초록 ▼

There is provided a bellows type dispensing tip, a bellows type dispensing apparatus, and a method of bellows type dispensing processing that performs highly precise dispensing processing despite having a simple structure. The apparatus comprises; two or more bellows type dispensing tips having; an

There is provided a bellows type dispensing tip, a bellows type dispensing apparatus, and a method of bellows type dispensing processing that performs highly precise dispensing processing despite having a simple structure. The apparatus comprises; two or more bellows type dispensing tips having; an accommodating section that is capable of accommodating a liquid or gas in the interior thereof surrounded by a wall face, and that has a deformable deforming wall face in a portion of the wall face, and an opening section communicated with the accommodating section, through which the liquid to be suctioned/discharged can flow in and flow out due to expansion and contraction of the interior caused by deformation of the deforming wall face; and a dispensing head that supports one or two or more of the bellows type dispensing tips, and that performs suction/discharge of the liquid into or from the bellows type dispensing tip, by deforming the deforming wall face of the bellows type dispensing tip.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A dispensing apparatus, comprising: a dispensing head, comprising: a horizontal supporting plate;a horizontally-extending movable member positioned vertically above the horizontal supporting plate, wherein the movable member is spaced in a parallel relation from the horizontal supporting plate, a

1. A dispensing apparatus, comprising: a dispensing head, comprising: a horizontal supporting plate;a horizontally-extending movable member positioned vertically above the horizontal supporting plate, wherein the movable member is spaced in a parallel relation from the horizontal supporting plate, andwherein the movable member, while maintaining its horizontal extension, is configured to move in a vertical direction and relative to the horizontal supporting plate;a motor operably coupled to the movable member and configured to cause the movable member to move in the vertical direction and relative to the horizontal supporting plate;a control section configured to control the motor and thus to control the movement of the movable member in the vertical direction and relative to the horizontal supporting plate; anda plurality of openings formed through the horizontal supporting plate;anda plurality of dispensing tips, each of the dispensing tips being adapted to be supported by the dispensing head, each of the dispensing tips comprising: an accommodating section defining an interior capable of accommodating a liquid or gas, the accommodating section having an axis along the vertical direction, the accommodating section comprising: a deforming section, comprising: an upper section that is deformable, the upper section comprising: a deforming wall face that is adapted to be deformed to contract or expand the interior, the deforming wall face having a top and a bottom, and a top end face adjacent the top of the deforming wall face, wherein the top end face is adapted to contact the movable member of the dispensing head;andlower section that is not deformable, the lower section being in communication with the upper section, the lower section having a top end and a bottom end, wherein the top end of the lower section is adjacent the bottom of the deforming wall face, and wherein a step portion is defined at the bottom end of the lower section, the step portion being adapted to contact the horizontal supporting plate of the dispensing head at a respective one of the openings formed through the horizontal supporting plate;anda non-deforming section in communication with the deforming section and extending from the bottom end of the lower section of the deforming section, wherein the non-deforming section is adapted to extend through the respective one of the openings formed through the horizontal supporting plate so as to project downward from the horizontal supporting plate, wherein the non-deforming section does not extend into the upper section that is deformable and thus the upper section and the non-deforming section are not radially overlapping, andwherein the lower section, which defines the step portion, is positioned between the non-deforming section and the upper section that is deformable so that the upper section is in communication with the non-deforming section via the lower section only;andan opening section provided solitarily at a bottom end of the accommodating section and in communication therewith to enable liquid to flow into, and out of, the accommodating section;wherein, when the dispensing tips are supported by the dispensing head: the respective step portions of the dispensing tips contact the horizontal supporting plate;the respective non-deforming sections of the dispensing tips extend through respective ones of the openings formed through the horizontal supporting plate so as to project downward from the horizontal supporting plate;each of the dispensing tips, including the corresponding deforming wall face, is individually detachable together with the deforming section from the dispensing head;the movable member can contact the respective top end faces of the dispensing tips all at once to thereby deform the respective deforming wall faces all at once in the same deformation direction; andliquid can be suctioned into, and discharged out of, each of the accommodating sections, via the corresponding opening section, in response to the deformation of the respective wall faces all at once in the same deformation direction;wherein the control section controls the motor to control the movement of the movable member, in the vertical direction and relative to the horizontal supporting plate, thereby controlling the deformation of the respective deforming wall faces all at once in the same deformation direction;wherein the control section is configured to control the deformation of the respective wall faces all at once in the same deformation direction based on at least one of the following: the number or structure of said dispensing tips; the liquid to be suctioned and discharged; a substance contained in the liquid; a temperature or concentration of the liquid; and processing contents;wherein the control section is configured so that: the movable member is settable at a reference position, from which the movable member moves in the vertical direction and relative to the horizontal supporting plate to deform the respective deforming wall faces all at once in the same deformation direction;the reference position is settable along the vertical direction and is determined based on at least one factor selected from: an amount of the liquid to be handled in processing, a capacity of the dispensing tip to be used, the processing contents, and finishing precision of the dispensing tips; andthe reference position is settable along the vertical direction at a position in which the movable member contacts all of said dispensing tips at once so that all of the respective deforming wall faces of said dispensing tips are simultaneously partially deformed and thus simultaneously subjected to a predetermined deformation; andwherein the control section is configured to control the motor and thus to control the deformation of the respective deforming wall faces so that the liquid does not contact the respective deforming wall faces during each of the suction of the liquid and the discharge of the liquid. 2. A dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a container set having a plurality of containers capable of accommodating various kinds of liquid solutions; and a head moving section that relatively moves said dispensing head with respect to said container set. 3. A dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said dispensing head or said container set has a magnetic device capable of exerting or removing a magnetic field on or from the interior of said accommodating section or the container set. 4. A dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bellows is formed in said deforming wall face. 5. A dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said dispensing head has a tip arrangement holding section that can detachably hold a plurality of said dispensing tips arranged in a line arrangement or in a plane arrangement at predetermined intervals, and wherein said tip arrangement holding section comprises the horizontal supporting plate. 6. A dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said dispensing tips has an interior detection region, and in said dispensing head there is provided a light detection section for detecting a state of each of the interiors, through corresponding said interior detection region.