JP6294630B2 - Test tube sealing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a test tube sealing device for sealing a mouth of a test tube after dispensing.

  2. Description of the Related Art There are known an automatic analyzer that analyzes a sample such as collected blood and a pretreatment device that performs pretreatment on a sample and a test tube that contains the sample before analysis by the automatic analyzer. In the pretreatment device, for example, a dispensing operation is performed in which a predetermined amount of specimen is acquired from one test tube (parent test tube) and transferred to another test tube (child test tube). When preserving the sample remaining in the parent test tube after dispensing, it is necessary to close the mouth of the parent test tube to prevent the sample from spilling and to prevent contamination by foreign substances.

  Patent Document 1 below describes an apparatus for sealing the mouth of a test container (1) with a film (2). In this apparatus, the film (2) is unwound from the roll (7) by the film stretching mechanism (6) and is stretched along the test container (1) arranged in the test tube container stand (4). After the film (2) is welded to the mouths of the plurality of test containers (1), the rear end of the film (2) is cut by the film cutter (13) (see paragraphs 0019-0021). Note that the reference numerals with the above parentheses are those used in the following Patent Document 1, and are not related to the reference numerals used in the description of the invention of the present application.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-68732

  In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to repeatedly cut a film and to grip the end of the film with a film stretching mechanism each time the film is cut. Since the film is thin and wound, the position of the tip is not stable, and it is difficult to securely grip the tip. Therefore, it is conceivable that the film is not cut by cutting out the part including the part covering the mouth of the test container from the film, so that the gripping of the cut end portion is unnecessary. In order to cut out the film, a cylindrical blade having saw blades can be used. However, there are cases where the saw blades do not pierce the film and cannot be cut out as expected.

  An object of this invention is to cut out the film (tape) which seals the opening | mouth of a test container (test tube) reliably.

  A test tube sealing device according to the present invention includes a tape supply device that supplies an adhesive tape, a pressure pad that presses the supplied adhesive tape against the mouth of the test tube, and a portion that includes a portion that covers the mouth of the test tube from the adhesive tape A cutting blade having a cylindrical shape, and the cutting blade has a plurality of teeth arranged along the circumference, and is provided with protruding teeth protruding from other teeth in at least one place on the circumference .

  The projecting teeth first come into contact with the adhesive tape, and the force concentrates there and pierces the adhesive tape. The cut extends from the starting point and the adhesive tape can be cut out.

  Protruding teeth can be provided at a plurality of locations on the circumference. Preferably, it can be provided in two places.

  A portion adjacent to the portion provided with the protruding teeth can be provided with intermediate teeth having a protruding amount smaller than the protruding teeth and larger than the other teeth. After the protruding teeth have pierced the adhesive tape, the adjacent intermediate teeth are continuously pierced, the cuts extend in order, and the adhesive tape can be cut out.

  The protruding teeth can be provided avoiding the vicinity of the side edge of the adhesive tape. The tension applied to the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape acts on a portion where there is no cutout in the width direction of the tape, that is, in the vicinity of the side edge of the tape. If this part is first cut by protruding teeth, it may tear and cut the tape. In order to avoid this, the arrangement of the protruding teeth can be avoided from the vicinity of the side edge of the adhesive tape.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cutting blade for cutting a sealing piece for sealing a mouth of a test tube after dispensing from an adhesive tape supplied so as to cover the mouth of the test tube, the cutting blade Has a cylindrical shape, further has a plurality of teeth arranged along the circumference, and a cutting blade provided with protruding teeth protruding from other teeth at at least one location on the circumference is provided.

  By providing the protruding teeth, the adhesive tape can be more reliably cut out.

It is a schematic block diagram of the test tube sealing device of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of adhesive tape. It is a figure which shows a part of adhesive tape after use. It is a figure which shows the structure of a tension adjustment station. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows a standby state. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a holding mechanism, and is a figure which shows a standby state. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a holding mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state holding the test tube. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a holding mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state which the holding pad hold | maintained the test tube. It is a side view of a cutting blade. It is the figure which expand | deployed and showed the side surface of the cutting blade. It is the figure which showed the detail of the cutting blade of a cutting blade. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state of a sealing mechanism when a holding mechanism hold | maintains a test tube. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state which the press pad contact | abutted to the opening | mouth of the test tube. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a sealing mechanism, and is a figure which shows the state by which the adhesive tape was cut out.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a test tube sealing device 10 of the present embodiment. The pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 is unwound from the tape roll 14, and wound around the collection reel 20 through the tension adjustment station 16 and the sealing station 18. The adhesive tape 12 is fed by two feed rollers 22 and 24 driven by a motor. A separate motor is provided for each of the two feed rollers 22 and 24. Thereby, the two feed rollers 22 and 24 can operate | move separately. The two feed rollers 22 and 24 are arranged upstream and downstream of the tension adjustment station 16 and the sealing station 18 in the direction in which the adhesive tape 12 is fed. The feed roller 22 disposed on the upstream side is referred to as an upstream feed roller 22, and the feed roller 24 disposed on the downstream side is referred to as a downstream feed roller 24.

  The adhesive tape 12 has an adhesive applied to one surface of a tape-like base material such as a resin film. The adhesive can be prevented from being applied to the other surface. As shown in FIG. 2, engagement holes 26 are formed at equal intervals in the vicinity of the side edges along both side edges 12 a of the adhesive tape 12. The feed rollers 22 and 24 are provided with protrusions (not shown) on the surfaces thereof so as to correspond to the engagement holes 26 of the adhesive tape. The protrusion and the engagement hole 26 are engaged, and the adhesive tape 12 is reliably fed. The collection reel 20 is driven by a motor and winds up the used adhesive tape 12. As described above, the adhesive tape 12 is fed from the tape roll 14 by the upstream and downstream feed rollers 22 and 24 and supplied to the sealing station 18. The used adhesive tape 12 that has passed through the sealing station 18 is fed by the recovery reel 20 after being passed through the downstream feed roller 24, and is wound around this.

  The test tube 28 to be sealed is sent on the conveyance path 30. The test tube 28 is a test tube after dispensing, for example. The sample is initially accommodated in the test tube 28, but a part of the sample is dispensed into another test tube for analysis or the like. The specimen remaining in the test tube 28 may need to be stored, and the test tube sealing device 10 is a device that seals the specimen so as to prevent dust and the like from entering the test tube 28 containing the remaining specimen. is there.

  The test tube 28 containing the remaining sample after dispensing is sent to the test tube sealing device 10. Preferably, it is accommodated in the test tube rack 32 and conveyed on the conveyance path 30. The test tube rack 32 can accommodate a plurality of, for example, 10 test tubes in one row. The conveyance path 30 may be provided with a conveyance mechanism that sends the test tube rack 32. The conveyance mechanism repeats feeding and stopping, and sequentially sends the test tubes 28 to the sealing station 18. In the sealing station 18, the test tube rack 32 is sent along the arrangement direction of the test tubes 28 to be accommodated, and the test tubes 28 are sequentially sealed one by one.

  The tension adjusting station 16 is provided with a mechanism for applying an appropriate tension to the adhesive tape 12 in order to ensure the sealing of the test tube and to prevent the adhesive tape 12 from sagging. This mechanism also has a function of allowing tension due to the displacement of the adhesive tape 12 in a sealing station 18 to be described later.

  At the sealing station 18, the mouth of the test tube 28 is sealed with the adhesive tape 12. The sealing station 18 is provided with a pressing pad 34 for applying pressure by pressing the adhesive tape 12 against the mouth of the test tube 28 and attaching the adhesive tape 12. Further, a cutting blade 36 for cutting out a portion including a portion covering the mouth of the test tube 28 of the adhesive tape 12 is arranged. FIG. 3 shows the adhesive tape 12 after being cut out. After the cut-out, the adhesive tape 12 has a cut-out hole 38, but the tape material remains on the side of the cut-out hole 38 in the tape width direction, and the adhesive tape 12 is not cut and connected in a tape shape. Maintained in a state. Thus, in the present specification and claims, the phrase “cut out” is used in the sense of separating the inner portion while leaving the material of the adhesive tape 12 around. The pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 are advanced and retracted with respect to the test tube 28 by a feed motor 42 via a feed screw 40.

  The sealing station 18 further includes a holding mechanism 44 that holds the test tube 28 to be sealed and the two test tubes adjacent to the test tube 28 (see FIGS. 6 to 8). The main structure of the holding mechanism 44 is arranged on the front side and the back side of the test tube 28 supported by the test tube rack 32 in FIG. 1, and is not shown in FIG. . The holding mechanism 44 will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the tension adjustment station 16. The adhesive tape 12 includes two fixed rollers 46 and 48 whose positions are fixed with respect to the apparatus main body, and a tension roller 50 positioned between the fixed rollers 46 and 48. The two fixed rollers 46 and 48 have their axes fixed, but can rotate around the axes. The tension roller 50 is disposed on the slider 52 so as to be rotatable about an axis. A base 54 is fixedly disposed in the apparatus main body, and a guide rail 56 extending in the left-right direction in the drawing is fixedly installed on the base 54. The slider 52 has a guide shoe (not shown) that engages the guide rail 56 and is slidable along the guide rail 56. The cross-sectional shape of the guide rail 56 can be a substantially rectangular shape, for example, and in this case, the guide shoe can be a substantially U-shape that straddles the rail. The slider 52 is given a rightward biasing force in the drawing by a tension spring 58. A similar force acts on the tension roller 50 on the slider 52. The tension roller 50 always pushes the adhesive tape 12 spanned between the fixed rollers 46 and 48 in a direction intersecting the surface thereof, thereby applying a certain tension to the adhesive tape 12. The tension spring 58 is, for example, a coil spring that is stretched between the slider 52 and the base 54.

  Two sensors 60 and 62 for detecting the position of the slider 52 are fixed on the base 54. In the drawing, the sensor located on the left is referred to as a first sensor 60, and the sensor located on the right is referred to as a second sensor 62. These sensors 60 and 62 output binary signals according to whether or not the target plate 64 fixed to the slider 52 faces the sensor. Hereinafter, a signal when the sensors 60 and 62 are opposed to the target plate 64 is referred to as an on signal, and a signal when the sensors 60 and 62 are not opposed to each other is referred to as an off signal. Further, the state in which the sensor is outputting the ON signal will be described by simply describing “the sensor is ON”. Similarly, when the off signal is output, “sensor is off”. When the slider 52 is located at the leftmost end of the movable range in FIG. 4, the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are off. In the state shown in FIG. Become. Further movement causes the second sensor 62 to be turned on at a certain position, and the first and second sensors 60 and 62 are kept on until the second sensor 62 moves to the right end of the movable range. During normal operation of the apparatus, the first sensor 60 is on and the second sensor 62 is off. In order to achieve this state during normal operation, the rotation of the upstream and downstream feed rollers 22, 24 is controlled. For example, when the two sensors 60 and 62 are both turned on, the downstream feed roller 24 is fed rather than the upstream feed roller 22. On the contrary, when the two sensors 60 and 62 are both off, the upstream feed roller 22 is fed more.

  The adhesive tape 12 spanned between the fixed rollers 46 and 48 is pushed by the tension roller 50 and displaced in a direction intersecting the surface of the tape. Therefore, the first and second sensors 60 and 62 detect the positions of the tension roller 50 and the slider 52 and also detect the displacement of the adhesive tape 12 caused by being pressed by the tension roller 50.

  5 and 6 are views showing the sealing mechanism 66 and the holding mechanism 44 provided in the sealing station 18. 5A shows the details of the sealing mechanism 66 in the same direction as that shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. . FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the holding mechanism 44 is viewed from the side in FIG. In FIG. 5, the holding mechanism 44 is omitted.

  The sealing mechanism 66 has an advance / retreat frame 68 that is advanced and retracted by the feed motor 42. The advance / retreat frame includes an advance / retreat main plate 70, an advance / retreat upper plate 72 and an advance / retreat lower plate 74 fixed to the advance / retreat main plate 70, and a holding block 76 fixed to the advance / retreat main plate 70. The advance / retreat plate 72 is located above the advance / retreat plate 74 in FIG. The holding block 76 holds the main rod 78 so as to be slidable. A pressing pad 34 and a cutting blade 36 are disposed at the tip of the main rod 78 (the lower end in FIG. 5).

  The holding block 76 also holds the floating frame 80 so as to be movable in the same direction as the forward / backward direction of the forward / backward frame 68 (hereinafter simply referred to as “forward / backward direction”). The floating frame 80 includes a floating main plate 82, and a floating upper plate 84 and a floating lower plate 86 fixed to the floating main plate 82. The floating upper plate 84 is located above the floating lower plate in FIG. The floating frame 80 has two guide rods 88 extending between the floating upper plate 84 and the floating lower plate 86. The guide rod 88 penetrates the holding block 76 in the forward / backward direction and is slidably held by the holding block 76. As a result, the floating frame 80 can move in the forward / backward direction with respect to the forward / backward frame 68. The floating frame 80 is pushed in the advancing direction (downward in FIG. 5) by the spring 90, and is normally positioned at the lower end of the movable range. In FIG. 5, the floating frame 80 is shown in a state of being located at the lower end.

  As shown in FIG. 6, two suspension rods 92 of the holding mechanism 44 are suspended from the floating lower plate 86. The two suspension rods 92 are located on the front side and the back side of the test tube 28 or the cutting blade 36 in FIG. A roller 94 is rotatably provided at the lower end of each of the two suspension rods 92. The two rollers 94 are respectively positioned on the slope 96a of the slope block 96 fixed to the apparatus main body. The two slopes 96a are arranged so as to face each other, and the downward direction of each slope is inward. A holding pad 98 is provided on the side surfaces of the two suspension rods 92 facing each other.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which two suspension rods 92 are close to each other. The suspension rod 92 is slidably arranged in the left-right direction in FIG. 7 with respect to the floating lower plate 86 so as to allow this movement. As the advance / retreat frame 68 advances, the floating lower plate 86 and the suspension rod 92 also move downward in FIG. The roller rolls along the slope 96a, and thereby moves inward so that the two suspension rods 92 approach each other. Two holding pads 98 hold the test tube 28 from both sides by the inward movement of the suspension rod 92.

  FIG. 8 is a view of the state in which the holding pad 98 holds the test tube 28 as viewed from above. Each of the holding pads 98 is provided with holding recesses 98a at three locations. The test tubes 28 are accommodated in these holding recesses 98a, and the three test tubes are held at predetermined intervals. The positional relationship between the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 and the holding pad 98 is determined so that the central test tube of the three held test tubes 28 is located opposite to the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36. ing.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the relationship between the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 will be described. The cutting blade 36 has a cylindrical shape, and a saw-shaped cutting blade 106 (see FIG. 9) is formed at the lower end. The cutting blade 36 constitutes the lower end of the main rod 78 and is held by a cutting blade holder 100 that partially enters the inside of the cylindrical cutting blade 36. The pressure pad 34 has a shape and a size that abuts the entire mouth of one test tube 28, and typically, the surface facing the test tube 28 is circular. The pressing pad 34 preferably has a shape that fits inside the cutting blade 36. If the cutting blade 36 is cylindrical, the pressing pad 34 can be a disk or a cylinder. The cutting blade 36 is not limited to a cylindrical shape, but may be another cylindrical shape such as a square tube. The pressing pad 34 is disposed at the lower end inside the cylinder of the cutting blade 36. The pressing pad 34 is disposed at the lower end of the support rod 102 that extends upward in FIG. 5, and the support rod 102 penetrates the center hole of the cutting blade holder 100 so as to be slidable. A pressing spring 104 is disposed between the back surface of the pressing pad 34 and the lower surface of the cut-out holder 100 to press the pressing pad 34 in the advance direction. When a force that pushes back the pressing spring 104 is applied to the pressing pad 34 and the force exceeds the spring force, the pressing pad 34 is pushed into the depth of the cutting blade 36. The reaction force from the spring at this time becomes a force for pressing the adhesive tape 12 against the mouth of the test tube 28.

  At the lower end of the cutting blade 36, a saw-like cutting blade 106 in which a plurality of teeth are arranged in the circumferential direction is provided. If the shape of each tooth of the cutting blade is the same, the amount of protrusion of the tooth tip is also common, and when the cutting blade 36 advances toward the adhesive tape 12, each tooth tip simultaneously contacts the adhesive tape. At this time, the force applied to the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 is dispersed, and the teeth do not pierce the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 12 and cannot be cut out as expected. For example, when the difference in diameter between the cutting blade 36 and the test tube 28 is large, the teeth may not pierce and the adhesive tape 12 may only be pushed down. When the number of teeth is reduced, the force per tooth increases and the adhesive tape 12 is easily pierced, but the cut end is out of a circle and becomes polygonal, which tends to be jagged. There is also a possibility that the adhesive tape 12 may be cut by cracks from the jagged corners. A cutting blade in which the teeth are easy to pierce the adhesive tape 12 and the cut end is relatively smooth will be described below.

  9 to 11 are diagrams showing the detailed shape of the cutting blade 36. FIG. FIG. 9 is a view of the cylindrical cutting blade 36 as viewed from the side. FIG. 10 is an expanded view of the cylindrical side surface of the cutting blade 36. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing a part of the cutting blade 106.

  The cutting blade 36 is formed in a cylindrical shape by rounding a plate material having the shape shown in FIG. The thickness of the plate material is uniform as a whole, but the edge of the saw-shaped cutting blade 106 formed on the lower side in the figure is gradually reduced toward the edge. The cutting blade 106 has a plurality of teeth 108 arranged in the circumferential direction. Most of the teeth 108 have the same size and height, and some of them protrude from the teeth. Most teeth are referred to as normal teeth 108n. The cutting blade 106 has projecting teeth 108h whose tips protrude from the normal teeth 108n. Further, the cutting blade 106 has intermediate teeth 108m whose protruding amount is a value between the normal teeth 108n and the protruding teeth 108h. The cutting blade 106 may be composed of two types of protruding amounts of teeth, protruding teeth 108h and normal teeth 108n.

  The protruding teeth 108h have their tips protruding from the other teeth 108m and 108n, and are provided at at least one location on the circumference of the cylindrical cutting blade. The protruding teeth 108h are provided at two locations in the cutout blade 36. The protruding teeth 108h can be provided at more positions. The positions where the protruding teeth 108h are provided can be equally spaced in the circumferential direction, and when provided at two locations, the positions are 180 °. In the cutting blade 36, the protruding teeth 108h are arranged one by one at the position where the protruding teeth 108h are provided, and two teeth are provided as a whole. Two or more teeth can be arranged at positions where protruding teeth are provided.

  Intermediate teeth 108m are provided at positions adjacent to both sides of the position where the protruding teeth 108h are provided. In the cutting blade 36, the intermediate teeth 108m are provided with one tooth on both sides of the protruding teeth 108h. The protruding amount of the intermediate teeth 108m can be set to the center value of the normal teeth 108n and the protruding teeth 108h. Also, two or more intermediate teeth can be arranged. For example, two intermediate teeth can be provided on both sides of the protruding tooth 108h. When two or more intermediate teeth are arranged, the protruding amount of these intermediate teeth can be changed. At this time, the amount of protrusion can be increased as the intermediate teeth are closer to the protruding teeth.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in the cutting blade 36, the tooth tip angles θh, θm, θn of the teeth 108h, 108m, 108n are equal and the positions of the tooth roots are also common, and by changing the arrangement pitch of the teeth, The amount of protrusion is changed. Other methods may be employed for changing the protrusion amount. For example, the tooth shape may be the same and the position of the tooth base may be changed. Further, the tooth arrangement pitch may be made equal, the tooth root position may be the same, and the tooth tip angle may be changed. In this case, the angle is decreased in the order of the tip angle θn of the normal teeth, the tip angle θm of the intermediate teeth, and the tip angle θh of the protruding teeth.

  The protruding teeth 108 h are provided corresponding to positions away from the side edges 12 a of the adhesive tape 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the adhesive tape 12 after the cut-out hole 38 is opened is connected at a side portion of the cut-out hole (hereinafter referred to as a tape side portion 110). The tension applied to the adhesive tape 12 acts on the tape side portion 110. Therefore, if there is a portion where stress concentrates on the edge adjacent to the tape side portion 110 of the cutout hole 38, the adhesive tape 12 may be cut by tearing from there. If the position where the protruding tooth 108h abuts is a position close to the side edge 12a of the adhesive tape, that is, a position adjacent to the tape side portion 110, when the protruding tooth 108h is pierced, stress concentrates around the hole, and the adhesive The tape 12 may break. In the test tube sealing device 10, the protruding teeth 108h are positioned away from the side edge 12a, particularly at the position of the center line s (see FIG. 3).

  The operation of the sealing mechanism 66 and the holding mechanism 44 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8 and FIGS. 12 to 14. 12 to 14 are views showing the operation process of the sealing mechanism 66 by the same method as in FIG.

  The advance / retreat frame 68 is advanced / retreated by the feed roller 42 via the feed screw 40, and the advance / retreat moves the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 forward / backward with respect to the test tube 28. 5 and 6 show a standby state in which the advance / retreat frame 68 is in the retracted position. In this standby state, the floating frame 80 is located at the advancing end (lower end in the figure) in the movement range with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68. The position of the floating frame 80 with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68 is represented by a distance between the advance / retreat upper plate 72 and the float upper plate 84. In FIG. 5, this interval is h1. In the standby position, the tip of the cutting blade 36, that is, the tip of the protruding tooth 108h is aligned with or positioned on the lower surface of the pressing pad 34. Further, the adhesive tape 12 is separated from the pressing pad 34, the cutting blade 36 and the mouth of the test tube 28.

  When the advance / retreat frame 68 is moved from the standby position in the advance direction, the floating frame 80 is also moved together. As the floating frame 80 advances, the roller 94 at the tip of the suspension rod 92 descends the slope 96a, and the suspension rod 92 moves inward. When the holding pad 98 holds the test tube 28, the advancement of the suspension rod 92 stops and the advancement of the floating frame 80 also stops. This state is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 shows a state of the sealing mechanism 66 when the holding pad 98 of the holding mechanism 44 holds the test tube 28. The position of the floating frame 80 with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68 has not changed from the state shown in FIG. 5 (h 1), and the pressing pad 34 and the cutting blade 36 approach the test tube 28 by the advancement of the advance / retreat frame 68. Further, the surface (the lower surface in FIG. 12) facing the advance direction of the pressing pad 34 is in contact with the adhesive tape 12, and the adhesive tape 12 is displaced toward the test tube 28. When the sealing mechanism 66 is in the state shown in FIG. 12, the holding mechanism 44 is in the state shown in FIGS. The holding mechanism 44 simultaneously holds the test tube to be sealed and three test tubes before and after the test tube, and appropriately holds the interval between the test subject to be sealed and the other two test tubes. Thereby, when cutting out the adhesive tape 12 with the cutting blade 36 mentioned later, the cutting blade 36 is prevented from colliding with the adjacent test tube 28.

  When the feed motor 42 is driven from the state of FIG. 12, only the advance / retreat frame 68 advances further while the floating frame 80 maintains the position of FIG. The advancement of the advance / retreat frame 68 causes the pressing pad 34 to advance toward the test tube 28 while pressing the adhesive tape 12.

  FIG. 13 shows a state of the sealing mechanism 66 when the pressing pad 34 first comes into contact with the test tube 28. The floating frame 80 moves in the backward direction relative to the forward / backward frame 68, and the distance between the two is shortened to h2 (h2 <h1). The adhesive tape 12 is further displaced compared to the state of FIG. 9 and is pressed against the mouth of the test tube 28 by the pressing pad 34.

  Further, when the advancing / retracting frame 68 is advanced, the cutting blade 36 is advanced, but since the pressing pad 34 is in contact with the test tube 28, it is not advanced any further. The support rod 102 that supports the pressing pad 34 slides relative to the cutting blade holder 100. As a result, the pressing pad 34 stops in contact with the mouth of the test tube 28, whereas only the cutting blade 36 advances. The pressing pad 34 is in a state where it is pushed into the interior of the cutting blade 36. The pressing pad 34 presses the adhesive tape 12 against the mouth of the test tube 28 by the spring force of the pressing spring 104.

  On the other hand, the cutting blade 36 advances before the position of the mouth of the test tube 28, and the protruding teeth 108 h are first stuck in the adhesive tape 12. The force applied to the adhesive tape 12 is concentrated at the portion where the tip of the protruding tooth 108h abuts, and the protruding tooth 108h pierces the adhesive tape 12. Further, when the cutting blade 36 advances, the intermediate teeth 108m come into contact with the adhesive tape 12 and are pierced. Then, the hole opened by the protruding teeth 108h and the hole opened by the intermediate teeth 108m are torn and connected to form a cut. Furthermore, when the cutting blade 36 advances, the normal teeth 108n come into contact with the adhesive tape 12 and are stuck. At this time, the adhesive tape 12 is torn along the normal teeth 108n starting from the cuts formed in the protruding teeth 108h and the intermediate teeth 108m, and the circular cutout hole 38 is cut out. The cut-out circular portion becomes a lid 112 (see FIG. 8) that seals the mouth of the test tube 28. This state is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 14 shows a state in which the advance / retreat frame 68 has advanced most. The tip of the cutting blade 36 advances beyond the position of the mouth of the test tube 28, and a part of the test tube 28 enters the inside of the cylindrical cutting blade 36. Since the pressing pad 34 contacts the test tube 28 and cannot advance any further, the lower surface of the pressing pad 34 located at the same position as the tip of the cutting blade 36 is displaced by c1 toward the back of the cutting blade 36. This displacement c1 is a displacement that reaches the base of the cutting blade 106, whereby the adhesive tape 12 can be cut out without being left uncut. The floating frame 80 moves further with respect to the advance / retreat frame 68, and the interval is h3 (h3 <h2).

  By providing the protruding teeth 108h on the cutting blade 36, at the initial contact of the cutting blade 36 with the adhesive tape 12, the force concentrates on the portion where the tip of the protruding teeth 108h is in contact, and the teeth are likely to pierce. The cut extends from the position where the protruding tooth 108h is pierced, and can be reliably cut out. By providing the intermediate teeth 108m, the cut extending from the hole into which the protruding teeth 108h are inserted can be sequentially extended to the position of the normal teeth 108n. By disposing the protruding teeth 108h at a position away from the side edge 12a of the adhesive tape, it is possible to prevent the adhesive tape 12 from being cut due to a break extending from the hole formed by the protruding teeth 108h to the side edge 12a.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Test tube sealing device, 12 Adhesive tape, 12a (Adhesive tape) side edge, 18 Sealing station, 28 Test tube, 34 Press pad, 36 Cutting blade, 38 Cutting hole, 66 Sealing mechanism, 106 Cutting blade, 108 teeth, 108h protruding teeth, 108m intermediate teeth, 108n normal teeth.

Claims (7)

A test tube sealing device that seals the mouth of a test tube after dispensing,
A tape supply device for supplying adhesive tape;
A pressing pad for pressing the supplied adhesive tape against the mouth of the test tube;
A cylindrical cutting blade that cuts out a portion including the portion covering the mouth of the test tube from the adhesive tape;
Have
The diameter of the inscribed circle on the inner wall surface of the cutting blade is larger than the outer diameter of the mouth portion of the test tube,
The cutting blade has a plurality of teeth arranged along the circumference, and is provided with protruding teeth protruding from other teeth in at least one place on the circumference.
Test tube sealing device.   The test tube sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding teeth are provided at a plurality of locations on the circumference.   3. The test tube sealing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an intermediate tooth having a protruding amount smaller than the protruding tooth and larger than the other teeth is provided in a portion adjacent to the portion provided with the protruding tooth. Test tube sealing device.   The test tube sealing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protruding teeth are provided so as to avoid the vicinity of the side edge of the adhesive tape. A cutting blade for cutting the sealing piece for sealing the mouth of the test tube after dispensing from the adhesive tape supplied so as to cover the mouth of the test tube,
The cutting blade has a cylindrical shape, the diameter of the inscribed circle of the inner wall surface of the cutting blade is larger than the outer diameter of the mouth portion of the test tube, and further has a plurality of teeth arranged along the circumference. Protruding teeth protruding from other teeth are provided in at least one place,
Cutting blade.   6. The cutting blade according to claim 5, wherein the protruding teeth are provided at a plurality of locations on the circumference.   The cutting blade according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a portion adjacent to the portion provided with the protruding teeth is provided with intermediate teeth having a protruding amount smaller than the protruding teeth and larger than the other teeth. .

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