable of having one or more sample racks arranged therein, and

the storage region is capable of storing therein the sample racks arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport path.

10. The tube sorter according to claim 1, further comprising:

a controller, wherein

when the number of sample racks remaining in the rack stocker has become less than a predetermined number, the controller outputs a notification.

11. The tube sorter according to claim 1, further comprising

a controller;

and

a supplying apparatus capable of receiving a sample rack from a user, and

wherein the controller controls the transporting section to transport the sample rack received in the supplying section to a position where the tube conveyor performs the loading and unloading operations,

the controller controls the tube conveyor to perform the unloading operation when the sample rack transported to the position has one or more sample tubes to be sorted, and

the controller controls the rack conveyor to convey the sample rack to the rack stocker when the sample rack transported to the position is empty or emptied by the unloading operation.

12. The tube sorter according to claim 1, wherein

the transporting section is connected to a sample processing apparatus configured to process a sample in a sample tube, and sends out a sample rack on which a sample tube has been loaded by the tube conveyor, toward the sample processing apparatus.

13. The tube sorter according to claim 12, further comprising:

a tube housing section configured to house one or more sample tubes that do not need to be processed, wherein

the tube conveyor

(a) unloads a first sample tube that does not need sample processing by the sample processing apparatus, from a sample rack transported by the transporting section, and conveys the first sample tube to the tube housing section,

(b) unloads a second sample tube that needs sample processing by the sample processing apparatus, from a sample rack transported by the transporting section, and

(c) loads the unloaded second sample tube onto an empty sample rack supplied from the rack stocker.

14. The tube sorter according to claim 13, wherein

the transporting section further comprises a second transporting section configured to be able to receive a sample rack holding a sample tube and to supply the received sample rack to the transporting section.

15. The tube sorter according to claim 1, further comprising:

a controller; and

an identification information obtainer configured to obtain identification information of a sample tube held in a sample rack, wherein

based on the identification information obtained from one or more sample tubes on a sample rack, the controller controls the tube conveyor to sort the sample tubes.

16. The tube sorter according to claim 15, wherein

the controller selects, from among the sample tubes held in the sample rack, a sample tube to be unloaded, and controls the tube conveyor to unload the selected sample tube.

17. The tube sorter according to claim 16, wherein

the transporting section includes a forward line which runs along a front side of the tube storage section, and a back line which is connected to the forward line and runs along a rear side of the tube storage section, and

the tube conveyor unloads a sample tube from a sample rack on the back line.

18. A sample processing system comprising:

the tube sorter according to claim 1,

a sample processing apparatus configured to process a sample in a sample tube, and

a transporting apparatus configured to transport a sample rack holding a sample tube sorted by the tube sorter, to the sample processing apparatus.

19. The sample processing system according to claim 18, further comprising:

a rack supplying apparatus configured to be able to receive a sample rack from a user and to supply the received sample rack to the tube sorter, wherein

when an empty sample rack has been supplied by the rack supplying apparatus to the tube sorter, the rack conveyor conveys the empty sample rack to the rack stocker.

20. A sample transporting method employing a tube sorter, the rack transporting method comprising:

unloading one or more sample tubes held in a sample rack in accordance with a sorting rule;

setting the one or more unloaded sample tubes in another sample rack or in the tube sorter;

stocking, when the sample rack has become empty, the sample rack in the tube sorter; and

employing the empty sample rack in the tube sorter as a carrier of the sample tube set in the tube sorter.