JPH05240865A - Apparatus for detecting unopened rubber plug - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect unopened rubber plug automatically. CONSTITUTION:A detecting device D for unopened rubber plug 16 is arranged at the downstream side of a means 1, for unplagging a rubber plug 16 fit to a container 14. The detecting device D is set at a part higher than the upper end part of the container 14. The detection is performed with a detecting means constituted of a limit switch 20, an optical sensor or the like, which is arranged at a part lower than the height position of the rubber plug 16. The detecting apparatus is constituted in this way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for detecting an unplugged portion of a rubber plug fitted in a container such as a blood collection tube which is erected upright on a rack or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a container for containing blood such as a vacuum blood collection tube is provided with, for example, an automatic centrifuge or an automatic analyzer after the rubber stopper fitted to the container is removed. Often transferred to a location.

By the way, this rubber plug removal work is
Conventionally, it is currently performed manually.

However, when the rubber stopper is manually removed, there is a risk that the blood sample collected may come into contact with various diseases, and the rubber stopper removal operation may be performed on many blood collection tubes. Therefore, there is a problem that such work is very complicated and there is a risk of blood contact infection even when collecting the extracted rubber stoppers.

In order to solve this, there is no choice but to mechanically pull out the rubber stopper. However, when the rubber stopper is mechanically pulled out, there is a case where unplugging occurs, and the container is left unnoticed. When, for example, the blood sample is sent to an automatic blood cell counter or the like, there is a problem that the blood sample in the container cannot be sucked and tested.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an unplugged leftover detection device for a rubber plug capable of automatically detecting the unplugged leftover of the rubber plug. Is what you are trying to do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an unplugged unplugging detection is provided on the downstream side of the unplugging means for unplugging the rubber plug fitted in the container. The device is disposed above the upper end of the container, and
The present invention is characterized in that the detection is made by a detection means composed of a limit switch or an optical sensor arranged below the height position of the rubber stopper.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rubber plug unremoval detection device D according to this embodiment is arranged at an outlet end of a cap opening device 1 which is interposed in a middle part of a rack transfer line R. ..

A device D for detecting the unplugged portion of the rubber plug is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the limit switch 20 is provided at the outlet end of the rack transfer path of the cap opening device 1. The limit switch 20 is provided so as to be located above the upper end of the container 14. In addition, the rubber stopper 16 fitted in the container 14 is disposed below the height position of the rubber stopper 16.

Therefore, when the rubber stopper 16 is left unremoved, the remaining rubber stopper 16 comes into contact with the limit switch 20 to turn off the transfer device for the container 14 and the cap opening device 1 to leave the remaining stopper. The transfer of the container 14 holding the rubber stopper 16 is automatically stopped, and the rotating member 7 of the stopper opening device 1 is stopped at the upper limit position of rotation of the locking body 11, and this state is indicated by an alarm, a lamp or the like (Fig. (Not shown).

When the rubber plug 16 is left unremoved as described above, the rack 15 holding the remaining rubber plug 16 is removed from the rack transfer line R, and the start switch or reset switch is turned on again. By doing so, the opening operation is restarted.

On the other hand, the blood-collected containers 14 in which the rubber stoppers 16 are tightly fitted are erected and held on the rack 15 for each required book (five in this embodiment), and the rack 15 is mounted on the rack stocker. It is transferred along the rack transfer line R from A to the completed rack stocker C through the opening position.

The opening device 1 is arranged adjacent to the outlet side of the rack stocker A, and has a flat plate shape having a rubber mat 3 attached to the lower surface thereof, as shown in FIG. The base member 2, a pair of support members 4, 5 provided upright at both front end portions of the base member 2, and these support members 4, 5
And a rotating member 7 rotatably supported by a shaft 6 on the upper part of the.

The base member 2 has a space for accommodating the rack 15 on the front side of the portion where the supports 4 and 5 are erected.
Are carried in and out of the space by the rack transfer line R from the horizontal horizontal direction.

The rack transfer line R includes various mechanisms using known endless belts for intermittently transferring the rack 15 in the vertical direction and intermittently transferring the rack 15 in the horizontal direction (longitudinal direction of the rack) at a predetermined position. Since they can be appropriately combined and applied, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

Further, the rotating member 7 has a horizontal plate portion 10.
A locking body 11 extending downward from the front edge of the horizontal plate portion 10, a support piece portion 12 extending downward from both depth-side ends of the horizontal plate portion 10, It is composed of an operating portion 13 fixed to the upper surface of the plate portion 10 and a drive device for reciprocally rotating the operating portion 13 within a predetermined range. It is pivoted downward.

The drive device for reciprocally rotating the operating portion 13 has a link 18 whose one end is rotatably supported by the operating portion 13 and the other end of which is rotatably supported. The rotating body 19 is supported, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the rotating body 19 is provided. Of course, this drive device is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and any known mechanism can be applied as long as it is a mechanism for reciprocally rotating the operating portion 13 within a predetermined range.

On the other hand, the rotating member 7 stops in a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, that is, when the horizontal plate portion 10 is stopped in a horizontal state, so that the rotating member 7 does not rotate further in the counterclockwise direction from the horizontal state. It is regulated by (not shown). Of course, clockwise rotation in FIG. 2 is not restricted.

The locking body 11 has a locking end portion 1 when the rotating member 7 is set in the horizontal state.
As shown in FIG. 4, 1a is formed in a sawtooth shape so as to surely bite into and engage with the peripheral surface of the head of the rubber stopper 16 which is fitted in the opening of the container 14 in a liquid-tight manner. At the same time, the serrated end 11a of the engaging body 11 formed in contact with the upper end of the container 14 set to the open position when the horizontal plate 10 is set horizontally. The height of the rubber stopper 16 is set so as not to bite into the head of the rubber plug 16 attached to the container 14. Of course, although not shown, a known pressure sensor is arranged at the locking end 11a of the locking body 11, and a member in contact with the locking end 11a of the locking body 11 by the pressure sensor is used. Container 14 or rubber stopper 16
It is also possible to control the opening operation of the rotating member 7 and surely prevent the container 14 from being damaged by arranging so that the container 14 can be selected.

On the other hand, the rubber plug recovery container 8 is formed to have a substantially concave cross section and a substantially convex planar shape, and the length dimension thereof is such that the rear end 8a is the rear end of the base member 2a. It is positioned so as to abut against the corner metal fittings 17 fixed to both sides, and its front end portion 8b is formed to have a length dimension such that it is flush with the front end portions of the respective supports 4 and 5. There is.

Further, the rubber plug recovery container 8 has a front plate 8c inclined, and the locking body 11 is
When the rubber plug 16 is pulled out by being engaged with the step portion 16a of the rubber plug 16 and being rotated about the shaft 6 as a fulcrum,
The pulled-out rubber plug 16 falls by its own weight in the direction of the rubber plug collection container 8, rolls on the inclined surface of the front plate 8c, and is housed in the rubber plug collection container 8. Of course, the rubber plug collection container 8 is not limited to the shape of the illustrated embodiment, and may have any suitable shape as long as the rubber plug 16 pulled out by the locking body 11 can be reliably stored. Any thing can be used.

The actuating portion 13 for driving the locking body 11 of the thus-configured cap opening device 1 advances and retracts the link 18 by the rotary operation of the rotary body 19, and the rubber by the forward and backward movement of the link 18. The stopper 16 is pulled out from the container 14. Therefore, the operation of the operation unit 13 is performed in synchronization with the loading / unloading operation of the rack 15.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the operating portion 13, first, the locking end portion 11a of the locking body 11 is the rubber stopper 1.
6, it bites into the head of the container 6 and is rotated from this state in the opening direction by a required angle to move the rubber plug 16 into the container 1 as shown in FIG.
4, the locking body 11 is returned to the horizontal position as shown in FIG. 7, and then the locking body 11 is rotated again in the opening direction. After surely engaging the engaging end portion 11a of the engaging body 11 with the step portion 16a of the rubber stopper 16 and engaging the same, the rubber stopper 16 is completely removed from the opening of the container 14 as shown in FIG. The drive is controlled so that it can be pulled out. This is because when the rubber plug 16 is made of, for example, raw rubber having high elasticity, the rubber plug 1
6 and the container 14 have a strong adhesion, and as a result, the locking body 11
Since there is a possibility that the rubber plug 16 may be left unplugged by a single rotation operation, the locking body 11 is operation-controlled as described above in order to completely prevent this.

In the above embodiment, the case where the device D for detecting the unplugged rubber plug is constituted by the limit switch 20 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the illustration is made. However, the presence or absence of the remaining rubber stopper is confirmed by, for example, an optical sensor or the like, and the light is blocked by the rubber stopper to detect the unplugged portion of the rubber stopper. It is also possible to stop the transfer of the rack as it is, and re-drive the rotating member in the above-mentioned procedure to pull out the remaining rubber plug again.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the opening means is not limited to the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, air is sent into the container to pull out the rubber stopper, or a needle is attached to the rubber stopper. It is also possible to apply an opening device having a structure such as piercing and pulling out.

[0027]

As described above, according to the unplugged unplugged detection device according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically detect unplugged unplugged rubber plugs. When the container is sent, it is possible to send only the one from which the rubber stopper has been pulled out, and as a result, the blood sample in the container can be surely sucked and tested, which is an excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of a rack transfer device in which a rubber plug unremoved remaining detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged.

FIG. 2 is a right side view showing an opening mechanism of the rack transfer device.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an opening mechanism of the rack transfer device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a mounting state of a locking body in an opening mechanism of the rack transfer device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a locking end portion of a locking body is digged into a rubber plug head in a step of pulling out a rubber plug of a blood collection tube by an opening mechanism section of the rack transfer device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state where the rubber stopper is pulled out partway by the locking body in the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the stopper mechanism of the rack transfer device.

FIG. 7: In the process of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the opening mechanism portion of the rack transfer device, the locking body is moved back to the original position, and the locking end portion of the locking body becomes the step portion of the rubber plug. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state made to engage.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state where the rubber stopper is pulled out from the container in the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the opening mechanism portion of the rack transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 D Rubber plug unplugging detection device R Rack transfer line 1 Opening device 14 Container 15 Rack 16 Rubber plug 20 Limit switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An unplugged remaining detection device for a rubber plug, which is arranged on a downstream side of a cap opening device for removing a rubber plug fitted in a container, is arranged above an upper end portion of the container, and is made of rubber. A remaining unplugged detection device for a rubber plug, comprising a detection means disposed below the height position of the plug. 2. The unplugged leftover detection device according to claim 1, wherein the detection means is constituted by a limit switch or a sensor.