Conveying device, conveying method and microscope system

摘要

A conveying device including: a storage unit storing two or more sheets of slide glasses to be subjected to a predetermined treatment; a stage holding only one sheet of slide glass to be subjected to the treatment; a supply arm by which one sheet of slide glass to be subjected to the treatment is picked up from the storage unit and supplied onto the stage; a discharge arm by which the slide glass mounted on the stage is picked up and discharged in the storage unit; a moving unit operable to move the supply arm and the discharge arm in an integral manner so as to bring the supply arm or the discharge arm into proximity to each of the storage unit and the stage; and a control unit operable to control the supply arm, the discharge arm and the moving unit.

主权项

1. A conveying device comprising:
a storage unit storing two or more sheets of slide glasses to be subjected to a predetermined treatment; a stage holding only one sheet of slide glass to be subjected to the treatment; a supply arm by which one sheet of slide glass to be subjected to the treatment is picked up from the storage unit and supplied onto the stage, the supply arm including a supply fall-off preventive guide which prevents the slide glass from falling off and prevents picking-up of a slide glass which has a length in excess of an upper limit for length in a predetermined direction for a slide glass disposable on the stage; a discharge arm by which the slide glass mounted on the stage is picked up and discharged in the storage unit; a moving unit operable to move the supply arm and the discharge arm in an integral manner so as to bring the supply arm or the discharge arm into proximity to each of the storage unit and the stage, the moving unit including a carriage moved as one body with the supply arm and the discharge arm relative to a predetermined base; and a control unit operable to control the supply arm, the discharge arm and the moving unit, wherein the control unit performs such a control that a second one of the slide glasses to be subjected to the treatment subsequently to a first one of the slide glasses mounted on the stage is picked up by the supply arm, thereafter the first slide glass is picked up from the stage by the discharge arm brought into proximity to the stage by the moving unit, and then the second slide glass is mounted onto the stage by the supply arm, wherein the supply arm includes a supply fixed arm section which has a supply holding space for holding the slide glass and which is fixed to the carriage, and a supply moving arm section which has a supply gripping unit for gripping the slide glass and which is moved in a predetermined moving direction relative to the supply fixed arm section, and wherein the supply fall-off preventive guide includes two supply guide sections by which the length of the supply holding space in a direction substantially orthogonal to the moving direction is restricted to the upper limit.