Automatic analyzer and sample treatment apparatus
View Patent ↗A sample treatment apparatus is designed to directly monitor a pressure signal from a pressure sensor to examine pressure fluctuations resulting from a sample's sway before a discharge of the sample, so that the discharge is performed after the confirmation of the absence of pressure changes. The apparatus has a detection function that allows a discharge to be started even before a pressure fluctuation vanishes completely, by allowing the operator to set a desired number of pressure monitorings, monitoring time, or pressure amplitude. The detection function also allows an alarm to be raised when a pressure fluctuation has not fallen within a given range. The sample treatment apparatus therefore allows discharge of more accurate amounts of samples.
1. An automatic analyzer comprising:
a reaction vessel adapted to receive a sample from a sample vessel and a reagent from a reagent vessel;
a reaction vessel retention mechanism for holding the reaction vessel;
means to subject the sample and the reagent in the reaction vessel to analysis;
a sample dispensing mechanism to draw a sample from the sample vessel into a cavity in the sample dispensing mechanism and to discharge the sample into the reaction vessel;
a nozzle in the sample dispensing mechanism for dispensing the sample, the nozzle having a nozzle cavity;
a pressure altering mechanism in the sample dispensing mechanism for changing the pressure inside the nozzle cavity to discharge the sample into the reaction vessel;
a nozzle transfer mechanism for transferring the nozzle between the sample vessel and the reaction vessel;
a pressure detecting mechanism in the sample dispensing mechanism for detecting the pressure inside the nozzle cavity; and
a control mechanism;
wherein the control mechanism includes:
a liquid-sway detecting function for detecting a liquid sway of the liquid inside the nozzle cavity based on the output from the pressure detecting mechanism; and
a control function for controlling the operation of the pressure altering mechanism based on the output from the liquid-sway detecting function.
2. The automatic analyzer of claim 1 , wherein the control mechanism operates such that the liquid drawn by the sample dispensing mechanism is discharged when the liquid sway detecting by the liquid-sway detecting function has become one of equal to and less than a given value.
3. The automatic analyzer of claim 1 , further comprising display means for displaying, when the liquid-sway detecting function has not become one of equal to and less than a given value within a given amount of time, a message to that effect.
4. The automatic analyzer of claim 1 , further comprising a pressure applying mechanism for applying a pressure to the nozzle cavity based on the liquid-sway detecting function so as to cancel out liquid sway.
5. A sample treatment apparatus comprising:
a sample dispensing mechanism to draw a sample into a cavity in the sample dispensing mechanism;
a nozzle in the sample dispensing mechanism and having a nozzle cavity for dispensing a liquid sample from the nozzle cavity;
a pressure altering mechanism for changing the pressure inside the nozzle cavity;
a nozzle transfer mechanism for transferring the nozzle;
a pressure detecting mechanism for detecting the pressure inside the nozzle cavity; and
a control mechanism;
wherein the control mechanism includes:
a liquid-way detecting function for detecting the liquid sway of the liquid inside of the nozzle cavity based on the output from the pressure detecting mechanism; and
a control function for controlling operation of the nozzle transfer mechanism based on the output from the liquid-sway detecting function.
6. The sample treatment apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the control mechanism operates such that the sample drawn into the nozzle cavity by the pressure altering mechanism is discharged when the liquid-sway detected by the liquid sway detecting function has become one of equal to and less than a given value.
7. The sample treatment apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising display means for displaying, when the output from the liquid-sway detecting function has not become one of equal to and less than a given value within a given amount of time, a message to that effect.
8. The sample treatment apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising a pressure applying mechanism for applying a pressure to the inside of the nozzle based on the output from the liquid-sway detecting mechanism to cancel out liquid sway.