JPH11348128A - Tube connecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tube connecting apparatus wherein a tube is surely connected by a simple constitution. SOLUTION: This tube connecting apparatus wherein flexible tubes are held by a first tube holding tool and a second tube holding tool and after these tubes are heat-melted and cut between them by means of a cutting plate with a resistance element for heat generation, the cut faces of the tubes are connected with together by pushing together the cut faces of the tubes and fusing them is provided and it has movement supporting member arms 51 and 56 for holding movably one of or both the first tube holding tool and the second tube holding tool in the axial direction of the held tubes and a cam member 55 with a cam face for moving one of or both the first tube holding tool and the second tube holding tool against an energizing force of a return spring 53 of an energizing member in the direction wherein the distance of both tools are brought to close to each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tube connecting apparatus for melting and cutting a flexible tube and welding and connecting the cut surfaces.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tube connecting device is used to connect a transfer tube connected to a peritoneal cavity and a tube connected to a dialysis bag, for example, to provide a dialysate to the peritoneal cavity of a peritoneal dialysis patient. . An example of the connection operation of the tube connecting device will be briefly described. Two tubes 1 and 2 are clamped by a first tube holder 101 and a second tube holder 102 as shown in FIG. At this time, the tubes 1 and 2 are clamped into a flat shape, the inside of the tubes is closed, and the leakage of the liquid in the tubes 1 and 2 is stopped. Then, the cutting plate (hereinafter, referred to as “wafer”) 6 heated between the first tube holder 1 and the second tube holder 2 rises and melts and cuts the orthogonal tubes 1 and 2.

After that, in the first tube holder 101,
The clamp rotor 105 composed of a pair of semicircular rotor pieces 103 and 104 makes a half turn, and the cutting tubes 1a and 2a clamped by the clamp rotors 105 slide over the wafer 6 as shown in FIG. Let it. Then, when the cut surfaces of the different tubes (1a and 2b, 2a and 1b) are located coaxially, the wafer 6 is retracted and the cut surfaces of both tubes are pressed and welded, as shown in FIG. The tubes 9 and 10 are connected alternately.

In this tube connecting apparatus, the second tube holder 102 is connected to the first tube holder 1 in order to join the cutting tubes (1a and 2b, 2a and 1b).
The cut surfaces are pressed together by a slide mechanism approaching the 01 side. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing the slide mechanism. The first tube holder 101 is in a stationary state with respect to the body 110, and the second tube holder 102 is
It is configured to slide on the slide rail 111. The second tube holder 102 is always urged toward the first tube holder 101 by a spring 112, while the fixed cam follower 113 is fixed to the joining cam 114.
The cam groove 115 is positioned by being fitted.

Accordingly, as described above, the cam groove 1 of the joining cam 114 which rotates as the wafer 6 retreats.
The cam follower 113 that rolls inside the projection 15 fits into the concave portion 116 of the joining cam 114. Therefore, the second tube holder 102 is urged by the spring 112 and the
The slide rail 111 is slid toward the first tube holder 101 by a depth of 16. Therefore, the second tube holder 102 is brought closer to the first tube holder 101, and the clamped cutting tubes (1a and 2b, 2a and 1
The cut surfaces b) are pressed together and welded.

[0006]

However, in the conventional tube connecting device, a spring 112 is used to connect the cutting tube.
Therefore, when a force exceeding the spring force is applied in a direction opposite to the urging direction, the second tube holder 102 can be moved toward the first tube holder 101 by the spring 112. Without cutting tubes (1a and 2b,
It was possible that 2a and 1b) were not properly joined. On the other hand, if the second tube holder 102 cannot be sufficiently brought closer to the first tube holder 101 due to pulling or the like, the cutting tube will be pressed at the tip portion more than originally set. However, in such a case, sufficient joining strength could not be obtained at the joining portion of the connection tubes 9.10.

As shown in FIG. 10, for example, a reverse force is applied when the tube 1 is caught in the middle of the tube 1 by some external force, or when an infusion bag 117 (about 2 kg) used by a dialysis patient is used. It is assumed that the tube 1 falls when the tube is connected and the tube 1 is pulled.
Therefore, a method of increasing the spring force of the spring 112 so as to correspond to various assumed reverse forces can be considered.
Then, it becomes necessary to increase the body rigidity of the tube connecting device with the increase of the spring force. Therefore, in the present device having the U-shaped structure, the device itself is significantly increased in size and the cost is increased.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a tube connecting device for securely connecting tubes with a simple configuration in order to solve such problems. It is another object of the present invention to provide a tube connecting device capable of forming a connecting tube having high joining strength.

[0009]

According to the tube connecting device of the present invention, a flexible tube is connected to a first tube holder and a second tube holder.
The tube is held by a tube holder, and the tube is
After cutting by heating and melting with a cutting plate having a heating resistor between the tube holder and the second tube holder, the cut surfaces of the tubes are pressed together and welded to be connected. A moving support member that movably supports one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the axial direction of the tube, and one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder. A cam member that moves against the urging force of the urging member in a direction to reduce the distance therebetween.

Accordingly, the rotation of the cam member that brings the first tube holder and the second tube holder closer to each other against the urging force of the urging member is surely performed by one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder. Or as both movements,
Even if force is applied in the opposite direction to the tube joining direction,
The rotation of the cam member ensures that the first tube holder and the second tube holder are brought close to a predetermined distance, thereby avoiding poor joining. Further, even if a force is applied in a direction opposite to the joining direction of the tubes, the cut surface can be sufficiently pressed, so that a connection tube having high joining strength can be obtained.

Further, in the tube connecting device according to the present invention, the moving support member is provided with one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at a swinging end, and holds the held tubes at the same height. An arm pivotally supported on the same plane so as to be able to move along the same plane, and a guide member that penetrates and supports the arm along the axial direction of the held tube. Therefore, the rigidity of the movable support member constituted by the swinging arm is high, and the cut surfaces of the cutting tubes can be reliably pressed straight by the guide member.

Further, in the tube connecting device according to the present invention, the cam member may be brought into contact with one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder via an elastic member. Characterized in that: Therefore, when the first tube holder and the second tube holder by the cam member cannot be brought close to the set distance, such as when a foreign substance is bitten between the first tube holder and the second tube holder. The elastic member absorbs the overload and avoids damage to the cam member and other devices.

[0013]

Next, an embodiment of a tube connecting device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a clamp mechanism of the tube connection device. The tube holding portion clamps and holds the two tubes 1 and 2 when cutting and connecting,
Further, the tubes 1 and 2 after the cutting are inverted and rearranged, and a first tube holder 3 comprising a fixed clamp 11 and a movable clamp 12 and a second tube comprising a fixed clamp 13 and a movable clamp 14. And a holder 4.

The inversion of the cutting tube is performed by the first tube holder 3. For this purpose, a pair of semicircular rotor pieces 1 are respectively set in the fixed clamp 11 and the movable clamp 12.
5, 16 are loaded. And the fixed clamp 11
When the movable clamp 12 and the movable clamp 12 overlap as shown in the figure, a pair of rotor pieces 15 and 16 are connected to one clamp rotor 5.
For example, it is configured to be rotated by a motor via a gear in a fixed clamp 11 (not shown).

Each of the fixed clamps 11 and 13 and the movable clamps 12 and 14 constituting the first tube holder 3 and the second tube holder 4 are respectively supported by two guide shafts 17 so as to pass therethrough. 1
The movable clamps 12 and 14 are configured so as to be slidable. This movable clamp 12, 1
The clamp mechanism for moving the clamp 4 has a similar configuration. Therefore, only the movable clamp 12 will be described. A clamp spring 21 serving as a power source for moving the movable clamp 12 is fitted between the fixed clamp 11 and the transmission rod 23, and the transmission rod 23 is urged in parallel with the guide shaft 17. The end of the transmission rod 23 is supported by the crank 24.

The crank 24 is pivotally supported by a support shaft 25 so as to be swingable, and has a cylindrical fulcrum member 26, a lever 27 on which a transmission rod 23 is supported, and a movable clamp 1
2 and a plate cam 28 connected to the fulcrum member 2 is integrally fixed around the fulcrum member 26 as shown in the figure. Plate cam 2
A cam follower 29 is pivotally supported in the middle of 8, and a clamp cam 30 that contacts the cam follower 29 is connected to a motor (not shown). Further, a lead cam groove 32 for guiding a cam pin 31 erected on the movable clamp 12 is formed in the plate cam 28. This lead cam groove 32
Is a curve based on a clamp force characteristic indicating a change in load required to crush the tubes 1 and 2, and is formed such that the biasing force of the clamp spring 21 is maximized as the clamp force at the time of final clamping. is there.

Next, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cutting mechanism for cutting the tube, and FIG. 3 is a plan view further showing a moving support mechanism of the second tube holder 4.
This cutting mechanism is provided between the first tube holder 3 and the second tube holder 4 as shown in FIG. The wafer 6 is a self-heating type heat cutting plate. Although not shown in detail, for example, a metal plate such as a copper plate is folded in two, and a heating element having a desired pattern is formed on the inner surface thereof through an insulating layer. The terminal 6p of the resistor is formed so as to be exposed from an opening formed at one end of the metal plate.

The wafer 6 is inserted into the holder 33,
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the electrodes 6p, 6p are connected to the terminals 6p, 6p.
34p and a heat storage body 35 made of a metal or the like having a high thermal conductivity are in contact with or separated from the metal plate of the wafer 6. Returning to FIG. 2, such a holder 33 is fixed to one end of the arm 41. The support end of the arm 41 is supported by a support shaft 42, and the fixed swinging end side of the holder 33 is pulled downward by a tension spring 43. The arm 41 has a guide portion 41 a protruding downward, and the side surface thereof is formed so as to slide on the arm guide 44. The arm 41 is supported by a lever 46 via a pin 45 erected at the swing end. The lever 46 is provided with a U
A letter-shaped notch is formed, and the other support end is supported by a support shaft 47. Further, a cam follower 48 is pivotally supported at an intermediate position, and is in contact with a cutting cam 49.

Next, the tube connecting device of the present embodiment is arranged so that the second tube holder 4 presses the cut surfaces of the cut tubes by approaching the first tube holder 3. 4 is provided with a joining mechanism. For the joining mechanism, an arm 51 that swings horizontally on the paper surface of FIG. 3 is used. Here, FIG. 4 is a view on arrow A of FIG. 3 showing the joining mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a view on arrow B of FIG. 3 showing the save mechanism. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a moving support member of the joining mechanism. The arm 51 is
A support end is pivotally supported by a fixed support plate 52 so as to be swingable, and a return spring 53 is fitted into the other swing end, and is formed so as to push back the arm 51 counterclockwise with a light force. ing. The second tube holder 4 is integrally provided on the arm 51 on the swing end side.

The fixed clamp 13 is directly fixed to the arm 51, and the movable clamp 14 has the guide shaft 17 fixed to a support plate 54 provided to extend inside the arm 51, and slides on the guide shaft 17. It is movably mounted. The arm 51 has its fixed clamp 1
3 and the movable clamp 14 are positioned so as to be parallel to the fixed clamp 11 and the movable clamp 12 of the first tube holder 3.

A through hole 51 a is formed in the arm 51 and is supported by a guide 56. The through hole 51a and the guide 56 are provided in parallel with the axial direction of the tubes 1 and 2 held together. Each configuration of the tube connection device as described above is the same as that of the body 7 shown in FIG.
1 and a safety cover 72 attached to an opening on the upper surface of the body 71 when the tube is connected.

Next, the tube connecting operation in the tube connecting device having such a configuration will be described. In the tube connection device of the present embodiment, the two tubes 1 and 2 are clamped and held at two places, and after cutting between the two clamped points, the cut tube on one side is inverted and arranged alternately. The cut surface is pressed and welded. Therefore, the tube clamping operation will be described first based on the clamp mechanism on the first tube holder 3 side (see FIG. 1). When the tube is inserted, the plate cam 28 is lifted by the clamp cam 30 and its lead cam groove 32
The movable clamp 12 is retracted by the cam pin 31 guided to the fixed clamp 11 and the movable clamp 12 is in an open state. Therefore, the user arranges the two tubes 1 and 2 horizontally between the fixed clamp 11 and the movable clamp 12.

When the safety cover 72 shown in FIG. 2 is closed and the start switch (not shown) is pressed after the arrangement of the tubes 1 and 2 is completed, the clamp cam 30 rotates and the support shaft 25 is used as a fulcrum. The plate cam 28 swings downward, the movable clamp 12 is pushed out, and the tubes 1 and 2 are clamped. That is, the crank 24 from which the projection of the clamp cam 30 has come off is urged by the clamp spring 21 and swings counterclockwise. Therefore, the plate cam 28 swings downward, the cam pin 31 relatively moves up the lead cam groove 32, and the movable clamp 12 is pressed against the fixed clamp 11 via the cam pin 31 guided by the lead cam groove 32. Therefore, the movable clamp 12 and the fixed clamp 1
The two tubes 1 and 2 in between are overlapped and crushed into a flat shape.

Next, the clamped tubes 1 and 2
Is cut by the wafer 6. As shown in FIG. 3, one of the wafers 6 stored in the wafer cassette 81 is pushed out of the wafer 6 and hooked by the feed piece 82 moving in the X direction, and is sent into the holder 33.
The used wafer 6 is left in the holder 33 as it is, and the new wafer 6
Is loaded such that the used wafer 6 is pushed out of the holder 33. Then, the loaded wafer 6 is
The electrodes 34p, 34p come into contact with the terminals 6p, 6p, and the energized resistor generates heat to raise the temperature (about 300
° C), and the heat storage body 35 is further contacted to prepare for a rapid temperature drop during cutting.

Then, at a predetermined timing when the wafer 6 is sufficiently heated, the lever 4 is rotated by the rotating cutting cam 49.
6 swings upward with the support shaft 47 as a fulcrum, and swings upward through the pin 45 fitted to the end of the lever 46 so that the swing end of the arm 41 can be lifted (see FIG. 2). . Then, the wafer 6 in the holder 33 provided at the swinging end of the arm 41 is orthogonal to the tubes 1 and 2, and the tubes 1 and 2 are melted and cut by the heated wafer 6. Thus, the arm 4 that swings around the support shaft 42 as a fulcrum.
1, the holder 33 moves up and down, but since the distance from the fulcrum of the arm 41 is sufficiently long with respect to the moving distance of the holder 33, the wafer 7 moves substantially on a straight line.

The cut tubes 1 and 2 are connected to the first tube holder 3 and the second tube holder 4 with the wafer 6 interposed therebetween.
Separated by the side. Then, as the clamp rotor 5 provided on the first tube holder 3 rotates, the cutting tubes 1a and 2a slide on the surface of the wafer 6 and turn over as shown in FIG. Cutting tubes (1a and 2b, 2a and 1b) arranged alternately across the wafer 6
Then, when the wafer 6 is lowered, the joining mechanism brings the second tube holder 4 closer to the first tube holder 3 as described later, so that the melted cut surfaces are pressed and welded. .

At the time of tube joining, the cam follower 65 located on the concave surface 55a formed on the rotating joining cam 55
Moves on the convex surface 55b at a predetermined timing to the first tube holder 3 side. At this time, the reaction force received from the joining cam 55 acts to swing the lever 61 clockwise (see FIG. 3), but the spring 64 is transmitted to the support plate 62 without bending. Therefore, the force transmitted to the support plate 62 acts to swing the arm 51, and the second tube holder 4 approaches the first tube holder 3. Since the swing end of the arm 51 that is oscillated by the joining cam 55 is urged by the return spring 53, the cam follower 65 is moved by the joining cam 55.
Rolls without leaving the cam surface. Therefore, the moving distance of the second tube holder 4 is determined by the height difference between the concave surface 55a and the convex surface 55b of the cam follower 65.
Further, the arm 51 receiving the reaction force from the joining cam 55
Swings over a minute distance without swinging by the penetrated guide 56 (movement of the tube cut surface can be regarded as substantially linear movement).

Therefore, during normal operation, the cutting tubes 1a and 2a are inverted so as to slide on the surface of the wafer 6, as shown in FIG. The cut surfaces are pressed together and welded. When the holder 33 is retracted, the lever 46 swings downward by the rotation of the cutting cam 49 shown in FIG. 2, and at the same time, the arm 41 is pulled by the tension spring 43 and the holder 33 is lowered. Arm 41 swinging downward
Moves along the arm guide 44. Then, the tubes 9 and 10 connected alternately are taken out from the tube connecting device in which the clamps are released by the retreat of the movable clamps 12 and 14, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the tube connecting device having the above-described structure employs a direct pressure type in which the second tube holder 4 is moved by the reaction force received from the joining cam 55, so that even if the tube is pulled, The rotation of the joining cam 55 was directly converted to the movement of the second tube holder 4, thereby enabling reliable tube connection. Also, since the direct movement is obtained by the rotation of the joining cam 55, the load is not always applied as in the case of a spring, so that it is not necessary to change the design by increasing the rigidity of the constituent members and to reduce the size of the apparatus. It is also possible to make it. Further, since the second tube holder 4 is not a slide type but a swing type by the arm 51, the rigidity can be increased as compared with the slide type, and the tube cut surface can be prevented from swinging and accurate joining can be performed. became.

It should be noted that the tube connecting device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the joining cam 55 is an end face cam having unevenness formed on an end face, but a cam member having another configuration such as a lead cam or an eccentric cam may be used. The moving support member includes an arm 51.
Although the guide 56 is configured by the guide 56 which penetrates and supports the arm 51, the guide 56 is not always necessary, and may be a slide member as shown in the conventional example.

[0031]

According to the present invention, a flexible tube is held by a first tube holder and a second tube holder,
The tube is heated and melted and cut by a cutting plate having a heating resistor between the first tube holder and the second tube holder, and then the tube cut surfaces are pressed together to be welded and connected. A moving support member for movably supporting one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the axial direction of the held tube;
Since one or both of the tube holder and the second tube holder have a cam member having a cam surface for moving against the urging force of the urging member in a direction to shorten the distance between the two, it is simple. With such a configuration, it has become possible to provide a tube connecting device that reliably connects tubes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a clamp mechanism in an embodiment of a tube connection device.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a tube cutting mechanism in one embodiment of the tube connecting device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a cutting mechanism and a movement support mechanism of a second tube holder 4 according to an embodiment of the tube connection device.

FIG. 4 is a view on arrow A of FIG. 3 showing the movement support mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a view on arrow B of FIG. 3 showing a save mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a moving support member of the joining mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a clamped state of a tube in the tube connection device.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the tube is cut and inverted.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the tube after connection.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a conventional slide mechanism of the second tube holder 4.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 tube 3 first tube holder 4 second tube holder 5 clamp rotor 6 wafer 51 arm 53 return spring 55 joining cam 56 guide 61 lever 62 support plate 63 stopper 64 spring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B29L 23:00 (72) Inventor Masahiro Shimizu 1727, Tsukiji Arai, Showa-machi, Nakakoma-gun, Yamanashi 1 Inside Terumo Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heating resistor, wherein a flexible tube is held by a first tube holder and a second tube holder, and the tube is placed between the first tube holder and the second tube holder. A tube connecting device for connecting the tubes by pressing and welding the cut surfaces of the tubes after heating and melting by a cutting plate having a tube having the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the axial direction of the held tubes. A movable support member for movably supporting one or both, and one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder moved against the urging force of the urging member in a direction in which the distance between them is reduced. A tube connecting device, comprising: 2. The tube connection device according to claim 1, wherein the moving support member includes the first tube holder and the second tube holder.
One or both of the tube holders are provided at the swinging end, and an arm pivotally supported on the same plane so as to be able to move the held tube at the same height, and along the axial direction of the held tube. And a guide member through which the arm is supported. 3. The tube connection device according to claim 1, wherein the cam member is connected to one or both of the first tube holder and the second tube holder via an elastic member. A tube connecting device having a cam surface abutted.