Temperature treatment apparatus

Abstract

To provide a temperature treatment apparatus that is compact and easy to handle.SOLUTION: Inside a housing of an apparatus main body, there are provided: a horizontal movement mechanism that moves a container holding portion in a horizontal plane by rotating a top cover 4 within the horizontal plane; multiple temperature controllers 8 that are independent of one another and are provided below the top cover within a movement range of the container holding portion, each of the temperature controllers being provided, on an upper surface thereof, with a temperature control port having an inner surface shaped to correspond to an outer surface of a sample portion of a sample container, the inner surface being in contact with the outer surface of the sample portion accommodated in the temperature control port to adjust a temperature of a sample accumulated in the sample portion; a base on which the multiple temperature controllers are mounted; a vertical movement mechanism for creating a state in which the sample portion of the sample container held by the top cover is accommodated in the temperature control port of one of the multiple temperature controllers and a state in which the sample portion is not accommodated in the temperature control port of any of the multiple temperature controllers, by moving the base in a vertical direction; and the like.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a temperature treatment device for performing a temperature treatment in which a sample placed in a sample container is changed to a plurality of different temperatures. [Background technology]

[0002] PCR is a known process for amplifying genes in a sample, and temperature treatment devices for automatically performing PCR are also known. One such temperature treatment device is provided with a first temperature control port for adjusting the temperature of a sample container to a first temperature and a second temperature control port for adjusting the temperature to a second temperature, and performs temperature treatment by periodically changing the temperature of the sample in the sample container by alternately moving the sample container between the first temperature control port and the second temperature control port using an arm (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6138223 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To perform multiple PCRs simultaneously, multiple temperature treatment devices must be used simultaneously, and they must be arranged side by side. For this reason, it is desirable for the temperature treatment device to be small and easy to handle.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a temperature treatment device that is small and easy to handle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The temperature treatment device according to the present invention is a temperature treatment device for performing temperature treatment on a sample placed in a sample portion of a sample container, the sample portion comprising: A device body, a top cover that covers the top surface of the device body, the top cover having an insertion port into which the sample container is inserted from above, and the top cover that holds the sample container inserted into the insertion port; Inside the housing of the device main body, a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the container holder in a horizontal plane by rotating the top cover in a horizontal plane; a plurality of independent temperature regulators each provided within the movement range of the container holder below the top cover, each of which has a temperature regulation port on its top surface, the temperature regulation port having an inner surface shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the sample portion of the sample container, the inner surface of which comes into contact with the outer surface of the sample portion accommodated in the temperature regulation port, and the plurality of temperature regulators adjust the temperature of the sample accumulated in the sample portion; a base on which the plurality of temperature controllers are mounted; a vertical movement mechanism for moving the base in a vertical direction to create a state in which the sample portion of the sample container held by the top cover is accommodated in the temperature control port of any of the plurality of temperature controllers and a state in which the sample portion is not accommodated in the temperature control port of any of the plurality of temperature controllers; a circuit board attached to the base and having an electric circuit mounted thereon for controlling the horizontal movement mechanism, the plurality of temperature controllers, and the vertical movement mechanism; is provided.

[0007] In the temperature treatment device according to the present invention, a connection terminal that is pulled out from the circuit board and that is used for electrical connection with the electrical circuit mounted on the circuit board may be provided on the underside of the housing of the device main body.

[0008] In the above case, it is preferable that the device further includes a stand that supports the device body by placing the device body thereon, and that the stand is provided with a connector that is electrically connected to the connection terminal provided on the underside of the housing when the device body is placed from above, so that signal communication can be performed between the device body and the electrical circuit via the stand. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the temperature treatment device of the present invention, the horizontal movement mechanism, the vertical movement mechanism, and the circuit board for controlling the operation of the multiple temperature controllers are stored inside the housing of the device body, so there is no risk of the user touching the circuit board when carrying the temperature treatment device, etc., and it is easier to handle than a structure in which the circuit board is exposed on the outside of the housing of the device body. Furthermore, because the circuit board is attached to a base that moves up and down and carries the multiple temperature controllers, there is no need to secure space for the circuit board inside the device body, and the device body can be made smaller. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a slave unit of the temperature treatment apparatus according to the embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a sample container used in the embodiment. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the structure of the top cover of the same embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of an insertion opening of the top cover of the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 5] 2 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a temperature controller and a measuring device inside the main body of the apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the internal structure of the device body in the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the structure of the stand of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of a temperature treatment apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] The temperature treatment device of this embodiment includes a slave unit (see FIG. 1) and a stand 100 (see FIG. 7) for placing the slave unit 1 thereon.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the slave unit 1 includes a cylindrical device main body 2 and a top cover 4 that rotates in a horizontal plane while covering the top surface of the device main body 2. The top cover 4 is provided with an insertion port 6 for inserting a sample container 100 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later. The top cover 4 is configured to fixedly hold the sample container 100 inserted into the insertion port 6. The structure of the top cover 4 for holding the sample container 100 will be described later. Inside the device main body 2, two temperature controllers 8 and one measuring device 24 (see FIG. 5), which is not shown in FIG. 1, are provided.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the sample container 100 has a sample section 102 at the bottom where the sample placed inside accumulates, and is equipped with a wing section 104 extending radially outward from the outer surface of a cylindrical section located above the sample section 102.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, the top cover 4 includes a cover body 5, an engagement portion receiver 12, an engagement portion 14, and an elastic member 18. The center of the cover body 5 is fixed by a bolt 10 to the upper end of a vertically oriented drive shaft 12, and the cover body 5 rotates in a horizontal plane when the drive shaft 12 is rotated by a motor 20 (stepping motor). The cover body 5 has an insertion opening 6 shaped to correspond to the wing portion 104 of the sample container 100, and is provided at a position offset from the rotation center of the top cover 4. As the top cover 4 rotates, the insertion opening 6 moves circumferentially in a horizontal plane. The drive shaft 12 and the motor 24 form a horizontal movement mechanism for moving the insertion opening 6 in a horizontal plane.

[0016] The engagement portion receiver 12 is attached below the insertion opening 6 of the cover body 5, with an engagement portion 14 and an elastic member 18 fitted inside. The engagement portion receiver 12 is a member having a substantially hollow cylindrical shape, and the engagement portion 14 is a hollow disk-shaped member having a through-hole 16 for allowing the portion of the sample container 100 below the wing portions 104 to pass through. The elastic member 18 is a coil spring, and is interposed in a compressed state between the engagement portion receiver 12 and the engagement portion 14. The engagement portion 14 is urged upward by the elastic member 18, so that the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the engagement portion 14 contacts the peripheral portion of the insertion opening 6 on the underside of the cover body 5.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 4(A), when the sample container 100 is inserted tip-first into the insertion port 6 with the wing portions 104 aligned to the shape of the insertion port 6, the wing portions 104 of the sample container 100 engage with the upper surface of the engagement portion 14.

[0018] As shown in Figure 4(B), when the sample container 100 is pushed further downward from the state shown in Figure 4(A), the elastic member 18 is compressed and the engagement portion 14 is elastically displaced downward, creating a gap between the edge of the insertion port 6 on the underside of the cover body 5 and the upper surface of the engagement portion 14.

[0019] 4(B), when the sample container 100 is rotated around its axis, the wing portions 104 enter the gap between the edge of the insertion opening 6 and the upper surface of the engagement portion 14. In this state, when the sample container 100 is released from the pushing position, the wing portions 104 of the sample container 100 are held in a sandwiched state between the cover body 5 and the engagement portion 14 by the elastic force of the elastic member 18, and the sample container 100 is thus inserted into the insertion opening 6 to a predetermined depth and fixedly held to the top cover 4. At this time, the sample portion 104 of the sample container 100 protrudes downward from the top cover 4 and is exposed.

[0020] 5, inside the apparatus main body 2, two temperature regulators 8 and one measuring device 24 are arranged on a common stage 22. Although two temperature regulators 8 are provided in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more temperature regulators 8 may be provided.

[0021] Each temperature controller 8 is equipped with a temperature control port 28 having an inner surface shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the sample portion 102 below the sample container 100. The temperature control port 28 is provided on the upper surface of a temperature control block 26, which has good heat transfer efficiency. The temperature control block 26 is held in a housing 30 made of a heat-resistant resin such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) or polyether ether ketone (PEEK). A heater 32 is attached to the outer periphery of the temperature control block 26, and a cooling fan 34 is attached to the housing 30 so that cooling air can be blown onto the temperature control block 26. The temperature control block 26 is heated by the heater 32 and simultaneously blown with air by the cooling fan 34, thereby accurately and stably controlling the temperature of the temperature control block 26 having the temperature control port 28. The temperature control block 26 can also be quickly cooled by stopping the heater 32 and operating only the cooling fan 34. The heaters 32 and cooling fans 34 of the two temperature regulators 8 are controlled independently of each other. That is, the temperatures of the two temperature regulation ports 28 are controlled independently of each other.

[0022] The upper surface of the measuring device 24 is provided with a measurement port 36 having an inner surface shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the sample portion 102 at the bottom of the sample container 100. Although not shown in the figure, the measuring device 24 is provided with a light-emitting element that irradiates light onto the sample portion 102 accommodated in the measurement port 36 and a light-receiving element that detects light from the sample portion 102, and is therefore able to perform optical measurement of the sample in the sample portion 102 accommodated in the measurement port 36.

[0023] The two temperature control ports 28 and the measurement port 36 are each located below the movement path of the insertion port 6, which moves as the top cover 4 rotates. As shown in Figure 6, the stage 22 is moved up and down by a motor 40 (stepping motor) using the drive shaft 12 as a guide. The stage 22 and the motor 40 constitute a vertical movement mechanism that moves the temperature controller 8 up and down to change the state in which the sample portion 102 of the sample container 100 is accommodated in the temperature control port 28 or the measurement port 36 and the state in which it is not accommodated.

[0024] An elastic member 38 is interposed between the lower surface of each housing 30 of the two temperature controllers 8 and the upper surface of the stage 22, and each temperature controller 8 is constantly biased upward by the elastic member 38. In this embodiment, the elastic member 38 is a coil spring. When adjusting a sample contained in a sample container 100 fixedly held by the top cover 4 to a predetermined temperature, the sample container 100 is placed directly above the temperature control port 28, which is controlled to the predetermined temperature, and the stage 22 is raised to accommodate the sample portion 102 within the temperature control port 28. At this time, if the stage 22 is further raised from the state in which the sample portion 102 of the sample container 100 is accommodated within the temperature control port 28, the height of the temperature controller 8 in contact with the sample container 100 fixedly held by the top cover 4 does not change, and only the stage 22 rises. This compresses the elastic member 38, generating an elastic force that urges the temperature controller 8 upward, causing the outer surface of the sample portion 104 of the sample container 100 and the inner surface of the temperature control port 28 to be pressed against each other and come into close contact, improving the temperature control efficiency of the sample portion 104.

[0025] FIG. 6 only shows the structure in which the temperature controller 8 is elastically supported on the stage 22 via the elastic member 38, but the measuring device 24 is also elastically supported on the stage 22 via an elastic member, thereby stabilizing the optical measurement within the sample section 104.

[0026] Additionally, a circuit board 42 for controlling the operation of the motor 20 for rotating the top cover 4, the temperature controllers 8, the measuring device 24, and the motor 40 for moving the stage 22 up and down is attached to the stage 22, and the stage 22 moves up and down together with the temperature controller 8 and the measuring device 24. By attaching the circuit board 42 to the stage 22, there is no need to provide space for the circuit board 42 within the device main body 2, thereby enabling the device main body 2 to be made more compact. While the circuit board 42 could also be provided on the outside of the housing of the device main body 2, providing the circuit board 42 inside the housing of the device main body 2 prevents workers from accidentally touching the circuit board 42. A connection terminal 46 is extended from the circuit board 42 by a cable 44. The connection terminal 46 is provided so as to protrude downward from a bottom panel 48 of the housing of the handset 1.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 7 , a stand 100 for placing a slave unit 1 has four slave unit placement sections 102 formed as recesses, allowing four slave units 1 to be set. Each slave unit placement section 102 is provided with a connector 104 for inserting a connection terminal 46 provided to protrude downward from the bottom panel 48 of the slave unit 1. A calculation and control device 106 such as a personal computer (PC) can be communicatively connected to the stand 100, and signal communication can be performed between the calculation and control device 106 and the circuit board 42 of the slave unit 1 via the stand 100. A user can set the temperature treatment conditions for each slave unit 1. The four slave units 1 set on the stand 100 can perform the same temperature treatment or different temperature treatments according to the treatment conditions set by the user on the calculation and control device 106. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 handset 2. Device body 4 Top cover 5 Cover body 6 Insertion port 8 Temperature controller 10 volts 12 Engagement part receiver 14 Engagement portion 18,38 Elastic member 20,40 motor 22 Stages 24 Measuring instruments 26 Temperature control block 28 Temperature control port 30 Temperature controller housing 32 Heater 34 Cooling fan 36 measurement ports 42 Circuit Board 44 Cable 46 Connection terminal 48 Bottom panel of the enclosure 100 Stand 102 Child device placement section 104 Connector 106 Arithmetic and control device

Claims

1. A temperature treatment device for performing temperature treatment on a sample placed in a sample portion of a sample container, the sample portion comprising: A device body, a top cover that covers the top surface of the device body, the top cover having an insertion port into which the sample container is inserted from above, and the top cover that holds the sample container inserted into the insertion port; Inside the housing of the device main body, a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the container holder in a horizontal plane by rotating the top cover in a horizontal plane; a plurality of independent temperature regulators each provided within the movement range of the container holder below the top cover, each of which has a temperature regulation port on its top surface, the temperature regulation port having an inner surface shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the sample portion of the sample container, the inner surface of which comes into contact with the outer surface of the sample portion accommodated in the temperature regulation port, and the plurality of temperature regulators adjust the temperature of the sample accumulated in the sample portion; a base on which the plurality of temperature controllers are mounted; a vertical movement mechanism for moving the base in a vertical direction to create a state in which the sample portion of the sample container held by the top cover is accommodated in the temperature control port of any of the plurality of temperature controllers and a state in which the sample portion is not accommodated in the temperature control port of any of the plurality of temperature controllers; a circuit board attached to the base and having an electric circuit mounted thereon for controlling the horizontal movement mechanism, the plurality of temperature controllers, and the vertical movement mechanism; A temperature treatment device is provided.

2. 2. The temperature treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a connection terminal that is drawn out from the circuit board and that is used for electrical connection with the electric circuit mounted on the circuit board is provided on a bottom surface of the housing of the apparatus main body.

3. a stand for supporting the device body by placing the device body thereon; 3. The temperature treatment device according to claim 2, wherein the stand is provided with a connector that is electrically connected to the connection terminal provided on the underside of the housing when the device main body is placed from above, and is configured to enable signal communication between the stand and the electrical circuit via the stand.

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