JP3023900B2 - How to operate the fluid holder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of operating a fluid holding member for holding a fluid therein by a stop valve action of the fluid using gel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a valve for stopping the flow of a fluid, there is a valve operated by an external control action, such as an electromagnetic valve disposed in a flow path. Also, the mechanical check valve has a structure in which the valve operation differs depending on the flow direction of the fluid without external control action, and the flow of the fluid in one direction can be stopped depending on the flow direction of the fluid. it can. Further, when a fluid is injected into or discharged from a fluid holding body such as a tube or a container, a lid can be simply used to stop the flow.

[0003] With the various stop valves described above,
Conventionally, a fluid is held in a fluid holding body.

However, in the above conventional example, the solenoid valve has a complicated structure as compared with a simple valve, and furthermore, since external control is required, the size of the entire device including the operation and the control system becomes large. was there. Therefore, it cannot be used as an inexpensive and easy fluid stop valve. Further, it has been difficult to install and use in a fine channel or an integrated channel.

A mechanical check valve always stops a fluid in one direction, but can always flow in the reverse direction, and thus cannot be used as a stop valve.

In order to stop the fluid with a simple lid, it is necessary to dispose the lid. Therefore, it is difficult to close and stop a fine hole or a plurality of integrated holes in operation. Further, it has been very difficult to stop the fluid by the lid in the flow path having a complicated shape.

Therefore, it is difficult to miniaturize and miniaturize a fluid holding body using these stop valves and to integrate a plurality of fluid holding bodies, and it is not easy and inexpensive to manufacture the fluid holding body. .

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a stop valve having a simplified, simplified, and ultra-miniaturized structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid holder, and when used in a machine, a structure, or other components, the simplification, simplification, and ultra-miniaturization of the configuration and operation are industrially significant advantages.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a fluid having a hollow portion for containing a fluid therein and having at least two or more communication holes communicating the hollow portion with the outside. In the holding body, a flow having a gel having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the communication hole and swelling in contact with the fluid is provided in at least one of the communication holes.
After the fluid is introduced into the hollow part of the body holder, the gel is
The operation method of the fluid holder that seals the communication holes that are not
You.

[0010]

[0011]

Further, the present invention provides a hollow housing for storing a fluid therein.
And a communication part for communicating the hollow part with the outside.
In the fluid holding body having at least two or more holes,
The diameter of the communication hole in at least one of the communication holes
A gel that is smaller in diameter and swells in contact with the fluid
After the fluid is introduced into the hollow portion of the fluid holding member placed , the gel is at least partially destroyed, or the installation position is moved to release the fluid gel stored in the hollow portion from the communication hole where the fluid gel is not installed. The present invention relates to a method of operating a fluid holder to be performed.

Further, the present invention provides a hollow housing for storing a fluid therein.
And a communication part for communicating the hollow part with the outside.
In the fluid holding body having at least two or more holes,
The diameter of the communication hole in at least one of the communication holes
A gel that is smaller in diameter and swells in contact with the fluid
After introducing the fluid into the hollow portion of the fluid retaining member formed by location,
After introducing the gas into the hollow part by contracting the gel and releasing the fluid contained in the hollow part from the communication hole where the gel is not installed, the fluid is introduced into the hollow part of the fluid holding body, and then the gel is contracted and the hollow part is contracted. A method of operating a fluid holding body that introduces gas into a part and releases a fluid contained in a hollow part from a communication hole in which no gel is provided, further comprising: performing gel shrinkage by heating the gel; and Including shrinking by energizing the gel.

[0014]

According to the present invention, a gel that increases in volume by contact with a liquid as a stop valve is provided in a fluid flow path. By increasing the volume, the flow path is closed to act as a stop valve.

When injecting a liquid into a fluid holder such as a pipe or a container, the stop valve is provided in an air vent port different from the inlet port, and the gel swells when the injected liquid comes into contact with the gel. The air vent is closed so that the leakage of the injection liquid is reduced.

Further, the stop valve function can be stopped by physically breaking, moving or contracting the stop valve.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a tube having a hollow portion 1a inside, and both ends thereof are opened with communication holes 3a and 3b for communicating the hollow portion 1a with the outside. Reference numeral 2 denotes a gel disposed in the communication hole 3a, which is substantially spherical and has a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the communication hole 3a. Now, when the lower end side communication hole 3b of the tube 1 is immersed in the fluid 4 and the upper end side communication hole 3a is sucked, the gas in the hollow part 1a flows in the direction of the arrow X in the figure, but in this case, the gel 2 changes its shape. No occurrence (FIG. 1 (a)).

When the liquid is further sucked, the liquid level of the fluid becomes the hollow portion 1a.
Rises inside and comes into contact with the gel 2. The gel 2 absorbs the fluid and swells, closes the communication hole 3a and stops the movement of the fluid, thereby acting as a stop valve (FIG. 1 (b)).

Here, when the inner diameter of the tube 1 is small or the viscosity of the fluid 4 is large, even if the communication hole 3b of the tube 1 is drawn out of the fluid and moved to another place, the hollow inside the tube 1 can be removed. Part 1
The fluid stored in a does not flow out, and thus the tube 1 functions as a fluid holder in this state.

When the fluid flows out, it can be prevented by fitting an appropriate lid into the lower communication hole 3b.

Next, when taking out the retained fluid, a hollow pin 5 is inserted from the upper end side of the upper communication hole 3a of the tube 1 to form an air flow hole through the swollen gel 2 '. The fluid in the part 1a falls naturally from the communication hole 3b by the action of gravity. Alternatively, when the inner diameter of the tube 1 is small or the viscosity of the fluid 4 is large, the fluid 4 is discharged from the communication hole 3b by applying a gas pressure from the hollow pin 5 in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 1 (c)). .

Further, the gel 2 'is pushed by an extruding rod or air pressure.
The fluid held therein can be released by pushing the tube 1 to the lower end of the tube 1 and moving it. Further, by using an appropriate type of gel, heat can be applied to the gel 2 ',
The gel 2 ′ also contracts due to energization, and an air flow hole is formed. Thus, the held fluid can be released. Usually, when the heating is stopped, the gel swells again and the stop valve function can be restored.

In this way, the stop valve operation, fluid holding,
Due to the effect of the loss of the stop valve function, the fluid can be easily held, moved and discharged. Further, when the pin is pulled out, the gel is flexible, so that the hole formed by the pin is closed, and the pin can be operated again as a stop valve.

Although the operation of the present invention has been described using a single tube as an example, the same operation can be easily exerted even when a large number of tubes are densely arranged or when a flow path having a complicated shape is provided. .

Here, the operation of the gel used as the stop valve will be described.

Gel refers to a network structure formed by cross-linking a polymer and swollen by containing a solvent. There are many types of polymers and solvents that constitute the network structure, but when the amount of the solvent in the network structure, that is, the liquid is small, the volume as a gel is small, and conversely, it absorbs and swells many liquids. It is generally well known that the volume of the gel then increases. It is known that the volume change due to gel swelling, that is, the volume phase transition is caused by external operations such as temperature, solvent composition, pH, ionic composition, light, and electric field. Gels containing only a small amount of solvent will not increase in volume unless they are contacted with the solvent. Conversely, it is possible to cause a volume phase transition by the above-mentioned external operation and to shrink the gel.

As described above, the gel comes in contact with the liquid, absorbs and swells the liquid as a solvent, increases the volume along the shape of the communication hole due to the flexibility of the gel, and can operate as a stop valve closing the communication hole without leaking. Thereby, a liquid holder can be obtained.

The volume change due to the solvent swelling of the gel is determined by the swelling amount. It is very easy to increase the volume by a factor of four or more, and even with a substantially spherical gel having a diameter of about one-half the inner diameter of the tube in the above-described embodiment, the stop valve operation can be easily performed. However, the size of the gel relative to the inner diameter of the tube is not limited to this. It goes without saying that it is only necessary to have a size that allows the gas in the tube to pass before the stop valve operation of the gel.

Examples of the gel used in the present invention include acrylic (methacrylic) monomers such as isobutyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, N-isopropylacrylamide and N, N-diethylacrylamide, and vinyl such as styrene, vinyl acetate and vinyl methyl ether. -Based monomers, one or more polymerizable monomers such as olefin-based monomers such as ethylene, propylene and isoprene, or copolymers such as acryl (methacrylic) -based alkali salts such as sodium acrylate With ethylene dimethacrylate,
A three-dimensional network copolymer obtained by polymerizing with a crosslinkable monomer such as N, N-methylenebisacrylamide, and a three-dimensional network polymer obtained by adding a small amount of a crosslinking agent thereto and conducting a polymer reaction. For example, a polymer obtained by adding and reacting cyanuric chloride, pyromellitic acid chloride or the like as a crosslinking agent to a polymer such as polyethylene oxide or polyacrylamide is preferably used.

In the above embodiment, a single pipe is used as the fluid holding member, and the upper communication hole and the lower communication hole are each one.
Although there are some, the number of communication holes is not limited to this. For example, there are cases where a plurality of single tubes are connected.

That is, when there is one upper communication hole to be sucked and there are a plurality of lower communication holes which are fluid inlets, the number of fluid inlets increases. Therefore, for example, even a highly viscous fluid can be efficiently sucked and stored in the fluid holding body in a short time. Further, if a different fluid is connected to each of the communicating holes and sucked, a plurality of fluids can be mixed in the fluid holding body. Further, the holding fluid can be simultaneously discharged to a plurality of locations. When there is a plurality of upper communication holes for suction with one communication hole to enter, the number of communication holes for suctioning fluid and the number of air circulation holes for discharging fluid are increased. Therefore, for example, when releasing the holding fluid to one location, a large amount of air can be introduced from many air circulation holes, and a large amount can be released in a short time.

Further, the same effect can be obtained even if there are a plurality of communication holes for suction and a plurality of communication holes for intrusion.

As a method for disposing the gel, a method of fixing the inside of the communication pipe with an organic adhesive or the like, or a method of making the fluid flow path wall smaller than the diameter of the gel with the gel interposed therebetween, as described later, is used. There is also a method of binding the gel into the room thus formed. In this case, if the flow path is polygonal and the gel is spherical, the fluid can easily pass through this room.
Alternatively, a room surrounded by a coarse mesh structure in the direction of the flow path may be formed, and the gel may be disposed therein. Furthermore, regarding the number of gels to be provided, a plurality of gels may be provided at the stop valve operation position in addition to using only one gel.

In the above embodiment, the function up to the discharge of the retained fluid has been described. However, it goes without saying that the present invention functions even when the fluid is retained. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a liquid sample, for example, a liquid ink, is held in a transparent glass tube according to the present invention, and when it becomes easy to move,
The mouth of the tube is sealed with resin, glass welding, or the like under free handling, so that a sample glass tube of liquid ink can be manufactured. This has the industrially useful effect while maintaining the function of holding the liquid.

[0036]

【Example】

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C show examples of an ink cartridge according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 6 denotes a cartridge, and 7 denotes a gel. 9 is a liquid ink, 10 is an injection pipe for injecting the ink 9, 11
Is an inlet for injecting the ink 9. Numeral 12 indicates the direction of gas flow, in this case air. In addition,
13 is a supply pipe, and 14 is a pin made of a thin tube. An injection pipe 10 was attached to the inlet 11 and the ink 9 was injected into the ink cartridge 6 by pressure. At this time, the gel 7 was in a state of little swelling. The gas inside is discharged from the air port 8 in the direction of arrow 12. (FIG. 2-a) Next, when the ink 9 is sequentially injected and comes into contact with the gel 7,
The gel 7 absorbed and swelled the ink to increase the volume. As a result, the air port 8 was covered with the gel, and the flow of the gas and the ink 9 in the air port 8 was eliminated. Therefore injection pipe 1
0 is removed by the surface tension of the ink 9 even if it is removed.
A large amount of the ink 9 did not leak from 1. In this state, the ink cartridge 6 could be moved and handled without leakage of the ink 9. In order to store and transport the ink cartridge 6, a cap (not shown) is inserted into the inlet 11.
Attached to. (FIG. 2-b) When using this ink cartridge 6, after removing the cap and attaching the supply pipe 13 to the inlet 11,
The pin 5 was inserted from the air port 8, penetrated the gel 7, and gas was introduced into the ink cartridge 6. The ink 9 could be easily supplied to the supply pipe 13 and could be led to a printer head or the like. (FIG. 2-c) In this example, a copolymer of acrylamide and acrylic acid was used as a network polymer constituting the gel 7, and water was used as a solvent. The copolymerization ratio between acrylamide and acrylic acid was 10: 1 (molar ratio). In addition, ink 9
Used a water-soluble ink.

When the solvent of the ink 9 is an alcohol such as methanol or a ketone such as acetone, a liquid similar to this may be used instead of water.

Further, liquids such as ethers such as diethyl ether, hydrocarbons such as benzene, and halogenated hydrocarbons such as carbon tetrachloride can also be used.

Embodiment 2 FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c)
FIG. 1 shows an example of a micropipette or a microampule according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross section of this embodiment.
4 is a main body, 15 is a liquid chamber, 16 is an inlet, and 17 is an air port, which communicates with the liquid chamber 15. Reference numeral 18 denotes a gel,
In the recess. 19 is the moving direction of the gas, 20
Was a liquid drug.

The main body 14 is formed by forming a Si plate by a photolithographic etching method, arranging a gel 18, and then bonding the Si plate or transparent glass from the surface on the etched side, that is, from the near side of the paper, to form a liquid chamber 15, An inlet 16 and an air port 17 were formed. The width of the inlet 16 and the air port 17 is 1 mm at the opening.
The pitch between adjacent openings was set every 5 mm, and a total of ten liquid chambers were arranged on one substrate. In addition, 21 is a pin made of a thin tube.

The main body 14 is brought close to the medicine 20, and the injection port 16
And contacted. When the air in the liquid chamber 15 was sucked and exhausted from the air port 17, the medicine 20 moved into the liquid chamber 15.
(FIG. 3-a).

When the drug 20 reaches the gel 18, the gel 18
Swelled and expanded, closing the air port 17. In this state, the medicine 20 did not leak from the injection port 16, and the main body 14 could be moved and handled.

To store and transport the medicine 20, a cap (not shown) was attached to the opening of the inlet 16. (FIG. 3-b) In using this medicine 20, after removing the cap, a pin 21 consisting of a thin tube is inserted from the air port 17,
By inserting gas into the liquid chamber 15 through the gel 18, the medicine 20 could be released from the plurality of injection ports 16, and the medicine could be administered to a plurality of specimens at once. At this time,
By adjusting the amount of gas, the release amount of the medicine 20, for example, the number of drops, could be adjusted for each fluid holder.

The gel 18 used in the present embodiment is made of the same material as in the first embodiment, but is not limited thereto, and various materials can be used. Further, the number of liquid chambers and the pitch and size of each opening can be set within the accuracy range of photolithographic etching, and further miniaturization and integration are possible.

In FIG. 3, the liquid chamber 15 of the fluid holding member
And the injection port 16 and the air port 17 are formed in one pair each, but need not be limited to this as described in the above embodiment. For example, a plurality of injection ports 16 are connected to one liquid chamber 15.
In this case, the arrangement pitch of the injection ports 16 can be easily reduced.

As described above, in the embodiment, the holding fluid is released by the pin made of the thin tube. However, other external operations may be applied to the gel as the stop valve to cause the gel to shrink and release the retained fluid. Hereinafter, the third and fourth embodiments will be described.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 4 is a structural view in which a heating electrode is provided near a gel. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a heating electrode made of a thin film metal, which is arranged near the gel 22 so that the gel 22 can be heated. This figure shows the operation state of the stop valve of the gel. When the heating electrode 21 is energized, heat is generated and the gel 2
2 is overheated. The gel 22 contracts due to this overheating, and the stop valve operating state is released. Therefore, an air vent is formed, and by applying an appropriate gas pressure, the holding fluid can be released.

In this figure, the heating electrode 21 is formed by vacuum-depositing a tungsten thin film by photolithographic etching and coating it with a SiO ₂ thin film as a protective film.
As the gel 22 that contracts due to overheating, 2.5 g of N-isopropylacrylamide, sodium acrylate 23
5 mg, N, N-methylenebisacrylamide 6.7 m
g, 30 μl of tetramethylethylenediamine in 45 ml
Dissolve in water and decompress with ice cooling to remove dissolved gases,
Next, 5 mg of ammonium persulfate was dissolved in 5 ml of water, mixed with the above solution, filled in a desired ice-cooled stop valve-shaped mold, allowed to stand still under a nitrogen atmosphere for 90 minutes, and polymerized.
What was produced by drying under reduced pressure was used. The volume phase change temperature of this gel was about 40 ° C.

By applying 5 V to the heating electrode 21,
The swollen stop valve gel could be contracted.

In addition, the gel could be similarly contracted by irradiating the condensed white light to the gel as the stop valve.

The gel that shrinks when heated is not limited to the above gel, and the materials described in the above embodiment can be used.

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 5 is a structural view in which a current-carrying electrode is provided in contact with a gel. In the figure, reference numeral 23 denotes a current-carrying electrode made of a metal thin film.
4 were arranged so as to contact both ends.

This figure shows the operation of the stop valve of the gel. When a current is supplied to the power supply electrode 23, a current flows through the gel 24. This current causes the gel 24 to contract, and the stop valve operating state is released. Therefore, an air vent is formed, and the holding fluid can be released by applying an appropriate gas pressure.

In this figure, a metal film is used for the current-carrying electrode 23.

As the gel 24 which contracts upon energization, 0.8 g of N-isopropylacrylamide, 0.05 g of sodium acrylate, 0.02 g of N, N-methylenebisacrylamide and 50 μl of tetramethylethylenediamine are added to 15 ml of water. Dissolve and remove the dissolved gas under reduced pressure while cooling with ice.
g was dissolved in 1 ml of water, mixed with the above solution, filled in a desired ice-cooled stop valve-shaped mold, allowed to stand for 90 minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere, polymerized, and dried under reduced pressure. Was used.

0.2 mA / mm ² using the current-carrying electrode 23
The swelled gel, which was a stop valve, was allowed to shrink on the anode side by passing the direct current.

The gel that shrinks when energized includes:
In addition to the above, the materials described in the above embodiment can be used.

The micropipette or microampoule described above is very useful when used for testing microspecimens, for example, cells, using a drug. That is, when a large number of specimens are tested at the same time, the drug can be released and administered to a large number of specimens at the same time. Therefore, the test time can be reduced and the sample pallet can be reduced in size. Conventionally, in the method using a syringe or the like, it has been difficult to make the pitch of the drug outlet small or to perform a large number of discharge operations simultaneously.

[0061]

As described above, the gel is swollen by the liquid and used as a stop valve for the flow path, and then the stop valve is destroyed, moved, or contracted, thereby stopping the valve without external control. Is now possible.

The very easy and simple structure of arranging the gel makes it possible to easily and inexpensively form a fine channel, an integrated channel, and a complicated channel due to the flexibility of the gel. Can be used.

A fine and integrated fluid holder could be easily obtained.

Since the stop function of the valve can be lost by a simple method such as pin pressing, fluid pressure, heating or energization, the retained fluid can be easily discharged even from a fine and integrated fluid retainer. This has the effect of becoming

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of Signs] 1 tube 1a hollow portion 2 gel 2 'swollen gel 3a communication hole 3b communication hole 4 fluid 5 pin X gas movement direction

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of operating a fluid holding body having a hollow portion for storing a fluid therein and having at least two communication holes communicating the hollow portion with the outside, wherein at least one of the communication holes is provided. After introducing the fluid into the hollow portion of the fluid holding body in which a gel having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the communication hole and swelling in contact with the fluid is provided in the communication hole ,
Operation of the fluid holder that seals the communication hole where no gel is installed
How to make. 2. A method of operating a fluid holding body having a hollow portion for accommodating a fluid therein and having at least two communication holes communicating the hollow portion and the outside, wherein at least one of the communication holes is provided. After the fluid is introduced into the hollow portion of the fluid holding member in which a gel having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the communication hole and swelling in contact with the fluid is disposed in the communication hole ,
At least partially destroyed or relocated
By placing the gel, the fluid contained in the hollow
How to operate the fluid holding body to be discharged from the communication hole that is not connected . 3. A method of operating a fluid holding body having a hollow portion for accommodating a fluid therein and having at least two communication holes communicating the hollow portion with the outside, wherein at least one of the communication holes is provided. After introducing the fluid into the hollow portion of the fluid holding body in which a gel having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the communication hole and swelling in contact with the fluid is provided in the communication hole,
The gel was contracted by introducing gas into the hollow portion, the operation method of the fluid holder to release the fluid that has <br/> retract and in the hollow portion from the communication hole that does not place the gel. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the gel is shrunk by heating the gel. 5. The method for operating a fluid holding body according to claim 3, wherein the gel is contracted by applying a current to the gel.