JP4039934B2 - Automatic rotating warehouse for drug discovery for low temperature environment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic rotating warehouse used for the development of new drugs and the like, and more specifically, for example, a tray containing a plurality of small workpieces such as vials and microtubes in which samples of chemicals and compounds are enclosed. The present invention relates to an automatic rotating warehouse for drug discovery suitable for low temperature environment , which is suitable for storing and managing high density in a low temperature environment .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in the field of drug discovery research, multiple small workpieces such as vials and microtubes containing samples of drugs and compounds are lined up in a matrix on a storage tray, and this storage tray is automatically used. It was stored on a rotating shelf. In this automatic rotating shelf, a plurality of vertical storage shelves each having a storage chamber partitioned so that a plurality of storage trays can be stored in a vertical direction are held on an endless circulation track. Then, by moving the vertical storage shelf horizontally with a chain or the like stretched along the endless circulation track, the tray is taken out or stored in the storage area at least at one end of the endless circulation track. It is possible.
[0003]
In recent years, in the field of drug discovery research, a new technology called combinatorial chemistry, which increases the possibility of discovering new drugs by combining various compounds freely and efficiently synthesizing many kinds of compounds (libraries), has attracted attention. In putting this technology into practical use, a high-density storage technology that stores hundreds of thousands to millions of workpieces in a low-temperature environment and a specific one of the workpieces stored at a high density Development of picking technology that picks up workpieces at high speed is indispensable.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional automatic rotating warehouse has horizontally moved the vertical storage shelf with a chain or the like, the chain bending operation becomes stiff when used in a low temperature environment, and there has been a problem that high-speed rotation is hindered. . In addition, problems have been pointed out that dust and the like are generated from a drive source such as a chain and a motor for driving the chain, and the atmosphere in the automatic rotating warehouse is contaminated. Further, in the case of chain drive, there is a concern that the meshing vibration between the chain and the sprocket is transmitted to the vertical storage shelf, and when rotating at a high speed, the workpiece falls and falls due to the vibration. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that the vertical storage rack rattles when passing through the curved conveyance section, the thrust fluctuation is large, and the acceleration / deceleration response and stop accuracy are not sufficient.
[0005]
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to realize high-density storage and high-speed picking in a low-temperature environment for small workpieces required in the field of drug discovery research. There is no worry about occurrence of vibration, vibration does not occur even when rotating at high speed, and the vertical storage shelf at the time of passing through the curved conveyance section suppresses rattling and reduces thrust fluctuation, improving acceleration / deceleration response and stopping accuracy The purpose is to provide an automated rotating warehouse for drug discovery corresponding to low temperature environment .
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an automatic rotation suitable for drug discovery research and the like, in which a plurality of small workpieces can be stored at high density in a low temperature environment and a desired workpiece can be taken out at high speed. In the warehouse, the automatic rotating warehouse has a vertical storage shelf in which a storage chamber is formed in which a plurality of trays storing a plurality of small workpieces can be stored in the vertical direction. The endless circulation track comprising a curved conveyance unit having a rail width wider than the rail width of the linear conveyance unit is supported so that the upper end and the lower end can be moved horizontally, and the endless circulation track is arranged inside and outside at the lower end. It has an outer two ratio of against one guide roller inwardly for clamping the linear motor secondary movable comprising a permanent magnet of N pole and S pole in the upper and / or lower end of its vertical storage rack part is a solid set Are, the said linear motor secondary side so as to face the movable portion parallel to the straight conveying section of the endless circulation track, the linear motor primary fixing portion formed by winding three-phase coils on the primary core is fixedly provided The vertical storage shelf is configured to travel horizontally along the endless circulation track by the attractive force and the repulsive force acting between the linear motor secondary side movable part and the linear motor primary side fixed part.
[0007]
[Action]
According to the invention of claim 1, in a low-temperature environment corresponding pharmaceutical development autorotation warehouse stores a plurality of small workpieces, the automatic rotation warehouses, multiple retractable partitioned trays containing a plurality of small workpieces vertically The vertical storage shelf is formed by an endless circulation track composed of a straight conveyance unit and a curved conveyance unit having a rail width wider than the rail width of the linear conveyance unit. The lower end portion is supported so as to be horizontally movable , and the lower end portion has a guide roller for sandwiching an endless circulation track from the inside and the outside at a ratio of 2 inside to 1 outside, and the vertical storage shelf A linear motor secondary side movable portion composed of N pole and S pole permanent magnets is fixed to the upper end portion and / or the lower end portion of the linear motor, and the straight line of the endless circulation track is opposed to the linear motor secondary side movable portion. In the transport section The linear motor primary side fixed part formed by winding a three-phase coil on the primary iron core is fixed, so that the linear motor secondary side movable part and the linear motor primary side fixed part are A suction force and a repulsive force act, and the vertical storage shelf runs horizontally along an endless circulation track. In addition, since the horizontal distance between the outer and inner guide rollers can be made constant, rattling at the time of passing through the curved conveyance section is suppressed. Furthermore, since the linear motor primary side fixing part is fixed only to the linear conveyance part, the optimum design of the magnetic circuit is easy, the thrust fluctuation is reduced, and excellent acceleration / deceleration response and stopping accuracy are achieved. Furthermore, according to the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the action of the invention according to claim 1, high-density storage and high-speed picking of vials and microtubes that are required to be handled in a low temperature environment are possible. .
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a compound library automatic rotating warehouse for drug discovery research constructed using the automatic rotating warehouse according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 (a) shows a top view thereof. 1 (b) shows a side view thereof. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
[0009]
In the system shown in FIG. 1, two automatic horizontal rotating shelves 200A and 200B having 24 rows of vertical storage shelves 100 that can vertically store 24 trays 10 storing a plurality of small works are used. In addition, tray entry / exit areas 230 </ b> A and 230 </ b> B are provided on one of the turning portions of the respective automatic horizontal rotating shelves 200 </ b> A and 200 </ b> B. Adjacent vertical storage shelves 100 are connected to each other, and at the lower end of each vertical storage shelf 100, as shown in FIG. A guide roller 24 sandwiched between the two is pivoted. By the traveling roller 22 and the guide roller 24, the connected vertical storage rack 100 is supported on the endless circulation track 20 so as to be able to travel horizontally. Further, a linear motor secondary movable portion 50 made up of permanent magnets of N and S poles is fixed outside the endless circulation track at the lower end of each vertical storage shelf. And the linear motor primary side fixing | fixed part 60 which winds a three-phase coil on a primary iron core so that the linear motor secondary movable part 50 may be opposed to the linear conveyance part of the endless circulation track of an automatic horizontal rotation shelf It is fixed in parallel. Due to the attractive force and repulsive force acting between the linear motor secondary movable part and the linear motor primary side fixed part, the vertical storage shelf 100 travels horizontally and the automatic horizontal rotating shelf rotates.
[0010]
When an instruction to take out and store a tray is given by an operator from an entry / exit management terminal (not shown) or according to a program prepared in advance, the automatic horizontal rotating shelves 200A and 200B rotate, and the desired tray The vertical storage shelf 100 that stores the trays or the trays is moved to the loading / unloading areas 230A and 230B. Then, a desired tray is taken out and stored by an automatic loading / unloading machine 300 installed adjacent to each loading / unloading area.
[0011]
Next, the drive mechanism of the automatic rotating warehouse of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a drive mechanism of the automatic rotating warehouse according to the present invention. Reference numerals 20A and 20B denote rails of an endless circulation track of the automatic rotating warehouse and a curved transfer unit. The vertical storage shelf is supported on the endless circulation track so as to be able to run horizontally by a running roller 22 pivotally supported by a frame extending at the lower end of the vertical storage shelf, and the guide roller 24 is disposed inside. The endless circulation track is clamped from the outside, and the traveling roller 22 is prevented from being removed from the endless circulation track. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the endless circulation track is sandwiched between the outer two and inner guide rollers 24, so that the rail width of the curved conveyance unit of the endless circulation track is wider than the rail width of the linear conveyance unit. Thus, the horizontal distance (d in FIG. 3) between the outer and inner guide rollers can be made constant, and play at the time of passing through the curved conveyance section is suppressed.
[0012]
The frame is fixedly provided with a linear motor secondary side movable portion 50 made of N-pole and S-pole permanent magnets. The linear motor is fixed on the primary side by winding three-phase coils U, V, and W on the primary iron core in parallel with the linear conveying part of the endless circulation track so as to face the linear motor secondary side movable part. The part 60 is fixed.
[0013]
Although not shown in the three-phase coils U, V, and W, a three-phase alternating current having a phase difference of 120 degrees is caused to flow from a servo amplifier or the like, so that the N pole and the S pole are alternately arranged on the primary iron core. A composite magnetic pole of three-phase coils arranged side by side is generated. The magnetic pole to be generated is determined in the relative positional relationship and driving direction with the permanent magnet (N pole and S pole) of the secondary side movable unit 50. When the linear motor secondary side movable part and the linear motor primary side fixed part are in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 3, the attractive force (between N pole and S pole) and the repulsive force (N pole-N pole, S pole- By the S pole), the linear motor secondary side movable portion receives a propulsive force that moves in the right direction.
[0014]
The amount of movement of the linear motor secondary side movable part is detected by detecting the position of the linear scale 30 provided on the linear motor secondary side movable part by the linear scale detection head 70. Then, the detected movement amount is fed back to the servo amplifier, and the magnetic pole position of the linear motor primary side fixing portion is changed. By repeating this operation, the linear motor secondary side movable portion travels horizontally along the endless circulation track.
[0015]
By increasing the frequency of the three-phase AC flowing through the three-phase coils U, V, W, the propulsion speed of the linear motor secondary side movable portion can be increased. Conversely, by lowering the frequency, the propulsion speed of the linear motor secondary side movable portion can be reduced. Furthermore, by supplying direct current to the three-phase coil, the linear motor secondary side movable portion can be stopped and fixed at a predetermined position.
[0016]
Since the automatic rotating warehouse of the present invention employs the drive mechanism as described above, no invalid thrust is generated in any direction other than the propulsion direction, and quiet and smooth travel can be realized. In addition, the linear motor secondary side moving part and the linear motor primary side fixed part are both linear shapes, making it easy to optimally design the magnetic circuit, reducing thrust fluctuation, and providing excellent acceleration / deceleration response and stopping accuracy. Can be achieved. Furthermore, because of direct drive, the number of parts can be reduced, and the parts other than the traveling roller 22 and the guide roller 24 are not in contact with each other, and there is no need to worry about generation of dust or the like and maintenance. In addition, since a transmission medium that bends and slides, such as a chain, is not used, smooth running is ensured even when used in a low-temperature environment where the temperature is, for example, zero degrees Celsius or less.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a plurality of storing a small work low-temperature environment corresponding pharmaceutical development autorotation warehouse, the automatic rotation warehouses, the storage room in which a plurality retractable partitioned trays containing a plurality of small workpieces vertically The vertical storage shelf has an upper end portion and a lower end portion that are horizontally arranged by an endless circulation track including a straight conveyance portion and a curved conveyance portion having a rail width wider than the rail width of the straight conveyance portion. The guide roller is supported so as to be able to travel, and has two guide rollers on the inner side and one on the outer side for holding the endless circulation track at the lower end portion from the inner side and the outer side. A linear motor secondary side movable part composed of N and S permanent magnets is fixed at the lower end part, and parallel to the linear transport part of the endless circulation track so as to face this linear motor secondary side movable part. And one By adopting a configuration in which a linear motor primary side fixed part formed by winding a three-phase coil on an iron core is fixed, suction force and repulsive force between the linear motor secondary side movable part and linear motor primary side fixed part Since the vertical storage shelf travels horizontally along the endless circulation track, high-speed rotation is possible even in a low temperature environment. Moreover, since there is no concern about the generation of dust or the like, the atmosphere in the automatic rotating warehouse can be maintained in a clean state, and therefore it can be suitably used for drug discovery research requiring strict atmosphere management. In addition, since the horizontal distance between the outer and inner guide rollers can be made constant, rattling at the time of passing through the curved conveyance section is suppressed.
[0018]
Furthermore, since vibration is not generated even during high-speed rotation, workpieces can be taken out and stored quickly, and efficiency in drug discovery research becomes possible. In addition, since the drive source is dispersedly arranged on each vertical storage shelf and the endless circulation track, the drive source can be configured to be thin, and the apparatus can be downsized.
Furthermore, the optimum design of the magnetic circuit is easy, the thrust fluctuation can be reduced, and excellent acceleration / deceleration response and stopping accuracy can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the whole of a compound library automatic rotating shelf according to the present invention, (a) is a schematic top view when viewed from the upper side, and (b) is viewed from the side. FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view of the compound library automatic rotating shelf of FIG. 1 taken along line AA. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a drive mechanism for an automatic rotating shelf according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tray 20A, 20B ... Endless circulation track 22 ... Traveling roller 24 ... Guide roller 30 ... Linear scale 40 ... Roller 50 ... Linear motor secondary side movable part 60 ··· Linear motor primary side fixing part 70 · · · Linear scale detection head 100 · · · Vertical storage shelves 200A and 200B · · · Automatic horizontal rotating shelves 230A and 230B · · · Entrance / exit area 300 · · · Automatic entry and exit Loading machine

Claims (2)

In an automatic rotating warehouse for drug discovery that supports multiple low temperature environments ,
The automatic rotating warehouse has a vertical storage shelf in which a storage chamber is formed in which a plurality of trays storing a plurality of small workpieces can be stored vertically.
The vertical storage shelf is supported by an endless circulation track composed of a linear conveyance unit and a curved conveyance unit having a rail width wider than the rail width of the linear conveyance unit, such that the upper end and the lower end are horizontally movable , and The lower end has a guide roller that holds an endless circulation track from the inside and the outside at a ratio of 2 to the outside with respect to one on the inside ,
A linear motor secondary side movable portion composed of N-pole and S-pole permanent magnets is fixed to the upper end portion and / or the lower end portion of the vertical storage shelf,
A linear motor primary side fixing portion formed by winding a three-phase coil on a primary iron core is fixed in parallel to the linear conveyance portion of the endless circulation track so as to face the linear motor secondary side movable portion,
A low-temperature environment , wherein the vertical storage shelf travels horizontally along the endless circulation track by a suction force and a repulsive force acting between the linear motor secondary side movable portion and the linear motor primary side fixed portion. Automatic rotating warehouse for drug discovery . The automatic rotating warehouse for drug discovery corresponding to a low-temperature environment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of small workpieces are vials or microtubes in which a sample is enclosed.

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