JP2574565Y2 - Automatic opening device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic opening apparatus capable of continuously pulling out a rubber stopper fitted to an opening of a container such as a blood collection tube without touching the container. The present invention relates to an automatic opening apparatus suitable for a case where a plurality of rows are held on a rack for each of a plurality of rows.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a rubber stopper is fitted into an opening of a container for storing blood, such as a vacuum blood collection tube, for the purpose of preventing blood from flowing out.

By the way, this rubber stopper is removed, for example, when setting a blood collection tube to an automatic analyzer.
At present, the operation of removing the rubber plug is conventionally performed manually.

[0004] However, when the operation of removing the rubber stopper is performed manually, there is a risk that the blood sample may be touched and infected with various diseases, and the operation of removing the rubber stopper may involve removing many blood collection tubes. In addition to this, the operation is very complicated, and there is a risk that blood contact infection may occur when collecting the collected rubber stoppers. In the case of, etc., since there are many cases where a plurality of rows of the blood collection tubes are held in a rack for each of a plurality of tubes, the operation of removing the rubber stopper becomes extremely complicated, and the frequency of blood contact infection increases. Had the problem that

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned situation, and its purpose is to collect each blood sample even when a rack holds a plurality of rows of blood collection tubes. An object of the present invention is to provide a highly safe automatic stopper that can automatically pull out a rubber stopper of a blood vessel without touching the hand and collect and discard the pulled rubber stopper without shaking hands. It is.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a rack for holding a plurality of containers in a plurality of rows in an automatic opening apparatus, and holding each container of the rack. A through-hole for a push-up body opened at the bottom of the hole, a push-up body inserted into the through-hole at the opening position and lifting each container held in a row of the rack to an opening height position, an opening position And opening means for removing the rubber plug of each container lifted to the opening height position.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic opening apparatus according to this embodiment comprises a rack 15 for standing and holding blood-collected containers 14 tightly fitted with rubber stoppers 16 in five rows every five. ,
A container stocker A in which a plurality of the racks 15 are set, a rack transfer means (not shown) for sequentially transferring each of the racks 15 through the opening position to the completed rack stocker C, and a halfway of the rack transfer means Department, and
An opening device 1 interposed in the middle of a rack transfer line B disposed between a container stocker A and a processed rack stocker C, and a rack 15 at a position where the opening device 1 is disposed. Push-up device D for lifting the containers 14 in a row, and a rubber stopper 16 pulled out by the stopper device 1.
And a rubber stopper collecting container 8 (see FIG. 2) for collecting the water.

Therefore, after the rack 15 holding the plurality of rows of the containers 14 is transferred from the container stocker A to the rack transfer line B, the rack 15 has a distance corresponding to the distance of each row in the rack transfer line B. After the rubber stoppers 16 are intermittently transferred, and the rubber stoppers 16 are pulled out one by one by the opening device 1 in the middle part thereof, the rubber stoppers 16 are transferred to the finished rack stocker C. As a transfer mechanism of the rack 15 from the container stocker A to the rack transfer line B and a transfer mechanism from the rack transfer line B to the completed rack stocker C, a known mechanism such as an extruding mechanism using an actuator or the like may be used. Therefore, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

As is clear from FIGS. 2 and 3, the rack 15 has a container holding hole 20 having a substantially U-shaped cross section for holding a total of 25 five containers 14 in five rows and holding each of these containers. And a small-diameter through-hole 21 formed at the bottom of the hole 20. The depth of the container holding hole 20 is such that the upper end of each container 14 slightly protrudes from the upper surface of the rack 15 when the container is stored, and is pushed up to the opening height by the push-up device D at the opening position. When
Each container 14 is formed so as to have such a depth that the container 14 does not fall out of the holding hole 17.

The rack transfer line B is formed of a known endless belt conveyor, and has five through holes 2 formed coaxially with the through holes 21 of the rack 15 in a row. Each unit is established at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the line.

The opening device 1 arranged in the middle of the rack transfer line B having such a configuration is arranged at least five rows before the end of the rack transfer line B. A pair of supports 4 and 5 erected on both sides of the rack transfer line B, and a rotating member 7 rotatably supported on the upper portions of the supports 4 and 5 via a shaft 6.
And is composed of

Therefore, the rack 15 is intermittently transferred between the pair of supports 4 and 5 by the rack transfer line B.

The rotating member 7 has a horizontal plate 10
A locking member 11 extending downward from a front edge of the horizontal plate portion 10; a support piece portion 12 extending downward from both depth-side ends of the horizontal plate portion 10; An operating portion 13 fixed to the upper surface of the plate portion 10; a driving device for reciprocatingly rotating the operating portion 13 within a predetermined range;
And a rubber plug sliding member 19 disposed on the lower surface of the shaft 6. The shaft 6 is pivotally supported below each of the support pieces 12.

On the other hand, the rotating member 7 is mounted on the horizontal plate 1.
0 is stopped in a horizontal state, and is regulated by a stopper body (not shown) so as not to rotate further counterclockwise from the horizontal state. Of course, the clockwise rotation in FIG. 3 is not restricted.

The stopper body is formed by processing the shaft 6, and a projection (not shown) is formed on the shaft insertion hole side of the supports 4 and 5 so that the rotating member 7 is in a horizontal state. , The machined portion of the shaft 6 can be configured to engage with the projection formed on the shaft insertion hole side of the supports 4 and 5 to maintain a horizontal state. Protrusions or steps (not shown) are formed on the opposing surfaces of the bodies 4 and 5, and when the rotating member 7 is in a horizontal state, the lower surface of the horizontal plate portion 10 is It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a horizontal state is maintained by abutting against a projection or a step formed on the fifth side.

Further, when the rotating member 7 is set in the horizontal state, the locking body 11 has its locking end 1.
As shown in FIG. 4, 1a is formed in a saw-tooth shape so as to securely bite and lock the peripheral surface of the head portion of the rubber plug 16 fitted in an opening of the container 14 or the like in a liquid-tight manner. At the same time, when the horizontal plate 10 is set in a horizontal state, the upper end of the container 14 pushed up to the opening height position when the horizontal plate 10 is set in a horizontal state. And is set at a height position where it does not contact with the head of the rubber plug 16 mounted on the container 14. Although not shown, a known pressure sensor is disposed at the locking end 11a of the locking body 11, and the locking body 11 is provided by the pressure sensor.
Is configured so that the member in contact with the locking end portion 11a can be selected from the container 14 and the rubber stopper 16, thereby controlling the opening operation of the rotating member 7 and reliably preventing the container 14 from being damaged. It can also be configured to do so.

On the other hand, the rubber stopper sliding member 19 provided on the lower surface side of the horizontal plate portion 10 is formed in a substantially J-shaped cross section, as is clear from FIG. The portion 19a is configured so that the rubber stopper 16 that has been pulled out slides and the collection container 8
It is inclined so that it is automatically stored in Of course, at least the lowermost portion of the rubber stopper slide 19 has the upper end of each container 14 in a state where the rubber stopper 16 is pulled out and each container 14 is lowered and stored in the container holding hole 20. It is formed in a size that does not come into contact with the parts and that does not collide with each of the containers 14 and the rubber stopper 16 even during the opening operation.

The rubber stopper collection container 8 is disposed on one side of the rack transfer line B, and the pulled rubber stopper 16 is attached to the inclined flat part 1 of the rubber stopper slide 19.
It is configured to be automatically stored in the collection container 8 when it slides and falls on 9a. Of course, the rubber stopper collection container 8 is not limited to the shape of the embodiment shown in the drawings.
Any shape can be used as long as it can be securely stored.

On the other hand, the push-up device D, which pushes up the containers 14 held on the rack 15 at the opening position in a line, comprises five push-up rods 22 inserted into and removed from the through holes 2, 21. The support 2 connecting the lower end of the push-up bar 22
3 and a mechanism (not shown) connected to the support 23 for raising and lowering the support 23 at a predetermined timing. Each of the push-up bars 22 is synchronized with the intermittent transfer of the rack 15. , And each push-up rod 22 is inserted into each of the through holes 2, 21 to lift each container 14 line by line to the opening height, and the rubber stopper 16 is removed by the opening device 1. After being moved, the push-up bar 22 is lowered and retracted from each of the through holes 2, 21 so as to be driven and controlled so as not to hinder the transfer of the rack 15.

The driving device for reciprocating the operating portion 13 includes a link 18 having one end rotatably supported by the operating portion 13 and the other end of the link 18 being rotatable. And a motor (not shown) for rotating the rotating body 19. Of course, this drive device is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and any known mechanism can be applied as long as it is a mechanism that reciprocates the operating section 13 within a predetermined range.

As shown in FIG. 5, first, the locking end 11a of the locking body 11 bites into the head of the rubber plug 16, and from this state, the operating portion 13 is then opened. After the rubber stopper 16 has been pivoted in the required direction to pull up the rubber stopper 16 from the opening of the container 14 as shown in FIG. 6, the locking body 11 is moved to the horizontal position as shown in FIG. After that, the locking body 11 is again rotated in the opening direction, so that the locking end 11a of the locking body 11 is securely engaged with the step 16a of the rubber plug 16 to engage. As shown in FIG. 8, the drive is controlled so that the rubber stopper 16 is completely pulled out from the opening of the container 14. This is because the rubber stopper 16 is
For example, when the rubber plug 16 is formed of raw rubber or the like having high elasticity, the adhesion between the rubber plug 16 and the container 14 is large, and a single rotation operation of the locking body 11 may cause the rubber plug 16 to be left unextracted. Therefore, to completely prevent this, the operation of the locking body 11 is controlled as described above.

In the present invention, although not shown, for example, a rubber stopper detecting means such as a limit switch is provided at the exit of the rack transfer path of the stoppering device in order to determine whether the rubber stopper is left unextracted. If the rubber stopper is left unplugged, the remaining rubber stopper comes into contact with the limit switch to turn off each drive device and automatically stop the transfer of the container holding the remaining rubber stopper. At the same time, the rotation member may be stopped at the rotation upper limit position of the locking body, and this state may be notified by an alarm or a lamp. Of course, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the presence or absence of the above-mentioned remaining rubber stopper is detected by a detection unit such as an optical sensor.

Next, the operation of the thus configured automatic opening apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

First, when a start switch (not shown) is turned on, the rack transfer means operates, and the rack 1 is turned on.
After the containers 5 are transferred from the container stocker A to the rack transfer line B, they are intermittently transferred on the rack transfer line B a distance corresponding to a line-by-line distance. Transferred to a location.

In the opening position of the opening device 1, the rotating member 7 is set in a horizontal state in advance, and the push-up device D
As a result, the five containers 14 in a row
It is lifted to the height position where it meshes.

When the containers 14 are set at the predetermined opening positions in this manner, the set state is confirmed by detecting means such as a sensor (not shown), and then the rotating body 19 is rotated. Thereby, the link 18 is operated, and first, the turning member 7 is turned to the middle position shown in FIG.

By rotating the rotating member 7 at a required angle in this manner, the locking end 11a of the locking body 11 is lifted obliquely upward while biting into the head of each rubber plug 16. The rubber stopper 16 is slightly pulled out from the opening of each container 14. From this state, the rotating member 7 rotates in the opposite direction to return the locking body 11 to the original position, and then rotates again in the plug opening direction, whereby the locking body 11 is rotated. Is securely engaged with the step 16a of each rubber plug 16,
The locking end 11a of the locking body 11 can completely pull out each rubber plug 16 from each container 14. The rubber stopper 16 pulled out from each container 14 in this manner is received by the rubber stopper slide 19 and then slid to be automatically stored in the rubber stopper collection container 8.

The opening operation is continuously performed on each of the subsequent containers 14. After the opening operation of all the containers 14 held in the rack 15 is completed, the rack 15 is moved to the adjacent operated rack. Transferred to stocker C.

In the above embodiment, the case where the number of the containers 14 held in the rack 15 is 5 rows by 5 rows has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Rather, it can be set arbitrarily as needed. For example, one line is 10 lines × 10 lines, and it is needless to say that each mechanism can be appropriately changed in design and applied in accordance with this.

[0031]

As described above, according to the automatic opening apparatus according to the present invention, when a plurality of rows of vessels such as blood collection tubes are held in a plurality of rows, the rubber stopper attached to each vessel is provided. Can be automatically and reliably pulled out line by line without touching the surface, so there is no risk of blood contact infection to this type of tester, and the rubber stopper removed can be cleaned It has an excellent effect that it can be performed without touching the stopper at all and is sanitary.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic opening apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the automatic opening device, partially cut away.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a main part of the automatic opening device.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the locking body of the automatic opening device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the locking end of the locking body is cut into the head of the rubber stopper in the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the automatic opening device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the rubber stopper is pulled out halfway by the locking member in the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the automatic opening device.

FIG. 7: In the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the automatic opening device, the stopper is moved back to the original position, and the stopper end of the stopper is engaged with the step of the rubber stopper. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the rubber stopper has been pulled out of the container in the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the automatic opening device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A Container stocker B Rack transfer line C Worked rack stocker D Push-up device 1 Opening device 2, 21 Through hole 7 Rotating member 11 Locking body 11a Serrated locking end of locking body 13 Working part 14 Container 15 rack 16 Rubber stopper 18 Link 19 Rotating body 20 Container holding hole 22 Push-up bar

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A rack for standing and holding a plurality of containers in a plurality of rows, a through hole for a push-up body formed at the bottom of each container holding hole of the rack, and inserted into the through hole at an opening position. A push-up body that lifts each container held in a row of the rack to an opening height position, and opening means for removing a rubber plug of each container raised to the opening height position at the opening position. Automatic opening device configured as follows.