Sample analyzer

• US 9,869,685 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2011
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sysmex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sysmex Corporation
• Inventors: Tokunaga, Kazutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): WRIGHT, PATRICIA KATHRYN
• Application Number:
  US13/051,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20110229374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,496 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00742 Type of codes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00782 reprogrammmable code
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/0443 for reagents
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00732 Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/04 Details of the conveyor system G01N35/021 - G01N35/028 take precedence

Abstract

A sample analyzer including: a first reagent container holding unit; a second reagent container holding unit being arranged on one side of the first reagent container holding portion; a reagent information reading unit; and a control unit. The reagent information reading unit includes an electric wave emitting portion, which is arranged on the other side of the first reagent container holding unit, for emitting a plurality of electric waves having mutually differing reaching ranges, and the control unit controls the reagent information reading unit to switch the electric wave emitted from the electric wave emitting portion in accordance with a read target being the first electronic tag or the second electronic tag.

Claims

1. A sample analyzer for analyzing a sample using a reagent in a reagent container comprising:

a first reagent container holding unit configured to hold a first reagent container attached with a first electronic tag recorded with reagent information regarding a reagent;

a second reagent container holding unit configured to hold a second reagent container attached with a second electronic tag recorded with reagent information regarding a reagent;

a reagent information reading unit which comprises an antenna portion configured to emit an electric wave to the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag and to receive a response electric wave from the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag, and which reads the reagent information recorded in the first electronic tag and the reagent information recorded in the second electronic tag based on the response electric wave received by the antenna portion from the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag;

a control unit configured to control the reagent information reading unit,

a detector configured to measure a component contained in a measurement sample prepared from the sample and at least one of the first reagent and the second reagent; and

a drive unit configured to move the first reagent container holding unit and the second reagent container holding unit,

wherein the first reagent container holding unit holds a plurality of first reagent containers and is formed to a substantially circular shape in a plan view;

wherein the second reagent container holding unit holds a plurality of second reagent containers and is formed to a substantially circular shape on an inner peripheral side of the first reagent container holding unit in the plan view,

wherein the antenna portion is arranged on an outer peripheral side of the first reagent container holding unit,

wherein the drive unit is configured to move the first reagent container holding unit to locate the first electronic tag of the first reagent container at a position facing the antenna portion when the first electronic tag is a read target,

wherein the drive unit is configured to move the first reagent container holding unit to locate a gap between first reagent containers held adjacent to each other at a position facing the antenna portion and to move the second reagent container holding unit to locate the second electronic tag of the second reagent container at a position facing the antenna portion when the second electronic tag is the read target,

wherein the control unit controls the reagent information reading unit to cause the antenna portion to emit an electric wave of a first reaching range to the first electronic tag, and to emit an electric wave of a second reaching range greater than the first reaching range to the second electronic tag, and

wherein the antenna portion is attached to a housing of the first reagent holding unit.

2. The sample analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the antenna portion includes a shared antenna for selectively emitting the plurality of electric waves having mutually differing reaching ranges, and

the control unit controls the reagent information reading unit to switch the electric wave emitted from the shared antenna in accordance with a read target being the first electronic tag or the second electronic tag.

3. The sample analyzer according to claim 2, further comprising a drive unit configured to move at least one of the first reagent container holding unit and the shared antenna,

wherein the control unit controls the drive unit to evacuate the first reagent container from a position facing the shared antenna when the read target is the second electronic tag.

4. The sample analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the antenna portion includes a first antenna configured to emit the electric wave of the first reaching range and a second antenna configured to emit the electric wave of the second reaching range;

and

the control unit controls the reagent information reading unit to switch an antenna to emit the electric wave to the first antenna or to the second antenna in accordance with a read target being the first electronic tag or the second electronic tag.

5. The sample analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether the reagent information is read from the electronic tag of a read target.

6. The sample analyzer according to claim 5, wherein the reagent information reading unit is configured to read, from each of the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag, a type specifying information for specifying a type of reagent;

and

the control unit determines whether the reagent information is read from the electronic tag of the read target based on the type specifying information read by the reagent information reading unit.

7. The sample analyzer according to claim 6, wherein the first reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the first reagent container which accommodates a reagent of a first type, and the second reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the second reagent container which accommodates a reagent of a second type that differs from the first type.

8. The sample analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the first reagent container holding unit is configured to hold a predetermined number of first reagent containers at equal respective intervals;

and

the second reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the predetermined number of second reagent containers at equal respective intervals.

9. The sample analyzer according to claim 1, wherein

the second reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the second reagent container at a first position lateral to the first reagent container held by the first reagent container holding unit;

and

the antenna portion is arranged at a second position lateral to the first reagent container held by the first reagent container holding unit.

10. A sample analyzer for analyzing a sample using a reagent in a reagent container comprising:

a first reagent container holding unit configured to hold a first reagent container attached with a first electronic tag recorded with reagent information regarding a reagent;

a second reagent container holding unit configured to hold a second reagent container attached with a second electronic tag recorded with reagent information regarding a reagent;

a reagent information reading unit which comprises an antenna portion configured to emit a electric wave to the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag and to receive a response electric wave from the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag, and which reads the reagent information recorded in the first electronic tag and the reagent information recorded in the second electronic tag based on the response electric wave received by the antenna portion from the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag;

a control unit configured to control the reagent information reading unit,

a detector configured to measure a component contained in a measurement sample prepared from the sample and at least one of the first reagent and the second reagent; and

a drive unit configured to move the first reagent container holding unit and the second reagent container holding unit,

wherein the first reagent container holding unit holds a plurality of first reagent containers and is formed to a substantially circular shape in plan view;

wherein the second reagent container holding unit holds a plurality of second reagent containers, and is formed to a substantially circular shape on an inner peripheral side of the first reagent container holding unit when seen in plan view;

wherein the antenna portion is arranged on an outer peripheral side of the first reagent container holding unit;

wherein the drive unit is configured to move the first reagent container holding unit to locate the first electronic tag of the first reagent container at a position facing the antenna portion when the read target is the first electronic tag;

wherein the drive unit is configured to move the first reagent container holding unit so as to locate a gap between the first reagent containers held adjacently each other at a position facing the antenna portion and to move the second reagent container holding unit so as to locate the second electronic tag of the second reagent container at a position facing the antenna portion when the read target is the second electronic tag, and

wherein the antenna portion is attached to a housing of the first reagent holding unit.

11. The sample analyzer according to claim 10, wherein the antenna portion includes a first antenna configured to emit the electric wave of a first reaching range and a second antenna configured to emit the electric wave of a second reaching range;

and

the control unit controls the reagent information reading unit to switch an antenna to emit the electric wave to the first antenna or to the second antenna in accordance with a read target being the first electronic tag or the second electronic tag.

12. The sample analyzer according to claim 10, wherein the control unit determines whether the reagent information is read from the electronic tag of a read target.

13. The sample analyzer according to claim 12, wherein the reagent information reading unit is configured to read, from each of the first electronic tag and the second electronic tag, a type specifying information for specifying a type of reagent;

and

the control unit determines whether the reagent information is read from the electronic tag of the read target based on the type specifying information read by the reagent information reading unit.

14. The sample analyzer according to claim 13, wherein the first reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the first reagent container which accommodates a reagent of a first type, and the second reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the second reagent container which accommodates a reagent of a second type that differs from the first type.

15. The sample analyzer according to claim 10, wherein the first reagent container holding unit is configured to hold a predetermined number of first reagent containers at equal respective intervals;

and

the second reagent container holding unit is configured to hold the predetermined number of second reagent containers at equal respective intervals.