JP4804766B2 - Container supply method and container supply apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container supply method and a container supply apparatus, and more particularly to a container supply method and a container supply apparatus that can automatically supply a large number of containers (petrials) used for culture of microorganisms.

Conventionally, a petri dish in which a large number of petri dishes stacked on a rotating disk are moved to the supply port in the rotating disk by rotating the rotating disk and then taken out one by one from the lower layer side at the supply port and transferred to the next process A medium-type medium dispensing device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, in the star wheel type container supply device 100, a base plate 102 is provided above the petri dish transport surface 101, and a circular shape for dropping the petri dish 103 on the base plate 102 is provided. The notch 102a is provided at one location. A rotating disc 104 is rotatably provided on the upper surface of the base plate 102. The rotating disc 104 is provided with circular notches 104a at four locations, and guides are provided at three locations around the notches 104a. A pole 105 is erected.

  Accordingly, the petri dish 103 is stacked on the base plate 102 in the notch 104 a of the rotating disk 104 and is supported by the guide pole 105 so as not to fall down. The rotating disk 104 is rotated by a drive motor 106. When the rotating disk 104 is rotated and the notch 104a is positioned at the position of the notch 102a of the base plate 102, the stacked petri dish 103 is at its maximum. Since it falls to the petri dish conveyance surface 101 one by one from the lower stage, the dropped petri dish 103 is conveyed. A position sensor 107 for detecting the rotational position of the rotating disk 104 is provided. When it is detected that the notch 104a of the rotating disk 104 has reached the position of the notch 102a of the base plate 102, the position of the rotating disk 104 is increased. Stop rotation.

  Incidentally, the star wheel system described above with reference to FIG. 9 is suitable when the number of supply ports is one or two, but as shown in FIG. 10, a multi-column petri dish is formed by a rotating disk having two supply ports. If the petri dish 103 stacked in the supply port on each rotating disk 104 is completely supplied, the rotating disk 104 is rotated 180 degrees and the conveyance is continued. At that time, in order to carry the petri dish 103 while maintaining the pitch of each row at equal intervals, the rotating disks 104 must be arranged in a staggered manner as shown in FIG. It becomes complicated. Further, when the same number is set, the rotation time is different between adjacent rotating disks 104 due to the staggered arrangement, so that there is a difference in the number of consumed sheets. Further, since the rotating disk 104 rotates 180 degrees, the next petri dish group must be set immediately after the rotation is completed, so that the operator is always in trouble and troublesome. Furthermore, when two supply ports are provided, the rotating disk 104 is larger than when only one supply port is provided, and the conveying pitch of each row is increased, resulting in an inconvenience that the entire apparatus is increased in size.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a device has been devised in which a large number of stacked petri dishes are sequentially conveyed to the next process by a single conveyor belt. (For example, refer to Patent Document 3).
JP-A-6-225753 JP-A-8-173141 JP-A-6-174732

By the way, as shown in FIG. 11, when a plurality of rows of petri dishes 103 are supplied using a conveyor belt 111, the petri dish 103 transported onto the petri dish supply port 112 is arranged to prevent the collapse of the load, and the stacking state of the petri dishes 103 is adjusted. When the petri dish 103 is sequentially taken out from the lower petri dish 103 and supplied to the next process, the petri dish 103 moved up and down on the petri dish supply port 112 and the petri dish 103 located immediately before the petri dish supply port 112 are prevented from interfering with the petri dish 103. In order to supply stably, a shutter 113 having a guide function is provided immediately before the petri dish supply port 112. In the case of the conventional single row, the shutter 113 could be forcibly inserted between the petri dish 103 on the petri dish supply port 112 and the petri dish 103 immediately before the petri dish supply port 112.
However, in the case of multi-row conveyance in which a plurality of rows of petri dishes 103 are simultaneously conveyed by the conveyor belt 111, it is difficult to pry the shutter 113 because the load becomes excessive.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a container and a supply port on a supply port when a container is sequentially transported from a plurality of stacked container groups by a multi-row conveyor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container supply method and a container supply apparatus that can stably supply a container by easily inserting a shutter between the immediately preceding container.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the container supply method according to the present invention stacks a large number of containers and arranges a plurality of containers adjacent to each other in the front and rear to form a container array of stacked containers. supplying columns ordered containers group the container column extrusion to sequentially container supply Prompt was advanced by a multi-row conveyor at the front edge of the multi row conveyor, taken out said sequential containers of the container column in the container supply port a container supply method, the When to advance the multi-row conveyor container rows of the multilayer container of the front end is pushed into the container supply port, after said the multi-row conveyor by way traveling retracting the container group , Closing a shutter that cuts off the front end of the multi-row conveyor and the container supply port, and grips and lifts the container row of the stacked containers at the container supply port, and sequentially lifts the containers at the bottom of the container row Separated and served It is characterized in that.

  In the container supply method configured as described above, the multi-row container group is advanced by the multi-line conveyor, and when the front end container is pushed out onto the container supply port, the multi-line conveyor is moved backward to move backward. Since a space is provided between the container at the front end and the container at the container supply port, the shutter is inserted into this space, so that the shutter can be easily closed even when a plurality of rows of container groups are supplied. As a result, the state of the container conveyed to the container supply port can be adjusted, and the container that moves up and down on the container supply port can be prevented from interfering with the container located immediately before the container supply port, thereby stably supplying the container. Can do.

A plurality of containers are stacked and a plurality of containers are aligned adjacent to each other in the front and rear to form a container array of stacked containers, and a container group in which a plurality of container arrays are arrayed is advanced by a multi-row conveyor. a of the container column extrusion to sequentially container supply Prompt a at the front edge, sequentially container supply device supplies the container was taken out of the container column in the container supply port, conveyor for running the multi-row conveyor in forward and reverse A drive mechanism; container detection means for detecting that the container row of the stacked containers at the front end of the multi-row conveyor is pushed out to the container supply port; and between the front end of the multi-row conveyor and the container supply port. A shutter that shuts off, an opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes the shutter, and a control mechanism that controls the opening and closing mechanism after the conveyor drive mechanism is moved backward by a predetermined distance based on a detection signal from the container detecting means. And a control unit that controls to close the shutter, and a separating device for supplying sequentially separating the container bottom of the container column container column lifting grips of the laminated container is carried into the container supply port A container supply device comprising:

  In the container supply apparatus configured as described above, the multi-row container group is advanced by the multi-line conveyor, the container at the front end is pushed out onto the container supply port, and the container detection means has pushed the container into the container supply port. If detected, the control unit controls the conveyor driving mechanism to reversely move the multi-row conveyor so as to retract the container at the front end of the multi-row conveyor to provide a space between the container and the container at the container supply port. Thereafter, since the shutter is closed by controlling the opening / closing mechanism under the control of the control unit, the front end of the multi-row conveyor and the container supply port can be easily disconnected. As a result, the state of the container conveyed to the container supply port can be adjusted, and the container that moves up and down on the container supply port can be prevented from interfering with the container located immediately before the container supply port, thereby stably supplying the container. Can do.

  According to the present invention, since the shutter is forcibly inserted between the container at the front end and the container at the container supply port, the conventional problem that the stacked state of the container is disturbed, for example, can be solved. The effect that the shutter between the laminated container in the mouth can be easily closed is obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a medium dispensing device provided with the container supply device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view seen from the direction II in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the culture medium dispensing apparatus 1 has a container supply device 10 according to the present invention on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) above the base 2, and this container supply A clean booth 3 is provided adjacent to the downstream side of the apparatus 10. The clean booth 3 includes a clean air generating device 3a for filling the clean booth 3 with clean air, a petri dish lid opening / closing unit 3b for opening and closing a lid (not shown) of the petri dish 11 which is a container supplied by the container supply device 10, A medium dispensing pump unit 3c for dispensing a fluid medium is provided, and a medium sent from the medium dispensing pump unit 3c is dispensed to the dish 11 on the dish 11 in each row. Each of the medium dispensing nozzle portions 3d is provided. Further, on the downstream side of the clean booth 3, there is provided a petri dish laminating portion 4 for again laminating the petri dish 11 into which the medium has been dispensed. A petri dish storage conveyor 5 for unloading and storing 11 is provided. The base 2 is provided with an operation switch box 6.

  Therefore, the petri dish 11 supplied from the container supply device 10 to the clean booth 3 is opened by the petri dish lid opening / closing part 3b, and after the medium is dispensed from the medium dispensing nozzle part 3d, the lid is closed and transported. Is done. Then, in the petri dish stacking section 4, a new petri dish 11 is inserted under the lifted petri dish 11 and stacked from below, and when a predetermined amount is stacked, it is stored in the petri dish storage conveyor 5.

Next, the container supply device 10 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the container supply device 10, FIGS. 4 to 7 are perspective views showing the petri dish supply operation of each row in the container supply device, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the petri dish extractor.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container supply device 10 includes a petri dish that is a container row in which a large number of petri dishes 11 are stacked and a plurality of stacked petri dishes 11 </ b> A are arranged adjacently in the front-rear direction. A petri dish group 11C as a container group in which a plurality of petri dish rows 11B are arranged is advanced by the multi-row conveyor 12, and the stacked petri dishes 11A at the front end 12a of the multi-row conveyor 12 are sequentially fed into the container supply port. The petri dish 11 is extruded onto the petri dish supply port 13, and the petri dishes 11 are sequentially taken out from the lowest stage of the stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A in the petri dish supply port 13 and supplied to the clean booth 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to 7, a pulley drive shaft 15 a as a conveyor drive mechanism for causing the multi-row conveyor 12 to run forward and backward, and a stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A at the front end 12 a of the multi-row conveyor 12 are supplied to the petri dish. Supply section petri dish detection sensor 14 which is a container detecting means for detecting that the nozzle 13 has been pushed out, shutter 16 which cuts off the front end 12a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish supply port 13, and opening and closing the shutter 16 In order to close the shutter 16 by the shutter drive cylinder 17 after the pulley drive shaft 15a is reversed by a predetermined amount by a drive mechanism (not shown) based on the detection signal from the shutter drive cylinder 17 which is an opening / closing mechanism and the supply petri dish detection sensor 14. It has the control part 18 (refer FIG. 1) to control. In addition, the control part 18 can be provided in the operation switch box 6, for example.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the multi-row conveyor 12 is formed by winding a number of conveyor belts 12b corresponding to the number of rows between a pulley drive shaft 15a and a driven shaft 15b. The petri dish supply port 13 is formed with a round hole through which the petri dish 11 can pass at a position corresponding to each row in the supply unit base plate 20. A supply unit upper plate 21 is provided above the supply unit base plate 20, and three support shafts 22 are provided between the plates 20 and 21 on the front and left and right sides of each petri dish supply port 13. Is provided. Thereby, the stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A carried into the petri dish supply port 13 is positioned on the petri dish supply port 13 without falling down by the three support shafts 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, a pair of plate-like side guides 19 and 19 are provided at intervals to store the petri dish 11 so as to sandwich the conveyor belt 12 b of the multi-row conveyor 12. The petri dish rows 11B of each row are accommodated between the nineteens, and the stacked petri dish 11A is guided so as not to fall down in the left-right direction. A gap S (see FIG. 2) is provided between the side guides 19 in adjacent rows.

FIG. 3 shows a shutter. (A) is the front view of a shutter, (B) is the top view seen from BB in (A).
As shown in FIG. 3A, the shutter 16 is formed by attaching a plurality of upper and lower members 16c having a width W that is narrower than the gap S at regular intervals between the upper and lower shutter mounting plates 16a and 16b. A shutter drive cylinder 17 is mounted between the upper shutter mounting plate 16a and the supply unit upper plate 21. That is, the tip of the piston rod 17a of the shutter drive cylinder 17 is attached to a bracket 21a provided downward from the lower surface of the supply unit upper plate 21, and the main body of the shutter drive cylinder 17 is fixed to the upper surface of the shutter attachment plate 16a. ing. As a result, the shutter 16 opens and closes to the left and right with respect to the supply unit upper plate 21.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, when the shutter 16 is closed, the upper and lower members 16c are positioned at the center between the left and right side guides 19 so that the transport of the stacked petri dish 11A can be prevented. Yes. On the other hand, when the shutter 16 is opened, the upper and lower members 16c are moved to a position where they are completely stored in the gaps S between adjacent rows, so that they do not interfere with the transported stacked dish 11A. For this reason, the supply path corresponding to the multi-row conveyor 12 can be opened and closed by a slight movement of the shutter drive cylinder 17.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, a conveyor section petri dish detection sensor 23 is provided between the front end 12 a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish supply port 13, and the front end 12 a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish It is possible to detect the absence of the petri dish 11 between the supply port 13 and the supply port 13. The conveyor dish detection sensor 23 sends a detection signal to the control unit 18.

FIG. 8 shows a separation device 30 provided at a position below the petri dish supply port 13.
In the separation device 30, a number of single takers 32 corresponding to the number of petri dish rows 11 </ b> B (here, three rows) are arranged in parallel on a base plate 31. Each single picker 32 has a drive cylinder 33 upward on the base plate 31, and guide portions 34 are provided on both the left and right sides of the drive cylinder 33. A stand 35 is provided at the tip of the piston rod 33a of each drive cylinder 33 and the tip of the guide shaft 34a of the guide portion 34 so as to be able to move up and down while maintaining a horizontal state. In addition, brackets 36 are erected on each table 35, and a pair of arms 37 for holding the petri dish 11, and opening / closing cylinders 38 for opening and closing are attached to the brackets 36.
Accordingly, the separating device 30 opens and closes the arms 37 and 37 by the opening and closing cylinder 38 to grip the petri dish 11, and lifts the petri dish 11 by the drive cylinder 33 to separate the lowermost petri dish 11 located on the petri dish supply port 13. To do.

Next, based on FIGS. 4-7, the supply method of the petri dish 11 which is embodiment of the container supply method which concerns on this invention is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 4, the drive mechanism (not shown) is operated by the control of the control unit 18 to rotate the pulley drive shaft 15 a to run the multi-row conveyor 12, and is stacked on the multi-row conveyor 12. The stacked petri dish 11A of each row is advanced. Thereby, the stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A at the front end 12 a of the multi-row conveyor 12 is pushed out to the petri dish supply port 13. The stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A supplied on the petri dish supply port 13 is taken out from the petri dish supply port 13 and is sequentially consumed from the lowermost petri dish 11.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the petri dish 11 on the petri dish supply port 13 is consumed to the same height as the petri dish supply port 13, the supply petri dish detection sensor 14 detects that the petri dish 11 has been consumed and controls the control unit. 18 is transmitted. The control unit 18 operates the shutter drive cylinder 17 to open the shutter 16, and rotates the pulley drive shaft 15 a as a conveyor drive mechanism by a drive mechanism (not shown) to advance the multi-row conveyor 12.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control is performed when the foremost stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A of the multi-row conveyor 12 is extruded and supplied to the petri dish supply port 13, and the supply petri dish detection sensor 14 detects that the stacked petri dish 11 </ b> A is supplied. A signal is sent to the section 18 to stop the multi-row conveyor 12 and the pulley drive shaft 15a is reversely rotated. As shown in FIG. 7, the pulley drive shaft 15a is reversely rotated to cause the front end 12a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish supply port 13 to rotate. A gap for inserting the shutter 16 is formed between the two. When the conveyor unit petri dish detection sensor 23 detects that a gap has been formed between the front end 12a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish supply port 13, and transmits it to the control unit 18, the control unit 18 rotates the pulley drive shaft 15a. After stopping, the shutter drive cylinder 17 is controlled to close the shutter 16. Then, returning to FIG. 4, the process described above is repeated.

  As described above, according to the container supply method and the container supply device described above, since the gap is provided between the front end 12a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish supply port 13, even when a plurality of rows of petri dish groups 11C are supplied, the shutter is easily provided. 16 can be closed. Thereby, while being able to arrange the lamination | stacking state of the petri dish 11 conveyed to the petri dish supply port 13, interference with the petri dish 11A which moves up and down on the petri dish supply port 13, and the petri dish 11A located just before the petri dish supply port 13 And the petri dish 11 can be stably supplied.

The container supply method and container supply apparatus of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and improvements can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the petri dish 11 is used as the container has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the petri dish 11 and can be applied to a container having a certain thickness or other products.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the shutter drive cylinder 17 is used as the opening / closing mechanism of the shutter 16 has been exemplified. However, a motor can also be used.

  Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, when making the multi-row conveyor 12 run backward, there is no petri dish 11 between the front end 12a of the multi-row conveyor 12 and the petri dish supply port 13 by the conveyor petri dish detection sensor 23. However, instead of using the conveyor petri dish detection sensor 23, it is possible to reversely run a predetermined distance or reversely run for a predetermined time.

  As described above, the container supply method and the container supply device according to the present invention have an increased load for forcefully placing the shutter between the stacked container at the front end and the stacked container at the container supply port, and the stacked state of the containers. The conventional problem of disturbance can be solved, and thus the shutter between the stacked container at the front end and the stacked container at the container supply port can be easily closed. For example, many microorganisms are used for culturing, etc. It is useful as a container supply method and a container supply device that can automatically supply the container.

It is a front view of the culture medium dispensing apparatus provided with the container supply apparatus of this invention. It is the top view seen from the II direction in FIG. (A) is the front view of a shutter, (B) is the top view seen from BB in (A). It is explanatory drawing which shows the opening / closing operation | movement of a shutter. It is explanatory drawing which shows the opening / closing operation | movement of a shutter. It is explanatory drawing which shows the opening / closing operation | movement of a shutter. It is explanatory drawing which shows the opening / closing operation | movement of a shutter. It is a perspective view of the separation apparatus which takes out a petri dish. It is (A) top view and (B) side view which show the conventional circular container supply apparatus. It is a top view which shows the problem of a circular container supply apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the container supply apparatus using a multi-row conveyor.

Explanation of symbols

10 Container supply device 11 Petri dish (container)
11A Laminated Petri dish (Laminated container)
11B Petri dish row (container row)
11C Petri dish group (container group)
12 Multi-row conveyor 12a Front end 13 Petri dish supply port (container supply port)
15 Pulley drive shaft (conveyor drive mechanism)
14 Supply Petri dish Detection Sensor (Container Detection Unit)
16 Shutter 17 Shutter drive cylinder (open / close mechanism)
18 Control unit

Claims (2)

A plurality of containers are stacked and a plurality of containers are aligned adjacent to each other in the front and rear to form a container array of stacked containers, and a container group in which a plurality of container arrays are arrayed is advanced by a multi-row conveyor. a said container train extrusion to sequentially container supply Prompt, said container row container sequentially container supply method for supplying taken out in the container supply port in the front end,
The Once and advancing the multi-row conveyor container rows of the multilayer container of the front end is pushed into the container supply port, after said the multi-row conveyor by reverse run to retract the said container group, the front end of the multi-row conveyor Closing the shutter that shuts off between the container and the container supply port, grips and lifts the container row of the stacked containers at the container supply port, and sequentially separates and supplies the containers at the bottom of the container row A container supply method. A plurality of containers are stacked and a plurality of containers are aligned adjacent to each other in the front and rear to form a container array of stacked containers, and a container group in which a plurality of container arrays are arrayed is advanced by a multi-row conveyor. a said container column in the front successively extruded to the container supply Prompt, sequentially container supply device supplies the container was taken out of the container column in the container supply port,
A conveyor drive mechanism for causing the multi-row conveyor to run in the forward and reverse directions, container detection means for detecting that a container row of the stacked container at the front end of the multi-row conveyor has been pushed out to the container supply port, and the multi-row conveyor A shutter that shuts off between the front end of the container and the container supply port, an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the shutter, and the conveyor drive mechanism is moved backward by a predetermined distance based on a detection signal from the container detection means. A controller that controls the opening / closing mechanism to close the shutter later, and a container row of the stacked containers carried in the container supply port are lifted and sequentially separated from the lowermost container in the container row And a separation device for supplying the container.

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