JP3317530B2 - Dispensing method and dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dispensing method, and more particularly, to a dispensing method in which a liquid is sucked into a pipe by a suction action, discharged and dispensed, and a dispensing apparatus used for carrying out the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a dispensing device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-64912, a pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of a measuring device is provided, and the relative position of the measuring device and the container containing the liquid to be aspirated in the vertical direction. The liquid level of the liquid to be aspirated is detected from the change in the internal pressure of the measuring device that occurs when the lower end of the measuring device is immersed in the liquid to be aspirated due to the objective movement, and suction is started after the liquid level is detected. In some cases, it is determined whether or not the amount is an injection amount, that is, whether or not there is an abnormality such as an abnormality.

A conventional dispensing apparatus which is provided with a pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of a measuring instrument and detects the liquid level from changes in the output of the pressure sensor, that is, determines whether there is an abnormality such as the following, has the following problems. was there. That is, in the internal pressure detection type dispensing device that measures the internal pressure of the measuring instrument by the pressure sensor, air must be present in the portion where the pressure is detected by the pressure sensor. This is a design constraint on the dispensing device. That is, the suction medium is limited to air.

Accordingly, a cleaning liquid tank is provided on the counter-meter side of the pump which sucks and discharges the liquid to the meter, and after dispensing, the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid tank is supplied to the meter side by the pump, and the inside of the meter is measured. It is very difficult to be able to wash. This is because the pressure sensor cannot measure the internal pressure of the measuring device when the cleaning liquid passes through the portion of the pipe connecting the pump and the measuring device where the pressure sensor is connected. Then, it is necessary to prevent a part of the liquid dispensed from being mixed with the next dispensed liquid, and it is preferable to add a washing function to the dispensing device. It is difficult to apply to a dispensing device, and this is a problem that cannot be overlooked.

Further, in order to measure the dispensed amount, that is, to detect the presence / absence of the dispensed amount based on the relationship between the change in the internal pressure of the measuring device and the elapsed time of suction and discharge, a complicated method such as differential analysis is required. The measurement error of the upper dispensed amount is also large. The dispensing device that measures the dispensed amount based on the internal pressure of the measuring device also has a problem that the type of the dispensed liquid cannot be identified.

[0006] That is, in the blood, blood cells sediment with the passage of time, and serum is separated into an upper part and blood cells are separated into a lower part.
In some cases, it may be necessary to dispense only serum or only blood cells.However, in a dispensing device that measures the dispensed volume based on the internal pressure of the measuring instrument, the aspirated liquid cannot be identified. Since it is possible, it is impossible to apply in such a case.

In order to solve such problems, the inventor of the present application can identify the liquid to be dispensed, and make sure that air always passes through the sensor mounting portion for measuring the dispensed amount. Devised a dispensing device that can easily provide an automatic cleaning function and that can accurately measure the dispensed volume and detect the liquid level without performing complicated calculations such as differential analysis. did.

The proposed dispensing apparatus is provided with a fluid sensor for optically discriminating the type of fluid passing through the tube. The dispensing apparatus is provided with a fluid sensor and passes through a sensor installation location based on an output signal of the fluid sensor. A dispensing amount obtained by integrating and analyzing the amount, and a calculating means for obtaining a suction amount, and in these dispensing devices, a fluid sensor includes a light emitting unit capable of changing an emission wavelength, A light receiving means for receiving the light passing therethrough, wherein the type of fluid is detected from a change in the output of the light receiving means with respect to a change in the emission wavelength of the light emitting means, and a fluid sensor is provided, and The fluid detected by the fluid sensor detects that the suction end of the liquid has reached the liquid level of the subject due to a relative drop with respect to the subject by switching from air to the subject. Those were.

According to the dispensing apparatus having the fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of fluid passing through the pipe, the fluid sensor for optically identifying the type of fluid passing through the pipe is provided. By detecting the type of the sucked fluid, the suction amount and the discharge amount for each type of the fluid can be measured.

In addition, according to the dispensing apparatus provided with the fluid sensor, the dispensing apparatus has a calculating means for calculating the dispensed amount and the suction amount by integrating and analyzing the passing amount of the sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor. Since there is a calculating means for integrating and analyzing the flow amount of the fluid at the sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor provided in the pipe, the dispensed amount and the suction amount can be accurately and simply and automatically obtained.

In these dispensing apparatuses, the fluid sensor includes a light emitting means capable of changing an emission wavelength, and a light receiving means for receiving light emitted from the light emitting means and passing through the inside of the tube. According to the configuration in which the type of the fluid is detected from the change in the output of the light receiving unit with respect to the change in the light, the type of the liquid is detected from the change in the output of the light receiving unit with respect to the difference in the emission wavelength of the light emitting unit. The type of fluid can be quickly detected.

In addition, a fluid sensor is provided, and when the fluid sensor detects that the suction end of the tube has reached the liquid level of the subject due to a relative drop with respect to the subject, the fluid is switched from air to the subject. According to the dispensing device, the liquid level is detected by switching the fluid detected by the fluid sensor from the air to the subject, so that the liquid level can be reliably detected.

[0013]

However, the dispensing device devised by the inventor of the present invention also has an imperfect surface.
This is because there is no consideration for the difference in the inner diameter of tubes such as test tubes containing samples, and the control of the relative positional relationship of the dispensing means in the vertical direction with respect to the test tubes etc. when dispensing samples from tubes with different inner diameters. There was a problem that it could not be performed accurately. This problem will be described below with reference to an example in which a syringe is used as a dispensing means and a sample in a test tube is dispensed. That is, in order to perform the suction operation properly, it is necessary to lower the liquid level at substantially the same speed as the liquid level lowering due to the suction, and if the suction amount per unit time is constant, the liquid level lowering rate due to the suction becomes the test tube. Is inversely proportional to the square of the inner diameter of. Therefore, it is preferable to have a function of detecting the inner diameter of the test tube in order to control the rate of decrease for suction.

If the descending speed of the syringe is too high, the lower part of the tip of the syringe will enter deeply into the body fluid, and the specimen will adhere to the outer surface. Then, a syringe or the like moves in the X direction (one horizontal direction) and the Y direction (horizontal direction perpendicular to the X direction) and reaches the dispensing destination, and another person in which samples attached to the outer surface of the chip are lined up. There is a possibility that the mixture may drop into the dispensing container and be mixed. Conversely, when the descending speed is too slow, air is sucked in and the specimen cannot be sucked. Therefore, accurate control of the descending speed of the syringe is necessary for suction, and the detection of the inner diameter of the test tube is indispensable.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to identify a liquid to be dispensed, and air always passes through a sensor mounting portion for measuring a dispensed amount. Dispensing method, which makes it easy to add an automatic cleaning function, and accurately measures the dispensed volume and detects the liquid level without performing complicated calculations such as differential analysis. In the dispensing apparatus used therein, even if the inside diameter of a tube such as a test tube containing the liquid to be dispensed is different, suction is performed, and the suction end of another tube is It is an object of the present invention to appropriately perform the change without any trouble, and to prevent the liquid from being excessively moved into the liquid level or separated from the liquid level.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispensing method comprising:
The liquid in one pipe is sucked up into another pipe by a suction action, discharged and dispensed, and the type of liquid passing through the another pipe is optically identified by a fluid sensor to indicate an operation state of suction or discharge. A dispensing method in which a dispensing amount and an aspirating amount are calculated by performing an integral analysis on a passing amount of each fluid at a sample sensor installation location based on a signal and an output signal of the fluid sensor, wherein a liquid is filled in the one tube. By measuring the time required for the suction, the inner diameter of the one tube is measured, and when the liquid in the one tube is sucked into the another tube by the suction action, the suction end of the another tube is connected to the one end of the one tube. The relative position with respect to the two pipes is narrowed at the same speed as the liquid level drop rate in the one pipe by control using an arithmetic expression in which the inner diameter of the one pipe determined by the above measurement is one of constants. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispensing device for dispensing a liquid in one tube by sucking the liquid in another tube into another tube, discharging and dispensing the liquid, and a vertical direction of the dispensing device with respect to the another tube. Vertical drive means for changing the relative positional relationship in the above, a fluid sensor provided in the another tube and optically identifying the type of liquid passing through the tube, a signal indicating an operation state of suction or discharge, and Calculation means for integrating and analyzing the passing amount of each fluid at the sample sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor to calculate the dispensed volume and the aspirated volume, and the time required for putting the liquid in the one tube and aspirating the fluid. Inner diameter measuring means for measuring the inner diameter of the one pipe by measuring, and when sucking the liquid in the one pipe into the another pipe by the suction action of the dispensing means, the suction end of the other pipe; Phase with one tube above The vertical position driving means so that the target position narrows at the same speed as the liquid surface drop speed in the one tube based on an arithmetic expression in which the inside diameter of the one tube determined by the inside diameter measuring means is one of constants. And a driving means control means for controlling

[0018]

According to the dispensing method of the present invention, the inner diameter of one tube is measured in advance, and when the liquid in the tube is sucked into the another tube by a suction action, the suction end of the another tube is connected to the suction end of the other tube. The relative position with respect to one tube is narrowed at the same speed as the liquid level drop rate in the one tube by control using an arithmetic expression in which the inner diameter of the one tube determined by the above measurement is one of constants. Therefore, the suction end of the tube can always be kept at a position that is not too deep from the liquid surface and does not separate from the liquid surface, and there is a risk that liquid other than the true suction target is sucked or air is sucked. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent a suction abnormality from occurring.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the inside diameter of one tube is measured in advance by the inside diameter measuring means, and when the liquid in the tube is sucked into the another tube by suction, the inside of the other tube is removed. The relative position between the suction end and the one pipe narrows at the same speed as the rate of decrease in the liquid level in the one pipe based on an arithmetic expression in which the inner diameter of the one pipe determined by the above measurement is one of the constants. As described above, the vertical driving means is controlled by the driving means control means, so that the suction end of the pipe can always be kept at a position that is not too deep from the liquid surface and does not separate from the liquid surface. There is no fear of sucking the liquid or the air, and it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of the suction abnormality.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the dispensing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a dispensing apparatus, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the fluid sensor, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in the output signal of the fluid sensor when the syringe is lowered, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in the output signal of the fluid sensor for explaining the automatic determination operation of the inner diameter of the test tube.

First, the overall configuration of the dispensing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 denotes a syringe, 2 denotes a disposable tip connected to a suction end of the syringe 1 and is made of a material transparent to infrared rays, and a fluid sensor 3 is provided at an appropriate position outside the disposable tip. This fluid sensor 3 is shown in FIG.
It has a configuration as shown in FIG.

That is, the fluid sensor 3 includes an infrared light emitting diode 4 and a phototransistor 5 facing the infrared light emitting diode 4 with the disposable chip 2 interposed therebetween. Utilizing the fact that it differs depending on the type of fluid passing through the disposable chip 2, it functions to identify the type of fluid.

Specifically, if the fluid passing through is air, the amount of light absorbed by air is small, and
The received light amount is large, the received light amount is slightly reduced if the fluid passing through is water, the received light amount is further reduced if serum is passed, and the received light amount is considerably reduced if blood cells are used. Therefore, the type of fluid can be identified from the magnitude of the amount of received light.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a syringe drive motor that drives the cylinder 1 to suck and discharge a sample. Reference numeral 7 denotes a syringe holding block for holding the syringe 1 and the syringe drive motor 6, which is provided so as to be vertically movable, that is, movable in the Z-axis direction, and is moved in the Z-axis direction by the Z-axis drive motor 8. Can be The syringe holding block 7 and the Z-axis drive motor 8 for driving the same are provided with X, not shown,
It can be moved in the X and Y directions by a Y drive mechanism.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a control circuit which controls a first driver 10 for driving the Z-axis drive motor 8 and a second driver 11 for driving the syringe drive motor 6, and a fluid sensor 3 amplified by an amplifier 12. The fluid is identified by taking in the output signal of. 13 is an A / D converter for converting the output of the amplifier 12 from an analog signal to a digital signal;
Reference numeral 14 denotes a CPU, 15 denotes a parallel input / output circuit, and 16 denotes a serial input / output circuit. The control circuit 9 is connected to a host computer (not shown) via the serial input / output circuit 16 to form a terminal device of the host computer. I have. still,
The dispensing device may be controlled by an independent control circuit instead of the terminal device of the photocomputer.
Reference numeral 17 denotes a test tube containing a sample, and in this example, blood is contained as the sample. A is the serum that accumulates at the top of the blood and B is the blood cells that settle at the bottom.

The dispensing apparatus basically drives the Z-axis drive motor 8 by the operation of the control circuit 9 to move the syringe holding block 7 up and down, and also drives the syringe drive motor 6 to aspirate the syringe 1. , And discharge. On the other hand, since the control circuit 9 processes the signal indicating the type of fluid from the fluid sensor 3, the control circuit 9 converts the signal indicating the current operation state of suction or discharge and the signal indicating the type of fluid passing through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3. By appropriately calculating, the dispensed amount and the suction amount can always be grasped, and the dispensing and suction can be performed while grasping the grasped amount, so that the dispensed amount can always be accurately controlled.

That is, if the drive speed and the suction time or the discharge time of the syringe 1 are known, the suction amount and the discharge amount are accurately obtained by integral analysis or by simple multiplication (only multiplication is required if the drive speed is constant). You can do it. Of course, the internal volume of the portion from the lower end of the disposable chip 2 to the location where the fluid sensor 3 is installed becomes an error factor, and this is taken in as data to compensate (correct) the error.
Is performed, errors can be eliminated, and extremely accurate dispensing can be performed.

Here, an example of the operation of the dispensing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. First, the syringe holding block is lowered while sucking the syringe 1 (t0).
Until the lower end of the disposable chip 2 reaches the sample in the test tube 17, air passes through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3. Therefore, the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 is large.

When the lower end of the disposable chip 2 reaches the surface of the serum A, which is the specimen in the test tube 17, the serum A starts to be sucked, and immediately the serum A starts to pass through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3 (t1). Then, the infrared rays are blocked by the serum A, and the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 decreases. t2 is the point in time when the amount of received light is completely reduced by the serum A.

Further, when the syringe holding block 7 is lowered and the syringe 1 is continuously suctioned, blood cells B having a higher concentration than the serum A begin to be sucked, and immediately thereafter, the serum B immediately starts passing through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3 ( t3). Then, blood cell B
Is more intense than that of serum A, so that the amount of light received by phototransistor 5 further decreases. t4 is a time point when the blood cells B have completely reduced the blood pressure. When the blood cells B are fully sucked, the air is sucked, and thus the amount of received light returns to the original large value. t5
Is the point at which the amount of received light has begun to return to its original value.

Therefore, when only the serum A is separated and dispensed, the first decrease in the amount of received light (start of aspiration of serum A) is completed, and the second decrease in the amount of received light (aspiration of blood cells B). At the time when (start) occurs, the suction is stopped, and since the blood cells B have entered by the internal volume from the suction end of the disposable tip 2 to the mounting position of the sensor 3, the blood cells B are discharged and returned to the test tube 17. . Thereafter, the syringe holding block 7 is raised, and the serum A in the syringe 1 is dispensed to another container. When only the blood cells B are separated and dispensed, the serum A in the syringe 1 is discharged to another container as described above, and then the remaining portion of the test tube 1, that is, the blood cells B is transferred to the syringe 1. What is necessary is just to suction and to discharge it to another container. In this case, after the serum A is discharged and before the blood cells B are suctioned, the inside of the tip 2 and the syringe 1 can be washed by suction and discharge of a cleaning liquid, for example, water.

FIG. 4 is a change diagram of the output signal of the fluid sensor for explaining the operation of automatically determining the inner diameter of the test tube. Before explaining this operation, the necessity of determining the inner diameter will be described. As described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention, in order to perform the suction operation properly, the syringe holding block 7 descends at substantially the same speed as the liquid level decrease due to the suction. Assuming that the suction amount is constant, the liquid level decreasing speed due to the suction is inversely proportional to the square of the inner diameter of the test tube 17. Therefore,
In order to control the rate of decrease for suction, it is necessary to have a function of detecting the inner diameter of the test tube 17.

That is, if the descending speed of the syringe block 7 is too fast, the lower part of the chip 2 enters deeply into the body fluid, and the specimen adheres to the outer surface. Then, while the syringe 1 moves in the X and Y directions and reaches the dispensing destination, the sample adhered to the outer surface of the chip 2 is dropped and mixed in another person's dispensing container in a line. May occur. Conversely, when the descending speed is too slow, air is sucked in and the specimen cannot be sucked. Therefore, accurate control of the descending speed of the syringe 1 is necessary for suction, and the detection of the inner diameter of the test tube 17 is indispensable.

The syringe holding block 7 starts to descend (t0) while suction is performed by the syringe 1. However, since the tip 2 does not reach the liquid level at first, even if suction is performed, air passes through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3 only. And therefore the fluid sensor 3
Is large. Thereafter, when the lower end of the chip 2 reaches the sample, the sample is aspirated, and when the sample starts to pass through the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3 (t1), the amount of received light starts to decrease. Then, when the decrease in the amount of received light is completed and fixed, the descent of the syringe holding block 7 is temporarily stopped, and suction is continued.

Then, since the descent is stopped, the air is immediately sucked, and the amount of received light increases to return to the original value. Incidentally, when the inner diameter of the test tube 17 is small, the received light amount returns to the original value quickly (t3), and when the inner diameter is large, the received light amount returns to the original value later (t4).

Thereafter, at time t5 when it is confirmed that the amount of received light is constant, the syringe support box 7 is lowered by a fixed amount and suction is started. Then, the sample is aspirated and reaches the mounting portion of the fluid sensor 3, and the light receiving amount of the phototransistor 5 starts to decrease, and decreases to a value corresponding to the sample (t6). Then, the time is set as a time measurement start time. Then, when the sample is completely sucked, the air is sucked next, and the fluid sensor 3 starts to detect the air, and thus the amount of received light starts to increase. Then, the point in time when the amount of received light has completely increased is set as the end point of measurement. Measurement time is test tube 17
When the inside diameter is small, the measurement time is short, and the timing when the amount of received light is completely restored is earlier (t7). Therefore, the measurement time becomes longer as the inside diameter is larger. Become. The time t8 is a point in time when the inner diameter is large and the amount of received light returns to its original state when it is delayed. Thus, the inner diameter of the test tube 17 can be detected from the measurement time, and the inner diameter of the test tube 17 can be accurately used as a constant of an arithmetic expression of the operation performed by the CPU 14 for the descent speed of the syringe holding block 17 during suction. Speed control can be enabled.

In the dispensing apparatus, liquid level detection is also very important, but this can be easily performed by the present dispensing apparatus. That is, when the syringe holding block 7 is lowered while the syringe 1 is sucking, the suction end of the disposable tip 2 reaches the liquid surface soon, and the sample immediately passes through the mounting position of the fluid sensor 3. Then, the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 of the fluid sensor 3 changes accordingly, and the output of the fluid sensor 3 changes accordingly. Therefore,
From the change in the output, it can be detected that the chip 2 has reached the liquid level of the sample. In this case as well, the volume of the portion from the suction port of the chip to the mounting location of the fluid sensor 3 is an error component, but since it is a known value, correction is easy.

In the above embodiment, the fluid sensor 3 uses a photodiode 4 for generating light (infrared rays) having a certain wavelength band as a light source, and the wavelength of the light source cannot be changed. However, a light source capable of changing the emission wavelength may be used as the light source, and the type of the fluid may be identified based on how the amount of light received by the photodiode changes when the emission wavelength is changed.

This is because samples such as serum and blood cells have a property of strongly absorbing light having wavelengths different from each other, and the spectral distribution of transmitted light differs depending on the type of sample. Because. And
According to the identification method based on the spectrum distribution, the type of the fluid can be identified more accurately. That is, if the method of simply discriminating the type of fluid from the output of the phototransistor 5 causes light to attenuate due to dust or the like attached to the outer wall surface of the disposable chip, it becomes an error factor.
According to the identification method based on the spectral distribution, it is possible to identify the fluid based on how the output changes with respect to the change in the wavelength and the amount of light received at which wavelength is reduced. This is because it does not become an error factor.

[0040]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispensing method in which a liquid in one tube is sucked into another tube by suction, discharged and dispensed, and the type of liquid passing through the another tube is optically detected by a fluid sensor. Dispensing amount by calculation to integrate and analyze the amount of passage of each fluid at the sample sensor installation location based on the signal indicating the operation state of suction or discharge and the output signal of the fluid sensor,
A dispensing method for obtaining a suction amount, in which a liquid is put into the one tube and an inner diameter of the one tube is measured by measuring a time required for the suction, and the liquid in the one tube is suctioned. When sucking into the another tube, the relative position between the sucking end of the another tube and the one tube is controlled by an arithmetic expression in which the inner diameter of the one tube obtained by the measurement is one of constants. It is characterized in that the liquid is narrowed at the same speed as the speed of lowering the liquid level in the one pipe.

Therefore, according to the dispensing method of the present invention, when the inside diameter of one tube is measured in advance and the liquid in the tube is sucked into the another tube by suction, the suction end of the another tube is taken up. And the relative position of the one pipe is narrowed at the same speed as the rate of decrease in the liquid level in the one pipe by control using an arithmetic expression in which the inner diameter of the one pipe determined by the measurement is one of constants. Therefore, the suction end of the tube can always be kept at a position that is not too deep from the liquid surface and does not separate from the liquid surface, and sucks liquid other than the true suction target or air. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the suction abnormality from occurring.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispensing device for dispensing a liquid in one tube by sucking the liquid into another tube by suction, discharging the liquid, and dispensing the liquid. Vertical drive means for changing the relative positional relationship in the above, a fluid sensor provided in the another tube and optically identifying the type of liquid passing through the tube, a signal indicating an operation state of suction or discharge, and Calculation means for integrating and analyzing the passing amount of each fluid at the sample sensor installation location based on the output signal of the fluid sensor to calculate the dispensed volume and the aspirated volume, and the time required for putting the liquid in the one tube and aspirating the fluid. Inner diameter measuring means for measuring the inner diameter of the one pipe by measuring, and when sucking the liquid in the one pipe into the another pipe by the suction action of the dispensing means, the suction end of the other pipe; Phase with one tube above The vertical position driving means so that the target position narrows at the same speed as the liquid surface drop speed in the one tube based on an arithmetic expression in which the inside diameter of the one tube determined by the inside diameter measuring means is one of constants. And a driving means control means for controlling

Therefore, according to the dispensing apparatus of the present invention, the inside diameter of one tube is measured in advance by the inside diameter measuring means, and when the liquid in the tube is sucked into the another tube by the suction action, the another tube is used. The relative position between the suction end of the pipe and the one pipe is the same as the rate of decrease in the liquid level in the one pipe based on an arithmetic expression that determines the inner diameter of the one pipe as one of the constants obtained in the above measurement. Since the vertical driving means is controlled by the driving means control means so as to be narrowed, the suction end of the pipe can always be kept at a position which is not too deep from the liquid surface and does not separate from the liquid surface, and the true suction target There is no danger of sucking liquid other than the above or air, and it is possible to reliably prevent a suction abnormality from occurring.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a dispensing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a fluid sensor.

FIG. 3 is a change diagram of an output signal of a fluid sensor when a syringe descends.

FIG. 4 is a change diagram of an output signal of a fluid sensor for explaining an operation of automatically determining a test tube inner diameter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 tubes 1, 6, 11 Dispensing means 3 Fluid sensor 8, 10 Vertical movement driving means 9 Control circuit 14 Calculation means, inner diameter detecting means A, B Sample

────────────────────────────────────────────────── (5) References JP-A-62-168055 (JP, A) JP-A-56-46450 (JP, A) JP-A-2-243960 (JP, A) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 35/00-35/10 G01N 1/00-1/44 G01F 23/292 G01N 21/59 G01V 9/00 A61J 1/20

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid in one pipe is sucked into another pipe by a suction action, discharged and dispensed, and a type of liquid passing through the another pipe is optically identified by a fluid sensor to determine whether the liquid is suctioned or discharged. A dispensing method for calculating a dispensing amount and an aspirating amount by an operation of integrating and analyzing a passing amount of each fluid at a sample sensor installation location based on a signal indicating an operation state of the fluid sensor and an output signal of the fluid sensor. , put the liquid to the one tube to measure the inner diameter of the one tube by measuring the time required for the suction, when sucked up the further tube by suction action the liquid of the one tube, the The relative position between the suction end of another pipe and the one pipe is controlled by an arithmetic expression in which the inner diameter of the one pipe determined by the above measurement is one of constants, and the rate of decrease in the liquid level in the one pipe is determined. to ensure that narrows at the same speed as the Dispensing method characterized by 2. A dispensing means for sucking up , discharging and dispensing a liquid in one pipe into another pipe by a suction action, and changing a relative positional relationship of the dispensing means in the vertical direction with respect to the another pipe. a vertical drive means for each based on the type of liquid through the tube to the further tube and the fluid sensor identifying optically, the output signal of the signal and the fluid sensor indicating the suction or discharge of operating conditions Calculation means for calculating the dispensed volume and the suction volume by integrating and analyzing the flow volume of the fluid at the location where the sample sensor is installed, and measuring the time required for placing the fluid in the one tube and for the suction.
Measuring the inside diameter of one of the tubes
A constant section, the liquid of the one tube by suction action of the dispensing means
When sucking into another pipe, sucking up the other pipe
The relative position between the tip and the one pipe is
Calculation with the inner diameter of the one pipe determined in the step as one of the constants
The drop rate of the liquid level in the above one pipe by the control by the formula
Control the above-mentioned vertical drive means to narrow at the same speed as
Dispensing apparatus characterized by having a drive means control means for