JPH03107686A - fluid conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the carrying of a liquid to prevent the mixing of various bacteria by providing a rotary change valve, a support part for fixing the valve removably and attachably in the state where a handle is rotatable, and a rotation driving part for rotating the handle at a determined angle. CONSTITUTION:A liquid carrying device is formed of a threedirectional active plug 2, and a rotation driving part for positioning the active plug 2 and rotating a handle 10. A support part is formed of a support plate 24 for supporting the branched pipe 8 of the active stopper 2 and the handle 10 in scheduled positions, and a stopper 32 capable of sliding along a shaft 28 to press and fix the active plug 2 onto the support plate 24, energized in the support plate 24 direction by a spring 30, and rotatable around the shaft 28. The base end part of the shaft 28 is fixed to the support plate 24, a flange stop ring 29 is formed on its top end, and a spring 30 is received between the bottom surface of the hole of the stopper 32 and the stop ring 29 in the compressed state. The center part of the active plug 2 is fitted to the recessed part 32a of the stopper, whereby the active plug 2 and the stopper 32 are positioned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a transport device that can automatically control the transport of liquids and gases.

The fluid conveyance device of the present invention can be used as a fluid conveyance device that must be operated while preventing the contamination of germs, for example, in automatic synthesis equipment in research facilities and manufacturing facilities in fields such as pharmaceuticals and microbial engineering, or for artificial dialysis. It is suitable for use as a fluid conveyance device for automation of equipment such as equipment and remote control when handling radioactive materials.

(Prior Art) Solenoid valves are generally used to control the transport of liquids and gases in automatic synthesis devices for chemicals, drugs, and the like.

However, for example, in automatic pharmaceutical synthesis equipment, bacteria and toxic substances must not be mixed in, but with solenoid valves, it is difficult to control bacteria and toxic substances in the parts that come in contact with liquid or gas. This is true not only in the field of pharmaceuticals but also in the field of microbial engineering, and electromagnetic valves cannot be used in fluid conveyance devices that must prevent contamination by germs and the like.

Therefore, in order to guarantee sterility, devices are already in use that control the transport of liquids and gases by pinching disposable tubes that have been sterilized and subjected to various tests with pinch valves.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) If the tube is pinched by the pinch valve for a long time, the tube may become crushed or adhere to each other, making it impossible to convey fluid as desired. There are no tubes on the market that have been sterilized and do not have problems such as adhesions, so if you want to solve problems such as adhesions, the user will have to carry out their own sterilization process. The operation becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid conveyance device that can automatically control the conveyance of liquid or gas without contamination with germs, has low running costs, and can eliminate malfunctions. be.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes a rotary switching valve whose flow path is switched by rotating a handle, and a support member that removably fixes the switching valve at a predetermined position while the handle is rotatable. and,
A fluid conveying device includes a member for positioning the switching valve and a rotation drive unit having a member for holding the handle and rotating the handle by a predetermined angle.

(Function) The switching valve is fixed to the support part in a sterilized state, and a sterilized tube is connected to each flow path of the switching valve. The transfer of liquid and gas is controlled by rotating the handle of the switching valve using a rotary drive unit.

When the switching valve is fixed by the support and combined with the single-rotation drive unit, the relative position of the switching valve and the rotation drive unit is fixed by the positioning member of the rotation drive unit, and the switching valve is fixed in an accurate position. This will eliminate malfunctions.

The switching valve and tube can be replaced every time a process such as synthesis is performed.

(Example) FIG. 3 shows an example of a three-way stopcock used as a rotary switching valve. The three-way stopcock 2 has three branch pipes 4, 6.8
and a handle 10 for switching the connection of the flow path between the branch pipes 4 and 6.8, and tubes 1.8 and 20.22 are connected to the branch pipes 4 and 6°8 by joints 12 and 14.16, respectively. ing.

By rotating the handle 10, the flow path is switched from branch pipe 4 to branch pipe 6, or from branch pipe 4 to branch pipe 8.

The three-way stopcock 2 and the tubes 18, 20, and 22 are both disposable and have been sterilized and are non-toxic and sterile.
It is commercially available after being tested for pyrogenic substances.

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a fluid transport device.

t1 consists of a three-way stopcock 2 that is a switching valve, a support part that removably fixes the three-way stopcock 2, and a rotation drive part that positions the three-way stopcock 2 and rotates the handle 10.

The three-way stopcock 2 is shown in FIG. The support part includes a support plate 24 that supports the branch pipe of the three-way stopcock 2 (only the branch pipe 8 is shown in FIG. 1) and the handle 10 in the predetermined position, and the three-way stopcock 2 is pressed against the support plate 24 and fixed. The stopper 32 is slidable along the shaft 28 so as to be biased toward the support plate 24 by a spring 30, and is rotatable around the shaft 28. The base end of the shaft 28 is connected to the support plate 2.
4 with a screw or the like, and a flange-like stop link 29 is formed at the tip, and the spring 30 is stored in a compressed state between the bottom of the hole in the stopper 32 and the stop ring 29.

The stopper 32 has a recess 32a that is slightly larger than the outer shape of the center of the three-way stopcock 2.

The center portion of the three-way stopcock 2 is fitted into the recess 32a.

When the three-way stopcock 2 is mounted on the support plate 24 and fixed by the stopper 32 through the recess 32a, the three-way stopcock 2 and the stopper 32 are positioned by the recess 32a.

Support plate 24 is shown in more detail in FIG.

(A) is a plan view, and (B) is a sectional view taken along line A-B in (A).

A central portion 34 of the support plate 24 is raised outward, and a hole 36 into which the handle 10 of the three-way stopcock 2 is inserted is provided in the central portion.
A groove 38.4.0 is formed to support two of the three branch pipes.

Returning to FIG. 1, in the rotary drive unit, a rotating plate 46 is attached to the tip of a rotating shaft 44 of a motor 42, which is an example of a rotating means.
A convex portion 46a having a tapered tip is provided on the central axis 5 of the two-rotation plate 46. On the other hand, a concave portion 10a exists at the center of rotation of the handle 10 of the three-way stopcock, and when the three-way stopcock 2 is mounted on the support plate 24 and fixed with the stopper 32, the convex portion 46a of the rotating plate 46
The rotary plate 46 and the three-way stopcock 2 are positioned by fitting into the recess 10a.

A holding member 48 that holds the handle 10 of the three-way stopcock 2 supported by the support plate 24 is provided on a part of the periphery of the rotary plate 46 . The holding member 48 grips and holds the handle 10. Motor 42 is a DC motor.

When the three-way stopcock 2 is installed as shown in FIG. 1, the center of rotation of the rotating plate 46, the center of the convex portion 46a, and the center of rotation of the handle 10 of the three-way stopcock 2 coincide.

In order to control the rotation angle of the rotary plate 46, a protrusion 50 is provided on a part of the periphery of the rotary plate 46, and a position detector 52 such as a photointerrupter for detecting the protrusion 50 is provided. Although not included, a circuit is provided that rotates the motor 42 in the forward or reverse direction based on the output signal of the position detector 52, and stops the motor 42 at a desired position.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

To fix the three-way stopcock 2, rotate the stopper 32, align the handle 10 of the three-way stopcock 2 with the central branch pipe 8 of the three branch pipes, and then move the handle 10 onto the rotary plate 4.
After inserting the stopper 32 into the hole 36 of the support plate 24 so that it is on the 6 side, the stopper 32 is rotated while being pulled against the spring 3o to return to the state shown in FIG. 1 and released. Each branch pipe 4, 6 of three-way stopcock 2
．． 8, tubes 18, 2C) by joints 12, 14, 16 before or after attachment to this conveying device.

22 are connected.

In this state, in order to form a desired flow path with the three-way stopcock 2, the handle 10 is rotated by a predetermined angle by the rotation driving unit.

When the three-way stopcock 2 is installed, the four parts 1 of the handle 10
The convex part 46a of the rotary plate 46 fits into the 0a, the center part of the three-way stopcock 2 fits into the recess 32a of the stopper 32, and the 2
Since the main branch pipe is supported and positioned in the grooves 38, 40, movement of the three-way stopcock 2 by the action of rotating the handle 10 by means of the rotary plate 46 can be reduced. If the rotation of the handle 10 occurs immediately, as shown in Fig. 4 (B)
If the three-way stopcock 2 is largely displaced as shown in the figure, it may cause malfunction. However, in this example, Fig. 4 (
As shown in A, ), the three-way stopcock 2 is fixed in a predetermined position and does not displace even when the handle is operated.

When replacing the three-way stopcock 2, the stopper 32 is rotated to remove the installed three-way stopcock 2, and then a new three-way stopcock is installed.

Although the DC motor 42 is used as the driving means in FIG. 1, the inspection means is not limited to the DC motor.

For example, a pulse motor or an air actuator can also be used. If a pulse motor or an air actuator is used, the rotary plate 4G can be rotated by a certain angle, and in that case, the position detector 52 for detecting the angle of the rotary plate 46 becomes unnecessary.

In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the support part and rotational drive part of the three-way stopcock 2, which is a switching valve, are integrated, but as shown in FIG. 5, the support part 6o and the rotational drive part 62 are separated. death,
It can also be made detachable. In this case, the switching valve is detachably attached to the support portion 60.

It is also possible to make various other modifications to the embodiment.

For example, the shapes of the support plate 24 and the stopper 32, the shape of the handle holding member 48, etc. are not limited to those of the embodiment, and the design can be easily changed so as to perform the same functions.

Even if the position detector 52 is provided, it is not limited to the one shown in FIG. It may be magnetic or mechanical. Furthermore, the rotary switching valve is not limited to a three-way stopcock, and may be of other types.

The inspection means for rotating the handle is not limited to the motor and air actuator mentioned in the embodiments, but may be other means.

(Effects of the Invention) In the fluid transfer device of the present invention, a tube that has also been sterilized is connected to a rotary switching valve that has been sterilized, and the rotary switching valve is automatically controlled. This makes it easy to replace parts in contact with liquid or gas, and commercially available disposable two-turn switching valves and tubes can be used without the risk of contamination with bacteria. There is also the advantage of lower running costs.

Furthermore, the rotation drive unit that rotates the handle of the switching valve includes not only a member for holding the handle but also a member for positioning the switching valve.

This prevents the switching valve from being displaced by the action of rotating the handle, thereby preventing malfunction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a support plate in the same embodiment, (A) is a plan view, (B) is a sectional view taken along the line A-B, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a three-way stopcock used in one embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state of the three-way stopcock during operation, (A) is a normal state, (B
) is a tilted state, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment. 2...3-way stopcock, 4,6,8...branch pipe, 10...handle, loa...handle recess, 24... Support plate, 32...
Stopper, 32a...Concavity of stopper, 4
2... Motor, 46... Rotating plate, 46
a...Convex portion of rotating plate, 48...Handle holding member, 52...Position detector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A rotary switching valve whose flow path is switched by rotating a handle, a support member that removably fixes the switching valve at a predetermined position while the handle is rotatable, a member that positions the switching valve, and A fluid conveyance device comprising: a rotation drive unit that has a member that holds the handle and rotates the handle by a predetermined angle.