SPECIMEN TRANSFER APPARATUS

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a specimen transfer apparatus which smoothly and reliably transfers containers housing specimens held in a rack to another rack. SOLUTION: The specimen transfer apparatus 1 transfers the tubular containers 300 housing the specimens from a first rack 100 to a second rack 200. The specimen transfer apparatus 1 is provided with: a griping mechanism 3 capable of gripping the containers 300; a moving means 4 constituted of both a gripping both a gripping mechanism raising and lowering mechanism 41 for raising and lowering the gripping mechanism 3 and a gripping mechanism horizontally moving mechanism 42 for horizontally moving the gripping mechanism 3; a reflection sensor 6 as a length detecting means 6 for detecting the lengths of the containers 300; and a control means for controlling the operation of the gripping mechanism 3 and the moving means 4. The control means controls the operation of the moving means 4 in such a way that the lower ends of the containers 300 are halted immediately before the bottom 202 of the second rack 200 according to the detected lengths of the containers 300 when the containers 300 are lowered to the second rack 200. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO