JPS63207377A - Apparatus for automatic fractionation and pipetting of medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable supply of a medium to all sections in a divided culture vessel divided into plural sections with partition walls, by providing an apparatus for the automatic pouring of a medium into the vessel with a mechanism to rotate the culture vessel. CONSTITUTION:When a divided culture vessel 50 (e.g. Petri dish) divided into two sections 56, 58 with a partition wall 54 is placed on a prescribed position on a plate 22 of an automatic medium-supplying apparatus 20, the arm 36 of a cover-opening means is rotated and lowered to suck a lid 52 with a suction pad 42 attached to an end of the arm and is returned to the original position to open the lid 52. Thereafter, a rotary means 26 is lowered to insert a pair of rotary pins 32, 32 dangling from both ends of an arm 30 of the means 26 into the vessel 50 and the arm 30 is rotated to a prescribed position. The vessel 50 is set to a prescribed medium-supplying position by this process and a medium is poured into the vessel 50.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically dispensing a medium for culturing tissues or cells of microorganisms or higher organisms into culture containers such as petri dishes, and is particularly applicable to fractionation petri dishes. 9. This invention relates to an apparatus capable of dynamically fractionating and dispensing.

<Prior art> The recent development of biotechnology has been remarkable, and in such technology, it is sometimes necessary to cultivate microorganisms in large quantities. When testing the resistance of specific microorganisms to various chemicals, or screening cells with specific properties from a large amount of cells, the medium for this purpose is dispensed into culture containers such as petri dishes. .

An automatic dispensing device for performing this medium dispensing automatically and systematically is conventionally known, and includes a carrying means for carrying in an empty culture container with a base, and an empty lid positioned at a predetermined location by the carrying means. Lid opening/closing means for removing the lid of the culture container, temporarily holding it in the standby position, and closing the lid again after a certain period of time; It is configured to include a medium dispensing means for dispensing a certain amount of the medium, and a carrying-out means for carrying out the culture container into which the medium has been dispensed.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The automatic medium dispensing device according to the above-mentioned conventional technology generally exhibits satisfactory effects. However, in some types of culture medium dispensing, it is necessary to dispense different culture media into two or more fractionation sections of a fractionation petri dish, and the above-mentioned device is not capable of such fractionation dispensing. There is no way to do it automatically.

Fractionation petri dishes include those with two semicircular fractionation sections set up by one partition wall, those with three fan-shaped division sections set up with a partition wall with a central angle of 120 degrees, and those with four quadrant sections divided into four equal parts. Some products have a fractionation section, but in the past, fractionation and dispensing had to be done manually for each fractionation section, resulting in poor workability and also from the viewpoint of preventing the contamination of bacteria. There was a problem.

<Means and operations for solving the problems> Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel device that can automatically perform fractionation and dispensing of a culture medium.

The present invention, which has been earnestly devised to achieve this object,
A carrying means for carrying in an empty culture container with a base, and a means for removing the lid of an empty culture container with a lid positioned at a predetermined location by the carrying means, temporarily retracting it to a standby position, and closing the lid again after a certain period of time. A lid opening/closing means, a medium dispensing means for dispensing a certain amount of medium from a medium tank into an empty culture container while the lid is retracted to a standby position, and carrying out the culture container into which the medium has been dispensed. In an automatic culture medium dispensing device comprising: a carrying-out means; a fractionated culture vessel having two or more fractionation sections separated by a partition is used as the culture vessel; a lid of the fractionated culture vessel; is evacuated to the standby position by the lid opening/closing means, the fractional culture container is rotated within a predetermined angular range at the predetermined location so that the partition wall of the fractional culture container is always oriented in a generally constant manner. further comprising designed rotation means; and wherein said medium dispensing means dispenses the medium respectively into two or more fractionated sections of said fractionated culture vessel whose septum is oriented in a fixed manner by said rotation means. This is an automatic culture medium fractionation and dispensing device, characterized in that it is configured as two or more culture medium dispensing means.

<Example> A preferred example of the automatic culture medium fractionating and dispensing device according to the present invention will be described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automatic culture medium fractionating and dispensing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a Petri dish cassette 14 that stores a plurality of empty Petri dishes (sterilized) with lids stacked vertically is shown. , are removably fitted into corresponding openings of the rotary plate 16.

The rotary plate 16 has its central axis connected to a drive source (not shown) such as a motor, and is driven to rotate clockwise in the figure. In the illustrated embodiment, the rotary plate 16
11 petri dish cassettes 14 are placed at equal center angles (i.e. 360,711 degrees),
Therefore, the rotary plate 16 rotates 360,711 degrees clockwise at a time, opens and stops as required, and then rotates again by 36 G/11 degrees. These operations will become clearer from what will be described later.

20 is a dispensing section, and a rotary plate 1 is installed below it.
It has a second rotary plate 22 that is rotationally driven in synchronization with the rotary plate 6. The relationship between these first and second rotary plates 16 and 22 will be explained below with reference to FIG. 16, the second rotary plate 22 is provided with five Petri dish mounting positions, and therefore, the intervals between these positions are equally divided by a central angle of 36,075 degrees. That is, the diameters of the first and second rotary plates 16 and 22 are 11:5.

A petri dish cassette 14 that accommodates an empty petri dish 12 with bases is now located at the S position on the first rotary plate 16.
Assuming that there are be placed. Thereafter, the second rotary plate 22 is rotated by the above-mentioned 36015 degrees, and the Petri dish 12 moves to the Q position, stays at the Q position for a predetermined time, and then moves to the R position. This R position corresponds to the position directly below the dispensing section 20, and at this position, the operations of opening the lid, rotating the petri dish, dispensing a fraction of the culture medium, and closing the lid are performed in this order. These operations will be explained in detail later.

The closed petri dish 12 is moved to the S position and then to the T position as the second rotary plate 22 rotates.
At the T position, the petri dish cassette 14 is stored in the lowermost stage of the petri dish cassette 14 at the C position of the first rotary plate 16 by an appropriate lifting means (not shown).

In the above, one petri dish 12 is explained over time, but in reality, it is an operation of dropping and moving one petri dish from the S position of the first rotary plate 16 to the P position of the second rotary plate 18. , and the operation of moving another Petri dish upward from the T position of the second rotary plate 22 to the C position of the first rotary plate 16 are performed simultaneously. Such an operation is performed continuously, and the predetermined number of empty petri dishes 12 that were initially housed in the petri dish cassette 14 at the S position of the first rotary plate 16 are all filled with culture medium and transferred to the petri dish cassette at the C position. After the first rotary plate 16 is rotated clockwise by 36G/11 degrees, the Petri dish cassette at the A position (full of a predetermined number of empty Petri dishes) is moved to the S position. , the same operations as described above are repeated. The petri dishes in the petri dish cassettes at positions C, D, etc. of the first rotary plate 16 are all filled with a predetermined amount of culture medium, and the culture medium filling has been completed for all the petri dishes in the petri dish cassettes. At that time, one cycle process by this device is completed.

Rotary plates 16 and 2 during these operations
The rotational drive of No. 2, the operation of the lowering and raising means for the petri dish, and the operations of opening the lid, rotating the petri dish, dispensing the medium, and opening the lid, which will be described later, are all synchronously controlled by a computer and controlled by the control unit 40 (FIG. 1). It is done by manipulation.

FIG. 3 shows details of the dispensing section 20, and FIG.
A) and (B) are views in the direction of arrows A and B, respectively, in FIG. are doing. The petri dish 12 shown in these FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B) is in the position R in FIG. 2. Reference numeral 26 denotes a petri dish rotating member which constitutes the main feature of the present invention, and includes a shaft 28 pointing toward the center of the petri dish 12 in the R position, a bar 30 connected to the lower end of the shaft 28 and extending in the horizontal direction, A zero rotation shaft 28, consisting of a pair of rotation bins 32, 32 depending from opposite ends of the bar 30, is rotatably and vertically mounted to the frame 34, as will be described below with respect to FIG. Then, it descends from the standby position shown by the solid line to the operating position shown by imaginary a (FIG. 3B), rotates 180 degrees at the operating position, and then rises again to the standby position shown by the solid line. These mechanisms for rotation and elevation may be known, and are shown in simplified form in the drawings. The pair of rotating bins 32, 32 are separated by a distance slightly shorter than the inner diameter of the petri dish 12.

Reference numeral 36 indicates a means for opening and closing the lid of the petri dish, which includes a shaft 38 rotatably and movably attached to the frame 34 in a known manner, a horizontal arm 40 connected to the lower end of the shaft 38, and a shaft 38 near the tip of the horizontal arm. It is composed of a suction pad 42 that hangs down from the suction pad 42 .

This shaft 38 is the shaft 28 of the rotating means 26.
Unlike the RIfla of the rotary plate 22, the axis is offset to the left in FIG. 2 from the center of the petri dish 12 placed on the RIfla of the rotary plate 22. (Fig. 3A) approximately 90 degrees clockwise (Fig. 2) to tighten the suction pad 42!
is moved to the center of the petri dish 12, and then lowered to a position where the suction pad 42 is pressed against the petri dish 12. Thereafter, in the opposite direction, the suction pad 42 is raised and rotated in the direction of the half-hour hand, and returned to the standby position indicated by the solid line. do. These operations are also explained in detail with respect to FIG.

44 and 45 are medium dispensing means, each of which is connected to the medium tank 4.
6.47 and a nozzle 48.4 for dispensing the culture medium into the petri dish 12 whose lid is opened at the R position on the rotary plate.
In the present invention, each culture medium tank 46, 47 contains a different culture medium, and the different culture medium is fractionated and dispensed into the fractionation section of the petri dish 12.

Figure 4 shows the 2nd rf! The parts related to the dispensing section 20 in 1 are shown in plan view, and the operations of the culture container rotating means 26, the lid opening/closing means 36, and the medium fraction dispensing means 44 and 45 will be explained below with reference to FIG. The following is a step-by-step explanation. Note that in FIG. 4, only necessary members are shown for convenience of explanation.

When the empty petri dish 50 comes to its R position as the dispensing rotary plate 22 rotates, the MrM closing means 36 is in the standby position shown in FIG. 4(A).

After the petri dish 50 is properly placed in the R position, the MrM closing means 38 rotates approximately 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow to the imaginary line position, and descends directly below from the imaginary line position. As a result, the suction pad 42 of the M opening/closing means 36 is brought into pressure contact with the central portion 1152 of the petri dish 50, and the interior of the suction pad 42 is generally brought into a vacuum state, thereby suctioning the lid 52.

Next, the opening/closing means 36 is raised directly upwards with the lid 52 adsorbed to the suction pad, and further rotated in the direction of the half-hour hand indicated by the arrow as shown in FIG. return. In this way, the rotating means 26 is omitted in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) where the rM lid of the petri dish is performed, but during the operation up to this point, the rotating means 26 is in the standby position (see FIG. 3). (shown as a solid line).

Next, the rotating means 26 descends from its standby position and the pair of rotating bins 32
．． 32 is moved to a position close to the bottom of the petri dish 50, and then rotated approximately 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4(C). Due to this rotation, the bins 32.32 are separated! ! Since the petri dish mounting surface of the zero-dispensing rotary plate 16 that contacts the petri dish 54 and rotates the petri dish 50 in the same direction is made of a material with a large friction coefficient such as hard urethane rubber, the rotating means 26 rotates approximately 180 degrees. After that, the Petri dish 50 is in a state as shown in Fig.
2.32 and is held on the R position. The petri dish 50 has fractionation sections 56 and 58 that are divided into two semicircles by a partition wall 54, but no matter what direction the partition wall 54 is in when it is transported to the R position, the rotating means 2
During the 180 degree rotation of 6, it receives the rotational biasing force from the bottle 32 32, and is always rotated and maintained in the orientation shown in FIG. 4(D).

In this state, first, the medium fraction dispensing means 44°45
Two types of culture media previously stored in a culture medium tank are injected into the fractionation sections 56 and 58 of the petri dish 50, respectively. This is carried out for a predetermined time at a predetermined injection pressure using nozzles 48 and 49 from the tank 48, 47, so that a predetermined amount of culture medium is dispensed.

After the fraction dispensing is completed and the fraction sections 5B and 58 are filled with different media as shown in FIG. 4(E),
The lid opening/closing means 36 is placed in the standby position while being sucked by the suction pad 42! M52, which had been avoided, is moved onto the Petri dish 50 by the rotation of the means 36 in the direction of the arrow, and then lowered to close the mold as shown by the dotted line.

Thereafter, the suction pad 42 whose lid suction has been released is raised and rotated, and the operation of the lid opening/closing means 36 is completed, and the suction pad 42 returns to its standby position. In this way, the processing on the Petri dish 50 in the dispensing unit 20 is completed, and the rotary plate 22
is moved to the S position by the rotation of , and at the same time from the Q position to the R
Similar processing is performed on another empty petri dish that has been transferred to the location.

The lid of the Petri dish 50 is opened by using the pressure of the suction pad 42 and the resulting internal vacuum state, but in order to ensure this, an air pipe (not shown) is connected to the suction pad 42. It is preferable that the structure is such that when the lid is opened, the air inside the suction pad is reduced through the air pipe to increase the suction force, and when the lid is closed, air is sent into the suction pad from the air pipe to release the suction force. , the interior of the dispensing section 20 is a sterile atmosphere,
It is preferable to take care to prevent bacteria from entering the petri dish when the lid is opened.

The above-mentioned embodiment relates to a device that enables fractionation dispensing into a petri dish divided into two semicircles, but it is also possible to perform fractionation dispensing into a petri dish divided into three parts in an angular range of 120 degrees or a fractionation dish divided into four parts every 90 degrees. Even when fractionating and dispensing into petri dishes, it can be handled with only simple changes. That is, in these cases, the rotating bottle 32°32 is inserted into the petri dish.
Similarly, by rotating by 20 degrees or 90 degrees, the partition wall position of the petri dish can always be oriented in a constant manner. Further, by adding a medium dispensing means according to the number of fractionation sections of the petri dish, it is possible to fractionally dispense a different medium to each fractionation section.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention as described above, the fractionation and dispensing device of the present invention has a simple configuration and is capable of automatically dispensing different culture media into the fractionation sections of a fractionation petri dish. It can be used by being incorporated into a conventional automatic culture medium dispensing device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an automatic culture medium dispensing device incorporating the fractionation and dispensing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof, and FIGS. 3 (A) and (B) are The views taken along arrows A and B in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4 (A) to (E) are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the apparatus of the present invention in the dispensing section. Explanation of symbols 10... Automatic culture medium fractionation/dispensing device 12... Petri dish 16... First rotary play) 2G...
Dispensing part 22... second rotary plate 26...
...Petri dish rotating means 32, 32...Rotating bin 36
...Petri dish lid opening/closing means 42...Suction pad 4
4.45... Medium dispensing means 48.49... Dispensing nozzle 50... Fractionation petri dish 52... Lid 54...
・Bulkhead

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A carrying means for carrying in an empty culture container with a lid, and a means for removing the lid of the empty culture container with a lid that is positioned at a predetermined location by the carrying means, temporarily retracting it to a standby position, and closing the lid again after a certain period of time. a medium dispensing means for dispensing a certain amount of medium from a medium tank into an empty culture container while the lid is retracted to a standby position; and a culture container into which the medium has been dispensed. an automatic culture medium dispensing device comprising a carrying-out means for carrying out the fractionated culture; a fractionated culture vessel having two or more fractionation sections separated by a partition wall is used as the culture vessel; After the lid of the container is retracted to the standby position by the lid opening/closing means, the fractional culture container is rotated by a predetermined angle range at the predetermined location so that the partition wall of the fractional culture container is always oriented in a generally constant direction. further comprising rotation means designed to cause the medium to be dispensed into two or more fractionated sections of the fractionated culture vessel whose partition walls are oriented by the rotation means, respectively; An automatic culture medium fractionating and dispensing device, characterized in that it is configured as two or more culture medium dispensing means for dispensing. (2) The automatic culture medium fractionating and dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating means is capable of being raised and lowered and is rotatable in its lowered position. (3) The rotating means has a pair of rotating pins spaced apart from each other, and when the rotating pins are rotated within a predetermined angle range at the lowered position, the partition wall of the culture container is pushed. The automatic culture medium fractionating and dispensing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the culture container is rotated.