JP3394785B2 - Liquid separation 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 liquid separating device, and more particularly to a device for separating a liquid which is separated into layers in a flexible container. In particular, the present invention separates the components of blood that have been centrifuged.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART It is well known that blood is collected in a blood bag, and generally, blood is centrifuged while being stored in the blood bag and separated into different components.
After centrifugation, three layers are formed in the blood bag, the first layer (lower layer) is mainly composed of red blood cells, the second layer (intermediate layer) is called "buffy coat", and the third layer is (Upper layer) is composed of plasma.

It is also well known to press a blood bag between pressure means, such as two flat plates, to separate different liquid layers. As a result, the different components of blood are drained and collected into the separation bags as appropriate via the tubes for each component. Conventional blood bag pressurizers are described in European patents 175,618, 342,404 and US Pat.
5, 4,354,116, 4,663,032.

[0004]

All of the conventional devices, when pressing a blood bag, press the blood bag in a certain orbit regardless of the filling volume of the blood bag, so that a specific blood component or blood bag form is obtained. Only had the drawback of working best. Therefore, various defects have occurred in the blood component or the blood bag form which is deviated from this.

When the blood bag is pressed, the blood bag becomes wavy, and the blood components separated in layers are mixed. Such ripples usually occur in the upper part of the blood bag, so as an improvement method, attach a flow path forming member made of plastic or the like to the pressurizing means.
As a result, it has been known that the blood component is pressed toward the outlet of the blood bag along the flow path forming member.

However, in the conventional device, since the blood bag is pressed in a certain orbit, the filling capacity of the blood bag is greatly affected, the flow path forming members are not sufficiently pressed against each other, and the flow path forming member performs its function. It wasn't showing enough.

Further, in some of the above-described devices, when the blood bag is pressed, wrinkles may be formed on the upper side or the lower side of the blood bag, and the wrinkles may be pressed with wrinkles. As a result, the blood component to be separated may remain in the blood bag or be mixed with other blood components.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a liquid separating device which does not have the above-mentioned problems, and more particularly to a device for separating liquid which has been layer-separated in a flexible container. The container has at least one outlet for draining liquid. The device mainly comprises two pressure plates and means for causing the pressure plates to perform at least two movements with respect to each other when pressed, the container being fixed between the pressure plates and subsequently pressed. Further, one of the operations is to move the pressure plates while keeping the pressure plates in parallel with each other, and the other is to change the angle formed between the pressure plates.

According to an embodiment, in the device, the above-mentioned means are drive members for moving the pressure plates with respect to each other, at least one of the pressure plates is rotatably fixed, and the rotation plate tilts the pressure plates. The shaft is suitably positioned between the top and bottom of the contact surface of the pressure plate and is suitably spaced from the center of the contact surface.

The above-mentioned drive means may be of any shape, but is preferably composed of a frame that moves in the rotational direction by a drive portion such as a spring, a cylinder or a motor.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the pressure plate performs two mutual movements so that the pressure plate is in an effective mutual position when the bag is pressed, so that the shape of the blood bag is adjusted optimally or automatically. Be adjusted. Therefore, the flow path forming members are sufficiently pressed against each other, the flow path forming members can sufficiently exert their functions, and the upper side or the lower side of the blood bag is not pressed while wrinkles are generated. Or it works best regardless of the form of the blood bag.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to make the features of the present invention easier to understand, preferred examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the device of the present invention.

2-4 are views of the apparatus from different positions along arrow F2 in FIG.

FIGS. 5-8 show another embodiment of this apparatus.

The device 1 of the present invention is mainly composed of the following components as shown in FIGS. It has a frame 2, two pressure plates 3 and 4, and a drive means 5 capable of moving the pressure plates 3 and 4 in at least two ways in relation to each other. And each movement can be changed freely at any time.

As shown in FIG. 1, a soft container 6 such as a blood bag is fixed between the pressure plates 3 and 4.
In the apparatus of this embodiment, the pressure plate 4 is a movable pressure plate, and the plate 3 is a fixed pressure plate.

Therefore, a container 6 is provided between the pressure plates 3 and 4.
A fixing means such as a hook 7 capable of suspending is attached to the frame 2. The container 6 is provided with a hole therefor.

By pressing the container 6, the content liquid is pushed out through the outlet 9.

It is known that the blood in a container after centrifugation forms a layer 10 consisting mainly of red blood cells, a layer 11 called buffy coat and a layer 12 mainly consisting of plasma. Gradually pressing the container 6 causes the plasma to be forced out of the outlet 9, followed by the buffy coat 11.

These are collected in the reservoirs 14 and 15 via the transfer tube 13, respectively.
Then, the transfer tube 13 is closed and cut.

The most preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS. As described above, the driving means 5 is the pressure plate 3
1 or 4, and in the case of this embodiment, it has a drive member 16 for moving the pressure plate 4 so that the plates 3 and 4 come close to each other. And the pressure plate 3
1 or 4, the pressure plate 4 in this embodiment.
Is rotatably fixed.

The freely moving pressure plate 4 (movable pressure plate) is attached to an intermediate arm 28 described later so that it can be tilted. As shown in the embodiment, the pressure plate 4 can be tilted about a rotation axis 17 located parallel to the contact surfaces 18 and 19 of the pressure plates 3 and 4. In other words, the plate 4 is rotatably supported on the intermediate arm 28 by the shaft forming the rotary shaft 17 so that the upper part and the lower part of the plate 4 are rotatable in the plate 3 direction.

The axis of rotation 17 is preferably horizontal and is located between the upper side 20 and the lower side 21 of the contact surfaces 18 and 19. The rotary shaft 17 has a central portion 22 of the contact surfaces 18, 19,
It is preferably located between the upper or lower side of the contact surfaces 18, 19.

The rotary shaft 17 has a portion on the side where the outlet 9 of the container 6 is located (upper side 20 or lower side 21) and the central portion 2.
It is most desirable when it is between 2 and. In the illustrated embodiment, the outlet 9 is on the upper side of the contact surface. Therefore, the rotary shaft 17 is located above the central portion 22.
However, when the outlet 9 is on the lower side 21, the axis of rotation 17 is preferably below the central portion 22.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the drive member 16 has a rotary frame 23 which can be rotated about a shaft 25 by a drive portion 24. The shaft 25 is preferably below the pressure plates 3, 4.

The frame 23 can take any shape. In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 23 has two L
It consists of mold arms 26 and 27.

The movable pressure plate 4 includes arms 26 and 27.
Between them, they are attached so that they can be inclined toward the pressure plate 3. Further, since it has the intermediate arms (connecting arms) 28 and 29, the plate 4 has the rotating shaft 17
Not only can it be tilted about the rotation axis 30.

Elastic means for holding the pressure plate 4 in place are provided to prevent the plate 4 from falling when the device 1 is open (when the container 6 is not loaded). There is. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a leaf spring 31 (leaf spring 31) is attached between the arms 26 and 28 and further between the intermediate arms 27 and 29. The leaf spring 31 has an elastic force to the extent that it does not violate its action when the pressure plate 4 is pressing the container 6.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the drive unit 24 comprises a pneumatic, hydraulic or hydraulic drive cylinder, to which a pneumatic, hydraulic or hydraulic circuit (not shown) is connected. Has been done.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the container 6
At least one of the pressure plates 3 or 4 (in this case, both) is provided with guide means so as not to disturb the inner solution surface during pressing. The means consist of a channel forming member 32 made of a compressible material such as foamed plastic or the like.
When the pressure plates 3 and 4 are pressing the container 6, the flow path forming member 32 forms a flow path 33 that concentrates toward the outlet 9 in the container 6, and as a result, the upper end portion 34 of the container 6 is formed. Prevents turbulence of the liquid surface.

The operation of the device 1 can be easily understood from FIGS.

First, the container 6 (in this case, a blood bag) is attached to the device. Hook the hook 7 in the hole 8 of the container.

By extending the piston of the drive unit 24, the frame 23 moves. The continuous operation is shown in FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows that the pressure plate 4 moves toward the pressure plate 3 and contacts the container 6. The frame 23 moves further, and the container 6 is sandwiched between the flow path forming members 32 on the upper side thereof. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, a flow path 33 for guiding the blood component is introduced into the container 6.
Is formed. The frame 23 moves further, and as shown in FIG. 4, the movement of the pressure plate 4 in the R2 direction further presses the lower side of the container 6, and the layers 10 and 11 are gradually discharged from the container 6.

As is apparent from the drawings, the pressure plate 4
Always adjusts the plate itself according to the volume of the container 6. In other words, the flow path forming members 32 facing each other are
Regardless of the volume of the container 6, they are constantly pressed against each other to form the flow path 33 in the container 6 sandwiched between them.

The pressure plate 4 has two combined operations. The two movements are the rotation movement R about the axis 25.
It is R2, which is a rotational motion about the shaft 1 and shafts 17 and 30. FIG. 5 shows another embodiment. The pressure plate 4 includes a rotating arm 23 that moves in a rotating direction by an intermediate arm 35.
It is fixed to the arms 26 and 27 of the. Intermediate arm 35
Is fixed to the arms 26 and 27, and the pressure plate 4
Can freely move in the rotational direction only around the rotation axis 36.

The pressure plate 4 is maintained in its initial position by the leaf spring 31 in the open state (when the apparatus is not loaded with a container).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the drive section 24 described above is formed by a spring that exerts a force on the frame 23. As a result, the pressing by the pressure plates 3 and 4 is achieved. In this device, the open state can be maintained by locking the lever 37 to the hook 38.

As described above, the pressure plate 4 shown in FIG. 5 can perform two operations. The two movements are a rotation movement R1 about the axis 25 and a rotation movement R3 about the axis 36.
In the device of this embodiment, when the lock between the lever 37 and the hook 38 is released, the frame 23 and the arm 26 rotate due to the restoring force of the spring that constitutes the drive unit 24, the plate 4 moves in the plate 3 direction, and the container 6 is automatically pressed by the force of the spring.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment. The drive member 16 has a parallel movement T1 instead of the above-mentioned rotation movement R1. Accordingly, the pressure plate 4 is hingedly connected to the frame 39 which is connected to the piston rod 40 of the drive cylinder 41.

An embodiment similar to FIGS. 1-4 is shown in FIG. 6, with one end hinged to the pressure plate 4 and the other end to the drive member 16, hingedly connected to intermediate arms 28,2 respectively.
The use of 9 is shown. The pressure plate 4 performs two operations, a parallel movement T1 and a rotation direction movement R4.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which the pressure plate 4 is directly fixed to the frame 39 without using the intermediate arms 28 and 29 described above. The pressure plate 4 has a parallel movement T obtained by the movement of the piston rod 40.
1 and two rotation operations R5 about the rotation shaft 36 are performed.

In order to understand that the pressure plate 4 does not necessarily have to be mounted in such a way that it can be tilted freely, FIG. 8 shows that the pressure plates 3 and / or 4 are at least in two controlled states. It is shown that the drive means 42 can be used for operation.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the ends of the two drive cylinders 43 and 44 are separately joined to the upper side and the lower side of the pressure plate 4. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the end of the cylinder 43 is rotatably fixed to the upper portion of the plate 4, and the end of the cylinder 44 is rotatably fixed to the lower portion of the plate 4. Drive cylinder 43,
44 is controlled by the control means 45, so that while the container 6 is being pressed, the distances A and B are always set and adjusted as shown in FIG. Here, the pressure plate 4 mainly performs two operations, a translation movement T2 in which the pressure plates 3 and 4 approach each other in a parallel state, and a pressure plate 3,
Rotation operation R6 for adjusting the angle between 4 is performed. For example, the control means 45 actuates the cylinders 43 and 44 to cause the pistons to protrude by substantially the same distance, thereby causing the plate 4 to move in parallel in the plate 3 direction and the flow path forming member 3
2 presses the upper part of the container 6 slightly, and the middle part of the plate 4 contacts the container 6 or slightly presses it. Subsequently, the control means 45 operates only the cylinder 43 and causes only the piston of the cylinder 43 to project, so that the upper portion of the container 6 is pressed between the flow path forming members 32 (as shown in FIG. 3). State). Subsequently, the control means 45 actuates only the cylinder 44 and causes only the piston of the cylinder 44 to project, whereby the plates 3 and 4 (lower side of the flow path forming member 32).
Then, the container 6 is pressed (state similar to FIG. 4).

Although various forms of devices for separating liquids have been described, the invention is not limited to the embodiments or shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the device of the present invention. 2-4 are views from different positions of the device along arrow F2 in FIG. Figure 5-8
Is another embodiment of the apparatus. The main symbols in the figure are as follows. 1 ... Liquid separation device, 3, 4 ... Pressure plate, 5 ...
.Driving means, 16 ... Driving member, 17, 25, 30,
36 ... Shaft, 23 ... Rotating frame, 24 ... Drive part, 26, 27 ... Arm, 28, 29 ... Intermediate arm, 31 ... Leaf spring, 32 ... Flow path Forming member, 41, 43, 44 ... Driving cylinder, 45 ...
Control means, R ... Rotation operation, T ... Parallel movement

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-3-47266 (JP, A) JP-A-62-64369 (JP, A) JP-A-3-9762 (JP, A) JP-A-55- 155652 (JP, A) JP 55-141247 (JP, A) JP 63-119776 (JP, A) JP 2-98362 (JP, A) JP 63-119775 (JP, A) JP-A-3-9763 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61J 1/05 A61J 3/00 300

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid separating device for separating a liquid filled in a soft container in a state of being divided into a plurality of layers, the liquid separating device facing each other for pressing the soft container. Two pressure plates, at least one of the two pressure plates is a movable pressure plate, and the liquid separation device further drives the movable pressure plate toward the other plate. The movable pressure plate has a drive member driven by the drive unit fixed to a rotary shaft located between an upper portion and a lower portion of the movable pressure plate, and the movable pressure plate is driven by the other plate. A liquid separating device, wherein the movable pressing plate is rotatably supported so as to face the movable pressing plate in the direction of the other plate. 2. A liquid separating device for separating a liquid filled in a soft container in a state of being divided into a plurality of layers, the liquid separating device facing each other for pressing the soft container. Two pressure plates, at least one of the two pressure plates is a movable pressure plate, and the liquid separation device further drives the movable pressure plate toward the other plate. Two driving means are provided, one of the two driving means drives an upper portion of the movable pressure plate, and the other driving means drives a lower portion of the movable pressure plate. And the movable pressure plate is connected to the other plate by the respective driving members driven by the two driving means separately joined to the upper side and the lower side of the movable pressure plate. A liquid separating apparatus, wherein the movable pressurizing plate is axially supported so as to face each other and is rotatable in the direction of the other plate.