JPS58196461A - Agitation of sample liquid for chemical analysis - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the production cost with a smaller size while simplifying the equipment as a whole by agitating a sample and a dilution liquid with a nozzle for sucking or discharging a liquid sample to enable effective within a short time while eliminating the need for any separate agitator. CONSTITUTION:A waste liquid pump 20 is driven in the direction of the arrow at the time t5 to discharge a sample liquid 24 ended in the measurement to a waste liquid vessel 23 from a waste liquid nozzle 22. A nozzle 3 moves to the agitation and cleaning position (b) after injects the sample liquid 24 to a measuring vessel 6. Synchronizing the end of the movement, valves 17 and 19 are opened or closed alternately at the times t7 and t8 while a piston 18a is driven vertically to discharge a dilution liquid 15 into an agitation vessel 5 from the nozzle 3. With the discharge of the dilution liquid 15, the inside of the nozzle 3 is cleaned and the outer wall of the nozzle 3 and the inside of the agitation vessel 5 with that 15 stored in the agitation vessel 5. After a fixed frequency of the cleaning, at the time t9, the waste liquid pump 20 is driven to discharge the liquid into the waste liquid vessel 23 through a waste liquid nozzle 21. The nozzle 3 being cleaned is carried to the sample sucking position (a) in preparation of the subsequent suction of the sample.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a method of stirring a test solution for chemical analysis.

Conventionally, in chemical analyzers, chemical analysis measurements have been carried out by storing a liquid sample to be analyzed in a container, sucking a small amount of this liquid sample into a nozzle, moving the nozzle, and discharging it together with a diluent into a measurement container. be. However, in the case of a highly concentrated sample, a sample with a slow reaction, or a small amount of sample, mixing may be incomplete with only the jetting force ejected from the nozzle tip, and accurate measurement values may not be obtained. At this time, a stirring mechanism is generally used to sufficiently mix the sample and the diluent so that correct measured values can be obtained. The method of stirring the test solution used in conventional chemical analyzers is as follows:
A stirring bar can be attached to the motor by rotating it inside the measuring container, a magnetic stirrer can be placed in the measuring container and the stirring bar can be rotated by magnetic force from the bottom of the container, and air can be pumped into the measuring container to cause bubbles to rise in the liquid. Various methods are used depending on the purpose, such as a method of stirring by stirring, a method of stirring by vibrating or rotating the measuring container itself, etc. For example, in the example disclosed in JP-A-53-111786, a stirring rod is used as the stirring mechanism.

However, the method using a stirring bowl requires a device for rotating the stirring bale, a device for moving the stirring bale up and down, a device for moving the stirring bale from the stirring position to the cleaning position, etc., making the entire device complicated and large, resulting in high manufacturing costs. There are drawbacks. In addition, in the method using a magnetic stirrer, a function for rotating the magnetic field must be always installed on the bottom surface of the measurement container, and care must be taken when inserting and cleaning the stirrer, which has the disadvantage of making the process troublesome. Furthermore, with the method of pumping air into the test liquid in the measurement container, depending on the way the air is discharged, small air bubbles may be mixed into the test liquid, adversely affecting the measured value, and it is difficult to stir sufficiently in a short time. There is. Furthermore, the method of rotating or rocking the measuring container itself also has the disadvantage that it is not possible to achieve a very large stirring effect.

In any case, the above-mentioned conventional stirring method has the drawback that the stirring effect is not sufficient, and therefore the time required for stirring is long, which inevitably results in a long analysis time, resulting in low analysis efficiency. Particularly in an analyzer that measures ion concentration, stirring the test solution in the measurement container (8) has the disadvantage that the analysis efficiency is significantly reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for stirring a test solution for chemical analysis, which can stir a test solution consisting of a sample and at least a diluent in a short time, thereby improving analysis efficiency. be.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for stirring a test liquid for chemical analysis very effectively using a simple mechanism.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a stirring method that can achieve sufficient stirring by performing stirring in a container exclusively for stirring, and can improve analysis efficiency by performing stirring and measurement at the same time. It is.

In the present invention, a liquid sample is dispensed into a container together with at least a diluent to create a test liquid, and this test liquid is stirred before being measured according to the test item in the next process by aspirating and discharging the liquid sample. The method is characterized in that the test liquid in the container is sucked in, discharged, and stirred by a nozzle (4).

Furthermore, the present invention prepares a test solution by mixing a liquid sample with at least a diluent, and when stirring this test solution before performing a measurement according to a test item, the liquid sample and at least the diluent are stirred. This method is characterized by dispensing the test liquid into a special container, stirring it, and dispensing the stirred test liquid into a measurement container.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In order to simplify the explanation, the same parts are given the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an analyzer that implements an example of the method of stirring a test liquid for chemical analysis according to the present invention. Using a turntable, an endless chain, or the like, the sample containers 2 containing the liquid sample 1 are sequentially positioned at the sample suction position a and transported. A nozzle transfer mechanism 4 is provided that reciprocates a nozzle 8 for sucking and discharging a liquid sample 1 through a sample suction position a, a stirring and cleaning position b, and a measurement position 0. A stirring-only container 5 having an inverted conical bottom is placed at the stirring cleaning position, and a measuring container 6 is placed at the measuring position C. This measurement container 6 is rotated by a motor 7. This measurement container 6
There is an ion selection electrode 8a inside.

A reference electrode 8b is inserted, and these electrodes are connected to a signal processing circuit 9 and a display device 10. Further, a correction liquid dispensing nozzle 11 is placed facing the measurement container 6, so that the correction liquid 12 contained in the correction liquid container 18 can be dispensed into the measurement container 6 by the pump 14. A diluent container 16 containing a diluent 15 is connected to a syringe 18 via a valve 1f, and this syringe is connected to a nozzle 8 via a valve 19. The piston 18a of the syringe 18 is moved up and down in the directions of both arrows by a suitable drive mechanism. Waste liquid pump 20 is a ladder pump,
By interposing the waste liquid nozzle 21 arranged in the stirring container 5 and the waste liquid nozzle 22 arranged in the measuring container 6 and the waste liquid container 28, and rotating them in the direction of the arrow, the stirring container 5 and the measuring container 6 into the waste liquid container 28.
can be discharged. A three-way valve 25 is inserted between the squeezing pump 20 and the waste liquid nozzle 21.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this example will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First trout time t. At this point, the valve 17 is opened, and the piston 18a of the syringe 18 is lowered in the downward direction of the double arrow to draw a fixed amount of the diluent 15 into the upper part of the syringe 18. The nozzle 8 is at the sample suction position a, and the nozzle 8 is inserted into the liquid sample 1 contained in the sample container 2 which is stopped at the sample suction position a. Next, at time t0, the valve 19 is opened and the piston 18a is moved. It is further lowered and a set amount of the liquid sample 1 is sucked into the nozzle 8. Next, the nozzle 8 is moved upward and then transferred to the agitation cleaning position. Time t
At , the piston 18a rises and injects the liquid sample 1 in the nozzle 8 and 1 ft of the above-described diluted liquid stored in the syringe 18 into the stirring container 5. At this time, the pulp 17 is kept closed. Next, by moving the piston 18a up and down a certain number of times, the nozzle 8 repeatedly sucks and discharges the test liquid 24 in the agitation cleaning container, and the test liquid 24 is sufficiently stirred in a short period of time. be able to. After stirring a certain number of times, the piston 18a descends and sucks a predetermined amount of the test liquid 24 into the nozzle 8. Next, the nozzle 8 is raised and further transferred to the measurement position C. At time t8, the piston 18a rises and injects the test liquid 24 sucked into the nozzle 8 into the upper part of the measurement container 6.

After the injection is completed, the valve 19 is closed, and the motor 7 is constantly rotating to rotate the measuring container 6. This is effective for stirring the test liquid in the measurement container 6 in a short time and also for stirring the cleaning with the correction liquid 12, which will be described later, but is not always necessary. The test liquid 24 injected into the measurement container 6 is measured by the ion selection electrode 8a and the reference electrode 8b at time t, and the measured value is displayed on the display device 10 via the signal processing circuit 9. Next, at time t, the waste liquid pump 20 is pushed in the direction of the arrow, and the test liquid 24 that has been measured is discharged from the waste liquid nozzle 22 into the waste liquid container 28.

After the nozzle 8 injects the test liquid 24 into the measurement container 6, it moves to the agitation cleaning position. In synchronization with the end of this movement, the valves 17.19 are alternately opened and closed at times t and t8, and at the same time the piston 18a is moved up and down, and the diluent 15 is discharged into the stirring container 5 from the nozzle/l/8. The inside of the nozzle 8 is cleaned by discharging this diluted liquid 15, and the outer wall of the nozzle 8 and the inside of the stirring vessel 5 are cleaned by the diluted liquid 16 stored in the stirring vessel 5. After a certain number of cleanings, time t
, the waste liquid pump 20 is driven and the waste liquid is discharged from the waste liquid nozzle 21 into the waste liquid container 28. The cleaned nozzle 8 is further conveyed to the sample suction position iia, and is prepared for suctioning the next sample.

In this example, the correction liquid can be measured while the test liquid 24 is being stirred. That is, at time t0°, the pump 14 is driven, the correction liquid 12 is injected into the measurement container 6 through the correction liquid nozzle 11, and the measurement container 6 and the electrodes 8a, 8. The part in contact with the test liquid 24 of the sand is filled with the correction liquid 1z, and then at time t0□, the waste liquid pump 20 is operated to open the waste liquid nozzle 2.
2 into a waste liquid container 28. By repeating this a certain number of times, the measurement container 6 and the electrodes 8a, 8b are cleaned.

As mentioned above, since the motor 7 constantly rotates the measuring container 6, the cleaning of the electrodes 8a, 8b and the measuring container 6 with the correction liquid 12 is also carried out effectively and quickly.

After cleaning is completed, the pump 14 is driven at time t□,
A new correction liquid 12 is injected into the measurement container 6, and the correction liquid 12 is measured by the electrodes 8a l 8b at time t18. The signal processing circuit 9 subtracts the measured value of the correction liquid 12 from the previously measured measured value of the test liquid 24, and the corrected measured value of the liquid sample 1 is displayed on the display device 10. During cleaning and measurement with this correction liquid, the valve 25 is switched to the atmosphere side so that the test liquid in the stirring container 5 is not discharged.

As mentioned above, the sample liquid and diluent are stirred by sucking and discharging them with the dispensing nozzle, so stirring can be done effectively in a very short time, and the stirring is done in a separate container from the measurement container. Since the test liquid is stirred and the correction liquid is measured at the same time, the analysis efficiency is extremely high.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an analyzer implementing another example of the stirring method of the present invention. In this example, the stirring container 5 shown in FIG. 1 is omitted, and the measuring container 6 also serves as the stirring container 5. The stirring of the test liquid 24 is the same as the method of stirring the test liquid by sucking and discharging the nozzle 8 in the stirring container 5, and in this example as well, the sample and diluent can be effectively stirred in a short time.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an analyzer implementing still another example of the stirring method of the present invention. In this example, the test liquid 24 shown in FIG. 1 is stirred by rotating the stirring rod 81 in the stirring container 5 instead of by sucking and discharging the test liquid 24 by the nozzle 8. That is, the stirring rod 81 is pivotally attached to the gear 32, and the gear 38 that meshes with the gear 82 is pivotally attached to the drive shaft of the motor 84.

In synchronization with the nozzle 8 discharging a mixture of the liquid sample 1 and the diluent 15 into the stirring container 5, the motor 84 is driven to rotate the stirring rod 31 via the gears 38 and 82 to stir the test liquid 24. can do. In this example, since a container exclusively for stirring is provided, stirring, cleaning with a correction liquid, and measurement can be performed almost simultaneously, improving analytical efficiency. Further, since stirring is performed in a container exclusively for stirring, stirring can be performed effectively in a short period of time.

(11) As described above, the method of stirring a test liquid for chemical analysis of the present invention allows for effective stirring in a short time by stirring the sample and diluent with a nozzle that sucks and discharges the liquid sample, and further allows Since there is no need to provide a stirring device, the entire device becomes simpler and smaller, which has the effect of reducing manufacturing costs. Furthermore, when a container exclusively for stirring is provided, measurement can be performed simultaneously with the stirring operation, which has the effect of shortening the analysis time.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, and can be modified and modified in many ways. For example, in the above example, the ion concentration of the test solution was measured, but other measurements are of course possible. Further, in the example described above, the measurement container was rotated by a motor, but this is not always necessary. Further, in the above example, one waste liquid pump is used to drain liquid from the stirring vessel and the measuring vessel, but separate waste liquid pumps may be used for each.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an analyzer implementing the method (12) of stirring a test solution for chemical analysis of the present invention. Figure 2 is a time chart for explaining the operation. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an analyzer implementing another example of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an analyzer implementing still another example of the present invention. It is a line diagram. 1...Liquid sample 2...Sample container 8...
Nozzle 4... Nozzle transfer device 5... Stirring container 6... Measuring container 71... Motor sa, sb... Electrode for ion measurement

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Liquid sample? A test solution is created by dispensing it into a container together with at least a diluent, and when stirring this test solution before performing measurements according to the test items in the next step, a nozzle that aspirates and discharges the liquid sample is placed in the container. Aspirate the test solution of
A method for stirring a test liquid for chemical analysis, characterized by discharging and stirring. A test solution is prepared by mixing a liquid sample with at least a diluent, and when stirring this test solution before making measurements according to the test items, the liquid sample and at least the diluent are placed in a container exclusively for stirring. A method for stirring a test solution for chemical analysis, which is characterized by dispensing, stirring, and dispensing the stirred test solution into a measurement container.