JP6765134B2 - Discharge valve and discharge pump using it - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a discharge valve used for discharging a cell-related liquid such as blood or a cell suspension, and a discharge pump using the same.

Conventionally, a tube pump that presses a tube with a rotating roller has been known as a pump used for discharging a liquid containing cell-related tissues such as blood and cell suspension. Some tube pumps of this type have a housing having a cylindrical inner peripheral surface and a roller that orbits (revolves) along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner peripheral surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .. In this tube pump, the tubes are arranged along the inner circumference of the cylinder of the housing, and when the rollers revolve, the rollers crush the tubes and move in the length direction of the tubes, which causes the tubes to peristaltic. The liquid in the tube is sent from the inlet side to the outlet side of the tube.

Since the tube pump as described above discharges the liquid at a predetermined cycle according to the rotation of the roller, it is also used for observation simulating blood flow. For example, a lung function chip is a chip made from an artificial lung by partitioning a flow path for blood and a flow path for air with a cell membrane, and allows blood to flow out into the flow path for blood with a tube pump. Therefore, it is expected that an observation state simulating a pulsating flow similar to an actual pulmonary blood vessel can be obtained.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-196538

However, in a tube pump as described above, when the tube is crushed by a roller, even the cells in the liquid are mechanically strongly stimulated, which may damage the cells. In addition, there is a possibility that extremely fine dust generated when the tube is crushed may be mixed. On the other hand, when a liquid is sucked and discharged using an air pump, the discharge is stopped when the liquid is sucked. Therefore, in order to generate a pulsating current, for example, it is necessary to use a plurality of air pumps and nozzles. It cannot be done easily because there is a risk that the equipment and devices will become complicated.

The present invention solves the above problems, is less likely to damage cells in a liquid, prevents fine dust from being mixed in, and can generate a pulsating flow of a liquid that flows out with a simple structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a valve and a discharge pump using the valve.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a discharge valve used for discharging a liquid sucked quantitatively, and has two metering tanks each having a suction port for injecting the liquid and a discharge port for discharging the liquid. And a discharge unit connected to the discharge port of both of the two metering tanks, the two metering tanks are connected to a common air pump that controls the pressure in the metering tank, and the air pump is positive. When rolling, the liquid is sucked into one of the metering tanks, the liquid is discharged from the other metering tank via the discharge unit, and when the air pump is reversed, the liquid is sucked into the other metering tank, and one of them. Liquid is discharged from the metering tank via the discharge unit, and the metering tank is provided at a pump connection port connected to an air pump and a liquid stop filter that allows air to permeate and does not allow liquid to permeate. It is characterized by having and.

Further, in the discharge valve, when the air pump rotates in the normal direction, the discharge unit closes the discharge port of one of the metering tanks, opens the discharge port of the other metering tank, and reverses the air pump. It is preferable to have a counter-check valve that closes the discharge port of the other metering tank and opens the discharge port of one of the metering tanks.

Further, in the discharge valve, the opposite check valve has a cylinder connected to the discharge ports of both of the metering tanks and a sealing ball moving in the cylinder, and is sealed. It is preferable that the stop ball closes one of the discharge ports of the two metering tanks.

Further, in the discharge valve, it is preferable that the capacity in the metering tank is set by the installation position of the liquid stop filter at the pump connection port.

Further, it is preferable that the discharge valve further includes a capacitance adjusting mechanism for adjusting the installation position of the liquid stop filter at the pump connection port.

The discharge valve is preferably used for a discharge pump.

According to the present invention, since the liquid is sucked and discharged by the suction and release of the gas by the air pump, the liquid itself is not crushed as in the case of a tube pump, and the cells in the liquid are damaged. It is difficult, and since the liquid can be discharged both in the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the air pump, it is possible to generate a pulsating flow of the liquid to be discharged with a simple configuration.

Sectional drawing of the discharge pump using the discharge valve which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) and (b) are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the discharge pump using the discharge valve during normal rotation. (A) and (b) are cross-sectional views showing the operation at the time of reversal of the discharge pump using the discharge valve. The cross-sectional view which shows the operation when the discharge pump using the said discharge valve is rotated forward again. (A) is a diagram showing an example of a control signal transmitted to an air pump, and (b) is a diagram showing a discharge pattern of a liquid in which a pulsating current is generated. (A) to (c) are sectional views of a discharge valve according to a modification of the above embodiment. (A) is a cross-sectional view of a discharge valve according to another modification of the above embodiment, and (b) and (c) are enlarged views of the alternate long and short dash line portion of (a).

Hereinafter, a discharge valve according to an embodiment of the present invention and a discharge pump using the same will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the discharge pump 1 controls the discharge valve 2 used to discharge the liquid sucked quantitatively, the air pump 3 connected to the discharge valve 2, and the drive of the air pump 3. A unit 4 is provided. An arbitrary pump equipped with a stepping motor capable of switching between forward rotation and reverse rotation is applied to the air pump 3 so that gas can be sucked or discharged in response to a control signal from the control unit 4, for example, a tube pump is used. Be done.

The discharge valve 2 includes two metering tanks 5a and 5b, and a discharge unit 6 connected to both discharge ports of these two metering tanks 5a and 5b. Further, the metering tanks 5a and 5b are provided with pump connection ports 7a and 7b connected to the air pump 3 and liquid stop filters 8a and 8b provided at the pump connection ports 7a and 7b to allow gas to permeate and not to permeate liquid. Be prepared. The two metering tanks 5a and 5b are connected to a common air pump 3 that controls the air pressure in each metering tank 5a and 5b via pump connection ports 7a and 7b, respectively.

The metering tanks 5a and 5b are all tubular members having the same shape, and are made of a molded product such as polypropylene, and are made of transparent plastic so that the inhaled or discharged liquid can be easily visually confirmed. It is preferably configured. At one end of the metering tanks 5a and 5b, suction ports 51a and 51b into which a liquid is injected are provided. Further, of the cylinder side portions of the metering tanks 5a and 5b, discharge ports 52a and 52b for discharging liquid are provided at ends close to the suction ports 51a and 51b, respectively. The discharge ports 52a and 52b are arranged so as to face each other and are connected to the discharge unit 6. Further, among the tubular metering tanks 5a and 5b, pump connection ports 7a and 7b are provided at ends facing the suction ports 51a and 51b. The suction ports 51a and 51b are connected to an inhalation source such as a liquid storage tank (not shown) for discharging blood or the like via a predetermined tube or the like, and the discharge unit 6 is a liquid (blood) such as a lung function chip. Is connected to the discharge destination of the target to discharge.

The suction ports 51a and 51b are provided so as to penetrate the cap members 53a and 53b that are externally fitted to one end of the metering tanks 5a and 5b and the cap members 53a and 53b so as to pass through the inside and outside of the metering tanks 5a and 5b. It has tubular suction nozzles 54a and 54b to communicate with each other. The suction ports 51a and 51b are provided with suction check valves 55a and 55b for sucking liquid into the metering tanks 5a and 5b in one direction. In the illustrated example, the suction check valves 55a and 55b show a configuration provided inside the suction nozzles 54a and 54b, but among the cap members 53 and 53b, for example, the boundary portion with the suction nozzles 54a and 54b. It may be provided in. Further, the suction check valves 55a and 55b are not limited to the illustrated configurations. Further, the cap members 53a and 53b are made of, for example, a molded product such as ABS resin. In the illustrated example, the cap members 53a and 53b have individual configurations, but they may be integrally connected or may be connected to the discharge unit 6. The suction nozzles 54a and 54b are made of a flexible material selected according to the fluid to be delivered, for example, rubber or synthetic resin.

The discharge unit 6 has a cylinder 61 connected to both discharge ports 52a and 52b of the metering tanks 5a and 5b, and a sealing ball 62 moving in the cylinder 61. The inner diameter of the tubular body 61 is slightly larger than the diameter of the sealing ball 62, and the length of the tubular body 61 is three times or more that of the sealing ball 62. A discharge nozzle 63 is provided at an intermediate position of the cylinder 61 so as to penetrate the inside and outside of the cylinder 61. Further, O-rings 64a and 64b that come into contact with the spherical surface of the sealing ball 62 without gaps and O-ring lids 65a and 65b that hold the O-rings 64a and 64b are provided at both ends of the cylinder 61. Of both ends of the cylinder 61, the portions including the O-rings 64a, 64b and the like are embedded in the metering tanks 5a and 5b from the discharge ports 52a and 52b. In the illustrated example, the sealing ball 62 is on the left side of the metering tank 5a and the discharge port 52a is closed, but if the sealing ball 62 is on the right side of the metering tank 5b, the discharge port 52b is closed. It will be closed. That is, the sealing ball 62 functions as a opposite check valve by moving to either the left or right side.

The pump connection ports 7a and 7b are provided so as to penetrate the cap members 71a and 71b that are externally fitted to the other ends of the metering tanks 5a and 5b and the cap members 71a and 71b, and are inside and outside the metering tanks 5a and 5b. It has tubular connection nozzles 72a and 72b for communicating with each other. The liquid stop filters 8a and 8b are fixed to the other end of the metering tanks 5a and 5b by the inner portions of the cap members 71a and 71b. The cap members 71a, 71b and the connection nozzles 72a, 72b on the pump connection ports 7a, 7b side are made of the same molded products as those on the suction ports 51a, 51b side.

The liquid stop filters 8a and 8b are plate-shaped filters provided with innumerable micropores, and are processed into a disk shape so as to correspond to the shape of the end portions of the metering tanks 5a and 5b. Examples of this type include 3M microporous films. Since the liquid stop filters 8a and 8b allow gas to permeate and do not allow liquid to permeate, the metering tank depends on the distance between the installation positions of the liquid stop filters 8a and 8b and the discharge ports 52a and 52b and the cylinder diameters of the metering tanks 5a and 5b. The capacities of 5a and 5b will be determined. In the above configuration, in particular, as long as the installation position of the liquid stop filter 7 is determined, a fixed amount of liquid is sucked into the metering tank 5, so that the liquid can be discharged with high accuracy.

The operation of the discharge pump 1 using the discharge valve 2 configured in this way will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), 3 (a) and (b), and FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, the air pump 3 is rotated in the normal direction in response to the control signal of the control unit 4 (see FIG. 1). At this time, the air in the metering tank 5a on the left side is sucked by the air pump 3, the inside of the metering tank 5a becomes negative pressure, the suction check valve 55a is opened, and the liquid L is discharged from the suction source through the suction nozzle 54a. It is sucked into the metering tank 5a. At this time, air is supplied to the metering tank 5b on the right side by the air pump 3, and the sealing ball 62 is pressed against the discharge port 52a by the air. Therefore, it is possible to prevent air from being mixed into the metering tank 5 from the discharge port 52a when the liquid L is sucked. Further, even if air is mixed with the liquid L at the time of suction, the air can be removed by sucking with the liquid stop filter 8a. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the variation in the discharge amount due to the mixing of air.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the liquid L reaches the liquid stop filter 8a, the liquid L cannot pass through the liquid stop filter 8a, and the capacity of the metering tank 5a is filled. At this time, the control unit 4 (see FIG. 1) senses the suction force of the air pump 3 by the change in the load current, and transmits a control signal for reversing the air pump 3 to the air pump 3.

When the air pump 3 reverses, as shown in FIG. 3A, air is supplied to the metering tank 5a on the left side, the pressure inside the metering tank 5a becomes positive, the suction check valve 55a closes, and the metering tank The liquid L in 5a pushes out the sealing ball 62, flows into the cylinder 61 of the discharge unit 6, and presses the sealing ball 62 against the discharge port 52b of the metering tank 5b on the left side. Further, the liquid L flowing out to the cylinder 61 is discharged to the discharge destination via the discharge nozzle 63. At this time, the air in the metering tank 5b on the right side is sucked by the air pump 3, the inside of the metering tank 5b becomes negative pressure, the suction check valve 55b is opened, and the liquid L is discharged from the suction source through the suction nozzle 54b. It is sucked into the metering tank 5b. At this time, air is supplied to the metering tank 5b on the right side by the air pump 3, and the sealing ball 62 is pressed against the discharge port 52a by the air.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the liquid L reaches the liquid stop filter 8b, the liquid L cannot pass through the liquid stop filter 8b, and the capacity of the metering tank 5b is filled. At this time, the control unit 4 (see FIG. 1) senses the suction force of the air pump 3 by the change in the load current, and transmits a control signal for rotating the air pump 3 in the normal direction again to the air pump 3.

When the air pump 3 rotates in the normal direction, as shown in FIG. 4, air is supplied to the metering tank 5b on the right side, the pressure inside the metering tank 5b becomes positive, the suction check valve 55b closes, and the inside of the metering tank 5a. Liquid L presses the sealing ball 62 against the discharge port 52b on the right side, and is discharged to the discharge destination via the discharge nozzle 63. Further, the air in the metering tank 5a on the left side is sucked by the air pump 3, the pressure in the metering tank 5a becomes negative, the suction check valve 55a opens, and the liquid L is quantified from the suction source via the suction nozzle 54a. It is sucked into the tank 5a. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the liquid L reaches the liquid stop filter 8a and the capacity of the metering tank 5a is filled, the air pump 3 is reversed again.

By repeating the above operation, when the air pump 3 rotates in the normal direction, the liquid L is sucked into the metering tank 5a on the left side, and the liquid L is discharged from the metering tank 5b on the right side via the discharge unit 6, and when the air pump 3 reverses. , The liquid L is sucked into the right metering tank 5b, and the liquid L is discharged from the left metering tank 5a via the discharge unit 6.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the T1 period in which the motor of the air pump 3 is mainly rotated in the normal direction and the T2 period in which the motor in the air pump 3 is rotated in the reverse direction are alternately switched every about 1 second, so that FIG. As shown, the liquid L can be discharged with a pulsating flow that simulates the pulsating flow of blood flowing through a human blood vessel.

In the discharge valve 2 of the above embodiment and the discharge pump 1 using the same, two metering tanks are used, the discharge unit 6 is connected to both discharge ports 52a and 52b, and these two metering tanks 5a and 5b are shared. It is connected to the air pump 3 of. In this way, the liquid L is sucked and discharged by the suction and release of the gas by the air pump 3, so that the liquid L itself is not crushed as in the case of a tube pump, and the cells in the liquid L are damaged. It is difficult to give a dust, and fine dust can be prevented from being mixed.

Further, when the air pump 3 rotates in the normal direction, the liquid L is sucked into one metering tank 5a, the liquid L is discharged from the other metering tank 5b via the discharge unit 6, and when the air pump 3 reverses, the other metering is performed. The liquid L is sucked into the tank 5b, and the liquid L is discharged from one of the metering tanks 5a. That is, since the liquid L can be discharged both in the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the air pump 3, it is possible to generate a pulsating flow of the liquid to be discharged with a simple configuration.

Further, since the discharge valve 2 is provided with the opposite check valve in the discharge unit 6, the liquid L can be continuously sucked and discharged according to the operation of the air pump 3. Further, in the present embodiment, the opposite check valve is realized by a simple configuration such as a sealing ball 62 that moves in the tubular body 61. Further, by providing the pump connection ports 7a and 7b with liquid stop filters 8a and 8b that allow air to permeate and do not allow liquid to permeate, the liquid L is prevented from flowing into the air pump 3 and sucked into the metering tanks 5a and 5b. The capacity of the liquid L to be formed can be set with a simple configuration.

Next, the discharge valve 2 according to the modified example of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. As described above, the capacities of the metering tanks 5a and 5b are determined by the distance between the installation positions of the liquid stop filters 8a and 8b and the discharge ports 52a and 52b and the cylinder diameters of the metering tanks 5a and 5b. The discharge valve 2 in this modification includes means for changing the capacities of the metering tanks 5a and 5b. In this modified example, a plurality of types of metering tanks 5a and 5b having different heights (tube lengths) are prepared in advance. In this modification, the discharge unit 6 and the cap members 53a, 53b, 71a, 71b and the like are the same as those in the above embodiment, and the capacities can be appropriately changed by simply replacing the metering tanks 5a and 5b. it can.

Next, the discharge valve 2 according to another modification of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7C. The discharge valve 2 in this modification is further provided with a capacitance adjusting mechanism 9 for adjusting the installation positions of the liquid stop filters 8a and 8b. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7 (b) and 7 (c), screws 91 are formed on the outside of the connection nozzles 72a and 72b, and the cap members 71a and 71b of the pump connection ports 7a and 7b are connected. The portion where the nozzles 72a and 72b are inserted has a shape corresponding to the screw 91. The filter holding portion 92 that supports the liquid stop filters 8a and 8b is connected to the connection nozzles 72a and 72b. Therefore, the capacities of the metering tanks 5a and 5b can be changed by rotating the connection nozzles 72a and 72b and changing the positions of the filter holding portion 92 and the liquid stop filters 8a and 8b. According to this modification, the capacities of the metering tanks 5a and 5b can be finely adjusted as compared with the modification shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In the present invention, two metering tanks 5a and 5b are connected to a common air pump 3, liquid L is discharged from one metering tank 5a when the air pump 3 rotates in the normal direction, and the liquid L is sucked into the other metering tank 5b. As long as the liquid L is discharged from the other metering tank 5b when the air pump 3 is reversed and the liquid L is sucked into the liquid L in the one metering tank 5a, the configuration is not limited to the above embodiment. Can be transformed. For example, in the above embodiment, the opposite check valve is realized by a simple configuration such as a sealing ball 62 that moves in the cylinder 61, but if it is a opposite check valve that performs the same operation, Any configuration can be adopted and obtained. ..

1 Discharge pump 2 Discharge valve 3 Air pump 5a, 5b Metering tank 51a, 51b Suction port 52a, 52b Discharge port 55a, 55b Suction check valve 6 Discharge unit 61 Cylinder 62 Sealing ball (countermeasure check valve)
7a, 7b Pump connection port 8a, 8b Liquid stop filter 9 Capacity adjustment mechanism

Claims (6)

In the discharge valve used to discharge the liquid sucked quantitatively
Two metering tanks, each with a suction port for injecting liquid and a discharge port for discharging liquid,
A discharge unit connected to the discharge port of both of the two metering tanks is provided.
The two metering tanks are connected to a common air pump that controls the air pressure in the metering tank.
When the air pump rotates in the normal direction, the liquid is sucked into one of the metering tanks, and the liquid is discharged from the other metering tank via the discharge unit.
When the air pump reverses, the liquid is sucked into the other metering tank, and the liquid is discharged from one of the metering tanks through the discharge unit .
The metering tank is a discharge valve including a pump connection port connected to an air pump and a liquid stop filter provided at the pump connection port to allow air to pass through and not to allow liquid to permeate . The discharge unit closes the discharge port of one of the metering tanks when the air pump rotates forward, opens the discharge port of the other metering tank, and opens the discharge port of the other metering tank, and when the air pump reverses, of the other metering tank. The discharge valve according to claim 1, further comprising a opposite check valve that closes the discharge port and opens the discharge port of one of the metering tanks. The opposite check valve has a cylinder connected to the discharge ports of both of the metering tanks and a sealing ball moving inside the cylinder, and the sealing balls are two of the above. The discharge valve according to claim 2, wherein one of the discharge ports of the metering tank is closed. The discharge valve according to claim 1, wherein the capacity in the metering tank is set by an installation position of the liquid stop filter at the pump connection port . The discharge valve according to claim 4 , further comprising a capacity adjusting mechanism for adjusting the installation position of the liquid stop filter at the pump connection port . A discharge pump using the discharge valve according to any one of claims 1 to 5.