JP4212864B2 - Drug tray transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a small work storage system used for the development of new drugs and the like, and more specifically, for example, a tray storing a plurality of small works such as vials and microtubes containing chemicals and compounds. The present invention relates to a drug discovery tray transfer device used when taking out from a storage or storing in a storage.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in systems that store small workpieces such as vials or microtubes that contain drugs or compounds, multiple small workpieces are stored in a matrix on a storage tray, and the storage tray rotates automatically. It was stored on a shelf. A tray transfer device having a horizontal chuck mechanism has been used for taking out and storing the storage tray. Such a tray transfer device maintains the gripping state of the horizontal chuck mechanism by driving an actuator or a solenoid.
[0003]
In recent years, in the field of drug discovery research, a new technology called combinatorial chemistry that efficiently synthesizes many types of compounds (libraries) by freely combining compounds has attracted attention. To achieve this, it is indispensable to develop high-density storage of workpieces and picking technology that picks up specific workpieces from high-density stored workpieces at high speed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional tray transfer device grips the side of the tray by the horizontal chuck mechanism, the tray may jump out of the horizontal chuck mechanism when transferring the tray at a high speed. In particular, when a transfer operation involving a rotational motion is performed, the centrifugal force acts on the tray, and this problem is more serious.
[0005]
In addition, since the conventional tray transfer device maintains the tray gripping state by the horizontal chuck mechanism by driving the actuator and solenoid, the horizontal chuck mechanism is stopped when the drive source is stopped for some reason during operation. It has been pointed out that there is a danger that the gripping force is lost and the tray held by the horizontal chuck mechanism falls and breaks.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to ensure that a tray can be transferred at a high speed and accompanied by a rotational motion, and that high-density storage and high-speed picking of workpieces required in the field of drug discovery research are realized. The object is to provide a medicinal tray transfer device. Further, a further object of the present invention is to provide a high reliability capable of accurately taking out a specific tray from trays stored at high density without releasing the gripped tray even when the apparatus is stopped. To provide a drug transfer tray transfer device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a drug discovery tray transfer device comprising a tray storing a plurality of samples, and a tray hand for holding the tray and moving it to another place. The tray has a locking piece receiving portion on the bottom surface, and the tray hand is opened and closed in equal amounts in synchronization with each other, a tray receiving plate inserted into the lower portion of the tray, and the horizontal chuck Interlocking with the opening / closing operation of the tray receiving plate, a locking piece that can be projected and retracted vertically from the opening of the tray receiving plate, an elastic member that biases the pair of horizontal chucks in a closed state, and one of the pair of horizontal chucks A linear solenoid that moves in the opening direction against an urging force; and a turning mechanism that moves the other horizontal chuck in the opening direction by a distance equal to the movement amount. When gripped, the locking piece is configured to be engaged with the engagement piece receiving portion.
[0008]
The shape of the locking piece and the locking piece receiving portion is not particularly limited as long as the engagement between the locking piece and the locking piece receiving portion is possible, but the shape of the tip of the locking piece is conical. Because the engagement piece receiving portion has a conical concave shape, it is possible to automatically force the positional deviation between the tray and the tray hand by the engagement between the engagement piece and the engagement piece receiving portion. ,preferable.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, an arm support member is provided in which a locking piece drive pin is suspended from the locking piece and supports the horizontal chuck so as to be horizontally movable. A cam member is fixedly provided, and the locking piece moves up and down when the head of the locking piece driving pin is in sliding contact with an inclined surface formed on the lower surface of the cam member.
[0010]
[Action]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the drug discovery tray transfer device comprising a tray that stores a plurality of samples and a tray hand that holds the tray and moves it to another location, the tray is associated with the bottom surface. A pair of horizontal chucks having a stopper receiving portion, and the tray hand is opened and closed in equal amounts synchronously with each other, a tray receiving plate inserted into the lower portion of the tray, and a tray receiving plate in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the horizontal chuck A latching piece that can be projected and retracted vertically from the opening, an elastic member that biases the pair of horizontal chucks in a closed state, and a linear solenoid that moves one of the pair of horizontal chucks against the biasing force in the opening direction And a turning mechanism that moves the other horizontal chuck in the opening direction by a distance equal to the amount of movement, and when the tray is gripped by the closing operation of the horizontal chuck, the latch piece of the tray hand is engaged with the bottom surface of the tray. Stop Because it is configured to engage with the receiving part, the tray hand locking piece and the tray bottom locking piece receiving part are engaged simultaneously with the gripping operation from the side of the tray by the pair of horizontal chucks, so that the tray is secured. Hold on. In addition, the tray holding state is maintained even in the event of an unexpected power outage or device shutdown.
[0011]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the invention, the arm support member is provided with the latch piece driving pin suspended from the latch piece and supporting the horizontal chuck so as to be horizontally movable. Since the cam member is fixed and the head of the locking piece drive pin is in sliding contact with the inclined surface formed on the lower surface of the cam member, the locking piece moves up and down. When the horizontal chuck is opened, the head of the locking piece drive pin is pushed downward by the inclined surface, and the locking piece is pulled down from the surface of the tray receiving plate. Conversely, when the pair of horizontal chucks are closed due to the stop of the linear solenoid, the cam member is disengaged from the head of the locking piece driving pin. It is pulled upward by an elastic member inserted between the main bodies. Accordingly, the locking piece protrudes upward from the opening of the tray receiving plate.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a tray hand 100 constituting a drug discovery tray transfer apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the tray hand shown in FIG.
[0013]
In FIG. 1, 110R and 110L are a pair of horizontal chucks for gripping the tray. The horizontal chucks 110R and 110L are screwed to arm support members 114R and 114L supported by the tray hand main body 120 so as to be horizontally movable via chuck arms 112R and 112L. The horizontal chucks 110R and 110L are molded from a resin material such as a vinyl chloride resin or an epoxy resin, a rubber material such as natural rubber, or the like depending on the application. For example, when molded from a vinyl chloride resin, sliding friction is increased, so that the side of the tray can be securely held by the side surface of the horizontal chuck, which is suitable for transferring a heavy tray. On the other hand, when molded from a material with a low coefficient of friction such as Teflon (registered trademark), even if the side of the tray is frozen, it can be avoided that the side of the tray and the horizontal chuck stick to each other. Suitable for use.
[0014]
The two arm support members 114R and 114L are supported by the tray hand body 120 so as to be horizontally movable so as to face each other with a gap therebetween. Each of the two arm support members 114R and 114L is provided with racks 116R and 116L having tooth pitches of equal pitch so as to face each other. A pinion gear 130 pivoted at the center between both racks meshes with the racks 116R and 116L to form a turning mechanism (reverse rotation mechanism). By this turning mechanism, the other horizontal chuck 110R opens and closes in synchronization with the opening and closing operation of one horizontal chuck 110L.
[0015]
Furthermore, an elastic member 150 such as a spring stretched between a fixing pin 118 suspended from the end of the chuck arm 112L of one horizontal chuck 110L and a fixing pin 140 suspended from the tray hand body 120, The one horizontal chuck 110L is biased to a closed state. The other horizontal chuck 110R is also kept closed by the turning mechanism.
[0016]
The arm support member 114L is connected to a drive shaft of a linear motion solenoid 160, and the drive of the linear motion solenoid 160 causes the chuck arm 112L to retreat against the urging force of the elastic member 150 to be in an open state. . Further, by the turning mechanism, the other chuck arm 112R is also retracted and opened in synchronism with the retraction of the chuck arm 112L.
[0017]
A cam member 180 having an inclined surface on the lower surface is fixed to the arm support member 114R. Further, a locking piece 190 is provided so as to be able to protrude and retract in the vertical direction from an opening of a tray receiving plate 170 extending forward from the tray hand main body 120. The head of the locking piece drive pin 200 that is suspended from the locking piece 190 is in sliding contact with the inclined surface of the cam member 180. Therefore, when the pair of horizontal chucks 110R and 110L are opened by driving the linear solenoid 160, the head of the locking piece driving pin 200 is pushed downward by the inclined surface, and the locking piece 190 is The tray receiving plate 170 is pulled downward from the surface. On the contrary, when the pair of horizontal chucks 110R and 110L are closed due to the stop of the linear motion solenoid 160, the cam member 180 is detached from the head of the locking piece driving pin 200. The elastic member 210 inserted between the head and the tray hand body 120 is pulled upward. As a result, the locking piece 190 projects upward from the opening of the tray receiving plate 170.
[0018]
Next, a transfer operation when the above-described drug tray transfer device of the present invention is applied to a small work storage system used in the field of drug discovery research will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows an outline of an automatic horizontal rotating shelf 300 that stores a high density of trays for storing a plurality of microtubes for storing a solution containing a compound solution and a vial for storing a compound powder. FIG. 3A shows a top view thereof, and FIG. 3B shows a side view thereof.
[0019]
In the system shown in FIG. 3, two automatic horizontal rotating shelves 300A and 300B having 24 rows of storage shelves 320 that can store 24 trays 310 vertically are used. In addition, tray entry / exit areas 330A and 330B are provided at the rotating portions of the respective automatic horizontal rotating shelves 300A and 300B.
[0020]
And the tray hand 100 of the tray transfer apparatus for drug discovery by this invention which consists of the structure mentioned above is attached to the loading / unloading automatic transfer machine 400 installed adjacent to each loading / unloading area. The tray hand 100 is installed on the support column 410 of the loading / unloading automatic transfer machine 400 via a multi-indirect robot arm.
[0021]
When a tray to be taken out is instructed by a worker or from a loading / unloading management terminal (not shown) or according to a program prepared in advance, the automatic horizontal rotating shelves 300A and 300B rotate to store a desired tray. The storage shelf 320 to be moved moves to the entry / exit areas 330A and 330B. Then, the tray hand 100 moves to the height of the tray to be taken out. Then, the linear solenoid 160 described above is driven to open the horizontal chucks 110R and 110L of the tray hand 100, and the tray receiving plate 170 of the tray hand 100 is inserted below the desired tray. At this time, the locking piece 190 of the tray hand 100 is lowered below the tray receiving plate 170, so that the tray is inserted until the tray contacts the tray hand main body 120 without being blocked by the locking piece 190. When the tray receiving plate 170 is firmly inserted under the desired tray, the direct acting solenoid 160 is stopped and the horizontal chuck 110 is closed. At the same time, the locking piece 190 protrudes from the opening of the tray receiving plate 170 and engages with the locking piece receiving portion provided on the bottom surface of the tray.
[0022]
Then, the desired tray is pulled out from the storage shelf 320 by the turning operation of the multi-indirect robot arm, and is transferred to the transfer table (not shown). At this time, the movement of the tray held by the horizontal chucks 110R and 110L is restricted by the engagement between the engaging piece 190 of the tray hand 100 and the engaging piece receiving part at the bottom of the tray. Even if force is applied, the tray hand 100 does not come off.
[0023]
In the above example, an elastic member 150 such as a spring is provided between the fixing pin 118 suspended from the end of the chuck arm 112L of one horizontal chuck 110L and the fixing pin 140 suspended from the tray hand body 120. The pair of horizontal chucks 110R and 110L are urged in a closed state, but an elastic member is stretched between the two horizontal chucks 110R and 110L so that the pair of horizontal chucks 110R and 110L You may urge to a closed state.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the drug discovery tray transfer apparatus comprising the tray that stores a plurality of samples and the tray hand that holds the tray and moves it to another location, Has a pair of horizontal chucks that have a locking piece receiving part on the bottom surface, and the tray hand is opened and closed in equal amounts synchronously with each other, a tray receiving plate inserted into the lower part of the tray, and an opening and closing operation of the horizontal chuck A locking piece that can be interlocked and moved up and down from the opening of the tray receiving plate, an elastic member that biases the pair of horizontal chucks in a closed state, and an opening direction against one of the pair of horizontal chucks against the biasing force A linear solenoid that moves the other horizontal chuck in the opening direction, and a turning mechanism that moves the other horizontal chuck in the opening direction. But Since it is configured to engage with the latch piece receiving portion on the bottom surface of the lay, the tray receiving plate of the tray hand is inserted under the desired tray so that the side surface of the tray can be securely held by the pair of horizontal chucks. The engagement piece of the hand and the engagement piece receiving portion on the bottom surface of the tray are engaged, and the movement of the tray back and forth is reliably restricted. Therefore, the tray can be moved with a high-speed turning movement, and the tray transfer operation and the high-speed transfer operation can be performed in a narrow space. In addition, the horizontal chuck that is in the gripping state is not released even in the event of an unexpected power outage or when the apparatus is stopped, and the tray can be prevented from dropping.
[0025]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the arm support member is provided with the locking piece drive pin suspended from the locking piece and supporting the horizontal chuck so as to be horizontally movable. Since the cam member is fixed and the head of the locking piece drive pin is in sliding contact with the inclined surface formed on the lower surface of the cam member, the locking piece moves up and down. When the horizontal chuck is opened, the head of the locking piece drive pin is pushed downward by the inclined surface, and the locking piece is pulled down from the surface of the tray receiving plate. Conversely, when the pair of horizontal chucks are closed due to the stop of the linear solenoid, the cam member is disengaged from the head of the locking piece driving pin. It is pulled upward by an elastic member inserted between the main bodies. Accordingly, the locking piece protrudes upward from the opening of the tray receiving plate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tray transfer device showing an appearance of an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a plan view of the tray transfer device of FIG. 1 as viewed from above.
3 is a schematic view showing the entire automatic horizontal rotating shelf to which the tray transfer device of FIG. 1 is applied, (a) is a schematic top view when viewed from above, and (b) is a side view. It is a schematic side view when seen from the side.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 ... Tray hand 110R, 110L ... Horizontal chuck 112R, 112L ... Chuck arm 114R, 114L ... Arm support members 116R, 116L ... Rack 118 ... Fixing pin 120 ... Tray hand Main body 130 ... Pinion 140 ... Fixing pin 150 ... Elastic member 160 ... Direct acting solenoid 170 ... Tray receiving plate 190 ... Locking piece 200 ... Locking piece drive pin 210 .... Elastic member 300 ... Automatic horizontal rotating shelf 400 ... Input / output automatic transfer machine 410 ... Post

Claims (2)

In a drug discovery tray transfer device comprising a tray containing a plurality of samples, and a tray hand that holds the tray and moves it to another location,
The tray has a locking piece receiving portion on the bottom surface,
The tray hand is opened and closed in equal amounts by a pair of horizontal chucks, a tray receiving plate inserted into the lower portion of the tray, and the opening and closing operation of the horizontal chuck in conjunction with the opening of the tray receiving plate. A locking piece that can be moved up and down, an elastic member that urges the pair of horizontal chucks in a closed state, and a linear solenoid that moves one of the pair of horizontal chucks in the opening direction against the urging force; A displacement mechanism that moves the other horizontal chuck in the opening direction by a distance equal to the amount of movement,
The drug discovery tray transfer device, wherein the locking piece engages with the locking piece receiving portion when the tray is gripped by the closing operation of the horizontal chuck.   A locking piece drive pin is suspended from the locking piece, a cam member is fixed to an arm support member that supports the horizontal chuck so as to be horizontally movable, and the head of the locking piece drive pin is the lower surface of the cam member. 2. The drug discovery tray transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the locking piece moves up and down by sliding in contact with an inclined surface formed on the medicine.

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