JP2009068879A - Dispensing device, dispensing nozzle cleaning method for the dispensing device, and automatic analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small-sized dispensing device having simple structure of a vibration generating part, capable of acquiring full cleaning efficiency, a dispensing nozzle cleaning method of the dispensing device, and to provide an automatic analyzer. <P>SOLUTION: In the dispensing device, a liquid sample containing a specimen or a reagent is sucked by the dispensing nozzle, and the liquid sample sucked is discharged into a reaction vessel, and perform dispensation. The dispensing nozzle cleaning method for the dispensing device, and the automatic analyzer are also provided. The dispensing nozzle 10b of the dispensing device 10 is equipped with a surface acoustic wave element 11 on the outer wall, corresponding to an inner wall domain to be in contact with the liquid sample, when sucking the liquid sample. After dispensation of the liquid sample, the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven, when cleaning water is discharged to clean the dispensing nozzle, and emits a sound wave toward the cleaning water in the dispensing nozzle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispensing device, a dispensing nozzle cleaning method for an dispensing device, and an automatic analyzer.

  Conventionally, an automatic analyzer for analyzing a biological sample such as blood or body fluid dispenses a liquid sample such as a specimen or a reagent into a reaction container using a dispensing device. At this time, the automatic analyzer avoids carry-over of specimens and reagents and maintains high-precision analysis results. There has been known one that positively cleans the dispensing nozzle by generating the above (for example, see Patent Document 1). The automatic analyzer disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs cleaning by generating cavitation in the cleaning water by ultrasonic vibration and pulverizing dirt adhering to the dispensing nozzle by a shock wave accompanying the cavitation.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-9670

  By the way, normally, the portion where dirt easily adheres is the tip of the dispensing nozzle. However, in the automatic analyzer of Patent Document 1, the vibration generating portion that generates ultrasonic vibrations is on the supporting portion of the dispensing nozzle in the opposite direction. Due to the location, sufficient cleaning efficiency cannot be obtained, and the structure of the vibration generating part is complicated and large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to obtain sufficient cleaning efficiency, the structure of the vibration generating unit is simple, and a compact dispensing device, a dispensing nozzle cleaning method for a dispensing device, and an automatic An object is to provide an analyzer.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the dispensing apparatus of the present invention sucks a liquid sample containing a specimen or a reagent by a dispensing nozzle, and discharges the sucked liquid sample to a reaction container. In the dispensing apparatus for performing the pouring, the dispensing nozzle includes a surface acoustic wave element on an outer wall corresponding to an inner wall region in contact with the liquid sample when the liquid sample is sucked, and the surface acoustic wave element is After dispensing the liquid sample, the liquid sample is driven when washing water is discharged to wash the dispensing nozzle, and sound waves are emitted toward the washing water in the dispensing nozzle.

  The dispensing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned invention, the dispensing nozzle is provided with the surface acoustic wave element at least at a distal end side for discharging the liquid sample.

  In the dispensing device according to the present invention, in the above invention, the dispensing nozzle has a tapered portion at a distal end of a straight pipe portion, and the taper portion and an outer wall of the straight pipe portion adjacent to the tapered portion are arranged on the outer wall. A surface acoustic wave element is provided.

  Moreover, the dispensing apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, a plurality of the surface acoustic wave elements are provided.

  In the dispensing device of the present invention, the surface acoustic wave element is attached to the dispensing nozzle via a block member having a flat surface on the outer surface.

  In the dispensing device according to the present invention, the surface acoustic wave element includes a plurality of comb-like electrodes formed on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate arranged in a substantially longitudinal direction of the dispensing nozzle. It is characterized by.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the dispensing nozzle cleaning method of the dispensing device of the present invention is configured to suck a liquid sample containing a specimen or a reagent with a dispensing nozzle and suck the liquid sample. A dispensing nozzle cleaning method for a dispensing apparatus that dispenses by dispensing the reaction surface into a reaction vessel, wherein the surface acoustic wave device is washed during the cleaning in which the dispensing nozzle is washed by discharging cleaning water from the dispensing nozzle. Driven to emit sound waves toward the wash water in the dispensing nozzle.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the automatic analyzer of the present invention stirs and reacts a sample and a reagent, measures the optical characteristics of the reaction solution, and analyzes the reaction solution. An automatic analyzer that dispenses the sample or the reagent using the dispensing device.

  In the dispensing apparatus of the present invention, the dispensing nozzle includes a surface acoustic wave element on the outer wall corresponding to the inner wall region that comes into contact with the liquid sample when the liquid sample is aspirated. It is driven when washing water is discharged to wash the dispensing nozzle. Sound waves are emitted toward the washing water in the dispensing nozzle. The surface acoustic wave element is driven during cleaning to discharge and clean the dispensing nozzle, and emits sound waves toward the cleaning water in the dispensing nozzle. Further, since the automatic analyzer of the present invention dispenses a sample or a reagent using the dispensing device, sufficient washing efficiency is obtained, the structure of the vibration generating unit is simple, and a small dispensing device, The dispensing nozzle cleaning method and the automatic analyzer of the dispensing device can be provided.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 concerning the dispensing device of the present invention, the dispensing nozzle cleaning method of the dispensing device, and the automatic analyzer will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the automatic analyzer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the dispensing apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the dispensing nozzle shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic analyzer 1 includes a first reagent table 2, a second reagent table 3, a reaction table 5, a first reagent dispensing device 7, a second reagent dispensing device 8, and a sample container transfer unit 9. , A sample dispensing device 10, a stirring unit 21, a photometric unit 22, a washing unit 23, a control unit 25, an input unit 26, a display unit 27, and the like.

  Since the first reagent table 2 and the second reagent table 3 have the same structure, the first reagent table 2 will be described. For the second reagent table 3, reference numerals corresponding to corresponding components are used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first reagent table 2 conveys a plurality of reagent containers 2 a rotated and held by driving means in the circumferential direction. At this time, the first reagent table 2 has the first reading unit 2b arranged on the outer periphery. The first reading unit 2b reads information on an information recording medium such as a barcode label attached to the plurality of reagent containers 2a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the reaction table 5 includes a plurality of reaction containers 6 arranged in the circumferential direction, and is rotated forward or reverse by a driving means different from the driving means of the reagent tables 2 and 3. Transport. For example, the reaction table 5 rotates clockwise (1 turn-1 reaction vessel) / 4 in one cycle and rotates (1 turn-1 reaction vessel) in four cycles.

  The reaction vessel 6 is a very small cuvette having a square tube shape capacity of several nL to several hundred μL, and is a transparent material that transmits 80% or more of the light contained in the analysis light emitted from the photometry unit 22, such as heat-resistant glass. Synthetic resins such as glass, cyclic olefin and polystyrene are used. In the reaction container 6, the reagent is dispensed from the reagent containers 2 a and 3 a of the first reagent table 2 and the second reagent table 3 by the first reagent dispensing device 7 and the second reagent dispensing device 8 provided in the vicinity of the reaction table 5. Noted.

  Here, since the first reagent dispensing device 7 and the second reagent dispensing device 8 have the same structure, the first reagent dispensing device 7 will be described, and the second reagent dispensing device 8 will be supported. The code | symbol corresponding to the component to perform is used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first reagent dispensing device 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the horizontal plane between the reagent container 2 a and the reaction container 6, and is moved up and down in the vertical direction. And one end of the arm 7a is supported by an upper portion of a post (not shown). In the first reagent dispensing device 7, a washing tank 7c for washing the dispensing nozzle 7b with washing water is arranged on the movement locus of the dispensing nozzle 7b. The washing tank 7c discards the washing water discharged from the dispensing nozzle 7b and washed the inside of the dispensing nozzle 7b, and washes the outside of the dispensing nozzle 7b with the washing water ejected into the tank.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the specimen container transfer unit 9 is a transfer unit that transfers a plurality of racks 9 a along the direction of the arrow, and transfers the racks 9 a while being advanced. The rack 9a holds a plurality of sample containers 9b that store samples. Here, the specimen container transfer section 9 is provided with a cold storage 9c for accommodating an emergency specimen in the center. The sample container 9b dispenses the sample into each reaction container 6 by the sample dispensing device 10 every time the step of the rack 9a transferred by the sample container transfer unit 9 stops.

  The sample dispensing apparatus 10 is a dispensing apparatus according to the present invention that sucks a sample from the sample container 9b and discharges the sucked sample into the reaction container 6 to perform dispensing, as shown in FIGS. The drive arm 10a that rotates horizontally between the reaction container 5 and the specimen container 9b and moves up and down, the dispensing nozzle 10b supported by the drive arm 10a, and the support column that supports the drive arm 10a 10c and a washing tank 10d for washing the dispensing nozzle 10b. The dispensing nozzle 10b is made of a metal such as stainless steel, and after discharging the sucked specimen to the reaction container 6, the cleaning water W (see FIGS. 5 and 6) supplied from the pipe 15 is discharged to the cleaning tank 10d. As a result, the inside is cleaned. The cleaning tank 10d is connected to a pipe for ejecting cleaning water into the tank and a pipe for discharging cleaning water that has been ejected into the tank to clean the outer surface of the dispensing nozzle 10b. Similar to the cleaning tank 7c, it is arranged on the movement locus of the dispensing nozzle 10b.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the dispensing nozzle 10b has a tapered portion Pt formed at the tip of the straight pipe portion Ps, and each of the outer wall of the straight pipe portion Ps adjacent to the tapered portion Pt and the tapered portion Pt. Are provided with surface acoustic wave elements 11 arranged opposite to each other. The surface acoustic wave element 11 is provided on the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle 10b corresponding to the inner wall region that comes into contact with the specimen when the specimen is aspirated, specifically on the outer wall of a portion where dirt easily adheres. The sample dispensing apparatus 10 includes a nozzle drive mechanism 12 that rotates and drives the drive arm 10a.

  Here, the inner wall region that comes into contact with the sample when the sample is aspirated by the dispensing nozzle 10b is an inner wall region along the longitudinal direction of the dispensing nozzle 10b where the sample enters the dispensing nozzle 10b from the tip when the sample is aspirated. The inner wall region is ½ of the total length from the tip of the dispensing nozzle 10b, and is usually the inner wall region of 3/10 to 7/20 of the total length from the tip of the dispensing nozzle 10b. Therefore, the surface acoustic wave element 11 is provided in a range of ½ of the entire length from the tip of the dispensing nozzle 10b.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the surface acoustic wave element 11 includes, for example, a vibrator 11b made of a plurality of comb-like electrodes (IDT) on one surface of a piezoelectric substrate 11a made of lithium niobate (LiNbO3) or the like. Is provided, and an electric terminal 11d as a power receiving means is provided at the end of the bus bar 11c, and the structure is simple, and the sound wave generating means is a square having a side of several millimeters. The surface acoustic wave element 11 has a plurality of comb-shaped electrodes separated by directing the vibrator 11b and the electric terminal 11d outward so that sound waves (bulk waves) are emitted toward the cleaning water in the dispensing nozzle 10b. It is attached to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle 10b via the adhesive Ad so as to be arranged along the substantially longitudinal direction of the dispensing nozzle 10b. The vibrator 11b generates a sound wave (bulk wave) by electric power transmitted from a power source via a connection cable having one end connected to the electric terminal 11d. For this reason, the cover which covers the dispensing nozzle 10b together with the power cable is attached.

  The adhesive Ad needs to have a function as an acoustic matching layer in addition to bonding the surface acoustic wave element 11 to the dispensing nozzle 10b, and uses an epoxy resin, an ultraviolet curable resin, or the like. The surface acoustic wave element 11 is electrically insulated from a liquid sample such as a reagent or specimen by forming an insulating film on the surface on which the vibrator 11b is formed including the portion of the electric terminal 11d to which the power cable is connected. ing.

  The nozzle drive mechanism 12 moves the dispensing nozzle 10b up and down and rotates it, and has a rotating motor 13 and a lifting motor 14 as shown in FIG. In the rotating motor 13, a timing belt 13c is wound around a wheel 13b attached to the rotating shaft 13a and a wheel 10e attached to the support column 10c. The elevating motor 14 rotates the screw shaft 14b by the timing belt 14a, and moves the elevating block 14d up and down along the screw shaft 14b. The timing belt 14a is wound around a wheel attached to the rotating shaft and a wheel 14c attached to the lower end of the screw shaft 14b. Here, the raising / lowering block 14d is attached to the lower end of the support | pillar 10c, is supporting the support | pillar 10c, and comprises the ball screw with the screw shaft 14b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the stirring unit 21 is disposed in the vicinity of the second reagent dispensing device 8 on the outer periphery of the reaction table 5 and stirs a liquid sample containing the specimen and the reagent dispensed in the reaction container 6. For example, a stirring device that stirs a liquid sample in a non-contact manner using a surface acoustic wave element or a stirring device that stirs a liquid sample using a stirring rod is used as the stirring unit 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the photometric unit 22 is disposed between the stirring unit 21 and the cleaning unit 23 on the outer periphery of the reaction table 5, and analyzes the reaction solution in the reaction container 6 in which the reagent and the sample have reacted. The analysis light is emitted. The photometry unit 22 outputs an optical signal related to the amount of analysis light that has passed through the reaction liquid in the reaction vessel 6 to the control unit 25.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 23 is disposed near the sample dispensing device 10 on the outer periphery of the reaction table 5, and after the reaction liquid in the reaction container 6 is sucked and discharged by the nozzle, the detergent or the cleaning is discharged from the nozzle. The inside of the reaction vessel 6 in which photometry by the photometry unit 22 has been completed is washed by repeating the operation of injecting and sucking a cleaning solution such as water a plurality of times.

  The control unit 25 is, for example, a microcomputer and is connected to the automatic analyzer 1 as shown in FIG. 1 to control the operation of each component of the automatic analyzer 1 and the light output from the photometric unit 22 Analyze the component concentration of the sample from the absorbance of the reaction solution based on the signal. In addition, the control unit 25 executes the analysis operation while controlling the operation of each component of the automatic analyzer 1 based on the analysis command input from the input unit 26 such as a keyboard, as well as analysis results and warning information. Various information based on the display command input from the input unit 26 is displayed on the display unit 27 such as a display panel.

  The automatic analyzer 1 configured as described above operates under the control of the control unit 25, and the sample dispensing apparatus 10 is supplied to the plurality of reaction containers 6 conveyed along the circumferential direction by the rotating reaction table 5. Thus, the samples are sequentially dispensed from the plurality of sample containers 9b held in the rack 9a. Reagent dispensing mechanisms 7 and 8 sequentially dispense reagents from the reagent containers 2a and 3a into the reaction container 6 into which the specimens are sequentially dispensed.

  In this way, each time the reaction table 5 is stopped, the reaction container 6 into which the reagent and the sample have been dispensed is sequentially stirred by the stirring unit 21 so that the reagent and the sample react and the reaction table 5 rotates again. Passes through the photometric unit 22. At this time, the reaction solution in which the reagent in the reaction container 6 has reacted with the sample is measured by the photometry unit 22 and the concentration of the component is analyzed by the control unit 25. Then, after the photometry of the reaction liquid is completed, the reaction container 6 is transferred to the washing unit 23 and washed, and then used again for analyzing the specimen.

  At this time, in the specimen dispensing apparatus 10 of Embodiment 1, the surface acoustic wave element 11 is provided on the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle 10b with the vibrator 11b and the electrical terminal 11d facing outward. For this reason, the specimen dispensing apparatus 10 drives the surface acoustic wave element 11 during cleaning in which cleaning water is discharged from the dispensing nozzle 10b to clean the dispensing nozzle 10b. Then, the bulk wave generated by the vibrator 11b of the surface acoustic wave element 11 propagates in the wall of the adhesive Ad and the dispensing nozzle 10b, and is emitted into the cleaning water W as indicated by arrows in FIG. . In this way, the bulk wave emitted into the cleaning water W causes the flow of the cleaning water to be caused near the wall surface to prevent the dirt from adhering to the dispensing nozzle 10b, and the adhered dirt is positively peeled off. The discharged cleaning water W is discharged into the cleaning tank 10d. In this case, when the cleaning water is discharged without driving the surface acoustic wave element 11, the dispensing nozzle 10b has the maximum flow rate of the cleaning water near the center of the nozzle, but near the wall surface due to the frictional resistance with the wall surface. The flow rate is almost zero. For this reason, it is meaningful to drive the surface acoustic wave element 11 during cleaning.

  At this time, in the dispensing nozzle cleaning method of the dispensing apparatus of the present invention, the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven at the time of cleaning for discharging the cleaning water from the dispensing nozzle 10b to clean the dispensing nozzle 10b. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7 showing the timing at which the cleaning water is discharged from the dispensing nozzle 10b and the timing at which the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven, the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven simultaneously with the start of the discharge of the cleaning water. Start. However, if the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven at the time of cleaning, that is, if the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven while the cleaning water is being discharged from the dispensing nozzle 10b, it is not necessarily the same as the start of discharge of the cleaning water. It is not necessary to start driving the surface acoustic wave element 11. For example, the discharge time Tw of the cleaning water from the start of discharge and the drive time Ts of the surface acoustic wave element 11 may be the same or the drive time Ts (<TW) may be shorter than the discharge time Tw. For example, the discharge time Tw of the cleaning water is around 1 second, and the discharge water amount during that time is 1 to 3 mL. If the drive time Ts is longer than the discharge time Tw, it is not preferable because the peeled dirt cannot be discharged from the dispensing nozzle 10b.

  Here, when the surface acoustic wave element 11 is driven, it may be driven at a constant driving power and a driving frequency (for example, 1 W, 100 MHz) as shown in the first stage of FIG. It may be driven under such intermittent drive or amplitude modulation shown in the third stage. With such a driving method, the specimen dispensing apparatus 10 has a strong and weak flow generated in the wash water due to the bulk wave, which prevents the dirt from adhering to the dispensing nozzle 10b or increases the effect of removing the dirt. The cleaning efficiency when cleaning the dispensing nozzle 10b is improved.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, sufficient cleaning efficiency is obtained, and the structure of the surface acoustic wave element 11 that is a vibration generating unit is simpler and smaller than that of Patent Document 1. A sample dispensing device 10, a dispensing nozzle cleaning method of the sample dispensing device 10, and an automatic analyzer 1 are provided.

  Here, the dispensing nozzle 10b of the sample dispensing device 10 is shown in FIG. 9 as long as the surface acoustic wave element 11 is provided on the outer wall of the portion that is at least the tip side that discharges the sample and easily adheres to dirt. As described above, the two surface acoustic wave elements 11 may be provided in the tapered portion Pt, or the two surface acoustic wave elements 11 may be provided below the straight pipe portion Ps adjacent to the tapered portion Pt. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, two surface acoustic wave elements 11 to be arranged opposite to each other are arranged with their positions shifted in the vertical direction, one surface acoustic wave element 11 is provided in the straight pipe portion Ps, and the other surface elasticity is provided. The wave element 11 may be provided on the tapered portion Pt.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the dispensing nozzle 10b may be a nozzle including a straight pipe portion Ps that does not have a tapered portion Pt at the tip. In this case, the four surface acoustic wave elements 11 are attached by an adhesive Ad that also functions as an acoustic matching layer so as to face each other at least the outer wall on the distal end side of the straight pipe portion Ps that discharges the specimen. The surface acoustic wave element 11 may be attached to the dispensing nozzle 10b with the vibrator 11b and the electric terminal 11d facing inward, and emit surface acoustic waves toward the cleaning water in the dispensing nozzle 10b. .

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the dispensing device, the dispensing nozzle cleaning method of the dispensing device, and the automatic analyzer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Whereas the dispensing device of the first embodiment has the surface acoustic wave element attached to the dispensing nozzle by an adhesive, the dispensing device of the second embodiment has a surface acoustic wave element via a block member having a flat surface on the outer surface. Is attached to the dispensing nozzle.

  Here, the automatic analyzer according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the dispensing apparatus according to the first embodiment except that the configuration of the sample dispensing apparatus is slightly different. For this reason, the automatic analyzer will be described using the same reference numerals for the same components as those of the automatic analyzer of the first embodiment, omitting the drawings. FIG. 12 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the dispensing apparatus of the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle with the cover shown in FIG. 12 removed. FIG. 14 is a front view of the dispensing nozzle shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the sample dispensing apparatus 10A includes a high-frequency power supply 16, a changeover switch 17, and a connection line 18 that transmits power to each surface acoustic wave element 11 attached to the dispensing nozzle 10b. The injection nozzle 10b is accommodated in the cover 10g together with the plurality of connection lines 18. Here, in the specimen dispensing apparatus 10A, the plurality of connection lines 18 and the cleaning water pipe 15 are wired through the column 10c.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the specimen dispensing apparatus 10A of Embodiment 2 has the surface acoustic wave element 11 attached to the dispensing nozzle 10b via the block member 19.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the block member 19 is molded into a rectangular block having an attachment plane for attaching the surface acoustic wave element 11 on the outer periphery, and attached to the dispensing nozzle 10 b by soldering or brazing. However, the block member 19 is not limited to a rectangular shape as long as it has a mounting plane to which the surface acoustic wave element 11 is attached. On the other hand, the surface acoustic wave element 11 is attached to the four outer surfaces of the block member 19 with the vibrator 11b and the electric terminal 11d facing inward. Here, since loss of energy from the surface acoustic wave element 11 is reduced, the block member 19 is preferably a material having an acoustic impedance between the dispensing nozzle 10b and the piezoelectric substrate 11a, and the acoustic impedance is divided. More preferably, it is the same material as the injection nozzle 10b.

  The high frequency power supply 16 is provided with a changeover switch 17 in the middle of a connection line 18 that transmits power to each surface acoustic wave element 11, and the surface acoustic wave element 11 that transmits power is switched by the changeover switch 17. At this time, although the changeover switch 17 is switched by the control unit 25, the four surface acoustic wave elements 11 can be driven simultaneously, or can be driven clockwise or counterclockwise in turn.

  The specimen dispensing apparatus 10A configured as described above drives the surface acoustic wave element 11 during cleaning for discharging the cleaning water from the dispensing nozzle 10b to clean the dispensing nozzle 10b. Then, the vibrator 11b of the surface acoustic wave element 11 generates a surface acoustic wave. However, this surface acoustic wave only travels along the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 11a of the surface acoustic wave element 11 between the block member 19, and as shown by an arrow in FIG. It is converted and propagated and emitted into the cleaning water W. In this way, the bulk wave emitted into the cleaning water W causes the flow of the cleaning water to be caused near the wall surface to prevent the dirt from adhering to the dispensing nozzle 10b, and the adhered dirt is positively peeled off. The discharged cleaning water W is discharged into the cleaning tank 10d.

  At this time, when the specimen dispensing apparatus 10A drives the four surface acoustic wave elements 11 shown in FIG. 15 clockwise or counterclockwise in turn, the sample dispensing apparatus 10A has a wall surface as compared with the case where the four surface acoustic wave elements 11 are driven simultaneously. Since the direction of the flow of the cleaning water caused in the vicinity becomes the same and the flow rate increases, the cleaning efficiency when cleaning the dispensing nozzle 10b is improved.

  Here, the specimen dispensing apparatus 10A, for example, attaches four surface acoustic wave elements 11 having driving frequencies of 100 MHz, 110 MHz, 120 MHz, and 130 MHz to the block member 19 clockwise or counterclockwise, as shown in FIG. The high-frequency power supply 16 and the four surface acoustic wave elements 11 may be connected in parallel by a single connection line 18. In this case, when the frequency of the electric power generated by the control unit 25 is switched in the order of 100 MHz, 110 MHz, 120 MHz, and 130 MHz, the high frequency power supply 16 can drive the corresponding surface acoustic wave elements 11 in order clockwise or counterclockwise. it can. In this way, the sample dispensing apparatus 10A does not require the changeover switch 17, and only one connection line 18 is required. Therefore, there is an advantage that the configuration can be simplified and the size can be reduced.

  The sample dispensing device 10 and the sample dispensing device 10A transmit power to the surface acoustic wave element 11 by wired power feeding, but may transmit power by wireless power feeding.

  Moreover, although the case where the dispensing device is a sample dispensing device has been described, the dispensing device of the present invention can also be applied to a reagent dispensing device. Furthermore, although the automatic analyzer 1 has been described as having the reagent tables 2 and 3, the number of reagent tables may be one, and a plurality of units may be connected with the automatic analyzer 1 as one unit.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an automatic analyzer according to a first embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the dispensing apparatus of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the A section enlarged view of FIG. It is a front view of the dispensing nozzle shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line C1-C1 in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line C2-C2 in FIG. It is a figure which shows the timing which discharges washing water from the dispensing nozzle in the dispensing apparatus of Embodiment 1, and the timing which drives a surface acoustic wave element. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the drive voltage in the case of driving the surface acoustic wave element attached to the dispensing nozzle, and a drive frequency. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the 1st modification regarding arrangement | positioning of the surface acoustic wave element attached to a dispensing nozzle. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the 2nd modification regarding arrangement | positioning of the surface acoustic wave element attached to a dispensing nozzle. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the arrangement | positioning of the surface acoustic wave element attached to a dispensing nozzle, and the 3rd modification regarding the shape of a dispensing nozzle. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the dispensing apparatus of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the front-end | tip vicinity of the dispensing nozzle which removed the cover shown in FIG. It is a front view of the dispensing nozzle shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the C3-C3 line of the dispensing nozzle shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows schematic structure which concerns on the modification of the dispensing apparatus of Embodiment 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic analyzer 2 1st reagent table 3 2nd reagent table 5 Reaction table 6 Reaction container 7 1st reagent dispensing apparatus 8 2nd reagent dispensing apparatus 9 Sample container transfer part 10 Sample dispensing apparatus 10b Dispensing nozzle 10A Sample Dispensing device 11 Surface acoustic wave element 12 Nozzle drive mechanism 13 Rotating motor 14 Lifting motor 15 Piping 16 High frequency power supply 17 Changeover switch 18 Connection line 19 Block member 21 Stirring unit 22 Photometric unit 23 Cleaning unit 25 Control unit 26 Input unit 27 Display Part Ps Straight pipe part Pt Taper part

Claims (8)

A dispensing apparatus that sucks a liquid sample containing a specimen or a reagent by a dispensing nozzle, and discharges the sucked liquid sample to a reaction container to perform dispensing.
The dispensing nozzle includes a surface acoustic wave element on an outer wall corresponding to an inner wall region that comes into contact with the liquid sample when the liquid sample is aspirated,
The surface acoustic wave element is driven when the dispensing sample is dispensed and then the washing water is discharged to wash the dispensing nozzle and emits a sound wave toward the washing water in the dispensing nozzle. Dispensing device characterized.   The dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing nozzle is provided with the surface acoustic wave element at least on a distal end side that discharges the liquid sample.   The said dispensing nozzle has a taper part in the front-end | tip of a straight pipe part, The said surface acoustic wave element is provided in the outer wall of the straight pipe part adjacent to the said taper part and the said taper part. The dispensing device described.   The dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the surface acoustic wave elements are provided.   The dispensing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the surface acoustic wave element is attached to the dispensing nozzle via a block member having a flat surface on the outer surface.   6. The dispensing according to claim 5, wherein the surface acoustic wave element has a plurality of comb-like electrodes formed on a surface of a piezoelectric substrate arranged along a substantially longitudinal direction of the dispensing nozzle. apparatus. A dispensing nozzle cleaning method of a dispensing apparatus that sucks a liquid sample containing a specimen or a reagent with a dispensing nozzle and discharges the sucked liquid sample to a reaction container to perform dispensing,
The surface acoustic wave element is driven at the time of cleaning to discharge the cleaning water from the dispensing nozzle to clean the dispensing nozzle, and a sound wave is emitted toward the cleaning water in the dispensing nozzle. How to clean the dispensing nozzle of the pouring device.   A dispensing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the automatic analysis apparatus analyzes a reaction liquid by stirring and reacting a specimen and a reagent and measuring an optical characteristic of the reaction liquid. An automatic analyzer characterized by dispensing the sample or the reagent using

Images