JP2014206443A - Test tube rack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a test tube rack ready for test tubes of different sizes.SOLUTION: A test tube rack 10 includes: a rack body 14 that includes housing portions 12 having a polygonal shape in cross-section for housing test tubes in upright attitude; and support adapters 16 that are disposed within the housing portions 12. The support adapters 16 include: base portions 24; and support pieces 26 that extend upward from the base portions 24 and support the test tubes from sides. The support pieces 26 are arranged at portions where a space between the polygonal shape of the cross-section of the housing portion 12 and an inscribed circle of the polygonal shape is wide, and have elasticity so that ends of the support pieces 26 can be deviated to the sides. By the deviation of the ends of the support pieces 26, the test tube rack can be ready for test tubes of different sizes.

Description

  The present invention relates to a test tube rack that accommodates and holds a test tube, and more particularly to its structure.

  In an automatic analyzer that analyzes a sample and a pretreatment device that performs pretreatment before analysis, a position for performing treatment on a sample or a container (test tube) containing the sample is determined for each treatment. The test tubes are sequentially conveyed to a position where predetermined processing is performed. At this time, in order to convey the test tube easily and stably, the test tube is accommodated in a rack and conveyed.

  The following Patent Document 1 shows a rack capable of holding a plurality of sample containers (test tubes). This rack is appropriately selected from a plurality of types of adapters (6, 7, 8) and inserted into a circular cross-section adapter insertion portion (9) provided in the sample rack main body (1), so that a plurality of types of sample containers ( 2, 3, 4). The reference numerals in parentheses above are reference numerals described in the corresponding document, and are not related to the reference numerals used in the description of the following embodiments.

JP 2010-78344 A

  The rack described in the above document requires a plurality of types of adapters, although the sample rack body is shared for a plurality of types of sample containers. In addition, there is a problem in that the adapter is inserted and the adapter insertion portion that accommodates each sample container has a circular cross section, which increases the production cost.

  An object of the present invention is to provide at least one of providing a test tube rack capable of handling a plurality of types of test tubes and providing a test tube rack having a low production cost.

  The test tube rack according to the present invention includes a rack body having a polygonal cross-section housing portion that accommodates the test tube in an upright state, and a support adapter that is disposed within the rack body housing portion and supports the test tube. The support adapter has a base and a support piece that extends upward from the base and supports the test tube from the side. The support piece is arranged in a portion where the interval between the polygon of the cross section of the accommodating portion and the inscribed circle of the polygon is wide, and has elasticity so that the tip of the support piece can be displaced laterally.

  By bending the support piece according to the thickness of the test tube, it is possible to cope with a plurality of types of test tubes having different thicknesses. In addition, by arranging the support piece in a portion where the interval between the polygon of the container section and the inscribed circle of the polygon is wide, the deflection amount of the support piece can be secured, and the diameter of the test tube is wider. It is possible to cope with a range. Further, by supporting the test tube with the tip of the support piece extending upward, the test tube can be supported at a relatively high position, and the test tube can be stabilized.

  Moreover, the cross-sectional shape of the accommodating part can be a square or a rectangle. The support piece can be arranged at the corner of the square or rectangle. By making the cross-sectional shape of the accommodating portion a square or a rectangle, it is not necessary to increase the accuracy required for the mold, and the cost is reduced. In addition, the amount of materials such as resin can be reduced.

  Further, the number of support pieces of the support adapter can be four. These four can be respectively located at the corners of the square or rectangular housing.

  Further, the base portion of the support adapter can be octagonal, and the four sides of the octagon that are not adjacent to each other can face the four sides of the rectangular or square cross-sectional shape of the housing portion. When the same shape is inserted into a rectangular or square hole, high dimensional accuracy is required. However, if it is an octagon, high accuracy is not required. Further, the four sides of the octagon face the four sides of the rectangle or square, respectively, so that the support adapter is reliably positioned.

  Moreover, the base part of a support adapter can be located adjacent to the bottom part of a accommodating part.

  By supporting the test tube with the elastic support piece extending above the support adapter, the difference in the diameter of the test tube can be absorbed by the deflection of the support piece, so that it can correspond to a plurality of types of test tubes having different diameters. The manufacturing cost of the rack main body can be reduced by making the cross section of the accommodating portion for accommodating the test tube a square or a rectangle.

It is a perspective view which shows the test tube rack which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a rack main body. It is a top view which shows a rack main body. It is sectional drawing which shows a rack main body. It is an upper perspective view which shows a support adapter. It is a downward perspective view which shows a support adapter. It is a top view which shows a support adapter. It is a top view which shows the state which mounted | wore the rack adapter with the support adapter. It is a figure for demonstrating arrangement | positioning of a support piece.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the test tube rack 10. The test tube rack 10 includes a rack body 14 having a housing portion 12 for housing a test tube, and a support adapter 16 disposed in the housing portion 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the test tube rack 10 is used with the opening of the accommodating portion 12 facing upward. The test tube is inserted from above through this opening. In the following description, the terms indicating the direction and direction such as up and down, side, and the like will be described as indicating the direction in the use state.

  In FIG. 1, the support adapter 16 is also shown alone. After the rack main body 14 and the support adapter 16 are separately manufactured, the support adapter 16 is inserted into the accommodating portion 12 of the rack main body 14 and attached to form the test tube rack 10. Both the rack body 14 and the support adapter 16 can be made of resin and can be produced by a method such as injection molding. The test tube rack 10 shown in the figure is provided with five accommodating portions 12 in a row, but the arrangement and number of the accommodating portions 12 are not limited thereto.

  2 to 4 show a schematic configuration of the rack body 14. 2 is a perspective view, FIG. 3 is a view (plan view) as viewed from above in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG.

  The rack main body 14 has a rectangular parallelepiped outline, and five accommodating portions 12 are arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction of the rectangular parallelepiped. The accommodating portion 12 is a space having a polygonal cross section in a cross section perpendicular to the vertical direction. The cross-sectional shape is a square in the illustrated example, but may be a rectangle. The opening 18 above the housing portion 12 (hereinafter referred to as the upper opening 18) is a polygon having the same cross-sectional shape. An opening 20 (hereinafter referred to as a side opening 20) is provided on one side of the side wall of the accommodating portion 12. Through the side opening 20, it is possible to read the amount of the sample in the accommodated test tube and the characters and codes written on the side surface of the test tube. The bottom portion 22 of the housing portion 12 has a mortar shape whose center is deeper than the periphery, and has a hole in the center. The hemispherical shape of the bottom of the test tube is fitted into this mortar shape, and the position of the test tube bottom is determined. The depth of the accommodating portion 12 is shallower than the length of any type of test tube to be inserted, and when the test tube is accommodated in the accommodating portion 12, the upper portion is above the opening of the accommodating portion.

  An engagement structure with a transport mechanism that transports the test tube rack 10 is provided below the housing portion 12. The test tube is transported to a position where a predetermined process of the pretreatment device or the automatic analyzer is performed in a state of being accommodated in the test tube rack 10, and when the process is completed, the test tube is transported again and a position where the next process is performed. Moved to.

  5 to 7 show a schematic configuration of the support adapter 16. FIG. 5 is a perspective view seen from above, FIG. 6 is a perspective view seen from below, and FIG. 7 is a view seen from directly above, that is, a plan view.

  The support adapter 16 has a base 24 and a support piece 26 extending upward from the base 24. The base 24 is substantially annular, and the axis of the ring shape coincides with the vertical direction. The outer shape of the base 24 in a plan view can be an octagon. The shape of the inner peripheral surface may be the same octagon as the outer shape, but the support adapter 16 is circular. The base 24 is provided with four support pieces 26 extending upward from the base. Cutouts 28 are provided at positions between the four support pieces 26 of the base 24. Of the four notches, one notch is larger than the other three, and this notch is represented by reference numeral 28a. The other three notches are represented by reference numeral 28b. The large cutout 28a is opposed to the side opening 20 when the support adapter 16 is attached to the rack body 14, and does not block the side opening 20. If the notch 28a is provided only at this position, the two support pieces 26 arranged adjacent to the cutout 28a are less rigid because the number of base members is reduced, and the difference in rigidity from the other two is large. Become. If the difference in rigidity between the support pieces is large, the deflection amount of each support piece will be different when the test tube is inserted. For this reason, there is a possibility that the test tube is tilted and supported. In order to reduce the difference in rigidity, notches 28b are provided at the other three locations. The cutout 28b may be the same size as the cutout 28a, but the support adapter 16 is made smaller than the cutout 28a in order to obtain strength near the base of the support piece 26. Providing the notches 28 at four locations also has the effect of suppressing variation in deformation near the roots of the support pieces 26 when the resin hardens in the manufacturing process. Engaging protrusions 30 are provided on two outer peripheral surfaces of the base 24, particularly on the opposite two surfaces. The engagement protrusion 30 engages with an engagement hole 32 provided on the side wall of the accommodating portion 12 of the rack body 14 to prevent the support adapter 16 from falling off the rack body 14.

  The four support pieces 26 are arranged at equal intervals and are positioned at the corners of the square of the cross section of the accommodating portion 12 as will be described later. Further, the support piece 26 is provided with a slight inclination so as to approach the inner side, that is, the opposite support piece 26 as it extends upward. An abutting convex portion 34 that abuts on the side surface of the test tube is provided on the inner surface of the tip. The abutting convex portion 34 has a gentle convex shape, and prevents the seal or the like stuck on the surface of the test tube from being damaged or peeled off. In particular, the surface 34a facing upward of the abutment convex portion 34 is inclined with respect to the insertion direction of the test tube, and when contacting the bottom of the test tube, it is pushed by the test tube to cause the support piece 26 to have a radius. A force to move outward in the direction works. Ribs 36 are provided along edges on both sides of the outer surface of the support piece 26. By providing the rib 36, the rigidity of the support piece 26, particularly the rigidity against torsion, is increased so that the support piece 26 can reliably support the test tube.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support adapter 16 is inserted and fixed in the accommodating portion 12 of the rack body 14 with the support piece 26 facing upward. As shown in FIG. 8, the support adapter 16 is inserted so that four non-adjacent sides of the octagon of the base 24 are in contact with the square side wall of the rack body accommodating portion 12. A cutout 28 is provided on each side of the base 24 that faces the side wall of the housing 12. In particular, the large cutout 28a has substantially the same width as the side opening 20 of the rack body, so that the opening range of the side opening 20 is not narrowed. The support piece 26 of the support adapter is positioned at a square corner of the rack body housing portion 12.

  The support adapter 16 is disposed in the housing portion 12 with the support piece 26 extending upward with the base portion 24 facing downward. Therefore, the contact protrusion 34 at the tip of the support piece 26 can support the test tube at a high position away from the bottom 22 of the housing portion. On the contrary, when the support piece is arranged so as to extend downward with the base portion facing up, the position for supporting the test tube is low, and becomes unstable compared to the case where it is supported at a high position. Further, in order to support at a high position when the base portion is up, the length of the support piece is shortened, but in this case, it is difficult to greatly displace the tip of the support piece to the side. In the case where the length of the support piece is short, if the displacement of the tip is increased, the local distortion of the support piece is increased, and the support piece is easily broken. On the other hand, the support piece 26 of the support adapter 16 of this embodiment can be increased in length, and the tip can be greatly displaced while reducing local distortion. Thereby, it can respond to the test tube from which thickness differs in a wider range. The base portion 24 is preferably disposed in the lower half of the housing portion 12, and more preferably disposed adjacent to the bottom portion 22. The tip of the support piece 26 is preferably located in the upper half range of the accommodating portion 12.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the accommodating portion 12 of the rack body 14 and its surroundings. A square inscribed circle 38 that is a cross-sectional shape of the accommodating portion 12 is indicated by a one-dot chain line. In the area 40 around the square corner of the housing portion, the distance between the inner wall of the housing portion and the inscribed circle 38 is wider than the vicinity of the contact point between the inner wall and the inscribed circle, and the support piece 26 is arranged corresponding to this portion. By disposing the support piece 26 at a position where the distance from the inner wall is wide, the support piece 26 can be greatly displaced backward and can be used for a thick test tube. Even if the accommodating portion 12 is a polygon other than a square or a rectangle, the interval between the corners of the polygon and the inscribed circle of the polygon is wide, and it is preferable to dispose a support piece here.

  As described above, the cross-sectional shape of the accommodating portion 12 of the rack body is square, whereas the base portion 24 of the support adapter 16 is octagonal. This facilitates the insertion of the support adapter 16 into the accommodating portion 12. When the support adapter 16 has the same shape as the housing portion 12 and fits into the housing portion 12, high dimensional accuracy is required for fitting the support adapter 12 of the rack body 14. In the support adapter 16, a portion corresponding to the corner of the square is eliminated so as to make a relief, so that the support adapter 16 can be easily inserted into the accommodating portion 12 without increasing the dimensional accuracy. Even if the accommodating portion has a polygonal cross-sectional shape other than a square, for the same purpose, the support adapter can have a shape in which a portion corresponding to a corner portion of the polygon is eliminated.

  Ribs 36 are provided on both side edges of the support piece 26 of the support adapter, thereby preventing the support piece 26 from being deformed so as to be twisted. When the support piece is pushed from the test tube, since the cross section of the test tube is circular, it can be deformed so as to escape laterally with respect to the direction in which the support piece is pushed. At this time, the support piece is deformed to be twisted. When such deformation occurs, the test tube cannot be properly supported. In the support adapter 16, by providing the support piece 26 with ribs 36, the support piece 26 is prevented from being deformed so as to be twisted. When the support piece 26 is pushed by the test tube, the support piece 26 is deformed radially outward. I am doing so. The ribs 36 are provided on the side edges of the support piece 26, and the central portion of the support piece 26 having a small contribution to the torsional rigidity is not thickened, so that the amount of material used can be reduced.

  By making the cross-sectional shape of the accommodating part 12 of the rack main body 14 square or rectangular, the shape of the mold is simplified and the dimensional accuracy can be lowered as compared with the case of being circular. In addition, in the case of a circle, a material such as resin is also required for the corner portion when it is square or rectangular, and the amount of material used increases, but the amount of material used is reduced by making it square or rectangular. can do.

  10 test tube racks, 12 housings, 14 rack bodies, 16 support adapters, 24 bases, 26 support pieces, 36 ribs.

Claims (5)

A rack body having a polygonal cross-section containing the test tube in an upright state; and
A support adapter that is disposed in the housing and includes a base and a support piece that extends upward from the base and supports the test tube from the side;
Have
The support piece is arranged in a portion where the interval between the polygon of the cross section of the accommodating portion and the inscribed circle of the polygon is wide, and has elasticity so that the tip of the support piece can be displaced laterally.
Test tube rack.   It is a test tube rack of Claim 1, Comprising: The cross-sectional shape of a accommodating part is square or a rectangle, A test piece is arrange | positioned at the corner | angular position of the said square or a rectangle.   The test tube rack according to claim 2, wherein the number of support pieces is four.   The test tube rack according to claim 3, wherein the base of the support adapter is an octagon, and the four sides of the octagon that are not adjacent to each other face the four sides of a rectangular or square cross-sectional shape of the housing portion. Tube rack.   It is a test tube rack of any one of Claims 1-4, Comprising: The base part of a support adapter is a test tube rack located in the bottom part of an accommodating part.

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