Immunochromatography reagent card shell suitable for full-automatic production line

Abstract

The utility model relates to an immunochromatography reagent card shell which is formed by buckling an upper cover and a lower shell, four walls of the lower shell are in a step shape with high inside and low outside, a groove is formed in the outer side face of the higher part, four walls of the upper cover are in a step shape with high outside and low inside, and the lower shell is in a step shape with high inside and low outside. And the inner side surface of the higher part is provided with a convex edge matched with the groove. The structure provided by the utility model is more suitable for a full-automatic production line, and is beneficial to improving the production efficiency and the yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of in vitro diagnostic reagent cards, in particular to a card shell of an immunochromatographic reagent card suitable for use in a full-automatic production line. Background Art

[0002] Immunochromatographic test reagents consist of a test strip and a cartridge (or housing). The test strip is typically constructed from a stack of sample loading pads, conjugate pads, detection pads, sample aspiration pads, and a base plate, sometimes also including a blood filter membrane. The cartridge is used to load and secure the test strip, enabling testing of each sample. This type of reagent is widely used clinically due to its ease of use, speed, and overall low cost.

[0003] The above-mentioned card case consists of a lower shell and an upper cover, wherein the lower shell mainly serves to hold the test strips, and the upper cover assists in fixing the test strips while enabling sample addition and observation / detection. The upper cover and the lower shell are fixed in a mainly plug-in manner, that is, a plurality of hollow cylinders are provided inside the lower shell, and cylindrical protrusions are provided inside the upper cover at positions corresponding to the holes in the middle of the cylinders. When the upper cover and the lower shell are buckled together, the cylindrical protrusions of the upper cover are inserted into the hollow cylinder of the lower shell to achieve fixation. However, due to the small size of the card case, the diameter of the hole provided on it is very small, about 1.2 mm. In order to achieve a good fixing effect, the cylindrical protrusions are just matched with the holes so that the cylindrical protrusions will not shake in the holes. In this case, the position requirements for the upper cover and the lower shell are relatively high when assembling the card case, which affects the efficiency of manual assembly.

[0004] With the growing demand for reagents, the demand for automated production of test reagents is also increasing. The aforementioned plug-in plug-in method requires high positioning accuracy of the upper and lower shells, and often results in damage (damage to the column or hole) during fully automated assembly, impacting production efficiency, product quality, and production costs.

[0005] Therefore, the card shell structure needs to be further optimized to make its fastening method simpler to meet the needs of automated production. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the immunochromatographic reagent cartridge, the present invention provides an immunochromatographic reagent cartridge suitable for use in a fully automatic production line. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0007] An immunochromatographic reagent cartridge comprises an upper cover and a lower shell that snap together. The lower shell has four walls that are stepped, with the inner portion higher and the outer portion lower, and the outer side of the raised portion is provided with a groove. The upper cover has four walls that are stepped, with the outer portion higher and the inner portion lower, and the inner side of the raised portion is provided with a ridge that corresponds to the groove. The terms "inside" and "outside" are relative to the cartridge interior; the side facing the cartridge interior is the inner side, and the side facing away from the cartridge interior is the outer side.

[0008] When the upper cover and the lower shell are assembled, the four stepped walls of the lower shell, which are higher inside and lower outside, engage with the four stepped walls of the upper cover, which are higher outside and lower inside, to form a complete card shell. However, the engagement force is limited. If there is no other way to strengthen the fixation, the card shell will easily disintegrate / separate when encountering a large external force (such as falling to the ground). The card shell described in the utility model, when the upper cover and the lower shell are combined, the ridges are embedded in the grooves to achieve a stable and tight connection between the upper cover and the lower shell. Dropping, collision, and squeezing during normal use or transportation will not cause a gap between the two. Compared with the internal multi-point plug-in fixation structure used in the prior art, the card shell combination of the utility model is comparable in tightness, but is easier to assemble, especially on a fully automatic production line. The structure of the utility model significantly reduces the position correspondence requirements of the upper cover and the lower shell, which can improve the finished product qualification rate and production efficiency of the fully automatic production line and control production costs.

[0009] The above-mentioned groove can be a continuous line or multiple disconnected lines, parallel to the bottom surface of the lower shell. The continuous line means that all four walls of the lower shell are provided with grooves and the grooves of the two adjacent walls are connected and connected, surrounding a circle. The disconnected multiple lines mean that 2-4 of the four stepped walls of the lower shell are provided with grooves; when only 2 wall sides are provided with grooves, the 2 walls are the walls where the long sides of the lower shell are located. The wall where the long side of the lower shell is located can be provided with 1-4 grooves, evenly distributed, and the total length of each groove is not less than 1 / 3 of the side length; when there is only one groove on each wall side of the lower shell, the groove can be centered or staggered (staggered means that the grooves on the two opposite walls are not symmetrical, but one in front and one behind or one left and one right).

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, there are four grooves, one on each of the four stepped walls of the lower shell, two of which are centrally arranged on the short sides, and two on the long sides are staggered.

[0011] In another preferred embodiment, there are five grooves, two of which are provided on the stepped wall sides of the two long sides of the lower shell, and one is provided on the stepped wall side of the short side near the sample loading hole.

[0012] Corresponding to the groove, the ridge can be a continuous one or multiple broken ones, parallel to the surface of the upper cover. In a preferred embodiment, the position, length and number of the ridge can be completely consistent with the groove.

[0013] In another embodiment, the groove is a continuous one, and there are three ridges, which are respectively arranged on the two sides of the long side of the upper cover and the stepped wall side of the short side of one end of the sample loading hole, and are centrally arranged. The length of the ridge is not less than 1 / 3 of the length of the side.

[0014] The card shell described in the present invention has a positioning groove in the middle of one of its long side surfaces. Specifically, the upper cover and the lower cover each have a positioning groove. After the two are assembled, the two positioning grooves are combined into one. The assembly of the upper cover and the lower cover has strict directionality. The test strip fixed in the lower cover has a sample loading pad at one end and a sample suction pad at the other end. The sample loading hole of the upper cover must be opposite to the position of the sample loading pad, otherwise it cannot be detected. This requirement is easy to meet during manual assembly, but it is not the case on a fully automatic production line. Therefore, a positioning groove is needed to help the equipment identify and confirm whether the directions of the upper cover and the lower cover match. When the positioning grooves of the upper cover and the lower cover are on one side, it means that the assembly is correct.

[0015] The interior of the lower shell is equipped with multiple pairs of strip-shaped protrusions. One pair of strip-shaped protrusions, a, is arranged perpendicular to the long axis of the lower shell, and two pairs of strip-shaped protrusions, b, are arranged parallel to the long axis of the lower shell. These strip-shaped protrusions enclose a rectangular space located in the middle of the lower shell for accommodating and securing the test strip. A protrusion m is provided in the middle of the side opposite the strip-shaped protrusion b to further secure the test strip. In the absence of the upper cover, the test strip will not move or fall out even if the lower shell is slightly inverted. Furthermore, the external force exerted by the protrusion m on the test strip is insufficient to deform it, thereby preventing chromatography.

[0016] The upper cover is provided with a sample loading hole and an inspection window; on the inner side of the upper cover, strip-shaped protrusions A perpendicular to the chromatography direction are provided above and below the inspection window. Specifically, strip-shaped protrusions A are provided between the sample loading hole and the inspection window and between the inspection window and the upper side of the upper cover (with the end near the sample loading hole as the bottom and the other end as the top). A cylindrical protrusion is also provided between the strip-shaped protrusion A above the inspection window and the upper side of the upper cover, and preferably there are two cylindrical protrusions. The height of the cylindrical protrusion is 0.2-0.4mm higher than that of the strip-shaped protrusion A. When the upper cover is buckled with the lower shell, the strip-shaped protrusion A has no contact with the upper surface of the test strip, and the cylindrical protrusion corresponds to the position of the sample suction pad and contacts it. Both the strip-shaped protrusion A and the cylindrical protrusion can assist in fixing the test strip without affecting the chromatography effect.

[0017] Due to the implementation of the above technical solution, the utility model has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0018] The innovation of the present invention is that it improves the fixing method of the upper cover and the lower shell of the card shell, while ensuring the tightness of the combination of the two, it reduces the requirement for accurate correspondence of the positions of the two during assembly. On the one hand, it makes it more suitable for automated production, improves production efficiency and qualified rate, and on the other hand, it simplifies the card shell structure, which helps to reduce production costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inner side of the upper cover of the immunochromatographic reagent cartridge of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the interior of the lower shell of the immunochromatographic reagent cartridge of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a side view of the long side of the lower shell of the immunochromatographic reagent cartridge of the present invention.

[0022] Reference numerals:

[0023] 1. Sample well 2. Inspection window 3. Strip protrusion A 4. Cylindrical protrusion 5. Positioning groove

[0024] 6. Strip-shaped protrusion a 7. Strip-shaped protrusion b 8. Protrusion m 9. Groove 10. Corrugated DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] like Figure 1-3 As shown, this embodiment provides an immunochromatographic reagent cartridge suitable for a fully automatic production line. The cartridge consists of an upper cover and a lower shell that are fastened together. The four walls of the lower shell are stepped with the inner side higher than the outer side, and a groove 9 is provided on the outer side of the raised portion. The four walls of the upper cover are stepped with the outer side higher than the inner side, and a convex ridge 10 adapted to the groove 9 is provided on the inner side of the raised portion.

[0026] The aforementioned grooves 9 comprise six in total, parallel to the bottom surface of the lower shell and located on the outer sides of the four walls. Specifically, the two walls along the lower shell's long sides each have two grooves 9, evenly distributed. The two walls along the lower shell's short sides each have one groove 9, with the sum of the grooves 9 on each wall being 40% of the length of the wall on which they are located. The position, length, and number of the ridges 10 perfectly match those of the grooves 9. When the upper cover and lower shell are assembled, the ridges 10 fit into the grooves 9, securing the connection between the two.

[0027] The upper cover and the lower shell are each provided with a positioning groove 5 on one long side. After the two are assembled, the two positioning grooves 5 can be combined into one. The positioning groove is used to help the device identify and confirm the direction of the upper cover and the lower shell to ensure correct assembly.

[0028] The lower housing is internally provided with multiple pairs of protrusions. One pair of protrusions a6 is perpendicular to the lower housing's long sides, while two pairs of protrusions b7 are parallel to the lower housing's long sides. These protrusions enclose a rectangular space. A protrusion m8 is located in the middle of the side opposite the protrusions b7, further securing the test strip.

[0029] The upper cover is provided with a sample loading well 1 and an inspection window 2. On the inner side of the upper cover, strip-shaped protrusions A3 are provided between the sample loading well 1 and the inspection window 2, and between the inspection window 2 and the upper edge of the upper cover (with the end closest to the sample loading well at the bottom and the other end at the top). Two cylindrical protrusions 4 are provided between the strip-shaped protrusions A3 above the inspection window 2 and the upper edge of the upper cover. These cylindrical protrusions 4 are 0.3 mm taller than the strip-shaped protrusions A3. When the upper cover and lower shell are fastened together, the strip-shaped protrusions A do not contact the upper surface of the test strip, while the cylindrical protrusions 4 correspond to and contact the sample aspiration pad.

[0030] The above detailed description of the present invention is intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of the present invention and implement it. It does not limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An immunochromatographic reagent cartridge suitable for a fully automated production line, the cartridge comprising an upper cover and a lower shell, wherein: The four walls of the lower shell are stepped with the inner side higher and the outer side lower, and the outer side of the raised part is provided with a groove. The four walls of the upper cover are stepped with the outer side higher and the inner side of the raised part is provided with ridges adapted to the groove.

2. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that: The groove is a continuous one.

3. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: There are multiple grooves.

4. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: A positioning groove is provided in the middle of the side surface of the card shell.

5. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The upper cover is provided with a sample addition hole and an inspection window; on the inner side of the upper cover, strip-shaped protrusions A perpendicular to the chromatography direction are provided above and below the inspection window.

6. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 5, characterized in that: A cylindrical protrusion is provided above the inspection window.

7. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The interior of the lower shell is provided with a plurality of pairs of strip-shaped protrusions, wherein one pair of strip-shaped protrusions a is arranged perpendicular to the long axis direction of the lower shell, and two pairs of strip-shaped protrusions b are arranged parallel to the long axis direction of the lower shell, and the strip-shaped protrusions enclose a rectangular space.

8. The immunochromatographic reagent cartridge according to claim 7, characterized in that: A protrusion m is provided in the middle of one side opposite to the strip-shaped protrusion b.

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