WO2014073241A1

WO2014073241A1 - Tube catcher

Info

Publication number: WO2014073241A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/067874
Authority: WO
Inventors: 哲雄速水; 秀樹西川; 森田　隆
Original assignee: 二九精密機械工業株式会社
Priority date: 2012-11-06
Filing date: 2013-06-28
Publication date: 2014-05-15
Also published as: JPWO2014073241A1; JP5639734B2

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a tube catcher which makes it possible to easily grasp and firmly hold a container via an operation using bare hands or while wearing light gloves, even when the container is placed in a low-temperature environment. [Solution] This tube catcher is equipped with: a cylindrical member having a hollow interior; a cylindrical catching part having a through-hole in the bottom thereof, and attached to the tip end of the cylindrical member; a spring; and a rod-shaped member biased in one direction by the spring inside the cylindrical member, and having a portion of the tip projecting through the through-hole when pushed from the other end in the opposite direction of the biasing direction. Therein, the cylindrical member, the catching part, the spring and the rod-shaped member all comprise a material having low thermal conductivity and low elasticity.

Description

Tube catcher

The present invention relates to a dedicated jig for handling a cylindrical sealed container used for cryopreservation of a biological sample or the like.

In a research field such as biotechnology, a technique for cryopreserving biological samples such as cells (hereinafter simply referred to as “samples”) with liquid nitrogen is known. The sample is sealed in a cylindrical sealed container such as a cryo-vial and is stored frozen by being immersed in liquid nitrogen while being juxtaposed with a vial holder or the like. Depending on the experiment, the vial holder may be heated to a high temperature with a heater.

The cryovial is generally taken out and stored by holding the cap part at the top of the container using an instrument such as tweezers. Recently, special jigs such as “Tube Picker” have been sold.

However, it is difficult to grasp the cylindrical cap part with tweezers or the like, and there is a possibility of dropping the container by mistake.

In addition, when a metal such as stainless steel used for tweezers or the like or a resin constituting a dedicated jig is cooled to the temperature of liquid nitrogen, the elasticity is lost, which causes a further decrease in operability. On the other hand, when used in a high temperature environment, in the case of a conventional jig, if it is a metal, it will be heated in a short time due to high thermal conductivity and will not touch, and if it is a resinous jig, a part of the jig will melt. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides a dedicated jig “tube catcher” that exhibits a strong gripping force even in a wide temperature environment from the temperature of liquid nitrogen to a high temperature environment. The main purpose.

A tube catcher according to the present invention includes a cylindrical member having a hollow inside, a cylindrical catch portion attached to a distal end portion of the cylindrical member and having a through hole in a bottom portion, a spring, and the cylindrical member. A rod-like member that is biased in one direction by the spring and that protrudes from the other end in a direction opposite to the biasing direction, and a part of the tip protrudes through the through-hole. The part, the spring, and the rod-shaped member are all made of a material having a low thermal conductivity and a low elastic modulus.

Such a configuration makes it difficult for the temperature of the catch portion attached to one end to be transmitted to the other end side, so even if the container is placed in a low temperature environment, the other end can be easily worn with bare hands or wearing thin gloves. You can hold the container firmly. The “material having low thermal conductivity and low elastic modulus” excludes materials having normal thermal conductivity and / or elastic modulus used in known tweezers or the like to the extent that the above-described effects are exhibited. Specifically, it includes those exemplified in the embodiments of the invention described later.

In the tube catcher, the catch portion may have a plurality of slit portions extending in the axial direction from the end. If it does in this way, the diameter of the tip of a catch part can be expanded temporarily, and it can be made easy to grasp a container.

In the tube catcher, the slit portions may be provided at equal intervals. If it does in this way, it can make it easier to grasp a container with a catch part.

In the tube catcher, a part of the catch portion may be tapered toward the end. In this way, the container can be easily grasped by the tapered portion of the catch portion.

In the tube catcher, it is preferable that the cylindrical member, the catch portion, the spring, and the rod-shaped member are all made of a titanium alloy. Titanium alloys are suitable for these materials because they have lower thermal conductivity and lower elastic modulus than aluminum and stainless steel (SUS), and are lighter and have better tensile strength than stainless steel.

According to the tube catcher of the present invention, the cylindrical member, the catch portion, the spring and the rod-like member are all made of a material having a low thermal conductivity and a low elastic modulus, and it is difficult for the temperature of the catch portion to be transmitted to the other end side. Even if the container is placed in a low temperature environment, the container can be easily and firmly grasped by operating the other end with bare hands or wearing thin gloves.

Front view showing the tube catcher of this embodiment Sectional drawing which shows the tube catcher of this embodiment It is an enlarged view which shows the tube catcher of this embodiment, (a) is an enlarged plan view, (b) is an enlarged bottom view. Diagram showing tube catcher holding the cap of the container

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same or similar members in the respective drawings, or only the subscripts are displayed differently, and the duplicate description is omitted. However, the description of the present embodiment is the technical idea of the present invention. It should be construed for the purpose of understanding and should not be construed as limited to the description of the embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the tube catcher of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the tube catcher 10 includes

pipes

1 and 2 that are tubular members, a catch portion 3, a push rod 4 that is a rod-shaped member, and adapters 5 and 6.

Pipes

1 and 2 are both hollow. The catch portion 3 has a cylindrical shape and is attached to the tip portion of the pipe 1. The push rod 4 is inserted into the

pipes

1 and 2 and is urged in one direction by a spring (not shown). Both adapters 5 and 6 have through holes. Each of the adapters 5 and 6 allows the push rod 4 to pass therethrough, the adapter 5 connects the pipe 1 and the catch portion 3, and the adapter 6 connects the pipe 1 and the pipe 2.

The

pipes

1 and 2, the catch portion 3, the push rod 4, the adapters 5 and 6, and the spring (not shown) are all made of beta titanium alloy. This is because the beta titanium alloy has lower thermal conductivity and elastic modulus than aluminum and stainless steel (SUS). Furthermore, since beta titanium alloy is superior in corrosion resistance and lighter than stainless steel and the like, and is excellent in tensile strength, even if it is cooled to the temperature of liquid nitrogen, it hardly loses its elastic force. Further, even when heated to a high temperature, little heat is transferred. In these respects, the beta titanium alloy is excellent. However, the possibility of using a titanium alloy other than beta titanium or a metal having similar characteristics is not excluded.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the tube catcher of the present embodiment, and is an enlarged view of the cross section taken along the line A-A ′ of FIG. A part of the pipe 1 and the push rod 4 is omitted. As shown in FIG. 2, the tube catcher 10 includes

pipes

1 and 2, a catch portion 3, a push rod 4, adapters 5 and 6, a spring 7, and rings 8 and 9.

The catch part 3 is attached to the tip of the pipe 1 with an adapter 5 connected to the bottom. Further, the catch portion 3 is tapered at the bottom and a part on the opposite side, and has a slit portion 31 and a recess portion 32 extending from the end along the axial direction.

3 is an enlarged view showing the tube catcher of the present embodiment, FIG. 3 (a) is an enlarged plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 (b) is an enlarged bottom view of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the catch portion 3 has twelve slit portions 31, and the slit portions 31 are provided around the central axis at equal intervals of 30 degrees. When the slit portion 31 is provided in this manner, the inside diameter of the catch portion 3 can be easily expanded by holding the container between the inside of the catch portion 3 and the recessed portion 32. In addition, you may use the catch part of various shapes instead of the catch part 3, and may adjust the number, the width | variety, and length of the slit part 31 suitably.

The spring 7 is disposed between the adapter 6 and the ring 9 inside the pipe 2 through the push rod 4. The ring 8 is fixed to one end of the push rod 4, and the ring 9 is fixed to the other end side through the push rod 4. In this manner, the push rod 4 is urged in one direction by the spring 7 inside the

pipes

1 and 2, and when the push rod 4 is pushed in the direction opposite to the urging direction from the end of the pipe 2, A part protrudes inside the catch part 3. When the pushing force is removed, the push rod 7 returns to the original position by the bias of the spring 7. The moving range of the push rod 4 and the biasing amount of the spring 7 with respect to the push rod 4 to which the ring 9 is fixed are adjusted by the fixing positions of the rings 8 and 9. In addition, you may provide a protrusion in the outer peripheral part of a push rod, or the inner peripheral part of a pipe, and you may abbreviate | omit any or all of the adapters 5 and 6 and the rings 8 and 9.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a tube catcher holding a container cap. As shown in FIG. 4, in the tube catcher 10, the cap 100 is pushed by the depression 32 by pushing the cap 100 into the catch portion 3 so as to increase the diameter of the tip of the catch portion 3 from above the cap 100 of the container. Can be grabbed. On the contrary, the cap 100 is pushed out from the recess 32 by pushing the push rod 4 at the other end, and the cap 100 can be taken out. At this time, even if the cap 100 of the container is placed in a low temperature environment, the tube catcher 10 is made of a titanium alloy having a low thermal conductivity. The push bar 4 is difficult to transmit its temperature, and the tube catcher 10 can be easily grasped and held easily with bare hands or wearing thin gloves. The same applies to operation in a high temperature environment.

In the tube catcher 10 of this embodiment, the

pipes

1 and 2, the catch portion 3, the push rod 4, the adapters 5 and 6, the springs 7 and the rings 8 and 9 are all titanium alloys having low thermal conductivity and low elastic modulus. Therefore, it is difficult for the temperature of the catch portion 3 to be transmitted to the opposite pipe 2 or the protruding push rod 4, and even in a container placed in a low temperature environment, it is easy to wear it with bare hands or thin gloves. Can hold and hold the container firmly.

Next, a method for assembling the tube catcher of the present embodiment will be briefly described.
(1) First, the

pipes

1 and 2, the catch portion 3, the push rod 4, the adapters 5 and 6, the spring 7 and the rings 8 and 9 are prepared in advance.
(2) Next, the ring 9 is welded to the push rod 4 with a laser.
(3) Next, one end of the pipe 1 is welded to one end of the adapter 5, one end of the adapter 6 is welded to the other end of the pipe 1, and one end of the pipe 2 is welded to the other end of the adapter 6 by laser.
(4) Next, the push rod 4 of (2) is inserted into the spring 7, and the push rod 4 is inserted from the other end of the pipe 2 of (3). At this time, the spring 7 is arranged between the adapter 6 and the ring 9. Further, the other end of the push rod 4 is projected from the through hole 51 of the adapter 5.
(5) Next, the ring 8 is welded to the tip of the push rod 4 protruding from the through hole 51 of the adapter 5 by laser.
(6) Next, the catch portion 3 is welded to the other end of the adapter 5 with a laser.
The tube catcher 10 can be obtained by the assembling methods (1) to (6) above.

The tube catcher of this embodiment can be used in a wide temperature range and can greatly improve operability as compared with a conventional jig.

1 Pipe (tubular member)
2 Pipe (tubular member)
3 Catch section 4 Push rod (bar-shaped member)
5 Adapter 6 Adapter 7 Spring 8 Ring 9 Ring 10 Tube catcher 31 Slit part 32 Recessed part 51 Through hole 61 Through hole 100 Container cap

Claims

A tube catcher,
A tubular member having a hollow inside;
A cylindrical catch portion attached to the tip of the cylindrical member and having a through hole in the bottom;
Springs,
A rod-like member that is urged in one direction by the spring inside the cylindrical member, and a part of the tip protrudes through the through-hole when pushed in the direction opposite to the urging direction from the other end;
The tubular member, the catch portion, the spring, and the rod-shaped member are all made of a material having a low thermal conductivity and a low elastic modulus.
The tube catcher according to claim 1, wherein the catch portion has a plurality of slit portions extending along an axial direction from an end.
The tube catcher according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slit portions are provided at equal intervals.
The tube catcher according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a part of the catch portion is tapered toward an end thereof.
The tube catcher according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the cylindrical member, the catch portion, the spring, and the rod-like member is made of a titanium alloy.