JP3137743U - Tip rack in automatic dispensing device for medical examination - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Among chip racks, in particular, in a 1536ch chip rack in which a base is formed into a square block shape with a metal material, a hole formed by cutting in the base made of a metal material while maintaining the processing accuracy. It is assumed that the cleaning liquid does not accumulate at the bottom when the chip rack is cleaned with the cleaning liquid without taking a long time.
A base body formed into a square block shape with a metal material is divided into an upper base body and a lower base body, and a hole for inserting and holding a chip in the upper base body is formed from the upper surface of the upper base body to the upper base body. Formed by penetrating the lower surface of the base body, on the lower surface side of the upper base body and the upper surface side of the lower base body, respectively, a connecting portion that fits together and connects the upper base body to the lower base body so as to be detachable is formed. The upper base body is separably joined to the lower base body by these connecting portions.
[Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention is an automatic dispensing apparatus in which a large number of dispensing cylinders used for clinical examinations and medical examinations are incorporated. In each of the large number of dispensing cylinders, a disposable tip is aligned and held in a rack. Before the dispensing operation, this rack is set in the automatic dispenser body so that it can be freely attached and detached, and the automatic dispensing used to attach the tip from this rack to the dispensing cylinder of the automatic dispensing device. The present invention relates to an improvement of a tip rack in an injection device.

  An automatic dispensing machine used in the field of clinical examinations and medical examinations has a large number of wells that can hold specimens (liquids such as blood, samples, reagents, etc.) to be examined in the machine. Set the provided plate so that it can be freely inserted and removed, and in each well of this plate, a large number of samples sucked into each of the many dispensing cylinders incorporated in the dispensing head of the automatic dispensing machine are dispensed at a time. It is used to dispense and discharge a large number of samples at once.

  When processing a large number of samples at once with this automatic dispenser and plate, in order to avoid sample contamination, a large number of dispensing cylinders built in line with the dispensing head of the automatic dispenser A tip formed separately is removably inserted into the tip of each of the tips, and the tip is replaced with a new tip each time a sample is processed.

  When using tips in a disposable manner, when performing dispensing processing for sample processing with an automatic dispenser, first, the tip rack with a number of chips aligned, inserted, and held is moved up and down the automatic dispenser. Place and set below the dispensing head, and then hold the lower end of each of the many dispensing cylinders that are assembled and aligned with the dispensing head in the tip rack by raising and lowering the dispensing head. It is fitted to each chip. Next, the tip rack is removed or retracted to the side, and a tray into which the sample is injected is placed below the dispensing head, and in this state, the dispensing head is moved up and down and the dispensing cylinder is aspirated. The sample is sucked into the tip connected to the lower end of each dispensing cylinder, and then the dispensing head is set on the body of the automatic dispensing machine, above the plate on which many wells are aligned. In this state, the sample that has been sucked into each tip is discharged into each well of the plate at once by moving the dispensing head up and down and discharging each dispensing cylinder. Perform dispensing operation.

  The tip rack used in combination with the automatic dispensing machine that disposes the tip and disposes the sample at the lower end of the dispensing cylinder built into the dispensing head of the automatic dispensing machine is usually shown in Fig. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular block-shaped substrate 1 having an upper surface with a width substantially corresponding to the upper surface of the plate used in combination with an automatic dispenser is formed of a metal material or a resin material. The upper and lower holes 2 for holding each of the chips a by dropping into the block-shaped base 1 are opened upward on the upper surface side of the base. It is configured by forming it so that it is aligned vertically and horizontally.

  The number of chip insertion holes 2 formed in the base 1 of the chip rack R corresponds to the number of wells w established in the plate P (FIG. 3) used in combination with the automatic dispenser.

  In the tip rack R used in the automatic dispenser using the 96-well plate P in which the wells are vertically arranged in the length of 8 and 24 in the horizontal direction, the number of the 96 wells corresponding to the number of wells 96 established in the plate P is 96. The chip rack used in the automatic dispenser using the plate P with the number of wells 384 is provided with the holes 2 aligned in 8 × 24, and the plate rack of 16 × 24 with the number of wells 1536 is provided in the chip rack used for the automatic dispenser. In the tip rack R used for the automatic dispensing machine using P, 1536 holes 2 of 32 × 48 are provided.

  There are three types of chip racks in which the number of holes 2 is 96/384/1536 according to the number of wells of the microplate.

  The hole 2 is formed in accordance with the outer diameter of the chip a to be used and the upper and lower length dimensions. For the chip insertion of 1536 ch, the outer diameter of the chip formed with an outer diameter of 2 mm is used. It is set to 1.8 mm corresponding to the diameter, and the depth dimension is set to approximately 20 mm corresponding to the length dimension of the chip a approximately 20 mm.

  Insertion of the chip a into each hole 2 of the chip rack R is normally performed manually by manual insertion, but the chip a set in the chip rack R is provided in a large number of dispensing heads of an automatic dispensing machine. The operation of fitting to each lower end of the dispensing cylinder is performed by setting the tip rack R on the body of the automatic dispensing machine so that it is positioned below the dispensing head of the automatic dispensing machine. This is done by connecting and connecting the lower end of each dispensing cylinder at once by the lifting and lowering operation.

  At this time, since chip insertion of 1536 ch is performed at a time, a load of about 230 kg is applied to the chip rack R. If the chip rack R is made of resin, the chip rack R has no strength. In that case, it is made using a metal material.

  In addition, since the tip loaded in the tip rack is attached to the lower end of the dispensing cylinder by raising and lowering the dispensing head of the automatic dispenser, the tip rack set in the automatic dispenser It is necessary to adapt the height position to the raising / lowering operation of the dispensing head of the automatic dispensing machine, and the base portion formed on the lower half side of the base body 1 regulates the height position of the upper surface of the chip rack. Therefore, the tip rack is formed in a range of 40 to 120 mm in height, so as to be adapted to the structure of the body of each automatic dispenser.

  Therefore, in a chip rack for 1536 wells formed of a metal material, a base of a metal material having a thickness equal to or several times the depth of the hole 2 is provided below the hole 2 having a depth of 20 mm. There will be a platform.

The chip rack manufactured in this way has the following problems, particularly in the case of the hole 1536ch in which the base is formed of a metal material.
(1) When used chips are collected in the chip rack, the sample liquid attached to the outer peripheral surface of the chip is transferred and adhered to the inner wall surface of the chip rack hole during sample processing, thereby contaminating the chip rack. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the chip rack and avoid contamination before loading a new chip into the chip rack. During this cleaning, the 1536 ch chip rack has a hole diameter of 1.8 mm. In addition to not being able to clean the inner wall of the hole sufficiently, it is difficult to remove the cleaning liquid that accumulates at the bottom of the hole that is formed in the bottom after cleaning, making the cleaning uncertain. There is.
(2) The formation of the hole for the base of the chip rack formed of a metal material is performed by drilling by cutting, but a very thin hole of φ1.8 mm is formed at a very narrow pitch of about 2.25 mm, Since 1536 pieces are opened vertically and horizontally at a position aligned with 32 × 48, this drilling process requires accuracy and time, and there is a problem that manufacturing costs increase. In addition, this drilling process is made of a metal material when the hole is made to penetrate to the bottom surface of the base of the chip rack so that the cleaning liquid accumulated at the bottom of the hole to be formed is accurately removed. Due to the upper and lower thickness of the base and the limitations of the drilling machine tool, it is not possible to cut through the top surface of the chip rack base to the bottom of the base. And from the lower surface side, it must be performed in two steps, and therefore, a huge number of holes 1536 × 2 must be drilled and processing and work takes time and Drilling work must be performed with precision so that the upper half and lower half of the holes formed in two steps from the top and bottom must be aligned correctly to form a continuous hole. The There is a problem to be through things.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that, among chip racks, in particular, in a 1536 ch chip rack in which a base is formed into a square block shape with a metal material, a hole formed by cutting in the base made of a metal material is formed. It is an object of the present invention to provide means for maintaining a processing accuracy so that the cleaning liquid does not accumulate at the bottom when the chip rack is cleaned with the cleaning liquid without taking a long time.

As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, as described in claim 1,
A base body formed into a square block shape by a metal material is divided into an upper base body and a lower base body, and a hole for inserting and holding a chip in the upper base body is formed from the upper surface of the upper base body to the lower surface of the upper base body. A connecting portion is formed on the lower surface side of the upper base body and the upper surface side of the lower base body so that the upper base body is detachably connected to the lower base body. A tip rack in an automatic dispensing device for medical examination, in which an upper substrate is separably joined to a lower substrate.
In conjunction with this,
A fitting female portion provided in a square rectangular tube shape surrounding the four circumferences of the lower space on the lower surface side of the upper substrate on the lower surface side of the upper substrate, the connection portion provided on the lower surface side of the upper substrate and the upper surface side of the lower substrate The upper surface of the lower base is sandwiched between one corner of a fitting male portion provided in a rectangular tube shape that fits inside the fitting female portion and the four sides of the fitting male portion. The elastic material provided so as to push the peripheral wall of the fitting female part fitted to the fitting male part in the outer peripheral direction only on the two adjacent side faces, and the two neighboring sides of the fitting male part And a ruler surface provided on the other two side surfaces excluding the surface so as to abut against the peripheral wall of the fitting female part fitted to the fitting male part and to restrict the connection position of the upper base to the lower base. The tip rack in the automatic dispensing apparatus for medical examination according to claim 1.
In conjunction with this,
The elastic material provided on the two adjacent side faces across one corner of the four sides of the mating male part is a ball plunger, and the peripheral wall of the mating female part has a mating male part. 3. A medical examination test according to claim 2, wherein a fitting hole for fitting the ball plunger is provided at a position facing the ball plunger when the fitting female part is fitted to the fitting plunger. Tip rack in automatic dispensing equipment.
In conjunction with this,
A connecting female portion provided on the lower surface side of the upper substrate and the lower substrate on the upper surface side of the lower substrate, and a fitting female portion provided in a square rectangular tube surrounding the upper space on the upper surface side of the lower substrate, and the upper substrate The fitting male part provided in the shape of a square prism that fits inside the fitting female part on the lower surface side of the fitting male part, and one side of the four sides of the fitting male part, with one corner sandwiched between them Other than the two side faces adjacent to the mating male part and the elastic material provided so as to push the peripheral wall of the mating female part fitted to the mating male part in the outer circumferential direction only on the two side faces And a ruler surface provided so as to abut on the peripheral wall of the fitting female part fitted to the fitting male part to regulate the connection position of the upper base to the lower base. The tip rack in the automatic dispensing device for medical examination according to claim 1.
Is to raise.

  The tip rack in the automatic dispensing machine for medical examination according to the present invention is designed such that when a hole is formed by drilling a base made of a metal material so that the 1536ch one is of sufficient strength, the base is defined as the upper base. Since the upper base is divided into upper and lower parts and a hole is formed in the upper base to form a hole, the hole is formed in a vertically penetrating form without a bottom where the cleaning liquid accumulates. It can be accurately performed in the machining process from one side of the top and bottom. And, since the upper base body subjected to the drilling process of the hole is substantially stacked as a chip holding portion on the lower base body that constitutes the base portion, the chip rack is configured. When inserting and holding a new chip, cleaning with a cleaning liquid for preventing contamination can be performed separately for the upper base body in which the hole passes vertically and the lower base body in which the upper surface forms the bottom surface of the hole. Therefore, accurate cleaning can be obtained without causing a pool of cleaning liquid. In addition, the lower base, whose upper surface is joined to the lower surface of the hole formed in the upper base, supports the strength when inserting the chip that is held in the tip rack into the dispensing cylinder. It comes to hold enough.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIGS. 4 to 9 show a tip rack in an automatic dispensing apparatus for medical examinations embodying the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tip rack, and FIG. 5 is a separation of the lower base and the upper base of the tip rack. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal front view of the chip rack, FIG. 7 is a longitudinal front view of the chip rack with the upper base and the lower base separated, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of the lower base of the chip rack. FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a part of the same chip rack. In these drawings, a is a chip, R is a chip rack, 1 is a base, 1a is an upper base, 1b is a lower base, 2 is a hole, A is a fitting female part, B is a fitting male part, C is an elastic material, and D is a ruler surface.

  The chip rack R in this example is a chip rack having a number of holes of 1536 ch used in an automatic dispensing apparatus using a 1536 well plate. The base 1 is formed of a metal material, and the chip a is inserted and held therein. This is a configuration in which 1536 holes 2 as holding holes are formed in a state of being aligned vertically and horizontally by drilling.

  In this embodiment, the base 1 of the chip rack R that is formed of a metal material is divided into an upper base 1a and a lower base 1b in the vertical direction, and each is formed of a metal material.

  In this example, the upper substrate 1a has a rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of the 1536-well plate P, and is formed in a block shape with a thickness of 20 mm from the upper surface to the lower surface. Is provided with a surrounding frame-like fitting wall 3 formed by extending the peripheral wall portion downwardly from the lower surface, and the surrounding frame-like fitting wall 3 constitutes a fitting female portion A. .

  Then, 1536 holes 2 are aligned vertically 32 and laterally 48 on the entire surface of the upper base 1a leaving the peripheral wall on the upper surface, and penetrated from the upper surface to the lower surface of the upper base 1a by drilling. It is shaped to do.

  The lower base 1b is formed of a metal material into a block shape having a shape approximately the same as the upper base 1a and having a thickness of 20 mm in the vertical direction. A rectangular frame-shaped fitting female portion A formed so as to extend downward is formed into a square flat prismatic shape that fits inside thereof, and the fitting male portion is formed by this rectangular columnar portion. Part B is configured.

  The square prismatic fitting male part B formed on the upper surface side of the lower base body 1b is fitted inside the rectangular frame-shaped fitting female part A formed on the lower surface side of the upper base body 1a. Thus, the four sides of the four sides are formed so as to be joined to the inner surfaces of the four sides of the four sides of the fitting female part A. At this time, one corner of the four sides is sandwiched. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, a slight gap d is formed between the two side surfaces adjacent to each other in the form of an angle with the inner surface of the four side walls of the fitting female part A. As shown, a stepped surface e cut inward is formed. As shown in FIG. 6, the step surface e is provided with an elastic material C that pushes the side walls 30 and 30 of the fitting female portion A fitted to the step surface e in the outer peripheral direction. Then, by pushing out the elastic material C, the side walls of the four circumferences of the fitting female portion A are shifted rightward and downward in FIG. 8 as indicated by arrows in FIG. The side walls 31 and 31 located on the opposite side to the step surface are pressed against the side faces 40 and 40 located on the opposite side to the stepped surface e, respectively. The side surfaces 40 and 40 are formed on a ruler surface D that positions the upper base 1a in a state where the upper base 1a is correctly connected to the lower base 1b by the two side walls 31 and 31 being in pressure contact with each other.

  In this embodiment, the elastic material C provided on the step surface e uses a ball plunger 5 from which a ball 50 is pushed out by a coil spring 51, as shown in FIG. Then, in the side wall 30 of the four circumferences of the fitting female part A, the ball is located at a position facing the ball 50 of the ball plunger 5 in a state where the fitting female part A is correctly fitted to the fitting male part B. A through-hole 6 that fits 50 is formed, and this fitting restricts the vertical movement of the upper base 1a relative to the lower base 1b.

  The fitting female part A and the fitting male part B are in a relationship of fitting with each other. In the example illustrated above, the fitting male part B is formed on the upper surface side of the lower base 1b. The fitting female portion A is formed on the lower surface side of the upper base body 1a, but the fitting male portion B is formed on the lower surface side of the upper base body 1a, and the fitting female portion A is formed on the upper surface side of the lower base body 1b. In some cases, the shape is reversed.

  10 to 13 show another embodiment. In the chip rack R of this example, the base body 1 is formed into a square block shape with a metal material, and a hole 2 for holding a chip 1536ch is formed by drilling, and the base body 1 made of a metal material is: The upper base body 1a and the lower base body 1b are divided into two parts in the vertical direction, and the upper base body 1a is formed by vertically penetrating the hole 2 from the upper surface to the lower surface. Between the lower surface side and the upper surface side of the lower base body 1b, a connecting portion that fits together by joining and integrally joins the upper base body 1a and the lower base body 1b is provided on the lower surface side of the upper base body 1a and the upper surface side of the lower base body 1b. And a square prismatic fitting fitted with a fitting female part A formed in a square frame shape provided on one side and a fitting male part B formed in a square prism shape provided on the other side. One corner of the four sides of male B On the two adjacent side surfaces, stepped surfaces e that are cut inwardly (about 0.1 mm) are formed respectively on the two adjacent side surfaces, and these stepped surfaces e are fitted to the fitting male part B. Although providing the elastic material C that pushes the four side walls 30 of the fitted female part A along the horizontal direction in the outer peripheral direction of the stepped surface e is the same as the previous embodiment, the fitted male part B The elastic material C installed on the step surface e provided on the two adjacent side surfaces of the four side surfaces is a leaf spring 7 as opposed to the ball plunger 5 in the above-described embodiment. It is an example.

  The leaf spring 7 is formed of a very thin steel plate in the form of a strip having a length substantially corresponding to the length of the side surface 40 in which the step surface e is formed with a width substantially corresponding to the upper and lower width dimensions of the step surface e. Then, both end portions in the longitudinal direction are formed so as to slightly lift from the step surface, joined to the outer surface of the step surface e, and installed by welding the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 14 shows still another embodiment. In this example, the base body 1 is divided into an upper base body 1a and a lower base body 1b, each of which is formed of a metal material, and a rectangular frame-like fitting female is formed between the upper base body 1a and the lower base body 1b. When the chip rack R which is integrally joined by providing the connecting portion composed of the portion A and the square prismatic fitting male portion B is provided, the fitting male portion B is provided on the lower surface side of the upper base 1a. This is an example in which a fitting female portion A is provided on the upper surface side of the lower base 1b.

  In the chip rack R of this example, the base body 1 is formed into a square block shape with a metal material, and a hole 2 for holding a chip 1536ch is formed by drilling, and the base body 1 made of a metal material is: The upper base body 1a and the lower base body 1b are divided into two parts in the vertical direction, and the upper base body 1a is formed by vertically penetrating the hole 2 from the upper surface to the lower surface. Between the lower surface side and the upper surface side of the lower base body 1b, a connecting portion that fits together by joining and integrally joins the upper base body 1a and the lower base body 1b is provided on the lower surface side of the upper base body 1a and the upper surface side of the lower base body 1b. And a square prismatic fitting fitted with a fitting female part A formed in a square frame shape provided on one side and a fitting male part B formed in a square prism shape provided on the other side. One corner of the four sides of male B On the two adjacent side surfaces, stepped surfaces e that are cut inwardly (about 0.1 mm) are formed respectively on the two adjacent side surfaces, and these stepped surfaces e are fitted to the fitting male part B. The elastic material C that pushes the four side walls 30 of the fitting female part A along the horizontal direction in the outer peripheral direction of the stepped surface e is not different from the above-described embodiment. When providing a connecting portion including the fitting female portion A and the fitting male portion B between the base body 1b, the square-fitting frame-shaped fitting female portion A is disposed at the lower portion, contrary to the above-described embodiment. This is an example in which a square prismatic fitting male part B fitted on the inner side of the fitting female part A is installed on the lower surface side of the upper base 1a.

  The elastic material C installed on the step surface e provided on the two adjacent side surfaces of the four side surfaces of the fitting male part B is a leaf spring made of the thin steel plate used in the second embodiment. 7 is used.

It is a perspective view of the chip rack used for sample processing by an automatic dispensing machine. It is the front view which a partially broken tip rack same as the above. It is a perspective view of the plate used for the sample processing by an automatic dispensing machine. It is a perspective view of the tip rack used for the automatic dispensing machine which implements this invention. It is a perspective view of the same chip rack in a state where the upper base and the lower base are separated vertically. It is a vertical front view of a chip rack same as the above. It is a vertical front view of the same chip rack in a state where the upper base and the lower base are separated vertically. It is a top view of the lower base | substrate of a chip rack same as the above. FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the chip rack of the same as above in a state in which an upper base is separated from a lower base. It is a vertical front view of another Example of a chip rack same as the above. It is a vertical front view in the state which pulled the upper base body of the Example same as the above from the lower base body. It is a top view of the lower base | substrate of an Example same as the above. It is a front view of the lower base | substrate of an Example same as the above. It is a vertical front view of another Example of a chip rack same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

A fitting female part B fitting male part C elastic material D ruler surface P plate R chip rack a chip d gap e stepped surface w well 1 base 1a upper base 1b lower base 2 hole 3 fitting walls 30 and 30 side wall 31 31 side wall 40 side surface 5 ball plunger 50 ball 51 coil spring 6 through hole 7 leaf spring

Claims (4)

  A base body formed into a square block shape by a metal material is divided into an upper base body and a lower base body, and a hole for inserting and holding a chip in the upper base body is formed from the upper surface of the upper base body to the lower surface of the upper base body. A connecting portion is formed on the lower surface side of the upper base body and the upper surface side of the lower base body so that the upper base body is detachably connected to the lower base body. A tip rack in an automatic dispensing device for medical examination, in which an upper substrate is separably joined to a lower substrate.   A fitting female portion provided in a square rectangular tube shape surrounding the four circumferences of the lower space on the lower surface side of the upper substrate on the lower surface side of the upper substrate, the connection portion provided on the lower surface side of the upper substrate and the upper surface side of the lower substrate The upper surface of the lower base is sandwiched between one corner of a fitting male portion provided in a rectangular tube shape that fits inside the fitting female portion and the four sides of the fitting male portion. The elastic material provided so as to push the peripheral wall of the fitting female part fitted to the fitting male part in the outer peripheral direction only on the two adjacent side faces, and the two neighboring sides of the fitting male part And a ruler surface provided on the other two side surfaces excluding the surface so as to abut against the peripheral wall of the fitting female part fitted to the fitting male part and to restrict the connection position of the upper base to the lower base. The tip rack in the automatic dispensing apparatus for medical examination according to claim 1.   The elastic material provided on the two adjacent side faces across one corner of the four sides of the mating male part is a ball plunger, and the peripheral wall of the mating female part has a mating male part. 3. A medical examination test according to claim 2, wherein a fitting hole for fitting the ball plunger is provided at a position facing the ball plunger when the fitting female part is fitted to the fitting plunger. Tip rack in automatic dispensing equipment.   A connecting female portion provided on the lower surface side of the upper substrate and the lower substrate on the upper surface side of the lower substrate, and a fitting female portion provided in a square rectangular tube surrounding the upper space on the upper surface side of the lower substrate, and the upper substrate The fitting male part provided in the shape of a square prism that fits inside the fitting female part on the lower surface side of the fitting male part, and one side of the four sides of the fitting male part, with one corner sandwiched between them Other than the two side faces adjacent to the mating male part and the elastic material provided so as to push the peripheral wall of the mating female part fitted to the mating male part in the outer circumferential direction only on the two side faces And a ruler surface provided so as to abut on the peripheral wall of the fitting female part fitted to the fitting male part to regulate the connection position of the upper base to the lower base. The tip rack in the automatic dispensing device for medical examination according to claim 1.

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