Article gripping mechanism and article conveyance system

Abstract

The present disclosure is an article gripping mechanism that has an open cylindrical part and grips an article having an outer peripheral part and an inner peripheral part of a cylindrical part, the article gripping mechanism being characterized by comprising a pin part that supports the inner peripheral part and an elastic support part that supports the outer peripheral part, and by gripping the inner peripheral part and the outer peripheral part by sandwiching the inner peripheral part and the outer peripheral part between the pin part and the elastic support part.

Description

Article Gripping Mechanism and Article Conveying System

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an article gripping mechanism and an article conveying system.

[0002] In an automatic analyzer for biological samples or the like, sampling and dispensing of specimens or reagents are performed. At this time, disposable chips are used to prevent mixing of specimens. In such a device, it is possible to attach and detach a disposable chip to and from a dispensing nozzle head.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique related to the arrangement configuration and attachment procedure of a disposable chip and a dispensing nozzle head. Patent Document 1 states that "the pickup device 11 and the transfer arm 12 move to a position corresponding to the position information, for example, directly above the pipette tip 31 arranged at the lower left corner of the pipette tip mounting rack 3 as shown in FIG. 2 (see paragraph 0019)", and also "the pipette tip 31 mounted on the pipette tip mounting port 16b is conveyed by the conveyance lane 16 directly below a dispensing nozzle head (not shown). (See paragraph 0022)". Thus, there are cases where a chip is conveyed from a chip mounting rack into the operating range of a dispensing nozzle head.

[0004] Conventionally, several methods have been adopted for gripping a chip. Patent Document 1 states that "it has a nozzle head inserted from an opening at the proximal end side of a pipette tip and a negative pressure means for applying a negative pressure to the nozzle head to adsorb the pipette tip (see claim 1)", and describes a method of gripping a chip by negative pressure. Also, a method of "press-fitting a nozzle-shaped member into a pipette tip (see paragraph 0006)" is described. However, it is described as a problem that "the pipette tip may be deformed when press-fitted into the pipette tip. (See paragraph 0009)".

[0005] Patent Document 2 states that "a hook for locking and holding a chip fitted and held in the liquid suction / discharge line is pivotally supported (see claim 40)", and describes a gripping method in which the inner circumference of the chip is fitted and supported by a pin and the outer circumference is supported by a rotating hook.

[0006] Patent Document 3 states that "the coupling device includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged elements or segments in the form of a flexible leaf spring with a stabilizer plateau (see abstract)," and describes a structure in which the inner circumference of the tip is supported and gripped by a plurality of leaf springs that press in the outer diameter direction.

[0007] JP 2009-079940 JP 08-320274 JP Special Publication No. 2023-509127

[0008] To miniaturize automated analyzers, it is desirable to use small-diameter tips and arrange them densely in the tip rack. However, the methods described in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 have problems when gripping densely arranged small-diameter tips. As described in Patent Document 1, the method of gripping using negative pressure cannot exert gripping force when the diameter is small and the cross-sectional area is small. As described in Patent Document 2, if a rotating hook is used to support the outer circumference, it is difficult to enter the very narrow outer circumference of densely arranged tips. If a complex movable structure is mounted on the pin that supports the inner circumference of the tip, as in Patent Document 3, it may be difficult because the pin needs to be made smaller in diameter to match the small-diameter tip.

[0009] Therefore, this disclosure provides an article gripping mechanism that enables the gripping and dispensing of densely arranged small-diameter chips with a simple mechanism.

[0010] To solve the above problems, the article gripping mechanism of the present disclosure is an article gripping mechanism having an open cylindrical portion and gripping an article having an outer circumference portion and an inner circumference portion of the cylindrical portion, comprising a pin portion that supports the inner circumference portion and an elastic support portion that supports the outer circumference portion, characterized in that the inner circumference portion and the outer circumference portion are gripped by being sandwiched between the pin portion and the elastic support portion.

[0011] Further features relating to this disclosure will become apparent from the description herein and the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, aspects of this disclosure are achieved and realized through elements and various combinations of elements and the modes of the claims that will be described in detail later. The descriptions herein are typical examples only and do not limit in any way the claims or applications of this disclosure.

[0012] The article gripping mechanism of this disclosure allows for the gripping and dispensing of densely arranged small-diameter chips with a simple configuration. Other issues, configurations, and effects will be clarified by the following description of embodiments.

[0013] This is a perspective view showing how a chip is gripped using an article gripping mechanism. This is an upper perspective view of the article gripping mechanism. This is a lower perspective view of the article gripping mechanism. This is a cross-sectional view of a part of the article gripping mechanism. This is a cross-sectional view of the article gripping mechanism with the solenoid drive unit driven. This is a cross-sectional view showing the article gripping mechanism gripping a chip. This is a perspective view showing the article gripping mechanism releasing a chip. This is a perspective view showing an article transport system equipped with an article gripping mechanism. This is a perspective view of a chip container unit. This is an enlarged top view of the chip container unit. This is a perspective view showing how chips aligned in a chip container are gripped by the article gripping mechanism. This is a perspective view showing the operation sequence for unloading chips from a chip container. This is a perspective view showing the operation sequence for unloading chips from a chip container. This is a perspective view showing the operation sequence for unloading chips from a chip container. This is a perspective view showing the state before the chips are transferred to the destination chip rack. This is a perspective view showing the state before the chips are transferred to the destination chip rack. This is a perspective view showing the state after the chips have been transferred to the destination chip rack. This is a perspective view showing the state after the chip has been transferred to the destination chip rack. This is a perspective view showing the operation sequence for inserting the chip into the destination hole. This is a perspective view showing the operation sequence for inserting the chip into the destination hole. This is a perspective view showing the operation sequence for inserting the chip into the destination hole.

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the article gripping mechanism of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, common components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0015] [First Embodiment] <Example of Article Gripping Mechanism Configuration> Figure 1 is a perspective view showing how the article gripping mechanism 1 according to the first embodiment grips a tip 2. The article gripping mechanism 1 comprises pin portions 11A and 11B, and leaf spring portions 12A and 12B (leaf spring portion 12B is not shown in Figure 1). The tip 2 is an example of an article to be gripped by the article gripping mechanism 1. The tip 2 comprises an outer circumference portion 21 and an inner circumference portion 22. The article gripping mechanism 1 can grip the tip 2 by supporting the inner circumference portion 22 with the pin portion 11A, supporting the outer circumference portion 21 with the leaf spring portion 12A, and clamping it with the elastic force of the leaf spring portion 12A. The pin portion 11B and the leaf spring portion 12B have similar functions.

[0016] Figure 2 is an overhead perspective view of the article gripping mechanism 1. Figure 3 is a downward oblique view of the article gripping mechanism 1. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the article gripping mechanism 1 comprises a base 13, a solenoid drive unit 14, a drive connecting plate 15, a leaf spring connecting plate 18, and a leaf spring stopper 19. The solenoid drive unit 14 and pins 11A and 11B are fixed to the base 13.

[0017] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the article gripping mechanism 1. As shown in Figure 4, the article gripping mechanism 1 further comprises drive connection shafts 16A and 16B, linear bushing sections 17A and 17B, and compression spring sections 110A and 110B. The linear bushing sections 17A and 17B are fixedly connected to the base section 13. The solenoid drive unit 14 comprises a solenoid output shaft 141. The solenoid output shaft 141 extends and retracts linearly relative to the solenoid drive unit 14. The solenoid output shaft 141 is fixedly connected to a drive connection plate 15, the drive connection plate 15 is fixedly connected to the drive connection shafts 16A and 16B, the drive connection shafts 16A and 16B are fixedly connected to a leaf spring connection plate 18, and the leaf spring connection plate 18 is fixedly connected to leaf spring sections 12A and 12B, and these components operate as a single unit. The drive connection shaft 16A is inserted into the linear bushing portion 17A, and the drive connection shaft 16B is inserted into the linear bushing portion 17B, and they are each linearly guided. Therefore, the solenoid output shaft 141 and the fixedly connected group of components move up and down while maintaining their orientation. The compression spring portions 110A and 110B have both ends in contact with the base portion 13 and the leaf spring connecting plate 18, and the elastic force pushes the leaf spring connecting plate 18 downward against the base portion 13. The presence of two drive connection shafts, 16A and 16B, makes the system resistant to twisting, moments, etc. caused by the driving of the solenoid drive unit 14, and prevents the rotation of the leaf spring connecting plate 18.

[0018] The solenoid drive unit 14 is, for example, a pull solenoid. When the solenoid drive unit 14 is driven, it generates a force that pulls the solenoid output shaft 141 upward, and when the drive is turned off, it becomes free. However, the solenoid drive unit 14 is not limited to a pull solenoid. Other actuators such as a push solenoid, pneumatic cylinder, or electric motor can also be used as the solenoid drive unit 14.

[0019] The leaf spring stopper 19 contacts the leaf spring sections 12A and 12B when they bend beyond a predetermined degree. This prevents them from being excessively bent and damaged. In this embodiment, one leaf spring stopper 19 is provided for each of the two leaf spring sections 12A and 12B. Alternatively, a leaf spring stopper 19 may be provided for each leaf spring section.

[0020] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the article gripping mechanism 1 in the state when the solenoid drive unit 14 is driven. When the solenoid drive unit 14 is driven, the solenoid output shaft 141 rises. Accordingly, the group of components such as the leaf spring sections 12A and 12B, which are fixedly connected to the solenoid output shaft 141, move upward relative to the base 13. When the drive of the solenoid drive unit 14 is released, as shown in Figure 4, the leaf spring sections 12A and 12B and the group of components fixedly connected to them descend relative to the base 13 due to the force of the compression spring sections 110A and 110B.

[0021] <Regarding the gripping and release of the tip> Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the article gripping mechanism 1 gripping the tip 2. Note that only the upper part of the tip 2 is shown in Figure 6. The article gripping mechanism 1 supports the inner circumference 22 of the tip 2 with the pin portion 11A, and the leaf spring portion 12A exerts force in the inward direction of the pin portion 11A by elastic force, supporting the outer circumference 21 of the tip. Therefore, the tip 2 is gripped by being sandwiched between the pin portion 11A and the leaf spring portion 12A.

[0022] The leaf spring portion 12A is provided with a leaf spring tip portion 12A1 and a bent portion 12A2 at its tip. The leaf spring tip portion 12A1 is shaped to face the outer diameter direction of the pin portion 11A. The bent portion 12A2 is continuous with the leaf spring tip portion 12 and protrudes in the inner diameter direction of the pin portion 11A. The bent portion 12A2 of the leaf spring portion 12A contacts the outer circumference 21 of the tip.

[0023] The pin portion 11A comprises a large-diameter pin portion 11A1, a cylindrical pin portion 11A2 (columnar portion), and a tapered pin portion 11A3. The large-diameter pin portion 11A1 has a larger diameter than the inner circumference portion 22 of the chip, limiting the axial insertion amount of the chip 2. The diameter of the large-diameter pin portion 11A1 can be, for example, about the same as the outer diameter of the outer circumference portion 21 of the chip. This reduces the step difference between the chip 2 and the large-diameter pin portion 11A1, preventing the leaf spring portion 12A from getting caught on the large-diameter pin portion 11A1 and stopping during vertical drive.

[0024] The pin cylindrical portion 11A2 has a shape and diameter that fits into the inner circumference portion 22 of the tip. However, the inner circumference portion 22 of the tip is slightly larger in diameter, resulting in a loose fit that allows the tip 2 to fall due to gravity. Thus, the "fitting" between the pin portion and the tip 2 does not require complete contact along the entire circumferential direction. The leaf spring portion 12A supports the tip 2 at the position of the pin cylindrical portion 11A2, allowing the tip 2 to be held upright. The effect of the pin tapered portion 11A3 will be described later.

[0025] The gripping force is provided by the elastic force of the leaf spring section 12A, and the vertical position of the leaf spring section 12A is fixed by the elastic force of the compression spring sections 110A and 110B. Therefore, even if there is a power outage due to an emergency stop or blackout, the chip 2 will not fall.

[0026] Although examples using leaf springs for the leaf spring sections 12A and 12B have been described, the invention is not limited to this, and other elastic materials may be used. For example, a rod-shaped elastic material can be used instead of the leaf spring sections 12A and 12B.

[0027] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing how the article gripping mechanism 1 releases the tip 2. When the solenoid drive unit 14 is driven, the leaf spring portion 12A is driven upward. As a result, the leaf spring portion 12A comes into contact with the large-diameter pin portion 11A1 and separates from the tip 2. Then, the tip 2 descends due to gravity and is released.

[0028] Similarly, the pin portion 11B is equipped with a large-diameter pin portion 11B1, a cylindrical pin portion 11B2, and a tapered pin portion 11B3, and has the same function as the pin portion 11A. The leaf spring portion 12B is also the same as the leaf spring portion 12A. Since the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B move in conjunction, the two chips 2 are gripped by the pin portions 11A and 11B and the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B, and released simultaneously by the drive of the solenoid drive unit 14.

[0029] <Example Configuration of Article Transport System> Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the article transport system 3. The article transport system 3 comprises an article gripping mechanism 1, an orthogonal movement mechanism 31, a chip container unit 4, a transfer destination chip rack 5, and a control device 100. The orthogonal movement mechanism 31 is a movement mechanism with three orthogonal axes of freedom: two horizontal axes and one vertical axis, and the base 13 of the article gripping mechanism 1 is connected to its end effector. This allows the article gripping mechanism 1 to be moved while maintaining the same posture. Note that the movement mechanism for the article gripping mechanism 1 is not limited to the orthogonal movement mechanism. For example, the article gripping mechanism 1 may be moved using a different type of movement mechanism, such as a SCARA robot arm. The control device 100 is configured to control the driving of the solenoid drive unit 14 and the orthogonal movement mechanism 31. The control device 100 controls the operation of the article transport system 3 by having an arbitrary processor execute a predetermined program.

[0030] Figure 9A is a perspective view of the chip container unit 4. Figure 9B is an enlarged top view of the chip container unit 4. As shown in Figure 9A, the chip container unit 4 comprises a chip container 41 and a chip container holding portion 42. The chip container holding portion 42 has a rectangular chip container holding hole 421 that substantially fits the outer shape of the chip container 41, and surrounds and holds the chip container 41. However, the chip container holding hole 421 is slightly larger than the outer dimensions of the chip container 41, forming a chip container holding gap 43 (see Figure 9B) in between. Therefore, the chip container 41 is not completely fixed and can move slightly by external force by the amount of the chip container holding gap 43.

[0031] The chip container 41 is fitted with multiple chips 2. The chips 2 are densely aligned along the chip alignment vertical direction 45A (first direction) and the chip alignment horizontal direction 45B (second direction). The gaps between chips 2 are very narrow in the chip alignment vertical direction 45A and the chip alignment horizontal direction 45B. However, a relatively large chip gap 44 is formed in the chip gap direction 46A (third direction), which is approximately midway between the chip alignment vertical direction 45A and the chip alignment horizontal direction 45B.

[0032] Furthermore, chip gaps 44 are also formed in the chip gap direction 46C, which is the opposite direction to the chip gap direction 46A, and in the chip gap directions 46B and 46D, which are perpendicular to the chip gap direction 46A. In this disclosure, "the third direction intermediate between the first direction and the second direction" refers to any of the four directions of chip gap directions 46A, 46B, 46C, and 46D. If the orientation of the chip alignment vertical direction 45A or the chip alignment horizontal direction 45B is considered to be opposite, then one of these four directions can be expressed as an intermediate direction. For example, if the orientation of the chip alignment horizontal direction 45B is the opposite direction in Figure 9B, then the intermediate direction between the vertical and horizontal directions is the chip gap direction 46B. Note that in Figures 9A and 9B, the chip alignment vertical direction 45A and the chip alignment horizontal direction 45B are perpendicular, but this is not the only option, and the chips can be aligned at a slight angle. When the chips are aligned at an angle, the chip gaps 44 become narrower in a specific direction, but wider in the direction perpendicular to that direction. Therefore, depending on the dimensional configuration of the object gripping mechanism 1, it may be possible to enter with more clearance.

[0033] Figure 10 is a perspective view showing how the article gripping mechanism 1 grips the chips 2 arranged in the chip container 41. As shown in Figure 10, the arrangement of the article gripping mechanism 1 and the chip container 41 is such that the leaf spring portion 12A is positioned in the direction of the chip gap 46A relative to the pin portion 11A. Therefore, when the pin portion 11A is inserted into the inner circumference 2 of the chip, the leaf spring portion 12A is inserted into the chip gap 44, supporting the outer circumference 21 of the chip by elastic force, and further gripping the chip 2 by sandwiching it with the pin portion 11A. In this state, if the article gripping mechanism 1 is lifted, the chip 2 can be pulled out of the chip container.

[0034] The leaf spring portion 12B is positioned in the article gap direction 46D relative to the pin portion 12B. The pin portion 11B is positioned in the tip alignment vertical direction 45A relative to the pin portion 11A, and the distance between them is exactly twice the spacing of the tips 2 in the tip alignment vertical direction 45A. Therefore, the pin portion 11B is inserted into the tip 2 at the same time as the pin portion 11A, making it possible to grip two tips simultaneously. In the example in Figure 10, the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B are oriented in orthogonal directions, but they may be arranged so that their orientations are parallel to each other. In addition, the pin portion and leaf spring portion are provided in two directions around the leaf spring stopper 19, but they may also be provided in one, three, or four directions around the leaf spring stopper 19.

[0035] <Chip Dispensing Operation> Figures 11A to 11D are perspective views showing the operation sequence for dispensing chips 2 from the chip container 41. First, as shown in Figure 11A, the control device 100 drives the orthogonal movement mechanism 31 to move the horizontal position of the article gripping mechanism 1 so that the axis positions of the chip 2 and the pin portions 11A and 11B are aligned. At this time, there is a possibility that errors occur in the horizontal position due to errors in the arrangement of the chip container unit 4 or control errors of the orthogonal movement mechanism 31. The article gripping mechanism 1 can dispense chips 2 even under such errors without high-precision positioning. In Figure 11A, it is assumed that there is an error in the horizontal error direction 47 in the position of the pin portions 11A and 11B relative to the chip 2. Before gripping, the control device 100 drives the solenoid drive unit 14 to raise the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B. In this state, the article gripping mechanism 1 is lowered by the orthogonal movement mechanism 31.

[0036] As shown in Figure 11B, if there is an error in the horizontal position, the tip 2 and the pin taper portion 11A3 come into contact. Furthermore, when the article gripping mechanism 1 is lowered, the tip 2 is subjected to a force in the direction of the horizontal error 47. Here, the tip container holder 41 is surrounded by the tip container holding portion 42, but it is not completely fixed and can move by external force by the amount of the tip container holding gap 43. Therefore, as shown in Figure 11C, the tip container 41 moves in the direction of the horizontal error 47.

[0037] As shown in Figure 11D, when the pins 11A and 11B are fully inserted, the relative position and rotational relationship between the article gripping mechanism 1 and the tip 2 are positioned, and the leaf spring portion 12A is positioned directly above the tip gap 44. The leaf spring portion 12B is also positioned directly above the tip gap. In this state, if the drive of the solenoid drive unit 14 is released and the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B are lowered, as shown in Figure 10, the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B are inserted into the tip gap and can grip the article.

[0038] The leaf spring tip 12A1 is shaped to face the outer diameter direction of the pin portion 11A. Therefore, when the leaf spring portion 12A descends, even if it comes into contact with the edge of the outer circumference 21 of the tip, the leaf spring tip 12A1 passively opens the leaf spring portion 12A toward the outer diameter direction of the pin portion 11A, allowing it to be inserted into the tip gap 44. The leaf spring 12B is similarly equipped with a leaf spring tip 12B1 and has the same function.

[0039] In this way, it is possible to remove the chips 2 that are densely arranged in the chip container 4 without requiring high-precision positioning.

[0040] An advantage of the article gripping mechanism 1 of this disclosure is that it is easy to accommodate small diameter tips. When the tip 2 is very small in diameter, both the inner circumference 22 of the tip and the tip gap 44 become very small. The pin portions 11A and 11B and the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B also need to be very small, but this is easy because they all have a simple structure. The pin portions 11A and 11B are simple pins without a movable structure, and the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B are also leaf springs, so they can be easily formed to be thin and narrow.

[0041] Also, regarding the driving method, instead of the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B rotating, by making it a linear drive, the opening and closing amount is extremely small, and it is easy to prevent interference with other chips 2.

[0042] In the present disclosure, the structure is such that a maximum of two chips 2 are gripped simultaneously, but it is not limited to this, and more chips can be gripped simultaneously. In this case, a set of the pin portions 11A and the leaf spring portions 12A may be further added. As the structure, similar to the pin portions 11A and the leaf spring portions 12A, the pins are fixed to the base portion 13 in accordance with the arrangement intervals of the chips 2, and the leaf springs are arranged in any of the directions of the chip gap directions 46A, 46B, 46C, and 46D with respect to each pin, that is, so as to be inserted into the chip gap 44, and fixed to the leaf spring connection plate 18. By driving all the leaf springs simultaneously by the driving of the solenoid drive portion 14, additional actuators and guide components are unnecessary. Also, a plurality of leaf springs can be integrated. Thus, it is possible to increase the number at a low cost with few additional parts.

[0043] An example of fixing the pin portions 11A and 11B to the base portion 13 and driving the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B will be described, but it is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to adopt a driving method in which the leaf spring portions 12A and 12B are fixed and the pin portions 11A and 11B are driven. If the pin and the leaf spring are relatively driven in the axial direction of the pin, the functions are the same.

[0044] <Chip Arrangement Operation> The article conveyance system 3 conveys the chip 2 gripped as described above and arranges it in the destination chip rack 5. Next, the arrangement method will be described.

[0045] FIGS. 12A and 12B are perspective views showing the state before transferring the chip to the destination chip rack 5. As shown in FIG. 12A, the control device 100 drives the orthogonal movement mechanism 31 to convey the article gripping mechanism 1 above the destination chip rack 5. As shown in FIG. 12B, the destination chip rack 5 includes destination holes 51A and 51B and destination side wall guides 52A and 52B. The tip of the chip 2 is conveyed so as to be positioned above the destination holes 51A and 51B.

[0046] FIGS. 13A and 13B are perspective views showing the state after the chip is transferred to the transfer destination chip rack 5. As shown in FIG. 13A, the chip 2 is inserted and placed in the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B of the transfer destination chip rack 5. As shown in FIG. 13B, the outer diameter of the upper part of the chip 2 is larger than the diameters of the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B, and the upper part of the chip 2 is caught.

[0047] However, if an error occurs in the position of the tip of the chip 2, it may be difficult to insert it into the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B. Particularly in the case of the article gripping mechanism 1 of the present disclosure, due to a slight taper occurring in the inner peripheral portion 22 of the chip, the gripping posture of the chip 2 is inclined, and an error occurs in the position of the tip portion of the chip 2. In addition, slight errors may occur due to the positional error of the orthogonal movement mechanism 31 or the positional error of the transfer destination chip rack 5. Therefore, by using the transfer destination side wall guides 52A and 52B as guides, the chip 2 can be inserted into the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B without highly accurate gripping posture and positioning.

[0048] FIGS. 14A to 14D are perspective views showing the operation sequence of inserting the chip 2 into the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B using the transfer destination side wall guides 52A and 52B. First, as shown in FIG. 14A, the control device 100 drives the orthogonal movement mechanism 31 to position and lower the transfer destination chip 2 directly above the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B. Next, as shown in FIG. 14B, the control device 100 drives the orthogonal movement mechanism 31 to horizontally move the article gripping mechanism 1 and press the chip 2 against the transfer destination side wall guides 52A and 52B. As a result, guided near the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B, regardless of the original error in the gripping posture of the chip 2 or the positional error of the article gripping mechanism 1, the tip of the chip 2 is surely positioned at a position where it can be inserted into the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B. When the chip 2 is pressed against the transfer destination side wall guides 52A and 52B, the chip 2 is inclined. If the pin portions 11A and 11B are made to fit slightly smaller than the inner peripheral portion 22 of the chip 2, the inclination can be generated by the play in the fitting. Therefore, no excessive deformation force is applied to the chip 2.

[0049] In this state, as shown in Figure 14C, when the control device 100 drives the orthogonal movement mechanism 31 to lower the article gripping mechanism 1, the tip of the chip 2 is inserted into the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B. Then, as shown in Figure 14D, the horizontal position of the article gripping mechanism 1 is returned so that the pin portions 11A and 11B are directly above the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B. In this state, since the tip of the chip 2 is inserted into the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B, when the solenoid drive unit 14 releases and drops the chip 2, the chip 2 can be reliably placed in the transfer destination holes 51A and 51B, as shown in Figure 13A.

[0050] Although the explanation described using transfer destination side wall guides 52A and 52B when placing the chip 2 in the transfer destination chip rack 5, this is not the only option. The transfer destination chip rack 5 can also be configured to have only transfer destination holes 51A and 51B. If the error in the tip position of the chip 2 is small, it can be inserted without any problems even without the transfer destination side wall guides 52A and 52B.

[0051] [Modification] Although a method using the tip 2 as the object to be gripped by the article gripping mechanism 1 has been described, it is not limited to this. Any article having an open cylindrical shape with an outer circumference and an inner circumference, similar to the tip 2, can be gripped in the same way.

[0052] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes various modifications. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail for the purpose of illustrating this disclosure, and do not necessarily have to include all the configurations described. Furthermore, parts of one embodiment can be replaced with the configurations of another embodiment. Furthermore, configurations of other embodiments can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, parts of the configuration of each embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced with parts of the configurations of other embodiments.

[0053] 1... Article gripping mechanism 11A, 11B... Pin section 11A1, 11B1... Large diameter pin section 11A2, 11B2... Cylindrical pin section 11A3, 11B3... Tapered pin section 12A, 12B... Leaf spring section 13... Base section 14... Solenoid drive section 141... Solenoid output shaft 15... Drive connection plate 16A, 16B, Drive connection shaft 17A, 17B... Linear bush section 18... Leaf spring connection plate 19... Leaf spring stopper 110A, 110B... Compression spring section 2... Chip 21... Outer circumference of chip 22... Inner circumference of chip 3... Article transport system 31... Orthogonal movement mechanism 4... Chip container unit 41... Chip container 42... Chip container holding section 421... Chip container holding hole 43... Chip container holding gap 44... Chip gap 45A...Chip alignment in the vertical direction 45B...Chip alignment in the horizontal direction 46A, 46B, 46C, 46D...Article gap direction 47...Horizontal error direction 5...Transfer destination chip rack 51A, 51B...Transfer destination hole 52A, 52B...Transfer destination side wall guide 100...Control device

Claims

1. An article gripping mechanism having an open cylindrical portion and gripping an article having an outer circumference and an inner circumference of the cylindrical portion, comprising: a pin portion for supporting the inner circumference; and an elastic support portion for supporting the outer circumference, characterized in that the inner circumference and the outer circumference are gripped by being sandwiched between the pin portion and the elastic support portion.

2. The article gripping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic support portion is a leaf spring.

3. The article gripping mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a drive unit that moves the elastic support unit and the pin unit in a linear relative motion in the axial direction of the pin unit, wherein the article gripping mechanism grips the article by the elastic force of the elastic support unit, and separates the elastic support unit from the article by the relative motion by the drive unit, thereby releasing the article by gravity.

4. The article gripping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the elastic support portion has a shape that faces the outer diameter direction of the pin portion on the tip side of the portion that supports the outer circumference of the article, and when the pin portion enters the opening of the article, the elastic support portion opens in accordance with the article.

5. The article gripping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the pin portion comprises a columnar portion provided on the base side and fitted into the inner circumference of the article, and a tapered portion provided on the tip side of the columnar portion and guiding the article in the fitting direction when the pin portion enters the opening of the article, and the elastic support portion supports and grips the article at the position of the columnar portion.

6. The article gripping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the article is a pipette tip.

7. An article transport system comprising an article gripping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the article transport system comprises an article container for holding the articles, wherein the articles are arranged in the article container aligned in a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction, a gap is formed between the articles in a third direction intermediate between the first direction and the second direction, the elastic support portion is positioned in the third direction relative to the pin portion, and the article gripping mechanism is characterized in that the elastic support portion enters the gap when gripping the articles from the article container.

8. An article transport system comprising an article gripping mechanism as described in claim 1, wherein the article transport system comprises an article container for holding the article, and an article container holder having an article container gap that holds the article container while limiting the movable range of the article container, and allowing the article container to move radially with respect to the article when the pin portion is fitted to the article.

9. An article transport system comprising an article gripping mechanism as described in claim 3, the system further comprising: a lifting mechanism for moving the article gripping mechanism vertically relative to it; and a control device for controlling the lifting mechanism and the drive unit, wherein the control device, when gripping an article, performs the following processes: using the drive unit to lower the lifting mechanism so that the pin portion is positioned vertically above the article within the range of relative movement, causing the pin portion to enter the inner circumference of the article and engage the pin portion with the article; and using the drive unit to lower the elastic support portion relative to the pin portion, causing the elastic support portion to enter the gap between the outer circumferences of a plurality of articles and grip the articles.

10. An article transport system comprising an article gripping mechanism as described in claim 1, the article transport system comprising: a moving mechanism for moving the article gripping mechanism; a control device for controlling the moving mechanism; and an article rack having a hole for inserting and placing the article from the article gripping mechanism, wherein the article rack has a side wall guide portion above the hole, and the control device, when placing the article onto the article rack, performs the processes of: moving the article gripping mechanism with the moving mechanism and pressing the article onto the side wall guide portion; and moving the article gripping mechanism with the moving mechanism and inserting the article into the hole while guiding it along the side wall guide portion.

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