JP3058938B2 - Dyeing equipment and tray for dyeing - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The dyeing apparatus and the dyeing tray according to the present invention can be used for diagnosing cancer in hospitals and the like.
In order to observe the immune reaction of a tissue piece taken out of a living body, it is used when staining this tissue piece.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART Utilizing an immune reaction such as an antigen-antibody reaction,
Diagnosis of diseases such as cancer is performed. When diagnosing a disease using an immune reaction as described above, a tissue piece taken out of a living body is attached to a slide glass, and the tissue piece is sequentially contacted with a predetermined treatment solution to stain the tissue piece.

[0003] In the case of performing an immunoreaction staining treatment for the above-mentioned purpose, conventionally, a treatment liquid is placed in a beaker-like container, and a slide glass having a tissue piece attached thereto is placed in the treatment liquid in the container. Although the tissue piece and the treatment liquid are immersed in the solution, the treatment liquid used is inevitably increased in amount. The processing solution used for the observation of the immune reaction is often expensive, and thus it is not preferable that the amount of the processing solution used is large.

For this reason, conventionally, in order to reduce the processing cost, the tissue piece is often stained by hand, but the staining process requires a long time, and in some cases, the work is done overnight. This is also unfavorable from the viewpoint of the working environment of members.

In order to solve such a problem, the present inventor has previously invented an immunoreactive staining apparatus capable of reliably performing a staining treatment of a tissue piece with a small amount of processing solution (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 15526/1991).
No. 9 . This is the first prior invention. ). The immunoreaction staining apparatus according to the first prior invention is configured as shown in FIGS.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a dyeing block made of aluminum or the like, and flat pedestals 2 and 2 are formed in the center of the upper surface of the dyeing block 1, and one end of the pedestals 2 and 2 has Embankments 3, 3 having a slight height are formed over the entire width of the pedestals 2, 2. The pedestal part 2 is a slide glass 4 with a tissue piece attached to the lower surface,
4 having a width W larger than the width w of the slide glass 4;
When the intermediate portion of the slide 4 is placed above the pedestals 2, 2, both ends in the width direction of the pedestals 2, 2 are exposed from both side edges of the slide glasses 4, 4.

[0007] One end of the slide glass 4, 4 is loosely attached to the inner surface of the wall 6 at one end edge of the dyeing block 1, which faces the bank-like portions 3, 3 via the drainage groove 5. The recesses 7, 7 that can be freely fitted without forming the slide glasses 4, 4
Is positioned over the pedestals 2, 2.

On the other hand, the other ends of the pedestals 2, 2, that is, the sides on which the bank-shaped parts 3, 3 are not provided are provided via the drain grooves 8, and cover the pedestals 2, 2. Slide glass 4,
The support plate 9 supporting the lower surface of the other end of the slide glass 4 is slightly higher than the bank-like portions 3, 3, and the slide glass is supported at both ends by the bank-like portions 3, 3 and the support plate 9. 4 and 4 are slightly inclined (for example, about 1 degree) so as to gradually increase from the banks 3 and 3 toward the support plate 9.

On the upper surface of each pedestal part 2, 2, a bank-shaped part 3, 3
The outlets 10 and 10 and the outlets 11 and 11
And are open. The discharge ports 10, 10 are connected to a cleaning liquid storage tank 15 via a feed pipe 14 provided with a rotary switching valve 12 and a liquid pump 13 on the way, thereby providing a cleaning liquid supply means for discharging the cleaning liquid. Is composed. The rotary switching valve 12 is used to select a destination to which the washing solution is sent when simultaneously performing different types of tissue pieces attached to the plurality of slide glasses 4 and 4.

The discharge port 11 is connected to a drain tank 19 through a discharge pipe 18 provided with a rotary switching valve 16 and a liquid feed pump 17 on the way, so that a processing liquid containing a cleaning liquid is supplied. The processing liquid discharging means for discharging is constituted.

The dropping means for dropping the processing solution for dyeing on portions of the upper surface of the pedestal portion 2 protruding from both side edges of the slide glass 4 comprises a processing solution container 2 stored in the processing solution container storage section 20.
1 is taken out by a processing liquid container take-out arm (not shown), moved to a position above a predetermined pedestal portion 2, and the processing liquid is dropped.

When the immunoreaction staining apparatus of the present invention having the above structure is used to stain a tissue piece taken out of a living body, one end of the slide glass 4 on which the tissue piece to be stained is sliced and adhered is placed on a wall. Fits into the recess 7 formed in the part 6,
The slide glass 4 is attached to the upper edge of the bank-like portion 3 provided at the end of the pedestal portion 2 and the support plate portion 9 in a state where the affixed portion of the tissue piece at the center of the slide glass faces the upper surface of the pedestal portion 2. Support with the upper surface. In this state, a wedge-shaped thin gap is formed between the lower surface of the slide glass 4 and the upper surface of the pedestal portion 2, which gradually widens as the distance from the bank-like portion 3 increases.

When the slide glass 4 is placed on the bank 3 and the support plate 9 in such a manner that the slide glass 4 is placed over the bank 3 and the support plate 9, the processing liquid container 21 is formed by the processing liquid container take-out arm constituting the drip means.
Is moved above the slide glass 4 on which the tissue piece to be brought into contact with the processing liquid is adhered, and the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid container 21 is exposed laterally from the side edge of the slide glass 4. It is dropped on the upper surface of the pedestal portion 2 thus formed.

[0014] overlies the base portion 2, the between the hanging passed with supported bottom surface and the upper surface of the base portion 2 of the slide glass 4 between the upper edge of the bank-like portion 3 and the upper surface of the support plate portion 9 As described above, the distance from the bank 3 gradually increases,
Since a thin wedge-shaped gap is formed, the processing liquid dropped on the upper surface of the pedestal 2 spreads inside the gap and contacts the tissue piece attached to the lower surface of the slide glass 4 by capillary action. I do.

In this way, if the tissue piece affixed to the lower surface of the slide glass 4 is brought into contact with the treatment liquid for a predetermined time, the rotary switching is performed so that the discharge port 11 and the liquid discharge tank 19 communicate with each other. The liquid supply pump 17 which constitutes the processing liquid discharge means which has been stopped while switching the valve 16
Is started, and the processing liquid is discharged from the discharge port 11 opened to a position close to the bank 3 toward the drainage tank 19.

After the discharge of the processing liquid is completed, the liquid supply pump 17 constituting the processing liquid discharging means is stopped, and the rotary switching valve 12 is switched so that the discharge port 10 and the cleaning liquid storage tank 15 communicate with each other. At the same time, the liquid supply pump 13 constituting the cleaning liquid supply means, which has been stopped until then, is operated for a predetermined time, and the discharge port 10 provided near the bank 3 is operated.
The cleaning liquid is discharged from.

The washing solution discharged from the discharge port 10 spreads over the gap between the lower surface of the slide glass 4 and the upper surface of the pedestal portion 2 by capillary action, and is stained on the tissue piece adhered to the lower surface of the slide glass 4. A cleaning treatment of the treatment liquid is performed.

When the cleaning process for a predetermined time is completed, the liquid feed pump 17 constituting the processing liquid discharge means is started again, and the cleaning liquid in the gap between the lower surface of the slide glass 4 and the upper surface of the pedestal 2 is activated. After discharging, the next dyeing treatment solution is dropped.

Hereinafter, the above operation is repeatedly performed to perform a predetermined dyeing process.

The device of the first invention is a rotary type switching device.
The piping provided with the valves 12 and 16 is complicated and the production cost is high.
Discharge port 10 for supplying and discharging the cleaning liquid
Since the mouth 11 is open to the lower side of the staining block 1,
Manual staining using a staining block
Could not.

Further, the present inventor has eliminated the disadvantages of this device.
Invented an improved dyeing apparatus and dyeing tray
See 3-111035. This is the second prior invention.
You. ). This tray, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12,
The inner side of the dyeing block 1a provided with the wall portion 66 around the four
A pedestal 67 having a flat surface is formed, and one end thereof (FIG. 11)
At the left end), a discharge port 68 and a discharge port 69
Are formed on the upper surface of the thickened wall 66a at each end.
A liquid supply port 70 and a liquid discharge port 71 communicating with 68 and 69 are provided.
From the upper surface of the pedestal 67 over the seat 67 and the wall 66a
A shallow recess 72 is formed, and the side opposite to the wall 66a (FIG. 11)
At the right end of the support 73 is slightly higher than the pedestal 67
Is provided. Figure 11 shows only one pedestal
However, as shown in the example of FIG.
Form a staining tray.

Slider to which a sliced microscope specimen is attached
One end of the lath 4 is placed on the pedestal 67 and the wall 66a.
When the other end is placed on the support portion 73, the slide
The lath 4 is, as in the case of the first prior invention, as shown in FIG.
It is fixed at a slight angle with respect to the pedestal 67. Therefore
With the discharge cylinder positioned above the concave portion 72, the treatment liquid for staining is dropped.
When the processing liquid is lowered, the processing liquid is moved to the upper surface of the base 67 by capillary action.
Sucked into the wedge-shaped gap between the
Disperse, cover the specimen and stain. Dyeing is done
If a drainage pipe is connected to the drainage port 71, the processing liquid is sucked and discharged.
Put out.

After the dyeing, the treatment solution is washed by supplying
A supply pipe is connected to the port 70 and a drain pipe is connected to the
The cleaning liquid is discharged from the outlet 68, and the cleaning is completed from the outlet 69.
The sample is washed by sucking and discharging the used washing solution. Salary
The liquid pipe and the drain pipe are equal to the distance between the liquid supply port 70 and the drain port 71.
At the same time, it goes up and down at the same time,
Connection to and disconnection from the drain port 71 is performed.

[0024]

However, the above-mentioned second point
In the invention, the concave portion 72 cannot store a sufficient amount of the staining solution.
Therefore, it is necessary to continue the process under the processing droplet from the discharge cylinder.
So that the discharge cylinder can be quickly moved to the next pedestal
Processing droplets cannot be performed, and the cleaning work
At the same time, the liquid supply pipe and the liquid discharge pipe are connected to the liquid supply port 70 and the liquid discharge port 71 at the same time.
Precise equipment fabrication is required to connect, and machining accuracy
If air leaks from the supply pipe due to a defect, bubbles will form.
This hinders the good flow of the cleaning solution, and this bubble
If attached to a book, uneven dyeing will occur during subsequent dyeing.
U. When the cleaning liquid is strongly discharged from the discharge port 68, a microscope is used.
There was a risk of detaching the specimen from the glass slide.

The dyeing apparatus and the dyeing tray according to the present invention eliminate any of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0026]

Means for Solving the Problems Of the dyeing apparatus and the dyeing tray of the present invention, the dyeing tray according to claim 3 is:
Top facing the piece of tissue attached to the bottom of the slide glass
On a pedestal part with a flat surface and half of one end of this pedestal part
A discharge port opened to the surface and another end of the one end of the pedestal portion
A half part with the above outlet and a bank part are formed in the half part.
On the top of the pedestal via a small angled slope
As well as the amount of processing solution required for one dyeing
And a drip portion for accommodating the
Height of the top edge slightly higher than the height of the top of the base
Upper surface of a wall portion provided on the side of the drip portion having a support portion
To, by Ru is opened drainage port communicating with the discharge port,
Be composed.

[0027] The dyeing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is configured as described above, and includes a dyeing tray held at a predetermined position on a base and the dropping part provided on an upper surface of the dyeing tray. A dropping means for dropping the treatment liquid for dyeing, a first moving means for moving the dropping means above the dropping portion, and a drain port opened at one end upper surface of the dyeing tray. The liquid supply pipe is disposed at the same interval as the gap with the dropping section, and has a liquid supply pipe whose lower end can be freely opposed to the dropping section, and a drainage pipe which can be connected to the drainage port. The cleaning means in which the drainage pipe is connected to the liquid drainage means and the liquid supply pipe and the drainage pipe constituting the cleaning means are moved to positions above the dropping portion and the drainage port. And a second moving unit that moves up and down at this upper position.

[0028]

The operation in the case of performing the staining treatment of a sample such as a tissue piece attached to a slide glass using the staining apparatus of the present invention and the staining tray configured as described above is as follows. is there.

The slide glass on which the sample to be stained is stuck on the lower surface has a lower surface at one end, and a wall at one end side of the pedestal portion.
Placed on Rutotomoni bank portion is abutted against the section, by which contact with the other end closer underside on the upper edge of the support portion is supported above the pedestal.

In this state, the drip portion formed on the upper surface of one end of the pedestal portion is exposed from one edge of the slide glass, and between the upper surface of the pedestal portion and the lower surface of the slide glass.
A wedge-shaped gap is formed that gradually widens as the distance from the dropping portion increases.

Therefore, the dropping means is moved above the dropping section by the first moving means, and the treatment liquid for dyeing is dropped on the dropping section by the dropping means. The dropped treatment liquid reaches the upper surface of the base as it is,
The sample spreads in the wedge-shaped gap due to the capillary phenomenon, and the sample adhered to the portion facing the gap on the lower surface of the slide glass is stained.

When the dyeing treatment with the dyeing treatment liquid for a predetermined time is completed, the treatment liquid existing in the gap is washed away by the washing means. Prior to the washing process by washing off, the end of the liquid supply pipe constituting the washing means is moved above the drip portion by the second moving means, and the end of the drain pipe is connected to the drain port. Connect to.

In the cleaning operation by rinsing, the processing liquid in the gap is discharged by a drain pipe, and then the liquid supply means constituting the cleaning means is operated. After a predetermined period of time has passed since the cleaning liquid was fed into the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid is repeatedly discharged through a drain pipe by the drain means.

After performing the predetermined cleaning treatment, another treating solution for dyeing is again dropped by the dropping means onto the dropping portion, and this treating solution is dropped on the upper surface of the pedestal portion and the lower surface of the slide glass. And stain the sample attached to the lower surface of the slide glass.

Hereinafter, a predetermined dyeing process is performed by repeating the above-mentioned operation a predetermined number of times.

Further, as described above, the staining tray of the present invention can be used in a case where it is incorporated into a staining apparatus to automatically stain a sample or to perform manual staining.

In this case, however, the treatment liquid or the cleaning liquid is dropped onto the dropping portion, or the cleaning liquid is taken out from the drain port using a dropper or a pipette.

[0038]

1 to 3 show a dyeing tray according to the present invention. The dyeing tray 22 of the present invention, which corresponds to the dyeing block in the previous invention, is integrally made of fiber-reinforced plastic or the like. The four sides of the staining tray 22, which is entirely rectangular, are surrounded by a wall 23, and the inside of the wall 23 faces a sample attached to the lower surface of the slide glass 4 (FIGS. 8 to 9). There are a plurality of (five in the case of the illustrated embodiment) pedestal portions 24, 24 each having a flat upper surface .

One end of each of the pedestals 24, 24 (the lower end in FIG. 2)
On each side, each pedestal 2 passes through half the width of the pedestal
Dropping portions 25, 25 having a sufficient capacity to communicate with the upper surfaces of 4, 4 are provided . The upper surface of each pedestal portion 24, 24 having a half of the above-mentioned width is slightly inclined so as to become lower toward the dripping portions 25, 25 to form an inclined portion 24a . Also, each pedestal 2
On the other end sides of the bases 4 and 24, standing wall-shaped support parts 26 and 26 are provided at intervals from the base parts 24 and 24, respectively. The height of the upper end edge of each of the support portions 26 is slightly higher than the height of the upper surface of the pedestal portion 24.

[0040] In the above-mentioned one end of each pedestal seat 24, 24, above
Discharge ports 27, 27 are opened in a half portion (the right half portion in FIG. 2) adjacent to the inclined half portion . And the pedestal part 24,
Both side edges of the one end portion 24 and the discharge port 27
Between portions of the inclined portion 24a, that form a bank portion 32 having a small height.

On the upper surface of a part of the wall 23, which is located at one end (lower end in FIG. 2) of the staining tray 22, a drain outlet 28 communicating with the drain outlets 27, 27 is provided. 28
Are opened in a state where the distance d between each of the dropping portions 25 is fixed.

In the illustrated embodiment, the upright walls 29, 29 are formed between the adjacent pedestal portions 24, 24. However, at the intervals D between the adjacent upright walls 29, 29 and at both ends. The distance D between the existing standing walls 29, 29 and the peripheral wall 23 of the staining tray 22 is slightly larger than the width w (FIG. 8) of the slide glass 4 on which the sample to be stained is stuck (D>). w) Yes.

Further, a part of the wall portion 23 provided with the dripping portions 25, 25 and the drain ports 28,
Each of the pedestals 24,
Liquid injection portions 31, 31 communicating with the liquid storage portions 30, 30 existing around 24 are formed, so that the liquids for preventing drying can be stored in the respective liquid storage portions 30, 30.

The dyeing tray 22 constructed as described above
Is held at a predetermined position on the upper surface of a base (not shown) constituting the dyeing apparatus, and the processing liquid for dyeing is dropped on the dropping portions 25 provided on the upper surface of the tray 22 for dyeing. The dropping means is, like the dyeing apparatus according to the above two inventions, a processing liquid container 21 (FIGS.
0) and the processing solution container 21
And a processing liquid container take-out arm 45 (FIG. 4) which is a first moving means for moving the processing liquid to a position above the processing liquid and dropping the processing liquid.

The processing liquid container 21 is provided with a button 3 provided at the upper end.
By pressing the button 3 downward, the processing liquid stored inside can be discharged freely through the discharge pipe 34.
In order to be able to freely press the lower part 3, the base end of the pressing piece 38 is fixed to a first nut piece 37 screwed to a first screw rod 36 driven to rotate by a first motor 35. The tip of the pressing piece 38 faces the upper surface of the button 33.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a washing means for washing out the processing solution for staining sent between the upper surfaces of the pedestals 24, 24 and the lower surface of the slide glass is provided as shown in FIGS. 3
9 and a drainage pipe 60. The liquid supply pipe 39 is connected to a cleaning liquid container 40 or a distilled water container 41 as a liquid supply means via a liquid supply pump 43, and a drain pipe 60 is connected to a drain container 42 as a liquid discharge means. It is connected via a drainage pump 44.

The lower end opening of the liquid supply pipe 39 and the drainage pipe 60 has the same distance d as the distance d between the drip portion 25 provided on the upper surface of one end of the staining tray 22 and the drainage port 28. It is arranged in.

More specifically, the liquid supply pipe 39 and the drain pipe 60 are second moving means provided at a portion which moves in the horizontal direction in synchronization with the processing liquid container take-out arm 45. A single elevating bracket 46 is supported so as to be able to move up and down a little.
Are given downward elasticity by the elasticity of the compression spring 47. The second nut piece 48 fixed to the elevating bracket 46 is screwed with a second screw rod 61, which is rotatable forward and backward by a second motor 49, and is rotated by the second motor 49. The lifting bracket 46 can be driven up and down freely.

The upper end of the liquid supply pipe 39 is, as shown in FIG.
The cleaning liquid container 40 is connected to the cleaning liquid container 40 by a liquid supply tube 50 provided with a liquid supply pump 43 on the way, so that the cleaning liquid can be dropped on the drip portion 25 with the operation of the liquid supply pump 43. On the other hand, the upper end of the drain pipe 60 is connected to the drain container 42 by a drain tube 51 provided with a drain pump 44 in the middle.

On the other hand, the processing liquid container take-out arm 45 is provided with a sensor 53 for detecting whether or not the processing liquid container take-out arm 45 is gripping the processing liquid container 21. Further, a pressing plate 54 extending in the horizontal direction is provided above the pressing piece 38, and the processing liquid container take-out arm 45 is
When inserted into the processing liquid container storage unit 20 (FIGS. 6, 10),
The door is pushed open.

That is, since the processing liquid used for the dyeing operation needs to be stored at a low temperature, the processing liquid
As shown in FIG. 6, the periphery is surrounded by a heat insulating wall 55, and a cooling wall 56 is provided around a turntable holding a plurality of processing liquid containers 21, 21. When attaching / detaching the processing liquid container 21 to / from the processing liquid container take-out arm 45, the opening 5 provided in the heat insulating wall 55 and the cooling wall 56
7 and 58, the processing liquid container take-out arm 45 is inserted to the inside of the cooling wall 56, and a double door 59 is provided in the opening 57 of the heat insulating wall 55. Provides elasticity in the closing direction.

The push plate 54 pushes the open / close door 59 with the horizontal movement of the processing liquid container take-out arm 45, and the open / close door 59 is shown by a chain line from a closed state shown by a solid line in FIG. It has a role to rotate to the open state.

Further, a washing container 52 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 is provided at a corner of the upper surface of the base constituting the dyeing apparatus, which is separated from the dyeing tray 22. The inner diameter of the washing container 52 is large enough to allow the lower end portions of the supply pipe 39 and the drain pipe 60 to be inserted at the same time.

In the case of using the staining apparatus of the present invention and the staining tray configured as described above to stain a sample adhered to a slide glass, the staining is performed as follows.

The slide glass having the sample to be stained affixed to the lower surface has one end lower surface abutting against the wall on one end (lower end in FIG. 2) side of each of the pedestals 24, 24 and the soil.
It is placed on the hand, and the lower surface near the other end is brought into contact with the upper edges of the support portions 26, 26, thereby supporting the bases 24, 24 above.

In this state, the drip portions 25, 25 formed on the upper surfaces of the one end portions of the pedestals 24, 24 are exposed from one edge of the slide glass, and the upper surfaces of the pedestal portions 24, 24 and the lower surface of the slide glass are exposed. Between them, a wedge-shaped gap is formed, which gradually widens as the distance from the dropping portions 25, 25 increases. Also, both side edges of each slide glass are close to the inner edge of the wall portion 23 formed on the peripheral edge portion of the staining tray 22 or the side edge of the upright walls 29, 29 formed between the adjacent pedestal portions 24, 24. It will be in the state of having done.

With the slide glass set as described above, the processing solution for staining is applied to the dropping portions 25, 25 formed at one ends of the pedestals 24, 24 by the processing solution container 21 constituting the dropping means. If the treatment liquid is dropped, the treatment liquid is transferred to the lower surface of the slide glass and the pedestals 24, 2
The sample spreads in a wedge-shaped gap existing between the slide glass and the upper surface of the slide glass 4 and is attached to a portion facing the gap on the lower surface of the slide glass. The dripping unit 25 has a sufficient capacity
For this reason, the treatment solution should be dropped only once for each dyeing.
Yes.

At this time, both side edges of the slide glass are
Since it is close to the side surfaces 9 and 29 (or the inner surface of the wall portion 23), the processing liquid sent into the gap is prevented from evaporating in a short time and decreasing. When it is necessary to more surely prevent the processing liquid from evaporating, the liquid injection unit 31,
Through 31, each pedestal part 24, liquid storage part 30 around 24,
30 is filled with distilled water or the like.

When performing the dropping operation of the dyeing treatment solution,
The first screw 35 is rotated by the first motor 35, and the button 33 of the processing liquid container 21 is pressed downward via the first nut piece 37 and the pressing piece 38. Is discharged.

Prior to the discharge operation, the processing liquid container take-out arm 45 takes out a predetermined processing liquid container 21 from the processing liquid container storage section 20 and connects the discharge pipe 34 attached to the processing liquid container 21 to a predetermined position. Drip part 25 of the dyeing tray 22
Move it upward.

When the dyeing treatment with the dyeing treatment liquid for a predetermined time is completed, the treatment liquid is discharged, and then the cleaning liquid is fed by the washing means to wash away the treatment liquid adhering in the gap. Prior to the washing operation by this washing, the lower end of the liquid supply pipe 39 constituting the washing means is moved above the drip portion 25, and the lower end of the drain pipe 60 is connected to the drain port 28. Keep it.

That is, a two-dimensional driving mechanism (not shown)
If the liquid supply pipe 39 and the liquid discharge pipe 60 constituting the cleaning means shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are moved above the predetermined dropping part 25 and the liquid discharge port 28, the second motor 49 By rotating the screw rod 61, the raising / lowering bracket 46, which has been raised up to that point, is lowered, and the liquid supply pipe 39 is connected to the drip portion 2
5 and press the drain pipe 60 against the predetermined drain port 28.

The drain pipe 60 is vertically movable with respect to the lifting bracket 46 and is pressed downward by the elastic force of the compression spring 47. Since a sealing material such as a rubber ring is attached, the drainage pipe 60 is
Is pressed against the predetermined drain port 28, whereby the lower end of the drain pipe 60 constituting the cleaning means and the drain port 28 are connected in a liquid-tight manner.

When performing the cleaning operation, the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid container 40 is supplied by operating the liquid supply pump 43 provided in the middle of the liquid supply tube 50. Through the base plate 24 and into the gap existing between the upper surface of the pedestal portion 24 and the lower surface of the slide glass 4.

After a predetermined time has passed since the cleaning liquid was fed into the gap in this way, the drainage pump 44 provided in the middle of the drainage tube 51 leading to the drainage means is operated to discharge the cleaning liquid. The cleaning process is performed by discharging through the port 28 and the drainage pipe 60.

In the case of the embodiment shown in the drawing, the portions between the dropping portions 25, 25 for dropping the processing liquid and the cleaning solution and the outlets 27, 27 and the portions communicating with the dropping portions 25, 25 and the outlets 27, 27 are formed. Since the bank portions 32, 32 are formed at the upper edges of both ends, the processing liquid and the cleaning liquid dropped on the dropping portions 25, 25
It is prevented from flowing to the outlets 27, 27 as they are. As a result, contact of the treatment liquid to that with bonded to the lower surface of the slide glass sample, can be reliably performed cleaning of the processing solution.

After performing the predetermined cleaning process, the processing solution for dyeing is again dropped into the dropping portion 25 formed at one end of the pedestal portion 24 by another processing solution container 21 constituting a dropping means. Then, the processing liquid is caused to enter the gap between the upper surface of the pedestal portion 24 and the lower surface of the slide glass, and the sample attached to the lower surface of the slide glass is stained.

Hereinafter, a predetermined dyeing process is performed by repeating the above-described operation a predetermined number of times.

The inside of the supply pipe 39 and the drain pipe 60 constituting the cleaning means is appropriately washed with distilled water so that the cleaning liquid is dried and crystallized in each of the pipes 39 and 60. The inside of each tube 39, 60 is prevented from being clogged.

That is, at the end of the work or the like, the lower ends of the liquid supply pipe 39 and the liquid discharge pipe 60 are inserted into the cleaning container 52 as shown in FIG. By switching the valve 62, the liquid supply tube 50 is connected to the distilled water container 4.
1 and the liquid supply pump 43 and the drainage pump 4
4 and drive.

As a result, the liquid supply pipe 39 and the drain pipe 60
The inside of each component of the cleaning means is cleaned. At this time, air is sucked into the distilled water from the intake valve 63 as necessary, thereby improving the efficiency of the cleaning operation. Incidentally, 64 in FIG.
Numeral 65 denotes an electromagnetic on-off valve which is opened in synchronization with the start of the liquid supply pump 43 and the drainage pump 44 and closed in synchronization with the stop.

Further, as described above, the staining tray of the present invention can be incorporated into a staining device to automatically stain a sample, and can also be used for manual staining.

In this case, however, the supply of the processing liquid or the cleaning liquid to the dropping portions 25, 25, or the removal of the cleaning liquid from the drain ports 28, 28 is performed using a dropper, a pipette, or the like.

In this case, since the dyeing tray 22 of the present invention can be covered with a lid such as a transparent resin plate on the upper surface, a sufficient moisturizing effect can be obtained, and the dyeing operation takes a long time. Also in this case, it is possible to reliably prevent the sample from drying.
Further, since the staining trays 22 can be overlapped, the area required for the operation is small even when a large number of samples are stained.

[0075]

The dyeing apparatus and the dyeing tray of the present invention are constructed and operated as described above, so that the first prior invention is improved.
Further improving the second prior invention that was

(1) One time under one processing droplet for dyeing
The supply of the processing liquid in a minute amount can be terminated. Therefore
Immediately move the discharge pipe that has finished under the control
The processing efficiency can be increased by dropping the processing droplet to the part
Can be

(2) During the cleaning operation, only the drain pipe 60 is connected.
It may be connected to the drain port 28, and the liquid supply pipe 39 is connected to the drip section 25.
Strict precision in device fabrication because it only needs to be above
No device is required, and device fabrication becomes easy.

(3) The supply of the cleaning liquid is based on the capillary phenomenon.
As it flows naturally, bubbles are mixed in the cleaning solution and cleaning is performed.
And does not inhibit subsequent staining.

(4) The supply of the cleaning liquid is performed by the natural flow as described above.
From the slide glass by the cleaning liquid
There is no danger of detaching the microscopic specimen.

[0096] Features such as this reduce the production cost of the device
In addition, dyeing and washing operations can be performed safely.

Further, since the dyeing tray of the present invention can be used not only for performing automatic dyeing but also for performing various dyeing treatments manually by incorporating it into a dyeing apparatus,
It is possible to simplify equipment management even in laboratories where various kinds of dyeing work are performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a staining tray of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of a dripping unit and a cleaning unit.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a cleaning unit.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a processing liquid container storage unit.

FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the inside of the cleaning means is cleaned.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the dyeing apparatus according to the first prior invention, omitting a dropping unit.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a processing liquid container accommodating part constituting a dripping unit.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the second prior invention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG . 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 , 1a Staining block 2 Pedestal part 3 Bank-shaped part 4 Slide glass 5 Drainage groove 6 Wall part 7 Depression 8 Drainage groove 9 Support plate part 10 Discharge port 11 Drain port 12 Rotary switching valve 13 Liquid supply pump 14 Feed pipe Reference Signs List 15 Cleaning liquid storage tank 16 Rotary switching valve 17 Liquid supply pump 18 Drain pipe 19 Drain tank 20 Processing liquid container storage part 21 Processing liquid container 22 Dyeing tray 23 Wall part 24 Pedestal part 24a Inclined part 25 Dropping part 26 Support part 27 Discharge port 28 Drain port 29 Standing wall 30 Reservoir section 31 Injection section 32 Embankment section 33 Button 34 Discharge pipe 35 First motor 36 First screw rod 37 First nut piece 38 Pressing piece 39 Supply pipe 40 Cleaning liquid Container 41 Distilled water container 42 Drain container 43 Liquid supply pump 44 Drainage pump 45 Treatment liquid container take-out arm 46 Lifting bracket 47 Compression 48 second nut piece 49 second motor 50 liquid supply tube 51 drainage tube 52 washing container 53 sensor 54 push plate 55 heat insulating wall 56 cooling wall 57 opening 58 opening 59 opening and closing door 60 drainage pipe 61 second Screw rod 62 three-way valve 63 intake valve 64 electromagnetic on-off valve 65 electromagnetic on-off valve 66, 66 a wall 67 pedestal 68 discharge port 69 discharge port 70 liquid supply port 71 liquid discharge port 72 recess 73 support section

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pedestal portion having a flat upper surface facing a tissue piece attached to a lower surface of a slide glass, a discharge opening opened on a half upper surface of one end of the pedestal portion, and
The other half of the one end is provided with the above-mentioned discharge port.
Through a small angled slope that is separated by a bank
To the top of the pedestal, and the amount required for one dyeing
Has a dropper to accommodate the processing solution for staining, provided on the other end side of the base portion, the height of the upper edge and a slightly higher support portion than the height of the pedestal upper surface, the dropping Provided on the part side
On the upper surface of the wall portion, a drainage tray connected to the discharge port is opened, and a staining tray held at a predetermined position on the base,
Dropping means for dropping a treatment liquid for dyeing onto the dropping section provided on the upper surface of the dyeing tray, first moving means for moving the dropping means above the dropping section, the drain port opened to the upper surface of the drip portion side wall of one end of the use trays and are arranged at the same interval as the interval between the dropping portion,
A liquid supply pipe whose lower end can be freely opposed to the dripping section , and descends
Has a drain pipe which is freely connected elastic contact with the drain port by the liquid supply pipe to the liquid supply means, the draining means drain pipe, a wash means connected respectively, the cleaning means A second moving means for moving the liquid supply pipe and the liquid drain pipe to a position above the dripping part and the liquid discharge port, and raising and lowering the liquid supply pipe and the liquid discharge pipe at the position above the liquid supply pipe and the liquid discharge port. 2. The dyeing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first moving means and the second moving means are horizontally movable in synchronization with each other. 3. A pedestal portion having a flat upper surface facing a tissue piece attached to a lower surface of a slide glass, a discharge opening opened in a half upper surface of one end of the pedestal portion, and
The other half of the one end is provided with the above-mentioned discharge port.
Through a small angled slope that is separated by a bank
To the top of the pedestal, and the amount required for one dyeing
Has a dropper to accommodate the processing solution for staining, provided on the other end side of the base portion, the height of the upper edge and a slightly higher support portion than the height of the pedestal upper surface, the dropping Provided on the part side
A dyeing tray having a drain opening communicating with the drain opening formed on the upper surface of the wall . 4. An upright wall is formed on both sides of the pedestal with a space slightly larger than the width of the slide glass.
4. The dyeing tray according to claim 3, wherein a liquid for preventing drying is freely stored between the side surface of each upright wall and the periphery of the pedestal portion. Between the 5. outlet and dropping unit, the outlet from the drop bottom liquid to form <br/> a bank portion to prevent the flow shorted to claim 3-4 The staining tray as described.