JPH0110608Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to a cleaning device for a sample dispensing nozzle in an automatic biochemical analyzer or the like.

A nozzle for dispensing a highly viscous sample such as blood cannot avoid contamination due to sample adhesion on the inner and outer walls of the nozzle, so it must be thoroughly cleaned before aspirating a different sample.

For this reason, the inner and outer walls of the dispensing nozzle have conventionally been cleaned with a cleaning liquid, but in such devices, the cleaning liquid also adheres to the outer wall of the nozzle, which must be further removed.

This invention aims to provide a new sample dispensing nozzle cleaning device that can effectively remove cleaning liquid adhering to the nozzle outer wall during the vertical movement of the nozzle.

That is, this invention provides a sample dispensing nozzle cleaning device in which a dispensing nozzle is inserted into a sample container and a reaction container to dispense a sample liquid, and the dispensing nozzle is also cleaned with a cleaning liquid. , a removal mechanism that inserts a fixed squeezing rubber into the dispensing nozzle to squeeze out the sample liquid and cleaning liquid adhering to the nozzle outer wall by vertical movement of the nozzle, and removes the sample liquid and cleaning liquid that have been squeezed out with an air flow. This relates to a sample dispensing nozzle cleaning device which is also provided with a sample dispensing nozzle cleaning device.

An embodiment of this invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an example of the cleaning device according to the invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of its cleaning operation.

In these figures, a sample dispenser 1 aspirates, for example, a 30μ sample 2' from a sample container 2, discharges it into a reaction vessel 3 as a 10μ sample, and then transfers the remaining 20μ sample to a washing tank 4. It is designed to emit

Further, the cleaning pump 5 sucks, for example, 150μ of cleaning liquid 7' from the cleaning liquid container 7 via the three-way solenoid valve 6, and discharges this to the dispensing nozzle A via the three-way solenoid valve 6. The inner wall of A is cleaned. In this case, the cleaning liquid is discharged in the cleaning tank 4.

The dispensing nozzle A is moved between the sample suction position _P1 , the sample discharge position _P2 , and the cleaning position by the holding arm 8 that holds it.
At the same time, it is moved up and down at the respective positions P ₁ , P ₂ , _and P ₃ in order to aspirate and discharge the sample liquid or to discharge the cleaning liquid.

In this case, the dispensing channel A' is formed to be flexible in order to allow the movement of the dispensing nozzle A, and the dispensing nozzle A is formed on the glass so that the dispensing nozzle A can be squeezed with a squeezing rubber B, which will be described later. It is made of pipes, etc.

A series of operations such as suction and discharge of the sample liquid and suction and discharge of the cleaning liquid and the timing thereof are all automatically controlled by a computer.

This configuration is the same as that of the conventional device, but the main part of this invention is that the device has a fixed squeezing mechanism that squeezes out the sample liquid and cleaning solution adhering to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A by moving the nozzle up and down. Rubber B
In addition to providing a removal mechanism C for removing the strained sample liquid with an air flow.

The squeezing rubber B is inserted through the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A below the holding arm 8, and is configured to be immovable in the vertical direction but to move horizontally as one with the holding arm 8. . Therefore, when the dispensing nozzle A suctions the sample liquid 2 and rises, or when it rises after being immersed in the cleaning tank 4, the sample liquid, cleaning liquid, etc. that adhere to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A will be squeezed out by the squeezing rubber B.

In this case, the tip of the dispensing nozzle A is raised until it is completely accommodated in the squeezing rubber B, and
The sample liquid and cleaning liquid adhering to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A are completely squeezed out.

On the other hand, the removal mechanism C is a suction tube that vacuum-sucks the sample liquid and cleaning liquid collected at the lower end of the squeezed rubber B.
C ₁ and a drainage tank C ₂ that stores the aspirated sample solution.
and a vacuum pump P that reduces the pressure inside this drain tank _C2 . That is, the suction tube C ₁ is
Its tip C ₁ ′ is disposed on the side of the dispensing nozzle A at the lower end of the strained rubber B, and its terminal end is connected to the drain tank C ₂ and connected to the lower end of the strained rubber B. The sample liquid and washing liquid collected during the process are vacuum-suctioned. In this case, the suction tube C ₁ is formed to be flexible in order to allow movement of the sample to the suction and discharge positions P ₁ and P ₂ as well as the cleaning position P ₃ , and the drainage tank C ₂ has an internal structure. Formed airtight to reduce pressure. Of course, the removal mechanism C is not limited to such a vacuum suction type; for example, the sample liquid collected at the lower end of the squeezed rubber B is scattered with a jet of gas, and the droplets are collected with an appropriate collector. You can also do this. In this case, the suction pipe _C1 is configured as a fumarole pipe. Note that the strained rubber B and the tip C ₁ ' of the suction tube C ₁ are also connected by a holder D that holds them together.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained.

First, in the initial state, the holding arm 8 and the holder D are positioned directly above the sample suction position P ₁ , and the tip of the dispensing nozzle A is housed in the squeezing rubber B (see Fig. 2). (see a). From this state, the holding arm 8 is first lowered to insert the tip of the dispensing nozzle A into the sample container 2, and then the dispenser 1 shown in FIG. 1 is activated to aspirate a predetermined amount of the sample liquid 2'. (See Figure 2b). When the suction is finished, the holding arm 8 rises and pulls up the tip of the dispensing nozzle A until it is accommodated in the squeezing rubber B. As a result, the sample liquid adhering to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A is squeezed out onto the squeezing rubber B, and collected on the lower end surface of the squeezing rubber B (see FIG. 2c). Subsequently, the holding arm 8 and the holder D move horizontally together and stop at the sample discharge position _P2 in FIG. During this movement, the vacuum pump P shown in FIG. 1 is operated, and the sample liquid collected on the lower end surface of the strained rubber B is suctioned and removed by the suction tube _C1 . With this, for example, even if the liquid at the tip of dispensing nozzle A is not drained properly and the sample liquid forms a bead and adheres to the tip of dispensing nozzle A, it will not be collected on the lower end surface of this squeezing rubber B. This can be removed by suction together with the sample liquid, and the next discharge amount of the sample liquid can be made more accurate, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the analyzer.

Further, in parallel with this horizontal movement of the dispensing nozzle A, a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid 7' is sucked into the cleaning pump 5 via the three-way solenoid valve 6.

Then, the holding arm 8 and the holder D are at the sample discharge position.
When stopped at P ₂ , the holding arm 8 is lowered to insert the tip of the dispensing nozzle A into the reaction vessel 3, and then the dispenser 1 is activated to dispense only a specified amount of the aspirated sample liquid. Dispense (see Figure 2d). When dispensing is finished, the holding arm 8 rises, lifts the tip of the dispensing nozzle A from the reaction vessel 3, and moves it to the cleaning position _P3.
Move it up to

When dispensing nozzle A stops at cleaning position _P3 ,
The holding arm 8 is lowered to immerse the tip of the dispensing nozzle A into the cleaning tank 4. At the same time, the three-way solenoid valve 6 is switched to the cleaning liquid discharge side, and then the dispenser 1 and the cleaning pump 5 are activated to discharge the remaining sample liquid and cleaning liquid sucked into the cleaning tank 4. . Also,
A cleaning liquid is jetted from the bottom of the tank to clean the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A (see Fig. 2e). In this case, since the sample liquid adhering to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A has already been wiped off during the upward movement of the nozzle, cleaning in the cleaning liquid tank 4 can be omitted.

When such discharging and cleaning are completed, the holding arm 8 rises and pulls up the tip of the dispensing nozzle A until it is completely accommodated in the squeezing rubber B.

As a result, the cleaning liquid adhering to the outer wall of the dispensing nozzle A is squeezed out onto the squeezing rubber B and collected on the lower end surface of the squeezing rubber B (see FIG. 2c).

Subsequently, the holding arm 8 and the holder D move horizontally together and stop at the initial sample suction position _P1 . In addition, in synchronization with this horizontal movement, the vacuum pump P is activated, and the cleaning liquid collected on the lower end surface of the straining rubber B is suctioned and removed by the suction tube _C1 . This prevents the cleaning liquid from being mixed into the sample liquid 2' when moving on to the next dispensing operation, making it possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the sample analyzer.

Thereafter, this operation is repeated to perform dispensing and washing.

As explained above, this invention can remove the sample liquid and cleaning liquid that adhere to the nozzle outer wall during the vertical movement of the dispensing nozzle, so a new process for removing the sample liquid and cleaning liquid is required. The dispensing efficiency of the entire device can be improved without the need for In addition, since the sample liquid adhering to the nozzle tip can be removed each time the sample liquid is aspirated, it is possible to eliminate the amount of dispensing due to poor liquid drainage, and thus improve the measurement accuracy of the sample analyzer. can be improved. Furthermore, since the nozzle outer wall is always in a wiped state, there are effects such as making it difficult for samples to adhere to the nozzle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the cleaning operation of the dispensing nozzle, especially the dispensing nozzle. A...Dispensing nozzle, B...Stretching rubber, C...
Removal mechanism, 2...Sample container, 3...Reaction container, 4
...Cleaning tank, 7...Cleaning liquid container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a sample dispensing nozzle cleaning device in which a dispensing nozzle is inserted into a sample container and a reaction container to dispense a sample liquid, and the dispensing nozzle is cleaned with a cleaning liquid, the dispensing nozzle is A fixed ironing rubber is inserted through which the sample liquid and cleaning liquid adhering to the outer wall of the nozzle are squeezed out by the vertical movement of the nozzle, and a removal mechanism is also installed to remove the sample liquid and cleaning liquid that have been squeezed out using an air flow. Dispensing nozzle cleaning device.