JPH0213745B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sample tube feeding device containing a sample such as serum.

A conventional sample tube feeding device for inserting a sample tube containing a sample such as serum into a cylindrical holding portion of a chain and advancing the chain will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a plan view, and FIG. 2 is an oblique view seen from the obliquely upper front side of FIG. 1. In the figure, 1 is a chain groove, 2 is a sample tube, and 3 is a chain. A cylindrical holding part 18 is formed at each predetermined pitch. The cylindrical holding part 18 is formed so that the sample tube 2 can be inserted therein. 3
is driven to advance within the chain groove 1. 4 is a nozzle attached to a predetermined position on the travel path of the sample tube 2, 5 is a drive mechanism holder, and an arm 8 to which a feed cam 10 is attached is attached to the drive mechanism holder 5 with a rotation fulcrum 12 as the fulcrum. It is rotatably attached via 9. Also,
An air cylinder 6 is rotatably attached to the drive mechanism holder 5 at one end via a fulcrum 7 so that the rotational direction of the arm 8 and the longitudinal direction are the same, and compressed air is supplied to the side of the air cylinder 6 where the fulcrum 7 is attached. A drain pipe 20 is attached. On the opposite side of the air cylinder 6 from the side where the fulcrum 7 is attached, a rod 21 fixed to an internal piston is slidably taken out from the end face of the air cylinder 6 and fixed to the arm 8. A spring 19 is housed inside the air cylinder 6 and has both ends fixed to the inner end surface and the piston. 13 is a cam holder, and a return prevention cam 14 is rotatably attached to the cam holder 13 about a fulcrum 15. 1
1 and 16 are springs for feeding cam 10 and return prevention cam 1
4 are biased so as to rotate toward the chain 3 side.

In the above structure, by sending compressed air to the air cylinder 6 through the supply/discharge pipe 20, the feed cam 1
0, the chain 3 can be fed one pitch at a time in the direction of the arrow. The return prevention cam 14 is attached to the cylindrical holding portion 1
8 and prevents the chain 3 from returning. After the arm 8 is driven by the air cylinder 6, the air in the air cylinder 6 is discharged, and the spring 1 is
The arm 8 and the feed cam 10 are returned to their original positions as shown in FIG. 1 by the tension at 9. In this conventional structure, the sent chain 3 is absolutely prevented from returning by the return prevention cam 14, but it is possible to intentionally push the chain 3 forward in the forward direction manually. Therefore, a sample tube other than the required sample tube may come to the position where the sample is sucked up or discharged through the nozzle 4, and the identification number and the sample inside may be different. Further, when the sample tube stops at the nozzle position for discharging the sample, there is a drawback that the position may shift by the amount of play between the cam and the chain.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances, and can prevent the situation where the identification number and the sample inside are different due to the inability to manually feed the chain, and can stop the chain accurately at a predetermined position and transfer the sample to the sample. The object of the present invention is to provide a sample tube feeding device that can prevent the sample from being discharged outside the tube.

The sample tube feeding device of the present invention includes a chain including a cylindrical holder that is driven in a chain groove and into which a sample tube is inserted, and a cylindrical holder provided on one side of the chain in the direction of movement of the chain. A feed cam that presses and drives the chain, and a return prevention cam that is provided on the other side of the chain and is in contact with the cylindrical holding part to prevent the chain from returning. a cam holder that is reciprocally driven in the direction; and a cam holder that is rotatably mounted on the cam holder via a rotation fulcrum and is biased to rotate via a spring in a direction that contacts the cylindrical holding portion that is in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the chain. the above-mentioned feeding cam, the air cylinder formed so as to drive the cam holder one pitch at a time in the direction of movement of the chain, and to be constantly filled with compressed air after the reciprocating and backward movements are completed, and the above-mentioned fixed position. A cam holder is provided nearby and is attached to rotate the feed cam in the double-operating state in the direction in which the feed cam rotates by the bias of the spring, and the cam holder rotates the feed cam with a predetermined rotational force. Means is provided for pressing and fixing the chain in the return direction, comprising a stopper provided so as to be in contact with the cam holder at a position in the forward movement direction of the cam holder, which regulates the stop position of the cam holder so as to rotationally drive the cam. This is a characteristic feature.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the sample tube feeding device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6, with the same parts as those in the conventional art being denoted by the same reference numerals and explanations of the same parts being omitted. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a front view, 5 is a plan view immediately after the feed cam has fed the chain one pitch, and FIG. An explanatory diagram immediately before locking, and B is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the chain is locked in a fixed position after changing from the state of A. The feed cam 10 is rotatably supported by a rotation fulcrum 12 on the cam holder 26 and biased via a spring 11 in a direction in which the feed cam 10 contacts the cylindrical holding portion 18 . The cam holder 26 is driven by the cylinder shaft 25, and the cylinder shaft 25 is
The chain 3 is driven in the direction of movement by an air cylinder 22 with air tubes 23 and 24 attached to both ends. The air cylinder 22 has air tubes 23 and 24 when the sample tube feeding device is in operation.
Compressed air is supplied from either of these sources. Further, the return prevention cam 14 is biased and attached via the spring 11 so that the return prevention cam 14 comes into contact with the cylindrical holding portion 18 . Reference numeral 27 denotes a cam retainer, and the cylindrical holding portion 18 is brought into contact with the feed cam 10 at a position 28 fixed by the return prevention cam 14 and the feed cam 10, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 (b). Reference numeral 17 is a stopper for stopping the cam holder 26 at the correct position.

The relationship between the mounting positions of the cam holder 27 and the stopper 17 is such that when the cam holder 26 is returned as shown in FIG. 10
is rotated clockwise to sandwich the cylindrical holding portion 18 between it and the return prevention cam 14, and the cylindrical holding portion 18 is formed so that the pressing force in the rotating direction at this time is appropriate. That is, the stopper 17 is attached at a position where the cam holder 26 comes into contact with the cam holder 26 at a position where the pressing force in the rotational direction is not too strong and does not become insufficient. If this is too strong, if the cylindrical holding part 18 is made of a weak material such as plastic, the excess force may deform and crush it, and if it is insufficient, the chain 3 may not be fixed in the correct position. This is because it becomes impossible to do so.

3 and 6B show a state in which the chain 2 is stopped at the fixed position 28, and the sample tube 2 inserted into the cylindrical holding part 18 is connected to the nozzle 4 that sucks up or discharges the sample. It is stopped directly below. In this position, the chain 3 is prevented from being displaced in the return direction by the return prevention cam 14, and when moving in the forward direction, the feed cam 10 is prevented from rotating counterclockwise by the cam holder 27. blocked. In this state, when the air tube 24 exhausts air and compressed air is supplied from the air cylinder 2, the feed cam 1 is moved through the cylinder shaft 25 and cam holder 26.
0 is driven by one bit in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, resulting in the state shown in FIG. Figure 5 shows the cam 10 that feeds the chain 3.
In this state, the next succeeding cylindrical holding part 18 is received at its rear end by the return prevention cam 14 and is prevented from moving in the return direction. When the air tube 23 is exhausted and compressed air is supplied from the air tube 24, the feed cam 10 is driven toward the fixed position 28 shown in FIGS. while being returned.

FIG. 6A shows the state immediately before the feed cam 10 returns to the home position 28, and the feed cam 10 is returned while the chain 3 is prevented from retreating. Cam holder 2
6 further returns in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
Therefore, the cam holder 26 is rotated clockwise about the pivot point 12 until it is stopped by the stopper 17, thereby holding down the chain 2. In this state, the inside of the air cylinder 22 is filled with compressed air, so even if you accidentally try to move the chain 3 forward by hand, it is impossible to move it. It is in a state where it is accurately and stably fixed to 28. The clamping pressure of the cylindrical holding part 18 against the return prevention cam 14 by the feeding cam 10 is
It is shaped so that it can be pressed with a moderate force.

Now, when the sample tube 2 is to be applied to the analyzer, the nozzle 4 sucks up the sample from the sample tube at another position, discharges it at the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and puts it into the sample tube 2. One sample is sent, the next sample is discharged into the sample tube 2, and the sample tubes are sent one after another through a chain, and each chain is subjected to an automatic analyzer. These operations are performed by supplying and discharging compressed air to and from the air tubes 23 and 24 according to instructions from a computer (not shown).

In this way, the sample tube feeding device of this embodiment clamps and fixes the chain in a fixed position by the return prevention cam and the feed cam which is held in a state pressurized with compressed air, so it is impossible to accidentally move the chain forward manually. Even if an attempt is made to do so, it can be prevented from moving forward, thereby preventing a situation where the identification number and the sample inside are mismatched. Furthermore, since the sample tube can be accurately stopped at the sample discharge nozzle position, it is possible to prevent the sample from being discharged to a location other than the sample tube. and,
When fixing a chain, even if the cylindrical holding part is made of plastic, it can be fixed without damage with appropriate pressure.

As described above, the sample tube feeding device of the present invention has the following features:
This prevents situations where the chain cannot be fed manually and the identification number differs from the sample inside, and it also has the effect of being able to stop accurately at a predetermined position and preventing the sample from being discharged outside the sample tube. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a plan view of a conventional sample tube feeding device;
The figures are a perspective view seen from the diagonally upper front side of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of the sample tube feeding device of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a front view of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a plan view immediately after the chain has been fed one pitch by the feed cam from the state shown in Figure 3, and Figure 6 A is a plan view from the state shown in Figure 5 with the feed cam in the normal position. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the state immediately before the chain is locked after being returned to the state shown in FIG. 1... Chain groove, 2... Sample tube, 3... Chain, 10... Feed cam, 11... Spring, 12...
Rotation fulcrum, 14... Return prevention cam, 17... Stopper, 18... Cylindrical holding part, 22... Air cylinder, 26... Cam holder, 27... Cam holder, 2
8...Fixed position.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A chain having a cylindrical holder driven within the chain and into which a sample tube is inserted; a feed cam provided on one side of the lateral side in the direction of movement of the chain for pressing and driving the cylindrical holder of the chain; A return prevention cam provided on the other side of the chain and formed to contact the cylindrical holding part and prevent the chain from returning, wherein the cam holder is driven reciprocatingly in the direction of movement of the chain; , the feed cam is rotatably mounted on the cam holder via a rotation fulcrum and is rotationally biased via a spring in a direction contacting the cylindrical holding portion in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the chain; The cam holder is driven one pitch at a time in the direction of movement of the chain, and the air cylinder is formed so as to be constantly filled with compressed air after the forward and backward movements are completed, and the air cylinder is provided near the positioning value and is in the backward movement state. a cam holder attached to rotate the feed cam in a direction in which the feed cam is rotated by the bias of the spring; and a cam holder attached to rotate the feed cam with a predetermined rotational force. A sample tube feeder characterized in that means is provided for pressing and fixing the chain in the return direction, the stopper being provided so as to contact the cam holder at a position in the forward movement direction of the cam holder, which restricts the stop position of the cam holder. Device.