JP2024054753A - Specimen transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a specimen transfer device capable of reliably taking out a specimen stored in a narrow gap in a rack.SOLUTION: The specimen transfer device includes: a laterally-picking grip part 1 having a plurality of opening/closing claws 2 for gripping the body of a specimen W; an opening/closing mechanism for opening/closing the opening/closing claws 2 of the laterally-picking grip part 1; a first horizontal movement mechanism 9 for moving the laterally-picking grip part 1 to/from the body of the specimen W in a lateral direction; and a lifting mechanism 5 for lifting the laterally-picking grip part 1 in a longitudinal direction of the specimen W. Although it is not an indispensable requirement for the present invention, it is preferable to have a second horizontal movement mechanism that horizontally moves the laterally-picking grip part 1 in a direction different from that made by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 in addition to the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 for moving the laterally-picking grip part 1 to/from the body of the specimen W in a lateral direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a specimen transport device that transports specimens that are placed in a test tube-shaped container with a curved bottom, and that contain a liquid or a solid phase that has undergone a phase change due to temperature. The present invention also relates to a specimen transport device that transports specimens that contain a test object such as blood.

Generally, a container that holds a test subject such as blood is called a specimen, and is a cylindrical container with a bottom that is sealed at the top with a lid. When the test subject is collected at a medical institution or collection center, a collection label with a barcode is affixed to the surface of the specimen, and information such as the patient or other subject, the type of test subject, the purpose of the test, the person who collected the sample, and the date and time of collection is recorded on this label. Handwritten notes may also be written on the label when the sample is collected.

Since the attachment of the collection label to the specimen is done manually by the collector, the position of the collection label attached to the specimen often differs for each specimen. In addition, each medical institution may use its own collection label, and the labels are not standardized for all specimens. Furthermore, since the amount of test subject to be collected differs depending on the purpose of the test, specimen volumes differ and specimens of various diameters and heights exist.

The various specimens with such collection labels attached are transported to a testing institution that has analytical equipment, where tests are carried out according to the specimen. At this time, the testing institution must use image processing to confirm the information written on the collection labels of the various specimens collected from each collector, and classify and organize them according to a predetermined format prepared in advance by the testing institution. The information confirmed for the testing institution is then recorded on a new label for the testing institution, and the new label for the testing institution is affixed to the specimen over the collection label. The information confirmed for the testing institution may also be linked to an IC tag or the like attached to the specimen holder (also called a specimen rack) that transports each specimen.

Samples collected from various medical institutions are inserted from above into a stock rack (hereafter referred to as the rack) with lattice-shaped partitions as shown in Figure 19, and the lower and bottom parts of the sample are supported within the partitions. In this case, the upper part of each sample is exposed from the upper edge of the rack, but since samples of different heights are used depending on the purpose of the test, the amount of protrusion from the upper edge of the rack is not the same for all samples, and there are many samples with different protrusion amounts.

The collected samples are taken out one by one from within the rack partitions, and the image recognition and linking to information for the testing institution are carried out as described above. As shown in the patent literature, various methods have been proposed for taking out samples from the rack.

Japanese Patent No. 5525054 JP 2008-093767 A

The conventional technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured to grip samples from above. However, with these conventional technologies, when multiple samples of different heights with large diameter upper lids are stored in a narrow partition of a rack, it is necessary to increase the opening and closing distance of the gripping section for gripping the samples, which inevitably requires the rack partition to be widened, resulting in a problem that only a small number of samples can be transported and stored in one rack.

In addition, when gripping a specimen in a rack partition, a gripper with a thinner height direction can grip specimens that protrude less from the upper edge of the rack, and this has the advantage of being highly versatile. However, when such a thin gripper is used, the perpendicularity of the specimen taken out of the rack is likely to vary. That is, when performing image recognition, the specimen needs to be rotated 360° around its axis in order to confirm which part of the specimen the label was attached to when collected. In this case, if the perpendicularity of the specimen is ensured, there is no axial vibration of the specimen, the rotation is smooth, and the accuracy of image recognition is improved. However, with conventional technology in which the gripper is thin in the height direction, it is difficult to maintain the perpendicularity of the specimen, and it was not possible to deal with the axial vibration of the specimen during image recognition.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the problems of the conventional technology described above. The object of the present invention is to provide a specimen transfer device that makes it possible to reliably remove specimens stored in a narrow gap in a rack.

The specimen transport device of the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) A lateral gripping portion having a plurality of opening and closing claws for gripping the body of a cylindrical specimen having a curved bottom.
(2) An opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes the multiple opening/closing claws of the lateral gripping portion.
(3) a first horizontal movement mechanism that moves the lateral gripping portion laterally toward and away from the body portion of the specimen;
(4) A lifting mechanism for lifting the lateral gripper in the longitudinal direction of the specimen.

The present invention may have the following configuration.
(1) The lateral gripping portion has, in addition to the first horizontal movement mechanism that moves the lateral gripping portion toward and away from the body of the specimen in a lateral direction, a second horizontal movement mechanism that moves the lateral gripping portion horizontally in a direction different from that of the first horizontal movement mechanism.
(2) The multiple opening/closing claws are each formed of a pair of left and right members, at least one of which moves in the opening/closing direction, and is a plate-like member that is thin in thickness in the height direction.
(3) Each of the multiple opening and closing claws has a V-shaped recess on its opposing inner edge, and when the pair of left and right opening and closing claws close to grasp the sample, each side of the V-shaped recess comes into contact with the outer surface of the sample.
(4) a holder that is provided on a moving path of the lateral gripper and holds the sample gripped by the lateral gripper from below;
an upper gripping portion that grips and lifts the sample supported by the holding portion from above;
A lifting mechanism that lifts the upper gripping portion from the holding portion;
A horizontal movement mechanism is provided for horizontally moving the upper gripping portion.
(5) The holding portion is provided on a path of movement of the lateral gripping portion by the second horizontal movement mechanism.
(6) The holding portion is composed of a bottom portion and a number of guide members that rise upward from around the bottom portion, the guide members being arranged in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and the torso of the specimen being held by the inner surface of the guide members.
(7) The upper gripping portion has a plurality of fingers protruding downward, the plurality of fingers are arranged in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and an opening/closing mechanism is provided for moving each finger between the central axis side and the outer periphery side of the upper gripping portion.
(8) A rotation mechanism is provided for rotating the upper gripping portion around the axis of the specimen.
(9) The rotation mechanism of the upper gripping holder rotates 360 degrees or more when the specimen moves in front of an image recognition camera of an image recognition unit located downstream of the movement path of the holder.
(10) The lateral gripping unit further includes one other unit, which is located at a position where a labeled sample is removed from a sample rack on a conveyor that connects each transport unit of the image matching labeling device and circulates a large number of sample racks, and transports the sample to an empty rack for discharge from the image matching labeling device, and moves the removed, labeled sample to the empty rack.

1 is a perspective view of an image matching labeling device to which a specimen transport device according to a first embodiment is applied, as viewed from the front side; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image matching and labeling device of FIG. 1 as viewed from the rear side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an entire lateral gripping portion in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the opening and closing claws of the lateral gripping portion in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a lateral gripping portion, a holding portion, and an upper gripping portion in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a holding portion according to the first embodiment, as viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an upper gripping portion in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an upper gripping portion in the first embodiment, as viewed from below. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conveyor according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a water droplet removing section in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water droplet removal section side transport device in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing an upper gripping portion of the water droplet removal portion side transport device in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a water droplet removal section in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a label side feeding device in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the front side of a water droplet removing unit and a label applying unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the label application unit in the first embodiment, as viewed from the water droplet removal unit side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the discharge lift in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an opening/closing claw portion of the unloading lift in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a sample is being removed from a rack in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a holder (sample rack) for accommodating individual samples in the first embodiment.

[1. First embodiment]
[1-1. overall structure]
1 and 2 are diagrams showing the overall configuration of an image matching labeling device equipped with a specimen transfer device of the first embodiment. The specimen transfer device of this embodiment can also be applied to other specimen processing devices, and the image matching labeling device is merely one of the application examples. In the image matching labeling device of this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the device is called the width, the lateral direction is called the depth, and the mechanism for moving the specimen is called the first horizontal movement mechanism or the second horizontal movement mechanism, but the specimen transfer device of the present invention does not limit the width and depth in the specimen movement direction, so it is defined as a horizontal movement mechanism in the claims.

The image matching and labeling device consists of the following parts:
A supply/discharge section A for racks R containing unprocessed specimens W;
A take-out/transport section B that takes out the specimen W from the supply/discharge section A and transports it;
An image recognition unit C that reads the contents of the collection label on the sample W;
A conveyor D for transporting the sample rack H with the sample W inserted therein from the image recognition unit C to the labeling unit E at the rear stage, and transporting the sample W with the sample rack H inserted therein to the vicinity of the discharge and transport unit F described later, after the labeling has been applied;
A labeling unit E equipped with a water droplet removing unit for removing water droplets from the surface of the specimen W;
A discharge/transport unit F that transfers the labeled specimens W to an empty rack R
The specimen transport device of the first embodiment is used as a removal and transport section B for removing a specimen W from a supply/discharge section A of a rack R in FIG.

The specimens W supplied to the image matching labeling device cannot stand on their own due to the shape of their bottoms, so they are stored in a rack R with many partitions arranged in a lattice pattern, as shown in FIG. 19, on which the specimens W can lean. In addition, each specimen W after the image recognition process is stored in an individual holder H (specimen rack H) made of resin or the like in the shape of a graduated cylinder, as shown in FIG. 20, and is transported together with the specimen rack H by a conveyor to the labeling section E and the discharge transport section F. The specimens W after labeling are stored in another lattice-shaped rack R by the discharge transport section F and discharged outside the device. In this embodiment, as the specimen rack H, which is an individual holder, a holder having a cylindrical storage section with an open top and a flange Hf protruding in a circular shape from the bottom of the storage section is used. This shape is advantageous because, for example, when transported by a slat conveyor, the bottom area is large and it is difficult to fall over, the spacing between the storage sections is maintained by the flange, so important specimens do not touch each other, and at turning parts where the transport direction is changed, the side of the flange can be used for frictional transport. The sample W is inserted and removed from the top into the storage section of the holder H, which is a sample rack, by the side gripping section in the take-out transfer section B and the discharge transfer section F, and by the top gripping section in the label application section E.

[1-2. Rack R supply/discharge section A]
In this embodiment, the supply/discharge section A for racks R can hold three types of racks R. From the left side in the figure, an unprocessed rack R1 containing unprocessed specimens W to be subjected to image recognition, a processed rack R2 for collecting specimens W that have been properly image-recognized and have labels for testing institutions affixed thereto, and a defective rack R3 for collecting specimens W for which an error has occurred in image recognition are supplied and discharged from outside the image matching labeling device.

The means for supplying and discharging these racks R to and from the supply/discharge section A can be any suitable means, such as manual operation, a robot, or a conveyor. In this embodiment, a turntable is provided at the supply/discharge position of each rack R, and each rack R is placed on it. That is, after the specimen W is removed from half of the rack R by the transport device, the rack R is inverted, thereby shortening the movement stroke of the lateral gripping section 1 that removes the specimen W, thereby making the entire device more compact. Such a rack R inversion device is not essential to the present invention, and may be applied only to the unprocessed rack R1 and processed rack R2, which have a large number of specimens W processed by the lateral gripping section 1, out of the three types of racks R.

[1-3. Removal and transfer section B]
The sample transport device of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, is used in the removal and transport section B. This sample transport device laterally grasps the upper part of the body of the sample W accommodated in the rack R1. The horizontal gripping portion 1 has two opening/closing claws 2 and a pair of opening/closing claws 2, as shown in an enlarged view of FIG. That is, a straight rail 3 is provided on the underside of the horizontal gripping portion 1, and two sliders 4 are supported on the rail 3 so as to be slidable with a gap therebetween. The base of the opening/closing claw 2 is fixed to each slider 4. The sliders 4 are moved in opposite directions along the rail 3 by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided inside the horizontal gripping portion 1. The movement of the slider 4 changes the distance between the two opening/closing jaws 2. As the driving mechanism in the lateral gripping unit 1, a rack and pinion, a ball screw, an electromagnetic plunger, etc. can be appropriately used. There is no limitation on the configuration.

The two opening and closing claws 2 do not necessarily need to both move, but at least one of them may move in the opening and closing direction. In this embodiment, the opening and closing claws 2 are made of a plate-like material that is thin in the height direction, and V-shaped recesses 2a are provided on the inner edges of the opposing claws, and when the pair of left and right claws close to grip the specimen W, each side of the V-shaped recesses 2a comes into contact with the cylindrical outer periphery of the upper body of the specimen W. The opening and closing claws 2 that form the horizontal gripping portion 1 are made thin in the width direction as well, in order to specialize in cutting out one specimen from the front side of a rack R that is manufactured for the purpose of transporting a large number of specimens together. As a result, for example, if the upper opening of the specimen is blocked by a plug and only the upper part is thick due to edge reinforcement, the claws can avoid that part, and can grip the body without interference from the specimen next to it when cutting out one specimen from adjacent specimens, even if the specimen is made of resin and the opening periphery and body are the same diameter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lateral gripper 1 is supported by a lifting mechanism 5 that raises and lowers the specimen W in the length direction. The lifting mechanism 5 includes a vertical rail 6 that extends vertically and a bracket-type slider 7 that is slidably mounted on the vertical rail 6, with the lateral gripper 1 fixed to the lower end of the bracket-type slider 7. A motor 8 is fixed to the upper end of the vertical rail 6, and the motor 8 rotates a ball screw (not shown) provided inside the rail 3, causing the bracket-type slider 7 attached to the ball screw to move up and down along the rail 3.

The lifting mechanism 5 is supported by a first horizontal movement mechanism 9 that moves the lateral gripping unit 1 in the depth direction of the image matching labeling device. The first horizontal movement mechanism 9 has a depth rail 9a that extends along the depth direction of the image matching labeling device, and the lifting mechanism 5 is fixed to a support plate 11a that is fixed to a lateral slider 11 attached to the depth rail 9a. The lateral slider 11 in the first movement mechanism is reciprocated by a ball screw (not shown) that rotates by a motor 8, just like the lifting mechanism 5.

The first horizontal movement mechanism 9 is supported by the second horizontal movement mechanism 12. The second horizontal movement mechanism 12 moves the lateral gripping unit 1 and the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 that supports it along the width direction of the image matching labeling device. The second horizontal movement mechanism 12 has a horizontal rail 13 that extends in the width direction of the image matching labeling device, and a gantry crane-type support member 15 is supported on a lateral slider 14 attached to the lateral rail 13 so that it can move laterally, and the depth rail 9a of the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 is fixed to this support member 15. The lateral slider 14 of the second horizontal movement mechanism 12 is reciprocated by a ball screw (not shown) that rotates by a motor 8, similar to the lifting mechanism 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, a holding unit 20 is fixed below near the end of the second horizontal movement mechanism 12 on the conveyor D side, and is provided on the movement path of the lateral gripping unit 1. The holding unit 20 receives the specimen W gripped by the lateral gripping unit 1 and holds it from below. The holding unit 20 is composed of a bottom 21 and three guide members 22 that rise upward from its periphery. The guide members 22 are arranged in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and the body of the specimen W is held by the inner surface of the guide members 22.

As shown in FIG. 6, the three guide members 22 are supported by sliders 4 that are movably mounted on three rails 3 arranged radially. Each slider 4 is moved between the central axis side and the outer periphery side of the holding unit 20 by a drive mechanism (not shown), which changes the spacing between the three cylindrically arranged guide members 22, so that even specimens W of different thicknesses are guided by the guide members 22 and held vertically. The spacing between the guide members 22 may be set to a predetermined dimension in advance according to the specimen to be handled, or the specimen W may be inserted inside the guide members 22 with the spacing widened, and then the spacing between the guide members 22 may be narrowed to correct the specimen W transferred by the lateral gripping unit 1 to a vertical position even if it is tilted.

As shown in Fig. 5, an upper gripping unit 30 is provided above the holder 20 so as to be approachable and detachable in the depth direction. The upper gripping unit 30 grips and lifts the specimen W supported by the holder 20 from above and moves it toward the image recognition unit C and the conveyor D. As shown in Fig. 7, the upper gripping unit 30 is supported via a rotation mechanism 31 to a lifting mechanism 5 that lifts and lowers the specimen W in the length direction. The lifting mechanism 5 is supported by a first horizontal movement mechanism 9 provided along the depth direction of the image matching labeling device. The first horizontal movement mechanism 9 is provided from the holder 20 to above the conveyor D, and the upper gripping unit 30 transfers the specimen W in the holder 20 to a holder H (specimen rack H) on the conveyor D via the image recognition unit C.
In addition, the lifting mechanism 5 and the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 of the upper gripping gripping unit 30 have the same configuration as the lifting mechanism 5 and the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 of the lateral gripping gripping unit 1, so their explanation is omitted.

The upper gripping part 30 is provided under the rotating mechanism 31 fixed to the lifting mechanism 5, and rotates around the axis of the specimen W when the specimen W is gripped by the rotating mechanism 31. The upper gripping part 30 has three fingers 32 that protrude downward and are arranged in a cylindrical shape as a whole. As shown in FIG. 8 (upside down from the actual installation), the upper gripping part 30 is provided with an opening and closing mechanism that moves the three fingers 32 between the central axis side and the outer periphery side, which are the intersection points of the movement directions of the fingers 32 of the upper gripping part 30. Three rails 3 are provided radially on the underside of the upper gripping part 30, and a slider 4 is supported on each rail 3, and the base of the finger part 32 is fixed to each slider 4. Each slider 4 moves along the rail 3 by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided inside the upper gripping part 30, and the distance between the three fingers 32 changes due to the movement of the slider 4. The drive mechanism in the upper gripping part 30 can be configured similarly to the drive mechanism for the opening/closing claws 2 of the lateral gripping part 1.

[1-4. Image recognition unit C]
The image recognition unit C is provided between the holding unit 20 and the conveyor D on the moving path of the upper gripping unit 30. As shown in FIG. 5, the image recognition unit C is installed on a base 40. The camera 41 includes a camera 41 for image recognition, and a light 42 for illuminating the specimen W. The camera 41 rotates the specimen W by the rotation mechanism 31 in a state where the upper gripping unit 30 transfers the specimen W to the front of the camera 41. While rotating around the axis, the contents of the label attached to the surface of the specimen W are read, and the surroundings of the body of the specimen W are photographed and the contents of the label are read. For example, a camera 41 for still or moving images can be used.

[1-5. Conveyor D]
The conveyor D is provided as a main transport section for the specimen W on the opposite side in the depth direction from the supply/discharge section A of the rack R in the image matching labeling device, and is provided in an elliptical shape so as to be circulatable with a plane of a predetermined level of the image matching labeling device as the inner circumference of the image matching labeling device, to circulate and transport the specimen rack. The conveyor D receives the specimen W after the image recognition process from the upper gripping section 30 and transports it to the vicinity of the labeling section E in a state in which it is accommodated in the holder H. The configuration of the conveyor D is not limited as long as it transports the specimen W accommodated one by one in each holder H. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a conveyor D is used in which an endless guide groove 51 with semicircular ends and a straight center is provided on an elongated table 50, and a flange Hf at the bottom of the holder H is guided and moved in the guide groove 51.

The guide groove 51 has a width that allows the holder H to be inserted into it, and both edges of the guide groove 51 engage with the upper surface of the flange Hf of the holder H to prevent the holder H from coming out of the guide groove 51. The conveyor D is provided with a belt 52 for transporting the holder H inserted into the guide groove 51. The belt 52 frictionally presses the bottom 21 of the holder H attached to the guide groove 51, so that each holder H is pressed in sequence and transported along the inner straight part of the conveyor D. Where the specimen W turns back in the depth direction of the image matching labeling device, the drive pulley frictionally engages its side with the side of the flange Hf of the holder H on the inner circumference of the arc of the guide groove 51, transporting the holder H along the guide groove 51, and the holder H containing the specimen W circulates along the conveyor D, which is endless overall.

The conveyor D is provided with a positioning stopper for making the holder H wait for a predetermined time at a position where the specimen W is put into or taken out of the holder H. The positioning stopper is as follows.
The first positioning stopper 53 stops the empty holder H at a position where the sample W that has undergone image recognition is placed in the empty holder H by the upper gripping unit 30 until the sample W is placed in the empty holder H.
The second positioning stopper 58 stops a holder H on the conveyor D until a sample W is removed from the holder H on the conveyor D by a water droplet removal section side transport device 61 described later, in order to remove water droplets from the surface of the sample W and attach a label in the label application section E.
The third positioning stopper 54 stops a certain holder H on the conveyor D until the sample W is returned to the storage section of the holder H (sample rack H) by the label side transport device 65 described later after removing water droplets from the surface of the sample W in the label application section E and attaching a label to the holder H on the conveyor D.
- When a sample W that has been labeled is transferred from the holder H to an empty rack R2, the fourth positioning stopper 56 stops the holder H on the conveyor D while the lateral gripping section 1 of the discharge and transfer section F grips and lifts the sample W.

The conveyor D is provided with three buffer stoppers. The first buffer stopper 57 is provided before the first positioning stopper 53, the second buffer stopper 59 is provided before the second positioning stopper 58, and the third buffer stopper 55 is provided before the fourth positioning stopper 56, and prevents the next holder H from entering each positioning stopper while a sample W is being inserted or removed from the holder H. These positioning stoppers and buffer stoppers are opened and closed by a sensor switch or the like that detects when the holder H reaches a predetermined position or when a sample W has been inserted or removed from the holder H.

[1-6. Label attachment section E]
1E, the labeling section E picks up a specimen W supported by a holder H (specimen rack H) from the transfer conveyor D, inserts it into a water droplet removing section 60, removes frost and water droplets around the specimen W, and then transfers it to the labeling section. For this reason, as shown in Fig. 10, the water droplet removing section 60 is disposed near the return side of the transfer conveyor D making a U-turn, and a water droplet removing section side transport device 61 for transporting the specimen W is provided between the water droplet removing section 60 and the conveyor D.

The water droplet removal section side transfer device 61 has a configuration similar to that of the transfer device provided in the removal transfer section B. That is, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the water droplet removal section side transfer device 61 has an upper gripping gripping section 30 that grips and lifts the specimen W from above, and at its lower part, three fingers 32 that protrude downward and have open/closed lower ends. Each finger 32 is provided with an opening/closing mechanism that moves each finger 32 between the central axis side and the outer periphery side of the upper gripping gripping section 30. The central axis of the upper gripping gripping section 30 is an axis centered on the intersection of the movement directions of each finger 32. The upper gripping unit 30 is supported by a lifting mechanism 5 for vertical movement to lift the sample W from the holder H (sample rack H), and the entire lifting mechanism 5 is supported by a first horizontal movement mechanism 9 arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the conveyor D, and the entire lifting mechanism 5 and first horizontal movement mechanism 9 are supported by a second horizontal movement mechanism 12 arranged parallel to the transport direction of the straight section of the conveyor D.

These three types of mechanisms allow the upper gripping unit 30 to move from the sample W lifting position where the positioning stopper 58 on the conveyor D is located, through the water droplet removal unit 60 located to the side of the transport path of the conveyor D, through the label attachment device also located to the side of the conveyor D, and back to the sample rack storage position of the sample W where the positioning stopper 54 on the conveyor D is located slightly downstream on the transport path.

As shown in FIG. 13, the water droplet removal unit 60 has a cylindrical casing 62 with an opening at the top center, and the specimen W lifted by the upper gripping unit 30 is inserted into the casing 62 from above. The casing 62 has a donut shape with an opening at the top center, and the donut part is hollow. A ring-shaped blowing outlet 63 is provided inside the central opening of the casing 62, and compressed air is sent from a pipe 64 connected to the blowing outlet 63 through a hollow donut part, so that air is blown out from the blowing outlet 63 toward the central axis of the opening in a high-speed air knife-like manner and sprayed on the entire periphery of the surface of the specimen W. The upper gripping unit 30 is reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the specimen W by the lifting mechanism 5, so that the water droplets with an area equal to the total circumference of the surface of the specimen W multiplied by the length are blown off entirely. A scattering prevention cover 66 is provided around the casing 62, and the casing 62 and the scattering prevention cover 66 are supported by a box-shaped water droplet recovery unit 67. The water droplet recovery section 67 is disposed below the air outlet 63 and collects the water droplets removed by the compressed air blown from the air outlet 63 toward the specimen W. A drainage hole 69 lined with a mesh for removing foreign matter is opened in the center of the partition 68 between the water droplet recovery section 67 and the casing 62.

As shown in FIG. 10, a label-side transport device 65 is provided between the labeling section and the conveyor D to transport the sample W after labeling back into an empty holder H on the conveyor D. As shown in FIG. 14, the label-side transport device 65 has a similar configuration to the water droplet removal section side transport device 61, and includes an upper gripping unit 30, a lifting mechanism 5, and a first horizontal transport mechanism 9. However, since the label-side transport device 65 transports the sample W between the labeling section and the conveyor D and does not need to transport the sample W along the transport direction of the conveyor D, a second horizontal transport mechanism 12 is not provided.

Any suitable labeling device can be used as long as it can affix a label to the body of a vertically held specimen W. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, a device is used in which the specimen W is inserted from above between a pair of rotating rollers 70 and a pressure plate 71, a label is developed in the gap between the pressure plate 71 and the specimen W, and the label is wrapped around the specimen W by the rotation of the rotating rollers. That is, a pair of rotating rollers 70 are arranged so as to rotate in the same direction along the conveyor D's transport direction at the rear of the water droplet removal section 60 in the conveyor D, and a pressure plate 71 is provided behind the rotating rollers 70, which moves back and forth toward the rotating rollers 70. The pressure plate 71 is supported by a first horizontal movement mechanism 9 provided behind it, and is driven by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 to move back and forth. As shown in FIG. 16, a receiving member 72 is provided at the bottom of the specimen insertion section surrounded by the pair of rotating rollers 70 and the pressure plate 71 to receive the bottom 21 of the inserted specimen W. This receiving member 72 is supported by the lifting mechanism 5 so that the support position of the specimen W can be changed according to the height dimension of the specimen W to which the label is to be attached.

In order to supply the labels to be affixed to the body of the specimen W, devices necessary for label affixing are provided near the rotating roller 70 and the pressure plate 71, such as a label supply reel 73, a label backing sheet take-up reel 74, a label pickup that folds the label backing sheet at an acute angle to spread the label out in a straight line, and a label holder. Although some of these devices are visible in FIG. 15, their details are not specifically shown or described, but they are used in known label affixing devices.

[1-7. Discharge and transfer section F]
The samples W transferred by the label-side transfer device 65 into the empty holder H on the conveyor D and the samples W for which the image recognition device has caused a reading error are removed from the holder H on the conveyor D and placed in the processed rack R2. For this reason, a discharge transfer section F is provided between the conveyor D and the processed rack R2 or the defective rack R3.

This discharge transfer section F has a similar configuration to the specimen transfer device of this embodiment provided in the removal transfer section B. As shown in Figures 17 and 18, the discharge transfer section F has a lateral gripping section 1 that grips the body of the specimen W from the lateral direction, and the lateral gripping section 1 is provided with two opening and closing claws 2 and an opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes these two opening and closing claws 2. To accommodate a cylindrical specimen W in a processed rack R2 or a defective rack R3 with a narrow partition spacing, it is necessary to grasp the specimen W from the side and insert it into the partition, as in the case of an unprocessed rack R1, so in this embodiment, the discharge transfer section F also uses the specimen transfer device of this embodiment having a lateral gripping section 1.

The lateral gripping unit 1 moves up and down and back and forth and left and right by the lifting mechanism 5, the first horizontal movement mechanism 9, and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12. That is, the lateral gripping unit 1 moves along the transport direction of the conveyor D while supported by the second horizontal movement mechanism 12, and lifts the specimen W transported by the conveyor D from the holder H to the position of the processed rack R2 or the defective rack R3. The lateral gripping unit 1 also moves along the transport direction of the conveyor D while supported by the second horizontal movement mechanism 12, and moves the specimen W from the conveyor D to the processed rack R2 or the defective rack R3.

[1-3. Operation of the embodiment]
(1) Removal of specimen W from unprocessed rack R1 First, specimen W to be image-matched and labeled by this image matching labeling device is carried in an unprocessed rack R1, and labels of various styles and sizes are attached to each specimen W due to differences in the labeling devices owned by the medical institution that collects blood, etc. Furthermore, specimens W may be containers of different heights. These specimens are randomly stored and carried in rack R1, and the label information of each specimen is matched by image recognition, and the facility that installs this image matching labeling device and collects and processes specimens W labels the containers with labels that are easy to handle in a centralized manner, and this image matching labeling device exists to assist with information processing in the subsequent processes.

In this embodiment, the unprocessed specimens W to be subjected to image recognition are stored in an unprocessed rack R1 having lattice-shaped partitions in an aligned state. In this state, the horizontal gripper 1 provided in the specimen transport device grips and lifts the body of the specimen W stored in the rack R1 from the side. That is, the horizontal gripper 1 is raised and lowered in the length direction of the specimen W by the lifting mechanism 5, and the opening and closing claws 2 are aligned to the height of the neck part of the specimen W protruding from the upper edge of the rack R1. When containers with different heights are used for each specimen W, the level of the opening and closing claws 2 is aligned to the height of the neck of the specimen W while monitoring the height of the neck part of the specimen W with a sensor. Next, the horizontal gripper 1 is moved toward the rack R1 using the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12, and the opening and closing claws 2 are inserted into the gap between adjacent specimens W so as to pinch the neck part of the specimen W to be removed.

At this time, the lateral gripping section 1 is made of a plate-like member that is thin in the height direction, so even if the specimen W is short and protrudes only slightly from the upper edge of the rack R1, the neck portion can be gripped from both sides. In addition, the opening and closing claws 2 open and close left and right to avoid the lid on the top of the specimen W, so the specimen W can be clamped with a smaller opening and closing amount compared to a gripping section that grabs up from above, and the opening and closing claws 2 can be inserted into the narrow gap even if the specimen W is densely packed in the rack R1. Furthermore, the opening and closing claws 2 are each provided with a V-shaped recess 22 on each of the opposing inner edges, and when the pair of left and right claws close to grip the specimen W, each side of the V-shaped recess 22 comes into contact with the outer surface of the specimen W, so the specimen W can be securely gripped at four points on its body.

(2) Transfer of specimen W using the holder 20 After the specimen W is gripped by the opening/closing claws 2, the lifting mechanism 5 is driven to lift the lateral gripping part 1 upward, thereby removing the specimen W from the rack R1, and then the lateral gripping part 1 is moved toward the conveyor D by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12. When the lateral gripping part 1 reaches above the holder 20 provided below near the end of the second horizontal movement mechanism 12 on the conveyor D side, the lateral gripping part 1 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 5, and as a result, the lower part of the body of the specimen W is inserted inside the three guide members 22 arranged in a cylindrical shape. At this time, the upper part of the specimen W protrudes from the upper ends of the three guide members 22 so that the fingers 32 of the upper gripping part 30 can abut against the outer periphery of the body of the specimen W. After delivering the sample W to the holder 20, the intercepting gripper 1 rises from the holder 20 and returns to the unprocessed rack R1 side to transfer the next sample W.

(3) Image Recognition When the specimen W is set in the holder 20, the upper gripping gripper 30 is moved above the holder 20 by the horizontal movement mechanism, and then the upper gripping gripper 30 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 5 to grip and lift the specimen W from above. The upper gripping gripper 30 gripping the specimen W is moved to the front of the camera 41 of the image recognition unit C by the horizontal movement mechanism. After the specimen W has moved to the front of the camera 41, the upper gripping gripper 30 rotates the specimen W around its axis by the rotation mechanism 31 fixed to the lifting mechanism 5. As a result, the entire circumference of the specimen W is photographed by the camera 41, and the contents of the collection label affixed to the body of the specimen W are read.

(4) Transfer of the specimen W to the holder H After the image recognition process, the specimen W is transferred onto the conveyor D by the horizontal movement mechanism while being held by the upper gripping part 30, and is accommodated in the holder H, which is abutted from the side by the positioning stopper 53 within the guide groove 51 of the conveyor D. In this case, since the holder H is stopped at the transfer position from the upper gripping part 30 by the first positioning stopper 53, the specimen W is transferred to above the holder H by the upper gripping part 30, and the upper gripping part 30 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 5, whereby the specimen W is inserted into the holder H.

(5) Removal of Frost and Water Droplets When the first positioning stopper 53 is released, the holder H containing the specimen W moves along the guide groove 51 of the conveyor D, passes through the second buffer stopper 59, and reaches the second positioning stopper 58, where it stops. Then, the upper gripping unit 30 of the water droplet removing unit side transport device 61 grips the specimen W supported by the holder H from above the conveyor D, and the lifting mechanism 5 lifts the specimen W in the length direction of the specimen W. In a state where the specimen W is gripped by the upper gripping unit 30, the horizontal movement mechanism moves the specimen W to the water droplet removing unit 60. When the specimen W is moved to the top of the casing 62 by the horizontal movement mechanism, the lifting mechanism 5 is lowered, and the specimen W is inserted into the casing 62 of the water droplet removing unit 60. When the specimen W is inserted into the casing 62, compressed air is blown from a pipe 64 connected to an outlet 63 onto the entire periphery of the surface of the specimen W. In order to reliably remove frost and water droplets adhering to the specimen W, in this embodiment, compressed air is blown from the air outlet 63 while the specimen W is descending and ascending in the casing 62, but it may be blown only while either one of them is occurring. Water droplets scattered by the blowing of compressed air from the air outlet 63 are collected by a water droplet recovery unit 67. After the frost and water droplets around the specimen W held by the upper gripping unit 30 are removed, the specimen W is transferred to a labeling device by a horizontal movement mechanism. In this case, since the specimen W needs to be inserted from above into the cylindrical water droplet removal unit 60, the water droplet removal unit side transfer device 61 is provided with the upper gripping unit 30.

(6) Labeling After the removal of water droplets is completed, the water droplet removal section side transport device 61, while still gripping the sample W, transports it between the rotating roller 70 and the pressing plate 71 of the labeling section. Then, the water droplet removal section side transport device 61 releases its grip on the sample W and moves again to the second positioning stopper 58 of the conveyor D to pick up the next sample W. In this case, the sample W is rotated by the rotating roller 70 with its bottom 21 supported by the receiving member 72, and a label supplied from the supply reel is affixed to the body of the sample W. The sample W to which the label has been affixed is taken out from between the rotating roller 70 and the pressing plate 71 by the label side transport device 65 and is accommodated in the original empty holder H stopped on the conveyor D by the third positioning stopper 54. In this case, for samples W that have resulted in a reading error due to image recognition, a label may not be attached using the attachment device, or the sample W may be transported directly from the position of the second positioning stopper 58 to the discharge and transfer section F by the conveyor D while still contained in the holder H without lifting it from the holder H to remove water droplets and attach a label.

(7) Discharge and transfer of specimens W The specimens W transferred by the label-side transfer device 65 to the original empty holder H on the conveyor D and specimens W that have been read erroneously by the image recognition device are removed from the holder H on the conveyor D and sent to the processed rack R2 or the defective rack R3. That is, the specimens W are removed from the holder H by the water droplet removal unit side transfer device 61, and after the label is attached, are returned to the conveyor D by the label-side transfer device 65. The holder H containing the returned specimen W stops at the position of the fourth positioning stopper 56, and the specimens W are removed from the stopped holder H by the discharge and transfer unit F and moved to the processed rack R2 or the defective rack R3. In this case, the specimens W are transferred to a predetermined rack R by the lift mechanism 5, the first horizontal movement mechanism 9, and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12 provided in the discharge and transfer unit F.

[1-4. Effects of the embodiment]
(1) The specimen transport device of this embodiment grips the specimen W from the side, and can grip the body of the specimen W while avoiding the large-diameter lid on the top. Therefore, the opening and closing of the gripping part can be relatively small, and the partition interval of the rack R can be narrowed to improve the accumulation of specimens W.

(2) The lateral gripping unit 1 can be moved to the width and depth of the image matching labeling device by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12, so that a large number of specimens W stored in the rack R can be removed in order from within the partitions at the ends of the rack R without moving the rack R. Moreover, even if the removal positions of the specimens W from the rack R differ for each specimen W, such as when different types of racks R are stored or when specimens W are only stored in a portion of the racks R, the specimens W can be transferred to the holding unit 20 in a fixed position by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12.

(3) Because the lateral gripping unit 1 is moved widthwise and depthwise by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12, the fixed position of the holding unit 20 and the movement path of the upper gripping unit 30 can be flexibly arranged in each part of the image matching labeling device, thereby making it possible to miniaturize the entire image matching labeling device.

(4) Normally, when a sample W is grasped from the side, if it is transferred to an image recognition device in this state, the collection label attached to the body of the sample W is hidden by the gripping part, making it impossible to read the information. In this embodiment, a holding part 20 that holds the sample W from below is provided between the rack R and the image recognition device, and the sample W is placed on this holding part 20 and then transferred to the upper gripping part 30, so that the collection label is no longer hidden by the gripping part, and the label can be reliably read by image recognition.

(5) By rotating the specimen W held by the upper gripping portion 30 using the rotation mechanism 31, the entire periphery of the specimen W can be reliably faced by the camera 41 during image recognition, regardless of the gripping position of the specimen W removed from the rack R. This prevents the label from being in the blind spot of the camera 41 during collection, improving image recognition accuracy.

(6) When the upper gripping part 30 grips the specimen W set in the holder 20, the upper gripping part 30 grips the specimen W from the upper end side of the specimen W. Therefore, even if the specimen W is of a different height, it is possible to always grip the specimen W at a constant position from the upper end by simply incorporating a height signal from a non-contact height sensor into the control. As a result, regardless of the height of the specimen W, by gripping the part of the specimen W close to the lid, the finger part 32 of the upper gripping part 30 does not hide the label at the time of collection.

3. Other embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. Specifically, the following other embodiments are also included.

(1) In the illustrated embodiment, the specimen transfer device of the present invention is used to transfer specimens from a rack R to an image recognition device, but it can also be used as a device that simply removes specimens W from a rack R and transports them to another location. For example, in the device shown in FIG. 1, the transfer device of this embodiment is applied to the discharge and transfer section F that transfers specimens W that have been labeled to an empty rack R, but it can also be used for other purposes.

(2) The means for opening and closing the multiple claws 2 may be one in which the left and right claws 2 rotate left and right around an axis, or at least one of the claws 2 may move linearly in the opening and closing direction. In addition, a non-slip material such as rubber may be provided on the claws 2 at the part that comes into contact with the specimen W to prevent slipping when the specimen W is gripped. In the illustrated embodiment, a plate-shaped member that is thin in the height direction is used as the claws 2, but a member with a certain width in the height direction may be used to increase the contact area between the claws 2 and the specimen W and ensure stability when gripped.

(3) In order to remove multiple specimens W stored vertically and horizontally in a rack R having lattice-shaped partitions, the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12 are provided so that the lateral gripper 1 moves in two directions, vertically and horizontally. However, when a rack R that stores specimens W in a straight line is used, the lateral gripper 1 only needs to move in one direction, so specimens W can be removed from the side using only the first horizontal movement mechanism 9. Similarly, by moving the rack R itself, if the removal position of specimens W within the device is kept constant, specimens W can be removed from the side using only the first horizontal movement mechanism 9.

(4) Although the holding part 20 is fixed and the upper gripping part 30 is raised and lowered, it is also possible to insert the raised specimen W into the fingers 32 of the upper gripping part 30 and grasp it by supporting the holding part 20 with the lifting mechanism 5 without raising and lowering the upper gripping part 30.

(5) The lateral gripping portion 1 is moved horizontally by the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and vertically by the second horizontal movement mechanism 12, but it is also possible to switch the movement directions of the first horizontal movement mechanism 9 and the second horizontal movement mechanism 12.

W... sample, H... holder (sample rack), Hf... flange, R... rack, R1... unprocessed rack, R2... processed rack, R3... defective rack A... supply/discharge section, B... removal/transport section, C... image recognition section, D... conveyor, E... label application device, F... discharge/transport section 1... horizontal gripping section, 2... opening/closing claw, 3... rail, 4... slider, 5... lifting mechanism, 6... vertical rail, 7... bracket type slider, 8... motor, 9... first horizontal movement mechanism, 10... vertical rail, 11... vertical slider, 12... second horizontal movement mechanism, 13... horizontal rail, 14... horizontal slider, 15... support member, 20... holding section, 21... bottom, 22... guide member 30... upper gripping section, 31... rotation mechanism, 3 2...Finger portion 40...Base, 41...Camera, 42...Light 50...Table, 51...Guide groove, 52...Belt, 53...First positioning stopper, 54...Third positioning stopper, 55...Third buffer stopper, 56...Fourth positioning stopper, 57...First buffer stopper, 58...Second positioning stopper, 59...Second buffer stopper 60...Water droplet removal section, 61...Water droplet removal section side transport device, 62...Casing, 63...Blowout port, 64...Pipe, 65...Label side transport device, 66...Scattering prevention cover, 67...Water droplet recovery section, 68...Partition, 69...Drainage hole 70...Rotating roller, 71...Pressing plate, 72...Receiving member, 73...Label supply reel, 74...Guide roller

Claims (11)

a lateral gripping portion having a plurality of opening and closing claws for gripping a cylindrical body portion of a specimen having a curved bottom;
an opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes the plurality of opening/closing claws of the lateral gripping portion;
a first horizontal movement mechanism for moving the lateral gripping part laterally toward and away from the body of the specimen;
a lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the lateral gripping part in a longitudinal direction of the specimen;
A specimen transfer device comprising: the lateral gripping unit has, in addition to the first horizontal movement mechanism for moving the specimen toward and away from the body of the specimen in a lateral direction, a second horizontal movement mechanism for moving the specimen horizontally in a direction different from that of the first horizontal movement mechanism;
2. The specimen transport device according to claim 1. The plurality of opening/closing claws are each composed of a pair of left and right members, at least one of which moves in the opening/closing direction, and is a plate-like member having a thin thickness in the height direction.
3. The specimen transport device according to claim 2. the plurality of opening and closing claws are each provided with a V-shaped recess on an inner edge facing each other, and when the pair of left and right opening and closing claws are closed to grip the sample, each side of the V-shaped recess comes into contact with an outer peripheral surface of the sample.
4. The specimen transport device according to claim 3. a holder that is provided on a moving path of the lateral gripper and holds the sample gripped by the lateral gripper from below;
an upper gripping portion that grips and lifts the sample supported by the holding portion from above;
A lifting mechanism that lifts the upper gripping portion from the holding portion;
A horizontal movement mechanism for horizontally moving the upper gripping portion is provided.
3. The specimen transport device according to claim 2. The specimen transfer device according to claim 5, characterized in that the holding part is provided on a path of movement of the lateral gripping part by the second horizontal movement mechanism. The specimen transfer device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the holding section is composed of a bottom section and a plurality of guide members that rise upward from the periphery of the bottom section, the guide members are arranged in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and the body of the specimen is held by the inner surface of the guide members. The specimen transfer device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the upper gripping portion has a plurality of fingers protruding downward, the plurality of fingers are arranged in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and an opening/closing mechanism is provided for moving each finger between the central axis side and the outer periphery side of the upper gripping portion. The specimen transport device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it is provided with a rotation mechanism that rotates the upper gripping portion around the axis of the specimen. The specimen transport device according to claim 9, characterized in that the rotation mechanism of the upper gripping part rotates 360 degrees or more when the specimen moves in front of an image recognition camera of an image recognition part located downstream of the movement path of the holding part. The specimen transport device according to claim 1, further comprising one lateral gripping unit which is also located at a position where a labeled specimen is removed from a specimen rack on a conveyor which connects each transport unit of the image matching labeling device and circulates a large number of specimen racks, and where the removed labeled specimen is moved to the empty rack for discharge from the image matching labeling device.