JP3390352B2 - Rack transport device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for transporting a tube rack, and more particularly to a switching unit for switching a transport line and a transport direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic pipetting apparatus, a sample analyzer, etc., each sample (sample) is contained in a tube as a test tube, and a plurality of tubes are transported in rack units. The transfer is performed by a rack transfer device. In a rack transport apparatus, a switching unit is used when transporting a rack from one transport line to another.

A typical prior art switching unit is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG. 6, for example, line A
After the rack 8 is introduced onto the station 16 from the station 16, the station 16 is rotated 90 degrees by the rotating mechanism 18, and then the rack 8 is discharged from the station 16 to the line B. As a result, the rack transport direction is switched. Further, in the case shown in FIG. 7, the station 26 is moved in parallel by the slide mechanism 28, whereby the rack introduced from the line A is discharged to the line B or the line D, for example.

[0004]

However, the above switching unit has only the predetermined switching function,
Poor versatility. In particular, when the ends of many transport lines are connected, there is a demand for a small switching unit that can freely switch between the introduction line and the discharge line between them.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable various switching of a transfer line even with a single switching unit.

Another object of the present invention is to realize a compact switching unit which has a high degree of freedom of switching and does not occupy a large installation space.

[0007]

(1) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is directed to conveying tube racks to each other.
At least one line array whose ends are aligned;
Comprising a switching unit for the ends of the in-column are connected, wherein the switching unit, tube rack is introduced, a station for discharging the tube rack after line switching, a sliding mechanism for sliding said station, said slide And a rotation mechanism for rotating the mechanism, wherein the center line of the line array is the rotation center of the rotation mechanism.
As described above, the slide mechanism is connected between both ends of the line row.
Slide the station as far as it will go
The center line of the ride range passes through the rotation center of the rotating mechanism,
The introduction line and the discharge line of the tube rack are selected by using the slide and rotation of the station.

With the above arrangement, the station can be moved in parallel by the slide of the station to select the line, and also the line can be selected by rotating the station. That is, a single switching unit has a combined function of slide and rotation, and by combining them, the number of switching lines in a single switching unit can be increased, and various line switching (including direction switching and direction switching). Can be achieved. Here, preferably, a slide mechanism is provided at the bottom of the station, and a rotation mechanism is further provided at the bottom thereof. With such a hierarchical overlapping structure, the installation space of the switching unit in the horizontal direction can be minimized.

That is, preferably , on the rotating mechanism.
The slide mechanism is provided on the
The station is installed in the
Used.

Preferably, the switching unit is connected to a plurality of line pairs as the line array , and each line pair is connected to the switching unit.
The end spacing of the impair is the same .

(2) In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention provides end- to- end alignment with each other for transporting tube racks.
A plurality of line pairs that are, anda switching unit whose ends are connected to the plurality of lines pairs, the switching unit, tube rack is introduced, a station for discharging the tube rack after line switching, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the station, each
The end intervals of the line pairs are the same, the rotation center of the rotation mechanism is set on the center line of each line pair, and the station is displaced from the rotation center by a distance corresponding to one line of each line pair. The introduction line and the discharge line of the tube rack are selected by the rotation of the station.

According to the above arrangement, since the station is installed while being displaced, it is possible to select the line of the line pair depending on the rotation angle. That is, from the state where the station is connected to one of the line pair,
Rotating it 180 degrees will connect the station to the other side of the line pair.

The present invention also conveys a tube rack.
A plurality of line pairs whose ends are aligned with each other.
A switching unit to which the ends of several line pairs are connected,
The switching unit includes a tube rack.
Then, after switching the line, the tube rack is discharged.
Station and the second time to invert the station
Rolling mechanism and first rotating mechanism for rotating the second rotating mechanism
And the end spacing of each line pair is the same.
Of the first rotating mechanism on the center line of each line pair.
The first rotation center is set, and the second rotation mechanism is the first rotation center.
Equivalent to one line of each line pair from one rotation center
Centering around the second center of rotation displaced by
Rotate the station,
Select the tube rack introduction line and discharge line
It is characterized by being done. According to such an inversion mechanism, when the tube rack is discharged to any line,
The discharge direction can be freely selected.

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the construction of the essential parts of a rack transport apparatus according to the present invention. This rack transfer device is, for example, in an automatic dispensing device, a rack (tube rack) in which a plurality of test tubes (tubes) are held upright.
Is a device for transporting.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of lines A to H are connected to the switching unit 30. Each line has a function of transporting a rack. As shown in FIG.
Lines A and B, lines C and D, lines E and F, line G
And H form line pairs whose ends are aligned in parallel. Incidentally, in the switching unit 30 of the present embodiment, it is desirable that at least one line pair is connected, but even in the case where each line is individually connected, various switching controls can be realized.

The switching unit 30 is roughly classified into a station 32 for receiving a rack from any line and discharging the rack to any line after line switching, and a slide mechanism 42 for sliding the station 32.
And a rotation mechanism 40 for rotating the slide mechanism 42 about the rotation center P. Here, the slide amount of the station 32 corresponds to the interval D of the line pair in this embodiment. Incidentally, the line pairs are arranged at the same intervals, and the center lines between the line pairs pass through the rotation center P. From this configuration, the slide of the station 32
The range centerline matches the centerline of each line pair,
First, it passes through the center of rotation P (see FIG. 1).

According to the switching unit 30 shown in FIG. 1, a rack introduced from an arbitrary line is discharged to an arbitrary line by skillfully combining the sliding and rotating of the station 32 by the slide mechanism 42 and the rotating mechanism 40. can do. That is, various line switching controls can be performed.

By the way, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the slide mechanism 42 is rotationally driven by the rotary mechanism 40. Conversely, it is also possible to slide the rotary mechanism by the slide mechanism. However, in this case, the line switching is restricted depending on the sliding direction.

Although a constant gap is formed between the end of the station 32 and the end of each line, belt transport is performed in the station 32 and each line, and each tube rack is constant. Since it has a length of, the rack can be smoothly transported even if there is a gap as described above.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a specific structural example of the switching unit 30 shown in FIG. this
In the configuration example, as described above, the stacked polymerization of each mechanism is performed.
The structure is adopted. The station 32 has a belt 100 on which a rack is placed, and the belt 100 is wound around two guide rollers 102 and 104. The rotational force of the transfer motor 106 is transmitted to the belt 100, and a rack can be taken into the belt 100 by such a mechanism, and the rack can be sent out from the belt 100 onto the line. .

The slide mechanism 42 is a mechanism for slidingly driving the station 32 as described above, and the base 108 of the station 32 is fixed to the slide plates 110 and 112 provided on the upper portion thereof. The slide plates 110 and 112 are provided slidably with respect to the frame of the slide mechanism 42. The sliding motor 114 is provided with a pinion 116, and the pinion 116 engages with a rack gear 107 provided in the lower portion of the station 32. That is, the station 32 can be slid by driving the sliding motor 114 according to the rack-and-pinion relationship.

In the rotating mechanism 40, the frame of the slide mechanism 42 is joined and fixed to the upper surface of the cylindrical rotating member 122. A gear 124 is formed on the peripheral surface of the rotating member 122, and the gear 124 is used for the rotation motor 13
It engages with the pinion 126 attached to zero. With this configuration, when the rotation motor 130 is driven, the rotation member 1
22 rotates, so that the entire slide mechanism 42 with the station 32 rotates.

Incidentally, each motor 106, 114, 13
The control of 0 is performed by a control unit (not shown), and the control unit performs rack transport control in the switching unit 30 according to a predetermined program.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the lines are provided in parallel in either the X direction or the Y direction, but of course the relationship between the lines, that is, the intersection angle between the lines can be set freely. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the lines C, D can be set at arbitrary angles with respect to the lines A, B, E. Even in such a case, the transport control similar to the above can be performed by appropriately setting the rotation amount by the rotation mechanism 40.

Another embodiment is shown in FIGS. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the switching unit 3
0 is provided with only the rotation mechanism 40, and the slide mechanism 42 shown in FIG. 1 is excluded. However, station 32
Is provided at a position displaced from the rotation center P by a predetermined distance, and specifically, is provided at a position displaced by one side of the line pair (that is, by D / 2) . With such a configuration, it is possible to perform various destination switching control. However, in some cases, the front end and the rear end of the rack may switch directions.

Therefore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 can be adopted. That is, in this embodiment, a second rotating mechanism 42 is provided in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, and the station 32 is provided by the second rotating mechanism 42.
Can be reversed. Specifically, the first
The second rotation mechanism 42 is rotationally driven by the rotation mechanism 40, and the station 3 is further driven by the second rotation mechanism 42.
2 is rotationally driven. Here, P1 is the first rotation mechanism 40.
Shows the center of rotation of the second rotation mechanism 4
2 shows the center of rotation. P2 is from P1
Only the distance that matches one side of the impair (ie D / 2
K) It is in a displaced position.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Although it is a single switching unit, it is possible to realize various switching of the transfer line. Further, according to the present invention,
A small switching unit can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the concept of a switching unit in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration example of the switching unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a modification of the switching unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing Comparative Example 1.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing Comparative Example 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 switching unit, 32 stations, 40 rotation mechanism, 42 slide mechanism, AH transport line.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-9-33539 (JP, A) JP-A-6-308133 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 4-124458 (JP, U) JP-KOKAI 5- 70113 (JP, B2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 35/00-35/10 JISC file (JOIS)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. Ends of one another for carrying tube racks
And aligned at least one line columns, anda switching unit whose ends are connected to the line column, the switching unit, tube rack is introduced, a station for discharging the tube rack after line switching, A slide mechanism for sliding the station, and a rotation mechanism for rotating the slide mechanism are provided, and a center line of the line array passes through a rotation center of the rotation mechanism.
The slide mechanism corresponds to both ends of the line row.
Slide the station in the range and slide
A rack transfer device , wherein a center line of the range passes through a center of rotation of the rotating mechanism, and an introduction line and a discharge line of a tube rack are selected by utilizing slide and rotation of the station. 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the slide mechanism is provided on the rotation mechanism, the
The station is installed above the slide mechanism,
Rack transport characterized by the adoption of a conventional overlapping structure
apparatus. 3. A device according to claim 1, in the switching unit, the line pair as the line column is more pairs connected end interval of each line pair are the same
The rack transport device is characterized in that. 4. The ends of the tube rack carrying each other are
A plurality of aligned line pairs and a switching unit to which the ends of the plurality of line pairs are connected
The switching unit includes a station into which a tube rack is introduced and which discharges the tube rack after line switching, and a rotation mechanism which rotates the station, and the end portions of each line pair have the same interval. , and the said the center of rotation setting of the rotation mechanism on the center line of each line pair, the station is provided on one position by a displacement distance corresponding to the line of said each line pair from the rotation center, the station The rack transfer device is characterized in that the introduction line and the discharge line of the tube rack are selected by rotating the. 5. Ends of a tube rack carrying each other are
A plurality of aligned line pairs and a switching unit to which the ends of the plurality of line pairs are connected
And a tube rack is introduced into the switching unit, and the line is switched after the line rack is switched.
A station for discharging Yuburakku, a second rotating mechanism for inverting the station, a first rotating mechanism for rotating the second rotary mechanism, wherein the end distance of each line pair are the same, each The first of the first rotating mechanism is located on the center line of the line pair.
A rotation center is set, and the second rotation mechanism is configured so that each line is moved from the first rotation center.
Second displaced by a distance corresponding to one line of the pair
The station is rotated around the center of rotation, and the tube rack is introduced by the rotation of the station.
A rack transporter characterized in that a line and a discharge line are selected .