JPH07107965A - Method for boring agar culture medium and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and a device for boring holes which are needed for the tests of antibiotics on the agar culture medium regardless of agar concentrations in no need of skills. CONSTITUTION:At the boring head 53 to be thrust vertically into the agar medium, the air path 75 is opened between the borer 57 and the inner surface of the boring blade 56 in order to allow the atmospheric pressure to act on along the inner surface of the boring blade 56. At the same time, the adjuster 59 for controlling the opened area of the air path 57 is mounted to control the opening area according to the agar concentration in the culture medium to be bored.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for perforating an agar medium, which comprises perforating an agar medium, which has been injected into a petri dish or the like and appropriately solidified, to dispose an antibiotic in a predetermined size. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Punching an agar medium to dispense an antibiotic in order to test the quality and efficacy of the antibiotic is prescribed by the Japanese Antibiotics Standard. Conventionally, perforation of agar medium dispensed and solidified in a petri dish is all done by hand.First, the agar medium is cut circumferentially by piercing the agar medium with a pipe-shaped metal fitting, and then the cut agar is cut. The procedure was to scoop with a needle-shaped tool.

However, when the agar medium in a petri dish is cut with a pipe-shaped metal fitting, it is difficult to remove the cut portion cleanly during the subsequent scooping work unless the bottom of the petri dish is cut vertically. Further, even if the cutting is properly performed, if the needle-shaped tool is not manipulated skillfully, the cut portion may be left unremoved or the hole may collapse, which may be unsuitable for the test. Therefore, the work of perforating an agar medium requires a great deal of labor as well as the skill of the operator, making it difficult to improve workability.

Therefore, for the purpose of solving such a problem, researches have been made on a perforating device for automating the perforating work, and until now, a peripheral portion of the tip has a substantially cylindrical shape which functions as a perforating blade for cutting an agar medium. And a head elevating means for vertically elevating and lowering the perforation head and the suction pipe in which the perforation fitting is externally fitted to the tip end portion, and the perforation head is vertically moved with respect to the agar medium installed at a predetermined position. A vacuum tank for applying a vacuum pressure in the suction pipe, the perforation head is abutted against the agar medium, the agar medium is circumferentially cut by a perforation blade at the tip of the perforation fitting,
Various researches and developments have been made on a punching device of a type in which agar inside the cut punching blade is removed by suction using vacuum pressure.

[0005]

However, in the agar medium, the reaction to suction due to vacuum pressure greatly changes depending on the concentration of agar, and the agar in the cut perforation blade is suctioned and removed by using vacuum pressure. In the device, for example, agar medium having an agar concentration of 1.2 to 1.5% can be smoothly sucked and removed to pierce well, but the agar concentration is less than 1.2%. For low-concentration agar medium or high-concentration agar medium with an agar concentration of more than 1.5%, it becomes difficult to smoothly suck and remove, and there are cases where good perforation necessary for the test cannot be performed. It was That is, in an agar medium having a low agar concentration of less than 1.2%, since the agar medium is soft, the portion to be sucked at the time of suction tends to be shattered by the suction force, and the suction may not be performed neatly. . Further, in order to make a clear hole, in the blade-shaped structure of the hole cutting blade, a taper structure is adopted in which the hole diameter becomes smaller as the inner side of the hole cutting blade goes inward from the blade tip side. When the concentration is higher than 1.5%, the hardness of the agar medium becomes high and it becomes difficult to suck.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the agar debris and the like necessary for the test of antibiotics can be obtained on an agar medium without requiring any skill or the like, and without being influenced by the agar concentration. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for perforating an agar medium capable of performing excellent perforation without remaining.

[0007]

The above object of the present invention is to provide a perforating metal fitting whose peripheral portion at the tip functions as a substantially cylindrical perforating blade for cutting an agar medium, and a suction pipe for sucking the inside of the perforating metal fitting. A method for piercing an agar medium, comprising: piercing a piercing head provided with the agar medium formed in a predetermined container to form a hole for dispensing an antibiotic, wherein the piercing metal fitting is pierced into the agar medium. In, forming an atmospheric communication passage that can act atmospheric pressure along the inner surface of the perforating blade, the opening area of the opening to the atmosphere of the atmospheric flow passage formed on the upper end side of the perforating fitting, the agar medium The method for perforating an agar medium is characterized in that the agar medium in the perforation metal fitting is removed by suctioning from the suction pipe in a state adjusted according to the concentration of agar.

Further, the above object of the present invention is to provide a substantially cylindrical perforating metal fitting whose peripheral edge portion functions as a perforating blade for cutting an agar medium, and a suction pipe which can be connected to the perforating metal fitting to suck the inside of the metal fitting. A perforating device for an agar medium that comprises a perforating head, and aspirates and removes agar inside the perforating blade by applying a vacuum pressure to the inside of the suction pipe, which is large along the inner surface of the perforating blade of the perforating metal fitting. An atmosphere communication passage for applying atmospheric pressure is formed between the perforated metal fitting and the suction pipe, and an opening adjusting means capable of adjusting an opening area of an upper side opening of the atmospheric air flow passage at a position in contact with the perforated metal fitting. It is achieved by the agar medium perforation device.

Further, the above object of the present invention is to provide the atmosphere communication passage by a groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the perforating metal fitting or the outer peripheral surface of the suction pipe, and to externally fit the suction pipe at one end. A positioning cylinder is provided for setting the protruding length of the drill fitting from the tip of the suction pipe by closely adhering the side to the base end of the drill fitting, and the positioning cylinder has the drill hole centered on the suction pipe. An atmosphere communication groove communicating with the opening of the atmosphere communication passage is formed on the inner peripheral surface by relative rotation with respect to the metal fitting, and the opening is adjusted by operating the relative rotation amount with respect to the perforation metal fitting around the suction pipe. It is achieved by the agar medium perforation apparatus configured as described above.

Further, the above object of the present invention is to provide a suction hose made of an elastically restoring material for communicating the suction pipe with a vacuum tank and a pair of tightening metal fittings sandwiching the suction hose so that a flow path of the suction hose can be formed. This is achieved by the agar medium perforation device described above, which is equipped with a suction control valve for opening and closing.

[0011]

According to the above configuration of the present invention, the opening area of the atmosphere communication passage to the atmosphere can be adjusted according to the agar concentration by the opening adjusting means. For example, an agar medium having a high agar concentration and relatively hard to collapse. In the case of perforating the agar, the opening adjusting means narrows the opening area to the atmosphere of the atmosphere communication passage so that it is difficult for the atmosphere to flow in. It can be removed cleanly by suction, and when perforating an agar medium that has a low agar concentration and is relatively liable to collapse,
By expanding the opening area of the atmosphere communication passage to the atmosphere by the opening adjusting means so that the atmosphere can easily flow into the atmosphere, even if the agar cut by the piercing blade collapses by the action of the vacuum pressure, the collapsed agar flows in. It can be removed cleanly using the flow of air. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform favorable perforation necessary for the antibiotic test on the agar medium without depending on the agar concentration.

[0012] Further, by using the above-mentioned apparatus, it becomes possible to perform good perforation on an agar medium without any manual work, which is necessary for testing antibiotics, and as a result, agar without skill is required. Enables good perforation independent of concentration,
It becomes possible to improve the workability of the punching work.

Further, since the positioning cylinder for setting the projecting length of the perforation fitting with respect to the suction pipe serves as the opening adjusting means, the structure around the perforation fitting is complicated due to the addition of the opening adjusting means. It is also possible to prevent the occurrence of damage, and it becomes easier to position the perforated metal fitting on the suction pipe when exchanging the perforated metal fitting due to contamination or the like, which improves the control and handling of the device.

Further, a suction control valve for opening and closing the flow path of the suction hose by a tightening operation of a suction hose made of an elastically restoring material for connecting the suction pipe to the vacuum tank and a pair of tightening fittings sandwiching the suction hose. With such a configuration, it is possible to quickly turn on and off the action of the vacuum pressure on the suction pipe by opening and closing the suction control valve, which makes it possible to perform the suction removal operation using the vacuum pressure. It becomes possible to accurately control and manage, and it becomes possible to shorten the time for drilling work and facilitate the work.

[0015]

EXAMPLES The present invention has been made as a result of diligent research on the experimental results of the agar medium perforation apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and the agar medium perforation apparatus 2 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. is there. Therefore, after describing the configurations and the experimental results of the perforation apparatus 1 and the perforation apparatus 2, the agar culture medium perforation method and apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the main part of the punching device 1, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the portion shown in FIG. 5 viewed from the tip direction (the lower side in the drawing). 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the main part of the punching device 2, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of the portion shown in FIG. 7 as seen from the tip direction (the lower side in the drawing).

First, the punching device 1 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
In, the perforating head 4 is a main part for cutting the agar medium 5. This piercing head 4 is provided with a substantially tubular piercing metal fitting 7 whose peripheral edge portion functions as a piercing blade 6 for cutting an agar medium, and a suction pipe 8 with which the piercing metal fitting 7 is externally fitted to the tip portion. Is doing. Although not shown, the perforation apparatus 1 applies a vacuum pressure to the head elevating means for vertically elevating the perforation head 4 with respect to the agar medium 5 installed at a predetermined position, and the suction pipe 8. And a vacuum tank to operate.

Further, the inner peripheral surface of the perforating metal fitting 7 has a structure shown in FIG.
As also shown in FIG. 3, grooves 9 are formed along the inner surface of the perforating blade 6 at two places to serve as an atmosphere communication passage for applying atmospheric pressure. In the perforation apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, the perforation head 4 is lowered by the not-shown head raising / lowering means to push the perforation head 4 against the agar medium 5, and the perforation blade 6 at the tip of the perforation metal fitting 7 cuts the agar medium 5 in a circumferential shape. Further, in that state, by applying atmospheric pressure along the inner surface of the perforating blade 6 and simultaneously applying vacuum pressure from the vacuum tank (not shown) into the suction pipe 8, agar cut by the perforating blade 6 Aspirate 10 to form holes in the agar for dispensing antibiotics.

The punching device 2 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is similar in basic structure to the punching device 1 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the number of grooves 9 formed in the inner peripheral surface of the perforating metal fitting 7 in order to apply atmospheric pressure along the inner surface of the perforating blade 6 is increased to four places. In the case of the punching device 2, the total opening area of the atmosphere communicating passage to the atmosphere is twice as large as in the case of the punching device 1. When the agar medium 5 having various agar concentrations was perforated using the perforation devices 1 and 2, the perforation device 1 had a relatively high agar concentration of about 1.2 to 2%. In the case of the concentration, the cut agar 10 can be suitably sucked and removed, while in the case of the perforation apparatus 2, the agar concentration is 1.5%.
Agar 10 cut at relatively low concentrations such as less than 10
It has been found that the above can be suitably sucked and removed, and there is a difference in perforation performance depending on the concentration of agar.

As a result of further diligent research by the inventors of the present invention, it is possible to form a clean hole by aspirating and removing agar with a high agar concentration and which is hard to collapse by the suction force by the vacuum pressure acting on the suction pipe 8. In addition, since the agar, which has a low agar concentration and is easily collapsed, is immediately collapsed by the vacuum pressure applied to the suction pipe 8, so that it is sucked and removed by using the flow of the air flowing in from the groove 9 rather than the suction by the vacuum pressure. I found that it was better. That is, the punching blade 6
The opening area to the atmosphere of the atmosphere communication passage for applying atmospheric pressure along the inner surface of the is preferably small in order to suppress the inflow of air when perforating an agar medium having a high agar concentration, and When perforating an agar medium having a low agar concentration, it is preferable to increase the size to increase the inflow of air. The present invention has been made possible by the results of such research.

An embodiment of the agar medium perforating apparatus according to the present invention will be described below, and then the agar medium perforating method according to the present invention will be described. First, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are automatic perforation dispensing for continuously performing a perforation process for an agar medium that has been dispensed in a petri dish and solidified, and a dispensation process for dispensing a predetermined antibiotic into the holes opened by this perforation process. The apparatus is shown in which a petri dish transfer unit 14 is provided on the table 13 on the right side of the drawing, and a pipette tip / test tube transfer unit 16 is placed on the table 15 on the lower left side of the drawing. Provided in parallel with the transport unit 14, a center axis 18 of the perforation / dispensing unit 17 is provided at a substantially intermediate portion between the petri dish transport unit 14 and the pipette tip / test tube transport unit 16, and further on the right front side, Operation unit 1 for operating the device
9 is provided.

Here, the petri dish transport unit 14 transports the petri dish 20 containing the agar medium from a supply position S1 to a perforation / dispensing position S2 and a storage position S3 by a transport device (not shown) disposed below the table 13. A lid attaching / detaching device 22 for adsorbing and opening the lid 21 of the petri dish 20 conveyed to the perforation / dispensing position S2 is provided outside the perforation / dispensing position S2. . The lid attaching / detaching device 22 retracts the lid 21 from the punching / dispensing position S2 by rotating the horizontal arm 23, which holds the lid 21 of the petri dish 20, by 90 degrees, for example. The pipette tip / test tube transport section 16 is a rack that holds four antibiotic-containing test tubes 25 and four pipette tips 26 for collecting antibiotics from each of these test tubes 25 in an upright state. 27 is carried in parallel with the petri dish 20 by a carrying device (not shown) arranged below the table 15.

As shown in FIG. 4, between the petri dish transporting section 14 and the pipette tip / test tube transporting section 16 and on both sides of the central shaft 18, as shown in FIG. A sterilizing liquid container 29 and a tip discard case 30 for discarding used pipette tips 26 are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the boring and dispensing part 17 has a dispensing device 35 at one end of an arm 33 rotatably attached to the central shaft 18 via a thrust bearing 32.
And the other end of the arm 33 is equipped with a punching device 37 which is an embodiment of the present invention.

The central shaft 18 can be moved up and down in the vertical direction (that is, the axial direction of the central shaft 18) by an up-and-down moving cylinder 38 connected to the lower end of the central shaft 18.
Further, the arm 33 includes a motor 39 with a speed reducer arranged on the arm 33, a pinion 40 attached to an output shaft of the motor 39 with a speed reducer, and a pinion 40 fixed to the central shaft 18 so as to mesh with the pinion 40. With the ring gear 41, the center shaft 18 can be rotated.
In addition, the tip disposal case 30 and the sterilization liquid container 29
Is mounted on the turning path of the dispensing device 35 and the punching device 37 when the arm 33 turns.

The pipetting device 35 includes four pipette heads 4 for holding the pipette tips 26 on the rack 27.
3, a pipette tip 26 held by the pipette head 43 is equipped with a suction / dispensing cylinder 44 for sucking / discharging an antibiotic, and the like is housed in the test tube 25 on the rack 27. The antibiotic is dispensed into the perforations on the agar medium treated by the perforation device 37. Configurations other than the punching device 37 (for example, the petri dish transport unit 14,
Pipette tip / test tube transfer unit 16, perforation dispensing unit 17,
The configurations of the lid attaching / detaching device 22, the dispensing device 35, etc. are all disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-123159 filed by the applicant of the present application.
The technique of the automatic perforation / dispensing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-242242 is applied, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The punching device 37 of one embodiment will be described in detail below. As shown in FIG. 3, the punching device 37 of one embodiment includes a substrate 50 fixed to the arm 33, a punching cylinder 51 attached to the substrate 50, and the punching cylinder 5
A head holding plate 52 that can be vertically moved up and down by 1;
The head holding plate 52 is provided with four punching heads 53. Here, the boring cylinder 51
Serves as a head elevating means for vertically elevating the perforation head 53 with respect to the agar medium installed at a predetermined position.

As shown in FIG. 1, the piercing head 53 has a piercing blade 56 whose peripheral edge portion cuts the agar medium 55.
And a substantially tubular perforating metal fitting 57 that functions as
7 is a suction pipe 58 externally fitted to the distal end portion, and the suction pipe 58 is externally fitted to the suction pipe 58 so that one end (lower end in FIG. 1) side is brought into close contact with the base end (upper end in FIG. 1) of the perforating metal fitting 57 for suction. The pipe 58 is provided with a positioning cylinder 59 that sets the protruding length of the perforation fitting 57 from the tip of the pipe 58.
Then, in this punching head 53, the suction pipe 58 is inserted into the pipe insertion hole provided in the head holding plate 52, and the stopper 60 fixed to the suction pipe 58 on the upper surface side of the head holding plate 52 and the positioning cylindrical body 59. And head holding plate 5
It is fixed to the head holding plate 52 so as to be able to retract upward by a compression spring 62 interposed between the head holding plate 52 and the compression spring 62.

The base end of the suction pipe 58 is connected to a vacuum tank 66 for storing vacuum pressure via a suction hose 65 made of an elastic restoring material such as silicon rubber. Further, the vacuum tank 66 is connected to a vacuum pump 67 for evacuating the vacuum tank 66. Further, the suction hose 6 which connects the suction pipe 58 and the vacuum tank 66 to each other.
A suction control valve 72 that opens and closes the flow path of the suction hose 65 by a tightening operation with a pair of tightening metal fittings 70 and 71 sandwiching the suction hose 65 is provided on the upper part 5. This suction control valve 72 is configured such that one tightening fitting 70 is connected to an actuator 73 such as a hydraulic cylinder or a solenoid valve.
The suction hose 65 is crushed by displacing the suction hose 71 toward the other fastening member 71 side to close the flow path of the suction hose 65.

The perforating metal fitting 57 and the positioning cylinder 59.
As shown in FIG. 2, the air communication grooves 75 and 76 along the axial direction are engraved on the inner peripheral surface of the No. 4 at four places evenly divided around the circumference. These atmosphere communication grooves 75 and 76 are communicated with each other to form the perforation blade 56 of the perforation fitting 57.
It functions as an atmosphere communication passage that applies atmospheric pressure along the inner surface of the.

Further, the positioning cylinder 59 and the perforating metal fitting 57 are rotatably fitted to the suction pipe 58 and fixed to the suction pipe 58 by a set screw 78 as shown in FIG. Has become. In other words, when the setscrew 78 is loosened, the positioning cylinder 59 and the perforating metal fitting 57 are relatively rotatable about the suction pipe 58, and the positions of the atmosphere communication grooves 75 and 76 formed in each of them can be adjusted. The degree of overlap can be adjusted, and the adjustment of the degree of overlap changes the substantial opening area of the atmospheric flow passage (the groove 75) in the perforating metal fitting 57 to the atmosphere. That is, the positioning cylinder 59 also functions as an opening adjusting unit that adjusts the opening area of the perforated metal fitting 57 to the atmosphere in the atmosphere communication passage.

In the method for perforating an agar medium according to one embodiment of the present invention, a perforation of a predetermined size is performed on the agar medium 55 on the petri dish 20 set at a predetermined position by using the perforation device 37. is there. Specifically, by lowering the head holding plate 52, the perforation head 53 is pushed against the agar medium 55, and the perforation blade 5 at the tip of the perforation metal fitting 57 is pushed.
6, the agar medium 55 is cut in a circumferential shape, and in that state, a vacuum pressure is applied to the inside of the suction pipe 58 by opening the flow path of the suction hose 65 by the suction control valve 72. Due to the synergistic effect of the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum pressure acting along the inner surface of the punching blade 56 due to the atmosphere communication passage provided in the positioning cylinder 59, the punching blade 5
The agar 80 cut by 6 is sucked and removed into the vacuum tank 66 to form a hole in the agar medium for dispensing the antibiotic.

However, the opening area of the atmosphere communication passage provided in the perforating metal fitting 57 to the atmosphere is controlled by operating the positioning cylinder 59 which is the opening adjusting means.
Adjust the value according to the agar concentration of 5. For example, when the agar concentration is high, the opening area to the atmosphere of the atmosphere communication passage provided in the perforation fitting 57 is set to be small, and when the agar concentration is low, the atmosphere communication passage provided in the perforation fitting 57 is set. Set a large opening area to the atmosphere. Then, when the suction removal of the agar cut by the perforation fitting 57 is completed, the flow path of the suction hose 65 is closed by the suction control valve 72, and then the head holding plate 52 is pulled up to prepare for the next perforation process.

By doing so, regardless of whether the agar concentration is high or low, the agar 80 cut by the perforation blade 56 can be sucked and removed cleanly without being influenced by the agar concentration, and the agar concentration can be influenced by the agar concentration. Without doing so, it is possible to make good perforations on the agar medium necessary for antibiotic testing.

Further, according to the perforation device 37 of the above-described embodiment, it becomes possible to perforate the agar medium 55 without any manual work, which is necessary for the antibiotic test, and as a result, It is possible to perform excellent perforation that does not depend on the concentration of agar without requiring skill, and it is possible to improve the workability of the perforation work.

Further, the perforating fitting 5 for the suction pipe 58
The positioning cylinder 59 that sets the protruding length of the
Since it plays a role of an opening adjusting means for adjusting the opening area of the atmosphere communication passage of No. 7 to the atmosphere, it is possible to prevent the structure around the perforating metal fitting 57 from being complicated due to the addition of the opening adjusting means, and further, to prevent pollution and the like. The perforation metal fitting 57 can be easily positioned on the suction pipe 58 when the perforation metal fitting 57 is replaced by, and the management and handling of the device are improved.

Further, a suction hose 65 made of an elastic restoration material for connecting the suction pipe 58 to the vacuum tank 66.
And a pair of tightening fittings 70 sandwiching the suction hose 65,
Since the suction control valve 72 is provided to open and close the flow path of the suction hose 65 by the tightening operation by the suction pipe 71, the suction pipe 58 is opened and closed by operating the suction control valve 72 while the vacuum pump 67 is in a steady operation. It is possible to quickly turn on and off the action of vacuum pressure on the vacuum.This makes it possible to more accurately control and manage the suction removal operation using the vacuum pressure, shortening the drilling work time and work. It will also be possible to facilitate this.

Incidentally, in the above-described embodiment, the perforating metal fitting 57 is used.
The air communication passage secured between the suction pipe 58 and the suction pipe 58 is provided by the groove 75 engraved on the inner peripheral surface of the perforating metal fitting 57. Instead of engraving the groove on the inner peripheral surface of the perforating metal fitting 57, suction is performed. It is also possible to engrave a groove on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 58.

In the above-described embodiment, the positioning cylinder 59 for positioning the perforating metal fitting 57 also functions as an opening adjusting means for adjusting the opening area of the perforating metal fitting 57 to the atmosphere. However, the opening adjusting means may be provided separately from the positioning cylinder 59. Furthermore, the opening adjusting means is the atmosphere communication passage 7
The adjustment was made by the overlap between 5 and 76, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the opening of the atmosphere communication passage 75 of the perforation fitting 57 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the perforation fitting, The female screw member screwed onto the outer periphery of the perforating metal fitting 57 can be variously changed as necessary such as adjusting the opening. Further, the shape, the engraving position, and the engraving number of the groove formed in the perforating metal fitting 57 or the positioning tubular body 59 as the air communication passage are not limited to those in the one embodiment.

[0038]

According to the method for perforating an agar medium of the present invention,
The opening area to the atmosphere of the air communication passage can be adjusted according to the agar concentration by the opening adjusting means.For example, when perforating an agar medium having a high agar concentration and relatively difficult to collapse, the opening adjusting means is used. By narrowing the opening area to the atmosphere of the atmosphere communication passage and setting it in a state where it is difficult for the atmosphere to flow in, the agar cut by the piercing blade can be removed cleanly mainly by the suction action by the vacuum pressure, and When perforating an agar medium having a low agar concentration and relatively easy to collapse, the perforation blade is used to widen the opening area of the air communication passage to the atmosphere so that the air can easily flow into the agar medium. Even if the agar is collapsed by the action of vacuum pressure, the collapsed agar can be removed cleanly by utilizing the flow of the air flowing in. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform favorable perforation necessary for the antibiotic test on the agar medium without depending on the agar concentration. In addition, with the above equipment, it is possible to perform good perforation necessary for testing antibiotics on an agar medium without manual work, and as a result, the agar concentration can be controlled without the need for skill. It is possible to perform good drilling that is not performed, and it is possible to improve workability of drilling work. Further, since the positioning cylinder for setting the protruding length of the perforation fitting with respect to the suction pipe serves as the opening adjusting means, it is possible to prevent the structure around the perforation fitting from becoming complicated due to the addition of the opening adjusting means. Further, it becomes easy to position the perforated metal fitting on the suction pipe when exchanging the perforated metal fitting due to contamination or the like, and the management and handling of the device are improved. In addition, a suction hose made of an elastic restoration material that connects the suction pipe to the vacuum tank, and a suction control valve that opens and closes the flow path of the suction hose by a tightening operation with a pair of tightening metal fittings sandwiching the suction hose are provided. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly turn on / off the action of the vacuum pressure on the suction pipe by opening / closing the suction control valve, and thereby more accurately control the suction removal operation using the vacuum pressure. To be able to manage,
It is possible to reduce the time required for punching work and to facilitate work.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an automatic punching / dispensing device including a punching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the automatic perforation dispensing device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a punching device as an experimental device.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of another punching device as an experimental device.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 37 Punching device 52 Head holding plate 53 Punching head 55 Agar medium 56 Punching blade 57 Punching metal fitting 58 Suction pipe 59 Positioning cylinder 62 Compression spring 65 Suction hose 66 Vacuum tank 67 Vacuum pump 70, 71 Tightening fitting 72 Suction control valve 75 Punching fitting Atmosphere communication passage 76 Atmosphere communication passage of positioning cylinder

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A piercing head having a piercing metal fitting, which has a tip end peripheral portion functioning as a substantially cylindrical piercing blade for cutting an agar medium, and a suction pipe for sucking the inside of the piercing metal fitting, in a predetermined container. A method of piercing an agar medium for forming a hole for dispensing an antibiotic by piercing the formed agar medium, wherein when piercing the perforating metal fitting into the agar medium, a large amount is formed along the inner surface of the piercing blade. An atmospheric communication passage capable of acting atmospheric pressure is formed, and the opening area of the opening to the atmosphere of the atmospheric flow passage formed on the upper end side of the perforation fitting is adjusted in a state according to the agar concentration of the agar medium. A method for perforating an agar medium, characterized in that the agar medium in the perforation metal fitting is removed by performing suction from a suction pipe. 2. A substantially cylindrical perforating metal fitting, the peripheral edge of which functions as a perforating blade for cutting an agar medium, and a perforating head comprising a suction pipe which is connected to the perforating metal fitting and is capable of sucking the inside of the metal fitting. A device for perforating an agar medium that sucks and removes agar inside a perforating blade by applying a vacuum pressure in the suction pipe, wherein an atmospheric communication path that applies atmospheric pressure along the inner surface of the perforating blade of the perforating metal fitting. Is formed between the perforating metal fitting and the suction pipe, and an opening adjusting means capable of adjusting the opening area of the opening on the upper side of the atmospheric flow passage is provided at a position in contact with the perforating metal fitting. A unique agar medium punching device. 3. The atmosphere communication passage is provided by a groove formed on an inner peripheral surface of the perforated metal fitting or an outer peripheral surface of the suction pipe, and is fitted onto the suction pipe so that one end side is a base of the perforated metal fitting. A positioning cylinder is provided that sets the protruding length of the drill fitting from the tip of the suction pipe by closely contacting the end, and the positioning cylinder is rotated by the relative rotation with respect to the drill fitting around the suction pipe. An atmosphere communication groove communicating with the opening of the communication passage is formed on the inner peripheral surface, and the opening is adjusted by operating the amount of relative rotation with respect to the perforated metal fitting around the suction pipe. The agar medium perforation device according to claim 2. 4. A suction hose made of an elastically restoring material that connects the suction pipe to a vacuum tank, and a suction control valve that opens and closes a flow path of the suction hose by a tightening operation with a pair of clamps sandwiching the suction hose. The agar medium perforation apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: