Abstract: A test tube holder includes a main body and an adapter. The main body includes a cylindrical hollow portion for accommodating a test tube. The adapter is provided in the cylindrical hollow portion to hold the test tube. The adapter includes bottom portions, holding portions and loop portions, which are U-shaped as a whole. The bottom portions are located to cross the center axis of the cylindrical hollow portion. The loop portions are provided at the ends of the bottom portions, and coiled at least one. The holding portions are continuous with the loop portions and the bottom portions. The bottom portions of first and second spring steel wires are provided in the cylindrical hollow portion to intersect with each other. The holding portions of the first and second spring steel wires are projected upwards from the cylindrical hollow portion.

Abstract: A bar-code reading device having a container, a holder and a bar-code reader. The container has an outer circumferential surface on which a bar code is provided. The holder holds the container in an upright position. The bar-code reader reads the bar code from the container. A pulling mechanism pulls up the container from the holder until the bar code is completely exposed, when the bar code reader reads the bar code.

Abstract: A schedule management apparatus comprises a setting device, and a notifying device. The setting device sets a date and time and contents of schedule. The notifying device notifies the contents of the schedule at the set date and time.

Abstract: Provided is a punching apparatus for use in dispensing, having a blood specimen contained therein, and punching a dispensing hole in a plug body of a test tube serving as a specimen container closed by the plug body whose upper end opening is made of a rubber or synthetic resin material, the apparatus comprising a guide rail serving as a transport passage which transports the test tube while the plug body thereof is held at the upper side in a vertical state, an elevating mechanism provided at a punch position P in the middle of the guide rail, and an ultrasonic cutter which is supported by the elevating mechanism, and which is lowered when the test tube reaches the punch position, thereby punching a dispensing hole immediately before penetrating the plug body from a top face thereof.

Abstract: An apparatus main body which is arbitrarily elevated is provided in the middle of a guide rail which transports a test tube containing a blood specimen. A first movable base which turns around a first rotary shaft is provided at the apparatus main body, and a second movable base which turns around a second rotary shaft is provided on the first movable base. A pinch mechanism which pulls up the test tube and a sampling and dispensing probe which is retractably driven with respect to the test tube to sample the blood specimen inside the test tube are provided on the second movable base. When the blood specimen is sampled by the sampling and dispensing probe, the first movable base is turned to incline the test tube, and the second movable base is turned to incline the test tube with respect to the axis of the sampling and dispensing probe.

Abstract: A test tube holder includes a test tube insertion adapter having an adapter body and an elastic ring. The adapter body includes a flange section which contacts an opening of the cylindrical hollow, an annular section which ranges with the flange section and is fitted on the inner surface of the opening, a plurality of flat spring sections whose proximal end portions are arranged at regular intervals along the circumference of the annular section and connected to the annular section and whose distal end portions extend inward in the cylindrical hollow and bent toward the axis of the adapter body, and contact sections which are formed on the inner surfaces of distal end portions of the flat spring sections. The elastic ring is provided to bind the flat spring sections together while surrounding the outer surfaces of the flat spring sections.

Abstract: A test tube rack has a rack main body, a test tube insertion hole, a test tube bottom receiving part, and a test tube fitting adapter. The rack main body is constructed in at least three stages in which an upper plate, a middle plate and a lower plate are arranged parallel with an interval. The test tube insertion hole is provided on the upper plate and middle plate. The test tube bottom receiving part is provided in the lower plate. The test tube fitting adapter is provided in the test tube insertion hole, and supports a test tube with a different outside diameter. The test tube is supported at three positions such as the upper plate,the middle plate, and the lower plate, and held in the vertically stood state.

Abstract: A test tube holder has a holder main body, which has a cylindrical hollow portion for containing a test tube, and a test tube attachment adapter arranged in the cylindrical hollow portion. The test tube attachment adapter for holding a test tube is configured by plural leaf springs and coil springs and. Each of the leaf springs has a fixed portion, an elastic deformable portion and a test tube holding piece. The fixed portion is fixed to the inner circumference of the cylindrical hollow portion along the axial direction thereof. The elastic deformable portion extends along the circumferential direction from the fixed portion toward the center axis while leaning in the centripetal direction. The test tube holding piece is formed integrally with the elastic deformable portion. The coil springs bundle a top and a bottom end portions of the plural test tube holding pieces.

Abstract: A blood sample sensing apparatus comprising a moving device which moves a sample container containing a blood sample to a sensing position, a turning mechanism which is connected to the moving device and tilts the sample container such that a bottom of the sample container is directed upward when the sample container is located in the sensing position, and an optical sensor which is located in the sensing position and determines whether the blood sample in the sample container is coagulated.

Abstract: A specimen processing system according to the present invention includes a plurality of specimen processing units each having flat sides and a specimen operating surface and operated singly. The specimen processing units have at least the same depth dimension, and the specimen operating surfaces of the specimen processing units have the same height dimension. The system further includes a coupling section for closely coupling the right and left sides of the specimen processing units to each other and a single driving control unit for controlling a related operation of all of the specimen processing units coupled to each other by the coupling section and a single operation of a designated one of the specimen processing units.

Abstract: In an embodiment of the invention, a test tube cap removing apparatus includes a fixing unit that holds a test tube having an opening portion that is closed by a cap, a hold unit that is situated above the cap in an axial direction of the test tube, has a position that is variable relative to the test tube in the axial direction, and is capable of contacting a top portion of the cap, and a clamp unit that is provided on the hold unit, supports the cap at side surfaces of the cap in a case where the hold unit is put in contact with the top portion of the cap, and removes the cap from the test tube in a case where the hold unit moves upwards relative to the test tube in the axial direction.

Abstract: In a specimen sorting system, the presence of a specimen case holder can easily be detected, and specimen-related information relating to a specimen in a specimen case that is held by the specimen case holder can be obtained at the same time. In this specimen sorting system, an information transmission/reception tag is attached to the specimen case holder, and an information transmitter/receiver is disposed near the side of a conveyor lane that conveys the specimen case holder. The specimen case held by the specimen case holder is sorted on the basis of information transmission/reception between the information transmission/reception tag and information transmitter/receiver.

Abstract: A specimen conveying system according to the present invention selectively supplies specimens, which are carried in by a specimen carry-in line having conveyor-belt type conveying lane, to a plurality of specimen processing lines each having a conveyor-belt type conveying lane which perform respective specific processes for the specimens. The supply of the specimens to the specimen processing lines is performed using a motor vehicle whose running is controlled by running control means including means for transmitting a command given from a host computer. The configuration of the whole system is simplified to lower the costs, and an operating passage, which crosses the conveying line, is secured to improve the efficiency of the entire specimen processing operation.

Abstract: A motor vehicle that runs along a designated running route includes a steering unit for rotating four wheels nearly at the right angle to steer the motor vehicle. The steering unit allows the motor vehicle to turn at the right angle at a square corner section without changing the posture of a vehicle body.

Abstract: A specimen holder numbering device comprises a specimen holder carry-in section which carries in a specimen holder, an identification number printing section and a specimen holder carry-out section. The identification number printing section prints a particular identification number on the specimen holder carried in by the specimen holder carry-in section. The identification number printing section includes an ink-jet painting unit for coating the outer peripheral surface of the specimen holder with an undercoating color, and an ink-jet printing unit for printing the particular identification number on the specimen holder coated with the undercoating color. The specimen holder carry-out section sorts out the specimen holder in accordance with the identification number printed thereon, and carries out the sorted specimen holder.

Abstract: A bar code generating apparatus includes a specimen container holder which holds a container containing a specimen, a holder conveyance device which conveys the specimen container holder, a sensor which senses that the specimen container holder is conveyed to a specific position, a conveyance temporary stop mechanism which operates based on the information output from the sensor and temporarily stops conveyance of the specimen container holder, a rotation control mechanism which rotates the specimen container holder, which stops temporarily, on an axis of the holder, an electronic camera which picks up an image of recording information on the surface of the specimen container held by the rotated specimen container holder, and a bar-coding device which codes the recording information into a bar code based on data of the picked-up image.

Abstract: A specimen centrifuge apparatus includes a rotating disc having a plurality of slots arranged radially from a rotation axis of the rotating disc and specimen container buckets mounted in the slots. Each of the buckets is located such that a longitudinal direction of a container storing section of the bucket containing a plurality of tube-type specimen containers is set toward a radial direction of the rotating disc and shakably mounted such that a bottom of the container storing section is set in a circumferential direction of the rotating disc by centrifugal force caused when the rotation disc rotates.

Abstract: A specimen centrifuge apparatus comprises a specimen container carry-in system and a specimen container carry-out system. The specimen container carry-in system has a specimen container carry-in conveyor for loading pre-processed specimen containers into specimen centrifuge units stacked one on another in a centrifuge device, a carry-in elevator, a carry-in transfer arm, and a loading arm. The specimen container carry-out system has a specimen container carry-out conveyor for unloading the processed specimen containers from the specimen centrifuges, a carry-out elevator, a carry-out transfer arm, and an unloading arm.

Abstract: A specimen-inspection preprocessing apparatus according to the present invention includes a desk-type housing and a plurality of specimen processing units arranged on the desk-type housing, and at least some of the plurality of specimen processing units each include a rotary conveying mechanism having a turntable.

Abstract: A BSE inspection pretreatment method comprises a first step for homogenizing cells of a parent specimen, a second step for preparing a child specimen, a third step for decomposing protein with regard to the child specimen, a fourth step for incubate the child specimen, a fifth step for adding a reagent B for coloring blue to the incubated child specimen, a sixth step for performing a centrifugal separation treatment on the blued child specimen and discarding/disposing a supernatant liquid, a seventh step for condensing the child specimen, an eighth step for incubating the condensed child specimen, a ninth step for diluting the incubated child specimen, and a tenth step for preparing a sample for inspection for detection of pathogenic prion protein.