JP2005206180A - Unstopping mechanism of specimen container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unstopping mechanism of a specimen container, which can further suppress contamination than ever before. <P>SOLUTION: The specimen container 1 is equipped with an unstopping cutter 3 for punching a lid part 2, and a cutter holder 4 to/from which the unstopping cutter 3 can be attached/detached; a supporting mechanism 8 of the lid part, which is punched when the container is unstopped, is provided in the cutter holder 4; the unstopping cutter 3 is attached to the cutter holder 4 so that the specimen container 1 can be unstopped; the lid part 2 is held by the supporting mechanism 8 of the lid part; the lid part 2 of the specimen container 1, which is held by the supporting mechanism 8 of the lid part, is separated from the supporting mechanism 8 after the container is unstopped; and the unstopping cutter 3, which is attached to the cutter holder 4, is replaced from the cutter holder 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an opening mechanism for a specimen container such as blood.

  A specimen for clinical examination such as blood is accommodated in a specimen container and sealed.

  As a conventional device for opening a sealed specimen container, there has been a device that can efficiently perform an opening process by eliminating a manual operation at risk of secondary infection (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  That is, the film portion of the stopper of the specimen container (such as a blood collection tube) is punched and opened by a heated metal cutter. Since the metal opening mechanism such as the cutter unit is sterilized at the same time by heating, it is possible to prevent contamination (contamination) at the next opening.

However, in recent years, the accuracy of testing equipment has improved, and even a trace amount of residual serum that should have been heat-sterilized will be detected as the next time, and contamination cannot be prevented sufficiently. there were.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-64688 (page 3, FIG. 1)

  Therefore, the present invention is intended to provide a specimen container opening mechanism that can suppress contamination as compared with the prior art.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

 (1) The specimen container opening mechanism of the present invention comprises an opening cutter for punching the lid of the specimen container, and a cutter holder to which the opening cutter can be attached and detached, and the lid being punched at the time of opening. Is provided on the cutter holder, and the specimen holder is opened by attaching an opening cutter to the cutter holder and the lid part is held by the lid support mechanism. The lid portion of the specimen container held by the container is detached, and the opening cutter attached to the cutter holder is replaced with the cutter holder.

  Since the opening mechanism of the specimen container is changed from the cutter holder to the opening cutter attached to it, it is replaced from the previous opening cutter that may cause contamination when the next specimen container is opened. Another opening cutter will be used.

  Further, after opening the lid, the lid of the specimen container held by the lid is removed from the support mechanism of the lid, and the opening cutter attached to the specimen holder is replaced from the cutter holder. And the opening cutter can be processed in separate steps instead of the same step in the work cycle, and the opening cutter and the lid portion of the opened specimen container can be separately collected.

  If the opening cutter is made of a synthetic resin, it can be mass-produced and manufactured at a low cost.

(2) A needle part (needle-like part) that pierces the lid part punched at the time of opening as a support mechanism for holding the lid part is provided in the cutter holder, and at the same time the specimen container is opened, the needle part is closed It is good also as having made the part stab and removing the cover part of the sample container stabbed by this from the needle part after opening.

  If comprised in this way, a cover part can be hold | maintained, preventing a clogging suitably by the needle part which punctures the cover part punched at the time of opening. In addition, after opening the lid, the lid of the specimen container stuck to the needle is removed from the needle, and the opening cutter attached to the specimen holder is replaced from the cutter holder. The opening cutter can be processed in a separate process instead of the same process in the work cycle, and the opening cutter and the lid of the opened specimen container can be separately collected.

  The needle portion can be formed of a synthetic resin or preferably a metal.

 (3) The needle portion may be capable of moving back and forth with respect to the cutter holder.

  With this configuration, when the lid of the specimen container stuck in the needle portion is removed from the needle portion after opening, the needle portion in which the specimen container lid portion is stuck is advanced from the cutter holder and the cutter is moved. The removal work can be performed in a state where the distance between the holder and the lid of the sample container is widened, and the workability is good.

 (4) A plurality of the cutter holders may be formed in series.

  If comprised in this way, the opening operation | work of several sample containers (for example, ten pieces) can be performed by the work process of 1 cycle with a multiple series (for example, 10 series) cutter holder, and it opens quickly. be able to.

 (5) The opening cutter of the present invention is used for exchanging the opening mechanism of the specimen container.

(6) The specimen container opening system of the present invention is programmed to open the specimen container using the specimen container opening mechanism.

  The present invention is configured as described above and has the following effects.

  When opening the next specimen container, another opening cutter replaced from the previous opening cutter that may be contaminated is used. Therefore, the opening of the specimen container that can suppress contamination more than before is possible. A mechanism can be provided.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the specimen container opening mechanism according to this embodiment includes a synthetic resin opening cutter (punch cutter) 3 for punching the lid 2 of the specimen container 1 such as a vacuum blood collection tube, and the like. The opening cutter 3 includes a metal cutter holder 4 that is detachable. The opening cutter 3 is made of a synthetic resin on which the blade portion 5 is formed, and can be mass-produced and manufactured at a low cost. The synthetic resin was molded using a polystyrene resin. The lid portion 2 of the sample container 1 includes an aluminum laminate film 6 and a rubber portion 7 fixed to the center thereof.

  Also, the cutter holder 4 is provided with a lid support mechanism 8 punched at the time of opening. As the support mechanism 8 that holds the lid portion 2, a needle-like needle portion (8) that pierces the lid portion 2 punched out at the time of opening is provided at the center in the circumferential direction of the cutter holder 4. The needle portion (8) is made of metal and can be advanced and retracted by the operating body 9 with respect to the cutter holder 4. The needle portion (8) can be replaced if it is damaged.

  And as shown in FIG. 1, the said cutter holder 4 which has the taper-shaped connection end 10 is lowered | hung, and it press-fits in the opening cutter 3, and is mounted | worn. After mounting, the cutter holder 4 is raised and moved upward of the sample container 1 as shown in FIG. In this state, the needle portion (8) protrudes beyond the cutting edge of the opening cutter 3.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cutter holder 4 is lowered to open the sample container 1 (at the same time), and the lid portion 2 is held (pierced) by the lid support mechanism (needle portion) 8.

  After opening, the cutter holder 4 is raised, moved to the separation position of the lid portion 2, and the operating portion 9 connected to the needle portion (8) is pressed to bring the needle portion (8) into the cutter holder 4. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lid portion 2 of the sample container 1 held (pierced) by the lid support mechanism (needle portion) 8 is removed (removed). That is, the needle portion (8) is inserted into the U-shaped groove 12 of the lid release plate 11 as shown in FIG. 4, and the operating body 9 is pulled out so that the lid portion 2 is caught in the U-shaped groove as shown in FIG. The needle part (8) is retracted with respect to the cutter holder 4 by pulling. Thus, the lid portion 2 is separated from the needle portion (8).

  Next, the cutter holder 4 is displaced laterally, moved to the separation position of the used opening cutter 3, and the opening cutter 3 attached to the cutter holder 4 is replaced. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the opening cutter 3 used in the U-shaped groove 14 of the cutter release plate 13 is hooked and the cutter holder 4 is raised. The opening cutter 3 is separated from the cutter holder 4. The lid 2 and the opening cutter 3 are separately collected. And it returns to the process of FIG. 1 and the next opening cutter 3 is mounted | worn.

  Next, the use state of the sample container opening mechanism of this embodiment will be described.

  In this specimen container opening mechanism, the opening cutter 3 attached to the cutter holder 4 is exchanged, and therefore the opening cutter before the next specimen container 1 may be contaminated. Therefore, there is an advantage that contamination can be suppressed as compared with the prior art.

  The opening and closing cutter 3 that has been separated and collected can be washed and reused. That is, the opening cutter 3 may be disposable every time, or may be washed after being separated and collected and reused a plurality of times.

  Further, after opening, the lid 2 of the specimen container 1 held (pierced) by the lid support mechanism (needle portion) 8 is detached (removed), and the cutter holder 4 is attached to the lid 2. The opening cutter 3 is exchanged, and the lid portion 2 and the opening cutter 3 of the sample container 1 can be processed in different processes instead of the same process in the work cycle. There is an advantage that the lid 2 of the opened specimen container 1 can be separately collected separately. Here, there exists an advantage that the cover part 2 can be hold | maintained by the needle part (8) which punctures the cover part 2 pierced at the time of opening a plug, preventing a clogging suitably.

Furthermore, the needle part (8) can be moved back and forth with respect to the cutter holder 4, and when the lid part 2 of the specimen container 1 held in the needle part (8) is removed from the needle part (8) after opening, the specimen The needle part (8) in which the lid part 2 of the container 1 is pierced is advanced from the cutter holder 4 so that the distance between the cutter holder 4 and the lid part 2 of the specimen container 1 is widened and removed. There is an advantage that workability is good.
(Embodiment 2)
Next, the second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the cutter holder 4 (see FIGS. 1 to 6) is formed in a plurality of series (for example, 10 series) (not shown), and a plurality of sample containers are opened in one cycle of the work process. The work can be performed all at once, and the opening work can be performed speedily. In addition, a shielding plate is provided between the opening cutters 3 to prevent splashes from splashing, so that the opening cutter 3 and the sample container can be covered from the surroundings. There is an advantage that even if serum or the like in the sample container is scattered, it can be shielded from surrounding sample containers.

  Contamination can be suppressed as compared with the conventional case, and can be applied to various uses for opening the specimen container.

In Embodiment 1 of this invention, the sectional side view which shows the process of mounting | wearing a cutter holder with an opening cutter. The sectional side view which shows the state which moved the cutter holder of FIG. 1 to the upper direction of the sample container. The sectional side view which shows the process of opening a sample container with the opening cutter of FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the needle portion of FIG. 3 has advanced with respect to the cutter holder. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a step of removing the lid from the needle part of FIG. 4. The sectional side view which shows the process of isolate | separating an opening cutter from the cutter holder of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sample container 2 Lid part 3 Opening cutter 4 Cutter holder 8 Support mechanism (needle part) of a lid part

Claims (6)

An opening cutter 3 for punching the lid portion 2 of the sample container 1 and a cutter holder 4 to which the opening cutter 3 can be attached and detached are provided, and a support mechanism 8 for the lid portion punched at the time of opening is the cutter holder. 4, the stopper holder 3 is attached to the cutter holder 4 to open the sample container 1, and the lid portion 2 is held by the lid support mechanism 8. An opening mechanism for a specimen container, wherein the lid portion 2 of the specimen container 1 held thereby is detached and the opening cutter 3 attached to the cutter holder 4 is replaced. As the support mechanism 8 for holding the lid portion 2, a needle portion that pierces the lid portion 2 punched at the time of opening is provided in the cutter holder 4. The specimen container opening mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lid part 2 of the specimen container 1 stabbed by the needle part is removed from the needle part after being pierced and opened. The specimen container opening mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the needle portion is movable back and forth with respect to the cutter holder 4. The specimen container opening mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the cutter holders 4 are formed in series. An opening cutter used for replacement of the opening mechanism of the specimen container according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. A sample container opening system programmed to open a sample container using the sample container opening mechanism according to claim 1.

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