IP Library Granted Patent US 10,605,818
Granted Patent B2
US 10,605,818 · App. 15/740,028 · Granted Mar 31, 2020

Automated analyzer

Inventors: Kazuhiro Noda (Tokyo, JP); Yukinori Sakashita (Tokyo, JP); Takushi Miyakawa (Tokyo, JP); Katsuhiro Kambara (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
G01N35/04G01N35/00G01N35/02G01N35/025B01L3/00B65B69/00G01N33/00G01N35/10G01N2035/00287G01N2035/00435G01N2035/0405
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,605,818
App. No.
15/740,028
Granted
Mar 31, 2020
Kind
B2
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 101 a - 101 c 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 101 a - 101 c . The lid holding mechanism 131 holds the lids 101 a opened by the reagent container lid opening and closing mechanism.

Claims (21)

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.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME AND ADDRESS Recorded Mar 30, 2020
From: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 052259/0227 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 27, 2017
From: NODA, KAZUHIRO; SAKASHITA, YUKINORI; MIYAKAWA, TAKUSHI; KAMBARA, KATSUHIRO
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 044488/0534 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2015-147753 · Jul 27, 2015 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20180188275A1 · Jul 5, 2018