JPH0112207Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically feeding microplates for, for example, clinical testing.

Conventionally, such a device is known to have a mechanism in which the stacker itself is moved up and down, and claws provided at the bottom of the stacker are opened left and right to drop microplates one by one. However, this device not only has a complicated mechanism, but also has various problems, such as feeding errors caused by the spring pressure of the claws, and the filling material sometimes flying out when the microplate falls.

As a result of various studies to solve these problems, the inventors of the present invention found that the stacker itself was fixed and a new push-up member was installed, and by moving this member up and down, the microplate was removed. We developed a device that inserts a support plate into the bottom of the plate and gradually lowers it to the locking position.We discovered that this device completely solved all of the problems mentioned above, and based on this we completed the present invention. This is what I did. In this invention, when a tray is pulled out from the bottom of the stack, the tray immediately above the tray to be pulled out is held from the left and right, and a support member is inserted into the bottom of the tray, and the stack of remaining trays is gradually moved to the locking position. The main feature is that it lowers.

That is, the present invention includes a frame body that accommodates a tray stack, a claw that locks and holds the tray at the bottom of the stack, and a claw that pushes up the tray stack from the bottom surface and presses the claw at that time. A push-up member that releases the engagement of the tray, a lever that interlocks with the claw, a tray holding member that moves left and right by the lever to attach and detach the tray, a mechanism that moves the push-up member up and down, and a mechanism that holds the tray. The present invention relates to a tray feeding device characterized by having a mechanism for inserting a support member into the lower part of the tray held by the member and gradually lowering the stack of trays together with the support member.

Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be explained with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the lower part of a frame for accommodating tray stacks of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the right side of the apparatus. In this embodiment, a square tube made of aluminum is used as the frame 1 for accommodating the stacked trays, with the front surface of the tube cut largely from top to bottom. Then, in order to prevent the distance of the open part 2 from widening due to the tray pressing by the tray holding member, the other end of the latch 3, which is swingably fixed at one end, is hooked onto the screw 4 to close the open part. Fixed. Reference numeral 5 denotes a part where a member for fixing the frame to the main body of the apparatus is attached to the back surface. A large window (not shown) on the left side of this frame allows you to see the stacked trays.
is drilled. It is sufficient that this frame can hold the tray stack and smoothly move the stack downward, so it is not limited to the shape of the embodiment, but can take various shapes that satisfy these conditions. be able to.

At the lower end of the frame 1, there are four claw holding plates 6a, 6b,
7a and 7b are screwed, and claw plates 8 and 9 are swingably fixed to the lower part thereof with pins 10a, 10b, 11a and 11b. This claw plate has the function of locking and holding the tray stack on its upper surfaces 12 and 13, and the function of moving until the engagement between the claw and the tray is released by being pushed by a push-up plate 20, which will be described later. A function of returning to the original position as it descends is required. The swinging lower end of the claw plate of the embodiment is restricted by the stopper pins 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b hitting the outer surfaces of the lower parts 16, 17 of the frame, thereby preventing the stack of trays from moving. It exhibits the function of locking and retaining. On the other hand, the rotating upper end has a stopper pin 18a,
18b, 19a, and 19b. Then, as the push-up plate 20 rises to a predetermined position, the engagement between the claw plate and the tray is released, and as the push-up plate descends, it rotates under its own weight and returns to its original position. . This claw plate may be of a type that slides from side to side instead of rotating as in the embodiment, but in that case, the claw plate may be moved from the frame
It is necessary to install a spring that pushes toward the center of the When comparing the two, the rotating method is superior in terms of reliability of supply.

In the device shown in the drawings, a substantially rectangular plate 20 is used as the tray push-up plate member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of this push-up plate. Reference numeral 21 is a projection for pushing up the claw, and reference numeral 22 is a pin with a spring inserted at the bottom that acts as a buffer when the tray falls. It goes without saying that this push-up member is not limited to the examples, as long as it has the function of pushing up the tray stack from the bottom and pushing the claw to release the engagement between the claw and the tray. .

In the device of the present invention, when the claw is pressed, the tray holding member connected via the levers 23 and 24 moves forward to press and hold the tray.
In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the claw plate 8 has a push-up protrusion 21.
The shoulder 25 of the pawl plate pushes the roller 26 attached to one end of the lever 23 backward, and the tray pushing member attached to the other end of the lever via the supports 27a and 27b pushed forward. In this tray pushing member, a rubber plate 29 is attached to the front surface of a pushing plate 28. Reference numeral 30 denotes a leaf spring, which corrects the left and right deviation of the push plate and brings it into close contact with the tray. Reference numeral 31 denotes an L-shaped block that holds a tray holding member, and pillars 27a and 27b slidably pass through the holes thereof.
32 and 33 are cover plates.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an example of the push-up device, and FIG. 5 is a right side view thereof. The push-up plate portion and the portion to the right of the push-up shaft 39 in FIG. 4 are shown in cross-section. In this push-up device, a crank plate 35 is rotated by the drive of a motor 34, and the power is further transmitted to a connecting rod 37 via a crank pin 36, which causes a push-up shaft 39 to move as a piston through a bar 38. The push-up plate 20 is moved up and down. 40 is a roller, and 41 and 42 are limit switches that stop the push-up plate at the top and bottom points. The top of the push-up plate must be kept at a point where the push-up plate does not come off the claw plate.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an example of an apparatus for inserting a support member into the lower part of the tray held by the tray holding member and gradually lowering the stack of trays together with the support member, and FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof. As shown in the figure. In this device, a tray support plate 44 is moved in and out and raised and lowered by the drive of a motor 43.The mechanism is such that a crank plate 45 is rotated by the drive of the motor, and a roller 46 attached to one end of the crank plate 45 is rotated by the drive of the motor.
As the cam plate 47 moves in the groove, a support plate attached to one end of the cam plate moves back and forth. The reason why the left side of the cam plate is wide in the drawing is to prevent the support plate from returning from the time the support plate comes out until the tray stack is held. 48 and 49 are guide rods on which the cam plate slides. On the other hand, as the clamp plate rotates, the cylindrical cam plate 50 attached below pushes down the guide roller 51. 52
is a pedestal for the support plate portion, and a sleeve 53 is screwed to the lower part of the pedestal. This sleeve slides on the motor support 54, is constantly pushed up by the action of a spring 55, and is held down by a stopper plate 56.

Next, the operational relationship of this apparatus will be explained. First, samples and other fillers are filled into each tray as necessary, and then the trays are stacked on the frame 1. Next, when the activation button of the push-up device is pressed, the motor 34 is activated and the push-up plate 20 is raised, and the push-up protrusion 21 hits the claw plates 8 and 9, rotating the claw plates and pushing the tray downward. It continues to rise while pushing up the entire stack of trays, and when the engagement between the claw plate and the tray is released, the push-up plate reaches the top with the push-up protrusion pushing the claw plate open. The limit switch 42 is activated and temporarily stopped when it is slightly lowered from that position. As the push-up plate moves upward, the claw plate rotates, causing the tray holding member to come forward, and its rubber plate 29 presses the sides of the second tray from the bottom from both sides to hold the tray. leading to. Then, the lowest tray that is disengaged from the claw plate rides on the push-up plate and descends as the push-up plate descends. That is, in the stopped state, there is a gap between the lowest tray and the stack of trays above it.
Therefore, the motor 43 operates and the crank plate 45
When the tray support plate is rotated 180 degrees clockwise and the tray support plate is projected to the frontmost part, the limit switch 57 is activated and the tray support plate is stopped. Next, the push-up plate 20 is lowered with the tray placed thereon, and the tray is transferred by the transfer mechanism. On the other hand, as the push-up plate descends, the tray holding member retreats and the tray stack is held on the tray support plate. As the push-up plate descends or after the downward movement is completed, the motor 43 is activated, and the crank plate 45 makes another half turn to return to its original position, during which time the tray support plate is lowered by the action of the cylindrical cam 50. Then, the tray stack is rotated to its original position and placed on the waiting claw plate. Then, the rollers 46 hit the cam plate 47 to move the tray support plate backward, and after the tip of the tray is behind the stack of trays, the tray is raised by the action of the cylindrical cam, and the tray support plate retreats to the rearmost position. Stop at that point.

The tray used in the device of the present invention is not particularly limited, but relatively small-scale trays are preferable, such as those for automatic analyzers, microplates for agar media, and other measuring instruments in various medical or chemical fields. Examples include trays. A cross-sectional view of an example of the tray is shown in No. 8.
and a perspective view is shown in FIG. 9, respectively.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing an outline of an automatic mixing and diluting device for serum, etc. as an example of a device using the tray feeding device of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a right side view. In this device, the tray feeding device is mounted on the right side. The microplate shown in Fig. 9 is used as the tray. For example, a serum sample is placed in one row of holes on the left end, and a diluent is placed in fixed amounts in the other rows of holes. The microplates are stacked on the frame 1 of the supply device and turned on. When the start button on the board 58 is pressed, the push-up device of the feeding device and then the tray support plate drive device installed behind it 59 operate in sequence to release one microplate.
The microplate is placed on the carrier plate 60 as the pusher plate holding the microplate descends and passes through the central hole in the carrier plate 60. Next, the carrier plate moves to the left and repeats movement and stopping according to the operation predetermined by the switch on the switch board 61, during which time the carrier plate moves to the left.
2 is activated to mix the liquid in each hole, maintain a constant liquid volume, and move on to the next hole. By repeating this operation, a series of sample liquids with different dilution ratios of the serum sample are prepared, and then the left end is reached. . Then, the push-up device 63, which has the same configuration as the supply device, is activated, and the push-up plate passes through the hole from under the carrier plate, holds the microplate, and rises.
4 and stacked. 65 and 66 are stopper plates of the carrier plate, and 67 and 6 are stopper plates of the carrier plate.
8 is an endless chain sprocket wheel that moves the carrier plate. Further, 69 is a sensor that stops the carrier plate at a predetermined position.
70 is a tank for washing water of the direuter.

The device of the present invention is excellent in that even if the tray is relatively heavy, the tray filling does not fly out and the tray is reliably fed, and it is easy to manufacture.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the lower part of a frame for accommodating tray stacks of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the right side of the apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of the push-up plate. FIG. 4 is a front view of an example of the push-up device, and FIG. 5 is a right side view thereof. FIG. 6 is a front view of an example of a device for gradually lowering a stack of trays, and FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof. FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an example of the tray, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view. FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing an automatic mixing and diluting device using the tray feeding device of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a right side view. 1...Frame body, 8, 9...Claw plate, 14b, 14
b, 15a, 15b...stopper pin, 20...
...Push-up plate, 21...Push-up protrusion, 23, 24
... Lever, 28 ... Push plate, 34 ... Motor, 35 ... Crank plate, 37 ... Connecting rod, 39
...Push-up shaft, 43...Motor, 44...
...Tray support plate, 45...Crank plate, 46...
Roller, 47...cam plate, 50...cylindrical cam plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A frame for accommodating a stack of trays, a claw for locking and holding the tray at the bottom of the stack, and a claw for pushing up the stack of trays from the lower surface thereof and pressing the claw at the time to engage the claw and the tray. a push-up member for releasing;
A lever interlocking with the claw, a tray holding member that moves left and right by the lever to attach and detach the tray, a mechanism that moves the push-up member up and down, and a lower part of the tray held by the tray holding member. 1. A tray feeding device comprising a mechanism for inserting a support member and gradually lowering the stack of trays together with the support member.