U.S. patent application number 11/596567 was filed with the patent office on 2008-02-14 for tube cassette unit and liquid conveyance device using the same.
Invention is credited to Akira Higuchi.
Application Number | 20080038129 11/596567 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35394227 |
Filed Date | 2008-02-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080038129 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Higuchi; Akira |
February 14, 2008 |
Tube Cassette Unit and Liquid Conveyance Device Using the Same
Abstract
A tube cassette unit including a flexible conveying tube, a
discharge nozzle inserted into one end of the conveying tube and a
relay pipe inserted into the other end, a discharge side holding
part for coupling and holding the one end of the conveying tube to
the discharge nozzle, and an introduction side holding part for
coupling and holding the other end of the conveying tube to the
relay pipe is used, where the discharge side holding part and the
introduction side holding part are removably attached with the
conveying tube of the tube cassette wound and extended on at least
two rollers of a rotating body arranged with a plurality of rollers
at equidistance in the circumferential form, and a closed space is
formed in the conveying tube by the roller pressed against the
conveying tube, and the closed space is moved to convey the liquid
by the rotation of the rotating body.
Inventors: |
Higuchi; Akira; (Fukuoka,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WENDEROTH, LIND & PONACK L.L.P.
2033 K. STREET, NW
SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20006
US
|
Family ID: |
35394227 |
Appl. No.: |
11/596567 |
Filed: |
May 16, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
May 16, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP05/08870 |
371 Date: |
November 15, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
417/477.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01L 2400/0481 20130101;
G01N 35/1065 20130101; F04B 43/1215 20130101; F04B 43/1253
20130101; F04B 43/1292 20130101; B01L 3/021 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
417/477.2 |
International
Class: |
F04B 45/067 20060101
F04B045/067 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 18, 2004 |
JP |
2004-147325 |
May 18, 2004 |
JP |
2004-147335 |
Feb 7, 2005 |
JP |
2005-030704 |
Feb 7, 2005 |
JP |
2005-030709 |
Claims
1-24. (canceled)
25. A liquid conveying device comprising: a rotating body,
configured with a lateral axis as a rotating axis and rotatable
with the rotating axis as a center, arranged with at least three
rollers at equidistance in a circumferential form with the rotating
axis as the center; a tube cassette unit including a flexible
conveying tube, a relay pipe to which a liquid introduction side
end of the conveying tube is inserted, an introduction side holding
part for holding the relay pipe, a discharge nozzle inserted to a
liquid discharge side end of the conveying tube and a fixed
discharging side holding part for holding the discharge nozzle; a
tube cassette attachment unit for removably attaching the
introduction side holding part and the discharge side holding part
with the conveying tube wound to at least two rollers out of the
rollers of the rotating body and extended to an extent a closed
space is formed in the conveying tube and with a distal end of the
discharge nozzle facing the lower side; a rotating body drive
mechanism for rotating the rotating body with the rotating axis as
the center to change a contacting position of the at least two
rollers and the conveying tube and moving the closed space towards
a liquid discharge side end side; and a movement mechanism,
arranged on a lower side of the discharge side holding part and the
rotating body, for movably holding a container for receiving liquid
discharged from the discharge nozzle.
26. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein a
side opposite a side contacting the roller of a position the
conveying tube is wound to the roller of the rotating body is
released as a conveying tube attachment and detachment space.
27. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein the
tube cassette attachment unit attaches the tube cassette unit so
that the conveying tube is wound to at least three rollers to
continuously form a plurality of closed spaces.
28. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein the
introduction side holding part is configured to couple and hold the
liquid introduction side end of the conveying tube to the first
pipe body, and the discharge side holding part is configured to
couple and hold the discharge side end of the conveying tube to the
second pipe body.
29. The liquid conveying device according to claim 28, wherein the
introduction side holding part includes an introduction side pipe
holding member through which the first pipe body is passed for
fixing and a coupling member, integrally coupled with the
introduction side pipe holding member, for pressing and holding one
end of the conveying tube as an insertion site of the first pipe on
an outer surface of the first pipe body; and the discharge holding
member includes a plate shaped discharge side pipe holding member
through which the second pipe body is passed for fixing for fixing
and a plate shaped coupling member, integrally coupled with the
discharge side pipe holding member, for pressing and holding the
other end of the conveying tube or an insertion site of the second
pipe to an outer surface of the second pipe body.
30. The liquid conveying device according to claim 29, wherein the
coupling member of the introduction side holding part is a plate
shaped body including a through hole fittable with the first pipe
body, the through hole being configured so as to gradually narrow
from an insertion surface towards a back surface so that an inner
diameter dimension of the insertion surface of a side into which
the first pipe body is inserted becomes greater than an outer
diameter dimension of the first pipe body fixed to the introduction
side pipe holding member, and so that an inner diameter dimension
of the back surface of the insertion surface becomes substantially
the same as the outer diameter dimension of the first pipe body;
and the coupling member of the discharge side holding part is a
plate shaped body including a through hole fittable with the second
pipe body, the through hole being configured so as to gradually
narrow from an insertion surface towards a back surface so that an
inner diameter dimension of the insertion surface of a side into
which the second pipe body is inserted becomes greater than an
outer diameter dimension of the second pipe body fixed to the
discharge side pipe holding member, and so that an inner diameter
dimension of the back surface of the insertion surface becomes
substantially the same as the outer diameter dimension of the
second pipe body.
31. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein the
introduction side holding part includes an introduction side pipe
holding member for holding the first pipe body so as to be freely
movable in the axis direction, and a position adjustment mechanism
for adjusting a position of the first pipe body in the axis
direction thereof with respect to the introduction side pipe
holding member.
32. The liquid conveying device according to claim 31, wherein the
first pipe body includes a flange part arranged projecting to a
periphery at an intermediate position in the axis direction; the
introduction side pipe holding member includes a through hole to be
fitted with the first pipe body; and the position adjustment
mechanism includes a screw hole arranged at the flange part or at a
position facing the flange part of the introduction side pipe
holding member, and an adjustment screw screw-fit to the screw hole
to adjust a distance between the flange part and the introduction
side pipe holding member in the axis direction.
33. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein the
tube cassette unit further includes, a liquid supply pipe
communicating with a liquid storage part for storing a liquid; and
an introducing tube communicating with the conveying tube by
inserting the liquid supply pipe into one end thereof and the other
end side of the first pipe body into the other end thereof.
34. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein the
tube cassette unit includes a plurality of the conveying tubes
arranged parallel in a band shape, first pipe bodies inserted into
liquid introduction side ends of all the conveying tubes,
introduction side holding parts for holding the first pipe bodies,
second pipe bodies inserted into liquid discharge side ends of all
the conveying tubes, and discharge side holding parts for holding
the second pipe bodies; and all the conveying tubes are wound to
the at least two rollers of the rotating body to form closed
spaces, the closed spaces being simultaneously moved towards the
liquid discharge side end side with a rotation of the rotating
body.
35. The liquid conveying device according to claim 34, wherein the
rollers are arranged so as to be parallel to the rotating axis.
36. The liquid conveying device according to claim 35, wherein the
rotating body includes a plurality of cylindrical rollers formed
extending perpendicular to two circular discs and rotatable with
the axis as the center between the two circular discs arranged
parallel to each other at a distance.
37. The liquid conveying device according to claim 25, wherein the
rotating body drive mechanism includes a rotation angle detection
part for detecting a rotation angle of the rotating body, and a
rotation angle controlling part for controlling the conveying
amount of the liquid by controlling the rotation angle of the
rotating body detected by the rotation angle detection part.
38. A tube cassette unit removably attached to a liquid discharge
device including a rotating body, configured with a lateral axis as
a rotating axis and rotatable with the rotating axis as a center,
arranged with at least three rollers at equidistance in a
circumferential form with the rotating axis as the center, for
applying press-rolling action to conveying tubes with the rollers
to convey liquid to discharge nozzles and discharge from the
discharge nozzles to a microtiter plate, the tube cassette unit
comprising: a plurality of flexible conveying tubes arranged in
parallel in a band shape and wound to the at least two rollers of
the rotating body while being extended from upper sides; a
plurality of relay pipes serving as a first pipe body and having
one ends respectively inserted to one ends of the plurality of the
conveying tubes; a plurality of discharge nozzles serving as a
second pipe body, respectively inserted to the other ends of the
plurality of conveying tubes, and arranged according to a pitch of
wells in one column arranged in the microtiter plate; a single
introduction side holding part for holding the relay pipes,
configured to be removably attached to the liquid discharge device;
a single discharge side holding part for holding the discharge
nozzles, configured to be removably attached to the liquid
discharge device; a plurality of introducing tubes having one ends
respectively inserted to the other ends of the plurality of relay
pipes to respectively communicate with the conveying tubes, for
suctioning the liquid from the other ends; and a gripping part used
in pulling the introduction side holding part to extend the
conveying tubes after the discharge side holding part is attached
to the liquid discharge device.
39. The tube cassette unit according to claim 38, wherein the
plurality of discharge nozzles are arranged at a pitch same as or
at a pitch integral multiples of a pitch of adjacent wells of the
microtiter plate.
40. The tube cassette unit according to claim 38, wherein the
introduction side holding part includes an introduction side pipe
holding member through which the relay pipe is passed for fixing,
and a coupling member integrally coupled with the introduction side
pipe holding member, for pressing and holding one ends of the
conveying tubes as insertion sites of the relay pipes on outer
surfaces of the relay pipes; and the discharge side holding part
includes a plate shaped discharge side pipe holding member through
which the discharge nozzles is passed for fixing, and a plate
shaped coupling member, integrally coupled with the discharge side
pipe holding member, for pressing and then holding the other ends
of the conveying tubes as an insertion sites of the discharge
nozzles on an outer surfaces of the discharge nozzles.
41. The tube cassette unit according to claim 40, wherein the
coupling member of the introduction side holding part is a plate
shaped body including a through hole fittable with the relay pipes,
the through hole being configured so as to gradually narrow from an
insertion surface towards a back surface so that an inner diameter
dimension of the insertion surface of a side into which the relay
pipes are inserted becomes greater than an outer diameter
dimensions of the relay pipes fixed to the introduction side pipe
holding member, and so that an inner diameter dimension of the back
surface of the insertion surface becomes substantially the same as
the outer diameter dimensions of the relay pipes; and the coupling
member of the discharge side holding part is a plate shaped body
including a through hole fittable with the discharge nozzles, the
through hole being configured so as to gradually narrow from an
insertion surface towards a back surface so that an inner diameter
dimension of the insertion surface of a side into which the second
pipe body is inserted becomes greater than an outer diameter
dimension of the discharge nozzles fixed to the discharge side pipe
holding member, and so that an inner diameter dimension of the back
surface of the insertion surface becomes substantially the same as
the outer diameter dimension of the discharge nozzle.
42. A tube cassette unit removably attached to a liquid discharge
device including a rotating body, configured with a lateral axis as
a rotating axis and rotatable with the rotating axis as a center,
arranged with at least three rollers at equidistance in a
circumferential form with the rotating axis as the center, for
applying press-rolling action to conveying tubes with the rollers
to convey liquid to discharge nozzles, and discharge from the
discharge nozzles to a microtiter plate, the tube cassette unit
comprising: a plurality of flexible conveying tubes arranged in
parallel in a band shape and wound to the at least two rollers of
the rotating body while being extended from the upper sides; a
plurality of relay pipes serving as a first pipe body and having
one ends respectively inserted to one ends of the plurality of the
conveying tubes; a plurality of discharge nozzles respectively
serving as a second pipe body, respecting inserted to the other
ends of the plurality of conveying tubes, and arranged according to
a pitch of wells in one column arranged in the microtiter plate; an
introduction side holding part, removably attached to the liquid
discharging device and including an introduction side holding
member for holding the plurality of relay pipes so as to be movable
in an axis direction, and a position adjustment mechanism for
individually adjusting the position of the relay pipes in the axis
direction with respect to the introduction side pipe holding
member; a single discharge side holding part for holding the
discharge nozzles and configured to be removably attached to the
liquid discharge device; a plurality of introducing tubes having
one ends respectively inserted to the other ends of the plurality
of relay pipes to respectively communicate with the conveying
tubes, for suctioning the liquid from the other ends; and a
gripping part used in pulling the introduction side holding part to
extend the conveying tubes after the discharge side holding part is
attached to the liquid discharge device.
43. The tube cassette unit according to claim 42, wherein the relay
pipe includes a flange part arranged projecting to a periphery at
an intermediate position in the axis direction; the introduction
side pipe holding member includes a through hole in which the relay
pipe is fitted; and the position adjustment mechanism includes a
screw hole arranged at the flange part or at a position facing the
flange part of the introduction side pipe holding member, and an
adjustment screw screwed into the screw hole to adjust a distance
between the flange part and the introduction side pipe holding
member in the axis direction.
44. The tube cassette unit according to claim 42, wherein the
discharge nozzle includes a contacting part for contacting to the
discharge side holding part at the intermediate position in the
axis direction; and the discharge side holding part includes a
plate shaped discharge side pipe holding member including a through
hole with which the discharge nozzle is fitted, and a fixing member
for fixing the discharge nozzle in an inserted state until the
contacting part of the discharge nozzles contacts the discharge
side pipe holding member.
45. The tube cassette unit according to claim 44, wherein the
contacting part is constructed as a flange part arranged so as to
contact a surface facing the introduction side holding part of the
discharge side pipe holding member.
46. A tube cassette unit according to claim 42, wherein the
plurality of discharge nozzles is arranged at a pitch same as or at
a pitch integral multiples of a pitch of the adjacent wells of the
microtiter plate.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid conveying device
for conveying liquid in a tube by applying a press-rolling action
on the flexible tube with a roller, and a tube cassette unit used
in a liquid discharging device for discharging liquid in the
tube.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Conventionally, a liquid conveying device is known in which
an elastic tube is curved and held at an arc-shaped inner
peripheral wall surface of a holder, and a rotor including a
plurality of pressing rollers on the outer peripheral part is
rotatably driven thereby applying the press-rolling action to the
tube as the pressing roller rolls and travels on the tube at a
predetermined pressure welding force and discharging the liquid in
the tube from the distal end. The liquid conveying device is
disclosed in for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.
H10-131861, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-287577,
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-218841 and the
like.
[0003] In such liquid conveying device, the rollers arranged on the
peripheral surface of the rotatably driven rotating body are
pressed against the flexible tube held in a curved state along a
pressing body having an arc-shaped peripheral wall to define a
deformed portion where the tube is constricted and squashed by the
pressing body and the roller. The device conveys the liquid in the
tube with the press-rolling action by rotating the rotating body in
a constant direction in the above state and moving the position of
the deformed portion of the tube.
[0004] The liquid conveying device is used in various apparatuses.
For example, use is made in fluid infusion pump, experiment
equipments or the like as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent
Publication No. 2001-218841. The type of liquid to be conveyed in
the tube is sometimes frequently changed due to the property of the
apparatus. In order to prevent the problem of contamination and the
like of the liquid in the tube, the tube itself is sometimes
required to be changed frequently. [0005] [Patent document 1]
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H10-131861 [0006] [Patent
document 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H9-287577
[0007] [Patent document 3] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication
No. 2001-218841
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
[0008] However, in the conventional liquid conveying device, the
tube must be removed after the roller or the pressing body is
removed to change the tube since the tube is maintained in the
constricted state by the pressing body and the roller. Thus, the
trouble of changing the tube is large. In particular, the trouble
of changing the tube is enormous in the multi-channel apparatus in
which the tube is arranged in pluralities since the rollers or the
pressing bodies worth the number of tubes must be removed.
[0009] In the device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent
Publication No. H10-131861, the removal of the squeezing plate is
performed relatively easily since the operation of the squeezing
plate for squeezing the tube is performed by driving an
electrically operated solenoid, but is still very troublesome since
the squeezing plate and the electrically operated solenoid must be
coupled, and further, the installing location must be adjusted so
that the tube is positioned between the squeezing plate and the
roller when attaching the tube.
[0010] In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-218841,
the pressing body and the tube are integrally configured as a pump
cassette, and configured so that the cassette is integrally removed
when changing the cassette, but the configuration becomes
complicating. In particular, the configuration becomes more
complicating when used in the multi-channel device in which the
tube is arranged in pluralities.
[0011] Since the tube is sandwiched by the roller and the pressing
body in both articles, the tube is difficult to check from the
outside, and whether the liquid is being conveyed is difficult to
check visually.
[0012] Furthermore, if discharge nozzles are attached to the
discharge side of the conveying tube, the position of the
respective discharge nozzle must be set in accordance with the
container. Thus, the position of the discharge nozzles must be
changed when the discharging container is changed and the
respective conveying tube must be attached individually, and thus
the trouble in changing the conveying tube becomes enormous.
[0013] Therefore, the issue to be solved by the present invention
is to provide a tube cassette unit in which the conveying tube of
the multi-channel is easily changed, and a liquid conveying device
in which the trouble of changing the tube is saved and in which the
liquid is conveyed by applying the press-rolling action to the
tube.
Means for Solving the Problem
[0014] The first aspect of the present invention provides liquid
conveying device comprising:
[0015] a rotating body, configured with a lateral axis as a
rotating axis and rotatable with the rotating axis as a center,
arranged with at least three rollers at equidistance in a
circumferential form with the rotating axis as the center;
[0016] a tube cassette unit including a flexible conveying tube, a
first pipe body inserted into a liquid introduction side end of the
conveying tube, an introduction side holding part for holding the
first pipe body, a second pipe body inserted into a liquid
discharge side end of the conveying tube, and a discharging side
holding part for holding the second pipe body;
[0017] a tube cassette attachment unit for removably attaching the
introduction side holding part and the discharge side holding part
with the conveying tube wound to at least two rollers out of the
rollers of the rotating body to extend to an extent a closed space
is formed in the conveying tube; and
[0018] a rotating body drive mechanism for rotating the rotating
body with the rotating axis as the center to change a contacting
position of the at least two rollers and the conveying tube and
moving the closed space towards a liquid discharge side end
side.
[0019] The liquid conveying device forms a closed space in the tube
without using a pressing body for sandwiching the tube with the
rollers by contacting the conveying tube to the rollers of the
rotating body in an extended state and pressing the tube using the
tension applied to the relevant conveying tube by the roller. When
the rotating body is rotated in this state, the contacting
positions of the rollers and the tube changes, whereby the closed
space move and the liquid present in the tube moves.
[0020] The number of rollers wound by the conveying tube only needs
to be at least two, but may be more. As long as at least two
rollers are contacting the conveying tube at any phase, the number
of rollers that contact with the phase of the rotation of the
rollers may be changed. That is, three rollers contact the
conveying tube at a certain phase and two closed spaces are formed
as a result, but the roller at the front may separate from the
conveying tube due to the rotation of the rollers thereby releasing
the closed space at the front before the next roller contacts the
conveying tube and form a new closed space.
[0021] The second aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the first aspect, wherein a side
opposite a side contacting the roller of a position the conveying
tube is wound to the roller of the rotating body is released as a
conveying tube attachment and detachment space.
[0022] The third aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the first aspect, wherein the tube
cassette attachment unit attaches the tube cassette unit so that
the conveying tube is wound to at least three rollers to
continuously form a plurality of closed spaces.
[0023] The fourth aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the first aspect, wherein the
introduction side holding part is configured to couple and hold the
liquid introduction side end of the conveying tube to the first
pipe body, and the discharge side holding part is configured to
couple and hold the discharge side end of the conveying tube to the
second pipe body.
[0024] The fifth aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the fourth aspect, wherein the
introduction side holding part includes an introduction side pipe
holding member through which the first pipe body is passed for
fixing and a coupling member, integrally coupled with the
introduction side pipe holding member, for pressing and holding one
end of the conveying tube as an insertion site of the first pipe on
an outer surface of the first pipe body; and
[0025] the discharge holding member includes a plate shaped
discharge side pipe holding member through which the second pipe
body is passed for fixing for fixing and a plate shaped coupling
member, integrally coupled with the discharge side pipe holding
member, for pressing and holding the other end of the conveying
tube or an insertion site of the second pipe to an outer surface of
the second pipe body.
[0026] The sixth aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the fifth aspect, wherein the coupling
member of the introduction side holding part is a plate shaped body
including a through hole fittable with the first pipe body, the
through hole being configured so as to gradually narrow from an
insertion surface towards a back surface so that an inner diameter
dimension of the insertion surface of a side into which the first
pipe body is inserted becomes greater than an outer diameter
dimension of the first pipe body fixed to the introduction side
pipe holding member, and so that an inner diameter dimension of the
back surface of the insertion surface becomes substantially the
same as the outer diameter dimension of the first pipe body;
and
[0027] the coupling member of the discharge side holding part is a
plate shaped body including a through hole fittable with the second
pipe body, the through hole being configured so as to gradually
narrow from an insertion surface towards a back surface so that an
inner diameter dimension of the insertion surface of a side into
which the second pipe body is inserted becomes greater than an
outer diameter dimension of the second pipe body fixed to the
discharge side pipe holding member, and so that an inner diameter
dimension of the back surface of the insertion surface becomes
substantially the same as the outer diameter dimension of the
second pipe body.
[0028] In the liquid conveying device according to the seventh
aspect of the present invention, the relative position of a first
pipe body is adjusted with respect to the introduction side pipe
holding member by the introduction side holding member for holding
the first pipe body so as to be movable in the axis direction and
the position adjustment member. The tension to be applied to the
conveying tube can thus be adjusted, and the amount of liquid
conveyed through the conveying tube can be adjusted. In other
words, since the tension applied to the conveying tube changes
thereby changing the inner diameter of the conveying tube involved
in the pulling force by adjusting the relative position of the
first pipe body and the introduction side pipe holding member, the
conveying amount of the liquid by the press-rolling action of the
roller can be adjusted.
[0029] The eighth aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the seventh aspect, wherein the first
pipe body includes a flange part arranged projecting to a periphery
at an intermediate position in the axis direction;
[0030] the introduction side pipe holding member includes a through
hole to be fitted with the first pipe body; and
[0031] the position adjustment mechanism includes a screw hole
arranged at the flange part or at a position facing the flange part
of the introduction side pipe holding member, and an adjustment
screw screw-fit to the screw hole to adjust a distance between the
flange part and the introduction side pipe holding member in the
axis direction.
[0032] The ninth aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the first aspect, wherein the second
pipe body is a discharge nozzle.
[0033] The tenth aspect of the present invention provides the
liquid conveying device of the first aspect, wherein the tube
cassette unit further includes,
[0034] a liquid supply pipe communicating with a liquid storage
part for storing a liquid; and
[0035] an introducing tube communicating with the conveying tube by
inserting the liquid supply pipe into one end thereof and the other
end side of the first pipe body into the other end thereof.
[0036] The 11th aspect of the present invention provides the liquid
conveying device of the first aspect, wherein the tube cassette
unit includes a plurality of the conveying tubes arranged parallel
in a band shape, first pipe bodies inserted into liquid
introduction side ends of all the conveying tubes, introduction
side holding parts for holding the first pipe bodies, second pipe
bodies inserted into liquid discharge side ends of all the
conveying tubes, and discharge side holding parts for holding the
second pipe bodies; and
[0037] all the conveying tubes are wound to the at least two
rollers of the rotating body to form closed spaces, the closed
spaces being simultaneously moved towards the liquid discharge side
end side with a rotation of the rotating body.
[0038] The 12th aspect of the present invention provides the liquid
conveying device of the 11th aspect 11, wherein the rollers are
arranged so as to be parallel to the rotating axis.
[0039] The 13th aspect of the present invention provides the liquid
conveying device of the 12th aspect, wherein the rotating body
includes a plurality of cylindrical rollers formed extending
perpendicular to two circular discs and rotatable with the axis as
the center between the two circular discs arranged parallel to each
other at a distance.
[0040] The 14th aspect of the present invention provides the liquid
conveying device of the first aspect, wherein the rotating body
drive mechanism includes a rotation angle detection part for
detecting a rotation angle of the rotating body, and a rotation
angle controlling part for controlling the conveying amount of the
liquid by controlling the rotation angle of the rotating body
detected by the rotation angle detection part.
[0041] The 15th aspect of the present invention provides a tube
cassette unit removably attached to a liquid discharge device
including a rotating body, configured with a lateral axis as a
rotating axis and rotatable with the rotating axis as a center,
arranged with at least three rollers at equidistance in a
circumferential form with the rotating axis as the center, for
applying press-rolling action to conveying tubes with the rollers
to convey liquid to discharge nozzles and discharge from the
discharge nozzles to a microtiter plate, the tube cassette unit
comprising:
[0042] a plurality of flexible conveying tubes arranged in parallel
in a band shape and wound to the at least two rollers of the
rotating body while being extended from an upper sides;
[0043] a plurality of relay pipes serving as a first pipe body and
having one ends respectively inserted into one ends of the
plurality of the conveying tubes;
[0044] a plurality of discharge nozzles serving as a second pipe
body, respectively inserted into the other ends of the plurality of
the conveying tubes, and arranged according to a pitch of wells in
one column arranged in the microtiter plate;
[0045] an introduction side holding part for holding the relay
pipes, configured to be removably attached to the liquid discharge
device;
[0046] a discharge side holding part for holding the discharge
nozzles, configured to be removably attached to the liquid
discharge device; and
[0047] a plurality of introducing tubes having one ends
respectively inserted into the other ends of the plurality of relay
pipes to respectively communicate with the conveying tubes, for
suctioning the liquid from the other ends.
[0048] The liquid discharging device contacts the conveying tubes
to the rollers of the rotating body in the extended state, and uses
the tension applied to the relevant conveying tube by the rollers
to press the tubes. The closed space is formed in the tubes by the
tension applied to the conveying tubes without using the pressing
body for sandwiching the tubes with the roller. When the rotating
body is rotated in this state, the contacting position of the
rollers and the tubes moves and the closed space moves accordingly,
whereby the liquid present in the tube moves.
[0049] The tube cassette unit of the 15th aspect includes a
plurality of the conveying tubes wound to the liquid discharging
device. Each conveying tubes has the discharge nozzles and the
relay pipes inserted into either end to form one unit with the
relay pipes held at the introduction side holding part and the
discharge nozzles at the discharge side holding part. The discharge
nozzles are arranged in the discharge side holding part in
correspondence to the pitch of the well column of the microtiter
plate arrayed in a direction substantially parallel to the
discharge nozzles. Therefore, when attaching to the liquid
discharging device, a plurality of tubes are attached to the device
all at once by attaching the introduction side holding part and the
discharge side holding part respectively at a predetermined
attachment part of the liquid discharging device. Similarly, when
detaching the tube cassette unit, a plurality of the conveying
tubes is detached all at once by detaching the introduction side
holding part and the discharge side holding part.
[0050] The 16th aspect of the present invention provides a
plurality of discharge nozzles are arranged at an arrangement
corresponding to the pitch of the well column of the microtiter,
that is, the tube cassette unit of the 15th aspect, wherein the
plurality of discharge nozzles are arranged at a pitch same as or
at a pitch integral multiples of a pitch of adjacent wells of the
microtiter plate.
[0051] The 17th aspect of the present invention provides the tube
cassette unit of the 15th aspect, wherein the introduction side
holding part includes an introduction side pipe holding member
through which the relay pipe is passed for fixing, and a coupling
member integrally coupled with the introduction side pipe holding
member, for pressing and holding one ends of the conveying tubes as
insertion sites of the relay pipes on outer surfaces of the relay
pipes; and
[0052] the discharge side holding part includes a plate shaped
discharge side pipe holding member through which the discharge
nozzles is passed for fixing, and a plate shaped coupling member,
integrally coupled with the discharge side pipe holding member, for
pressing and then holding the other ends of the conveying tubes as
an insertion sites of the discharge nozzles on an outer surfaces of
the discharge nozzles.
[0053] The 18th aspect of the present invention provides the tube
cassette unit of the 17th aspect, wherein the coupling member of
the introduction side holding part is a plate shaped body including
a through hole fittable with the relay pipes, the through hole
being configured so as to gradually narrow from an insertion
surface towards a back surface so that an inner diameter dimension
of the insertion surface of a side into which the relay pipes are
inserted becomes greater than an outer diameter dimensions of the
relay pipes fixed to the introduction side pipe holding member, and
so that an inner diameter dimension of the back surface of the
insertion surface becomes substantially the same as the outer
diameter dimensions of the relay pipes; and
[0054] the coupling member of the discharge side holding part is a
plate shaped body including a through hole fittable with the
discharge nozzles, the through hole being configured so as to
gradually narrow from an insertion surface towards a back surface
so that an inner diameter dimension of the insertion surface of a
side into which the second pipe body is inserted becomes greater
than an outer diameter dimension of the discharge nozzles fixed to
the discharge side pipe holding member, and so that an inner
diameter dimension of the back surface of the insertion surface
becomes substantially the same as the outer diameter dimension of
the discharge nozzle.
[0055] The 19th aspect of the present invention provides the tube
cassette unit of the 15th aspect, wherein the introduction side
holding part includes a griping part used in pulling the
introduction side holding part to extend the conveying tubes after
the discharge side holding part is attached to the liquid discharge
device.
[0056] The 20th aspect of the present invention provides a tube
cassette unit removably attached to a liquid discharge device
including a rotating body, configured with a lateral axis as a
rotating axis and rotatable with the rotating axis as a center,
arranged with at least three rollers at equidistance in a
circumferential form with the rotating axis as the center, for
applying press-rolling action to conveying tubes with the rollers
to convey liquid to discharge nozzles, and discharge from the
discharge nozzles to a microtiter plate, the tube cassette unit
comprising:
[0057] a plurality of flexible conveying tubes arranged in parallel
in a band shape and wound to the at least two rollers of the
rotating body while being extended from upper sides;
[0058] a plurality of relay pipes serving as a first pipe body and
having one ends respectively inserted into one ends of the
plurality of the conveying tube;
[0059] a plurality of discharge nozzles respectively serving as a
second pipe body, respectively inserted into the other ends of the
plurality of the conveying tubes, and arranged according to a pitch
of wells in one column arranged in the microtiter plate;
[0060] an introduction side holding part, removably attached to the
liquid discharging device and including an introduction side
holding member for holding the plurality of relay pipes so as to be
movable in an axis direction, and a position of the relay pipes
adjustment mechanism for individually adjusting a position in the
axis direction with respect to the introduction side pipe holding
member;
[0061] a discharge side holding part for holding the discharge
nozzles and configured to be removably attached to the liquid
discharge device; and
[0062] a plurality of introducing tubes having one ends
respectively inserted into the other ends of the plurality of relay
pipes to respectively communicate with the conveying tubes, for
suctioning the liquid from the other ends.
[0063] The tube cassette unit of the 21st aspect of the present
invention is a tube cassette unit used in the liquid discharging
device. The liquid discharging device contacts the conveying tube
to the roller of the rotating body in the extended state, and uses
the tension applied to the conveying tube by the roller to press
the tube. The closed space in the tube is formed in the tube by the
tension applied to the conveying tube without using the pressing
body for holding the tube with the roller. When the rotating body
is rotated in this state, the contacting position of the roller and
the tube moves and the closed space moves accordingly, whereby the
liquid present in the tube moves.
[0064] The tube cassette unit includes an introduction side pipe
holding member for holding a plurality of relay pipes so as to be
movable in the axis direction thereof, and a plurality of position
adjustment mechanisms for individually adjusting the position in
the axis direction of the relay pipes with respect to the
introduction side pipe holding member, where the position of the
relay pipes with respect to the introduction side pipe holding
member is adjusted by the position adjustment mechanism. The amount
of liquid conveyed through the conveying tubes are thereby adjusted
for each conveying tubes. In other words, since the tension applied
to the relevant tubes change thereby changing the inner diameter of
the conveying tube involved in the pulling force by adjusting the
relative position of the relay pipes and the introduction side pipe
holding member, and thus the conveying amount of the liquid by the
press-rolling action of the rollers can be adjusted.
[0065] The 21st aspect of the present invention provides the tube
cassette unit of the 20th aspect, wherein the relay pipe includes a
flange part arranged projecting to a periphery at an intermediate
position in the axis direction;
[0066] the introduction side pipe holding member includes a through
hole in which the relay pipe is fitted; and
[0067] the position adjustment mechanism includes a screw hole
arranged at the flange part or at a position facing the flange part
of the introduction side pipe holding member, and an adjustment
screw screwed into the screw hole to adjust a distance between the
flange part and the introduction side pipe holding member in the
axis direction.
[0068] The 22nd aspect of the present invention provides the tube
cassette unit of the 20th aspect, wherein
[0069] the discharge nozzle includes a contacting part for
contacting to the discharge side holding part at the intermediate
position in the axis direction; and
[0070] the discharge side holding part includes a plate shaped
discharge side pipe holding member including a through hole with
which the discharge nozzle is fitted, and a fixing member for
fixing the discharge nozzle in an inserted state until the
contacting part of the discharge nozzles contacts the discharge
side pipe holding member.
[0071] In the above aspects, the contacting part may be of any
shape as long as it contacts the discharge side pipe holding member
so that the discharge nozzles do not pass through the through hole
of the discharge side pipe holding member, and positions the
relative position of the discharge nozzles and the discharge side
pipe holding member constant. Specifically, the collar shaped
member projecting to the periphery or members of circular cone
shape, pyramid shape and the like configured to a tapered shape may
be used as the contacting part.
[0072] The 23rd aspect of the present invention provides the tube
cassette unit of the 22nd aspect, wherein the contacting part is
constructed as a flange part arranged so as to contact a surface
facing the introduction side holding part of the discharge side
pipe holding member.
[0073] The 24th aspect of the present invention provides a tube
cassette unit according to any one of the 20th to 23rd aspects,
wherein the plurality of discharge nozzles is arranged at a pitch
same as or at a pitch integral multiples of a pitch of the adjacent
wells of the microtiter plate.
Effects of the Invention
[0074] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the
closed space is formed in the tube by winding the conveying tube on
at least two rollers of the rotating body in the extended state,
and pressing and squashing the tube with the tension applied on the
tube and the relevant rollers. Therefore, the tube does not need to
be sandwiched with the rollers and the pressing body to be
constricted and squashed, whereby the opposing side of the roller
can be released as the conveying tube attachment and detachment
space at the contacting positions of the tube and the rollers.
Thus, the tube can be detached from the rollers by simply detaching
the tube from the tube cassette attachment unit when changing the
tube. Therefore, the trouble in changing the tube is greatly
saved.
[0075] The tube can be visually recognized from the outside since
the pressing body is unnecessary. In particular, the tube can be
recognized, and a check can be made if the liquid is being conveyed
through the tube in the case of the multi-channel using a plurality
of tubes.
[0076] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the
conveyance of the liquid becomes smooth since the closed spaces for
holding the liquid conveyed by the tube are arranged in
pluralities.
[0077] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the
conveying tube is reliably held by the holding part without being
closed since both ends of the conveying tube are connected to pipe
bodies, and the conveying tube is held while being coupled to the
relevant pipe bodies.
[0078] According to fifth and sixth aspects of the present
invention, the pipe body is held with a simple configuration with
the pipe holding member for holding the pipe body, and the pipe
body and the conveying tube are reliably coupled with a simple
configuration, whereby the conveying tube wound to the at least two
rollers of the rotating body in the extended state can be prevented
from detaching from the first and second pipe bodies.
[0079] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention,
the position in the axial direction of the first pipe body with
respect to the introduction side holding part can be adjusted, and
the amount of liquid conveyed through the conveying tube can be
adjusted. In other words, when the length of the conveying tube
varies due to manufacturing error or assembly error, or when the
conveying tube deforms with time as it is wound to the roller in
the extended state, the tension of the conveying tube sometimes
changes, in which case, the amount of conveying liquid may not be
constant. To this end, the relative position of the first pipe body
and the introduction side holding member is adjusted to adjust the
tension applied to the relevant conveying tube and adjust the
conveying amount of the liquid. Therefore, the amount of liquid to
be conveyed is made constant even if the tension of the conveying
tube changes due to manufacturing error or deformation with time of
the conveying tube. Furthermore, since the first pipe body is
configured as a member independent from the introduction side pipe
holding member, only the pipe body needs to be changed when the
first pipe body is broken etc., thereby saving the trouble in
changing.
[0080] According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the
distance between the flange part and the introduction side pipe
holding member, that is, the position of the first pipe body with
respect to the introduction side pipe holding member can be
adjusted with a simple configuration of the adjustment screw
arranged between the flange part and the introduction side pipe
holding member.
[0081] According to the 11th embodiment of the present invention,
the liquid can be discharged by simultaneously using a plurality of
the conveying tubes, which tubes are unitized as the tube cassette
unit, and thus a plurality of tubes can be attached and detached
all at once by simply attaching or detaching the holding parts of
the introduction side and the discharge side even with the
multi-channel including a plurality of tubes. Therefore, the
trouble required in changing the tube of the conveying device of
multi-channel is reduced.
[0082] According to 12th and 13th aspects of the present invention,
the rollers are arranged parallel to the rotating axis, and thus
all the conveying tubes contact the rollers with an even force, and
the liquid can be fed to all the conveying tubes with the same
condition.
[0083] According to the 14th aspect of the present invention, the
distance the closed space, which is formed by the rollers, moves
can be controlled by controlling the rotation angle of the rotating
body. Therefore, the amount of conveying liquid accumulated in the
closed space can be controlled by controlling the rotation angle of
the rotating body, and thus is suitably used even in apparatuses
that aim to convey the a predetermined amount of liquid.
[0084] According to the 15th aspect of the present invention, a
plurality of the conveying tubes can be attached to the liquid
discharging device all at once, and thus the trouble required in
changing the tube is reduced.
[0085] According to the tube cassette unit of the 16th aspect of
the present invention, the liquid can be discharged all at once to
the wells in the same column with one discharging operation since
the discharge nozzles are arranged at the pitch same as the wells
of the microtiter plate. If the discharge nozzles are arranged at a
pitch of integral multiples of the wells of the microtiter plate,
after discharging to the wells in the same column, the microtiter
plate is shifted in the column direction by the relevant amount of
pitch, and then the liquid is discharged, so that the liquid is
discharged to all the wells in one column with a few number of
times. The microtiter plate of different pitch can be responded by
changing the tube cassette unit, and thus the trouble of position
adjusting the discharge nozzles on the device side due to the type
of microtiter plate is reduced.
[0086] According to the tube cassette unit of the 17th aspect of
the present invention, the relay pipes or the discharge nozzles are
held with a simple configuration with a plate shaped pipe holding
member for holding the relay pipes or the discharge nozzles, and
the relay tubes or the discharge nozzles are reliably coupled with
the conveying tube with a simple configuration, thereby preventing
the conveying tube wound to the at least two rollers of the
rotating body in the extended state from slipping out from the
relay pipes or the discharge nozzles.
[0087] According to the tube cassette unit of the 18th aspect of
the present invention, the through hole formed in the coupling
member is configured with the insertion surface on the pipe holding
member side made to a wide diameter, and thus the friction acting
with the conveying tubes in assembling the coupling member and the
pipe holding member is reduced, the shift of the inserting part to
the relay pipes or the discharge nozzles of the conveying tubes are
prevented, thereby facilitating the assembly, and further, the
discharge nozzles or the relay pipes and the conveying tubes are
reliably coupled since the inner diameter dimension of the back
surface is configured to be substantially the same as the outer
diameter dimensions of the relay pipes or the discharge nozzles
after assembly.
[0088] According to the tube cassette unit of the 19th aspect of
the present invention, since the plurality of the conveying tubes
must be simultaneously pulled, the introduction side holding member
can be attached to the liquid discharging device with the conveying
tubes in a reliably pulled state by holding the griping part and
pulling the introduction side holding member.
[0089] According to the 20th aspect of the present invention, the
position of the relay pipes serving as the first pipe body with
respect to the introduction side holding part is adjusted, and the
amount of the liquid conveyed through the conveying tubes are
adjusted. That is, when the length of the conveying tube varies due
to manufacturing error or assembly error, or when the conveying
tube deforms with time as it is wound to the roller in the extended
state, the tension of the conveying tubes sometimes changes, in
which case, the amount of conveying liquid may not be constant. To
this end, the relative position of the first pipe body and the
introduction side holding member is adjusted to adjust the tension
applied to the relevant conveying tube and to adjust the conveying
amount of the liquid. Therefore, the amount of liquid to be
conveyed is made constant even if the tension of the conveying
tubes changes due to manufacturing error or deformation with time
of the conveying tube. Furthermore, since the first pipe body is
configured as a member independent from the introduction side pipe
holding member, only the pipe body needs to be changed when the
first pipe body is broken etc., thereby saving the trouble in
changing.
[0090] According to the 21st aspect of the present invention, the
positions of the relay pipes with respect to the introduction side
holding part are adjusted with a simple configuration by the
adjustment screws that screw-fits into a screw hole formed in the
flange part or the introduction side pipe holding member.
[0091] According to the 22nd aspect of the present invention, since
the discharge nozzles are fitted in until the contacting part of
the discharge nozzles contact the discharge side pipe holding
member, the relative position of the discharge side pipe holding
member and the discharge nozzles are always made constant. In
particular, the discharging conditions are made constant since the
height of the discharge nozzles is made constant. Furthermore, only
the broken discharge nozzle needs to be changed when the discharge
nozzle is broken etc. since the discharge nozzle is configured with
a member independent from the discharge side pipe holding member,
and thus the trouble in changing is saved.
[0092] According to the 23rd aspect of the present invention, since
the fit-in direction of the discharge nozzle to the discharge side
pipe holding member and the fit-in direction of the relay pipes to
the introduction side pipe holding member are the same, the pipe
body may be fitted in from a constant direction and fixed at an
appropriate position when inserting the respective pipe body to the
discharge side pipe holding member and the introduction side pipe
holding member. That is, since the relay pipes and the discharge
nozzles are fixed at the appropriate position by passing the
discharge nozzle from the through hole of the introduction side
pipe holding member through the through hole of the discharge side
pipe holding member, and inserting the relay pipes to the through
hole of the introduction side pipe holding part, the attachments
thereof are facilitated, and change is facilitated when the
conveying tube or the pipe body is broken etc.
[0093] According to the 24th aspect of the present invention, a
liquid is discharged at once to the wells of the same column with
one discharging operation since the discharge nozzles are arranged
at the same pitch as the wells of the microtiter plate.
Furthermore, when the discharge nozzles are arranged at the pitch
of integral multiples of the wells of the microtiter plate, after
discharging to the wells of the same column, the microtiter plate
is shifted in the column direction by the amount of the pitch, and
the liquid is discharged, so that the liquid is discharged to all
the wells of one column with a few number of times. The microtiter
plate having different pitch can be responded by changing the tube
cassette unit, and the trouble of position adjustment of the
discharge nozzle on the device side due to type of microtiter plate
is reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0094] These and other aspects and features of the present
invention will become clear from the following description taken in
conjunction with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0095] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an outer appearance of a
liquid dispensing apparatus equipped with a tube cassette unit of
the present invention;
[0096] FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view of the liquid
dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0097] FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a configuration of a
discharge driving mechanism used in the liquid dispensing apparatus
of FIG. 1;
[0098] FIG. 3B is a side view of the discharge driving mechanism of
FIG. 3A;
[0099] FIG. 4 is a block configuration view of a drive control
circuit of the liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0100] FIG. 5A is a process chart showing an operation of when the
liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1 discharges the liquid;
[0101] FIG. 5B is a process chart showing the operation of when the
liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1 discharges the liquid;
[0102] FIG. 5C is a process chart showing the operation of when the
liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1 discharges the liquid;
[0103] FIG. 5D is a process chart showing the operation of when the
liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1 discharges the liquid;
[0104] FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of the tube
cassette unit used in the liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG.
1;
[0105] FIG. 7 is a partial cross sectional view showing a
configuration of a discharge side holding part of the tube cassette
unit of FIG. 6;
[0106] FIG. 8 is a partial cross sectional view showing a
configuration of an introduction side holding part of the tube
cassette unit of FIG. 6;
[0107] FIG. 9 is a partial cross sectional view showing a
configuration of a third holding part of the tube cassette unit of
FIG. 6;
[0108] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing another configuration of a
tube cassette unit used in the liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG.
1;
[0109] FIG. 11A is a partial cross sectional view showing a
configuration of a discharge side attachment part of the tube
cassette unit of FIG. 10;
[0110] FIG. 11B is a partial cross sectional view showing a
configuration of an introduction side attachment part of the tube
cassette unit of FIG. 10;
[0111] FIG. 12A is an assembly exploded view of the discharge side
attachment part of the tube cassette unit of FIG. 10;
[0112] FIG. 12B is an assembly exploded view of the introduction
side attachment part of the tube cassette unit of FIG. 10;
[0113] FIG. 13A is a partially enlarged perspective view of the
discharge side attachment part of the tube cassette unit of FIG.
10;
[0114] FIG. 13B is a partially enlarged perspective view of the
introduction side attachment part of the tube cassette unit of FIG.
10;
[0115] FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an attachment
configuration of the discharge side attachment part of the liquid
dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0116] FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an attachment
configuration of the introduction side attachment part of the
liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0117] FIG. 16A is a view showing an attachment configuration of a
rotating body of the liquid dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0118] FIG. 16B is a perspective view showing a configuration of
the rotating body of FIG. 12A;
[0119] FIG. 17 is a process chart of the steps for attaching the
tube cassette unit to the tube cassette attachment unit;
[0120] FIG. 18 is a process chart of the steps for attaching the
tube cassette unit to the tube cassette attachment unit;
[0121] FIG. 19 is a process chart of the steps for attaching the
tube cassette unit to the tube cassette attachment unit;
[0122] FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a state in which the tube
cassette unit is attached to the tube cassette attachment unit;
[0123] FIG. 21 is a view showing a state of the rotating body
immediately after attaching the tube cassette unit to the tube
cassette attachment unit;
[0124] FIG. 22 is a view showing a state in which the rotating body
is rotated and the liquid is conveyed to the conveying tube;
[0125] FIG. 23 is a view explaining a state in which the rotating
body is further rotated and the liquid is introduced into a closed
space formed in the conveying tube;
[0126] FIG. 24 is a view explaining a state in which the rotating
body is further rotated and the closed space introduced with the
liquid is released; and
[0127] FIG. 25 is a view showing a state in which the rotating body
is further rotated, the closed spaces are continuously released and
the liquid is discharged from the discharge nozzle.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0128] The liquid conveying device according to a first embodiment
of the present invention will now be described with reference to
the drawings. Before the description of the present invention
proceeds, it is to be noted that like parts are designated by like
reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings.
[0129] FIG. 1 is a liquid dispensing apparatus using the liquid
conveying device of the present invention. The liquid dispensing
apparatus 1 is an apparatus that uses a tube cassette unit of the
present invention for injecting a predetermined amount of liquid
such as reagent to each well arranged in a microtiter plate. In
FIG. 1, a state in which the tube cassette unit configuring one
part of a device used with the relevant apparatus is not attached
is shown to clearly show the configuration of the liquid dispensing
apparatus main body. The liquid dispensing apparatus 1 includes a
moving mechanism 3 arranged on a fixed body 2 for independently
moving the microtiter plate in each direction of X, Y, Z and a
discharge driving mechanism 10 for injecting a predetermined amount
of reagent to each well of the microtiter plate.
[0130] The microtiter plate 100 is such in which wells or spaces
for accommodating the discharged liquid are arrayed in pluralities
in a lattice form. The microtiter plate has different number of
wells depending on its type. For example, a plurality of types
exists including that with a total of 96 wells with 12 rows of a
column with 8 wells; that with a total of 384 wells with 24 rows of
a column with 16 wells; and that with a total of 1536 wells with 48
rows of a column with 32 wells etc. The size for one well, that is,
the pitch between adjacent wells is different in the microtiter
plate having different number of wells. In the present embodiment,
a case of using the microtiter plate with 16 wells in one column
will now be described by way of example.
[0131] In FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving mechanism 3 is configured by
combining a Y-direction moving mechanism 204, an X-direction moving
mechanism 4, and a mounting table raising and lowering mechanism 6
in the order from the bottom on the fixed table 2. Two Y-direction
rails 201 are attached in parallel to the upper surface of the
fixed table 2, and the slider 404 attached to the lower surface of
the X-direction moving mechanism 4 is engaged to the Y-direction
rails 201 in a freely sliding manner. In FIG. 2, the Y-direction
moving mechanism 204 internally includes a Y-axis feed screw 203
rotated by the Y-axis motor 202, which Y-axis feed screw 203 is
screwed into a nut 205 coupled to the lower surface of the
X-direction moving mechanism 4. Therefore, when the Y-axis motor
202 is driven, the Y-axis feed screw 203 rotates, and the
X-direction moving mechanism 4 moves in the Y-direction along the
Y-direction rails 201.
[0132] In FIG. 1, two X-direction rails 401 parallel in the
X-direction are attached to the upper surface of the X-direction
moving mechanism 4, and sliders 600 attached to the lower surface
of the mounting table raising and lowering mechanism 6 are engaged
to the X-direction rails 401 in a freely sliding manner. The
X-direction moving mechanism 4 internally includes an X-axis feed
screw 405 rotated by the X-axis motor 402, which X-axis feed screw
405 is screwed into a nut 605 coupled to the lower surface of the
mounting table raising and lowering mechanism 6 (see FIG. 2).
Therefore, when the X-axis motor 402 is driven, the X-axis feed
screw 405 rotates, and the mounting table raising and lowering
mechanism 6 moves in the X-direction along the X-direction rails
401.
[0133] The mounting table raising and lowering mechanism 6 is a
member having a bottomed container shape, and includes a Z-axis
motor 601 and Z-axis guides 603 therein. The Z-axis motor 601 is
coupled to an eccentric cam 602, and the coupling parts 604 of the
mounting table 7 is inserted into have the mounting table 7 held in
a freely movable manner in the Z-axis direction.
[0134] When the Z-axis motor 601 is driven and the eccentric cam
602 is rotated, the cam follower 701 of the mounting table 7
contacting the eccentric cam 602 moves, the Z-axis guides 603 guide
the coupling parts 604 respectively inserted into the Z-axis guides
603, and the mounting table 7 moves in the Z-axis direction.
[0135] The mounting table 7 fixes two microtiter plates 100 lined
in parallel. The mounting table 7 includes a positioning part 702
to fix the microtiter plate 100 at a predetermined position on the
mounting table 7.
[0136] As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the discharge driving
mechanism 10 is arranged on the fixing plate 9 positioned on the
upper part of the moving mechanism, and includes a rotating body
14, a tube cassette attachment unit including a discharge side
attachment part 15 and an introduction side attachment part 17,
pump driving motors 12a, 12b for driving the rotating body 14, and
a tube supporting plate 18. The rotating body 14 is configured to
be rotatable with the lateral axis as the rotating axis, and is
rotatably driven by the power from the pump driving motors 12a, 12b
via pulleys 11a, 11b respectively arranged at the end of the
rotating shafts. The upper region of the rotating body 14 is opened
without being arranged with other members. This region is used as a
tube cassette attachment and detachment region 90, used when
attaching and detaching the tube cassette unit as hereinafter
described, thereby facilitating the attachment and detachment of
the tube cassette unit.
[0137] The pump drive motors 12a, 12b include porous circular discs
32a, 32b arranged on the driving shafts thereof, and are configured
to detect and control the rotational amounts of the porous circular
discs 32a, 32b by photo-interpreters 31a, 31b for detecting the
rotational amounts of the porous circular discs 32a, 32b. That is,
a plurality of holes arranged in the circumferential form are
formed in each of the porous circular discs 32a, 32b, and the
rotation angles of the pulleys are detected by counting the number
of times the detection lights of the photo-interpreters 31a, 31b
have been conducted or shielded by the holes. The rotations of the
pulleys are transmitted to the pulleys 11a, 11b of the rotating
body by the driving belts 13a, 13b, allowing the rotational amounts
of the rotating body 14 to be detected.
[0138] As hereinafter described in detail, the tube cassette
attachment unit is a member for fixing the tube cassette unit (see
FIG. 6), and includes introduction side attachment parts 17 and
discharge side attachment parts 15. The discharge side attachment
parts 15 are arranged lined at three locations so as to be parallel
to the Y-axis at the front of the fixing plate 9, and holds the
rotating shaft of the rotating body 14 and also holds the discharge
side holding part 42 of the tube cassette unit, to be hereinafter
described in detail.
[0139] The introduction side attachment parts 17 are fixed at three
locations on the upper surface of the stationary plate 16 so as to
be parallel to the Y-axis, and holds the introduction side holding
part 43 of the tube cassette unit, to be hereinafter described in
detail (see FIG. 6). The stationary plate 16 is arranged so as to
be position adjustable in the X-axis direction with respect to the
fixing plate 9 of the discharge driving mechanism 10. The
positioning of the fixing plate 9 and the stationary plate 16 is
performed by screws 16b that passes through two elongated holes 16a
formed in the stationary plate 16 and two positioning screws
19.
[0140] The elongate holes 16a are through holes long in the X-axis
direction that screw-fit to the screw holes (not shown) formed in
the fixing plate 9 to fix the stationary plate 16. The positioning
screws 19 are arranged so as to engage a screw fixing parts 19a
arranged at the fixing plate and so as to have the axis thereof
parallel to the X-axis direction. The positioning screws 19
screw-fit with screw fit-in parts 20 arranged behind the stationary
plate 16, and the position of the stationary plate 16 is adjusted
by the screw-in amount.
[0141] The tube supporting plate 18 supports the introducing tube
of the tube cassette unit so that it does not sag in time of tube
cassette unit attachment, and is a plate shaped body slanted with
the backside being lower.
[0142] FIG. 4 is a block configuration view of a drive control
circuit of the liquid dispensing apparatus according to the present
embodiment. The drive control circuit 70 includes a controlling
part 71 and motor driving circuits 72a, 72b, 72x, 72y, 72z for
driving four types of motors, where the driving circuit 72a, 72b,
72x, 72y, 72z of the respective motors are controlled by the system
program 73 stored in the controlling part 71 to independently drive
control each motor. The controlling part 71 is connected to the
photo-interpreters 31a, 31b mentioned above, and detects the
rotational amount of the rotating body 14 when receiving the signal
from the photo-interpreters 31a, 31b and drive controls the pump
drive motors 12a, 12b through the pump drive motor driving circuits
72a, 72b.
[0143] The pump drive motors 12a, 12b are motors for rotating the
rotating body 14 of the discharge driving mechanism as described
above. The X-axis motor 402 is a motor for moving the second stage
6 in the X-axis direction. The Y-axis motor 202 is a motor for
moving the first stage 4 in the Y-axis direction. The Z-axis motor
601 is a motor, arranged in the second stage, for moving the
mounting table 7 up and down in the Z-axis direction.
[0144] The liquid dispensing apparatus according to the present
embodiment discharges a predetermined amount of liquid to each well
arranged in the microtiter plate 100 from the discharge nozzle when
the discharge driving mechanism 10 and the moving mechanism 3 are
driven in conjunction. The discharge nozzle 41, hereinafter
described in detail, is arranged in the tube cassette unit (see
FIG. 6), and is arranged so that the discharge port is positioned
downward in a substantially vertical direction when the tube
cassette unit is attached (see FIG. 15). Specifically, the moving
mechanism 3 is first moved so that the well column 101a arrayed in
the Y-axis direction of the microtiter plate 100 is positioned
below the discharge nozzle 41 for discharging the liquid, as shown
in FIG. 5A.
[0145] Next, the Z-axis motor is driven to raise the mounting table
7 in the Z-axis direction as shown with an arrow 81 thereby
approaching the well column 101a of the microtiter plate 100 to the
discharge nozzle 41, and then the discharge driving mechanism 10 is
driven to discharge a predetermined amount of liquid 140 from the
discharge nozzle 41 (FIG. 5B). When a predetermined amount of
liquid is discharged to the well column 101a (FIG. 5C), the Z-axis
motor is driven to lower the mounting table 7 to the lower side in
the Z-axis direction, and then the X-axis motor is driven (FIG. 5D)
to move the microtiter plate 100 so that the next well column 101b
is positioned under the discharge nozzle 41 of the discharge
driving mechanism 10. A predetermined amount of liquid is
discharged to all the wells of the microtiter plate 100 by
repeatedly performing the above task.
[0146] FIG. 6 is a view showing a configuration of the tube
cassette unit used in the liquid dispensing apparatus according to
the present embodiment. The tube cassette unit 40 has a plurality
of (16 in the present embodiment) conduit units arranged parallel
to each other in one column, each of which includes a plurality of
discharge nozzle 41, a conveying tube 45 having an end into which
the discharge nozzle is inserted, a relay pipe 47 inserted into the
other end of the conveying tube 45, an introducing tube 46 into
which the other end of the relay pipe 47 is inserted, and a supply
pipe 48 inserted into the other end of the introducing tube. In the
present embodiment, the discharge nozzles 41, the relay pipes 47,
and the supply pipes 48 are made of metal, and the conveying tubes
45 and the introducing tubes 46 used are made of silicon resin
having flexibility.
[0147] The conduit unit forms a conduit of introducing a liquid to
the conduit unit from the supply pipes 48 arranged so as to be
immersed in a liquid stored in a liquid tank 30 (see FIG. 3A), and
conveying and discharging a liquid through the introducing tubes
46, the relay pipes 47, the conveying tubes 45, and the discharge
nozzles 41. Terms such as upstream side (side closer to supply
pipes 48) and the downstream side (side closer to discharge nozzles
41) will be used in describing the positional relationship of the
tube cassette unit.
[0148] The respective conduit unit is arranged coupled to each
other so as to be at equal pitch from each other by a discharge
side holding part 42 for fixing the discharge nozzles 41, an
introduction side holding part 43 for fixing the relay pipes 47,
and a third holding part 44 for fixing the supply pipes. The pitch
of the adjacent conduit units is set to be equal to or to integral
multiples of the pitch of the well column of the microtiter plate
100. In the tube cassette unit shown in FIG. 6, the relay pipes 47
corresponds to the first pipe body, and the discharge nozzles 41
corresponds to the second pipe body.
[0149] The conveying tubes 45 into which the discharge nozzles are
inserted is a tube having flexibility and extensibility, where the
outer diameter dimension is about 2.7.phi., the inner diameter
dimension is about 1.3 to about 1.7.phi. in the present embodiment.
The performance demanded for the conveying tubes are not only
flexibility and extensibility, but durability (durability and
chemical resistance with respect to pressing by roller) are also
required. The autoclave process (sterilizing process) is also
required depending on the application. The silicon resin is used in
the present embodiment in view of the above, but is not limited
thereto.
[0150] The introducing tubes 46 respectively communicating with the
conveying tubes 45 by ways of the relay pipes 47 are the same as
that used for the conveying tubes 45 in the present embodiment.
However, as will be described hereinafter, the introducing tubes 46
are attached to a liquid dispensing apparatus 1 in a no-tension
applied state, and thus do not necessarily need to have
flexibility, and a tube of arbitrary property may be used.
[0151] The discharge side holding part 42 includes a main body 49
(introduction side holding part) through which the discharge
nozzles are passed for fixing the discharge nozzles, and a pressing
plate 50, arranged superimposing the surfaces on the upstream sides
of the discharge nozzles of the main body, for holding the
conveying tubes 45 into which the discharge nozzles 41 are inserted
while being coupled to the discharge nozzles 42. The pressing plate
50 includes through holes through which the discharge nozzles 41
and the conveying tubes 45 pass, and strongly couples them by
pressing the conveying tubes 45 against the discharge nozzles with
the walls of the through holes.
[0152] The hole diameter on the downstream side of the through
holes are configured to be sufficiently larger than the outer
diameter of the conveying tubes 45, and are configured so as to
reduce the contacting area with the conveying tubes 45 and reduce
the resistance in time of insertion of the pressing plate 50 when
coupling the main body 49 and the pressing plate 50. Since the hole
diameter of the through holes on the upstream side of the pressing
plate 50 are configured to be slightly larger than the outer
diameter dimension of the discharge nozzles and smaller than the
outer diameter dimension of the conveying tube, the conveying tubes
45 are pressed against the exterior surface of the discharge nozzle
by the upstream side end 50a of the through holes when the main
body 49 and the pressing plate 50 are coupled. Screws 56 screw-fit
to a screw holes 49a formed in the main body 49 is used in coupling
the main body 49 and the pressing plate 50.
[0153] As shown in FIG. 6, columnar projections 51 that engage with
the discharge side attachment parts 15 are arranged at two
locations on the left and the right at both surfaces in the Y-axis
direction of the main body 49 (discharge side pipe holding member)
of the discharge side holding part 42. The mechanism of engaging
the discharge side attachment parts 15 and the discharge side
holding part 42 will be hereinafter described in detail.
[0154] As shown in FIG. 8, the introduction side holding part 43
includes a main body 52 through which the relay pipes 47 is passed
for fixing and a pressing plate 53, arranged superimposing the
surface on the upstream side of the main body 52, for holding the
conveying tube 45 into which the relay pipe 47 is inserted while
being coupled to the relay pipe 47. The pressing plate 53 includes
a through hole through which the relay pipe. 47 and the conveying
tube 45 pass through, and strongly couples them by pressing the
conveying tube 45 against the relay pipe 47 with the wall of the
through hole.
[0155] The hole diameter on the upstream side of the through hole
is configured to be sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of
the conveying tube 45, and is configured so as to reduce the
contacting area with the conveying tube 45 and reduce the
resistance in time of insertion of the pressing plate 53 when
coupling the main body 52 and the pressing plate 53. Since the hole
diameter of the through hole on the downstream side of the pressing
plate 53 is configured to be slightly larger than the outer
diameter dimension of the relay pipe 47 and smaller than the outer
diameter dimension of the conveying tube, the conveying tube 45 is
pressed against the exterior surface of the relay pipe 47 by the
downstream side end 53a of the through hole when the main body 52
and the pressing plate 53 are coupled. A screws 57 screw-fit to a
screw holes 52a formed in the main body 52 is used in coupling the
main body 52 and the pressing plate 53. Since the introducing tube
46 inserted into the upstream side end of the relay pipe 47 is
attached to a liquid dispensing apparatus 1 in a no-tension applied
state as will be hereinafter described, a configuration of coupling
the two is not arranged. However, a member for coupling the relay
pipe 47 and the introducing tube 46 may be arranged.
[0156] As shown in FIG. 6, columnar projections 54 that engage with
the introduction side attachment parts 17 are arranged at two
locations on the left and the right at both surfaces in the Y-axis
direction of the main body 52 of the introduction side holding
part. The engagement mechanism of the introduction side attachment
parts 17 and the introduction side holding part 43 will be
hereinafter described in detail. A handle 55 for pulling the
introduction side holding part 43 in time of attaching the tube
cassette unit 40 is arranged at the central portion on the upper
surface of the main body 52 of the introduction side holding part
43.
[0157] As shown in FIG. 9, the third holding part 44 is a plate
shaped body through which the supply pipe 48 are passed for fixing.
The upstream side surface of the third holding part 44 is arranged
with an inserting part 44a for coupling with the liquid tank 30.
The upstream side end of the introducing tube 46 is connected to
the supply pipe 48, and a liquid conveyed through the supply pipe
48 is fed to the conveying tube.
[0158] Other configuration examples of the tube cassette unit used
in a liquid dispensing apparatus according to the present
embodiment will now be described. FIG. 10 is a view showing another
configuration example of the tube cassette unit used in a liquid
dispensing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The tube
cassette unit shown in FIG. 10 has a configuration common with the
tube cassette unit shown in FIG. 6, and thus the difference will be
mainly described below.
[0159] The tube cassette unit 40a has a plurality of (16 in the
present embodiment) conduit units arranged parallel to each other
in one column, each of which includes a plurality of discharge
nozzles 41a, the conveying tubes 45 respectively communicating to
the discharge nozzles 41a, a relay pipes 47a respectively inserted
into the other end of the conveying tubes 45, the introducing tubes
46 into which the other end of the relay pipes 47a are inserted,
and the supply pipes 48 inserted into the other ends of the
introducing tubes. In the tube cassette unit shown in FIG. 10, the
relay pipes 47a corresponds to the first pipe body, and the
discharge nozzles 41a corresponds to the second pipe body.
[0160] The conduit unit forms a conduit of introducing a liquid
from the supply pipes 48 arranged so as to be immersed in a liquid
stored in the liquid tank 30 (see FIG. 3A) to the conduit unit, and
conveying a liquid through the introducing tubes 46, the relay
pipes 47a, the conveying tubes 45, and the discharge nozzles
41a.
[0161] The respective conduit unit is arranged coupled to each
other so as to be at equal pitch from each other by a discharge
side holding part 42a for fixing the discharge nozzles 41a, the
introduction side holding part 43a for fixing the relay pipes 47a,
and the third holding part 44 for fixing the supply pipes. The
pitch of the adjacent conduit units is set to be equal to or to
integral multiples of the pitch of the well column of the
microtiter plate 100.
[0162] The conveying tubes 45 may be the same as that used for the
tube cassette unit shown in FIG. 6. The introducing tubes 46
communicating with the conveying tubes 45 by way of the relay pipes
47a may be the same as that used for the tube cassette unit shown
in FIG. 6.
[0163] The discharge side holding part 42a includes a main body 49a
serving as the discharge side pipe holding member for holding the
discharge nozzles 41a, as shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 12A. The
discharge nozzles 41a are fixed to the main body 49a by being
fitted into through holes 75a formed in the main body 49a.
[0164] The discharge nozzle 41a is configured by a holding part 70a
for holding the conveying tube 45, a nozzle 41b and a cylindrical
coupling part 72a. The coupling part 72a is fixed with the screw
part 70c formed on the downstream side of the holding part 70a by
being screw-fit into the screw hole 72c formed on the upstream side
thereof, and also fixed with the nozzle 41b inserted into the
fit-in hole 72d formed on the downstream side. The coupling part
72a also includes a through hole 72e passing from the screw hole
72c to the fit-in hole 72d. A flange part 72b projecting to the
periphery is formed at the upstream side end of the coupling part
72a. The discharge nozzle 41a in which the holding part 70a, the
coupling part 72a, and the nozzle 41b are coupled feeds a liquid
introduced from the conveying tube 45 from the flow path 70e of the
holding part 70a through the through hole 72e to the nozzle
41b.
[0165] The holding part 70a has an inserting part 70b formed on the
upstream side for inserting the conveying tube 45. The inserting
part 70b is a tubular member of circular cone shape configured so
that the outer diameter gradually increases towards the downstream
side, thereby holding the conveying tube so that it does not slip
out by being closely attached to the inner surface 45a of the
conveying tube. That is, since the conveying tube 45 deforms in
such manner that the diameter thereof narrows when applied with
tension, the close attachment with the inner surface 45a of the
conveying tube becomes stronger with the inclined portion and the
fold-back portion 70d of the inserting part 70b, thereby preventing
the conveying tube 45 from slipping out from the holding part
70a.
[0166] The main body 49a is a plate shaped member including through
hole 75a through which the coupling part 72a of the discharge
nozzle 41a is inserted, and a screw hole 74a into which fixing
screw 74b for fixing the discharge nozzle 41a is inserted. The
through hole 75a is arrayed at a pitch equal to or at integer
multiples of the pitch of the wells of the microtiter plate 100,
and the discharge nozzle 41a and the main body 49a are held by
fitting the discharge nozzle 41a into the through hole 75a. The
through hole 75a allows the discharge nozzle 41a to be fitted in
from the upstream side, and the relative position of the main body
49a and the discharge nozzle 41a to always be constant by fitting
the discharge nozzle 41a into the through hole 75a to the far end
since a flange fit-in part 75b that engages with the flange part
72b of the coupling part 72a is provided. Therefore, the height of
a plurality of nozzles arranged in the tube cassette unit is always
made constant. Furthermore, the discharge nozzle 41a fitted into
the through hole 75a is fixed to the main body 49a by the fixing
screw 74b.
[0167] As shown in FIG. 11B and FIG. 12B, the introduction side
holding part 43a includes a main body 52a serving as the
introduction side pipe holding member for holding the relay pipe
47a, and an adjustment screw 79a functioning as a position
adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position in the axis
direction of the relay pipe 47a with respect to the main body
52a.
[0168] The relay pipe 47a is configured by a pipe 47b, a
cylindrical coupling part 77a and a holding part 71a for holding
the conveying tube 45. The relay pipe 47a is held by being fitted
into a through hole 78a formed in the main body 52a in a state
movable in the axis direction thereof.
[0169] The coupling part 77a is fixed with the pipe 47b inserted
into the fit-in hole 77d formed on the upstream side thereof, and
is fixed with the screw part 71c formed on the upstream side of the
holding part 71a screwed into the screw hole 77c formed on the
downstream side. The coupling part 77a has a through hole 77e
passing from the fit-in hole 77d to the screw hole 77c. A flange
part 77b that projects to the periphery is formed at the upstream
side end of the coupling part 77a.
[0170] The holding part 71a has an inserting part 71b to be
inserted into the conveying tube 45 arranged on the downstream
side. The inserting part 71b is formed into a shape same as the
inserting part 70b of the holding part 70a of the discharge nozzle
41a and prevents the conveying tube 45 from slipping out.
Furthermore, the flow path 71e for conveying liquid is formed along
the center axis of the holding part 71a. The relay pipe 47a in
which the pipe 47b, the coupling part 77a, and the conveying tube
45 are coupled feeds a liquid introduced from the pipe 47b from the
through hole 77e through the flow path 71e of the holding part 71a
to the conveying tube 45.
[0171] The main body 52a is a plate shaped member including a
through hole 78a to be fitted with the coupling part 77a of the
relay pipe 47a and a screw hole 78b into which an adjustment screw
79a for adjusting the position of the relay pipe 47a is inserted.
The through hole 78a is arrayed at the same pitch as the through
hole 75a of the main body 49a of the discharge side holding part,
and the relay pipe 47a and the main body 52a are held by fitting
the relay pipe 47a into the through hole 78a. The through hole 78a
is fitted with the relay pipe 47a from the upstream side and has a
diameter smaller than the flange part 77b, and thus holds the relay
pipe 47a without being completely passed through.
[0172] The adjustment screw 79a is screw-fit to the screw hole 78b
arranged parallel to the through hole 78a in the vicinity of the
through hole 78a. The adjustment screw 79a is configured longer
than the thickness dimension of the main body 52a so as to project
to both surfaces of the main body 52a, where the distal end 79b
projecting on the upstream side surface of the main body 52a
contacts the flange part 77b of the coupling part 77a. The fit-in
width of the relay pipe 47a to the main body 52a, that is, the
position in the axial direction of the relay pipe 47a with respect
to the main body 52a is determined by the projecting amount of the
distal end of the adjustment screw 79a that contacts the flange
part 77b. Therefore, the adjustment of the fit-in width is more
finely performed by reducing the screw pitch of the adjustment
screw 79a, and is about 0.3 mm in the present embodiment. The
amount of adjustment of the fit-in width differs among specific
designs of the device, but is preferably adjusted in the range of
between 1 and 10 mm, more preferably of about 3 mm. In the present
embodiment, the adjustment screw 79a and the screw hole 78b become
the positional adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position in
the axial direction of the relay pipe 47a with respect to the main
body 52a.
[0173] The screw hole may be formed on the flange part 77b side
instead of the main body side 52a, in which case the distal end of
the screw projecting to the downstream side of the flange part
contacts the upstream side surface of the main body 52a, thereby
adjusting the fit-in amount of the relay pipe and the main body
52a.
[0174] In the tube cassette unit of such configuration, the fit-in
width of the relay pipe 47a can be adjusted by the adjustment screw
79a, and the variation in the discharging amount of the liquid
among the conduit units may be adjusted by such adjustment. That
is, the tube cassette unit shown in FIG. 10 is set in the
dispensing apparatus, a predetermined amount of liquid is
discharged, and the discharging amount of the liquid for each
conduit unit is measured. The error in the discharging amount is
obtained for each conduit unit based on the measurement result, the
projecting amount of the adjustment screw 79a is adjusted based on
the error, and the fit-in width of the relay pipe 47a is adjusted.
Since the relationship between the rotation angle of the adjustment
screw 79a and the amount of change in the discharging amount of
each conduit unit is uniquely determined, the discharging amount is
adjusted with reference to the data measured in advance.
[0175] When increasing the discharging amount of the conduit unit,
the projecting amount of the adjustment screw 79a is reduced, the
fit-in width of the relay pipe 47a is increased, and the conveying
tube 45 is adjusted in the loosening direction. That is, as the
tension of the conveying tube 45 lowers and the pressing force of
the roller 61 and the conveying tube 45 weakens, a closed space 110
becomes larger and the discharging amount per rotation angle of the
rotating body 14 increases.
[0176] On the other hand, when reducing the discharging amount of
each conduit unit, the projecting amount of the adjustment screw
79a is increased, the fit-in width of the relay pipe 47a is
reduced, and the conveying tube 45 is adjusted in the extending
direction. As the tension of the conveying tube 45 thereby
increases and the pressing force of the roller 61 and the conveying
tube 45 becomes stronger, the closed space 110 becomes smaller and
the discharging amount per rotation angle of the rotating body 14
decreases.
[0177] The procedures for attaching the relay pipes 47a and the
discharge nozzles 41a to the main body 52a of the introduction side
holding part 43a and the main body 49a of the discharge side
holding part 42a, respectively, in the tube cassette unit shown in
FIG. 10 will now be described.
[0178] As described above, first the relay pipes 47a and the
discharge nozzles 41a are coupled with the conveying tubes, and
this is formed for the number (16 in the present embodiment) to be
set in one tube cassette unit. The coupled relay pipe 47a and the
discharge nozzle 41a are inserted into the through hole 78a of the
main body 52a of the introduction side holding part 43a from the
nozzle 41b side. The outer dimension R1 of the flange part 72b of
the coupling part 72a of the discharge nozzle 41a is formed smaller
than the inner dimension R2 of the through hole 78a of the main
body 52a of the introduction side holding part, thereby allowing
the discharge nozzle 41a to pass through the introduction side
holding part 43a.
[0179] Next, as shown in FIG. 13A, the discharge nozzles 41a are
fitted into the through holes 75a of the main body 49a of the
discharge side holding part 42a and the discharge nozzles 41a are
fixed to the main body 49a of the discharge side holding part 42a
with the fixing screws 74b.
[0180] As shown in FIG. 13B, the relay pipes 47a are then fitted
into the through holes 78a of the main body 52a of the introduction
side holding part 43a. Each of the relay pipe 47a has the flange
part 77b of the coupling part 77a configured larger than the
through hole 78a and thus cannot pass through the through hole 78a,
and is fitted in until the flange part 77b contacts the distal end
of the adjustment screw 79a as described above. The conveying tubes
45 are set in the pulled state when attached to the device 1, and
thus the relay pipes 47a do not slip off from the main body 52a of
the introduction side holding part 43a.
[0181] Such operations are repeated to set the nozzles for the
number necessary for the introduction side holding part 43a and the
discharge side holding part 42a. By assembling the tube cassette
unit in this manner, the power to assemble the tube cassette unit
is saved, and only the broken discharge nozzle can be changed
without detaching the other conveying tubes if only one part of the
plurality of discharge nozzles is broken.
[0182] The mechanism of engaging the introduction side attachment
parts 17 and the discharge side attachment parts 15 to the
introduction side holding parts 43, 43a, and the discharge side
holding parts 42, 42a will now be described. A case of engaging the
tube cassette unit of FIG. 6 will be described by way of example,
but the tube cassette unit shown in FIG. 10 may be used. FIG. 14 is
a perspective view describing the engagement mechanism of the
discharge side attachment part 15 and the discharge side holding
part 42. The discharge side attachment parts 15 are fixed parallel
to each other with one part projecting to the front side of the
fixing plate, as shown in FIG. 14. The discharge side attachment
parts 15 are fixed to the fixing plate with the screws 15a. The
distance between the adjacent introduction side attachment parts 17
is made to be substantially the same as the width dimension of the
introduction side holding part, and the rotating body 14 (14a, 14b)
is arranged between the two adjacent discharge side holding parts
15, as described above. A cut-out 151 extending in the X-axis
direction is formed at the lower part from the rotating body
installing position of the discharge side attachment parts 15, and
the projections 51 of the discharge side holding part are fitted
into the cut-outs 151. Concave parts 152 having a shape
substantially the same as the outer peripheral shape of the
projections 51 are formed at two locations on the upper surface of
the cut-outs 151 at the positions corresponding to the projections
51 of the discharge side holding parts 15 when engaging the two,
the two parts being fixed when the projections 51 fit into the
concave parts 152 in coupling, as shown with an arrow 84.
[0183] The introduction side attachment parts 17 and the
introduction side holding part 43 engage with the engagement
mechanism shown in FIG. 15. That is, the introduction side
attachment parts 17 are fixed spaced apart at a predetermined
distance on the stationary plate 16 as described above. The
distance between the adjacent introduction side attachment parts 17
is made to be substantially the same as the width dimension of the
introduction side holding part 43. The introduction side attachment
parts 17 include cut-outs 171 for engaging the introduction side
holding part 43 on the surface on the side distant from the
discharge side attachment parts 15, and the two are fixed by
fitting the introduction side holding part 43 into the cut-outs
171. The cut-outs are arranged in a direction the engagement
surfaces 173 of the introduction side attachment part side are
inclined, which inclining direction is a direction such that the
downstream side (rotating body 14 side) end of the relay pipe 47 of
the introduction side holding part is arranged inclined so as to be
at the upper position. Concave parts 172 having a shape
substantially the same as the outer peripheral shape of the
projections 54 are formed at two locations on the engagement
surface 173 at positions corresponding to the projections 54 of the
introduction side holding part when engaging the two, and the
projections 54 are fitted into the concave parts 172 in coupling,
as shown with the arrow 84a. The introduction side holding part 43
is biased to the engagement surfaces 173 of the introduction side
attachment parts 17 by the conveying tubes 45 in the extended state
and securely fixed, as will be hereinafter described.
[0184] The rotating body fixed to the discharge side attachment
part will now be described. The rotating body 14 is a member that
rotates with the lateral axis parallel to the Y-axis as the
rotating axis, as shown in FIG. 16B, and includes eight cylindrical
rollers 61 extending parallel to the rotating axis and arranged at
equidistance in the circumferential direction with the rotating
axis of the circular disc as the center between two circular discs
60.
[0185] The outer diameter dimension of each roller may be reduced
to reduce the contacting areas with the tubes and increase the
pressure on the tubes, thereby forming a closed space in the
conveying tube with a small tension, but the damage on the
conveying tubes becomes significant due to friction involved in the
rotation of the rotating body. Therefore, it is preferably
appropriately designed according to the property of the tubes such
as thickness and material of the tubes, the pulling amount in
attaching the tubes etc. In the present embodiment, the rollers
having a diameter of the same extent as the diameter of the tubes
is used, specifically, the rollers having the outer diameter of
2.phi. are used. Each rollers 61 are fixed by way of the circular
disc 60 and the bearing 65 so as to be freely rotatable with the
lateral axis parallel to the Y-axis as the rotating axis.
[0186] The rotating shafts 63, 64 for rotating the rotating body
when receiving power of the pump drive motors 12a, 12b are arranged
at the center portion of the two circular discs, as described
above. The rotating shafts 63, 64 are configured by double shaft
bodies, where the shaft 63 on the outer side couples with the
pulley 11a and the rotating body 14a on the side closer to the
pulleys 11a, 13b, and the shaft 64 on the inner side couples with
the pulley 11b and the rotating body 14b on the side distant from
the pulleys 11a, 13b. The pulleys 11a, 13b are respectively
transmitted with the driving force of the pump drive motors 12a,
12b via the drive belts 13a, 13b as described above, and are
rotated independently.
[0187] Each rotating body 14a, 14b includes a separation plate 62
between the two circular discs 60. The separation plate is provided
to separate the conduit unit arranged in parallel, and prevents the
conveying tube 45 wound to the rotating body from shifting in the
Y-axis direction when the rotating body is rotated, as will be
hereinafter described.
[0188] The operation of when the discharge driving mechanism 10
discharges a liquid will now be described. FIG. 17 is an
explanatory view of when attaching the tube cassette unit 40 to the
discharge side attachment part 15 and the introduction side
attachment part 17. Since the upper part of the rotating body is
opened and used as the tube cassette attachment and detachment
region 90, the tube cassette unit is arranged in a liquid
dispensing apparatus through the relevant region when attaching the
tube cassette unit 40 to the tube cassette attachment unit. First,
the discharge side holding part 42 is coupled to the discharge side
attachment part 15. The engagement of the two parts is as described
above, where the projections 51 of the discharge side holding part
is fitted in and fixed to the cut-outs 151 of the discharge side
attachment part, as shown with the arrow 84. Through such fixation,
the discharge nozzle 41 is fixed downward in a substantially
vertical direction.
[0189] As shown in FIG. 18, the conveying tube 45 is wound to the
upper side portion of the rotating body, and the introduction side
holding part 43 is drawn towards the introduction side attachment
part 17. In doing so, the handle 55 of the introduction side
holding part is preferably griped. In this case, the discharge
nozzle of the discharge side holding part is facing downward in the
vertical direction, and the relay pipe of the introduction side
holding part is fixed slightly inclined so that the downstream side
is oriented slightly upward, and thus the conveying tube 45 is
contacted to a plurality of rollers 61 of the rotating body 14 and
wound to the rotating body 14 at a winding angle R, which is
smaller than or equal to 180 degrees, specifically, at an angle of
substantially 90 degrees in the present embodiment (see FIG. 19).
In order to attach the conveying tube to the rotating body in the
extended state through the conveying tube attachment and detachment
space on the upper side of the rollers, the winding angle of the
conveying tube is preferably formed to between about 65 degrees to
135 degrees, more preferably to between 90 to 120 degrees. When the
winding angle of the conveying tube becomes smaller, the tension
applied on the conveying tube to form the closed space in the
conveying tube must be increased, and thus is preferably greater
than or equal to 65 degrees.
[0190] The conveying tube is configured to a length that does not
reach the introduction side attachment part 15 as shown with a
broken line in FIG. 19 when the discharge side holding part 52
engages the discharge side attachment part 15 and the tube is wound
to the roller 61 of the rotating body 14. The introduction side
holding part 43 is pulled to the introduction side attachment part
15 side in this state, as shown with the arrow 85 in FIG. 19, to
engage the introduction side holding part 43 with the introduction
side attachment part 15. The conveying tube 45 is configured so as
to become a length of about 120% to 200%, more preferably to
substantially about 150% with respect to the non-pulled length. The
extent of the pulling length can be appropriately adjusted
according to the property of the conveying tube used.
[0191] After attaching the tube cassette unit 40 with the discharge
side holding part 42 and the introduction side holding part 43, the
third holding part 44 is attached to the liquid tank 30, and the
supply pipe is set so as to be immersed in the liquid stored in the
liquid tank 30.
[0192] In the present embodiment, the tube cassette attachment unit
is configured to allow two tube cassette units 40 to be attached,
and thus two tube cassette units are attached. FIG. 20 is a view
showing a state in which two tube cassette units 40 are attached to
the tube cassette attachment unit. In attaching the tube cassette
unit 40, eight conveying tubes 45 are arranged on each side of the
separation plate 62 of the rotating body.
[0193] When the tube cassette unit 40 is attached in the above
manner, a plurality of rollers 61 of the rotating body 14 contact
the conveying tube, whereby the conveying tube 45 is constricted by
the roller 61 according to the extent of pulling as shown in FIG.
21, forming closed spaces 110a, 110b between two adjacent rollers
61. In order to distinguish the roller 61, which position changes
due to the rotation of the rotating body 14, the roller 61 is
indicated as 61a to 61h, where the closed spaced constricted and
formed by the rollers 61a and 61b is 110a, and the closed spaced
constricted and formed by the rollers 61b and 61c is 110b.
[0194] The air exists inside 120 the conveying tube 45 before the
tube cassette unit 40 is attached and the rotating body 14 is
rotatably driven. When the rotating body 14 is rotated in the
direction shown with an arrow 86 in this state, the closed spaces
110a, 110b move towards the discharge side as shown in FIG. 22, and
as a result, the liquid 103 is conveyed through the supply pipe 48.
The liquid 103 is introduced into the closed space by repeating
such operation, as shown in FIG. 23. In FIG. 23, the closed space
110e is formed by rollers 61e and 61f, and the closed space 110f is
formed by rollers 61f and 61g.
[0195] When the rotating body is further rotated in the direction
of an arrow 87 in this state, the roller 61e moves away from the
conveying tube 45 as shown in FIG. 24, and as a result, the closed
space 110e is released due to the flexibility of the conveying tube
45, and the liquid accumulated in the closed space 110e moves
towards the discharge nozzle 41 side.
[0196] Furthermore, when the rotating body 14 is further moved as
shown with an arrow 88, the closed space 110f is released and the
liquid is conveyed to the discharge nozzle side as shown in FIG.
25. The liquid 103 is discharged from the discharge nozzle 41 by
continuously repeating such operation.
[0197] The smallest unit of the discharging amount of the liquid
from the discharge nozzle 41 is the amount of liquid accumulated in
one closed space 110. The volume of the closed space becomes
substantially the same since the roller 61 is arranged at
substantially equidistant. Thus, the discharging amount of the
liquid is determined by the number of closed spaces released by the
rotation of the rotating body 14. The rotation angle of the
rotating body 14 is determined by the rotation angle of the pump
drive motors 12a, 12b, and thus the number of times the detection
light of the photo-interpreter has been conducted or shielded is
counted to control the rotation angle of the rotating body 14,
thereby controlling the amount of liquid discharged from the
discharge nozzle 41.
[0198] When detaching the tube cassette unit 40 from the tube
cassette attachment unit, the introduction side holding part 43 is
pulled towards the supply pipe 48 side to be detached from the
introduction side attachment part 17, and thereafter, the discharge
side holding part 42 is detached form the discharge side attachment
part 15. The conveying tube 45 is simply wound to the roller in the
pulled state, and thus the tube cassette unit can be detached from
the liquid dispensing apparatus 1 through the tube cassette
attachment and detachment region by simply detaching the
introduction side and the discharge side holding parts, thereby
reducing the trouble of changing the tube cassette unit 40.
[0199] In other words, after setting the tube cassette unit in the
liquid dispensing apparatus 1 and conveying a predetermined liquid,
the relevant tube cassette unit can be easily detached and a
different tube cassette unit may be set to the liquid dispensing
apparatus to convey the liquid with a very simple step. Since the
tube cassette unit can be easily changed, the problems of
contamination and the like of the liquids to be discharged are
reliably prevented in the liquid dispensing apparatus 1 etc.
[0200] As described above, according to the liquid dispensing
apparatus according to the present embodiment, the liquid can be
supplied to the well column of one column all at once since the
liquid is supplied using the tube cassette unit including a
plurality of discharge nozzles arranged at a pitch corresponding to
the well column in one column arranged in the microtiter plate.
Furthermore, the tube cassette unit includes the introduction side
holding part and the discharge side holding part for unitizing a
plurality of tubes and collectively fixing the same, and thus the
tube cassette unit is easily handled.
[0201] Furthermore, according to the liquid dispensing apparatus
according to the present embodiment, the pressing body for
sandwiching the tube becomes unnecessary since the introduction
side holding part and the discharge side holding part of the tube
cassette unit are attached to the roller with the conveying tube of
the tube cassette unit in the extended state to form the closed
space in the conveying tube. Therefore, attachment and detachment
of the tube cassette unit are facilitated.
[0202] The tube cassette unit includes a pressing plate at the
introduction side holding part and the discharge side holding part,
so that the conveying tube held in the extended state is prevented
from slipping out from the discharge nozzle and the relay pipe
inserted therein.
[0203] The present invention is not limited to the above
embodiments and various other modes are also practicable.
[0204] For example the present embodiment is a liquid dispensing
apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to such
apparatus, and may be widely applied as an apparatus for conveying
the liquid present in the conveying tube through press-rolling
action. For example, use is made in infusion liquid pump and the
like.
[0205] The angle at which the conveying tube is wound to the roller
of the rotating body may not be substantially 90 degrees as in the
above embodiment, and may be appropriately designed in a range of
contacting at least two rollers of the rotating body. In other
words, the angle at which the conveying tube is wound to the two
rollers differs depending on the number of rollers arranged on the
rotating body, and thus can be appropriately adjusted according to
the number of rollers, the number of closed spaces to be formed
etc.
[0206] For example, the rotating body includes eight rollers, and
the tube cassette attachment unit is arranged at a position the
conveying tube is wound across three rollers in the embodiment, but
is not limited to such configuration. The roller arranged at the
rotating body only needs to be at least three or more so that at
least one closed space is formed in the conveying tube at any
phase. Since the angle formed by the adjacent rollers changes when
the number of rollers changes, the winding angle of the conveying
tube must also be appropriately adjusted.
[0207] Moreover, when winding the conveying tube across three or
more rollers to form a plurality of closed spaces, the winding
angle of the conveying tube simply needs to be adjusted. In this
case, since the winding angle of greater than or equal to 180
degrees becomes necessary if the rollers arranged at the rotating
body are three, the rotating body arranged with four or more
rollers is preferably used.
[0208] The tube cassette unit does not necessarily need the
introducing tube and the third holding part, and the relay pipe
inserted into the conveying tube may be directly immersed in the
liquid tank.
[0209] In the present embodiment, the microtiter plate 100 used has
16 wells arrayed in one column (384 wells), and the pitch of the
discharge nozzle of the tube cassette unit is adjusted to the pitch
of such well, so that the discharge of the liquid to one well
column is performed with one discharging operation, but is not
limited thereto. For example, when discharging the liquid to the
microtiter plate (1536 wells) including 32 wells in one column, the
pitch of the discharge nozzle of the tube cassette unit may be the
pitch worth of two wells of the microtiter plate, in which case,
the liquid is supplied to one well column of the microtiter plate
with two discharging operations. Specifically, after discharging to
the wells at the odd number positions in the first discharging
operation, the Y-axis motor may be driven to move the mounting
table by one well, and then the liquid may be discharged to the
wells at the even number positions. The configuration of supplying
the liquid to one well column with a number of discharging
operations is effective when the number of wells in one column is
further increased etc.
[0210] Arbitrary Embodiments of the Various embodiments described
above may be appropriately combined to obtain the respective
effect.
[0211] The present invention is sufficiently described in relation
to the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanied
drawings, but it should be apparent to those skilled in the art
that various modifications and corrections may be made. Such
modifications and corrections should be recognized as being
inclusive without deviating from the scope of the present invention
defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *