JP4778367B2 - Tube rack - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tube rack that accommodates a plurality of tube bodies such as test tubes, sample containers, and Spitz in an upright state.

  In general, a specimen such as blood collected from a subject is accommodated in a tube body such as a test tube or spitz. The tube body is held upright by a tube rack so that the contained specimen does not spill and is easily transported.

  Here, usually, an identification medium such as a bar code label for facilitating the management is attached to each tube body. In many cases, the information indicated by the bar code label or the like attached to each tube body is optically read to collect and manage information on the specimen contained in the tube body. Usually, the tube rack is configured to hold a plurality of tube bodies in a line so that the tube bodies do not have to be taken out from the tube rack when the identification medium is read. For this reason, many tube racks have a shape that is long in the arrangement direction of the tube body, and a shape that is relatively poor in stability. As a result, there has been a problem that the tube rack easily falls.

  Therefore, many techniques for preventing the tube rack from overturning have been proposed. For example, in Patent Documents 1 to 4, the tube rack is configured to be able to be engaged with a part of a member other than the tube rack such as a sample processing device or a rack container, and this engagement prevents the tube rack from toppling over. Techniques to do this are disclosed. According to such a technique, even if the tube rack has an unstable shape that is long in the arrangement direction and small in the width direction, it can be prevented from falling.

Japanese Patent No. 2704357 Japanese Patent No. 3625332 JP 2001-272408 A Registered Utility Model No. 3047943 Specification

  However, although all of the above techniques function effectively when the tube rack is set on another member such as a sample processing apparatus, the tube rack is likely to fall over when removed from the other member. There's a problem.

  Therefore, even when the tube rack is detached from the other members, it is conceivable that the tube rack has a wide shape in order to prevent or reduce the overturn of the tube rack. However, in this case, there arises a problem that a space required for storing the tube rack is increased.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tube rack that can reduce the possibility of falling while reducing the space required for storage.

The tube rack of the present invention is a tube rack that holds a plurality of tube bodies in a standing state, and a plurality of holding holes that hold the tube bodies in a standing state are arranged in a row in a depth direction; and A movable piece that advances and retreats in the width direction of the main body near the bottom of the main body, and protrudes from the main body to function as a part of the bottom surface of the tube rack when advanced, and a part of the movable part moves within the width of the main body when retracted. A movable piece that is housed, an elastic member that biases the movable piece outward in the width direction, and a housing space that houses the movable piece of another adjacent tube rack when a plurality of tube racks are arranged adjacent to each other. It is characterized by.

In a preferred embodiment, soluble Dohen is convertible shape in the depth direction of the force in the width direction of the force.

In another preferred embodiment, the elastic member is preferably a plate spring shape deformed by the widthwise force. Further, it is desirable that this elastic member is integrally formed with the movable piece.

  In another preferred embodiment, a plurality of movable pieces are provided, and each of the plurality of movable pieces includes one or more movable pieces protruding from the right side surface of the main body portion and one or more movable pieces protruding from the left side surface of the main body portion. Including. At this time, it is desirable that the plurality of movable pieces be provided at positions that are 180 degrees rotationally symmetric.

  In another preferred aspect, a contact body that regulates the advancing / retreating position of the movable piece by contacting a part of the main body is further provided. This abutment body is preferably formed integrally with the movable piece. The movable piece is movable back and forth along a guide groove formed on the side surface of the main body. The guide groove temporarily narrows the opening width of the guide groove at the front end thereof, and the contact body comes into contact with the front end. A contact wall is formed, and the contact body is preferably elastically deformable according to the opening width at the front end of the guide groove when the movable piece is inserted into the guide groove.

  In another preferred embodiment, the movable piece is provided at a position where the bottom surface is slightly higher than the bottom surface of the main body.

  According to the present invention, the movable piece moves back and forth in the width direction as necessary. In other words, the bottom width of the tube rack is variable as necessary. As a result, the possibility of falling can be reduced while reducing the space required to store the tube rack.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tube rack 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tube rack 10 is a rack that holds a plurality of tube bodies in an upright state. Here, the tube body refers to a bottomed cylindrical container such as a test tube, a spitz, or a sample container. In many cases, the tube body contains a specimen such as blood collected from the subject. The sample contained in the tube body is subjected to various types of processing, such as dispensing processing and component analysis processing, by the sample processing apparatus. In addition, the specimen for which the predetermined processing has been completed is often stored for a certain period while being accommodated in the tube body.

  The tube rack 10 for standing and holding the tube body containing the specimen is not only arranged alone as shown in FIG. 1, but also arranged adjacent to each other without being spaced apart as shown in FIG. There are also many. For example, in the sample processing apparatus, the tube racks 10 before or after the completion of processing are often arranged adjacent to each other without being spaced apart from each other as shown in FIG. In this case, the transport means of the sample processing apparatus slides the single tube rack 10 out of the plurality of pre-processing tube racks 10 arranged adjacent to each other as necessary, or removes the processed tube rack 10. It is slid to be adjacent to another processed tube rack 10. Also, when a sample that has undergone predetermined processing is stored, as shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of tube racks 10 are often arranged adjacent to each other in the sample storage warehouse.

  In the main body portion 12 of the tube rack 10 of the present embodiment, a plurality (ten in the illustrated example) of holding holes 14 into which the tube bodies are inserted are formed. The plurality of holding holes 14 are formed in a line. Therefore, the tube rack 10 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the direction in which the holding holes 14 are disposed. A cutout 16 is formed on the side surface of each holding hole 14 for exposing the barcode label attached to the tube body to the outside. That is, normally, a barcode label indicating identification information of the tube body is attached to each tube body. This bar code label is desirably readable without removing the tube body from the tube rack 10. Therefore, the tube rack 10 is formed with a notch 16 for exposing the barcode label attached to the tube body inserted into the holding hole 14 to the outside.

  As described above, the tube rack 10 has a plurality of holding holes 14 arranged in a line, and has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the arrangement direction. In other words, since the depth length is larger than the width length, it can be said that the shape is comparatively poor in stability. In this case, there exists a problem that the tube rack 10 tends to fall down. Therefore, it is conceivable to make the tube rack 10 wider not only in one row but also in a plurality of rows. However, when the holding holes 14 are arranged in a plurality of rows and the tube bodies are arranged in a plurality of rows, it is difficult to read the barcode label attached to each tube body. In addition, it is conceivable to increase the width of the tube rack 10 while keeping the holding holes 14 in only one row, but in this case, the storage space for the tube rack 10 increases.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the configuration of the tube rack 10 is made special in order to prevent or reduce the overturn of the tube rack 10 while reducing the space required for storing the tube rack 10 (and thus the specimen). Specifically, the tube rack 10 of the present embodiment includes a movable piece 18 that can advance and retract in the width direction. The movable piece 18 is urged outward in the width direction (W direction in FIG. 1) by a spring member (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and the guide groove 20 formed near the bottom of the side surface of the main body 12. It is possible to move forward and backward along. The movable piece 18 is provided at a position such that the bottom surface thereof is substantially the same height as the bottom surface of the main body 12. Therefore, when the movable piece 18 protrudes from the guide groove 20 by the urging force of the spring member (the advanced state), the bottom surface of the movable piece 18 functions as a part of the bottom surface of the tube rack 10, and the bottom surface of the main body 12. At the same time, the tube rack 10 is supported. On the other hand, when the movable piece 18 is moved inward in the width direction against the urging force of the spring member (retracted state), the movable piece 18 is completely accommodated in the guide groove 20, and the width of the main body portion 12. It will fit within. That is, the width of the bottom surface of the tube rack 10 as a whole can be varied by the movable piece 18.

  More specifically, the movable piece 18 will be described in detail. FIG. 3A is a top view of the movable piece 18, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the movable piece 18. 4 is a side view of the tube rack 10, and FIG. 5 is a bottom view.

  The movable piece 18 is a plate-like member having a substantially triangular shape when viewed from above, and is attached to the main body 12 so that the apex of the substantially triangular shape faces the outside in the width direction. Therefore, when the movable piece 18 is in the advanced state, the side 22 (hereinafter, referred to as “inclined”) with respect to the width direction of the tube rack 10 (arrow w direction in FIG. 3) and the depth direction of the tube rack 10 (arrow d direction in FIG. 3). (Referred to as “contact side 22”) is exposed from the guide groove 20 formed in the main body 12 of the tube rack 10.

  Here, as already described, the tube rack 10 may be slid and transferred along another adjacent tube rack 10 by the transporting means of the sample processing apparatus (see FIG. 2). In other words, the two adjacent tube racks 10 may move relative to each other in the depth direction. At this time, the contact side 22 of the movable piece 18 receives a force in the depth direction from another adjacent tube rack 10. As will be described in detail later, the contact side 22 converts the force in the depth direction into a force in the width direction and transmits the force to the movable piece 18. As a result, the movable piece 18 can be retracted inward in the width direction.

  By the way, as described above, the movable piece 18 functions as the bottom surface of the tube rack 10 together with the bottom surface of the main body 12 at the time of advancement. Therefore, the bottom surface of the movable piece 18 is provided at substantially the same height as the bottom surface of the main body 12. However, strictly speaking, it is often difficult to make the bottom surface of the main body 12 and the bottom surface of the movable piece 18, which are separate members, the same height. Therefore, actually, it is desirable to provide the movable piece 18 so that its bottom surface is slightly higher than the bottom surface of the main body 12. By providing the movable piece 18 at such a position, the bottom surface of the movable piece 18 becomes lower than the bottom surface of the main body 12 even if the assembly position of the movable piece 18 is slightly shifted due to an assembly error or the like. Problems such as decreased stability are less likely to occur.

  In addition, the shape of the movable piece 18 demonstrated here is an example, Naturally, other shapes may be sufficient. However, even in other shapes, it is desirable to have a shape that can convert a force in the depth direction into a force in the width direction, for example, a substantially trapezoidal shape when viewed from above, or a semicircular shape. The material of the movable piece 18 is not particularly limited, but it is desirable that the movable piece 18 is made of a material having high chemical resistance in consideration of various kinds of processing performed on the specimen. In view of weight reduction and cost reduction of the tube rack 10 and ease of molding of the movable piece 18, it is desirable to use a resin or the like. Furthermore, if the tube rack is to be discarded, it is better to use a biodegradable plastic or the like.

  Connected to the rear end of the movable piece 18 is a pair of leaf springs 26 that function as spring portions that urge the movable piece 18 outward in the width direction. The pair of leaf springs 26 are integrally formed with the movable piece 18 and extend from both ends of the rear end surface of the movable piece 18 while drawing a gentle curve. The pair of leaf springs 26 have elasticity of the same size, and when receiving a force in the width direction, the shape of the pair of leaf springs 26 is deformed so as to narrow the gap with the rear end surface of the movable piece 18. The deformation allows the movable piece 18 to advance and retract in the width direction.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the leaf spring 26 that allows the movable piece 18 to advance and retreat is formed integrally with the movable piece 18, so that the number of parts can be reduced, and the entire tube rack 10 can be manufactured. The process can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. However, as a matter of course, the leaf spring 26 may be configured separately from the movable piece 18. Moreover, as long as desired elasticity (spring constant) is obtained, the shape and thickness of the leaf spring 26 may be appropriately changed. If the movable piece 18 can be urged in the width direction, not only the leaf spring 26 but also other elastic bodies such as a coil spring, a torsion spring, a member made of a strong elastic material such as a rubber or a spring, etc. It may be used.

  On both side surfaces of the movable piece 18, contact bodies 28 are provided that contact a contact wall 30 (see FIG. 5) formed at the front end of the guide groove 20. The contact body 28 is substantially U-shaped when viewed from above, and has a tip (free end) facing outward in the width direction. On the other hand, the abutting walls 30 are provided on both sides of the front end of the guide groove 20 and serve to temporarily narrow the opening of the guide groove 20. When the movable piece 18 is in the advanced state, the contact body 28 contacts the contact wall 30 and inhibits the further movement of the movable piece 18. That is, the contact body 28 and the contact wall 30 function as a stopper for the movable piece 18 and prevent the movable piece 18 from falling out of the guide groove 20.

  Here, the contact body 28 of the present embodiment has a shape that is obtained by bending a thin plate material into a substantially U shape, and is elastic in a direction approaching the side surface of the movable piece 18 when receiving a force in the depth direction. It is designed to deform. In addition, the contact body 28 is molded integrally with the movable piece 18 in order to reduce the number of parts, like the plate spring 26 described above. The reason why the contact body 28 is configured is to facilitate the assembly of the movable piece 18 to the main body 12. That is, when the leaf spring 26 and the contact body 28 are integrally formed with the movable piece 18, all of the movable piece 18, the leaf spring 26, and the contact body 28 can be inserted into the guide groove 20 by a single insertion operation. . Further, by making the contact body 28 elastically deformable, when the movable piece 18 integrally formed with the leaf spring 26 and the contact body 28 is inserted into the guide groove 20, it corresponds to the opening width of the guide groove 20. Thus, the contact body 28 is elastically deformed. As a result, the movable piece 18 and the like can be inserted into the guide groove 20 without performing special work. When the movable piece 18 is inserted into the guide groove 20, the contact body 28 returns to the original shape and is wider than the opening width. As a result, the movable piece 18 is prevented from falling off from the guide groove 20.

  Of course, the configuration of the contact body 28 described here is an example, and can be changed as appropriate. Therefore, the contact body 28 and the movable piece 18 may be configured as separate bodies, and the shape and the like may be appropriately changed.

  Next, the movement of the movable piece 18 when moving forward and backward will be described in detail. 6 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 (a) shows a state when the vehicle is advanced, and FIG. 6 (b) shows a state when the vehicle is left. When the movable piece 18 is assembled in the guide groove 20 of the main body 12, the rear end position of the leaf spring 26 is regulated by the rear end surface of the guide groove. When no force is applied to the movable piece 18 from the outside (in the case of FIG. 6A), the movable piece 18 is pushed outward in the width direction by the urging force of the leaf spring 26. However, when the contact bodies 28 provided on both side surfaces of the movable piece 18 come into contact with the contact wall 30 provided at the front end of the guide groove 20, the protruding position of the movable piece 18 is restricted. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, a part of the movable piece 18 is exposed to the outside. At this time, the bottom surface of the movable piece 18 functions as a part of the bottom surface of the tube rack 10. In other words, at this time, the tube rack 10 is in a state where the bottom surface width is widened. Therefore, the sense of stability of the tube rack 10 is further improved, and falling is effectively prevented or reduced.

  Next, consider the case where the tube rack 10 moves relative to the other adjacent tube racks 10 in the depth direction in this state. In this case, the movable piece 18 is pressed by the side surface of another adjacent tube rack 10 and receives a force in the depth direction. This force in the depth direction is converted into a force in the width direction by the contact side 22 of the movable piece 18. Then, when the movable piece 18 receives a force inward in the width direction and moves inward in the width direction, the leaf spring 26 has a narrow gap with the movable piece 18 as shown in FIG. 6B. Elastically deforms. Finally, the movable piece 18 is completely accommodated in the guide groove 20. That is, according to the present embodiment, the movable piece 18 is accommodated in the guide groove 20 when the protrusion of the movable piece 18 is unnecessary, such as when the other adjacent tube racks 10 are relatively moved in the depth direction. As a result, the space required for storage of the tube rack 10 can be reduced while maintaining high stability as the entire tube rack 10. Moreover, the transfer operation | movement of the tube rack 10 etc. can be performed smoothly.

  Incidentally, the tube rack 10 of the present embodiment includes two movable pieces 18 as is apparent from FIG. That is, in the present embodiment, one movable piece 18 is provided on each of a pair of side surfaces of the main body portion 12 that face each other. In other words, the two movable pieces 18 are configured to protrude in opposite directions. Therefore, the width of the bottom surface of the tube rack 10 is wider than when the movable piece 18 is single. As a result, the stability of the tube rack 10 can be further improved, and the risk of falling can be further reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the tube rack 10 of the present embodiment protrudes from another adjacent tube rack 10 when the plurality of tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other without being spaced apart from each other (advancement). An accommodation groove 34 for accommodating the movable piece 18 (in a state) is also provided. The housing groove 34 is provided at a position corresponding to the advance position of the movable piece 18 provided in the other adjacent tube rack 10, that is, in the vicinity of the bottom of the side surface of the main body 12, and at least the movable piece 18 in the advanced state is provided. It is large enough to be accommodated.

  The manner in which the movable piece 18 is housed by the housing groove 34 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic bottom view when two tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other. When the two tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other without a gap, the movable piece 18 of one tube rack 10 is positioned in the vicinity of the accommodation groove 34 of the other tube rack 10. At this time, since the movable piece 18 does not receive external force, the movable piece 18 advances into the accommodation groove 34 of the other tube rack 10 and is accommodated.

  Thus, by providing the accommodation groove 34 for accommodating the movable piece 18, it is possible to increase the bottom width of each tube rack 10 when a plurality of tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other, and to prevent or reduce the overturn. On the other hand, since it is possible to arrange | position the narrow main-body part 12 without a space | gap mutually at this time, the space required for storage of the tube rack 10 can be reduced.

  The state in which the movable piece 18 is accommodated in the accommodation groove 34 can also be said to be a state in which the accommodation groove 34 and the movable piece 18 are engaged. Then, due to the engagement relationship between the housing groove 34 and the movable piece 18, the plurality of adjacently arranged tube racks 10 become like one unit. As a result, since the plurality of tube racks 10 have a relationship of supporting each other, the sense of stability is further improved and the risk of falling is further reduced.

  Further, by providing the accommodation groove 34, the deterioration of the leaf spring 26 can be reduced. That is, it is naturally conceivable that the plurality of tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other while the movable piece 18 is completely accommodated in the guide groove 20 without providing the accommodation groove 34. However, in this case, a force in the width direction is continuously applied to the leaf spring 26 for a long time. As a result, the leaf spring 26 is greatly deteriorated, and the life of the tube rack 10 may be reduced. On the other hand, by accommodating the movable piece 18 in the housing groove 34 in the advanced state, when the plurality of tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other, excessive force is not applied to the leaf spring 26. As a result, the leaf spring 26 is hardly deteriorated, and the life of the tube rack 10 is extended.

  As is apparent from FIGS. 5 and 7, in this embodiment, the movable piece 18 is provided at the left front and the right rear of the tube rack 10, and the accommodation groove 34 is provided at the left rear and the right front of the tube rack, respectively. In other words, the movable piece 18 and the accommodation groove 34 are provided at positions that are 180 degrees rotationally symmetric. Therefore, even if the tube rack 10 is rotated 180 degrees to change the orientation, the positional relationship between the movable piece 18 and the accommodation groove 34 does not change. Therefore, when arranging the plurality of tube racks 10 adjacent to each other, the user does not need to consider the direction of the tube rack 10 and can easily arrange the plurality of tube racks 10.

  Next, handling of the tube rack 10 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 1, when one tube rack is used alone, a force in the width direction is not applied to the movable piece 18. Therefore, the movable piece 18 is in a state of being advanced outward in the width direction. At this time, the bottom surface of the movable piece 18 functions as a part of the bottom surface of the tube rack 10. Therefore, at this time, the bottom surface of the tube rack 10 is expanded in the width direction, and is in a more stable state. As a result, it is possible to effectively reduce the possibility of the tube rack 10 falling over when the single tube rack 10 is used alone.

  Further, when the adjacent tube racks 10 are slid in the depth direction so that the tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other, the movable piece 18 is pressed in the depth direction by the side surfaces of the other adjacent tube racks 10. The contact side 22 of the movable piece 18 converts the force in the depth direction into a force on the inner side in the width direction and transmits the force to the movable piece 18. As a result, the leaf spring 26 is elastically deformed, and the movable piece 18 moves inward in the width direction. Finally, the movable piece 18 is completely accommodated in the guide groove 20, and the bottom surface width of the main body portion 12 temporarily becomes the bottom surface width of the tube rack 10. As a result, the plurality of tube racks 10 can be slid and moved without any gap therebetween.

  When the plurality of tube racks 10 are arranged adjacent to each other without being spaced apart by the slide movement, the movable piece 18 is positioned in the vicinity of the accommodation groove 34 of the other adjacent tube rack 10. At this time, since an external force is not applied to the movable piece 18, the leaf spring 26 pushes the movable piece 18 outward in the width direction so as to return to the original shape. As a result, the movable piece 18 enters the advanced state and is accommodated in the accommodation groove 34. At this time, the bottom width of the tube rack 10 is expanded. Further, since the adjacent tube racks 10 are engaged with each other and support each other, the risk of the tube racks falling down is more effectively reduced.

  As apparent from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the risk of falling can be reduced while reducing the space required for storing the tube rack 10. Further, since the movable piece 18 has a shape that can convert the force in the depth direction into the force in the width direction, the sliding operation of the tube rack 10 can be performed smoothly.

It is a perspective view of the tube rack which is embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of a tube rack. (A) is a top view of a movable piece, (b) is a perspective view of a movable piece. It is a side view of a tube rack. It is a bottom view of a tube rack. It is an enlarged view of the B section in Drawing 5, and (a) shows a mode at the time of movable piece advance, and (b) shows a mode at the time of movable piece retreat. It is a tube rack bottom view at the time of arrange | positioning a tube rack adjacently.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Tube rack, 12 Main body part, 14 Holding hole, 18 Movable piece, 20 Guide groove, 22 Contact side, 26 Leaf spring, 28 Contact body, 30 Contact wall, 34 Housing groove

Claims (10)

A tube rack for holding a plurality of tube bodies in an upright state,
A main body portion in which a plurality of holding holes for holding the tube body in a standing state are arranged in a row in the depth direction;
A movable piece that advances and retreats in the width direction of the main body in the vicinity of the bottom of the main body. A movable piece that fits,
An elastic member for urging the movable piece outward in the width direction;
When a plurality of tube racks are arranged adjacent to each other, an accommodation space for accommodating movable pieces of other adjacent tube racks;
A tube rack comprising: The tube rack according to claim 1 ,
The movable piece has a shape capable of converting a force in the depth direction into a force in the width direction. The tube rack according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The tube rack, wherein the elastic member is a leaf spring that is deformed by receiving a force in the width direction. The tube rack according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The tube rack, wherein the elastic member is integrally formed with the movable piece. The tube rack according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
There are multiple movable pieces,
The plurality of movable pieces each include one or more movable pieces protruding from the right side surface of the main body portion and one or more movable pieces protruding from the left side surface of the main body portion. The tube rack according to claim 5 ,
The tube rack, wherein the plurality of movable pieces are provided at positions that are rotationally symmetrical by 180 degrees. A tube rack according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further
A tube rack, comprising: a contact body that regulates the advancing / retreating position of the movable piece by contacting a part of the main body. It is a tube rack of Claim 7 , Comprising:
The tube rack, wherein the contact body is formed integrally with the movable piece. The tube rack according to claim 8 , wherein
The movable piece is movable back and forth along a guide groove formed on the side surface of the main body,
At the front end of the guide groove, a contact wall is formed which temporarily narrows the opening width of the guide groove and contacts the contact body,
The tube rack according to claim 1, wherein the contact body is elastically deformable according to an opening width at a front end of the guide groove when the movable piece is inserted into the guide groove. The tube rack according to any one of claims 1 to 9 ,
The tube rack, wherein the movable piece is provided at a position where the bottom surface is slightly higher than the bottom surface of the main body.

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