JP4462135B2 - centrifuge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a centrifuge for separating a sample in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, genetic engineering, biotechnology and the like.

  This type of centrifuge includes a rotor capable of accommodating a sample container (hereinafter referred to as a “tube”) such as a plurality of tubes containing a sample, and a driving means such as a motor for rotating the rotor in the rotor chamber. The sample in the tube is separated by rotating the rotor in the rotor chamber and applying a centrifugal force, and is used in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, genetic engineering, biotechnology and the like.

  By the way, when processing a large amount of samples in such a centrifuge, as shown in FIG. 8, in order to save the trouble of taking out and putting in tubes one by one with respect to the rotor before and after the centrifugation, A proposal has been made to insert and remove the adapter 30 provided with a plurality of holes engaging with the tube 20 with respect to the bucket 15 (see Patent Document 1). This is convenient because it only needs to be taken in and out once. FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of the rotor 14, and only one of the four buckets 15 is shown in the figure.

Here, the adapter 30 includes a plate-shaped bottom adapter 17, a support plate 19 erected vertically upward from opposite ends of the bottom adapter 17, and a hold adapter 16 inserted and held in the support plate 19. It is constituted by. The hold adapter 16 is provided with a plurality of cylindrical holding portions 16 c so that each tube 20 is held by the cylindrical holding portion 16 c of the hold adapter 16, and the bottom portion thereof is interposed through the elastic body 18. It is held by the bottom adapter 17. The adapter 30 is made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene or metal (stainless steel) from the viewpoint of chemical resistance and strength.
JP-A-6-246191

  By the way, the commercially available tube 20 includes tubes having the same outer diameter but different lengths. For example, when a long tube 20 is used as shown in FIG. The tube 20 protrudes greatly above the hold adapter 16, and its center of gravity G is at a position away from the cylindrical holding portion 16 c of the hold adapter 16. Therefore, when the horizontal component force Fx of the radially outward centrifugal force F acting on the center of gravity G of each tube 20 by the rotation of the rotor 14 acts on the tube 20, the tube 20 is bent and deformed or damaged. Problem occurs.

  Therefore, conventionally, it is necessary to prepare an adapter corresponding to the length of the tube each time, and it is necessary to increase the number of adapters and secure an extra cost and installation place.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the purpose of the process is to prepare sample containers having different lengths by a simple operation without preparing a plurality of adapters according to the length of the sample container. An object of the present invention is to provide a centrifuge that can be used without bending or damaging it.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 holds the holding adapter formed by projecting a cylindrical holding portion for holding the outer periphery of the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction on one side and the bottom portion of the sample vessel. An adapter provided with a bottom adapter, a rotor capable of accommodating the adapter in a container disposed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and a drive device that rotationally drives the rotor. In the centrifuge for centrifuging the sample in the held sample container, the hold adapter of the adapter can be installed upside down according to the length of the sample container, and is held by the hold adapter. Further, the center of gravity of the sample container is located within the range of the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the hold adapter of the adapter is installed on the sample container having a short length so that the cylindrical holding portion faces downward, and the length is long. For the sample container, the hold adapter of the adapter is installed so that the cylindrical holding portion faces upward.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of engagement holes are formed in the hold adapter at equal intervals or in a staggered manner so that the position of the center of gravity coincides with the center position of the adapter. It is characterized by that.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the height h of the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter is 1.5 times or more the outer diameter d of the sample container. (H ≧ 1.5d).

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the adapter is formed of a synthetic resin or a metal plate having a thickness of 3 mm or less.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to change the length of the hold adapter with respect to the sample containers having different lengths by simply inverting the hold adapter without preparing a plurality of adapters according to the length of the sample container. Since its center of gravity can be positioned within the range of the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter, even if the sample container receives the horizontal component of centrifugal force acting on the center of gravity, the sample container will retain this horizontal component. The portion of the center of gravity that receives is securely held by the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter. As a result, the sample container such as a tube is not deformed, bent or broken, and stable centrifugation is performed.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of engagement holes are formed in the hold adapter at equal intervals or in a staggered manner so that the center of gravity coincides with the center position of the adapter, more samples can be processed without waste. In addition, the weight balance of the rotor can be maintained well, and the rotor can be stably rotated.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the height h of the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter is set to 1.5 times or more (h ≧ 1.5d) of the outer diameter d of the sample container, the hold adapter The center of gravity of the sample containers having different lengths can be positioned within the range of the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter in the length direction simply by inverting the top and bottom.

  According to the invention of claim 5, by using a synthetic resin as the material of the adapter, the adapter can be supplied in a large amount at a low cost, and the adapter is constituted by a metal plate having a thickness of 3 mm or less. It is possible to reduce the weight and reduce the centrifugal load when the rotor rotates.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
First, the basic configuration of the centrifuge according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a cutaway side view of a centrifuge 1 according to the present invention. The illustrated centrifuge 1 includes a rectangular box-shaped casing 2, and the inside of the casing 2 is vertically separated by a horizontal partition plate 3. A cylindrical bowl 4 having an upper surface opened is accommodated in the upper space. A heat insulating portion 5 and a protective wall 6 are disposed around the bowl 4. Further, a rotor chamber 12 is formed in the bowl 4 so as to be sealed by a door 7 that can be opened and closed, and a rotor 14 is rotatably accommodated in the rotor chamber 12. Furthermore, an operation / display unit 8 is provided at the top of the housing 2.

  On the other hand, in the lower part of the housing 2 partitioned by the partition plate 3, a drive unit 9 is supported and accommodated by the partition plate 3, and an electric motor as a drive source is housed in the housing 10 of the drive unit 9. 11 is built-in. The rotating shaft 13 extending vertically upward of the electric motor 11 passes through the bowl 4 and faces the rotor chamber 12, and the rotor 14 is detachably attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 13. Four buckets 15 serving as storage containers are supported in a swingable manner.

  Next, the gist of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2 is a plan view of the rotor, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a partial plan cross-sectional view showing a state in the bucket during rotation of the rotor, and FIG. It is a figure similar to FIG. 4 which shows the state at the time.

  As shown in FIG. 2, four buckets 15 are arranged around the rotor 14 at equiangular (90 °) intervals, and each bucket 15 is suspended and supported by the rotor 14 so as to be swingable. When the rotor 14 is not rotating, the vertical state is maintained by its own weight as shown in FIG.

  Each bucket 15 is formed in a rectangular box shape whose upper surface is open, and a plurality of tubes 20 held by an adapter 30 are accommodated therein. Here, the adapter 30 includes a rectangular plate-shaped bottom adapter 17, a support plate 19 erected vertically upward from opposite ends of the bottom adapter 17, and a slidable up and down on the support plate 19. The hold adapter 16 is inserted and held. Note that the bottom adapter 17, the support plate 19, and the hold adapter 16 constituting the adapter 30 are made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene or a metal plate having a thickness of 3 mm or less such as stainless steel, so that the weight can be reduced. Thus, it is considered that the load on the rotor 14 is reduced by reducing the centrifugal load acting on them. In particular, if the material of the adapter 30 is made of synthetic resin, the adapter 30 can be supplied at a low cost and in large quantities.

  By the way, in this embodiment, two types of hold adapters 16 are accommodated in the bucket 15, and considering the weight balance, the same type of hold adapters 16 are point-symmetrical (relative to the rotation center O of the rotor 14. (Position to face). Here, as shown in FIG. 2, nine engagement holes 25 are formed in one hold adapter 16 at equal intervals so that the center of gravity coincides with the center position of the adapter 30. In the hold adapter 16, 16 engagement holes 26 are formed in a zigzag shape so that the position of the center of gravity coincides with the center position of the adapter 30. Therefore, more tubes 20 can be accommodated in the adapter 30 without waste, more samples can be processed efficiently at one time, and the weight balance of the rotor 14 can be kept good. Can be rotated stably.

  Here, details of the configuration of the hold adapter 16 in which the nine engagement holes 25 are formed at equal intervals will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, since the structure of the other hold adapter 16 in which the 16 engagement holes 26 are formed in a staggered manner is the same, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In the hold adapter 16, nine engagement holes 25 are formed at equal intervals in a rectangular plate-shaped base 16 a, but a cylinder with a low height is provided around the engagement holes 25 on the upper and lower surfaces of the base 16 a. A cylindrical protrusion 16b and a cylindrical holding portion 16c having a height higher than that of the cylindrical protrusion 16b are integrally projected vertically. Note that the cylindrical holding portion 16c is gradually reduced in diameter toward the tip in order to ensure a mold release gradient at the time of molding, and its height h is 1.5 of the outer diameter d of the tube 20. It is set to be more than double (h ≧ 1.5d).

  As described above, the hold adapter 16 is slidable up and down along both the support plates 19 because the opposing ends of the base 16a are inserted and supported by the support plates 19. An engagement step (not shown) is formed at an intermediate height position of the plate 19, and the hold adapter 16 is held at a predetermined height position by engaging the lower surface of the base 16 a with the engagement step. Is done.

  Thus, in the adapter 30 constituted by the support plate 19 of the bottom adapter 17 and the hold adapter 16, the tube 20 in which the sample is accommodated is inserted into the cylindrical holding portion 16 c from above from each engagement hole 25 of the hold adapter 16. Although inserted and held, a plurality of tubes 20 are inserted and set in advance in the adapter 30 when the sample is centrifuged. An adapter 30 in which a plurality of tubes 20 are inserted and set is accommodated in the bucket 15, but an elastic body 18 for preventing the tube 20 from being damaged is in contact with the bottom of the tube 20 on the bottom adapter 17. Is laid.

  By the way, the tube 20 has a short length as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 and a long length as shown in FIG. 5. When using the short length tube 20, In the adapter 30 that holds these tubes 20, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hold adapter 16 is set with its cylindrical holding portion 16c facing downward, and the short tube 20 has its length. The middle portion in the direction is held by the cylindrical holding portion 16 c of the hold adapter 16.

  On the other hand, when using the tubes 20 having a long length, in the adapter 30 for holding these tubes 20, as shown in FIG. 5, the hold adapter 16 is turned upside down so that the cylindrical holding portion 16c faces upward. The tube 20 having a long length is held by the cylindrical holding portion 16c of the hold adapter 16 at the intermediate portion in the length direction.

  Thus, when the adapter 30 in which the tube 20 is inserted and set is accommodated in the bucket 15, the rotor 14 is rotationally driven in the rotor chamber 12 in the chamber 4 by the electric motor 11 of the drive unit 9. Then, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bucket 15 supported by the rotor 14 rotates while maintaining a horizontal state by centrifugal force, and the sample in the tube 20 accommodated in each bucket 15 is centrifuged.

  Here, when the short tubes 20 are used as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the center of gravity G of each tube 20 is in the direction of the straight line (radially outward) connecting the rotation center O and the center of gravity G of the rotor 14. A centrifugal force F acts, and a horizontal component force Fx of the centrifugal force F becomes a force for bending the tube 20.

  However, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the short tube 20 is used, the hold adapter 16 is set with the cylindrical holding portion 16c facing downward, and the short tube 20 has its long length. The intermediate portion in the vertical direction is held by the cylindrical holding portion 16 c of the hold adapter 16. That is, since the center of gravity G of the short tube 20 is located within the range of the cylindrical holding portion 16c, even if the tube 20 receives the horizontal component force Fx of the centrifugal force F acting on the center of gravity G, the tube 20 The portion of the center of gravity G that receives the horizontal component force Fx is securely held by the cylindrical holding portion 16c of the hold adapter 16. As a result, the tube 20 is not deformed, bent or damaged, and stable centrifugation is performed. The vertical component Fy of the centrifugal force F functions to press the tube 20 against the elastic body 18 side.

  On the other hand, when a long tube 20 is used, as shown in FIG. 5, the hold adapter 16 is turned upside down and set with its cylindrical holding portion 16c facing upward. The intermediate portion in the length direction is held by the cylindrical holding portion 16 c of the hold adapter 16. That is, since the center of gravity G of the long tube 20 is located within the range of the cylindrical holding portion 16c, the tube 20 receives the horizontal component force Fx of the centrifugal force F acting on the center of gravity G. The portion of the center of gravity G where 20 receives the horizontal component force Fx is securely held by the cylindrical holding portion 16c of the hold adapter 16. As a result, the tube 20 is not deformed, bent or broken, and stable centrifugation is performed.

  By the way, in the adapter according to the present embodiment, the height h of the cylindrical holding portion 16c of the hold adapter 16 is 1.5 times or more (h ≧ 1.5d) of the outer diameter d of the tube 20 as described above. By setting in this way, the center of gravity G of the tube 20 having a different length can be set in the length direction of the cylindrical holding portion 16c of the hold adapter 16 by simply inverting the hold adapter 16 upside down. It can be located within the range.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an adapter containing a short tube, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an adapter containing a long tube. In these figures, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. Are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the present embodiment, the adapter 30 to which the tube 20 is to be inserted and held includes an adapter main body (in which the bottom adapter 17 and the support plate 19 are integrated in the first embodiment) 32 and the adapter main body 32. When the short tube 20 as shown in FIG. 6 is used, the hold adapter 16 that holds these tubes 20 is a cylinder. When the long holding tube 20 as shown in FIG. 7 is used, the holding adapter 16 is turned upside down so that the cylindrical holding portion 16c faces upward. It is set so that it becomes.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the center of gravity G of each tube 20 is the hold adapter regardless of whether the short tube 20 is used as shown in FIG. 6 or the long tube 20 is used as shown in FIG. Since the tube 20 receives the horizontal component force Fx of the centrifugal force F acting on the center of gravity G because the tube 20 is located within the range of the sixteen cylindrical holding portions 16c, the center of gravity of the tube 20 receiving the horizontal component force Fx is received. The portion G is securely held by the cylindrical holding portion 16c of the hold adapter 16. As a result, the tube 20 is not deformed, bent or damaged, and stable centrifugation is performed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the adapter body 32 is configured by integrating the bottom adapter 17 and the support plate 19 in the first embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. Since the main body 32 serves as a vessel, it is possible to prevent the sample from being scattered even if the tube 20 is broken.

  The present invention is applicable to a centrifuge that rotates a rotor and centrifuges a sample in a sample container such as a tube accommodated in the rotor.

It is a fracture | rupture side surface of the centrifuge which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view of the rotor of the centrifuge which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is a partial plane sectional view which shows the state in the bucket in the rotor rotation of the centrifuge which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure similar to FIG. 4 which shows a state when the direction of attachment of the adapter of the centrifuge which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is reversed. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adapter formed by accommodating a short tube in the centrifuge which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the adapter which accommodates a long tube in the centrifuge which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a fragmentary top sectional view which shows the state in the bucket in the rotor rotation of the conventional centrifuge.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Centrifuge 2 Case 3 Partition plate 4 Bowl 5 Heat insulation part 6 Protective wall 7 Door 8 Operation and display part 9 Drive part 10 Housing 11 Electric motor (drive device)
12 Rotor chamber 13 Rotating shaft 14 Rotor 15 Bucket (container)
16 Hold adapter 16a Base 16b Cylindrical holding part 16c Cylindrical protrusion 17 Bottom adapter 18 Elastic body 19 Support plate 20 Tube (sample container)
25, 26 Engagement hole 30 Adapter 32 Adapter body d Tube outer diameter F Centrifugal force Fx Horizontal component of centrifugal force Fy Vertical component of centrifugal force h Height of cylindrical holding portion of bottom adapter O Rotation center of rotor

Claims (5)

A holding adapter formed by projecting a cylindrical holding portion that holds the outer periphery of the intermediate portion in the length direction of the sample container on one side, an adapter including a bottom adapter that holds the bottom portion of the sample container, the adapter in the circumferential direction, etc. A centrifuge for centrifuging the sample in the sample container held by the adapter by rotating the rotor and driving the rotor; In the separator
The adapter hold adapter can be installed upside down according to the length of the sample container, and the center of gravity of the sample container held by the hold adapter is within the range of the cylindrical holder of the hold adapter. A centrifuge characterized by being located in   For a sample container having a short length, the adapter hold adapter is installed so that its cylindrical holding portion faces downward, and for a sample container having a long length, the adapter hold adapter is cylindrical. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the centrifuge is installed so that the holding portion faces upward.   The centrifuge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of engagement holes are formed in the hold adapter at equal intervals or in a zigzag shape so that the center of gravity coincides with the center position of the adapter.   The height h of the cylindrical holding portion of the hold adapter is set to 1.5 times or more (h ≧ 1.5d) of the outer diameter d of the sample container. The centrifuge according to crab.   The centrifuge according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the adapter is made of plastic or a metal plate having a thickness of 3 mm or less.

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