JPH0124131Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a switch plate in an apparatus for manufacturing microcapillary tubes used for microinjection, microelectrodes, and the like.

Recently, with the rapid development of genetic engineering, microinjection has been widely practiced. Microcapillary tubes with a diameter of 1 μm or less are essential for microinjection, and various devices have been developed to manufacture them. Currently, by softening the main tube with the heat of a nichrome wire and stretching it vertically using the gravity of a weight, it is possible to easily, accurately, and quickly produce a strong and uniform micro-needle tube with a diameter of 1 μm or less. A manufacturing device that can do this has been developed.

According to this device, in the first stage of stretching, the main tube is heated with a nichrome wire placed around the main tube, and after the main tube is stretched with a weight at the tip of the main tube, the switch plate is inserted into the microphoto groove. After inserting it, I cut off the micro-photo and cut off the current to the nichrome wire. Next, in the second stage of expansion, the switch plate was removed from the microphoto groove by operating the handle, the light shielding of the microphotograph was removed, and the current was passed again to heat the nichrome wire.

With this method, it is possible to easily and accurately produce large quantities of durable, uniform microcapillary tubes with a diameter of 1 μm or less, but since the tip of the switch plate is inserted into the microphoto groove in the first stage of elongation, the main tube The extension distance is small, making it difficult to extend the main tube thinly, and it also has drawbacks such as difficulty in handling the handle during the second stage extension, and difficult timing.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a switch plate that can operate smoothly and automatically.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Figure 1 in the figure is a schematic front view of the entire manufacturing equipment, and Figure 2 is a schematic front view of the entire manufacturing equipment.
The figure is a front view of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a front view of the second embodiment, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the tip of the needle tube made according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the third embodiment. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the guide plate, Figures 7 and 8 are front views of the switch plate with the guide plate attached,
FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the fourth embodiment.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower part of the switch plate 5 is a light-transmitting part 51, and the upper part is a light-blocking part 52.

This switch plate 5 can be made of any material such as plastic or glass. Lower transparent part 51
As will be described later, the light from the microphotograph 6 is allowed to pass therethrough, and the switch plate 5 is guided to the microphotograph groove 7.

The light shielding portion 52 is constructed by painting the top of the switch plate 5 black or by pasting a non-transparent material. This light blocking portion 52 serves to block the light from the microphotograph 6 and to stop the energization of the nichrome wire 2.

When using the switch plate 5 of this embodiment constructed in this way, the switch plate 5 is suspended together with the weight 4 from the tip of the main tube 3 around which the nichrome wire 2 is arranged, as shown in FIG. . In this case, switch plate 5
A part of the transparent part 51 at the tip of the microphoto groove 7
, and measure the stability of the position of the switch board 5.

When the nichrome wire 2 is heated and stretched in the first stage, and the switch plate 5 is lowered, the switch plate 5 moves steadily down inside the microphoto groove 7, and the light shielding part 52 blocks the light from the microphotograph 6, and the nichrome wire 2 can no longer be heated.

When performing the second stage expansion, the microscope photo 6 can be lowered and the light shielding part 52 removed from the photo as in the conventional method.

In addition, in this second stage expansion, if the structure is such that the light-transmitting parts 53 and the light-shielding parts 54 are provided alternately and consecutively above the light-shielding part 52 as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. become that way. That is, even when the first stage of stretching is finished and the heating of the nichrome wire 2 is stopped, the descent of the main pipe 3 does not stop immediately and continues to descend slightly due to the heat resistance. The distance of this descent and the thickness of the main tube are set in advance, and when the conditions for performing the second stage expansion are met, the photo is again moved to the transparent part 53.
If the setting is made so that the nichrome wire 2 is heated through the nichrome wire 2, the second stage of stretching can be performed automatically, unlike the conventional method.

Further effects of the first and second embodiments are as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, the distance L between the sensor 8 at the lower end of the microphotograph 6 and the upper end of the microphotograph 6 is approximately 1 cm, and the width of the microphoto groove 7 is approximately 2 mm.

Normally, the switch plate 5 must be lowered and inserted into the microphoto groove 7, so the lower end of the switch plate 5 is inserted into the upper end of the photo groove 7 in advance. Therefore, the descending distance of the switch plate 5 is the aforementioned distance L, which is the height of the microphotograph 6.
Therefore, naturally the main tube 3 also extends only by the distance L. Therefore, there was a drawback that the main tube 3 was not made thinner, but according to this embodiment, the switch plate 5 is guided by the transparent part 51 that does not block light, so the transparent part 51 can be made long. The weight 4 can be dropped from a high distance, and the main pipe 3 can therefore be stretched thin.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the multi-stage stretching of two and three stages can be performed automatically, easily and accurately, making it possible to obtain a needle tube 3 with a strong stiffness and a thin tip (see Fig. 4). reference).

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, in which a guide frame 10 as shown in FIG.
A guide groove 1 formed in this guide frame 10 is provided.
A guide plate 12 that is slidably engaged with the weight 4 or the switch plate 5 is attached to the weight 4 or the switch plate 5.

As shown in the figure, the guide plate 12 is attached to a part of the weight 4 or the switch plate 5, but it may be attached to the entire surface of the weight 4 and the switch plate 5. The size and material of the guide plate 12 can be determined as appropriate.

On the other hand, a guide frame 10 is constructed in which a guide groove 11 is cut into which the guide plate 12 can fit and move up and down, but this guide frame 10 can also be made of any desired shape and material.

When using this embodiment configured as described above, the guide frame 10 is vertically installed at one end of the microphoto 6 as shown in FIG. After that, main tube 3
Suspend weight 4 and switch plate from the tip of guide plate 1.
2 is fitted into the guide groove 11 of the guide frame 10.

When the nichrome wire 2 is heated and the main tube 3 becomes soft and stretched by the weight 4, the switch plate 5 also descends together with the weight 4.
is vertically lowered by the guide plate 12 guided by the guide groove 11, so that it can be inserted into the microphoto groove 7 accurately.

Note that as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9, guide rods 50, 50 may be suspended from the lower end of the lowermost light shielding section 52, and the portion surrounded by the guide rods 50, 50 may be used as the light shielding section 51. .

As described above, according to the present invention, the initial objective can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the entire manufacturing apparatus, FIG. 2 is a front view of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a front view of the second embodiment, and FIG. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the tip of the needle tube made according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a front view of the third embodiment, Figure 6 is a perspective view of the guide plate, and Figures 7 and 8 are views of the guide plate. FIG. 9 is a front view of the switch plate in the attached state, and is a partially enlarged view of the fourth embodiment. 4... Weight, 5... Switch plate, 6... Microphoto, 7... Microphoto groove, 51, 53,
55...Transparent part, 52, 54, 56... Light shielding part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A switch plate in a microcapillary tube manufacturing device characterized by having a light-transmitting part and a light-blocking part. (2) The switch plate in the microcapillary tube manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that a guide plate for stabilizing the downward movement of the weight is provided on the switch plate body or on the weight.