JP3192392B2 - Nozzle mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nozzle mechanism having a nozzle for discharging and sucking a liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a dispensing apparatus or the like, a nozzle mechanism is provided. This nozzle mechanism is for dispensing a reagent or a sample by a nozzle or for cleaning the inside of a container. A pump is connected to the nozzle of the nozzle mechanism. Usually, since the nozzle is a movable body, a flexible tube (pipe) is used to collect the nozzle and the pump or a collecting pipe ( (Many hold).

[0003]

As the above-mentioned tube, a Teflon tube or the like is used due to a demand for chemical resistance and the like. However, such tubes are generally rigid and require some force when flexing. For this reason, in the conventional dispensing apparatus, the reaction at the time of bending was weakened by lengthening the tube to some extent.

[0004] However, when the tube is long, a space for drawing is required, and the tube may obstruct other movable bodies. Therefore, the tubes should be used for the minimum necessary length. In a conventional multiple nozzle, a tube is provided for each nozzle, but it is better to reduce the number of tubes even in consideration of tube replacement time and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to reduce the number of piping tubes as much as possible, and in particular, to prevent the piping tubes from hindering vertical movement of the nozzle. It is in. In addition, other than the present invention
The purpose of this is to increase the airtightness and shock resistance of the nozzle mechanism.
And there. Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle
Is to relieve.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides at least one nozzle unit having a nozzle at a distal end and an opening formed at a base portion communicating with a flow path in the nozzle. A member supporting the nozzle unit so as to be able to move up and down, and a unit support portion having a sealed chamber that wraps around the opening in the entire vertical movement of the opening, and a pump is connected to the sealed chamber. It is characterized by the following.

[0007] According to the above configuration, when the nozzle unit is supported by the unit support, the opening (discharge opening or injection opening) of the nozzle unit faces the closed chamber, and the nozzle unit is vertically moved. The opening communicates with the closed chamber. This closed chamber is connected to a pump, and when the pump performs, for example, a suction operation, the closed chamber has a negative pressure and the flow path in the nozzle also has a negative pressure. Is sucked into. The liquid is drawn into the pump through the opening and the closed chamber. According to the present invention, since there is no need to use a piping tube for the connection between the nozzle unit and the unit support, the amount of the tube can be reduced accordingly.

[0008] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the unit support portion has a seal member that maintains airtightness regardless of the vertical movement of the nozzle unit. The sealing member desirably has a lip seal or an O-ring.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the unit support supports a plurality of nozzle units, and the opening of each nozzle unit is surrounded by a single closed chamber.

That is, it is not necessary to provide a piping tube for each nozzle unit. Of course, when connecting the sealed chamber and the pump, a piping tube is used as necessary.However, even in such a case, the amount and number of the piping tubes can be reduced as compared with the conventional mechanism, so that the conventional piping tube is used. Can be reduced.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the unit support, and an impact absorbing means provided on the unit support for absorbing an upward pushing force applied to the nozzle unit. When supporting the nozzle unit up and down freely by the unit support,
The impact when the nozzle tip collides with the bottom of the container can be reduced by the above configuration.

[0012] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, at least one slit is formed on a tip side surface of the nozzle.
Even when the nozzle tip opening is connected to the container bottom surface, the slit can prevent the tip opening from being closed.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a nozzle mechanism according to the present invention. The nozzle mechanism is roughly divided into an elevating mechanism 14, a unit support 16 driven vertically by the elevating mechanism 14, and a plurality (for example, five) of nozzle units 18 supported by the unit support 16. , Is composed. This nozzle mechanism
This is a device that sucks and removes a liquid such as a sample or a cleaning liquid injected into each well 12 of the plate 10 by the nozzle 18B of the nozzle unit 18.

The elevating mechanism 14 includes an arm 20 connected to the unit support 16, a screw receiver 20A forming one end of the arm 20, an elevating screw 22 engaged with the screw receiver 20A, and an elevating screw And a motor 24 for driving the rotation of the motor 22. When the elevating screw 22 is rotated by the motor 24, the arm 20 is driven downward or upward by the engagement between the screw receiver 20A and the elevating screw 22. As a result, the unit support 1
6 also moves up and down. When gas is to be sucked, the plate 10 is positioned below each nozzle unit 18, and in this state, the tip of the nozzle 18B of each nozzle unit 18 is inserted into the well 12 by pulling down the unit support 16 from above. can do.

The unit support 16 is a member that wraps and supports the nozzle base 18A of each nozzle unit 18, and has a hollow sealed chamber 26 formed therein.
In addition, the unit support section 16 includes each nozzle unit 18.
A cylindrical guide hole 16A for receiving the upper portion of the nozzle base 18A is formed in correspondence with the above. Also, a spring 30 is disposed in the guide hole 16A,
The spring 30 is compressed by the pushing force of the upper end of the nozzle base 18A. The spring 30 always urges the nozzle unit 18 downward elastically.
Where C is regulated by a seal 28 described below, downward movement of the nozzle unit 18 is restricted.

A seal portion 28 for hermetically holding the base of each nozzle unit 18 is provided below the unit support portion 16. The seal portion 28 has a lip seal, an O-ring and the like as described later. That is, the closed chamber 26 is sealed by the seal portion 28.

The nozzle unit 18 is composed of the nozzle base 18A and the nozzle 18B as described above, and the flow passage 1 is provided in the nozzle base 18A along the axial direction.
8E are formed. The lower end of the flow path 18E communicates with the flow path in the nozzle 18B, and the upper end of the flow path 18E is an opening 18D. As shown,
The opening 18D is formed on the side surface of the nozzle base 18A, and the flow path 18E of the nozzle base 18A and the closed chamber 26 communicate with each other via the opening 18D. The closed chamber 26 is connected to a pump 34 by a piping tube 32.

Therefore, when the pump 34 is operated by suction, the inside of the closed chamber 26 becomes a negative pressure, and at the same time, the flow path 1
8E and the flow path in the nozzle 18B also become negative pressure, and the nozzle 1
The liquid can be sucked from the tip of 8B. The liquid passes through the flow path in the nozzle 18B and the flow path 18E, is introduced into the closed chamber 26 through the opening 18D, and is sucked into the pump 34 through the tube 32.

An opening 26A is formed at the connection point of the pipe tube 32 in the closed chamber 26.
A can be provided at an appropriate place. For example, if the opening 26A is provided below the closed chamber 26, the sealing portion 28
Liquid remaining in the vicinity can be reduced as much as possible. However, if the suction action of the pump 34 is very strong, all the liquid can be sufficiently sucked even if the opening 26A is provided on the upper part as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the liquid is sucked, the unit supporting portion 16 is pulled down by the elevating mechanism 14 until the tip opening of the nozzle 18B contacts the bottom surface of each well 12. The impact caused by the nozzle 18B contacting the bottom of the well 12 is absorbed by the spring 30 described above. In this manner, the liquid is sucked while the tip of the nozzle 18B is in contact with the bottom of the well 12.

Incidentally, the opening 18D always faces the closed chamber 26 even when the nozzle unit 18 moves up and down.
The airtightness of the closed chamber 26 is always maintained even by such a vertical movement.

According to the present embodiment, there is no need to provide a piping tube for each nozzle unit 18 using the closed chamber 26. As a result, the amount and length of the piping tubes in the entire mechanism can be reduced. it can. In particular, since the piping tube is not directly connected to each nozzle unit 18, unnecessary force does not reach the vertical movement,
The vertical movement of the nozzle unit 18 can be smoothly performed.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed configuration of the nozzle unit 18. As described above, the nozzle unit 1
The nozzle base 18A is held while maintaining airtightness by the seal portion 28 of FIG. 8, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the seal portion 28 includes a frame 36 and a lip seal 37. The lip seal 37 is attached to the nozzle base 18.
The first seal member 38 and the second seal member 40 are in close contact with the side peripheral surface of A. These seal members 38 and 40 are made of an elastic material such as rubber. The lip seal 37 can maintain airtightness both when the nozzle unit 18 moves upward and when it moves downward. That is, gas leakage can be effectively prevented.

As shown in FIG. 2, at least one slit 42 is formed on the side surface of the tip of the nozzle 18B. Even when the tip of the nozzle 18B comes in contact with the bottom of the well, the slit 42 can prevent the opening of the tip from being closed and reliably suck the liquid.
For example, a plurality of such slits 42 may be provided.

In the above embodiment, the large closed chamber 26 is shown with respect to the nozzle base 18A. Of course, at least when the opening 18D moves up and down, the closed chamber can be further miniaturized as long as it can be completely enclosed. You can also. By reducing the size of the sealed chamber 26 as much as possible, it is possible to enhance the suction effect.

In the above embodiment, a mechanism for sucking the liquid is particularly shown. However, a similar mechanism may be used to discharge the liquid.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The number of piping tubes can be reduced as much as possible, and in particular, the configuration can be such that the piping tubes do not hinder vertical movement of the nozzle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a nozzle mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of a nozzle unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 plates, 12 wells, 14 lifting mechanism, 16
Unit support, 18 nozzle unit, 18A nozzle base, 18B nozzle, 18C stopper, 18D
Opening, 18E channel, 26 sealed chamber (suction chamber), 28
Seal part, 37 lip seal, 42 slits.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] At least one nozzle unit having a nozzle at a distal end and an opening communicating with a flow path in the nozzle at a base portion, a member for supporting the nozzle unit so as to be vertically movable, includes a unit supporting section having a sealed chamber enclosing said opening in the entire region of the opening of the vertical movement, the pump is connected to the sealed chamber, the unit support portion, the vertical movement of the nozzle unit
A nozzle mechanism having a seal member for maintaining airtightness regardless of the nozzle mechanism. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit support supports a plurality of nozzle units, and the opening of each nozzle unit is surrounded by a single closed chamber. Nozzle mechanism. 3. A nozzle having a nozzle at a tip and a nozzle at a base.
At least one opening formed to communicate with the flow path in the inside
A nozzle unit, and a member that supports the nozzle unit so as to be vertically movable.
To wrap the opening in the entire vertical movement of the opening.
Anda unit support portion having a non-sealed chamber, the pump is connected to the sealed chamber, further, a lifting mechanism for lifting the unit supporting portion, provided on the unit supporting section, applied to the nozzle unit nozzle mechanism, characterized in that the shock absorbing means for absorbing the pushing-up force to the upper, is provided. 4. The nozzle mechanism according to claim 3 , wherein at least one slit is formed on a tip side surface of the nozzle.