JPS6315818Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a reagent tank for storing a reagent to be dispensed by a suction nozzle in an automatic analyzer such as a blood analyzer.

Conventionally, such reagent tanks are often made of materials such as glass or plastic.The reagents contained in such reagent tanks are collected by lowering a suction nozzle and letting the tip of the suction nozzle enter the reagent. However, it is convenient for use to aspirate the reagent in the tank so that there is as little residue as possible. However, in a tank with a substantially flat bottom, the smaller the remaining amount, the more precision is required for the stop position when lowering the tip of the suction nozzle. Therefore, a highly accurate drive mechanism for the suction nozzle is required, which has the disadvantage of being expensive. In order to eliminate such defects, the bottom part is
Alternatively, a dispensing device has been devised in which a U-shaped recess is formed and a suction nozzle is lowered toward the bottom of the recess. However, with such a dispensing device,
It is necessary to position the axis of the suction nozzle at the bottom of the recess, which also has the disadvantage of requiring a precise mechanism.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate these conventional drawbacks, to provide a reagent tank that does not require high precision in the lowering mechanism and positioning mechanism of the suction nozzle, and that can aspirate reagent with almost no residue. It is something to do.

The reagent tank of the present invention is characterized by having a bottom made of a stretchable material that can be deformed downward into a convex shape when pressed by the suction nozzle or a part integrated therewith.

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a dispensing device using an embodiment of a reagent tank according to the present invention. Suction nozzle 1
is connected to a syringe 3 via a flexible tube 2. The suction nozzle 1 is pivotally attached to one end of a rotating arm 4, and the arm 4 rotates about an axis 5 as shown in the drawings. The arm 4 occupies a suction position shown by a solid line and a discharge position shown by a phantom line. In the suction position, the suction nozzle 1 enters into the reagent tank 6, and the nozzle tip pushes down the bottom 6a of the reagent tank 6, making the bottom 6a into a concave shape. make a dent in it. In this way, the reagent is collected in the recess and sucked by the suction nozzle 1, so that almost every last drop of the reagent can be sucked, and the remaining amount can be minimized.

Next, the plunger of the syringe 3 is pulled out and a predetermined amount of reagent is sucked into the suction nozzle 1. Next, the arm 4 is rotated by a predetermined angle around the shaft 5 to position the suction nozzle 1 above the cuvette 7 as shown by the imaginary line, and then the plunger of the syringe 3 is pushed in and the aspirated reagent is transferred to the cuvette 7. Exhale inside. By repeating the above-described operations, predetermined amounts of reagents can be dispensed into successive cuvettes.

As described above, in the reagent tank 6 of the present invention, the bottom 6a is elastic, so that the bottom 6a becomes concave when the suction nozzle 1 is inserted, and the reagent collects in the concave. Therefore, the reagent can be aspirated with almost no residue left. In this case, there is an extremely large degree of freedom in the amount of descent of the suction nozzle 1 and the position of the nozzle axis relative to the bottom 6a, and even if there is a considerable deviation, the bottom 6a will deform into a desired concave shape. Therefore, the drive mechanism for the suction nozzle or the positioning mechanism for the reagent tank in some cases does not need to be highly accurate, and sequence control regarding the operation of these mechanisms is also simplified.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the reagent tank 6 is integrated and its bottom part 6a is extendable, but in other examples of the reagent tank of the present invention, the bottom part can be made and assembled separately from the other parts. You can also do it.

FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrams showing the structure of an example of such a reagent tank. In this example, the bottom part 8a is made of a stretchable material, a flange 8b is formed around it, and a groove 8c is formed in this flange. Further, an opening 8e is formed above the main body 8d made of a hard material, and an enlarged edge 8f is formed on the lower surface, which is elastically fitted into the groove 8c. As shown in FIG. 3, when the suction nozzle 1 is lowered and pressed against the bottom 8a, the bottom 8a
deforms into a concave shape, and the reagent collects in the concave area. In this way, attach the tip of the suction nozzle 1 to the bottom 8a.
If there is a risk that the opening of the nozzle may be blocked due to pressing against the suction nozzle and suction cannot be performed well, a notch 1a may be formed in the side wall of the tip of the suction nozzle 1 as shown in FIG. Moreover, instead of pushing down the bottom part 8a by the tip of the suction nozzle 1, a member that moves up and down together with the suction nozzle is provided so as to slightly protrude downward from the nozzle tip.
It can also be brought into contact with a.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a reagent dispensing device using an example of a reagent tank according to the present invention, FIG.
4 are a sectional view and an exploded perspective view showing the structure of another example of the reagent tank of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the structure of a suction nozzle suitable for use with the reagent tank of the present invention. 1... Suction nozzle, 3... Syringe, 4... Arm, 6... Reagent tank, 6a... Bottom, 8a...
...bottom, 8d...main body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A reagent tank containing reagents to be dispensed by the suction nozzle of an automatic analyzer, made of a stretchable material that can be deformed downward into a convex shape when pressed by the suction nozzle or an integral part thereof. A reagent tank comprising a bottom.