JPH0954082A - Specimen sampling container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a specimen sampling container which can easily secure the quantitative amount of a sample, has an inner volume large enough to accommodate a large amount of solution for inspection, without increasing its overall thickness, and can make it easy to accommodate the sample and push out and inject a suspension by achieving compatibleness of both the rigidity and ease of deformation of the container main body with each other. SOLUTION: This specimen sampling container has a container main body 3 and a sampling tool 4 which can be inserted into the container main body 3 from the open end 2 of the container main body 3, the container main body 3 having an inspection solution storage part 5 which can accommodate an inspection solution 12, a pipette part 6 located at the end of the inspection solution storage part 5 and closed by a thin wall 18 whose end can be opened, and a fitting part 7 located at the end of the inspection solution storage part 5 and fitted around the sampling tool 4. The inspection solution storage part 5 provides the flat sample container 1 whose cross section perpendicular to a longitudinal axis has a flat shape with major and minor axes that cross at right angles.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sample collection container used when collecting stool as a sample for stool inspection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since feces well reflect the physiological or pathological state of a living body, it is often used as a sample for non-invasive examination of the physiological or pathological state of a living body. As described above, feces are excellent samples, but their handling is complicated and requires attention because they may have an odor or leak to the surrounding environment.

When feces are used as a specimen, the collected feces are usually suspended in a test solution and the filtered liquid is used. In this case, what is important is the quantitativeness of the collected feces. If the amount of suspended feces in the test liquid exceeds a certain range and is too large or too small, a good test cannot be performed.

As a technique aiming at ensuring the quantification of such a collected sample, there is a technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 74965 of 1994. The sample collection container disclosed in the 1994 Utility Model Publication No. 74965 has a container body for containing a test solution,
It has an inside plug inserted therein and a sample collecting rod, and a window is formed in the inside plug. When collecting a sample, the sample collecting rod is removed from the assembled container body, inner stopper, and sample collecting rod, and this is pierced into the feces as the sample. In this way, the sample collecting rod with the sample attached to the tip is inserted into the inner stopper. Excess sample adhering to the outer periphery of the tip of the sample-picking rod is scraped off with an inner stopper, and the sample adhering to the tip of the sample-picking rod is sealed in the tip space of the tip of the inner stopper. ,
Eventually, only a certain amount of the sample held in the sample holding portion of the sample collecting rod comes into contact with the test liquid through the window of the inner stopper and is suspended. This ensures the quantitativeness of the sample.

[0005]

As described above, the newly proposed sample collection container can achieve good sample quantification, but the container main body has a cylindrical shape as a whole. For this reason, it is not possible to increase the diameter of the cylindrical container due to the constraint of the thickness in the packaged state during transportation. Therefore, there is a limitation in increasing the inner volume of the container body, and thus there is a limitation in increasing the amount of the test liquid contained therein. In addition, it is necessary to take out the suspension in which the sample is suspended in the test liquid from the sample collection container at the time of testing.In this case, first open the pipette section at the tip of the container body, and then Although the container body is elastically deformed by pushing with a finger to push out the suspension in a dropper manner, the cylindrical container body has a large resistance to the deformation and a considerable force is required to push out the suspension. However, when inserting the sample sampling rod into the container body when collecting a sample, it is necessary to hold the container body securely with fingers.Therefore, the container body should have strong deformation resistance against the pressure of the fingers. Since a holding portion is also required, it is rather undesirable that the entire container body has a structure that is easily deformable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a large internal volume capable of accommodating a large amount of test liquid without increasing the thickness of the entire sample collection container, and the container body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sample collection container capable of facilitating the accommodation of a sample and the extrusion and pouring of a suspension while achieving both rigidity and easiness of deformation.

[0007]

To this end, the sample collecting container of the present invention has a container body and a sample collecting tool that can be inserted into the container body from the open proximal end of the container body. The container main body includes a test liquid storage part capable of storing a test liquid, a pipette part on the front end side of the test liquid storage part which is closed by a thin wall which can be opened, and a test liquid storage part. It has a fitting portion on the proximal side that fits with the sample collecting tool, and the test liquid storage portion has a flat shape having a major axis and a minor axis whose cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is orthogonal. It has a feature.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment. 1 to 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a sample collection container. The sample collection container 1 includes a container body 3 having an open base end 2 and a sample collection tool 4 that can be inserted into the container body 3 from the open base end 2. The container body 3 has an inspection liquid storage unit 5, a pipette unit 6, and a fitting unit 7. The test liquid storage unit 5 and the fitting unit 7 form a cylindrical main body container 9, and the pipette unit 6 is composed of a pipette member 8. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the test liquid storage portion 5 of the main body container 9 has an elliptic cylindrical shape whose cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis has an elliptical shape having a major axis Dl and a minor axis Dr. 1)
Can be stored. The fitting part 7 is integrally communicated with the base end part of the test liquid storage part 5 and is continuous. The fitting portion 7 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter Dr. Therefore, the width of the fitting portion 7 is smaller than the width Dl (major diameter Dl) of the test liquid storage portion 5, although the width Dr is smaller. Regarding the thickness, the diameter Dr (minor diameter Dr) of the test liquid storage portion 5 and the diameter Dr of the fitting portion 7 are the same. However, the wall pressure tl of the test liquid storage portion 5 is smaller than the wall thickness tr of the fitting portion 7. A positioning collar 13 projects in the middle of the fitting part 7, and the projecting direction is the major axis direction of the test liquid storage part 5, and its width Df is larger than the major diameter Dl of the test liquid storage part 5. Since it is also small, the collar 13 does not project outward from the test liquid storage unit 5 in the major axis direction and the minor axis direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pipette member 8 is composed of a small diameter cylindrical liquid passage portion 14 at the tip portion and a connecting portion 15 at the base end portion, and the connecting portion 15 is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The cross section has an elliptic cylindrical shape having a major axis and a minor axis, and is fitted inside the tip portion of the test liquid storage portion 5 and fixed in a liquid-tight manner. The connection portion 15 is welded to the test liquid storage portion 5 by ultrasonic sealing or the like to be liquid-tightly fixed, but an O-ring 16 is inserted when it is required to further enhance the liquid-tightness. The liquid passage portion 14 of the pipette member 8 has a liquid passage 17 therein, and projects from the connection portion 15 in the longitudinal axis direction. The tip of the liquid passage 17 is closed by a thin wall 18 that can be opened. Guards 21 are provided on both sides of the liquid passage portion 14
And extends beyond the liquid passage portion 14. However, the guard 21 does not project outward from the test liquid storage portion 5 in either the major axis direction or the minor axis direction.
Filters 22 and 23 are inserted in the communicating portion between the liquid passage portion 14 and the connecting portion 15 of the pipette member 8.

The sample collecting tool 4 includes an inner stopper 24 and a sample collecting rod 25.
It consists of As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the inner plug 24 has a cylindrical shape with an open base end 26, and a distal end 28 of the large diameter portion 27 and a base end 32 of the small diameter portion 31 are continuous with a shoulder 33 as a boundary. However, the tip 34 of the small diameter portion 31 is closed, and the base end 26 of the large diameter portion 27 is open. Air bleed 3 for large diameter part 27
5 are formed. The air vent 35 comprises a through hole 36, an outer groove 37 and an inner groove 38. That is, the large diameter portion 27 is formed with the through hole 36 penetrating in the thickness direction, the outer groove 37 is formed on the outer surface of the large diameter portion 27, and the large diameter portion 2 is formed.
An inner groove 38 is formed on the inner surface of 7. The outer groove 37 is open at the tip in the axial direction and communicates with the through hole 36 at the base end in the axial direction. The inner groove 38 has its axial tip closed at a portion communicating with the EE surface in which the through hole 36 is formed, and its axial base end reaches the proximal end 26 of the large diameter portion 27 and is opened. There is. However, the tip of the inner groove 38 in the axial direction is displaced from the position of the through hole 36 by 90 ° in the EE plane. Between the tip end 34 and the base end 32 of the small diameter part 31, the wall of the small diameter part 31 is penetrated to a position at a distance L23 from the open base end 61 of the sample collecting container 1 in the state where the whole sample collecting container is assembled. Window 41 is formed. The outer diameter of the small diameter portion 31 is smaller than the inner diameter of the test liquid storage portion 5 of the container body 3. On the other hand, the outer diameter of the large-diameter portion 27 has such a dimension that it fits liquid-tightly with the inner diameter of the fitting portion 7 of the container body 3.

A retaining ring 42 projects from the open base end 26 of the large-diameter portion 27, while a retaining groove 43 is formed on the inner surface of the container body 3 near the open base end 2. ing. The shoulder 33 of the inner stopper 24 contacts the base end of the test solution storage portion 5 of the main body container 9 and the small diameter portion 19 formed at the tip end of the fitting portion 7 so that the inner stopper 24 is inserted into the container body 3. The maximum insertion position is specified. Further, by fitting the retaining ring 42 into the retaining groove 43 of the main body container 9,
The inner plug 24 will not come off from the main body container 9.

On the inner surface of the small-diameter portion 31 of the inner plug 24, a scraping portion 44 formed of a cylindrical surface is provided. Inside the tip 34 of the small diameter portion 31 of the inner plug 24, a seal portion 45 is provided at a distance L24 from the open base end 26. Therefore, the scraping portion 44 and the seal portion 45 are located to face each other in the longitudinal axis direction of the small diameter portion 31 with the window 41 interposed therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 10, the sample collecting rod 25 includes a small-diameter insertion rod portion 46 and a large-diameter grip portion 47, and an intermediate diameter portion 48.
Are continuously formed in the longitudinal axis direction. The insertion rod portion 46 can be inserted into the inner plug 24, and the maximum insertion position is such that the positioning projection 51 formed on the outer circumference of the tip of the grip portion 47 contacts the open base end 26 of the inner plug 24. Stipulated by The insertion rod portion 46 has a sample holding portion 52 and a tip seal portion 53 at a position near the tip. The sample holding unit 52 is formed of a hollow whose side surface is open. The sample holder 52 is at the position L21, and the front seal portion 53 is at the position L22. The position L21 of the sample holder 52 and the window 4 of the inner stopper 24
The position L23 of 1 is almost the same, and therefore, when the sample-picking rod 25 is at the maximum insertion position, the sample-holding portion 52 and the window 24 are axially aligned with each other. Position L22 of the front seal portion 53
And the position L24 of the seal portion 45 of the inner plug 24 are substantially equal to each other,
Therefore, when the sample collecting rod 25 is at the maximum insertion position, the front seal portion 53 and the seal portion 45 are axially aligned, and the front seal portion 53 is liquid-tightly inserted into the seal portion 45. It will be in a state where it has been The outer diameter of the insertion rod portion 46 is dimensioned to be in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the scraped-off portion 44 of the inner plug 24. The outer diameter of the front seal portion 53 is such that it is in close contact with the inner circumference of the seal portion 45 of the inner plug 24. The position L25 of the tip 54 of the sample collecting rod 25 is the position L26 of the inner surface 55 of the tip 34 of the small diameter portion 31 of the inside plug 24.
Therefore, a gap of axial length L26-L25 is formed between the tip 54 and the inner surface 55 of the tip 34 at the maximum insertion position. The intermediate diameter portion 48 of the insertion rod portion 46 of the sample collecting rod 25 has a size that allows close insertion and fitting to the inner surface of the base end 26 of the inner plug 24.

Next, a method of using the specimen collecting container thus constructed will be described.

The assembled container body 3 and inner stopper 24
Then, the sample collecting rod 25 is removed from the sample collecting rod 25, the insertion rod portion 46 of the sample collecting rod 25 is pierced into the feces as the sample, and then pulled out. The sample collecting rod 25 with the sample thus attached is inserted into the inner stopper 24. During the process of inserting the sample collecting rod 25 to the maximum insertion position, the excess sample attached to the outer periphery of the sample collecting rod 25 is scraped off by the scraping section 44. The extra sample scraped off is the large diameter portion 27 of the inner stopper 24.
Between the insertion rod portion 46 of the sample collecting rod 25 and the excess accommodation portion 5
It is stored in 6. The sample collecting rod 25 has only a certain amount of the sample attached to the sample holding portion 52 and the extra sample attached to the tip 54 of the insertion rod portion 46.

Next, when the insertion rod portion 46 reaches the maximum insertion position, the specimen holding portion 52 is aligned with the window 41 of the inner stopper 24, and the specimen attached to the tip 54 of the insertion rod portion 46 is the tip of the inner stopper 24. It is sealed in the tip space 57 of the part. Surplus storage section 56
The both ends in the axial direction are closed due to the close contact between the scraping part 44 and the insertion rod part 46, and the close contact between the base end 26 of the inner plug 24 and the intermediate diameter part 48 of the sample collecting rod 25, and the sample is stored in the excess storage part 56. Liquid-tightly sealed. As a result, the sample holding unit 52
Only a certain amount of the sample retained in the test liquid 12 comes into contact with the test liquid 12 through the window 41 and is suspended. In this state in which the sample collecting rod 25 is inserted into the inner plug 24 in the container body 3 to the maximum insertion position, the proximal end portion 58 of the intermediate diameter portion 48 of the sample collecting rod 25 is located on the inner surface of the proximal end 2 of the container body 3. It is tightly fitted and fixed.

By the above operation, only a certain amount of the sample held in the sample holding section 52 comes into contact with the test liquid 12 through the window 41 and is suspended. Put the specimen collecting rod 25 into the container body 3
The operation of strongly inserting into the container is performed by firmly grasping the fitting portion 7 of the container body 3 with one hand in one hand, but since the fitting portion 7 has a small-diameter cylindrical shape, it is resistant to deformation by external force. Therefore, even if the fitting portion 7 is strongly gripped with fingers, the fitting portion 7 is not crushed and the container body 3 is reliably held.

In this state, the sample collection container 1 is transported to a predetermined inspection agency. When the suspension test liquid in which this sample is suspended is to be taken out at the testing organization, the thin wall 18 at the outlet of the liquid passage 17 of the pipette member 8 is perforated with a needle or the like, and after that, the test liquid storage portion of the container body 3 is formed. 5 is pushed in the minor axis direction with fingers to push out the suspension test solution, and the suspension test solution is filtered through the filter 22,
Filter at 23 and remove.

Since the operation of pressing the test liquid storage portion 5 of the container body 3 with a finger presses it in a direction perpendicular to the major axis of the elliptical test liquid storage portion 5, the test liquid storage portion 5 is easily deformed. Therefore, extrusion of the suspension test liquid is easy. When the sample collecting rod 25 is inserted into the inner plug 24, the air in the container body 2 pushed by the insertion passes through the air vent 35, that is, the communicating outer groove 37, through hole 36, and inner groove 38. The inner groove 38 is discharged from the open end of the proximal end 26 of the stopper 24, and the inner groove 38 is closed by the sample collecting rod 25 immediately before the insertion rod portion 46 reaches the maximum insertion position. The internal space of the body 3 is sealed.

In the sample collecting container 1 of the present invention, the excess sample attached to the outer periphery of the sample collecting rod 25 is scraped off by the scraping portion 44.
The excess sample scraped off with is stored in the space of the excess storage part 56 between the inner stopper 24 and the sample collecting rod 25 and sealed, and the sample holding part 52 is set in the window 41 of the inner stopper. I will
Since the sample attached to the tip 54 of the sample collecting rod portion 25 is sealed in the tip space 57 of the tip portion of the inner stopper 24, only a certain amount of the sample held in the sample holding portion passes through the window and the test solution is passed. Will come into contact with and be suspended. From this fact, the quantitative property of the sample can be well realized. Further, since the extra sample is hermetically sealed in the space and the space at the tip of the inner stopper, the extra sample is not suspended in the test liquid or leaked to the outside. Further, since the space for accommodating the extra sample is partitioned by the two members, the inner stopper and the sample collecting rod, the sealed structure can be easily formed.

More particularly importantly, when the sample collecting rod is inserted into the inner stopper, the air in the container body 6 pushed by the insertion lasts until just before the insertion rod portion 46 reaches the maximum insertion position. Since air is continuously discharged through the communicating outer groove, through hole, and inner groove, the air inside the container body is not compressed and the inside of the container body does not become a positive pressure. Therefore, the suspension liquid is scattered during opening. Can be prevented, and the sample is not pushed back.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, faeces as a sample can be easily handled, the structure is simple, and the feces can be effectively prevented from leaking to the surrounding environment.
Moreover, the quantitative property of the sample can be easily ensured, and the sample has a large internal volume capable of accommodating a large amount of the test liquid without increasing the thickness, and the rigidity of the container body and the easiness of deformation are compatible with each other. The storage and the extrusion of the suspension can be facilitated, and more importantly, in the sample collection container of the present invention, the fitting part of the container body is cylindrical, whereas the test solution storage part is Has an elliptical shape, and the internal volume of the test solution storage part can be increased without increasing the thickness of the entire sample collection container determined by the diameter of the fitting part, thus facilitating packing, transportation, and storage. At the same time, the storage amount of the test liquid can be increased. Also, since the fitting part is cylindrical and has high strength against external force and is difficult to deform, it is easy to handle during operations such as withdrawal and reinsertion of the specimen sampling rod, and the test solution storage part has an elliptical shape. Since it is easy to deform in the radial direction, it is easy to push out the suspension by pushing with a finger.

Further, by making the thickness of the test liquid storage portion smaller than the thickness of the fitting portion, the deformation thereof becomes easier. Further, the squeeze force can be further reduced by making the wall thickness on the short diameter side smaller than the wall thickness on the long diameter side. Furthermore, by providing a guard portion around the liquid passage portion of the pipette member, the liquid passage portion is protected from the action of untimely external force, the thin wall is prevented from being accidentally damaged or deformed, and a constant drip amount can be secured. It is possible to prevent accidental leakage of test liquid or suspension.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of a sample collection container.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a sample collection container.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a sample collection container.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the sample collection container.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional front view of the sample liquid storage unit.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the sample liquid storage unit.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional front view of the inner plug.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a sample collecting rod.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Sample Collection Container 2 Base End 3 Container Body 4 Sample Collection Tool 5 Test Solution Storage Section 6 Pipette Section 7 Fitting Section 8 Pipette Member 9 Main Body Container 12 Test Solution 13 Flange 14 Liquid Passage Section 15 Connection Section 16 O-Ring 17 Solution Passage 18 Thin wall 19 Small diameter portion 21 Guard 22 Filter 23 Filter 24 Inner plug 25 Specimen sampling rod 26 Base end 27 Large diameter portion 28 Tip 31 Small diameter portion 32 Base end 33 Shoulder 34 Tip 35 Air extraction 36 Through hole 37 Outer groove 38 Inner groove 41 Window 42 Locking ring 43 Locking groove 44 Scraping part 45 Seal part 46 Insert rod part 47 Grip part 48 Intermediate diameter part 51 Positioning protrusion 52 Specimen holding part 53 Tip seal part 54 tip 55 inner surface 56 surplus container 57 tip space 58 base 61 base Dl long diameter Dr short diameter tl wall thickness of test liquid storage portion tr wall thickness ( Wall thickness of joint part 7 Df Width (width of collar 13) L21 distance (position of sample holding part 52) L22 distance (position of front seal part 53) L23 distance (position of window 41) L24 distance (seal) Position of part 45) L25 distance (position of tip 54) L26 distance (position of inner surface 55)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A container body, and a sample collecting tool that can be inserted into the container body from an open base end of the container body, the container body containing a test solution storage section capable of storing a test solution; A pipette part on the tip side of the liquid storage part, the tip part of which is closed by a thin wall that can be opened; and a fitting part on the base end side of the test liquid storage part, which fits with the sample collecting tool. Have
The specimen collecting container, wherein the test liquid storage section has a flat shape having a major axis and a minor axis whose cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is orthogonal. 2. The sample collecting tool comprises an inner stopper and a sample collecting rod, the inner stopper having a large-diameter portion having a dimension that fits liquid-tightly to the inner surface of the body of the container body, and the large diameter. The small diameter portion having a smaller outer diameter than the portion forms a continuous tubular shape with the shoulder portion as a boundary, the tip portion of the small diameter portion is closed, and the base end portion of the large diameter portion is open. Along with the tip of the small diameter portion and the base end portion of the small diameter portion, a window is formed by perforating the wall of the small diameter portion, and the base end side of the small diameter portion of the inside plug and the window. A scraping portion is formed between the sample collecting rod, and the sample collecting rod is provided with a small-diameter insertion rod portion and a large-diameter grip portion continuously in the longitudinal axis direction via an intermediate diameter portion. Has a sample holding part consisting of a hollow with its side surface open at a position near the tip part of the insert rod part, which can be fitted in a liquid-tight manner with the scraped part of the inner plug And a scraping portion having various dimensions, and at the maximum insertion position of the sample collecting rod, the sample holding portion of the sample collecting rod is arranged at a position corresponding to the window of the inner stopper. The sample collection container according to claim 1. 3. The fitting portion of the container body has a cylindrical shape, the major diameter of the test liquid storage portion is larger than the diameter of the fitting portion, and the minor diameter is substantially the same as the diameter of the fitting portion. The sample collection container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein they are equal. 4. The pipette portion is provided along a liquid passage portion having a thin cylindrical shape closed by a thin wall that can be opened and the liquid passage portion, and extends ahead of the liquid passage portion. And a guard part that is extended.
The sample collection container described in 2 or 3.