TWI874010B - Test device - Google Patents

Abstract

A test device is provided, including: a container, having a chamber, two opposite ends of the chamber including an opening and an outlet, the opening communicated with the outlet and the chamber, an inner wall of the container having a plurality of protrusion portions, the plurality of protrusion portions radially protruding into the chamber; a filtration unit, disposed within the container and between the chamber and the outlet; and a sampling unit, including a sampling body and a sample collection member which made of deformed absorbent material, the sample collection member disposed on the sampling body, and the sample collection member being insertable into the chamber and being radially c by the plurality of protrusion portions.

Description

Sampling equipment

The present invention relates to a sampling device, which is used for collecting samples.

Many current rapid screening products for infectious diseases use oral or nasal specimens for screening, but the current specimen collection methods do not provide an accurate and effective way to quantify the sample content. If quantitative analysis is required, additional quantitative experiments must be performed after the sample is collected, but such a cumbersome procedure can easily reduce the importance of quantitative analysis because of its lack of convenience. Furthermore, there is a certain proportional relationship between the rapid screening results and the concentration of the analyte in the sample and the buffer in the rapid screening reagent. Therefore, if accurate quantification is not possible, it will inevitably cause errors in the data results.

The known rapid screening products include sample drop-in type, crater-shaped extrusion type, integrated type and instrument extrusion type. However, the sample drop-in type uses a dropper to drop into the cartridge, and the force of squeezing the dropper is different, so it is impossible to quantify. The crater-shaped extrusion type cannot control the extrusion pressure, and the quantitative effect is poor. The integrated saliva collection sponge and the test cartridge are integrally formed and cannot be quantified. The instrument extrusion type puts the collected saliva together with the cartridge into the test instrument, and then the test instrument squeezes it. However, the instrument extrusion type has the disadvantages of high instrument cost, large size, and not suitable for carrying around.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a novel and advanced sampling device to solve the above problems.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a sampling device, which provides sampling and quantification of a specimen.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a sampling device, comprising: a container, provided with a containing chamber and an opening and a liquid discharge port respectively provided at two opposite ends, the opening, the liquid discharge port and the containing chamber are interconnected, one inner wall of the container is provided with a plurality of protrusions, and the plurality of protrusions radially protrude into the containing chamber; a filter unit is arranged in the container between the containing chamber and the liquid discharge port; and a sampling unit, comprising a sampling body and a sampling piece made of a deformable absorption material, the sampling piece is arranged in the sampling body, the sampling piece can penetrate into the containing chamber and be radially squeezed by the plurality of protrusions.

The following examples are only used to illustrate possible implementations of the present invention, but they are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. The "one" or "at least one" before the terms mentioned in the text does not limit the quantity. It can also be "plural" according to needs. This change in quantity is also within the scope of protection, which should be explained first.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 7, which show a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The sampling device 1 of the present invention includes a container 10, a filter unit 20 and a sampling unit 30.

The container 10 is provided with a containing chamber 11 and an opening 12 and a liquid discharge port 13 are respectively provided at two opposite ends. The opening 12, the liquid discharge port 13 and the containing chamber 11 are interconnected. One inner wall of the container 10 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 101, and the plurality of protrusions 101 radially protrude into the containing chamber 11; the filter unit 20 is provided in the container 10 between the containing chamber 11 and the liquid discharge port 13, and the filter unit 20 is a filter paper; the sampling unit 30 includes a sampling body 31 and a sampling piece 32 made of a deformable absorption material, and the sampling piece 32 is provided in the sampling body 31. The sampling piece 32 can penetrate into the containing chamber 11 through the opening 12 and be radially squeezed by the plurality of protrusions 101 to collect the sample. The sampling piece 32 is a sponge, a swab, or other material that can absorb liquids. The sampling piece 32 can absorb or adhere to the specimen (such as saliva or other liquid specimens).

Thus, the sample on the sampling piece 32 can be squeezed out by the plurality of protrusions 101, and the volume of the sampling piece 32 is fixed by the plurality of protrusions 101, so as to achieve the effect of collecting the sample and quantifying; in addition, the impurities (such as food residues or other impurities) in the sample are filtered by the filtering unit 20.

The discharge port 13 allows the sample to flow out.

The number of the plurality of protrusions 101 is at least three. The chamber 11 defines a central axis A. The plurality of protrusions 101 are circumferentially arranged on the inner wall of the container 10 around the central axis A. In this embodiment, the number of the plurality of protrusions 101 is at least four. In addition, the plurality of protrusions 101 are circumferentially spaced to uniformly squeeze the sampling member 32.

Each of the protrusions 101 is a radially protruding arc-convex structure; specifically, each of the protrusions 101 is provided with an arc-convex guide surface at the top; accordingly, the sampling member 32 can smoothly pass between the plurality of protrusions 101 to be squeezed, and the sampling member 32 will not be damaged when it moves and rotates axially relative to the plurality of protrusions 101.

A through hole 102 is formed between the plurality of protrusions 101. The through hole 102 connects the liquid discharge port 13 and the chamber 11. The sampling member 32 can pass through the through hole 102. An outer diameter D1 of the sampling member 32 is smaller than a diameter D2 of the opening 12 and larger than a minimum aperture D3 of the through hole 102. The sampling member 32 can smoothly pass through the opening 12 and will not be squeezed at the opening 12 until it penetrates into the through hole 102, so that the sample flows out from the liquid discharge port 13 and the sample is prevented from splashing out of the opening 12.

The container 10 includes a barrel 14 and a tube 15. The barrel 14 is sleeved with the tube 15, and the tube 15 is provided with the plurality of protrusions 101. The barrel 14 and the tube 15 can be combined with each other (such as welding, bonding or fastening), so as to facilitate processing and manufacturing.

The tube 15 (pressed downward) presses against the filter unit 20, so that the filter unit 20 can be stably fixed in place.

The container 10 includes a bottom wall 18 and a peripheral wall 19. One end of the peripheral wall 19 is circumferentially connected to the bottom wall 18 and the other end extends axially away from the bottom wall 18. The peripheral wall 19 surrounds the chamber 11 and forms the opening 12 at one end. The container 10 defines a first height H1, which is the distance between the opening 12 and the bottom wall 18. Each of the protrusions 101 extends axially to define a second height H2, which is less than the first height H1; the second height H2 is less than 0.6 times the first height H1. Preferably, the container 10 defines a centerline extending radially through the center, and each of the protrusions 101 is lower than the centerline. Therefore, the sampling unit 30 needs to penetrate into the chamber 11 to a certain depth before being squeezed by the plurality of protrusions 101, so as to prevent the sample from flowing out of the opening 12 and splashing out and adhering to the user's hand after the sampling member 32 is squeezed.

The sampling unit 30 further includes a sealing member 40, which is disposed on the sampling body 31. The sealing member 40 can be pressed against the inner wall of the chamber 11 to block the passage of fluid. The sealing member 40 is an O-ring. Thus, the chamber 11 is airtight. When the sealing member 40 is pushed downward in the chamber 11, the air in the chamber 11 can be squeezed to prevent the sample from flowing back out and causing the sample to adhere to the user's hand.

The two opposite ends of the sampling body 31 are respectively provided with a grip 33 and a connecting portion 34. The sampling body 31 is provided with a cover 35 radially protruding between the grip 33 and the connecting portion 34. The connecting portion 34 is connected to the cover 35. The sampling member 32 is provided on the connecting portion 34. The sealing member 40 is provided on the sampling body 31 and is located below the cover 35. 35 covers the opening 12 to achieve multi-layer protection. The cover 35 and the seal 40 can effectively prevent the sampling piece 32 from being squeezed out of the sample by the plurality of protrusions 101. The sample can be blocked by the cover 35 and will not spray out of the opening 12. The grip 33 can be held by hand to facilitate the stable insertion of the sampling piece 32 into the chamber 11 through the opening 12. In addition, the outer diameter of the cover 35 is less than or equal to the diameter D2 of the opening 12. The cover 35 passes through the opening 12 into the chamber 11. The cover 35 can guide the sampling unit 30 to move stably in the axial direction in the chamber 11 without deflection, so that the volume of the sampling member 32 squeezed by the plurality of protrusions 101 is fixed.

A through hole 17 is radially formed on a peripheral wall 19 of the container 10 near the opening 12. The through hole 17 is connected to the chamber 11. The seal 40 axially passes through the through hole 17, so that the seal 40 in the chamber 11 needs to pass through the through hole 17 to the bottom of the through hole 17 to achieve an airtight effect, so that the seal 40 can be tightly sealed with the container 10 and smoothly pass through the opening 12 near the opening 12 to the chamber 11.

The seal 40 can be axially clamped against one of the top ends of the tube 15, as shown in FIG7, thereby limiting the distance that the seal 40 is pushed downward in the chamber 11, so that the seal 40 can squeeze a fixed volume of the sample out of the discharge port 13 during the pushing process, so as to achieve a precise quantitative effect.

The assembly portion 34 is in an I-shape and includes a first flange 341 and a second flange 342 that are spaced apart from each other. The sampling member 32 is disposed between the first flange 341 and the second flange 342 so that the sampling member 32 is confined between the first flange 341 and the second flange 342 .

Please refer to Figures 8 to 9, which show a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The tube body 15' of the sampling device 1' is deformed from the outside to the inside to protrude the multiple protrusions 101, and multiple recesses 16 are formed on the outside of the tube body 15' corresponding to the multiple protrusions 101. Thereby, multiple spaces are formed between the tube body 15' and the cylinder 14 corresponding to the multiple recesses 16 to reduce the contact area between the tube body 15' and the cylinder 14, so as to facilitate the combination of the tube body 15' and the cylinder 14, and have the advantages of saving materials and weight.

1, 1’: sampling device 10: container 11: chamber 12: opening 13: discharge port 14: cylinder 15, 15’: tube 16: recess 17: through hole 18: bottom wall 19: peripheral wall 101: protrusion 102: through hole 20: filter unit 30: sampling unit 31: sampling body 32: sampling piece 33: grip 34: assembly part 341: first flange 342: second flange 35: cover 40: seal A: center axis H1: first height H2: second height D1: outer diameter D2: aperture D3: minimum aperture

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a three-dimensional view of a tube body of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figures 5 to 7 are diagrams of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention in use. Figure 8 is a three-dimensional view of a tube body of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1: Inspection equipment

10:Container

17: Through hole

30: Inspection unit

40: Seal

Claims (10)

A sampling device comprises: a container having a containing chamber and an opening and a liquid discharge port at two opposite ends, the opening and the liquid discharge port being in communication with the containing chamber, a plurality of protrusions being provided on an inner wall of the container, the plurality of protrusions radially protruding into the containing chamber; a filtering unit being provided in the container between the containing chamber and the liquid discharge port; and a sampling unit comprising a sampling body and a sampling piece made of a deformable absorbing material, the sampling piece being provided in the container. The sampling body, the sampling piece can pass through the opening into the chamber and be radially squeezed by the plurality of protrusions; wherein a through hole is formed between the plurality of protrusions, the through hole connects the discharge port and the chamber, the through hole can be passed through by the sampling piece, an outer diameter of the sampling piece is larger than a minimum aperture of the through hole; wherein the sampling body is provided with a cover and a connecting part, the connecting part is connected to the cover, the sampling piece is arranged on the connecting part, and the cover can seal the opening. The sampling device as described in claim 1, wherein the number of the plurality of protrusions is at least three, the container defines a central axis, and the plurality of protrusions are circumferentially arranged around the central axis on the inner wall of the container. The sampling device as described in claim 2, wherein the plurality of protrusions are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction. As described in claim 1, the sampling device, wherein each protrusion is a radially protruding arc-shaped structure. As described in claim 1, the container includes a cylinder and a tube, the cylinder is sleeved on the tube, and the tube is provided with the plurality of protrusions. The sampling device as described in claim 5, wherein the tube presses against the filter unit. As described in claim 5, the sampling device, wherein the tube body is deformed from the outside to the inside to protrude the multiple protrusions, and the outer part of the tube body is formed with multiple recesses corresponding to the multiple protrusions. As described in claim 5, the sampling unit further includes a sealing member, which is disposed on the sampling body, and the sealing member can be sealed against the inner wall of the chamber to block the passage of fluid, and the sealing member can be axially clamped against one of the top ends of the tube. As described in claim 8, a through hole is radially provided on one peripheral wall of the container adjacent to the opening, the through hole is connected to the chamber, and the sealing member passes through the through hole axially. The sampling device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the number of the plurality of protrusions is at least four, the chamber defines a central axis, the plurality of protrusions are circumferentially arranged around the central axis on the inner wall of the container; the plurality of protrusions are circumferentially arranged at intervals; each of the protrusions is a radially protruding arc-shaped structure; the container comprises a bottom wall and a peripheral wall, one end of the peripheral wall is circumferentially connected to the bottom wall, and the other end extends axially in a direction away from the bottom wall, the peripheral wall surrounds the chamber and forms the opening at one end, the container defines a first height, the first height is the distance between the opening and the bottom wall, each of the protrusions extends axially to define a second height, the second height is less than the first height; the second height is less than 0. 6 times the first height; the tube body presses against the filter unit; the outer diameter of the sampling piece is smaller than the diameter of the opening; the two opposite ends of the sampling body are respectively provided with a grip, the sampling body is radially protruded with the cover between the grip and the assembly part, the sealing part is arranged on the sampling body and is located below the cover; the outer diameter of the cover is smaller than or equal to the diameter of the opening, and the cover passes through the opening to the chamber; the assembly part is I-shaped, the assembly part includes a first flange and a second flange spaced apart from each other, and the sampling piece is arranged between the first flange and the second flange; the container defines a centerline extending radially through the center, and each of the protrusions is lower than the centerline.

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