JPH0764438B2 - Stick material take-out device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device which can automatically feed and take out the stick materials one by one from a container containing a large number of stick materials such as a reagent stick for urinalysis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is necessary in various fields to take out the stick materials one by one from a container containing a large number of stick materials. For example, in an inspection center or a medical office that inspects human urine for medical purposes, an inspector takes out the urine reagent stick 1 (FIG. 1) from the container (bottle 3 (FIG. 2) one by one to perform an inspection. In this inspection reagent stick 1, a plurality of inspection reagents 1B are attached on a thin plastic plate 1A, and a plurality of types of inspection items can be inspected by one inspection. By immersing the urine test reagent stick 1 in urine, each item is examined by observing how the color of each reagent changes.

In order for each test to be carried out correctly, the test reagent stick 1 must be stored in a dry state protected from moisture, and for this reason, in general, a container (bottle with a cap 3B which can be sealed) is used. It is stored in 3). In addition, it is desirable that the inspector's fingertips and other things are less touched when taken out for inspection.

[0004]

A large number of test bodies (urine) must be tested at the above-mentioned test center or clinic, and it is desired to develop a device for testing automatically. That is, for example, the urine test reagent sticks are gripped one by one by a chuck of a robot, transported to a predetermined place, and immersed in urine. Then, there is a demand for an automatic device in which the urine test reagent stick is placed at a predetermined location on the separator and the new urine test reagent stick is again gripped by the chuck.

However, as described above, it is impossible to automate the operation of taking out the urine reagent sticks one by one from the container in which a large number of them are stored while keeping the urine reagent sticks dry in the bottle. , It has become a bottleneck for automating the entire test using the urinalysis reagent stick. Mostly, an automatic device for taking out stick materials one by one from a container is desired and applicable not only in the field of urine inspection but also in other fields.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and provides a device capable of automatically taking out the stick materials one by one from a container containing a large number of stick materials. With the goal.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the stick material take-out device of the present invention, a holding means for holding a container accommodating a large number of stick materials in an inclined manner, and the inclination means. A lid located at the lower end of the container,
A hole formed in the lid body and having a size through which one stick material can pass, a vibration means for vibrating the container, and a rotation means for rotating the container around an axis of rotation perpendicular to the lid body. It is a thing.

Although various stick materials can be considered in various fields, for example, a urine test reagent stick may be used. In this urine test reagent stick, a plurality of urine test reagents are generally attached on a thin plastic plate. The container may be one attached to the device, but if the stick material is a reagent stick for urinalysis, use a bottle that is already open and is used to carry this urine test reagent stick. You can

Each bottle is held by the device,
The axis of rotation for rotating the bottle may coincide with the axis of the bottle. Alternatively, a plurality of bottles may be held by the device, and axes of the bottles may be provided in parallel with each other around a rotation axis for rotating the bottles. In the case of holding one bottle, the holding means includes a presser that contacts the upper end of the inclined bottle, a spring body that presses this presser from the upper end of the bottle toward the lower end, and a mouth that contacts the opening at the lower end of the bottle. It has a receiving part and a sliding body that supports the mouth receiving part in a rotating state, the lid is provided continuously to the said mouth receiving part, and the hole is across the reagent stick for urinalysis. The oscillating means is connected to the frame of the holder to oscillate the bottle through the holder, and the rotating means is the pressing means and the spring body that are in contact with the bottle through the bearing. It can be a rotating motor.

The lid may have a locking claw for locking the reagent stick for urinalysis taken out through the hole, and a return spring for supporting the locking claw so as to be able to retract and return. . A plurality of the holes can be provided in the circumferential direction of rotation. The mouth receiving portion has a cylindrical shape, and a female screw for receiving a male screw for screwing a bottle cap can be formed on the inner peripheral surface.

Alternatively, the mouthpiece portion may have an elastic material capable of preventing slippage with the bottle. The motor may have a motor shaft provided in series with the rotation shaft of the bottle.

[0012]

The container in which a large number of stick materials are stored is held by the holding means while being inclined. In this state, the container rotates while shaking. Since the container is slanted, each stick material receives a downward force along the slant due to gravity. However, most of the stick material is in contact with the inner surface of the lid. Further, the stick material located in the hole portion of the lid body also receives a frictional force with the surrounding stick material. However, since the frictional force disappears due to the vibration, it can be sent out through the hole. Further, the rotation increases the chance that a stick material among the many stick materials comes to a position that coincides with the hole. Therefore, by continuing to rotate while vibrating, the stick material passes through the holes one after another and is taken out.

When the stick material is a urinalysis reagent stick and the container is a bottle for carrying the urinalysis reagent stick and an opened one is used, the opening of the bottle is inclined so that it comes to the lower end. The upper end is brought into contact with the presser so that the spring body presses and holds it. In this state, the vibration means vibrates the bottle via the holder. Further, the motor, which is a rotating means, rotates the retainer and the spring body via the bearing, and thus rotates the bottle. By this rotation, as described above, one of the many urinalysis reagent sticks is located in the hole portion of the lid, and the vibration eliminates friction with the surrounding test reagent sticks, and It passes and is sent out.

The rotation may be carried out either by rotating the bottle on the axis of rotation of a bottle that holds only one bottle, or by rotating it around the axis of rotation of a bottle provided with a plurality of bottles. The same effect that the chance of a certain urinalysis reagent stick coming to a position matching the hole is increased. If a locking claw is provided, the urine test reagent stick taken out through the hole will lock on this locking claw, and the next step, for example, a robot chuck, will The operation step of grasping and transporting the reagent stick will be easily started.

By providing a plurality of holes in the circumferential direction of rotation of the lid, the probability that the urinalysis reagent stick will come to a position corresponding to the holes can be increased by a multiple of the number of the holes. When the mouthpiece has a male thread, the male thread of the bottle can be screwed to prevent slippage between the mouthpiece and the bottle. If the mouthpiece is made of an elastic material that can prevent the bottle from slipping, the bottle can be held by the device with one touch.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The stick material of this embodiment is a urine test reagent stick 1 (FIG. 1). A bottle 3 (FIG. 2) in which a predetermined number of the urinalysis reagent sticks 1 are stored and which is transported, delivered, and used is used as a container of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, a support base 9 is provided on the workbench 5 via a base rubber 7 for preventing vibration from being transmitted to the workbench 5. The tilt base 11 is rotatable with respect to the support base 9 around the tilt fulcrum 13. Ie tilt base 1
A screw type stopper 15 is attached to the other end of 1 through an arcuate slit 17. This stopper 15
The tilt base 11 can be fixed at a predetermined tilt position by screwing.

A vibrator 19 which is a vibration means is provided on the tilt base 11, and a frame 21 of the apparatus is attached via the vibrator 19. The frequency of the vibrator 19 is 6000 Hz / min.
When the stick material is the reagent stick for urinalysis as in this embodiment, the stick material is 2000 Hz / min to 8000 H.
A frequency of about z / min can be adopted as a practical one.

The frame 21 is provided as a main body of a holding means for holding the bottle 3, and has a substantially cylindrical mouth receiving portion 23 in contact with the opening portion at the lower end of the bottle 1 on the lower end side, and a mouth that rotates around an axis. The sliding body 25 supports the outer periphery of the receiving portion 23 with a small friction. The inner peripheral surface of the mouth receiving portion 23 has two steps, and the diameter of the rear side is increased to receive the bottle 3. The mouth receiving portion 23 is made of an elastic material that can prevent the bottle 3 from slipping. Also, bottle 3
A ring body 27 is provided to prevent slippage so that it does not fall out of the state in which it has been received.

A holder 28 for supporting the bottle 3 is provided at the center of the frame 21. A motor 29 is provided on the rear side of the frame 21, that is, on the upper end side. The motor gear 33 attached to the motor shaft 31 of the motor 29
Engages with a rotary gear 37 of a rotary shaft 35 provided in parallel with the motor shaft 31. The rotary gear 37 is provided coaxially with the shaft of the bottle 3 and supports the frame 3 with the bearing 3
Supported by 9. At the lower end of the rotary shaft 35, presser foot 4
1 is provided. The retainer 41 is made of a material having a large friction such as rubber and slides on the bottom 3A (upper end) of the bottle 3. This presser foot 41 is pressed from the upper end to the lower end of the bottle 3 by a spring 43 provided on the rotating shaft 35.

A lid 45 is provided at the lower end of the generally cylindrical mouth receiving portion 23. The lid 45 has a shape such that two discs 47 and 49 having different diameters are attached to each other (FIG. 4), and the disc 49 on the lower side has a larger diameter than the disc 47 on the upper side. Holes 51 are provided at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of rotation on the lower disk 49 having a large diameter (FIG. 5). The hole 51 has a rectangular shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the urine test reagent stick 1. The dimensions of this rectangular hole are
It is slightly larger than the cross-sectional shape of the urinalysis reagent stick 1 and is too small for two or more urinalysis reagent sticks to pass through. Hereinafter, the holes (length L, width T,
Figure 5) and an example of cross-sectional dimensions.

[0022]

[Table 1]

A mounting shaft 53 is provided on the lid 45 coaxially with the rotating shaft. A return spring 55 is attached to the mounting shaft 53.
The locking claw 57 is attached at right angles to the shaft via the.
The locking claws 57 are provided as many as the holes 51. The locking claw 57 is provided with a stopper that does not tilt toward the hole 51 from the state shown in the figure, and the return spring 55 is provided at the rear.
Can retreat against the urging force of. If the force for retracting is removed, the return spring 55 works to restore the original state.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
When taking out by the device of this embodiment, first, the stopper 15 is loosened and the inclined base 11 is returned to a substantially horizontal state. Then, the cap 3B of the bottle 3 is removed. Then, the bottle 3 from which the cap 3B has been removed is held by the device.
At the time of this holding, the presser foot 41 is retracted against the force of the spring 43, the opening 3C of the bottle 3 is firmly received by the mouth receiving portion 23, and the center of the bottle 3 is supported by the holder 28. The axis of the bottle 3 is aligned with the rotation axis 35. In this state, presser foot 41 is released from the hand and spring 43
It is pressed against the bottle 3 by the force of. Then, the tilt base 11 is rotated again, and the stopper 1 is rotated at a predetermined tilt angle θ.
Fix with 5. This inclination angle θ is determined by the size of the urinalysis reagent stick 1, the material of the bottle 3, and the vibrator 19
0 ° <θ <90
° can be adopted. Desirably 20 ° <θ <70 °
Is considered appropriate. Most, in this embodiment, it is 40 °.

After holding in this manner, the switch is turned on to rotate the bottle 3 by the motor 29, and the vibrator 19 vibrates. Due to this rotation, the urinalysis reagent stick 1 rotates together with the bottle 3, and at the same time, slips in the rotation direction on the inner wall of the bottle 3 and shifts with respect to the bottle 3. This shift is further accelerated by the vibration. Therefore, this rotation increases the chance that one of the many urine test reagent sticks 1 is located in the hole 51 portion of the lid 45. That is, if rotation is not performed, a state in which none of the urine test reagent sticks 1 match the plurality of holes 51 may continue. However, due to the rotation, as described above, the relative positional relationship between the urine reagent stick 1 and the bottle 3, and hence the hole 51, shifts, so that it often coincides with the hole 51. Then, due to the vibration, the urine test reagent stick 1 that coincides with the hole 51 has some friction with the surrounding urine test reagent stick 1 erased to some extent. As a result, gravity can cause the bottle 3 to move obliquely downward along the inclination. At this time, since the holes 51 have such a size that only one reagent stick 1 for urinalysis can pass therethrough, the reagent sticks 1 are sent out one by one through the holes 51. When this feeding is further advanced, the tip of the urine reagent stick 1 is locked by the locking claw 57.

In this way, the urine reagent sticks 1 taken out one by one from the bottle 3 which is still covered with the lid 45 without touching the hand of the operator are desirable.
It will be transported to the place where the inspection will be performed at a later stage using a robot. The steps that follow after using such a robot are:
Various things are possible. One example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

That is, the device of the embodiment starts the rotation and vibration of the bottle 3, and the sensor provided near the hole 51 of the device detects from which hole the reagent stick 1 for urinalysis is taken out. . Then, the rotation of the bottle 3 is continued from the hole to the nearest home position. When the urine reagent stick 1 reaches the fixed position, the rotation is stopped. Then, at the fixed position, the chucking operation is performed by the chuck 59 installed in the robot device different from the device of the embodiment. Next, the chucked urinalysis reagent stick 1 is transported to a predetermined place where an inspection is performed, and while the transportation is performed, the rotation of the apparatus of the embodiment is restarted, and one of the urine reagent sticks 1 is The removal is continued. Urinalysis reagent stick 1 is chuck 5
While being gripped by 9, it is transported to a predetermined place and immersed in a urine container to be inspected placed at a predetermined position. The stick exhibits a color reaction according to the concentrations of various diagnostic items in urine. The color is then measured and recorded by a given device and then placed in the tested location. Then chuck 59
Returns to the position of the apparatus of the example and chucks the newly taken out urine test reagent stick 1.

As described above, according to the apparatus of this embodiment,
This makes it possible to immediately and automatically perform the first step, which is usually performed by human hands, of taking out the urine test reagent stick from the bottle containing the urine test reagent stick sold as a product, immediately by the device. That is, it is possible to automatically and reliably take out the urine reagent sticks 1 one by one from the bottle 3 closed with the lid 45 although the hole is opened automatically without the aid of an inspector. Since the subsequent steps can be easily performed by various robots and the like, it becomes possible to realize the full automation of the urine test.

In the above embodiments, the locking claw 57 for temporarily locking the taken out urine reagent stick 1 is provided, but in the other embodiments, the robot transport is more effective than this removal operation. If the operation is faster, the locking claw 57 does not necessarily have to be provided. Further, although a plurality of holes 51 are provided in the above embodiments, the number of holes 51 may be one in other embodiments.

In the above embodiments, the mouthpiece 23 is made of an elastic material to prevent slippage with the bottle 3. However, in other embodiments, the male part formed in the opening 3C of the bottle 3 is used. A female screw for receiving a screw may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the mouth receiving portion 23. That is, there is a bottle 3 of the reagent stick for urinalysis which is provided with a cap 3B (see FIG. 2) by a screw.
Using the male screw 3D for screwing with B, this male screw 3
If D is screwed into the female screw of the mouthpiece 23, it becomes possible to completely prevent the bottle 3 and the mouthpiece 23 from slipping.

In the above embodiment, the motor 29 has the rotating shaft 35.
However, in other embodiments, they can be provided in series (FIG. 7). Further, in the above embodiments, the motor 29 rotates the upper end (rear) side of the bottle 3, but in other embodiments, it may rotate the lower end (front) side of the bottle 3. Good. That is, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a rotary gear 37 is provided around the mouth receiving portion 23 and meshes with the motor gear 33 on the motor 29 side. The mouth receiving portion 23 has elasticity and strength sufficient to hold the bottle 3 firmly by firmly inserting it. In this way, the bottle 3 is simply put into the mouthpiece 2
It can be easily held by inserting it in 3.

In the above embodiment, the number of bottles 3 held by the apparatus is one, but in the other embodiments, it is possible to hold a plurality of bottles. That is, as many springs 4 as the number of bottles 3 are attached to the rotating shaft 35.
3 and the presser foot 41 are provided in parallel. A plurality of mouth receiving portions 23 are also provided in parallel with the sliding member 25. In the state of being provided in parallel, it is desirable to provide them at equal intervals on the circumference around the rotation axis. By doing so, it becomes possible to hold a large number of bottles 3 at a time and take out a larger number of urinalysis reagent sticks 1 one by one continuously. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the frequency of having to stop the device in order to newly hold the bottle 3.

Further, in the above embodiments, the stick material is described as the urinalysis reagent stick 1. However, the stick material is not limited to the urinalysis reagent stick, and one stick material is stored in a container containing a large number of stick materials. The present invention can be carried out in the fields in which it is necessary to take out each one. At that time, the angle of inclination, the frequency of the vibration,
The rotation speed and the like can be easily determined by determining the shape and material of the stick material, the material of the inner wall of the container, and the like at any time.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the stick material take-out device according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the chance that one stick material, which is to be rotated, comes to the hole portion and to vibrate. It is possible to reduce the frictional force that the stick material receives from the surrounding stick material, and to direct gravity downwardly by the inclination, and to send the stick material out of the hole one by one and take it out.

When the stick material is a reagent stick for urinalysis, the urinalysis can be performed while the small hole is opened but the inside of the container covered with the lid is maintained. Since the reagent stick can be prevented from getting wet due to the humidity of the surrounding air and can be taken out without touching the hands of the inspector, an accurate inspection can be expected.

Further, by using the bottle of the reagent stick for urinalysis as the container, it is not necessary to transfer it from the bottle to the container provided in the apparatus, and the work involved in taking out becomes easy. In addition, by holding a plurality of bottles, it is possible to continuously take out a large number of urine test reagent sticks one by one without moistening them. Further, by providing the locking claws, the connection with the next step, for example, the operation step such as grasping and transporting one of the urine test reagent sticks by the robot is facilitated.

Further, by providing a plurality of holes, it is possible to further increase the probability that one urine test reagent stick will come to a position that coincides with the holes, and to facilitate the taking-out work. Further, by forming the female screw in the mouth receiving portion, the female screw of the bottle can be screwed and the slip between the mouth receiving portion and the bottle can be completely prevented. In addition, since the mouthpiece is made of an elastic material, it becomes easy to hold the bottle in the device with one touch.

Further, the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced by providing the motor in series with the rotary shaft. Further, from the viewpoint of the entire inspection process of urinalysis, it is desirable that all the inspection processes are automated and that the inspector does not touch the reagent stick for urinalysis in order to save labor and ensure the accuracy of the inspection. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention realizes automation of the first step of all the inspection steps of taking out the urine test reagent stick from the bottle containing the urine test reagent stick.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a urinalysis reagent stick that is a stick material taken out in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bottle that is a container that stores the reagent stick for urinalysis shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an overall side view of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the tip portion of FIG.

5 is a front view of the main part of FIG. 4 as viewed from the axial direction.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the rear end of the device showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of an essential part showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a front view of the main part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Reagent stick for urinalysis 1B Reagent 3 Bottle 3B Cap 5 Examination table 7 Base rubber 9 Support base 11 Inclined base 15 Stopper 17 Slit 19 Vibrator (vibrating means) 21 Frame 23 Mouth receiving part 25 Sliding material 28 Holder 29 Motor 31 Motor shaft 33 Motor Gear 35 Rotating Shaft 37 Rotating Gear 41 Presser 43 Spring 39 Bearing 45 Lid 51 Hole 53 Mounting Axis 55 Return Spring 57 Locking Claw 59 Robot Chuck

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hajime Tasaki 1-50-50 Suwa, Tama-shi, Tokyo 8 Nikki Measurement Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Keiji Takahashi 1-9-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Miles ・Sankyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A holding means for tilting and holding a container containing a large number of stick materials, a lid located at the lower end of the tilted container, and one stick material formed on the lid and passing through the stick material. A stick material take-out device comprising: a hole having a possible size; a vibrating means for vibrating the container; and a rotating means for rotating the container around an axis of rotation perpendicular to the lid. 2. The stick material removing device according to claim 1, wherein the stick material is a urine test reagent stick in which a urine test reagent is mounted on a thin plastic plate. 3. The stick material take-out device according to claim 2, wherein the container is a bottle for carrying a reagent stick for urinalysis and opened. 4. The stick material take-out device according to claim 3, wherein one bottle is held, and a rotation axis thereof coincides with an axis of the bottle. 5. The stick material take-out device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of bottles are held, and axes of the bottles are provided in parallel with each other about a rotation axis. 6. The holding means comprises: a presser that contacts the upper end of the inclined bottle; a spring body that presses the presser from the upper end of the bottle toward the lower end; a mouth receiving part that contacts the opening at the lower end of the bottle; And a slide body that supports the oral support portion in the state, the lid body is provided continuously to the oral support portion, and the hole corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the reagent stick for urinalysis. The vibration means has a rectangular shape, and the vibration means is connected to the frame of the holding body to vibrate the bottle through the holding body, and the rotating means is a motor that rotates the retainer and the spring body in contact with the bottle through the bearing. The stick material removing device according to claim 4. 7. The lid has a locking claw for locking the urinalysis reagent stick taken out through the hole, and a return spring for supporting the locking claw so as to be able to retract and return. Stick material removal device. 8. The stick material take-out device according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of holes are provided in a circumferential direction of rotation. 9. The stick material take-out device according to claim 6, wherein the mouth-receiving portion has a cylindrical shape, and has a female screw for receiving a male screw for screwing a cap of the bottle formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. 10. The stick material take-out device according to claim 6, wherein the mouthpiece has an elastic material capable of preventing slippage with the bottle.