Conveyance device

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the maximum movement distance required for a rack conveyance mechanism to convey a rack to a target position, and thus reduce the area occupied by the rack conveyance mechanism inside a device. A conveyance device according to the present invention comprises a rack conveyance mechanism which moves a rack, wherein the rack conveyance mechanism comprises protruding objects which push the rack forward, and said protruding objects include at least a first protruding object, a second protruding object, and a third protruding object (see fig. 1A).

Description

Conveyor

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting containers placed on a rack.

[0002] When transporting containers containing samples within an analyzer, the containers are placed on a rack, and the rack is moved by a transport mechanism to transport the containers to the desired position. Such a transport device is sometimes called a rack transport mechanism or rack transport device.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a rack transport device that uses protrusions protruding from the side walls of a transport path. The document 1 describes the following technology: "The sample rack 2 is transported along the transport path 12 by using a protrusion 91 protruding from the side wall 20 of the transport path 12 to push the sample rack 2 from behind in the transport direction. The sample rack 2 is transported from the transport path 12 to the sample rack discharge unit 13 by using a plate-shaped protrusion 102 to push the sample rack 2 from behind in the transport direction. The sample rack 2 is transported into the transport path 12 by using two protrusions 33 to push the sample rack 2 from behind in the transport direction." (See Abstract).

[0004] JP 2008-020194 A

[0005] Patent Document 1 describes a mechanism for transporting racks in a fixed direction using a single protrusion. The protrusion must move from the start position of the rack's transport to the end position, and a rail of a length corresponding to the transport distance must be provided to support the movement of the protrusion. Therefore, the rack transport mechanism occupies a large area within the device.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to reduce the maximum travel distance of the rack transport mechanism required to transport a rack to a target position and to reduce the area occupied by the rack transport mechanism within the device.

[0007] The conveying device of the present invention is equipped with a rack conveying mechanism that moves a rack, and the rack conveying mechanism is equipped with protrusions that push out the rack, and the protrusions include at least a first protrusion, a second protrusion, and a third protrusion.

[0008] According to the transport device of the present invention, the maximum travel distance of the rack transport mechanism required to transport a rack to a target position can be reduced, and the area occupied by the rack transport mechanism within the device can be reduced.

[0009] 1 is a top view of a transport device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of a transport device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a top view of a transport device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a top view showing protrusions and elastic materials 21 included in a rack transport mechanism 1. FIG. 5 is a top view explaining the length of the rail 5. FIG. 6 is a top view explaining the length of the rail 5. FIG. 7 is a top view explaining the length of the rail 5. FIG. 8 is a top view showing a case where the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. FIG. 9 is a top view showing a case where the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. FIG. 10 is a top view showing a case where the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. FIG. 11 is a top view showing a case where the distance between the first protrusion 2A and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. FIG. 12 is a top view showing a case where the distance between the first protrusion 2A and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. FIG. 13 is a top view showing a case where the distance between the first protrusion 2A and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conveying device according to a second embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a stopper component 8. Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the distance between a second protrusion 2C and a third protrusion 2B. Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the distance between a second protrusion 2C and a third protrusion 2B.

[0010] 1A to 1C are top views of a transport device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The transport device includes a rack transport mechanism 1. The rack transport mechanism 1 has a first protrusion 2A, a second protrusion 2C, and a third protrusion 2B, each of which pushes a rack 3 from behind in the transport direction. The transport device further includes rails 5 that are provided along a transport line 4, which serves as a transport path for the rack 3, and that support the movement of the rack transport mechanism 1.

[0011] When the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the transport direction (to the left in the drawing) with the end face of the first protrusion 2A in contact with the end face of the rack 3 (the state shown in FIG. 1A), the rack 3 is pushed by the first protrusion and transported. After the rack 3 has been transported, the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction (to the right in the drawing), allowing the end face of the third protrusion 2B to come into contact with the end face of the rack 3. The end face of the protrusion refers to the surface that is in contact with the right side of the rack 3 in the drawing.

[0012] When the end face of the third protrusion 2B and the end face of the rack 3 are in contact with each other (the state shown in FIG. 1B ), the rack transport mechanism 1 moves again in the transport direction, causing the rack 3 to be pushed by the third protrusion 2B and transported. After the rack 3 has been transported, the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction, allowing the end face of the second protrusion 2C and the end face of the rack 3 to come into contact with each other. When the end face of the second protrusion 2C and the end face of the rack 3 are in contact with each other (the state shown in FIG. 1C ), the rack transport mechanism 1 moves again in the transport direction, causing the rack 3 to be pushed by the second protrusion 2C and transported.

[0013] 2 is a top view showing the protrusion and elastic member 21 provided on the rack transport mechanism 1. The protrusion can rotate around a rotation axis that is normal to the installation surface of the rack transport mechanism 1. However, it is configured so that it cannot rotate further clockwise from the position during rack transport (the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2) as a reference. Therefore, the protrusion can push in the rack 3 without rotating during rack transport.

[0014] When the right side of the protrusion in Figure 2 comes into contact with the rack 3, the protrusion rotates counterclockwise and folds toward the rack transport mechanism. For example, after the first protrusion 2A pushes the rack 3 to the position in Figure 1B, the third protrusion 2B rotates counterclockwise and folds as the rack transport mechanism 1 returns to its original position. The same is true for the second protrusion 2C. This prevents the rack 3 from being transported in the opposite direction to the transport direction when the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction. The protrusion is provided with an elastic material 21, and after the protrusion is pushed in and folded by the rack 3 (i.e., after rotating counterclockwise), the force of the elastic material 21 causes the protrusion to rotate clockwise and return to the reference position (the dotted line position in Figure 2).

[0015] 3A to 3C are top views illustrating the length of the rail 5. The length of the rail 5 corresponds to the maximum movement range of the rack transport mechanism 1. The distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is shorter than the length of the rail 5. After the first protrusion 2A transports the rack 3 to the left end (FIG. 3B), the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction. At this time, the rack transport mechanism 1 can move toward the right, a distance greater than the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B. Therefore, when the rack transport mechanism 1 moves to the right end again, the left end face of the third protrusion 2B can move further to the right than the right end face of the rack 3 (FIG. 3C). In other words, the left end face of the third protrusion 2B and the right end face of the rack 3 can come into contact again.

[0016] 4A to 4C are top views showing a case where the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. These figures are intended to illustrate a problem caused by an insufficient length of the rail 5. In this case, after the first protrusion 2A transports the rack 3 (FIGS. 4A to 4B), when the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction, the rack transport mechanism 1 cannot move the left end face of the third protrusion 2B further to the right than the right end face of the rack 3. As a result, the third protrusion 2B is pushed in and folded by the rack 3, preventing the left end face of the third protrusion 2B from coming into contact with the right end face of the rack 3 (FIG. 4C). In other words, the third protrusion 2B cannot be used to transport the rack 3. Therefore, it is desirable that the length of the rail 5 be longer than the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B.

[0017] 5A to 5C are top views showing a case where the distance between the first protrusion 2A and the third protrusion 2B is longer than the length of the rail 5. In this case, after the first protrusion 1A transports the rack 3 (FIG. 5B), when the rack transport mechanism 1 moves in the opposite direction to the transport direction, the rack transport mechanism 1 cannot move the left end face of the third protrusion 2B further to the right than the right end face of the rack 3. In this case, the third protrusion 2B is pushed in and folded by the rack 3, preventing the left end face of the third protrusion 2B from coming into contact with the right end face of the rack 3 (FIG. 5C). In other words, the third protrusion 2B cannot be used to transport the rack 3. Therefore, it is desirable that the length of the rail 5 be longer than the distance between the first protrusion 2A and the third protrusion 2B.

[0018] In the above description, the distance between the protrusions can be defined as the horizontal distance between the left end faces of the protrusions, for example. The dotted arrows in Figure 4A are an example of this. The same applies to the following description.

[0019] <Summary of First Embodiment> In the transport device according to the first embodiment, the rack transport mechanism 1 includes a first protrusion 2A, a second protrusion 2C, and a third protrusion 2B. The rack transport mechanism 1 moves so that the end face of the first protrusion 2A (the left end face in FIG. 1A ) pushes out the end face of the rack 3 (the right end face in FIG. 1A ), and then moves in the opposite direction to the pushing direction (to the right in FIG. 1A ). At this time, the opposite end face of the rack 3 (the left end face in FIG. 1A ) comes into contact with the third protrusion 2B, causing the third protrusion 2B to rotate counterclockwise and pass through the rack transport mechanism 1 to the right. The rack transport mechanism 1 then moves again in the pushing direction, causing the end face of the third protrusion 2B to push out the end face of the rack 3 (the state in FIG. 1B ). In this way, by repeatedly moving left and right, the rack transport mechanism 1 first pushes the rack 3 leftward with the first protrusion 2A, then pushes the rack 3 leftward with the third protrusion 2B, and finally pushes the rack 3 leftward with the second protrusion 2C. Therefore, the rack transport mechanism 1 can transport the rack 3 by itself and by only one-dimensional movement in the left and right direction, which simplifies the structure of the rack transport mechanism 1 and reduces its size.

[0020] In the transport device according to the first embodiment, it is also possible to connect two or more rack transport mechanisms 1 in series. However, such a configuration would require a drive device such as a motor for each rack transport mechanism 1, which would impair the space-saving effect. Therefore, from the standpoint of simplifying the structure and saving space, it is desirable to provide three or more protrusions for a single rack transport mechanism 1.

[0021] In the transport device according to the first embodiment, even if the rack transport mechanism 1 has only one or two protrusions, it is still possible to transport the rack 3. However, in this case, the rack transport mechanism 1 needs to move more to the left and right. This is because the movement distance of the protrusion is the movement distance of the rack 3 itself. In contrast, the transport device according to the first embodiment can transport the rack 3 by reciprocating left and right as long as the rail length described in FIGS. 3 to 5 is satisfied. In other words, the movement distance of the rack transport mechanism 1 in the left and right direction only needs to be secured to be the length of the rail 5. This allows the size of the rack transport mechanism 1 to be reduced.

[0022] <Embodiment 2> Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a conveying device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. In Fig. 6, the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1 indicate the same parts, and therefore repeated explanations will be omitted. The conveying device according to embodiment 2 includes a sensor 7 that detects the containers 6 stored in the rack 3. The other configurations are the same as those of embodiment 1.

[0023] To ensure that there are no racks 3 on the conveying line when the conveying device starts operation, it is desirable for the conveying device to perform an operation (reset operation) to sweep the racks 3 out of the conveying line by operating the rack conveying mechanism 1. At the start of the reset operation, the end face of the rack 3 may be in contact with any of the following: (a) the end face of the first protrusion 2A; (b) the end face of the second protrusion 2C; or (c) the end face of the third protrusion 2B. It is difficult for the conveying device to determine which of positions (a) to (c) the rack 3 is in at the start of the reset operation. Therefore, in either case, it is desirable to complete the reset operation using a single operation pattern without changing the operation of the rack conveying mechanism 1. In other words, it is desirable to complete the reset operation using the same operation in any of the above cases (a) to (c).

[0024] 7 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the stopper component 8. When the rack 3 is ejected from the transport line by the reset operation, it is assumed that the rack 3 does not contain any samples. However, due to a malfunction or the like, a rack 3 containing samples may be present on the transport line during the reset operation. If the rack transport mechanism 1 performs a reset operation on the rack 3 in this state (i.e., an operation to sweep the rack 3 off the transport line), there is a risk that the samples contained in the rack 3 will scatter.

[0025] Therefore, when performing a reset operation, if the sensor 7 detects the presence of a container 6 (or the rack 3), the distance by which the rack transport mechanism 1 moves the rack 3 in one transport operation is set to the spacing between the containers 6 (pitch, i.e., the horizontal distance between the central axis of the hole in the rack 3 into which the container 6 is inserted and the central axis of the adjacent hole). This allows the sensor 7 to detect the presence or absence of a container 6 (and liquid such as a specimen therein) for each transport operation. By performing the reset operation while checking the presence or absence of a container 6, splashing of liquid can be prevented.

[0026] On the other hand, if the sensor 7 does not check for the presence or absence of the container 6 each time a transport operation is completed, or if the rack 3 is transported at a constant speed from the transport start position to the transport end position without stopping along the way, the container 6 and the stopper part 8 may collide, causing the liquid in the container 6 to splash out. Therefore, it is desirable to transport the rack 3 in stages using a step-like operation while checking for the presence or absence of the container 6 with the sensor 7 each time a transport operation is completed.

[0027] During the reset operation, even if the end face of the third protrusion 2B and the end face of the rack 3 are actually in contact, it is necessary to consider the possibility that the end face of the second protrusion 2C and the end face of the rack 3 may be in contact. This is because if an operation is performed that assumes that the rack 3 will be swept out by the third protrusion 2B even though the end face of the second protrusion 2C and the end face of the rack 3 are in contact, the rack 3 will move to an unexpected position. By moving the rack 3 at each pitch interval during a single transport operation and detecting the presence or absence of a container 6, unexpected operation can be prevented even in such a case.

[0028] 8A and 8B are perspective views illustrating the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B. Fig. 8A shows the operation of the rack transport mechanism 1 transporting the rack 3 leftward, with the initial state being a state in which the sensor 7 is located in front of the leftmost container 6 on the rack 3. Similarly, Fig. 8B shows the operation of the rack transport mechanism 1 transporting the rack 3 leftward, with the initial state being a state in which the sensor 7 is located in front of the second container 6 from the left on the rack 3.

[0029] The distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is preferably an integer multiple of the pitch. As a result, in the process in which the rack transport mechanism 1 repeatedly moves by the pitch distance with each transport operation, at least one of the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B pushes out the end face of the rack 3 by the same distance. In other words, the movement distance of the rack transport mechanism 1 with each transport operation matches the distance that either protrusion pushes out the rack 3.

[0030] In contrast, if the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is 1.5 times the pitch, for example, the operation will be as follows. First, the third protrusion 2B repeatedly pushes the rack 3 leftward by the pitch distance. This causes the rack 3 to move leftward by a multiple of the pitch distance. After the third protrusion 2B pushes the rack 3 to its limit, the rack transport mechanism 1 is temporarily returned to the right by a multiple of the pitch distance, and the second protrusion 2C again pushes the rack 3 leftward. When the rack transport mechanism 1 is returned to the right, the distance between the second protrusion 2C and the third protrusion 2B is 1.5 times the pitch, so a gap of 0.5 times the pitch distance is created between the right end face of the rack 3 and the left end face of the second protrusion 2C. Therefore, even if the rack transport mechanism 1 is moved leftward by the pitch distance, the rack 3 only moves 0.5 times the pitch distance. In this case, since the container 6 is not positioned directly in front of the sensor 7, the sensor 7 cannot detect the container 6.

[0031] If the distance between the second projection 2C and the third projection 2B is an integer multiple of the pitch, such a gap will not occur. Therefore, for the reasons described above, it is desirable that the distance between the second projection 2C and the third projection 2B is an integer multiple of the pitch. Furthermore, the distance between the first projection 2A and the third projection 2B may also be an integer multiple of the pitch.

[0032] 1: Rack transport mechanism 2A: First protrusion 2B: Third protrusion 2C: Second protrusion 3: Rack 4: Line 5: Rail 21: Elastic material 7: Sensor 8: Stopper part

Claims

1. A transport device for transporting racks containing containers, comprising: a rack transport mechanism for moving the rack; and a rail for determining the direction in which the rack transport mechanism moves; wherein the rack transport mechanism has a protrusion for pushing out the rack; and wherein the rack transport mechanism has at least a first protrusion, a second protrusion, and a third protrusion as the protrusions; and wherein the rack transport mechanism is configured so that at least one of the first protrusion, the second protrusion, or the third protrusion pushes out the rack as the rack transport mechanism moves, thereby moving the rack.

2. The transport device described in claim 1, characterized in that each of the protrusions is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis normal to the installation surface of the rack, and each of the protrusions is configured not to rotate when the protrusion comes into contact with the rack so that the end face of the protrusion pushes the end face of the rack as the rack transport mechanism moves in a direction to push the rack, and each of the protrusions is configured to rotate to allow the rack to pass when pushed by the rack from the side opposite to the end face of the protrusion.

3. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the third projection is disposed between the first projection and the second projection.

4. The conveying device described in claim 2, characterized in that the third protrusion is positioned between the first protrusion and the second protrusion, the rack transport mechanism moves so as to push out the end face of the rack with the end face of the first protrusion, the rack transport mechanism moves in a direction opposite to the direction of pushing out the rack, thereby bringing the end face of the rack that does not contact the first protrusion into contact with the third protrusion and rotating the third protrusion, and the rack transport mechanism moves in the opposite direction so that the third protrusion moves beyond the end face of the rack, and then moves in a direction to push out the rack, thereby pushing out the end face of the rack with the end face of the third protrusion.

5. The conveying device described in claim 3, characterized in that the rack transport mechanism is configured to be able to move from one end to the other end within a movable range defined by the rail, the rack transport mechanism pushes out the rack by moving from the one end to the other end, and the first protrusion, the second protrusion, and the third protrusion are arranged in the order of the first protrusion, the third protrusion, and the second protrusion in the direction from the one end to the other end.

6. A conveying device according to claim 5, wherein the distance between the first protrusion and the third protrusion along the extending direction of the rail is shorter than the length of the rail.

7. A conveying device according to claim 5, wherein the distance between the second protrusion and the third protrusion along the extending direction of the rail is shorter than the length of the rail.

8. The rack transport mechanism is configured to be able to perform a reset operation in which the rack is ejected from the transport line on which the rack is placed by pushing out the rack, the transport device further comprising a sensor for detecting the container contained in the rack, and the rack transport mechanism performs the reset operation by repeatedly pushing out the rack a predetermined distance if the rack is within a detection range in which the sensor can detect the container during the process of performing the reset operation, the predetermined distance being the spacing between the containers contained in the rack.

9. The conveying device according to claim 8, wherein the distance between said second projection and said third projection is an integer multiple of the distance between said containers.

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