JP2011078881A - Nozzle cleaning unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nozzle cleaning unit capable of cleaning a nozzle with higher efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The nozzle cleaning unit 20 mounted on a dispensing apparatus includes a cleaning vessel 22, a cleaning solution sprayer 44 spraying a cleaning solution in the cleaning vessel 22, a drying sprayer 50 spraying air to blow away the cleaning solution adhered to the nozzle into the cleaning vessel 22, a moving mechanism causing the nozzle 12 to ascend and descend and a controller controlling those units. The controller repeats, at least twice, a set operation consisting of a cleaning process of spraying the cleaning solution while causing the nozzle 12 to descend and a drying process of spraying air while causing the nozzle 12 to ascend, after the cleaning process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a nozzle cleaning unit that cleans nozzles used for sucking and discharging liquids.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dispensing apparatus that sucks a dispensing target liquid such as a liquid reagent or a liquid specimen (for example, blood) with a nozzle and then dispenses it into small child containers is widely known. Among these dispensing apparatuses, there are a disposable type in which the nozzle is discarded and replaced every time it is used, and a non-disposable type in which one nozzle is repeatedly used. In a non-disposable type dispensing apparatus, the nozzle is washed every time it is used, and the dispensing apparatus is usually equipped with a nozzle cleaning unit for cleaning the nozzle.

  In this nozzle cleaning unit, the inner surface of the nozzle is often cleaned by flowing a cleaning liquid into the nozzle. Further, the outer surface of the nozzle is immersed in a cleaning tank storing a cleaning liquid (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below), or the cleaning liquid is sprayed or sprayed on the outer surface of the nozzle (for example, Patent Documents 3 and 3). 4), or a combination of both immersion and spraying (Patent Document 5, etc.). There is also known a nozzle cleaning unit having a function of appropriately sending air to a cleaned nozzle and drying the nozzle (for example, Patent Documents 4 and 5).

JP 2005-283246 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-179084 JP-A-3-251732 Utility Model Registration No. 3125364 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-242858

  However, these conventional nozzle cleaning techniques have several problems and are not efficient. For example, in the case of a method in which the nozzle is immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank, there is a problem that a large amount of cleaning liquid is required. In addition, prior to cleaning (immersion), it is necessary to treat the remaining liquid remaining in the nozzle to a place different from the cleaning tank, and as a result, the time required for cleaning tends to be long. There was also a problem. In the case of a system in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed or sprayed, these problems are somewhat reduced. However, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 3 and 4, the nozzles are stationary when the cleaning liquid is sprayed or sprayed, and it is difficult to say that the entire elongated nozzle is efficiently cleaned. The technique described in Patent Document 5 has the same problem as the above-described problem of the immersion method (a large amount of cleaning liquid is required and processing takes time) because of the combination of both immersion and spraying. Conventionally, when a plurality of types of cleaning liquids (for example, a detergent liquid and a rinsing liquid for washing away the detergent liquid) are used, after the first cleaning liquid is supplied to the nozzle, the second cleaning liquid (for example, water) is used as it is. Is supplied to the nozzle. In this case, the cleaning effect (or rinsing effect) with the second cleaning liquid is reduced due to the influence of the first cleaning liquid remaining in the nozzle. That is, conventionally, there has been no nozzle cleaning unit that can clean the nozzle more efficiently.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle cleaning unit that can perform nozzle cleaning more efficiently.

  The nozzle cleaning unit of the present invention is a nozzle cleaning unit for cleaning a nozzle used for sucking and discharging a liquid, and includes a cleaning tank in which at least a portion to be cleaned is contained in the nozzle, and a cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank. Cleaning liquid spraying means for spraying, drying spraying means for spraying air to blow away the cleaning liquid adhering to the outer surface of the nozzle into the cleaning tank, and the nozzle for the cleaning liquid spraying means and the drying spraying means A moving means for moving up and down relatively, and at least the cleaning liquid ejecting means, the drying ejecting means, and a control means for controlling the operation of the moving means, wherein the control means moves the nozzle to the cleaning liquid ejecting means. A cleaning step of spraying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid spraying means while lowering the nozzle at least, and the nozzle is dried after the cleaning step. A drying step of injecting air into the drying injection means while at least raised against use injection means to perform a set operation to set, characterized in that.

  In a preferred aspect, the drying ejection unit includes an air ejector that generates a substantially cylindrical downward airflow, and the moving unit moves the nozzle up and down along a substantially central axis of the cylindrical downward airflow. . In this case, it is desirable to further include exhaust injection means for sucking excess air in the cleaning tank and discharging it to the outside during air injection by the drying injection means.

  In another preferred aspect, the apparatus further includes a liquid feeding unit that sends a cleaning liquid into the nozzle, and a blower unit that sends air into the nozzle, and the control unit ejects the cleaning liquid when the cleaning step is performed. In parallel with the cleaning liquid injection by the means, the cleaning liquid is also supplied into the nozzle by the liquid supply means, and the air into the nozzle by the blower means is executed in parallel with the air injection by the drying injection means when the drying process is executed. Blowing is also performed.

  In another preferred aspect, the control means performs at least a setting operation using a detergent liquid as a cleaning liquid and a setting operation using a rinsing liquid as a cleaning liquid.

  According to the present invention, a setting operation is performed in which a cleaning process for injecting a cleaning liquid and a drying process for injecting air are set. In this setting operation, since the cleaning liquid and the air are sprayed in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the nozzle, the entire nozzle can be uniformly cleaned and dried in a short time.

It is a perspective view of the dispensing apparatus with which the nozzle cleaning unit which is embodiment of this invention is mounted. It is a schematic block diagram of a nozzle cleaning unit. It is the upper side figure and sectional drawing of a sprayer for drying. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a washing process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a washing process. It is an image figure which shows the mode of a washing process.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing apparatus 10 equipped with a nozzle cleaning unit 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the nozzle cleaning unit 20 mounted on the dispensing apparatus 10.

  The dispensing apparatus 10 sucks a liquid to be dispensed such as a liquid reagent or a liquid sample (for example, blood) stored in a parent sample container 100 with a nozzle 12, and dispenses (discharges) a small amount into a child sample container 110. Device. The nozzle 12 for sucking and discharging the liquid is a so-called non-disposable nozzle 12 that is made of metal and is washed and reused every time it is used. In order to clean the non-disposable nozzle 12, a nozzle cleaning unit 20 is mounted on the dispensing device 10 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the dispensing apparatus 10 will be described in detail.

  The basic configuration of the dispensing apparatus 10, that is, the configuration for sucking and discharging the liquid to be dispensed has been widely known so far, and will be briefly described here. The metal nozzle 12 is held by a nozzle head 14. The nozzle head 14 is movable in the horizontal X direction and the vertical Z direction by a moving mechanism 16 having a motor or the like. This moving mechanism 16 is also used as a moving mechanism 16 for a cleaning unit described later. The nozzle 12 is connected to a dispensing pump (not shown) via a pipe. As the dispensing pump is driven, the internal pressure in the nozzle 12 is varied, so that liquid is sucked and discharged. Note that the configuration described here is merely an example, and if the non-disposable nozzle 12 is used to suck and discharge liquid, naturally, other configurations, for example, two horizontal directions (X direction and Y direction). Or a plurality of nozzles 12 may be provided.

  Next, the configuration of the nozzle cleaning unit 20 that appropriately cleans the nozzle 12 will be described. The nozzle cleaning unit 20 includes a cleaning tank 22 that accommodates the nozzle 12 during the cleaning process, an internal cleaning mechanism that flows cleaning liquid into the nozzle 12, an internal drying mechanism that flows air into the nozzle 12, and external cleaning that jets cleaning liquid outside the nozzle 12. A mechanism, an external drying mechanism for injecting air to the outside of the nozzle 12, a moving mechanism 16 for moving the nozzle 12 relative to the cleaning tank 22, and a controller (not shown) for controlling the operation of each of these mechanisms. ing.

  The cleaning tank 22 is a container that houses the nozzle 12 during cleaning and receives the cleaning liquid and waste liquid. The cleaning tank 22 is provided on the movement path of the nozzle 12. In this embodiment, the liquid suction position (stop position of the parent sample container 100), the discharge position (stop position of the child sample container 110), and the cleaning tank 22 are arranged in a line in the X direction. The upper surface of the cleaning tank 22 is covered with a dedicated lid 22a to prevent liquid from scattering. On the bottom surface of the cleaning tank 22, a waste liquid hole 22b for waste liquid and an exhaust hole 22c for exhaust are formed. The waste liquid hole 22b is connected to the waste liquid tank 26 through a pipe. Further, an exhaust injector 52 described later is connected to the exhaust hole 22c, and exhaust in the cleaning tank 22 is achieved through the exhaust injector 52. A part of the waste liquid flows not only into the waste liquid hole 22b but also into the exhaust injector 52. The waste liquid that has flowed in is sent to the waste liquid tank 26 through a pipe.

  The internal cleaning mechanism is a mechanism for pouring the cleaning liquid into the nozzle 12 during the cleaning process. Here, the cleaning liquid means all liquids used for cleaning, in addition to a detergent liquid (for example, alkaline detergent liquid, acidic detergent liquid, water, etc.) for removing dirt adhering to the nozzle 12, Disinfecting liquid (sodium hypochlorite, hot water, etc.) for sterilization and deactivation of bacteria and viruses adhering to the inner and outer surfaces of the nozzle 12 and rinsing liquid (water, etc.) for removing the detergent liquid adhering to the nozzle 12 ) Etc.

  The internal cleaning mechanism of this embodiment selectively sends three types of cleaning liquids, that is, a detergent liquid, a rinsing liquid (water), and a disinfecting liquid (sodium hypochlorite, hot water, etc.) to the inside of the nozzle 12. . Therefore, the internal cleaning mechanism is provided with cleaning liquid tanks 30a, 30b, and 30c that store the three types of cleaning liquids, respectively. Each cleaning liquid tank cleaning liquid tank 30a, 30b, 30c is connected to the syringe pump 32 via piping. The syringe pump 32 is also connected to the nozzle 12 and the piping of the internal drying mechanism via piping. A plurality of solenoid valves 33 are provided on these pipes so that the communication destination of the syringe pump 32 can be switched alternatively.

  When the cleaning liquid is poured into the nozzle 12, the electromagnetic valve 33 is driven to connect the desired cleaning liquid tanks 30 a, 30 b, 30 c and the syringe pump 32, and the desired cleaning liquid is sucked by the syringe pump 32. To do. Next, the electromagnetic valve 33 is driven to allow the syringe pump 32 and the nozzle 12 to communicate, and then the syringe pump 32 is driven to flow the suctioned cleaning liquid into the nozzle 12. At this time, the cleaning liquid may continue to flow, or the liquid feeding of the nozzle 12 may be stopped and the cleaning liquid may be stagnated inside the nozzle 12. When the cleaning liquid continues to flow, the inner surface of the nozzle 12 is always in contact with a clean cleaning liquid, so that a high cleaning effect is obtained. On the other hand, when the cleaning liquid is stagnated inside the nozzle 12, the consumption of the cleaning liquid can be effectively reduced. Therefore, whether or not to continue to flow the cleaning liquid may be selected according to the desired cleaning ability and running cost.

  The internal drying mechanism is a mechanism that feeds air into the nozzle 12 for drying. This internal drying mechanism includes a blower pump 36 that sends air into the nozzle 12, a pipe that connects the blower pump 36 and the nozzle 12, a solenoid valve 34 that is provided on the pipe, and a speed of air that is sent from the blower pump 36. A speed controller 38 for adjusting the height is provided. When drying the inside of the nozzle 12, the electromagnetic valve 34 is driven to connect the air blowing pump 36 and the nozzle 12, and then air is sent from the air blowing pump 36 to the nozzle 12. The type of the blower pump 36 is not particularly limited as long as the blower pump 36 has a capability of sending air having a flow rate that can blow off droplets attached to the inner surface of the nozzle 12. Therefore, a dedicated pump may be provided as the blower pump 36, or a dispensing pump used for liquid suction / discharge operation or a syringe pump 32 for feeding the cleaning liquid may be used as the blower pump 36.

  The external cleaning mechanism is a mechanism for cleaning by spraying a cleaning liquid onto the outer surface of the nozzle 12. The external cleaning mechanism can selectively send three types of cleaning liquids, that is, an alkaline detergent liquid, an acidic detergent liquid, and a rinsing liquid (water) to the outside of the nozzle 12. Therefore, the internal cleaning mechanism is provided with cleaning liquid tanks 40a, 40b, and 40c that store the three types of cleaning liquids, respectively. Of course, each of the cleaning liquid tanks 40a, 40b, and 40c may be provided exclusively for the external cleaning mechanism, or may be shared with the cleaning liquid tanks 30a, 30b, and 30c provided in the internal cleaning mechanism.

  Each cleaning liquid tank 40a, 40b, 40c is connected to the syringe pump 42 via piping. The syringe pump 42 is also connected to the cleaning liquid ejector 44 through a pipe. A plurality of solenoid valves 46 are provided on these pipes so that the communication destination of the syringe pump 42 can be switched alternatively.

  The cleaning liquid ejector 44 atomizes and injects the cleaning liquid supplied from the syringe pump 42. In the present embodiment, two cleaning liquid injectors 44 are provided at 180 ° symmetrical positions near the periphery of the upper portion of the cleaning tank. Each cleaning liquid ejector 44 is attached in such a posture that the liquid ejecting direction is slightly obliquely downward and the central direction of the cleaning tank 22. During the cleaning process, the outer surface of the nozzle 12 is cleaned by the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid jet liquid. The cleaning liquid injector 44 may be a one-fluid type that sprays the cleaning liquid only by the liquid pressure of the supplied cleaning liquid, or pulverizes and atomizes the cleaning liquid supplied by a high-speed air flow such as compressed air. It may be a two-fluid type. When the two-fluid type cleaning liquid injector 44 is used, an air compressor or the like for sending compressed air to the cleaning liquid injector 44 may be provided. In the present embodiment, two cleaning liquid injectors 44 are provided, but the number thereof may be changed as appropriate.

  The external drying mechanism is a mechanism for blowing off the cleaning liquid attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 12 and drying the outer surface of the nozzle 12. This external drying mechanism is connected to the drying injector 50 that actually blows air to the nozzle 12, the exhaust injector 52 that prompts exhaust from the cleaning tank 22, the drying injector 50, and the exhaust injector 52. An air pump 64 and the like are provided.

  The drying injector 50 is an air injector that is installed at the approximate center of the upper portion of the cleaning tank 22. The drying injector 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic top view and an XX cross-sectional view of the drying injector 50 used in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, in order to perform more efficient and effective drying, as the drying injector 50, an air injector that generates a cylindrical or conical (hereinafter referred to as “substantially cylindrical”) air current,・ Uses “Circle Blow” provided by Enterprise.

  The configuration of the drying injector 50 that generates such a substantially cylindrical airflow will be briefly described as follows. The drying injector 50 has a substantially annular annular body 53, and a thin lateral groove 54 that bisects the annular body 53 in the axial direction is formed on the inner surface of the annular body 53 over the entire circumference. Yes. In other words, the annular main body 53 is divided into a front portion 56 and a rear portion 58 by the lateral groove 54. Among these, a convex arc surface 56 a that smoothly connects the lateral groove 54 and the bottom surface of the annular main body 53 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the front portion 56. Further, a concave arc surface 58a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rear portion 58 so as to be continuous with the convex arc surface 56a.

  A lateral hole 60 communicating with the lateral groove 54 is formed on the outer surface of the annular main body 53, and compressed air is supplied to the lateral groove 54 through the lateral hole 60. The compressed air supplied to the lateral groove 54 blows out from the inner end portion (inner peripheral surface of the annular main body 53) of the lateral groove 54. The blown air flow is converted into a direction along the convex arc surface 56a provided on the inner peripheral surface of the front portion 56 by the Coanda effect. Finally, an airflow parallel to the central axis of the annular body 53 or an airflow slightly inclined so as to approach the central axis as it approaches the downstream side is formed over the entire circumference, resulting in a substantially cylindrical shape. An air flow will be formed.

  Further, a strong vacuum pressure is generated around the rear portion 58 by being attracted by the substantially cylindrical airflow. By this vacuum pressure, the air located behind the lateral groove 54 is sucked and a new air flow is formed. In other words, the drying injector 50 not only discharges the supplied compressed air, but also functions as an air suction device that sucks and discharges air located behind the drying injector 50. The configuration of the drying injector 50 exemplified here is an example, and other configurations may be used as long as a substantially cylindrical airflow can be generated.

  In the present embodiment, the drying injector 50 is installed in the upper center of the cleaning tank 22 so that the central axis thereof is parallel to the central axis of the nozzle 12. When the nozzle 12 is dried, the nozzle 12 is moved along the substantially central axis of the substantially cylindrical air flow while supplying compressed air to the drying injector 50 to eject the substantially cylindrical air current. . By positioning the nozzle 12 on the substantially central axis of the cylindrical airflow, air can be uniformly applied to the outer periphery of the nozzle 12, and more efficient and effective drying is possible.

  Here, the drying injector 50 injects air into the cleaning tank 22. The cleaning tank 22 is covered with a lid 22a in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from being scattered, and is not easily exhausted. When a large amount of air is injected into the cleaning tank 22, there is a problem that the pressure in the cleaning tank 22 rapidly increases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the exhaust injector 52 is provided on the bottom surface in the cleaning tank 22.

  The exhaust injector 52 is an air suction device that sucks the air in the cleaning tank 22 and injects it outside. In this embodiment, an air injector having substantially the same configuration as the drying injector 50 described above is used as the exhaust injector 52. That is, as described above, when a substantially cylindrical airflow is generated, a strong vacuum pressure is generated behind the drying injector 50 (exhaust injector 52). In the present embodiment, this vacuum pressure is used to suck and exhaust excess air in the cleaning tank 22. The rear portion 58 of the exhaust injector 52 is communicated with the inside of the cleaning tank 22 through a tube or the like. Through this tube, waste liquid remaining in the cleaning tank may flow into the exhaust injector 52. In order to guide the waste liquid that has flowed into the waste liquid tank 26, the front portion 56 of the exhaust injector 52 is communicated with the waste liquid tank 26 via a pipe.

  The air pump 64 is a pump for sending compressed air to the drying injector 50 and the exhaust injector 52. The air pump 64 is connected to the drying injector 50 and the exhaust injector 52 via a pipe, and an electromagnetic valve 51 and the like are provided on the pipe.

  The moving mechanism 16 is a mechanism that moves the nozzle 12 relative to the cleaning tank 22. Since the moving mechanism 16 can be configured using a well-known technique, a detailed description thereof is omitted here. In the present embodiment, the moving mechanism 16 provided for the dispensing process, that is, the moving mechanism 16 that moves the nozzle 12 in the horizontal X direction and the vertical Z direction is also used as the moving mechanism 16 of the cleaning unit. Yes. During the cleaning process, the moving mechanism 16 positions the nozzle 12 at a position substantially directly above the center of the cleaning tank 22 (that is, a position directly above the drying injector 50), and then moves the nozzle 12 to the central axis of the drying injector 50. The nozzle 12 is moved up and down along. When all the cleaning processes are completed, the transfer process necessary for the dispensing process is performed again.

  The control unit controls operations of the various mechanisms described above. More specifically, the control unit performs a cleaning liquid injection from the cleaning liquid injector 44 and a cleaning liquid feed into the nozzle 12 while lowering the nozzle 12 each time the dispensing process is completed once. Then, a set operation in which a drying process for executing air injection from the drying injector 50 and air blowing into the nozzle 12 is raised while the nozzle 12 is raised is repeatedly executed. And by taking such a procedure, in this embodiment, a more effective cleaning effect can be acquired in a shorter time. Hereinafter, a specific flow of this cleaning process will be described with reference to FIGS.

  4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the flow of the cleaning process. FIG. 6 is an image diagram showing the state of the cleaning process. Normally, the cleaning process is performed every time the dispensing process is finished once. In the cleaning process, first, the nozzle 12 is moved to a position directly above the drying injector 50 by the moving mechanism 16 (S10). Thereafter, the nozzle 12 is lowered to the upper reference height along the central axis of the drying injector 50 (S12). Here, the upper reference height is a height at which a cleaning operation described later can be started. Specifically, the upper reference height is a height at which the tip of the nozzle 12 is positioned in the vicinity of the upper end of the drying injector 50.

  When the nozzle 12 reaches the upper reference height, the dispensing pump is driven, and the dispensing target liquid remaining in the nozzle 12 after the dispensing process is discharged to the cleaning tank 22 (S14). The discharged dispensing target liquid (waste liquid) is discharged to a waste liquid tank 26 through a waste liquid hole 22 b provided in the lower part of the cleaning tank 22.

  By the way, in the case of the immersion type that has been frequently used in the past, that is, the method in which the nozzle 12 is immersed in the chemical solution for cleaning, since the cleaning solution is stored in the cleaning tank 22 in advance, it is not possible to discharge the waste liquid into the cleaning tank 22. Can not. Therefore, in the immersion type prior art, first, the nozzle 12 is moved to the waste liquid tank 26 side to discharge the residual liquid, and then the nozzle 12 is moved to the cleaning tank 22 to start the cleaning process. Was. In other words, in the immersion type prior art, the movement operation of the nozzle 12 to the waste liquid tank 26 is essential. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the nozzle 12, even if the residual liquid is discharged into the cleaning tank 22, there is no problem of contamination of the cleaning liquid. As a result, the movement operation of the nozzle 12 to the waste liquid tank 26 becomes unnecessary, and as a result, the time required for the entire cleaning process can be shortened.

  If the discharge of the remaining liquid is completed, the first rinsing operation is subsequently executed (S16). This rinsing operation is performed to remove the liquid to be dispensed adhering to the inner and outer surfaces of the nozzle 12 and to enhance the cleaning effect of the cleaning operation (S18) to be executed thereafter.

  The rinsing operation is performed as a set of a washing process for washing the inside and outside of the nozzle 12 with a rinsing liquid and a drying process for injecting air into and out of the nozzle for drying. More specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 6A, the nozzle 12 is gradually lowered along the central axis of the drying injector 50 by the moving mechanism 16, and gradually enters the cleaning tank 22. To enter. Then, when reaching the lower reference height, the lowering of the nozzle 12 is stopped. Here, the lower reference height is a height at which the rinsing liquid can be jetted near the upper end of the portion to be cleaned of the nozzle 12 and is a height at which an air jetting operation described later can be started.

  In parallel with the lowering of the nozzle 12, the rinsing liquid is sprayed onto the outer surface of the nozzle 12. That is, the electromagnetic valve 46 and the syringe pump 42 are driven to supply the rinse liquid stored in the rinse liquid tank 40 a to the cleaning liquid injector 44. The cleaning liquid injector 44 atomizes the supplied rinsing liquid and then injects it obliquely downward. During the injection, the nozzle 12 is lowered from the upper reference height to the lower reference height. Due to this lowering, the position of the outer surface of the nozzle 12 where the rinsing liquid is sprayed gradually moves upward from the tip of the nozzle 12. Finally, the rinsing liquid can be sprayed evenly on the outer surface of the long nozzle 12. As a result, the liquid to be dispensed that remains and adheres to the outer surface of the long nozzle 12 is effectively removed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the rinsing liquid is also fed into the nozzle 12 in parallel with the lowering of the nozzle 12 and the rinsing liquid injection. That is, the rinsing liquid stored in the rinsing liquid tank 30 a is supplied to the nozzle 12 by driving the electromagnetic valve 33 and the syringe pump 32. The rinse liquid supplied to the inside of the nozzle 12 flows down together with the liquid to be dispensed remaining and adhered inside the nozzle 12 and is discharged to the outside of the nozzle 12.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the inside and outside of the nozzle 12 are rinsed simultaneously, and the time required for rinsing can be shortened. Moreover, in this embodiment, the rinse liquid which contributed to the rinse of the nozzle 12 is discharged | emitted as waste liquid as it is. Therefore, unlike the immersion method, there is no need to worry about carry-over in which the rinse liquid is excessively contaminated.

  When the nozzle 12 reaches the lower reference height, the lowering of the nozzle 12, the injection of the rinsing liquid onto the outer surface of the nozzle 12, and the feeding of the rinsing liquid into the nozzle 12 are stopped. Thereafter, this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the moving mechanism 16 is driven to gradually raise the nozzle 12 along the central axis of the drying injector 50. In parallel with the rising of the nozzle 12, air is sprayed to the outer surface of the nozzle 12. That is, the electromagnetic valve 51 and the air pump 64 are driven to generate a substantially cylindrical airflow from the drying injector 50. By gradually raising the nozzle 12 in a state where the substantially cylindrical air current is blown, air can be blown evenly on the outer surface of the long nozzle 12. By uniformly blowing air in this way, the rinsing liquid remaining on and adhering to the outer surface of the long nozzle 12 is effectively removed, and the nozzle 12 is effectively dried.

  In addition, air is blown into the nozzle 12 in parallel with the air injection to the outer surface of the nozzle 12. That is, the blower pump 36 and the electromagnetic valve 34 are driven to blow air that flows downward from the upper end of the nozzle 12. By this air blowing, the rinsing liquid adhering to the inner surface of the nozzle 12 is blown down and removed, and the nozzle 12 is effectively dried.

  Thus, after rinsing with the rinsing liquid, the cleaning effect of the subsequent cleaning operation can be further improved by performing the drying step of removing the rinsing liquid. That is, when the cleaning operation using the detergent liquid is performed without removing the rinse liquid, the rinse liquid remaining on the inner and outer surfaces of the nozzle 12 prevents the detergent liquid from adhering to the inner and outer surfaces of the nozzle 12, and the detergent liquid There is a risk of fading. These cause a reduction in the cleaning effect. Of course, in order to avoid such problems, it is conceivable to increase the amount of detergent used and the cleaning time, but this wastes time and detergent liquid. On the other hand, as in this embodiment, the drying process is performed after the rinsing process (in other words, the drying process is performed before the cleaning process with the detergent liquid), so that the detergent liquid is effective on the inner and outer surfaces of the nozzle 12. Therefore, the cleaning effect can be improved.

  When the nozzle 12 reaches the upper reference height, the rising of the nozzle 12, the air injection to the outer surface of the nozzle 12, and the air blowing into the nozzle 12 are stopped. Thereafter, this time, a cleaning operation is executed (S18). This cleaning operation is performed in the same procedure as the first rinsing operation except that a detergent solution is used instead of the rinsing solution. That is, first, while lowering the nozzle 12, the detergent liquid is sprayed onto the outer surface of the nozzle 12 and the detergent liquid is fed into the nozzle 12. Next, while raising the nozzle 12, air is injected onto the outer surface of the nozzle 12 and air is blown into the nozzle 12. Here, the efficiency of the next second rinsing operation can be improved by providing a drying step even after the cleaning step using the detergent solution. That is, a sufficient rinsing effect can be obtained with a small amount of rinsing liquid by previously removing the detergent liquid to be removed in the second rinsing operation by air jetting and blowing in the washing operation.

  When the cleaning operation is completed, the second rinsing operation is subsequently performed (S20). The second rinsing operation is performed in the same procedure as the first rinsing operation. When the second rinsing operation is completed, a sterilizing operation using a disinfecting solution is subsequently executed (S22). The disinfecting operation is performed in the same procedure as the first rinsing operation except that a disinfecting solution is used instead of the rinsing solution. After this disinfection operation, the third rinsing operation is executed in the same procedure as the first rinsing operation (S24). Thereafter, when the nozzle 12 is raised to a separation height at which the nozzle 12 is completely detached from the cleaning tank 22, the cleaning process is completed. After the cleaning process is completed, the next dispensing process is performed as necessary.

  As is apparent from the above description, in this embodiment, the nozzle 12 is dried every time the cleaning operation, the disinfection operation, and the rinsing operation are performed. As a result, a higher cleaning effect can be obtained with a smaller amount of cleaning liquid (detergent liquid, disinfecting liquid, rinsing liquid). In the present embodiment, a substantially cylindrical airflow is used to dry the nozzle 12. Therefore, it is possible to blow air evenly around the nozzle 12, and the nozzle 12 can be dried more effectively.

  The above-described procedure is an example, and other procedures may be appropriately changed as long as it includes a cleaning step of spraying the cleaning liquid onto the nozzle 12 and a drying step of blowing off the cleaning liquid attached to the nozzle 12. For example, in the present embodiment, the first rinsing operation is performed prior to the cleaning operation, but this first rinsing operation may be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, the cleaning liquid is sprayed only while the nozzle 12 is lowered from the upper reference height to the lower reference height. You may make it carry out N + 0.5 reciprocation (N is an integer) between the side reference height. In any case, it is desirable to repeat the setting operation in which the cleaning process and the drying process are set twice or more. Further, in the present embodiment, the nozzle 12 is lifted and lowered, but naturally the nozzle 12 may be stationary and the cleaning tank 22 may be lifted and lowered.

  10 dispensing device, 12 nozzle, 14 nozzle head, 16 moving mechanism, 20 nozzle cleaning unit, 22 cleaning tank, 26 waste liquid tank, 30a, 30b, 30c, 40a, 40b, 40c cleaning liquid tank, 32, 42 syringe pump, 33 , 34, 46, 51 Solenoid valve, 36 Blow pump, 38 Speed controller, 44 Cleaning liquid injector, 50 Drying injector, 52 Exhaust injector, 53 Annular body, 54 Horizontal groove, 60 Horizontal hole, 64 Air pump.

Claims (5)

A nozzle cleaning unit for cleaning a nozzle used for sucking and discharging liquid,
A cleaning tank in which at least a portion to be cleaned among the nozzles is stored;
In the cleaning tank, cleaning liquid spraying means for spraying the cleaning liquid;
A spraying means for drying for spraying air to blow off the cleaning liquid adhering to the outer surface of the nozzle into the cleaning tank;
Moving means for moving the nozzle up and down relatively with respect to the cleaning liquid injection means and the drying injection means;
At least control means for controlling operations of the cleaning liquid injection means, the drying injection means, and the movement means;
With
The control means includes a cleaning step of injecting the cleaning liquid onto the cleaning liquid injection means while lowering the nozzle at least relative to the cleaning liquid injection means, and at least raising the nozzle relative to the drying injection means after the cleaning step. A drying operation for injecting air to the drying spraying means while performing a set operation.
A nozzle cleaning unit characterized by that. The nozzle cleaning unit according to claim 1,
The drying spray means includes an air sprayer that generates a substantially cylindrical downward airflow,
The moving means raises and lowers the nozzle along a substantially central axis of the cylindrical downward airflow;
A nozzle cleaning unit characterized by that. The nozzle cleaning unit according to claim 2, further comprising:
A nozzle cleaning unit, further comprising an exhaust spraying unit that sucks excess air in the cleaning tank and discharges it to the outside when air is sprayed by the drying spraying unit. The nozzle cleaning unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:
A liquid feeding means for sending a cleaning liquid into the nozzle;
A blowing means for sending air into the nozzle;
With
The control means also causes the cleaning liquid to be fed into the nozzle by the liquid feeding means in parallel with the cleaning liquid ejection by the cleaning liquid ejecting means at the time of executing the cleaning process, and the air injection by the drying ejecting means at the time of executing the drying process. In parallel with the air blowing to the nozzle by the blowing means,
A nozzle cleaning unit characterized by that. The nozzle cleaning unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The nozzle cleaning unit, wherein the control means performs at least a setting operation using a detergent liquid as a cleaning liquid and a setting operation using a rinsing liquid as a cleaning liquid.

Images