JPH04145968A - Dummy rack for automatic centrifugal separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the automatic weight change of a dummy rack without the need for changing the kind of the dummy rack at every test tube to be used by constituting the dummy rack to be put into a bucket in order to obtain the revolution balance of a rotor in the case of operating an odd number of the racks contg. samples of plural pieces of parts which can freely be disassembled. CONSTITUTION:The test tubs 5 contg. the samples are put into rack 6 and the rack is installed in a rack depot 7. A robot mechanism 8 moves to the position above the rack when the automatic centrifuge is operated. This mechanism grips the rack 6 and inserts the rack 6 into the bucket 4. A motor 1 runs and the samples are centrifugally separated when the insertion of the racks 6 into the bucket 4 ends. The robot mechanism part 8 moves to the position over the bucket 4 and a hand part 10 grips the rack 6 existing in the bucket 4 and takes out the rack to another rack depot 7 upon stopping of the rotation of the motor 1 after the centrifugal sepn. The robot mechanism part 8 moves to the position above the dummy rack 11 and the hand part 10 grips the dummy rack 11 and inserts the rack into the bucket 4 of the position symmetrical with the odd number to prevent the unbalance if the racks 6 is of an odd number.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to automatic centrifugal separation in which a rack containing test tubes is automatically inserted into and removed from the centrifuge.

[Background of the invention]

Particularly when centrifuging biological samples such as blood in applications where a centrifuge is used, test tubes containing samples should be placed in racks to prevent the infection of viruses, etc. from the biological samples to the person handling them. Once installed, an automatic centrifuge is used that automatically inserts the rack into the centrifuge, performs centrifugation, and then takes out the rack after centrifugation. Generally, when separating samples with a centrifuge, the bucket 1 is placed symmetrically to the motor's axis of movement.
The weight difference between the racks placed in the rack must be adjusted to below the specified value to prevent damage to the equipment and rotor due to unbalanced rotation. In order to prevent this, conventional automatic centrifuges automatically add one dummy rack as a counterweight when the number of racks inserted into the centrifuge is an odd number. However, the test tubes placed in the racks come in several standard sizes and weights depending on the purpose of use, so if you change the test tubes used, the dummy rack installed in the automatic centrifuge will also be compatible. There was the inconvenience of having to change to a lighter weight one.

[Purpose of the invention]

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art mentioned above and to operate an automatic centrifuge of this type safely.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention is characterized in that the dummy rack is constructed by overlapping a plurality of parts and can be freely disassembled.

In other words, when the robot mechanism grabs the bottom of the dummy rack,
You can hold all the parts that overlap at the top; conversely, if you grab the top, you can hold only the top part that overlaps. In this way, by changing the position where the robot mechanism grips the dummy rack, the number of overlapping parts, that is, the weight of the dummy rack, can be changed, so even if the test tubes used are changed, the same dummy rack can be used. This is a devised structure.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (partial view) showing an embodiment of the automatic centrifuge of the present invention. The test tube 5 containing the sample is placed in a rack 6 and placed in a rack storage area 7. When the automatic centrifuge is operated, the robot mechanism 8 moves to the second position of the rack, grabs the rack 6, and further inserts the rack 6 into the bucket 4.

After loading the rack 6 into the bucket 4, the monitor 1 rotates and the sample is centrifuged. When the motor 1 stops rotating after centrifugation, the robot mechanism section 8 moves above the bucket 4, the hand section 10 grabs the rack 6 in the bucket 4, and takes it out to another rack storage area 7. If there is an odd number of racks 6, the robot mechanism section 8 moves above the dummy rack 11, and the hand section 10 grabs the dummy rack 11 and inserts it into the bucket 4 at a symmetrical position to the odd number of racks, thereby eliminating the imbalance. prevent.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the dummy rack 11. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dummy rack 11, which in this embodiment is composed of three parts: an upper dummy rack 111, a middle dummy rack 112, and a lower dummy rack 113. Positioning pins 114 are provided at the upper parts of the middle dummy rack 112 and the lower dummy rack 113, and are fitted and fixed into holes provided at the lower parts of the upper dummy rack 111 and the middle dummy rack 112 when they become heavy. The hand section 10 of the robot mechanism section 8 is attached to A of the dummy rack 11.
(front and rear sides in FIG. 2), only the upper dummy rack 111 can be held. When the hand part 10 grasps and lifts the B part of the dummy rack 11, it can hold both the upper stage 111 of the dummy rack and the middle stage 112 of the dummy rack. Similarly, if you grab the 0 part of the dummy rack 11 and lift it up, all three parts can be held. are respectively x and y
-Zg and X>Y>Z), dummy rack upper stage 111,
If the weights of the middle dummy rack 112 and the lower dummy rack 113 are a, b, and cg, respectively, then X = a + b
+ c, Y = a + b, Z = c, if the weight of the dummy rack is determined, 1
[Effect of the Invention] According to the present invention, the weight of the dummy rack of an automatic centrifuge can be changed by changing the position where the hand section grips the dummy rack. This makes it possible to automatically change the weight of the dummy rack without having to change the type of dummy rack for each test tube used.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view (partial view) of the automatic centrifuge according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a dummy rack, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the dummy rack in an exploded state. be. 1 is a motor, 2 is a rotor, 3 is a drive unit, 4 is a bucket,
5 is a test tube, 6 is a rack, 7 is a rack storage area, 8 is a robot mechanism, 9 is a control section, 10 is a hand section, 11 is a dummy rack,] 11 is a dummy rack" 2nd stage, 1-12 is a dummy rack middle stage , 113 is a lower dummy rack, and 11-4 is a bottle. Patent applicant name 11 Ritsukouki Co., Ltd. Off Zusaizu

Claims (1)

[Claims] A motor, a rotor that is connected to the motor by a parking shaft and rotates, a plurality of buckets that are rotatably mounted on the rotor and can move from vertical to horizontal directions due to centrifugal force when the rotor rotates, and a sample contained therein. It consists of multiple racks that can hold multiple test tubes, a robot mechanism that has the function of inserting the racks into the bucket from the rack storage area and returning them from the bucket to the rack storage area after centrifugation, and a control unit that controls these operations. In this automatic centrifuge, when an odd number of racks containing samples are operated, a dummy rack that is placed in a bucket to balance the rotation of the rotor is composed of a plurality of parts that can be freely disassembled. Dummy rack for automatic centrifuge.