JPH0113525B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a sampling unit equipped in a clinical automated chemical analyzer.

(Problems to be Solved by Prior Art and the Invention) Conventionally, the sampling unit installed in clinical automated chemical analyzers consists of a sample unit with a large number of sample cups arranged, and a nozzle that can be inserted into and taken out of the sample cup. The sample unit is moved directly below the nozzle, or the nozzle is moved horizontally above a fixed sample unit, and the nozzle is placed in a predetermined sample cup in the sample unit. The nozzle is lowered to aspirate a predetermined amount of the test body fluid in the sample cup, and then the nozzle is raised, and then the test body fluid held in the nozzle is dispensed and discharged into the reaction tube.

Although the current sample cup has a large opening, it is possible to inject the analyte into multiple sample cups in the sample unit and then dispense the sample into the reaction tube without sealing the opening. When the unit is applied, the analyte fluid in the sample cup evaporates while the nozzle sequentially aspirates the analyte, causing concentration of the analyte fluid. As a result, there is a possibility that an error may occur in the measured value of the subject's body fluid. In order to prevent the sample cup from evaporating, the sample cup opening should be provided with a lid, but for example, a plastic plate or a thick rubber plate is not suitable as the lid.
This is because the nozzle in a conventional sample unit is a flexible Teflon tube, so the nozzle cannot penetrate the plastic plate that serves as the lid, which would interfere with the suction operation. be. Therefore, a sheet such as Parafilm (trade name: manufactured by American Can Company), which has the breaking strength and adhesion that allows the nozzle to be inserted through the Teflon tube, is pasted tightly over the opening of the sample cup. It is conceivable to prevent the evaporation of the sample body fluid in the sample cup (for example, the technique disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 163993/1983). However, if the parafilm is tightly attached to the sample cup opening,
Since tension is applied to the parafilm, as soon as the nozzle is inserted through the parafilm covering the sample cup opening, the entire parafilm breaks, and no cover is placed over the sample cup opening. Evaporation of the subject's body fluid cannot be prevented because the condition is the same as if it had not been carried out.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and allows a nozzle to be easily inserted into the lid that covers the sample cup opening, and also prevents the entire lid from breaking even when the nozzle is inserted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sampling unit that can effectively prevent evaporation of a sample body fluid within a sample cup.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) The outline of this invention for achieving the above object is as follows:
In a sampling unit that aspirates the body fluid to be tested stored in each of a plurality of sample cups into a nozzle that moves to the position of each sample cup, and discharges the body fluid to be tested held in the nozzle into a reaction tube, the sample cup is At the same time, a first sheet adjusted to have a predetermined tension and a second sheet stretched so as to have a tension lower than that of the first sheet are polymerized. The present invention is characterized in that it comprises a lid portion having a composite sheet made of the same material, and a nozzle that can be inserted into the composite sheet.

(Function) The lid is made of a superposition of a first sheet stretched with a predetermined tension and a second sheet stretched with a tension weaker than the first sheet. Even if the first sheet breaks when the nozzle is inserted, the breaking force will be buffered by the second sheet, and as a whole, it will only be partially broken and there will be no large hole, so after the nozzle is removed, Evaporation of the liquid in the sample cup can be minimized.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

A sampling unit, which is an embodiment of the present invention, is a device that is installed in an automatic chemical analyzer and aspirates and dispenses a large number of sample body fluids into a large number of reaction tubes that perform various biochemical reactions. As shown in FIG. 1A, a sample cassette 1 having an opening 1A for inserting a sample cup on the top surface;
A large number of sample cups 2 are inserted into the opening 1A, and as shown in FIG. A lid part 3 covers the upper opening, and a lid part 3 is disposed above the sample cassette 1, moves above the sample cassette along the row of sample cups 2, and descends into a predetermined sample cup 2 to close the sample cup 2. It aspirates the sample body fluid stored in the chamber, rises above the sample cup 2 after suction, then moves above the reaction tube (not shown), and discharges or divides a predetermined amount of the sample body fluid into the reaction tube (not shown). It has a nozzle.

The lid portion 3 will be explained in further detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the lid section 3 includes a housing 3A that can be attached to the top surface of the cassette case 1, and a sheet member 3C stretched over the entire opening 3B formed on the top surface of the housing 3A. . It is preferable that the height h of the casing 3A is smaller than the height from the opening of the sampling cup 2 set upright on the cassette case 1 to the top surface of the cassette case 1. This is because cassette case 1 in which sampling cup 2 is placed
This is because when the housing 3A is attached to the top surface of the sample cup 2, the sheet member 3C will tightly fit into the opening of the sample cup 2. The sheet member 3C is
A first sheet 3D is stretched with a constant tension and has adhesive properties, such as parafilm, rubber, etc., and is stretched with a tension lower than that of the first sheet 3D, A second sheet 3E that buffers the force when the first sheet 3D breaks.
For example, a composite sheet formed by polymerizing cellophane, polypropylene, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "sheet")
means something in the form of a thin plate or membrane, and includes "film". ). The composite sheet may be one in which the first sheet 3D and the second sheet 3E are polymerized via a suitable adhesive, for example, a parafilm and a cellophane-based adhesive sheet may be polymerized, and The first sheet 3D may be laminated or coated with a second sheet material. The first sheet 3D requires constant tension and adhesion, as shown in FIG. This is to do so.

Next, the nozzle will be explained in detail. As shown in FIG. 4A, the nozzle 4 is configured to be movable up and down, and has an internal hollow guide member 4A having a sharp tip, for example, a metal pipe, and is disposed within the guide member 4A. It is provided with a suction and discharge pipe 4B made of, for example, Teflon and formed so as to be able to enter and exit from the tip of the guide member 4A. The guide member 4A guides the suction and discharge pipe 4B into the reaction tube 2 by piercing and passing through the sheet member 3C. The suction and discharge pipe 4B is connected to the sheet member 3.
The guide member 4A is extended from the tip of the guide member 4A inserted through the tube C, and is configured to aspirate the sample body fluid in the reaction tube 2.

Next, the operation of the sample unit having the above structure will be explained. First, the sample cups 2 containing the body fluid to be examined are arranged in a matrix in the opening 1A of the sample cassette 1, and then the lid 3 is placed on the top surface of the sample cassette 1. In this case, the height h of the casing 3A of the lid part 3 is smaller than the height from the top surface of the sample cassette 1 to the opening of the sample cup 2, and the first sheet 3D of the sheet member 3C has good adhesion. Since the sample cup 2 has a certain tension, the opening of the sample cup 2 is
It can be covered tightly. Thereafter, the nozzle 4 is moved above the sample cassette 1 with the lid 3 attached, and the nozzle 4 is positioned above the predetermined reaction tube 2, as shown in FIG. 4A. At this time, in the nozzle 4, the suction and discharge pipe 4B is housed in the guide member 4A. Then, the entire nozzle 4 descends, and the guide member 4
Due to the sharp tip of the nozzle 4, the tip of the nozzle 4 passes through the sheet member 3C and pierces the inside of the sample cup 2, as shown in FIG. 4B. In this case, if the sheet member 3C is formed of only the first sheet 3D, the first sheet 3D has strong tension, so the first sheet 3C
As soon as the nozzle 4 is inserted into D, the sheet member 3C
However, in this invention, as the sheet member 3C, a composite sheet is used in which a first sheet 3D is polymerized with a second sheet 3E, which has a lower tension. Therefore, even if the nozzle 4 is inserted into the sheet member 3C, the force when the first sheet 3D breaks will be buffered by the second sheet 3E, and the entire sheet member 3C will not break. Instead, only a small hole is made in the sheet member 3C by the nozzle 4. After inserting the nozzle 4 into the sample cup 2, the suction/discharge pipe 4B housed within the guide member 4A is drawn out from the tip of the guide member 4A and penetrated into the sample body fluid. Then, a predetermined amount of the subject fluid is suctioned into the suction and discharge pipe 4B.
After suction, the suction and discharge pipe 4B is raised and housed in the guide member 4A, and then the entire nozzle 4 is raised and the discharge operation to the reaction tube begins.

In addition, if the structure is such that the body fluid to be examined is sucked and discharged using a suction and discharge pipe that can be inserted into and taken out of the metal pipe, the liquid will not adhere to the circumferential surface of the metal pipe.
It is possible to prevent the sheet of the lid part 3 from getting dirty.

When the sample unit is configured as described above, the opening of the sample cup 2 is covered with the sheet member 3C of the lid 3, so that the sample body fluid evaporates until it is aspirated by the nozzle 4. Furthermore, even if the nozzle 4 is inserted into the sheet member 3C, the nozzle 4 will only make a small hole in the sheet member 3C, and the entire sheet member 3C will not break, so that subsequent body fluid evaporation can be prevented.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist of the invention.

The lid in the above embodiment was designed to cover all the openings of a large number of sample cups arranged in rows and columns on the cassette case, but the lid was designed to cover the openings of each sample cup one by one. It may also constitute a section. In other words, an opening having a smaller diameter than the sample cup opening is provided on the end face of a bottomed cylindrical cap that can be fitted onto the outer periphery of the bottomed cylindrical sample cup opening. The lid portion is constructed by stretching a sheet member similar to the above. Providing a lid for each sample cup is convenient because the body fluid to be examined can be stored in each sample cup.

Further, the nozzle in the above embodiment had a guide member and a suction and discharge pipe that was arranged inside the guide member and could be taken in and out, but the nozzle was a metal suction and discharge pipe with a sharp tip. It's okay. In this way, the device and members can be simplified.

In addition, if the depth of the opening for the sample cup in the sample cassette is almost the same as the height of the sample cup, and the sample cup is attached to the sample cassette, the top surface of the sample cassette and the top surface of the opening of the sample cup will overlap. When using a sample cassette in which the composite sheet is placed on the same plane, the composite sheet covers the entire top surface of the sample cassette, and the lid part is set so that the housing in which the composite sheet is stretched can be fitted onto the top of the sample cassette. may be configured.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since the lid portion is provided at the opening of the sample cup, it is possible to prevent the evaporation of the specimen body fluid until the specimen fluid is suctioned by the nozzle, and also to prevent the specimen fluid from evaporating until the specimen fluid is sucked by the nozzle. Even if you pierce the composite sheet at the end, the entire composite sheet will not break and only a small hole will open, so even if the nozzle suctions the specimen fluid many times, the evaporation of the specimen fluid during that period will be prevented. It can be prevented. Therefore,
There is almost no evaporation of the analyte fluid (the amount of evaporation of the analyte fluid through the holes in the composite sheet made with the nozzle is negligible and can be ignored), and the automatic chemical analyzer equipped with the sampling unit of the present invention analysis data can be made accurate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1A is a perspective view showing a sample cassette in which a sample cup is placed, Figure 1B is a perspective view showing a lid attached to a sample cassette in which a sample cup is placed, and Figure 2 is a cross section showing the lid. figure,
Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a sample cup covered with a composite sheet, and Fig. 4 A, B, and C are a series of steps when a nozzle aspirates the sample fluid in the sample cup covered with a composite sheet. It is an explanatory diagram showing operation. 2...sample cup, 3...lid, 3C...
Composite sheet, 3D... first sheet, 3E... second sheet, 4... nozzle, 4A... guide member,
4B...Suction and discharge pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The body fluid to be tested contained in each of a plurality of sample cups is sucked into a nozzle that moves to the position of each sample cup, and the body fluid to be tested held in the nozzle is discharged into a reaction tube. In the sampling unit, a first sheet that covers the opening of the sample cup and is stretched to have a predetermined tension, and a second sheet that is stretched to have a tension that is weaker than the tension of the first sheet. 1. A sampling unit comprising: a lid portion having a composite sheet formed by polymerizing two sheets; and a nozzle that can be inserted into the composite sheet. 2. The sampling unit according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a guide member having a sharp tip and a suction/discharge pipe arranged in the guide member and capable of entering and exiting the guide member. 3. The sampling unit according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is a metal pipe with a sharp tip.