JP2017109256A - Carrier robot and carrier device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize down-sizing of a carrier robot (eventually, down-sizing of a carrier device including a carrier robot).SOLUTION: A carrier robot 10 for carrying a cell container in which a cell is accommodated includes an arm part 11, and a support part 12 which so supports the arm part 11 as to be capable of elevating and to be rotatable. A travel motor 12M1 for travelling the support part 12 together with the arm part 11 in a travel direction along a horizontal surface, an elevation motor 12M2 for elevating the arm part 11 with respect to the support part 12, and a rotary motor 12M3 for rotating the arm part 11 with respect to the support part 12 are not overlapped on one another when viewed from a vertical direction, and are not overlapped on one another when vied from an orthogonal direction orthogonal to both of the vertical direction and the travel direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport robot for transporting a cell container in which cells are stored, and a transport apparatus including the transport robot.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic cell culture apparatus that includes a casing that maintains a clean space for cell culture and a robot that transports a culture instrument in the casing. The robot of Patent Document 1 travels in a horizontal direction along a rail provided in a housing (see FIG. 1), and the height is adjusted by moving a lifting post in a vertical direction with respect to the rail ( (See FIG. 3).

Japanese Patent No. 5416919

  A transport apparatus equipped with a transport robot for transporting cell containers, such as the automatic cell culture apparatus described in Patent Document 1, is a relatively small space such as a laboratory in a hospital or university in order to verify its practical use. Installed. Further, in the space, it is necessary to secure a working area for culturing cells, verifying tests, and the like as much as possible separately from the transfer device. Therefore, downsizing of the transport device is desired.

  Here, a plurality of peripheral spaces are provided around the transfer space where the transfer robot is arranged in the transfer device, and the transfer robot transfers the cell container to the plurality of peripheral spaces (particularly, traveling along a horizontal plane). In this case, it is necessary to ensure a relatively large work area of the transfer robot in the transfer space so that the transfer robot can access a plurality of surrounding spaces.

  In some cases, sterilization gas is supplied to the transfer space to sterilize the transfer space. In this case, the larger the volume of the transfer space, the more gas is used and the cost is increased.

  As described above, in order to reduce the conveyance device and the conveyance space, the conveyance device is desired to be downsized. However, Patent Document 1 does not consider this point, and does not show any arrangement of a traveling motor for moving the robot in the horizontal direction, a lifting motor for moving the robot up and down, and the like. Therefore, depending on the arrangement of the motors, it may be difficult to reduce the size of the transfer robot (and hence the transfer device including the transfer robot).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer robot and a transfer apparatus that can be miniaturized.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a transport robot for transporting a cell container containing cells, an arm part having an arm for holding the cell container, a support part for supporting the arm part, A traveling motor for traveling the supporting portion together with the arm portion in a traveling direction along a horizontal plane, a lifting motor for moving the arm portion up and down with respect to the supporting portion, and the arm portion with respect to the supporting portion An orthogonal direction perpendicular to both the vertical direction and the traveling direction, and the traveling motor, the elevating motor, and the rotating motor do not overlap each other when viewed from the vertical direction. A transport robot is provided that does not overlap with each other.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a transport robot according to the first aspect and a transport space in which the transport robot is disposed are defined, and the transport destination of the cell container by the transport robot disposed around the transport space A transport apparatus is provided, comprising: a housing in which a plurality of communication ports for communicating each of the plurality of peripheral spaces and the transport space are formed.

  According to the first and second aspects, by arranging the travel motor, the lifting motor and the rotation motor as described above, the size of the transfer robot in the vertical direction and the orthogonal direction can be reduced, and the transfer robot can be downsized. Can be realized. Furthermore, according to the 2nd viewpoint, size reduction of conveyance apparatus itself can also be implement | achieved by size reduction of a conveyance robot.

  In the first aspect, the arm portion includes the arm and an arm base that supports the arm, and the arm base is driven in the vertical direction at the center of the horizontal plane of the arm base by driving the rotary motor. The arm rotates about the extended base axis with respect to the support portion, and the arm moves to the arm base around the arm axis extending in the vertical direction by driving an arm motor for driving the arm. The arm axis line does not have to overlap the base axis line when viewed from the vertical direction. In this case, the horizontal area of the transfer robot when the arm is contracted (state where the arm is folded) can be reduced as compared with the case where the arm axis overlaps the base axis when viewed from the vertical direction.

  In the first aspect, the arm base may support a guide member that supports the arm motor and extends in the traveling direction for guiding the transfer robot as viewed from a vertical direction. In this case, the size of the transfer robot in the orthogonal direction can be reliably reduced.

  In the first aspect, the traveling motor may be adjacent to the support portion in the traveling direction. In this case, the size of the transfer robot in the orthogonal direction can be reliably reduced.

  In the second aspect, the casing has a pair of side walls facing each other with the transport space interposed therebetween and extending in the traveling direction, and guides the transport robot to one inner side surface of the pair of side walls. A guide member extending in the traveling direction may be provided. When the guide member is provided on the lower wall of the housing, it is difficult to set the work area of the transfer robot low because of the guide member. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, the guide member is provided on the side wall of the housing, so that the traveling portion (guide member, rack and pinion, etc.) of the transfer robot can be relatively lowered while reducing the work area of the transfer robot. Can be summarized in the lower part. (The traveling part of the transfer robot is an area where friction is likely to occur and it is difficult to keep the cleanness high. According to the above configuration, the traveling part can be gathered in a relatively low part in the housing, and It is possible to maintain a high degree of cleanness in areas other than

  In the second aspect, a maintenance opening for performing maintenance of the transfer robot is provided on the other of the pair of side walls, and an openable / closable maintenance cover is provided at a position that can face the maintenance opening in the support portion. May be. In this case, the maintenance of the transfer robot can be easily performed.

  According to the present invention, the travel motor, the lifting motor, and the rotation motor are arranged as described above, whereby the size of the transfer robot in the vertical direction and the orthogonal direction can be reduced, and the transfer robot can be downsized (and consequently the transfer robot). Can be achieved.

It is sectional drawing along the horizontal direction of the conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the conveyance robot and guide member which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a top view which shows the conveyance robot and guide member which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. (B) is the side view seen from the orthogonal direction which shows the conveyance robot and guide member which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the side view seen from the running direction which shows the conveyance robot and guide member which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the conveyance robot which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the conveyance robot which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the VII-VII line | wire of Fig.6 (a) in the conveyance robot which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale of the area | region VIII shown to Fig.3 (a) in the conveyance robot and guide member which concern on one Embodiment of this invention.

  A transfer apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for cell culture and testing, and as shown in FIG. 1, a transfer robot 10 and a transfer space 20x in which the transfer robot 10 is arranged are defined. And a housing 20.

  The housing 20 has side walls 20a to 20d extending in the vertical direction, and a lower wall and an upper wall (not shown) extending in the horizontal direction. The pair of side walls 20a and 20b are opposed to each other with the transfer space 20x interposed therebetween, and extend in the direction in which the transfer robot 10 travels (the direction along the horizontal plane, hereinafter referred to as “travel direction”). Yes. The pair of side walls 20c and 20d are opposed to each other with the conveyance space 20x interposed therebetween, and extend in a direction (hereinafter referred to as “orthogonal direction”) orthogonal to both the vertical direction and the traveling direction.

  Around the transfer space 20x, a plurality of peripheral spaces 50 serving as transfer destinations of cell containers (containers containing cells) by the transfer robot 10 are arranged. In the present embodiment, the four peripheral spaces 50 are arranged so as to face the pair of side walls 20a and 20b, respectively. The conveyance space 20x communicates with each peripheral space 50 through four communication ports 21 formed in each of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b.

  A guide member 30 extending in the traveling direction for guiding the transfer robot 10 is provided on the inner surface of one of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b (side wall 20a). 2 and 3, a cable bear (registered trademark) 40 for protecting the cable of the transport robot 10 extends in the traveling direction in the vicinity of the guide member 30 in the transport space 20x.

  Four maintenance openings 22 are provided on the other (side wall 20b) of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b. The maintenance opening 22 is for performing maintenance of the transfer robot 10 and is provided below each communication port 21 as shown in FIG. The maintenance opening 22 is opened or closed by a door (not shown) that is movable in the vertical direction. The door is not opened until the gas supplied to the transfer space 20x is rendered harmless in the gas supply process (for example, in the case of hydrogen peroxide gas, the hydrogen peroxide gas is decomposed into water and oxygen). Locked to.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 8, the transfer robot 10 causes the arm unit 11, a support unit 12 that supports the arm unit 11 to be movable up and down, and the support unit 12 to travel in the travel direction together with the arm unit 11. A traveling motor 12M1, a lifting motor 12M2 for raising and lowering the arm 11 with respect to the support 12, a rotation motor 12M3 for rotating the arm 11 with respect to the support 12, and an arm motor 11M. Have. The position of the support portion 12 that can face the maintenance opening 22 (in this embodiment, the lower portion of the side wall that faces the other of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b (side wall 20b: see FIG. 1) extending in the running direction of the support portion 12) ) Is provided with a maintenance cover 12c that can be opened and closed (see FIGS. 2 and 3B).

  The arm unit 11 includes an arm 11a for holding the cell container and an arm base 11b that rotatably supports the arm 11a.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the arm 11 a includes three arm elements 11 a 1 to 11 a 3 rotatably connected to each other and a plate 11 x on which the cell container is placed. One end of the arm element 11a1 is attached to the upper surface of the arm base 11b, and the arm axis 11ax (see FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7) extending in the vertical direction through the one end is the center. The arm base 11b can be rotated. One end of the arm element 11a2 is attached to the upper surface of the other end of the arm element 11a1, and the arm element 11a2 is rotatable with respect to the arm element 11a1 about an axis extending in the vertical direction through the one end. One end of the arm element 11a3 is attached to the upper surface of the other end of the arm element 11a2, and the arm element 11a3 is rotatable with respect to the arm element 11a2 about an axis extending in the vertical direction through the one end. The plate 11x is fixed to the side surface of the other end of the arm element 11a3.

  The arm motor 11M is disposed inside the arm base 11b below one end of the arm element 11a1, and is supported by the arm base 11b (see FIG. 7). Although illustration is omitted, pulleys are arranged at one end and the other end of the arm elements 11a1 and 11a2, respectively, and a belt is wound around the pulleys at one end and the other end of the arm element 11a1, so that one end of the arm element 11a2 A belt is wound around the pulley at the end, the pulley at one end of the arm element 11a1 is fixed to the drive shaft of the arm motor 11M, and the pulley at the other end of the arm element 11a1 is fixed to the pulley at one end of the arm element 11a2 via the shaft. The pulley at the other end of the arm element 11a2 is fixed to one end of the arm element 11a3 via a shaft.

  The driving force of the arm motor 11M is sequentially transmitted to the arm elements 11a1 to 11a3, and the arm elements 11a1 to 11a3 rotate to realize the expansion / contraction operation of the arm 11a (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). . By extending the arm 11 a with the transfer robot 10 facing the communication port 21, the plate 11 x can pass through the communication port 21 and transfer the cell container to the peripheral space 50.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the arm base 11b is interposed between the arm 11a and the support part 12, and is supported by the support part 12 so as to be movable up and down and rotatable together with the arm 11a. The arm part 11 moves up and down so that the plate 11x is within the range of the communication port 21 in the vertical direction.

  The arm base 11b rotates with respect to the support portion 12 about the base axis 11bx by driving the rotary motor 12M3. The rotary motor 12M3 is disposed inside the arm base 11b and the support portion 12 and at the center of the horizontal plane of the arm base 11b. The base axis 11bx extends in the vertical direction at the center of the horizontal plane of the arm base 11b. The arm axis 11ax and the base axis 11bx are separated from each other in the traveling direction and the orthogonal direction, and do not overlap each other when viewed from the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the support unit 12 is provided with an elevating mechanism 13. The elevating mechanism 13 is formed on the peripheral surface of the pulley 13p, the belt 13b wound around the pulley 13p and the elevating motor 12M2, the ball screw 13x fixed to the rotating shaft of the pulley 13p and extending in the vertical direction, and the ball screw 13x. A female screw portion meshing with the male screw portion includes a cylindrical portion 13y formed on the inner peripheral surface, and a connecting portion 13z that connects the cylindrical portion 13y and the arm base 11b. By driving the lifting motor 12M2, the pulley 13p and the ball screw 13x rotate, and the arm portion 11 moves up and down as the connecting portion 13z moves up and down.

  The lifting motor 12M2 and the ball screw 13x are separated from each other in the orthogonal direction. In this case, the vertical size of the transfer robot 10 can be reduced as compared with the case where the elevating motor 12M2 and the ball screw 13x are arranged in the vertical direction without being separated in the orthogonal direction.

  The support portion 12 is further provided with a pinion (not shown) that meshes with a rack 30 </ b> R (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the guide member 30. The pinion rotates by driving of the traveling motor 12M1, and the pinion moves on the rack 30R, whereby the transport robot 10 moves in the traveling direction.

  The support unit 12 supports the traveling motor 12M1, the elevating motor 12M2, and the rotating motor 12M3. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the traveling motor 12M1, the lifting motor 12M2, and the rotary motor 12M3 are separated from each other in the traveling direction, do not overlap each other when viewed from the vertical direction, and do not overlap each other when viewed from the orthogonal direction. Do not overlap. The travel motor 12M1 is fixed to the outer surface of one side wall extending in the orthogonal direction in the support portion 12, and is adjacent to the support portion 12 in the travel direction. The elevating motor 12M2 and the rotary motor 12M3 are provided inside the support portion 12. When viewed from the vertical direction, the lifting motor 12M2 is disposed at the corner of the support portion 12, and the rotary motor 12M3 is disposed at substantially the center of the support portion 12.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of rails 30x of the guide member 30 (on the side walls facing one of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b extending in the running direction of the support portion 12 (side wall 20a: see FIG. 1)) A pair of blocks 12x are provided to engage with each other (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The pair of rails 30x extend in the traveling direction and are separated from each other in the vertical direction. Here, the arm base 11b in the support portion 12 overlaps with the guide member 30 when viewed from the vertical direction (see FIGS. 4 and 8).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the traveling motor 12M1, the elevating motor 12M2, and the rotating motor 12M3 do not overlap each other when viewed from either the vertical direction or the orthogonal direction (see FIGS. 7 and 8). Thereby, the size of the transfer robot 10 in the vertical direction and the orthogonal direction can be reduced, and the transfer robot 10 can be downsized. In addition, the size of the transfer robot 1 can be reduced by reducing the size of the transfer robot 10.

  The arm axis 11ax does not overlap the base axis 11bx when viewed from the vertical direction (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). In this case, compared to the case where the arm axis 11ax overlaps the base axis 11bx when viewed from the vertical direction, the horizontal area of the transfer robot 10 when the arm 11a is contracted (the arm 11a is folded) can be reduced. .

  The arm base 11b overlaps with the guide member 30 when viewed from the vertical direction (see FIG. 8). In this case, the size of the transfer robot 10 in the orthogonal direction can be reliably reduced.

  The traveling motor 12M1 is adjacent to the support portion 12 in the traveling direction. In this case, the size of the transfer robot 10 in the orthogonal direction can be reliably reduced.

  A guide member 30 is provided on the inner side surface of one of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b (side wall 20a) extending in the traveling direction of the housing 20. When the guide member 30 is provided on the lower wall of the housing 20, it is difficult to set the work area of the transfer robot 10 low because of the guide member 30. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, the guide member 30 is provided on the side wall 20a of the housing 20, so that the working area of the transfer robot 10 (the guide member 30, the rack and rack) is reduced while reducing the work area of the transfer robot 10. Pinion etc.) can be grouped in a relatively low part. (The traveling portion of the transfer robot 10 is an area where friction is likely to occur and it is difficult to maintain a high degree of cleanness. According to the above configuration, the traveling portion can be gathered in a relatively low portion in the housing 20. Yes, and the cleanliness of other areas can be kept high.)

  A maintenance opening 22 is provided in the other side wall (side wall 20b) of the pair of side walls 20a and 20b extending in the traveling direction of the housing 20, and the maintenance cover 12c that can be opened and closed at a position that can face the maintenance opening 22 in the support portion 12. Is provided. In this case, the maintenance of the transfer robot 10 can be easily performed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, various design changes can be made as long as they are described in the claims as follows. It is a thing.

The arm is not limited to being composed of a plurality of arm elements, and may be composed of one arm element. Moreover, you may provide two or more arms comprised by the single or several arm element.
The arm portion may rotate with respect to the support portion about an axis extending in a direction intersecting the vertical direction. (In other words, the arm axis may extend in a direction intersecting the vertical direction.)
As long as the arm axis does not overlap with the base axis when viewed from the vertical direction, the arm axis may overlap with the base axis when viewed from the traveling direction or the orthogonal direction. For example, the arm axis and the base axis may be arranged side by side in the orthogonal direction without being separated from each other in the traveling direction.
The guide member is not limited to being provided on the side wall of the housing, and may be provided on the lower wall of the housing, for example.
The number of maintenance openings is not limited to a plurality, and may be single. For example, a position (maintenance position) for performing maintenance of the transfer robot in the transfer space is determined in advance, and one maintenance is provided at a position facing the maintenance cover provided on the transfer robot when the transfer robot is placed at the maintenance position. An opening may be provided.
The plurality of peripheral spaces may be arranged at arbitrary positions around the transport space. For example, the plurality of peripheral spaces may be arranged over the entire periphery of the conveyance space. Alternatively, the plurality of peripheral spaces may be provided only on one side of the conveyance space. The plurality of peripheral spaces may have different configurations or may have the same configuration.
The cable bear (registered trademark) is not an essential element in the transfer apparatus according to the present invention, and may be omitted, for example, when power is supplied to the transfer robot wirelessly or when the cable itself has protection performance.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer apparatus 10 Transfer robot 11 Arm part 11a Arm 11ax Arm axis line 11b Arm base 11bx Base axis line 11M Arm motor 12 Support part 12c Maintenance cover 12M1 Travel motor 12M2 Lifting motor 12M3 Rotating motor 20 Housing 20a, 20b A pair of side walls 20x Space 21 Communication port 22 Maintenance opening 30 Guide member 50 Surrounding space

Claims (7)

In a transport robot for transporting a cell container containing cells,
An arm portion having an arm for holding the cell container;
A support part for supporting the arm part;
A traveling motor for traveling the supporting portion together with the arm portion in a traveling direction along a horizontal plane;
A lifting motor for raising and lowering the arm part relative to the support part;
A rotation motor for rotating the arm part relative to the support part,
The travel motor, the elevating motor, and the rotation motor do not overlap each other when viewed from the vertical direction, and do not overlap each other when viewed from an orthogonal direction orthogonal to both the vertical direction and the travel direction. , Transport robot. The arm portion includes the arm and an arm base that supports the arm,
The arm base is rotated with respect to the support portion around a base axis extending in the vertical direction at the center of the horizontal plane of the arm base by driving the rotary motor,
The arm rotates with respect to the arm base around an arm axis extending in a vertical direction by driving an arm motor for driving the arm;
The transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein the arm axis does not overlap the base axis when viewed from the vertical direction.   The transfer robot according to claim 2, wherein the arm base supports the arm motor and overlaps with a guide member extending in the traveling direction for guiding the transfer robot when viewed from a vertical direction. .   The transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the travel motor is adjacent to the support portion in the travel direction. The transfer robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A plurality of peripheral spaces that define a transfer space in which the transfer robot is disposed, and that each of the plurality of peripheral spaces to which the cell container is transferred by the transfer robot disposed around the transfer space and the transfer space communicate with each other. A conveying apparatus comprising: a housing in which a communication port is formed. The housing has a pair of side walls facing each other with the conveyance space therebetween and extending in the traveling direction,
The transport apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a guide member extending in the traveling direction for guiding the transport robot is provided on one inner surface of the pair of side walls. A maintenance opening for performing maintenance of the transfer robot is provided on the other of the pair of side walls,
The transport apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a maintenance cover that can be opened and closed is provided at a position at which the support portion can face the maintenance opening.

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