JPH0575198U - Automatic opening device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Even if containers with different diameters and lengths are mixed and stand upright in a rack, each container is automatically sorted by the same type. , Automatically pulling out without touching the rubber stopper of each container. [Structure] An automatic capping device has a parent rack that vertically holds a plurality of containers having different diameters and lengths, a parent rack transfer device that transfers the parent rack to a sorting position, and the same type at the sorting position. Transfer means for transferring the container to a dedicated child rack, child rack transfer means for sequentially transferring the child rack to the opening position, and a rubber stopper from the container held in the child rack that has reached the opening position. And a means for removing the stopper.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an automatic opening device capable of continuously pulling out a rubber stopper fitted in a container opening such as a blood collection tube without touching it with hands, and particularly, the above-mentioned caliber and length are different. The present invention relates to an automatic opening device capable of separating a plurality of containers of the same type and automatically removing all rubber stoppers.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 As is well known, a rubber container such as a vacuum blood collection tube is fitted with a rubber stopper in its opening for the purpose of preventing the outflow of a blood sample.

By the way, the rubber stopper is removed, for example, when the blood collection tube is set in the automatic analyzer, but the removal of the rubber stopper is conventionally 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. This is a very complicated task because it is carried out against other people, and there is also the problem that blood contact infection may occur when collecting the removed rubber stoppers. In the case of a center, etc., since the blood collection tubes are often held in various racks, the work of removing the rubber stopper becomes very complicated, and the frequency of blood contact infection increases. I had.

For this reason, the present applicant has previously found that a plurality of blood collection tubes in a rack are automatically pulled out without touching the rubber stoppers of the plurality of blood collection tubes, and the removed rubber stoppers are We have proposed an automatic opening device that can be collected and discarded without touching it, and that has no risk of accidentally damaging the blood collection tube (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-361092). issue).

[0006]

[Problems of the prior art]

 By the way, as the rack for vertically holding a plurality of blood collection tubes, for example, those having different calibers and different lengths are often used depending on the purpose of blood collection, and such calibers and lengths are different. At present, in many cases, containers are generally installed together in the same rack.

On the other hand, on the other hand, since the above-mentioned automatic cap opening device is configured to correspond to one type of standardized container in terms of its function, containers having different caliber, length, etc. are described above. If they are installed together on a rack, it is necessary to transfer the same type of container to another rack, which makes the work very complicated and also the automatic cap opening device. There was a problem that the significance as

The present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and its purpose is to provide a case where containers having different calibers, lengths, etc. are mixed and erected on a rack. Also, each container is automatically sorted by the same type, so that it can be automatically pulled out without touching the rubber stopper of each container automatically. It is intended to provide an opening device.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, in the automatic cap opening device according to the present invention, a parent rack that vertically holds a plurality of containers having different diameters and lengths, and a parent rack that transfers this parent rack to a sorting position. A rack transfer device, a transfer means for transferring the same type of container to a dedicated slave rack at the sorting position, a slave rack transfer means for sequentially transferring the slave rack to the opening position, and the opening position is reached. The present invention is characterized in that it has a cap opening means for removing a rubber plug from a container held by a child rack.

[0010]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic cap opening apparatus according to this embodiment is a parent lid for vertically holding two kinds of containers 14A and 14B having different diameters and different lengths in which a rubber plug 16 is closely mounted. 15C, a container stocker A in which a plurality of the parent racks 15C are arranged, a parent rack transfer means B ₃ for sequentially transferring the parent racks 15C set in the container stocker A to a sorting position, and this sorting A container transfer device (not shown) that transfers the containers 14A and 14B from the parent rack 15C for each same type at the position, and a container 14A that vertically holds the containers 14A and 14B selected by the container transfer means. A dedicated child rack 15A and a dedicated child rack 15B of the container 14A, and an empty parent rack 15C after the containers 14A and 14B are transferred to the child racks 15A and 15B are stored. The work already parent Lux stocker _{C 3,} said child rack 15A, child rack transport means _{B 1} for transporting each container 14A held in 15B, 14B and successively up work already child Lux via unplugging position stocker _C 1, _{C 2} , B ₂ and automatic cap opening devices 1A, 1B arranged at the above-mentioned cap opening positions and interposed between the child rack transfer lines B ₁ , B ₂ and the automatic cap opening device 1A. , Rubber plugs 16 that are pulled out by the rubber plugs 1 and 1B are collected.

Therefore, the parent rack 15 C, which holds the above-described containers 14 A and 14 B in a mixed state, is identified based on the selection information after the containers 14 A and 14 B are identified at the selection position of the container stocker A. , automatically be was transferred to a dedicated slave rack 15A, 15 B through the container transfer device, a parent rack 15C became empty, via the parent rack transport means B ₃ already work from the sorting position It is sequentially transferred to the parent rack stocker C ₃ .

As a means for discriminating the containers, for example, a method of optically reading a bar code attached to each container 14A, 14B with a bar code reader, or a method of reading each container 14A, 14B itself Known discrimination means such as direct electrical or optical measurement of the caliber or length can be applied.

Further, since the container transfer device can be configured by, for example, various known pick-up robots, detailed description thereof will be omitted here. Of course, this container transfer device is configured to be driven and controlled so as to reliably transfer each container 14A, 14B to the dedicated child rack 15A, 15B based on the container identification information read by the above means. Has been done.

Further, the transfer mechanism of each of the racks 15A, 15B, and 15C can be configured by appropriately combining a known belt conveyor and a known pushing mechanism using an actuator or the like, so a detailed description thereof will be given here. Will be omitted.

In this way, the rubber stopper 16 is removed from the container 14A transferred to the child rack 15A via the container transfer device, and the rubber stopper 16 is removed from the container 14B transferred to the child rack 15B. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the plug opening device 1B for removing the plug is interposed between the child rack transfer means B ₁ and B ₂ and has a flat plate shape in which a rubber mat 3 is attached to the lower surface. Of the base member 2, a pair of support members 4 and 5 which are provided upright at both front end portions of the base member 2, and a shaft rotatably attached to the upper portions of the support members 4 and 5 via a shaft 6. Each of the rotating members 7 is supported.

Each of the base members 2 is configured to have a space for loading and setting the racks 15A and 15B described above on the front side of the portion where the supports 4 and 5 are erected. , each rack 15A, 15B is carried into the inner space from the side a horizontal position by the above-mentioned rack transport section B _1, B _2, and are respectively configured to be unloaded.

Each of the rotating members 7 includes a horizontal plate portion 10, a locking body 11 extending downward from a front edge portion of the horizontal plate portion 10, and a depth side of the horizontal plate portion 10. From a support piece portion 12 extending downward from both ends, an operating portion 13 fixed to the upper surface of the horizontal plate portion 10, and a drive device for reciprocally rotating the operating portion 13 within a predetermined range. Each of the above-mentioned shafts 6 is axially supported below each of the support piece portions 12.

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

On the other hand, the rotating members 7 are stopped in a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, that is, in a state where the horizontal plate portions 10 are horizontal, so that the rotating members 7 do not rotate further in the counterclockwise direction from the horizontal state. It is regulated by a stopper body (not shown). Of course, clockwise rotation in FIG. 2 is not restricted.

The stoppers are formed by processing the shafts 6 and forming a projection (not shown) on the shaft insertion hole side of each of the supports 4 and 5 to form each of the rotating members. When 7 is in a horizontal state, the processed portion of each shaft 6 may be configured to engage with a protrusion formed on the shaft insertion hole side of each of the supports 4 and 5 to maintain the horizontal state. Or, a protrusion or a step (not shown) is formed on the facing surface side of each of the supports 4 and 5, and when the rotating member 7 is in the horizontal state, each horizontal plate portion The lower surface of 10 may abut against a projection or step formed on the side of each of the supports 4 and 5 to maintain a horizontal state.

Further, when the rotating members 7 are set in the horizontal state, the respective locking ends 11a of the respective locking bodies 11 of the respective containers 14A and 14B are, as shown in FIG. The rubber plugs 16 fitted in the openings in a liquid-tight manner are formed in a saw-tooth shape so as to surely bite into and engage with the peripheral surface of the head of the rubber plugs 16 and are formed in the saw-tooth shape of the locking bodies 11. The respective locking ends 11a do not come into contact with the upper ends of the containers 14A and 14B set in the open position when the horizontal plate part 10 is set in the horizontal state, and the respective container 1 It is set at a height position where it bites into the head of each rubber plug 16 mounted on 4A and 14B. Of course, although not shown, a publicly known pressure sensor is provided at each locking end portion 11a of each locking body 11, and each locking end portion 11a of each locking body 11 is connected by the pressure sensor. By configuring so that the contacting member can select the container 14A, 14B or the rubber stopper 16, the opening operation of each rotating member 7 is controlled, and the container 14A, 14B is surely prevented from being damaged. It can also be configured.

On the other hand, each of the rubber plug collection containers 8A and 8B is formed to have a substantially concave cross section and a substantially planar planar shape, and the length dimension thereof is such that each rear end portion 8a has each base member described above. 2a is positioned so as to abut with the corner metal fittings 17 fixed to both sides of the rear end of the support 2a, and has a length dimension such that each front end 8b is the same as the front end of each of the supports 4, 5. Have been formed.

Further, in each of the rubber plug collection containers 8A and 8B, each front plate 8c is formed to be inclined, and each locking body 11 is engaged with the step portion 16a of each rubber plug 16. When the rubber plugs 16 are rotated by pivoting on the shafts 6 as fulcrums and the rubber plugs 16 are pulled out, the pulled-out rubber plugs 16 drop by their own weight toward the rubber plug collection containers 8A and 8B. The inclined surface of the face plate 8c is rolled so as to be housed in each of the rubber plug collection containers 8A and 8B. Of course, the rubber plug collection containers 8A and 8B are not limited to the shape shown in the illustrated embodiment, and may have a shape in which the rubber plugs 16 pulled out by the locking bodies 11 are surely stored. For example, an appropriate shape can be used.

The respective actuating parts 13 for driving the respective locking bodies 11 of the thus-configured automatic cap opening devices 1A, 1B move the respective links 18 forward and backward by the rotary operation of the respective rotary bodies 19, The rubber plugs 16 are pulled out from the containers 14A and 14B by the advancing and retracting operations of the links 18. Therefore, the operation of each operation unit 13 is performed in synchronization with the loading / unloading operation of the racks 15A and 15B.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, in each of the operating portions 13, first, the locking end portion 11 a of each of the locking bodies 11 bites into the head of each rubber plug 16, and from this state, As shown in FIG. 6, the rubber stoppers 16 are rotated by a required angle in the opening direction to pull up once from the openings of the containers 14A and 14B, and then the locking bodies 11 are moved as shown in FIG. Then, the locking members 11 are returned to the above horizontal position, and then the locking members 11 are rotated again in the opening direction so that the locking upper end portions 11a of the locking members 11 are stepped portions 16a of the rubber plugs 16. After surely biting into and engaging with each other, as shown in FIG. 8, the drive control is performed so that each rubber plug 16 is completely pulled out from the opening of the container 14A, 14B. This is because when the rubber stoppers 16 are formed of, for example, raw rubber having a large elasticity, the rubber stoppers 16 and the containers 14A and 14B have a large adhesive force, so that the locking bodies 11 can be attached once. Since there is a possibility that the rubber plugs 16 will be left unplugged during the turning operation, in order to completely prevent this, the operation of each stopper 11 is controlled as described above.

In this embodiment, in order to determine whether the rubber plug is left unplugged, although not shown, for example, a rubber plug detection means such as a limit switch is provided at the outlet end of the rack transfer path of the cap opening device. If a rubber plug is left unplugged, the remaining rubber plug comes into contact with the limit switch to turn off each drive unit and automatically transfer the container holding the remaining rubber plug. The rotation member may be stopped at the rotation upper limit position of the locking body, and this state may be notified by an alarm or a lamp. Of course, the presence / absence of the remaining rubber plug may be detected by a detection unit such as an optical sensor.

Therefore, in the automatic cap opening apparatus according to this embodiment, even if the containers 14A and 14B having different diameters and lengths are mixedly installed upright in the parent rack 15C, they are automatically installed. Of the same type, the containers 14A and 14B transferred to the child racks 15A and 15B are configured to be transferred and transferred to dedicated child racks 15A and 15B of the same type. Is capable of pulling out all the rubber stoppers 16 attached to the containers 14A and 14B by a single opening operation by using the exclusive opening devices 1A and 1B provided in the middle of each transfer line. As a result, it is not necessary to manually transfer the containers 14A and 14B from one rack to the other rack, and this type of work efficiency can be greatly improved.

In the above embodiment, the case where the two types of containers 14A and 14B having different diameters and lengths are automatically transferred to the dedicated child racks 15A and 15B has been described as an example. It is needless to say that the invention is not limited to this, and can be applied even when a larger number of different types of containers are mixed.

[0030]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the automatic cap opening device according to the present invention, even if containers having different diameters, lengths, etc. are mixed and are erected on the rack, each container is of the same type. After the automatic separation, the rubber stoppers of each container can be automatically pulled out without touching the rubber stoppers. Not only is it simplified and the working time can be greatly shortened, but since no manual work is involved, there are many excellent effects such as the possibility of blood infection occurring.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of a main part of the automatic opening device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the same automatic opening device.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a locking body of the automatic opening device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the locking end of the locking body is digging into the head of the rubber stopper in the step of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the same automatic opening device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which 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 same automatic opening device.

FIG. 7: In the process of pulling out the rubber stopper of the blood collection tube by the automatic opening device, the locking body is returned to the original position, and the locking end of the locking body is engaged with the stepped portion of the rubber plug. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state in which 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 same automatic opening device.

[Explanation of symbols]

B ₁ , B ₂ Child rack transfer means B ₃ Parent rack transfer means C ₁ , C ₂ Worked child rack stocker C ₃ Worked parent rack stocker 1A, 1B Uncapping device 14A, 14B Container 15A, 15B Child rack 15C Parent rack 16 rubber stopper

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A parent rack for vertically standing and holding a plurality of containers having different diameters, lengths, etc., a parent rack transfer device for transferring the parent rack to a sorting position, and a container of the same type dedicated at the sorting position Transfer means to transfer to the child rack,
An automatic device including a child rack transfer means for sequentially transferring the child racks to the opening position and an opening means for removing the rubber stopper from the container held in the child rack that has reached the opening position. Opening device.