JP2006292416A - Liquid droplet removing device for dispenser, dispenser and dispensing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the accuracy of the amount dispensed of a liquid, in a dispenser. <P>SOLUTION: The dispenser is equipped with a dispensing head 10 for sucking the liquid housed in a liquid housing container into nozzles 14 and 16 to discharge it to a dispensing container and a liquid droplet removing part 9, having an opening part 71 larger than the diameter of each of the nozzles provided to its upper surface and having a gas blow-off port 72 at a position facing to the center of the opening and constituted so that the nozzles 14 and 16 of the dispensing head 10, having sucked the liquid from the liquid housing container are moved to the opening part 71 and a gas is blown against the nozzles 14 and 16 to remove the liquid bonded to the nozzles, before moving the dispensing head to the dispensing container. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispensing device for dispensing a liquid such as a reagent or a liquid containing a sample / specimen to be analyzed in a biochemical field or the like, and in particular, a liquid drop discharged to the tip of a nozzle. The present invention relates to a droplet removing device for a dispensing device, a dispensing device, and a dispensing method which are preferably used in a drop touch type dispensing device which is brought into contact with a microplate and dispensed onto the microplate.

  2. Description of the Related Art In an analytical apparatus in the biochemical field or the like, a dispensing operation is used in which a liquid including a sample, a specimen, or the like to be analyzed or a liquid such as a reagent is divided and transferred to a microplate that is a dedicated test container. As a dispensing device used for this dispensing operation, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-242183), when dispensing into another container after sucking a liquid, After discharging the sucked liquid droplets to make a liquid droplet at the tip of the nozzle of the dispensing device, the nozzle is lowered and the liquid droplet is stored in the wall of the container or in the container in advance. Dispensing devices are known in which the liquid is brought into contact with the surface of the liquid to dispense the liquid into a container.

  FIG. 9 shows an outline of the dispensing operation of the dispensing apparatus. The dispensing device dispenses liquid as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 9A, the dispensing device 132 is driven to discharge the liquid 146 sucked into the nozzle 114, thereby forming a drop 147 of the liquid 146 at the tip of the nozzle 114. Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the dispensing device 132 is lowered, and the drop 147 is brought into contact with the well 104 a of the container 104. Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the dispensing device 132 is raised, the drop 147 remains on the well side of the container 104 having a large contact area due to surface tension and is separated from the tip of the nozzle 114. In this way, the drop 147 formed at the tip of the nozzle 114 is moved to the well 104a, and as a result, the reagent 148 is dispensed into the well 104a.

  In recent years, in order to improve the analysis efficiency of specimens and samples, the number of small holes formed in the microplate is increased so that many dispensing operations can be performed in one operation. The capacity per piece is small. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the amount of liquid to be discharged from the dispensing device.

  However, in the conventional dispensing device, as described above, after the liquid is once sucked into the nozzle, an operation of creating a liquid droplet at the tip of the nozzle is required. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10A, the liquid 147a when sucked at the tip of the nozzle 114 may remain slightly. In this state, when the liquid 146 is discharged and a drop 147 is created at the tip of the nozzle, the liquid 147a remaining at the tip of the nozzle and the discharged liquid 147 are combined as shown in FIG. A large number of droplets are generated. In this state, when the droplet is brought into contact with the wall surface of the container, a larger amount of liquid than the discharge amount is dispensed into the container, and there is a problem that the accuracy of the dispensed amount is deteriorated.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-229940), in order to remove water droplets from a probe (nozzle) in an automatic analyzer, a probe is operated by a probe operation using a wiper. A technique is disclosed in which a (nozzle) is brought into contact with a wiper and water droplets remaining on the nozzle are removed by a wiper suction mechanism.
JP 2001-242183 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-229940

  However, since the water drop removing device of Patent Document 2 uses the wiper to remove the liquid adhering to the nozzle, it takes time to remove the liquid drop. In addition, since it is necessary to bring the nozzle into contact with the wiper, there is a risk that liquid stored in the nozzle may leak or retreat backward in the discharge direction of the nozzle due to external force on the nozzle or contact between the nozzle tip and the wiper. is there. This problem affects the discharge amount of the liquid from the nozzle and leads to deterioration of the accuracy of the dispensing amount. In particular, the diameter of the nozzle for discharging a very small liquid is very small, and the influence on the liquid by a slight vibration is large. In addition, since the liquid remaining on the outer wall of the nozzle comes into contact with the wiper, for example, when different liquids are dispensed, the liquid that has previously remained in the wiper may adhere to the nozzle from the wiper and cause liquid contamination. There is. In addition, the wiper must be periodically cleaned and replaced.

  Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and the droplet removing device for dispensing device, the dispensing device and the dispensing device which can improve the accuracy of the dispensing amount of the liquid. Is to provide an ordering method.

  In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a droplet removing device, a dispensing device, and a dispensing method for a dispensing device having the following configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a droplet for a dispensing device used in a dispensing device having a dispensing head that can be discharged into a dispensing container after the liquid contained in the liquid container is sucked into the nozzle. A removal device,
It is composed of a main body having an opening on the upper surface that is larger than the diameter of the nozzle, and has an air outlet that blows out gas to the opening, and the outside of the nozzle that is located in the opening by blowing gas from the air outlet A droplet removing device for a dispensing device is provided, wherein the droplet adhering to the substrate is removed.

  According to the 2nd aspect of this invention, the said blower outlet is provided in the position facing with respect to the said opening center, The droplet removal apparatus for dispensing devices of a 1st aspect is provided. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the blowout port is configured to blow out gas in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the nozzle. A droplet removing device for a dispensing device is provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a dispensing head capable of discharging to the dispensing container after sucking the liquid contained in the liquid container in the nozzle;
It is composed of a main body part having an opening larger than the diameter of the nozzle on the upper surface, and has a blowout port for blowing out gas at a position facing the opening center in the opening part, and blowing out gas from the blowout port. A droplet removing unit that removes the liquid adhering to the outside of the nozzle located in the opening;
The dispensing head is moved to be positionable to the liquid container, the dispensing container, and the opening, and the nozzle of the dispensing head that has sucked liquid from the container is moved to the opening portion to move the nozzle. And a head moving device that moves the dispensing head to the dispensing container after the liquid adhering to the nozzle is removed by a droplet removing unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the head moving device can position the nozzle in the opening so that the nozzle does not contact the periphery of the opening. Providing equipment.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispensing method used in a dispensing apparatus having a dispensing head capable of sucking a liquid contained in a liquid containing container into a nozzle and then discharging the liquid to the dispensing container. And
Sucking the liquid from the container and storing the liquid in the nozzle;
The nozzle of the dispensing head in the liquid drop removing unit, and the air outlet that blows out the gas to a position facing the opening center with respect to the opening portion, the main body having an opening on the upper surface that is larger than the diameter of the nozzle Inserted into the opening of the droplet removing unit having
Removing the liquid adhering to the outside of the nozzle located in the opening by blowing out gas from the outlet;
A dispensing method is provided in which a dispensing operation is performed by moving the dispensing head to the dispensing container and discharging the liquid contained in the nozzle into the dispensing container.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a droplet removing device for a dispensing device that removes droplets attached to the outside of a nozzle that sucks and holds the liquid stored in the liquid storage container,
An opening larger than the diameter of the nozzle and a pipe line having a blow-out port for blowing out gas, and configured to blow gas from the blow-out port to the outside of the nozzle in a state where a nozzle holding liquid is inserted into the opening. The main body,
A compressed gas supply pipe having one end connected to the pipe line and the other end connected to a compressed gas supply unit for supplying compressed gas;
A valve disposed in the middle of the compressed gas supply pipe;
A valve drive for opening and closing the valve;
A droplet removing device for a dispensing device comprising:

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the droplet removing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, wherein the outlet of the pipe line is provided at a position facing the opening center.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the droplet removing apparatus according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the outlet is configured to blow out gas in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the nozzle. To do.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, a dispensing head capable of discharging to the dispensing container after sucking the liquid contained in the liquid container in the nozzle;
An opening larger than the diameter of the nozzle and a pipe line having a blow-out port for blowing out gas, and configured to blow gas from the blow-out port to the outside of the nozzle in a state where a nozzle holding liquid is inserted into the opening. The main body,
A compressed gas supply pipe having one end connected to the pipe line and the other end connected to a compressed gas supply unit for supplying compressed gas;
A valve disposed in the middle of the compressed gas supply pipe;
A valve drive for opening and closing the valve;
A dispensing apparatus comprising: a liquid moving container, a dispensing container, and a head moving device that moves the dispensing head to the opening in a predetermined order.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the head moving device is capable of positioning the nozzle in the opening so that the nozzle does not contact the periphery of the opening. Providing equipment.

  According to the first aspect, the seventh aspect, and the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the droplets can be removed by blowing out the gas, it is not necessary to bring the nozzle into contact with a wiper or the like. Therefore, the liquid discharge amount is not affected. Further, the liquid remaining in the wiper does not adhere to the nozzle from the wiper and cause liquid mixing. Furthermore, since the droplets are blown off by the wind pressure of the gas to be blown out, the time required for removing the droplets is short. Further, since the droplets are removed in a non-contact manner, operations such as cleaning due to droplet adhesion and replacement of members are reduced.

  According to the second aspect and the eighth aspect of the present invention, the gas can be blown over the entire surface in the circumferential direction of the nozzle by blowing out the gas from the facing position, and there is no unevenness in the removal of the liquid in the circumferential direction. .

  According to the 3rd aspect and 9th aspect of this invention, the droplet removal by gas blowing can be performed efficiently by blowing off gas in the direction orthogonal to a nozzle. Further, the influence of the wind pressure on the liquid held in the nozzle can be minimized.

  According to the fourth aspect and the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the liquid attached to the nozzle is removed by the droplet removing unit after the liquid is sucked, the discharge amount during the dispensing operation is affected. In addition, mixing of different types of liquids can be prevented. Furthermore, since the droplets are blown off by the wind pressure of the gas to be blown out, the time required for removing the droplets is short. Further, since the droplets are removed in a non-contact manner, operations such as cleaning due to droplet adhesion and replacement of members are reduced.

  According to the fifth aspect and the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the dispensing head is positioned using the head moving device so that the nozzle does not contact the peripheral edge of the opening of the droplet removing unit. A special mechanism for positioning is not required.

  Hereinafter, a dispensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The schematic block diagram which shows typically the whole structure of the dispensing apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the dispensing apparatus 101 includes a base stage 3 that is a base formed of a rigid member. On the base stage 3, a tip mounting stage S1, a liquid storage stage S2, and A plate placement stage S3 and a droplet removal stage S4 are provided. In addition, the dispensing device 101 includes a dispensing head device 10 including a single nozzle unit 16 for performing dispensing processing, and moves the dispensing head device 10 in the illustrated X-axis direction or Y-axis direction. An XY robot 12 (which is an example of a head moving device) is provided. The dispensing head device 10 is moved by the XY robot 12 through the respective stages S1 to S4, and the tip 14 is detachably attached to the lower end of each nozzle portion 16 provided in the dispensing head device 10. Thus, a dispensing process for inhaling and discharging the liquid into the container is performed. The X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are directions substantially along the surface of the base stage 3 and are orthogonal to each other.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a tip storage container 6 for storing a plurality of unused tips 14 in an aligned arrangement is placed on the tip mounting stage S1 on the base stage 3. For example, three liquid storage containers 5 that store liquids such as specimens, samples, and reagents are placed on the liquid storage stage S2. In addition, such a liquid container 5 may be configured to have a temperature adjustment function for adjusting the temperature of the liquid stored therein (for example, maintaining a predetermined temperature). The plate mounting stage S3 includes a plurality of microplates 4 (or may be referred to as microtiter plates 4) in which a number of wells to which a predetermined amount of liquid to be dispensed is supplied are dispensed. For example, two sheets are mounted. The droplet removing stage S4 is provided with a droplet removing device 9, and removes the liquid attached to the nozzle (tip 14) of the dispensing head device.

  Next, the tip 14 and the microplate 4 will be described. The tip 14 is a tapered tapered nozzle-like part having a through-hole through which liquid can be sucked or discharged, and is a so-called disposable part that is replaced every time it is used. The tip 14 functions as a nozzle that is exchangeably attached to the tip of the nozzle portion 16 of the cylinder 32 provided in the dispensing head device 10 and discharges liquid. As shown in FIG. 2A, the tip 14 is mounted on the nozzle portion 16 in the dispensing head device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, each unused tip 14 is accommodated in a tip storage container 6 having a grid-like arrangement, and the dispensing head device 10 is disposed above the tip storage container 6. Each tip 14 can be automatically mounted on the nozzle portion 16 of the dispensing head device 10 by being lowered after being moved.

  The tips of these tips 14 are lowered into, for example, wells 4a, which are concave portions provided in a grid pattern on the microplate 4 (microtiter plate), and the liquid is sucked or lowered into the liquid storage container 5. The inhaled liquid is inhaled, and the inhaled liquid is discharged from each tip 14 into the well 4a of the microplate 4 different from the microplate 4, thereby transferring the liquid between the different microplates 4. Alternatively, a dispensing process such as supplying a liquid to the microplate 4 can be performed.

  Next, a configuration example of the microplate 4 used in the present dispensing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C. The microplate shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C is a crystallization container used for crystallizing the protein in the protein solution, but the dispensing apparatus according to this embodiment is not limited to the microplate shown in FIG. 3A or the like. A structure in which wells which are concave portions in a lattice shape are formed in the main body can be used. As shown in FIG. 3A, the microplate 4 has a plurality of wells 4a formed in a lattice shape. The well 4a is a so-called caldera-shaped concave portion for storing a liquid in which a cylindrical liquid holding portion 4b is provided at the center of a circular liquid storage portion 4c, and the liquid holding portion 4b and the concave shape are respectively provided in the well 4a. Different liquids are dispensed into the liquid reservoir 4c.

  FIG. 3B shows a cross section of one well 4a containing these liquids. In the well 4a, a droplet-shaped first liquid (crystallization solution) 46a is held in a pocket provided at the top of the liquid holding part 4b, and is in a ring shape surrounding the liquid holding part 4b. The other liquid (protein solution) 46b is stored in the liquid storage section 4c. The first liquid 46a and the second liquid 46b are stored in the liquid container 5, and are dispensed into the well 4a by the dispensing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, as will be described later. It is a thing. As will be described later, when protein crystallization is started using this microplate, a predetermined amount of another liquid 46b is taken out from the liquid storage section 4c and dispensed into the first liquid 46a held in the liquid holding section 4b. And mix.

  The tip storage container 6 holds a plurality of tips 14 used in the dispensing operation in a lattice arrangement. In the dispensing using the microplate shown in FIG. 3A, two types of tips, large and small, are used as will be described later, and the tip storage container 6 stores small and large sized tips, respectively. As described above, these tips are inserted into the nozzle unit 16 and attached to the dispensing head device 10, and a dispensing operation is executed.

  Note that a waste box (not shown) for collecting the consumable parts after use is provided, and the used tips are thrown into the waste box.

  FIG. 3C shows a dispensing operation in the microplate manufacturing operation performed using this dispensing apparatus. The dispensing head device attaches the tip 14a and sucks and removes the second liquid 46b from the liquid container, and then, as shown in FIG. 3C (A), the second liquid 46b is placed in the liquid storage part 4c of the well 4a. Liquid 46b is dispensed. At this time, since the tip 14a used is a tip for a large-sized crystallization solution, dispensing can be completed in a short time even when the dispensing amount into the liquid storage part 4c is large.

  Next, the first liquid 46a is taken out from the liquid storage container, and as shown in FIG. 3C (B), the liquid holding unit for the well 4a in which the second liquid 46ba is dispensed into the liquid storage unit 4c. Dispense the first liquid 46a into the top pocket of 4b. It is preferable to use a small tip 14b used at this time.

  Next, the dispensing head device 10 is attached with a small tip, and as shown in FIG. 3C (C), a part of the second liquid 46b in the liquid storage part 4c is sucked by the small tip 14b to obtain a predetermined amount. The second liquid 46b is added to the first liquid 46a already dispensed in the liquid holding part 4b. At this time, since the tip 14 to be used is a small-sized tip 14b, even when the amount of the second liquid 46b to be added to the first liquid 46a is very small, accurate dispensing is performed. In this operation, a drop of the second liquid 46b is created at the tip of the tip 14b, and then the tip 14b is lowered to have already been dispensed into the drop of the second liquid 46b and the liquid holding part 4b. The dispensing operation is performed by a drop touch method in which the first liquid 46a is in contact with the first liquid 46a. Details of this operation will be described later.

  Next, a schematic diagram of the dispensing head device 10 included in the dispensing device 101 is shown in FIG. 4, and the configuration of the dispensing head device 10 and the control system of the drive mechanism will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the dispensing head device 10 includes a head main body unit 20 that includes a nozzle portion 16 and the like and performs a dispensing process, and an elevating device 22 that raises and lowers the head main body unit 20. The head body unit 20 is supported by the XY robot 12 via the lifting device 22. The elevating device 22 includes a ball screw shaft 23 that is arranged in the elevating direction and supports the head body unit 20 so as to be able to move up and down, and an elevating drive motor 27 that is connected to the ball screw shaft 23 and rotationally drives the ball screw shaft 23. Yes. The ball screw shaft 23 is screwed into a nut portion 24 attached to the frame 28 of the head body unit 20. Since the elevating device 22 has such a configuration, the elevating drive motor 27 is driven in either the forward or reverse direction, whereby the nut portion 24 screwed into the ball screw shaft 23 is moved to the ball screw. By moving upward or downward along the shaft 23, the head main body unit 20 can be raised or lowered via the frame 28.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the head body unit 20 is provided with a frame 28 supported by an elevating device 22 so as to be movable up and down, a cylinder block 29 supported by the frame 28, and the cylinder block 29. A piston 30 in which one end (lower end in the figure) is inserted into the cylinder 32, a nut part 31 coupled to the other end (upper end in the figure) of the piston 30, and the nut part 31 are moved up and down. Thus, a piston drive device 40 that moves the piston 30 inserted and arranged in the cylinder 32 up and down integrally along the inner wall of the cylinder 32 is provided.

  The nozzle portion 16 is provided below the cylinder 32, and the tip 14 is detachably attached to the tip of the nozzle portion 16 as described above. The piston 28 is supported on the frame 28, and the nut portion 31, the piston 30, and the cylinder block 29 are supported on the frame 28 via the piston driver 40.

  The piston drive device 40 mounted on the frame 28 is arranged in the ascending / descending direction, and a ball screw shaft 33 that supports the nut portion 31 so as to be movable up and down, and a piston drive motor 37 that rotationally drives the ball screw shaft 33. And.

  The ball screw shaft 33 is screwed with a nut portion 31 coupled to the piston 30. Since the piston drive device 40 has such a configuration, the ball screw shaft 33 is rotationally driven in either the forward or reverse direction by rotating the piston drive motor 37 in either the forward or reverse direction. Thus, the nut portion 33 a screwed to the ball screw shaft 33 can be raised or lowered along the axial direction of the ball screw shaft 33. As a result, the nut portion 31 can be raised or lowered, and the piston 30 inserted and disposed in the cylinder 32 can be raised or lowered along the cylinder inner wall.

  Next, the droplet removing apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the droplet removing apparatus has an opening 71 provided on the upper surface of a substantially box-shaped main body portion 70 having a hollow inside, and air is formed on the wall portion of the upper surface of the main body forming the opening 71. The blower outlet 72 for blowing out is provided. The air outlet 72 is provided so as to blow out air in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the opening 71, and is provided at two locations facing the center of the opening 71. The air outlet does not have to be two places shown in FIG. 4, and can be provided, for example, at four places. Further, an air volume adjusting unit 75 is provided in the pipe line 72 a connected to the air outlet 72, and the amount of air blown out from the air outlet 72 can be adjusted.

  Air as compressed gas is supplied to the pipe line 72a from the air pressure source 63 provided outside the droplet removing device 9 through the compressed gas feed pipe 74 and blown out. The compressed gas feed pipe 74 is provided with a plunger valve 61 and a regulator 62 on the way. The air blowing pressure may be appropriately designed depending on the experimental conditions such as the properties of the liquid used and the shape of the nozzle. For example, the blowing pressure can be 0.01 MPa to 0.49 MPa and the air volume can be 100 L / min. .

  The plunger valve 61 is configured to be able to switch between an open state and a closed state in response to a drive signal supplied from the valve drive unit 93. As described above, the compressed gas supply pipe 74 is connected to the pneumatic pressure source 63 that is a compressed gas supply unit. Therefore, when the plunger valve 61 is in an open state, air is sent from the outlet 72. Air blows out. At this time, it is preferable to adjust the amount of air blown out from the two blowout ports 72 to be approximately equal by the air volume adjusting unit 75 and blow out air with an appropriate air volume in order to remove droplets attached to the outer wall of the tip 14. . On the other hand, when the plunger valve 61 is in the closed state, the blowing of air is stopped.

  The tip 14 is preferably inserted into the opening 71 so as not to contact the wall 71a around the opening, and the XY robot 12 dispenses the dispensing head so that the position of the tip 14 and the position of the opening 71 coincide. The device 10 is aligned.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the droplet removing device is for removing liquid adhering to the outside of the tip 14 by blowing air from the outlet 72 in a state where the tip 14 is inserted into the opening 71. When removing liquid droplets adhering to the outside of the tip 14, it is desirable that air pressure be effectively applied to the liquid droplets to blow off instantaneously. For this reason, in this embodiment, the structure which blows air in the orthogonal direction with respect to the tip 14 is taken.

  In addition, since air is blown in a direction orthogonal to the tip 14, air is not directly applied to the discharge port located at the forefront of the tip 14, so that the air is sucked up to the discharge port of the tip 14. In addition, the first liquids 46a and 46b are not removed or moved by the wind pressure, and the discharge amount of the liquid is not changed.

  In FIG. 5, the wall 71 a around the opening is configured to be substantially horizontal in the nozzle extending direction, but in order to guide the air blown from the blowout port 72 toward the inside of the main body 70. The wall 71a may be tapered. Specifically, if the wall 71a is tapered so that the lower part has a larger diameter than the upper part, the air blown from the outlet can be guided into the main body. Further, a suction pump for reducing the pressure in the space 73 inside the main body may be provided so that air blown out from the outlet due to negative pressure is guided into the main body.

  Next, the configuration of the control system in the dispensing apparatus 101 will be described. The dispensing apparatus 101 includes a dispensing apparatus control system 90 that controls the operation of the dispensing process. The configuration of the dispensing device control system 90 is shown in FIG. In the control block system shown in FIG. 4, only the main control configuration is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the dispensing apparatus control system 90 includes a control unit 91 that performs overall control for each block of the entire system, and a dispensing operation that is a program related to the dispensing operation stored in the control unit 91. A program 92 is provided. The control unit 91 includes an XY robot driving unit 96 that performs operation control of the XY movement of the dispensing head device 10 by the XY robot 12, and a lifting motor driving unit 95 that performs lifting control of the lifting drive motor 27 of the dispensing head device 10. A pump drive unit 94 that controls the drive of the piston drive motor 37 of the dispensing head device 10, and a valve drive unit 93 that applies a drive pulse to the plunger valve 61.

  The XY robot driving unit 96 controls the movement operation of the dispensing head device 10 in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction by the XY robot 12 to position the dispensing head device 10 on each stage S1 to S4. Perform motion control. The lifting motor driving unit 95 controls the lifting operation of the head body unit 20 by the lifting device 22. The pump drive unit 94 controls the lifting / lowering operation of the piston 30 by the piston drive device 40. The valve drive unit 93 applies a drive signal to the plunger valve 61 to switch opening and closing of the plunger valve 61.

  In addition, the dispensing device control system 90 is provided with an input unit 97 for inputting control conditions set by the user to the control unit and a display unit 98 for displaying the current state and work process of the dispensing device 101. ing. Examples of control conditions input through the input unit 97 include data on the amount of liquid sucked or discharged from the nozzle unit 16 provided in the dispensing head device 10. In particular, in such a dispensing process, it is necessary to accurately inhale and discharge a minute amount of liquid, and it is necessary to set appropriate conditions according to the type of liquid to be handled. In this way, the liquid suction / discharge amount data set through the input unit 97 is converted into data of the movement distance of the piston 30 in the cylinder 32, that is, piston stroke data in the control unit 91. Control according to the suction / discharge amount can be performed.

  Next, the dispensing method of the dispensing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. The flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are processes for performing the operation shown in FIG. 3C using the microplate 4 shown in FIG. 3A. Needless to say, if the shape of the microplate 4 and the content of the processing are different, there is a slight difference in each step.

  First, when a control unit 91 receives a request to start a dispensing operation by operating an operation switch or the like (not shown) as an input unit, the dispensing operation is started. The controller 91 operates the XY robot 12 to move the dispensing head device 10 above the tip storage container 6 in order to attach the tip 14 to the nozzle portion 16 of the cylinder 32. Next, the elevation drive motor 27 is operated to lower the head body unit 20, and the tip 14 is attached to the nozzle portion 16. Next, after the control unit 91 operates the XY robot 12 to move the dispensing head device 10 above the liquid storage container 5 in which the second liquid 46b of the liquid storage stage S2 is stored, the lift motor 27 is driven to lower the head main unit 20 so that the tip of the tip 14 contacts the second liquid 46b. Thereafter, the pump drive unit 94 operates the piston drive motor 37 to pull up the piston 30 and suck the second liquid 46 b into the tip 14. After the second liquid 46b is sucked into the tip 14, the dispensing head device 10 is positioned on the reservoir 4c of the first well 4a of the microplate 4 (# 1).

  Next, the controller 91 drives the piston 30 to dispense a predetermined amount of the second liquid 46b into the reservoir 4c of the first well 4a of the microplate 4 (# 2). Next, when there is a well to be dispensed next (# 3), the dispensing head device 10 is positioned on the reservoir 4c of the second well 4a of the microplate 4 (# 4). This operation is repeated to dispense the second liquid 46b into all the wells 4a to be dispensed. In this operation, when the second liquid 46b sucked into the tip 14 is insufficient before the second liquid 46b is dispensed into the reservoirs 4c of all wells, the suction operation is performed once again. The second liquid 46b is dispensed into the reservoir 4c.

  When the above operation is repeated and dispensing of the second liquid 46b is completed in all the reservoirs 4c to be dispensed, the tip 14 is then replaced (# 5). This tip exchange is for dispensing another first liquid 46a to the well 4a and not mixing with the previously dispensed second liquid 46b. Specifically, the tip replacement is performed by removing the tip from the nozzle portion 16 by a tip detachment mechanism (not shown), and then performing the same processing as the tip attachment performed previously. The tip is selected from the tip storage container 6 that stores the tip 14 used in the operation.

  Next, the controller 91 operates the XY robot 12 to move the dispensing head device 10 above the liquid storage container 5 in which the second liquid 46b of the liquid storage stage S2 is stored, and then drive up and down. The motor 27 is driven to lower the head body unit 20 so that the tip of the tip 14 is in contact with the first liquid 46a. Thereafter, the pump drive unit 94 operates the piston drive motor 37 to pull up the piston 30 and suck the first liquid 46 a into the tip 14. After the first liquid 46a is sucked into the tip 14, the dispensing head device 10 is positioned on the liquid holding portion 4b of the first well 4a of the microplate 4 (# 6).

  Next, the control unit 91 drives the piston 30 to dispense a predetermined amount of the first liquid 46a into the liquid holding unit 4b of the first well 4a of the microplate 4 (# 7). Next, when there is a well 4a to be dispensed next (# 8), the dispensing head device 10 is positioned on the liquid holding part 4b of the second well 4a of the microplate 4 (# 9). . This operation is repeated to dispense the second liquid 46b into the liquid holding portions 4b of all the wells 4a to be dispensed. In this operation, if the first liquid 46a sucked into the tip 14 is insufficient before dispensing into the first liquid 46a in all the wells, the suction operation is performed once again to perform the first liquid 46a. 46a is dispensed into the liquid holding part 4b.

  When these operations are finished, the microplate 4 is in a state where the liquid is dispensed to the liquid holding portions 4b and the storage portions 4c of all the wells 4a to be dispensed. Thereafter, an operation of adding a part of the second liquid 46b in the storage part to the liquid in the liquid holding part 4b is performed (# 10). A detailed flow of this operation is shown in FIG.

  First, after replacing the tip of the nozzle unit 16, the control unit 91 operates the XY robot 12 to move the dispensing head device 10 above the storage unit of the first well 4a of the microplate 4, The lift motor 27 is driven to lower the head body unit 20 so that the tip of the tip 14 comes into contact with the second liquid 46b accommodated in the liquid reservoir 4c. Thereafter, the pump drive unit 94 operates the piston drive motor 37 to pull up the piston 30 and suck the second liquid 46b into the tip 14 (# 11).

  Next, when the suction is completed, the head body unit 20 is raised so that the tip of the tip 14 is separated from the second liquid 46b in the liquid holding portion 4b, and the XY robot 12 is operated to remove the liquid droplets from the dispensing head device. After being moved above the opening of the device 9, the nozzle body unit 20 is lowered and the tip of the tip 14 is inserted into the opening of the droplet removing device 9 (# 12). The droplet removing device 9 removes the reagent 46b adhering to the outer wall of the tip 14 by blowing air from the outlet 72 with the tip 14 inserted into the opening 71 as described above (# 13). . At this time, it is preferable that the control unit 91 controls the valve driving unit 93 to be driven after the tip 14 is inserted into the opening portion 71 so that air is blown out from the outlet 72.

  When the second liquid 46b adhering to the outer wall of the tip 14 is removed by the air blown out from the outlet 72, the head body unit 20 is lifted to remove the tip from the opening 71, and the XY robot 12 is operated. Then, the dispensing head 10 is moved above the liquid holding part 4b (# 14). At this time, it is preferable to slowly raise the head body unit 20 while blowing air, because the droplets remaining on the outer wall of the tip are blown off toward the tip of the nozzle and easily removed from the nozzle. Further, by combining the operation of slowing down the nozzle rising speed step by step, the nozzle may be raised at a high speed at first and then switched to a low speed as the lower end approaches the outlet 72. In this case, if air pressure is applied to the lower end of the nozzle, the liquid inside the nozzle may move or be removed, so the nozzle is gradually raised and the lower end is as high as the outlet. Alternatively, when the height reaches about 1 mm to 2 mm, the nozzle ascend is stopped, and after a while, the gas blowing is also stopped. In this case also, it is preferable to control the height of the nozzle and the amount of blown air so that the wind pressure does not act on the lower end of the nozzle.

  Thereafter, the head body unit 20 is positioned on the liquid holding part 4 b of the well 4 a of the microplate 4 by the XY robot 12. Thereafter, the piston 30 is slightly driven to create a drop of the second liquid 46b at the tip of the tip 14 (# 15).

  When a drop is created at the tip of the tip 14, the head main body unit 20 is slightly lowered, and a drop touch is made to bring the drop into contact with the first liquid 46a previously dispensed to the liquid holding portion 4b (#). 16). At this time, the descending width is controlled so that the tip of the tip 14 does not come into contact with the first liquid 46a previously dispensed into the liquid holding portion 4b. The two droplets come into contact with each other, and the droplets are removed from the tip 14 and moved to the liquid holding unit 4b.

  After the drop touch, the head body unit 20 is raised (# 17), and the dispensing operation of the second liquid 46b to the liquid holding part 4b is completed for one well 4a. If there are other wells to be dispensed (# 18), the dispensing operation is repeated after the dispensing head 10 is moved (# 19) to the reservoir 4c of the next well. When the second liquid 46b is dispensed into all the wells to be dispensed, the dispensing operation is terminated.

  In the dispensing apparatus according to the present embodiment, when a liquid is sucked into the tip, a pre-wet operation is performed in order to increase the wettability in the tip 14 and to control the discharge amount at the time of dispensing with high accuracy. You may do it. In the pre-wet operation, when the liquid is sucked into the tip 14 by the operation of the piston 30, the liquid to be sucked / discharged is brought into contact with the inner wall of the tip 14 to improve the wettability of the inner wall of the tip 14, and This is an operation performed to reduce the fluctuation of the discharge amount due to water.

A specific processing process of the pre-wet operation is shown in FIG. FIG. 8A shows a state where the head main body unit 20 is lowered and the tip of the tip 14 is in contact with the liquid to be sucked. Thereafter, the piston 30 is driven, performs the suction operation of the liquid into the tip 14, to suck the suction amount V ₀ which this time (Fig. 8 (B)). Next, the piston 30 is lowered, and the liquid is discharged until the liquid in the tip 14 becomes V _r . Hereinafter, these operations are repeated a plurality of times, for example, three times, and after the inner wall of the tip 14 is sufficiently in contact with the liquid, the final amount of liquid sucked into the tip 14 is set to V, The tip 14 is removed from the liquid (FIG. 8D).

In this way, at the time of suction of the liquid into the tip 14, and the piston is reciprocated, after the liquid was sucked by V _0, by repeating the operation of ejecting until V _r, the pressure in the tip The discharge amount at the time of dispensing the liquid can be stabilized by increasing the value.

  As described above, according to the dispensing device according to the present embodiment, the liquid attached to the outer wall of the tip is removed by the droplet removing device 9 after the liquid is sucked and before the dispensing operation is started. As a result, mixing of the liquid can be prevented, and when the dispensing operation is performed by the drop touch method, the adhered liquid is prevented from becoming a large liquid droplet by making it the same as the liquid droplet. be able to. Therefore, it is easy to uniformly control the dispensing amount, and a highly accurate dispensing operation can be performed.

  In addition, since the detachable tip 14 is attached to the nozzle portion 16 of the cylinder 32 so as to suck and discharge the liquid, the tip 14 is exchanged for each type of liquid, and mixing of liquids and the like is performed. Can be prevented.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement in another various aspect. The air outlets provided in the droplet removing device do not need to be at two positions at the opposing positions, and may be configured to blow air from three or more air outlets. Further, an example in which a plunger valve is used as a valve has been described. However, a valve that can perform a high-speed opening / closing operation by a pulse signal can be substituted.

  Further, for example, the dispensing head device according to the present embodiment attaches a tip to the tip of the nozzle portion 16 of the syringe 32 and sucks and discharges the liquid. However, the tip may not necessarily be used. The material may be sucked and discharged directly to the nozzle portion 16.

It is a model perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the dispensing apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a partial expanded sectional view which shows typically the structure of the front-end | tip part of the cylinder of a dispensing head apparatus, (B) is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of a tip storage container. It is an external appearance perspective view of the microplate used in the dispensing apparatus of FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the microplate of FIG. 3A. It is explanatory drawing of dispensing operation at the time of using the microplate of FIG. 3A. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dispensing head apparatus 10 and drive control system of the dispensing apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the droplet removal apparatus with which the dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the dispensing method of the dispensing apparatus of FIG. It is a detailed flowchart of the flowchart of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process process of the pre-wet operation | movement performed in dispensing operation of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the dispensing operation | movement of a dispensing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the dispensing apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the droplet remained on the outer wall of the nozzle. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the defective state by the droplet which remain | survived on the outer wall of the nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

3 Base stage 4 Microplate 5 Liquid container 9 Droplet removal device 10 Dispensing head device 12 XY robot 14, 14a, 14b Tip 16 Nozzle unit 20 Head body unit 22 Lifting device 25 Buffer tank 26 Plunger valve 30 Piston 32 Cylinder 40 Piston drive device 61 Plunger valve (valve)
70 Main body 71 Opening 72 Air outlet 72a Pipe line 74 Compressed gas feed pipe 91 Control part 93 Valve drive part 101 Dispensing device

Claims (11)

A droplet removing device for a dispensing device used in a dispensing device having a dispensing head that can be discharged into a dispensing container after sucking the liquid stored in the liquid container in the nozzle,
It is composed of a main body having an opening on the upper surface that is larger than the diameter of the nozzle, and has an air outlet that blows out gas to the opening, and the outside of the nozzle that is located in the opening by blowing gas from the air outlet A droplet removing device for a dispensing device, wherein the droplet attached to the substrate is removed.   The droplet removing device according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet is provided at a position facing the center of the opening.   The droplet removal device according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is configured to blow out gas in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of the nozzle. A dispensing head capable of discharging the liquid contained in the liquid container into the nozzle and then discharging it to the dispensing container;
It is composed of a main body part having an opening larger than the diameter of the nozzle on the upper surface, and has a blowout port for blowing out gas at a position facing the opening center in the opening part, and blowing out gas from the blowout port. A droplet removing unit that removes the liquid adhering to the outside of the nozzle located in the opening;
The dispensing head is moved to be positionable to the liquid container, the dispensing container, and the opening, and the nozzle of the dispensing head that has sucked liquid from the container is moved to the opening portion to move the nozzle. A dispensing apparatus comprising: a head moving device that moves the dispensing head to the dispensing container after removing the liquid adhering to the nozzle by a droplet removing unit.   The dispensing device according to claim 4, wherein the head moving device can position the nozzle in the opening so that the nozzle does not contact a peripheral edge of the opening. A dispensing method used in a dispensing apparatus having a dispensing head capable of discharging a liquid contained in a liquid container into a nozzle and then discharging the liquid into the dispensing container,
Sucking the liquid from the container and storing the liquid in the nozzle;
The nozzle of the dispensing head in the liquid drop removing unit, and the air outlet that blows out the gas to a position facing the opening center with respect to the opening portion, the main body having an opening on the upper surface that is larger than the diameter of the nozzle Inserted into the opening of the droplet removing unit having
Removing the liquid adhering to the outside of the nozzle located in the opening by blowing out gas from the outlet;
A dispensing method, wherein a dispensing operation is performed by moving the dispensing head to the dispensing container and discharging the liquid contained in the nozzle into the dispensing container. A droplet removing device for a dispensing device that removes droplets attached to the outside of a nozzle that sucks and holds the liquid stored in the liquid storage container,
An opening larger than the diameter of the nozzle and a pipe line having a blow-out port for blowing out gas, and configured to blow gas from the blow-out port to the outside of the nozzle in a state where a nozzle holding liquid is inserted into the opening. The main body,
A compressed gas supply pipe having one end connected to the pipe line and the other end connected to a compressed gas supply unit for supplying compressed gas;
A valve disposed in the middle of the compressed gas supply pipe;
A valve drive for opening and closing the valve;
A droplet removing device for a dispensing device.   The droplet removing device according to claim 7, wherein an air outlet of the conduit is provided at a position facing the opening center.   9. The droplet removing device according to claim 7, wherein the outlet is configured to blow out gas in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of the nozzle. A dispensing head capable of discharging the liquid contained in the liquid container into the nozzle and then discharging it to the dispensing container;
An opening larger than the diameter of the nozzle and a pipe line having a blow-out port for blowing out gas, and configured to blow gas from the blow-out port to the outside of the nozzle in a state where a nozzle holding liquid is inserted into the opening. The main body,
A compressed gas supply pipe having one end connected to the pipe line and the other end connected to a compressed gas supply unit for supplying compressed gas;
A valve disposed in the middle of the compressed gas supply pipe;
A valve drive for opening and closing the valve;
A dispensing apparatus comprising: a head moving device that moves the dispensing head to the liquid storage container, the dispensing container, and the opening in a predetermined order. The dispensing device according to claim 10, wherein the head moving device is capable of positioning the nozzle in the opening so that the nozzle does not contact a peripheral edge of the opening.

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