WO2010026657A1

WO2010026657A1 - Sample crushing device

Info

Publication number: WO2010026657A1
Application number: PCT/JP2008/066129
Authority: WO
Inventors: 正剛村上; 信行中川; 孝一大澤; 暁石井
Original assignee: 平田機工株式会社; 株式会社バイオメディカルサイエンス
Priority date: 2008-09-06
Filing date: 2008-09-06
Publication date: 2010-03-11
Also published as: JPWO2010026657A1; JP5371995B2

Abstract

A sample crushing device (1) for crushing a sample by applying vibration to a container in which the sample and an impact applying object are received. The sample crushing device (1) has a base (10), elastically longitudinally extending and retracting struts (20) arranged in an upstanding manner at edges on the upper side of the base (10), a rocking cage body (30) having upper edges supported by the upper ends of the struts (20) and placed in an inner space of the base (10) in a suspended manner, a vibration drive unit (40) placed at the bottom of the rocking cage body (30) and vibrated by rotation of an eccentric shaft (45) connected to a motor, a section (60) to be vibrated, and an elastic member (91). The section (60) to be vibrated is placed above the vibration drive unit (40) and supports the eccentric shaft (45). A rack (7) for receiving a sample is mounted on the section (60) to be vibrated. The elastic member (91) is provided connected to a stationary system and is made to be in contact with the upper surface of the section (60) to be vibrated. Each strut (20) has cushioning members respectively provided at a lower connection section at which the strut (20) is connected to the base (10) and at an upper connection section at which the strut (20) is connected to the rocking cage body (30). The struts (20) are installed in an attitude inclined toward the center of the inside of the base (10).

Description

Sample crusher

The invention of the present application is, for example, for the detection and analysis of genetic structures of samples such as various cell tissues of organisms, and for the investigation and analysis of samples (small pieces, granules, strings, etc.) of industrial materials and minerals. In particular, the present invention relates to a sample crushing apparatus used for crushing a sample more finely in advance.

Conventionally, as such a sample crushing apparatus, a sample (cell piece) and beads made of metal or nonmetal are put in a transparent container (tube) such as plastic, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 06-036732 (Patent Document 1). Some of them are set in a crushing device as shown in Fig. 5 and apply vibration. A metal such as stainless steel or tungsten, or a non-metal such as glass or zirconia is used for the beads, and the beads and the sample collide irregularly many times in the tube by applying high-speed vibration to the tube. Thereby, sample pieces such as cells are broken into pieces.

The mechanism of this crushing device is that a rotating shaft that can be driven to rotate is provided with an inclined shaft portion whose center line is inclined with respect to its axis, and the annular body is relatively rotatable so that the center line coincides with this inclined shaft portion. A holder piece for holding a sealed container (tube) containing the object to be crushed and beads on the outer periphery of the annular body. Many are arranged in the circumferential direction. " In this case, the holder piece is limited to the periphery of the annular body, and is simple in that the number and size of tubes to be held are limited.

There is also an apparatus as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-160428 (Patent Document 2). As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, this apparatus includes a “base 6, a base plate 7 supported on the base 6 through an elastic member 16, and an eccentricity placed on the base plate 7. A rotating crank mechanism 8; a cradle 9 on which one end side is pivotally supported by an eccentric part of the crank mechanism 8; A guide shaft 10 and a screw shaft 11 that are erected on the slide block body 12, a slide block body 12 that is slidably held on these shafts and pressed against the upper surface of the hermetic container 100, and the slide block body 12 is placed in a predetermined position. The crank mechanism portion 8 is formed with a ring groove 2 at a position concentric with the rotating shaft 22, and a plurality of hard members and a fluid flow are formed in the ring groove 2. The member is sealed. "

In this case, the sealed container 100 containing the member to be crushed constituting the sample is locked between the upper and lower sides of the cradle 9 and the slide block body 12, and the cradle 9 is vibrated by the crank mechanism portion 8. Since the structure in which the shaking of the integrally structured portion including the hermetic container 100, the cradle 9 and the crank mechanism portion 8 "is supported by the base 6 via the elastic member 16, the sample can be vibrated at a high speed at a large amount. . *

In the case of this structure, the lower fulcrum of vibration (the point supported by the receiving base 9 and the crank mechanism portion 8 below the hermetic container 100) is elastically attached to the pole 18 standing on the base 6 (a tension spring). ) 16 is supported by a base plate 7 supported via 16, but the upper fulcrum of vibration (support member 29 above the hermetic container 100) is connected to the support column 30 behind this device. It is pin-supported at two points on both ends in an unstable state via a crank-shaped member, and lacks the stability of vibration of an integral structure portion consisting of “sealed container 100, cradle 9, crank mechanism portion 8”. is there.

Furthermore, in this apparatus, the hermetic container 100 is slid up and down by sliding the slide block body 12 up and down with respect to the guide shaft 10 and the screw shaft 11 provided to stand on the left and right on the cradle 9. The slide block body 12 is slide-locked with left and right screws. However, when the left and right heights of the lock positions are different, the slide block body 12 may not be leveled and the airtight container 100 may not be sufficiently held. As a result, there is a possibility that the integral structure portion composed of the “sealed container 100, the cradle 9 and the crank mechanism portion 8” cannot be a sufficient integral structure of the vibration object, which is also a cause of lack of stability. It has become.

The invention of the present application solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional sample crushing apparatus, can flexibly cope with the pulverization of various samples such as cells, and the vibration of the vibration target portion serving as the sample storage portion It is an object of the present invention to provide a sample crushing apparatus that can stably continue the process.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 06-036732 JP-A-2005-160428

The above-described problems are solved by the following inventions described in the claims of the present application.
That is, the invention described in claim 1 is a sample crushing device that crushes a sample by applying vibration to a container that accommodates the sample and the impact imparting substance and causing the impact imparting object to collide with the sample. A gantry composed of a box with no lid, a plurality of columns that are provided upright on the upper edge of the gantry, and elastically extend and contract in the longitudinal direction, and an upper edge supported by the upper end of each column And is oscillated by rotation of an eccentric shaft provided at the bottom of the cradle body and connected to a motor. A vibration drive unit that generates a vibration, a vibration target unit that is provided on the upper side of the vibration drive unit, supports the eccentric shaft, and is provided with a vibration target unit on which a rack for storing the sample is mounted, and is connected to a fixed system. Elasticity in contact with the upper surface of the vibration target part Each support column has a buffer member at a lower connection portion with respect to the gantry and an upper connection portion with respect to the cradle body, and in a posture inclined toward the center side inside the gantry, It is a sample crushing apparatus characterized by being provided upright at the upper edge.

Since the sample crushing apparatus of the invention described in claim 1 is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
In a sample crushing apparatus, it is necessary to be able to destroy a sample efficiently by applying a discontinuous and random vibration to the sample. For this reason, these support structures by the apparatus main body that can support the vibration of the vibration generation source (vibration driving unit) and the vibration target part with the apparatus main body and can stably perform the random vibration stably. is necessary.
Therefore, in the sample crushing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a heavy vibration drive unit is provided below the inside of the cradle body, a vibration target unit is provided above the vibration drive unit, and an upper edge of the cradle body is provided. Since the portion is supported by the upper end portion of the support column, it is possible to stably continue the vibration of the heavy object (vibration drive unit and vibration target portion) having the center of gravity below.

In addition, each support column has a buffer member (urethane etc.) at the lower connecting portion with respect to the cradle and the upper connecting portion with respect to the cradle body, and is provided in an inclined posture toward the center side inside the pedestal, thereby supporting the pedestal and the support. While generating a degree of freedom in the angular direction (play) with the cradle body that is the target object, the vibration of the vibration target portion can be continued more stably via the tilt vibration of the column, and vibration The vibration of the target portion can be reliably transmitted to the rack without waste.

Further, by supporting the upper end of the vibration target part by an elastic member that is connected to the fixed system and is in contact with the upper surface of the vibration target part, the vibration of the vibration target part is transmitted via the tilt vibration of the column. Furthermore, it can continue stably.

According to a preferred embodiment, the column is inserted into a cylindrical outer member, a rod that is partially inserted into the cylindrical outer member, and advanced and retracted, and a protruding portion of the rod from the cylindrical outer member. A spring to be mounted, and the buffer member provided by being fitted to each of a rod-shaped portion having a reduced diameter at a lower end portion of the cylindrical outer member and an upper end portion of the rod, and the spring is an upper end portion of the rod The abutting member is provided in contact with the upper end portion of the buffer member and the cylindrical outer member. As a result, it is possible to obtain a strut that is rich in longitudinal force and that is sturdy.

According to another preferred embodiment, the elastic member is provided in connection with a fixed support member provided at an upper edge of the cradle body. Further, the elastic member may be provided in connection with a fixed support member provided at an upper edge of the gantry. If it does in this way, the fixed system which connects the elastic member can be obtained easily.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the gantry and the cradle body have a frame structure formed by combining frames vertically and horizontally. Thereby, although it is lightweight, a sturdy mount frame and cradle body can be obtained.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the vibration target part is driven by raising and lowering the holding plate that holds the rack from the lower side, the support plate that supports the rack from the upper side, and the support plate that can be moved up and down. An elevating drive unit, and the elevating drive unit further includes an urging means for applying a downward urging force to the support plate, and a downward urging of the support plate by lowering and stopping the urging means. Biasing position maintaining means for maintaining the position. By doing this, the support plate can be lowered and stopped at a position where the rack is located, and the rack can be held between the holding plate in a state where the same elastic force is always applied to the rack. Therefore, even in racks of different sizes, the sample can be crushed by holding it with a constant urging force applied and applying vibration in a stable state to the sample.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the rack includes a block body and a lid that covers the upper surface of the block body, and a columnar sample container that accommodates a sample and an impact imparting article on the upper surface of the block body. A plurality of holes for mounting are formed in the vertical direction. In this way, for sample containers of various sizes, the size of the hole in the block body corresponding to the container size can be determined for each hole, so there is no need to change the outer shape and dimensions of the rack. The rack can be held on the sample crusher main body.

According to still another preferred embodiment, the vibration target portion has a rack holding portion for closely accommodating the rack, and the rack holding portion has an eccentric shaft with a bearing provided in a lower portion thereof. A box-shaped holding portion main body that is pivotally supported and has an opening in the upper portion and a lid for closing the opening are provided. By doing so, the eccentric shaft is directly supported at the lower part of the rack holding part, and the rack is closely attached and accommodated in the box-like holding part main body so as to cover the rack. And the rack holder are integrally held, and even if vibration is applied, the integrity is maintained, and the vibration is stably transmitted to the sample in the rack.

According to yet another preferred embodiment, the rack lid has a handle attached to its upper surface. By doing in this way, the taking-out and carrying of the rack which is a heavy article which consists of a metal block etc. become easy.

As described above, according to the sample crushing apparatus of the invention of the present application, a heavy vibration drive unit is provided below the inside of the cradle body, a vibration target unit is provided above the vibration drive unit, and the upper edge of the cradle body is provided. Is supported by the upper end of the support column, the vibration of the heavy object (vibration drive unit and vibration target part) having the center of gravity below can be stably continued.

In addition, each support column has a buffer member (urethane etc.) at the lower connecting portion with respect to the cradle and the upper connecting portion with respect to the cradle body, and is provided in an inclined posture toward the center side inside the pedestal, thereby supporting the pedestal and the support. While generating a degree of freedom (play) in the angular direction with the cradle body that is the target object, the vibration of the vibration target portion can be continued more stably via the tilt vibration of the column.

It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure which attaches a sample container to the rack used for the sample crushing apparatus of one Example (Example 1) of this invention. It is a schematic front view of the sample crushing apparatus. It is a schematic side view of the sample crushing apparatus. It is a side view which shows the state which attached the balance weight to the eccentric shaft which comprises the vibration drive unit used for the sample crushing apparatus. It is the schematic perspective view of the vibration object part in the sample crushing apparatus which removed the rack and was seen from the upper right front. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the sample crushing apparatus as seen from the upper front in the left direction with the frame structure (cradle body) and the left part of the gantry partially broken and the rack removed. It is sectional drawing of the support | pillar used for the sample crushing apparatus. It is a general | schematic fragmentary enlarged view of the sample crushing apparatus for demonstrating the process in which a rack is clamped by operation | movement of the raising / lowering drive unit used for the sample crushing apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the cover of the rack used for the sample crushing apparatus of other Example (Example 2) of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which closed the cover of the rack. It is a perspective view which shows the condition which accommodates the same rack in the rack holding | maintenance part of a vibration object part. It is a side view of the conventional sample crushing apparatus. It is the same front view. It is a figure for demonstrating the condition of the vibration of the vibration object part in the conventional sample crushing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sample crushing device, 2 ... Leg, 3 ... Caster, 4 ... Sample container (tube), 4a ... Lid, 5 ... Bead, 6 ... Sample (sample piece), 7 ... Rack, 7a ... Block body, 7b ... Lid , 8, holes, 10, frame, 11, upper frame frame (upper edge), 13, bottom, 20, support, 21, cylindrical outer member, 21 a, bush, 22, rod, 23, lower end, 24 ... upper end, 25 ... spring, 26 ... end face, 27 ... buffer member, 27a ... annular recess, 28 ... washer, 30 ... frame structure (cradle body), 31 ... upper frame frame (upper edge), 32 ... Lower frame frame, 33 ... bottom, 34 ... vertical frame, 40 ... vibration drive unit, 41 ... motor for vibration drive, 42, 43 ... pulley, 44 ... V belt, 45 ... eccentric shaft (eccentric shaft), 46 ... bearing ( Outside), 47 ... Bearing Inner), 48 ... Bearing mount, 49 ... Balance weight, 50 ... Vibration table, 60 ... Vibration target part, 61 ... Holding plate, 62 ... Support plate, 63 ... Lower plate, 64 ... Upper plate, 65 ... Side plate , 66 ... opening, 67 ... claw piece, 70 ... elevating drive unit, 71 ... screw shaft rotation drive unit, 71a ... screw shaft drive motor, 72 ... screw shaft, 73 ... guide rail, 74 ... slider, 75 ... nut, 76: Spring presser (non-rotating), 77 ... Spring, 78 ... Sensor, 79 ... Sensor dog, 80 ... Frame, 81 ... Back plate, 82 ... Upper plate, 90 ... Support member, 91 ... Plate spring (elastic member), DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Control box, 101 ... Power supply unit, 107 ... Rack, 107a ... Block body, 107b ... Case, 107c ... Case main body, 107d ... Cover, 107e ... Lock Structure: 107f: Handle, 108: Hole, 110: Rack holder, 111: Holder body, 112: Cover, 113: Lock mechanism, 146 ... Bearing, 160 ... Vibration target part, F ... Floor surface, S ... Space part .

A sample crushing apparatus for crushing a sample by applying a vibration to a container containing a sample and an impact imparting substance and causing the impact imparting object to collide with the sample, and a top of the base comprising a bottomed and uncovered box A plurality of struts that are provided upright on the edge of the base and elastically extend and contract in the longitudinal direction, and an upper edge is supported on the upper end of each strut, and are suspended in the internal space of the gantry A cradle body composed of a box body with a bottom and no lid, a vibration drive unit that is provided at the bottom of the cradle body and generates vibration by rotation of an eccentric shaft connected to a motor, and above the vibration drive unit, A vibration target portion that is provided by supporting an eccentric shaft and on which a rack for storing a sample is mounted; and an elastic member that is connected to a fixed system and is in contact with the upper surface of the vibration target portion. Each column shall be connected to the lower part of the base And having a cushioning member to the connecting portion of the upper with respect to your body, in a posture inclined toward the center of the inner frame, and be provided upright on the upper edge of the pedestal.

Here, the vibration target section includes a holding plate that holds the rack from the lower side, a support plate that supports the rack from the upper side, and a lift drive unit that drives the support plate up and down and moves up and down. The elevating drive unit further includes a biasing means for applying a downward biasing force to the support plate, and a biasing position for lowering and stopping the biasing means to maintain the vertical biasing position of the support plate Maintaining means.

The rack is composed of a block body and a lid that covers the upper surface of the block body, and a plurality of holes for mounting a columnar sample container for containing a sample and an impact imparting substance are vertically arranged on the upper surface of the block body. , Shall be formed.

Next, an embodiment (Embodiment 1) of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for mounting a sample container on a rack used in the sample crushing apparatus of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the sample crushing apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the apparatus, FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which a balance weight is attached to a motor eccentric shaft constituting a vibration drive unit used in the sample crushing apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the vibration target portion of the sample crushing device viewed from above, and FIG. 6 is a left side view of the frame structure (cradle) and the left side of the gantry being broken and the rack removed. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the sample crushing apparatus, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a column used in the sample crushing apparatus, and FIG. 8 illustrates a process in which the rack is clamped by the operation of the lifting drive unit used in the sample crushing apparatus. The same sample crushing device It is a schematic partial enlarged view.

The sample crushing apparatus of Example 1 is used for detecting and analyzing the genetic structure of samples such as various cell tissues of organisms, and for examining samples (small pieces, granules, strings, etc.) of industrial materials and minerals.・ Used to break up the sample more finely in advance for analysis.

(Overall structure)
First, the overall structure of the sample crushing apparatus of the first embodiment will be described.
The sample crushing device 1 of the first embodiment is a device that crushes a sample such as a cell by collision of beads with vibrations. The overall structure of the sample crushing device 1 is as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. It is installed on the surface F via the legs 2, is a rectangular shape in plan view, and has a bottomed and uncovered box (this box is shown as having a frame structure in the figure, but is configured in a container shape) And a lower end portion 23 (see FIG. 7) supported on an upper edge portion (upper frame frame) 11 of the mount 10 and provided in a longitudinal direction. A plurality of (four in the case of the first embodiment) struts 20 that elastically expand and contract, and an upper edge (upper frame frame) 31 is supported by the upper end 24 (see FIG. 7) of each strut 20. A frame structure (cradle body) 30 composed of a box with no bottom cover, and a bottom of the frame structure 30 Provided, the vibration driving unit 40 for generating a vibration by the rotation of the eccentric shaft (eccentric shaft) 45, becomes provided with a vibrating object portion 60. The vibration target portion 60 is a portion that is subject to vibration caused by the operation of the vibration drive unit 40. The vibration target unit 60 is provided on the upper side of the vibration drive unit 40, and the rack 7 that houses the sample 6 shown in FIG. . In FIG. 3, reference numeral 100 denotes a control box installed on the gantry 10, and reference numeral 101 denotes a power supply unit.

(Frame, frame structure)
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, the gantry 10 and the frame structure 30 are configured to have a bottomed frame structure, and a plate material is stretched across the

bottom portions

13 and 33. . The upper surface portion and the four side surfaces of the gantry 10 and the frame structure 30 are configured by combining vertical and horizontal aggregates, and have a space portion on the inner side of each aggregate. As shown in FIG. 3, the frame structure 30 includes an upper frame frame 31 formed of a U-shaped frame in which each central portion of the U-shaped two legs is bent (or curved) downward, and a frame. A lower frame frame 32 having a bottom 33 configured in a rectangular shape, and an upper frame frame 31 and a vertical frame 34 connecting the lower frame frame 32 are configured. The upper frame 31 is arranged so that the U-shaped opening is located in front.

The upper frame frame 31 of the frame structure 30 is provided with a support member 90 having an inverted U shape when viewed from the front. A base end portion of a leaf spring (elastic member) 91 that urges a frame body 80 described below downward is attached to the inside of the intermediate portion of the support member 90. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the attachment position of the support member 90 is a front portion (left portion in FIG. 3) of the upper frame frame 31. Further, the mounting position of the support member 90 may be a rear portion (right side in FIG. 3) of the upper frame frame 31. In this case, the U-shaped connecting portion of the upper frame frame 31 is attached to the support member 90. You may make it also serve. A vibration target portion 60 is provided in a space surrounded by the frame structure 30 and the support member 90. Further, the length of the vertical frame 34 is adjusted so that the bottom 33 of the frame structure 30 is positioned in the vicinity of the bottom 13 of the gantry 10. When the gantry 10 and the frame structure 30 are configured, the use of the plate material and the aggregate is arbitrary except that the plate material is stretched on the

bottom portions

13 and 33 of the gantry 10 and the frame structure 30 and may be appropriately changed. For example, the gantry 10 and the frame structure 30 may be configured as a bottomed and uncovered box with each side portion being a flat plate material. The casters 3 are preferably provided at the bottom four corners of the gantry 10 so as to be convenient for moving the apparatus.

(Support)
As shown in FIG. 7, the column 20 includes a cylindrical outer member 21, a rod 22 that is partially inserted into the cylindrical outer member 21, and a rod 22 that protrudes and retreats. The rod 22 protrudes from the cylindrical outer member 21. And a spring 25 which is inserted through the portion and attached, and elastically expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction by moving the rod 22 forward and backward with respect to the cylindrical outer member 21 to expand and contract the spring 25. A total of four support columns 20 are provided on the circumference of the upper frame frame 11 of the gantry 10 at two symmetrical positions (four corners) when viewed from the front, four in total. 10 is arranged in a vertically inclined posture (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and provided upright. The cylindrical outer member 21 has a large-diameter cavity and a small-diameter cavity continuously inside, and a cylindrical bush 21a made of synthetic resin is inserted into the large-diameter cavity. The rod 22 advances and retreats while sliding with the bush 21a. When the rod 22 is retracted, the lower end of the rod 22 is greatly projected into the small-diameter cavity.

Further, each strut 20 is provided with a buffer member 27 made of an elastic material such as urethane at the lower end 23 and the upper end 24 thereof. The lower end portion 23 and the upper end portion 24 of each column 20 are engaged with the upper frame frame 11 of the gantry 10 and the upper frame frame 31 of the frame structure 30 at the portion of the annular recess 27a of the buffer member 27, respectively. The In this engaged state, each column 20 is supported by the upper frame frame 11 of the gantry 10, and the upper frame frame 31 of the frame structure 30 is supported by each column 20. The spring 25 is inserted and attached to the rod 22, and is interposed between the buffer member 27 provided at the upper end portion 24 of the rod 22 and the end surface 26 of the upper end portion of the cylindrical outer member 21. The lower end portion 23 of the support column 20 is formed of a small-diameter rod-shaped portion that is formed integrally with the lower end of the cylindrical outer member 21, and the upper end portion 24 of the support column 20 is reduced in diameter at the upper end portion of the rod 22. The part corresponds to this. The buffer member 27 provided at the lower end portion 23 of the support column 20 is provided by being fitted to this small-diameter rod-like portion at the lower end of the cylindrical outer member 21. Further, the buffer member 27 provided on the upper end portion 24 of the support column 20 is provided by being fitted to the reduced diameter portion of the upper end portion of the rod 22 with a washer 28 interposed therebetween. Therefore, the upper end of the spring 25 is in direct contact with the washer 28.

(Vibration target part)
The vibration target unit 60 is a general term for a structure and a sample that vibrate by the operation of the vibration drive unit 40, and includes a vibration table 50 and a rack 7 that is fixed on the vibration table 50 and holds the rack 7 from below. A holding plate 61 that supports the rack 7 from above, a lifting drive unit 70 that drives the supporting plate 62 so that it can be lifted up and down, and is driven up and down; In addition, a vertically rectangular box-shaped frame body 80 (including the one inside the frame body 80) that supports the support plate 62 and the elevating drive unit 70 from behind is included. The elevating drive unit 70 further includes urging means for applying a downward urging force to the support plate 62, and urging means for lowering and stopping the urging means to maintain the urging position of the support plate 62 in the vertical direction. Position maintaining means. The structure of the lifting drive unit 70 will be described in detail later. The holding plate 61 and the support plate 62 that hold the rack from above and below form a vibration target portion in a narrow sense. The tip of the leaf spring (elastic member) 91 is in contact with the upper surface of the upper plate 82 of the frame body 80.

(Vibration drive unit)
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the vibration drive unit 40 that causes the vibration table 50 and the vibration target unit 60 to generate vertical vibration is a pair of left and right bearings fixed to the bottom 33 of the frame structure 30. An eccentric shaft 45 rotatably supported via a mount 48 and a bearing (inner side) 47, a pulley 43 coaxially fixed to the eccentric shaft 45, and a vibration drive fixed to the bottom 33 of the frame structure 30. Motor 41, a pulley 42 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 41, and a rotary motion transmission member (belt) 44 that rotationally connects the pulley 42 and the pulley 43. As the rotational motion transmission member 44, a chain or the like can be applied in addition to the belt.

The eccentric shaft 45 has a shape like a crankshaft in which the center axis is translated by the length of the shaft radius on the inner side (center portion) and the outer side (both ends). The outer side is rotated and supported by a bearing (outer side) 46. Further, a balance weight 49 is fixed near the center of the eccentric shaft 45. The fixing method is such that when the inner side of the eccentric shaft 45 comes above the outside, the balance weight 49 also comes upward. It is considered to be fixed in such a way that the rotation angle is related.

Both ends of the eccentric shaft 45 are rotatably supported by bearings (outside) 46 fixed to both lower side edges of the vibration table 50. The central portion of the eccentric shaft 45 is rotated by the rotation of the vibration driving motor 41, and following the rotation, both ends of the eccentric shaft 45 are rotated. One pulley 43 may be provided for power transmission, but a pair of left and right pulleys may be provided in consideration of vibration stability.

Since the vibration drive unit 40 has the above-described structure, when the motor 41 rotates and the eccentric shaft 45 rotates, the eccentric shaft 45 is positioned near the eccentric shaft 45 on the vibration target portion 60. It becomes a rotation (circle) orbit that rotates around the axis of. Further, at a position in the vicinity of the leaf spring (elastic member) 91 on the vibration target portion 60, a linear trajectory in the vertical direction is formed. And since the vibration object part 60 is integral in the arbitrary positions of the up-down direction between the eccentric shaft 45 and the leaf | plate spring 91 on the vibration object part 60, the ellipse which is close to a circular track | orbit as it approaches the eccentric shaft 45. It becomes an orbit, and the closer to the leaf spring 91, the closer to the vertical orbit an elliptical orbit. When the envelope selection of the elliptical trajectory at each position in the vertical direction is connected, a substantially triangular shape is obtained (see FIG. 14). At each position on the vibration target portion 60, in reality, the vibration of the elliptical orbit is added to the vibration of the frame structure 30 itself.

(Support plate)
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the support plate 62 that supports the rack 7 by pressing it from the upper side has a plate-like block structure having a space S inside, and is in direct contact with the rack 7. It consists of a lower plate 63 that presses it from the upper side, an upper plate 64 that is spaced apart by a predetermined length above, and a side plate 65 that couples these plates. The means for connecting the lower plate 63 and the upper plate 64 is not limited to the side plate 65, and any means may be used. In short, the lower plate 63 and the upper plate 64 are separated by a predetermined distance. What is necessary is just to be arrange | positioned and it is set as the plate-shaped block body of integral structure. An opening 66 is formed in the back of the upper plate 64 (on the right side in FIG. 3) so that a nut 75 and a sensor dog 79 (see FIG. 8), which will be described later, can pass through.

The support plate 62 configured as an integrally structured plate-like block body in this manner maintains a horizontal posture, and the root portion at the back of the support plate 62 is attached to the slider 74 accommodated in the vertically long box-like frame body 80. It is fixed. The slider 74 is slidably fitted to a pair of left and right guide rails 73 laid along the vertical direction on the inner surface of the back plate 81 (the left side in FIG. 3) of the frame body 80. It moves up and down while being guided. Accordingly, the support plate 62 is supported by the guide rail 73 via the slider 74, and can be moved up and down while being guided by this.

(Elevating drive unit)
The support plate 62 can be moved up and down by the operation of the lift drive unit 70. Next, the structure of the lift drive unit 70 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a screw shaft 72 is erected in the frame body 80 and at a substantially central portion between the pair of left and right guide rails 73 when viewed from the front. The screw shaft 72 penetrates the inner portion of the support plate 62 and extends vertically through the opening 66. The lower end of the screw shaft 72 is a screw that rotates the screw shaft 72 via a gear transmission mechanism such as a worm gear. The shaft rotation drive unit 71 is connected. The upper end portion of the screw shaft 72 is rotatably supported on the inner surface (the lower surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the upper plate 82 at the upper end of the frame body 80. The screw shaft rotation drive unit 71 includes a motor (for a screw shaft) 71a in which an output shaft is disposed horizontally. The output shaft and the screw shaft 72 are coupled via the gear transmission mechanism described above, and the motor The rotation of 71 a is transmitted to the screw shaft 72.

A nut 75 is screwed onto the upper side of the screw shaft 72, and a spring presser (rotation stopper) 76 is fixed to the lower surface of the nut 75. The spring retainer 76 is made of a plate-like rectangular member. When the rack 7 is not supported by the support plate 62, the spring retainer 76 straddles the opening 66 of the upper plate 64 in the left-right direction (see FIG. 2), and the upper plate 64. Is engaged with the inner surface. A claw piece 67 is bent downward from the edge of the opening 66 (see FIGS. 3 and 5), and this claw piece 67 is always on the side of the spring retainer 76. The spring retainer 76 is prevented from rotating around the screw shaft 72 even if the screw shaft 72 rotates. As a result, the nut 75 is prevented from rotating. *

Further, a spring (compression coil spring) 77 is interposed between the spring retainer 76 and the lower plate 63 by being fitted to the screw shaft 72. The spring 77 pushes (presses) the spring retainer 76 upward and pushes the lower plate 63 downward, so that the upper plate 64 integrated therewith also tends to move downward. As a result, the nut 75 is fitted into the opening 66 of the upper plate 64, and the nut 75, the spring retainer 76, the spring 77 and the support plate 62 (this support plate 62 is composed of the lower plate 63, the upper plate 64 and the side plate 65. Is a unitary assembly.) Leads to the construction of a unitary assembly. When the nut 75 moves up and down along the screw shaft 72 while meshing with the screw shaft 72 by the rotation of the screw shaft 72, the integrated assembly moves up and down in conjunction with the nut 75. In this way, the up and down movement of the support plate 62 is caused by the operation of the up / down drive unit 70 including the screw shaft rotation drive unit 71, the screw shaft 72, the guide rail 73, the slider 74, the nut 75, the spring retainer 76, the spring 77, and the like. It becomes possible.

(Rack structure, sample container)
The rack 7 is made of a metal such as aluminum, and as shown in FIG. 1, the rack 7 includes a block body 7a having a square shape that forms a rack body, and a lid 7b that covers the upper surface of the block body 7a. In the upper surface of the body 7a, a plurality of holes 8 are formed in the vertical direction in which the columnar sample containers (tubes) 4 for accommodating the sample pieces 6 and the beads 5 can be accommodated and mounted without any gaps. ing. Thus, the rack 7 storing the sample container 4 is placed on the holding plate 61 of the cell crushing apparatus 1 as it is and clamped. The sample container 4 is used by being sealed with a lid 4a.

The sample container 4 is often made of a transparent resin, and some are made of stainless steel. The material of the rack 7 is preferably a metal material such as aluminum or stainless steel so that the material of the resin-made sample container 4 having a low strength can be supplemented. Inside the sample container 4, an impact imparting material (bead) 5 made of a material such as tungsten, aluminum, or zirconia, and a sample piece 6 made of a living cell or the like are placed. By applying vibration, the beads 5 can repeatedly collide randomly with the sample piece 6 at high speed, and the sample piece 6 can be finely broken.

(Clamping operation)
Next, an operation in which the elevating drive unit 70 lowers the support plate 62 and the support plate 62 clamps the rack 7 placed on the holding plate 61 will be described with reference to FIG.
From the state (FIG. 8A) in which the nut 75, the spring retainer 76, the spring 77, and the support plate 62 constitute an integral assembly as described above, the rotation of the screw shaft 72 proceeds, and the nut 75 When descending, the lower plate 63 constituting the support plate 62 comes into contact with the upper surface of the rack 7 placed on the holding plate 61 and starts pressing the upper side from above (FIG. 8B). As a result, further lowering of the lower plate 63 and the support plate 62 is prevented, and thereafter, the nut 75 and the spring retainer 76 (which are in a fixed relationship with each other as described above and form an integral combined body. Only) continues to descend while compressing the spring 77 (FIG. 8 (c)). In this way, the engagement between the upper plate 64 and the spring retainer 76 is released while the lower plate 63 presses the upper surface of the rack 7.

Such a state in which the lower plate 63 presses the upper surface of the rack 7 with a predetermined pressure is continued until the sensor 78 attached to the upper plate 64 detects the sensor dog 79 attached to the spring retainer 76. When the sensor 78 detects the sensor dog 79, the rotation of the motor 71a and the screw shaft 72 is stopped, and the lowering of the nut 75 is also stopped. In this state, the rack 7 is completely clamped between the support plate 62 and the holding plate 61 with a predetermined pressure.

The spring 77 constitutes biasing means for applying a downward biasing force to the support plate 62, and includes a screw shaft 72, a nut 75, a spring retainer 76, a screw shaft rotation drive unit 71 (including a control circuit), and a sensor. 78, sensor dog 79, and the like constitute biasing position maintaining means for lowering and stopping the biasing means and maintaining the biasing position of the support plate 62 in the vertical direction. Both the position maintaining means constitute a component of the lifting drive unit 70. The raising / lowering drive unit 70 moves the support plate 62 up and down or stops it, whereby the rack 7 is clamped and released by the support plate 62 and the holding plate 61. For example, after the rack 7 is placed on the holding plate 61, the clamping operation is automatically performed by the operator pressing the start button, and then the crushing process is performed. Further, after the crushing process is completed, the releasing operation is automatically performed. By changing the mounting position of the sensor dog 79 in the vertical direction, the magnitude of the biasing force by which the spring 77 biases the support plate 62 downward can be changed.

By the way, when the rack 7 is clamped between the support plate 62 and the holding plate 61 (during the crushing process), the leaf spring 91 (elastic member) attached to the upper end portion of the support member 90 is attached to the frame body 80. The upper end 82 is in contact with the upper plate 82, and the vibration of the vibration target portion 60 is stabilized by the upper end of the frame body 80 supported by the plate spring 91.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the sample crushing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.
When the vibration table 50 is driven to rotate by the vibration drive unit 40, the upper portion of the vibration target portion 60 is supported by the leaf spring 91 (elastic member) at the upper end of the frame body 80. The vibration target portion 60 that holds the oscillating portion moves so as to become an ellipse that is flattened upward as it goes upward (see FIG. 14). Further, as the reaction, the vibration drive unit 40 and the frame structure 30 also perform the same movement with respect to the gantry 10 via the support column 20. In this way, the vibration target portion 60, the vibration drive unit 40, and the frame structure 30 that vibrate change the center-of-gravity position little by little with vibration, but on the circumference of the upper frame frame 11 of the gantry 10. The fluctuations (swings) are absorbed by the pillars 20 standing at the four corners.
On the other hand, in the rack 7 held by the vibration target portion 60, the beads 5 repeat random collision with the sample piece 6 at a high speed due to the vibration, and the sample piece 6 is finely broken.

(Effect of Example 1)
Since the sample crushing apparatus 1 of Example 1 is configured as described above, the following effects can be achieved.
A plurality of support columns 20 are erected on the upper frame frame 11 of the frame structure frame 10, and the upper frame frame 31 of the frame structure (cradle body) 30 is supported by the upper end portion 24 of each support column 20. A frame structure 30 is provided suspended. A heavy vibration drive unit 40 is provided at the bottom 33 of the frame structure 30 located in the vicinity of the bottom 13 of the gantry 10, and a vibration target part 60 is provided above the vibration drive unit 40. As a result, the center of gravity of the vibrating object (vibration drive unit 40 and vibration target unit 60) is lowered, and vibration can be stably continued.

Each strut 20 has a buffer member (urethane or the like) 27 at the upper end 24 and the lower end 23 thereof, and is arranged in an inclined posture toward the center of the gantry 10. That is, each connection part of each support | pillar 20 and the frame 10 which is the mount frame 10 or a support object is not a rigid connection but a flexible connection. For this reason, each support | pillar 20 has a freedom degree (play) in each connection part, and can bend in the fixed range to the outer side direction of the mount frame 10. FIG. As a result, each support column 20 absorbs the vibration of the frame structure 30 in the outer direction of the gantry 10 and presses and restrains the frame structure 30 toward the center of the gantry 10. Is not wasted on the vibration of the frame structure 30. Therefore, the vibration of the vibration target unit 60 can be reliably transmitted to the rack 7 without waste.

The support member 90 provided on the upper frame frame 31 of the frame structure 30 is an elastic member in the vicinity of the support position (a region extending from the upper end portion of the support member 90 to the upper plate 82 forming the upper end portion of the frame body 80). (Leaf spring) 91 is provided. Then, by pressing the upper end of the vibration target portion 60 with the elastic member 91, the vibration of the vibration target portion 60 can be continued more stably via the tilt vibration of the support column 20.

Further, the vibration target portion 60 includes a holding plate 61 that holds the rack 7 from the lower side, a support plate 62 that supports the rack 7 from the upper side, and an up-and-down drive that guides the support plate 62 so that it can move up and down. And a drive unit 70. The elevating drive unit 70 further includes an urging unit that applies a downward urging force to the support plate 62, and an urging position maintaining unit that stops the urging unit and maintains the urging position of the support plate 62 in the vertical direction. And have. For this reason, when the support plate 62 is lowered and stopped at a position where the rack 7 is located, the same elastic force can always be applied to the rack 7, and the space between the support plate 62 and the holding plate 61 can be maintained. Thus, the rack 7 is held with a constant biasing force. Therefore, even the racks 7 having different sizes can be held in a state where an urging force that is not changed is applied, and the sample can be crushed by applying vibration in a stable state.

The rack 7 includes a block body 7a and a lid 7b that covers the upper surface of the block body 7a. A columnar sample container (tube) 4 that accommodates the sample 6 and the beads 5 is disposed on the upper surface of the block body 7a. A plurality of mounting holes 8 are formed in the vertical direction. For this reason, the size of the hole 8 of the block body 7a according to the container size can be determined for each hole for the sample containers 4 having various sizes. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the outer shape and dimensions of the rack 7 according to the size of the sample container 4, and the rack 7 can be held in the sample crushing apparatus main body.

Next, another embodiment (embodiment 2) of the present invention will be described.
9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lid of a rack used in the sample crushing apparatus of the second embodiment is opened, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lid of the rack is closed, and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the condition which accommodates a rack in the rack holding | maintenance part of a vibration object part.

The sample crushing apparatus according to the second embodiment has a rack structure different from that of the sample crushing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, and the overall structure of the vibration target portion that houses the rack is different. The structure of the other portions is not fundamentally different from that of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following, when referring to such portions, the drawings and the reference numerals of the first embodiment are used as they are. .

Regarding the difference between the sample crushing apparatus of the second embodiment and that of the first embodiment, first, regarding the structure of the rack, the rack 107 of the second embodiment has a lid 107d as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. A handle 107f is attached to the upper surface. In addition, a lock mechanism 107e for locking the lid 107d to the main body (case main body) 107c of the case 107b is provided. The lock mechanism 107e may have a key. Further, the rectangular block body 107a constituting the rack body is accommodated in a case 107b, and the case 107b is composed of a case body 107c and a lid 107d. Although the block body 107a is made of aluminum and the case 107b is resinous, the block body 107a and the case main body 107c may be combined to be manufactured as an integrally molded body of the same metal. Similar to the first embodiment, the sample container (tube) 4 is accommodated in a hole 108 formed in the upper surface of the block body 107a.

Next, with regard to the structure of the vibration target part, the vibration target part 160 of the second embodiment includes a rack holding part 110 for tightly storing the rack 107 as shown in FIG. The rack holding unit 110 is generally composed of a box-shaped holding unit main body 111 that has an opening on the upper side to closely store the rack 107, and a lid 112 for closing the opening of the holding unit main body 111. It has become. The bottom part of the holding part main body 111 also serves as a vibration table, and a pair of left and right bearings 146 are provided on both lower side edges. Then, the eccentric portion (center portion) of the eccentric shaft 45 is pivotally supported by these bearings 146. Further, as in the case of the first embodiment, a leaf spring 91 (elastic member) attached to the upper end portion of the gate-shaped support member 90 is attached to the lid 112 forming the upper end portion of the rack holding portion 110. The plate spring 91 supports the upper end of the rack holding unit 110 by pressing the lid 112 from above. Note that the upper end support of the rack holding unit 110 by the leaf spring 91 is such that when the lid 112 is frequently opened and closed, a protrusion is provided on the rear side surface of the holding unit main body 111 instead of pressing the lid 112 from above. It may be attached and pressed from above.

Therefore, now, when the rack 107 is housed in the holding unit main body 111, the holding unit main body 111 is closed by the lid 112, and the lid 112 is locked to the holding unit main body 111 by using the lock mechanism 113, the sample 6 is removed. Preparations for vibration crushing are made. When the lid 112 closes the holding unit main body 111, the lid 112 tightly presses the rack 107 from above, whereby the rack 107 is clamped in the vibration target portion 160. Therefore, the clamping of the rack 107 within the vibration target portion 160 is not performed automatically as in the first embodiment, but is performed manually.

As is clear from the above description, the vibration target portion 160 does not include anything corresponding to the lifting drive unit 70 and the frame body 80 of the first embodiment compared to the vibration target portion 60 of the first embodiment. The lid 112 corresponding to the support plate 62 of Example 1 is not biased from above by means such as a spring to press the rack 107 from above, but may be maintained at the biased position. Absent.

The vibration target portion 160 configured as described above has an eccentric shaft 45 of the vibration drive unit 40 having a structure in which the lower side edges of the holding portion main body 111 of the rack holding portion 110 are not fundamentally different from those of the first embodiment. Are attached to the eccentric part via the pair of left and right bearings 146 as described above. The position of the eccentric portion of the eccentric shaft 45 and the arrangement position of the pair of left and right bearings 146 are fixed to the lower inside of the frame structure 30 and support a pair of left and right bearings (in the first embodiment). In this case, it is located between the bearings (inner side) 47), and the inner and outer positions in the shaft axial direction are reversed as compared with the case of the first embodiment. Therefore, the sample crushing apparatus of the second embodiment has a structure suitable for making a small, light, and simple apparatus as compared with that of the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the placement and removal of the rack 7 on the holding plate 61, in other words, the storage and removal of the rack 7 from the vibration target portion 60 are performed in the front-rear direction. In Example 2, storage / removal of the rack 7 to / from the rack holding unit 110, in other words, storage / removal of the rack 7 to / from the vibration target unit 160 is performed in the vertical direction. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the side opposite to the side where the upper end of the rack holding part 110 is supported by the support member 90 via the leaf spring 91 is the front side of the apparatus, and the rack 7 is stored on this side. -It is desirable that the removal work be performed.

(Effect of Example 2)
Since the sample crushing apparatus of the second embodiment is configured as described above, the following effects can be achieved.
The vibration target part 160 has a rack holding part 110 for closely storing the rack 107, and the rack holding part 110 supports the eccentric shaft 45 in the lower part and has a box-like holding part in the upper part. A main body 111 and a lid 112 for closing the opening are provided. The eccentric shaft 45 is directly supported at a lower portion of the holding portion main body 111, and a rack is closely attached and stored in the holding portion main body 111. The lid 112 is covered and locked. As a result, the rack 107 and the rack holding unit 110 are integrally held, and even when vibration is applied, the integrity is maintained and the vibration is stably transmitted to the sample 6 in the rack 107.

In addition, since the handle 107f is attached to the upper surface of the lid 107d of the rack 107, it is easy to take out and carry the rack 107, which is a heavy object made of a metal block or the like.

The invention of the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, in the first embodiment, the fixed system to which the leaf spring (elastic member) 91 that is in contact with the upper surface of the vibration target unit 60 is connected is the upper frame frame (upper edge) of the frame structure (cradle body) 30. However, instead of this, a similar support member provided on the upper frame frame (upper edge) 11 of the gantry 10 may be used. By doing so, the support of the upper end portion of the vibration target portion 60 is further strengthened.

Claims

A sample crushing device for crushing a sample by applying a vibration to a container containing a sample and an impact imparting substance, causing the impact imparting object to collide with the sample,
A platform composed of a box with a bottom and no lid;
A plurality of pillars that are provided upright on the upper edge of the gantry and elastically extend and contract in the longitudinal direction;
A cradle body composed of a bottomed and uncovered box body supported on the upper edge of each support column and suspended in the internal space of the gantry,
A vibration drive unit that is provided at the bottom of the cradle body and generates vibration by rotation of an eccentric shaft coupled to a motor;
A vibration target unit that is provided on the upper side of the vibration drive unit, supports the eccentric shaft, and is mounted with a rack for storing the sample;
An elastic member provided in connection with a fixed system and in contact with the upper surface of the vibration target portion;
With
Each of the support columns has a buffer member at a lower connection portion with respect to the gantry and an upper connection portion with respect to the cradle body, and stands on an upper edge portion of the gantry in a posture inclined toward the center side inside the gantry. Provided,
A sample crushing apparatus characterized by that.
The column is
A cylindrical outer member;
A rod that is partially inserted into the cylindrical outer member and advances and retracts;
A spring that is inserted through and attached to a protruding portion from a cylindrical outer member of the rod;
The buffer member provided by being fitted to the rod-shaped portion having a reduced diameter at the lower end portion of the cylindrical outer member and the upper end portion of the rod,
Have
The spring is brought into contact with a buffer member provided at an upper end portion of the rod and an upper end portion of the cylindrical outer member.
The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1.
The elastic member is provided connected to a support member of a fixed system provided at the upper edge of the cradle body.
The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1.
The elastic member is provided connected to a support member of a fixed system provided at the upper edge of the gantry.
The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1.
The cradle and the cradle body have a frame structure formed by combining frames vertically and horizontally.
The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1.
The vibration target part is:
A holding plate for holding the rack from below;
A support plate for supporting the rack from above;
An elevating drive unit that guides the support plate up and down and moves up and down;
Have
The elevating drive unit further includes:
Biasing means for applying a downward biasing force to the support plate;
A biasing position maintaining means for lowering and stopping the biasing means to maintain a vertical biasing position of the support plate;
The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:
The rack is
Block body,
A lid covering the upper surface of the block body;
Consists of
2. The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of holes for mounting a columnar sample container for accommodating the sample and the impact imparting substance are formed in a vertical direction on an upper surface of the block body.
The vibration target portion has a rack holding portion for closely storing the rack,
The rack holding part is
A box-shaped holding part main body that pivotally supports the eccentric shaft with a bearing provided in the lower part and has an opening in the upper part;
A lid for closing the opening;
The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:
8. The sample crushing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a handle is attached to an upper surface of the lid of the rack.