JP2009268825A - Centrifugal separator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dispense with a rotary joint using a sliding seal member that has been hard to be provided at low cost with high quality. <P>SOLUTION: The centrifugal separator 1 is provided with: a rotor 4 that is rotated around a specific rotation shaft; and a rotation support mechanism 6 provided on the rotor 4 to support a centrifugal container 5 of a cylindrical form with one end closed for containing suspension fluid A to be centrifugally separated in such a way that its one end is directed radially outward to the rotation axial line, and that it is rotatable around the lengthwise axial line in the opposite direction to the rotor 4 synchronously with rotation of the rotor 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a centrifugal separator.

  Conventionally, a disposable centrifuge container for medical use that is connected to a tube that supplies and discharges liquid seals all the flow paths from the tube to the centrifuge container in order to keep the inside sterile, and the tube is used as a centrifuge container. It is necessary to centrifuge while connected. Normally, when the centrifugal operation is performed in such a state, in order to prevent the twisting of the tube due to the rotation of the rotor, a rotating joint using a sliding seal material is used in the middle of the tube.

  However, by rotating the rotor at a high speed in the rotary joint, wear of the sliding seal material and leakage due thereto, inflow of scrap material from the seal material into the flow path, alteration of the liquid in the flow path due to frictional heat, etc. There are issues with safety and quality. In addition, the structure around the rotary joint is likely to be complicated, and it becomes expensive when it is attempted to ensure the safety of the sealing material that comes into contact with the liquid. There is.

  On the other hand, there is provided a reagent container transport device and a stirring device provided with a mechanism for rotating the reagent container by rotating the power of the revolving rotary holder to the reagent container supported by the rotary holder and stirring the stored reagent. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.)

JP 2007-147658 A JP 2007-245000 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and eliminates the need for a rotary joint using a sliding seal material, which has been difficult to achieve with high quality and low cost, and has high safety and low cost. It aims at providing the centrifuge which can use a disposable centrifuge container.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The present invention relates to a rotor that is rotated around a predetermined rotation axis, and a cylindrical centrifuge container that is provided on the rotor and that has a closed end for containing a suspension to be centrifuged. Provided is a centrifugal separation device including a rotation support mechanism that supports a rotation in a direction opposite to the rotor around a longitudinal axis so as to be directed radially outward with respect to the axis and in synchronization with rotation of the rotor. To do.

  According to the present invention, the centrifuge container with a part of the tube connected to the outside of the rotor is attached to the rotor such that the closed end faces radially outward of the rotor. When rotated, the centrifugal force directed radially outward acts on the suspension held radially outward with respect to the rotation axis, and can be separated from the difference in density of the components. In this case, when the rotor is rotated, the centrifuge container is rotated around its longitudinal axis in the direction opposite to the rotation of the rotor in synchronization with the rotation of the rotor. When the centrifuge container is fixed to the rotor, the tube fixed to the centrifuge container is twisted due to the rotation of the rotor. The twisting of the tube can be offset by the rotation of.

  In other words, the tube is not twisted even if it is centrifuged using a centrifuge container with one end of the tube connected to the outside of the rotor, so that a rotary joint using a sliding seal material is not required. it can. Therefore, problems such as liquid leakage and frictional heat caused by using a rotating joint do not occur, the flow path and the centrifuge container can be made simple, and it is possible to safely centrifuge using a low-cost disposable container. it can.

  The present invention also includes a base, a rotor rotated with respect to the base, a cylindrical centrifuge container closed at one end for containing a suspension to be centrifuged, and the rotor, The centrifuge container is supported so that the one end is directed radially outward with respect to the rotation axis of the rotor and is rotatable about the longitudinal axis in the direction opposite to the rotor in synchronization with the rotation of the rotor. A centrifuge comprising a rotation support mechanism, and a flexible tube that is partially fixed to the base in the vicinity of the rotation axis, one end is fixed near the center of the opening of the centrifuge container, and supplies and discharges liquid. A separation device is provided.

In the said invention, the said rotation support mechanism may support the said centrifuge container rotatably.
In this way, when a centrifuge container with a tube connected to the outside of the rotor is set on the rotor and the rotor is rotated, a force that twists the tube in the rotation direction of the rotor is applied. When the tube tries to return torsion due to rigidity, the centrifugally supported container is rotated in the opposite direction to the rotation of the rotor in synchronization with the rotation of the rotor, so that the twisting of the tube is offset. Can do.
That is, by using a tube having a rigidity high enough to rotate the centrifuge container to be connected, the tube can be centrifuged without causing excessive twisting.

In the said invention, the said rotation support mechanism may be provided with the rotation drive means which rotationally drives the said centrifuge container with the rotation speed equal to the said rotor.
In this way, when the centrifuge container with the tube connected to the outside of the rotor is set on the rotor and the rotor is rotated, the centrifuge container is rotated at the same rotational speed as the rotor by the rotation driving means. It is rotated in the opposite direction. Thereby, the rotation around the longitudinal axis of the centrifuge container by the rotation driving means and the rotation around the longitudinal axis of the centrifuge container due to the rotation of the rotor cancel each other, and the tube can be centrifuged without causing twisting.

  In addition, in the case of a rotatable rotation support mechanism, it is necessary to use a tube having a rigidity that is high enough to rotate the centrifuge container. In this case, the centrifuge container is attached to the longitudinal axis regardless of the rigidity of the tube by the rotation drive means. Since it is rotated around, it can be centrifuged even if a soft tube with low rigidity is used.

In the said invention, the said rotation drive means may be provided with the power transmission part which transmits rotation of the said rotor to the said centrifuge container.
In this way, the rotor and the centrifuge container can be rotated by a single power source, and it is not necessary to add a power source for rotating the centrifuge container to the centrifuge device, thus simplifying the structure. Energy saving.

  According to the present invention, there is no need for a rotary joint using a sliding seal material that has been difficult to achieve with high quality and low cost, and a centrifugal disposable container for medical use that is safe and inexpensive can be used. There exists an effect that a separation device can be provided.

A centrifugal separator 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the centrifugal separator 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a rotor 4 that is rotated around a vertical axis by a motor 3 installed on a horizontal base 2, a rotor 4, and a centrifugal separator 1. And a rotation support mechanism 6 that rotatably supports the separation container 5 about its longitudinal axis.

  The rotation support mechanism 6 is, for example, disposed in a cylindrical cavity 7 provided inside the rotor 4 and inclined downward in the radial direction with respect to the vertical axis, and the centrifuge container 5 inserted into the cavity 7 is disposed in the rotation support mechanism 6. The inner wall of the cavity 7 is constituted by a ball bearing 8 that is rotatably supported around its longitudinal axis.

The operation of the centrifugal separator 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
In order to centrifuge the suspension A using the centrifuge 1 according to this embodiment, the centrifuge container 5 containing the suspension A is accommodated in the cavity 7 so as to be supported by the ball bearing 8. . When the motor 3 is actuated and the rotor 4 is rotated about its vertical axis, the centrifugal force directed radially outward acts on the suspension A held radially outward with respect to the vertical axis. The components in the liquid A are centrifuged by the difference in density.

  In this case, since the tube 9 is fixed to the base 2 at an intermediate position, when the rotor 4 is rotated, the tube 9 is twisted accordingly. Then, due to the elastic restoring force against the twisting of the tube 9, a rotational moment around the longitudinal axis is generated in the centrifuge container 5. Since the centrifuge container 5 is supported by the rotation support mechanism 6 so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis, the centrifuge container 5 is rotated in a direction to return twist. As a result, the twist of the tube 9 is reduced and the tube 9 is prevented from being twisted excessively.

  As described above, according to the centrifugal separator 1 according to the present embodiment, even if the centrifugal container 5 having the tube 9 fixed to the outside of the rotor 4 is used, the suspension is not generated in the tube 9 without excessive twisting. A can be centrifuged. Therefore, there is no need to use a rotary joint using a sliding seal material to prevent the tube 9 from being twisted, and it is possible to prevent inconveniences such as heat generation and liquid leakage due to the rotary joint being rotated at a high speed. There is.

Next, a centrifugal separator 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
The centrifuge device 1 according to the present embodiment is different from the centrifuge device 1 according to the first embodiment in the rotation support mechanism 6.

  In this embodiment, the rotation support mechanism 6 rotates the centrifuge container 5 in the opposite direction to the rotor 4 at the same rotational speed as the rotor 4 in synchronization with the rotation of the rotor 4 about the longitudinal axis thereof. A rotational drive mechanism for driving is provided. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation drive mechanism includes a power transmission unit that transmits the rotation of the rotor 4 to the centrifuge container 5.

  The power transmission unit includes, for example, a face gear 10A that is horizontally fixed on the base 2 so that the rotation axis coincides with the rotation axis of the rotor 4, a gear 10B that meshes vertically with the face gear 10A, and a gear 10B at one end. A first bevel gear 10C fixed to the other end of the shaft that is fixed and supported rotatably around the longitudinal axis by a bearing; and a bevel gear 10C that supports the outer periphery of the centrifuge container 5 along its circumferential direction. A second bevel gear 10D that meshes with the second bevel gear.

  Further, when the number of teeth of each of the gears 10A to 10D is 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, the speed transmission ratio is set to be 10a / 10b × 10c / 10d = 1. Thereby, the rotation speed of the rotor 4 and the rotation speed of the bevel gear 10D are made equal.

  According to the centrifugal separator 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, when the motor 3 is operated and the rotor 4 rotates, the gear 10B advances in the direction in which the rotor 4 rotates while meshing on the face gear 10A. The bevel gear 10C fixed to the tip of the shaft fixed to 10B rotates around the same axis as the gear 10B in the same direction. The bevel gear 10D that meshes with the bevel gear 10C rotates in the opposite direction to the bevel gear 10C, so that the centrifugal container 5 is rotated by transmitting the rotational motion in the direction opposite to the rotation of the rotor 4 at the same rotational speed as the rotor 4. be able to.

  That is, the rotation around the longitudinal axis of the centrifuge container 5 due to the rotation of the rotor 4 and the rotation around the longitudinal axis of the centrifuge container 5 due to the power transmission unit are offset, and the tube 9 is centrifuged without causing twisting. Can do. Further, since the centrifuge container 5 is rotated around the longitudinal axis regardless of the rigidity of the tube 9, there is an advantage that a soft tube 9 having low rigidity can be used. Further, since the rotor 4 and the centrifuge container 5 can be rotated by a single power source, it is not necessary to add a new power source for rotating the centrifuge container 5, and the structure of the centrifuge 1 is simplified. There is an advantage that energy saving can be achieved.

  In the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, two sets of rotation support mechanisms 6 may be provided on the rotor 4. In FIG. 3, although the base 2 and the motor 3 which are common with the centrifuge 1 which concerns on 1st or 2nd embodiment are provided, illustration is abbreviate | omitted.

In this case, two sets of rotation support mechanisms 6 are arranged one above the other, and tubes 9 attached to the openings of the centrifuge container 5 supported by each rotation support mechanism 6 are arranged one by one from the upper and lower sides of the rotor 4. Arrange to connect to.
By doing in this way, there exists an advantage that the two centrifuge containers 5 can be centrifuged simultaneously in the state which attached the tube 9 connected outside the rotor 4 to each centrifuge container 5. FIG.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, what provided the rotation transmission part as a rotation drive mechanism was illustrated, but it replaces with this, and the drive source which rotationally drives the centrifuge container 5 around the longitudinal axis within the cavity 7 of the rotor 4 May be provided in the rotor 4.
In the above embodiment, the centrifuge container 5 is supported in the cavity 7 of the rotor 4 so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis. Instead, the centrifugal container 5 is radially outward from the vertical axis of the rotor 4. For example, an arbitrary structure such as an arm may be supported so as to be rotatable around the longitudinal axis.

  In the first embodiment, the centrifuge container 5 is directly instructed by the ball bearing 8 provided in the cavity 7. In the second embodiment, the second bevel gear 10 </ b> D arranged in the cavity 7 is directly instructed to the centrifuge container 5. However, instead of this, the cylindrical holder is rotatably supported by the ball bearing 8, or the cylindrical holder is rotatably supported by the bevel gear 10D, and the centrifuge container 5 is inserted into the holder. It may be supported. By doing in this way, it is easy to replace the centrifuge container 5.

It is a whole lineblock diagram showing an example of centrifuge 1 concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a whole block diagram which shows an example of the centrifuge 1 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the centrifuge which provides two sets of rotation support mechanisms.

Explanation of symbols

A Suspension 1 Centrifugal device 2 Base 3 Motor 4 Rotor 5 Centrifugal container 6 Rotation support mechanism 7 Cavity 8 Ball bearing 9 Tube 10A Face gear (power transmission part)
10B Gear (Power transmission part)
10C 1st bevel gear (power transmission part)
10D 2nd bevel gear (power transmission part)

Claims (5)

A rotor rotated around a predetermined rotation axis;
A cylindrical centrifuge container provided at the rotor and containing a suspension to be centrifuged is closed so that the one end faces radially outward with respect to the rotation axis, and the rotor And a rotation support mechanism that supports the rotation around the longitudinal axis in a direction opposite to the rotor. Base and
A rotor rotated relative to the base;
A cylindrical centrifuge container closed at one end for containing the suspension to be centrifuged;
The centrifuge container is provided on the rotor, and the one end of the centrifuge container is opposite to the rotor around the longitudinal axis so that the one end is directed radially outward with respect to the rotation axis of the rotor and in synchronization with the rotation of the rotor. A rotation support mechanism for supporting the rotation in the direction;
A centrifuge provided with a flexible tube that is partially fixed to the base in the vicinity of the rotation axis, one end is fixed near the center of the opening of the centrifuge container, and supplies and discharges liquid.   The centrifuge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotation support mechanism rotatably supports the centrifuge container.   The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the rotation support mechanism includes a rotation driving unit that rotates the centrifuge container at a rotation speed equal to that of the rotor.   The centrifuge according to claim 4, wherein the rotation driving unit includes a power transmission unit that transmits the rotation of the rotor to the centrifuge container.

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