JP2014051341A - Airtight shutter mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airtight shutter mechanism which inhibits the deterioration of a seal member and maintains the air tightness of a sample storage.SOLUTION: An airtight shutter mechanism 100 includes: a carrier 110 which slides along a wall surface WS so that a shutter plate 152 overlaps with an opening region and is connected with the shutter plate 152 through a pair of hinge units; and a stopper 120 which restrains the movement of the shutter plate 152 when the carrier 110 is slid so that the shutter plate 152 overlaps with the opening region and is provided at a wall surface region WS-1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a hermetic shutter mechanism used, for example, in drug discovery, i.e., a sample repository for drug discovery in medicine, biotechnology and pharmacy.

In the field of drug discovery research, it is necessary to conduct experiments to analyze a large number of samples stored at low temperatures with high efficiency, so a storage system with a mechanism that can automatically take out a tray containing samples is proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In addition, in a drug storage for drug discovery, it is important for efficient experiments to maintain the hermeticity in the sample storage and prevent sample deterioration.
For this reason, the shutter mechanism 500 shown in FIGS. 15 to 22 may be used in a drug storage for drug discovery.
The shutter mechanism 500 shown in FIGS. 15 to 22 is arranged along the edge of the opening region OR formed in the wall surface WS of the wall W that partitions the external space and the internal space of the sample storage, that is, the window region for taking in and out the sample. The seal member 551, the carrier 510 that slides along the longitudinal direction of the guide 581, and the guide pin 582 moves with the carrier 510 along the guide groove 581A while being connected to the carrier 510 via the hinge portion 553. A shutter plate 552 is provided, and the seal member 551 and the shutter plate 552 are brought into close contact with each other to close the opening region OR to seal the internal space of the sample storage.

US Pat. No. 7,648,321

However, in the storage system described above, since the airtightness in the storage space is maintained by changing the size of the insulating partition provided between the storage space and the tray shuttle compartment, the storage space and the tray shuttle compartment There is a problem that it is difficult to maintain airtightness in the storage space when a gap is generated between the insulating partition and the insulating partition.
In the shutter mechanism 500 described above, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 22, the shutter plate 552 contacts the seal member 551 obliquely every time the shutter plate 510 is moved in the moving direction SD1 to close the opening region OR. There is a problem in that the seal member 551 deteriorates due to the friction between the seal member 551 and the shutter plate 552 and the airtightness in the sample storage cannot be maintained.

  Therefore, a technical problem to be solved by the present invention, that is, an object of the present invention is to provide an airtight shutter mechanism that suppresses deterioration of a seal member and maintains airtightness in a sample storage.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shutter plate is in close contact with a seal member extending along the edge of the opening region formed on the wall surface of the wall that partitions the internal space of the sample storage and the external space of the sample storage. And an airtight shutter mechanism for closing the opening region, wherein the carrier that slides along the wall surface so as to overlap the shutter plate on the opening region has at least a pair of front and rear hinges connected to the shutter plate. A stopper that is connected to the shutter plate via a pair of hinge units and restricts the movement of the shutter plate when the carrier is slid so as to overlap the shutter plate on the opening region extends to the back side of the opening region. The problem is solved by being provided in the wall surface region.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the airtight shutter mechanism according to the first aspect, a cam lever having one end abutting against a cam lever abutting portion fixedly installed on the carrier is provided at a side of the shutter plate. The pressing block that is supported by the fulcrum shaft fixed to the end face and pressed against the other end of the cam lever when the movement of the shutter plate is restricted is fixedly installed on the carrier, thereby solving the problem. Is.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an airtight shutter mechanism includes a shutter on a seal member extending along an edge of an opening region formed on a wall surface of a wall that mutually partitions an internal space of a sample storage and an external space of the sample storage. By closing the opening area by closely contacting the plate, not only can the internal space and external space of the sample storage be partitioned by the shutter plate, but also the following effects specific to the present invention can be achieved. It is.
That is, in the airtight shutter mechanism according to the first aspect of the invention, the carrier that slides along the wall surface so as to overlap the shutter plate in the opening region has a pair of at least a pair of front and rear hinge portions connected to the shutter plate. A stopper that is connected to the shutter plate via the hinge unit and restricts the movement of the shutter plate when the carrier is slid so as to overlap the shutter plate on the opening region is provided on the wall surface region extending to the back side of the opening region. The shutter plate and the seal member that are generated each time the shutter plate contacts the seal member vertically and closes the opening area in response to the tilting of the hinge portion caused by restricting the movement of the shutter plate along the wall surface. In order to reduce the friction between the two, the seal member is prevented from deteriorating and the air tightness in the sample storage is maintained. It is possible.

  According to the airtight shutter mechanism according to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect produced by the airtight shutter mechanism according to the first aspect, the cam lever having one end abutting against the cam lever abutting portion fixedly installed on the carrier includes: A pressing block supported by a fulcrum shaft fixed to the side end surface of the shutter plate and pressed against the other end of the cam lever when the movement of the shutter plate is restricted is fixedly installed on the carrier. In accordance with the pivoting movement of the cam lever, one end of the cam lever is pressed by the cam lever contact portion, and the pressing force from the fulcrum shaft toward the seal member acts on the shutter plate. It is possible to maintain the airtightness in the sample storage by increasing the adhesion of the sample.

The front view of the sample storage provided with the airtight shutter mechanism of this invention. II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The side view which looked at the airtight shutter mechanism of this invention from the A direction in FIG. The VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The operation | movement diagram which showed the operation | movement of the airtight shutter mechanism of this invention in order. The perspective view which expanded a part of the airtight shutter mechanism of this invention. The top view which showed the operation state of this invention before closing an opening area | region. IX-IX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the side view which looked at the airtight shutter mechanism of this invention from the B direction in FIG. 8, Comprising: The figure corresponding to the state where the opening area | region is not closed with the shutter board | plate. The top view which showed the operation state when closing an opening area | region. XII-XII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 12 is a side view of the airtight shutter mechanism according to the present invention as viewed from a direction B in FIG. 11, corresponding to a state in which an opening region is closed by a shutter plate. The conceptual diagram which showed the contact state of the shutter board | plate and seal member in this invention. The principal part perspective view of the conventional airtight shutter mechanism. The top view which showed the operation state of the conventional airtight shutter mechanism before closing an opening area | region. XVII-XVII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The side view which looked at the conventional airtight shutter mechanism from the B direction in FIG. The top view which showed the operation state of the conventional airtight shutter mechanism when the opening area | region was closed. XX-XX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The side view which looked at the conventional airtight shutter mechanism from the B direction in FIG. The conceptual diagram which showed the contact state of the conventional shutter board | plate and a sealing member.

  In the present invention, the carrier that slides along the wall surface so as to overlap the shutter plate in the opening region is connected to the shutter plate via a pair of hinge units each having at least a pair of front and rear hinge portions connected to the shutter plate. A stopper that restricts the movement of the shutter plate when the carrier is slid so that the shutter plate overlaps the opening region is provided on the wall surface region extending to the back side of the opening region, Any specific embodiment may be used as long as it reduces friction between the seal member and suppresses deterioration of the seal member to maintain airtightness in the sample storage. I do not care.

  For example, the movement of the shutter plate may be directly regulated by bringing the end surface of the shutter plate into contact with the stopper, or indirectly by bringing a member installed on the end surface of the shutter plate into contact with the stopper. It may be regulated.

Further, the “back side of the opening area” of the present invention refers to the front side of the opening area when the opening area is viewed along the moving direction of the shutter plate when closing the opening area with the shutter plate, that is, the closing direction of the opening area. Means the other side.
The hermetic shutter mechanism of the present invention may be used in a sample storage installed so that the opening area is along the vertical direction, or used in a sample storage installed so that the opening area is along the horizontal direction. May be.
When the hermetic shutter mechanism of the present invention is used in a sample storage that is installed so that the opening area is along the vertical direction, the “pair of hinge units” of the present invention is a “pair of upper and lower hinge units”.

[Example]
Hereinafter, an airtight shutter mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Here, FIG. 1 is a front view of a sample storage provided with an airtight shutter mechanism of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III, FIG. 4 is a side view of the airtight shutter mechanism of the present invention as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 6 is an operation diagram sequentially illustrating the operation of the hermetic shutter mechanism of the present invention, FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the hermetic shutter mechanism of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a view before closing the opening region. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a view of the airtight shutter mechanism of the present invention from the direction B in FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view corresponding to a state in which the opening area is not closed by the shutter plate. FIG. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 shows the airtight shutter mechanism of the present invention from the direction B in FIG. FIG. 14 is a side view corresponding to a state in which the opening area is closed by the shutter plate, and FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a contact state between the shutter plate and the seal member in the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the case where the hermetic shutter mechanism of the present invention is used in a sample storage installed so that the opening region is along the vertical direction is taken as an example.

2, 3, and 5, only the configuration of the sample storage wall and the configuration of the hermetic shutter mechanism arranged on the outside thereof are illustrated, and the detailed configuration of the sample storage is omitted.
Further, in FIG. 6, the process in which the shutter plate 152 approaches the surface of the wall W of the sample storage SW, that is, the wall surface WS in a state where the movement of the shutter plate 152 is restricted by the stopper 120 (a), (b). , (C), (d) in this order.
8 to 13, only the main components of the airtight shutter mechanism 100 are shown in a diagrammatically simplified state for convenience of explanation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 14, the airtight shutter mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment is used for the sample storage SW, and includes a carrier 110, a cam lever contact portion 111, a stopper 120, a cam lever 130, and a pressing force. Block 140, seal member 151, shutter plate 152, hinge unit 153U including a pair of front and rear hinges 153, 153, drive motor 161, pulleys 162A, 162B, 162C, 162D, 162E, 162F, drive motor belt 163, drive shaft 164, a driven shaft 165, a carrier belt 166, a stopper roller 167, a bearing unit 168, a cam roller 169, and a cam lever pin 171.
In this embodiment, the cam lever pin 171 is an example of the “fulcrum shaft” in the present invention.

The airtight shutter mechanism 100 has a shutter plate on a seal member 151 that extends along the edge of the opening region OR formed on the wall surface WS of the wall W that partitions the internal space of the sample storage SW and the external space of the sample storage SW. The opening area OR is closed by closely contacting 152.
Thereby, the internal space and the external space of the sample storage SW are partitioned by the shutter plate 152.

Here, the basic operation of the airtight shutter mechanism 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the pulley 162 </ b> B is driven by the drive motor belt 163 via the pulley 162 </ b> A driven by the output of the drive motor 161.
A drive shaft 164 connected to the pulleys 162B and 162C transmits the output of the drive motor 161 to the pulley 162C.
The pulley 162D is connected to a driven shaft 165 connected to the pulley 162C while being supported by the bearing unit 168.
Two carrier belts 166 and 166 are wound around pulleys 162C and 162E and pulleys 162D and 162F, respectively.
The two carrier belts 166 and 166 are configured to slide the pair of upper and lower carriers 110 and 110 in FIG. 1 along the belt driving direction in accordance with the respective driving.
The shutter plate 152 is connected to the carriers 110 and 110 via two hinge units 153U and 153U each including a pair of front and rear hinges 153 and 153.
For this reason, the shutter plate 152 moves in the moving directions SD1 and SD2 in FIG. 1 according to the output of the drive motor 161.

  The moving direction SD1 is the moving direction of the shutter plate 152 when closing the opening region OR, that is, the closing direction, and the moving direction SD2 is the moving direction of the shutter plate 152 when opening the opening region OR, that is, the opening direction.

Next, a specific configuration that is most characteristic of the above-described airtight shutter mechanism 100 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 6 to 14.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the airtight shutter mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment, the carrier 110 that slides along the wall surface WS so that the shutter plate 152 overlaps the opening region OR has at least a pair of front and rear connected to the shutter plate 152. It is connected to the shutter plate 152 via a pair of hinge units 153U and 153U having hinge portions 153 and 153, respectively.
In addition, the stopper 120 that restricts the movement of the shutter plate 152 when the carrier 110 is slid so that the shutter plate 152 is superimposed on the opening region OR is provided in the wall surface region WS-1 extending to the back side of the opening region OR. ing.
Thereby, in the airtight shutter mechanism 100, as shown in FIG. 6, the shutter plate 152 is shown in FIG. 14 in response to the fall of the hinge portion 153 caused by restricting the movement of the shutter plate 152 along the wall surface WS. In this manner, the contact is made vertically toward the seal member 151.

More specifically, first, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the shutter plate 152 moves according to the slide of the carrier 110 along the white arrow in FIGS. 8 to 10.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6, with the stopper roller 167 connected to the stopper side end surface of the shutter plate 152 in contact with the stopper 120, the moving direction SD1 shown in FIG. 1, that is, the white arrow in FIG. 6, the hinge portion 153 is driven in the clockwise direction in each of FIGS. 6A, 6 </ b> B, 6 </ b> C, and 6 </ b> D, that is, the arrow R in the drawing. It falls down along.
The interval between the shutter plate 152 and the wall surface WS becomes gradually narrower in the order of the interval Ta>Tb>Tc> Td in parallel with the tilt of the hinge portion 153.
For this reason, the shutter plate 152 approaches the seal member 151 in the order of FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D.

At this time, the trajectory along which the shutter plate 152 approaches the seal member 151 is roughly a trajectory along the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIGS.
In detail, as shown in FIG. 14, the trajectory along which the shutter plate 152 approaches the seal member 151 is along the arrow R in FIGS. 6A, 6 </ b> B, 6 </ b> C, and 6 </ b> D. It becomes vertical toward the seal member 151 in response to the tilt of the hinge portion 153 in the clockwise direction.
As a result, in the airtight shutter mechanism 100, as shown in FIG. 14, the shutter plate 152 contacts the seal member 151 perpendicularly.
As a result, friction between the shutter plate 152 and the seal member 151 that occurs each time the opening region OR is closed is reduced, so that deterioration of the seal member 151 is suppressed.
Of the two holes provided in the hinge portion 153, one hole provided on the upper side in each of FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D is formed as a long hole. Yes.
For this reason, the hinge part 153 can operate | move at the top dead center at the time of operation | movement of the hinge part 153. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the airtight shutter mechanism 100 of the present embodiment, the L-shaped cam lever 130 having one end 130 </ b> A in contact with the cam lever contact portion 111 fixedly installed on the carrier 110 is The shutter plate 152 is supported by a cam lever pin 171 fixed to the side end surface 152S.
The pressing block 140 that is pressed against the other end 130 </ b> B of the cam lever 130 when the movement of the shutter plate 152 is restricted is fixedly installed on the carrier 110.
More specifically, the cam lever abutting portion 111 has an L-shape composed of a support portion 111A fixed to the main body of the carrier 110 and a hook-shaped portion 111B extending from the support portion 111A toward the shutter plate 152. Have.
When the shutter plate 152 closes the opening region OR, the one end 130A of the cam lever 130 comes into contact with the inner surface of the hook-shaped portion 111B, that is, the surface of the both surfaces of the hook-shaped portion 111B that faces the one end 130A of the cam lever 130. .

Accordingly, one end 130A of the cam lever 130 is pressed by the cam lever contact portion 111 in accordance with the turning operation of the cam lever 130, and a pressing force F from the cam lever pin 171 toward the seal member 151 acts on the shutter plate 152.
That is, when the opening region OR is closed by the shutter plate 152, the one end 130 </ b> A of the cam lever 130 contacts the flange portion 111 </ b> B, so that the pressing force F converted from the thrust of the drive motor 161 acts on the shutter plate 152.
For this reason, the airtight shutter mechanism 100 of the present embodiment increases the adhesion between the shutter plate 152 and the seal member 151 in which deterioration is suppressed, and maintains the airtightness in the sample storage SW.

In the present embodiment, the lever ratio of the cam lever 130 shown in FIG. 6 may be changed by changing the ratio of the lengths of the two linear portions constituting the L-shaped cam lever 130.
The drive motor 161 shown in FIG. 4 acts on one end 130A of the cam lever 130 via the flange portion 111B shown in FIG.
The degree of amplification from the thrust of the drive motor 161 to the pressing force F can be adjusted according to the change in the lever ratio of the cam lever 130.
For this reason, the cam lever 130 can also strongly press the shutter plate 152 against the seal member 151 in accordance with the change in the lever ratio.

  In the airtight shutter mechanism 100 of the present embodiment thus obtained, the carrier 110 has a pair of hinge units 153U and 153U each having at least a pair of front and rear hinges 153 and 153 connected to the shutter plate 152. Since the stopper 120 is connected to the shutter plate 152 and is provided in the wall surface region WS-1 extending to the back side of the opening region OR, the space between the shutter plate 152 and the seal member 151 generated every time the opening region OR is closed. The effect is enormous, such as reducing the friction of the sealing member 151 and suppressing the deterioration of the seal member 151 to maintain the airtightness in the sample storage SW.

100, 500 ... Airtight shutter mechanism 110, 510 ... Carrier 111 ... Cam lever contact part 111A ... Cam lever contact part support part 111B ... Cam lever contact part 120 ... Stopper 130 ... Cam lever 130A ... One end of the cam lever 130B ... Other end of the cam lever 140 ... Pressing block 151, 551 ... Sealing member 152, 552 ... Shutter plate 152S .. Side end surfaces of shutter plate 153, 553 ... Hinge portion 153U ... Hinge unit 161 ... Drive motor 162A, 162B, 162C, 162D, 162E, 162F ... Pulley 163 ... For drive motor Belt 164... Drive shaft 165. Shaft 166 ... Carrier belt 167 ... Stopper roller 168 ... Bearing unit 169 ... Cam roller 171 ... Cam lever pin 581 ... Guide 581A ... Guide groove 582 ... Guide pin F-・ ・ Pressing force acting on the shutter plate SW ・ ・ ・ Sample storage W ・ ・ ・ Wall of sample storage WS ・ ・ ・ Wall surface of sample storage OR ・ ・ ・ Open area of sample storage WS-1 ・ ・ ・Wall surface area extending to the inner side of the opening area SD1 ... Direction of movement of the shutter plate when closing the opening area SD2 ... Direction of movement of the shutter plate when opening the opening area Ta, Tb, Tc, Td ... Shutter Interval between plate and wall surface R ・ ・ ・ Direction of hinge part falling

Claims (2)

An airtight shutter that closes the opening area by closely contacting a shutter plate with a seal member extending along an edge of the opening area formed on the wall surface of the wall that partitions the internal space of the sample storage area and the external space of the sample storage area In the mechanism,
A carrier that slides along the wall surface so as to overlap the shutter plate in the opening region is connected to the shutter plate via a pair of hinge units each having at least a pair of front and rear hinge portions connected to the shutter plate,
An airtight shutter, wherein a stopper for restricting movement of the shutter plate when the carrier is slid so as to overlap the shutter plate in the opening region is provided on a wall surface region extending to the back side of the opening region. mechanism. A cam lever having one end in contact with a cam lever contact portion fixedly installed on the carrier is supported by a fulcrum shaft fixed to a side end surface of the shutter plate,
The airtight shutter mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a pressing block that is pressed against the other end of the cam lever when the movement of the shutter plate is restricted is fixedly installed on the carrier.

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