JP2005049224A - Oscillation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oscillation apparatus which eliminates the need to hold a container 2 only by an oscillation means 3 itself, employs the oscillation means 3 as a drive source, introduces a low-cost oscillation means 3, is ready for the container 2 having various kinds of external appearance, and permits a wide variety of oscillating operation with the mouth side of the container at the oscillation center, since a transfer means 1, which has been previously provided only for transfer, is provided with a function as a structure of the oscillation apparatus together with the oscillation means 3. <P>SOLUTION: When the oscillation means 3 is set movable, the bottom side of the container is set and held with a lateral-displacement-regulated gap, making it unable to stand by itself with respect to a receiving section 31 of the oscillation means 3, while the bottom side of the container is held with a gap by a holder 11 capable of moving vertically provided in the transfer means 1, allowing oscillation by the operation of the receiving section 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In the present invention, a container is shaken by a stirrer or the like provided in a transport process such as an analyzer or a dispensing device, and liquids such as specimens and test solutions in the container, powders and solids in the liquid are dissolved. The present invention relates to an oscillating device that performs mixing, mixing, stirring, and the like.

In general, in this type of dispensing device, the test solution is divided into small containers such as a plurality of test tubes and dispensed in a fixed amount, and then transported to an agitator equipped with the small container, set and swung to make the small container It is necessary to mix the specimen inside and the discharge liquid.
By the way, as a dispensing device equipped with a stirrer or the like, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-157750, a sample container (K64) that has finished a predetermined dispensing operation is used as a conveying device. A pair of horizontally and vertically movable robot gripping arms (K48, K48) provided is gripped by drive control, and transported and set to a stirrer (K20) is known.

However, the sample container (K64) used in this is an elongated tube like a test tube and a smooth bottom, and the agitator (K20) is also a container (K64) when it is movable. A so-called long cylindrical type is used, which is inserted into a holding hole (K78) provided to hold K64) to the vicinity of the mouth of the container (K64). That is, the holding hole (K78) has a depth and a cylinder diameter adapted to the shape and length of the sample container (K64), and the agitator (K20) holds the sample container (K64) in its own holding hole ( K78) was swung while being held.
In addition, the symbol (K) attached | subjected with the said code | symbol shows that it is a code | symbol described in the said gazette.

Therefore, the container that can be used in the dispensing apparatus is restricted by the adopted stirrer, or the stirrer is selected to be suitable for the adopted container or manufactured exclusively (Patent Document 2, 5), and the container and the stirrer must be used in a paired relationship with each other, while the container handled by the dispensing device is not only a test tube type but also a bottle There are various shapes including outer diameters and heights including molds and the like, and when a stirrer is employed, a plurality of containers having different shapes cannot be handled and there is a problem of lack of versatility.
JP 05-157750 A JP 2001-169771 A

  The present invention was devised to eliminate the above-described problems, and includes a swinging means in the transporting process, but the transporting means has not only a container transporting function but also a holding body. While it is possible to have a function of holding the container mouth side with positioning adapted to the container length by raising and lowering the container, the rocking means does not need to hold the container only by itself, and the container bottom by the receiving part Therefore, even if the container has various external shapes such as outer diameter (thickness) and length, it may be held in the same conveying process or inherently. In addition to being able to be used for various dispensing devices that adopt this type of container shape, the receiving part has been reduced from a low speed to a high speed, and from a small horizontal swing width to a large one in addition to a small one. Up and down To such, and to provide an oscillating device which can makes it possible to swing operation rich of the container opening side variation was rocking center.

The technical means employed by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problem is that the container is gripped by a liftable body provided in the transporting means, and the container is transported from a predetermined position to a swinging means such as a stirrer. An oscillating device for mixing and stirring the liquid in the container by moving the oscillating means, the oscillating device being provided in the oscillating means so as to be oscillated, and being set when the oscillating means is movable. The container includes a receiving portion for placing and holding the container so that it cannot stand independently, and a holding body that can be moved up and down on the transfer means and holds the container in a self-supporting manner. Each side is movably held by the receiving portion and the holding body, and is configured to swing by the operation of the receiving portion.

The swinging device of the present invention is provided with a container that is transported to the swinging means by the transporting means so as to be swingable on the swinging means, and a receiving portion that mounts and holds the container set when the container is movable so that it cannot stand by itself. And a holding body that can be moved up and down in the conveying means and holds the container in a free-standing manner, and can freely move the bottom side and the mouth side of the container by the receiving part and the holding body, respectively. Since the holding means is configured to swing by the operation of the receiving portion, the transfer means includes a swinging means in the transfer process, but the transfer means not only has a container transfer function but also a container by raising and lowering the holding body. While it is possible to provide the function of holding the container mouth side with positioning suitable for the length, the swinging means does not need to hold the container only by itself, and the lateral displacement of the container bottom by the receiving part is eliminated. Regulated Therefore, even if the container has different external shapes such as outer diameter (thickness) and length, it can be used in the same conveying process or inherently. Not only can it be used in various dispensing devices that use container shapes, but the receiving part can be moved from low speed to high speed, from a small horizontal swing width to a large one, and in addition to a small vertical movement. For example, it is possible to perform a swing operation rich in variations with the container mouth side as the swing center.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A rocking device illustrating an embodiment of the present invention as a preferred embodiment will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a gripping body provided in the conveying means, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a rocking device.
As shown in the figure, 1 is a conveying means provided next to a dispensing mechanism (not shown) that is arbitrarily controlled in the front and rear, left and right, and up and down (XYZ axes) directions provided in the dispensing device, The transport means 1 includes a liftable gripper 11 that grips the container 2. The sample-containing container 2 accommodated in a predetermined container rack is set on a dispensing table, and a test solution sucked by a needle is supplied. After the arbitrary dispensing operation such as discharging, the operation is controlled arbitrarily in the XYZ axial directions in the same manner as the dispensing mechanism so that it is transported to the swinging means 3 and set in the receiving portion 31 provided in the swinging means 3. The

The gripping body 11 is slidably fitted in the central direction of the cylindrical casing 12 and is arranged at three equal T-shaped actuating members 111, 111, 111 on the lower surface of the actuating member 111. Each is composed of inverted L-shaped gripping arms 11a, 11b, and 11c that extend downward. FIG. 1 (A) shows the operating state of the gripping arm 11a, and FIG. 1 (C) shows the gripping arms 11a, 11b, 11c located in FIG. The gripping arms 11a, 11b, and 11c are moved toward and away from each other in synchronism from three directions within a predetermined stroke (about 15 mm) in conjunction with an operating member 111 that moves forward and backward by air control flowing into the casing 12. It is configured to
As a result, the gripping arms 11a, 11b, and 11c are moved downward from the standby state in which the mouth of the container 2 has a diameter of about 12 to 35 mm and is slightly expanded (about 3 mm) from the arbitrary diameter. In addition, the mouth portion of the container 2 is fitted and gripped from above. The width of the slide stroke can be arbitrarily set by appropriately changing components such as the gripping body 11 and the casing 12.

The swinging means 3 is a stirrer having a function of swinging the receiving portion 31 pivotally supported by a rotating shaft 32 rotating by an eccentric shaft structure as a swinging pedestal in a plane by front-rear or left-right or front-rear, left-right circular motion, Arbitrary oscillating devices (mixer in this embodiment) such as a mixer (mixer) and a vibrator are adopted, and switches provided in advance in the mixer and the like are disconnected, and the switch is turned on and off by a control mechanism. Is automatically controlled.
When the receiving portion 31 is displaced with respect to the proper conveyance set position of the container 2 when the operation is stopped due to the eccentric shaft structure, the receiving portion 31 is not provided for the positioning means in the swinging means 3 itself. Displacement is corrected by providing a separate positioning means that pushes in three directions.

  The receiving portion 31 is provided with a circular concave receiving groove 311 formed with a depth to hold the bottom of the container 2 in a state in which the container 2 set at least when it is movable cannot be held by itself. As shown in FIG. 2, a conical groove 312 is formed on the bottom surface of the receiving groove 311. FIG. 2 (A) shows a test tube type container 2a having a curved bottom, and FIG. 2 (B) shows a state in which a bottle type container 2b having a flat bottom is set in a receiving part 31 as a container 2 of a different shape. The bottoms of both the containers 2a and 2b are placed on the inclined surface of the conical groove 312 so that the containers 2a and 2b are positioned and held in a state in which the lateral displacement is restricted. The formation of the conical groove 312 is optional including necessity, and the receiving groove 311 is formed as a cylindrical groove, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of standing pieces may be provided. It is sufficient that the movement of the container bottom is restricted.

On the other hand, the container 2 transported and set on the receiving portion 31 while being held by the holding body 11 functions as a holding body that holds the holding arms 11a, 11b, and 11c on the container mouth side. The conical groove 312 is released by holding (opening) slightly (approximately 3 mm) away from the container mouth and releasing the grip, and holding it loosely in a swingable standby posture where it can be lifted slightly as necessary. Is held on the inclined surface in a play state.
At that time, depending on the type of the container 2 placed on the receiving portion 31, in the case of the container 2a, the container 2 cannot stand on its own without swinging the receiving portion 31. In the case of the container 2b being held and the container 2b being in a state where the receiving part 31 is not rocked, the container mouth is not held by the gripper 11, but at the time of rocking, Becomes independence and the container mouth is held.
In the present embodiment, the holding body 11 is also used as a holding body for holding the outside of the container mouth portion. However, a separate rod body that can be moved up and down to hold the inside of the container mouth portion is loosely inserted. A holding body may be provided. At that time, it is desirable that the holding body be of a variable type so as to hold the holding body with an optimum interval with respect to the inner diameter of the mouth of the container to be used.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the state in which the container 2a is swung. As shown in the figure, the oscillating device is provided on the oscillating means 3 so as to be able to oscillate. The gripping body 11 is provided so as to be able to move up and down, and functions as a holding body that holds the container 2 in a self-supporting manner. When the swinging means 3 is driven, the receiving portion 31 is rotated and swung by a plane motion. As a result, the container 2a is slidably mounted and held on the inclined surface of the conical groove 312 at the bottom side, and the mouth side is loosely fitted and held as a free end that can be freely moved by the gripping arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. Swing with. That is, the container 2a has a moving end side that rotates largely according to the operation of the receiving portion 31 as a bottom side thereof, and a swing center of the container 2a that has a mouth side as a supporting end side that rotates slightly by loose fitting support of the gripping body 11. Is located on the container mouth side, and freely swings with a substantially conical locus having a large lower side and a small upper side.
Since the bottom of the container 2a has a circular shape, the contact surface is displaced in a state where the circular bottom slides on the inclined surface of the conical groove 312 according to the operation of the receiving portion 31, and the receiving portion 31 moves in a circular motion. Regardless of the elliptical or linear motion, the container 2a is accompanied by a slight vertical amplitude even if it is a plane swing, and the center of the swing can be given a three-dimensional swing that fluctuates up and down. In the case of the container 2b having a flat bottom, the manner of contact with the inclined surface is different, but the operation is substantially the same. Further, when the bottom surface of the receiving groove 311 is a flat surface (concave groove) that does not form the conical groove 312, a groove shape that can be held loosely with a predetermined lateral displacement restriction clearance that conforms to the rocking width and the shape of the container; The shape of the receiving groove 311 is not limited to a circular shape, and may be a polygonal shape.

In the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, in the predetermined dispensing step, the container 2 is now oscillated by being conveyed and set by the conveying means 1 to the oscillating means 3. The oscillating device in the invention pays attention to the existence of the conveying means 1, and the conveying means 1 is configured to function as a structure of the oscillating device together with the oscillating means 3 in addition to the conveying function. The rocking means 3 is configured as a set.
In other words, the present swinging device is configured such that the container 2 transported to the swinging means 3 by the transporting means 1 is placed on the bottom side of the container so that it cannot stand on its own with respect to the receiving part 31 when the swinging means 3 is moved. On the container mouth side, while being placed and held in a state where the gap is restricted, it is held loosely by a gripper 11 as a lifting body that can be moved up and down provided on the transport means 1, and the bottom side and the mouth side of the container 2 Since the container 2 is configured to swing by the operation of the receiving portion 31, for example, when the receiving portion 31 is rotated, the container 2 is moved so as to pivot significantly on the bottom side accordingly. It is an end side, and the mouth side is a pivot end side that pivots small by the loose support of the gripping body 11, and the center of swinging of the container 2 is located on the container mouth side, and the lower side is large and the upper side is small. Can swing freely with a conical trajectory

  As a result, while the swinging means 3 is provided in the transport process, the transport means 1 not only has the function of transporting the container 2 but also positioning suitable for the container length by raising and lowering the holding body (gripping body 11). However, the swinging means 3 does not need to hold the container 2 only by itself, and the lateral displacement of the bottom of the container by the receiving portion 31 is simply restricted. It is possible to use various types of inexpensive swinging equipment as a drive source without introducing a dedicated one. Accordingly, even if the container 2 has different appearance shapes such as the outer diameter (thickness) and length, various dispensing devices or the like in which the unique container shape is adopted during the same conveying process or the like. In addition, the container 31 can be moved up and down by moving the receiving part 31 from low speed to high speed, from a small horizontal swing width to a large one, and by moving it up and down. This makes it possible to perform rocking operation rich in variations.

Further, the holding body 11 is configured to be used as the holding body by holding the mouth side of the container 2 in a loose state in the released state of the holding, so that it is not necessary to separately provide a holding body and is provided. This can be done by controlling the raising and lowering and gripping operations of the gripping body 11 by using the function of the transport means 1, so that the introduction cost of the holding body can be made unnecessary.
That is, the gripping body 11 is composed of gripping arms 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c that grip the mouth side surface of the container 2 from three directions, and the receiving portion 31 has an eccentric shaft on the rotary shaft 32. Since the center of swinging of the container 2 is positioned on the container mouth side, the container mouth side is rocked in a loosely held state as a freely movable free end. Even when the receiving part 31 is started by a circular movement or by a plane swing in the case of an ellipse or a linear movement, it is accompanied by a fine vertical movement that causes the swing center of the container 2 to be displaced up and down. Not only can the three-dimensional rocking be applied, but the receiving part 31 itself can be operated with a small vertical rocking motion. Stirring, dissolution, mixing, etc. It can be carried out.
Further, by rotating and swinging the receiving portion 31, the liquid in the container 2 can be controlled by the flow behavior that generates a vortex, and the mixing of the liquid in the container can be performed without using a stirring bar or the like. Can be done.

In addition, since the receiving portion 31 is formed in a concave receiving groove 311 that holds the container bottom portion in a playful manner, the bottom portion of the container 2 can be laterally restricted with a predetermined clearance by the inner wall of the receiving groove 311. The container 2 can be swung with an inclination angle following the operation of the receiving portion 31.
Moreover, since the conical groove 312 is formed on the bottom surface of the receiving groove 311, the receiving groove 31 is placed on the inclined surface (inner wall) in a state in which the lateral displacement is restricted when the receiving portion 31 swings such as circular motion. Even when the test tube type container 2a having a spherical bottom is used, the displacement width and sliding state associated with the circular motion of the receiving portion 31 can be reduced, and the curved bottom and the inclined surface of the conical groove 312 can be reduced. Even in the case where the bottle-shaped container 2b having a flat bottom portion is used in a good contact state, it is possible to hold the gap with a good contact state between the corner portion of the bottom portion and the inclined surface of the conical groove 312.

It is a schematic diagram of the holding body provided in the conveying means, (A) is a front view, (B) is a bottom view, (C) is a state where the holding arms located in (B) are close to each other and separated from each other Illustration. It is a schematic diagram of a rocking | fluctuation apparatus, (A) is the state figure which set the test tube type container, (B) is the state figure which set the bottle type container. Explanatory drawing which shows the rocking | fluctuation state of a container.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance means 11 Grasping body 11a, 11b, 11c Grasping arm 111 Actuating member 12 Casing 2 Container 3 Oscillating means 31 Receiving part 311 Receiving groove 312 Conical groove 32 Rotating shaft

Claims (7)

The container is gripped by a lifting body that can be moved up and down provided in the transport means, and the container is transported and set from a predetermined position to a rocking means such as a stirrer, and the liquid in the container is mixed and stirred by moving the rocking means. The swinging device is provided swingably on the swinging means, and the receiving unit for placing and holding the set container so as not to stand by itself when moving, and the transport The container is configured to be movable up and down, and includes a holding body that holds the container in a free-standing manner, and holds the container movably on the container bottom side and the mouth side by the receiving part and the holding body, respectively. A swaying device characterized by being configured to sway by the operation of a caulking and receiving part. 2. The swinging device according to claim 1, wherein the holding body is configured to be used as the holding body by holding the mouth side of the container loosely in a released state of holding. The swing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gripping body includes a gripping arm that grips the mouth side of the container from three directions. 4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion is eccentrically supported by a rotating shaft and is swung in a planar direction, and the swing center of the container is positioned on the container mouth side. A swing device characterized by the above. 5. The oscillating device according to claim 4, wherein the receiving portion is oscillated and oscillated to vortex the liquid in the container. 6. The swinging device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion is formed in a concave receiving groove that holds the bottom of the container loosely. The swing device according to claim 6, wherein the receiving groove has a bottom surface formed in a conical groove.