Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6602474?dq=6519629
Timestamp: 2015-01-31 09:13:58
Document Index: 78151185

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15']

Patent US6602474 - Multi-vessel container for testing fluids - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsIn comparison with the treatment using only a single vessel, this invention can more efficiently and more completely facilitate the temperature of liquid to be kept at a predetermined temperature by transferring liquid from a liquid storage vessel to a vessel maintained at a predetermined temperature....http://www.google.com/patents/US6602474?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6602474 - Multi-vessel container for testing fluidsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6602474 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/676,754Publication dateAug 5, 2003Filing dateOct 2, 2000Priority dateJul 31, 1995Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2226776A1, CA2226776C, EP0843176A1, EP0843176A4, EP0843176B1, EP2259070A2, EP2259070A3, EP2275821A1, US6143250, US6337053, WO1997005492A1Publication number09676754, 676754, US 6602474 B1, US 6602474B1, US-B1-6602474, US6602474 B1, US6602474B1InventorsHideji TajimaOriginal AssigneePrecision System Science Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (36), Referenced by (18), Classifications (15), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMulti-vessel container for testing fluidsUS 6602474 B1Abstract In comparison with the treatment using only a single vessel, this invention can more efficiently and more completely facilitate the temperature of liquid to be kept at a predetermined temperature by transferring liquid from a liquid storage vessel to a vessel maintained at a predetermined temperature. In comparison with the case using only a single vessel, in which control of raising and lowering the temperature needs be executed by a heating means or transferring a container accompanied by liquid to a heating position, the reaction can more efficiently be executed by this aspect of the invention, and the amplification can be executed more easily and in a shorter time. And as the mechanism for transferring the container needs not be mounted, the structure of the equipment can be simplified. Furthermore, all the process including the control of temperature, can be executed with one continuous operation by this aspect of the invention.
What is claimed is: 1. A container having plural vessels forming a microplate or a cartridge container comprising a base member formed so as to be substantially plate-like, the plural vessels being arranged in a row-wise and column-wise matrix in the base member and formed in a body,
wherein one or more thermostatic means are installed at one or more outsides of some of the said plural vessels, in a manner such that the thermostatic means is not relatively transferred to or from the vessels, and thermostatic means are not installed outside of others of said plural vessels, wherein the thermostatic means keeps the vessel installed thereby at a predetermined temperature, and a liquid can be kept at a predetermined temperature by being transferred into the vessel kept at the predetermined temperature. 2. A container according to claim 1, wherein a lid body having a slit able to be inserted by a pipette tip is mounted over the opening of the vessel installed by the thermostatic means.
wherein the thermostatic means keeps the vessel installed thereby at a predetermined temperature, and a liquid can be kept at a predetermined temperature by being transferred into the vessel kept at the predetermined temperature by using a pipette device, and a partition or partitions with a fixed height being arranged parallel to an edge of the base member or a boundary or boundaries separating groups of the vessels belonging to a line or lines of vessels or a cartridge container for bounding only on one side or opposite two sides thereof with a fixed height greater than that of an opening section of each vessel. 7. A container according to claim 6, wherein a lid body having a slit able to be inserted by a pipette tip, is mounted over the opening of the vessels.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a container which is suitable for an analysis inspection which requires a high quantitative accuracy. More particularly the present invention relates to the container by which all of the quantity of a specimen in the container can be substantially completely aspirated with being disposed a front end portion of a pipette tip in contact with a surface of the inside bottom of the container. Moreover, the present invention relates to the container which can largely enhance an efficiency of agitating by uniforming a diffusion of the specimen on the occasion of discharging it.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In order to maintain a precision of an analysis in a high level, as is well-known, a quantitative precision by a pipette device must be exactly maintained. In case of a conventional container, an inside bottom part of the container is formed so as to have a plane surface or a vertical sectional shape being semicircle or substantially U-like. Therefore, aspirating or discharging a sample and/or a reagent can not be executed in a state that a front end part of a pipette tip remains to be disposed in contact with the inside bottom part of the container. As a result, aspirating or discharging a sample and a reagent can be executed in a situation that the front end part of the pipette tip is kept to be lifted from the inside bottom part of the container slightly. Consequently, a small amount of samples and reagents always remains behind the container. In order to compensate this remaining amount, more amount than the actually necessary amount of aspirating needs be aspirated and/or discharged by the pipette tip. Thus, it is inevitable that samples or reagents being not aspirated remain behind the container. As a result, it has a problem that a high quantitative analysis can not be executed.
THE SUMMARY OF INVENTION To achieve these objects, the container according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a gap part formed near a center of an inside bottom part of the container have a smaller width than a caliber of a front end portion of a liquid sucking/discharging line adapted to be inserted in the container and pulled out of the container, is formed to have a shape being capable of aspirating and discharging all of the quantity of liquid through the front end portion even in a state that the front end portion is disposed in contact with the inside bottom part.
A third aspect of the present invention is that, in the second aspect, the plural ditches are arranged so as to be radiated. The �radiated� arrangement includes asterisk, cross and three-forked road arrangement et al.
A ninth aspect of the present invention is that, in the first to eighth aspect, the container is used for the process of liquid containing magnetic particles. For example, �process for the liquid containing magnetic particles� is chemical luminousness inspection methods or EIA inspection methods such as the CLIA inspection method or the CLEIA inspection method and so on. Naturally, it is possible to use for the other inspection method, an extraction method, and a measurement method, too.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is that, in the first to ninth aspect, in each vessel, an antigen, an antibody, an enzyme or a DNA probe and so on is contained in the solid phase. Here, �is contained in the solid phase� means that an antigen and so on sticks to the inside wall of the container and so on in solid phase by coating and so on.
Here, �a tube for PCR (polymerase chain reaction)� is the tube whose shape is adapted to the equipment for the amplification of DNA. By this aspect of the invention, as the same process can be done at the same time by multi-nozzle for dispensing, process can be executed efficiently.
A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is that, in the eleventh to thirteenth aspect, the measuring vessel held in the vessel for measuring light has a coupling means to couple with an optical measuring apparatus or an optical receiving unit in a light shielded state, at the upper end of the meaning vessel, wherein the inside wall of the measuring vessel is formed so as to be of a high reflective rate by applying with white color and so on, and the outside of the measuring vessel is covered by a light shielding material. In order to be of �high reflective rate�, it should be applied with white color, be made of white material, be applied with metallic color, or be made of a metal and so on. By this aspect of the invention, external light can be shielded, and light arisen by radiation can surely enter into an optical receiving unit and an optical measuring apparatus, and a reliable measuring can be executed.
Here, �a seal being able to be penetrated by a pipette tip� may be not only the tender thin film being easily penetrated, but also the tough one having a hole. The seal may be not only transparent, but also translucent or opaque, and may be made of aluminium foil or polyvinyl-chloride and so on. In order to execute a treatment in a container, the front end portion of the pipette tip needs penetrate the seal and be inserted into the container. By this aspect of the invention, the evaporation of liquid being contained in each vessel and the cross contamination, and the invasion by the miscellaneous germs from outside can be avoided. Therefore, the treatment with high reliability can be efficiently executed.
A twenty-first aspect of the present invention is that, a container has a microplate comprising plural cartridge containers in which the vessels are arranged in a row-wise or column-wise line and a binding part formed so as to be substantially like teeth of a comb having intervals between the cartridge containers being able to be inserted in by the partition and binding the end of each cartridge container, wherein the partitions are arranged so as to be substantially in parallel mutually at a fixed interval on the stage putting the microplate in order to partition the cartridge containers mutually. Here, the size of �a fixed interval� needs be large enough for the cartridge containers of the microplate or each nozzle of multi-nozzle for dispensing to be capable of being separated between partitions one by one, with a certain space. The height of the partition is great enough to prevent from mixing a splash of liquid etc. arisen from pouring etc. Instead of the partition, air curtains may be mounted between cartridge containers in order to prevent from mixing a splash of liquid etc. As each neighboring cartridge container can be separated by a partition, mixture of substances other than target substances between the different cartridge containers (cross-contamination) can be efficiently avoided, and reliable treatment can be executed.
Besides, in the twenty-first aspect of the invention and the present aspect of the invention, if the cartridge containers and the binding part are formed in a unitary body, the manufacture of the container can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. For example, �to be cut easily� can be attained by forming the binding part to be thin.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the cartridge container of the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13(a) is a plane view of the microplate shown in FIG. 12, and FIG. 13(b) is a vertical sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line A�A of FIG. 13(a).
FIG. 14(a) is a plane view of the microplate of the fifth embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 14(b) is a vertical sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line B�B of FIG. 14(a).
FIG. 15(a) is a plane view of the microplate of the sixth embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 15(b) is a vertical sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line C�C of FIG. 15(b).
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, this invention is explained in detail, in conjunction with the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 to 6 show a container of the first embodiment of the present invention. A container 10 of this embodiment comprises a cartridge container which has a main body 11 of the container made of glass or plastic and so on in a unitary body and a knob 12 formed in the one end of this main body 11. In the above main body 11, plural (nine in the example of the figure) liquid storage vessels 13A-13I, and a hole 13J holding a measuring vessel 14 dismountably.
Besides, the arrangement of the above measuring vessel 14 or the measuring hole part 14A is not limited to the case of this embodiment shown in figures. It is needless to say that the measuring vessel 14 or the measuring hole part 14A can be arranged at suitable positions according to the number of processing steps of measuring items. The above nine liquid storage vessels 13A to 13I are formed so as to be substantially elliptic in a horizontal section, and are formed so as to be substantially V-shape (the illustrated example is the case that the cross angle is 90� ) in a vertical section of them. As shown in FIG. 1, in an inside bottom part 15 a of each bottom part 15, a ditch 16 whose vertical sectional shape is substantially concave, is mounted along an inclined surface of each inside bottom part 15 a. As is shown FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the size �d� of the width of this ditch 16 is formed to be smaller than the size �D� of the caliber of a front end portion 22 of the pipette tip 21 (D>d). Also, the length of the ditch 16 is formed to be longer than the caliber of the front end portion 22. Therefore, as is shown in FIG. 8, even if the front end portion 22 of the pipette tip 21 is disposed in contact with a surface of the inside bottom part 15 a, all of the quantity of samples and/or reagents contained in vessels 13A to 13I can be aspirated by flow along the ditch 16. Also, a high quantitative accuracy necessary to this kind of equipment can be surely guaranteed by this embodiment. And the waste of the amount of samples and/or reagents can be avoided.
In this embodiment, the cartridge container and binding part and so on are formed in a unitary body by a metal molding. Here, a fixed interval� is determined to be slightly wider than the thickness of the partition 65 arranged on the stage where the microplate 60 is placed in order that the partition 65 can be inserted. When the partitions 65 are inserted into the intervals between the neighboring cartridge containers, each neighboring cartridge container is partitioned with the partition 65.
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