JP3401504B2 - Dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to a dispensing apparatus that sucks up a liquid into a pipe by a suction action, discharges the liquid, and dispense the liquid. 2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-64912 discloses a dispensing apparatus.
As described in the publication, a pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of the measuring device is provided, and the lower end of the measuring device is immersed in the liquid to be suctioned by the relative vertical movement of the measuring device and the container containing the liquid to be suctioned. The liquid level of the liquid to be aspirated is detected from the change in the internal pressure of the measuring instrument, and suction is started after the liquid level is detected. There was one that made the judgment. A conventional dispensing apparatus which is provided with a pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of a measuring instrument and detects the liquid level from changes in the output of the pressure sensor, that is, determines whether there is an abnormality such as the following, has the following problems. was there. That is, in the internal pressure detection type dispensing device that measures the internal pressure of the measuring instrument by the pressure sensor, air must be present in the portion where the pressure is detected by the pressure sensor. This is a design constraint on the dispensing device. That is, the suction medium is limited to air. Accordingly, a cleaning liquid tank is provided on the counter-meter side of the pump which sucks and discharges the liquid to the meter, and after dispensing, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank is supplied to the meter side by the pump, and the inside of the meter is measured. It is very difficult to be able to wash. This is because the pressure sensor cannot measure the internal pressure of the measuring device when the cleaning liquid passes through the portion of the pipe connecting the pump and the measuring device where the pressure sensor is connected. Then, it is necessary to prevent a part of the liquid dispensed from being mixed with the next dispensed liquid, and it is preferable to add a washing function to the dispensing device. It is difficult to apply to a dispensing device, and this is a problem that cannot be overlooked. Further, in order to measure the dispensed amount, that is, to detect the presence / absence of the dispensed amount based on the relationship between the change in the internal pressure of the measuring device and the elapsed time of suction and discharge, a complicated method such as differential analysis is required. The measurement error of the upper dispensed amount is also large. The dispensing device that measures the dispensed amount based on the internal pressure of the measuring device also has a problem that the type of the dispensed liquid cannot be identified. [0006] That is, in the blood, blood cells sediment with the passage of time, and serum is separated into an upper part and blood cells are separated into a lower part.
In some cases, it may be necessary to dispense only serum or only blood cells.However, in a dispensing device that measures the dispensed volume based on the internal pressure of the measuring instrument, the aspirated liquid cannot be identified. Since it is possible, it is impossible to apply in such a case. In order to solve such problems, the inventor of the present application can identify the liquid to be dispensed, and make sure that air always passes through the sensor mounting portion for measuring the dispensed amount. A new dispensing device that can easily provide an automatic cleaning function and that can accurately measure dispensed volume and detect liquid level without performing complicated calculations such as differential analysis It was devised and proposed by the applicant company in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-321216. [0008] The dispensing apparatus according to the proposal is provided with a fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of fluid passing through the tube.
Dispensing amount by providing a fluid sensor and integrating and analyzing the passing amount of the sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor,
What has arithmetic means for calculating the suction amount, and in these dispensing devices, a fluid sensor, a light emitting means capable of changing the emission wavelength, a light receiving means for receiving light emitted from the light emitting means and passing through the tube, A detector for detecting the type of fluid from a change in the output of the light-receiving means with respect to a change in the emission wavelength of the light-emitting means, and a fluid sensor provided, and the suction end of the tube is relatively lowered with respect to the subject. Thus, it is detected that the fluid detected by the fluid sensor has reached the liquid level of the subject by switching from air to the subject. According to the dispensing apparatus having the fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of fluid passing through the pipe, the fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of fluid passing through the pipe is provided. By detecting the type of the sucked fluid, the suction amount and the discharge amount for each type of the fluid can be measured. In addition, according to the dispensing apparatus provided with the fluid sensor, the dispensing apparatus has a calculating means for calculating the dispensed amount and the suction amount by integrating and analyzing the passing amount of the sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor. Since there is a calculating means for integrating and analyzing the flow amount of the fluid at the sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor provided in the pipe, the dispensed amount and the suction amount can be accurately and simply and automatically obtained. In these dispensers, the fluid sensor is
Light-emitting means capable of changing the emission wavelength, and light-receiving means for receiving light emitted from the light-emitting means and passing through the inside of the tube,
According to the configuration in which the type of the fluid is detected from the change in the output of the light receiving unit with respect to the change in the emission wavelength of the light emitting unit, the type of the liquid is determined from the change in the output of the light receiving unit with respect to the difference in the emission wavelength by the light emitting unit. Since the detection is performed, the type of fluid can be accurately and quickly detected. In addition, a fluid sensor is provided, and when the fluid sensor detects that the suction end of the tube has reached the liquid level of the subject due to a relative drop with respect to the subject, the fluid is switched from air to the subject. According to the dispensing device, the liquid level is detected by switching the fluid detected by the fluid sensor from the air to the subject, so that the liquid level can be reliably detected. [0013] However, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
The dispensing device proposed above by 321216 includes:
There was no one that was able to wash the dispenser.
Therefore, the operator had to wash the dispenser manually or the like. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing apparatus which can also perform washing. [0015] A dispensing apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized in that:
The liquid in one tube is sucked and discharged into another tube by a suction action, dispensed, and a fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of liquid passing through this tube is provided in the another tube, and the operation of suction or discharge is performed. A dispensing device having an arithmetic unit for calculating a dispensing amount and a suction amount by integrating and analyzing a passing amount of each fluid at a fluid sensor installation location based on a signal indicating a state and an output signal of the fluid sensor. A cleaning liquid tank for storing, a pump provided between the cleaning liquid tank and the another pipe, a discharge means for the pump to suck liquid into the another pipe and discharge the liquid from the pipe, and the cleaning liquid tank A cleaning means for cleaning the inside of the tube by supplying the cleaning solution in the tube to the another tube is characterized. Therefore, according to the dispensing device of the first aspect, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank can be supplied to the pipe (another pipe) for temporarily storing the liquid to be dispensed by the pump. Stain caused by the liquid dispensed by the tube can be removed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid as one sample from being mixed with the liquid as another sample. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a dispensing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the dispensing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a dispensing apparatus, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the fluid sensor, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in the output signal of the fluid sensor when the dispenser is lowered, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in the output signal of the fluid sensor for explaining the automatic determination operation of the inner diameter of the test tube. is there. First, the overall structure of the dispensing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is a dispenser, 1a is the main part of the dispenser, 1
b is a suction pipe 1b integral with the dispenser main part 1a. Numeral 3 denotes a fluid sensor installed at an appropriate position outside the suction pipe 1b. The fluid sensor 3 has a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, the fluid sensor 3 comprises an infrared light emitting diode 4 and a phototransistor 5 facing the infrared light emitting diode 4 with the suction tube 1b interposed therebetween, and the amount of light emitted from the light emitting diode 4 received by the phototransistor 5 Functions to discriminate the type of fluid by utilizing the fact that it differs depending on the type of fluid passing through the suction pipe 1b. Specifically, if the fluid passing through is air, the amount of light absorbed by air is small, and
The received light amount is large, the received light amount is slightly reduced if the fluid passing through is water, the received light amount is further reduced if serum is passed, and the received light amount is considerably reduced if blood cells are used. Therefore, the type of fluid can be identified from the magnitude of the amount of received light. Reference numeral 7 denotes a dispenser holding block for holding the dispenser 1, which is provided so as to be able to move up and down, that is, to be movable in the Z-axis direction. Moved. The dispenser holding block 7 and the Z-axis driving motor 8 for driving the dispenser holding block 7
It can be moved in the X and Y directions by a Y drive mechanism. A control circuit 9 controls a first driver 10 for driving the Z-axis drive motor 8 and a second driver 11 for driving a pump (18) which will be described later.
The output signal of the fluid sensor 3 amplified by the above is taken in to identify the fluid. 13 is an A / D converter for converting the output of the amplifier 12 from an analog signal to a digital signal, 14 is a CPU, 15 is a parallel input / output circuit, 16 is a serial input / output circuit, and the control circuit 9 is a serial input / output circuit 15. The terminal is connected to a host computer (not shown) via the terminal, and forms a terminal device of the host computer.
The dispensing device may be controlled by an independent control circuit instead of the terminal device of the photo computer. Reference numeral 17 denotes a test tube containing a sample, which in this example contains blood as a sample. A is the serum that accumulates at the top of the blood and B is the blood cells that settle at the bottom. Reference numeral 18 denotes a pump for aspirating a sample from the test tube 16 into the dispenser main unit 1a and discharging the sample from the dispenser main unit 1a, and dispenses a cleaning liquid in a cleaning tank (19) described below. It is also supplied to the main part 1a of the dispenser to clean the inside of the main part 1a of the dispenser and the inside of the suction pipe 1b. A cleaning liquid tank 19 stores a cleaning liquid for cleaning the inside of the dispenser main part 1a and the inside of the suction pipe 1b.
In this embodiment, a pump 18 is used as a liquid suction and discharge means instead of a syringe, and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 19 is supplied to the dispenser main part 1a by the pump 17 so that the inside of the dispenser main part 1a is And the inside of the suction pipe 1b can be cleaned. That is, the suction of the sample from the test tube 16 into the main part 1a of the dispenser and the discharge of the sample from the main part 1a of the dispenser are performed by the pump 18.
The cleaning liquid can be supplied to the main part 1a of the dispenser by the pump 18. This dispensing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
In general, the dispensing device proposed by
There are differences. Therefore, first, the common points will be described. The dispensing apparatus basically drives the Z-axis drive motor 8 by the operation of the control circuit 9 to move the dispenser holding block 7 up and down, and dispenses the dispensers 1a and 1b.
Aspirate and discharge the sample into the inside. However, the suction and discharge are performed by driving the pump 18. On the other hand, since the control circuit 9 processes the signal indicating the type of fluid from the fluid sensor 3, the control circuit 9 converts the signal indicating the current operation state of suction or discharge and the signal indicating the type of fluid passing through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3. By appropriately calculating, the dispensed amount and the suction amount can always be grasped, and the dispensing and suction can be performed while grasping the grasped amount, so that the dispensed amount can always be accurately controlled. That is, if the drive speed and the suction time or the discharge time of the dispensers 1a and 1b are known, the suction amount and the discharge amount are obtained by integral analysis or by simple multiplication (only multiplication is required if the drive speed is constant). Can be determined accurately. Of course, the internal volume of the portion from the lower end of the suction pipe 1b of the dispenser to the location where the fluid sensor 3 is installed causes an error. However, if this is taken in as data and the error is compensated (corrected), the error can be eliminated. It is possible to perform very accurate dispensing. Here, an example of the operation of the dispensing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. First, the dispenser holding block 7 is lowered while suctioning the dispensers 1a and 1b (t
0). Until the lower end of the suction tube 1b reaches the sample in the test tube 17, the air passes through the attachment portion to the fluid sensor 3. Therefore, the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 is large. When the lower end of the suction tube 1b reaches the surface of the serum A, which is the specimen in the test tube 17, the serum A starts to be sucked,
Immediately, the serum A starts to pass through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3 (t
1). Then, the infrared rays are blocked by the serum A, and the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 decreases. t2 is the point in time when the amount of received light is completely reduced by the serum A. Further, when the dispenser holding block 7 is lowered and the dispenser 1 is continuously suctioned, blood cells B having a higher concentration than the serum A begin to be sucked. It begins to pass (t3). Then, since the light-shielding property of blood cell B is stronger than that of serum A, phototransistor 5
Is further reduced. t4 is a time point when the blood cells B have completely reduced the blood pressure. When the blood cells B are fully sucked, the air is sucked, and thus the amount of received light returns to the original large value. t5 is a point in time when the amount of received light starts to return to the original value. Therefore, when only the serum A is separated and dispensed, the first decrease in the amount of received light (start of aspiration of serum A) is completed, and the second decrease in the amount of received light (aspiration of blood cells B). When (start) occurs, the suction is stopped, and since the blood cells B have entered by the internal volume from the suction end of the suction tube 1b to the mounting position of the sensor 3, the blood cells B are discharged and returned to the test tube 17 by that amount. . Thereafter, the dispenser holding block 7
And the serum A in the dispenser 1 is dispensed to another container. When only the blood cells B are separated and dispensed, the serum A in the dispenser 1 is discharged into another container as described above, and then the remainder of the test tube 17, ie, the blood cells B is dispensed. 1a, 1
b, and then discharge it to another container.
In this case, after the serum A is discharged and before the blood cells B are suctioned, the inside of the dispensers 1a and 1b can be cleaned by suctioning and discharging the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 19, for example, water. FIG. 4 is a change diagram of the output signal of the fluid sensor for explaining the operation of automatically determining the inner diameter of the test tube. Before explaining this operation, the necessity of determining the inner diameter will be described. To perform the suction operation properly, the dispenser holding block 7 descends at substantially the same speed as the liquid level decrease due to the suction, and if the suction amount per unit time is constant, the liquid level decrease speed due to the suction becomes It is inversely proportional to the square of the inner diameter of the test tube 17. Therefore, it is preferable to have a function of detecting the inner diameter of the test tube 17 in order to control the rate of decrease for suction. That is, if the dispenser holding block 7
If the descending speed is too fast, the lower part of the suction pipe 1b enters the sample deeply, and the sample adheres to the outer surface. Then
While the dispensers 1a, 1b, etc. move in the X and Y directions and reach the dispensing destination, the samples attached to the outer surface of the suction pipe 1b are dropped and mixed into another person's dispensing container in which the samples are lined up. There is a possibility that it will happen. Conversely, when the descending speed is too slow, air is sucked in and the specimen cannot be sucked. Therefore, it is necessary to control the descending speed of the dispensers 1a and 1b accurately for aspiration, and this requires the test tube 1
The detection of the inside diameter of 7 is indispensable. The dispenser holding block 7 starts to descend (t0) while sucking by the dispensers 1a and 1b. However, since the suction pipe 1b does not reach the liquid level at first, even if suction is performed, the fluid sensor 3 Only air passes through the mounting, so
The amount of light received by the fluid sensor 3 is large. Then, suction pipe 1
b When the lower end reaches the sample, the sample is aspirated, and when the sample starts to pass through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3 (t1), the amount of received light starts to decrease. Then, when the decrease in the amount of received light ends and becomes constant, the lowering of the dispenser holding block 7 is temporarily stopped, and suction is continued. Then, since the descent is stopped, the air is immediately sucked, and the amount of received light increases to return to the original value. Incidentally, when the inner diameter of the test tube 17 is small, the received light amount returns to the original value quickly (t3), and when the inner diameter is large, the received light amount returns to the original value later (t4). Thereafter, at the time point t5 when it is confirmed that the amount of received light is constant, the dispenser support block 7 is lowered by a fixed amount and suction is started. Then, the sample is aspirated and reaches the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3, and the light receiving amount of the phototransistor 5 starts to decrease, and decreases to a value corresponding to the sample (t6). Then, the time is set as a time measurement start time. Then, when the sample is completely sucked, the air is sucked next, and the fluid sensor 3 starts to detect the air, so that the amount of received light starts to increase. Then, the point in time when the amount of received light has completely increased is set as the end point of measurement. Measurement time is test tube 17
When the inside diameter is small, the measurement time is short, and the timing when the amount of received light is completely restored is earlier (t7). Therefore, the measurement time becomes longer as the inside diameter is larger. Become. The time t8 is a point in time when the inner diameter is large and the amount of received light returns to its original state when it is delayed. Thus, the inner diameter of the test tube 17 can be detected from the measurement time, and the CPU 1 determines the lowering speed of the dispenser holding block 17 at the time of suction.
4 can be used as a constant of an arithmetic expression of an arithmetic operation to be performed to enable accurate control of the descending speed. In the dispensing apparatus, liquid level detection is also very important, but this can be easily performed by the present dispensing apparatus. That is, when the dispenser holding block 7 is lowered while suctioning the dispensers 1a and 1b, the suction end of the suction pipe 1b eventually reaches the liquid level, and the sample immediately passes through the mounting location of the fluid sensor 3. Then, the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 of the fluid sensor 3 changes accordingly, and the output of the fluid sensor 3 changes accordingly. Therefore, it can be detected from the change in the output that the suction pipe 1b has reached the liquid level of the sample. In this case as well, the volume of the portion from the suction port of the suction pipe to the mounting location of the fluid sensor 3 is an error component, but since it is a known value, it can be easily corrected. The fluid sensor 3 uses a photodiode 4 for generating light (infrared light) having a certain wavelength band as a light source, and the wavelength of the light source cannot be changed. However, a light source capable of changing the emission wavelength may be used as the light source, and the type of fluid may be identified based on the manner in which the amount of light received by the photodiode changes when the emission wavelength is changed. Because serum,
This is because blood cells and other specimens each have a property of strongly absorbing light having wavelengths in different bands, and the spectral distribution of transmitted light differs depending on the type of specimen. According to the identification method based on the spectrum distribution, the type of the fluid can be identified more accurately. That is, if the method of simply discriminating the type of fluid from the output of the phototransistor 5 causes light to attenuate due to dust or the like adhering to the outer wall surface of the suction pipe, that causes an error. According to this method, the fluid can be identified based on how the output changes with respect to the change in wavelength, and the amount of received light of which wavelength is reduced, and the output attenuation due to dust and the like does not become an error factor. It is. Next, the present dispensing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 04-321.
The differences from the dispensing device proposed by H.216 will be described. That is, this dispensing apparatus has an advantage that the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 19 can be supplied to the dispenser main part 1a side by the pump 17 to clean the inside of the dispenser main part 1a and the inside of the suction pipe 1b. . That is, the suction of the sample from the test tube 16 into the main part 1a of the dispenser and the discharge of the sample from the main part 1a of the dispenser are performed by the pump 18.
The cleaning liquid can be supplied to the main part 1a of the dispensing device by the pump 18, and by supplying the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank 18 to the main part 1a of the dispensing device after dispensing. It is excellent in that it can be washed. Since the cleaning function is provided, it is necessary to grasp whether the cleaning operation is performed properly, control the supply amount of the cleaning liquid, and withdraw the cleaning liquid to the pump 17 side for the next dispensing after supplying the cleaning liquid. However, this is possible in the present dispensing apparatus. This is because the fluid sensor 3 can also detect whether or not the fluid passing through the mounting portion is a cleaning liquid (for example, water), so that the start timing and the passing amount of the cleaning liquid can be grasped. That is, if the fluid sensor 3 discharges the cleaning liquid during the discharging operation of the cleaning liquid after the end of the dispensing, it recognizes the start time with that time, and continues the discharge for a preset time from that time. After a lapse of time, the discharge of the cleaning liquid ends. Then, thereafter, suction is started. Then, the cleaning liquid in the dispensing device retreats, and the fluid detected by the fluid sensor 3 is eventually switched to air. The operation of returning the cleaning liquid to the cleaning tank 18 side is continued until a preset time elapses from the switching point. This makes it possible to prepare for the next dispensing. Incidentally, a pressure sensor of a conventional dispenser cannot be used in such a dispenser with a washing function. This is because the pressure sensor must always use air as a medium, and the cleaning liquid prevents the pressure sensor from detecting the internal pressure. However, since the fluid sensor 3 can optically identify the type of liquid passing through the tube, the present invention is most suitable for a dispensing device with a washing function as shown in FIG. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the liquid in one pipe is sucked and discharged into another pipe by a suction action and dispensed.
A fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of liquid passing through the inside of the another tube is provided, and a fluid sensor installation location for each fluid is provided based on a signal indicating an operation state of suction or discharge and an output signal of the fluid sensor. A dispensing device having a calculation means for calculating a dispensing amount and a suction amount by integrating and analyzing a passing amount of the cleaning solution, wherein a pump is provided between the cleaning solution tank for storing the cleaning solution and the another pipe. Discharge means for pumping the liquid to the another pipe and discharging from the pipe, and cleaning means for cleaning the inside of the pipe by supplying the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank to the another pipe. It is characterized by comprising. Therefore, according to the dispensing apparatus of the first aspect, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank can be supplied to the pipe (another pipe) for temporarily storing the liquid to be dispensed by the pump. Stain caused by the liquid dispensed by the tube can be removed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid as one sample from being mixed with the liquid as another sample.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a dispensing device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a fluid sensor. FIG. 3 is a change diagram of an output signal of a fluid sensor when a dispenser descends. FIG. 4 is a change diagram of an output signal of a fluid sensor for explaining an operation of automatically determining a test tube inner diameter. [Description of Signs] 1a, 1b Dispenser (separate tube) 3 Fluid sensor 9 Control circuit 17 Test tube (one tube) 18 Pump 19 Cleaning liquid tank

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-243960 (JP, A) JP-A-56-46450 (JP, A) JP-A-62-168055 (JP, A) JP-A 57-46 98862 (JP, A) Fully open 1988-33462 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 35/10 G01N 1/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] The liquid in one tube is sucked into another tube by suction and discharged and dispensed, and the type of liquid passing through this tube is optically transferred to the another tube. a fluid sensor for identifying the provided, dispense volume by integrating analyzes the passing amount of the flow body sensor installation location of each fluid on the basis of the output signal of the signal and the fluid sensor indicating the suction or discharge of operating conditions, suction amount A washing liquid tank for storing a washing liquid, and a pump provided between the washing liquid tank and the another pipe, wherein the pump is connected to the another pipe. Dispensing means for discharging liquid from the pipe and discharging means from the pipe, and cleaning means for cleaning the inside of the pipe by supplying the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank to the another pipe. apparatus.