CN-122029407-A - Liquid level detection device and liquid level detection method

Abstract

The invention aims to provide a liquid level detection device capable of judging the liquid level position with higher precision even in a non-contact mode. The liquid level detection device of the present invention includes a 1 st liquid level detection means for detecting the upper surface of the liquid in the container in a noncontact manner, a 2 nd liquid level detection means for detecting the upper surface of the liquid in the container in a contact manner, and a control means for correcting the detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection means by using the detection result of the 2 nd liquid level detection means. Preferably, the control device includes a storage unit that stores a correction value for correcting a detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection means, the correction value being calculated based on a difference between the liquid level position detected by the 1 st liquid level detection means and the liquid level position detected by the 2 nd liquid level detection means.

Inventors

• Fumikyo Horihata
• KAKUNO MASAHITO

Assignees

• 株式会社日立高新技术

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20241007

Priority Date

20231117

Claims (9)

1. 1. A liquid level detection device, comprising: A 1 st liquid level detection mechanism that detects an upper surface of the liquid in the container in a noncontact manner; a2 nd liquid level detecting mechanism for detecting an upper surface of the liquid in the container in a contact manner, and And a control device that corrects the detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection means by using the detection result of the 2 nd liquid level detection means.
2. 2. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 1, wherein, The control device has a storage section that stores a correction value for correcting the detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection mechanism, The correction value is calculated based on a difference between the liquid level position detected by the 1 st liquid level detection means and the liquid level position detected by the 2 nd liquid level detection means.
3. 3. A liquid level detecting device according to claim 2, wherein, Further comprises a container identification unit for determining the type of the container, The storage unit stores the correction values differently according to the types of the containers.
4. 4. A liquid level detecting device according to claim 2, wherein, Further comprising a liquid identification unit for determining the type of the liquid, The storage unit stores different correction values according to the types of the liquids.
5. 5. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 4, wherein, The storage unit stores the correction value different from that in the case where the liquid is blood and that in the case where the liquid is urine.
6. 6. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 5, wherein, The storage unit stores the correction value that is different in blood containing an anticoagulant and blood not containing an anticoagulant.
7. 7. A liquid level detecting device according to claim 2, wherein, The liquid is a sample of the sample, The 2 nd liquid level detection mechanism is provided in a dispensing processing unit that dispenses the specimen from the container to another container, The 1 st liquid level detection mechanism is provided between a sample loading unit for loading the container containing the sample and the dispensing processing unit.
8. 8. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 7, wherein, The control device further has an operation section for receiving an operation from a user, The operation section can select a mode in which the correction value is updated every time the sample is dispensed by the dispensing processing unit, and a mode in which the correction value is updated every time calibration.
9. 9. A liquid level detection method, comprising: A1 st liquid level detection mechanism for detecting the upper surface of the liquid in the container in a non-contact manner; a step of detecting an upper surface of the liquid in the container by a liquid level detection mechanism 2, and And correcting the detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection mechanism by using the detection result of the 2 nd liquid level detection mechanism by the control device.

Description

Liquid level detection device and liquid level detection method Technical Field The present invention relates to a liquid level detection device and a liquid level detection method. Background An automatic analyzer for qualitative/quantitative analysis of a sample such as blood or urine is currently used. A sample inspection automation system is also used that automatically performs a pretreatment step such as centrifugation of a sample and a transfer step of transferring the sample to each of the kinetic analysis devices. In the pretreatment step, the sample may be centrifuged, and the liquid surface of the centrifuged sample may be detected. For example, when the sample is blood, the blood is separated into serum (or plasma) and blood clot by centrifugation. After such centrifugal separation, the liquid level detection device of the specimen inspection automation system measures the interface of the layers and the liquid amount in the specimen container in a noncontact manner. Patent document 1 discloses a liquid surface detection device that detects a liquid surface existing in a sample container by controlling the relative positions of an irradiation unit and a detection unit so that the irradiation unit that irradiates light onto a part of the sample container containing a liquid substance moves in a direction parallel to the axis of the sample container, and by moving the detection unit in a linked manner to a position where transmitted light can be detected, and by detecting transmitted light over the entire length of the sample container. Prior art literature Patent literature Patent document 1 Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2005-516212 Disclosure of Invention Technical problem to be solved by the invention However, no study is made on the meniscus in patent document 1. Therefore, the meniscus determines a position higher than the actual liquid surface as the liquid upper surface, and there is a problem in terms of the detection accuracy of the liquid surface. In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid level detection device capable of determining a liquid level position with higher accuracy even when a non-contact system is adopted. Technical means for solving the technical problems In order to solve the above problems, a liquid level detection device of the present invention includes a1 st liquid level detection mechanism that detects an upper surface of a liquid in a container in a noncontact manner, a2 nd liquid level detection mechanism that detects an upper surface of the liquid in the container in a contact manner, and a control device that corrects a detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection mechanism using a detection result of the 2 nd liquid level detection mechanism. Effects of the invention The liquid level detection device of the present invention can determine the liquid level with higher accuracy even if a non-contact system is adopted. Drawings Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overall structure of the specimen inspection automation system. Fig. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing a liquid amount determination processing unit including the 1 st liquid level detection mechanism. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of liquid amount determination by the 1 st liquid level detection means. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the 1 st transmitted light data and the 2 nd transmitted light data. Fig. 5 is an explanatory view showing a specimen container formed with a meniscus. Fig. 6 is a general configuration diagram showing a dispensing process unit including the 2 nd liquid level detection mechanism. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a method in which the control device corrects the detection result of the 1 st liquid level detection means. Detailed Description Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the specimen inspection automation system. The sample inspection automation system includes a preprocessing device 800, a conveyance path 802, a plurality of sample transfer units 803, and a control device 804, and is connected to a plurality of analysis devices 801. The preprocessing device 800 is used to perform various preprocessing on the specimen contained in the specimen container 120. The transport path 802 transports the carrier 810 on which the sample container 120 is mounted between the pretreatment apparatus 800 and the analysis apparatus 801. The sample transfer unit 803 is provided between the transfer path 802 and each of the plurality of analyzers 801, and transfers the sample containers 120 between the carriers 810 transferred through the transfer path 802 and the rack for mounting and transferring the sample containers 120 in each of the analyzers 801. The control device 804 controls the operation of the entire sample inspection automation system. Then, the analysis processing is performed on the sam