Abstract: An automated analyzer includes a conveyance mechanism to convey a specimen, an analysis portion to analyze the specimen, and a device cover to cover a movable mechanism including the conveyance mechanism. The automated analyzer is provided with an interlock mechanism and an interlock release mechanism. The interlock mechanism stops an operation of the movable mechanism when the device cover is opened. The interlock release mechanism disables all or part of the interlock mechanism. The interlock mechanism is enabled when a lever 301 is in contact with a safety switch 302. The interlock mechanism is disabled or partially disabled when the lever 301 is not in contact with the safety switch 302. This enables to prevent a user from inadvertently touching the movable mechanism including a hazard region during analysis of the automated analyzer or a maintenance task. Only a specific maintenance task can be performed with the device cover opened.

Abstract: An automated analyzer includes a conveyance mechanism to convey a specimen, an analysis portion to analyze the specimen, and a device cover to cover a movable mechanism including the conveyance mechanism. The automated analyzer is provided with an interlock mechanism and an interlock release mechanism. The interlock mechanism stops an operation of the movable mechanism when the device cover is opened. The interlock release mechanism disables all or part of the interlock mechanism. The interlock mechanism is enabled when a lever 301 is in contact with a safety switch 302. The interlock mechanism is disabled or partially disabled when the lever 301 is not in contact with the safety switch 302. This enables to prevent a user from inadvertently touching the movable mechanism including a hazard region during analysis of the automated analyzer or a maintenance task. Only a specific maintenance task can be performed with the device cover opened.

Abstract: With an automatic analyzer for analyzing biological samples, it takes a fairly long time from when the power source of the analyzer is turned on until the analyzer reaches a state stable enough to start analyzing. Thus in order to deal with emergency analysis typically at night, the power source needs to be continuously turned on, which incurs power consumption. Accordingly, power switches are provided which, from among the components configuring the automatic analyzer, turn on and off the power source of the component serving as a heat source for raising the temperature inside the analyzer and the power source of the component as a cold source for lowering the temperature inside the analyzer. A startup mode is selectable corresponding to a temperature rise speed inside the analyzer following an analyzer startup and the on/off operations of the power switch coupled to each of the components is controlled accordingly.

Abstract: Reaction vessels and a reaction vessel detecting mechanism are disposed on the outer circumference of a reaction disk. A positional detector for detecting the position of a reaction vessel is placed on the track of the reaction vessels. A light source and a spectrophotometer are also disposed so as to sandwich one of the reaction vessels, thereby measuring the light intensity of the reaction vessels. With this arrangement, the steps of: repetitively starting and stopping the rotation of the reaction disk with high resolution; conducting photometric measurement while the reaction disk is being halted; and acquiring an absorbance distribution of the reaction vessels are performed. This makes it possible for an automatic analyzer, which examines particular constituents of a biological sample (e.g., blood and urine), to detect contaminants and scars on the reaction vessels in a separate manner, thereby ensuring the high quality of the reaction vessels.

Abstract: An automatic analysis device capable of reducing readers and suppressing production cost without lowering efficiency of read processing of code information attached to a reagent container is provided. The automatic analysis device includes one two-dimension code reader 21 reading code information of a two-dimension code label 14 attached to a reagent container 8 and a control device analyzing a sample to be a target of an analysis, the two-dimension code reader 21 computing position information of a position at which the two-dimension code label 14 is attached and outputting the position information with the read code information when reading the two-dimension code label 14 attached to the reagent container 8; and the control device determining an inner periphery and an outer periphery of a reagent cool box based on the position information and storing information related to a reagent with information of an installed place of the reagent container 8.

Abstract: In a liquid dispensing apparatus comprising a dispensing probe for sipping and injecting a liquid sample and a dispensing controller for operating the dispensing probe to ascend, descend and rotate, the liquid dispensing apparatus includes a sample moving device for moving a rack holding the liquid sample, a light beam generator, a photosensor for receiving a light beam reflected from a surface of the liquid sample, a computing unit for computing a liquid surface level based on an output signal from the photosensor, and a controller for controlling operations of those components in a supervising way and processing information necessary for the operations. With the liquid dispensing apparatus, precise information of the liquid surface level can be obtained before the start of the dispensing operation.

Abstract: In a liquid dispensing apparatus comprising a dispensing probe for sipping and injecting a liquid sample and a dispensing controller for operating the dispensing probe to ascend, descend and rotate, the liquid dispensing apparatus includes a sample moving device for moving a rack holding the liquid sample, a light beam generator, a photosensor for receiving a light beam reflected from a surface of the liquid sample, a computing unit for computing a liquid surface level based on an output signal from the photosensor, and a controller for controlling operations of those components in a supervising way and processing information necessary for the operations. With the liquid dispensing apparatus, precise information of the liquid surface level can be obtained before the start of the dispensing operation.

Abstract: In an FET switch for controllably allowing and inhibiting passage of an input signal in ON state and OFF state, respectively, FETs are connected in a multi-stage configuration. A control voltage adjusting circuit is connected between a gate and one of a drain and a source of each FET. The control voltage adjusting circuit adjusts a gate-source voltage so as to follow the variation of a drain-source voltage. The input voltage applied to the FET switch in OFF state is divided by the plurality of FETs. Since the variation of the gate-source voltage follows the variation of the drain-source voltage, the FET switch is hardly influenced by an amplitude of the input signal.

Abstract: A connector joins a fish line to a leader without the need of knotting the fish line. The fish line is passed through a cylindrical opening located at one end of a round shaft, then wound around several spiral grooves in the surface of the shaft, then passed through at least two lock holes which are approximately perpendicular to the cylindrical opening and are recessed so that the fish line does not protrude out when passing from one lock hole to another lock hole. A leader is secured to a leader opening at the other end of the shaft. A soft plastic tubing may be inserted into the cylindrical opening to prevent the weakening of the fish line while trolling.