JP3922907B2 - Sample stirring device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to specimen stirring apparatus using a cam Organization.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a prior art related to the present invention, a robot hand that automatically holds a sample container in a rack by holding a rack in which a sample container is raised is provided, and the robot hand includes a cam that is rotationally driven by a motor. There is known a hand opening / closing cam characterized in that the shape of the cam is composed of one kind of large circle and one kind of small circle, and the small circle is composed of one bearing (for example, actual open flat 5) -41688).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In general, a cam mechanism consists of a rotating cam having a contact surface (cam contour) with a special shape at the periphery and a follower urged to contact the contact surface. Alternatively, reciprocal angular motion is performed.
[0004]
However, the friction between the cam and the follower not only wears both, but also requires a large torque to rotate the cam. Further, the contacted surface (cam contour) of the cam needs to be processed into a complicated curved shape in order to cause the driven body to smoothly move along a predetermined locus, and there is a problem that the processing is not easy. .
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, specimen stirring apparatus using a cam Organization capable of easily forming a desired cam profile while reducing the friction between the cam and follower Is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention includes a rotating cam having a contact surface and a follower that is urged to contact the contact surface and moves according to the rotation of the cam, and the contact surface of the cam is formed by a plurality of bearings. The bearing mechanism includes a bearing support member that supports two bearings and a support shaft that rotatably supports the bearing support member, and the two bearings are symmetrical with respect to the bearing support member about the support shaft. A sample agitating device using a handling device arranged in the above is provided.
The bearing is preferably a radial bearing, and a commercially available ball bearing or roll bearing can be used.
[0007]
In the present invention , the follower may be configured to include two hands that are supported so as to be openable and closable and biased in the closing direction, and the cam may be disposed so as to open and close both hands .
[0009]
Also, the present invention may further comprise a motor for rotating the bearing support member.
[0010]
Further the present invention from another aspect, the first and second drive source, a first support member for openably supporting the two hands, and a second supporting member for rotatably supporting the first support member, A moving member that reciprocates the second support member from the first position to the second position by the driving force of the first driving source, and an opening / closing member that is driven by the second driving source to open and close the two hands. The member has a bearing that contacts and pushes both hands, the opening and closing member opens and closes the two hands at the first position, and the moving member corresponds to the reciprocating motion of the second supporting member. A sample agitating device that rotates forward and backward is provided.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a cam mechanism according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the cam mechanism 101 includes a rotating cam 104 having a contacted surface (cam contour) 102 and a driven body 105.
[0012]
The driven body 105 is supported by the driven shaft 106 and is urged in the direction of arrow A so as to contact the contacted surface 102. The follower 105 is arranged to swing in the direction of arrow B as the cam 104 rotates. The cam 104 includes a bearing support member 107 on which a plurality of radial bearings B1 to B6 are mounted. The bearing support member 107 is supported by a support shaft 103 and is rotated by a driving source (not shown), and the radial bearings B1 to B6 are contacted surfaces 102. Is forming. Accordingly, since the friction between the contacted surface 102 and the driven body 105 is reduced by the action of the bearing, the cam 104 can be driven to rotate with a small rotational torque.
[0013]
The curved shape of the contacted surface 102 is determined only by adjusting the arrangement position of the bearings B1 to B6 with respect to the bearing support member 107. Therefore, the processing of the contacted surface becomes extremely easy.
The number and size of the radial bearings B1 to B6 can be arbitrarily selected according to the shape of the contacted surface.
[0014]
2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams of the configuration of the handling device to which the cam mechanism shown in FIG. 1 is applied. As shown in these drawings, the handling device 111 includes two hands 113 and 114 that are supported by a support shaft 112 so as to be openable and closable, and a biasing member (spring) 115 that biases the hands 113 and 114 in a closing direction. The cam 117 is supported by a support shaft 116 between the hands 113 and 114 to open and close the hands 113 and 114, and the cam 117 is in contact with the hands 113 and 114 and has two radial bearings B1 for pushing them open. , B2.
[0015]
The cam 117 includes a bearing support member 118 that supports the radial bearings B1 and B2, and the bearing support member 118 is rotated about a support shaft 116 by a driving source (not shown). The radial bearings B <b> 1 and B <b> 2 are arranged symmetrically about the support shaft 116 on a straight line passing through the support shaft 116.
[0016]
When the bearing support member 118 shown in FIG. 2 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise by 90 degrees, the radial bearings B1 and B2 push the hands 113 and 114 open from the center line CL by an angle θ as shown in FIG. . Further, when the bearing support member 118 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise by 90 degrees, the hands 113 and 114 are closed as shown in FIG. That is, handling is performed by this operation.
[0017]
FIG. 4 shows a modification of the handling apparatus shown in FIG. 2, in which the bearing support member 118 of the cam 117 in FIG. 2 is replaced with a bearing support member 118a. The bearing support member 118a includes radial bearings B1 and B2 arranged asymmetrically with respect to the support shaft 116 on a straight line passing through the support shaft 116. The other structure is the same as that of FIG. Accordingly, when the bearing support member 118a rotates 90 degrees clockwise, the hands 113 and 114 are opened by different angles θ1 and θ2 from the center line CL, respectively.
[0018]
On the contrary, when rotating counterclockwise, the hands 113 and 114 are opened by θ2 and θ1 from the center line CL, respectively. That is, in the handling apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the maximum opening angle of the two hands can be set differently.
[0019]
FIG. 6 shows another modification of the handling apparatus shown in FIG. 2, in which the bearing support member 118 of the cam 117 in FIG. 2 is replaced with a bearing support member 18b. The bearing support member 118b includes three radial bearings B1, B2, and B3 arranged so as to be distributed around the support shaft 16. The other structure is the same as that of FIG.
[0020]
Therefore, when the bearing support member 118b rotates clockwise or counterclockwise, at least two of the three radial bearings B1, B2, and B3 sequentially contact the hands 113 and 114, and the hands 113 and 114 are different at different timings. It can be opened and closed by an angle.
[0021]
The present invention will be described in detail below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. This does not limit the invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view seen from the front of a sample stirring device using the cam mechanism and handling device according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view seen from the back.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 7, the support plate 2 is fixed to the base 1, and the first bracket 3 and the stepping motor 8 are fixed to the upper end of the support plate 2, and as shown in FIG. 2 A bracket 4, a driven pulley 12 and a stepping motor 20 are installed. As shown in FIG. 7, the driven pulley 7 is supported on the projecting end of the second bracket 4 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 6, and the pulley 7 is arranged symmetrically with respect to the support shaft 6 on the side surface. Two radial ball bearings 7a and 7b are provided to constitute a cam mechanism.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 7, a drive pulley 29 is fixed to the output shaft 20 a of the stepping motor 20, and the timing belt 30 is suspended between the pulley 7 and the pulley 29 so that the pulley 7 is driven by the motor 20. It has become.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 8, a drive pulley 10 is fixed to the output shaft 8 a of the stepping motor 8, and a timing belt 5 is suspended between the pulley 10 and the pulley 12.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 7, a guide rail 11 is provided on the surface of the support plate 2 in the vertical direction. A slider 13 is fitted to the guide rail 11 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. A plate 15 is fixed on the slider 13, and the plate 15 is further fixed to the timing belt 5 by a fixing tool 14 (FIG. 8).
That is, the plate 15 moves in the vertical direction by driving the motor 8.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 7, a plate-like cam 34 is provided on the plate 15 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 16, and the hands 17 and 18 are rotatable about the support shafts 19a and 19b on the plate-like cam 34, respectively. Is provided.
[0027]
The hands 17 and 18 are connected by a first spring 21, and the first spring 21 urges the hands 17 and 18 toward each other, and the urged hands 17 and 18 are brought into contact with the projecting portions 25 and 26. It has stopped.
[0028]
The pin 22 erected on the plate 15 and the pin 23 erected on the plate-like cam 34 are connected by a second spring 24. The second spring 24 moves the plate-like cam 34 around the support shaft 16 as shown in FIG. The plate-like cam 34 is in contact with the protruding portion 35 and stopped.
[0029]
Further, the first bracket 3 fixes a cam operating piece 27 having a radial bearing 28 at the tip thereof downward.
As shown in FIG. 7, the plate 15 includes a sensor operation piece 31 that protrudes horizontally, and this operation piece 31 operates an upper limit sensor 32 a and a lower limit sensor 32 b that are formed of photo interrupters provided on the support plate 2. It has become.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 8, cam contact portions 17a and 18a for contacting the bearings 7a and 7b are provided on the upper rear side of the hands 17 and 18, and elastic members 17b and 18b for holding the sample container 100 are provided at the tips. Is provided.
[0031]
Next, the operation of the sample stirring apparatus configured as described above will be described.
In this sample stirring device, the hands 17 and 18 are held at the positions shown in FIG. 7 during standby, and the bearings 7a and 7b of the pulley 7 are also horizontally aligned as shown in FIG. At this time, the hands 17 and 18 are in a state where their tips are located slightly above the pulley 7.
[0032]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when the sample container 100 is transported to a position just below the hands 17 and 18 by a rack (transport device) (not shown), the stepping motor 8 is driven to move the hands 17 and 18 as shown in FIG. Lower to the lowest limit.
[0033]
The bearings 7a and 7b come into contact with the cam contact portions 17a and 18a from the middle of the lowering to open the hands 17 and 18, and the hands 17 and 18 are opposed to the upper part of the sample container 100 at the lowest position. Therefore, when the stepping motor 20 is actuated to rotate the pulley 7 and the bearings 7a and 7b are aligned in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 10, the hands 17 and 18 are moved as shown in FIG. The top of the sample container 100 is gripped by approaching each other.
[0034]
Next, when the stepping motor 8 is driven and the plate 15 is raised, the plate cam 34 comes into contact with the bearing 28 of the cam operating piece 27 as shown in FIG.
Further, when the plate 15 is raised, the plate cam 34 is pressed by the bearing 28 of the cam operating piece 27 as shown in FIG. 12, and rotates clockwise around the shaft 16 against the urging force of the second spring 24. Then, the sample container 100 starts to tilt.
[0035]
When the plate 15 further rises, the sample container 100 starts to rotate as shown in FIG. 13, and when the plate 15 rises to the upper limit, the sample container 100 rotates from the vertical posture of FIG. 11 to an angle of 120 degrees. Here, the sensor operating piece 31 operates the upper limit sensor 32a, the stepping motor 8 stops, and the ascending operation of the plate 15 stops.
[0036]
Next, the stepping motor 8 rotates in the reverse direction, and the plate 15 is lowered to the position shown in FIG. 11, that is, the position where the sample container 100 returns to the vertical state and stops. Then, the stepping motor 8 reciprocates the plate 15 a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times) from the position of FIG. 11 to the position of FIG. As a result, the sample in the sample container 100 is sufficiently stirred.
[0037]
When the stirring operation is thus completed, the stepping motor 8 lowers the plate 15 to the position shown in FIG. 10 and reloads the sample container into the rack. At this time, since the sensor operating piece 31 operates the lower limit sensor 32b, the stepping motor 8 stops and the lowering operation of the plate 15 also stops.
[0038]
Next, the stepping motor 20 is operated to rotate the pulley 7 to the position shown in FIG. As a result, the test container 100 is detached from the hands 17 and 18.
[0039]
As described above, the sample agitating device continuously performs the operation of taking out from the rack, the agitating operation, and the reloading operation to the rack for the plurality of sample containers 100.
[0040]
FIG. 14 is a plan layout view of a blood analyzer to which the sample stirring device of the present invention is applied. Here, the rack 226 has a test-tube-like shape on which ten sample containers 200 can be mounted. The sample container 200 contains blood as a sample.
[0041]
First, when the racks 226 containing the sample containers 100 are aligned vertically in the shipping unit 212, all the racks 226 move forward while being aligned in the direction indicated by the arrow C, and then the top rack 226 is moved to the left. It is sent to the transfer unit 210.
[0042]
A blood analyzer 218 is disposed above the transfer unit 210. The rack 226 transferred by the transfer unit 200 stops just below the stirring device 211 of the blood analyzer 218.
[0043]
When the sample in the first sample container 200 is stirred by the sample stirring device 211, the rack 226 moves by a predetermined distance (arrangement pitch of the sample containers 200), and the sample is sucked from the sample container after stirring. Is aspirated.
[0044]
The sucked sample is quantified by the quantification unit 213 and analyzed by the analysis unit 214. During the suction operation of the suction device 212, the stirring device 211 stirs the sample in the next sample container 200. The rack 226 is intermittently conveyed by the arrangement pitch of the sample containers 200, and when the stirring and suction of 10 samples (all sample containers mounted on one rack 126) is completed, the rack 226 further moves in the D direction. The sample container 100 at the head of the next rack 226 is started to be stirred.
[0045]
The racks 226 after the stirring and suction of the sample for 10 containers are finally collected in a line in the direction of arrow E by the rack collection unit 216. Note that the sample agitating device shown in FIG. 7 is applied to the sample agitating device 211 in the blood analyzer 218.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the plurality of bearings are arranged along the cam contour, the cam mechanism capable of reducing the friction between the cam and the driven body and easily forming a desired cam contour, The handling device and sample stirring device used are provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view showing a cam mechanism of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the handling device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of the handling apparatus of FIG. 2;
4 is a front view showing a modification of the handling apparatus of FIG. 2; FIG.
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the handling device of FIG. 4;
6 is a front view of another modification of the handling device of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view seen from the front of the sample stirring device according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sample stirring apparatus shown in FIG.
9 is a perspective view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.
10 is a perspective view showing an operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.
11 is a perspective view showing an operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7. FIG.
12 is a perspective view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.
13 is a perspective view showing an operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.
14 is a plan layout view of a blood analyzer using the sample stirring device shown in FIG. 7. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Cam mechanism 102 Contacted surface 103 Support shaft 104 Cam 105 Drive body 106 Drive shaft 107 Bearing support members B1 to B6 Radial bearing

Claims (4)

A cam comprising: a rotating cam having a contacted surface; and a follower which is urged to contact the contacted surface and moves according to the rotation of the cam, and the cam contacted surface is formed by a plurality of bearings. A bearing support member that includes a mechanism and a cam that supports two bearings, and a support shaft that rotatably supports the bearing support member, and the two bearings are arranged symmetrically around the support shaft. A sample stirring device using the handling device. Slave moving object, openably supported and closed consists of two hands which are biased in a direction, the cam is a sample stirring device according to claim 1, wherein consisting disposed so as to open and close both hands. The sample stirring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a motor that rotationally drives the bearing support member . First and second drive source, a first support member for openably supporting the two hands, and a second supporting member for rotatably supporting the first support member, first by the driving force of the first drive source 2 a moving member that reciprocally moves the support member from the first position to the second position, and an opening / closing member that is driven by the second drive source to open and close the two hands. A sample agitating device having a bearing for pushing the hand, the opening and closing member opening and closing the two hands at the first position, and the moving member rotating the first indicating member forward and backward in response to the reciprocating motion of the second support member.

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