JPH08101210A - Rack conveyance apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a rack conveyance apparatus by which a rack can be conveyed surely without its fall by a method wherein a rod-shaped rotation part comprising a flange which is formed in a spiral shape on the surface and its drive part are installed and the pitch interval of the flange is constituted so as to have a space in which the rack can go in and out. CONSTITUTION: A motor 68 is turned by a start signal, and a spiral rotation part 60 is turned via a belt 72. When a detection plate 73 which is fixed to a pulley 71 enters a detector 74, the rotation part 60 is stopped, and a flange interval agrees with an entrance 65 and an exit 80. After that, a rack 26 which is stopped at every rotation so as to be pitch-fed and which has been brought in is conveyed on a lower wall 61. The rotation part 60 continues to feed the rack 26 one pitch by one pitch up to a prescribed place. However, while it is stopped, a rack 26 can be added by human hands from the upper part of a transfer passage. Thereby, it is eliminated that the rack is caught while the rack is taken out or being conveyed, and the usage convenience and the reliability of a rack conveyance apparatus are enhanced. While the rack is being conveyed, the rack is not hooked or does not fall, and the rack 26 can be conveyed smoothly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rack carrying device, and more particularly to a device for carrying a rack holding a plurality of containers in a row.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A snake chain system, a rack system or a rotary table system has been proposed as a sample transport means of an automatic analyzer for quantitatively analyzing the components of a liquid sample such as serum continuously in a multisample manner. It is made into a device according to the characteristics of the analysis device. Among them, the rotary table method is adopted in a small-sized analyzer for analyzing a relatively small amount of sample in a batch process, and a plurality of racks holding a plurality of sample containers in a row continuously or The rack-type sample transfer device that flows intermittently is used in a large-scale automatic analyzer having a large sample processing because a large amount of sample can be input and exchanged without stopping the device during the analysis operation.

A conventional rack-type sample transfer device is a rack supply section in which a plurality of racks holding a plurality of sample containers in a row are accommodated in parallel, and the transfer section racks are sequentially transferred to a sample sampling position and each sample is sampled. The rack transport mechanism unit positions the container at the sampling position, and the rack recovery unit receives the racks that have been sampled and are sequentially sent. These units are arranged in series, and a fixed operation is repeated at a fixed cycle, and the sample container is sequentially conveyed and positioned at a sampling position at a fixed cycle.

[0004]

As the size of the automatic analyzer becomes larger, the processing capacity increases, and the usability and reliability must be kept up to date. There was a problem.

The first problem is that if the racks are sequentially transported at intervals in the rack transfer path, the racks are likely to tip over. As a countermeasure for this, conventionally, the rack itself and the passage structure are processed into a special shape, and since the structure is complicated, it takes time to manufacture. The second problem is
This is because the time required to transfer the rack to the predetermined position after the rack is loaded tends to be uneven.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rack transfer device which has a simple structure and which can prevent the rack from toppling over during transfer and can transfer the rack reliably.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a transfer having a side wall extending along a traveling direction of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped rack for accommodating a plurality of containers and a lower wall on which a bottom surface of the rack slides. In a rack transfer device provided with a passage, a rod-shaped rotating portion having a flange formed in a spiral shape on the surface and a driving portion for rotationally driving the rotating portion are provided, and a part of the collar is formed over the entire path of the transfer passage. It is characterized in that the rotating portion is arranged so as to project from the lower wall into the transfer passage, and the space for allowing the rack to move in and out is arranged at an interval of one pitch of the collar.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotation axis direction of the rotating portion is arranged obliquely with respect to the rack advancing direction, and the rack is moved in and out of the transfer passage along its length direction. It has a carry-in port and a rack carry-out port.

[0009]

[Operation] The rack is transported without falling by advancing on the spiral shaft having the brim. Therefore, there is no restriction on the order of mounting on the rack, and the rack can be easily removed from the transfer passage in an emergency. Further, since the spiral groove conveys each rack, the rack can be smoothly conveyed without being caught or vibrating.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
This will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of the present invention, which is roughly divided into a spiral rotating part, a driving part thereof, a rack carrying base, and a side plate part.

2 and 3 are detailed views of the spiral rotating portion 60. The position of the spiral rotation unit 60 is from the first rack 26 entering from the rack loading port 65 to the rack loading port 80.
It is slanted with respect to the rack advancing direction so that the collar 85 of the rotating portion 60 contacts the final rack 26 coming out of the rack. The bottom surface of the rack 26 has a gap of about 0.5 mm on the axis of the rotating portion 60, and serves as a receiver on the lower wall 61 of the transfer passage. The side plate 6 prevents the rack 26 from protruding to the left and right during transportation.
3, 66, 67 are provided. If the spiral rotating unit 60 is rotated clockwise in the above state, the rack 26 will be transported. The rack 26 is loaded with a plurality of sample containers in series.

Both ends of the shaft of the spiral rotating portion 60 are held by supporting members 75 and 77, a pulley 71 is provided on one shaft, and a position detecting plate 73 is detected by a detector 74. A motor 68 is used as a drive unit for the spiral rotating unit 60.
The motor is fixed to the base 70. At the tip of the shaft of the motor 68, there is a pulley 69, and the belt 72
The pulley 69 and the pulley 71 are connected by.

The side plates 63 and 67 function as guide plates for guiding the rack 26. The rack 26 has a lower wall 6
Sliding on 1. The side plate 63 and the side plate 67 are fixed to the base 64 having the lower wall 61. The support members 75, 77 and the base 70 are fixed to the base 76, and the base 64 is fixed via the support columns 62.

A series of operations will be described below.

The motor 68 is rotated by a start signal (not shown), and the rotating portion 60 is rotated via the belt 72. The detection plate 73 fixed to the pulley 71 is the detector 7
When entering 4, the rotating part 60 is temporarily stopped and the collar interval and the inlet 65,
Exits 80 are matched. After that, the rack 26 is stopped after every rotation and pitch feed is performed, and the loaded rack 26 is transported on the lower wall 61. The spiral rotator 60 continues to feed the rack 26 to a predetermined location by one pitch, but the rack 26 is stopped while it is stopped.
Can be added manually from above the transfer passage. As a result, rack removal and rack catching during transportation, which have been problems in the past, are eliminated, and usability and reliability are improved.

According to this embodiment, the rack may be a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, the rack shape is not restricted, the rack can be inserted and removed from any position on the transfer passage, and the rack can be hooked at the time of rack transportation. The rack can be transported smoothly without falling. Therefore, the sample processing time of the analyzer can be improved, and the reliability of the device can be improved significantly. The application of the present invention is limited to an automatic analyzer, and can be used as means for transporting a sample in an apparatus using a rack capable of mounting a plurality of sample containers containing a sample.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the rack can be transported with a simple structure without tipping over, and the rack can be transported to a predetermined position in an accurate transfer time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a rack transporting apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view for explaining a transfer passage of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

26 ... Rack, 60 ... Spiral rotating part, 61 ... Lower wall,
63, 66, 67 ... Side plate, 65 ... Rack carry-in port, 74 ...
Detector, 80 ... Rack carry-out port, 85 ... Tsuba.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rack transfer device having a transfer passage having a side wall extending along a traveling direction of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped rack for accommodating a plurality of containers and a lower wall on which a bottom surface of the rack slides. In the above, a rod-shaped rotating portion having a flange formed in a spiral shape on the surface thereof and a driving portion for driving the rotating portion to rotate are provided, and a part of the collar is transferred from the lower wall to the transfer path over the entire travel path. A rack transporting device, wherein the rotating portion is arranged so as to project into the passage, and a space corresponding to one pitch of the collar is a space in which the rack can move in and out. 2. The rack transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating portion is arranged such that a rotation axis direction thereof is oblique with respect to a rack advancing direction. 3. The rack transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rack carry-in port and a rack carry-out port for allowing the rack to move in and out of the transfer passage along a length direction thereof. .