JP3965737B2 - Transport mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for supplying a sample by an automatic dispensing device in an analyzer used in the fields of biochemistry and immunochemistry.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional automatic analyzer, when a sample to be analyzed (a body fluid such as human urine or blood) is used for analysis, the sample container for storing the sample is easily handled, and a large number of samples are automatically collected. In order to process, it is usual to mount a plurality of sample containers on the analyzer after the sample containers are mounted on a rack. Then, after placing the sample container on the sample rack, the sample container is transported to the dispensing position of the automatic dispensing device in the analyzer, and a certain amount of sample necessary for analysis is acquired at the position.
[0003]
As a transport mechanism for transporting the sample rack to the dispensing position of the automatic dispensing apparatus, a mechanism using a belt conveyor has been conventionally known.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a conventional transport mechanism using a belt conveyor, in order to prevent the sample rack from falling over and being spilled from the sample container during transport, a fall prevention plate fixed in parallel to the transport direction of the sample rack is provided, and the sample is The rack is provided with a groove that mates with the fall prevention plate.
[0005]
FIG. 11 and FIG. 13 are diagrams for explaining a transport mechanism using a conventional belt conveyor. A sample rack 6 on which a plurality of sample containers (usually vacuum blood collection tubes, test tubes, etc.) 5 are placed, a belt 1 disposed at the lower part of the sample rack 6, a bottom plate 3 that supports the running of the belt 1, and a pulley 14 are provided. The belt 1 is transported by a motor 4 that drives the belt 1, and the fall prevention plate 2 is fixed in parallel with the transport direction (indicated by the arrow in the figure) of the sample rack 6 by the belt 1, as shown in FIGS. As described above, the fall prevention plate is engaged with the groove provided on the side or bottom of the sample rack 6 to prevent the fall.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a conventional transport mechanism using a belt conveyor, when the sample rack is mounted on the automatic dispensing device, the groove of the sample rack and the fall prevention plate must be engaged with each other. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. 13, the fall prevention plate is made shorter than the belt conveyor by at least the width of one sample rack, and the sample racks are moved one by one in the direction of the dispensing position. It is necessary to slide the groove and the fall-preventing plate together.
[0007]
Thus, in the conventional transport mechanism, the fall prevention plate becomes an obstacle when the sample rack is mounted. However, in order to process a large amount of specimens in a short time, it is required that a larger quantity of specimens can be mounted while improving the processing capacity of an automatic dispensing device or the like.
[0008]
Accordingly, the present invention has an object to provide a transport mechanism capable of mounting a plurality of sample racks from above at the same time by simply mounting (mounting) a plurality of sample racks on a belt conveyor or the like. And
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The transport mechanism of the present invention made in view of the above object is a transport mechanism for transporting a rack on which a tubular container mounted on a belt is placed, and includes a groove and a hook provided on the rack mounted on the belt. A transport mechanism is characterized in that a fall prevention plate that is movable so as to be freely combined and disengaged is installed in parallel with the transport direction.
[0010]
In the transport mechanism of the present invention, the belt for transporting the rack is not particularly limited as long as it has a width and material that can stably transport the rack. Although it is possible to exemplify the use of a belt having substantially the same width as the length of the rack to be transported, a plurality of narrower belts can also be used. What is necessary is just to drive a belt via the pulley couple | bonded with drive means, such as a motor, for example.
[0011]
The tubular container is a container for holding the above-described specimen or other liquid, such as a vacuum blood collection tube or a test tube, and is usually a cylindrical container, but may be a polygonal shape. Such a rack for mounting the tubular container may be, for example, a reagent rack for mounting a reagent container containing various reagents necessary for analysis in addition to the sample rack described so far. The groove provided in the rack is not limited as long as it is a groove having a shape that does not hinder the conveyance of the rack even when a later-described fall prevention plate is engaged. By providing the groove at a position shifted from the center of the rack, it is possible to prevent the left and right sides from being mounted on the belt. This is effective, for example, when transporting an empty rack on which a tubular container is not placed or when the order of the tubular containers placed on the rack is significant.
[0012]
The term “combination” used in the present specification means that the fall prevention plate and the groove engage with each other to such an extent that the rack can be prevented from falling on the belt without disturbing the conveyance of the rack by the belt. In this sense, it is particularly preferable that the groove provided on the rack and the tipping prevention plate are configured not to contact each other even in the combined state. This is because if they come into contact with each other, a frictional force is generated, and the rack is inclined during conveyance.
The fall prevention plate does not necessarily have a “plate” shape. For example, even if it has a rod shape or a polygonal column shape, there is no limitation as long as it has a portion that can be engaged with a groove provided in the rack. The anti-tip plate is arranged in parallel with the direction of rack transport by the belt in order to prevent the rack mounted on the belt from overturning during transport. In order to prevent the rack from toppling over the entire conveyance path of the rack by the belt, the tipping prevention plate is preferably a seamless plate having substantially the same length as the belt.
[0013]
The fall prevention plate uses a fixing means made of an elastic body such as a spring or rubber, for example, and is usually fixed at a position mating with a groove provided in the rack, or conversely, usually provided in the rack. It can be made to fix to a position where it is detached from the groove. In the case of the former configuration, for example, when a new rack is mounted on the belt, the fall prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack may be detached once. It is preferable to provide fixing means such as a latch for fixing the prevention plate at a position where it is disengaged from the groove provided in the rack. If the fixing means is provided, the rack can be mounted on the belt while the fall prevention plate and the rack groove are fixed at the position where they are detached. In the latter configuration, it is only necessary to provide a fixing means such as a latch for fixing the fall prevention plate at a position where it is mated with a groove provided in the rack. In this case, it is only necessary to release the fixed state of the fall prevention plate by the fixing means, mount the rack on the belt, and then fix the fall prevention plate again later.
[0014]
In particular, if belt drive means is provided to control the belt drive means so that the rack is transported by the belt only while the fall prevention plate is fixed at a position where it is mated with a groove provided in the rack, the fall is prevented. The fitting between the prevention plate and the groove of the rack can be linked to the rack transport, and the risk of the belt falling while the two are not fitted and the rack falling over can be eliminated. As such a driving means, for example, an electric circuit in which on / off of a motor for driving a rack is linked with a fixed position of the fall prevention plate can be exemplified.
[0015]
As described above, the fall prevention plate is movably installed in parallel with the direction in which the rack is conveyed by the belt so as to be freely mated / uncoupled with a groove provided in the rack mounted on the belt. Here, the fall prevention plate may be installed so as to be capable of linear motion or may be installed so as to be capable of rotational motion. However, installation in which the motion of the fall prevention plate is simpler and linear motion is particularly preferable. Further, when the fall prevention plate is installed so as to be capable of linear motion, there is an advantage that the shape of the groove on the rack side can be simplified as compared with the case where the fall prevention plate is installed so as to be capable of rotational movement.
[0016]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 1 and 3 are top views, and FIGS. 2 and 4 are side views. 1 and 2 show a state in which the fall prevention plate is fixed at a position where the fall prevention plate is fitted to the groove provided in the rack, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show that the fall prevention plate is detached from the groove provided in the rack. Each of the states fixed to the position is shown.
[0018]
A rack 6 on which a plurality (five) of tubular containers 5 can be placed is conveyed in the direction of the arrow from the near side by two belts 1 arranged at the lower part of the rack 6. At the end point of conveyance, for example, an operation such as dispensing is performed by an elevator mechanism provided at the end point, and the rack on which the container for which the operation has been placed is removed from the belt. For example, by adopting the configuration shown in FIG. 9 or the like, a configuration in which the rack on which the container that has been operated is placed is excluded from the belt can be exemplified.
[0019]
The belt 1 is supported by a bottom plate 3 and is driven by a driving means including a motor 4 and a pulley 14 coupled to a motor shaft. The tipping prevention plate 2 is an L-shaped plate as shown in FIG. 2, and the plate-like portion at the tip thereof is fitted into a groove provided on the side surface of the rack 6. The fall prevention plate 2 has a sufficient length so that it can be fitted into a groove provided in the rack on the belt over the entire conveyance path of the rack 6 by the belt 1.
[0020]
A holding portion 13 is provided at one end of the guide shaft 7 supported by the bearing 8 provided on the bottom plate 3 and supporting the fall prevention plate 2, and the plate-like portion at the tip of the fall prevention plate 2 is transported by the rack. Although it is movable in the direction perpendicular to the direction, it is normally disengaged from the groove provided in the rack by the repulsive force of the elastic body (spring) 11 sandwiched between the presser portion 13 and the bearing 8. The position is fixed. In this example, a pair of bearings, guide shafts, etc. are provided at two positions on the end portion of the anti-tip plate so that the anti-tip device is kept in a parallel state with the belt 1 during linear movement of the anti-tip plate using a lever described later. The board moves.
[0021]
By means of a fixed rotating shaft 9-1 in which the axial direction of the rotating shaft is parallel to the rack transport direction, two levers 9 that rotate at right angles to the rack transport direction are provided in the vicinity of the center of the two sets of guide shafts. Position where the tipping prevention plate 2 is linearly moved in the direction perpendicular to the rack transport direction by tilting in the belt direction against the repulsive force of the elastic body, and the plate-like portion at the tip of the plate is fitted with a groove provided in the rack Move to.
[0022]
A rotation shaft 9-2 perpendicular to the fixed rotation shaft 9-1 is provided on the upper portion of the lever 9, and is provided on a guide plate 10 that is supported on the bottom plate 3 by a support column 15 and restricts the movement of the lever 9. By engaging the upper portion of the lever 9 with a latch (L-shaped guide groove), the tipping prevention plate can be fixed at a position where the tip of the tipping prevention plate 2 is fitted to the rack groove.
[0023]
In the apparatus of this example, the anti-tip plate is fixed to the belt driving means composed of a motor and a power source for driving the motor at the position where the tip of the anti-tip plate 2 is fitted with the groove of the rack. An electric circuit 12 is provided so that the motor 4 can be driven only in such a case. That is, the function of preventing the fall by fitting the fall prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack does not function by operating the electric circuit 12 including the switch wired in series with the power source of the motor 4. In this case, that is, when the lever 9 is operated to engage the limiting plate 10, the anti-tip plate 2 moves backward to the position where the anti-tip plate 2 and the rack groove are disengaged by the repulsive force of the elastic body 11. The motor 4 is not driven. In addition, when the rack is placed upside down, the fall prevention plate stops on the side surface where no groove is provided, and the electric circuit 12 remains cut, so the motor is not driven, and the rack mounting error prevention function Useful.
[0024]
5 to 8 are views for illustrating other embodiments of the present invention. FIGS. 5 and 7 are top views, and FIGS. 6 and 8 are side views. 5 and 6 show a state in which the fall prevention plate is fixed at a position where the fall prevention plate is fitted to the groove provided in the rack, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show that the fall prevention plate is detached from the groove provided in the rack. Each of the states fixed to the position is shown.
[0025]
In this example, a hook-shaped groove that fits with the fall prevention plate is provided on the bottom surface of the rack, and correspondingly, the guide shaft 7 and the bearing 8 of the fall prevention plate are provided at the lower part (rear surface) of the bottom surface 3. The arrangement is different from the above example. Further, the tip of the fall prevention plate protrudes upward from the bottom surface 3 in the slot 16 (the tip that fits into the groove provided in the rack). In this example as well, the groove is provided at a position deviated from the center of the rack, so that the rack is not installed upside down.
[0026]
9 and 10 are views for illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a top view and FIG. 10 is a side view. In this example, two series of belts for carrying the racks are arranged, and two fall prevention plates are provided to prevent the racks from falling over the belts of each series. Further, a groove that fits with the fall prevention plate is provided on the bottom surface of the rack, and the guide shaft 7 and the bearing 8 of the fall prevention plate are correspondingly disposed on the lower portion (rear surface) of the bottom surface 3. The guide shaft, the bearing, etc. are shared by the two fall prevention plates, and each fall prevention plate is fitted to the groove provided on the rack on each belt or detached by the same operation as in the above example. It is possible to linearly move the position and simultaneously control the drive of the motor.
[0027]
The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 has a belt (toward the belt) that conveys the rack in a direction opposite to the conveying belt (toward the right side) as means for removing the rack on which the container having been subjected to dispensing operation has been placed from the belt. This is an example in which (left side) is added. This exclusion means includes a driving motor 18, a feed plate 19, a nut 20 for moving the feed plate, and a feed screw 21. The feed plate 19 moves from the right belt to the left belt toward the rack by the rotation of the motor, and then returns to the original position by the reverse rotation of the motor. In the apparatus of this example, in the process of discharging the rack from the belt as described above, a dispensing operation for sucking a predetermined amount of liquid in the tubular container placed on the rack is performed. That is, for example, an automatic dispensing device that can move in the X, Y, and Z directions is arranged, and a dispensing operation is performed on the tubular container located at the dispensing position in the figure.
[0028]
When performing various treatments / operations on a tubular container mounted on a rack conveyed by a belt, such as a dispensing operation, for example, in the configuration shown in FIG. A sensor is provided for detecting the arrival of the rack, and when the sensor senses the arrival of the rack, the controller is configured to stop driving the motor 4 and stop the conveyance of the rack by the belts on the left and right sides. After stopping the conveyance of the rack, by driving the motor 18, the rack that has reached the end point of the right belt is moved from the right belt to the left belt, and the dispensing device or the like is moved in the middle of the movement. Various processes and operations are performed by After such processing / operation is completed, the motor 18 is driven to return the feed plate to the initial position (right side), and then the conveyance by both stopped belts is started. When moving the rack from the right belt to the left belt, it is preferable to move the rack at a pitch equal to the interval between the tubular containers placed on the rack. It is preferable to employ a stepping motor or the like.
[0029]
The groove provided in the rack moved on the left belt by the rack discharge guide is automatically fitted with a fall prevention plate by the conveyance in the direction of the arrow by the left belt, thereby preventing the fall. Is prevented. Therefore, the fall prevention plate on the left belt does not need to be movable as in the present invention, and the racks conveyed at the end point are collected one by one, or a disposal box is provided at the end point. The rack may be automatically discarded from the belt. However, for example, when it is intended to remove a plurality of racks discharged after finishing processing / operation such as dispensing and transported by the belt on the left side from the belt at a time, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the conveying mechanism of the present invention may be employed not only on the right side belt but also on the left side belt. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the structure can be simplified by linking the fall prevention plates to both belts, but both fall prevention plates may be provided separately. If a configuration in which a waste box or the like is provided at the end point of the left belt toward the end and the rack on the belt is automatically discarded is not adopted, the stop plate 17 is provided and the left belt is conveyed toward the end. It is preferable to prevent the rack from falling off the belt.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the fall prevention plate is movable, so that the rack groove and the fall prevention plate can be mounted when a rack such as a sample rack is mounted on a belt such as an automatic dispensing device like a conventional transport mechanism. There is no need to combine them, and multiple racks can be easily mounted from the top of the belt at a time. In other words, in the transport mechanism of the present invention, the fall prevention plate is fitted linearly or rotationally to the grooves provided in each of the plurality of racks mounted on the belt at a time.
[0031]
More specifically, for example, in the transport mechanism of the present invention shown in the drawings, when the lever is retracted to a position where the fall prevention plate is not fitted in the groove provided in the rack, the rack is mounted on the belt. Since the fall prevention plate does not get in the way, the rack can be easily mounted from the upper part of the belt. Further, the transport mechanism of the present invention shown in the drawings further includes a drive means having an electric circuit for turning off the power of the motor for driving the belt when the fall prevention plate is in a position not fitted to the groove provided in the rack. Therefore, it is possible to prevent operational mistakes such as the belt being driven and the rack falling over due to human error when the fall prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack are not fitted. High safety. In addition, the repulsive force of the elastic body is always used so that the anti-tip plate is in a position where it can be fitted with a groove provided in the rack, and a force exceeding the repulsive force is required to detach both of them. Therefore, even if some force is applied, the rack can be prevented from falling. Even if a force exceeding the repulsive force is accidentally moved, the motor has a double safety structure that turns off the power as described above. Thus, in the conventional transport mechanism, when the rack is mounted, the fall prevention plate is in the way, but since the present invention can solve this problem, it is necessary to process a large amount of samples in a short time, It is also possible to improve the processing capacity by using it for an automatic dispensing device of an automatic analyzer that requires continuous operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view for illustrating an embodiment of a transport mechanism according to the present invention, in which an anti-tip plate is fixed at a position where a tip of an anti-tip plate and a groove provided in a rack are fitted. This shows the state.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG.
3 shows a state in which the tipping prevention plate is fixed at a position where the tip of the tipping prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack are disengaged in the transport mechanism of FIG. 1. FIG. .
FIG. 4 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a view for showing another embodiment of the transport mechanism of the present invention, in which the anti-tip plate is placed at a position where the tip of the anti-tip plate and the groove provided in the rack are fitted together. It shows a fixed state.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG.
7 shows a state in which the tipping prevention plate is fixed at a position where the tip of the tipping prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack are disengaged in the transport mechanism of FIG. 5. FIG. .
FIG. 8 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a view for showing another embodiment of the transport mechanism of the present invention. In this example, for a transport mechanism having two transport paths, the fall prevention function is activated with one lever at the same time.
FIG. 10 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a diagram for illustrating a configuration of a conventional transport mechanism.
FIG. 12 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG.
FIG. 13 is a diagram for illustrating the configuration of another conventional transport mechanism.
FIG. 14 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 13;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt 2 Fall prevention plate 3 Bottom plate 4 Motor 5 Tubular container 6 Rack 7 Guide shaft 8 Bearing 9 Lever 9-1, 9-2 Rotating shaft 10 Guide groove 11 Elastic body (spring)
12 Electric circuit (switch)
13 Presser part 14 Pulley 15 Post 16 Slot 17 Stop plate 18 Motor 19 Feed plate 20 Nut 21 Feed screw

Claims (3)

A transport mechanism for transporting a rack on which a tubular container mounted on a belt is placed, and is movable so as to be freely mated and disengageable with a groove provided in the rack mounted on the belt. The anti- tip plate is installed in parallel with the conveying direction , and the rack is conveyed by the belt only while the anti-tip plate is fixed at a position where the anti-tip plate is engaged with the groove provided in the rack. A transport mechanism having belt driving means . 2. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing means for fixing the fall prevention plate to a position where it is mated with a groove provided in the rack and a position where it is unmated. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the fall prevention plate is installed so as to be capable of linear motion.

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