JPS58124952A - Washing device of reaction tube on automatic chemical analyzing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out washing and drying sufficiently without restriction of stopping of a reaction tube, by interlocking a washing nozzle sychronizing with the reaction tube and carrying out the washing and drying at each stop position of the reaction tube. CONSTITUTION:When a reaction tube 1 is moved intermittently along a driving member 2 and a washing nozzle 8 is moved synchronously with the tube 1 along a guide 9, the tube 1 is turned round and stands upside down and a wiper 13 of the nozzle 8 is inserted into the tube 1. When the tube 1 is stopped, a nozzle stand 11 is semi-fixed on the guide 9 and washing water is jetted in the tube 1 through the wiper 13 and the inner part of the tube 1 is washed. hereafter, the nozzle 8 is driven along the guide 9 inserting into the tube 1 as it is by moving the tube 1 and said nozzle is stopped at the next stop position and washed by jetting the washing water again. next, drying of the inner part of the tube 1 is carried out by suction of a waste liquid and jetting of compressed air at the stop position of the tube 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention belongs to the field of medical equipment for diagnosis, and relates to a cleaning device for a reaction tube in an automatic chemical analyzer.

[Technical background of the invention]

In an automatic chemical analyzer, a reaction tube is installed in the drive line that circulates intermittently, samples and reagents are dispensed into the reaction tube, and then measured in the measurement section, and the reaction tubes are sequentially washed after measurement. .

Drying prevents the next measurement from being affected by the reaction solution used in the previous measurement. By the way, an example of a reaction tube cleaning device for cleaning reaction tubes that are circulated intermittently is shown in FIG. 1, for example. That is, the reaction tube 1, which is attached to a drive member 2 such as an endless chain and moves with the opening 1α directed upward along the arrow X direction shown in the figure, is reversed in the middle of the drive yarn path, stands upside down, and remains at the opening 1α. move downward. A washing water discharge nozzle 3. is fixed to a support base 6 which can be raised and lowered at an appropriate position where the reaction tube moves with its opening facing downward. A wiper 4 and a blow nozzle 5 are arranged. In the above-mentioned cleaning device, first the cleaning water discharge nozzle 6 is inserted into the inverted reaction tube 1 to spray cleaning water, then the remaining water is wiped off by the action of the wiper 4, and finally the hot air is blown by the blower nozzle 5. [Problems in the background art] The movement step time (also called stop time) of the reaction tube 1, which moves intermittently, is determined by the time required for measurement in the measuring section. Conventionally, the time required to measure a sea sample was 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, etc. Therefore, the cleaning water discharge nozzle 3, for example, was inserted into the reaction tube 1 with a margin within the above-mentioned movement step time, the cleaning water was sprayed, and then the cleaning water discharge nozzle 6 was removed from the reaction tube 1. However, as automatic chemical analyzers have become faster in recent years, if the step time for moving the reaction tube 1 becomes, for example, 15 seconds or less, the following disadvantages will occur.

That is, if you try to insert the cleaning water discharge nozzle 3, discharge the cleaning water, and then remove it within that time, there is a limit to how much time it takes to insert and remove the cleaning water discharge nozzle 3. In the end, it is necessary to shorten the time it takes to discharge the cleaning water. Therefore.

If the moving step time is 15 seconds or less, sufficient cleaning cannot be performed. The above disadvantages are wiper 4. The same problem occurs with the blower nozzle 5, and until now there has been no reaction tube cleaning device that can adapt to the increased speed of automatic chemical analyzers without impairing the cleaning effect.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a reaction tube cleaning device that can be adapted to high-speed automatic chemical analyzers and that can provide cleaning and drying effects equivalent to or better than conventional ones. It is something.

[Summary of the invention]

The outline of the present invention for achieving the above object includes: a cleaning line provided along a part of a circulation path of reaction tubes that circulate and move intermittently; and an installation interval on a drive system of the reaction tubes. A plurality of cleaning members are provided at equal intervals, and a cleaning means moves along the cleaning line in synchronization with the movement of the reaction tube, and the inside of the reaction tube is cleaned by the cleaning means interlocked with the reaction tube. It is characterized by this.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 4. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the arrangement relationship between the reaction tube line and the reaction tube cleaning device. In FIG. 2, the reaction tube 1 is attached to the drive member 2 and moves in the direction of the arrow Y shown in the figure with the opening 1α facing upward, and is reversed in the middle of the driving yarn path to stand upside down and move with the opening 1α facing downward. After that,
Invert again to complete the cycle. 7 is a cleaning line, and a cleaning nozzle 8 whose details will be described later is connected to a guide 9.
KG is moved in the direction of arrow Z in the figure in synchronization with the reaction tube 1 by a drive device (not shown), and the cleaning nozzle 8 is moved into the reaction tube 1 at a position where the reaction tube 1 is inverted and the opening 1α is directed downward. The cleaning nozzle 8 is inserted into the reaction tube 1 and moved therethrough.The cleaning nozzle 8 is inserted into the reaction tube 1 and moved therefrom. located at the location. Next, the cleaning nozzle 8 and fixture 10 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6. Is Figure 3 the guide mentioned above? FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction intersecting two directions of arrows shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view thereof. In FIGS. 6 and 4, the cleaning nozzle 8 is attached to a nozzle stand 1 which is slidably extended in an endless manner along the guide 9.
1, a nozzle 12 fixed to the nozzle stand 11, and a flexible material such as a glass resin foam, which is fixed as appropriate so as to cover the tip and the peripheral side of the nozzle 12. It has a wiper 16 consisting of. The nozzles 12 are attached to the nozzle stand 11 with the same spacing as the reaction tubes 1 attached to the drive member 2 shown in FIG. A cleaning nozzle 8 is formed by providing a hole to be inserted through the nozzle 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle stand 11 has a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape, for example, with notches cut out at a predetermined angle at both corners of the upper part of a rectangular parallelepiped, and the nozzle stand 11 can be used as a sliding object. The guide 9 has a wedge-shaped cross section along the slope of the notch of the nozzle stand 11 in its sliding part, and the nozzle stand 11 is housed in the sliding part with a slight gap. .

Further, a thin walled portion as shown in section A in the figure is provided in the wedge-shaped portion of the guide 9 on the side where the fixture 10 is disposed. Furthermore, a hole 9α is provided so as to pass through the sliding surface of the guide 9 that contacts the bottom surface of the nozzle stand 11 and the side surface of the side not having the fixture 10, so that the cleaning nozzle 8 which is interlocked with the reaction tube 1 in FIG. At each position where the cleaning nozzle 8 stops, the hole of the cleaning nozzle 8 and the hole 9α provided in the guide 9 are made to coincide with each other. Further, a pipe 14 is connected to each hole 9α on the side surface of the guide, and a pump or compressor for supplying cleaning water or compressed air is connected to the other end of the pipe 14, although not shown. There is. The fixture 10 is
An n1 solenoid 10α is arranged on the side of the guide 9 having the thin wall portion with a gap provided in the longitudinal direction of the guide 9.
The operation of the guide 9 presses the side surface of the guide 9. In addition, 15 in FIG. 6 is an O-ring, which is provided on the outer periphery of the hole 9α on the surface of the guide 9 that is in contact with the bottom surface of the nozzle stand 11, so that the hole 9α of the guide 2 and the hole of the nozzle stand 11 are aligned. This prevents liquid leakage when supplying cleaning water.

The operation of the apparatus constructed as described above will be explained.The reaction tube 1 overflows the drive member 2 and moves intermittently in the direction of the arrow Y in the figure, and the cleaning nozzle 8 is activated by the guide 9. When the reaction tube 1 is moved in synchronization with the reaction tube 1, the reaction tube 1, which is moving with the opening 1α facing upward, is reversed and inverted, and the opening 1
The wiper 1 of the cleaning nozzle 8 is in the position where α is directed downward.
3 is inserted into the reaction tube 1. At this time, since the wiper 13 is made of a flexible material such as plastic resin foam, it can be inserted into the reaction tube 1 smoothly. After the cleaning nozzle 8 is inserted into the reaction tube 1 and the reaction tube 1 is stopped, the solenoid 10α is activated and the fixture 10 presses the side surface of the guide 9. At this time, the side surface of the guide 9 being pressed moves in the direction of the arrow B in the figure using the thin walled part shown at At'J as a fulcrum, and the wedge-shaped part of the guide 9 is attached to the slope of the trapezoidal notch of the nozzle stand 11. are in close contact with each other to semi-fix the nozzle stand 11 to the guide 9. Furthermore, at this time, the hole 9α on the surface of the guide 9 that is in contact with the bottom surface of the nozzle stand 11 matches the hole in the nozzle stand 11. Thereafter, a pump (not shown) is activated to guide cleaning water to the pipe 14, and further to the nozzle stand 11 through the hole 9α of the guide 9. Nozzle 12. Wiper 13f: Discharged into the reaction tube 1 through the wiper 13f to clean the inside of the reaction tube 1.

Discharge of the cleaning water is finished within the stop time of the reaction tube 1, the operation of the solenoid 10α is released, the fixture 10 is pulled away from the side of the guide 9, and the semi-fixation of the nozzle stand 11 is released.

After that, when the reaction tube 1 moves, the cleaning nozzle 8 cleans the reaction tube 1.
While inserted in the guide 9, it is driven in synchronization with the reaction tube 1, stops at the next stop position of the reaction tube 1, and is again pressed against the fixture 10 by the operation of the solenoid 10α to be semi-fixed. . Further, the hole through which the cleaning nozzle 8 is inserted coincides with the second hole of the guide 9 connected to the pipe 14. At this point, the cleaning water can be discharged again to compensate for the cleaning that could not be done sufficiently at the previous stop position. The interior of the reaction tube 1 can be sufficiently cleaned by performing the above operations at the positions where the reaction tube 1 is stopped one after another. Next, after the inside of the reaction tube 1 has been sufficiently washed, the inside of the reaction tube 1 is dried at the stop position of the reaction tube 1. The interior of the reaction tube 1 is dried by suctioning the waste liquid and blowing out compressed air.

Suction of the waste liquid is performed by, for example, cleaning water that is discharged into the reaction tube 1 and sucked by the wiper 13 by gravity and becomes waste liquid.
The waste liquid may be guided to a waste liquid storage section (not shown), or a suction means may be connected to the pipe 14 connected to the guide 9 to suck the waste liquid through the cleaning nozzle 8. When suctioning through the cleaning nozzle 8, the pipe 14 connected to the suction means is connected to the guide 9 at a stop position between the stop positions of the reaction tube 1 that discharges cleaning water to the anti-ZW1, and the discharge , suction may be repeated in this order.

After suctioning a certain amount of waste liquid, at the next stop position of the reaction tube 1, a compressor supplying compressed air is connected to the pipe connected to the guide 9, and compressed air is jetted out through the cleaning nozzle 8 to clean the reaction tube. Dry the inside of 1. On this occasion,
It is also possible to enhance the drying effect inside the reaction tube 1 by blowing out hot air. As described above, the cleaning nozzle 8 inserted into the reaction tube 1 moves in synchronization with the reaction tube 1, and after cleaning and drying is performed at each stop position of the reaction tube 1, it moves along the guide 9. The liquid is removed from the reaction tube 1, and all steps in the cleaning apparatus are completed. In addition, since the eight cleaning nozzles are attached to the nozzle stand 11 at equal intervals to the attachment intervals of the reaction tubes 1 attached to the drive member 2, the reaction tubes 1 that move sequentially
As explained above, the cleaning nozzle 8 is inserted into the reaction tube 1 and moves in synchronization with the reaction tube 1 to perform the reaction. Since cleaning and drying can be performed at each stop position of the tube 1, as automatic chemical analyzers become faster, the measurement time in the measuring section is shortened, and the stop time of the reaction tube 1 becomes, for example, 15 seconds or less. However, washing and drying can be performed separately at each stop position, and as a result, there is no restriction on the stopping time of the reaction tube 1, so the effectiveness of washing and drying is not impaired, but rather the washing and drying can be carried out separately. The cleaning effect can be increased by extending the time required.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. Also, it goes without saying that various methods can be used for washing and drying. In the above embodiment, the reaction tube 1 was inverted during cleaning, and the cleaning device was installed in a position with the opening 1α facing downward. It may also be a mobile automated chemical analyzer. In this case, in order to suck the waste liquid, the nozzle 12 of the cleaning nozzle 8 may be made expandable and retractable by driving the drive source so that the inside of the reaction tube 1 is lowered. Moreover, regarding each member in the above example,
Needless to say, it is possible to replace the cleaning nozzle 8 with another member having the same function. For example, semi-fixing the cleaning nozzle 8 at each stop position of the reaction tube 1 is a method of suppressing the fixture 8 with a solenoid. However, the locking device S may be provided on the nozzle stand 11 and the guide 9. Further, since the cleaning line 7 needs to be driven in synchronization with the movement of the reaction tube 1, a part of the cleaning line 7 may be held by the driving member 2 in the reaction line for interlocking movement.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, 1.According to the present invention, the cleaning nozzle synchronizes with the movement of the reaction tube and performs cleaning and drying at each stop position of the reaction tube, without being restricted by the stop time E of the reaction tube. It is possible to provide a reaction tube cleaning device that can perform sufficient cleaning and drying. Therefore, it is possible to adapt to increased speeds of automatic chemical analyzers without impairing the cleaning effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional cleaning device in an automatic chemical analyzer, and FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the arrangement relationship between a reaction line and a reaction tube cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 and 4 are a cross-sectional view and a schematic perspective view taken in a direction intersecting the driving direction of the cleaning line. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Reaction tube, 1α... Opening part, 2... Drive member, filter... Washing water discharge nozzle, 7... Washing line, 8... Washing nozzle, 9... Guide, 9α
... Hole, 10... Fixed A, 10α... Solenoid, 11... Nozzle stand, 12... Nozzle,
16...wiper, 14...pipe, 15...
・0 ring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cleaning line is provided in a part of the circulation system path of the reaction tubes that circulate and move intermittently, and a plurality of cleaning members are provided at equal intervals to the installation intervals on the drive system of the reaction tubes. a cleaning means that moves along the cleaning line in synchronization with the movement of the reaction tube;