JPH0664688A - Opening device for film sealed lid - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need of manual operation which is likely to cause by contagion, to eliminate possibility of contamination of contents and to improve disposing efficiency by treating a punched-out layer by using a pressure difference between atmosphere and pressure within a pressure reduceable space. CONSTITUTION:A hollow punch 5 is mounted on a punching head 38 mounted on a sliding means 39, and the sliding means 39 is driven up and down by an air cylinder 8. A container body 2 standing on a rack 1 is sandwiched between a positioner 4 and a guide 3 to be positioned in place and fixed. The punch 5 is heated by a heater 7 and a punched piece 22 punched by a moving down of the punch 5 is attracted and held by a vacuum pipe 6 which is mounted on the sliding means 39 with a setting screw 18. A swinging stand swings wholly to the leftward and upward around a pivot 11, so that the punched piece 22 is released toward a punched piece housing part 25. The releasing is carried out by an instant exchange of a three-way valve 21 from a vacuum line 19 to a compressed air line 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a film-seal type lid opening device, and more particularly, to a film-sealing lid container opening device for accommodating a clinical test sample (blood or the like) therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a sample container for clinical examination having a film seal type lid (hereinafter referred to as "sample container"),
Generally, a container such as a small test tube with a lid is used. When the lid of the sample container is opened at the time of inspection, it is the actual situation to rely on manual work such as searching for and opening the tab portion (37 in FIG. 2) of the lid.

When the stopper is opened by hand, a part of the sample may be scattered when the stopper is opened, so that there is a risk of infecting an operator. Further, since the same glove is opened one after another, if a sample adheres to the glove, there is a possibility that contamination may occur in the sample to be opened next, which causes a problem in inspection accuracy.

As an opening machine for rubber stoppers and film seals, a type of gripping and pulling out a rubber stopper and a type of turning over a film have been developed. However, in these cap opening machines, once the sample adheres to the part where the lid is grabbed, there is a possibility that contamination will occur when the sample container is opened next time. Further, since the container is processed one by one, there is a problem that the processing capacity is very low and it is not economical.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention eliminates the manual work of an operator associated with a problem such as infection, eliminates the risk of contamination of the contents, and opens the film seal lid with high processing efficiency. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0006]

A device for opening a film seal lid according to the present invention comprises a hollow punch, a depressurizable space provided in the hollow portion of the punch, a pressure adjusting means for the space, and the punch. A punching operation imparting means for relatively moving the punch and the lid; a punching piece punched by the punch is processed by the action of a pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the pressure in the depressurizable space. To do.

A preferred embodiment of the opening device for a film seal lid according to the present invention further comprises a punched piece storage portion and a pressurizing means for the depressurizable space; as a treatment of the punched piece, a depressurizable space inlet. After holding the punched piece, the space is brought to a pressure equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure, and the punched piece is discharged toward the punched piece storage portion.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the state of attachment of punching pieces that may attach to the punch during the punching operation is
Means are further provided for relative movement of the depressurizable space and the punch, at least to allow it to loosen.

In another embodiment of the film sealing lid opening device of the present invention, means for heating the punching punch to 100 ° C. or higher is provided.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of an opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a container and a lid as an example of an object to be opened by using the opening device of the present invention. The container body 2 has a flange 30 on the upper portion, and the lid 24 is welded to the flange 30. The lid 24 is a plastic film 2 from above.
7, a three-layer laminated film of aluminum foil 28 and thermoplastic resin film 29. The rubber potch 31 on the lid is an insertion port for the injection needle and is attached to the lid 24 with an adhesive 32. The inside of the container is evacuated, and a sample such as blood can be sucked into the container through an injection needle.

The above description relates to only one example of a container lid. The present invention is not limited by the laminated structure, the presence or absence of a rubber potch, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an embodiment of the cap opening device of the present invention. The lid is just punched out.

The container body 2 of the container to be opened is set up on the container rack 1. The rack 1 is a rack moving device 17
And a fixed position detector (not shown) to stop at a predetermined position. The container body 2 is sandwiched between the positioning tool 4 and the guide 3 and positioned and fixed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a positioning tool used in the cap opening device of FIG. The positioning tool 4 is driven left and right by an air cylinder (not shown) via a positioning rod 33. The positioning tool 4 has a U-shaped cross section, and the notches (34, 35) are provided in the portion that comes into contact with the container.
Is provided. Guided by this notch, the container is accurately positioned.

The positioning tool can be designed appropriately according to the shape of the container, the required positioning accuracy, and the like. The design specifications such as the number and shape of the cut portions and the contact position with the container are not limited to those in this embodiment.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the lower end of the hollow punch 5 is shown with the lid 24 punched out, and the punched piece 22 is formed at the central portion of the lid. The punched piece 22 is held at the lower end of the vacuum pipe 6.

The hollow punch 5 is attached to the punching head 38 with a set bolt 16. Punching head 38
Is attached to the slide tool 39 with a mounting bolt 12. The slide tool 39 is used by the air cylinder 8.
It is driven up and down along the slide rail 9.

In this embodiment, the punch 5 is heated by the heater 7. For controlling the temperature measurement of the punch 5,
A temperature sensor 15 is attached. Heater 7
It is fixed to the punching head 38 with the set bolt 14. The entire punching head 38 is kept warm by the heat insulating material 13. The heater temperature is 100 to 300 by the temperature sensor 15 and a temperature controller (not shown).
C., preferably 180 to 250.degree.

The lid (punching piece) 22 punched by the lowering of the punch is sucked and held by the vacuum pipe 6 attached to the slide tool 39 by the set bolt 18.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state in which the punched piece of the opening device of FIG. 1 is discharged to the storage portion. The punch 5 and the punching head 38 are lifted up by the air cylinder 8. Further, the entire swing table 36 including the slide rail 9 swings in the upper left direction in the figure around the fulcrum 11. The swing is performed by an air cylinder (not shown) via the swing rod 10.

In the state of FIG. 1, the punched piece 22 sucked and held at the lower end of the vacuum pipe 6 is discharged toward the punched piece storage portion 25 in FIG. In this embodiment,
A bottom 26 of the storage portion 25 has a mesh shape.

The discharge is carried out by instantaneously switching the three-way valve 21 from the vacuum line 19 to the compressed air line 20. The degree of vacuum in this example was 300 mmHg (0.4 atm), and the pressure of compressed air was 2 kg / cm ² .

The container 2 with the lid punched out is a part 2 of the remaining lid.
3, the heating punch 5 presses the inside of the container 3 as shown in FIG.

The container 2 of which the lid has been punched out becomes free by the positioning device 4 retracting next, and is moved by the rack moving device 17. The punching head 38 returns the swinging rod 10 to the original state and completes one cycle.

The punching punch can be formed into a cylinder, an elliptic cylinder, a square cylinder or the like depending on the shape of the container and the shape of the hole to be opened.

A vacuum pipe was used in the above-mentioned embodiment as the space capable of reducing the pressure provided in the hollow portion of the punch. But,
As shown in FIG. 5, the hollow portion inside the punching punch 5 itself may be used as the depressurizable space 46. In this case, if a perforated plate 45 is provided near the end of the hollow portion, the punched piece can be held at this portion. Alternatively, when no obstacle such as the perforated plate 45 is provided, the punched piece is carried in the depressurizable space like dust sucked into the cleaner. However, in such a case, since air is sucked into the decompressible space more and more, depending on the degree of depressurization, there is a possibility that the sample in the container may be sucked or the liquid surface may become dirty and the liquid may be scattered. is there.

Although the three-way valve has been illustrated as the pressure adjusting means for the depressurizable space, the means is not limited thereto. Other examples include valves such as four-way valves. When it is not necessary to use compressed air for discharging the punched pieces (for example, when the compressed air is dropped by its own weight), the compressed air line in the above-described embodiment is replaced with the atmospheric pressure line.

As the punching motion imparting means, the mechanism for moving the punch up and down has been exemplified, but the container may be moved up and down.

The heating of the punch is preferably 100.
C. or higher, particularly preferably 180 to 250.degree. By heating, the sample attached to the punch immediately evaporates and solidifies, and the microorganisms and viruses in the attached sample are also killed, so that contamination between samples can be prevented.

When the lid is punched out, the chips of the lid which may occur are scattered, the plastic part of the laminate film is instantly melted or softened by the heating punch, or the chips are welded to each other or welded to the punched lid. Or, since it is welded to the inside of the container, chips from the lid can be prevented from falling into the container.

If the lid has no risk of punching chips, or if there is no risk of infection or contamination, the punch heating device is not necessary.

The cap opening device of the present invention may be of a multiple type in which punching heads and the like are arranged in parallel in order to increase the processing capacity. In this case, the rack is capable of accommodating a plurality of containers in the straight-ahead direction, and a plurality of containers can be simultaneously opened.

There is a possibility that an odd-shaped container having a size other than a predetermined size may be mixed in the container stored in the rack. In this case, first, when the height and thickness of the container are detected when the rack is supplied, a signal is sent to the air cylinder for punching each lid, and the lid of the odd-shaped container can be configured not to be punched. If the vacuum line communicates with other punching lines, the degree of vacuum cannot be secured. In that case, the switching valve may be a four-way valve instead of a three-way valve so that the degree of vacuum of the vacuum tube line at that portion can be maintained at a certain level or more when punching out another container of a predetermined size. Alternatively, a switching valve is installed in series on the vacuum generation side of the vacuum line, and a two-way valve that can be opened and closed is installed. It is possible to secure the degree of vacuum when punching the container.

Embodiment 2 In the cap opening apparatus shown in Embodiment 1, another problem may occur although it is rare. In Example 2 shown below, means for preventing the problem is provided.

The first problem that may occur is that the punch 5 is heated to prevent contamination. That is, when the lid 24 is punched by the punching head 38, the portion of the plastic 27 of the punching piece 22 adheres to the cutting edge 57 of the punch 5, and even if compressed air is blown through the vacuum pipe 6, the punching piece 22 is punched. It rarely happens that the ball does not blow down.

In order to prevent such a situation, a new driving means, for example, the air cylinder 53, is added to the slide tool 39.
It is provided on the top and is fixed to the vacuum pipe 6 with a fixture 55. Furthermore, in order to give the pipe 54 connecting the vacuum pipe 6 and the three-way valve 21 sufficient flexibility,
The pipe 54 is replaced with a highly flexible material such as a rubber pipe, a vinyl pipe, or those having a bellows structure.

Thus, by biasing and de-energizing the air cylinder 53, it becomes possible to cause the punch 5 and the vacuum pipe 6 to make a relative movement in the longitudinal direction thereof.

That is, after punching out the punching piece 22 from the lid 24, the punching head 38 including the punch 5 is swung about the fulcrum 11, and then the air cylinder 53 is driven. The piece 22 is forcibly separated from the cutting edge 57 of the punch 5. Then vacuum pipe 6
In addition, atmospheric pressure or pressurized air was sent to drop the punched piece 22 downward. The state at this point is shown in FIG.

A second problem that may occur is that when the punch 5 is returned to its original position as a preparation for swinging the punching head 38 after the punching is completed, the punch 5 will not be released as described above. Due to being heated,
That is, there is a possibility that the whole of the container body 2 may rise while being attached to the punch 5.

Although this problem rarely occurs, as shown in FIG. 8, the stopper 52 is fixed further above the finger portion 51 provided on the upper part of the positioning tool 4 to prevent the container body 2 from rising. did.

A further problem is that the method of the first embodiment for fixing the container 2 is, as illustrated in FIG.
It was intended to lock the body of the container 2. In such a method, centering may not be performed when processing containers having different diameters of the barrel portion, and the problem of imperfect fixation remains.

By the way, since this container 2 has a property of being attached to a blood collecting holder at the time of collecting blood, it is noted that the diameter of the flange 30 of the container 2 is standardized and has the same size. . Then, the idea of using the portion of the flange 30 having the standardized size as the locking place was obtained.

Connect the flange 30 of the container 2 to the finger portion 51.
A perspective view of FIG. 7 shows an implementation state in which it is sandwiched and locked between the guide 3a and the guide 3a positioned correspondingly.

[0045]

As is clear from the above description, the film seal lid opening device of the present invention exhibits the following effects. Since it is a method of punching out with a punch, the conventional lid turning type,
It is more efficient than a rubber cap opener. Since the punched pieces can be automatically processed, the punched pieces do not fall into the container. Since there is no work that requires manual labor, it is possible to prevent inconvenience such as infection during the opening work. When the punch is heated, the sample attached to the punch can be sterilized and dried, so that contamination between samples can be prevented. Similarly, when the punch is heated, punch chips can be welded to the upper side of the container, and there is no risk of bringing in external contaminants into the container. Since the punch is compact, it is possible to arrange the devices side by side to form a multi-row type, which can further improve the processing capacity. The punched piece can be reliably dropped. There is no risk of the entire container fusing to the punch and moving with the punch. Even containers with different body thickness can be securely fixed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a first embodiment of a cap opening device of the present invention. The lid is just punched out.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state in which the punched piece of the opening device of FIG. 1 is discharged into a storage portion.

3 is a perspective view showing a positioning tool used in the cap opening device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a container and a lid portion to be opened using the opening opening device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a hollow punch according to an embodiment in which the inside of the hollow punch has a depressurizable space.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the overall configuration of the second embodiment of the cap opening device of the present invention at the time of discharging the punched piece into the storage portion.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a positioning tool and a stopper in the second embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a container, a lid, and the like in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
It is sectional drawing which shows the positional relationship of a flange, a positioning tool, and a stopper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rack 2 Container Body 3 Guide 4 Positioning Tool 5 Hollow Punch 6 Vacuum Pipe 7 Heater 8 Air Cylinder 9 Slide Rail 10 Necking Rod 11 Support Point 12 Mounting Bolt 13 Insulation Material 15 Temperature Sensor 17 Rack Moving Device 19 Vacuum Line 20 Compressed Air Line 21 three-way valve 22 punching piece 24 lid 25 punching piece storage section 26 bottom net 27 plastic film 28 aluminum foil 29 thermoplastic resin film 30 flange 31 rubber potch 32 adhesive 33 positioning rod 36 swing table 37 lid tab section 38 punching head 39 Slide tool 45 Perforated plate 46 Reduced pressure space 51 Fingers 52 Stopper 53 Air cylinder 56 Reduced pressure space 57 Blade edge

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A film seal type lid opening device; a hollow punching punch, a depressurizable space provided in the hollow portion of the punch, a pressure adjusting means for the space, the punching punch, and the punching punch. A film seal, characterized in that it has a punching motion imparting means for moving the lid relative to each other; a punching piece punched by a punch is processed by the action of a pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the pressure in the decompressible space. Lid opening device. 2. A punching piece accommodating portion and a pressurizing means for the depressurizable space, wherein the punching piece is treated.
The operation of discharging the punched piece toward the punched piece storage portion by holding the punched piece once at the inlet of the depressurizable space and then raising the pressure in the space to atmospheric pressure or more. A device for opening the film seal lid. 3. A means for relatively moving the depressurizable space and the punch so as to at least loosen the adhered state of the punching piece that may adhere to the punch during the punching operation as the processing of the punching piece. The opening device for a film seal lid according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The cap opening device for a film seal lid according to claim 1, further comprising means for heating the punching punch to 100 ° C. or higher.