JP5633811B2 - centrifuge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a centrifuge using a zonal rotor, and more particularly to a centrifuge capable of preventing erroneous rotation at high speed without injecting a sample into the zonal rotor.

  The zonal centrifuge method is known as one of the centrifuge methods using a centrifuge. The zonal centrifugation method is a method in which a density gradient solution and a sample are centrifuged, and the substances contained in the sample are separated and fractionated according to the size and weight. For example, in the fields of biology, medicine, agriculture, intracellular substances and viruses It is used for the separation of fine particles.

  In the laboratory, a plastic test tube in which a sample is injected into a swing rotor is inserted into a rotor bucket and rotated, but a product called a zonal rotor (Zonal Rotor) is used as a larger capacity type. Sold and used. For example, a P35ZT type zonal rotor is manufactured and sold by the applicant. Compared to swing rotors, these zonal rotors do not have “WALL EFFECT”, so there are fewer sample disturbances, larger volumes, and sample injection, recovery, and analysis operations can be performed continuously during rotation. It is widely used for separations that require high capacity and high accuracy, mainly for vaccine production.

  In the zonal centrifuge method using a zonal rotor, a density gradient liquid that gradually thickens in the direction of centrifugal force is created in a zonal rotor that is set at low speed rotation, and a sample is injected and separated at a predetermined high speed rotation. This is a method in which the sample is collected by injecting a liquid having a higher density after setting again at low speed rotation. Here, the rotation speed when injecting and collecting the sample is about 3,000 rpm.

  When operating using a zonal rotor in a centrifuge, the sample is injected and collected during rotation with the door open, which is very different from the general method of using a rotor. For this reason, a centrifuge using a zonal rotor can be switched to a zonal mode, which is a dedicated operation mode for operating the zonal rotor.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the centrifugal separator is provided with a magnetic recording medium provided with a magnetic film on the rotor, and data is recorded and reproduced by a magnetic head, so that the type of the rotor and the operation result management are recorded. Has been proposed. Further, as shown in Patent Document 2 below, a method has been proposed in which the rotor type is discriminated from the angles of a plurality of magnets arranged on the circumference of the bottom of the rotor to prevent overrotation of the rotor.

JP-A-3-181347 JP-A-8-108098

  In the above-described centrifuge, if the operation is mistakenly started in the normal mode with the zonal rotor attached, the sample is accelerated to a preset high-speed rotation speed and a low-speed rotation speed (for example, 3,000 rpm). It will not be possible to inject. Furthermore, since there is no sample in the zonal rotor, the sample is rotated at a high set rotational speed, so that the liquid pressure of the sample is not applied to the septa arranged in the zonal rotor, and a large centrifugal stress is applied to the septa. As a result, there is a problem that the scepter has a short life.

  In order to solve the above problem, a method of once setting at a low rotational speed as in the case of control in the zonal mode is conceivable when the rotor is operated in the normal mode, but there is a problem that the usability is deteriorated. In addition, a method of determining the presence or absence of a sample from the rotation acceleration time of the rotor and setting once at a low rotation speed only when it is determined that a sample is not contained can be considered. Even when the rotor is mounted, there is a possibility that the rotor is temporarily stopped, and there is a problem that usability is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned background, and its purpose is to effectively detect a setting error between the zonal mode and the normal mode and notify the user before rotating the rotor at a high speed. Is to provide.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal separator with improved reliability without shortening the life of the ceptor of the zonal rotor.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a centrifuge capable of quickly recovering and resuming operation in the correct operation mode (zonal mode) even if the user sets the operation mode incorrectly. is there.

  The characteristics of representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be described as follows.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a rotor that holds a sample to be separated, a rotor chamber that houses the rotor, a door that seals the rotor chamber, a motor that rotates the rotor, and a control unit that controls rotation of the motor; The centrifuge has a normal operation mode in which the sample is injected before starting the rotation of the rotor and a zonal mode in which the sample is injected during the rotation of the rotor. The type of rotor used is discriminated, and when it is discriminated that the rotor is a zonal mode rotor, switching to the zonal mode is automatically performed. That is, after operating in the normal mode, if the rotor type determined by the rotor discriminating means is a zonal rotor, the control unit switches to the zonal mode and accelerates the rotor to a low zonal speed. Wait .

According to another feature of the present invention, in Zonarumodo, settle the rotor in low speed zonal rate to inject sample, it accelerates the rotor after injecting the sample to zonal rate over setting rotational speed. The rotor is provided with means for indicating the unique information, and the centrifuge is provided with rotor determining means for reading the unique information, and the rotor determining means reads the unique information immediately after the rotation of the rotor starts. . Also, if the centrifuge is provided with a display unit and the rotor installed after starting the normal operation mode is determined to be a zonal mode rotor, can the control unit be switched to the zonal mode? If possible, an inquiry display (dialog display) as to whether or not to switch to the zonal mode is displayed. If not possible, an error message is displayed to stop the rotation of the rotor.

According to still another feature of the present invention, when the rotor is set to the zonal speed, the control unit displays a confirmation screen on the display unit for confirming whether or not the sample is injected into the zonal rotor. The centrifuge is provided with a decompressor for decompressing the rotor chamber and a valve for releasing the decompressed state of the rotor chamber, and when it is determined that the rotor is a zonal mode rotor after starting the normal operation mode. The operation of the decompression device is stopped, the valve is opened, and the rotor chamber is brought to atmospheric pressure. A second rotation speed that waits at a low speed until a predetermined degree of vacuum was reached by the decompression device was set, and the zonal speed was set lower than the second rotation speed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a high-quality centrifugal separator that prevents the short life of the ceptor of the zonal rotor without deteriorating the user-friendliness. Further, when the discriminated rotor is a zonal rotor, the controller can execute a special process and perform the subsequent processes, thereby preventing the short life of the scepter. Furthermore, since a special process is performed only when the zonal rotor is used, the operation burden on the user can be minimized.

According to the invention of claim 2, it settles the rotor in low speed zonal rate to inject sample, so to accelerate the rotor after injecting the sample to set the rotational speed, reduce the centrifugal stress septum in Zonarurota Therefore, the short life of the septa can be prevented.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the rotor discriminating means reads out the unique information immediately after the rotation of the rotor is started, the control unit ensures whether the set operation mode and the type of the mounted rotor match. Can be determined.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the control unit determines whether or not switching to the zonal mode is possible, and if possible, displays a dialog as to whether or not to switch to the zonal mode. It can be confirmed whether or not to perform. If switching to the zonal mode is not possible, an error message is displayed and the rotor stops rotating, preventing excessive centrifugal stress from being applied to the ceptor in the zonal rotor and shortening the life of the scepter. Can be blocked.

According to the invention of claim 5, when the rotor is set to the zonal speed, the control unit displays a confirmation screen on the display unit for confirming whether or not the sample is injected into the zonal rotor. In addition, the user can immediately stop the rotation of the rotor when the rotor is incorrectly installed.

  According to the invention of claim 6, when it is determined that the rotor is a zonal mode rotor after starting the normal operation mode, the operation of the decompression device is stopped, the valve is opened, and the rotor chamber is opened to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the controller can automatically prepare for sample injection, and the number of operations by the user can be reduced. In addition, the operation time for sample injection can be shortened.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the second rotational speed that waits at a low speed until the predetermined vacuum degree is reached by the decompression device is set, and the zonal speed is set lower than the second rotational speed. An arbitrary rotation speed suitable for sample injection can be set without being affected by the standby speed until the vacuum degree is reached.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings.

It is sectional drawing which shows the whole structure of the centrifuge which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the zonal rotor of the centrifuge which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the zonal rotor at the time of sample injection | pouring / collection to the zonal rotor which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of a zonal rotor in the centrifuge operation state of the centrifuge concerning the example of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the centrifuge which concerns on the Example of this invention (the 1). It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the centrifuge which concerns on the Example of this invention (the 2). It is a time chart which showed operation of each part in normal mode of a centrifuge. It is the time chart which showed the operation | movement of each part in the zonal mode of a centrifuge. It is the time chart which showed the operation | movement of each part at the time of changing from normal mode to zonal mode in the centrifuge which concerns on the Example of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description is omitted. Further, in this specification, description will be made assuming that the front-rear and up-down directions are the directions shown in FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a centrifuge according to an embodiment of the present invention. The centrifuge 1 includes a housing 2 having a substantially square cross-sectional shape when viewed from the upper surface. The housing 2 has a rotor 3 for holding a sample to be separated, and a rotational driving force applied to the rotor 3. It has a drive motor 4 for feeding and a rotor chamber 5 for housing the rotor 3, and a sliding door 6 is provided in an upper opening (opening / closing portion) of the rotor chamber 5 formed in the housing 2. Is attached to the housing 2 so as to be openable and closable. A door lock mechanism 7 is provided in the vicinity of the door 6 to lock the door 6 so that it does not open while the rotor is rotating. Further, the housing 2 is provided with an operation display unit 12 for displaying operating conditions such as setting of operating conditions, driving operation, switching operation of the zonal mode and rotation speed. A vacuum pump 8 is connected to the rotor chamber 5. In this embodiment, the vacuum pump is constituted only by the oil rotary vacuum pump. However, an oil diffusion vacuum pump (not shown) may be arranged between the rotor chamber 5 and the oil rotary vacuum pump. The rotor chamber 5 may be depressurized by a vacuum pump 8 that is a combination of one or more vacuum pumps. The reason why the rotor chamber 5 is decompressed is to suppress the occurrence of windage loss (friction heat) between the air inside the rotor chamber 5 and the rotor 3 when the rotor 3 rotates at a high speed.

  The rotor chamber 5 is provided with an electromagnetic valve 9 that shuts off the inflow of air from the outside. When the operation ends, the electromagnetic valve 9 is opened to send air into the rotor chamber 5 that has been depressurized, and the interior of the rotor chamber 5 is atmospheric pressure. To. The rotor 3 is provided with an adapter 10 at the bottom, and the adapter 10 has information for identifying the type of the rotor. For example, a magnetic film is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the adapter 10, and the rotor discriminating means 11 (magnetic head) is disposed at a position facing the magnetic film, so that the data stored in the magnetic film can be transferred to the rotor discriminating means 11. Can be read through. As another method, a plurality of magnets can be arranged on the adapter 10 and information indicated by the arrangement of the magnets can be read by the rotor discriminating unit 11 such as a magnetic detecting unit.

  The control unit 13 includes a microcomputer (not shown) and controls the rotation of the drive motor 4, the operation / stop control of the vacuum pump 8, the control of the door lock mechanism 7, the determination of the rotor 3 by the rotor determination unit 11, and the operation display unit 12. The overall control of the centrifuge 1 is performed, such as the display of information and the acquisition of input data, and the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve 9.

  Next, the structure of the zonal rotor 14 will be described with reference to FIG. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, a general rotor 3 is illustrated, but the zonal rotor 14 illustrated in FIG. 2 is attached by removing the rotor 3 illustrated in FIG. 1. The zonal rotor 14 is mainly composed of a bowl-shaped rotor body 15, a septa 17 that is disposed in the rotor body 15 and is divided into a fan shape when the inside of the sample chamber 16 is viewed from above, and a cover 19 that covers the top of the rotor body 15. Configured. A male screw 15 a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor body 15, and the female screw is screwed with a female screw 19 a formed on the cover 19, whereby the cover 19 seals the sample chamber 16. A through hole is formed at the center of the cover 19, and the shaft 18 is disposed through the through hole.

  The shaft 18 is formed in a columnar shape, and the concave portion 18 a formed at the lower end is fixed to a convex portion 15 b formed on the inner bottom surface of the rotor body 15. At the upper end of the shaft 18, a rotary seal 20 used for taking in and out the sample is attached. The shaft 18 is provided with a sample passage 21 and an extrusion liquid passage 22. The sample passage 21 extends downward from a hole provided at the upper end of the shaft 18 and communicates with a hole located inside the zonal rotor 14. The extrusion liquid passage 22 extends downward from a hole provided at the upper end of the shaft 18 and is connected to a through hole 17a formed in the septa 17 after the direction is changed in the lateral direction. The through hole 17 a penetrates in the radial direction of the zonal rotor 14, and communicates with a gap with the scepter 17 near the outer periphery of the zonal rotor 14.

  Here, the rotor body 15 and the cover 19 are processed from, for example, a titanium alloy. This is to cope with high centrifugal stress due to high-speed rotation. The septa 17 is a modified polyphenylene oxide resin and can be processed from, for example, Noryl (a trade name and a registered trademark of Sabitsk Innovative Plastics IPB Bey). This is because when the sample chamber 16 of the zonal rotor 14 is filled with a sample at high speed, the liquid pressure of the sample is applied to the septa 17 so that deformation is suppressed and centrifugal stress is reduced. This is because the material is complex and has good workability. An adapter 10 is provided at the bottom of the rotor body 15, and a magnetic recording medium is formed by providing a magnetic film on the adapter 10 itself, and this may be read by a magnetic head (not shown) included in the rotor discrimination means 11. If the adapter 10 is configured such that information can be recorded and reproduced, data can be recorded and reproduced, and the determination of the rotor type and operation performance management can be recorded.

  Next, an operation process of the zonal rotor 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the ZONAL key displayed on the operation display unit 12 of the centrifuge is selected. If it does so, the control part 13 will display on the operation display part 12 so that the password for zonal driving | operation may be input, and it waits for a user to complete the input of a password. When the input of the password is completed, the control unit 13 can determine that the user (operator) has surely recognized that the user operates with the zonal rotor.

  At the time of sample injection, the seal portion 23 is attached to the upper portion of the shaft 18 in a state where the zonal rotor 14 is rotating at a low speed (for example, 3,000 rpm) in the atmosphere. A mechanical seal is formed by contact and sliding. Next, a sample to be separated from the density gradient liquid necessary for sample separation is injected using a liquid feed pump (not shown). The seal portion 23 is adjusted and attached to a seal support plate 24 attached to the rotor chamber 5 so as to coincide with the rotational axis of the zonal rotor 14. Thereafter, the density gradient liquid is injected using the extrusion liquid passage 22 and the through hole 17 a, and then the sample is injected from the sample passage 21 into the central portion of the zonal rotor 14.

  At the time of centrifugation, the seal portion 23 is removed, and a cap 25 is attached to the upper end of the shaft 18 for the purpose of sealing the inside of the zonal rotor 14. The cap 25 is attached to the upper end portion of the shaft 18 while being sealed by an O-ring or the like. When rotating at a high speed to centrifuge the sample, the door 6 (see FIG. 1) is closed with the cap 25 attached to the zonal rotor 14. Then, in order to suppress heat generation due to friction between air and the zonal rotor 14, the rotor chamber 5 is depressurized by the vacuum pump 8, and after sufficiently depressurizing, the zonal rotor 14 is accelerated to a predetermined high speed rotation (for example, 35,000 rpm), Centrifuge for a time suitable for sample separation.

  In the collection of the sample after the set operation time has ended, the zonal rotor 14 is decelerated without being stopped and rotated at a low speed (for example, 3,000 rpm) to return the rotor chamber 5 to atmospheric pressure. 9 is released. When the rotor chamber 5 reaches atmospheric pressure, the door 6 is opened, the cap 25 is removed, the seal portion 23 is attached again, and the separated liquid in the zonal rotor 14 is recovered. For example, in the case of sample collection at 3,000 rpm, a liquid having a high density is fed from the outer wall side in the zonal rotor 14 through the extrusion liquid passage 22 of the shaft 18 shown in FIG. To the outside and collect it.

  Next, the control procedure of the centrifuge according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be realized in software by executing a computer program by a microcomputer (not shown) included in the control unit 13. First, the user (operator) sets an appropriate rotor 3 in the rotor chamber 5 and sets an operation mode and an operation condition from the operation display unit 12 (step 51). The operation conditions include an operation mode, a set temperature of the rotor chamber 5, a set rotation speed, a centrifugation time, and the like. The operation modes include a “normal mode (normal operation mode)” in which centrifugation is performed by a rotor in which a plurality of tubes are set, and a “zonal mode” in which centrifugation is performed using a zonal rotor.

  When the setting of the operation mode is completed, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the zonal mode is set (step 52). In the case of the zonal mode, the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. When the mode is not the zonal mode, the control proceeds to the centrifugal operation control in the normal mode after step 53. In the normal mode, when the setting of the sample in the rotor 3 is completed, the user closes the door 6 that closes the rotor chamber 5 and presses the vacuum key from the operation display unit 12 (step 53). When the vacuum key is pressed, the door 6 is locked by the door lock mechanism 7 so that it cannot be opened, and the electromagnetic valve 9 is closed by an instruction from the control unit 13. When these operations are completed, the vacuum pump 8 is activated and the rotor chamber 5 is depressurized. Note that the vacuum pump 8 can be activated at the same time by pressing the start key before pressing the vacuum key.

  Next, when the user presses a start key (not shown) of the operation display unit 12 (step 54), the control unit 13 activates the drive motor 4. The rotor 3 starts rotating by the drive motor 4 and is set to a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 1,000 rpm) (step 55). During this settling, the rotor discriminating means 11 discriminates the type of the rotor 3 (step 56). In this embodiment, a magnetic film is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the adapter 10, and a magnetic head is disposed at a position opposite to the magnetic film, so that data stored in the magnetic film is passed through the rotor discriminating means 11. Then, the control unit 13 reads information.

  The control unit 13 determines whether the mounted rotor is the zonal rotor 14 based on the determined information of the rotor 3 (step 57). When the mounted rotor is not the zonal rotor 14, the centrifugation procedure in the normal mode is executed (step 58). The centrifugation procedure in the normal mode is known, but here, using FIG. 8, the rotational speed of the rotor, the timing of the rotor discrimination, the state of the door lock mechanism, the state of the electromagnetic valve and the vacuum pump in the normal mode will be explained. To do.

In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis is time (seconds), and the scales of the respective graphs are displayed together. In FIG. 8, when the user presses the start key of the centrifuge, the door lock mechanism 7 is locked at time t _{1 as} shown at 103 and the electromagnetic valve 9 is closed at time t _{2 as} shown at 104. At the same time, the vacuum pump 8 is started as indicated at 105. Thereafter, the rotation of the rotor 3 starts at as shown in rotation speed 101 times t _3.

Next, when the rotational speed of the rotor 3 reaches 1,000 rpm at time t ₄ , the rotor 3 is determined as indicated by 102. When determination of the rotor 3 at the time _{t 5} is completed, the control unit 13 to accelerate the rotation of the drive motor 4, a vacuum waiting rotation speed at the time _{t 6,} thereby settling for example at 4,000 rpm. The vacuum standby rotational speed are for waiting until the inside of the rotor chamber 5 is depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum are accelerated rotation of the rotor 3 again when it reaches at time t ₇ until a predetermined degree of vacuum Once reaching the centrifuge rotational speed set in the operation display unit 12 at time _{t 8} (e.g. 35,000 rpm), by centrifugation operation amount of time set.

And if centrifugation operation is completed at time t _9, the rotor 3 by the rotation of the rotor 3 is decelerated time t ₁₀ is stopped. Thereafter, when the signal for stopping the operation of the vacuum pump 8 at time t ₁₁ is input, it opens the electromagnetic valve 9 to stop the operation of the vacuum pump 8. By opening the electromagnetic valve 9, air is sent into the rotor chamber 5, the pressure in the rotor chamber 5 becomes atmospheric pressure, and the door 6 can be opened. Then, because the door lock mechanism 7 at the time t ₁₂ is also released, the operator can open the door 6, it is possible to take out the sample.

Next, the state when the zonal mode is selected will be described with reference to FIG. When the zonal mode is selected and the start key is pressed, the rotation of the rotor 3 starts at time t _{3 as} indicated by the rotation speed 111. When the rotational speed of the rotor 3 reaches 1,000 rpm at time t ₄ , the zonal rotor 14 is discriminated as indicated by 112. Once the correct rotor completes a determination is Zonarurota 14 at time t ₅ is identified as being mounted, the control unit 13 to accelerate the rotation of the drive motor 4, which can injection of the sample into Zonarurota as such, zonal rate at time _{t 6} (the sample injection and withdrawal rate), thereby settling for example at 3,000 rpm. Zonarurota 14 user injects density gradient and sample and the like during rotation at a zonal rate (sample injection and recovery rate), closing the door at time t _7. Then the door lock mechanism 7 as shown in 113 is locked, the solenoid valve 9 at time t ₈ as shown in 114 is closed to start the operation of the vacuum pump 8, as shown in 115. Thereafter, the zonal rotor 14 is accelerated and set at the vacuum standby rotation speed. Time rotation of Zonarurota 14 again when it reaches to a predetermined degree of vacuum is accelerated by _{t 10,} centrifugation speed that is set in advance inputted from the operation display unit 12 at time _{t 11} (e.g., 35,000 rpm) When reaching, centrifuge for a set time.

And if centrifuged operation is completed at time t _12, it is decelerated rotation of Zonarurota 14, the electromagnetic valve to stop the operation of the vacuum pump 8 by After time t ₁₃ settles into zonal rate (sample injection and recovery rate) 9 is released. When the electromagnetic valve 9 is opened, air is sent into the rotor chamber 5, the pressure in the rotor chamber 5 becomes atmospheric pressure, and the door 6 can be opened. Next time t ₁₄ at the door lock mechanism 7 also is released, the operator takes out of the sample opened the door 6. Rotation of Zonarurota 14 After extraction of the sample is completed is decelerated at time t _15, and stops at time t _16.

  As described above, the control in the normal mode and the zonal mode is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, but the normal mode has been selected as in the case of YES in step 57 in FIG. If the rotor is the zonal rotor 14 (which means that the user has made an incorrect selection of the operating mode in step 51), a different process is required. In this embodiment, in addition to the control of the conventional centrifuge, the processing of steps 57 and 59 to 68 is added, and the processing of the automatic switching procedure from the normal mode to the zonal mode can be executed.

  Returning to FIG. 5, if YES in step 57, the control unit 13 performs the automatic switching from the normal mode to the zonal mode, and the operating conditions such as the set temperature of the rotor chamber 5, the set rotational speed, and the centrifugation time are set. Is a condition suitable for the attached zonal rotor 14 (step 59). For example, whether the operating condition set in step 51 is suitable for the condition of the installed zonal rotor 14. Here, if the setting condition is not OK, for example, if the centrifugal rotation speed exceeding the maximum rotation speed of the zonal rotor 14 is set, an error message is displayed to that effect (step 67), and the The rotation is stopped and the process is terminated (step 68).

  In step 59, if the other conditions are OK, the zonal rotor 14 is accelerated to a predetermined rotational speed, for example, 3000 rpm to inject the sample (step 60). Next, an alarm is sounded to alert the user and a message “Zone rotor is installed. Do you want to switch to operation in zonal mode? (YES / NO)” is displayed on the operation display 12. Displayed (step 61). Here, in step 62, when the user selects NO from the operation display unit 12 and does not wish to switch to the operation in the zonal mode, an error message “Operation is canceled. Stop” is displayed. (Step 67), the rotation of the zonal rotor 14 is stopped and the processing is terminated (Step 68).

  Next, when YES is selected in step 62, the control unit 13 displays on the operation display unit 12 to input a password for zonal operation, and the user completes the password input. Wait (step 63). When the input of the correct password is completed, the control unit 13 of the centrifuge 1 can confirm that the user (operator) recognizes that the user operates with the zonal rotor, and stops the operated vacuum pump 8 (step 64). . Next, the control unit 13 opens the electromagnetic valve 9 to bring the interior of the rotor chamber 5 to atmospheric pressure (step 65), releases the door lock mechanism 7 (step 66), and the point B (step in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6). Go to 72).

  If the passwords do not match in step 63, or if the cancel key is selected and the password is not entered, an error message “Password has not been entered. Processing will be terminated.” Is displayed. (Step 67), the rotation of the zonal rotor 14 is stopped and the process is terminated (step 68).

Here, the control in the case where the normal mode is selected but the zonal rotor 14 is mounted will be described with reference to FIG. When the user presses the start key, the door lock mechanism 7 at time t ₁ as shown in 93a is locked, the vacuum pump 8 at the time t ₂ as shown in 94a and 95a with electromagnetic valve 9 is closed Starts. Thereafter, the rotation of the rotor 3 starts at as shown in the rotational speed 91 times t _3.

Next, when the rotational speed of the rotor 3 reaches 1,000 rpm at time t ₄ , the rotor 3 is discriminated as indicated by 92. When the rotor mounted here is the zonal rotor 14, the control unit 13 accelerates the zonal rotor 14 to a zonal speed (sample injection / collection speed), for example, 3,000 rpm, and displays an alarm and a centrifuge on the operation display unit 12. Select whether to change the operation mode of the separator to zonal mode or to interrupt the operation. Here receives an instruction to change the Zonarumodo by the user, when the password for switching the Zonarumodo is inputted, the control unit 13 at time t ₆ is by stopping the vacuum pump 8 by opening the electromagnetic valve 9, time to release the lock by the door lock mechanism 7 at t _7. Incidentally, the release of the open → door lock mechanism 7 of the stopping → electromagnetic valve 9 of the vacuum pump 8 is preferably carried out in this order, point of time t ₅ before reaching the zonal rate (sample injection and recovery rate) You may be able to do these immediately. The reason why the vacuum pump 8 once operated is stopped in this way is that when the sample is injected into the zonal rotor 14, the door 6 needs to be opened, and the rotor chamber 5 becomes atmospheric pressure. At time t _5, zonal rate (sample injection and withdrawal rate, for example, 3,000 rpm) until prior to accelerate Zonarurota 14, or to change the operating mode of the alarm and centrifuge Zonarumodo the operation display section 12 It may be displayed and receive user input.

Injection of the sample is completed at time t ₈ to Zonarurota 14, After sample injection completion to Zonarurota by the user is input (start key ON), the control unit 13 at time t ₈ as shown in 93b door to lock the lock mechanism 7, then start the vacuum pump 8 by closing the electromagnetic valve 9 at time t ₉ as shown in 94b and 95b. The subsequent procedure is the same as the procedure of the time t ₇ after described in FIG. 9, description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the centrifuge in the zonal mode. The zonal mode is started by pressing the start key by the user (step 71), but if the processing of steps 57 and 59 to 66 in FIG. Instead of a key.

  When the start key is pressed, the control unit 13 activates the drive motor 4 to start rotating the zonal rotor 14 and settles it to a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 1,000 rpm) to determine the type of the rotor. When the determination is completed, the zonal rotor 14 is accelerated to a first low speed (for example, 3,000 rpm) and settling (step 72). At this time, the electromagnetic valve 9 is in an open state, the door lock mechanism 7 is in a released state, the vacuum pump 8 is in a stopped state, and the door 6 can be freely opened and closed. At this time, the user injects a sample into the zonal rotor 14 (step 73). After injecting the sample, when the door 6 is closed and the operation display unit 12 instructs completion of sample injection into the zonal rotor (start key ON), the control unit 13 locks the door 6 by the door lock mechanism 7 and closes the electromagnetic valve 9 ( In step 74), the rotor chamber 5 is depressurized by the vacuum pump 8 (step 75).

  Next, the drive motor 4 accelerates from a predetermined low speed to a preset high speed (for example, 35,000 rpm) (step 76), settles at the set speed, and for a predetermined time in the zonal mode. Centrifugation is performed (step 77). The sample in the zonal rotor 14 is separated by the rotation at the set rotation speed.

  When the centrifugation operation for the set time is completed (step 78), the zonal rotor 14 is decelerated and set at the same low rotational speed as that at the time of sample injection, for example, 3,000 rpm (step 79). Next, the control unit 13 stops the vacuum pump 8 (step 80) and opens the electromagnetic valve 9 (step 81). By this control, the pressure in the rotor chamber 5 becomes atmospheric pressure and the door 6 can be opened, so the control unit 13 releases the door lock mechanism 7 (step 82). In this state, as shown in FIG. 3, the user attaches the seal portion 23 to the upper portion of the shaft 18, and contacts and slides with the rotary seal 20 of the zonal rotor 14 to constitute a mechanical seal. Next, the separated sample is collected using a liquid feed pump (not shown) (step 83). After the sample is collected, the control unit 13 stops the rotation of the zonal rotor 14 by operating a sample collection completion instruction from the operation display unit 12 (step 85).

  As described above, the control unit 13 recognizes the setting error before rotating at high speed even if the user operates the zonal rotor in which the sample is not injected due to an operation error in the normal mode. Thus, high-speed rotation can be prevented, and damage to the septa in the zonal rotor and shortening of the service life can be prevented. Further, since the above control is executed only when the zonal rotor is mounted and used in the normal mode due to an operation mode setting error, there is no effect on the operation and processing in the normal centrifugal operation. Furthermore, even if the operation mode is set incorrectly, the centrifugal operation in the correct operation mode can be resumed quickly, so that an easy-to-use centrifuge can be realized and the operation burden on the user can be minimized.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned Example, A various change is possible within the range which does not deviate from the meaning.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Centrifuge 2 Case 3 Rotor 4 Drive motor 5 Rotor chamber 6 Door 7 Door lock mechanism 8 Vacuum pump 9 Electromagnetic valve 10 Adapter 11 Rotor discrimination means 12 Operation display part 13 Control part 14 Zona rotor 15 Rotor body 15b (Rotor body ) Convex portion 16 Sample chamber 17 Septa 17a (Scepter) through hole 18 Shaft 18a (Shaft) concave portion 19 Cover 20 Rotating seal 21 Sample passage 22 Extrusion passage 23 Seal portion 24 Seal support plate 25 Cap

Claims (7)

A rotor for holding a sample to be separated; a rotor chamber for housing the rotor;
A door for sealing the rotor chamber;
A motor for rotating the rotor;
A centrifuge having a control unit for controlling the rotation of the motor and having a normal operation mode in which a sample is injected before the rotation of the rotor starts, and a zonal mode in which a sample is injected during a low-speed rotation of the rotor In
The controller is
Identify the type of rotor installed,
After the operation is started in the normal operation mode, when the rotor is a rotor for the zonal mode, the rotor is switched to the zonal mode, and the rotor is accelerated to a low zonal speed for injecting the sample to stand by. A centrifuge characterized by:   2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein in the zonal mode, the control unit accelerates the rotor to a set rotational speed for centrifugation after the sample is injected at the zonal speed and the door is closed. The centrifuge described. The rotor is provided with means for indicating unique information of the rotor,
The centrifuge is provided with a rotor discriminating means for reading the unique information,
The centrifuge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotor determination unit reads the unique information immediately after the rotation of the rotor is started. The centrifuge is provided with a display unit,
When it is determined that the rotor mounted after starting the normal operation mode is a rotor for the zonal mode, the control unit can perform the centrifugal operation in the zonal mode under the set operation conditions. Determine if there is
If possible, display a dialog box asking whether to switch to zonal mode,
4. The centrifuge according to claim 3, wherein when it is impossible, an error message is displayed to stop the rotation of the rotor.   The centrifuge according to claim 4, wherein when the rotor is set to the zonal speed, the control unit displays a confirmation screen on the display unit for confirming whether or not a sample is injected into the rotor. Separator. A decompressor for decompressing the rotor chamber, and a valve for releasing the decompressed state of the rotor chamber;
When it is determined that the rotor is a zonal mode rotor after starting the normal operation mode, the operation of the decompression device is stopped, the valve is opened, and the rotor chamber is brought to atmospheric pressure. The centrifuge according to claim 5, characterized in that Set a second rotational speed to wait at a low speed until a predetermined degree of vacuum is reached by the decompressor,
Centrifuge of claim 6, before Kizo Naru rate is characterized by being set lower than the second rotational speed.

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