WO2001066947A1 - Liquid feeding device and analyzing device using the device - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid feeding device capable of feeding liquid at a rate of several νL to several hundred νL per second using a micro diaphragm pump of several ten mm square, wherein an inlet valve which is small in resistance when liquid comes into it and large when liquid goes out of it is formed integrally with an outlet valve which is small in resistance when liquid goes out of it to the atmosphere and large when liquid comes into it so as to easily remove air bubbles inside a liquid feeding chamber, and the shape of the liquid feeding chamber is formed so that the area of the chamber is increased from a liquid inlet side to a liquid outlet side, a parallel part is provided in the chamber between the inlet and outlet sides, and its area is reduced from the parallel part to the outlet side.

Description

 Specification

Technical Field of the Invention

 The present invention relates to a diaphragm-type micropump, and more particularly, to a micropump of several seconds per second.

The present invention relates to a liquid sending device that sends liquid from L to several hundreds / L and an analyzer using the same. Background art

 There is a syringe pump as a conventional liquid feeding device that sends several to hundreds of liters per second. However, the size of the apparatus is large and the cost is high for the amount of liquid to be sent. Therefore, there is a demand for miniaturization and cost reduction of the device corresponding to the amount of liquid to be sent, and micro-diaphragm pumps using micro-machining technology are being developed. A micro-diaphragm pump is a diaphragm pump with a size of several tens of millimeters or less, and the volume of the liquid transfer chamber is changed by deforming the diaphragm that forms part of the liquid transfer chamber. By increasing the size, the liquid is introduced into the liquid feed chamber from the inlet, and by reducing the volume, the liquid is discharged from the outlet. The most common microdiaphragm pump processes single-crystal silicon using an aqueous alkali solution (anisotropic etching technology), and joins single-crystal silicon and pyrex glass (positive bonding technology). They are assembled and manufactured.

In a diaphragm pump manufactured by the above-mentioned technology and having a size of several tens of millimeters or less, bubbles remaining in the liquid transfer chamber cause a decrease in liquid transfer efficiency. This is because even if the diaphragm is deformed and the volume in the liquid sending chamber changes, the pressure in the liquid sending chamber also changes at that time, so that the volume of the residual bubbles changes due to the pressure change. This reduces the volume change in the liquid sending chamber due to the deformation of the diaphragm, and reduces the amount of liquid sent.

 Various methods have been devised to solve this problem, and representative patents are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 4-520276 and Hei 5-306683. . The former diaphragm pump consists of three chambers: an inlet valve chamber, a liquid feed chamber, and an outlet valve chamber.The position of the inlet from which the liquid enters the liquid feed chamber during priming is located at the center of the liquid feed chamber. By shifting to the periphery, air bubbles are collected on the opposite side of the inlet of the liquid transfer chamber, and an orifice is provided in that part to extract the air bubbles from there. Bubbles are efficiently removed. In the latter diaphragm pump, an aqueous solution containing at least one kind of water-soluble salt or polyhydric alcohol is once injected into the pump and dried, whereby the water-soluble salt or polyhydric alcohol is applied to the surface of the pump in contact with the liquid. Adhesives are attached to improve the affinity for liquid, eliminating bubbles remaining during priming.

 However, even with the prior art described above, bubbles may remain in the initial liquid introduction. This is due to the shape of the flow path from the inlet valve to the liquid through the liquid feed chamber to the outlet valve, and particularly air bubbles remain near the valve structure.

 Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a diaphragm pump that suppresses the generation of residual air bubbles and realizes highly accurate liquid sending.

Disclosure of the invention

In order to solve the above problem, the step near the inlet valve is reduced, and the inlet is arranged at the outer periphery of the flow path plane shape so that the outer periphery side is opened to the greatest extent. By gradually reducing the cross-sectional area of the flow path in the room and arranging the outlet at a position higher in potential energy than the inlet, Smooth the flow of air bubbles from the inlet to the outlet, and prevent air bubbles from remaining in the liquid transfer chamber where pressure fluctuations are a problem during liquid transfer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the liquid sending chamber height and the remaining bubbles in the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an analyzer of the liquid sending device of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a detailed explanatory view of the first application example of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a second application example of the liquid supply apparatus of the present invention to the analysis apparatus. FIG. 8 shows a third application example of the liquid sending device of the present invention to an analyzer. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, (a) is a cross-sectional view of the liquid sending device, and (b) is a plan view of the liquid sending chamber. The liquid transfer device is composed of three substrates: a diaphragm substrate 110, a liquid transfer chamber substrate 120, and an inlet / outlet substrate 130. The material of these substrates is silicon, glass, ceramic, metal or resin.

 Is the diaphragm 1 1 1 force on the diaphragm substrate 110? The liquid supply chamber substrate 120 has a liquid supply chamber 121, an inlet valve 122, and an outlet port 123.The outlet valve substrate 130 has an outlet valve 132, and an inlet port 1 3 3, suction port 1 3 4 and discharge port 1 3 5 are machined. Machining methods include photolithography, sand blasting, injection molding, honing, electric discharge machining, and electric power.

The substrate and the piezoelectric disk 112 serving as an actuator are fixed to each other to assemble a liquid sending device. The fixing method is direct bonding, anodic bonding, diffusion bonding, eutectic bonding, brazing, surface activated bonding, Use at least one.

 The dimensions of each part are as follows. The thickness of the diaphragm substrate is 500 μm, the thickness of the liquid transfer chamber substrate is 500, "m, and the thickness of the inlet / outlet substrate is 500 μm.

The height from the bottom of the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1 to the diaphragm surface 1 2 9 (hereinafter referred to as the liquid transfer chamber height) is 500 / m, and the height from the inlet port 1 33 to the diaphragm surface. The height 1 28 (hereinafter referred to as the height above the inlet) is 600 / im, the width 3 2 1 in the plan view of the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1 is 8 mm, and the length 3 2 2 is 9 mm. The external dimensions in the plan view are 14 mm x 14 mm. As shown in the figure, the shape of the liquid transfer chamber was gradually expanded from the valve part on the inlet side, with a parallel part in the middle, and formed so as to gradually reduce from the parallel part toward the outlet side. .

 Here, the inlet valve 122 has a cantilever structure supported by beams 124. The beam 124 is provided toward the inside of the liquid sending chamber 121, and the inlet valve 122 is arranged close to one side of the liquid sending chamber 121. Further, an outlet port 123 is arranged close to the side opposite to the side on which the inlet valve 122 is close. The outlet valve 13 2 has a doubly supported structure supported by two beams (not shown).

 The priming procedure of this liquid feeding device is as follows.

First, in order to replace the gas in the liquid sending chamber 122 of the liquid sending device with the liquid, a liquid introducing device for sending the liquid to be introduced is connected to the suction port 134 of the liquid sending device. This liquid introduction device uses one agricultural land such as a syringe pump, a tube pump, and a gear pump. When the liquid is fed under pressure from the suction port 1 3 4 by the liquid introduction device, the pressurized liquid reaches the inlet valve 1 2 2 through the inlet port 1 3 3, and the pressure increases. Then, the inlet valve 1 2 2 is opened and the liquid flows into the liquid supply chamber 1 2 1. At this time, the inlet valve 1 2 2 supported by the beam 1 2 4 passes through the inlet valve 1 2 2 as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 (b) because it opens at the root of the beam 1 2 4 at the fulcrum. The filled liquid fills the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1 from the adjacent side. Then reach exit port 1 2 3.

 When the liquid transfer chamber is filled with liquid, connect the container containing the discharged liquid to the suction port 1 3 4 to complete preparation for liquid transfer.

 In addition, as a method of replacing the inside of the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1 with gas to liquid, connect a suction pump to the discharge port 1 3 5 and connect a container containing the discharge liquid (liquid) to the suction port 1 3 4. This can be performed in the same manner as described above. In other words, when the gas in the liquid sending device is sucked from the discharge port 135 by the suction pump, the back pressure of the outlet valve 123 becomes lower than the pressure inside the liquid sending chamber 121 and the outlet valve 133 2 opens, and the gas in the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1 is sucked out. As a result, the pressure in the liquid sending chamber 12 1 becomes lower than the pressure in the inlet port 13 3, and the inlet valve 122 opens. Further, by continuing suction with the suction pump, the liquid as well as the gas opens the inlet valve 122, and the liquid flows from the inlet into the liquid supply chamber 122 and reaches the outlet port 123. . When the liquid transfer chamber is filled with liquid, the suction pump connected to the discharge port 1 35 is separated, and the preparation for liquid transfer is completed.

 The bombing operation is performed by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric disks 1 1 and 2 to expand and contract in the plane direction. First, when the piezoelectric disk 112 is contracted in the plane direction and the diaphragm 111 is pushed into the liquid supply chamber side like a drum, the volume of the liquid supply chamber 121 decreases. The reduced volume of the liquid is pushed out of the outlet valve 13 2, flows out of the outlet port 12 3 to the outside of the liquid sending chamber 12 1, and is discharged from the discharge outlet 13 5.

 Next, when the applied voltage is changed and the piezoelectric disk is extended in the plane direction, the diaphragm 111 returns to the piezoelectric disk side, and the volume of the liquid sending chamber 122 becomes large. Then, the liquid corresponding to the increased volume pushes open the inlet valve 122 and flows into the liquid sending chamber 122 from the inlet port 133. The liquid is fed by repeating this operation.

This embodiment has two features. The first feature is that the liquid transfer chamber height is 1 2 9 to 5 0 The point is that the height above the inlet is set to 600 μm, and the residual air bubbles during priming are prevented. The presence or absence of bubbles in the inlet valve depends on the wettability in the liquid transfer chamber. The wettability in the liquid transfer chamber depends on the surface tension T 8 (N / m) and density p (kg / m ³ ) of the liquid, the contact angle (°) between the liquid and the liquid contact part of the liquid transfer chamber, and the height of the liquid transfer chamber. Depends on 1 2 9 d (m), the height h at which the liquid rises when the distance between the two plates is d is g (m / s ² ):

h = (2 T c 0 s ^) Z (p g d)

Becomes In the case of this embodiment, since the liquid Mizudea Ri delivering chamber 1 2 1 wetted parts are A u, T = 7 2 m N Zm, i o = 1 0 0 0 kg / m 3 , θ = 2 ⁰ and Do Ri, the relationship of the fluid delivering chamber height d and the height h of rising of the liquid will jar good of Figure 2. Fig. 2 shows that the threshold value of the force that makes wettability dominant during priming or the threshold value that makes inertia dominant in the case of this embodiment is h20.02 mm. In this case, the height of the liquid supply chamber at that time, ie, the height of 129 d, is 100 m.

That is, liquid chamber height 1 2 9 force? Above 100 m, inertia dominates in priming. In this case, after the space above the inlet valve 122 is filled with the liquid, the liquid flows into the liquid supply chamber 122, so that no bubbles remain. On the other hand, if the height of the liquid transfer chamber is less than 100 m, wettability of the liquid is dominant during priming. In this case, before the space above the inlet valve 122 is filled with the liquid, the gas flows into the liquid feed chamber 122 so that the air bubbles remain in the space above the inlet valve 122. This threshold value h is constant, and when the physical properties (surface tension and density) of the liquid and the contact angle between the liquid and the liquid contact part of the liquid supply chamber change, the liquid supply chamber height at that time changes. For example, if the wettability between the liquid and the inner surface of the liquid transfer chamber is better than in the case of Fig. 2, the liquid transfer chamber height needs to be set higher. Conversely, when wettability is poor, the height of the liquid transfer chamber can be set small. In addition, by installing the outlet port 123 with a higher potential energy than the inlet valve 122 with respect to the horizontal plane based on the direction of gravity, The liquid that has entered the channel receives an attractive force in the direction of gravity due to its own density. Since this attractive force has a reaction force component with respect to the surface tension, the influence of the surface tension in the liquid supply chamber can be reduced. When the line passing through the inlet valve 122 and the outlet port 132 is made parallel to the direction of gravity, the reaction force component of the attractive force becomes maximum. In addition, the air bubbles mixed into the liquid sending chamber 122 move from the inlet valve 122 to the outlet port 123 by its own buoyancy, so that the air bubbles can be easily removed. In this example, in order to maximize the reaction force component of the attractive force acting on the liquid with respect to the surface tension, the line connecting the inlet and the outlet was perpendicular to the horizontal plane with respect to the direction of gravity. The same effect can be obtained if the outlet is installed at a position higher in potential energy than the inlet.

 The second feature is that the inlet valve 1 2 2 has a cantilever structure supported by the beam 1 2 4, and the beam 1 2 4 is arranged toward the inside of the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1, and the opening of the inlet valve It was arranged so that the side was close to one side of the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1. Another point is that the outlet port 123 is arranged close to the side opposite to the side where the inlet valve 122 is close. As a result, at the time of opening the inlet, the inlet valve 122 opens the side of the liquid supply chamber 121 most widest so that the liquid flows. The liquid that has flowed during priming and bombing becomes a smooth flow with a large curvature streamline 126 as shown by the arrow in Fig. 1 (b), preventing bubbles from remaining and Easily remove air bubbles.

In this embodiment, the force in the case where the height of the liquid transfer chamber 1 29 is smaller than the height above the inlet 1 2 8 is smaller. If the threshold value h is not more than 0.02 mm, the liquid transfer chamber height 1 29 should be equal to the inlet upper height 1 28 so that bubbles are less likely to remain. In this embodiment, there are restrictions in forming the valve structure of the liquid device. Such a structure is more realistic.

 FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a liquid feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, (a) is a cross-sectional view of the liquid sending device, and (b) is a plan view of the liquid sending chamber. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 indicate the same configuration as in the first embodiment.

 The liquid transfer device is composed of three substrates, the same as in the first embodiment, a diaphragm substrate 110, an entrance / exit substrate 130, and a liquid transfer chamber substrate 220. The difference from the first embodiment is that the projections 225 are formed in the liquid transfer chamber 221 of the liquid transfer chamber substrate 220. The projections 2 25 are arranged in such a shape that the two surrounding flow paths are intermittently reduced in flow path area (a substantially hexagonal shape according to the shape of the liquid transfer chamber as shown in the figure). . The liquid transfer chamber height 2 29 is 500 μm, and the height 2 27 (hereinafter referred to as the height above the protrusion) between the upper surface of the protrusion 222 and the diaphragm surface is 100 μm. 0 / zm.

 The priming procedure of this liquid sending device is as follows. First, in order to replace the gas in the liquid sending chamber 1 2 1 of the liquid sending device with the liquid, a liquid introducing device for sending the liquid to be introduced into the suction port 1 34 of the liquid sending device is connected. As this liquid introduction device, one of a syringe pump, a tube pump, and a gear pump may be used. When the liquid is fed under pressure from the suction port 1 3 4 by the liquid introduction device, the pressurized liquid reaches the inlet valve 1 2 2 through the inlet port 1 3 3, and the pressurized pressure is applied. As a result, the inlet valve 1 2 2 is opened, and the liquid flows into the liquid supply chamber 1 2 1. At this time, the inlet valve 122 supported by the beam 124 opens at the fulcrum at the root of the beam 124, so that the liquid passing through the inlet valve 122 flows from the adjacent side to the liquid transfer chamber 1 2 1 is satisfied and reaches the projection 2 25 on the inlet valve side. Then, the flow path above the projections 225 is filled with the liquid by the capillary action of the liquid. Here, since the end of the flow path on the projection is open, no bubbles remain.

In addition, the two flow paths on both sides of the projection, separated by the projection, Since the flow path is a speed-up flow in which the cross-sectional area of the flow path is continuously reduced, the flow path resistance gradually increases. Therefore, when the liquid advances in one of the flow paths around the protrusion in advance, the flow resistance of the other flow path becomes larger, so that the speed of the liquid in the preceding flow path decreases. descend. Then, when the flow path resistance difference becomes small, the traveling speed increases again, and reaches the outlet port 123 simultaneously from the two flow paths.

 When the liquid transfer chamber is filled with liquid, connect the container containing the discharged liquid to the suction port 1 3 4 to complete the preparation for liquid transfer. The priming operation may be performed using a suction pump as in the first embodiment. The bombing operation is the same as in the first embodiment.

 This embodiment has two features.

 The first feature is that a protrusion 2225 is provided in the liquid transfer chamber with a liquid transfer chamber height of 229 m and a height of 220 m above the protrusion is set to 100 m. On the other hand, the flow path on the protrusion allows the liquid to flow by capillary force, thereby preventing bubbles from remaining in the center of the liquid transfer chamber 121. Therefore, a liquid having better wettability than in the first embodiment has an effect of preventing bubbles from remaining. In order to quickly flow the liquid into the projection-shaped space, it is most effective to move the projections 2 25 to the inlet valve 122.

 The second is that the two flow paths around the protrusion are flow paths for the accelerated flow. With this, when the liquid proceeds in only one flow path, the flow path resistance increases. The traveling speed of the liquid decreases, and the traveling speed of the liquid in the other flow path increases. Therefore, the liquid proceeds in the two flow paths in a well-balanced manner, so that bubbles can be prevented from remaining in the liquid transfer chamber.

Next, an example of preventing the initiation of bubbles will be described. Bubbles are caused by static pressure drop. This static pressure is reduced from the atmospheric pressure by the amount of decrease in the static pressure in the liquid sending chamber due to expansion of the volume of the liquid sending chamber and the static pressure This is a value obtained by subtracting the decrease. Since the location where the flow velocity becomes the highest when the liquid is sucked is the location where the cross-sectional area of the flow path is the smallest, that is, the static pressure becomes the lowest between the inlet valve and the inlet port, and the initiation of bubbles easily occurs. Therefore, a method for reducing the flow velocity between the inlet valve and the inlet port by optimizing the shape of the inlet valve or the inlet port is described below.

 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a liquid feeding device inlet valve according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, (a) and (b) are cross-sectional views of each liquid feeding device. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 have the same configuration as in the first embodiment.

 The liquid feeder shown in FIG. 4 (a) is composed of three substrates, the same as in the first embodiment, a diaphragm substrate 110, a liquid feed chamber substrate 120, and an entrance / exit substrate 4330. . The difference from the first embodiment is that the diameter of the inlet port 43 3 of the inlet / outlet substrate 43 is larger than the diameter of the outlet port of the liquid transfer chamber substrate 120. When the lift amount of the inlet valve 122 and the outlet valve 132 is equal, the cross-sectional area between the inlet valve 122 and the inlet port 43 is equal to the outlet valve 132 and the outlet port. Is larger than the cross-sectional area of the flow path between ports 123 and, therefore, the flow rate of liquid between inlet valve 122 and inlet port 43 is equal to the flow rate of the outlet valve 132 and outlet port. The flow rate of the liquid passing between the points 123 is smaller than that of the liquid, so that the initiation of bubbles is less likely to occur.

 Further, the liquid transfer apparatus shown in FIG. 4 (b) is composed of three substrates, the same as in the first embodiment, a diaphragm substrate 110, an inlet / outlet substrate 130 and a liquid transfer chamber substrate 420. Have been. The difference from the first embodiment is that a depression 4 2 6 is formed in the inlet valve 4 2 2 of the liquid transfer chamber substrate 4.

As a result, when the lift amounts of the inlet valve 422 and the outlet valve 132 during bombing are equal, the cross-sectional area of the flow path between the inlet valve 422 and the artificial port 133 is determined by the outlet valve. No larger than the cross-sectional area of the flow path between 1 32 and outlet port 123 Therefore, the flow velocity of the liquid between the inlet valve 4 2 2 and the inlet port 13 3 is less than the flow velocity of the liquid between the outlet valve 1 3 2 and the outlet port 1 2 3 This makes it less likely that bubbles will begin to form.

 In the first embodiment, by lowering the rigidity of the beam of the inlet valve, the lift amount of the inlet valve 122 during the pumping is made larger than that of the outlet valve 132, and the inlet valve The cross-sectional area of the passage between 122 and the inlet port 133 is larger than the cross-sectional area of the passage between the outlet valve 132 and the outlet port 123. Therefore, the flow velocity of the liquid passing between the inlet valve 122 and the inlet port 133 is smaller than the flow velocity of the liquid passing between the outlet valve 132 and the outlet port 123, and the air bubbles are generated. It is difficult for the first time to occur.

 Also, in this embodiment, the flow rate of the liquid passing between the inlet valve and the inlet port is further reduced by making the lift amount of the inlet valve larger than the outlet valve at the time of pumping. It becomes bad. Thus, by reducing the flow velocity between the inlet valve and the inlet port, the initiation of bubbles is prevented.

 A first application example in mounting the liquid transfer device of the present invention on an analyzer will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of an analyzer provided with the reagent supply mechanism of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the reagent supply mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 5A shows the device 511 viewed from the front, and FIG. 5B shows the device 511 viewed from the top.

On the upper surface of the apparatus, there are provided a test tube 521, which contains a sample 52, and a sample holder 52, which holds the test tube 521, on the circumference. A sample pipe 531 for sucking the sample 52 in the test tube 52 1 is provided beside the sample holder 52 2. The sample pitcher 531, which sucks the sample and holds it inside, a three-dimensional drive mechanism 5333, which gives the nozzle 532 an up-and-down rotation, is shown in the figure. Not shown to aspirate sample into nozzle or eject sample from nozzle Pump is provided. In order to position the test tube 522 in the sample holder just below the sample nozzle, the sample holder 522 is driven to rotate by the rotary drive mechanism 523. At the other descent position of the nozzle of the sample _c 531, the reaction vessel 541 moves while rotating sequentially.

 The plurality of reaction vessels 541 are held on the circumference of the reaction disk 542. The lower half of the reaction vessel 542 is connected to a constant temperature bath 543 through which constant temperature water flows. The reaction disk 542 is supported by a reaction disk rotation drive mechanism 544 in order to sequentially move the reaction container to the lower position of the nozzle of the sample pitcher. On the circumference of the reaction disk 54 2, in addition to the sample pitcher described above, the first reagent supply section 5 51 and the second reagent supply section 5 61 1 A container cleaning mechanism 571 and a spectrometer 581 are provided.

 The reagent supply section 55 1 is largely composed of four parts: a reagent container 55 2, a reagent holder 55 3, a liquid feeder 55 4 4, and a reagent holder 1 rotation drive mechanism 55 5 5. . Reagent holder 553 is a reagent container around central axis 556

5 5 2 is held on the circumference. The same number of liquid feeders 554 as the number of reagent containers held are provided at the bottom of the reagent holder 553. There is a connection hole 559 on the bottom of the reagent container 552, and by strongly pressing it toward the bottom of the reagent holder 5553, the suction hole 5

Connects to 6 2. In addition, a discharge port 563 is provided in the liquid sending device 554 vertically downward.

On the side surface of the reagent container 552, there is provided a magnetic unit 528 on which data describing the type of reagent is written. A magnetic reader 581 for reading data of the magnetic section 582 is provided at a circumferential position corresponding to the reagent holder 553. The signal line from the magnetic leader 581 is sent to the judgment section 557. It is connected. Further, the judging section 557 is connected to the liquid feeding apparatus control section 558. The liquid sending device 554 is driven by a liquid sending device control section 558. The reagent holder 55 3 is configured to be rotated by a reagent holder rotation drive mechanism 55 5.

 By equipping the reagent sending unit for each reagent container, the washing of the reagent discharge section is not required, and the measurement time is shortened.

A second application example in mounting the liquid transfer device of the present invention on an analyzer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a liquid sample analyzer according to the present invention. The application example shown in the figure consists of a reagent ejection system, sample ejection system, reaction observation system, multi-wavelength photometer, input / output and arithmetic control system. The reagent ejection system consists of a plurality (12 in the figure) of reagent containers 611 each containing a different reagent, and 12 systems connected to the bottom of each of the 12 reagent containers 6 1 1 A thin tube 6 1 2, and 12 reagent feeding units units 6 1 3, each of which is a reagent injecting means having a suction side connected to one of the 12 thin tubes 6 1 2, It comprises 12 reagent ejection pipes 6 14 connected to the ejection sides of two liquid sending devices 6 13. The liquid supply unit 613 has a liquid supply unit 615 inside, and the reagent container 611 and the reagent discharge pit 613 are different from each other. Connected at Eve 6 16. The sample ejection system consists of a sample container 6 21, a sample suction tube 6 2 2 with one end open and inserted into the sample container 6 2 1, and a sample injection with the suction side connected to the sample suction tube 6 2 2 A sample discharge pump 62 3 as a means, a sample discharge pipe 62 4 having one end connected to the discharge side of the sample discharge pump 62 3 and having the other end opened, and a moving mechanism for simultaneously moving these. 6 2 5 and. The sample container 6 21, the sample aspirating tubing 6 2 2, the sample discharge pump 6 2 3, and the sample discharge pipet 6 24 are set on the moving mechanism 6 25 and the reactions are arranged in a line. Inject predetermined amount of sample into container 6 3 1 sequentially Has functions. In this embodiment, the number of specimen ejection systems is one, but a plurality of specimen ejection systems may be provided.

 The reaction observation system is composed of the same number of reagent vessels 6 1 1 (1 2 in this example) as reaction vessels 6 3 1 arranged in a row, and a temperature holding mechanism 6 serving also as a support for the reaction vessels 6 3 1. 3 and a stirring mechanism 635 which is a stirring means also serving as a support for the temperature holding mechanism 632. The wall of the reaction vessel 631 is made of a transparent material that allows measurement light to pass through. The multi-wavelength photometer, which is a reaction detecting means, includes a light source 641, which emits measurement light toward the reaction vessel 631, a lens 642 disposed on the optical axis of the measurement light, and the reaction vessel A concave diffraction grating 643 disposed at a position opposite to the lens 642 with the 631 interposed therebetween; and a concave diffraction grating 643 disposed at a position where measurement light reflected by the concave diffraction grating 643 is incident. And a photo diode array 644 for photoelectrically converting the measurement light. These are provided to a photometer moving mechanism (not shown) that reciprocates in parallel along the reaction vessel row so that the measurement light can be irradiated to all of the reaction vessels 631 arranged in a line. It is installed.

The input / output and arithmetic control system is a sequence controller for controlling the operation of the moving mechanism 6 25, the liquid feeding device 6 13 for injecting the reagent, the sample discharge pump 6 23, the multi-wavelength photometer and the photometer moving mechanism. Controller 655, a signal processing unit 656 connected to the photo diode array 644, and a signal storage unit 6557 connected to the signal processing unit 6556. An operation unit 658 as operation means connected to the signal storage unit 657; and a control unit connected to the operation unit 658 and the sequence controller 655 to control them. The operation panel 652, the display 653, which is an input means connected to the control section 651, and the control section 651, respectively, the sequence chart storage section 654, which is storage means, and the printer 659 , A recorder 660, and an external storage medium 661. It should be emphasized here that one capillary tube, one pump, and one reagent discharge pipe are connected in series to one reagent container, which is different from the conventional device. Since different reagents do not flow in the same tube, there is no need for washing and no possibility of contamination. In addition, by reducing the size of the flow path system including the pump, the distance between the reagent container and the reaction container can be reduced, reducing the amount of reagent remaining in the tube, and wasting expensive reagents. It can be eliminated.

 A third application example of mounting the liquid sending device of the present invention on an analyzer will be described with reference to FIG. The analyzer shown in the figure is a micro TAS for testing specific items, and consists of a sample supply unit, reagent supply unit, reaction unit, and detection unit. The sample supply section consists of a sample supply port 711 and a sample liquid sending device 712, and the sample injected from the sample supply port 711 reacts by a predetermined amount by the sample liquid sending device 712. Supply to room 7 3 1. The reagent supply section is composed of a reagent chamber 7 2 1 and a reagent sending device 7 2 2, and the reagent stored in the reagent chamber 7 2 1 is supplied to the reaction chamber 7 2 2 by a predetermined amount in the reagent sending device 7 2 2. Feed 1 In this embodiment, two reagent supply units are provided to supply two types of reagents. The reaction section includes a reaction chamber 731 and a stirring mechanism 732, and the sample and the reagent supplied to the reaction chamber 731 are mixed by the stirring mechanism 732. The reaction process between the sample and the reagent is monitored by the detection sensor 741 in the detection section. Each mechanism is connected by a flow path 7 13.

 In this way, by making the functions relating to the supply, reaction, and detection of the sample and the reagent into micro TAS, analysis at an arbitrary place becomes possible.

Industrial applicability

 The present invention relates to a microphone port pump for accurately quantifying and sending a small amount of liquid, and in particular, to a structure of a liquid sending device configured to prevent generation of bubbles that affect the amount of liquid sent, The liquid feeding device is applied to an analyzer.

Claims

The scope of the claims  1. An inlet consisting of a single substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different valve seats or valve ports, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid A valve and an outlet valve having a low resistance when the liquid flows out to the outside and a high resistance when the liquid enters the power supply, and is integrally formed in the liquid supply chamber, and at least one surface constituting the liquid supply chamber is deformed. In a liquid feeder composed of possible diaphragms, Liquid surface tension T (N / m) and the density p (kg / m ^3), the contact angle of the liquid contact portion of the liquid and delivering chamber (°), when the gravitational constant g (m Z s ^2), feeding A liquid transfer device characterized in that the height d (m) of the chamber below the diaphragm surface is greater than 0.02 pg / (2T cos ^). 2. An inlet consisting of one substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different valve seats or valve ports, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid A valve and an outlet valve with low resistance when liquid enters the outside and high resistance when entering the liquid ⁵ ', at least one surface that is integrally formed in the liquid supply chamber and constitutes the liquid supply chamber Is a deformable diaphragm. The diaphragm is deformed in a direction to increase the volume of the liquid sending chamber, so that liquid is introduced from the inlet valve into the liquid sending chamber, and the volume of the liquid sending chamber is changed. In a liquid feeder that discharges liquid from a liquid feed chamber via an outlet valve by deforming in a direction in which the pressure decreases, the inlet valve is located at the outer peripheral portion of the flow path in a planar shape, and the inlet valve is opened. Close to the outer periphery of the inlet valve when liquid enters the liquid transfer chamber from outside There feeding apparatus according to claim that you open most size rather. 3. A single substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different valve seats or valve ports, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid A valve and an outlet valve with low resistance when liquid enters the outside and low resistance when entering the liquid. At least one surface of the chamber is a deformable diaphragm, and the diaphragm is deformed in a direction to increase the volume of the liquid transfer chamber, thereby introducing liquid from the inlet to the liquid transfer chamber. A liquid transfer device that discharges a liquid from a liquid transfer chamber through an outlet by deforming the liquid transfer chamber in a direction in which the volume of the liquid transfer chamber decreases has a protrusion in the liquid transfer chamber, and the protrusion on the protrusion during priming. A liquid transfer device characterized in that a flow path is replaced from a gas to a liquid by capillary action.  4. An inlet consisting of one substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different valve seats or valve ports, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid A valve and an outlet valve with low resistance when the liquid flows out to the outside and high resistance when entering the liquid.Integrally formed in the liquid supply chamber, at least one surface of the liquid supply chamber can be deformed. The diaphragm is deformed in the direction in which the volume of the liquid transfer chamber increases, so that liquid is introduced from the inlet into the liquid transfer chamber and deformed in the direction in which the volume of the liquid transfer chamber decreases. Thus, in the liquid-feeding device that discharges the liquid from the liquid-feeding chamber via the outlet, the liquid-feeding chamber has a protrusion, and the flow path cross-sectional area around the protrusion decreases continuously or intermittently. A liquid feeding device characterized by this. 5. One board with a diaphragm and two boards with different valve seats or valve ports, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid A valve and an outlet valve with low resistance when liquid enters the outside and low resistance when entering? The diaphragm is integrally formed in the liquid transfer chamber, and at least one surface of the liquid transfer chamber is a deformable diaphragm. The diaphragm can be deformed in a direction to increase the volume of the liquid transfer chamber. In this case, the liquid is introduced from the inlet into the liquid transfer chamber through the inlet, and is deformed in a direction in which the volume of the liquid transfer chamber is reduced, thereby discharging the liquid from the liquid transfer chamber through the outlet. A liquid feeder, which is installed at a higher position in terms of potential energy. 6. An inlet consisting of one substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different valve seats or valve ports, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid When the liquid flows out to the outside, the resistance is low and when it enters the liquid, the outlet has a high resistance and the force is integrally formed in the liquid transfer chamber, and at least one surface of the liquid transfer chamber is deformable. By deforming the diaphragm in the direction in which the volume of the liquid sending chamber increases, liquid is introduced from the inlet into the liquid sending chamber, and the liquid is sent in the direction in which the volume of the liquid sending chamber decreases. In a liquid feeding device that discharges a liquid from a liquid chamber through an outlet,  A liquid transfer device, wherein the diameter of the inlet port is larger than the diameter of the outlet port.  7. One substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different shapes of valve seats or valve ports. An inlet with a low resistance when liquid enters from outside and a high resistance when out of liquid. When the liquid flows out to the outside, the resistance is low. When the liquid enters, an outlet with high resistance is formed integrally with the outlet chamber, and at least one surface of the diaphragm that forms the chamber is deformable. By deforming the diaphragm in the direction in which the volume of the liquid sending chamber increases, liquid is introduced from the inlet into the liquid sending chamber and deformed in the direction in which the volume of the liquid sending chamber decreases. In a liquid feeder that discharges a liquid from a liquid feed chamber through an outlet at and,  A liquid transfer device, characterized in that the seal surface of the inlet valve has a recess larger than the diameter of the inlet port.  8. Consists of a single substrate with a diaphragm and two substrates with different valve seat or valve port shapes, with low resistance when liquid enters from outside and high resistance when exiting liquid The inlet and the outlet that have low resistance when the liquid flows out to the outside are formed integrally with the power transfer chamber, At least one surface of the liquid transfer chamber is a deformable diaphragm, and the diaphragm is deformed in a direction to increase the volume of the liquid transfer chamber. In a liquid feeder that discharges liquid from the liquid transfer chamber through the outlet by introducing liquid into the liquid chamber from the inlet and deforming the liquid in a direction that reduces the volume of the liquid transfer chamber, the rigidity of the beam of the inlet valve The liquid supply device is characterized in that the pressure is lower than the rigidity of the beam of the outlet valve.  9. A plurality of reaction vessels, a plurality of reagent vessels, a holder for accommodating a liquid supply device in each of the reagent vessels, and a reaction vessel for supplying a sample and a reagent at a predetermined position; An analyzer equipped with a measuring device for measuring physical properties and  The liquid sending device is composed of one substrate having a diaphragm and two substrates having different shapes of a valve seat or a valve port. When a liquid enters from outside, the resistance is small and the liquid exits. Are formed integrally with the inlet valve having a large resistance and the outlet valve having a small resistance when the liquid enters the outside when the liquid flows out.The shape of the liquid supply chamber is changed to the liquid inlet side. An analyzer characterized by having an area that increases from the outlet to the outlet side, has a parallel part in the middle, and is formed so that the area decreases from the parallel part toward the outlet side.  10. The analyzer according to claim 9,  A plurality of reagents, a liquid feeding device for sending the reagents to the reaction chamber, a means for mixing the reagents and the sample, and a detector for detecting a reaction process between the reagents and the sample are integrally formed; An analyzer characterized by having a substantially hexagonal projection.