JP2805463B2 - Liquid mixer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a method of diluting or reacting various liquids such as blood, medicines and samples with another liquid such as a diluent at a predetermined ratio in a clinical test or a physicochemical test. The present invention relates to a liquid mixer for liquids used for pretreatment of an analyzer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to dilute two liquids at a predetermined ratio, a predetermined amount of a sample is collected by a pipette, a capillary, a micropipette, or the like, and the sample is mixed with a diluent at a predetermined magnification. We went together.

[0003]

However, in the conventional method, it is necessary to collect a certain amount of a sample from the container once by a pipette or the like after the sample is once taken in a container. There was a disadvantage that a separate container was required. In addition, since the conventional method is performed using a pipette or the like, there is a problem that accurate techniques require sophisticated techniques and expensive equipment. Furthermore, the conventional method can perform dilution, reaction, and the like only in a well-equipped place such as a laboratory or a hospital laboratory. For this reason, it was not possible to perform the treatment not only outdoors, but also at the bedside, on-site consultation, at a clinic or clinic in the town.
That is, there is a problem in that it is inconvenient to see the reaction result at the place where the sample is collected, and there is a problem that it takes time to save and manage the sample.

In recent years, although the number of disposable equipment has increased, some equipment has been used after being washed again, whereas the conventional method has disadvantages in any of the above cases. That is, in the conventional method, the number of members is increased as described above, so that if it is disposable, there is a disadvantage that the cost increases, and conversely, even if it is reused, there is a disadvantage that cleaning and the like require time and effort. In addition, in the conventional method, even if the number of samples is one sample, a single instrument,
Since equipment was required, there was a disadvantage that it took too much time when the number of samples was small. The present invention has been made to solve these problems.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The liquid mixer of the present invention, the diluent or the like is placed, and sealed mixing vessel opening in the seal at reduced pressure, this
A capillary tube is formed so as to be able to advance and retreat to the mixing container, and a predetermined amount of a sample is collected with respect to the diluting liquid and the like. The mixing tube is screwed into the mixing container at the lower end of the capillary tube.
A sampling member formed with a projection that breaks the seal of the container
The sampling member is attached to the tip of the syringe.
It is characterized in that it can be attached . In addition, the liquid mixer of the present invention is filled with a diluting liquid or the like, and a mixing container whose opening is sealed with a seal in a decompressed state, and is capable of being press-fitted into the mixing container. A capillary member for collecting a predetermined amount of sample is formed, and a collection member having a projection formed at the lower end of the capillary tube to break the seal of the mixing container by press-fitting the mixing container.
The sampling member is attached to the tip of the syringe.
The liquid mixer is characterized in that the liquid mixer can be used.

Here, the term "dilution" means that a certain amount of liquid is collected,
It means that it is mixed with a certain amount of liquid, and the collected liquid is diluted to a certain magnification by comparing the combined amount. The reaction means that liquids having different properties are mixed together and changed to a liquid having new properties. The sample refers to a liquid to be collected. The reduced pressure state refers to a state where the pressure is lower than the atmospheric pressure.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the liquid mixer 1 of the present invention will be described in more detail. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a liquid mixer 1 of the present invention. The liquid mixer 1 of this embodiment includes a mixing vessel 2 containing a diluent 5 and the like.
And a sampling member 3 screwed into the mixing container 2 so as to be able to advance and retreat.
And a cap 4 placed on the sampling member 3.

The mixing container 2 of this embodiment is formed by blow molding of polyethylene, has an upper part formed in a neck shape with a reduced diameter, and has an opening at the upper part of the neck part. In addition, a screw thread for screwing the sampling member 3 is formed around the neck to form a screw portion 21. In the mixing container 2, a predetermined amount of a dye or indicator having a constant concentration that reacts with a substance to be detected in the sample 6 is put in addition to a physiological saline solution and a pH adjusting solution as the pretreatment liquid 5. This predetermined amount is determined by the dilution ratio of the sample 6, the concentration of the indicator, and the like. And a mixing container 2 containing the diluent 5 and the like.
Is set in a reduced pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure, and the opening is sealed with an aluminum seal 20 or the like.

The sampling member 3 of this embodiment is formed by injection molding of polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene or the like. The sampling member 3 has a tip portion formed in a tapered substantially conical shape, and a screw hole 31 screwed into a screw portion of the mixing container 2 at a lower portion. A capillary 32 is formed in the center of the sampling member 3 so as to penetrate in the vertical direction. The capillary 32 is formed to open at the upper end of the sampling member 3 and to open into the screw hole 31. The capillary 32 is formed in an elongated round hole having a diameter small enough to cause a capillary phenomenon. At the lower end of the capillary tube 32, that is, at the upper portion of the screw hole 31, a projection 33 is formed to protrude downward. The projection 33 is formed in a substantially conical shape around the opening at the lower end of the capillary tube 32. Further, at a position corresponding to the base end of the projection 33 of the collecting member 3, the collecting member 3 penetrates an outer wall around the screw hole 31.
Is formed with an air hole 34 communicating the inside and the outside of the inside. The air hole 34 is formed of a small round hole that is parallel to the horizontal direction or slightly inclined upward toward the outside in the radial direction.

[0010] As shown in FIG.
At the position where the lower end of 3 is not in contact with the seal 20 of the mixing container 2, the lower end 3 is screwed to the screw portion 31 of the mixing container 2 so as to be able to advance and retreat. A cap 4 is mounted on the upper part of the sampling member 3. The cap 4 is formed in a hat shape corresponding to the shape of the upper part of the collecting member 3, and a part of the inner peripheral portion projects radially inward in a semicircular cross section to form a convex portion 41. The projections 41 are engaged with recesses 35 formed at positions corresponding to the projections 41 of the member 3 so that the cap 4 can be fitted. With the cap 4 attached, as shown in FIG. 1, the hemispherical portion 42 formed so as to protrude from the upper end of the inner surface of the cap 4 is engaged with the upper opening of the capillary tube 32.

Next, the use state of the liquid mixer 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 are cross-sectional views showing the use state of the liquid mixer 1 of this embodiment. When using the liquid mixer 1, the cap 4 is first removed from the sampling member 3, as shown in FIG. To do this, the cap 4 is elastically deformed so as to spread radially outward by pulling the cap 4 out of the collection member 3, so that the projection 41 of the cap 4 engages with the recess 35 of the collection member 3. Is performed by canceling.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the sampling member 3 (the tip of the capillary 32) is placed in a container 7 in which the sample 6 is placed. The other end of the capillary 32 is opened in a screw hole 31, and an air hole 34 communicating between the inside and the outside of the sampling member 3 is formed in the screw hole 31. Is filled with the sample. Further, even if the sampling member 3 is withdrawn from the container 7 in which the sample 6 is placed, the sample 6 in the capillary 32 stays in the capillary 32 and does not flow down. The amount of the sample 6 (for example, blood, urine, etc.) to be collected is determined by the cross-sectional area of the capillary 32 determined from the diameter D of the capillary 32 and the length L of the capillary 32 as shown in FIG. This amount has a certain relationship with the amount of the diluent 5 and the like put in the mixing container 2. That is, when it is desired to dilute the sample 6 to a predetermined magnification, the amount of the sample 6 to be collected determined by the size of the capillary tube 32 (usually,
20 μl to 100 μl) of the diluent 5 at a predetermined magnification is put into the mixing container 2. Therefore, when it is desired to change the dilution ratio or the like, it can be performed by changing the size of the capillary tube 32 or changing the amount or concentration of the diluent 5 in the mixing container 2.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The sampling member 3 is screwed into the mixing container 2 and screwed into the mixing container 2 with the. As a result, the projection 33 formed at the lower end of the capillary 32 of the sampling member 3 breaks through the seal 20 that seals the mixing container 2 and enters the mixing container 2. Since the pressure in the mixing container 2 is reduced, the sample 6 remaining in the capillary tube 32 due to the breakage of the seal 20 is drawn into the mixing container 2, and the sample 6 is diluted with the liquid 5 in the mixing container 2. Or react.

In the above embodiment, the mixing vessel 2 is already filled in the mixing vessel 2 at the manufacturing stage in which the diluent 5 and the like are sealed.
In this case, the inside of the mixing container 2 is set to a reduced pressure state.
(Polyethylene terephthalate), AS (strong styrene acrylonitrile polymer), glass, and other materials having gas barrier properties. However, as shown in FIG. 5, a bellows portion 22 is formed in a part of the mixing container 2 (2A), or as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom 23 of the mixing container 2 (2B).
Is formed to be deformable up and down like a diaphragm, so that the inside of the mixing vessel 2 can be decompressed by increasing the volume of the mixing vessel 2 at the time of use. . So, in this case,
It can be made of an appropriate material such as plastic having no gas barrier property.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the use state of another embodiment of the liquid mixer 1 of the present invention. The liquid mixer 1 of this embodiment is used by attaching a sampling member 3 (3A) instead of the injection needle 11 of the syringe shown in FIG. The syringe 8 to which the sampling member 3A is attached has a piston 9 slidably fitted into a cylinder 9.
The cylinder 9 has a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, and a screw portion 91 having a thread formed on an outer peripheral portion is formed so as to protrude toward the distal end side, and a flange portion 92 that expands radially outward at a base end portion is integrally formed. Become. The piston 10 includes a piston body 10a which is closely fitted to the cylinder 9 and slides, and a piston body 10a.
a piston rod 10b extending proximally from a, and a disc-shaped operating part 1 integrally formed at the proximal end of the piston rod 10b.
0c. The sampling member 3 of this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the embodiment of FIG. 1 described above, except that the air hole 34 is not formed.

Next, the use state of the liquid mixer 1 of this embodiment will be described. For example, when blood 6 or the like is collected from the human body by using the syringe shown in FIG. 8, the injection needle 11 at the tip thereof is removed from the cylinder 9 and, instead, the injection needle 11 shown in FIG.
As shown in (5), the sampling member 3 is screwed to the screw portion 91 of the cylinder 9. When attaching the sampling member 3 to the cylinder 9, the cap 4 is attached to the tip of the sampling member 3, and the cap 4 is removed after attaching the sampling member 3 to the cylinder 9. In addition, the structure which does not have the cap 4 but consists only of the extraction | collection part agent 3 may be sufficient. Thereafter, the piston 10 is pushed against the cylinder 9 to send the blood 6 in the cylinder 9 into the capillary 32 of the sampling member 3 and discharge the blood 6 to some extent from the tip of the capillary 32. Then, the sampling member 3 is removed from the cylinder 9.
Even if the sampling member 3 is removed, the sample 6 such as blood contained in the capillary 32 stays in the capillary 32 and does not flow down.

Next, the sampling member 3 where the sample 6 has stayed
As in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4, a predetermined amount of diluent 5 (for example, physiological saline 10 to 20 times the volume of whole blood) or an indicator is added and the pressure is reduced. The sampling member 3 is screwed into the mixing container 2, the seal 20 is opened, and the sample 6 in the capillary 32 is sucked into the mixing container 2. Then, the diluent 5 and the like are mixed and used for an antigen-antibody test for, for example, diabetes, hepatitis, and liver cancer. Needless to say, even in the case of this embodiment, the mixing container 2 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be used. In addition, the liquid pretreated by the liquid mixer 1 of the present invention is used for analyzing the antigen-antibody reaction, as well as analyzers such as liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, ion chromatography, atomic absorption analyzer, IPC analyzer, and mass analyzer. It can also be used in addition to.
In each of the above embodiments, the collecting member 3 is screwed into the mixing container 2, and the mixing container 2 is opened by screwing the collecting member 3 into the screw portion 21 of the mixing container 2. However, this may be another configuration. For example, a locking portion projecting radially outward is formed at the neck of the mixing container 2 without screwing the two 2 and 3 together, and the sampling member 3 is usually locked by the locking portion to form the mixing container. 2 is prevented from being fitted to the neck of the mixing container 2, but by pressing the collecting member 3 onto the neck of the mixing container 2, the collecting member 3 goes over the locking portion and fits into the neck of the mixing container 2. The seal of the mixing container 2 may be broken and opened. FIGS. 9 and 10 show an example of the liquid mixer 1 having this configuration. In these figures, the case where the sample 6 is collected from the syringe 8 into the collecting agent 3 and then diluted in the mixing container 2 is shown in a time series from (A) to (E).

[0018]

As described in detail above, according to the liquid mixer of the present invention, a sample can be directly collected without using a pipette or the like, the operation is easy, and the number of members is reduced. Cost can also be reduced. In addition, the sample is collected by capillary action, and the diluent or the like is simply pierced into a sealed mixing vessel under reduced pressure, and the sample in the capillary is sucked into the mixing vessel to mix the two liquids. There are few individual differences, dangers, and contaminations among individuals, and accurate dilution and reaction results (qualitative and quantitative) can be instantly known at the sampling site. Therefore, dilution and the like can be performed at a bedside or a clinic other than the laboratory,
There is no need to store or manage samples. Furthermore, if all the members are formed of plastic or the like, they can be disposable. Even in this case, the liquid mixer of the present invention basically includes only two members, ie, the mixing container and the sampling member, and can perform everything from the sampling of the sample with only these two members, which increases the cost. There is no inconvenience. In addition, since only the two members are required, even if the number of samples is small, no labor is required and time can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a liquid mixer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a use state of the liquid mixer of FIG. 1 and showing a state where a cap is removed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a use state of the liquid mixer of FIG. 1 and showing a state when a fixed amount of a sample is collected by a collection member.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a use state of the liquid mixer of FIG. 1 and showing a state when a sample is mixed with a diluent or the like.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a modification of the mixing container of the liquid mixer of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing another modification of the mixing container of the liquid mixer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a use state of another embodiment of the liquid mixer of the present invention, showing a state in which a sampling member is attached to a syringe and a predetermined amount of a sample is collected.

8 is a sectional view showing a syringe using the syringe of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 shows a use state of another embodiment of the liquid mixer of the present invention.
In this configuration, the mixing container is opened.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a use state of the liquid mixer of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 liquid mixer 2 mixing container 3 sampling member 4 cap 5 pretreatment liquid such as diluent 6 sample of blood 7 container 8 syringe 9 cylinder 10 piston 20 seal 21 screw part 22 bellows part 23 diaphragm part (bottom of mixing container) Reference Signs List 31 screw hole 32 capillary tube 33 opening means (projection) 34 air hole 91 cylinder screw part (syringe tip)

Continuation of the front page (56) References Special Tables Sho 55-500366 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01N 1/00 101 G01N 1/10 G01N 1/28 A61B 5/14 300

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mixing container in which a diluent or the like is put, and an opening is sealed with a seal in a reduced pressure state; and a predetermined amount of sample is screwed into the mixing container so as to be able to advance and retreat. A sampling member formed by forming a capillary tube for sampling the mixture, and a projection formed at the lower end of the capillary tube to break the seal of the mixing container by screwing into the mixing container.
It includes bets, the collecting member is attachable to the distal end of the syringe
A liquid mixer characterized by being obtained . Wherein the diluent or the like is placed, and sealed mixing vessel opening in the seal at reduced pressure, is capable push-fit into the mixing container, a sample of a predetermined amount with respect to the diluent, etc. A collecting member formed with a capillary to be collected, and a projection formed at a lower end portion of the capillary so as to break a seal of the mixing container by press-fitting the mixing container , wherein the collecting member includes a tip of a syringe; It can be attached to the part
A liquid mixer characterized by being obtained .