JPH11106018A - Conveying mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To load a plurality of inspection sample racks altogether from the above by installing a stumbling preventing plate movable so as to be fitted/ removed from a groove provided in a rack loaded on a belt in parallel with a carrying direction. SOLUTION: A belt 1 is supported by a bottom plate 3 and driven by a driving means composed of a motor 4 and a pulley connected to a motor shaft. A stumbling preventing plate 2 is an L-shaped plate, and The plate-like part of its tip is engaged with a groove provided in the side face of a rack 6. The stumbling preventing plate 2 has a length enough for engagement with the groove provided in the rack on the belt 1 over the entire carrying route of the rack 6. Since the stumbling preventing plate is made movable, the stumbling preventing plate 2 is moved linearly or rotated so as to be engaged with all the grooves provided in the plurality of racks loaded on the belt. By an elevator mechanism provided in the end point of carrying, an operation-finished container is removed from the belt by a dispensing operation or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for supplying a sample by an automatic dispenser in an analyzer used in the fields of biochemistry and immunochemistry.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional automatic analyzer, when a sample to be analyzed (a body fluid such as urine or blood of a human or the like) is to be analyzed, a sample container for accommodating the sample is easily handled and a large amount of the sample container is used. In order to automatically process a sample, it is common to mount a plurality of sample containers on an analyzer after mounting the sample containers on a rack. Then, after placing the sample container on the sample rack, the sample container is transported to the dispensing position of the automatic dispensing device in the analyzer, and a certain amount of sample required for analysis is obtained at the position.

As a transport mechanism for transporting a sample rack to a dispensing position of an automatic dispensing apparatus, a mechanism using a belt conveyor is conventionally known.

[0004]

In a conventional transport mechanism using a belt conveyor, the sample rack is fixed in parallel with the transport direction of the sample rack in order to prevent the sample rack from falling down and transporting the sample from the sample container. The sample rack is provided with a groove that fits into the sample plate.

FIGS. 11 and 13 are views for explaining a transport mechanism using a conventional belt conveyor. A sample rack 6 on which a plurality of sample containers (usually a vacuum blood collection tube, a test tube, etc.) 5 are placed is mounted on a belt 1 disposed below the sample rack 6, a bottom plate 3 supporting the running of the belt 1, and a pulley 14. The belt 1 is conveyed by a motor 4 that drives the belt 1, and the fall prevention plate 2 is fixed in parallel to the direction in which the sample rack 6 is conveyed by the belt 1 (indicated by an arrow in the drawing), and is shown in FIGS. As described above, the fall prevention plate is fitted to the groove provided on the side or bottom of the sample rack 6 to prevent the fall.

[0006]

In a conventional transport mechanism using a belt conveyor, when the sample rack is mounted on the automatic dispensing apparatus, the groove of the sample rack must fit with the overturn prevention plate. . For this reason, FIG.
As shown in 3, the fall prevention plate is shorter than the belt conveyor by at least one sample rack width,
Here, it is necessary to slide the sample racks one by one in the direction of the dispensing position here so that the grooves and the fall prevention plate are fitted together.

As described above, in the conventional transport mechanism, when the sample rack is mounted, the overturn prevention plate becomes an obstacle. However,
In order to process a large amount of samples in a short time, it is required that a larger amount of samples can be mounted while improving the processing capacity of an automatic dispensing device and the like.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention is to simply mount (place) a plurality of sample racks on a belt conveyor or the like.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport mechanism capable of mounting a plurality of sample racks at once from above.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, a transport mechanism of the present invention is a transport mechanism for transporting a rack on which a tubular container mounted on a belt is mounted, the transport mechanism being mounted on a belt. A movable fall-prevention plate installed parallel to the transport direction so as to be able to fit and detachably fit into a groove provided in a rack provided in the rack.

In the transport mechanism of the present invention, there is no particular limitation on the belt for transporting the rack as long as the belt is of a width and material capable of stably transporting the rack. For example, it is possible to use a belt having substantially the same width as the length of the rack to be conveyed, but it is also possible to use a plurality of narrower belts. The belt may be driven, for example, via a pulley coupled to driving means such as a motor.

The tubular container is a container for holding the above-mentioned specimen and other liquids, such as a vacuum blood collection tube or a test tube, and is usually a cylindrical container, but may be a polygonal shape or the like. The rack on which such a tubular container is placed may be, for example, a reagent rack for placing a reagent container containing various reagents necessary for analysis, in addition to the sample rack described above. The groove provided in the rack is
There is no limitation as long as the groove has a shape that does not hinder the conveyance of the rack even when a fall prevention plate described later is fitted. By providing the groove at a position shifted from the center of the rack, it is possible to prevent the left and right sides from being mounted on the belt in reverse.
This is effective when, for example, an empty rack on which a tubular container is not mounted is transported, or when the order of the tubular containers mounted on the rack is significant.

The term "fitting" as used herein means that the overturn preventing plate and the groove engage with each other to such an extent that the transport of the rack by the belt is not hindered and the rack can be prevented from overturning on the belt. . In this sense, it is particularly preferable that the groove provided on the rack and the overturn prevention plate are configured so as not to contact each other even in the fitted state. If they come into contact with each other, a frictional force is generated, which causes an effect such as tilting of the rack during conveyance. The overturn prevention plate does not necessarily have to be a “plate” shape, and there is no limitation even if it has a rod-like shape or a polygonal pillar shape as long as it has a portion that can be fitted into a groove provided in the rack. The tipping prevention plate is arranged in parallel with the direction in which the rack is transported by the belt in order to prevent the rack mounted on the belt from tipping during transportation. In order to prevent the rack from overturning over the entire rack transport path by the belt, it is preferable that the overturn prevention plate is a seamless plate having substantially the same length as the belt.

The overturn prevention plate is usually fixed at a position where it fits into a groove provided on the rack by using fixing means made of an elastic body such as a spring or rubber. Can be fixed at a position where it is disengaged from the groove provided in the groove. In the former configuration, for example, when a new rack is mounted on the belt, the fall prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack may be once fitted together, but using such an elastic body, It is also preferable to provide a fixing means such as a locking member for fixing the prevention plate at a position where the prevention plate is fitted with a groove provided in the rack. If the fixing means is provided, the rack can be mounted on the belt while the fall prevention plate and the groove of the rack are fixed at the position where they are disengaged. In the latter configuration, it is sufficient to provide a fixing means such as a locking member for fixing the overturn prevention plate at a position fitted with the groove provided in the rack. In this case, the rack is mounted on the belt after the fixed state of the fall prevention plate by the fixing means is released,
The fall prevention plate may be fixed again later.

In particular, there is provided belt driving means for controlling the belt driving means so that the belt is conveyed by the belt only while the overturn prevention plate is fixed at a position fitted with the groove provided in the rack. In this case, the engagement between the overturn prevention plate and the groove of the rack and the transport of the rack can be linked, and the risk that the belt moves and the rack falls over while both are not engaged can be eliminated. . As such a driving means, for example, an electric circuit in which the on / off of a motor for driving the rack is linked with the fixed position of the overturn prevention plate can be exemplified.

As described above, the overturn prevention plate is movably installed parallel to the direction of transport of the rack by the belt so that the plate can be fitted and unfitted to the groove provided on the rack mounted on the belt. You. Here, the overturn prevention plate may be installed so as to be capable of linear movement or rotatable movement. However, it is particularly preferable to install the overturn prevention plate so that the movement of the overturn prevention plate is simpler. In addition, in the case where the overturn prevention plate is installed so as to be capable of linear movement, there is an advantage that the shape of the groove on the rack side can be simplified as compared with the case where the overturn prevention plate is installed so that rotation is possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 1 and 3 are top views and FIGS.
2 and 4 are side views. 1 and 2 show a state in which the fall prevention plate is fixed at a position where the fall prevention plate fits into a groove provided in the rack, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show a state in which the fall prevention plate is disengaged from the groove provided in the rack. The state where it is fixed to the position where it is performed is shown.

A rack 6 on which a plurality (five) of tubular containers 5 can be placed is composed of two belts 1 arranged below the rack 6.
Is transported from the near side in the direction of the arrow. At the end point of the transfer, for example, an operation such as dispensing is performed by an elevator mechanism provided at the end point, and the rack on which the container having been subjected to the operation is placed is removed from the belt. For example, by adopting the configuration shown in FIG. 9 and the like, a configuration in which the rack on which the operated container is placed is removed from the belt can be exemplified.

The belt 1 is supported by a bottom plate 3 and is driven by a driving means comprising a motor 4 and a pulley 14 connected to a motor shaft. The tipping prevention plate 2 is an L-shaped plate as shown in FIG. 2, and a plate-shaped portion at the tip thereof is fitted into a groove provided on a side surface of the rack 6. The overturn prevention plate 2 has a sufficient length so as to be able to fit into a groove provided on the rack on the belt over the entire conveyance path of the rack 6 by the belt 1.

A pressing portion 13 is provided at one end of a guide shaft 7 that supports the fall prevention plate 2 and is supported by a bearing 8 provided on the bottom plate 3. The rack is movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the rack, but is usually disengaged from the groove provided in the rack by the repulsive force of an elastic body (spring) 11 sandwiched between the holding portion 13 and the bearing 8. It is fixed at the position where it fits. In this example, a pair of bearings, guide shafts, etc. are provided at two end portions of the overturn prevention plate to prevent the overturn while maintaining the parallel state with the belt 1 during the linear movement of the overturn prevention plate using a lever described later. The board is made to move.

A fixed rotating shaft 9-1 whose axis direction is parallel to the rack transport direction is provided with two sets of guide shafts 9 which are rotatable at right angles to the rack transport direction. When the lever is tilted in the belt direction against the repulsive force of the elastic body, the fall prevention plate 2 is linearly moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the rack, and the plate-shaped portion at the tip thereof is fitted into the groove provided in the rack. Move to the matching position.

A rotating shaft 9-2 perpendicular to the fixed rotating shaft 9-1 is provided on the upper portion of the lever 9, and the guide plate 1 supported on the bottom plate 3 by the supporting column 15 for restricting the movement of the lever 9 is provided.
By engaging the upper part of the lever 9 with a latch (L-shaped guide groove) provided at the position 0, the tip of the tip-prevention plate 2 is engaged with the groove of the rack so that the tip-prevention plate is engaged. Can be fixed.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, a belt driving means comprising a motor and a power supply for driving the motor is provided with a tipping prevention plate at a position where the plate-shaped portion at the tip of the tipping prevention plate 2 fits into the groove of the rack. An electric circuit 12 is provided which enables the motor 4 to be driven only when it is fixed. That is, when the presser unit 13 operates the electric circuit 12 including the switch wired in series to the power supply of the motor 4, the overturn prevention function does not function due to the fitting of the overturn prevention plate and the groove provided on the rack. In other words, when the lever 9 is operated to engage the limit plate 10, when the fall prevention plate 2 retreats to a position where the fall prevention plate 2 and the groove of the rack are disengaged by the repulsive force of the elastic body 11, The motor 4 is not driven. Also, when the rack is placed upside down, the overturn prevention plate stops on the side surface where the groove is not provided, and the motor is not driven because the electric circuit 12 is still cut off. Useful.

FIGS. 5 to 8 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5 and 7 are top views, and FIGS. 6 and 8 are side views. FIGS. 5 and 6 show a state in which the fall prevention plate is fixed at a position where the fall prevention plate fits into the groove provided in the rack. FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state in which the fall prevention plate is disengaged from the groove provided in the rack. The state where it is fixed to the position where it is performed is shown.

In this embodiment, a hook-shaped groove is provided on the bottom surface of the rack to be fitted with the overturn prevention plate, and the guide shaft 7 and the bearing 8 of the overturn prevention plate are correspondingly provided at the lower portion of the bottom surface 3. This is different from the above-described example in that it is arranged on the back side).
The tip of the fall prevention plate (the tip that fits into the groove provided in the rack) in the slot 16 protrudes above the bottom surface 3. Also in this example, the groove is provided at a position deviated from the center of the rack, so that the rack is not installed left and right.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a top view and FIG. 10 is a side view. In this example, two belts for transporting racks are arranged, while two overturn prevention plates are provided to prevent the racks on the belts of each series from overturning. Further, a groove is provided on the bottom surface of the rack to be fitted with the fall prevention plate.
And the bearings 8 are arranged at the lower portion (rear surface) of the bottom surface 3, but the guide shaft and the bearings are shared by two overturn prevention plates, and each overturn prevention plate is mounted on each belt by the same operation as in the above example. It is possible to make a linear movement to a position where the rack is fitted to or disengaged from the groove provided in the rack, and at the same time, control the driving of the motor.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 is provided as means for removing a rack on which a container having been subjected to operations such as dispensing has been placed from the belt.
This is an example in which a belt (left side) for transporting racks in a direction opposite to the transport belt (right side) is added. This excluding means includes a driving motor 18, a feed plate 19, a nut 20 for moving the feed plate, and a feed screw 21. The feed plate 19 moves from the right belt to the left belt toward the rack by the rotation of the motor, and then returns to the original position by the reverse rotation of the motor. In the apparatus of the present example, in the process of discharging the rack from the belt as described above, the dispensing operation of suctioning a fixed amount of the liquid in the tubular container placed on the rack is performed. That is, for example, an automatic dispensing device movable in the X, Y, and Z directions is arranged, and a dispensing operation is performed on the tubular container located at the dispensing position in the figure.

When various processes and operations are performed on a tubular container placed on a rack conveyed by a belt, such as a dispensing operation, for example, in the configuration shown in FIG. A sensor is provided to detect the arrival of the rack at the end point, and when the sensor detects the arrival of the rack, the control unit is configured to stop driving the motor 4 and stop the transport of the rack by the left and right belts.
After stopping the transport of the racks, the rack that has reached the end point of the right side belt by driving the motor 18 is moved from the right side belt to the left side belt,
During this movement, various processing and
Perform the operation. After such processing / operation is completed, the motor 18
Is driven to return the feed plate to the initial position (right side as viewed), and then conveyance by both stopped belts is started.
When moving the rack from the right belt to the left belt, it is preferable to move the rack at a pitch equal to the interval between the tubular containers placed on the rack. It is preferable to employ a stepping motor or the like.

The overturn prevention plate automatically fits into the groove provided on the rack moved on the left belt by the rack discharge guide by the left belt being conveyed in the direction of the arrow. This prevents overturning. Therefore, it is not necessary for the tipping prevention plate of the belt on the left side to be movable as in the present invention as in the present invention, and the racks conveyed at the end point are collected one by one or a disposal box is provided at the end point. The rack may be automatically discarded from the belt. However, in a case where a plurality of racks that are discharged after processing / operation such as dispensing and conveyed by the left belt are to be removed from the belt at one time, as shown in FIG. The transport mechanism of the present invention may be employed not only for the right belt but also for the left belt. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (2), the structure can be simplified by linking the overturn prevention plates to both belts, but both overturn prevention plates may be provided separately. If a configuration in which a disposal box or the like is provided at the end point of the belt on the left side to automatically discard racks on the belt is not adopted, the belt is conveyed by the belt on the left side with the stop plate 17 provided. Preferably, the rack does not fall off the belt.

[0030]

According to the present invention, since the overturn prevention plate is made movable, a rack of a sample rack or the like is mounted on a belt of an automatic dispensing apparatus or the like like a conventional transport mechanism, so that a groove of the rack is provided. And the fall prevention plate need not be fitted, and a plurality of racks can be easily mounted from above the belt at a time. That is, in the transport mechanism of the present invention, the overturn prevention plate is linearly or rotationally moved and fitted into the grooves provided in each of the plurality of racks mounted on the belt.

More specifically, for example, in the transport mechanism of the present invention shown in the drawings, if the lever is retracted to a position where the overturn prevention plate is not fitted into the groove provided in the rack, the rack is mounted on the belt. The rack can be easily mounted from the upper part of the belt because the fall prevention plate does not become a hindrance when performing the operation. In the transport mechanism of the present invention shown in the drawings,
Further, when the fall prevention plate is at a position where the fall prevention plate is not fitted with the groove provided in the rack, a drive means having an electric circuit for turning off a motor for driving the belt is provided. The belt is driven in a state where the groove provided in the rack and the rack are not fitted, and it is possible to prevent an operation error such as the rack being overturned, and the safety is high. In addition, by using the repulsive force of the elastic body, the overturn prevention plate is always located at a position where it is fitted to the groove provided in the rack, and when disengaging the two, a force exceeding the repulsive force is required. Therefore, even if some force is applied, the rack can be prevented from tipping over. As described above, the motor has a double safety structure in which the power of the motor is turned off even if a force exceeding the repulsive force accidentally moves.
As described above, in the conventional transport mechanism, the overturn prevention plate hindered the mounting of the rack. However, the present invention can solve this problem, and it is necessary to process a large number of samples in a short time. It is also possible to improve the processing capacity by using it for an automatic dispensing device of an automatic analyzer that requires continuous operation or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of a transport mechanism of the present invention, in which a tipping prevention plate is fixed at a position where a tip end of the tipping prevention plate and a groove provided in a rack are fitted; It shows the state where it was turned on.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the tip of the tipping prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack are disengaged from each other in the transport mechanism of FIG. .

FIG. 4 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment of the transport mechanism of the present invention, in which the tip of the tip-over prevention plate and the groove provided in the rack are fitted at the position where the tip-off prevention plate is fitted; This shows a fixed state.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 5;

7 illustrates a state in which the tip of the tip-over prevention plate is fixed to a position where the groove provided in the rack is disengaged from the tip end of the tip-off prevention plate in the transport mechanism of FIG. 5; .

FIG. 8 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the transport mechanism of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the overturning prevention function is operated by one lever at the same time for a transport mechanism having two transport paths.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional transport mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of another conventional transport mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 13;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt 2 Overturn prevention plate 3 Bottom plate 4 Motor 5 Tubular container 6 Rack 7 Guide shaft 8 Bearing 9 Lever 9-1, 9-2 Rotating shaft 10 Guide groove 11 Elastic body (spring) 12 Electric circuit (switch) 13 Holding part 14 Pulley 15 Post 16 Slot 17 Stop plate 18 Motor 19 Feed plate 20 Nut 21 Feed screw

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transport mechanism for transporting a rack on which a tubular container mounted on a belt is mounted, wherein the mechanism is adapted to be freely fitted and detached from a groove provided in the rack mounted on the belt. A transport mechanism characterized in that a movable fall prevention plate is installed in parallel with the transport direction. 2. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising fixing means for fixing the fall prevention plate at a position where the plate is fitted to a groove provided on the rack and at a position where the plate is fitted and disengaged. 3. A belt driving means configured to carry a rack by a belt only while the fall prevention plate is fixed at a position where the fall prevention plate is fitted with a groove provided in the rack. Transport mechanism. 4. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the overturn prevention plate is installed so as to be able to move linearly. 5. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the overturn prevention plate is installed so as to be rotatable.