JPH0694732A - Chip display mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively, efficiently perform a chip disposing operation by providing a chip separating member, a belt conveyor having a scraper and a slide. CONSTITUTION:A cutout of a chip separating member 1 is engaged by a pipette 7 at a position A. When the pipette 7 is raised to a position B, used chip is separated, and dropped to a troughlike slide 4. The slide 4 guides the used chip to a used chip receiver 5. Since a rectangular scraper 3 having the same width as that of a belt conveyor 2 feeds the used chip while in contact with the bottom of the slide 4, conical chips are aligned in directions to parallel to the scraper 3 while rolling, and regularly disposed to the receiver 5 from an end of the slide 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disposable tip for a micropipette in an automatic immunoassay device for performing various tests such as a serum test using blood, urine, etc.
Write as a chip. ) Of the chip disposal mechanism for performing the disposal operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In performing various tests such as a serum test using an automatic immunoassay device, one or more chips are used for one sample. In the method for discarding used chips in the automatic immunoassay device in JP-A-4-230859, only the used chips are detached and discarded by a sliding table using natural dropping, and stored in a predetermined used chip receiver. .

[0003]

However, as the sample processing capacity of the device is improved, the amount of chips used per unit time is increased, and in a sliding stand that uses free fall, used chips are entangled and stay on the sliding stand. However, there is a problem that the discarding mechanism is likely to be clogged. In addition, since the used chips are thrown into the used chip receiver in a random manner, the volume of the used chip receiver is not effectively used, and there is a problem that the used chip becomes full during the inspection.

[0004]

As a result of various studies to solve such a problem, the present inventors have combined a belt conveyor having a scraper and a gutter-shaped sliding table to provide a sliding table. The present invention has been completed by finding that used chips do not accumulate and are reliably discarded.

Further, since the directions of the used chips are aligned by the scraper, it has been found that the used chips are housed in the used chip receiver in an orderly manner, and the effective capacity of the used chip receiver has been increased.

That is, the present invention is a detaching member for detaching a micropipette tip from a pipette portion,
This is a mechanism for discarding micropipette chips, which has both a belt conveyor with a scraper and a gutter-shaped sliding table.

The chip discarding mechanism of the present invention is disclosed in
A used chip detachment member that is placed near the dilution section of an automatic immunoassay device such as 4-230859 and fixed to the frame through a support member, and a used chip receiver that detaches the used chip that has been detached It is composed of a gutter-shaped sliding table leading up to and a belt conveyor having a scraper for forcibly moving used chips on the gutter-shaped sliding table.

The detachment member for detaching the used tip from the pipette section of the diluting section is a metal piece having a cutout portion having a size equal to or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the tip. Hook the top of the used tip to
The used tip is detached from the pipette portion by pulling the pipette portion upward.

The used tip detached from the pipette portion by the detachment member falls on the gutter-shaped sliding table. The sliding table has a width larger than the length of the chip to be used, and is fixed to the frame at an appropriate angle so that the dropped used chip can be guided to the used chip receiver. Further, a belt conveyor having a scraper is installed. The used chips are forcibly moved on the sliding table by the scraper and discarded in the used chip receiver.

A belt conveyor having a scraper is driven by a motor or the like to surely move the used chips on the gutter-shaped sliding table to the lower end and rotate them smoothly.
Further, in order to reliably move the used chips, it is preferable that the scraper fixed to the belt conveyor has elasticity, for example, rubber, various elastic soft plastics, urethane rubber, polyurethane, etc., preferably rubber. , An elastomer can be used.

Further, the scraper may have any shape as long as it can move the used chips on the gutter-shaped sliding table, and preferably the height of the scraper contacting the bottom of the gutter-shaped sliding table and the same level as the chips. Is a rectangle having a width of. The conical tip moves by a scraper while rolling on a gutter-shaped sliding stand, and is aligned in parallel with the scraper.

As a method for fixing the scraper to the belt conveyor, a person who uses adhesion, fusion bonding, eyelets, screwing or the like can be used. Further, it is possible to easily attach and detach by using a metal fitting or the like.

[0013]

Operation: The used tip is detached from the pipette at the notch of the tip detaching member and falls on the gutter-shaped sliding table. The scraper fixed to the belt conveyor driven by a motor or the like forcibly moves the chips that have fallen onto the gutter-shaped sliding table along the sliding table and discards them to the used chip receiver.

At this time, the used chips are aligned by the action of the scraper in parallel with the scraper while rolling on the gutter-shaped sliding table, so that the used chips are regularly accumulated in the used chip receiver.

[0015]

EXAMPLE A chip discarding mechanism of the present invention is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-230859.
The chip disposed in the vicinity of the diluting portion in FIG. 3 of the issue and having finished dispensing the sample and the necessary reagent in the sample dispensing section is discarded by the chip discarding mechanism of the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a side surface of a chip discarding mechanism which is an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the tip detaching member 1 is fixed to the frame via an appropriate supporting member. A plan view of the tip detaching member is shown in FIG.

The tip detaching member 1 has a notch having a size equal to or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the tip, and the pipette section 7 of the sample dispensing section can hook the upper end of the used tip at the position A. It has become a form. After this,
By pulling the pipette part vertically to position B,
The used tip is detached from the pipette part.

The detached chips fall on the gutter-shaped sliding table 4. The sliding table 4 has a width larger than the length of the chip and is fixed at an appropriate angle with respect to the frame by the L-shaped metal fitting, and guides the used chips that have fallen to the used chip receiver.

The scraper 3 for forcibly moving the used chips along the gutter-shaped sliding table 4 to the used chip receiver 5 is made of rubber, and has a height such that it is in contact with the bottom of the gutter-shaped sliding table 4. It has a rectangular shape having the same width as the belt conveyor 2, is adhered to the belt conveyor 2 at intervals larger than the chip length, and is driven together with the belt conveyor 2 by a motor 6.

Since the scraper 3 sends out the used chips while contacting the bottom of the gutter-shaped sliding table 4, the conical chips are aligned in parallel with the scraper 3 while rolling. The used chips whose orientations are aligned are orderly discarded from the lower end of the gutter-shaped sliding table 4 into a used chip receiver.

[0022]

According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably dispose of used chips in the automatic immunoassay device, and
Since the chips can be oriented in the same direction, it is possible to effectively use the capacity of the used chip receiver.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of what is shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the chip.

FIG. 4 shows an arrangement example of the mechanism of the present invention in an automatic immunoassay device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tip detaching member 2 belt conveyor 3 scraper 4 gutter-shaped sliding table 5 used tip receiver 6 motor 7 pipette part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A discarding mechanism for a micropipette chip, which has a detaching member for detaching the micropipette chip from the pipette, a belt conveyor having a scraper, and a gutter-shaped sliding table.