JP2574575Y2 - 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 a container opening of a blood collection tube or the like without touching a hand. The present invention relates to an automatic opening device that can automatically remove all rubber stoppers even when the number of containers held in the container is different.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a rubber stopper is fitted to an opening of a container for storing blood, such as a vacuum blood collection tube, for the purpose of preventing blood sample 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 such a case, since the blood collection tube is often held in a plurality of types of racks, the operation of removing the rubber stopper becomes extremely complicated, and the frequency of blood contact infection increases. Had.

[0005] For this reason, the applicant of the present invention has previously disclosed that a plurality of blood collection tubes are automatically pulled out of the rack without touching the rubber plugs of the plurality of blood collection tubes, and the rubber plugs that have been pulled out are removed.
There has been proposed a highly safe automatic opening apparatus that can be collected and discarded without touching hands, and that does not cause any risk of accidentally damaging a blood collection tube (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-3).
No.61092).

[0006]

On the other hand, on the other hand, a variety of racks, such as five racks and ten racks, are used for standing and holding a plurality of the blood collection tubes. If the automatic opening device is set in accordance with one type of standardized rack, blood collection tubes held in other types of racks cannot be set. Since the operation of transferring the blood collection tube held in the rack is required, the operation becomes very complicated, and the significance as an automatic opening device has been greatly impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and its purpose is to hand-pipe the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube even when the number of blood collection tubes held in the rack is different. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic opening apparatus excellent in operation efficiency which can be set in a rack of any size by automatically pulling out a predetermined number of the racks without touching them.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a rack for standing and holding a plurality of containers, and a rack transfer means for sequentially transferring the rack to an opening position. An opening means for removing a rubber stopper from a container held in a rack that has reached the opening position, and an automatic opening apparatus having a technical premise, the opening means,
A predetermined number of rubber stoppers out of the plurality of containers erected on the rack are configured to be pulled out, and the rack transfer means opens the containers held by the rack at the predetermined number of times. It is characterized by being driven and controlled to transfer to a position.

[0009]

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, an automatic opening apparatus according to this embodiment is similar to a rack 15A which stands up and holds every five blood-collected containers 14 with rubber stoppers 16 tightly mounted. The blood-collected container 14 having the rubber stopper 16 tightly attached thereto is
A rack 15B which stands upright for each book;
A container stocker A in which a plurality of A and 15B are set at random, a rack transfer means (not shown) for sequentially transferring each of the racks 15A and 15B to an operated rack stocker C via an opening position, An opening device 1 that is opened in the middle of the rack transfer means and is provided in the middle of a rack transfer line B provided between the container stocker A and the finished rack stocker C; And a rubber stopper collection container 8 (see FIG. 2) for collecting the rubber stopper 16 pulled out by the stopper device 1.

Accordingly, each of the racks 15A and 15B holding a plurality of rows of the containers 14 is transferred from the container stocker A to the rack transfer line B, and then the five containers 14
Are intermittently transferred by the distance set at the opening position.

That is, in the case of the rack 15A that holds the five containers 14 upright, all the containers 1
4 are set at the opening position at a time, but 10 containers 1
In the case of the rack 15B that stands and holds the container 4, the intermittent transfer first starts with the fifth container 5 from the left shown in FIG.
4 is set at the opening position, and after the opening operation of the five containers 14 is completed, the fifth to fifth 10th containers 14 from the left.
The book container 14 is configured to be set at the opening position.

Therefore, the timing of the intermittent transfer of the rack transfer line B is set such that the transfer drive is stopped from the time when the five containers 14 are set at the opening position to the time when the opening operation is completed. Is controlled. Further, the rack transfer line B has five racks to be transferred to the open position.
A rack 15A or 10
Whether the rack 15B holds the book container 14 is determined by known identification means (not shown) such as a sensor, and the container stocker A of each rack 15A, 15B is determined based on the information.
And the transport in the front-back direction of the completed rack stocker C is controlled.

After the rubber plugs 16 of all the containers 14 held in the racks 15A and 15B are pulled out at the opening position, the racks 15A and 15B are transferred to the rack stocker C which has been operated. You. The transfer mechanism of the racks 15A and 15B from the container stocker A to the rack transfer line B and the transfer mechanism from the rack transfer line B to the worked rack stocker C are known mechanisms such as an extruding mechanism using an actuator or the like. Can be used, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the opening device 1 is disposed adjacent to the outlet side of the container stocker A, and has a rubber mat 3 adhered to the lower surface. A flat base member 2, a pair of supports 4, 5 erected at both ends on the front side of the base member 2, and a rotatable upper portion of each of the supports 4, 5 via a shaft 6. And a rotating member 7 supported by a shaft.

The base member 2 is provided on the rack 15A, 1
The racks 15A and 15B are configured to be carried into and out of the space from the horizontal and horizontal position by the rack transfer means B. ing.

The rotating member 7 is provided with 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 and a driving device for reciprocatingly rotating the operating portion 13 within a predetermined range are provided. It is pivoted downward.

The driving device for reciprocatingly rotating the operating portion 13 includes a link 18 having one end rotatably supported by the operating portion 13 and a rotatable shaft having the other end of the link 18 rotatably. It comprises a rotating body 19 supported 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.

On the other hand, the rotating member 7 is stopped in a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, that is, the horizontal plate 10 stops in a horizontal state, and does not rotate further counterclockwise from the horizontal state. Regulated by the body (not shown).
Of course, the clockwise rotation in FIG. 2 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, 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.

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 locking end 11 a of the locking body 11 is in contact with the upper end of the container 14 set in the open position when the horizontal plate 10 is set in a horizontal state. It is set at a height position that does not cut into the head of the rubber stopper 16 attached to the container 14. Of course, although not shown, a known pressure sensor is disposed at the locking end 11a of the locking body 11, and a member that is in contact with the locking end 11a of the locking body 11 by the pressure sensor. Container 14 or rubber stopper 16
It is also possible to control the opening operation of the rotating member 7 and to surely prevent the container 14 from being damaged by configuring such that the container 14 can be selected.

On the other hand, the rubber stopper collection container 8 has a substantially concave cross section and a substantially convex planar shape, and has a length dimension such that the rear end 8a is formed at the rear end of the base member 2a. It is positioned so as to abut against the corner fittings 17 fixed on both sides, and has a length dimension such that its front end 8b is the same as the front end of each of the supports 4 and 5. .

In addition, the rubber stopper collecting container 8 has a front plate 8c formed to be inclined.
When engaging with the step 16a of the rubber plug 16 and rotating about the shaft 6 as a fulcrum and pulling out the rubber plug 16,
The pulled-out rubber plug 16 falls under its own weight in the direction of the rubber plug collection container 8, rolls on the inclined surface of the front plate 8 c, and is housed in the rubber plug collection container 8. Of course, the rubber stopper collection container 8 is not limited to the shape of the illustrated embodiment, but may have any appropriate shape as long as the rubber stopper 16 pulled out by the locking member 11 can be securely stored. Can be used.

The actuating portion 13 for driving the locking body 11 of the plug opening device 1 thus configured moves the link 18 forward and backward by the rotation of the rotating body 19, and the rubber is moved by the forward and backward movement of the link 18. Stopper 16 is withdrawn from container 14. Therefore, the operation of the operating section 13 is performed in synchronization with the loading / unloading operations of the racks 15A and 15B.

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 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 this embodiment, although not shown, for example, a rubber stopper detecting means such as a limit switch is provided at the end of the rack transfer path of the stopper opening device in order to determine whether the rubber stopper is left unextracted. When there is a rubber stopper left unattached, 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.

Therefore, in the automatic opening apparatus according to this embodiment, the rack 15A for vertically holding the five containers 14 is provided.
Is set at the opening position at one time by the intermittent transfer, and the rack 15B that holds and stands the ten containers 14 first has the fifth container 14 from the left shown in FIG. Is set to the open position, and the five containers 1
After the opening operation of 4 is completed, the five containers 14 from the sixth to the tenth from the left are transported so as to be set at the opening position, so that the opening device 1 is used for five. There is no need to prepare two types of the ones for ten bottles. As a result, the apparatus does not become large and complicated, the configuration can be provided simply and at low cost, and the container 14 can be provided from one rack. Need to be transferred to the other rack,
This kind of work efficiency can be greatly improved.

In the above embodiment, the racks 15A, 15A
The case where B is used for 5 and 10 is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this case. Even when a plurality of types of racks holding different numbers are mixed. Of course, it can be applied.

[0029]

As described above, according to the automatic opening apparatus according to the present invention, the rubber stopper of the container held in the rack can be reliably and safely pulled out of the rack of any size. In addition, since there is no need to transfer containers from one rack to the other, this type of work can be processed very efficiently, and a plurality of types of opening devices are prepared according to the size of the rack. Since there is no need, there is an excellent effect that the apparatus can be greatly simplified and the cost can be greatly reduced.

[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 an engaging 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]

 A Container Stocker B Rack Transfer Line C Worked Rack Stocker 1 Opener 14 Container 15A, 15B Rack 16 Rubber stopper

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A rack for standing and holding a plurality of containers,
An automatic opening apparatus comprising: rack transfer means for sequentially transferring the rack to an opening position; and opening means for removing a rubber stopper from a container held by the rack reaching the opening position. In the above, the opening means is configured to remove a predetermined number of rubber stoppers out of the plurality of containers erected on the rack, and the rack transfer means removes the containers held by the rack. An automatic opening apparatus, wherein the automatic opening apparatus is controlled so as to be transferred to the opening position at every predetermined number.