JP7247143B2 - Centrifuge - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a centrifuge for centrifuging a sample by rotating a rotor in which the sample is inserted.

With this type of centrifuge, the user can set operating conditions such as rotation speed, operation time (separation time), temperature (holding temperature), acceleration gradient, deceleration gradient, etc. from the operation panel according to the sample (sample) to be separated. set. Then, the rotor in which the sample is inserted is set in the rotation chamber, the door is closed, and the start switch on the operation panel is pressed to rotate the rotor. The rotor is accelerated to a rotational speed set on the operation panel and stabilized, and when the set operating time elapses, the rotation of the rotor is automatically decelerated and stopped.

By the way, since the rotor set in the rotation chamber rotates at high speed when the centrifuge is operated, a lock mechanism is provided to lock the door so that the door cannot be opened while the centrifuge is in operation. A plurality of lock mechanisms (for example, two lock mechanisms) may be provided near the corner on the moving side of the swinging door or the sliding door. The lock mechanism can be switched between a locked state and an unlocked state by a motor, and these are controlled by a control device that controls rotation of the motor. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the control procedure of a door lock mechanism of a conventional centrifuge. First, when the operator manually closes the door (step 101), the control device determines whether or not the outputs of the two door hook detection sensors are in the detection state (detection signal by the sensor is ON) (step 102). ). Here, if the outputs of the left and right door hook detection sensors are not both ON, the system waits, and when both are turned ON, the door lock motor 103 for moving the door lock hooks of the left and right door lock mechanisms is turned ON. (step 103). Next, when the door lock hook reaches a predetermined stop position, the control device turns off the door lock motor on the side of the stop position (step 104). Next, when the control device detects that the door lock hook on the side where the rotation of the door lock motor has not stopped has reached the stop position (step 105), it turns off both door lock motors and performs the control shown in FIG. exit. In this manner, the conventional lock mechanism is controlled such that the motors for locking a plurality of doors are turned on at the same time so that the plurality of door lock mechanisms operate at the same time.

JP 2008-259981 A JP 2008-302331 A

However, conventionally, when closing the door of the centrifuge as described above, it is necessary to manually close the door, operate the motor of the door lock mechanism, and hold the door by hand until the door lock is completed. If you release your hand while the motor of the lock mechanism is operating, the door may open and you may not be able to lock the door. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of door lock mechanisms, the door is not locked by the door lock mechanism unless it is detected that each door hook has reached a predetermined position. I needed

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide an easy-to-use centrifuge in which the door can be securely locked even if the user does not press the door evenly. .

The typical features of the invention disclosed in the present application are as follows.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a rotor for holding a sample, a motor for rotating the rotor, a controller for controlling the motor, a rotor chamber for housing the rotor, a rotor, a motor, and a rotor chamber are contained. In a centrifuge having a housing, a door provided in the housing for opening and closing the rotor chamber, and a plurality of door lock mechanisms for holding the door in a closed state, the control device separately activates the plurality of door lock mechanisms. made to control. The door is provided with a plurality of door hooks consisting of at least first and second, the plurality of door lock mechanisms has at least a first door lock mechanism and a second door lock mechanism, each door lock mechanism has a , a door hook detection sensor is provided. Further, the door hook detection sensor drives the first door lock mechanism when the first door hook among the plurality of door hooks is detected, and drives the second door lock mechanism when the second door hook is detected by the door hook detection sensor.

According to another feature of the present invention, when the locked state by the door lock mechanisms is released, the plurality of door lock mechanisms are released substantially simultaneously. Also, the door lock mechanism is configured to be driven by a detachable or non-detachable battery. Furthermore, the control device displays an alarm when the second door hook is not detected within a predetermined time after the detection of the first door hook. Similarly, if the first door hook is not detected within a predetermined time after the detection of the second door hook, an alarm is displayed.

According to still another feature of the present invention, the control device displays an alarm when the locking by the second door locking mechanism is not completed within a predetermined time after the locking by the first door locking mechanism is completed. Similarly, if the first door locking mechanism does not complete locking within a predetermined time after the second door locking mechanism completes locking, an alarm is displayed.
Further, the control device is configured to lock the door with only one of the plurality of door lock mechanisms when the rotor is not set in the rotor chamber. At least two such door lock mechanisms are provided, one of which is provided, for example, on the front side of the housing and the other is provided on the rear side of the housing.

According to the present invention, the door is pushed in until all the door hooks are detected by the user, but the door lock operates even on one side, so that a convenient retractable door lock can be realized.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the door structure of the centrifuge of the present invention; 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of a centrifuge of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the door lock mechanism of the centrifuge of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow chart of door lock control of the centrifuge of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the door structure of the centrifuge of the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view showing the door structure of the centrifuge of the third embodiment; 10 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of a door lock mechanism of a conventional centrifuge;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings below, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted. Also, in this specification, the front-rear and up-down directions are described as being the directions shown in FIG.

The structure of a centrifuge 100 (centrifuge) will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a centrifuge 100 is provided with a bowl 3 inside a housing 8 made of box-shaped sheet metal or the like. The bowl 3 and a door 4 define a rotor chamber 5. The door A packing 7 seals the rotor chamber 5 . A pipe (not shown) for circulating a coolant for cooling the rotor 1 in the rotor chamber 5 is wound around the outer circumference of the bowl 3, and a heat insulating material 11 is further provided on the outer circumference of the pipe.

A rotor 1 holds a sample to be centrifuged and rotates at high speed. The motor 2 is installed on a partition plate 8a that is part of the housing 8 via a damper 12 .

The door 4 can rotate vertically about the hinge 6 as shown by the arrow in FIG. It assists to reduce the burden when opening 4. In addition, the door 4 can be stopped at an arbitrary position during opening and closing.

The housing 8 is provided with a plurality of door lock mechanisms 10 for locking the door 4 . Specifically, one door lock mechanism 10 (10a, 10b) is provided on each of the left and right sides of the housing 8. As shown in FIG.

Further, when the door 4 is closed, when the door 4 and the door packing 7 come to a position where the door 4 and the door packing 7 come into contact with each other, the rotor chamber 5 is sealed as shown in FIG. A reaction force acts on the door 4 in the opening direction due to the action of the spring. Therefore, recently, when the door 4 is closed to some extent, the door hook 9 is retracted by a door lock mechanism 10 operated by a power source such as a motor.

However, since the door lock mechanism 10 becomes a complicated mechanism in order to make the retraction amount of the door lock mechanism 10 large, the door 4 reliably crushes the door packing 7 and seals the inside of the rotor chamber 5 . The door lock mechanism 10 is operated after the door 4 is manually pushed in against the reaction force of the air spring.

A structure in which the door lock mechanism 10 pulls in and holds the door hook 9 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the door lock holder 24, which is the outer shell of the door lock mechanism 10, is broken away so that the inside can be seen for the sake of clarity.

As shown in FIG. 3(A), when the door 4 is open and the door lock hook 22 of the door lock mechanism 10 is open, closing the door 4 causes the arrows in FIG. 3(A) to open. When the door hook 9 comes down and reaches the position shown in FIG. 3(B), the door hook sensor 25 detects the door hook 9 and transmits a detection signal to the control device.

When the signal is input, the control device rotates the door lock motor 21 of the door lock mechanism 10 and drives the link bar 23 attached to the rotating shaft of the door lock motor 21 to lock the door lock hook 22 . rotates around the hook rotation axis 22a.

In this state where the door lock hook 22 is engaged with the elongated hole 28 of the door hook 9, if the door lock hook 22 continues to rotate, the door hook 9 is pulled further downward. As a result, the door 4 is also pulled in together, so that the door 4 further crushes the door packing 7, so that the sealing performance is improved.

Two door lock hook position sensors 26 detect the door lock hook position detection board 27 attached to the rotating shaft of the door lock motor 21, thereby determining the lock completion position of the door lock hook 22 (state shown in FIG. 3(C)). is detected and a detection signal is input to the control device 50, the drive of the door lock motor 21 is stopped, the door lock hook 22 is stopped at a predetermined position, and the locking of the door 4 by the door lock mechanism 10 is completed. The control device 50 determines that it has done so.

Next, the operation of the door lock mechanism 10 (10a, 10b) of the present invention will be described based on the flow chart of FIG.

In step 1, when the user moves the door to the closing side of the arrow shown in FIG. Upon arrival, the door hook sensor 25 provided in the door lock mechanism 10 (10a, 10b) detects the door hook 9 (9a, 9b) (step 2).

At this time, if the door hook sensor 25 of the left door lock mechanism 10a (first door lock mechanism) first detects the first door hook 9a (left side), the process proceeds to step 3, and the right door lock mechanism 10b (first door lock mechanism) is detected first. If the second door hook 9b (right side) is detected first by the door hook sensor 25 of the second door lock mechanism), the process proceeds to step 6.

That is, in step 2, for example, if the first door hook 9a is detected first, in addition to proceeding to step 3, the routine advances to steps 11 and 12 to wait for detection of the second door hook 9b within a predetermined time. If the second door hook 9b is detected within the predetermined time in step 2, the process proceeds to step 6.
Also, if the second door hook 9b is detected first, in addition to proceeding to step 6, the routine advances to steps 12 and 13 and waits for the first door hook 9a to be detected within a predetermined time. If the first door hook 9a is detected within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step 3.
If the other door lock (e.g., second door hook 9b) is not detected within a predetermined time after one door hook (e.g., first door hook 9a) is detected (Yes), the process proceeds to step 13 to display an alarm. As the alarm display, a warning is given by sound or light, or a message or the like is displayed on a display device (liquid crystal panel or the like) not shown.

Hereinafter, the case where the first door hook 9a on the left side is first detected in step 2 will be described as an example. When the door hook sensor 25 of the left first door lock mechanism 10a detects the left first door hook 9a first, the control device 50 drives the motor 21 of the first door lock mechanism 10a to open the door lock hook 22. is engaged with the elongated hole 28a of the first door hook 9a, and the first door hook 9a is pulled in to a predetermined position (step 3).

When the door lock hook position sensors 26a and 26b detect the door lock hook position detection board 27, the controller 50 determines that the door lock hook 22 has reached the lock position (FIG. 4C) of the door 4 (step 4). ).

When the controller determines that door locking by the first door lock mechanism 10a is completed, the controller stops supplying power to the motor 21 of the first door lock mechanism 10a and stops driving the motor 21 (step 5).

If the second door hook 9b is detected during execution of steps 3-5, steps 6-8 are simultaneously advanced.

When the control device 50 detects the right second door hook 9b in step 2, it drives the motor 21 of the second door lock mechanism 10b to engage the elongated hole 28b of the second door hook 9b, thereby locking the second door hook 9b to a predetermined position. retract to position (step 6).

When the door lock hook position sensors 26a and 26b of the second door lock mechanism 10b detect the door lock hook position detection board 27, the controller 50 detects that the door lock hook 22 reaches the lock position of the door 4 (FIG. 4(C)). (step 7).

When the control device 50 determines that the door lock by the second door lock mechanism 10b is completed, the power supply to the motor 21 of the second door lock mechanism 10b is stopped and the driving of the motor 21 is stopped (step 8).

If the first door hook 9a is detected while Steps 6 to 8 are executed first, Steps 3 to 5 are simultaneously advanced.

After completing step 5 or 8, the controller 50 monitors whether the other door lock is completed within a predetermined time. For example, after completion of door locking by the first door lock mechanism 10a in step 5, completion of door locking by the second door lock mechanism 10b in step 8 is monitored, and the second door lock mechanism 10b is activated within a predetermined time. If the door lock is not completed within the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step 13 to display an alarm.
As the alarm display, a warning is given by sound or light, or a message or the like is displayed on a display device (liquid crystal panel or the like) not shown.
Similarly, when the door lock of the second door lock mechanism 10b is completed first, the completion of the first door lock mechanism 10a is similarly monitored.

In step 9, the control device 50 determines whether locking by the first and second door locking mechanisms is completed. For example, if only door locking by the first door locking mechanism is completed (No), return to step 2 and wait for door locking by the second door locking mechanism to be completed.

If locking by the first and second door lock mechanisms is complete (Yes), proceed to step 10, and if the rotor is set in the rotor chamber, the start switch is turned on (execution of centrifugation). wait for
Furthermore, when the control device 50 determines that the rotor is not set in the rotor chamber 3, one of the first and second door lock mechanisms may be unlocked. With this configuration, when the door lock must be unlocked manually (when power cannot be supplied to the centrifuge or the control device is broken), only one door lock mechanism is unlocked. Since the door 4 can be opened only by the operator, workability is improved.

By separately driving the door lock mechanisms 10 to lock the door 4 as described above, it is not necessary for the user to manually push the door 4 in until all the left and right door hooks 9 are detected. By simply pushing the door 4 until one door hook 9 is detected, one door lock mechanism 10 pulls in the door 4, and the other door hook 9 is detected by the other door lock mechanism 10. The door 4 can be closed, and the operability when closing the door 4 can be improved.

If the left and right door hooks 9 are detected at the same time in step 2, both the left and right door lock mechanisms 10 may be operated at the same time. Furthermore, when the locked state is released, it may be performed substantially at the same time, or may be released individually.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the door structure of the centrifuge of the second embodiment. The difference here is that one long hinge 41 is used instead of two hinges 6 (see FIG. 1) arranged laterally apart to fix the door 4 to the housing 8 (for example, the table surface 32). I have done it. Other configurations are the same as those of the centrifuge 1 in FIG. By adopting the long hinge 41 in the second embodiment, there is an effect that the door 4A is less likely to tilt when opened and closed. Even with the door 4A employing the long hinge 41 in this manner, the door lock mechanism of the present invention can be employed because the two door hooks 9a and 9b are attached to the movable side.

A third embodiment is shown in FIG. The same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 6, in the case of a centrifuge 100 in which the door 4 opens and closes in the horizontal direction, the first door lock mechanism 10a is arranged on the front side (front side), and the second door lock mechanism 10b is arranged on the back side (rear side). The present invention can be applied even if the configuration is In particular, in the case of the centrifuge 100 having a large front-rear depth, if there is an obstacle (such as a wall) on the side where the door lock mechanism 10 is provided, the door 4 can only be operated from the front side. In this case, the operator can only push the front portion of the door 4 and cannot push the rear portion of the door 4 downward sufficiently. In the third embodiment, the door lock mechanism 10 is configured to be driven separately, so that when the front portion of the door 4 is pushed in by hand, the first door lock mechanism 10a operates first to lock the first door. When the door 4 is pulled in by the operation of the mechanism 10a, the force pulls the door hook 9 on the far side (rear side) to a position detected by the second door lock mechanism 10b, so the door 4 must be securely closed. can be done. In addition, since the operator does not have to push the back side (rear side) of the door 4 in an unreasonable posture, the operability of closing the door 4 is greatly improved.

Further, a long hinge 41 may be employed as shown in FIG. 5 so as to prevent the door 4 of the third embodiment from tilting. Further, the door lock mechanism 10 (10a, 10b) may be driven by a battery 51 detachable from the centrifuge 100. FIG. By driving the door lock motor 21 of the door lock mechanism 10 (10a, 10b) with a power supply separate from the main power supply of the centrifuge 100 in this way, electric power from the main power supply (commercial power supply) at the time of a power failure, etc. is not supplied, the door lock mechanism 10 can be released by operating the door lock release button (emergency release button) provided in the centrifuge 100, the door 4 is opened, and the rotor inside the Samples can be collected. As a result, the possibility of spoiling the sample can be avoided. The battery 51 may be charged while the centrifuge 100 is supplied with power from the main power supply.

In the above embodiment, the door lock hook 22 is a claw-shaped hook driven by the door lock motor 21, but a solenoid plunger may be engaged with the door hook. Further, the doors 4 and 4A can be of any configuration, and if the centrifuge has a plurality of door lock mechanisms, the present invention can be applied to doors with different mechanisms, such as sliding doors instead of rocking doors. can be applied in the same way.

In addition, various modifications and combinations of the embodiments may be made as long as they do not contradict the gist of the present invention. For example, when the door is closed with no rotor set in the rotor chamber, only one of the plurality of door lock mechanisms 10 may be used to lock the door 4 .

1: rotor 2: motor 3: bowl 4: door
5: Rotor Chamber 6: Hinge 7: Door Packing 8: Housing 9: Door Hook 9a: First Door Hook 9b: Second Door Hook 10: Door Lock Mechanism 10a: First Door Lock Mechanism 10b: Second Door Lock Mechanism 21: Door Lock motor 22: Door lock hook 22a: Hook rotating shaft
23: Link bar 24: Door lock holder 25: Door hook sensor 26: Door lock hook position sensor
26a: First door lock hook position sensor 26b: Second door lock hook position sensor 27: Door lock hook position detection board 28: Elongated hole 28a: Left elongated hole 28b: Right elongated hole 31: Gas spring 32: Table surface 33: Hole 41: Long hinge 50: Control device 51: Battery

Claims (9)

a rotor holding the sample;
a motor that rotates the rotor;
a control device that controls the motor;
a rotor chamber that houses the rotor;
a housing that houses the rotor, the motor, and the rotor chamber;
a door provided in the housing to open and close the rotor chamber;
A centrifuge having a plurality of door lock mechanisms that hold the door in a closed state,
The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the control device separately controls a plurality of the door lock mechanisms. The door is provided with a plurality of door hooks, at least first and second,
the plurality of door lock mechanisms have at least a first door lock mechanism and a second door lock mechanism;
Each door lock mechanism is provided with a door hook detection sensor, and when a first door hook among the plurality of door hooks is detected by the door hook detection sensor, the first door lock mechanism is driven. 2. A centrifuge as claimed in claim 1. 3. The centrifuge according to claim 2, wherein when the locked state by the door lock mechanism is released, the plurality of door lock mechanisms are released substantially simultaneously. 2. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein said door lock mechanism can be driven by a battery. 5. The centrifuge according to claim 4, wherein said battery is provided detachably. 3. The centrifuge according to claim 2, wherein an alarm is displayed when the second door hook is not detected within a predetermined time after the detection of the first door hook. 3. The centrifuge according to claim 2, wherein an alarm is displayed when locking by the second door locking mechanism is not completed within a predetermined time after locking by the first door locking mechanism is completed. 2. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the door is locked by only one of the plurality of door lock mechanisms when the rotor is not set in the rotor chamber. 4. The plurality of door lock mechanisms are composed of at least two units, one of which is provided on the front side of the housing and the other is provided on the rear side of the housing. 1. The centrifuge of claim 1.

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