JP2001096484A - Test tube carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hold and carry both of a hard test tube and a soft test tube steadily with a sufficient holding power without causing any excessive deformation. SOLUTION: A pressure sensor 16 is provided on the surface abutting to a test tube 200 in a holding finger 12. When the test tube 200 is fastened by the closing action of the holding finger 12, a control device monitors the output signal level of the pressure sensor 16. Then the discrimination is made to decide the test tube under the object of holding is whether a hard test tube or a soft test tube depending on the rising degree of the level of output signal. The rising degree for the soft test tube is smaller than the one for the hard test tube. Based on the discrimination result of this hardness, in the case of the soft test tube, the holding finger 12 is closed with smaller force at smaller velocity than in case of the hard test tube to prevent the excessive deformation of the test tube 200.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a test tube transfer device for picking up and transferring a test tube.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic dispensing device or a sample test device,
Specimens (samples) such as blood and urine are handled in a state housed in test tubes (also called tubes). Usually, a plurality of test tubes are set collectively in a rack (test tube stand), and are set in the apparatus in units of the racks or transported in the apparatus. The rack has a plurality of insertion portions, and one test tube is inserted into one insertion portion.
Will be retained.

In a normal process such as a dispensing apparatus, a nozzle is inserted into a test tube held in a rack, and a required amount of a sample is sucked up and dispensed. May need to be removed and the test tube set in another location on the instrument.

In an automatic dispensing device or the like, a test tube transport device may be provided in order to automate the transport of such test tubes. FIG. 6 shows a main part of a conventional test tube transport device. This conventional device includes a gripping unit 10 having two gripping fingers 120 driven to open and close by a gripping finger drive unit 110.
0 is provided. A test tube 200 is provided on the inner surface of the gripping finger 120.
A pad 122 made of a material such as rubber is attached in order to secure a frictional force when the sheet is sandwiched. The grip unit 100 is attached to the transport mechanism 150. Transport mechanism 1
The 50 can transport the gripping unit 100 (and the test tube 200 gripped by the gripping unit 100) in, for example, three orthogonal axes directions.

In this transport device, the test tube is sandwiched between two gripping fingers 120, and the gripping unit 100 is moved vertically upward in this state, thereby moving the test tube 20 from the rack 250.
After extracting the test tube 0 and moving the grip unit 100 to a desired location, the grip tube 120 is opened to release the test tube 200.

[0006]

The test tubes used for specimen tests are becoming generally disposable in consideration of hygiene. For this reason, in many cases, a resin is used as the material of the test tube instead of conventional general glass. There are hard and soft test tubes made of resin. Such differences in hardness of test tubes are due to differences in material and thickness, and test tubes having different hardnesses are being used depending on the purpose of use of the test tubes. However, the conventional test tube transport apparatus does not consider such hardness of the test tube, and always grips the test tube with a constant gripping force.

[0007] Therefore, the following problems may occur when handling conventional hard and soft test tubes.

First, if a soft test tube is gripped with the same gripping force as when gripping a hard test tube, the test tube is greatly deformed, and in some cases, a problem such as spilling of liquid in the test tube occurs. There is fear. When such a problem occurs, not only the processing is delayed, but also a problem occurs such that valuable liquid is wasted.

Conversely, if a hard test tube is gripped with the same gripping force as when gripping a soft test tube, there is a problem that a sufficient gripping force cannot be obtained and the gripping state becomes unstable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a test tube transport apparatus capable of gripping and transporting a test tube with an appropriate gripping force according to hardness is provided. The purpose is to provide.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, a test tube transport device according to the present invention comprises a plurality of gripping fingers,
A driving unit that drives the plurality of gripping fingers for the gripping operation of the test tube, a sensor provided on the gripping finger to detect a contact pressure with the test tube, and an output signal of the sensor during the gripping operation. A control unit for controlling the driving operation of the driving unit based on the ascending pattern.

In this configuration, the driving operation of the gripping finger is controlled in accordance with the rising pattern of the output signal of the sensor provided on the gripping finger. Since the rising pattern of the contact pressure between the test tube and the gripping finger depends on the hardness of the test tube (that is, the ease of deformation), controlling the driving operation of the gripping finger according to the rising pattern of the sensor output allows An appropriate gripping operation according to the hardness can be realized, and a test tube can be stably gripped with a sufficient gripping force while avoiding problems such as excessive deformation.

In a preferred aspect, the hardness of the test tube is determined from a rising pattern of the output signal of the sensor, and an optimum gripping force of the test tube is determined in accordance with the hardness, and the test force is determined by the optimum gripping force. The drive is controlled to grip the tube.

According to this aspect, for example, a soft test tube can grip the test tube with a relatively low gripping force, so that excessive deformation of the test tube can be avoided.

In another preferred aspect, the hardness of the test tube is determined from a rising pattern of the output signal of the sensor, and if the hardness is lower than a pre-stored lower limit of grippability, the hardness is determined. The gripping operation of the test tube is stopped and predetermined error processing is performed.

According to this aspect, it is possible to prevent a test tube that is too soft which cannot be gripped well by the device from being erroneously gripped, and in such a case, damage to the test tube or leakage of contents can be avoided.

In another preferred embodiment, the characteristic storage means stores a rising pattern of the output signal of the sensor for each type of test tube, and the rising pattern of the output signal of the sensor actually detected during the gripping operation is stored in a memory. Classifying means for classifying a test tube to be gripped by determining which type of test tube stored in the characteristic storage device corresponds to the test tube;

According to this aspect, the test tubes are automatically classified,
According to the classification result, it is possible to determine the transfer destination and to control the gripping operation and the transfer operation according to the type of the test tube.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a test tube transport device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows that the grip unit 10
The state when the test tube 200 inserted and held in the rack 250 is grasped is shown. The test tube transport device is incorporated in, for example, an automatic dispensing device or a sample test device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the test tube transport device comprises a gripping unit 10, a transport mechanism 20, and a control device (shown in FIG. 3) for controlling these.

The gripping unit 10 includes two gripping fingers 12 that grip the test tube 200 therebetween, and a gripping finger drive 18 that drives the gripping fingers 12. The grasping finger 12 is opened and closed by the grasping finger driving unit 18 while maintaining the parallel state.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section 2-2 of the tip of the gripping finger 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pressure-sensitive sensor 16 for detecting a contact pressure with the test tube 200 is provided on a contact surface of the tip end of the gripping finger 12 facing the test tube. Then, covering the pressure-sensitive sensor 16, over the entire contact surface,
A rubber contact pad 14 is provided. The contact pad 14 serves to secure a sufficient contact area and a friction coefficient with the side surface of the test tube 200 at the time of gripping, and also serves as a protective member of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16.

For the pressure-sensitive sensor 16, for example, a pressurized conductive rubber can be used. In this case, the applied pressure can be determined from the change in the resistance value of the sensor. The pressure-sensitive sensor 16 is not limited to the pressurized conductive rubber, and various types can be used.

Returning to FIG. 1, the grip unit 10 is attached to the transport mechanism 20. The transport mechanism 20 is capable of moving the grip unit 10 in three axes of a rectangular coordinate system XYZ (the vertical axis is the Z axis).
Since this is a known mechanism, detailed illustration is omitted. Note that the transport mechanism 20 is not limited to this, and various transport mechanisms, such as one having two-axis control in one horizontal direction and one vertical direction, one having cylindrical coordinate system control, or one having polar coordinate system control, can be used.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the present embodiment. The control device 40 can be configured using, for example, a computer. In the control device 40, the control processing unit 42 supplies a drive control signal to the transport mechanism drive unit 22 that drives the transport mechanism 20 and the grip finger drive unit 18 that drives the grip fingers 12. This drive control signal is transmitted to the UI
(User interface) Various control parameters (for example, information such as the position and order of test tubes to be conveyed and the position of a transfer destination) designated by the user by the unit 46 and various sensors provided in the grip unit 10 and the transfer mechanism 20 (For example, position information). The detection signals of these sensors are input to the control processing unit 42 via a signal input I / F (interface). In FIG. 3, among these various sensors, only the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 provided on the grip finger 12 is taken up, and other sensors are omitted. Of course, the control device 40 can also be constructed on the same hardware as the control device of the host device (automatic dispensing device) in which the present test tube transport device is incorporated.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this procedure, first, under the control of the control device 40, the gripping unit 10
By 0, the test tube 200 moves to the XY coordinate position of the test tube 200 to be transported, and then descends in the Z (vertical) direction to a height that can sandwich the test tube 200 (S10). Next, the gripping finger 12 starts a closing operation (gripping operation) by the gripping finger drive unit 18 (S1).
2). When the gripping operation is started, the control processing unit 42 monitors a detection signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 provided on the gripping finger 12. When the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 comes into contact with the test tube 200 or the like, the level of the output signal increases.

If the level of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 does not increase until the two gripping fingers 12 are completely closed (the determination result in S14 is No), the control processing unit 42 sets the test tube to be gripped. It is determined that there is no error, and a predetermined error process corresponding to this is performed (S16). Whether or not the grip finger 12 is completely closed can be determined from a signal indicating the position of the grip finger 12 from the grip finger driving unit 18 or the like.

When detecting an increase in the level of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16, the control processing unit 42 sends a control signal to the grip finger driving unit 18 to stop the grip operation (S18), and the test tube 2
A hardness determination process of 00 is performed (S20). This hardness determination process is performed based on the change pattern of the level of the output signal of the sensor 16 received so far.

Pressure sensor 16 for gripping the test tube
Basically, when the contact portion of the gripping finger 12 starts to contact the test tube, the level starts to rise, and thereafter the gripping finger 1
In accordance with the closing operation of 2, the level rises, for example, at a substantially constant rate. Then, when the desired gripping pressure is reached, the closing operation of the gripping finger 12 is stopped, and thereafter, the output signal level of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 becomes substantially constant. Here, the rate of increase in the level of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 changes depending on the hardness of the test tube to be gripped. As shown in FIG. 5, the rate of increase of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 is smaller in the case where the hard test tube is gripped and in the case where the soft test tube is gripped. This is because the flexible test tube is more easily deformed, and this deformation absorbs a part of the gripping force. Therefore, in S20, it is possible to determine whether the test tube used for gripping is hard or soft, based on whether the rate of increase of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 is higher or lower than a certain threshold value, for example.

The rising pattern of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 during the gripping operation depends on not only the hardness of the test tube but also the gripping finger 12.
, And the detection characteristics of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16. For this reason, depending on the combination of these various characteristics, the pattern of the proportional increase as described above is not necessarily obtained. However, the point that the rate of rise is lower in a soft test tube than in a hard test tube remains the same, so that the above-described determination method can be basically applied to any case.

In the discrimination of the hardness in S20, not only the discrimination of two kinds of hardness but also the discrimination of more kinds of hardness can be performed by setting the threshold value to several steps.

After the hardness determination (S20) is completed, it is next determined whether or not the determined hardness is equal to or greater than a lower limit hardness that can be gripped by the gripping unit 10 (S22). The grippable lower limit hardness is registered in the controller 40 in advance by the device manager. When the hardness of the test tube to be gripped is smaller than the lower limit hardness, the control processing unit 42 stops a series of processes for gripping the test tube and executes a predetermined error process (S24). For this error processing, for example, after creating a processing log indicating that the test tube cannot be gripped,
This is processing such as shifting to the next test tube gripping processing. If it is determined that it is impossible to hold, an alarm may be issued. By such a process, it is possible to avoid such a problem that a very soft test tube is deformed by grasping and a sample is leaked.

If it is determined in S22 that the grip is hard enough to be gripped, the control processing section 42 sends a control signal to the grip finger driving section 18 to restart the gripping operation (S26). Here, the control processing unit 42 determines the driving speed and driving force (the driving unit 1
8) is appropriately controlled according to the hardness of the test tube determined in S20. Drive control parameters corresponding to the hardness are registered in the control processing unit 42 in advance.
Basically, the softer the test tube, the lower the drive speed of the gripping finger 12 and the more delicate the control.

After the gripping operation is resumed, the control processing unit 42
Monitors the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor 16 and determines whether or not the contact pressure between the gripping finger 12 and the test tube has reached the optimum gripping force at every predetermined determination cycle (S28). here,
The optimal gripping force differs depending on the hardness of the test tube to be gripped. Basically, the softer the test tube, the smaller the optimal gripping force. In the control processing unit 42, for example, the optimal gripping force for each hardness of the test tube is registered in advance, and from this registration information,
The optimum gripping force of the test tube to be gripped is determined according to the hardness determination result in S20.

When it is detected that the optimum gripping force has been reached (S
28), the control processing unit 42 instructs the gripping finger drive unit 18 to stop the gripping operation, and instructs the transport mechanism drive unit 22 to lift the gripping unit 10 (upward movement in the Z direction) (S30). Thus, the gripped test tube 200 is extracted from the rack 250. When the grip unit 10 is lifted to a predetermined height and the test tube 200 is completely extracted from the rack 250 and can be moved in the horizontal direction, the control processing unit 42 controls the transport mechanism 20 to control the grip unit 10 and The test tube 200 is transported to a target place (for example, another rack), and the test tube 200 is stored in a storage portion of the place.
Is inserted, the gripping finger 12 is opened to release the test tube 200 (S32). This completes a series of test tube transport operations. Thereafter, it is checked whether or not the test tube to be transported remains (S34). If the test tube remains, the above operation is repeated.

The above is the procedure of the test tube transport operation of the apparatus of the present embodiment. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the hardness (easiness of deformation) of the test tube is determined from the pattern of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor provided at the contact portion of the gripping finger 12, and The driving operation of the gripping fingers is controlled accordingly, so that hard and soft test tubes can be stably gripped and transported with sufficient gripping force while avoiding problems such as excessive deformation. be able to.

In the above description, the result of the hardness determination (S20) is used for the driving speed and the driving force of the gripping finger, but the hardness determination result can be applied to another application. For example, the test tubes can be classified based on the hardness determination result, and the transport destination of the test tubes can be determined according to the classification. That is, by registering in advance the rack of the transport destination for each type of test tube in the control device 40, the control processing unit 42 transports the gripped test tube to the corresponding rack according to the hardness determination result. can do.

The embodiments described above are for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. The present invention can include various modified examples other than the above embodiment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the test tube is sandwiched between two gripping fingers. However, the present invention is naturally applicable to a device having three or more gripping fingers.

In the above example, the pressure-sensitive sensors are provided for all the gripping fingers, but the pressure-sensitive sensors may be provided for at least one gripping finger.

Further, in the above example, the hardness of the test tube is determined from the change in the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor, and the gripping / transporting operation of the test tube is controlled according to the determination result. It is also possible to control the gripping / transporting operation from the rising pattern of the output signal of the pressure sensor itself. For example,
The rising pattern of the output signal of the pressure-sensitive sensor at the time of the gripping operation is obtained in advance by an experiment or the like, and registered in the control processing unit 42 for each type of the test tube to be subjected, and the pressure-sensitive sensor during the actual transfer processing is registered. By comparing the rising pattern of the output with the rising patterns of the registered various test tubes, it is possible to determine which type of the test tube to be gripped is. By registering the optimal drive control pattern of the gripping finger for each type of test tube, the control processing unit 42 can execute the optimal gripping operation for each test tube.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the driving operation of the gripping finger is controlled according to the rising pattern of the output signal of the pressure sensor provided on the gripping finger, the test tube can be gripped with an appropriate driving operation according to the hardness of the test tube, and the test can be performed. While avoiding problems such as excessive deformation,
It can be stably gripped and transported with a sufficient gripping force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a test tube transport device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a tip end of a gripping finger.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a control mechanism of the test tube transport device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the test tube transport device of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a difference in a change pattern of an output signal of a pressure-sensitive sensor due to a difference in hardness of a test tube.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional test tube transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 gripping unit, 12 gripping finger, 14 contact pad, 16 pressure-sensitive sensor, 18 gripping finger drive, 20 transport mechanism, 22 transport mechanism drive, 40 control device, 42
Control processing unit, 44 signal input I / F (interface), 46 UI unit, 200 test tubes, 250 racks.

Continued on front page F term (reference) 2G058 CB15 CB16 GB10 3C007 DS01 ES03 ET08 EV14 EW00 LV10 NS07 NS11 3F059 AA01 AA11 BA08 DA07 DC05 DD06 DE03 FC03 FC04 FC08 3F061 AA01 BA03 BB08 BE24 BF00 DB00 DB02 DD02

Claims (4)

[Claims] A plurality of gripping fingers; a drive unit for driving the plurality of gripping fingers for gripping the test tube; and a sensor provided on the gripping finger and detecting a contact pressure with the test tube. A test tube transport device, comprising: a control unit that controls a driving operation of the driving unit based on a rising pattern of an output signal of the sensor during a gripping operation. 2. The test tube transport device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the hardness of the test tube from a rising pattern of an output signal of the sensor, and performs the test according to the hardness. A test tube transport device, wherein an optimum gripping force of a tube is determined, and the driving unit is controlled so as to grip the test tube with the optimum gripping force. 3. The test tube transport device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the hardness of the test tube from a rising pattern of an output signal of the sensor, and stores the hardness in advance. A test tube transport apparatus characterized in that, when the hardness is lower than a lower limit hardness that can be gripped, the gripping operation of the test tube is stopped and a predetermined error process is performed. 4. The test tube transport device according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic storage means stores a rising pattern of an output signal of the sensor for each type of test tube; Classifying means for classifying test tubes to be grasped by determining which type of test tube stored in the characteristic storage device corresponds to the rising pattern of the output signal. Test tube transport device.