Patent ID: 8496884
Filing Date: 2013-07-30
Classification: B01F,G01N

Abstract:
1. A stirring container in which liquid is contained, the stirring container being used in an analyzer for measuring a property of the liquid, the stirring container comprising: a recessed portion in which the liquid is held so that a meniscus is formed at a surface of the liquid, the recessed portion being formed by a wall portion including opposing, outer side walls and a bottom wall, a cross section of the wall portion being configured for forming a meniscus between the opposing, outer side walls by the liquid held in the recessed portion at a position lower than a meniscus formed by the liquid held in an assumed container having a cross section in a direction orthogonal to a depth direction of the recessed portion equal to a cross section of a rectangle having a minimum area and circumscribing a portion of the opposing, outer side walls of the stirring container where the meniscus is formed in the relevant direction, the portion where the meniscus is formed in the assumed container being made of a same material as a part of the wall portion of the stirring container where the meniscus is formed; and a sound wave generating unit disposed outside of the wall portion, the sound wave generating unit generating surface acoustic sound waves for stirring the liquid held in the recessed portion, wherein the sound wave generating unit and the walls are disposed at predetermined positions and angles with respect to each other such that when the sound wave generating unit generates the surface acoustic sound waves, the generated sound waves are capable of preventing stagnant portions of the liquid when the liquid is being stirred without relative movement between the sound wave generating unit and the walls, and without adjustment of frequency of the surface acoustic sound waves, wherein the cross section of the stirring container in the direction orthogonal to the depth direction of the recessed portion, at the position where the meniscus is formed, is smaller in area than the circumscribing rectangle, and portions of the cross section of the recessed portion protrude inward relative to the cross section of the circumscribing rectangle; wherein the stirring container further comprises a pair of side walls provided closer to the bottom wall than the portion where the meniscus is formed between the opposing, outer side walls, and which are parallel to each other; and a photometric unit which is provided on part of the pair of side walls and on which light of a predetermined wavelength impinges from a direction perpendicular to the pair of side walls in order to measure a property of the liquid held in the recessed portion, and wherein the recessed portion comprises a first recessed portion and a second recessed portion under the first recessed portion, wherein adjacent perpendicular walls of the first recessed portion are joined by curved sections, and wherein adjacent perpendicular walls of the second recessed portion are not joined by curved sections.