JPH05221488A - Cap-removing device of test tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To rapidly and safely remove peeling-off caps by measuring the diameter of a test tube and holding the test tube by a nip roller so as to have a holding gap according to the measured result and correcting the positional deviation of the peeling-off cap while rotary driving. CONSTITUTION:When a test tube 12 covered with a peeling-off cap 11 at the opening is transferred by a conveyor 15 and stopped at a specified position temporarily, a measuring gauge of the diameter is projected to detect the protruded figure when it contacts the test tube 12. Next, the test tube is transferred to the place where a rotary driving means 20 is arranged and the outer peripheral face of the test tube 12 is held by four nip rollers 21-24. At that time, the test tube is held by an appropriate force in accordance with the measured diameter due to the presence of selected stroke-adjusting member 32. And the posture of peeling-off cap 11 is corrected by the action of the correcting members 41, 42 in a correcting means 40. Hereafter, the peeling-off cap 11 is removed by the cap-removing device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to peeling for automatically removing a peeling cap from a test tube with a peeling cap in which an opening of a test tube containing a liquid to be tested such as blood is covered with a peeling cap. The present invention relates to a cap removing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been no device for automatically removing a peeling cap from a test tube of this type. For this reason, the peeling cap has to be removed manually, which is a sanitary problem. Therefore, the inventor
A device for automatically removing the peeling cap of the test tube was devised, and a utility model registration application has been filed as Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 2-122690. According to the invention of the above application, the conventional problems can be solved to some extent. However, the following problems to be solved remain.

[0003]

That is, in the above apparatus, when test tubes having different tube diameters are mixed and conveyed, there is a possibility that confusion may occur due to the difference in the tube diameters. That is, in general, when performing the peeling operation of the peeling cap, it is necessary to correct the peeling cap as an operation in the preceding step, but the rotation of the test tube in the correcting operation becomes improper, and the correction of the peeling cap can be performed smoothly. There is a problem that it does not exist. In addition, when the peeling operation is performed, the holding state of the test tube becomes unstable, and the peeling operation of the peeling cap may be hindered.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if test tubes having different diameters are mixed in the conveyed test tubes, the confusion caused by the difference in the tube diameters does not occur, and the smoothing operation of the peeling cap and the smoothing operation are performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a peeling cap removing device for a test tube, which can perform a peeling operation quickly and stably.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention takes the following means. Conveying means for conveying a test tube whose opening is covered with a peeling cap while holding the cap side up, and measuring the diameter of the test tube conveyed by this conveying means to measure a predetermined diameter. A test tube selecting means for selecting only the test tube and the outer peripheral surface of the test tube having the predetermined tube diameter selected by the test tube selecting means are held by a plurality of holding rollers with the holding gap preliminarily set and held. Test tube rotation drive means for rotating the test tube about the tube axis by the rotation operation of the roller, and the peeling cap knob rotated with the rotation of the test tube rotationally driven by the test tube rotation drive means. A knob portion posture correcting means for arranging a correction member so as to correct the posture of the knob portion by displacing the posture of the knob portion, which is rotating in the part rotation locus, upward or downward. Means for separately holding the picking portion and the test tube whose postures have been corrected by the picking portion posture correcting means and for rotating the both relatively to remove the peeling cap from the opening portion of the test tube; I was prepared.

A means for measuring the tube diameter of the test tube conveyed by the conveying means and automatically adjusting and setting the holding gap between the holding rollers in the test tube rotation driving means according to the measured tube diameter is provided. Preferably.

[0007]

The following actions will be brought about by taking the above means. The pipe diameter of the test tube being conveyed is measured, and the peeling cap is corrected while the test tube is held by a holding roller having a holding gap corresponding to the measured pipe diameter and is rotationally driven. Therefore, a smooth correction operation is performed. Further, since the peeling operation of the peeling cap can be continuously performed while maintaining the held state, the peeling operation can be performed quickly and stably as compared with the case where the peeling operation is performed after the gripping is performed again.

[0008]

1 to 3 are views showing a peeling cap removing device for a test tube according to an embodiment of the present invention. This device is an operating device 1 shown in a block diagram in the upper portion of FIG. It is automatically controlled by the control device 2 which operates based on the operation of 1.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of a conveying means and a test tube selecting means in a peeling cap removing device for a test tube. As shown in Figure 1,
The test tube 12 whose opening is covered with the peeling cap 11 is held by the columnar test tube holder 13 so that the cap side is the upper side, and the test tube 12 is transported by a guide rail 14 and a belt conveyor 15. It is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow.

The pipe diameter of the test tube 12 conveyed by the conveying means is such that the pipe diameter measuring gauge 16 installed near the conveying path, the pneumatic gauge advance / retreat driving piston / cylinder device 17, and the gauge protrusion. Quantity detection sensor 18
It is measured by the measuring means consisting of. For the test tube 12 after measuring the tube diameter, only the test tube 12 having a predetermined tube diameter is selected by the selector 19 together with the holder, and passage in the A direction is allowed.
The other test tubes 12 are excluded in the B direction. The measuring means and the selector 19 described above constitute the test tube selecting means of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the construction of the test tube rotation driving means and the peeling cap picking portion posture correcting means. Test tube 12 having a predetermined tube diameter selected by the test tube selection means
The outer peripheral surface thereof is held by a plurality of (four in this embodiment) holding rollers 21 to 24 in the test tube rotation driving means 20. The test tube 12 is driven to rotate about the tube axis as indicated by the arrow by the rotating operation of the holding rollers 21 to 24.

The holding rollers 21 to 24 are made of a material having a slight elasticity such as rubber, resin, cloth and leather, and are provided so that the test tube 12 can be stably and reliably held. Of these holding rollers 21 to 24, the pair of holding rollers 21 and 22 are rotatably held by one U-shaped holder 25, and the other pair of holding rollers 23 and 24 are the other holding rollers. It is rotatably held by a V-shaped holder 26. One of the U-shaped holders 25 is driven forward and backward by an air-type roller advancing / retreating drive piston / cylinder device 27 as shown by an arrow, and the other U-shaped holder 26 is an air-type roller advancing / retreating drive piston. / Cylinder device 28 is also driven forward and backward. Thus, each of the pair of gripping rollers 21, 22 and 23, 24 is connected to the test tube 12
Is pressed against or separated from the outer peripheral surface of.

The forward stroke amount of the one roller advance / retreat driving piston / cylinder device 27 is the pneumatic stroke amount adjusting piston / cylinder device 30.
By the thickness of the stroke amount adjusting member 31 that moves up and down, it can be adjusted to an appropriate amount. As the stroke amount adjusting member 31, a plurality of types having different thicknesses are prepared in advance, and one selected according to the tube diameter of the test tube 12 is selected from among these, and is attached to the distal end portion of the device 30 by appropriately replacing it. It is supposed to be. The other roller advance / retreat drive piston / cylinder device 2
Also for 8, the forward stroke amount may be adjusted to an appropriate amount by the same means as described above.

The pair of gripping rollers 21 and 22 are rotationally driven by transmitting power from a drive mechanism 34 by power transmission belts 32 and 33. The drive mechanism 34 is provided so as to move forward and backward simultaneously with the forward and backward movement of the one roller forward / backward drive piston / cylinder device 27.

The gripping portion posture correcting means 40 has a posture of the gripping portion 11a within the gripping portion rotation locus of the peeling cap 11 which rotates with the rotation of the test tube 12 which is rotationally driven by the test tube rotation driving means 20. A pair of correction members 41 and 42 are provided so that the above can be corrected. One of the correction members 41 is provided so as to correct the knob portion 11a by displacing the knob portion 11a upward when the rotating knob portion 11a is significantly bent downward. The other correction member 42 is provided to correct the knob portion 11a by displacing the knob portion 11a downward when the knob portion 11a that is rotating is significantly bent upward. Reference numeral 43 is a correction member support block, 44 is an abutting member for abutting and positioning the outer peripheral surface of the test tube 12, 45
Is a piston rod of a pneumatic piston / cylinder device for forward / backward drive not shown. The piston rod 45 moves the knob portion posture correcting means 40 close to or away from the test tube 12. Reference numeral 46 denotes a sensor for confirming the completion of correction of the picked portion, which is connected to the control device 2.

The peeling cap 11 after the posture of the picking portion 11a is corrected by the gripping portion posture correcting means 40 is detached from the opening of the test tube 12 by the peeling cap removing means. The peeling cap removing means holds the grip portion 11a of the peeling cap 11 and the test tube 12 separately, and relatively rotates both to remove the peeling cap 11 from the opening of the test tube 12. is there.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the cap peeling mechanism 50 in the peeling cap removing means.
The cap peeling mechanism 50 includes a drive source 51 and a rotating mechanism 5.
2. The holding mechanism 53. The drive source 51 is a power source that drives the rotation mechanism 52 and the holding mechanism 53. The rotating mechanism 52 rotates the holding mechanism 53 in the direction of arrow M, and the holding mechanism 53 opens and closes the pair of holding plates 53a and 53b in the direction of arrow N.

The pair of holding plates 53a and 53b each have a semi-circular holding portion. A cushion material 54 made of synthetic rubber or resin is attached to the inner surface of the holding portion of one holding plate 53a. Further, three biting projections 55 are arranged on the inner surface of the holding portion of the other holding plate 53b.
A sensor 56 for confirming completion of removal of the peeling cap is provided on the outer surface (upper surface in the drawing) of the holding portion of one holding plate 53a.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the test tube 12 whose opening is covered with the peeling cap 11 is the guide rail 14
When it is conveyed to the first position by the conveyance means including the belt conveyor 15, the conveyance of the test tube holder 13 is temporarily stopped by the stop means (not shown). Here, the device 17 in the measuring means is actuated, the tube diameter measuring gauge 16 is projected, and the tip thereof comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the test tube 12. The amount of protrusion of the pipe diameter measuring gauge 16 at this time, that is, the amount of forward stroke of the device 17 is detected by the sensor 18, and the information is transmitted to the control device 2. Then, the control signal S depending on whether or not the measured tube diameter of the test tube 12 is a predetermined tube diameter is given from the control device 2 to the selector 19. Therefore, the test tube 12 having the predetermined tube diameter is allowed to proceed in the direction A as it is by the selector 19, but the test tube 12 having no predetermined tube diameter is used in the selector 1.
By 9, it is moved in the B direction and eliminated.

When the test tube 12 having the predetermined tube diameter selected by the test tube selecting means is conveyed to the second position, that is, the position where the test tube rotation driving means 20 shown in FIG. Test tube holder 13 holding 12
Is temporarily stopped from being conveyed by a stop means (not shown). Here, the device 2 in the test tube rotation driving means 20
7 and 28 are activated by the control signal S from the control device 2. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the test tube 12 is held by the four holding rollers 21 to 24. At this time, the forward stroke amount of the roller advancing / retreating drive piston / cylinder device 27 is adjusted to an appropriate amount by the thickness of the stroke amount adjusting member 31 interveningly operated by the stroke amount adjusting piston / cylinder device 30. ,
The test tube 12 is held with an appropriate holding force. At about the same time, the grip portion posture correcting means 40 approaches the test tube 12 and stops at the position where the contact member 44 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the test tube 12. In such a state, the holding rollers 21 and 22 are rotationally driven by transmitting power from the drive mechanism 34. Thus, the test tube 12 is rotationally driven about the axis of the tube. The knob portion 11a of the peeling cap 11 that rotates with the rotation of the test tube 12 that is rotationally driven.
Are the correction members 41, 4 arranged in the rotation locus.
The posture is sequentially corrected by 2. That is, when the rotating knob 11a is significantly bent downward, the corrector 41 corrects the posture of the knob 11a by displacing it upward. The knob 11 that is also rotating
When a is significantly bent in the upward direction, the correction member 42 corrects the posture of the knob 11a downward. Since the knob 11a whose posture has been corrected passes through the sensor 46 for confirming completion of knob correction, the information is supplied to the control device 2. Therefore, it is confirmed that the correction is completed. If the correction is not confirmed, the correction operation is repeatedly performed until the correction is confirmed. If the correction is not completed even after the above-described correction operation is repeated about five times, the test tube 12 is considered to be uncorrectable and is excluded.

When the posture correction of the grip portion 11a of the peeling cap 11 by the grip portion posture correction means 40 is completed, the grip portion posture correction means 40 moves backward. And instead of FIG.
The cap peeling mechanism 50 shown in FIG. 2 advances to the position of the test tube 12. At this time, the test tube 12 is rotated by the test tube rotation driving means 20.
The four holding rollers 21 to 24 maintain the state of being held. Thus, when the drive mechanism 51 operates the holding mechanism 53, the pair of holding plates 53 of the holding mechanism 53.
The legs a and 53b are closed. Therefore, the semi-circular holding portion holds the grip portion 11a of the peeling cap 11. At this time, the knob portion 11a has the cushion member 54 and the protrusion 55 for engagement with the teeth.
Since it is held between and, it is held stably and firmly. Subsequently, when the drive source 51 operates the rotation mechanism 52, the pair of holding plates 53 a and 53 b of the holding mechanism 53 are rotationally driven by the rotation mechanism 52. For this reason, the peeling cap 11 can strongly lift the grip portion 11a upward, so that the test tube 1
2 is removed from the opening. Whether or not the removal of the peeling cap 11 is completed is detected and confirmed by the sensor 56. That is, immediately after the peeling operation is performed, if the sensor 56 for confirming the completion of removal of the peeling cap detects the presence of the peeling cap 11, the removal is considered to be successful, and the peeling operation ends. If the presence of the peeling cap 11 is not detected, the peeling cap 11 is a test tube 12
It is considered that there is still a hole left in the opening, and the peeling operation is performed again. In this case, if the peeling cap 11 is still not removed even after the operation is repeated a plurality of times, it is regarded as unremovable and is excluded.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the holding gap between the holding rollers may be automatically adjusted and set according to the measured pipe diameter. By doing so, even if test tubes having different diameters are mixed and conveyed, the stripping operation can be stably performed as it is without excluding them. Therefore, it is useful depending on the purpose of use. Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the diameter of a test tube being conveyed is measured, and the test tube is held by a holding roller having a holding gap corresponding to the measured diameter and is peeled while being rotationally driven. The cap is straightened.
Therefore, a smooth correction operation is performed. Further, since the peeling operation of the peeling cap can be continuously performed while maintaining the held state, the peeling operation can be performed quickly and stably as compared with the case where the peeling operation is performed after the gripping is performed again. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if test tubes having different tube diameters are mixed in the conveyed test tubes, the confusion caused by the difference in the tube diameter does not occur, and the smoothing operation of the peeling cap and quick Further, it is possible to provide a peeling cap removing device for a test tube that can perform a stable peeling operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conveying unit and a test tube selecting unit in a peeling cap removing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a test tube rotation driving means and a peeling cap picking portion posture correcting means in the peeling cap removing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cap peeling mechanism in the peeling cap removing device according to the embodiment.

[Description of Reference Signs] 1 ... Operating device, 2 ... Control device, 3 ... Driving device, 11 ... Peeling cap, 12 ... Test tube, 13 ... Cylindrical test tube holder, 14 ... Guide rail, 15 ... Belt conveyor, 16
... Pipe diameter measuring gauge, 17 ... Piston / cylinder device for air type gauge advance / retreat drive, 18 ... Gauge protrusion amount detection sensor, 19 ... Sorter, 20 ... Test tube rotation drive means, 2
1 to 24 ... Holding roller, 25, 26 ... U-shaped holder, 27, 28 ... Air-type roller advance / retreat driving piston /
Cylinder device, 30 ... Pneumatic stroke amount adjusting piston / cylinder device, 31 ... Stroke amount adjusting member, 32, 33 ... Power transmission belt, 34 ... Drive mechanism, 40 ... Picking part posture correcting means, 41, 42 ... a pair of straightening members, 43 ... Straightening member support block, 44 ... Positioning contact member, 45 ... Piston rod, 46 ... Sensor for confirming completion of correction of knob portion, 50 ... Cap peeling mechanism, 51 ... Drive source, 52 ... Rotation Mechanism, 53 ... Holding mechanism, 53a, 53b
... a pair of holding plates, 54 ... Cushion material, 55 ... Protrusion for biting, 56 ... Sensor for confirming completion of removal of the peeling cap.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A carrying means for carrying a test tube having an opening covered with a peeling cap in a state where the test tube is held with the cap side facing upward, and a diameter of the test tube carried by the carrying means. A test tube selecting means for measuring and selecting only a test tube having a predetermined tube diameter, and a plurality of gripping rollers having an outer peripheral surface of the test tube having the predetermined tube diameter selected by the test tube selecting means, in which a gripping gap is adjusted in advance. And a test tube rotation drive means for rotating the test tube about the tube axis by a rotation operation of these holding rollers, and a rotation of the test tube rotated by the test tube rotation drive means. A correction member should be provided so as to correct the posture of the picking portion by displacing the rotating posture of the picking portion upward or downward within the rotation path of the knob portion of the peeling cap that rotates. The gripping portion posture correcting means, the gripping portion whose posture is corrected by the gripping portion posture correcting means, and the test tube are separately held, and both are relatively rotated to perform the peeling cap test. A peeling cap removing device for a test tube, comprising: a means for removing from the opening of the tube. 2. A means for measuring the tube diameter of the test tube conveyed by the conveying means and automatically adjusting and setting the holding gap between the holding rollers in the test tube rotation driving means according to the measured tube diameter. The peeling cap removing device for a test tube according to claim 1, further comprising: