JP2002234601A - Isothermal, constant humidity, and freezing automatic storing facility for biological science and medical test - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve, by full automation of storing and management, problems in conventional storing of test material for biological science, incubation, gene, and medical products for test that require severe maintenance and management of temperature and humidity wherein they are stored in relatively small incubator, refrigerator-freezer, or thermal insulation/moisture retention room, efficiency of the storing places is low, and manual management requires working time and tends to cause a handling error. SOLUTION: An entire automatic storing facility is covered as a whole with a heat insulating material, two rotating shelves 1 and 2 are disposed, and a moving machine 3 running along a rail 4 is disposed in the intermediate part between the shelves. The rotating shelves and the moving machine handle a specified matter in cooperation. A station part for performing an operation is provided with pass boxes 5 and 6 for blocking flow of air between the inside and the outside. The management of a stored matter is performed by a computer, a barcode or an ID tag are adhered to the stored matter, and storage and retrieval management is fully automated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a facility for storing and managing the stored items in the fields of biological science and pharmaceutical testing, which require strict maintenance of temperature and humidity, and for fully controlling and managing the stored items.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, storage of test materials, cultures, genes and test drugs for biological science and pharmaceutical tests has been managed manually by an incubator, a refrigerator or the like. Problems such as poor access to places with poor temperature and humidity conditions, poor storage efficiency, and poor manual work efficiency were problems. In addition, there were many types of products to be handled, and work mistakes were likely to occur.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] (a) Despite the need for strict maintenance of temperature and humidity, prevention of energy loss by repeatedly opening the door of a storage box for taking in and out of storage items (B) Improving storage space efficiency and shortening work time by automating storage work and management (c) Preventing erroneous work by linking a computer and a bar code The present invention is intended to solve these problems. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention is to greatly improve the efficiency of conventional work and storage, and this will be described with reference to the drawings. The storage part is entirely covered with a material having a heat retaining and moisture retaining function, and is provided with temperature and humidity control devices (8, 9) for controlling temperature and humidity. The storage shelf is a rotating shelf (1, 2) that rotates vertically with each stage connected by chains.
And a transfer machine (3) running along a rail (4) provided between the rotating shelves. Further, pass boxes (5, 6) having automatic doors on both sides are attached so as not to disturb the temperature and humidity of the storage unit when taking out and putting in the storage items. The rotating shelves (1, 2) have a function of rotating storage shelves designated to be put in and out to the level of the transfer machine. The transfer machine has a function of traveling horizontally, grasping the stored items on the rotating shelf, and automatically transferring the items to the shelf and the pass box. Pass box (5
A conveyor is provided in 6), and has a function of transferring stored items between the station (7) and the transfer machine. When the storage amount is small, one of the two rotating shelves may be a fixed shelf (13), and a small stacker crane (12) capable of running horizontally and vertically may be installed instead of the transfer machine.

Embodiments of the Invention (a) Test materials, cultures, genes, etc. of stored items are placed in containers such as test tubes and petri dishes, and these containers and containers are put together in a case (11). Has a barcode or ID tag attached. The test drug has a barcode on the box. (B) When storing a new container, read the barcode of the container or box with a barcode reader, and the computer that manages this equipment will specify the case with the most appropriate dimensions for the dimensions of the container. The rotating shelf in which the designated case is stored automatically rotates to the transfer machine level. The transfer machine (3) travels on the rail (4) to the position of the case, grasps the case, and sends the case to the pass box (5). (C) A pass box equipped with automatic doors at the front and rear to shield the air and outside air in the storage and an internal conveyor sends the case to the station (7). The station reads the barcodes and ID tags of the case and the container and stores in the computer what was put in which case. (D) The computer specifies where the case should be stored on the rotating shelf. According to the support, the case is carried by the transfer machine to the designated shelf storage position via the pass box (6). At that time, the rotating shelf is rotating the designated shelf to the level of the transfer machine. The transfer machine sends the case to the designated location on the designated shelf. (E) When using a stacker crane (12) instead of a transfer machine, the computer specifies the storage location as either a fixed shelf or a rotating shelf, and which position on the shelf. In accordance with the instruction, the stacker crane grasps the case from the pass box (6), moves up and down, and performs the storing operation. When storing in the rotating shelf, the rotating shelf stops moving to a predetermined level, and the stacker crane stores the case at the designated position. (F) When the storage amount is small, two rotating shelves can be used as one.

[Effects of the Invention] (a) Conventionally, small storage equipment was used or fixed shelves were placed in a room where temperature and humidity were controlled, and people were put in and out of the room. Can be condensed and stored up to the ceiling, saving storage space. (B) In the conventional method, the ratio of the door to the storage volume is large, and the air-conditioning conditions are easily disturbed when the door is taken in and out. Since the equipment according to the present invention is put in and out through the pass box, it does not come into direct contact with the outside air, so that the energy is greatly saved. (C) In the conventional method, the storage location and the position of the shelves depend on the memory of the person, which requires a long working time and is easy to make mistakes. Further, it is not preferable to work in a place where temperature and humidity conditions are poor. The present invention is fully automatic, and is effective in reducing work time, preventing erroneous work, and reducing work. (D) Storage items and storage status can be output instantaneously by linking with a computer, so that the efficiency of office work can be dramatically improved. (E) Since the storage items that have been conventionally stored in a distributed manner can be collected at one place, the arrangement and management of workers are facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the present invention. (A)

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the present invention. (B)

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the stacker crane system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference numerals 1 and 2 are vertical rotating shelves. 3 is a transfer machine. 4 is a traveling rail of the transfer machine. Reference numerals 5 and 6 denote pass boxes. Reference numeral 7 denotes a loading / unloading station. Reference numerals 8 and 9 are temperature and humidity controllers. 10 is a shelf. 11 is a case. 12 is a stacker crane.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) F25D 25/04 F25D 25/04

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic storage facility provided with a rotating shelf, an automatic transfer machine or a small stacker crane in a storage room of a constant temperature, constant humidity and freezing specification.