JP2014206462A - Test tube sealing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealing device capable of reliably sealing a mouth of a test tube including a remainder of a test substance after dispensation.SOLUTION: A pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12, one surface of which is provided with an adhesive, is fed to a sealing station 18 by upstream-side and downstream-side feed rollers 22 and 24. The pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 is pressed against the mouth of a test tube 28 by a pressure pad 34. A part of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 including a part that covers the mouth of the test tube 28 is cut out from the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 by a cylindrical clipping blade 36. However, the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 after the cut-out is still connected and retains such a state as being bridged over the upstream-side and downstream-side feed rollers 22 and 24, thereby sealing a next test tube without newly performing a bridging operation.

Description

  The present invention relates to a test tube sealing device for sealing a mouth of a test tube in which a specimen remains after dispensing.

  2. Description of the Related Art There are known an automatic analyzer that analyzes a sample such as collected blood and a pretreatment device that performs pretreatment on a sample and a test tube that contains the sample before analysis by the automatic analyzer. In the pretreatment device, for example, a dispensing operation is performed in which a predetermined amount of specimen is acquired from one test tube (parent test tube) and transferred to another test tube (child test tube). When preserving the sample remaining in the parent test tube after dispensing, it is necessary to close the mouth of the parent test tube to prevent the sample from spilling and to prevent contamination by foreign substances.

  Patent Document 1 below describes an apparatus for sealing the mouth of a test container (1) with a film (2). In this apparatus, the film (2) is unwound from the roll (7) by the film stretching mechanism (6) and is stretched along the test container (1) arranged in the test tube container stand (4). After the film (2) is welded to the mouths of the plurality of test containers (1), the rear end of the film (2) is cut by the film cutter (13) (see paragraphs 0019-0021). Note that the reference numerals with the above parentheses are those used in the following Patent Document 1, and are not related to the reference numerals used in the description of the invention of the present application.

JP-A-10-68372

  In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to repeatedly cut a film and to grip the end of the film with a film stretching mechanism each time the film is cut. Since the film is thin and wound, the position of the tip is not stable, and it is difficult to securely grip the tip.

  An object of the present invention is to facilitate handling of a film (tape) that seals a mouth of a test container (test tube).

  A test tube sealing device according to the present invention includes a tape supply device that supplies an adhesive tape, a pressing pad that presses the supplied adhesive tape against the mouth of the test tube, and a portion that covers the mouth of the test tube from the adhesive tape. A cutting blade for cutting out a portion including the cutting portion.

  By cutting out the portion covering the mouth of the test tube from the adhesive tape, the state where the adhesive tape is connected without being cut is maintained even after the cutting. Therefore, it is not necessary to hold the adhesive tape again after sealing the test tube.

  Furthermore, the test tube sealing device according to the present invention has a tension roller that applies force to the adhesive tape in a direction intersecting the surface thereof, and a tension adjusting device that monitors the tape state and adjusts the tension. The tape supply device can include a tension roller, a tension adjusting device, an upstream feed roller and a downstream feed roller, which are disposed upstream and downstream of the pressing pad and the cutting blade, respectively, for feeding the adhesive tape. The tension adjusting device outputs a first signal when the displacement of the adhesive tape by the tension roller is larger than the first displacement, and outputs a second signal at other times, and the displacement of the adhesive tape by the tension roller is And a second sensor that outputs a first signal when the displacement is larger than a second displacement that is greater than the first displacement, and that outputs a second signal at other times. The tension adjusting device adjusts the tension of the adhesive tape by controlling the feeding of the upstream feed roller and the downstream feed roller so that the adhesive tape is positioned between the first displacement and the second displacement. Can be.

  Further, the tension adjusting device sends the downstream roller when the first sensor outputs the first signal and the second sensor outputs the second signal in the adhesive tape preparation step, and the first sensor When the second signal is output, the upstream roller is then fed, and when the first sensor outputs the first signal again, the upstream roller is further fed by a predetermined amount to determine whether the preparation is complete. In addition, when both the first sensor and the second sensor output the second signal, the upstream roller is sent, and when the first sensor outputs the first signal, the upstream roller is further sent by a predetermined amount to prepare. Completion can be determined. Further, when both the first sensor and the second sensor output the first signal, the downstream roller is fed, and when the second sensor outputs the second signal, the downstream roller is further fed, and the first sensor is also the second sensor. When the signal is output, the upstream roller is sent next, and when the first sensor outputs the first signal again, the upstream roller is further sent by a predetermined amount to determine the completion of preparation.

  Furthermore, when the first sensor and the second sensor both output the second signal in the adhesive tape preparation process, the tension adjusting device feeds the upstream roller by a predetermined amount, and the first sensor and the second sensor If both continue to output the second signal, it can be determined that there is an abnormality. Further, when both the first sensor and the second sensor output the first signal, the downstream roller is fed by a predetermined amount, and if both the first sensor and the second sensor continue to output the first signal, it is determined as abnormal. You can do that. Further, when the first sensor outputs the second signal and the second sensor outputs the first signal, it can be determined immediately that there is an abnormality. Further, when the first sensor outputs the first signal and the second sensor outputs the second signal, it is determined as abnormal if the downstream sensor is fed a predetermined amount and the first sensor continues to output the first signal. If the first sensor outputs the second signal, the upstream roller is then fed by a predetermined amount, and if the first sensor continues to output the second signal, it can be determined that there is an abnormality.

  Further, the cutting blade can be a cylindrical blade in which the mouth of the test tube enters. Furthermore, a pressing pad can be arranged inside this cylindrical shape.

  Also, when sealing the test tube, having a holding mechanism for holding these test tubes so that the interval between the test tube to be sealed and the test tube adjacent to the test tube is a predetermined value or more. can do.

  Since the adhesive tape is not cut, it is not necessary to grip the end of the adhesive tape for every sealing operation, and the adhesive tape can be reliably sealed.

It is a schematic block diagram of the test tube sealing device of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of adhesive tape. It is a figure which shows a part of adhesive tape after use. It is a figure which shows the structure of a tension adjustment station. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows a standby state. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a holding mechanism, and is a figure which shows a standby state. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a holding mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state holding the test tube. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a holding mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state which the holding pad hold | maintained the test tube. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state of a sealing mechanism when a holding mechanism hold | maintains a test tube. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state which the press pad contact | abutted to the opening | mouth of the test tube. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state by which the adhesive tape was cut out. It is explanatory drawing regarding tension adjustment of an adhesive tape, and is a figure which shows a state with large tension | tensile_strength. It is explanatory drawing regarding tension adjustment of an adhesive tape, and is a figure which shows a tension | tensile_strength appropriate state. It is explanatory drawing regarding the tension adjustment of an adhesive tape, and is a figure which shows a state with small tension | tensile_strength. It is a figure which shows the condition of the sensor output for tension adjustment. It is a flowchart which shows the initialization process at the time of adhesive tape mounting | wearing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a test tube sealing device 10 of the present embodiment. The pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 is unwound from the tape roll 14, and wound around the collection reel 20 through the tension adjustment station 16 and the sealing station 18. The adhesive tape 12 is fed by two feed rollers 22 and 24 driven by a motor. As will be described later, it is preferable that the two feed rollers 22 and 24 can be driven separately. For this purpose, a separate motor is provided for each of the two feed rollers 22 and 24. The two feed rollers 22 and 24 are arranged upstream and downstream of the tension adjustment station 16 and the sealing station 18 in the direction in which the adhesive tape 12 is fed. The feed roller 22 disposed on the upstream side is referred to as an upstream feed roller 22, and the feed roller 24 disposed on the downstream side is referred to as a downstream feed roller 24.

  The adhesive tape 12 has an adhesive applied to one surface of a tape-like base material such as a resin film. The adhesive can be prevented from being applied to the other surface. As shown in FIG. 2, engagement holes 26 are formed at equal intervals in the vicinity of the side edges along both side edges 12 a of the adhesive tape 12. The feed rollers 22 and 24 are provided with protrusions (not shown) on the surfaces thereof so as to correspond to the engagement holes 26 of the adhesive tape. The protrusion and the engagement hole 26 are engaged, and the adhesive tape 12 is reliably fed. The collection reel 20 is driven by a motor and winds up the used adhesive tape 12. As described above, the adhesive tape 12 is fed from the tape roll 14 by the upstream and downstream feed rollers 22 and 24 and supplied to the sealing station 18. The used adhesive tape 12 that has passed through the sealing station 18 is fed by the recovery reel 20 after being passed through the downstream feed roller 24, and is wound around this.

  The test tube 28 to be sealed is sent on the conveyance path 30. Preferably, it is accommodated in the test tube rack 32 and conveyed. The test tube rack 32 can accommodate a plurality of, for example, 10 test tubes in one row. The conveyance path 30 may be provided with a conveyance mechanism that sends the test tube rack 32. The conveyance mechanism repeats feeding and stopping, and sequentially sends the test tubes 28 to the sealing station 18. In the sealing station 18, the test tube racks 32 are sent along the arrangement direction of the test tubes 28 to be accommodated, and are sequentially sealed one by one.

  The tension adjusting station 16 is provided with a mechanism for applying an appropriate tension to the adhesive tape 12 in order to ensure the sealing of the test tube and to prevent the adhesive tape 12 from sagging. This mechanism also has a function of allowing tension due to the displacement of the adhesive tape 12 in a sealing station 18 to be described later. The tension adjusting operation will be described later.

  At the sealing station 18, the mouth of the test tube 28 is sealed with the adhesive tape 12. The sealing station 18 is provided with a pressing pad 34 for applying pressure by pressing the adhesive tape 12 against the mouth of the test tube 28 and attaching the adhesive tape 12. Further, a cutting blade 36 for cutting out a portion including a portion covering the mouth of the test tube 28 of the adhesive tape 12 is arranged. FIG. 3 shows the adhesive tape 12 after being cut out. After the cut-out, the adhesive tape 12 has a cut-out hole 38, but the tape material remains on the side of the cut-out hole 38 in the tape width direction, and the adhesive tape 12 is not cut and connected in a tape shape. Maintained in a state. Thus, in the present specification and claims, the phrase “cut out” is used in the sense of separating the inner portion while leaving the material of the adhesive tape 12 around. The pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 are advanced and retracted with respect to the test tube 28 by a feed motor 42 via a feed screw 40.

  The sealing station 18 further includes a holding mechanism 44 that holds the test tube 28 to be sealed and the two test tubes adjacent to the test tube 28 (see FIGS. 6 to 8). The main structure of the holding mechanism 44 is arranged on the front side and the back side of the test tube 28 supported by the test tube rack 32 in FIG. 1, and is not shown in FIG. . The holding mechanism 44 will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the tension adjustment station 16. The adhesive tape 12 includes two fixed rollers 46 and 48 whose positions are fixed with respect to the apparatus main body, and a tension roller 50 positioned between the fixed rollers 46 and 48. The two fixed rollers 46 and 48 have their axes fixed, but can rotate around the axes. The tension roller 50 is disposed on the slider 52 so as to be rotatable about an axis. A base 54 is fixedly disposed in the apparatus main body, and a guide rail 56 extending in the left-right direction in the drawing is fixedly installed on the base 54. The slider 52 has a guide shoe (not shown) that engages the guide rail 56 and is slidable along the guide rail 56. The cross-sectional shape of the guide rail 56 can be a substantially rectangular shape, for example, and in this case, the guide shoe can be a substantially U-shape that straddles the rail. The slider 52 is given a rightward biasing force in the drawing by a tension spring 58. A similar force acts on the tension roller 50 on the slider 52. The tension roller 50 always pushes the adhesive tape 12 spanned between the fixed rollers 46 and 48 in a direction intersecting the surface thereof, thereby applying a certain tension to the adhesive tape 12. The tension spring 58 is, for example, a coil spring that is stretched between the slider 52 and the base 54.

  Two sensors 60 and 62 for detecting the position of the slider 52 are fixed on the base 54. In the drawing, the sensor located on the left is referred to as a first sensor 60, and the sensor located on the right is referred to as a second sensor 62. These sensors 60 and 62 output binary signals according to whether or not the target plate 64 fixed to the slider 52 faces the sensor. Hereinafter, a signal when the sensors 60 and 62 are opposed to the target plate 64 is referred to as an on signal, and a signal when the sensors 60 and 62 are not opposed to each other is referred to as an off signal. Further, the state in which the sensor is outputting the ON signal will be described by simply describing “the sensor is ON”. Similarly, when the off signal is output, “sensor is off”. The relationship between the first and second sensors 60 and 62 and the target plate 64 is also shown in a simplified manner in FIGS. When the slider 52 is located at the leftmost end of the movable range in FIG. 4, the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are off. In the state shown in FIG. Become. Further movement causes the second sensor 62 to be turned on at a certain position, and the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are kept on until the second sensor 62 moves to the right end of the movable range. During normal operation of the apparatus, the first sensor 60 is on and the second sensor 62 is off.

  The adhesive tape 12 spanned between the fixed rollers 46 and 48 is pushed by the tension roller 50 and displaced in a direction intersecting the surface of the tape. Therefore, the first and second sensors 60 and 62 detect the positions of the tension roller 50 and the slider 52 and also detect the displacement of the adhesive tape 12 caused by being pressed by the tension roller 50.

  5 and 6 are views showing the sealing mechanism 66 and the holding mechanism 44 provided in the sealing station 18. 5A shows the details of the sealing mechanism 66 in the same direction as that shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. . FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the holding mechanism 44 is viewed from the side in FIG. In FIG. 5, the holding mechanism 44 is omitted.

  The sealing mechanism 66 has an advance / retreat frame 68 that is advanced and retracted by the feed motor 42. The advance / retreat frame includes an advance / retreat main plate 70, an advance / retreat upper plate 72 and an advance / retreat lower plate 74 fixed to the advance / retreat main plate 70, and a holding block 76 fixed to the advance / retreat main plate 70. The advance / retreat plate 72 is located above the advance / retreat plate 74 in FIG. The holding block 76 holds the main rod 78 so as to be slidable. A pressing pad 34 and a cutting blade 36 are disposed at the tip of the main rod 78 (the lower end in FIG. 5).

  The holding block 76 also holds the floating frame 80 so as to be movable in the same direction as the forward / backward direction of the forward / backward frame 68 (hereinafter simply referred to as “forward / backward direction”). The floating frame 80 includes a floating main plate 82, and a floating upper plate 84 and a floating lower plate 86 fixed to the floating main plate 82. The floating upper plate 84 is located above the floating lower plate in FIG. The floating frame 80 has two guide rods 88 extending between the floating upper plate 84 and the floating lower plate 86. The guide rod 88 penetrates the holding block 76 in the forward / backward direction and is slidably held by the holding block 76. As a result, the floating frame 80 can move in the forward / backward direction with respect to the forward / backward frame 68. The floating frame 80 is pushed in the advancing direction (downward in FIG. 5) by the spring 90, and is normally positioned at the lower end of the movable range. In FIG. 5, the floating frame 80 is shown in a state of being located at the lower end.

  As shown in FIG. 6, two suspension rods 92 of the holding mechanism 44 are suspended from the floating lower plate 86. The two suspension rods 92 are located on the front side and the back side of the test tube 28 or the cutting blade 36 in FIG. A roller 94 is rotatably provided at the lower end of each of the two suspension rods 92. The two rollers 94 are respectively positioned on the slope 96a of the slope block 96 fixed to the apparatus main body. The two slopes 96a are arranged so as to face each other, and the downward direction of each slope is inward. A holding pad 98 is provided on the side surfaces of the two suspension rods 92 facing each other.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which two suspension rods 92 are close to each other. The suspension rod 92 is slidably arranged in the left-right direction in FIG. 7 with respect to the floating lower plate 86 so as to allow this movement. As the advance / retreat frame 68 advances, the floating lower plate 86 and the suspension rod 92 also move downward in FIG. The roller rolls along the slope 96a, and thereby moves inward so that the two suspension rods 92 approach each other. Two holding pads 98 hold the test tube 28 from both sides by the inward movement of the suspension rod 92.

  FIG. 8 is a view of the state in which the holding pad 98 holds the test tube 28 as viewed from above. Each of the holding pads 98 is provided with holding recesses 98a at three locations. The test tubes 28 are accommodated in these holding recesses 98a, and the three test tubes are held at predetermined intervals. The positional relationship between the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 and the holding pad 98 is determined so that the central test tube of the three held test tubes 28 is located opposite to the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36. ing.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the relationship between the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 will be described. The cutting blade 36 has a cylindrical shape, and a saw-shaped cutting blade is formed at the lower end. The cutting blade 36 constitutes the lower end of the main rod 78 and is held by a cutting blade holder 100 that partially enters the inside of the cylindrical cutting blade 36. The pressure pad 34 has a shape and a size that abuts the entire mouth of one test tube 28, and typically, the surface facing the test tube 28 is circular. The pressing pad 34 preferably has a shape that fits inside the cutting blade 36. If the cutting blade 36 is cylindrical, the pressing pad 34 can be a disk or a cylinder. The cutting blade 36 is not limited to a cylindrical shape, but may be other shapes such as a rectangular tube. The pressing pad 34 is disposed at the lower end inside the cylinder of the cutting blade 36. The pressing pad 34 is disposed at the lower end of the support rod 102 that extends upward in FIG. 5, and the support rod 102 penetrates the center hole of the cutting blade holder 100 so as to be slidable. A pressing spring 104 is disposed between the back surface of the pressing pad 34 and the lower surface of the cut-out holder 100 to press the pressing pad 34 in the advance direction. When a force that pushes back the pressing spring 104 is applied to the pressing pad 34 and the force exceeds the spring force, the pressing pad 34 is pushed into the depth of the cutting blade 36. The reaction force from the spring at this time becomes a force for pressing the adhesive tape 12 against the mouth of the test tube 28.

  The operation of the sealing mechanism 66 and the holding mechanism 44 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 are diagrams showing the operation processes of the sealing mechanism 66 and the holding mechanism 44 by the same method as in FIG.

  The advance / retreat frame 68 is advanced / retreated by the feed roller 42 via the feed screw 40, and the advance / retreat moves the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 forward / backward with respect to the test tube 28. 5 and 6 show a standby state in which the advance / retreat frame 68 is in the retracted position. In this standby state, the floating frame 80 is located at the advancing end (lower end in the figure) in the movement range with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68. The position of the floating frame 80 with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68 is represented by a distance between the advance / retreat upper plate 72 and the float upper plate 84. In FIG. 5, this interval is h1. In the standby position, the lower surface of the pressing pad 34 and the tip of the cutting blade 36 are coincident. Further, the adhesive tape 12 is separated from the pressing pad 34, the cutting blade 36 and the mouth of the test tube 28.

  When the advance / retreat frame 68 is moved from the standby position in the advance direction, the floating frame 80 is also moved together. As the floating frame 80 advances, the roller 94 at the tip of the suspension rod 92 descends the slope 96a, and the suspension rod 92 moves inward. When the holding pad 98 holds the test tube 28, the advancement of the suspension rod 92 stops and the advancement of the floating frame 80 also stops. This state is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows a state of the sealing mechanism 66 when the holding pad 98 of the holding mechanism 44 holds the test tube 28. The position of the floating frame 80 with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68 has not changed from the state shown in FIG. 5 (h 1), and the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 approach the test tube 28 by the advancement of the advance / retreat frame 68. Further, the surface (the lower surface in FIG. 9) facing the advance direction of the pressing pad 34 is in contact with the adhesive tape 12, and the adhesive tape 12 is displaced toward the test tube 28. When the sealing mechanism 66 is in the state shown in FIG. 9, the holding mechanism 44 is in the state shown in FIGS. The holding mechanism 44 simultaneously holds the test tube to be sealed and three test tubes before and after the test tube, and appropriately holds the interval between the test subject to be sealed and the other two test tubes. Thereby, when cutting out the adhesive tape 12 with the cutting blade 36 mentioned later, the cutting blade 36 is prevented from colliding with the adjacent test tube 28.

  When the feed motor 42 is driven from the state of FIG. 9, only the advance / retreat frame 68 advances further while the floating frame 80 maintains the position of FIG. The advancement of the advance / retreat frame 68 causes the pressing pad 34 to advance toward the test tube 28 while pressing the adhesive tape 12.

  FIG. 10 shows a state of the sealing mechanism 66 when the pressing pad 34 first comes into contact with the test tube 28. The floating frame 80 moves in the backward direction relative to the forward / backward frame 68, and the distance between the two is shortened to h2 (h2 <h1). The adhesive tape 12 is further displaced compared to the state of FIG. 9 and is pressed against the mouth of the test tube 28 by the pressing pad 34.

  Further, when the advancing / retracting frame 68 is advanced, the cutting blade 36 is advanced, but since the pressing pad 34 is in contact with the test tube 28, it is not advanced any further. The support rod 102 that supports the pressing pad 34 slides relative to the cutting blade holder 100. As a result, the pressing pad 34 stops in contact with the mouth of the test tube 28, whereas only the cutting blade 36 advances. The pressing pad 34 is in a state where it is pushed into the interior of the cutting blade 36. The pressing pad 34 presses the adhesive tape 12 against the mouth of the test tube 28 by the spring force of the pressing spring 104. The cutting blade 36 advances ahead of the position of the mouth of the test tube 28, pierces the adhesive tape 12 by this advancement, and cuts it into a circle. The cut-out circular portion becomes a lid 106 (see FIG. 8) that seals the mouth of the test tube 28. This state is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows a state in which the advance / retreat frame 68 has advanced most. The tip of the cutting blade 36 advances beyond the position of the mouth of the test tube 28, and a part of the test tube 28 enters the inside of the cylindrical cutting blade 36. Since the pressing pad 34 contacts the test tube 28 and cannot advance any further, the lower surface of the pressing pad 34 located at the same position as the tip of the cutting blade 36 is displaced by c1 toward the back of the cutting blade 36. This displacement c1 is a displacement that reaches the base of the saw-tooth blade, whereby the adhesive tape 12 can be cut out without being left uncut. The floating frame 80 moves further with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68, and the interval is h3 (h3 <h2).

  As described above, the test tube 28 is individually sealed with the adhesive tape 12. When the operation of the sealing is completed, the advance / retreat frame 68 is retracted, and each part of the sealing mechanism 66 and the holding mechanism 44 moves in the opposite direction to the time of advance and returns to the standby state. Thereafter, the test tube rack 32 and the adhesive tape 12 are moved by one pitch, and the sealing operation for the next test tube 28 is executed.

  Next, the operation | movement which concerns on tension | tensile_strength adjustment of the adhesive tape 12 is demonstrated according to FIGS. FIGS. 12 to 14 are diagrams schematically showing the adhesive tape 12, the mechanism for feeding the adhesive tape 12 (first and second feed rollers 22, 24), and the mechanism of the tension adjusting station 16. FIG. 12 shows a state in which the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are off, FIG. 13 shows a state in which the first sensor 60 is on and the second sensor 62 is off, and FIG. 14 shows the first and second sensors 60. , 62 indicate the on state. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the states (sensor status) of the output signals of the first and second sensors. The sensor statuses S-1 and S-1 respectively named for the four states of the two sensors that output binary values. -2, S-3, S-4 are shown. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an initialization process when a new tape roll 14 is mounted.

  During normal operation, the first sensor 60 is turned on and the second sensor 62 is turned off (sensor status S-1) (see FIG. 13). As described above, the adhesive tape 12 is displaced by being pressed by the pressing pad 34 at the sealing station 18, and the tension changes. The tension roller 50 moves in accordance with the change in tension, and the range is a range in which the sensor status S-1 is maintained. In other words, the positions of the first and second sensors 60 and 62 and the spring characteristics of the tension spring 58 are determined so that the sensor status S-1 is maintained.

  If the tension of the adhesive tape 12 becomes excessive for some reason, the tension roller 50 moves against the spring force of the tension spring 58. FIG. 12 shows this state, that is, the state in which the tension roller 50 has moved to the left in the drawing. In this state, both the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are off, and the sensor status is S-2. In this case, only the downstream feed roller 24 can be rotated to increase the tension of the adhesive tape 12 to obtain an appropriate tension.

  On the other hand, when the tension of the adhesive tape 12 becomes excessive for some reason, the tension roller 50 is moved by the spring force of the tension spring 58. FIG. 14 shows this state, that is, the state in which the tension roller 50 has moved to the right in the drawing. In this state, both the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are on, and the sensor status is S-3. In this case, the upstream feed roller 22 can be rotated to reduce the tension of the adhesive tape 12 to obtain an appropriate tension. Note that the state in which the sensor status is S-3 also appears when the adhesive tape 12 is cut and no longer spanned between the two feeding rollers 22 and 24.

  The preparation process of an adhesive tape is demonstrated. The preparation step is a step of preparing a new pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 in a state where a sealing operation can be performed after the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 has been used up. In the preparation process, a new tape roll 14 is first mounted, and for example, the operator pulls out the adhesive tape 12 by hand and hangs it up to the collection reel 20 in a temporary state. Thereafter, an initialization process for making the tension appropriate is executed.

  This initialization process will be described with reference to FIG. The initial position of the tension roller 50 is set in a state in which the tape roll 14 is mounted and the adhesive tape 12 is bridged between the tape roll 14 and the collection reel 20 along a predetermined path. First, sensor status is detected (S200). When the first sensor 60 is on and the second sensor 62 is off (S-1), it can be seen that the tension roller 50 is located somewhere between the two sensors 60, 62, but any one within that range It cannot be determined whether it is in the position. Therefore, first, the downstream feed roller 24 is rotated (S202). As the downstream feed roller 24 rotates, the tension roller 50 moves to the left. When the first sensor 60 is turned off (S204), the downstream feed roller 24 is stopped and the upstream feed roller 22 is rotated (S206). If the first sensor 60 is not turned off even if the downstream feed roller 24 is rotated by a predetermined amount in step S204, an error is determined (S208). The predetermined amount of rotation at this time is an amount by which the first sensor 60 is naturally turned off if the adhesive tape 12 is normally stretched. If the first sensor 60 is not turned off even if it is rotated by this amount, it is determined that there is some abnormality, an error is determined, and this can be notified.

  If the upstream feed roller 24 is rotated in step S206 and the first sensor 60 is turned on again (S210), it is determined that there is no abnormality. Then, the upstream feed roller 24 is further rotated by a predetermined amount (S212). The predetermined amount of rotation at this time is an amount for preventing the tension roller 50 from deviating from between the two sensors 60 and 62 even when the normal tension fluctuation of the adhesive tape 12 is received. If the first sensor 60 is not turned on even if it is rotated by a predetermined amount in step S210, an error is determined (S214). The predetermined amount of rotation at this time is, of course, the upstream feed roller 22 which is naturally turned on if the adhesive tape 12 is normally laid over after the first sensor 60 is turned off by the rotation of the downstream feed roller 24. Is the amount of rotation. If it does not turn on, it is determined that there is some abnormality and an error is determined. After step S212 is completed, preparation of the adhesive tape 12 is completed.

  If the first sensor 60 and the second sensor 62 are both turned off in step S200, that is, if the sensor status S-2 is determined, the process proceeds to step 206 described above. The sensor status S-2 is the same as the stage where the first sensor 62 is detected to be off in step S204, and step S206 and subsequent steps are executed to perform initialization processing.

  If both the first sensor 60 and the second sensor 62 are turned on in step S200, that is, if the sensor status S-3 is determined, the adhesive tape 12 between the two feed rollers 22 and 24 may be long. In order to eliminate this, the downstream feed roller 24 is rotated (S216). When the second sensor 62 is turned off (S218), since it is in the same state as the sensor status S-1, the process proceeds to step S202, and the processes after this step are executed as described above. If the second sensor is not turned off even if the downstream feed roller 24 is rotated by a predetermined amount, it is possible that the adhesive tape 12 is cut or detached, and an error is determined (S220). The predetermined amount of rotation at this time is the amount of rotation of the downstream feed roller 24 that naturally turns off the second sensor 62 if the adhesive tape 12 is normally laid.

  In step S200, when the first sensor 60 is off and the second sensor 62 is on, that is, when the sensor status is S-4, since this is impossible, an error is immediately determined (S222). When an error is determined in steps S214, S220, and S222, this can be notified to the operator.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Test tube sealing device, 12 Adhesive tape, 14 Tape roll, 16 Tension adjustment station, 18 Sealing station, 22 Upstream feed roller, 24 Downstream feed roller, 28 Test tube, 34 Press pad, 36 Cutting blade, 44 Holding mechanism, 50 tension roller, 52 slider, 58 tension spring, 60 first sensor, 62 second sensor, 66 sealing mechanism, 68 advance / retreat frame, 78 main rod, 80 floating frame, 92 suspension rod, 98 holding pad.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-68732

Claims (6)

A test tube sealing device for sealing a mouth of a test tube in which a specimen remains after dispensing,
A tape supply device for supplying adhesive tape;
A pressing pad for pressing the supplied adhesive tape against the mouth of the test tube;
A cutting blade that cuts out the part including the part covering the mouth of the test tube from the adhesive tape;
A test tube sealing device. The test tube sealing device according to claim 1, further comprising:
A tension roller that applies a force according to displacement in a direction crossing the surface of the adhesive tape, a tension adjusting device that monitors the tape state and adjusts the tension,
Have
The tape supply device includes an upstream feed roller and a downstream feed roller for feeding the adhesive tape, which are arranged upstream and downstream of the tension roller, the tension adjusting device, the pressing pad and the cutting blade, respectively.
The tension adjustment device
A first sensor that outputs a first signal when the displacement of the adhesive tape by the tension roller is greater than the first displacement, and outputs a second signal otherwise;
A second sensor that outputs a first signal when the displacement of the adhesive tape by the tension roller is greater than a second displacement that is greater than the first displacement, and that outputs a second signal otherwise;
With
Adjusting the tension of the adhesive tape by controlling the feed of the upstream feed roller and the downstream feed roller so that the adhesive tape is located between the first displacement and the second displacement;
Test tube sealing device. The test tube sealing device according to claim 2,
The tension adjustment device is used in the adhesive tape preparation process.
When the first sensor outputs the first signal and the second sensor outputs the second signal, the downstream roller is sent, and when the first sensor outputs the second signal, the upstream roller is sent next, When the first sensor outputs the first signal again, a further predetermined amount is sent from the upstream roller to determine the completion of preparation,
When both the first sensor and the second sensor output the second signal, the upstream roller is fed, and when the first sensor outputs the first signal, the upstream roller is further fed by a predetermined amount to complete the preparation. Judgment,
When both the first sensor and the second sensor output the first signal, the downstream roller is fed, and when the second sensor outputs the second signal, the downstream roller is further fed, and the first sensor also sends the second signal. When output, the upstream roller is sent next, and when the first sensor outputs the first signal again, the upstream roller is further sent by a predetermined amount to determine completion of preparation.
Test tube sealing device. The test tube sealing device according to claim 2 or 3,
The tension adjustment device is used in the adhesive tape preparation process.
If both the first sensor and the second sensor output the second signal, the upstream roller is fed by a predetermined amount, and if both the first sensor and the second sensor continue to output the second signal, it is determined as abnormal,
When both the first sensor and the second sensor output the first signal, the downstream roller is fed by a predetermined amount, and if both the first sensor and the second sensor continue to output the first signal, it is determined as abnormal,
When the first sensor outputs the second signal and the second sensor outputs the first signal, it is immediately determined as abnormal,
When the first sensor outputs the first signal and the second sensor outputs the second signal, the downstream roller is fed by a predetermined amount, and if the first sensor continues to output the first signal, it is determined as abnormal, When the first sensor outputs the second signal, the upstream roller is then fed a predetermined amount, and if the first sensor continues to output the second signal, it is determined as abnormal.
Test tube sealing device.   The test tube sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting blade is a cylindrical blade into which the mouth of the test tube enters, and a pressing pad is disposed inside the cylindrical shape of the cutting blade. Tube sealing device.   The test tube sealing device according to claim 1, wherein when the test tube is sealed, the interval between the test tube to be sealed and the test tube adjacent to the test tube is a predetermined value or more. A test tube sealing device having a holding mechanism for holding these test tubes.

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