JPH11276931A - Centrifugal separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a centrifugal separator capable of exactly and surely keeping a bucket for receiving an article to be treated in a horizontal position. SOLUTION: The centrifugal separator is provided with a positioning plate 193 protruded downwardly from the back surface of the bucket 188 which is freely swingable, a positioning hole 194 formed on the positioning plate 193, and a tapered positioning pin 203 capable of fitting to the positioning hole 194. The bucket 188 is forced to keep a horizontal position by forcedly fitting the positioning pin to the positioning hole 194.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a centrifugal separator for performing centrifugal separation of a test solution as one of pretreatments prior to component analysis of a sample in research on medicine and chemistry.

[0002]

2. Related Art As disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-27457, this type of centrifugal separator includes a plurality of buckets swingably mounted on a rotor,
Workpieces can be mounted on these buckets. When the rotor is rotated, a centrifugal force is applied to the object in the bucket, and the centrifugal force centrifuges the object, that is, the test solution.

[0003]

By the way, even in the above-mentioned centrifugal separator, a device for automating loading and unloading of an object to be processed into a bucket,
That is, it is recognized that a positioning device that positions the basket in a horizontal posture at a predetermined turning angle position is employed.

However, since the positioning device presses the plate against the bottom surface of the basket from below, if the inclination of the bucket from the horizontal posture is large, the plate remains in one-side contact with the bottom surface of the bucket, and the bucket is moved. In some cases, it cannot be corrected in a horizontal posture.
The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal separator having a simple configuration and capable of ensuring a secure horizontal posture of a bucket.

[0005]

A centrifugal separator according to the present invention (claim 1) has a projecting member projecting downward from an outer bottom surface of a bucket, and is formed on the projecting member and is directed in the radial direction of the rotor. When the bucket is at a predetermined turning angle position, it has a circular recess and a tapered fitting pin that moves back and forth on a horizontal movement axis below the bucket and can fit into the recess.

If the centrifugal separator is provided with the above-described posture restricting means, even if the bucket is inclined from the horizontal posture, the fitting pin is fitted into the circular recess of the protruding member, so that the bucket has its pivot axis. Swings around and is forcibly corrected to a horizontal posture. Preferably, the protruding member is disposed in a vertical plane including the pivot center of the bucket when the bucket is in the horizontal posture (claim 2). In this case, the posture of the bucket is corrected by the fitting of the fitting pins, that is, the swing of the bucket is made smooth.

Further, it is preferable that the axis of movement of the fitting pin, that is, the axis of the recess is orthogonal to the axis of the rotor. In this case, the bucket has a predetermined turning angle when viewed in the circumferential direction of the rotor. Any deviation from the position is also corrected by the engagement of the engagement pin in the recess.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a centrifuge includes a box-shaped housing 160.
Has an upper wall 161. A rectangular entrance 162 is formed in the upper wall 161, and the entrance 162 can be opened and closed by a slide door 163. More specifically, a U-shaped wall 164 is formed on the upper wall 161, and a portion on the closed end side of the U-shaped wall 164 surrounds the entrance / exit 162 except for one side of the entrance / exit 162. Guide grooves 165 are formed on a pair of inner side surfaces of the U-shaped wall 164, and both side edges of the slide door 163 are slidably fitted in the guide grooves 165. A fitting groove 166 is formed in the closed-side inner end surface of the U-shaped wall 164, and both ends of the fitting groove 166 are connected to the guide groove 165. Sliding door 163
Slides toward the entrance / exit 162 while being guided by the guide groove 165, and reaches above the entrance / exit 162, the front edge of the slide door 163 fits into the fitting groove 166 of the U-shaped wall 164. Further, a sealing wall 167 is provided on the upper wall 161 along the one side of the entrance / exit 162.
Reference numeral 7 connects both side surfaces of the U-shaped wall 164, and the upper surface thereof can slide on the lower surface of the sliding door 163. Accordingly, when the sliding door 163 is moved above the entrance 162, the sliding door 163 cooperates with the sealing wall 167, the U-shaped wall 164, and the fitting groove 166 in a state where the lower surface thereof is in contact with the sealing wall 167. Then, the entrance 162 is closed.

In order to reciprocate the sliding door 163, an air cylinder 168 is disposed directly above the sliding door 163. The air cylinder 168 has both ends of the outer cylinder mounted on the housing 160 via leg members 169 and 170. Wall 16
1 supported. As is clear from FIG.
70 has a gate shape straddling the U-shaped wall 164. The tip of the piston rod 171 of the air cylinder 168 is connected to the front edge of the slide door 163 via a connecting member 172. Therefore, the slider door 163 opens and closes the entrance 162 by the expansion and contraction operation of the piston rod 171 in the air cylinder 168.

The inlet / outlet 162 has a size sufficient to allow passage of a test tube stand (hereinafter simply referred to as a stand) S, and the stand S is specifically shown in FIG. The stand S is capable of holding ten test tubes T with stoppers in two rows, and has a pair of positioning holes H formed on the bottom surface thereof. These positioning holes H are arranged on the longitudinal axis of the bottom wall of the stand S. On the other hand, the test tube T with a stopper is composed of a test tube t and a plug p, and a test solution to be centrifuged is already injected into each of the test tubes T with the stopper. Further, the stand S has grip portions G on both sides.
These grips G are used for transferring the stand S. The transfer of the stand S is performed by, for example, an orthogonal three-axis robot (not shown). The robot has a hand that grips the stand S, and the hand can rotate in a horizontal plane.

As shown in FIG.
An intermediate frame 173 is provided in the housing 0, and the intermediate frame 173 partitions the inside of the housing 160 into an upper rotor chamber 174 and a lower motor chamber 175.
A rotor shaft 176 extends vertically in the rotor chamber 174, and the upper end of the rotor shaft 176 penetrates the upper wall 161, and is rotatably supported by the upper wall 161 via a bearing 177. On the other hand, the lower end of the rotor shaft 176 is
4, the bearing unit 178 is rotatably penetrated and extends to the motor chamber 175. The bearing unit 178 includes a double bearing 179 and is fixed to the upper support plate 180. The upper support plate 180 is attached to the intermediate frame 173 described above.

A plurality of rods 181 are suspended from the upper support plate 180, and a lower support plate 182 is connected to lower ends of the rods 181.
Lower support plate 182 is upper support plate 1
80 and a high-speed motor 183 on its lower surface.
Is attached. The high-speed motor 183 has an output shaft passing through the lower support plate 182, and the output shaft is connected to a lower end of the rotor shaft 176 via a coupling 184. Accordingly, the rotor shaft 176 is rotated in one direction by the driving of the high-speed motor 183.

In the rotor chamber 174, a rectangular rotor head 185 is mounted via a key at an intermediate portion of the rotor shaft 176, and a pair of rotor arms 186 as a rotor is horizontally mounted on the rotor head 185. Have been. These rotor arms 186 extend on both sides of the rotor shaft 176. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of rotor arms 186 includes two parallel plate members 187, and the plate members 187 are connected at their center portions to corresponding end faces of the rotor head 185.

A bucket 188 is attached to the tip of each rotor arm 186. As apparent from FIG. 4, the bucket 188 is sandwiched between the plate members 187, and is supported by the plate members 187 via the pivot shaft 189. Thus, each bucket 188 can rotate about its pivot axis 189, but is usually balanced to take a horizontal position.

The bucket 188 is a rectangular box having an open upper surface, and can receive the above-described stoppered test tube T for each stand S thereof. A pair of positioning pins 190 corresponding to the positioning holes H of the stand S protrude from the inner bottom surface of the bucket 188, and the tips of the positioning pins 190 have a conical shape. Therefore, when the stand S is received in the bucket 188, each positioning pin 19
Numeral 0 fits into the corresponding positioning hole H of the stand S, and the stand S can be held in the bucket 188 while being positioned.

As is clear from FIG.
8 has a pair of ears 191 at its upper edge supported by the pivot shaft 189 described above. On the other hand, inside the rotor arm 186, that is, on the inner surfaces of both plate members 187, rocking restricting pieces 192 are attached at positions closer to the rotor head 185 than the ears 191, respectively. It has a horizontal lower end surface. As described above, when the bucket 188 is in the horizontal posture, the upper edge of the bucket 188 is in surface contact with the lower end surface of the swing regulating piece 192.

Further, a positioning plate 193 as a projecting member is hung from the center of the outer bottom surface of the bucket 188 via a mounting plate. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the positioning plate 193 is in a vertical plane including the axis of the pivot shaft 189 of the bucket 188, and is orthogonal to the outer bottom surface of the bucket 188, and its width direction is the bucket 188. Are arranged so as to coincide with each other in the width direction. A positioning hole 194 as a recess is formed at the lower end of the positioning plate 193, and the axis of the positioning hole 194 is in a relationship orthogonal to the axis of the rotor shaft 176.

As shown in FIG. 3, below the upper support plate 180, an air cylinder 195 is vertically arranged with a positional relationship opposed to the above-described inlet / outlet 162. Is the bracket 19
6 is attached to the upper support plate 180. A piston rod 197 of the air cylinder 195 protrudes upward, and a positioning rocker 198 cooperating with the positioning plate 193 described above is attached to a tip of the piston rod 197. The cross section of the positioning rocker 198 is substantially U
A groove member 199 having a letter shape is provided.
The pair of groove walls 200 and 201 are spaced apart in the radial direction of the rotor shaft 176, and one of the groove walls 200 located radially inside is set slightly higher than the other groove wall 201. An air cylinder 20 is provided on the outer surface of the other groove wall 201.
2 is mounted horizontally, the piston rod of the air cylinder 202 penetrates the groove wall 201, faces the groove member 119, and has a positioning pin 2 as a fitting pin at its tip.
03 is attached. The tip of the positioning pin 203 has a conical shape, and its maximum diameter is
3 is larger than the diameter of the positioning hole 194. The axis of the positioning pin 203 is in a positional relationship orthogonal to the axis of the rotor shaft 176.

On the other hand, on the lower support plate 182, a bearing unit 204 having a built-in bearing is fixed beside the coupling 184 described above.
A shaft 205 is rotatably and vertically penetrated in the inside 04. The lower end of the shaft 205 projects below the lower support plate 182, and the female clutch disc 206 is attached to the lower end. A male clutch disk 207 is coaxially spaced apart from and below the female clutch disk 206, and the male clutch disk 207 is connected to an output shaft 209 of the low-speed motor 208. The low-speed motor 208 is connected to a vertical end of a piston rod of an air cylinder 211 via a connecting member 210. The air cylinder 211 is supported by a lower support plate 182 via a bracket 212.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outer peripheral surface of the female clutch disc 206 has an arc-shaped tooth groove 213 adjacent in the circumferential direction, while, as shown in FIG. A pair of clutch pins 214 protrude from the upper surface of the male crunch disc 207. The clutch pins 214 have a conical tip at the tip and a tooth groove 2 at the base.
13 has a diameter that is twice the radius of curvature.
The clutch pins 214 are spaced apart from each other in the diameter direction of the male clutch disc 207, and are arranged on a circumference having the same diameter as the pitch circle of the female clutch disc 206. Accordingly, when the piston rod of the air cylinder 211 is extended and the male clutch disc 207 is raised with the rotation of the low-speed motor 208, as shown in FIG. It matches the tooth gap 213 of the clutch disk 206. At this point, the driving force of the low-speed motor 208 is transmitted to the shaft 205 via the male and female clutch disks 207 and 206, and the shaft 205 rotates in one direction.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the shaft 205
A timing pulley 215 is attached to the upper end of the rotor shaft 176, while a timing pulley 216 is also attached to the lower end of the rotor shaft 176. A timing belt 217 is wound around these timing pulleys 215 and 216, and the timing belt 217 can transmit the rotational force of the shaft 205 to the rotor shaft 176. That is, the rotor shaft 176 is connected to the high-speed motor 183 described above.
In addition, the motor can be rotated by driving the low-speed motor 208.

Conversely, male and female clutch discs 207 and 2
When the engagement between the shafts 06 is released, the rotation of the rotor shaft 176 is transmitted to the shaft 205 via the timing pulleys 215 and 216 and the timing belt 217, and the shaft 205 rotates in conjunction with the rotor shaft 176. In addition, instead of the timing pulley and the timing belt,
Sprockets and chains can also be used.

A disk 218 to be detected is horizontally mounted on the upper end of the shaft 205, and a plurality of apertures 21 are provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the disk 218 to be detected.
9 are formed. The transmission-type photoelectric sensors 220 and 2 are sandwiched between the detection target disk 218 and the outer periphery thereof.
21 are arranged respectively. These photoelectric sensors 22
Reference numerals 0 and 221 are spaced apart from each other in the diameter direction of the detected disk 218 and are attached to the upper support plate 180 via a bracket. The photoelectric sensors 220 and 221 can detect the passage of the opening 219 with the rotation of the detected disk 218. Based on the detection signals from the photoelectric sensors 220 and 221, the rotation angle of the detected disk 218,
That is, the turning angle of the bucket 188 in the rotor arm 186 is detected.

In FIG. 3, the timing pulley 21
5, 216 have different diameters, but the timing pulleys 215, 216 may have the same diameter. In this case, instead of the detected disk 218, the rotor arm 18
6 can be used, and the photoelectric sensors 220 and 221 detect the rotation angle of the detected arm, that is, the rotor arm 186. Further, the detected disk 218 or the detected arm can be directly attached to the rotor shaft 176.

Next, the steps from loading to unloading of the stand S to the centrifuge will be described. First, as described above, the rotation of the low-speed motor 208 and the operation of the air cylinder 211 cause the clutch disks 20
When 6,297 is engaged, the rotational force is transmitted from the low-speed motor 208 to the rotor shaft 176 via the shaft 205, and the pair of rotor arms 186 is gently rotated.
While the rotor arm 186 is rotating at low speed, the turning angle of the bucket 188 is detected based on the detection signals from the photoelectric sensors 220 and 221, and one of the buckets 188 is positioned below the entrance 162, that is, the reference turning angle position. When it reaches, the driving of the low-speed motor 211 is stopped.

In this state, the air cylinder 195 raises the positioning rocker 198 to a predetermined position and positions it just below the bucket 188. At this time, the bucket 188
Is accurately positioned at the reference turning angle position and the bucket 188 is in the horizontal position, the positioning rocker 198
The positioning pin 203 and the positioning hole 194 of the positioning plate 193 in the bucket 118 are positioned coaxially.

However, since the bucket 188 is attached to the rotor arm 186 via the pivot shaft 189, the bucket 188 may be inclined from a horizontal posture as shown in an exaggerated manner in FIG. However, even when the bucket 188 is slightly tilted, the positioning pin 203 of the positioning rocker 198 is not
2, the positioning pin 203 is forcibly pushed into the positioning hole 194 of the positioning plate 193 as shown in FIG. At this time, the bucket 188 is corrected to a horizontal posture, and the upper edge of the bucket 188 comes into surface contact with the lower end surface of the swing regulating piece 192. The positioning pin 203 not only corrects the inclination of the bucket 188, but also corrects the deviation even if the bucket 188 is slightly deviated from the reference turning angle position in the turning direction. Further, since the positioning plate 193 is disposed in a vertical plane including the axis of the pivot shaft 189 of the bucket 188, the bucket 188 smoothly swings when the positioning pin 203 forcibly enters the positioning hole 194. And take a horizontal posture.

When the inclination of the bucket 188 is large, when the positioning rocker 198 is raised, one of the groove walls 200 of the groove member 199 is attached to the bottom surface of the bucket 188, that is, the mounting plate of the positioning plate 193. The positioning pin 203 is pushed into the positioning hole 194 with certainty by correcting the inclination of the bucket 188 to some extent.

On the other hand, during the positioning of the bucket 188 described above, the slide door 163 receives the operation of the air cylinder 168 and opens the entrance 162 of the housing 160. In this state, the robot described above transfers the stand S holding the stoppered test tube T to a position above the entrance / exit 162 by the hand, and then lowers the stand S through the entrance / exit 162 to move the stand S into the bucket 188. Position and attach. At this time, since the bucket 188 is accurately positioned at the reference turning angle position as described above, the robot can reliably load the stand S onto the bucket 188.

After mounting the stand S, the positioning locker 1
The 98 positioning pin 203 is pulled out from the positioning hole 194 of the positioning plate 193 on the bucket 188 side,
The positioning rocker 198 descends to a position where it does not interfere with the turning of the bucket 188. Thereafter, the low-speed motor 211 is driven, the other bucket 188 is accurately positioned at the reference turning angle position in the same manner, and the stand S is mounted on the bucket 188 by the robot.

When the stands S are mounted on the two buckets 188 in this manner, the positioning rocker 1
98 returns to the original lowered position, and the engagement between the male and female clutch disks 206 and 207 is released,
The sliding door 163 closes the entrance 162 of the housing 160. In this state, when the high-speed motor 183 is driven, the pair of buckets 188 rotate at high speed via the rotor arm 186, and the test solution in each test tube T with a stopper of the stand S is subjected to centrifugal separation. While the bucket 188 is turning,
Bucket 188 is centered on its pivot axis 189
It is in a state tilted outward in the turning direction.

During the centrifugation, the air in the housing 160 may be replaced with a heated or cooled inert gas. When the centrifugal separation process is completed, the driving of the high-speed motor 183 is stopped, and the bucket 188 stops at a certain turning position. Thereafter, the sliding door 163 opens the entrance 162 of the housing 160, and the bucket 188 is similarly positioned at the reference turning angle position. The stand S in the bucket 188 is taken out via the robot, and the next step is performed. It is sequentially transferred to.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the number of rotor arms of the centrifuge, that is, the number of buckets is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

[0034]

As described above, according to the centrifugal separator (Claim 1) of the present invention, the bucket is accurately and reliably positioned in the horizontal posture at the predetermined turning angle position.
Loading and unloading of a workpiece to a bucket can be easily automated.

If the projecting member of the attitude regulating means is arranged in a vertical plane including the center of swinging of the bucket (claim 2),
When the posture of the bucket is corrected, the swing of the bucket can be performed smoothly. If the movement axis of the fitting pin of the attitude regulating means is perpendicular to the axis of the rotor (claim 3), the fitting pin not only corrects the bucket to a horizontal attitude, but also adjusts the bucket in the circumferential direction of the rotor. Is slightly deviated from the predetermined turning angle position, the deviation can be corrected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a centrifuge according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a test tube with a stopper and its test tube stand.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal structure of a centrifuge.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a rotor arm.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the basket.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the female clutch disc.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view in which the male and female clutch disks are disengaged.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state where the clutch disc is engaged from the state of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state immediately before a bucket is positioned by a positioning rocker.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state where a bucket is positioned by a positioning rocker.

[Description of Signs] 160 Housing 162 Inlet / outlet 176 Rotor shaft 186 Rotor arm (rotor) 188 Bucket 193 Positioning plate (projecting member) 194 Positioning hole (dent) 198 Positioning rocker 203 Positioning pin (Mating pin)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A housing, a rotor rotatably provided in a horizontal plane within the housing, and a rotatably provided vertically rotatable on the rotor to receive an object to be processed and the rotor A plurality of buckets that pivot with the rotation of the bucket; and posture regulating means for regulating the bucket to a horizontal posture when the bucket is at a predetermined pivot angle position. The regulating means comprises an outer bottom surface of the bucket. A protruding member protruding downward from the protruding member, a circular recess formed in the protruding member and directed in the radial direction of the rotor, and advancing and retreating on a horizontal movement axis below the bucket, and fitted into the recess. A centrifuge comprising a possible tapered mating pin. 2. The centrifugal separator according to claim 1, wherein the protruding member is disposed in a vertical plane including a swing center of the bucket when the bucket is in a horizontal posture. 3. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the axis of movement of the fitting pin is orthogonal to the axis of the rotor.