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EP-4212882-B1 - SPECIMEN TRANSFER DEVICE AND SPECIMEN TESTING SYSTEM

EP4212882B1EP 4212882 B1EP4212882 B1EP 4212882B1EP-4212882-B1

Inventors

  • Hayama, Hidetaka
  • SATO, TOSHIKI
  • OHMAE, YUICHIRO

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230109

Claims (17)

  1. A specimen transfer device (40,70) connected to a rack transportation path (1a) of a specimen testing system (1), the specimen transfer device (40,70) comprising: an ascending/descending mechanism (42,72) configured to move a rack between a first ascending/descending position (P12, P22) at which the rack in a first tier (48, 78) is disposed, and a second ascending/descending position (P15, P25) at which the rack in a second tier (49, 79) is disposed; a container transfer mechanism (45, 74) configured to transfer a specimen container (110), from a first rack moved by the ascending/descending mechanism (42,72) from the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22) to the second ascending/descending position (P15, P25), to a second rack disposed in the second tier (49, 79) ; characterized in that the first tier and the second tier are overlapping each other in plan view; and the specimen transfer device (40, 70) further comprising: a rack waiting region (311, 431) disposed in the first tier (48, 78) and configured to cause the rack to stay in a waiting state between the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22) and a carrying-out position (P13, P23) to the rack transportation path (1a); and a first transportation mechanism (303, 319 to 322, 423, 439 to 442) configured to transport the first rack moved by the ascending/descending mechanism (42,72) from the second ascending/descending position (P15, P25) to the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22), through the rack waiting region (311, 431), to the carrying-out position (P13, P23), wherein the rack waiting region (311, 431) is a rectangular region between the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22) and the carrying-out position (P13, P23), the first transportation mechanism (303, 319 to 322, 423, 439 to 442) moves the first rack along the rack waiting region (311, 431) in a transverse direction of the first rack.
  2. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 1, wherein a carrying-in path (301) for carrying in the first rack is disposed in the first tier (48, 78) on a side opposite to the rack waiting region side with respect to the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22), and the specimen transfer device (40,70) further comprises a second transportation mechanism (303) configured to transport the first rack carried into the carrying-in path (301), to the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22).
  3. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 2, further comprising a reader configured to read, at the carrying-in path (301), identification information of the specimen container (110) held in the first rack.
  4. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second tier (49, 79) is disposed above the first tier (48, 78).
  5. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the specimen transfer device (40,70) is a specimen rearrangement unit (40) for rearranging specimens, the specimen transfer device (40) further comprising: a rack reserving section (361) disposed in the second tier (49, 79) and configured to reserve a third rack that is empty; and a third transportation mechanism (367) configured to transport the third rack reserved in the rack reserving section (361), to the second ascending/descending position (P15, P25), the specimen container (110) transferred to the second rack is transferred to the third rack by the container transfer mechanism (45, 74), and the third rack to which the specimen container (110) has been transferred is moved to the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22) by the ascending/descending mechanism (42,72), and transported through the rack waiting region (311, 431) to the carrying-out position (P13, P23) by the first transportation mechanism (303, 319 to 322, 423, 439 to 442).
  6. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 5, wherein the rack reserving section (361) is disposed on a side opposite to the second rack side with respect to the second ascending/descending position (P15, P25).
  7. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 5 or 6, further comprising; a rack setting section (362) in which an operator is allowed to set the third rack; and a fourth transportation mechanism (367) configured to transport the third rack set in the rack setting section (362), to the rack reserving section (361).
  8. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 7, wherein the rack setting section (362), the rack reserving section (361), the second ascending/descending position (P15, P25), and the second rack are aligned in order, respectively, from a front side of the specimen transfer device.
  9. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the rack waiting region (311, 431) is disposed on a front side of the specimen transfer device (40,70) as compared with the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22), and the rack transportation path (1a) is connected to the front side of the specimen transfer device (40, 70).
  10. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the specimen transfer device (40,70) is a specimen storage unit (70) for storing specimens, a tray (75) that is movable to outside of the specimen transfer device (40,70) is disposed in the second tier (49, 79), and the second rack is placed in the tray (75).
  11. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 10, wherein the second rack is disposed on a front side of the specimen transfer device (40,70) as compared with the second ascending/descending position (P15, P25).
  12. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of claim 10 or 11, wherein the rack waiting region (311, 431) is disposed on the front side of the specimen transfer device (40,70) as compared with the first ascending/descending position (P12, P22), and the rack transportation path (1a) is connected to the front side of the specimen transfer device (40, 70).
  13. The specimen transfer device (40,70) of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein a take-out section (472) for allowing a specimen container (110) to be taken out to outside is disposed in the second tier (49, 79), and the container transfer mechanism (45, 74) transfers a specimen container (110) to be taken out, from the second rack, to the take-out section (472).
  14. A specimen testing system (1) comprising; a specimen processing unit (52, 62) configured to process a specimen; the specimen rearrangement unit (40) of any one of claims 5-9; and a transportation unit (11, 12, 13, 20, 31, 51, 61) comprising the rack transportation path (1a), the transportation unit (11, 12, 13, 20, 31, 51, 61) configured to transport the first rack between the specimen processing unit (52, 62) and the specimen rearrangement unit (40).
  15. A specimen testing system (1) comprising: a specimen processing unit (52, 62) configured to process a specimen; the specimen storage unit (70) of any one of claims 10 to 13; and a transportation unit (11, 12, 13, 20, 31, 51, 61) comprising the rack transportation path (1a), the transportation unit (11, 12, 13, 20, 31, 51, 61) configured to transport the first rack between the specimen processing unit (52, 62) and the specimen storage unit (70).
  16. A specimen testing system (1) comprising: a specimen processing unit (52, 62) configured to process a specimen; the specimen rearrangement unit (40) of any one of claims 5 to 9; the specimen storage unit (70) of any one of claims 10 to 13; and a transportation unit (11, 12, 13, 20, 31, 51, 61) comprising the rack transportation path (1a), the transportation unit (11, 12, 13, 20, 31, 51, 61) configured to transport the first rack between the specimen rearrangement unit (40) and the specimen storage unit (70).
  17. The specimen testing system (1) of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the specimen processing unit (52, 62) is a smear sample preparation unit (52) for preparing a smear sample of a specimen.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-004695, filed on January 14, 2022, entitled "SPECIMEN TESTING SYSTEM, RACK TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, RACK TRANSPORTATION CONTROL DEVICE, AND RACK TRANSPORTATION METHOD", prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-004694, filed on January 14, 2022, entitled "SPECIMEN TRANSFER DEVICE AND SPECIMEN TESTING SYSTEM", and prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-004693, filed on January 14, 2022, entitled" CONTAINER TRANSFER METHOD AND CONTAINER TRANSFER APPARATUS". FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a specimen transfer device for transferring a specimen container held in a rack to another rack, and a specimen testing system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a specimen testing system, a specimen transfer device for transferring a specimen container held in a rack to another rack can be disposed together with other units such as a specimen measurement unit and a smear sample preparation unit. For example, a smear sample may be required to be prepared only for a predetermined specimen as a result of specimens in a plurality of specimen containers held in a rack having been measured by the specimen measurement unit. In this case, the rack is transported to the specimen transfer device, and a specimen container containing a specimen from which a smear sample is to be prepared is temporarily held in a rack in the specimen transfer device. The specimen container held therein is transferred to an empty rack together with other specimen containers held in the rack in the specimen transfer device. Thereafter, the rack is moved to the smear sample preparation unit, and a smear sample of the specimen contained in each specimen container is prepared. In this type of specimen testing system, time is required for processing of a specimen such as preparation of a smear sample and measurement of a specimen by another specimen measurement unit. Therefore, a rack waiting region in which a rack is caused to stay in a waiting state until end of processing for all of specimens held in a preceding rack is required. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-149162 discloses a specimen testing system including this type of specimen transfer device. In the configuration disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-149162, a rack waiting region in which a rack is caused to stay in a waiting state until end of processing for all of specimens held in a preceding rack needs to be provided outside the specimen transfer device. Therefore, the rack waiting region increases an installation area of the specimen testing system. Further related art may be found in US 2019/329983 A1, which describes a holder transport apparatus and in JP 2014 167458 A, which describes a specimen shift device. An object of the present invention is to provide a specimen transfer device that allows reduction of an installation area of a specimen testing system, and a specimen testing system that has a reduced installation area. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is defined by the appended independent claims. The dependent claims describe optional features and distinct embodiments. A specimen transfer device (40, 70) of the present invention is defined in claim 1. In the specimen transfer device of the present invention, the rack waiting region in which the first rack to be carried out to the rack transportation path of the specimen testing system is caused to stay in a waiting state is disposed in the first tier, and the specimen container is transferred from the first rack to the second rack in the second tier. Therefore, a rack waiting region in which the first rack is caused to stay in a waiting state need not be provided outside the specimen transfer device. Therefore, the installation area of the specimen testing system can be effectively reduced while high process efficiency is maintained. A specimen testing system (1) of the present invention includes: a specimen processing unit (52, 62) configured to process a specimen; a specimen rearrangement unit (40) configured to rearrange specimens; and a transportation unit (51, 61) including the rack transportation path (1a), the transportation unit (51, 61) configured to transport the first rack (100) between the specimen processing unit (52, 62) and the specimen rearrangement unit (40). The specimen rearrangement unit (40) has the same configuration as the above-described specimen transfer device. In the specimen testing system of the present invention, the rack waiting region in which the first rack to be carried out to the rack transportation path of the specimen testing system is caused to stay in a waiting state is disposed in the first tier, and the specimen container is transferred from the first rack to the second rack in the second tier. Therefore, a rack waiting region in which the first rack is caused to stay in a waiting state need not be p