Socket for coupling capillary tip

Abstract

The present invention relates to a socket for coupling a capillary tip, comprising: a body in which an intra-tubular passage penetrating through both sides thereof is formed, a suction unit of sample collection equipment is provided to be coupled to one side, and a capillary tip is provided to be coupled to the other side; a pressure-varying hole unit which is formed in the body and includes a through hole formed through the intra-tubular passage and the outside of the body; and an opening-and-closing unit which is elastically supported by the pressure-varying hole unit and is installed to close or communicate the through hole and the intra-tubular passage while moving with an elastic force. The present invention can expand the use area for the utilization of capillary tips and can simplify a sample-collecting configuration through the application of manual sampling equipment.

Description

[Technical Field]The present invention relates to a socket for coupling acapillary tip, and more particularly, to a socket for coupling acapillary tip to allow a small amount of sample to be collectedby utilizing the capillary tip, but to use the capillary tip bycoupling it with a manual sampling equipment, thereby expandingthe use area of the capillary tip.[Background Art]Various chemical or biochemical tests for measuringbiological indicators related to specific diseases, generalhealth conditions, or infections are generally performed throughmulti-step chemical reactions and physical manipulations usingvarious reagents and instruments. For example, in the case ofdetecting a specific chemical substance contained in a samplesuch as blood, or a biochemical substance such as protein, itrequires several steps of physical manipulation of: collecting asample, placing the collected sample in a certain container,reacting it with one or more reagents, and then distributing thereacted sample from the container.If the sample to be analyzed (e.g., blood), the detectionantibody labeled with a fluorescent substance, and whole bloodare used, the solution (reagent) to which the red blood celllysis reagent is added is mixed in a quantitative ratio to bereacted so that the sample may be loaded onto the sample pad ofthe analysis device or cartridge to perform the analysis. Inthis case, accurate and reproducible analysis is possible onlywhen the exact amount of sample is loaded.The measurement of an accurate sample amount is an importantphysical quantity to be measured that is directly related to theaccuracy of the measurement result. As the current volumemeasuring devices can be considered to have reached an errorlevel of a few microliters, the error in the measurement resultsdue to the error in the sample volume is negligible in thegeneral measurement method where the sample volume is aroundmilliliters (ml), and therefore need not be a major concern.However, when the entire volume of the sample is at the level ofmicro-liters (μl), a completely new problem arises in improvingmeasurement precision. In the case of precise diagnosis wherethe entire volume of the sample is a few microliters, the errorin sample volume measurement should be reduced to acorresponding level too. To achieve this, the applicant hasdeveloped pipette tips and pipette systems (Korean patentregistration number 10-1713172) to minimize errors in samplecollection. In other words, the pipette tips developed by theapplicant enable the collection of samples by utilizingcapillary action, allowing for accurate quantitative collectionof small amounts of samples without errors.However, the conventional pipette tips mentioned aboverequire the use of a pipette system to collect samples, whichpresents a problem in that specialized knowledge of operatingthe pipette system is required for sample collection. In otherwords, conventional pipette tips can only be used by skilledoperators, which limits their applicability and scalability.[Disclosure][Technical Problem]Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a socket forcoupling a capillary tip so as to expand the range ofapplications for capillary tips.Furthermore, the present invention also aims to simplify theconfiguration for use of a capillary tip.Furthermore, the present invention also aims to provide asocket for coupling a capillary tip so as to increase theconvenience of sample collection.[Technical Solution]The present invention for achieving the above-mentionedobjectives provides a socket for coupling a capillary tip,comprising: a body in which an intra-tubular passage penetratingthrough both sides thereof is formed, a suction unit of samplecollection equipment is provided to be coupled to one sidethereof, and a capillary tip is provided to be coupled to theother side thereof; a pressure-varying hole unit which is formedin the body, and includes a through hole formed to communicatethe intra-tubular passage to outside of the body; and anopening-and-closing unit which is elastically supported by thepressure-varying hole unit, and is installed to close orcommunicate the through hole and the intra-tubular passage whilemoving with an elastic force.Preferably, the intra-tubular passage comprises: an insertionhole formed on one side of the body, and having such innerdiameter that a suction unit of the sample collection equipmentcan be inserted thereinto; a central hole formed on one side ofthe insertion hole so to communicate to the through hole, andhaving a inner diameter smaller than an inner diameter of theinsertion hole; and a connection hole formed on the other sideof the body, and for communicating to an inside of the capillarytip as a passage; wherein the inner diameter of the insertionhole is formed larger than the inner diameter of the centralhole, wherein the inner diameter of the central hole is formedlarger than an inner diameter of the connection hole.Preferably, the pressure-varying hole unit comprises steppedholes that have inner diameters larger than an inner diameter ofthe through hole towards an outside of the through hole, and theopening-and-closing unit comprises: an elastic body installed ona step formed between the stepped hole and the through hole; anda pressing member supported by the elastic body, and for openingand closing the through hole while reciprocating between thestepped hole and the through hole with the elastic force of theelastic body.[Advantageous Effects]The socket for coupling a capillary tip according to thepresent invention has the effect of expanding the range ofapplications for capillary tips by allowing them to be used notonly with motorized equipment but also with manual samplecollection equipment such as pipettes. Furthermore, the presentinvention can simplify the configuration for use of a capillarytip by enabling them to be coupled and used with pipettes.Therefore, the present invention has the effect of increasingcompetitiveness in fields such as individual testing of samplequantities or emergency medicine. In addition, the presentinvention also has the effect of increasing the convenience ofsample collection because sample collection using capillaryaction can be performed through the pressing operation of theopening-and-closing unit.[Description of Drawings]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the socket for coupling acapillary tip according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.FIG. 2 shows a main part of a pressure-varying hole unit ofthe socket for coupling a capillary tip according to theembodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.FIG. 3 illustrates the socket for coupling a capillary tipaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 4 illustrates the socket for coupling a capillary tipaccording to the embodiment of the present invention illustratedin FIG. 1, with a mini pipette coupled with the capillary tip.FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrate the operation of the socket forcoupling a capillary tip according to the embodiment of thepresent invention shown in FIG. 1.[Best Mode]The following is a detailed description of the preferredembodiment of the socket for coupling a capillary tip accordingto the present invention, with reference to the attacheddrawings.FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the socket 10 for coupling acapillary tip according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 3 illustrates the coupling state of the socketfor coupling a capillary tip. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, thesocket 10 for coupling the capillary tip includes a body 100, apressure-varying hole unit 200, and an opening-and-closing unit300. FIG. 2 shows a main part of the pressure-varying hole unit.The body 100 forms the outer appearance of the socket 10 forcoupling sampling tip and has an intra-tubular passage 110 thatpenetrates through both sides of the body 100. The intra-tubularpassage 110 is a pressure channel through which suction anddischarge pressures can be created, and is formed to penetrateboth sides of the body 100 in the longitudinal direction of thebody 100. At this time, one side of the body 100 is provided tobe coupled to the sample collection equipment, and the otherside of the body 100 is provided to be coupled to the capillarytip 500. For convenience of explanation in this specification, amini pipette is used as an example of the sample collectionequipment, but it is not limited to a mini pipette as the samplecollection equipment.FIG. 4 shows the state where the capillary tip 500 of thesocket 10 for coupling a capillary tip is coupled to the minipipette 400. FIGS. 5A to 5C show the operation of the socket 10for coupling a capillary tip.As shown in FIG. 4, one side of the body 100 is provided toallow a mini pipette 400 to be inserted into it and coupled withit, and the other side of the body 100 is provided to beinserted into the inside of a capillary tip 500. Meanwhile, theintra-tubular passage 110 is formed straight in the longitudinaldirection of the body 100 and is provided with an insertion hole111, a central hole 112, and a connection hole 113 that aredistinguished from one another.The insertion hole 111 is formed on one side of the body 100in a configuration where the suction unit 410 of the minipipette 400 is inserted. The inner diameter of the insertionhole 111 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of thesuction unit 410 of the mini pipette 400, but the insertion hole111 is provided in a size that allows the suction unit 410 ofthe mini pipette 400 to be press-fit and coupled.The central hole 112 is formed on one side of the insertionhole 111 shown in FIG. 5A, and is formed to communicate to thethrough hole of the pressure-varying hole unit 200 to bedescribed later. At this time, the inner diameter of the centralhole 112 is smaller than the inner diameter of the insertionhole 111.The connection hole 113 is formed on one side of the centralhole 112 and is configured to connect to the inside of thecapillary tip 500. At this time, the inner diameter of theconnection hole 113 is formed smaller than the inner diameter ofthe central hole 112.The pressure-varying hole unit 200 is formed in the body 100and is configured to control pressure so as to cause a capillaryaction. As shown in FIG. 5A, the pressure-varying hole unit 200is preferably composed of a through hole 210 and a stepped hole220.The through hole 210 is a passage through which the centralhole 112 of the body 100 and the outside of the body 100communicate with each other, and is formed on the outercircumferential surface of the body 100. The through hole 210 ispreferably formed in a direction perpendicular to the centralhole 112 of the body 100. That is, due to the configuration ofthe through hole 210 and the intra-tubular passage 110, thepressure change can be caused in the intra-tubular passage 110by the change of opening and closing of the through hole 210.The stepped hole 220 is a configuration for installing thepressure-varying hole unit 300 for opening and closing thethrough hole 210, and is formed in a direction from the throughhole 210 toward the outside of the body 100. The inner diameterof the stepped hole 220 is formed to be larger than the innerdiameter of the through hole 210, and thus a step 240 is formedbetween the through hole 210 and the stepped hole 220.The stepped hole 220 is preferably formed to be doublestepped. Accordingly, two steps 240 are formed in the steppedhole 220, and the stepped hole 220 also consists of two steppedholes 221 and 222. For convenience of explanation, they arereferred to as the first stepped hole 221 and the second steppedhole 222 depending on how close to the through hole 210, and thestep 240 formed between the through hole 210 and the firststepped hole 221 is referred to as first step 241, and the step240 formed between the first step hole 221 and the second stephole 222 are referred to as second step 242.The first step 241 is a part for disposing a spring to bedescribed later, and the second step 242 corresponds to the headof the opening-and-closing unit 300 to be described later and isconfigured to limit excessive movement of the opening-andclosing unit 300.As can be seen in FIGS. 2, 5A, and 5B, it is desirable that avent groove 242a is formed in the second step 242. The ventgroove 242a is intended to facilitate ventilation to the intratubular passage 110 when the through hole 210 of the openingand-closing unit 300 is opened. A detailed explanation will beprovided later. The vent groove 242a is provided in the form ofa groove on one or both sides of the second step 242. As shownin FIGS. 2 and 5A, the vent groove 242a may extend in the heightdirection of the inner circumferential surface of the secondstepped hole 222.The opening-and-closing unit 300 plays a role of varying thepressure of the intra-tubular passage 110 by opening and closingthe through hole 210 and the intra-tubular passage 110. In otherwords, opening-and-closing unit 300 plays a role of allowing thesample to be sucked into the capillary tip 500 by varying thepressure of the intra-tubular passage 110 to cause a capillaryaction. The opening-and-closing unit 300 is installed in thethrough hole 210 and the stepped hole 220 and is preferablycomposed of an elastic body 310 and a pressing member 320.The elastic body 310 is placed in the stepped hole 220 andprovides elastic force to the pressing member 320. The elasticbody 310 is preferably a coil spring, as shown in FIG. 1, but itcan be anything if it is possible to provide elastic force tothe pressing member 320. The elastic body 310 is preferablyplaced in the first step 241.The pressing member 320 serves to pass or block the steppedhole 220 and the intra-tubular passage 110 while moving straightbetween the through hole 210 and the stepped hole 220. Thepressing member 320 serves to open or close the central hole 112and the step hole 220 of the intra-tubular passage 110 to eachother by a user's pressing action. The pressing member 320 isprovided to be elastically supported by the elastic body 310disposed in the stepped hole 220, and is preferably composed ofa head part 321 and a hanging bar 322.The head part 321 is a portion to which a user presses andapplies force, and has a diameter corresponding to the innerdiameter of the second stepped hole 222 .The hanging bar 322 opens and closes the space between thestepped hole 220 and the central hole 112 of the intra-tubularpassage 110 while moving in the through hole 210, and is formedto extend from the head part 321 and has such diameter that itmay pass through the through hole 210. In this case, A hangingpiece 322a is formed at the end of the hanging bar 322, andextends radially outwards so that it can be hung and supportedon the inner circumferential surface of the central hole 112 atwhich the through hole 210 is formed. As the hanging piece 322ais caught and supported on the inner circumferential surface ofthe central hole 112, the through hole 210 between the steppedhole 220 and the central hole 112 is closed, and when the userpushes the hanging bar 322 by pressing the head part 321, thehanging piece 322a gets spaced apart from the innercircumferential surface of the central hole 112 so that thecentral hole 112 and the stepped hole 220 can be opened. Openingthe central hole 112 and the stepped hole 220 means that thepressure in the intra-tubular passage 110 is changed by makingthe intra-tubular passage 110 communicate to the outside of thebody 100. Meanwhile, it is desirable that the material of theopening-and-closing unit 300 is malleable. This is because it isintended to increase the sealing performance of the intratubular passage 110 and the stepped hole 220 by increasing thesealing force when the hanging piece 322a is sealed against theinner circumferential surface of the central hole 112.Hereinafter, a process of collecting a sample by connecting acapillary tip to a mini pipette using the socket 10 for couplinga capillary tip configured as described above will be described.A user inserts the suction unit 410 of the mini pipette 400into one side of the socket 10 for coupling the capillary tip.In addition, the user inserts the other side of the socket 10for coupling the capillary tip into the capillary tip 500 so asto couple them. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4 , the minipipette 400 is coupled to the capillary tip 500 through thesocket 10 for coupling the capillary tip, so that it is ready tocollect samples . At this time, as shown in FIG 5A, as the headpart 321 of the pressing member 320 is pushed out of the steppedhole 220 by the elastic force of the elastic body 310, thehanging piece 322a is caught and supported by the innercircumferential surface of the central hole 112 so to closes thethrough hole 210.The user takes the mini pipette 400 coupled as describedabove and puts the capillary tip 500 on the blood tube orfingertip of the test subject for blood collection. Thereafter,the user presses the head part 321 of the pressing member 320 topush the hanging bar 322 into the central hole 112 as shown inFIG 5B, so that the intra-tubular passage may communicate withthe outside air through the through hole 210 and thus thepressure of the intra-tubular passage 110 is changed. That is,as a result of the capillary action within the intra-tubularpassage 110, the blood is drawn into the capillary tip 500. Atthis point, the head part 321 of the pressing member 320 ispressed against the second step 242 by the user's pressure. Evenif the head part 321 is in contact with the second step 242,there is no obstruction to the communication between the intratubular passage 110 and the outside air, owing to the ventgroove 242a formed in the shape of a recess on the second step242.When blood is sucked into the capillary tip 500, the userreleases the pressing force of the pressing member 320 that hasbeen pressurized. Accordingly, the pressing member 320 isreturned to its original position as shown in FIG. 5A by therestoring force of the elastic body 310 which has beencontracted, and so closes the through hole 210, so that theintra-tubular passage 110 does not communicate with outside air.As a result, the blood sucked into the capillary tip 500 staysinside the capillary tip 500. Thereafter, the user brings themini pipette 400 to the analysis equipment, and then presses thepush button 420 (see FIG. 4) of the mini pipette 400 to generatepositive pressure in the suction unit 410, thereby dischargingthe blood of the capillary tip 500 to a designated place. Thus,collecting and discharging a small amount of blood using thesocket 10 for coupling the capillary tip is completed.As described so far, the socket 10 for coupling the capillarytip according to the present invention enables to accuratelytake a small amount of sample by using the capillary tip 500,and enables utilizing a manual sampling equipment when thesample collected in the capillary tip is discharged. Accordingly,the socket 10 for coupling the capillary tip can expand the usearea by the application of manual sample collection equipment aswell as electric equipment, and can simplify the overallconfiguration for sample collection and discharge so as toenhance competitiveness in individual examinations of the numberof samples or in the fields of emergency medicine.Although the present invention has been described in detailwith respect to the described embodiments, it is obvious tothose skilled in the art that various changes and modificationsare possible within the scope of the technical idea of thepresent invention, and these changes and modifications belong tothe appended claims.

Claims

1. A socket for coupling a capillary tip, comprising: a body in which an intra-tubular passage penetrating through both sides thereof is formed, a suction unit of sample collection equipment is provided to be coupled to one side thereof, and a capillary tip is provided to be coupled to the other side thereof; a pressure-varying hole unit which is formed in the body, and includes a through hole formed to communicate the intra-tubular passage to outside of the body; and an opening-and-closing unit which is elastically supported by the pressure-varying hole unit, and is installed to close or communicate the through hole and the intra-tubular passage while moving with an elastic force.

2. The socket for coupling a capillary tip of claim 1, wherein the intra-tubular passage comprises: an insertion hole formed on one side of the body, and having such inner diameter that a suction unit of the sample collection equipment can be inserted thereinto; a central hole formed on one side of the insertion hole so to communicate to the through hole, and having a inner diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the insertion hole; and a connection hole formed on the other side of the body, and for communicating to an inside of the capillary tip as a passage.

3. The socket for coupling a capillary tip of claim 2, wherein the inner diameter of the insertion hole is formed larger than the inner diameter of the central hole, wherein the inner diameter of the central hole is formed larger than an inner diameter of the connection hole.

4. The socket for coupling a capillary tip of claim 1, wherein the pressure-varying hole unit comprises stepped holes that have inner diameters larger than an inner diameter of the through hole towards an outside of the through hole.

5. The socket for coupling a capillary tip of claim 1, wherein the opening-and-closing unit comprises: an elastic body installed on a step formed between the stepped hole and the through hole; and a pressing member supported by the elastic body, and for opening and closing the through hole while reciprocating between the stepped hole and the through hole with the elastic force of the elastic body.