JP2015160685A - Chip arrangement tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chip arrangement tool, because chips are sold after being filled in a polyethylene bag, not a state that the chips are standing on a rack, generally, and for storing the chips in a state that the chips are standing on the rack, in many cases, work is performed by human hand, and sometimes it is required to perform several times of storage work in one day, and sometimes a full-time worker is required.SOLUTION: Provided is a chip arrangement tool for arranging chips on the arrangement tool without using a large scale device, and reducing storage work time of the chips.

Description

The present invention relates to a chip storage container that is used by being mounted on a micropipette. Specifically, the present invention is used for efficiently storing chips in an alignment tray.

In research in chemical and bio-related fields, micropipettes that can quantitatively dispense minute amounts of reagents and samples or specimens into test tubes, microplates, petri dishes, etc. are widely used. When using such a micropipette, a disposable tip is attached to the tip of the pipette.
Micropipette tips for 20 microliters or less, 200 microliters or less, 1000 microliters or less are prepared, and the shape is generally formed in a conical shape. These tips are generally used with the tips standing in a rack in order to improve the mounting operation on the micropipette and avoid contamination of the tips of the tips.
This is because if the tip is placed on the rack, the work can be performed without touching the tip directly when the tip is mounted, so that the sample is not contaminated and the pipette operation is safe for the operator. Because it can. Such a rack is generally one in which chips are arranged in 96 holes.

By the way, in general, chips are often sold in plastic bags instead of standing in a rack. To store these chips in a rack, even today, in many cases, manual labor is required. Work is being done by. In many cases, storage work is performed several times a day, and a dedicated human resource may be assigned.
Some devices have been developed to mechanize the storage work (see Patent Document 1). In the field of building tools, there is also a nail aligning device developed to efficiently supply nails to an automatic nailing device (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-187629 A JP-A-11-300538

However, the alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a large and complicated apparatus including a chip storage unit, a posture stabilization unit, an individual sending unit, an individual receiving unit, a rotating drum, and a rack. It is not practical to use it on a narrow laboratory bench where the devices are lined up.
Further, since the nail aligning device described in Patent Document 2 does not require one nail to be individually aligned into one alignment hole, the contact between the nail and the alignment groove of the aligning device is not a surface but a point. Due to this configuration, the operation of attaching the chip to the micropipette is not suitable for the chip aligner because a force is required to hold the chip and the container holding the chip when inserted and the stability is lacking. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the alignment groove of the nail aligner described in Patent Document 2. As shown in the figure, since the mountain portions on the left and right sides of the groove are horizontal, there is a possibility that a chip may get on the mountain portion and the storage property is insufficient, so that the shape of the storage container is not suitable.
Therefore, the present invention provides an aligner that enables chips to be aligned with the aligner without using a large apparatus for aligning the chips, and can reduce the time for storing the chips.

The first chip aligner of the present invention includes a plurality of partition portions arranged in parallel at a first interval, an alignment groove formed by the adjacent partition portions, and a first portion on the upper end side of a predetermined portion of the partition portion. An alignment tray having two alignment holes, a lower lid that holds the alignment tray, and an upper lid that covers the alignment tray, the upper end of which is larger than the first interval and the second interval The alignment tray on which a plurality of smaller chips are placed is slid to arrange and align the chips in the alignment holes.
In the second alignment tray of the present invention, in the first chip aligner, the shape of the alignment hole formed by the second interval of the predetermined portion is substantially the same shape as the upper end shape of the chip. It is characterized by.
Furthermore, the third chip aligner of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second chip aligner, a cross section of the partition portion other than the predetermined portion has a scallop shape.

According to the first chip aligner of the present invention, the chip placed on the alignment tray is slid along the plurality of alignment grooves whose width is smaller than the upper end diameter of the chip by sliding the chip aligner. Chips can be accommodated in alignment holes with a spacing larger than the upper end diameter of the chip formed in a predetermined part of the partition part, and the alignment tray can be held by the lower lid, and aligned The tip of the chip contained in the hole is less likely to touch other parts, and it is possible to prevent contamination of the tip of the chip. When the chip aligner is slid by the upper lid, the chip placed on the alignment tray falls. It is possible to prevent the contamination during storage.
Further, according to the second chip aligner of the present invention, since the interval between the predetermined portions of the partition portion is substantially the same as the shape of the top end of the chip, the chip side surface and the partition portion are in contact with each other, and the micropipette Since the holding force of the chip is improved when the chip is mounted, the fitting operation can be performed in a stable state.
Furthermore, according to the third chip aligner of the present invention, since at least the cross section other than the predetermined portion of the partition portion is shaped like a cone, the chip is not placed on the partition portion, and the chip is quickly put into the alignment groove. It becomes possible to collect.

1 is an overall appearance view of a chip aligner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Partially omitted external view of the chip alignment tray Sectional view in the alignment hole of the partition part of the chip alignment tray Sectional view at the partition of the chip alignment tray Appearance of chip (A) 7 × 6 alignment tray, (b) is an external view of the 7 × 14 alignment tray. Figure showing the number of aligned chips in a chip alignment ratio experiment Chip alignment ratio experimental results, where (a) is the ratio of alignment with respect to the maximum stored number, and (b) is the ratio of alignment with respect to the number of inserted chips. Sectional view of the alignment groove of the conventional nail aligner

Hereinafter, a chip aligner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall external view of a chip aligner according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an upper lid, 2 is an alignment tray, and 3 is a lower lid. FIG. 2 is an external view of the chip alignment tray 2 according to the present invention. In the figure, 4 is an alignment groove, 5 is a partition, and 6 is an alignment hole. FIG. 5 is an external view of a general chip, 7 is a chip, and 8 is a tip of the chip. The upper lid 1 is provided with a height that does not prevent the tip 7 from rising when the tip aligner is slid to align the tip 7 in the alignment hole 6. The lower lid 3 has a height that allows the tip tip 8 not to contact the inside of the lower lid when the tip aligner is slid and the tip 7 is aligned in the alignment hole 6.

The alignment tray 2 has an alignment groove 4 when the partition portions 5 are arranged in parallel. When the chip 7 placed on the upper lid 1 is slid in the parallel direction to the partition portion 5, the chip 7 placed in a messy direction moves violently and fits in the alignment groove 4. The chips 7 that have been accommodated in the alignment grooves 4 are stable because they are sandwiched between the partition portions 5, and do not become messy on the chip alignment tray 2 again. When the sliding is continued, all the mounted chips 7 are accommodated in the alignment grooves 4, and the longitudinal direction of the chips 7 is arranged in parallel with the partition portion 5.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A ′ of FIG. 2 and shows the partition 5 and the alignment hole 6 of the chip alignment tray. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B ′ of FIG. 2 and is a cross-sectional view of the partition portion 5 of the chip alignment tray.
In FIG. 3, the size of the upper part a ′ of the alignment hole 6 has a relationship of a ′ ≧ 7a with the neck upper end diameter 7a of the chip 7 shown in FIG. Further, in FIG. 4, the size of the lower part b ′ of the alignment hole 6 has a relationship of b ′ ≧ 7b with the neck lower end diameter 7b of the chip 7 shown in FIG. By having a relationship of b ′ ≧ d with the size, the tip 7 has a lower center of gravity in the alignment hole 6 than when the tip 7 is repetitively moved in the alignment groove 4, and the tip 7 enters the alignment hole 6 and is fixed. As a result, the chips 7 once stored in the alignment holes 6 do not come out again, and all the chips 7 are stably stored in the alignment holes 6 by continuing sliding.
In FIG. 4, the size of the upper portion c of the alignment groove 4 has a relationship of c >> 7a with the size of the neck upper end diameter 7a of the chip 7 shown in FIG. 4, the size of the lower part d of the alignment groove 4 has a relationship of 7b> d with the neck lower end diameter 7b of the chip 7 shown in FIG. From the above relationship, by having the relationship of c >> 7a, 7b> d in FIG. 4, when sliding, the chip 7 is accommodated in the alignment groove 4, and the chip 7 is moved from the alignment groove 4 to the lower lid 3. Never fall. By continuing sliding even after being placed in the alignment groove 4, the chip 7 repeatedly moves in the direction parallel to the alignment groove 4, and the center of gravity becomes lower when the tip end 8 comes above the alignment hole 6. The tip 8 enters the alignment hole 6 and the chip 7 is received.

In general, the chip aligner is often processed at 121 ° C. for 2 hours by a high-temperature and high-pressure sterilizer autoclave after aligning the chips. The top aligner 1, the alignment tray 2 and the bottom cover of the chip aligner of the present invention are often used. No. 3 is suitably nylon or polycarbonate as a material that is resistant to this treatment and can withstand the load when the tip 7 is mounted using a micropipette.

Furthermore, in the following, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.
As the tip 7, a tip used for a micropipette of 20 microliters or less was used. For the sliding operation by the machine, a stirrer of Biotech shaker BR-30L manufactured by Taitec Co., Ltd. was used.
The alignment ratio of the chip 7 was evaluated based on the alignment ratio of the input chip, using the number of input chips and the number of alignment holes of the aligner as variables.
The number of chips 7 is 10, 21, 42, 49, 98, 100 and 200, and is placed between the upper lid 1 and the alignment tray 2. The alignment tray 2 has 42 alignment holes as shown in FIG. 6a. 6 (7 × 6 alignment tray) and the one with 98 alignment holes shown in FIG. 6b (7 × 14 alignment tray), 203 shaking / min sliding with a stirrer for about 2 minutes to equilibrate the chip alignment Then, the number of aligned chips 7 was determined. The sliding direction was parallel to the partition and alignment grooves.

FIG. 7 shows the number of chips 7 aligned by the above experiment, and FIG. 8 shows the chip alignment ratio.
In FIG. 8a, the horizontal axis represents the number of chips inserted into the aligner, and the vertical axis represents the ratio of the chips 7 aligned with respect to the maximum accommodation number. In the figure, the symbol ◆ indicates a 7 × 6 alignment tray, and the symbol ■ indicates a 7 × 14 alignment tray. In FIG. 8a, it was found that the slope of the straight line with respect to the plot of up to 100 input chips in the 7 × 14 alignment tray was large, and the ratio of alignment in proportion to the number of input chips was high. Further, when a larger number of chips 7 than the number 98 of the alignment holes of the 7 × 14 alignment tray were placed and slid, the chips 7 interfered with each other and the alignment ratio decreased. In FIG. 8b, the horizontal axis is the number of inserted chips, and the vertical axis is the ratio of alignment with respect to the number of inserted chips. From this result, the alignment ratio decreases as the number of inserted chips increases, and the number of aligned holes is greater than the number of aligned holes. When the chip 7 was inserted, the alignment ratio was greatly reduced.

The chip aligner of the present invention can be stored in the alignment hole by simply placing the chip on the alignment tray and sliding it, and can be widely used as laboratory equipment in research facilities such as companies and schools. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper lid 2 Alignment tray 3 Lower lid 4 Alignment groove 5 Partition part 6 Alignment hole 7 Tip 7a Tip neck upper end diameter 7b Chip neck lower end diameter 8 Chip tip

The present invention relates to a chip storage container that is used by being mounted on a micropipette. Specifically, the present invention is used for efficiently storing chips in an alignment tray.

In research in chemical and bio-related fields, micropipettes that can quantitatively dispense minute amounts of reagents and samples or specimens into test tubes, microplates, petri dishes, etc. are widely used. When using such a micropipette, a disposable tip is attached to the tip of the pipette.
Micropipette tips for 20 microliters or less, 200 microliters or less, 1000 microliters or less are prepared, and the shape is generally formed in a conical shape. These tips are generally used with the tips standing in a rack in order to improve the mounting operation on the micropipette and avoid contamination of the tips of the tips.
This is because if the tip is placed on the rack, the work can be performed without touching the tip directly when the tip is mounted, so that the sample is not contaminated and the pipette operation is safe for the operator. Because it can. Such a rack is generally one in which chips are arranged in 96 holes.

By the way, in general, chips are often sold in plastic bags instead of standing in a rack. To store these chips in a rack, even today, in many cases, manual labor is required. Work is being done by. In many cases, storage work is performed several times a day, and a dedicated human resource may be assigned.
Some devices have been developed to mechanize the storage work (see Patent Document 1). In the field of building tools, there is also a nail aligning device developed to efficiently supply nails to an automatic nailing device (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-187629 A JP-A-11-300538

However, the alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a large and complicated apparatus including a chip storage unit, a posture stabilization unit, an individual sending unit, an individual receiving unit, a rotating drum, and a rack. It is not practical to use it on a narrow laboratory bench where the devices are lined up.
Further, since the nail aligning device described in Patent Document 2 does not require one nail to be individually aligned into one alignment hole, the contact between the nail and the alignment groove of the aligning device is not a surface but a point. Due to this configuration, the operation of attaching the chip to the micropipette is not suitable for the chip aligner because a force is required to hold the chip and the container holding the chip when inserted and the stability is lacking. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the alignment groove of the nail aligner described in Patent Document 2. As shown in the figure, since the mountain portions on the left and right sides of the groove are horizontal, there is a possibility that a chip may get on the mountain portion and the storage property is insufficient, so that the shape of the storage container is not suitable.
Therefore, the present invention provides an aligner that enables chips to be aligned with the aligner without using a large apparatus for aligning the chips, and can reduce the time for storing the chips.

The first chip aligner according to the present invention includes an alignment tray having a plurality of partition portions arranged in parallel, a lower lid that holds the alignment tray, and an upper lid that covers the alignment tray. An alignment groove having a first interval is formed by the portion, and an upper end notch of a predetermined portion of the adjacent partition portion is a second interval that is larger than the first interval , and a lower end is the alignment of the first interval. A plurality of chips each having a hole formed therein and having an upper end larger than the first interval and smaller than the second interval are placed on the alignment tray, and the alignment tray is slid to place the chips. The alignment holes are arranged and aligned.
In the second alignment tray of the present invention, in the first chip aligner, the shape of the alignment hole formed by the second interval of the predetermined portion is substantially the same shape as the upper end shape of the chip. It is characterized by.
Furthermore, the third chip aligner of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second chip aligner, a cross section of the partition portion other than the predetermined portion has a scallop shape.

According to the first chip aligner of the present invention, the chip placed on the alignment tray is slid along the plurality of alignment grooves whose width is smaller than the upper end diameter of the chip by sliding the chip aligner. Chips can be accommodated in alignment holes with a spacing larger than the upper end diameter of the chip formed in a predetermined part of the partition part, and the alignment tray can be held by the lower lid, and aligned The tip of the chip contained in the hole is less likely to touch other parts, and it is possible to prevent contamination of the tip of the chip. When the chip aligner is slid by the upper lid, the chip placed on the alignment tray falls. It is possible to prevent the contamination during storage.
Further, according to the second chip aligner of the present invention, since the interval between the predetermined portions of the partition portion is substantially the same as the shape of the top end of the chip, the chip side surface and the partition portion are in contact with each other, and the micropipette Since the holding force of the chip is improved when the chip is mounted, the fitting operation can be performed in a stable state.
Furthermore, according to the third chip aligner of the present invention, since at least the cross section other than the predetermined portion of the partition portion is shaped like a cone, the chip is not placed on the partition portion, and the chip is quickly put into the alignment groove. It becomes possible to collect.

1 is an overall appearance view of a chip aligner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Partially omitted external view of the chip alignment tray Sectional view in the alignment hole of the partition part of the chip alignment tray Sectional view at the partition of the chip alignment tray Appearance of chip (A) 7 × 6 alignment tray, (b) is an external view of the 7 × 14 alignment tray. Figure showing the number of aligned chips in a chip alignment ratio experiment Chip alignment ratio experimental results, where (a) is the ratio of alignment with respect to the maximum stored number, and (b) is the ratio of alignment with respect to the number of inserted chips. Sectional view of the alignment groove of the conventional nail aligner

Hereinafter, a chip aligner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall external view of a chip aligner according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an upper lid, 2 is an alignment tray, and 3 is a lower lid. FIG. 2 is an external view of the chip alignment tray 2 according to the present invention. In the figure, 4 is an alignment groove, 5 is a partition, and 6 is an alignment hole. FIG. 5 is an external view of a general chip, 7 is a chip, and 8 is a tip of the chip. The upper lid 1 is provided with a height that does not prevent the tip 7 from rising when the tip aligner is slid to align the tip 7 in the alignment hole 6. The lower lid 3 has a height that allows the tip tip 8 not to contact the inside of the lower lid when the tip aligner is slid and the tip 7 is aligned in the alignment hole 6.

The alignment tray 2 has an alignment groove 4 when the partition portions 5 are arranged in parallel. When the chip 7 placed on the upper lid 1 is slid in the parallel direction to the partition portion 5, the chip 7 placed in a messy direction moves violently and fits in the alignment groove 4. The chips 7 that have been accommodated in the alignment grooves 4 are stable because they are sandwiched between the partition portions 5, and do not become messy on the chip alignment tray 2 again. When the sliding is continued, all the mounted chips 7 are accommodated in the alignment grooves 4, and the longitudinal direction of the chips 7 is arranged in parallel with the partition portion 5.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A ′ of FIG. 2 and shows the partition 5 and the alignment hole 6 of the chip alignment tray. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B ′ of FIG. 2 and is a cross-sectional view of the partition portion 5 of the chip alignment tray.
In FIG. 3, the size of the upper part a ′ of the alignment hole 6 has a relationship of a ′ ≧ 7a with the neck upper end diameter 7a of the chip 7 shown in FIG. Further, in FIG. 4, the size of the lower part b ′ of the alignment hole 6 has a relationship of b ′ ≧ 7b with the neck lower end diameter 7b of the chip 7 shown in FIG. By having a relationship of b ′ ≧ d with the size, the tip 7 has a lower center of gravity in the alignment hole 6 than when the tip 7 is repetitively moved in the alignment groove 4, and the tip 7 enters the alignment hole 6 and is fixed. As a result, the chips 7 once stored in the alignment holes 6 do not come out again, and all the chips 7 are stably stored in the alignment holes 6 by continuing sliding.
In FIG. 4, the size of the upper portion c of the alignment groove 4 has a relationship of c >> 7a with the size of the neck upper end diameter 7a of the chip 7 shown in FIG. 4, the size of the lower part d of the alignment groove 4 has a relationship of 7b> d with the neck lower end diameter 7b of the chip 7 shown in FIG. From the above relationship, by having the relationship of c >> 7a, 7b> d in FIG. 4, when sliding, the chip 7 is accommodated in the alignment groove 4, and the chip 7 is moved from the alignment groove 4 to the lower lid 3. Never fall. By continuing sliding even after being placed in the alignment groove 4, the chip 7 repeatedly moves in the direction parallel to the alignment groove 4, and the center of gravity becomes lower when the tip end 8 comes above the alignment hole 6. The tip 8 enters the alignment hole 6 and the chip 7 is received.

In general, the chip aligner is often processed at 121 ° C. for 2 hours by a high-temperature and high-pressure sterilizer autoclave after aligning the chips. The top aligner 1, the alignment tray 2 and the bottom cover of the chip aligner of the present invention are often used. No. 3 is suitably nylon or polycarbonate as a material that is resistant to this treatment and can withstand the load when the tip 7 is mounted using a micropipette.

Furthermore, in the following, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.
As the tip 7, a tip used for a micropipette of 20 microliters or less was used. For the sliding operation by the machine, a stirrer of Biotech shaker BR-30L manufactured by Taitec Co., Ltd. was used.
The alignment ratio of the chip 7 was evaluated based on the alignment ratio of the input chip, using the number of input chips and the number of alignment holes of the aligner as variables.
The number of chips 7 is 10, 21, 42, 49, 98, 100 and 200, and is placed between the upper lid 1 and the alignment tray 2. The alignment tray 2 has 42 alignment holes as shown in FIG. 6a. 6 (7 × 6 alignment tray) and the one with 98 alignment holes shown in FIG. 6b (7 × 14 alignment tray), 203 shaking / min sliding with a stirrer for about 2 minutes to equilibrate the chip alignment Then, the number of aligned chips 7 was determined. The sliding direction was parallel to the partition and alignment grooves.

FIG. 7 shows the number of chips 7 aligned by the above experiment, and FIG. 8 shows the chip alignment ratio.
In FIG. 8a, the horizontal axis represents the number of chips inserted into the aligner, and the vertical axis represents the ratio of the chips 7 aligned with respect to the maximum accommodation number. In the figure, the symbol ◆ indicates a 7 × 6 alignment tray, and the symbol ■ indicates a 7 × 14 alignment tray. In FIG. 8a, it was found that the slope of the straight line with respect to the plot of up to 100 input chips in the 7 × 14 alignment tray was large, and the ratio of alignment in proportion to the number of input chips was high. Further, when a larger number of chips 7 than the number 98 of the alignment holes of the 7 × 14 alignment tray were placed and slid, the chips 7 interfered with each other and the alignment ratio decreased. In FIG. 8b, the horizontal axis is the number of inserted chips, and the vertical axis is the ratio of alignment with respect to the number of inserted chips. From this result, the alignment ratio decreases as the number of inserted chips increases, and the number of aligned holes is greater than the number of aligned holes. When the chip 7 was inserted, the alignment ratio was greatly reduced.

The chip aligner of the present invention can be stored in the alignment hole by simply placing the chip on the alignment tray and sliding it, and can be widely used as laboratory equipment in research facilities such as companies and schools. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper lid 2 Alignment tray 3 Lower lid 4 Alignment groove 5 Partition part 6 Alignment hole 7 Tip 7a Tip neck upper end diameter 7b Chip neck lower end diameter 8 Chip tip

Claims (3)

An alignment tray having a plurality of partition portions arranged in parallel at a first interval, an alignment groove formed by the adjacent partition portions, and an alignment hole having a second interval on the upper end side of a predetermined portion of the partition portion And a plurality of chips having an upper end that is larger than the first interval and smaller than the second interval, and a lower lid that holds the alignment tray and an upper lid that covers the alignment tray. A chip aligner that slides the alignment tray to place and align the chips. 2. The chip aligner according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the alignment hole including the second interval of the predetermined portion is substantially the same shape as an upper end shape of the chip. The chip aligner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cross section of at least the partition portion other than the predetermined portion is in the shape of a paddle.

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