JPH08108160A - Cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a cleaning apparatus having such a mechanism that blocking due to the clogging of an individual cleaning pipe during cleaning is detected accurately and reported to the inspector. CONSTITUTION: In a cleaning apparatus in which a cleaning pipe 2 comprising a discharge pipe 2b for discharging fluid such as cleaning liquid and a suction pipe 2a for sucking the fluid is inserted into an article 1 to be cleaned for cleaning the inside, a sensor 20 for detecting the flow of fluid is installed in the discharge pipe 2b and/or the suction pipe 2a. When no fluid flows in the pipe 2, it is detected by the sensor 20 and displayed on a monitor 27, and/or warning sound is generated by a buzzer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device, and particularly to removing reacted waste liquid (B / F separation) and subsequent cleaning in an immunoassay in a test process of a sample such as blood in the medical field. The present invention also relates to a cleaning device including a cleaning pipe including a discharge pipe for discharging a cleaning liquid and a suction pipe for sucking the cleaning liquid in order to clean the inside of a test tube or a tray containing a sample or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when diagnosing a patient in a hospital or the like, a sample that is a part of blood or cells or tissues is taken from the patient and sent to a test, and a doctor refers to the test result and Determine the name of the disease. In this case, blood tests and pathological tests of specimens are often performed by specialized institutions in addition to the doctor concerned, and such inspection institutions are
From a professional standpoint, we inspect a large number of blood samples brought in from a large number of hospitals, etc. using chemicals, machines, instruments, etc. Taking an immunoassay in such a test as an example, an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) is one of them.

[0003] In this method, as shown in Fig. 3, typically, a plurality of reaction processes are often performed until the final immunoassay. The reaction process is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), the immobilized antibody 4a immobilized on the immobilized carrier 1a.
And a first reaction for reacting the antigens 5, 6 and 7 with each other, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the second reaction in which the first reaction product 15 and the enzyme-labeled antibody 4b are reacted, and as shown in FIG. 3 (C), the second reaction product 16 and the substrate 17 are enzymatically reacted. And a third reaction to react.

Specifically, a reagent having an antigen in a sample is added to a test tube or the like containing the immobilized antibody 4a to react the immobilized antibody 4a with the antigens 5, 6 and 7, and the reaction B / F separation (Bound / Fre) to remove the reacted waste liquid after
e) Separation) is performed. It is customary that this B / F separation must also be performed after the second reaction. Thus, it is devised to improve the cleaning effect by repeatedly removing the residue of the reacted waste liquid after each B / F separation while adding a cleaning liquid such as physiological saline solution several times.

Therefore, as the B / F separation method and the subsequent cleaning method, various methods are used depending on the type of the solid-phased carrier 1a. As the solid-phased carrier 1a, the inner wall of the test tube made of polystyrene or the like, beads, fine particles or magnetic fine particles are commonly used. The B / F separation method and the subsequent cleaning method according to these solid-phase carriers 1a include a suction method using a nozzle, a downward suction method using a nozzle or a special tube, a filtration method using an adsorption filter such as glass fiber, or a magnetic method. There is a nozzle suction method that utilizes the suction effect.

Of course, B / F separation and subsequent washing are widely used not only for enzyme immunoassays, but also for immunoassays such as radioimmunoassays and fluorescent immunoassays to eliminate non-specific reactions and perform tests. This is one of the important steps to improve accuracy.

Therefore, in the first reaction, B / F separation and subsequent washing are performed as shown in FIG.
The washing tube 2 composed of two tubes is inserted into the test tube 1, the reacted waste liquid (or the washing liquid) 3 is sucked from the suction pipe 2a, and the washing liquid is discharged from the discharge pipe 2b. For example, in the first reaction, the test tube 1 contains the solid-phased antibody 4a and the antigens 5, 6, 7 and the like contained in the reagent containing the antigen in the sample, and the immune reaction is performed.

Therefore, after the completion of the immune reaction, the reacted waste liquid containing the non-specific antigens 6, 7 etc. other than the first reaction product formed by binding to the immobilized antibody 4a is washed off by B / F separation and subsequent washing. That is. This also applies to the B / F separation of the excess enzyme-labeled antibody 4b after the reaction in the second reaction and the subsequent washing, and a non-specific reaction due to insufficient washing after the B / F separation is measured. It is well known that this is one of the causes of deterioration in accuracy.

By the way, such a cleaning work cannot be performed in a short time by performing one cleaning at a time. Therefore, in order to improve efficiency, a large number of test tubes and the like are put together. Do it at one time. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a large number of test tubes 1 are arranged side by side in a predetermined row in the vertical and horizontal directions, and at the upper part thereof, a large number of the cleaning tubes 2 can be inserted corresponding to the respective test tubes 1. Further, a cleaning device 8 is used which is arranged vertically and horizontally in a predetermined row and is capable of moving the cleaning tubes 2 up and down and putting them in and out of the lower test tube 1.

The cleaning pipes 2 are gathered together at the upper part and are suction pipes 2.
a and a discharge pipe 2b, the suction pipe 2a is connected to a suction pump 10 via a pipe 9, the discharge pipe 2b is connected to a discharge pump 12 via a pipe 11, and the discharge pump 12 is connected to a pipe 13 The cleaning liquid tank 14 is connected to the cleaning liquid tank 14 through a cleaning liquid tank 14. The cleaning liquid tank 14 stores a cleaning liquid such as physiological saline.

[0011]

However, in the cleaning device 8, if the cleaning tube 2 is inserted into the test tube 1 and suction and discharge are continued or interrupted for a predetermined time, the cleaning tube 2 is clogged. However, the reacted waste liquid 3 and the cleaning liquid may not be sucked from the suction pipe 2a, and / or the cleaning liquid may not be discharged from the discharge pipe 2b. Since blood and the like may exist in the test tube 1, the fibrin and platelets cause the tube to be blocked. Thus, since the inside of the test tube 1 into which the closed washing tube 2 is inserted cannot be washed as expected, there is a possibility that the antigen 5 cannot be accurately measured.

Therefore, conventionally, it has been performed to visually confirm whether or not the cleaning pipe 2 is clogged. This is because the observer actually visually observed the washing pipe 2 inserted in each test tube 1, specifically, the reacted waste liquid 3 from the suction pipe 2a.
The cleaning liquid is sucked in, and whether or not the cleaning liquid is discharged from the discharge pipe 2b is looked into each row of the cleaning device 8,
Check with a flashlight in some cases.
However, this visual confirmation work is extremely nervous and detailed, and the degree of physical fatigue of the observer is high. Therefore, it cannot be said that a complete visual confirmation is necessarily performed.

Although not shown, each of the test tubes 1
It is also possible to measure the quantitative change between the reacted waste liquid 3 in the test tube 1 and the in-and-out cleaning liquid by measuring the table on which is placed, and to warn of this when there is a quantitative change. However, since it is not the quantitative change of the individual test tubes 1 but the quantitative change of the whole as a whole, it cannot be specified.

Further, an instrument having a concave portion in which a large number of them are arranged side by side in a predetermined row is prepared separately corresponding to the cleaning tube 2 in which a large number of pieces are arranged side by side in a predetermined row and column. The cleaning pipe 2 is arranged below the cleaning pipe 2 of the cleaning device 8.
It is also performed to check whether the discharged cleaning liquid is discharged from the discharge pipe 2b and whether the discharged cleaning liquid is sucked from the suction pipe 2a. Nothing useful.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances.
An object of the present invention is to accurately detect a blockage of an individual cleaning pipe due to clogging during cleaning and to notify or confirm this to an observer.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning device including a cleaning pipe including a discharge pipe for discharging a fluid such as a cleaning liquid and a suction pipe for sucking the fluid. In the cleaning device that is inserted into the inside and cleans the inside, a sensor for detecting the flow of the fluid is provided on either or both of the discharge pipe and the suction pipe.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the inside of each of the plurality of objects to be cleaned is cleaned by inserting a cleaning pipe including a discharge pipe for discharging a fluid such as a cleaning liquid and a suction pipe for sucking the fluid. In the cleaning device, a sensor for detecting the flow of the fluid is provided on either or both of the discharge pipe and the suction pipe.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the sensor is composed of a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and the lamp is turned on and off via a wire connected to the electrodes.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the sensor comprises a pair of electrodes inserted in the suction tube, and sends a signal due to conduction between the electrodes to the centralized controller, and the centralized controller prevents the cleaning tube from being blocked. The feature is that the presence or absence is displayed on the monitor.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the sensor is composed of a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and a warning sound such as a buzzer is emitted through a wire connected to the electrodes.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the sensor is composed of a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, the lamp blinks via a wire connected to the electrodes, and a warning sound such as a buzzer is emitted. To do.

According to claim 7, the sensor comprises a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and sends a signal of continuity between the electrodes or a failure of continuity to the centralized controller, and the centralized controller controls the cleaning tube. The feature is that the presence or absence of blockage is displayed on the monitor and a warning sound such as a buzzer is emitted.

[0023]

When the discharge pipe or the suction pipe is clogged while the object to be cleaned is being washed, the sensor detects it and gives a visual and / or auditory warning.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrating the first reaction, the same parts as those in the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 20 is attached to at least one suction tube 2a of the washing tube 2 to be inserted into the test tube 1. As shown in FIG. 2, this sensor 20 is the simplest to connect the electrodes 21, 22 made of a pair of conductive wires or metal pieces to the suction tube 2.
Although the seal 23 is inserted into the inside of a, an optical sensor or other appropriate sensor may be used.

A sensor 2 comprising a pair of electrodes 21, 22
When the liquid is flowing through the suction tube 2a, 0 can be electrically connected to each other to generate an ON signal, and when the liquid is no longer flowing, the conductivity is poor and an OFF signal can be generated. That is, this is because the reacted waste liquid and the cleaning liquid flowing through the suction pipe 2a contain ions and are therefore electrically conductive.

The sensors 20 can be freely attached to the suction pipe 2a and the discharge pipe 2b, respectively, but if one is closed, the liquid will not flow even if the other is not closed, so the sensors 20 are attached to both. Things go to waste. However, it is effective to eliminate the time lag by detecting the blockage first, or to prevent the cleaning liquid from overflowing into the test tube 1.

The sensor 20 of each washing tube 2 inserted into each test tube 1 is connected to a centralized controller 26 via wirings 24 and 25, and detects a signal sent via each wiring 24 and 25. All test tubes 1 displayed on the monitor 27
In the arrangement diagram 29, the fact that the specific washing pipe 2 is closed is displayed in a blinking manner, and a warning is given by the buzzer 28 or the like so that the observer can be visually and audibly heard.

In the layout drawing 29 displayed on the monitor 27, the positions of all the cleaning pipes 2 are displayed by circles and the like, and the insides of the circles are made to blink, and in this layout drawing 29, blockages are shown. The cleaning pipe 2 of the specified portion can be confirmed at a glance. Further, instead of the monitor display, simply, a power source and a lamp are connected in series to the respective wirings 24 and 25, and the respective lamps are arranged on the panel in the same manner as the arrangement of the respective test tubes 1, and one cleaning tube 2 When the lamp goes out, a buzzer or the like may be activated at the same time so that the sight and hearing of the observer can be appealed.

The suction pipe 2a of the cleaning pipe 2 is connected to a suction pump 10 via a pipe 9, and the discharge pipe 2b is connected to a discharge pump 12 via a pipe 11, and the discharge pump 12 is connected to a pipe 13. The cleaning liquid is stored in the tank 14 as in the conventional example as described above.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. For example, in enzyme immunoassay, after injecting a reaction liquid such as a predetermined chemical liquid into a tray or a test tube containing a sample or the like, B /
In order to cleanse the inside of the test tubes and the like in order to perform the F separation and remove the reacted waste liquid remaining in the test tubes and the like, a large number of the test tubes and the like are simultaneously housed in the cleaning device 8 and each test is conducted. After the cleaning pipe 2 is inserted into the pipe or the like and operated, the suction device 10 and the discharge device 12 are respectively operated.

Therefore, if one or more of the suction pipes 2a or the discharge pipes 2b are closed, the suction pipes 2a in FIG.
Since the reacted waste liquid 3 or the cleaning liquid will not be conducted inside,
Since a poor electrical connection occurs between the electrodes 21 and 22, the sensor 2
0 sends an OFF signal to the centralized controller 26, and the centralized controller 26 displays the specific portion on the display device 27,
At the same time, the buzzer 28 is activated to notify the observer. As a result, the supervisor can replace the blocked cleaning pipe 2 with a new one and continue the cleaning work after interrupting the cleaning work.

Thus, if a specific suction tube 2a or discharge tube 2b is blocked during cleaning of each test tube 1 by the cleaning tube 2, this is immediately displayed or a warning is issued to notify the solid state of all test tubes 1. The desired examination for the phase antibody 4a can be completed completely.

In the above embodiments, cleaning in the medical field was taken as an example, but it is clear that the present invention can be applied to cleaning bottles, containers such as tubes and trays, or liquid dispensing work in fields other than medical field. Is.

[0034]

According to the present invention described above, when the suction pipe or the discharge pipe is clogged and clogged during cleaning, the sensor detects it and gives a visual or auditory warning.
The cleaning can be completed, and therefore, the visual confirmation work by the monitoring staff can be omitted, and the efficiency of the cleaning work can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a cleaning device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the cleaning pipe.

3 (A), (B), and (C) are explanatory views of a B / F separation method.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional cleaning device.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view of a conventional cleaning device.

6 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Test tube 2 ... Washing tube 2a ... Suction tube 2b ... Discharge tube 3 ... Reacted waste liquid or washing solution 4a ... Immobilized antibody 4b ... Enzyme-labeled antibody 5 ... Specific antigen 6, 7 ... Non-specific antigen 8 ... Washing device 9 , 11, 13 ... Piping 10 ... Suction pump 12 ... Discharge pump 14 ... Washing liquid tank 15 ... First reaction product 16 ... Second reaction product 17 ... Enzyme substrate liquid 20 ... Sensor 21, 22 ... Electrode 23 ... Seal 24, 25 ... Wiring 26 ... Centralized controller 27 ... Monitor 28 ... Buzzer 29 ... Test tube layout

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning apparatus for inserting a cleaning pipe comprising a discharge pipe for discharging a fluid such as a cleaning liquid and a suction pipe for sucking the fluid into the object to be cleaned to clean the inside, the discharge pipe and the suction pipe. A cleaning device, characterized in that a sensor for detecting the flow of the fluid is provided on either or both of them. 2. A cleaning device for cleaning the inside by inserting a cleaning pipe comprising a discharge pipe for discharging a fluid such as a cleaning liquid and a suction pipe for sucking the fluid into each of a plurality of objects to be cleaned, And / or suction tube,
A cleaning device provided with a sensor for detecting the flow of the fluid. 3. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is composed of a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and the lamp is turned on and off through a wire connected to the electrodes. 4. The sensor comprises a pair of electrodes inserted through the suction tube, and sends a signal of continuity between the electrodes or a failure of continuity to a centralized controller, and the centralized controller monitors whether or not the cleaning tube is blocked. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is displayed. 5. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is composed of a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and a warning sound such as a buzzer is emitted through a wire connected to the electrodes. 6. The sensor comprises a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and causes a lamp to blink through a wire connected to the electrodes and emits a warning sound such as a buzzer. 2. The cleaning device according to 2. 7. The sensor comprises a pair of electrodes inserted into the suction tube, and sends a signal of continuity or a failure of continuity between the electrodes to a centralized controller, and the centralized controller monitors whether or not the cleaning tube is blocked. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is caused to display a warning sound such as a buzzer.