DEVICE AND PROGRAM FOR DETECTING PIPETTE CHIP TOP END

• Main Authors: ASO TAKESHI, IWASHITA ATSUO, HOSOYA ATSUSHI, SHOJI YUYA, MIYAKE YASUHIRO, FUJII HIROMI, NODA TETSUYA
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: 20.09.2018
• Subjects: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; PHYSICS; TESTING

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pipette chip top end detection device capable of precisely detecting a state in which a top end of the pipette chip is in a non-contact and proximate position for a reference surface.SOLUTION: A pipette chip top end detection device obtains a determination value by using an AD conversion value of a pressure between a pipette chip and a pump detected by a pressure sensor 36, while making a pipette nozzle 32 lift down toward the bottom 22 of a storage part 21 in a state in which an air is discharged from a top end 311 of a pipette chip 31 by a pump 33. When the determination value exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is detected that the top end 311 of the pipette chip 31 is close to a bottom 22 of the storage part 21 in a non-contact manner. The threshold value is set to a value larger than the maximum value of the noise contained in the determination value which appears in a step of moving to the bottom 22 of the storage part 21 by the top end 311 of the pipette chip 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1 【課題】ピペットチップの先端が基準面に対して非接触で且つ近接した位置にある状態を精度良く検知可能なピペットチップ先端検知装置を提供する。【解決手段】ポンプ３３でピペットチップ３１の先端３１１からエアを吐出した状態でピペットノズル３２を収容部２１の底面２２に向かって下降させながら、圧力センサ３６で検知したピペットチップ-ポンプ間圧力のＡＤ変換値を用いて判定値を求め、その判定値が予め設定された閾値以上になった場合に、ピペットチップ３１の先端３１１が基準面である収容部２１の底面２２に非接触で近接していることを検知するように構成し、閾値を、ピペットチップ３１の先端３１１が収容部２１の底面２２に向かって移動する工程で現れる判定値に含まれるノイズの最大値よりも大きい値に設定した。【選択図】図１