JP2019100909A - Dispensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a dispensing device with which it is possible to handle an error when a liquid amount in a container is small and prevent a suction operation from being performed while a probe is not inserted into a liquid.SOLUTION: According to the present invention, a movement processing unit performs a lowering process of lowering a probe 4 to a target height H in a suction device while performing detection by a liquid level detection unit. A suction processing unit causes a liquid to be drawn in by the probe 4 at the target height H. When it is not detected by the liquid level detection unit that the tip of the probe 4 has touched the liquid surface during the lowering process, an error determination unit performs error processing. The movement processing unit causes the probe 4 to be lowered to the target height H in the suction device irrespective of whether or not it is detected by the liquid level detection unit that the tip of the probe 4 has touched the liquid surface during the lowering process. The suction processing unit causes a liquid to be drawn in by the probe 4 at the target height H only when it is detected by the liquid level detection unit that the tip of the probe 4 has touched the liquid surface during the lowering process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus including a probe for sucking liquid and a liquid level detection unit for detecting whether or not the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid surface.

  For example, in an apparatus for handling a liquid such as a sample or a reagent such as a pretreatment apparatus, a dispensing apparatus for dispensing the liquid is used. By using a dispensing apparatus, it is possible to dispense a sample from a sample container, or to dispense a reagent to be mixed with the sample from a reagent container (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

  When dispensing the liquid in the dispensing device, a suction operation and a discharge operation using a probe are performed. Specifically, a container containing a liquid such as a sample or a reagent is placed at a suction position, and the probe is inserted into the container to immerse the tip of the probe in the liquid. By operating the syringe in this state, the liquid is aspirated into the probe. Thereafter, the probe is moved to the discharge position, and the syringe is operated again to discharge the liquid from the tip of the probe. The probe after dispensing is washed with a washing solution at the washing port.

  When aspirating liquid into the probe at the aspiration position, the tip of the probe needs to be securely inserted into the liquid. Therefore, a general dispensing apparatus is provided with a liquid level detection unit for detecting whether or not the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid level. As the liquid level detection unit, for example, a configuration that detects the liquid level by a capacitance type is used.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the operation of the probe 300 when the liquid level is normally detected by the liquid level detection unit in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 8, the container 100 in which the liquid is stored is held by the container holding unit 200. The upper surface of the container 100 is an opening, and the probe 300 is inserted into the opening from above (see FIG. 8A).

  Thereafter, when the probe 300 is further inserted into the container 100, the tip of the probe 300 contacts the liquid level of the liquid in the container 100 (see FIG. 8B). When the liquid level is detected in this manner, the height of the tip of the probe 300 when the liquid level is detected is taken as the reference height H100, and a position lower than the reference height H100 by a predetermined lowering amount D100. The probe 300 is lowered (see FIG. 8C). After that, the liquid is sucked into the probe 300 by operating the syringe (see FIG. 8D).

  The descent amount D100 is set to a necessary minimum value based on the shape of the container 100, the suction amount of the liquid, and the like. As a result, the range of contact with the liquid in the probe 300 can be narrowed, so that the cleaning range of the probe 300 can be limited. In addition, if the liquid level is not detected before the tip of the probe 300 reaches a predetermined height in the container 100, an error indicating that the amount of liquid in the container 100 is small can be detected.

JP, 2016-205998, A

  However, in the conventional dispensing apparatus as described above, there is a risk that the suction operation (empty suction) is performed in a state where the probe 300 is not inserted in the liquid due to the erroneous detection of the liquid level by the liquid level detection unit. was there.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the operation of the probe 300 when the liquid level is erroneously detected by the liquid level detection unit in the prior art. For example, when the user stirs the liquid in the container 100 in advance, the droplet 400 may scatter around the opening of the container 100.

  In such a case, in the process of inserting the probe 300 into the container 100, the probe 300 may come in contact with the droplet 400 adhering to the periphery of the opening of the container 100 and erroneously detect the liquid surface ( See FIG. 9 (a)). Such false detection is likely to occur particularly when the opening of the container 100 has a relatively small diameter.

  When the droplet 400 is erroneously detected as the liquid surface, the height of the tip of the probe 300 at that time is used as a reference height, and the probe 300 is lowered from the reference height to a position lower by a predetermined amount of descent. The suction operation is performed (see FIG. 9B). As a result, the suction operation is performed in a state in which the probe 300 is not inserted into the liquid, and the vacuum suction is performed.

  On the other hand, a dispensing apparatus configured to perform a suction operation by lowering the probe 300 to a certain height without performing liquid level detection is also conventionally known. In this type of dispensing apparatus, since the liquid level detection is not performed, even if the amount of liquid in the container 100 is small and the probe 300 is not inserted into the liquid, the suction operation is performed as it is, and empty suction is also performed. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to perform error processing when the amount of liquid in the container is small, and the suction operation is performed in a state where the probe is not inserted into the liquid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing device capable of preventing the

(1) The dispensing apparatus according to the present invention includes a probe, a moving mechanism, a liquid level detection unit, a movement processing unit, a suction processing unit, and an error determination unit. The probe aspirates the liquid in the container at the aspiration position. The movement mechanism vertically moves the probe at the suction position. The liquid level detection unit detects whether or not the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid level. The movement processing unit performs descent processing to lower the probe to a target height at the suction position while performing detection by the liquid level detection unit. The suction processing unit causes the probe to suction liquid at the target height. The error determination unit performs an error process when the liquid level detection unit does not detect that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid surface during the lowering process. The movement processing unit lowers the probe to the target height at the suction position regardless of whether the liquid level detection unit detects that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid surface during the lowering process. Let The suction processing unit causes the probe to suction the liquid at the target height only when the liquid level detection unit detects that the tip of the probe contacts the liquid level during the lowering process.

  According to such a configuration, error processing can be performed when the amount of liquid in the container is small and the liquid level detection unit does not detect that the tip of the probe contacts the liquid level during the descent processing. Also, regardless of whether the liquid level detection unit detects that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid surface during the lowering process, the probe is lowered to the target height at the suction position, so the target height is appropriately set. If set, it is possible to prevent the idle suction operation in the state where the probe resulting from the erroneous detection of the liquid level is not inserted into the liquid.

  Also, if the liquid level detection unit does not detect that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid surface during the descent processing, the suction operation is not performed, so the suction operation is performed with the probe not inserted in the liquid. Can be reliably prevented.

(2) The movement processing unit may move the probe to the cleaning position and perform a cleaning process of cleaning the probe from the tip to a predetermined cleaning range with a cleaning solution. In this case, the target height may be determined based on the cleaning range. The dispensing device may further include a storage unit that stores the container and the target height in association with each other.

  According to such a configuration, since the probe can be inserted into the liquid within the cleaning range of the probe in the cleaning process, the liquid adhering to the probe can be reliably cleaned. Further, by considering the type of container in addition to the cleaning range, it is possible to set an appropriate target height according to the shape of the container. By previously storing the type of container and the target height in the storage unit in advance, it is not necessary to determine the target height each time the measurement is performed, and the preparation operation of the measurement becomes easy.

(3) The suction processing unit performs detection on the probe at the target height after the detection by the liquid level detection unit is performed until the probe is lowered to the first height at the suction position during the lowering process. The liquid may be aspirated. In this case, the first height may be equal to or higher than the target height.

  According to such a configuration, during the descent processing, the detection by the liquid level detection unit is performed until the probe descends to the first height equal to or higher than the target height, and thereafter, the target is detected. Liquid can be reliably aspirated into the probe at height.

(4) If the tip position of the probe when the liquid level detection unit detects the liquid level during the lowering process is within a predetermined range above the target height, the suction processing unit The probe may aspirate liquid at a second height lower than the target height.

  According to such a configuration, the tip position of the probe when the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection unit during the descent process is relatively close to the target height and the liquid can not be sufficiently sucked. When expected, the probe is lowered to a second height lower than the target height, so that the probe can reliably aspirate liquid at the second height.

  According to the present invention, error processing can be performed when the amount of liquid in the container is small and the liquid level detection unit does not detect that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid level during the lowering process. Further, according to the present invention, if the target height is appropriately set, it is possible to prevent the suction operation from being performed in a state where the probe is not inserted into the liquid due to the erroneous detection of the liquid level.

It is the schematic which showed the whole structure of the dispensing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which showed the structural example of the suction mechanism in the dispensing apparatus of FIG. It is the block diagram which showed the electric constitution of the dispensing apparatus. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of control by the control section at the time of dispensing. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the probe in process of descent | fall. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination method of target height. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the probe at the time of dropping a probe additionally during a descent process. It is the figure which showed operation | movement of the probe when a liquid level is normally detected by the liquid level detection part in a prior art. It is the figure which showed operation | movement of the probe in case a liquid level was misdetected by the liquid level detection part in the prior art.

1. Overall Configuration of Dispensing Device FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall configuration of a dispensing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The dispensing device 1 is used, for example, in a pretreatment device, and is a device for dispensing a liquid such as a sample or a reagent. In the following description, a case where the sample is sucked from the sample container 2 and discharged to the discharge container 3 will be described, but the dispensing device 1 according to the present embodiment is another liquid (for example, stored in a reagent container) It can also be used when dispensing reagents etc.).

  The dispensing device 1 is provided with a probe 4 for suctioning a sample from the sample container 2. The probe 4 is an elongated tubular member, and can aspirate a sample from its tip (lower end). The probe 4 aspirates the sample at a position (aspiration position) facing the upper side of the sample container 2 as shown in FIG.

  The probe 4 is rotatably held around the rotation shaft 5. In addition to the sample container 2 and the discharge container 3, the cleaning port 6 and the like are disposed on the track of the probe 4 which rotates around the rotation shaft 5. Therefore, by rotating the probe 4 about the rotation shaft 5, the suction position, the position facing the discharge container 3 upward (discharge position), and the position facing the cleaning port 6 upward The probe 4 can be moved in the horizontal direction between (the cleaning position).

  The rotation shaft 5 is rotated by the drive of the first motor 7, and the probe 4 moves along the trajectory along with the rotation. Further, the rotation shaft 5 is displaced in the vertical direction by the drive of the second motor 8, and the probe 4 is moved in the vertical direction accordingly. At each position such as the suction position, the discharge position, and the cleaning position, the probe 4 is appropriately moved in the vertical direction by the drive of the second motor 8. The first motor 7 and the second motor 8 constitute a moving mechanism 9 for moving the probe 4 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

2. Configuration of Suction Mechanism FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a configuration example of a suction mechanism 10 in the dispensing device 1 of FIG. The dispensing device 1 is provided with a suction mechanism 10 in communication with the probe 4 of FIG. The suction mechanism 10 includes a syringe 12 connected to a pipe 11 communicating with the probe 4 and a syringe motor 13 for operating the syringe 12.

  The syringe 12 is a hollow member, and the plunger 14 is inserted therein. The plunger 14 is axially displaced by the drive of the syringe motor 13, and can be advanced and retracted into and out of the syringe 12.

  When the plunger 14 is retracted from the inside of the syringe 12 in a state where the tip of the probe 4 is inserted into the sample in the sample container 2 at the suction position, the sample can be sucked from the sample container 2 into the probe 4. Further, after the sample is aspirated, the probe 4 is moved to the discharge position, and the plunger 14 is inserted into the syringe 12 so that the sample in the probe 4 can be discharged into the discharge container 3.

  One end of a pipe 15 for suctioning washing water is connected to the syringe 12. The other end of the pipe 15 is in communication with the inside of the flush water tank 16 in which the flush water is stored. Further, in the middle of the pipe 15, a flush water valve 17 and a flush water pump 18 are interposed. When performing the suction operation and the discharge operation of the sample, the syringe motor 13 is driven in a state where the washing water valve 17 is closed.

  When washing the probe 4, the probe 4 is moved to the washing position, and the tip of the probe 4 is inserted into the washing port 6. By opening the flush water valve 17 and driving the flush water pump 18 in this state, flush water can be discharged from the tip of the probe 4 into the flush port 6 through the inside of the syringe 12 and the pipe 11. Thereby, washing water is stored in the washing port 6, and the probe 4 is immersed in the washing water, so that the probe 4 is washed in a range (washing range) immersed in the washing water. However, the cleaning liquid for cleaning the probe 4 is not limited to water, and may be another liquid.

3. Electrical Configuration of Dispensing Device FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the dispensing device 1. The dispensing device 1 includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 30, a display unit 40, an input unit 45, and the like in addition to the moving mechanism 9 and the suction mechanism 10 described above.

  The control unit 20 is configured to include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and functions as the movement processing unit 21, the liquid level detection unit 22, the suction processing unit 23, the error determination unit 24, etc. by the CPU executing a program. Do. The storage unit 30 is configured of, for example, a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). The display unit 40 is configured of, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input unit 45 is configured of, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or an operation key.

  The movement processor 21 controls the movement mechanism 9 to perform processing for moving the probe 4. In particular, in the case of the sample suction operation, the movement processing unit 21 performs a lowering process of lowering the probe 4 to the target height at the suction position. The target height corresponds to the fixed height of the tip of the probe 4 when suctioning the sample into the probe 4 (when the syringe motor 13 is driven), and is stored in advance in association with each type of sample container 2. Is stored in The target height may be a relative height or an absolute height. The user can designate the type of sample container 2 by operating the input unit 45. Thereby, the target height corresponding to the designated type of sample container 2 is read from the storage unit 30 and set.

  In addition, when cleaning the probe 4, the probe 4 is moved to the cleaning position by the movement processing unit 21, and then the probe 4 is lowered to be immersed in the cleaning water in the cleaning port 6. . Thus, the probe 4 can be washed with washing water from the tip to a predetermined washing range (washing process).

  The liquid level detection unit 22 performs processing for detecting (liquid level detection) whether or not the tip of the probe 4 is in contact with the liquid level. The probe 4 in the present embodiment has a so-called capacitance type liquid level detection function. Specifically, the probe 4 has a configuration (not shown) in which an inner cylinder is provided in the outer cylinder, and the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder are energized. Thereby, when the probe 4 is immersed in the liquid, the capacitance between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder changes, and the liquid level can be detected based on the change. The liquid level detection unit 22 detects a voltage applied to the probe 4 to perform liquid level detection based on a change in capacitance of the probe 4. However, the liquid level detection unit 22 may be configured to perform liquid level detection by a method other than the capacitance type.

  The movement processing unit 21 performs detection by the liquid level detection unit 22 in parallel when the lowering processing is performed. That is, during the lowering process, the probe 4 is lowered to the target height at the suction position while performing detection by the liquid level detection unit 22. At this time, the movement processing unit 21 lowers the probe 4 to the target height regardless of whether or not the liquid level detection unit 22 detects that the tip of the probe 4 is in contact with the liquid level. In other words, the detection result by the liquid level detection unit 22 does not affect the lowering process of the probe 4 by the movement processing unit 21.

  The suction processing unit 23 controls the suction mechanism 10 to perform processing for causing the probe 4 to suction liquid. During the sample suction operation, the sample is sucked by the probe 4 at the target height. In the present embodiment, the suction processing unit 23 performs the suction operation of the sample based on the detection result of the liquid level detection unit 22. Specifically, the sample is sucked by the probe 4 at the target height only when the liquid level detection unit 22 detects that the tip of the probe 4 contacts the liquid level during the lowering process.

  The error determination unit 24 performs an error process based on the detection result of the liquid level detection unit 22. In the sample suction operation, if the liquid level detection unit 22 does not detect that the tip of the probe 4 has come into contact with the liquid level before the probe 4 falls to the target height, an error process is performed. It will be. In the present embodiment, as the error processing, the user is notified of the occurrence of an abnormality (error) by displaying on the display unit 40. However, not limited to such a configuration, the error processing may be processing of notifying the user of an error by other means such as voice, processing of stopping the operation of the dispensing apparatus 1, or the like.

4. Control at Dispensing FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of control by the control unit 20 at the time of dispensing. When dispensing a sample, the movement processing unit 21 first controls the first motor 7 of the movement mechanism 9 to move the probe 4 to the suction position (step S101).

  Thereafter, the movement processing unit 21 controls the second motor 8 of the movement mechanism 9 to start the lowering process of the probe 4 at the suction position (step S102). During the descent processing, detection is performed by the liquid level detection unit 22, but regardless of the detection result, the descent processing is performed until the tip of the probe 4 reaches the target height.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the probe 4 during the lowering process. As shown in FIG. 5, the sample container 2 is held by the container holder 50, and the upper surface thereof is an opening. When the droplet 60 is attached around the opening of the sample container 2, as shown in FIG. 5A, the probe 4 comes into contact with the droplet 60 during the lowering process, and the liquid level detection unit 22 There is a risk of false detection as a face. Even in such a case, the lowering process is performed until the probe is lowered to the target height H regardless of the detection result by the liquid level detection unit 22 (see FIG. 5B).

  The target height H is set to a position higher than the height of the bottom surface of the sample container 2 by a predetermined amount D1. The height of the bottom of the sample container 2 is measured, for example, by installing several kinds of empty sample containers 2 in the container holding unit 50 at the time of assembly adjustment of the apparatus, and is associated with each sample container 2 using known techniques. Can be stored in advance in the storage unit 30. In the present embodiment, the target height H is determined based on the cleaning range of the probe 4 at the cleaning port 6.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining the target height H. The washing water 61 is stored in the washing port 6 to a constant water level, and the probe 4 is inserted into the washing water 61. The wash water supplied to the wash port 6 above the constant water level overflows through the outflow passage 62. Therefore, the cleaning range R1 of the probe 4 at the cleaning port 6 has a constant value according to the constant water level.

  When the probe 4 is lowered into the sample container 2 during the descent process, if the sample is fully contained up to the opening of the sample container 2, the range from the upper end of the sample container 2 to the tip of the probe 4 contacts the sample It is necessary to wash the probe 4 in that range. Therefore, with reference to the height of the upper end of the sample container 2, the height below the cleaning range R1 is determined as the target height H. In other words, a value obtained by subtracting the cleaning range R1 from the height from the bottom surface to the upper end of the sample container 2 becomes the above-mentioned predetermined amount D1 (see FIG. 5).

  Since the height of the upper end of the sample container 2 differs depending on the type of sample container 2, the target height H has a different value depending on the type of sample container 2. The sample container 2 has a volume of, for example, about 1 mL, and usually, the sample is accommodated up to about half the volume.

  Referring again to FIG. 4, when the tip of the probe 4 reaches the target height H during the descent process (Yes in step S103), the descent process of the probe 4 is stopped (step S104), and the descent process is performed. It is determined whether the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection unit 22 (step S105). The detection by the liquid level detection unit 22 is performed until the tip of the probe 4 falls to a predetermined height (first height) during the lowering process. In the present embodiment, a case where the first height is equal to the target height H will be described.

  When the liquid level is not detected by the liquid level detection unit 22 during the descent process (No in step S105), it is assumed that the liquid quantity of the sample in the sample container 2 is small or the inside of the sample container 2 is empty. The determination is made, and the error determination unit 24 performs an error process (step S112). In this case, suction processing by the suction processing unit 23 is not performed.

  On the other hand, when the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection unit 22 during the descent process (Yes in step S105), the tip position of the probe 4 when the liquid level is detected is relative to the target height H It is determined whether it is in the upper predetermined range (step S106). Then, if the tip position of the probe 4 when the liquid level is detected is not within the predetermined range (No at step S106), that is, if the liquid level is detected at a position relatively higher than the target height H When the suction processing unit 23 operates the suction mechanism 10 at the target height H, the sample is sucked by the probe 4 (step S108).

  If the tip position of the probe 4 when the liquid level is detected is within the predetermined range (Yes in step S106), that is, if the liquid level is detected at a position relatively close to the target height H, the target height is as it is If the suction operation is performed in step H, the sample may not be sucked well. Therefore, in such a case, the movement processing unit 21 controls the second motor 8 of the movement mechanism 9 to make the tip of the probe 4 a predetermined height (second height) lower than the target height H. The sample is additionally drawn down (Step S107), and the suction processing unit 23 operates the suction mechanism 10 at this second height, whereby the sample is sucked by the probe 4 (Step S108).

  After the suction processing is performed as described above, the movement processing unit 21 raises the probe 4 by controlling the second motor 8 of the movement mechanism 9 (step S109). Then, the movement processing unit 21 controls the first motor 7 of the movement mechanism 9 to move the probe 4 to the discharge position (step S110), and then the sample in the probe 4 is in the discharge container 3 at the discharge position. Are discharged (step S111).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the probe 4 when the probe 4 is additionally lowered during the lowering process. As described with reference to FIG. 5, the lowering process is performed until the probe 4 is lowered to the target height H regardless of the detection result by the liquid level detection unit 22 (see FIGS. 7A and 7B). .

  However, when the amount of the sample contained in the sample container 2 is small, as shown in FIG. 7B, the distance between the tip position of the probe 4 and the liquid level at the target height H becomes short, If the suction operation is performed at the target height H as it is, the liquid level may drop to the tip of the probe 4 during suction, and the sample may not be sucked satisfactorily. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the tip position (liquid level height) of the probe 4 when the liquid level is detected is within the predetermined range R2 above the target height H, the target height H The tip of the probe 4 is additionally lowered to a predetermined height (second height) lower than the predetermined amount D2.

5. Operation and Effect (1) In the present embodiment, when the liquid amount of the sample in the sample container 2 is small and the liquid level detection unit 22 does not detect that the tip of the probe 4 contacts the liquid level during the lowering process ( An error process can be performed at step S105 of FIG. 4 (step S112). In addition, the probe 4 is lowered to the target height H at the suction position regardless of whether the liquid level detection unit 22 detects that the tip of the probe 4 has come into contact with the liquid surface during the lowering process (Step S102 to S104) If the target height H is properly set, the suction operation is performed in a state where the probe 4 is not inserted into the sample, and it is possible to prevent the empty suction.

(2) Further, in the present embodiment, if the liquid level detection unit 22 does not detect that the tip of the probe 4 has come into contact with the liquid level during the lowering process (No in step S105), the suction operation (step S108) is performed. Therefore, the suction operation is performed in a state where the probe 4 is not inserted into the sample, and empty suction can be reliably prevented.

(3) In the present embodiment, the target height H is determined based on the cleaning range R1 as described with reference to FIG. As a result, since the probe 4 can be inserted into the sample within the washing range R1 of the probe 4 in the washing process, the sample attached to the probe 4 can be reliably washed.

(4) In the present embodiment, the lower limit height (first height) of the tip of the probe 4 whose detection is performed by the liquid level detection unit 22 during the lowering process is the same as the target height H. Therefore, during the descent processing, detection by the liquid level detection unit 22 is performed until the probe 4 descends to the same height as the target height H, and thereafter, the sample is reliably transmitted to the probe 4 at the target height H It can be aspirated.

(5) Further, in the present embodiment, the tip position of the probe when the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection unit 22 during the lowering process is within the predetermined range R2 above the target height H That is, when relatively close to the target height H, the probe 4 is lowered to a height (second height) lower than the target height H by a predetermined amount D2. Thereby, the sample can be reliably sucked by the probe 4 at the second height.

6. Modified Example In the above embodiment, when the liquid level detection unit 22 does not detect that the tip of the probe 4 has come into contact with the liquid surface during the lowering process (No in Step S105 of FIG. 4), the suction operation (Step S108). The structure which does not perform is demonstrated. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and a user who recognizes an error by error processing may manually stop the suction operation.

  The above embodiment has described the case where the lower limit height (first height) of the tip of the probe 4 whose detection is performed by the liquid level detection unit 22 during the lowering process is the same as the target height H. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the first height may be set higher than the target height H.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the liquid dispensed by the dispensing device 1 is a sample in the sample container 2 has been described. However, the present invention is applicable not only to the case of aspirating a sample to the probe 4 but also to the case of aspiration of another liquid to the probe 4.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dispensing device 2 Sample container 3 Discharge container 4 Probe 5 Rotation shaft 6 Cleaning port 7 First motor 8 Second motor 9 Moving mechanism 10 Suction mechanism 20 Control part 21 Movement processing part 22 Liquid level detection part 23 Suction processing part 24 Error Determination unit 30 Storage unit 40 Display unit 60 Droplet 61 Wash water R1 Wash range R2 Predetermined range

Claims (4)

A probe for sucking liquid in the container at a suction position;
A moving mechanism for moving the probe in the vertical direction at the suction position;
A liquid level detection unit that detects whether the tip of the probe contacts the liquid surface;
A movement processing unit that performs a lowering process of lowering the probe to a target height at the suction position while performing detection by the liquid level detection unit;
A suction processing unit that causes the probe to suction liquid at the target height;
And an error determination unit that performs an error process when the liquid level detection unit does not detect that the tip of the probe contacts the liquid surface during the lowering process.
The movement processing unit lowers the probe to the target height at the suction position regardless of whether the liquid level detection unit detects that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid surface during the lowering process. Let
The suction processing unit causes the probe to suction the liquid at the target height only when the liquid level detection unit detects that the tip of the probe is in contact with the liquid level during the lowering process. Dispensing device to be. It further comprises a storage unit for storing the container and the target height in association with each other,
The movement processing unit moves the probe to a cleaning position, and performs a cleaning process to clean the probe from a tip to a predetermined cleaning range with a cleaning solution,
The dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the target height is determined based on the cleaning range. The suction processing unit sucks the liquid to the probe at the target height after the detection by the liquid level detection unit is performed until the probe falls to the first height at the suction position during the lowering process. Let
The dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first height is equal to or higher than the target height.   When the tip position of the probe when the liquid level detection unit detects a liquid level during the lowering process is within a predetermined range above the target height, the suction processing unit is configured to The dispensing device according to claim 3, wherein the probe is caused to aspirate liquid at a second height lower than the height.

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