JP2009109403A - Lid opening/closing device, and sample inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent fly of a sample inside a sample vessel that adheres to a lid of the sample vessel or its proximity when the lid is opened and closed, and to reduce the cross contamination to another sample and contamination inside the device. <P>SOLUTION: The lid opening/closing device includes a lid opening/closing rod 20 having an operation section 30 for opening and closing the lid 41, and a moving mechanism for relatively moving the lid opening/closing rod 20 to the lid 41. The operation section 30 of the lid opening/closing rod 20 includes a sidewall 34 and sidewall 35 for blocking the sample flying around the lid 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lid opening / closing device for opening / closing a lid connected to a sample container so as to be openable and closable, and a sample inspection apparatus including the lid opening / closing device.

  In FIG. 12, sectional drawing of the container currently disclosed by patent document 1 is shown. As shown in FIG. 12, the plug body 121 includes a rubber plug 124 having a head portion 122 and a sealing portion 123, and a hard resin fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the rubber plug 124 and fitted into the upper end portion of the vacuum blood collection tube main body 125. And a cap 126 made of metal. Further, the cap 126 protrudes below the sealing portion 123 of the rubber plug 124. According to the plug 121 having such a configuration, when the plug 121 is removed from the vacuum blood collection tube main body 125 at the time of blood test, the cap 126 indicates that the blood sample attached to the rubber plug 124 adheres to the examiner. It is possible to prevent and reduce the risk of infection.

  According to such a configuration, at the moment of opening the first time, the cap 126 almost prevents the liquid in the container from splashing out of the cap 126. However, when the plug 121 is plugged again after being opened once, or when the plug 121 is removed again from the closed state, the liquid can be scattered from the boundary between the container and the rubber plug 124 to the cap 126. There is sex. Similarly, there remains a possibility that the liquid adhering to the cap 126 may drip or splash outside the container when some impact is applied to the container.

  On the other hand, in a sample inspection apparatus including an analysis apparatus for analyzing a specimen and a processing apparatus for performing various processes, contamination in the apparatus is not preferable. And the requirement becomes so large that such a sample inspection apparatus is automated. In addition, some sample inspection apparatuses are known in which the processing speed is improved by processing a plurality of specimens simultaneously. However, such a device processes multiple specimens at the same time, so that contamination (contamination) in the device due to droplets or mist of the solution when the pipette is used while the device is in operation, or between test samples and samples. There is a risk of contamination (cross contamination). Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of contamination and cross contamination in a sample inspection apparatus that processes a plurality of specimens simultaneously.

However, if a sealing method that is substantially impossible to close again after being opened once, such as a sealing film attached to the opening of the container, after opening, It is always exposed to the atmosphere inside the device. For this reason, the above-described cross contamination may occur in the configuration in which the opening of the container is sealed with a sealing film or the like. Further, even when configured to be openable and closable like the plug 121 described above, there is a possibility that the liquid adhered to the inner wall of the cap 126 may cause contamination or cross contamination in the apparatus.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-265541

  As described above, with respect to sample containers that contain samples such as reagents used in the sample inspection apparatus, not only the sample containers are opened once, but also with lids that can be opened and closed as many times as necessary in the process of analysis and processing. There was a demand for a configuration and to prevent the occurrence of cross contamination.

  On the other hand, when a container with a lid is adopted in an automated sample inspection apparatus, it is necessary to provide a lid opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the sample container in the apparatus. When the lid of the sample container is opened and closed by such a lid opening and closing mechanism, as shown in FIG. 13, a cross-contamination between specimens is provided by a configuration in which a blocking wall 132 that suppresses scattering of the sample is provided between the containers 131. Can be prevented to some extent. However, in this configuration, the height of the container 131 itself is increased by the height occupied by the blocking wall 132, and the space efficiency in the apparatus is reduced. Further, in this configuration, although cross contamination is suppressed by the blocking wall 132 extending in the height direction of the container 131, there is no ceiling portion that covers the opening side of the container 131. For this reason, in this configuration, the sample scattered upward from the opening of the container 131 cannot be blocked, and the possibility of cross contamination still remains.

  In addition, the inner wall of the cap 126 of the plug body 121 shown in FIG. 12 is provided with an absorber or the like that absorbs the droplets of the solution, thereby preventing the liquid from scattering when the lid is opened and closed a plurality of times. it can. However, adopting a configuration such as providing an absorber for all of the consumable containers has the disadvantage of increasing the manufacturing cost.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a lid opening / closing device and a sample inspection device capable of preventing the sample in the sample container from scattering into the device and suppressing cross-contamination to other samples and contamination in the device. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a lid opening / closing device according to the present invention is a lid opening / closing device for opening / closing a lid that is openably / closably connected to a sample container in which a sample is stored. A lid opening / closing member having a portion, and a moving means for moving the lid opening / closing member relative to the lid. The operating part of the lid opening / closing member is provided with a blocking unit for blocking the sample scattered around the lid.

  The lid opening / closing device in the present invention includes all three concepts of a device having only the function of opening the lid, a device having only the function of closing the lid, and a device having both functions, and opens the lid. The opening / closing device having both the function and the function of closing the lid is not limited.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the sample in the sample container adhering to or near the lid when opening and closing the lid from being scattered into the apparatus, and to prevent cross-contamination to other samples and contamination in the apparatus. Can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  A genetic testing device (DNA testing device) incorporating the lid opening / closing device of the first embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a DNA testing apparatus in which the lid opening / closing device of this embodiment is incorporated. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a DNA testing apparatus in which the lid opening / closing device according to the embodiment is incorporated, in which FIG. 2A is a transparent side view shown in the direction A in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 shows only the lid opening / closing device and the parts related to the lid opening / closing device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the DNA testing apparatus of this embodiment is configured to include an extraction unit 2, an amplification unit 3, a hybridization unit 4, and a detection unit 5 as detection means.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the extraction unit 2 uses silica-coated magnetic beads and adsorbs only DNA to the silica coating, thereby extracting only the DNA from the sample (sample). The amplification unit 3 repeats synthesizing the DNA extracted by the extraction unit 2 into a single strand at 94 ° C. and synthesizing with DNA polymerase at 50 ° C. to 70 ° C. increase. The hybridization unit 4 controls the solution salt concentration and temperature with respect to the sample DNA increased by the amplification unit 3, and dissociates unnecessary DNA to pair the probe with the single strand on the substrate. The detection unit 5 optically detects the excited fluorescent spot by irradiating the sample substrate hybridized by the hybridization unit 4 with laser light to excite the spot and detecting it with a sensor.

  In addition, the DNA testing apparatus of the present embodiment includes an extraction unit pipetter 6, a reagent-containing container (sample container), a pipette chip, a reaction tank, and other instruments 9. The pipetter 6 for the extraction unit moves between the instruments 9 in the direction of arrow C, thereby handling the liquid.

  In addition, the DNA testing apparatus of this embodiment includes a pipetter 7 for an amplification unit, a reagent-containing container, a pipette chip, and a device 10 such as a reaction tank. The amplification unit pipettor 7 moves between these instruments 10, the extraction unit 2, and the hybridization unit 4 in the direction of arrow C, thereby handling the liquid. In addition, the mounting part of the instrument 10 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow D, and moves to a predetermined position after the user sets the instrument 10 on the mounting part.

  In addition, the DNA testing apparatus of this embodiment includes a pipetter 8 for a hybridization unit, a reagent-containing container, an instrument 11 such as a pipette chip, and a cassette 12 in which a sample substrate is built. The pipettor 8 for the hybridization unit moves between these instruments 11 in the direction of arrow C, thereby handling the liquid. In addition, the mounting part of the instrument 11 and the cassette 12 is provided so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow D, and is moved to a predetermined position after the user sets the instrument 11 and the cassette 12 on the mounting part. .

  Further, after hybridization, the cassette 12 is transferred to the detection unit 5 by the transport hand 13 and detected by the detection unit 5. After detection is performed, the cassette 12 is transferred out of the DNA testing apparatus and discarded.

  In addition, the containers with reagents and the reaction vessels of the instruments 9, 10, and 11 use containers with lids as necessary in order to prevent liquid leakage, scattering, evaporation, nucleic acid scattering, nucleic acid contamination, foreign matter contamination, and the like. . A sample container 40 with a lid for storing a sample in the instruments 9, 10, 11 has a lid 41 that is connected so that the opening can be opened and closed. Moreover, the several sample container 40 in the instrument 9,10,11 is arrange | positioned adjacently.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the DNA testing apparatus of the present embodiment includes a lid opening / closing device 1 for opening and closing the lid 41 of the sample container 40 included in each of the instruments 9, 10, 11 described above. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2B, the lid opening / closing device 1 includes a lid opening / closing rod 20 as a plurality of lid opening / closing members for opening / closing the lid 41 of the sample container 40, and each of these lid opening / closing rods. A moving mechanism 29 is provided as a moving means for moving the rod 20 relative to the lid 41.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the lid opening / closing device 1 of the present embodiment has a six-unit configuration including six lid opening / closing rods 20, but includes at least one lid opening / closing rod 20. If so, there is no essential difference in the present invention. Furthermore, the lid opening / closing device 1 of the present embodiment has both a function of opening the lid 41 with respect to the opening of the sample container 40 and a function of closing the lid 41 by the lid opening / closing rod 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the lid opening / closing rod 20 is supported via a moving mechanism 29 so as to be movable in the directions of arrows Q and H that are biaxial directions perpendicular to each other. . The moving mechanism 29 includes a first moving mechanism 29 a having a motor 22, a timing belt 23, and a pulley 24, and a second moving mechanism 29 b having a slider 25 and a slider rail 26. The slider 25 supports the base 21, has a nut portion that is screwed to the lead screw 27, and is moved in the arrow H direction by a driving force from the motor 28.

  FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing the lid opening / closing rod 20. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, an operation portion 30 having a substantially L-shaped cross section for opening and closing the lid 41 is formed at the lower end of the lid opening / closing rod 20. When the lid 41 is opened, the operating portion 30 is brought into contact with the lid 41 (see FIGS. 5B and 5C).

  In addition, when the opening of the sample container 40 is opened and closed in the operation unit 30, the side wall 34 and the side wall 35 as a blocking unit for blocking the sample scattered around the lid 41 surround the lid 41. It is formed as follows. In addition, the operation unit 30 has a top surface 36 that faces the opening of the sample container 40. That is, the operation unit 30 is formed with the side wall 34, the side wall 35, and the top surface 36 so as to surround the top surface and the side surface of the lid 41 except for the connection side of the lid 41 to the sample container 40. Therefore, the side wall 34, the side wall 35, and the top surface 36 prevent the sample from being scattered when the operation unit 30 opens and closes the lid 41.

  Further, if necessary, the outer peripheral surface 33 of the lid opening / closing rod 20 may be brought into contact with the lid 41 to assist the rotation of the lid 41. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lid opening / closing rod 20 closes the lid 41 by pushing the lid 41 with the outer peripheral surface 31 and the bottom surface 32 of the operation unit 30.

  Hereinafter, the operation when the lid 41 is opened by the lid opening / closing rod 20 of the lid opening / closing device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D and FIGS. .

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the lid opening / closing rod 20 is moved closer to the lid 41 in the direction of arrow I, so that the lid 41 of the resin sample container 40 (the container with the lid among the instruments 9, 10 and 11) can be removed. The operation unit 30 is inserted below. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5B, the lid opening / closing rod 20 is raised in the direction of the arrow K, whereby the contact portion 42 of the lid 41 is lifted in the direction of the arrow K by the operation unit 30. As described above, when the contact portion 42 of the lid 41 is moved by the operation portion 30 of the lid opening / closing rod 20, the lid 41 has the hinge portion 43 as shown in FIGS. 5 (c) and 5 (d). Rotation is started in the direction of arrow J with the center of rotation. At this time, as the lid 41 is rotated, the press-fit portion 44 that has been press-fitted in a state where the opening of the sample container 40 is sealed begins to move away from the opening of the sample container 40.

  In addition, the cover 41 is formed in a thin shape with a thickness of about several hundreds μm by a resin material in the vicinity of the rotation center of the hinge portion 43 so that the predetermined endurance number is not broken while being plastically deformed. , Formed integrally with the sample container 40. In addition, it is not limited to such a structure, A sample container and a lid | cover may be formed separately, and the lid | cover may be assembled | attached to a sample container so that rotation is possible.

  Further, in order to give the lid 41 a biasing force in the direction of the arrow J, when the shape of the hinge portion 43 is optimized, or when the sample container and the lid are configured separately, a biasing force such as a torsion coil spring is applied. A configuration in which the member is incorporated may be employed. In the present embodiment, the lid 41 has an urging force in the direction of arrow J, which is a direction to open away from the opening of the container, and is formed so as to maintain its position at a predetermined position opened in the direction of arrow J. ing.

  Further, when the lid opening / closing rod 20 is lifted in the arrow K direction, the lid 41 is separated from the opening of the sample container 40 and stops at a predetermined position away from the sample container 40. If the position where the lid 41 is stopped hinders the pipetting operation by the pipetter, the lid opening / closing rod 20 may be used to further separate the lid 41 from the opening of the sample container 40. The operation shown in d) is performed. That is, from the state shown in FIG. 5 (d), as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the lid opening / closing rod 20 is once moved in the direction of the arrow I 'to be separated from the lid 41. After the lid opening / closing rod 20 is moved in the direction of arrow I ′, as shown in FIG. 6B, the lid opening / closing rod 20 is lowered in the direction of arrow K ′, so that the outer peripheral surface 33 is brought into contact with the lid 41. It is moved to a position where it can abut against 42.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the lid 41 is further rotated in the arrow J direction by moving the lid opening / closing rod 20 in the arrow I direction. Thereafter, even if the contact state between the lid 41 and the lid opening / closing rod 20 disappears, the lid 41 is held against the opening of the sample container 40 by the holding force accompanying the plastic deformation of the hinge portion 43 as shown in FIG. The state of being retracted to a position that does not hinder the operation of the pipetter is maintained. At this time, the abutting portion 42 of the lid 41 protrudes toward the position of the lid opening / closing rod 20 from the position of the press-fit portion 44, that is, toward the opening side of the sample container 40. This prevents the inner solution from adhering to the lid opening / closing rod 20. Further, the sample container 40 is fixed to the apparatus by a pressing member (not shown) so as not to be lifted by the lid opening / closing operation by the lid opening / closing rod 20.

  Next, the operation when the lid 41 is closed by the lid opening / closing rod 20 of the lid opening / closing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7C and FIGS. To do.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the lid opening / closing rod 20 is moved in the direction of arrow L toward the lid 41 opened with respect to the opening of the sample container 40, thereby bringing the outer surface closer to the lid 41. 31 is abutted against the top surface of the lid 41.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the lid opening / closing rod 20 is further moved in the arrow L direction, so that the lid 41 is rotated in the arrow M direction by the outer peripheral surface 31. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8A, the lid 41 is further rotated in the arrow M direction by the bottom surface 32 of the lid opening / closing rod 20 by lowering the lid opening / closing rod 20 in the arrow N direction. Then, by pressing the lid 41 in the direction of arrow N by the bottom surface 32 of the lid opening / closing rod 20, the press-fit portion 44 of the lid 41 is press-fitted into the opening of the sample container 40. The lid 41 has a biasing force that opens in the direction of the arrow P due to the biasing force of the hinge portion 43, but this biasing force is smaller than the force required to pull out the press-fit portion 44 from the opening. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8B, the lid 41 keeps the sample container 40 sealed even after the operating portion 30 of the lid opening / closing rod 20 is separated from the lid 41.

  The lid 41 is opened and closed by the operation of the lid opening / closing rod 20 described above. When the lid 41 is opened, the inner solution may adhere to the contact portion between the lid 41 and the sample container 40 and the vicinity thereof. . In such a case, there is a possibility that the inner solution may scatter due to the impact generated when the lid 41 is opened during the operation shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C. According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the side wall 34 and the side wall 35 are provided on the operation portion 30 of the lid opening / closing rod 20 so as to surround the lid 41. 35 prevents the liquid from splashing in the directions of arrows S1, S2 and S4, S5. Further, scattering in the direction of the arrow S3 is blocked by the lid 41 itself.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the operation portion 3 of the lid opening / closing rod 20 has a plurality of grooves 50 serving as scattering sample dropping prevention means across the side walls 34 and 35 along the horizontal direction. The formed structure is shown. According to the lid opening / closing rod 20, the scattered liquid is sucked and held by the capillary force generated in each groove 50, and the inside of the apparatus is prevented from being contaminated.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a configuration may be adopted in which an absorber 51 is disposed on the side wall 35 of the operation unit 30 of the lid opening / closing rod 20. Can be prevented. Further, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the lower end of the operation unit 30 may of course be provided with a protruding wall 52 that extends horizontally in a bowl shape. Thus, the protruding wall 52 can prevent the liquid from scattering around the lid 41.

  Moreover, the lid | cover opening / closing rod 20 is not restricted to the structure which contacts the lid | cover 41 directly like the structure mentioned above, For example, you may be comprised so that opening / closing operation may be carried out by electromagnetic force. For example, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the lid 41 is provided with a magnetized plate 60, and the lid opening / closing rod 20 has an electromagnet 61 for opening the lid and an electromagnet 62 for closing the lid, respectively. The lid 41 may be configured to be opened and closed by appropriately energizing them.

  In addition, in this embodiment, when the lid | cover 41 is closed, the structure provided with the interruption | blocking wall for interrupting | spattering the scattering liquid which may be scattered from opening of the sample container 40 is not taken, but such interruption | blocking is taken. Of course, a wall may be provided in the operation unit 30 of the lid opening / closing rod 20.

  As described above, according to the lid opening / closing device 1 of the present embodiment, the side walls 34, 35 and the top surface 36 are formed on the operation portion 30 of the lid opening / closing rod 20 that opens and closes the lid 41. It is possible to prevent the sample (liquid) in the sample container 40 adhering to or near the lid 41 when opening and closing the container from being scattered into the apparatus, and to reduce cross-contamination to other specimens and contamination in the apparatus. be able to.

  In the lid opening / closing device of the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the lid opening / closing rod 20 is moved by the moving mechanism 29 is adopted, but the lid side may be moved with respect to the fixed lid opening / closing rod. Good. Further, the lid opening / closing device may be configured such that the lid opening / closing rod side is moved by the first movement mechanism and the lid side is moved by the second movement mechanism.

  In addition, the sample inspection apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described DNA inspection apparatus, and is preferably applied to an analysis apparatus that analyzes various samples and a processing apparatus that processes the samples.

It is a top view which shows the DNA test | inspection apparatus with which the lid | cover opening / closing apparatus of this embodiment was integrated. It is a general view which shows the lid | cover opening / closing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows a lid | cover opening / closing rod. It is a figure which shows the lid | cover opening / closing rod which has a some groove | channel. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which opens a lid | cover with a lid | cover opening / closing rod. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which opens a lid | cover with a lid | cover opening / closing rod. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which closes a lid | cover with a lid | cover opening / closing rod. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which closes a lid | cover with a lid | cover opening / closing rod. It is a figure which shows the lid | cover opening / closing rod provided with the absorber. It is a figure which shows the lid | cover opening / closing rod provided with the hook-shaped protrusion part. It is a figure which shows the container provided with the lid | cover opening / closing rod provided with an electromagnet, and a magnetized board. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the conventional liquid scattering prevention structure in a container. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the conventional liquid scattering prevention structure in a container.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lid opening / closing apparatus 20 Lid opening / closing rod 29 Moving mechanism 30 Operation part 34, 35 Side wall 40 Sample container 41 Lid 43 Hinge part

Claims (10)

A lid opening and closing device for opening and closing a lid that is openably and closably connected to a sample container in which a sample is stored,
A lid opening / closing member having an operation part for opening and closing the lid;
Moving means for moving the lid opening / closing member relative to the lid,
The lid opening / closing apparatus, wherein the operation part of the lid opening / closing member is provided with a blocking unit for blocking a sample scattered around the lid.   The lid opening / closing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of lid opening / closing members that simultaneously open / close the lids with respect to the plurality of sample containers arranged adjacent to each other.   3. The lid opening / closing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blocking portion is formed so as to surround a top surface and a side surface of the lid except for a side of the lid connected to the sample container.   The lid opening / closing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a scattering sample fall prevention means is provided on the surface on the lid side of the blocking portion.   The lid opening / closing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the scattering sample dropping prevention means has a groove for generating a capillary force.   The lid opening / closing device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of grooves are provided along a horizontal direction.   The lid opening / closing device according to claim 4, wherein the scattered sample dropping prevention means includes an absorber.   The lid opening / closing device according to claim 4, wherein the scattered sample dropping prevention means has a protruding wall extending in a horizontal direction in a bowl shape.   The lid opening / closing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the moving means supports the lid opening / closing member so as to be movable in two axial directions orthogonal to each other.   A sample inspection apparatus comprising: the lid opening / closing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9; and inspection means for inspecting the sample.

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