JP2010043912A - Dispensing device and bubble elimination method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispensing device and a bubble elimination method capable of eliminating bubbles surely. <P>SOLUTION: This device is equipped with a detection part 34a for detecting bubbles in deaerated water Wa filled by a water supply pump 14 from an electromagnetic valve 18 up to the periphery of a dispensation nozzle 11 chip based on a pressure signal output from a pressure sensor 16; and a bubble elimination control part 34b for controlling discharge from the dispensation nozzle 11, of the deaerated water Wa filled by the water supply pump 14 from the electromagnetic valve 18 up to the periphery of the dispensation nozzle 11 chip, after controlling temperature rise of the deaerated water Wa in a pipe 12 by a heater 17, when the detection part 34a detects bubbles in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispensing device for dispensing a liquid sample and a method for removing bubbles.

  Conventionally, a dispensing pump is connected to the pipe connecting the dispensing nozzle and the water supply pump, and the degassing water is filled up to the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle by the water supply pump, and then removed when the dispensing pump is operated. 2. Description of the Related Art Dispensing devices are known in which a liquid sample is sucked into a dispensing nozzle by pressure transmission to air and the sucked liquid sample is discharged and dispensed.

  However, when parts are replaced by maintenance or the like, bubbles may adhere to the surface in the pipe connected to the dispensing pump or the surface in the cylinder of the dispensing pump. When a liquid sample is dispensed in such a state, bubbles are unstable in the transmission of pressure, resulting in variations in the dispensing amount of the liquid sample, resulting in a problem that the dispensing accuracy is lowered. It was.

  Therefore, in order to solve this problem, a swirling flow is generated inside the cylinder by flowing the liquid so as to swirl around the plunger from the injection port to the discharge port of the cylinder, and the swirling flow thus generated A dispensing device that removes bubbles adhering to the inside of a cylinder and the surface of a plunger has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-343246 A

  However, the dispensing device that removes bubbles by generating a swirling flow in the liquid inside the cylinder has a problem that the bubbles attached to the corners inside the cylinder may not be removed.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above, Comprising: It aims at providing the dispensing apparatus and bubble removal method which can remove a bubble reliably.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a dispensing apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that a dispensing pump is connected to a pipe connecting between a dispensing nozzle and a water supply pump, and the dispensing pump and the In a state where the water supply valve is closed with respect to the deaerated water which is filled by the water supply pump from the water supply valve provided between the water supply pump and the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle and which is set to a predetermined temperature by the liquid temperature adjusting means. In the dispensing device that sucks a liquid sample into the dispensing nozzle by operating the dispensing pump, and discharges and dispenses the sucked liquid sample, the bubbles in the filled deaerated water are removed. In this case, after the temperature of the filled deaerated water is raised by the liquid temperature adjusting means, a control unit is provided that performs control to discharge the filled deaerated water from the dispensing nozzle. .

  Moreover, the dispensing apparatus according to the present invention is the above-described invention, further comprising detection means for detecting bubbles in the filled deaerated water, wherein the control means is degassed water filled by the detection means. In the case where air bubbles are detected, after the temperature of the filled deaerated water is raised by the liquid temperature adjusting means, control is performed to discharge the filled deaerated water from the dispensing nozzle. To do.

  In the dispensing device according to the present invention, in the above invention, the liquid temperature adjusting means includes a heating unit that heats the filled deaerated water, and the heating unit is in the vicinity of the dispensing pump. It arrange | positions at the feature.

  Moreover, the bubble removal method according to the present invention is such that a dispensing pump is connected to a pipe connecting between a dispensing nozzle and a water supply pump, and a water supply valve provided between the dispensing pump and the water supply pump. The dispensing pump is operated by closing the water supply valve with respect to deaerated water that has been filled up to the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle by the feed water pump and has been set to a predetermined temperature by the liquid temperature adjusting means. In the bubble removal method of a dispensing apparatus that sucks a liquid sample into a nozzle and discharges and dispenses the sucked liquid sample, a temperature at which control is performed to increase the temperature of the deaerated water filled by the liquid temperature adjusting means. It includes an ascending step and a discharging step for performing control for discharging the filled deaerated water from the dispensing nozzle.

  Further, the bubble removal method according to the present invention includes a detection step of detecting bubbles in the filled deaerated water in the above invention, wherein the temperature raising step includes the deaeration filled in the detection step. When bubbles in the water are detected, control is performed to increase the temperature of the filled deaerated water by the liquid temperature adjusting means.

  According to the present invention, when removing bubbles in the deaerated water filled from the water supply valve to the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle, the control means increases the temperature of the filled deaerated water by the liquid temperature adjusting means. After that, since the filled deaerated water is discharged from the dispensing nozzle, the bubbles present in the filled deaerated water become larger as the temperature rises, and the bubbles adhering to the tube wall Bubbles that are difficult to remove, such as bubbles adhering between the syringe and the syringe groove, flow into the liquid, and the bubbles are discharged on the deaerated water flow, so that the bubbles can be removed reliably. .

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a dispensing device and a bubble removal method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a dispensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the dispensing device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a dispensing nozzle 11 and an electromagnetic valve 18 are connected by a pipe 12, and a dispensing pump 13 is connected in the middle of the pipe 12. Is done. The electromagnetic valve 18 is connected to a water supply tank 15 that contains supplementary deaerated water Wa via a water supply pump 14. Further, the piping 12 is filled with deaerated water Wa sucked up by the water supply pump 14 by switching the electromagnetic valve 18. Furthermore, a pressure sensor 16 that detects the pressure of the deaerated water Wa is provided in the middle of the pipe 12 between the dispensing pump 13 and the dispensing nozzle 11. Further, the pipe 12 includes a pipe 12 a that connects between the dispensing nozzle 11 and the dispensing pump 13, and a pipe 12 b that connects between the dispensing pump 13 and the electromagnetic valve 18.

  The dispensing nozzle 11 is a thin tube that uses the degassed water Wa to suck or discharge a specimen as a liquid sample on the tip side. The dispensing pump 13 reciprocates the plunger 13d in and out of the deaerated water Wa under the drive of the plunger drive unit 13e, and the pressure is transmitted through the deaerated water Wa to the tip of the dispensing nozzle 11. Apply suction or discharge pressure. The control device 30 performs various controls necessary for the dispensing process of the dispensing device 1. In the vicinity of the dispensing pump 13, a heating unit 17 a of the heater 17 is disposed as a liquid temperature adjusting means for heating the filled deaerated water Wa. The deaerated water Wa is an incompressible fluid such as deaerated ion exchange water or distilled water.

  The dispensing nozzle 11 is moved in the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow X and the vertical direction indicated by the arrow Z in the drawing by the nozzle driving unit 11a. Further, a sample container 20 in which a sample is stored, a reaction container 21 that discharges the sample, and a cleaning container 22 that discharges deaerated water Wa are arranged corresponding to each of the position P1, the position P2, and the position P3. .

  The dispensing pump 13 is deaerated to be accommodated in the liquid accommodating part 13c by being reciprocated by a plunger driving part 13e and a substantially cylindrical cylinder 13a having a liquid accommodating part 13c for accommodating a predetermined amount of deaerated water Wa. A plunger 13d for adjusting the pressure of the water Wa and a seal member 13b for preventing leakage of the deaerated water Wa stored in the liquid storage portion 13c and inserting the plunger 13d.

  The electromagnetic valve 18 is switched to “open” when the sucked deaerated water Wa is pumped into the pipe 12 under the control of the control device 30, and the dispensing nozzle 13 causes the dispensing nozzle 11 to remove the sample. When the dispensing operation for sucking and discharging is performed, the operation is switched to “closed”.

  The pressure sensor 16 detects the pressure in the pipe 12a when the dispensing nozzle 11 sucks or discharges the sample, and outputs the detected pressure to the control device 30 as a pressure signal. Note that the pressure sensor 16 only needs to be able to detect a change in pressure transmitted to the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12, and may be disposed in the pipe 12b, for example.

  The heater 17 is disposed so that the substantially cylindrical heating unit 17 a covers the side surface of the dispensing pump 13. The heater 17 maintains the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12, particularly the deaerated water Wa in the cylinder 13 a, at a constant temperature, for example, the same temperature as the body temperature, by heating. In addition, it is preferable to further provide the heating unit 17a around the pipe 12. For example, you may make it cover the side surface of the piping 12b further using the sheet-like heating part 17a.

  The control device 30 is realized by an input unit 31 realized by a keyboard, a mouse or the like for inputting various information such as a dispensing amount, and a display, a printer, a speaker or the like for outputting various information such as alarm information. Output section 32, storage section 33 for storing various information, and control section 34 for controlling dispensing apparatus 1 including control of various functions in control apparatus 30. The control unit 34 detects a bubble in the degassed water Wa in the pipe 12 and a detector 34a as a detecting means for detecting bubbles in the degassed water Wa. It has a bubble removal control unit 34b for controlling the discharge of the degassed water Wa from the dispensing nozzle 11 after controlling the temperature of the steam water Wa to exceed a certain temperature, that is, to exceed the body temperature.

  Here, the whole operation | movement by the dispensing apparatus 1 is demonstrated. The dispensing apparatus 1 first opens the solenoid valve 18 and feeds the deaerated water Wa in the water supply tank 15 into the pipe 12 by the water supply pump 14 to the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle 11. Meet. Next, the solenoid valve 18 is switched to “closed”, and the dispensing nozzle 11 is positioned at the position P1 where the sample container 20 is disposed by the nozzle driving unit 11a. Thereafter, the dispensing nozzle 11 is lowered, the plunger 13d is driven by the plunger driving unit 13e, and a predetermined amount of sample is sucked into the dispensing nozzle 11. At this time, the sample is sucked in an air layer interposed between the deaerated water Wa and is not mixed with the deaerated water Wa. Next, the dispensing nozzle 11 is lifted by the plunger drive unit 13e, and the dispensing nozzle 11 is positioned at the position P2 where the reaction vessel 21 is disposed. Thereafter, the dispensing nozzle 11 is lowered again by the nozzle driving unit 11a, the plunger 13d is driven by the plunger driving unit 13e, and the sample sucked into the dispensing nozzle 11 is discharged into the reaction container 21. And the dispensing nozzle 11 is raised by the nozzle drive part 11a, and the dispensing nozzle 11 is positioned in the position P3 in which the washing | cleaning container 22 is arrange | positioned. Thereafter, the dispensing nozzle 11 is lowered again, and the solenoid valve 18 is switched to “open”. Then, the water supply pump 14 is driven to pump the deaerated water Wa in the water supply tank 15 into the pipe 12 and is discharged from the dispensing nozzle 11 to the cleaning container 22 to clean the inside of the dispensing nozzle 11 with the deaerated water Wa. To do. Thereby, a series of dispensing operations for dispensing one specimen from the specimen container 20 to the reaction container 21 is completed. On the other hand, when another sample is dispensed, a new sample is sequentially dispensed from the new sample container 20 to the new reaction container 21 by repeating the above operation.

  Here, when the dispensing device 1 replaces the dispensing pump 13 by maintenance or the like, for example, bubbles may be mixed into the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12. In such a case, the detection unit 34a detects the pressure in the pipe 12a based on the pressure signal output by the pressure sensor 16, and detects the bubbles in the deaerated water Wa based on the detected pressure waveform. When the detection controller 34a detects bubbles in the deaerated water Wa, the removal control unit 34b raises the temperature of the deaerated water Wa by the heater 17, and then the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 from the dispensing nozzle 11 is obtained. To remove bubbles.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the process procedure of the bubble removal process which the control part 34 implements is demonstrated. In this bubble removal process, for example, after completing the replacement of the dispensing pump 13 for maintenance or the like, for example, a signal for performing the bubble removal process input from the input unit 31 by the operator is output to the control unit 34. If implemented. When a signal for performing bubble removal processing is output from the input unit 31 to the control unit 34, the control unit 34 first fills the piping 12 with degassed water Wa by the water supply pump 14, and the degassed water thus filled. Wa is maintained at a set temperature set in the dispensing process by the heater 17, for example, 36 ° C., which is about the body temperature suitable for handling the specimen (step S101). Next, the control part 34 performs bubble removal operation (step S102). For example, after the dispensing nozzle 11 is moved to the position P3 and positioned in the cleaning container 22, the electromagnetic valve 18 is switched to open and the water supply pump 14 is driven to deaerate the water supply tank 15. The water Wa is pumped into the pipe 12, and after the bubbles in the deaerated water Wa are discharged from the dispensing nozzle 11 together with the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 (see FIG. 3A), the water tank 15 is again supplied. This is performed by filling the inside of the pipe 12 with the deaerated water Wa therein.

  Thereafter, the control unit 34 switches the electromagnetic valve 18 to the closed state. For example, after the dispensing nozzle 11 is moved to the position P1 and positioned at the sample container 20, the plunger 13d is driven to suck the sample from the dispensing nozzle 11. In this case, the detection unit 34a determines whether or not bubbles are mixed in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 based on the pressure signal output by the pressure sensor 16 (step S103). If no bubbles are mixed in the deaerated water Wa (step S103; No), this process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when bubbles are mixed in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 (step S103; Yes), the bubble removal controller 34b raises the temperature of the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 by the heater 17 (step S104). ). Thereby, the bubble As in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 can be made larger than before the temperature rise (see FIG. 3B). Next, the bubble removal control unit 34b performs a bubble removal operation similar to step S101 (step S105). As a result, the bubbles As attached to the corners inside the cylinder 13a that could not be removed because they were too small before the temperature rise and could not be put on the flow of the deaerated water Wa discharged from the dispensing nozzle 11 are removed. (See FIG. 3 (c)). Next, the detection unit 34a determines whether bubbles are mixed in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 by the same determination process as in step S102 (step S106), and the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 is determined. When air bubbles are mixed in (step S106; No), since the air bubbles are mixed in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 regardless of the bubble removing operation, the control unit 34 outputs Information notifying the abnormality of the dispensing apparatus 1 is output to the unit 32 (step S107), and this process is terminated. On the other hand, when air bubbles are not mixed in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 (step S106; Yes), the control unit 34 returns the set temperature of the heater 17 to the set temperature set in the dispensing process. (Step S108), this process is terminated.

  According to the dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the detection unit 34a detects bubbles in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 based on the pressure signal output by the pressure sensor 16, and the detection unit 34a detects the pipe. When air bubbles in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 are detected, the bubble removal control unit 34b controls the heater 17 to raise the temperature of the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12, and then the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 is used. Therefore, the bubbles in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 are made larger than before the temperature rise, and the deaerated water Wa discharged from the dispensing nozzle 11 is discharged. Easy to put bubbles in the flow. Therefore, it is possible to reliably remove bubbles.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the heating part 17a is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the dispensing pump 13, the deaeration water Wa accommodated in the liquid accommodating part 13c can be warmed efficiently. Therefore, the temperature of the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 can be increased efficiently.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the thing which implements a bubble removal process when exchanging the dispensing pump 13 for maintenance etc. was illustrated, not only this but dispensing work over a long time When resuming dispensing after stopping, bubbles may be generated in the piping due to environmental temperature, atmospheric pressure, and minor leaks. You may make it do.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, when air bubbles in the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 are detected by the detection unit 34a, the temperature of the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 is increased by the heater 17, and then the pipe 12 The deaerated water Wa is discharged from the dispensing nozzle 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the heater 17 raises the temperature of the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 from the set temperature set during the dispensing process. After that, control for discharging the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 may be performed. For example, when removing bubbles in the deaerated water Wa filled in the pipe 12, the detection of the bubbles by the detection unit 34 a is omitted, and the temperature of the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 is first dispensed by the heater 17. In this case, the deaerated water Wa in the pipe 12 may be discharged from the dispensing nozzle 11 after the temperature is set higher than the set temperature.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dispensing apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure of the bubble removal process which the control part shown in FIG. 1 implements. It is a figure explaining the procedure of the bubble removal process which the control part shown in FIG. 1 implements.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dispensing apparatus 11 Dispensing nozzle 11a Nozzle drive part 12,12a, 12b, 12c, 12d Piping 13 Dispensing pump 13a Cylinder 13b Seal member 13c Liquid storage part 13d Plunger 13e Plunger drive part 14 Water supply pump 15 Water supply tank 16 Pressure sensor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 Heater 17a Heating part 18 Electromagnetic valve 20 Specimen container 21 Reaction container 22 Washing container 30 Control apparatus 31 Input part 32 Output part 33 Memory | storage part 34 Control part 34a Detection part 34b Bubble removal control part A, As bubble Wa Deaeration water P1, P2, P3 position

Claims (5)

A dispensing pump is connected to a pipe connecting the dispensing nozzle and the water supply pump, and from the water supply valve provided between the dispensing pump and the water supply pump to the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle, the water supply pump The liquid sample is sucked into the dispensing nozzle by operating the dispensing pump in a state where the water supply valve is closed with respect to the deaerated water that has been filled and brought to a predetermined temperature by the liquid temperature adjusting means. In a dispensing device that discharges and dispenses a liquid sample,
When removing bubbles in the filled deaerated water, the temperature of the filled deaerated water is raised by the liquid temperature adjusting means, and then the filled deaerated water is discharged from the dispensing nozzle. A dispensing device comprising a control means for performing control. A detection means for detecting bubbles in the filled deaerated water,
When the control means detects bubbles in the filled deaerated water by the detection means, the control means raises the temperature of the filled deaerated water by the liquid temperature adjusting means, and then, from the dispensing nozzle, The dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to discharge the filled deaerated water.   The said liquid temperature adjustment means has a heating part which heats the said filled deaeration water, This heating part is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the said dispensing pump, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Dispensing device. A dispensing pump is connected to a pipe connecting the dispensing nozzle and the water supply pump, and from the water supply valve provided between the dispensing pump and the water supply pump to the vicinity of the tip of the dispensing nozzle, the water supply pump The liquid sample is sucked into the dispensing nozzle by operating the dispensing pump in a state where the water supply valve is closed with respect to the deaerated water that has been filled and brought to a predetermined temperature by the liquid temperature adjusting means. In the bubble removal method of the dispensing device that discharges and dispenses the liquid sample,
A temperature raising step for performing control to raise the temperature of the filled deaerated water by the liquid temperature adjusting means;
A discharge step for performing control to discharge the filled deaerated water from the dispensing nozzle;
A method for removing air bubbles, comprising: Detecting a bubble in the filled deaerated water,
In the temperature increasing step, when bubbles in the filled deaerated water are detected in the detecting step, control is performed to increase the temperature of the filled deaerated water by the liquid temperature adjusting means. The method for removing bubbles according to claim 4.

Images