Sampling nozzle, automatic analyzer using the same, and method of manufacturing sampling nozzle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10539584-B2
Application number	US-201515534628-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2015
Priority date	Dec 18, 2014
Publication date	Jan 21, 2020
Grant date	Jan 21, 2020

Abstract

A CTS nozzle achieves the object of reducing rubber chips produced when the CTS nozzle is inserted into and extracted from a rubber plug of a sample container during dispensing of a sample, thereby inhibiting the wear of the tip of the CTS nozzle. The CTS nozzle has two cut surfaces at its tip, and the pressure applied from the rubber when the nozzle is inserted into the rubber plug is dispersed onto the two cut surfaces without being deflected onto one of the cut surfaces. The pressure applied to the nozzle due to the resilience of the rubber being pushed away by the nozzle is thus dispersed and the rubber chips produced by the friction between the cut surfaces of the nozzle and the rubber are reduced. As a result of the reduced friction, the wear of the tip of the nozzle is minimized.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cylindrical sampling nozzle for piercing a sampling container with rubber to aspirate a sample in the container, the nozzle comprising:
a hollow extending lengthwise of the sampling nozzle, the hollow including an opening for aspirating the sample;
a first surface disposed at an end of a tube having the hollow, the first surface having a plane surrounding the opening;
a second surface disposed opposite the first surface; and
a tip portion of the sampling nozzle formed by an intersection line of the first surface and the second surface, wherein:
the hollow which is not bent near the tip portion includes the opening;
the second surface has a curved surface that includes part of a conical shape around a central axis of the cylindrically-shaped sampling nozzle, is curved in a circumferential direction of the cylindrically-shaped sampling nozzle and is tilted linearly with respect to the length of the sampling nozzle; and
a distance between the tip portion of the sampling nozzle and an end of the second surface on a root side of the sampling nozzle is shorter than a distance between the tip portion of the sampling nozzle and an end of the first surface on a root side of the sampling nozzle.

2. The sampling nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein
a tilt angle of the first surface is greater than that of the second surface.

3. The sampling nozzle according to claim 1 ,
wherein when seen from the opening side, the tip is positioned within a range of thickness of the sampling nozzle at a position closer to the opening side than to outside the range of thickness.

4. The sampling nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the opening of the first surface is elliptically-shaped; and
the plane is shorter at the tip side than at the root side of the sampling nozzle in a major-axis direction of the elliptically-shaped.

5. The sampling nozzle according to claim 4 ,
wherein a difference in area is smaller than or equal to 0.1 mm 2 between the second surface and the tip side in the plane divided into the root side and the tip side by a minor axis of the elliptically-shaped.

6. The sampling nozzle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the tip has an angle in a range from 26.0° to 29.5°.

7. The sampling nozzle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first straight portion;
a second straight portion smaller in outside diameter than the first straight portion; and
a tapered portion disposed between the first straight portion and the second straight portion,
wherein the tip is disposed at an end of the second straight portion.

8. The sampling nozzle according to claim 7 ,
wherein the first straight portion, the second straight portion, the tapered portion and the tip are made of a same material without being welded to one another.

9. An automatic analyzer having a sample dispensing mechanism provided with the sampling nozzle described in claim 1 ,
wherein the sampling dispensing mechanism discharges the sample in a condition that the tip is brought into contact with a bottom of the cell.

Assignees

• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Horie Yosuke
• Inoue Tomohiro
• Tokieda Hitoshi
• Mori Takamichi

Classifications

• G01N1/10

  in the liquid or fluent state {(burettes, pipettes B01L3/02; sampling of ground water E02D1/06; metering by volume of fluids or fluent solid material G01F11/00, G01F13/00)} · CPC title

• B01L3/0296

  from piercable tubing, e.g. in extracorporeal blood sampling · CPC title

• G01N35/1079 Primary

  with means for piercing stoppers or septums · CPC title

• B01L3/50825

  Closing or opening means, corks, bungs · CPC title

• B01L3/0255

  characterised by the form or material of the pin tip · CPC title