JP2009276311A - Feces sampling tube - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new shape for a feces sampling tube for efficiently collecting feces in a wide range of conditions between soft feces having a relatively large moisture content and hard feces having a relatively small moisture content. <P>SOLUTION: The feces sampling tube includes an approximately tubular container 10 having one open end 12 and a closed other end 11 and for housing a culture medium therein; a cap 20 detachably mounted to the open end of the container; and a feces sampling body 30 integrally fixed to the cap. A plurality of liens of recessed grooves 35 are spirally formed in the surface of the feces sampling tube in a direction tilted at a prescribed angle to an axial direction. It is thereby possible to efficiently sample and hold even hard feces in the recessed grooves by the linear insertion/extraction movements of the feces sampling tube in and from the feces. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stool collection tube used for collecting stool as a specimen.

  Conventionally, a substantially cylindrical container that can contain a medium, a cap that is detachably attached to the open end of the container, a spoon shape that is integrally fixed to the cap via a rod, a cotton-dedicated shape, A stool collection tube having a dropper-type or stick-type stool collection body is widely available and used. When using, remove the cap with the stool from the container, remove the stool from the stool several times, collect the sample, and then carry the Blair medium in the container (to grow and kill microorganisms in the stool). Without being removed from the air, and the container is sealed with a cap. The specimen stored in the container in this way is transported to a predetermined inspection organization. The inspection institution removes the cap from the container and smears the specimen adhering to the stool collection body onto the inspection medium. Automatic smearing machines are sometimes used.

Such a stool collection tube is described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 below.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-48413 Japanese Patent No. 3336302 Japanese Patent No. 3895692 JP 2002-148257 A

  In such a stool collection tube, the shape of the stool collection body can be designed to efficiently collect a wide range of stool from soft stool with relatively high water content to hard stool with relatively low water content. Is important to do.

  As for the shape of the conventional stool collection body, the one having a micro uneven surface on the surface (see FIG. 6 of Patent Document 4) is the mainstream, but as described in the same patent document, the amount of stool retention is small, In many cases, it was not possible to hold a sufficient amount for examinations during hard stool. A stool collection body formed in a spoon shape (see FIG. 5 of Patent Document 4) is also known, but as described in the patent document, it was difficult to collect soft stool.

  In view of such circumstances, Patent Document 4 proposes that a stool collection hole is formed in a stool collection body and the soft stool is held here by surface tension, but this stool collection body shape retains the stool. Even if it is effective, since the outer peripheral surface of the whole stool collection body becomes a relatively small area by having the stool collection hole, it has a drawback that the amount of retained hard stool is small.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is a novel technique for efficiently collecting stool in a wide range from a soft stool having a relatively high water content to a hard stool having a relatively low water content. The purpose is to propose the shape of the stool collection.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention according to claim 1 includes a substantially cylindrical container that is open at one end and closed at the other end and is capable of containing a culture medium, and is detachably attached to the open end of the container. A stool collection tube having a cap and a stool collection body integrally fixed to the cap, wherein a plurality of concave grooves are formed on a surface of the stool collection body. It is a tube.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the stool collection tube of the first aspect, a plurality of grooves formed on the surface of the stool collection body are formed substantially parallel to the axial direction of the stool collection body.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the stool collection tube of the first aspect, the plurality of grooves formed on the surface of the stool collection body are formed in a spiral shape in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the axial direction of the stool collection body. It is characterized by being.

  Claim 4 is the stool of claim 1, wherein the end of the stool collection body has a smooth surface, and the surface of the stool collection body excluding the front end of the smooth surface and the inside of the groove has fine irregularities. It is formed in the shape.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of grooves are formed on the surface of the stool collection body, stools in a wide range from soft stools having a relatively high water content to hard stools having a relatively low water content are contained in the groove. Can be reliably collected, and a substantially constant and sufficient amount of feces determined according to the volume and number of the grooves can be maintained.

  A stool collection tube according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The stool collection tube is detachable to seal a substantially cylindrical container 10 capable of containing a culture medium and the open end of the container 10. The cap 20 is attached to the cap 20 and the stool collection body 30 is integrally fixed to the cap 20.

  The container 10 is integrally molded from a plastic material such as polypropylene, and one end 11 thereof is closed into a hemispherical shape and the other end 12 is opened. The container 10 is composed of three parts in the longitudinal axis direction. The container 10 on the closed end 11 side is opened with an enormous part 13 whose outer periphery is formed in a substantially hexagonal shape at the approximate center in the longitudinal axis direction. And a portion 15 on the end 12 side.

  Both the closed end side portion 14 and the open end side portion 15 have a substantially cylindrical shape, but the closed end side portion 14 has a slightly larger outer diameter than the open end side portion 15, and the inner diameter thereof is substantially the same. Are the same.

  Although the closed end 11 side portion 14 and the open end 12 side portion 15 are both shown as having a smooth outer peripheral surface, the outer peripheral surface of the closed end side portion 14 has a general or predetermined length region. In the meantime, it is possible to perform an anti-slip process by forming irregularities such as a ring shape. In a preferred embodiment, the non-slip process is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the closed end side portion 14 over a predetermined length region close to the hexagonal enlarged portion 13 and the entire outer peripheral surface of the open end side portion 15. Although not shown in the drawings, the outer peripheral surface of the opening end side portion 15 is provided with a cap plug with the cap 20 by providing, for example, two ridge rings or the like ringed at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal axis direction. Can be designed to ensure state. Since these are already known in the art (for example, Patent Document 3), detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The open end 12 of the substantially cylindrical container 10 is cut off obliquely in a side view. Further, an extended groove 16 is formed by cutting out a predetermined axial direction length with a predetermined width dimension toward the enormous portion 13 continuously from the lower portion of the cut portion. The opening width of the extension groove 16 is substantially the same as the maximum diameter of the stool collection body 30.

  The cap 20 is integrally molded from a plastic material such as polypropylene and is not shown in the figure. However, the cap 20 can be formed with irregularities such as a ring shape on the outer peripheral surface thereof to provide an anti-slip process. Since the anti-slip processing of the outer peripheral surface of the cap is already known in the art (for example, Patent Document 3), detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The cap 20 has a generally cylindrical body 21, one end of which is closed by a flat top surface 22, and the other end 23 is open. The inner diameter of the cap opening end 23 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the opening end side portion 15 of the container 10 and can form and maintain a sealed state. As described above, it is preferable that the opening end side portion 15 of the container 10 is provided with a convex ring or other arbitrary means so that the formation and maintenance of the sealed state can be easily and reliably performed. Such means are well known in the art and are not directly related to the subject matter of the present invention and will not be described further.

  The cap 20 is provided with an elongated rod 24 concentrically and extending in the axial direction. A stool collection body 30 is integrally formed at the distal end of the rod body 24, and a fitting structure portion for the cap is integrally molded at the base end portion of the rod body 24. Since the fitting structure portion is not directly related to the means of the present invention, the details are omitted. For example, the fitting structure portion has a rod-shaped portion having a predetermined outer diameter on the distal end side of the base end portion and is adjacent to the rod-shaped portion. Is formed as having a large-diameter stopper portion, and the rod-like portion is inserted and fitted into a cylindrical fitting portion formed inside the top surface 22 of the cap 20 until the stopper portion abuts. The cap 20 and the rod body 24 can be integrated. This method is an example, and the cap 20 and the rod body 24 can be integrated by using any method such as adhesion, joining, welding, integral molding, or the like.

  The stool collection body 30 integrally formed at the distal end of the rod body 24 has a proximal end portion 32 formed so as to gradually have a large outer diameter from an end 31 having substantially the same diameter as the rod body 24 in a substantially arc shape when viewed from the side. 3 of a tapered main part 33 formed so as to have a gradually smaller outer diameter continuously from the base end part 32 in the front end direction, and a substantially hemispherical front end part 34 formed at the front end of the main part 33. Has one part. On the surface of the main part 33, a plurality of concave grooves 35 inclined in a predetermined direction with respect to the axial direction of the rod body 24 are formed in a spiral shape. A step 35 a is formed on the base end side of the groove 35 as a boundary with the surface of the base end portion 32, and a step 35 b is formed on the tip side thereof as a boundary with the surface of the tip end portion 34. Further, edge walls 35 c and 35 d serving as a boundary with the surface (portion other than the groove 35) 36 of the main portion 33 are formed on both sides of the groove width of the groove 35. The tip portion 35 has a smooth surface, but the other portions (the base end portion 32 and the main body portion 33 (including the inside of the groove of the concave groove 35)) are formed in a satin shape having fine irregularities by sandblasting or the like. . Such a satin-like surface is effective for supplying a liquid component containing feces during the smearing to the smeared portion (smooth hemispherical tip 34) in small amounts necessary and sufficient for smearing.

  This stool collection tube is provided in a state in which a predetermined carry-blair medium is accommodated in the container 10 after being sterilized by gamma ray irradiation or the like. In use, the cap 20 integrated with the rod 24 and the stool collection body 30 is removed from the container 10, and the stool collection body 30 is inserted into the stool to attach the specimen to the stool collection body 30. According to the stool collection tube of this embodiment, the concave groove 35 is formed on the surface of the tapered main portion 33 of the stool collection body 30 in a direction inclined with respect to the axial direction. By inserting the body 31 straight into the stool, in the case of hard stool, it is housed in the concave groove 35 while being scraped off by the edge wall 35c that is the rear in the insertion direction, and stops at the step 35a on the proximal end side. Is held in the concave groove 35. And even if the stool collection body 31 is pulled out after that, in addition to the retention effect being enhanced by the inner surface of the concave groove 35 being a satin-like shape having fine irregularities, it is captured in the concave groove 35. The stool is held without leaving the groove 35 by the edge wall 35d and the tip side step 35b. In this way, efficient stool collection is possible by a simple and straight insertion / extraction operation. In the case of loose stool with a lot of moisture, it can be reliably collected and held in the concave groove 35 in the same manner.

  After the stool is collected in the stool collection body 30 in this way, the stool collection body 30 and the rod body 24 are accommodated in the container 10, and the container opening end 12 is sealed with the cap 20. As a result, the specimen captured in the concave groove 35 of the stool collection body 30 is buried in the carry-brea medium contained in the container 10 and shielded from the air, so that the microorganisms in the specimen are grown and killed. It is held in the state at the time of stool collection.

  As described above, the container opening end 12 is cut out in a substantially circular arc shape when viewed from the side, and the opening area thereof is greatly increased. Therefore, an operation for accommodating the stool collection body 30 to which the specimen is attached in the container 10 is performed. It can be done smoothly. That is, the container 10 is held in a state where the opening 16 by the substantially arc-shaped excision in the side view at the container opening end 12 faces upward, and the stool collection body 30 attached with the specimen is approached from above obliquely toward the opening 16. Since the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 15 can be gradually accommodated in the container using the inner surface as a guide surface, an unsanitary situation in which the specimen hits and adheres to the edge of the container opening end 12 is caused. There is nothing. Further, since the container opening end 12 has a gentle edge shape cut out in a substantially cylindrical shape when viewed from the side, the stool collection body 30 easily enters the container 10 and the mounting operation is extremely easy.

  Further, when the specimen stored in the container 10 and stored in the carry-brea medium in the container is smeared in a predetermined inspection institution, the container 20 is removed when the cap 20 is pulled out from the container opening end 12. By handling the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 15 like a saucer with the opening 16 at the opening end 12 facing upward, even soft stool with a lot of moisture adhered to the stool collection body 30 It is possible to prevent the specimen from dropping out of the container.

  Further, in the case of hard stool, it is collected in a state of being stuck in the concave groove 35 of the stool collection body 30, but the fluidity is enhanced by being stored in the carry-blair medium in the container. Therefore, smearing performance is improved.

  Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely modified within the scope of the invention described in the claims. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the concave groove 31 on the surface of the stool collection body 30 is formed as a spiral inclined groove, but may be formed as a concave groove substantially parallel to the axial direction of the rod body 24. . In the case of the groove in the axial direction, when the stool collection body 30 is rotated during insertion, the stool can be efficiently collected in the groove.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the stool collection tube by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which expands and shows the cap front-end | tip part in this stool collection pipe.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container 11 Closed end 12 Open end 13 Enlarged part 14 Closed end side part 15 Open end side part 16 Extension groove part 20 Cap 21 Main body 22 Top surface 23 Open end 24 Rod body 30 Stool collection body 31 One end 32 Base end part 33 Main part 34 End portion 35 Groove 35a, 35b Step 35c, 35d Edge wall 36 Smooth surface portion

Claims (4)

A generally cylindrical container that is open at one end and closed at the other end and is capable of containing a medium; a cap that is detachably attached to the open end of the container; and a stool collection body that is integrally fixed to the cap. A stool collection tube comprising a plurality of concave grooves formed on a surface of the stool collection body. The stool collection pipe according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of grooves formed on the surface of the stool collection body are formed substantially parallel to the axial direction of the stool collection body. 2. The stool collection tube according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of grooves formed on the surface of the stool collection body are formed in a spiral shape in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the axial direction of the stool collection body. . The front end portion of the stool collection body has a smooth surface, and the surface of the stool collection body excluding the front end portion of the smooth surface and the inside of the concave groove are formed in a satin shape having fine irregularities. The described stool collection tube.

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