JP2008302331A - Centrifugal separator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a centrifugal separator which secures high safety by surely locking a cover at two places by a lock mechanism driven by a motor, and is made small-sized and compact by reducing the installation space of the lock mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The centrifugal separator includes a rotor 2, a driving apparatus 4, a rotor rotation chamber 3, the cover 5 for opening and closing the rotor rotation chamber 3 and the lock mechanism 10 for locking the cover in a closed state. The lock mechanism 10 comprises the motor 12, a driving side hock 11a driven to rotate by the motor 12, a driven side hock 11b rotating integrally with the driving side hock 11a by being connected to the driving side hock 11a with a stay (connection member) 21. The stay 21 of the lock mechanism 10 is arranged at a position offset to the rotation center of both hocks 11a, 11b in the centrifugal separator having the cover 5 locked at two places by the driving side hock 11a and the driven side hock 11b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a centrifuge having a lid locking mechanism.

  A centrifuge is a device in which a rotor containing a sample is rotationally driven in a rotor rotation chamber to centrifuge the sample, but the opening of the rotor rotation chamber is opened and closed by a lid, and the rotor is rotating. The opening of the rotor rotation chamber is closed by a lid, and the lid is opened before and after the centrifugation for taking in and out of the sample.

  By the way, a centrifuge generally used in a laboratory or the like automatically locks a lid that closes an opening of a rotor rotating chamber so as not to touch the rotating rotor. As a method of locking the lid, there are a type in which it is simply hooked by a latch or the like, and a type in which a state in which the lid is closed is detected and a lock mechanism is automatically operated so that the lid is not opened manually.

  As for the driving method of the lock mechanism, there are a type in which the lid is latched by a reciprocating operation using an electromagnetic solenoid and a type in which a lid is pulled in using a motor (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Recently, even if the rotor breaks during rotation, safety considerations are increasing so that the fragments do not scatter outside the machine. In this respect, a motor-driven lock mechanism having a larger sealing force is advantageous. The lock mechanism plays an important role as a part related to the safety of the centrifuge, and its reliability is an important factor.
JP 2001-300350 A

  Conventionally, several lock mechanisms using a motor have been put into practical use. However, in many cases, a plurality of lids are locked due to the energy level of the rotor and the complexity of the destruction mode. Due to the relationship between the lock positions, the configuration in which independent motors are arranged in the respective lock mechanisms has a large cost burden.

  There is also a configuration in which two places are interlocked with a single motor and the lid is locked at two places, but the interlocking mechanism tends to be complicated. The rotor rotating chamber in which the rotor rotates usually has a cylindrical shape, and the linear connection connecting two or more places requires a large space in the centrifuge body depending on the arrangement of the lock mechanism. Tends to increase in size.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to secure high safety by securely locking the lid at two places by a lock mechanism driven by a motor. An object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal separator that can be reduced in size and size by reducing the installation space of the mechanism.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention includes a rotor that accommodates and rotates a sample, a drive device that rotationally drives the rotor, a rotor rotation chamber that accommodates the rotor, and the rotor rotation chamber. A lid that opens and closes, and a lock mechanism that locks the lid in a closed state;
The lock mechanism includes a motor, a drive side hook that is rotationally driven by the motor, and a driven side hook that is connected to the drive side hook by a connecting member and rotates integrally with the drive side hook. And a centrifuge that locks the lid in two places by engaging the driven hook with the locking member on the lid side,
The connecting member for connecting the driving side hook and the driven side hook of the locking mechanism is disposed at a position offset with respect to the center of rotation of both hooks.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the connecting member is disposed at a position offset to the opposite side of the rotor rotating chamber.

  According to the present invention, the connecting member that connects the driving side hook and the driven side hook of the lock mechanism is offset to the opposite side of the rotor rotating chamber with respect to the rotation center of both hooks while avoiding interference with the outer periphery of the rotor rotating chamber. If it is arranged at the position, the drive side hook and the driven side hook can be arranged close to the rotor rotating chamber side, the installation space of the lock mechanism can be reduced, and the centrifuge can be made compact and compact. .

  In addition, a single motor is used as a drive source of the lock mechanism, and the drive side hook is driven and rotated by the motor, and the rotation is transmitted to the driven side hook through the connecting member to simultaneously rotate the driven side hook. Since the opening and closing of the lid is locked by moving the lid, the lid can be securely locked with a simple configuration, and the safety of the centrifuge can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cutaway side view of a centrifuge according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cutaway plan view showing a lock mechanism portion of the centrifuge, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lock mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a main body 1 of a centrifuge 100 according to the present invention is provided with a rotor rotating chamber 3 that accommodates a rotor 2, and a driving device 4 for rotationally driving the rotor 2 below the rotor rotating chamber 3. Is arranged. An openable / closable lid 5 is provided above the rotor rotation chamber 3 so as to access the rotor rotation chamber 3 when a sample to be separated is taken in and out. One end of the lid 5 is rotated by a hinge 6. The upper surface opening of the rotor rotating chamber 3 can be opened and closed by pivoting the lid 5 up and down around the hinge 6.

  A pair of hook catches serving as receiving portions for locking the lid 5 are provided on both sides (both sides in the direction perpendicular to the sheet of FIG. 1) of the lower side of the lid 5 on the side where the lid 5 is opened and closed (the side opposite to the hinge 6) 7 is attached vertically, and the opening and closing of the lid 5 is locked by hooking the hook catch 7 with a pair of hooks 11 a and 11 b of the lock mechanism 10 provided in the main body 1.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the centrifuge body 1 is provided with a control device 8 and an operation panel 9, both of which are electrically connected.

  Here, the configuration of the lock mechanism 10 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of hooks 11 a and 11 b are spaced apart from each other at positions corresponding to the pair of hook catches 7 on the outer peripheral side of the rotor rotation chamber 3. It is driven by a single motor 12 shown in FIG. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the pair of hooks 11a and 11b is rotatably supported by shafts 14a and 14b on frames 13a and 13b attached to the main body 1 side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the motor 12 is horizontally installed at one end on the drive side, and a link shaft 16 and a disk-shaped disk plate 17 are bound to an output shaft (motor shaft) 15 thereof. One end of the link 18 is connected to the end of the link shaft 16 that is eccentric with respect to the axis of the motor shaft 15 by a pin 19, and the other end of the link 18 is connected to the shaft 14a of the drive side hook 11a. The pins 20 are connected to the eccentric positions. The drive side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b are connected to each other by a stay 21. The stay 21 is opposite to the rotor rotating chamber 3 with respect to the shafts 14a and 14b of the hooks 11a and 11b (FIG. 3). The two ends of the screw 22 are attached to the driving side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b at positions offset to the front side).

  As shown in FIG. 1, two notches 17 a are formed on the outer periphery of the disk plate 17, and the disk plate 17, that is, the motor output shaft 15 rotates around the disk plate 17. Photosensors 23 and 24 for optically detecting the position are arranged. The photosensors 23 and 24 are electrically connected to the control device 8 as shown in FIG.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, the shafts 14a and 14b of the drive side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b are coaxially arranged on a straight line substantially in contact with the outer periphery of the rotor rotating chamber 3. The stay 21 connecting the driven hook 11b avoids interference with the outer periphery of the rotor rotating chamber 3, and is opposite to the rotor rotating chamber 3 with respect to the shafts (rotation centers) 14a, 14b of the hooks 11a, 11b (see FIG. 2) (below 2). For this reason, at least the illustrated clearance δ is secured between the stay 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor rotating chamber 3, and the stay 21 is in the rotor rotating chamber in an angular range in which the stay 21 rotates together with the drive side hook 11a. 3 does not interfere with the outer periphery.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lid 5 is opened and closed by detecting the hook catch 7 at two locations on the main body 1 side corresponding to the pair of hook catches 7 attached to the lid 5. Lid sensors 25a and 25b for detection are provided, and these lid sensors 25a and 25b are electrically connected to the control device 8 (see FIG. 1).

  Next, the shape and operation of the drive side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b will be described with reference to FIGS.

  4 is a side view showing the shape of the drive side hook, FIG. 5 is a side view for explaining the action of the drive side hook, and FIG. 6 is a side view for explaining the operation of the driven side hook.

As shown in FIG. 4, an engagement claw 11a-1 is formed on the drive side hook 11a, and an inner diameter portion of the engagement claw 11a-1 (a contact portion with the engagement hole 7a of the hook catch 7) is formed. Is formed with a linear locking portion 11a-11 and an arcuate guide portion 11a-12 on the distal end side. Here, these latching | locking part 11a-11 and the guide part 11a-12 are connected smoothly, and the axis | shaft 14a (rotation center of the drive side hook 11a) of the latching | locking part 11a-11 and the guide part 11a-12 The distances from are set to L ₁ and L shown in the figure, respectively. Continuous maximum value L ₂ of a distance L from the axis 14a of the guide portion 11a-12 is set larger than L ₁ (L _2> L _1), the distance L from the maximum value L ₂ to a minimum value L ₁ Is changing. Incidentally, L ₁ represents a distance at the time of locking, L ₂ is the distance at the start retraction of the hook catch 7.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the engagement hook 11b-1 is also formed on the driven hook 11b, but the inner diameter portion of the engagement hook 11b-1 (contact with the engagement hole 7a of the hook catch 7). Part) is formed with only a linear locking part 11b-11, and no guide part corresponding to the guide part 11a-12 formed on the engaging claw 11a-1 of the drive side hook 11a is provided. Therefore, the length of the engaging claw 11b-1 of the driven side hook portion 11b is shorter than the engaging claw 11a-1 of the driving side hook 11a.

  Thus, in order to close the lid 5 that has been opened, the lid 5 is rotated downward about the number 6 and when the upper surface opening of the rotor rotation chamber 3 is closed by the lid 5, the lid 5 is attached to the lid 5. The paired hook catches 7 are detected by the lid sensors 25 a and 25 b, and the signals are transmitted to the control device 8. Then, the control device 8 drives and controls the motor 12 to start locking the lid 5 by the lock mechanism 10.

  That is, in the lock mechanism 10, when the motor 12 is driven and the motor shaft 15 is driven to rotate, the link shaft 16 and the disk plate 17 rotate together as a result of being connected to the motor shaft 15, and the rotation of the motor shaft 15. Is transmitted to the drive-side hook 11a via the link shaft 16 and the link 18, and the drive-side hook 11a rotates in the same direction (the direction of arrow a in FIG. 5). Since the rotation of the drive side hook 11a is transmitted to the driven side hook 11b via the stay 21, the driven side hook 11b is also rotated in the same direction (the direction of arrow a in FIG. 6).

  Then, the engaging claw 11a-1 of the driving side hook 11a engages with the engaging hole 7a of the hook catch 7. First, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 5, first, the guide portion 11a of the engaging claw 11a-1 is engaged. −12 begins to engage with the engagement hole 7 a of the hook catch 7. At this time, the engaging claw 11b-1 of the driven hook 11b is not yet engaged with the engaging hole 7a of the hook catch 7 as shown by the solid line in FIG.

When the drive side hook 11a is further rotated from the above state, the distance L from the axis 14a of the guide portion 11a-11 engagement pawl 11a-1 as described above continuously from the maximum value L ₂ to a minimum value L ₁ Therefore, the hook catch 7 with which the guide portion 11a-11 engages with the engagement hole 7a is drawn downward (in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5) by the engagement claw 11a-1, and the engagement claw 11a- When the hook catch 7 of the first hook catch 7 is engaged with the engagement hole 7a from the guide portion 11a-11 to the locking portion 11a-12, the pull-down of the hook catch 7 is completed. The pull-in amount is (L ₂ −L ₁ ).

  The lid 5 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the upper surface opening of the rotor rotating chamber 3 by pulling the catch hook 7 downward, and the driven hook catch 7 on the driven side is also attached to the lid 5. Similarly, the hook catch 7 on the side is pulled downward (in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 6).

  Then, the drive side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b are further rotated so that the engaging claws 11a-1 and 11b-1 of the hooks 11a and 11b are engaged with the hook catch as shown by broken lines in FIGS. When the engaging portions 11a-11 and 11b-11 of the engaging claws 11a-1 and 11b-1 are completely engaged with the engaging holes 7a of the hook catch, the lid 5 is locked. Is completed, and the lid 5 comes into close contact with the door packing 26 around the upper surface opening of the rotor rotating chamber 3.

  The rotational position of the motor shaft 15 is detected by optically detecting the position of the disk plate 17 by the photosensors 23 and 24, and the detection signal is input to the control device 8. Then, the control device 8 controls the drive of the motor 12 by estimating the position of the drive side hook 11 a based on the rotational position of the motor shaft 15. Further, the lock 5 is unlocked by the lock mechanism 10 by an operation on the operation panel 7.

  As described above, in the centrifugal separator 100 according to the present invention, the stay 21 that connects the driving side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b of the lock mechanism 10 is prevented from interfering with the outer periphery of the rotor rotating chamber 3 and the hooks 11a, 11b. The shafts 14a and 14b of the drive side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b are attached to the shafts (rotation centers) 14a and 14b at positions offset to the opposite side of the rotor rotation chamber 3 (downward in FIG. 2). Even when arranged on a straight line substantially in contact with the outer periphery of the rotor rotating chamber 3, at least the clearance δ shown in FIG. 2 is secured between the stay 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor rotating chamber 3, and the angle at which the stay 21 rotates. In the range, the stay 21 does not interfere with the outer periphery of the rotor rotating chamber 3. Therefore, the drive side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b can be arranged close to the rotor rotating chamber 3 side, and the installation space of the lock mechanism 10 can be reduced, and the centrifuge can be made compact and compact.

  Further, a single motor 12 is used as a drive source for the lock mechanism 10, and the drive side hook 11 a is driven by the motor 12 to rotate about the shaft 14 a, and the rotation is driven via the stay 21 and the driven side hook 11 b. Since the opening and closing of the lid 5 is locked by simultaneously rotating the driven side hook 11b, the lid 5 can be reliably locked with a simple configuration, and the safety of the centrifuge 100 can be improved. .

  And in this Embodiment, the guide part 11a-12 of the engaging claw 11a-1 of the drive side hook 11a directly driven by the motor 12 is engaged with the engaging hole 7a of the hook catch 7, and the hook catch 7 is attached. The lid 5 is drawn downward to bring the lid 5 into close contact with the door packing 26 at the periphery of the upper surface opening of the rotor rotation chamber 3, and the hook catch 7 is pulled in by only one drive side hook 11a and by the other driven side hook 11b. Therefore, it is not necessary to transmit a large driving force for pulling the hook catch 7 to the driven side hook 11b via the stay 21, and the torsional torque acting on the stay 21 can be kept small. Large strength and rigidity are not required, and the weight can be reduced. After the hook catch 7 is pulled by the driving side hook 11a, the lid 5 is securely locked at two places by the driving side hook 11a and the driven side hook 11b.

It is a fracture side view of the centrifuge concerning the present invention. It is a fracture | rupture top view which shows the locking mechanism part of the centrifuge which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of the locking mechanism of the centrifuge concerning the present invention. It is a side view which shows the shape of the drive side hook of the lock mechanism provided in the centrifuge which concerns on this invention. It is a side view explaining the effect | action of the drive side hook of the lock mechanism provided in the centrifuge which concerns on this invention. It is a side view explaining the effect | action of the driven side hook of the lock mechanism provided in the centrifuge which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Centrifuge body 2 Rotor 3 Rotor rotation chamber 4 Drive device 5 Lid 6 Number 7 Hook catch 7a Hook catch engagement hole 8 Control device 9 Operation panel 10 Lock mechanism 11a Drive side hook 11a-1 Drive side hook Joint claw 11a-11 Engagement claw locking part 11a-12 Engagement claw guide part 11b Driven side hook 11b-1 Engagement claw of driven side hook 11b-11 Engagement claw locking part 12 Motor 13a, 13b Frame 14a, 14b Shaft 15 Motor shaft 16 Link shaft 17 Disc plate 17a Notch of disc plate 18 Link 19, 20 Pin 21 Stay 22 Screw 23, 24 Photo sensor 25a, 25b Lid sensor 26 Door packing 100 Centrifuge

Claims (2)

A rotor that accommodates and rotates a sample, a driving device that rotationally drives the rotor, a rotor rotation chamber that accommodates the rotor, a lid that opens and closes the rotor rotation chamber, and a lock mechanism that locks the lid in a closed state With
The lock mechanism includes a motor, a drive side hook that is rotationally driven by the motor, and a driven side hook that is connected to the drive side hook by a connecting member and rotates integrally with the drive side hook. And a centrifuge that locks the lid in two places by engaging the driven hook with the locking member on the lid side,
The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member for connecting the driving side hook and the driven side hook of the locking mechanism is disposed at a position offset with respect to the rotation center of both hooks. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is disposed at a position offset to the opposite side of the rotor rotation chamber.

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