JP2008026221A - Storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a storage container of simple constitution capable of sucking exactly a liquid, without detecting a liquid level, when sucking the liquid using a probe. <P>SOLUTION: This storage container is provided with an opening part 11 for inserting the probe P for sucking and delivering the liquid Lq, a storage part 12 for suction for storing the liquid sucked by the probe P, a storage part 13 for supply for supplying the liquid Lq to the storage part 12 for the suction, and shielded from the atmosphere via the liquid Lq, a partitioning wall 14 for forming a boundary between the storage part 12 for the suction and the storage part 13 for the supply, and for defining the liquid level S<SB>1</SB>of the liquid Lq in the storage part 12 for the suction, and a communication part 15 positioned in an under side of the partitioning wall 14, and for communicating the storage part 12 for the suction with the storage part 13 for the supply. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage container that stores a liquid.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an automatic analyzer that analyzes a component of a sample by reacting the sample with a reagent, a predetermined amount of the tip of an aspiration probe for aspirating the reagent or the sample enters from the liquid surface. At this time, since the reagent and the sample adhere to the probe, the tip of the probe after ejection is washed so that the reagent and the sample are not contaminated when the next aspiration is performed. In consideration of the cleaning efficiency of the probe, it is preferable that the amount of liquid adhering to the probe during suction is small. For this reason, measures are taken to minimize the depth of penetration of the probe tip into the reagent or sample by accurately detecting the liquid level of the reagent or sample and allowing the probe to penetrate a predetermined amount from the detected liquid level. Has been.

  However, conventional liquid level detection technology does not stop at the height of the liquid level, but the probe enters the bottom of the reagent bottle or sample container, or stops until the probe reaches the level of the liquid level. There were times when I missed. In the former case, since liquid adheres to the outer wall of the probe over a wide range, there is a concern of contamination of the reagent or specimen to be sucked next. In the latter case, the data has a low value, and there is a possibility that an abnormal sample is determined to be normal.

  In order to solve such problems, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for stabilizing the dispensing operation by keeping the liquid level constant and keeping the probe operation constant. .

  Moreover, in the following Patent Documents 2 and 3, a technique for making the liquid level constant is disclosed as a pet water supply device.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-14054 Registered Utility Model No. 3032261 US Pat. No. 5,259,336

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the analysis container and the replenishment container are separate, and it is necessary to provide an air supply tube and a liquid supply tube, and the configuration is complicated.

  Moreover, in the said patent documents 2 and 3, although the structure which diverted a plastic bottle is disclosed, since it is clear also from being for pets, since the position of the water feeder is assumed to be fixed, it is assumed. It has not been considered that the container itself moves like a reagent container applied in an automatic analyzer. In addition, since it is pets (animals) that drink water (liquid is sucked), liquid sticks to the suction side when the liquid level fluctuates up and down like a probe of an automatic analyzer. Was not considered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, has a simple configuration, and realizes accurate liquid suction without performing liquid level detection when performing liquid suction using a probe. It aims at providing the storage container which can be performed.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided in a dispensing apparatus including a probe for sucking and discharging liquid, and stores the liquid sucked by the probe. A container having an opening into which the probe is inserted and storing the liquid, and supplying the liquid to the suction storage section and interposing between the liquid and the atmosphere. A barrier for the supply reservoir to be shielded, a partition between the reservoir for suction and the reservoir for supply, and defining a liquid level of the liquid in the reservoir for suction; and located below the partition And a communication portion that communicates the suction storage portion and the supply storage portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the area of the suction reservoir in a plane orthogonal to the insertion direction in which the probe is inserted from the opening is in a plane orthogonal to the insertion direction. It is smaller than the area of the supply reservoir.

  The invention described in claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reagent is stored in the automatic analyzer that analyzes the components of the sample by reacting the sample with the reagent. And

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the sample and / or the reagent is disposed in an automatic analyzer that analyzes a component of the sample by reacting the sample with the reagent. The diluting liquid to be diluted is stored.

  The storage container according to the present invention has an opening into which a probe for sucking and discharging a liquid is inserted, the suction storage section for storing the liquid sucked by the probe, and the suction storage section. A supply reservoir that supplies liquid and is shielded from the atmosphere via the liquid, and forms a boundary between the suction reservoir and the supply reservoir, and the liquid in the suction reservoir The structure is simple, and the probe is used by providing a partition that defines the liquid level and a communication part that is located below the partition and communicates the storage part for suction and the storage part for supply. Therefore, accurate liquid suction can be realized without detecting the liquid level when the liquid is sucked.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the drawings referred to in the following description are merely schematic, and when the same object is shown in different drawings, dimensions, scales, and the like may be different.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a storage container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. The storage container 1 shown in these drawings has an opening 11 into which a probe for sucking and discharging liquid is inserted, a suction storage section 12 for storing liquid sucked by a probe inserted from the opening 11, and an aspiration A supply reservoir 13 that supplies liquid to the storage reservoir 12 and is shielded from the atmosphere via the liquid, and extends from the upper surface of the storage container 1, and stores the suction reservoir 12 and supply reservoir 13. And a communication portion 15 that communicates the suction storage portion 12 and the supply storage portion 13 below the partition wall 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the area M _{2 on} the xy plane of the suction reservoir 12 is smaller than the area M ₁ on the xy plane of the supply reservoir 13 (M ₁ > M ₂ ). That is, the area of the suction reservoir 12 in the plane orthogonal to the insertion direction in which the probe is inserted from the opening 21 is smaller than the area of the supply reservoir 13 in the plane orthogonal to the insertion direction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the liquid Lq is accommodated in the storage container 1 and a state in which the probe P included in the dispensing device that performs suction and discharge of the liquid Lq is inserted through the opening 11 to perform suction. is there. In this figure, the liquid is injected so that the height h from the bottom surface in the storage container 1 to the lower end surface of the partition wall 14 is equal to the height from the bottom surface of the liquid surface S ₁ in the suction storage unit 12. That is, the partition wall 14 has a function of defining the height of the liquid surface S ₁ in the suction storage unit 12.

When injecting the liquid Lq into the storage container 1, first, the storage container 1 is rotated 90 degrees from the z-axis direction to the x-axis direction around the y-axis from the state shown in FIG. Parallel to (horizontal). Thereafter, a predetermined amount of liquid Lq is injected from the opening 11. The injection amount of the liquid Lq is determined so that the liquid surface S ₁ in the suction storage portion 12 becomes the lower end surface of the partition wall 14 when the storage container 1 is returned to the original state, that is, as shown in FIG. Keep it.

The storage container 1 into which the liquid Lq has been injected is mounted on a predetermined dispensing device, and the liquid Lq is sucked by the thin tubular probe P. The probe P, which is inserted from above through the opening 11 and sucks the liquid Lq, is set so that its descending amount becomes a constant value in advance. More specifically, it is set in advance so as to descend to a position where the penetration depth from the liquid surface S ₁ at the tip of the probe P becomes Δu.

Since the probe P is in the state shown in FIG. 4 before starting the suction, which is balanced to the pressure exerted by the pressure and supply reservoir 13 applied by the suction reservoir 12 to the communicating portion 15, the liquid surface S ₁ And S ₂ are constant. Note that the volume of the tip portion of the probe P is very small, and the rise in the liquid level S ₁ caused by the tip portion entering the liquid Lq is negligible.

When the probe P sucks a predetermined amount of the liquid Lq in the state shown in FIG. 4, the liquid Lq stored in the suction storage unit 12 decreases, so that the liquid level S ₁ instantaneously falls below the lower end surface of the partition wall 14. As a result, the balance between the pressure applied from the suction storage section 12 and the pressure applied from the supply storage section 13 in the communication section 15 is broken, and air flows from the suction storage section 12 into the supply storage section 13. The liquid level S ₂ of the supply reservoir 13 is lowered by the inflowing air, and a part of the liquid Lq stored in the supply reservoir 13 flows into the suction reservoir 12 via the communication portion 15. . As a result, the pressure applied to the communication unit 15 from the suction storage unit 12 side and the pressure received from the supply storage unit 13 side are balanced again to be in a steady state. The liquid level S ₁ of the suction storage section 12 in this steady state is always the lower end face of the partition wall 14 while the liquid level S ₂ of the supply storage section 13 is located above the lower end face of the partition wall 14. Match.

As is clear from the above description, after a predetermined amount of the liquid Lq is sucked by the probe P, the liquid Lq is supplied to the suction storage section 12 from the supply storage section 13, and the liquid in the suction storage section 12 is supplied. The height of the surface S ₁ is kept constant. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to detect the liquid level when the probe P is lowered, only the lowering amount of the probe P may be set in advance.

  The storage container 1 according to the first embodiment can be applied as a reagent container for storing a reagent in an automatic analyzer that analyzes the components of the specimen by reacting the specimen and the reagent. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the automatic analyzer in which the storage container 1 is arranged as a reagent container. The automatic analyzer 100 shown in the figure includes a measurement unit 101 that optically measures a reaction that occurs between a specimen and a reagent, and a data processing unit 201 that performs data processing of measurement results in the measurement unit 101. These two units cooperate to automatically and continuously analyze the components of a plurality of specimens.

  The measurement unit 101 includes a sample transfer unit 102 that stores and sequentially transfers a plurality of racks 52 on which sample containers 51 that store samples are mounted, a reagent container holding unit 103 that holds a storage container 1 as a reagent container, A reaction container holding unit 104 for holding a reaction container 53 for reacting a sample and a reagent, a sample dispensing unit 105 for dispensing a sample contained in the sample container 51 on the sample transfer unit 102 into the reaction container 53, and a probe A reagent dispensing unit 106 serving as a dispensing device for dispensing the reagent contained in the storage container 1 on the reagent container holding unit 103 to the reaction container 53, and a stirring unit for stirring the liquid inside the reaction container 53 107, a photometric unit 108 that receives light irradiated from a light source and passed through the reaction vessel 53 and measures the intensity of a predetermined wavelength component, and a cleaning unit 109 that cleans the reaction vessel 53.

  The data processing unit 201 is realized by using a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and performs operation control of the automatic analyzer 100, analysis calculation and analysis of the sample component based on the measurement result of the measurement unit 101. It has functions such as storage and input / output of various information.

  By using the storage container 1 as a reagent container of the automatic analyzer 100 having the above configuration, a liquid level detection function for detecting the liquid level of the reagent when the probe P is lowered with respect to the reagent dispensing unit 106 is provided. Therefore, accurate aspiration of the reagent can be realized.

  In general, in an automatic analyzer, a diluent for diluting a reagent or specimen may be used. When the diluting solution is realized by providing a diluting solution dispensing unit having the same configuration as the reagent dispensing unit 106, the storage container 1 can be applied as a diluting solution container.

  According to the storage container according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the suction storage section that has the opening into which the probe that sucks and discharges the liquid is inserted and stores the liquid sucked by the probe; Supplying the liquid to the suction reservoir and shielding the atmosphere with the liquid via the liquid; and a boundary between the suction reservoir and the supply reservoir; A partition that defines a liquid level of the liquid in the suction reservoir, and a communication portion that is located below the partition and communicates the suction reservoir and the supply reservoir. However, it is possible to realize accurate liquid suction without performing liquid level detection when performing liquid suction using a probe.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, since the liquid sucked from the suction storage section is supplied from the supply storage section isolated from the suction storage section, this supply is possible. The height of the liquid level can be kept constant during the interval. Therefore, the penetration depth of the probe into the liquid can be minimized. It is possible to avoid concerns about contamination and data anomalies.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a storage container according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Similar to the storage container 1 described above, the storage container 2 shown in the figure has an opening 21 for inserting a probe, a suction storage part 22 for storing liquid sucked by the probe, and a liquid to the suction storage part 22. And the supply reservoir 23 that is shielded from the atmosphere through the liquid, the suction reservoir 22 and the supply reservoir 23, and the liquid in the suction reservoir 22. A partition wall 24 that defines a surface, and a communication portion 25 that is located below the partition wall 24 and communicates with the suction storage portion 22 and the supply storage portion 23 are provided. Also in the second embodiment, the area of the suction reservoir 22 in the plane orthogonal to the insertion direction from the probe opening 21 is smaller than the area of the supply reservoir 23 in the plane orthogonal to the insertion direction. .

  Although the external shape of the storage container 2 is the same as that of the storage container 1 according to the first embodiment, the positional relationship between the storage part for suction 22 and the storage part for supply 23 is the same as that of the storage part for suction 12 of the storage container 1. The positional relationship with the supply storage unit 13 is different. Accordingly, the position of the opening 21 is also different from the position of the opening 11 and is close to the substantially trapezoidal short side formed by the upper surface of the storage container 2.

  According to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, as in the first embodiment, the configuration is simple, and an accurate liquid can be obtained without performing liquid level detection when the liquid is sucked using the probe. Can be realized. Further, since the liquid sucked from the suction reservoir is supplied from the supply reservoir isolated from the suction reservoir, the liquid level is kept constant while the supply is possible. Can be kept in. Therefore, the penetration depth of the probe into the liquid can be minimized. It is possible to avoid concerns about contamination and data anomalies.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a storage container according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. Similar to the storage container 1 described above, the storage container 3 shown in these drawings is connected to the opening 31 for inserting the probe, the suction storage section 32 for storing the liquid sucked by the probe, and the suction storage section 32. The supply reservoir 33 that supplies the liquid and is shielded from the atmosphere through the liquid, and forms a boundary between the suction reservoir 32 and the supply reservoir 33, and the liquid in the suction reservoir 32 A partition wall 34 that defines the liquid level and a communication part 35 that is located below the partition wall 34 and that communicates the suction storage part 32 and the supply storage part 33 are provided. Also in the third embodiment, the area of the suction reservoir 22 in the plane orthogonal to the insertion direction from the probe opening 31 (XY plane in FIG. 7) is the supply reservoir in the plane orthogonal to the insertion direction. The area is smaller than 23.

  In the third embodiment, the upper surface of the suction storage section 32 is formed so as to be lower than the upper surface of the supply storage section 33. Other internal configurations and operations are the storage according to the first embodiment. Similar to the container 1. Therefore, it goes without saying that such a storage container according to the third embodiment has the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments described above.

  As mentioned above, although Embodiment 1-3 was explained in full detail as the best form for implementing this invention, this invention should not be limited only by those embodiment. For example, the external shape of the container and the shape of the opening into which the probe is inserted are not necessarily limited to those described above.

  Thus, the present invention can include various embodiments and the like not described herein, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the technical idea specified by the claims. It is possible to apply.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the storage container which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the use condition of the storage container which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the principal part of the automatic analyzer which has arrange | positioned the storage container which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention as a reagent container. It is a figure which shows the structure of the storage container which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the storage container which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3 Storage container 11, 21, 31 Opening part 12, 22, 32 Suction storage part 13, 23, 33 Supply storage part 14, 24, 34 Bulkhead 15, 25, 35 Communication part 51 Sample container 52 Rack 53 Reaction container 100 Automatic analyzer 101 Measurement unit 102 Sample transfer part 103 Reagent container holding part 104 Reaction container holding part 105 Sample dispensing part 106 Reagent dispensing part 107 Stirring part 108 Photometric part 109 Washing part 201 Data processing unit Lq Liquid P probe S _1, S ₂ liquid surface

Claims (4)

A storage container that is disposed in a dispensing device that includes a probe that sucks and discharges liquid, and stores the liquid sucked by the probe,
A suction storage section for storing the liquid, having an opening into which the probe is inserted;
A supply reservoir that supplies the liquid to the suction reservoir and is shielded from the atmosphere via the liquid;
A partition that defines a boundary between the suction reservoir and the supply reservoir, and defines a liquid level of the liquid in the suction reservoir;
A communication part located below the partition wall, and communicating the suction storage part and the supply storage part;
A storage container comprising:   The area of the suction reservoir in a plane orthogonal to the insertion direction in which the probe is inserted from the opening is smaller than the area of the supply reservoir in a plane orthogonal to the insertion direction. Item 1. A storage container according to item 1.   3. The storage container according to claim 1, wherein the storage container is disposed in an automatic analyzer that analyzes a component of the sample by reacting the sample with a reagent, and stores the reagent.   3. The automatic analyzer that analyzes the components of the specimen by reacting the specimen and the reagent, and stores a diluent for diluting the specimen and / or the reagent. Storage container.

Images