A high-throughput automatic analyzer integrates a biochemical analysis section and a blood coagulation analysis section. The analyzer is capable of achieving a reduction in size, system cost, and lifecycle cost. The automatic analyzer includes: a reaction disk; a first reagent dispensing mechanism that dispenses a reagent to reaction cells on the reaction disk; a photometer that irradiates a reaction solution in the reaction cell with light; a reaction cell cleaning mechanism; a reaction vessel supply unit that supplies a disposable reaction vessel for mixing and reacting a sample and a reagent with each other; a second reagent dispensing mechanism that dispenses a reagent to the disposable reaction vessel; a blood coagulation time measuring section that irradiates a reaction solution in the disposable reaction vessel with light to detect transmitted or scattered light; and a sample dispensing mechanism that dispenses a sample to the reaction cell and the disposable reaction vessel.

Disclosed herein are high-throughput sample processing systems and waste management systems, and methods of using the same.

An autosampler includes an injection port for supplying a sample to an analysis device, a needle that collects the sample stored in a vial and injects the sample into the injection port, a cleaning unit that cleans the needle and a gas exhaust fan. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning container which stores a cleaning liquid and into which the needle is inserted, and a unit main body that has a space for storing the cleaning container and receiving the cleaning liquid overflowing from the cleaning container, and a unit gas exhaust passage for exhausting gas in the space outwardly of the cleaning unit. The unit main body has a unit opening through which the needle passes when accessing the cleaning container. The autosampler includes a boundary portion that separates a first region in which the injection port, the needle and the unit opening are arranged from a second region in which the gas exhaust fan is arranged, and a gas exhaust region which is connected to the unit gas exhaust passage via a gas exhaust opening provided at the boundary portion and into which gas exhausted from the space flows due to a negative pressure generated by the gas exhaust fan.

The invention provides a passive fluidics circuit for directing different fluids to a common volume, such as a reaction chamber or flow cell, without intermixing or cross contamination. The direction and rate of flow through junctions, nodes and passages of the fluidics circuit are controlled by the states of upstream valves (e.g. opened or closed), differential fluid pressures at circuit inlets or upstream reservoirs, flow path resistances, and the like. Free diffusion or leakage of fluids from unselected inlets into the common outlet or other inlets at junctions or nodes is prevented by the flow of the selected inlet fluid, a portion of which sweeps by the inlets of unselected fluids and exits the fluidics circuit by waste ports, thereby creating a barrier against undesired intermixing with the outlet flow through leakage or diffusion.

An interlock unit for preventing rotation from a closed position of a cover to an open position thereof, includes: a hollow case having a rectangular parallelepiped shape disposed at a position adjacent to an inner side surface of a casing, below an end part opposite to a support shaft at the closed position of the cover; an action member that is provided on an upper surface of the case, supported to be movable between a non-operating position and an operating position, and engaged with a protruding part provided on the cover at the operating position to inhibit the cover from rotating toward the open position; electromagnetic drive means provided below the action member to drive the action member; and drive connecting means for driving the action member by connecting the action member and the electromagnetic drive means and transmitting an operation of the electromagnetic drive means to the action member.

An automatic analysis apparatus includes: an automatic analysis unit 100 which includes a dispensing mechanism including a probe which is configured to dispense a sample or a reagent into a reaction container, a cleaning mechanism; and a control unit 124. The control unit includes a storage unit 124a configured to store count values which indicate weightings to contamination and are set in advance in accordance with a plurality of analysis conditions, a processing unit 124b configured to obtain a cumulative count for each dispensing of the sample or the reagent on the basis of the stored count values and to determine whether the obtained cumulative count exceeds a threshold value set in advance, and an instruction unit 124c configured to instruct an operation of the cleaning mechanism to clean the probe when a result of determination is that the cumulative count exceeds the threshold value.

An automatic analyzer includes a flow cell detector, a nozzle that is connected to the flow cell detector by a flow path and aspirates or discharges liquid, a reservoir that is provided with a table and a table driving mechanism that rotates or moves the table up and down, and a cleaning tank that is disposed on the table. A position of the nozzle is fixed, and a cleaning water discharge port discharges cleaning water used for cleaning the nozzle at an angle φ with respect to a plane perpendicular to a central axis of the nozzle. An upper part of a side wall of the cleaning tank is continuous with an upper discharge unit at a side facing a discharge outlet provided in the reservoir and a spatula-shaped part projects outward of the cleaning tank at a side facing the upper discharge unit.

Provided is an analysis apparatus having a control part having a preparatory action setting part for determination of whether the first and second controls are performed or the third and fourth controls are performed. The first control sets a sleep-planned part to a sleep state at a first time point when the state of non-use of the analysis apparatus has lasted for a predetermined time length, and then causes performance of a preparatory action by a first predetermined part; the second control resumes the operation of the analysis apparatus when a command signal to resume the operation is received; the third control places a sleep-planned part in a sleep state at a second time point when the state of non-use has lasted for a time length; and the fourth control causes a preparatory action of a second predetermined part to resume operation.

Since a detergent is a consumption article, it is desirable that a use amount of the detergent be as small as possible in a limit that the washing effect is not substantially reduced. Provided is an automatic analyzer which includes a syringe pump which is connected to a probe and performs the body aspiration and discharge, a feed pump which feeds washing water for washing the inside of the probe to the probe via the syringe pump and a controller which controls the dispensing mechanism and the syringe pump, in which the controller, in a case of washing the probe by sucking a detergent in the probe a plurality of times, controls the syringe pump so as to discharge the detergent after sucking the detergent and to suck the next detergent without feeding the washing water to the probe by the feed pump.

An automatic analyzer includes a plurality of storage container holding units, a dispensing container holding unit, a plurality of dispensing devices, a dispensing abnormality detector, and a drive control unit. The plurality of dispensing devices each include a dispensing probe. The dispensing abnormality detector is provided in each dispensing device. The drive control unit is configured to control driving of each dispensing device based on a detection result of the dispensing abnormality detector. If a dispensing device in which an abnormality is detected is a first dispensing device, the drive control unit is configured to cause a dispensing process of a cycle in which the abnormality is detected to be performed again. If the dispensing device in which the abnormality is detected is not the first dispensing device, the drive control unit is configured to end the dispensing process of the cycle and start the next cycle.