Abstract: A specimen sensing apparatus according to the present invention includes a specimen container which is vertically positioned by a container holder of a columnar rack type and conveyed by a belt conveyor, an infrared CCD camera configured to pick up an infrared image of the specimen container, a visible image converter which converts the infrared image picked up by the infrared CCD camera into a visible image, an image signal processing unit which processes and converts one of the infrared image and the visible image into a signal that is suitable to measure a specimen amount, and a specimen amount measuring unit which measures an amount of specimen contained in the specimen container in response to the signal processed by the image signal processing unit.

Abstract: A specimen conveyance holder moving system includes a plurality of belt conveyors which are provided to allow specimen conveyance holders to be conveyed along parallel guide rails, holder moving areas which are provided in respective specific areas of at least two belt conveyors and from which corresponding portions including the guide rails are removed, a holder holding mechanism which is detachably set in the areas and which has guide rail pieces at a lower end, which serve as an alternative to the removed guide rails, a moving mechanism by which the holder holding mechanism is hung and which moves the holder holding mechanism between the belt conveyors and detaches the holder holding mechanism from the areas, and a controller which drives the moving mechanism in association with a conveyance of the specimen conveyance holders.

Abstract: A stopper for tube-shaped specimen containers includes an inserting section that is pushed into an opening of a tube-shaped specimen container, a closing section that continues with the inserting section and has a flat surface that is brought into intimate contact with a rim of the opening, and an operating section that continues with the closing section and operates to insert/remove the inserting section into/from the opening. In the stopper, the inserting section is formed of an elastically deformable liquid-tight member, and an annular flange section is projected from an outer surface of a cylindrical body such that a periphery of the annular flange section is liquid-tightly pressed on an inner surface of the opening of the tube-shaped specimen container.

Abstract: An automatic dispensing tip supply apparatus includes a tip storing box whose bottom has a tapered surface having a tip collecting position in a lowermost part thereof to collect a plurality of inserted dispensing tips in one spot, a tip individually-sending mechanism which lifts up the collected dispensing tips one by one, an outlet to discharge the lifted dispensing tips from the tip storing box, a door mechanism including a door which is turnably supported to close the tip storing box from outside and a tip holding section which is provided on the inside of the door to horizontally hold one of the lifted dispensing tips, and a tip carry-out mechanism including a carry-out conveyor to automatically carry the dispensing tips.

Abstract: An automatic tube-type specimen container supply apparatus includes a container storing box a bottom of which has a tapered surface having a container collecting position in a lowest part thereof to collect a plurality of tube-type specimen containers in one spot, a container individually-sending mechanism which lifts up the collected specimen containers one by one along one-side wall located close to the position, an outlet which allows the specimen containers to be discharged outside the box, and a container carry-out mechanism including a conveyor to automatically carry out the discharged specimen containers. The container individually-sending mechanism includes a lifting plate driven up and down and having a top end with a tapered surface. The tapered surface has a space to place only one specimen container lying on a side thereof and descending toward an outside of the container storing box.

Abstract: A specimen dispensing system includes a conveying mechanism for conveying a master specimen container containing a specimen and a required number of empty slave specimen containers on a conveyor lane, the master and slave specimen containers being aligned in a conveyance direction, a stopping mechanism for temporarily stopping the master and slave specimen containers when the master and slave specimen containers reach a position under a dispensing nozzle in a dispensing unit, and a dispensing unit for removing the specimen from the master specimen container by the dispensing nozzle when the master specimen container is temporarily stopped in the position under the dispensing nozzle and dispensing the specimen to the slave specimen containers when the slave specimen containers are temporarily stopped in the position under the dispensing nozzle.

Abstract: A serum/clot separation surface determination apparatus includes a test tube formed of a non-magnetic material containing a blood sample which is separated into a serum and a clot by a silicon separating medium, a detection coil fitted on an outer surface of the test tube, a measurement signal supply unit which supplies a measurement signal having a given frequency to the detection coil, a drive control unit which variably controls a relative position between the detection coil and the test tube in a longitudinal direction of the test tube by moving at least one of the detection coil and the test tube, a signal level detector which detects a level of the measurement signal that varies with the relative position, and a determination unit which determines a position of a sample separation surface obtained by the silicon separating medium, based on the level of the detected measurement signal.

Abstract: A loading-assisting apparatus for use with a centrifuge is provided with the following a measuring device configured to measure the weight corresponding to each of processing groups loaded in the buckets of the centrifuge, a determination device configured to determine a variation of the weight of each of the processing groups with reference to a corresponding reference value, based on the weight of each of the processing groups measured by the measuring device, and an adjusting/loading device configured to make predetermined weight adjustment to each of the processing groups in accordance with the determination the determination device makes, and to subsequently load the processing groups in the centrifuge.

Abstract: A specimen centrifuge system includes a centrifuge unit including a plurality of specimen centrifuges which are stacked in a plurality of layers in a vertical direction, a rack conveyor which is provided along a horizontal conveyance line, and a rack elevator which is provided along a vertical conveyance line. The rack elevator has a robot arm device which moves the specimen-container rack from the rack conveyor to the rack elevator and from the rack elevator to the rack conveyor and moves the specimen-container rack from the rack elevator to one of the specimen centrifuges and from one of the specimen centrifuges to the rack elevator.

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 test tube type discrimination apparatus includes first and second electronic cameras which pick up images of a plurality of test tubes, the first electronic camera picking up an image from an opening of each of the test tubes and the second electronic camera picking up an image from a side thereof, a pattern recognition unit which receives data of the images picked up by the first and second electronic cameras and extracts an edge of each of the images to recognize a test tube pattern of each of the test tubes including opening and side patterns of each of the test tubes, a standard pattern memory which stores the opening and side patterns of the test tubes as standard patterns, and a comparison determination unit which compares the test tube pattern and the standard patterns to determine a type of each of the test tubes.

Abstract: A specimen container chuck apparatus includes an open/close driver and a pair of holding members which are provided to hold a specimen container from an outer surface thereof. Each of the holding members is formed by bending a linear member having elasticity and includes a pair of support sections which extend in parallel along the outer surface of the specimen container, one end of each of the support sections being coupled to the open/close driver, a pair of container contact sections which are connected at one end to the support sections, respectively and bent and biased toward the outer surface of the specimen container, and a coupling section which couples the other ends of the container contact sections and are curved so as to surround the outer surface of the specimen container with a given gap therebetween.

Abstract: An automatic toilet paper feeding apparatus includes a paper holder which holds a roll of toilet paper and which has a paper sending section that sends out the toilet paper, a paper receiving tray provided close to the paper sending section of the paper holder, and a paper sending mechanism which sends out a given length of the toilet paper to the paper receiving tray in response to a user's instruction. The paper sending mechanism includes a motor which rotates for a given period of time and then stops rotating in response to a user's instruction, a sending roller which is rotated by the motor to send out the toilet paper to the paper receiving tray, and a mechanism for automatically cutting a sending end portion of the toilet paper when the sending roller stops as the motor stops.

Abstract: A urine cup carry-in apparatus according to the present invention includes a casing set close to a urine cup carrying line, a carry-in mechanism set inside the casing and including a urine cup holder which holds a urine cup, the urine cup holder being movably provided such that the urine cup is allowed to be automatically carried into the urine cup carrying line, and an information message display device and a voice guide device arranged adjacent to each other to present an operation command to an operator, the command including instruction for at least setting a urine cup containing urine into the urine cup holder, and means for starting a carry-in operation of the urine cup holder which holds the urine cup.

Abstract: A dispensing tip positioning and storing apparatus includes drum mechanisms that agitate dispensing tips, which are distributed by a tip distributor, using an agitation bar that rotates about a horizontal axis and discharge the dispensing tips while the postures of the dispensing tips are almost aligned with the horizontal axis, tip direction aligning mechanisms that align the dispensing tips, which are discharged from the drum mechanisms, in such a manner that the distal ends of the dispensing tips point downward, a conveying mechanism that sequentially conveys the dispensing tips whose directions are aligned by the tip direction aligning mechanisms, to a given position by a common conveying lane, and a tip inserting mechanism that inserts the dispensing tips, which are sequentially conveyed to the given position by the conveying mechanism, into a tip holding rack in a predetermined manner.

Abstract: A specimen preprocessing and conveying system includes an analytic apparatus which receives a specimen container from a first conveying line, analyzes a specimen in the specimen container, and moves the specimen container onto the first conveying line, a stockyard which stocks the specimen container whose specimen has been analyzed, removes the specimen container when necessary, and selectively moves the specimen container onto the first and the second conveying line, a monitor control unit which monitors an analytical result and issues a reanalysis instruction to a specimen container when the specimen container contains a specimen that needs to be reanalyzed, and a reanalysis control unit which removes the specimen container to which the reanalysis instruction is issued, from the stockyard, conveys the specimen container to the second conveying line to be sent back to the analytic apparatus.

Abstract: A specimen-conveying conveyor includes a holding roller mechanism including a roller unit having a plurality of holding rollers, which are arranged in a horizontal direction so as to form a valley region in which a test tube is laid down and held, along a conveyance path, a rotation driving mechanism which simultaneously rotates the holding rollers of the roller unit of the holding roller mechanism in a first direction and thus rotates the test tube laid down and held in the valley region in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a slide driving mechanism which slides the test tube laid down and held in the valley region in a direction along an axis of each of the holding rollers.

Abstract: A specimen heating apparatus heats specimen to be analyzed, which is sent into a specimen analyzing apparatus, to a given temperature. The apparatus includes a specimen heating unit placed on a route for carrying the specimen into the specimen analyzing apparatus and including a heating housing having heating tunnel through which the specimen is allowed to pass, a heat energy supply unit which circulates a thermal medium through radiator provided on walls of the heating tunnels to heat the heating tunnel to a given temperature, and air shutters provided at an entrance and an exit of the heating tunnel.

Abstract: A test tube holding adapter is fitted in a test tube holder and provided to selectively hold test tubes having different outside diameters. The adapter includes a flange section, an annular section, and a plurality of flat spring sections whose proximal end portions are connected to the annular section and whose distal end portions extend inward through the opening and bend toward the axis of the adapter such that the adapter is shaped like a funnel as a whole. The annular section includes a fitting portion fitted at given pressure to one of concave and convex portions formed on the inner surface of the opening.

Abstract: A test tube holder includes a test tube insertion adapter having an adapter body and an elastic annular band and projections. The adapter body includes a flange section, an annular section, a plurality of flat spring sections whose proximal end portions are 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 the flat spring sections. The elastic annular band designed to bind the flat spring sections together while surrounding the outer surfaces thereof over a given range in order to bring the contact sections into contact with the outer surfaces of the test tubes. The projections projected from the outer surfaces of the flat spring sections to hold the elastic annular band in a given position.