JPH0592193U - Opening device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Modified) [Purpose] The height of each blood collection tube, even if it is held upright in a rack in which multiple blood collection tubes with different height dimensions are mixed. The position is automatically equalized, and the rubber stopper of each blood collection tube is automatically pulled out without touching it. [Structure] The opening device 1 includes a rack 15 for holding a plurality of containers 14 having different heights, and a through hole 21 for a push-up body formed at the bottom of each container holding hole 20 of the rack 15.
And a push-up body that lifts each container 14 inserted into the through hole 21 and held in the rack 15 to the uniform opening height position at the opening position, and a lifting body to the opening height position at the opening position. And a cap opening means for removing the rubber plug 16 of each container 14.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a cap opening device that can pull out a rubber plug fitted in a container opening such as a blood collection tube without touching it, and in particular, a plurality of types of containers with different height dimensions are provided. The present invention relates to a cap opening device capable of opening caps at the same time even when they are held upright on the rack.

[0002]

[Prior art and its problems]

 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 manually removing the rubber plug, there is a risk that the blood sample may come into contact with the blood sample and may be infected with various diseases. Since a plurality of different types of blood collection tubes are used, human intervention is inevitably involved, and there is a problem in that such work is extremely complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the present situation, and its purpose is to stand and hold a plurality of blood collection tubes having different heights in a rack in a mixed state. Even in such a case, the height positions of the blood collection tubes can be automatically equalized, and the rubber stoppers of the blood collection tubes can be pulled out automatically without touching them. Excellent workability and safety. It is intended to provide a cap opening device.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an opening device is provided with a rack for standingly holding a plurality of containers having different heights, and each of the racks. A through hole for a push-up body opened at the bottom of the container holding hole, and a push-up body for lifting each container held in the rack and inserted into the through-hole at the opening position to a uniform opening height position, In the opening position, an opening means for removing the rubber stopper of each container lifted to the opening height position is provided, and the container is configured to have a stopper.

[0007]

【Example】

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

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cap opening device according to this embodiment is arranged such that every five blood-collected containers 14 having different heights in which rubber plugs 16 are densely mounted are erected. A rack 15 to be held, a rack transfer means (not shown) for sequentially transferring the rack 15 to a completed rack stocker (not shown) through the opening position, and a rack transfer means provided in the middle of the rack transfer means. The cap opening device 1, a push-up device D that operates independently at the installation site of the cap opening device 1 and lifts each container 14 held on the rack 15 to the same height position, and is pulled out by the cap opening device 1. And a rubber plug collection container (not shown) for collecting the rubber plug 16.

As is clear from FIGS. 2 and 3, the rack 15 has container holding holes 20 having a substantially U-shaped cross section for holding five containers 14 having different heights, and these container holding holes. It is composed of a small-diameter through hole 21 opened at the bottom of 20 and a container holder 22 for holding each container 14 at a predetermined height position. The depth of the container holding hole 20 is such that the upper end of each container 14 slightly projects from the upper surface of the rack 15 when the container is stored, and is pushed up to the opening height position by the pushing device D at the opening position. At this time, each container 14 is formed so as to have a depth dimension such that it does not fall off from each of the holding holes 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container holding body 22 has a ring body 23 having an inner diameter substantially the same as the inner peripheral surface of the container holding hole 20, and a predetermined interval along the circumferential direction of the ring body 23. Each of the bullet pieces 24 extends upward toward the ring body 23 and toward the center of the ring body 23. The container holder 22 is fitted in the groove 25 formed in the container holding hole 20.

Therefore, each container 14 inserted into and held by the container holder 22 is vertically held in the center of the link body 23 even if the dimensions of the body of the container 14 are different, and the container 14 moves upward. The movement of the is free, but the downward movement is restricted by each bullet 24.

The rack transfer line is configured by a well-known endless belt conveyor, and the through holes 2 opened so as to be coaxial with the through holes 21 of the rack 15 are provided at predetermined intervals. It has been opened.

The opening device 1 is rotatable about a pair of supports 4 and 5 standing upright on both sides of the rack transfer line and a shaft 6 above the supports 4 and 5 via a shaft 6. And a rotating member 7 that is pivotally supported by the.

Therefore, the rack 15 is intermittently transferred between the pair of supports 4 and 5 by the rack transfer line.

The rotating member 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 both ends on the depth side of the horizontal plate portion 10. A supporting piece portion 12 extending downward from the portion, 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. Therefore, the shaft 6 is pivotally supported below the support piece portions 12.

On the other hand, the rotating member 7 is regulated by a stopper body (not shown) so that the horizontal plate portion 10 stops in the horizontal state and does not rotate in the counterclockwise direction from the horizontal state. ing. Of course, clockwise rotation in FIG. 1 is not restricted.

Further, the locking body 11 has a locking end 11 a fitted in a liquid-tight manner in an opening of the container 14 or the like when the rotating member 7 is set in the horizontal state. The rubber stopper 16 is formed into, for example, a sawtooth shape so as to surely bite and lock the head peripheral surface of the rubber stopper 16, and the locking body 11 has the horizontal plate portion 10 set in a horizontal state. It is set at a height position where it bites into the head of the rubber stopper 16 attached to each container 14. Of course, although not shown, a known pressure sensor is provided 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. It is also possible to control the opening operation of the rotating member 7 and reliably prevent the container 14 from being damaged by configuring so that the container 14 or the rubber stopper 16 can be selected.

Further, the rubber plug collection container 8 is arranged on one side of the rack transfer line, and the pulled out rubber plug 16 automatically falls into the collection container 8 by its own weight. It is configured to be received.

On the other hand, the push-up device D that pushes up each container 14 held by the rack 15 at the opening position has five independent drive mechanisms that are inserted into and removed from the through holes 2 and 21. The push-up bar 26, a support 27 that connects the lower end of the push-up bar 26, and a mechanism (not shown) that is connected to the support 27 and moves each support 27 up and down at a predetermined timing. , The push-up rods 26 are raised in synchronization with the intermittent transfer of the rack 15, and the push-up rods 26 are inserted into the through holes 2 and 21, so that the rubber plugs 16 of the containers 14 are horizontal plates. After being lifted until it abuts against the lower surface of the portion 10, the push-up rods 26 are driven down and retracted from the inside of the through holes 2 and 21, and drive control is performed so as not to hinder the transfer of the rack 15.

The lifting stroke of the push-up rod 26 is determined by measuring the height of each container 14 in advance before the container 14 is loaded into the opening position, or the rubber stopper 16 is moved horizontally by a pressure sensor. The rising can be stopped by detecting the time when the lower surface of the portion 10 collides.

The drive device for reciprocally rotating the operating portion 13 has a link 18 whose one end is pivotally supported by the operating portion 13 and the other end of the link 18 is rotatable. The rotary body 19 is rotatably supported by the rotary body 19, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the rotary 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.

By the way, in the operating portion 13, first, the locking end portion 11a of the locking body 11 bites into the head of the rubber stopper 16, and from this state, next, it is rotated by a required angle in the opening direction. After pulling up the rubber stopper 16 from the opening of the container 14 once, the locking body 11 is returned to the above horizontal position, and then the locking body 11 is rotated again in the opening direction. After that, the engagement upper end 11a of the locking body 11 is surely bite into the stepped portion 16a of the rubber stopper 16 and engaged therewith, and then the rubber stopper 16 is drive-controlled so as to be completely pulled out from the opening of the container 14. .. This is because when the rubber plug 16 is formed of, for example, raw rubber having high elasticity, the rubber plug 16 and the container 14 have a large adhesive force, and a single rotation operation of the locking body 11 causes Since the rubber plug 16 may be left unplugged, in order to completely prevent this, the operation of the locking body 11 is controlled as described above.

In the above embodiment, the case where the number of the containers 14 held in the rack 15 is five has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the opening heights of the containers 14 are aligned at the opening position has been described as an example. However, after the opening heights of the containers 14 are aligned before the opening position, the opening heights of the containers 14 are adjusted. It may be configured to be loaded into the position. Of course, when the heights are aligned at the opening position, the same effect can be obtained by omitting the container holder 22 and by holding each rubber plug 16 at a constant height position by each push-up rod 26. can get.

[0024]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the opening device according to the present invention is configured as described above, it seems that a plurality of blood collection tubes having different height dimensions are mixedly held upright in the rack. Even in such a case, the height positions of the blood collection tubes can be automatically equalized, and the rubber stoppers of the blood collection tubes can be pulled out automatically without touching the hands, resulting in a significant increase in the opening efficiency. In addition, there is an excellent effect that it is safe without any risk of an accident called blood contact infection.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a cap opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective sectional view showing the structure of a main part of the opening device with a part thereof omitted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a container holder used in the opening device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Opening device 2,21 Through hole 7 Rotating member 10 Horizontal flat plate part 11 Locking body 13 Operating part 14 Container 15 Rack 16 Rubber stopper 20 Container holding hole 22 Container holding body 26 Push-up bar D Push-up device

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A rack for uprightly holding a plurality of containers having different heights, a through hole for a push-up body opened at the bottom of each container holding hole of the rack, and the through hole at the opening position. A push-up body for respectively lifting each container held in the rack to a uniform opening height position, and a means for removing the rubber stopper of each container lifted to the opening height position at the opening position; And a cap opening device configured to have.