JP2013146354A - Sterile connecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sterile connecting device, capable of checking whether or not there is a heating plate member in a cassette placed in a case without visually recognizing it before connection work of tubes, and capable of smoothly performing sterile connection work of the tubes.SOLUTION: A sterile connecting device 1 has: a case 2 for fixing a first tube T1 and a second tube T2; a wafer cassette storage unit 82 which is placed in the case 2 and in which a wafer cassette WC for storing a plurality of wafers WF as a heating plate member is removably stored; a presence or absence detection sensor 101 for wafers WF, which detects whether or not the wafers WF are stored in the wafer cassette WC positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82; and a control unit 100 for recognizing whether or not wafers WF remain in the wafer cassette WC according to a signal from the presence or absence detection sensor 101.

Description

  The present invention relates to an aseptic joining apparatus for thermoplastic resin tubes, and in particular, for example, a tube on the patient's peritoneal catheter side used for peritoneal dialysis and a dialysate tube of a peritoneal dialysate bag are heated in a sterile state. The present invention relates to an aseptic joining apparatus for melt joining.

  Peritoneal dialysis is a method in which about 2 liters (in the case of an adult) of dialysis solution is put into the abdominal cavity using a tube embedded in the abdominal cavity of a patient, and water and waste products in the body are removed through the peritoneum. After a few hours, dialysate in the abdominal cavity is placed in a drain bag and discarded, and replaced with fresh dialysate. As a result, the dialysate was injected into the abdominal cavity surrounded by the peritoneum, and the dialysate was transferred to the dialysate through unnecessary waste and water in the peritoneal membrane while the dialysate was stored for a certain period of time. Thereafter, the dialysate can be taken out of the body to purify the blood.

  The aseptic joining device is a device that automatically melts two tubes of the same thickness, for example, and automatically joins them in a sterile state. There is no concern about bacterial contamination during joining, and the sterility of the dialysis fluid and the like in the tube and bag can be maintained. The joining of the two tubes can be performed in an aseptic condition using a wafer for heat fusion pressure welding (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2710038

  In the above-described aseptic joining apparatus, the two tubes are fused by pressing a heated metal plate wafer, which is a heating plate member, and then fusing the fused ends of the two tubes. A plurality of wafers are stored in advance in a wafer cassette. The user can store the wafer cassette by detachably inserting the wafer cassette into the housing from the wafer cassette insertion port of the housing of the aseptic bonding apparatus. Then, the user can take out the wafer cassette that has been emptied by pushing the wafer cassette take-out button and take it out of the housing from the wafer cassette insertion port.

However, since the above-described wafer cassette is housed in the casing of the aseptic bonding apparatus, the user cannot directly visually check the wafer cassette, and the user can check whether the wafer remains in the wafer cassette. The presence or absence of the wafer cannot be confirmed visually. If the user cannot visually confirm the presence or absence of a wafer, the wafer in the wafer cassette may suddenly disappear when the tube is joined. If the wafer runs out, the user cannot perform the operation of fusing the two tubes and pressurizing and bonding them. For this reason, there is a possibility that peritoneal dialysis cannot be performed. If it is desired to visually confirm the presence or absence of a wafer in the wafer cassette, the wafer cassette must be taken out of the housing every time the joining operation is performed, which makes the joining operation complicated.
Therefore, the present invention can confirm the presence / absence of the heating plate member in the cassette disposed in the housing without visual inspection before the tube joining operation, and smoothly performs the aseptic joining operation of the tube. An object of the present invention is to provide an aseptic joining apparatus that can perform such a process.

In the aseptic joining apparatus of the present invention, the first tube and the second tube are melted using a heating plate member in a state where the first tube and the second tube are fixed, and then the melted end of the first tube. An aseptic joining apparatus that replaces and joins the melted end of the second tube and the second tube, the housing fixing the first tube and the second tube, the housing disposed in the housing, and a plurality of the A cassette storage unit for detachably storing a cassette for storing a heating plate member, and a heating plate for detecting whether or not the heating plate member is stored in the cassette positioned in the cassette storage unit A member presence / absence detection sensor, and a control unit for recognizing whether the heating plate member remains in the cassette based on a signal from the heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor. Characterized in that it.
According to the said structure, the presence or absence of the heating plate member in the cassette arrange | positioned in a housing | casing can be confirmed before the joining operation of a tube, and the aseptic joining operation of a tube can be performed smoothly. That is, the control unit can confirm the presence / absence of the heating plate member in the cassette based on a signal from the presence / absence detection sensor of the heating plate member without visual inspection before the tube joining operation. . Therefore, when there is no heating plate member, the operation is immediately stopped and the heating plate member can be replenished. When the heating plate member is in the cassette, the aseptic joining operation of the tube can be performed smoothly. .

Preferably, the heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor includes a light emitting unit that generates light toward the heating plate member housed in the cassette, and the light reflected by the heating plate member. It is a non-contact type optical sensor having a light receiving portion that receives light and sends a signal indicating that the heating plate member is present to the control portion.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to detect in a non-contact manner whether or not the heating plate member is present in the cassette.

Preferably, the heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor has the heating plate member with respect to the control unit by mechanically contacting the heating plate member housed in the cassette. It is a contact-type sensor that sends a signal.
According to the said structure, it can detect by contacting mechanically whether the plate member for a heating exists in a cassette.

Preferably, the heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor has the heating plate member with respect to the control unit by electrically contacting the heating plate member housed in the cassette. It is an electrical contact type sensor that sends a signal.
According to the said structure, it can be detected by electrically contacting whether the board member for a heating exists in a cassette.

Preferably, when the cassette is positioned in the cassette storage unit, detection of whether or not the heating plate member is stored in the cassette is started by giving a start signal to the control unit. And a detection start sensor.
According to the above configuration, since the presence or absence of the heating plate member is detected from the time when the cassette is positioned in the cassette storage unit, it is not necessary to drive the presence or absence detection sensor of the heating plate member before that. It is possible to prevent the charge capacity of the driving battery from decreasing.

  The present invention can provide an aseptic joining apparatus that is convenient for a patient. In particular, the presence or absence of the heating plate member in the cassette arranged in the housing can be confirmed without visual inspection before the tube joining operation, and the aseptic joining operation can be performed smoothly. A joining device can be provided.

The perspective view which shows embodiment of the aseptic joining apparatus of this invention. 2A is a side view of the aseptic joining apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the J1 direction, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the aseptic joining apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the J2 direction. The bottom view of the aseptic joining apparatus shown in FIG. 4A shows an example of an operation panel provided on the front side of the casing shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4B shows an example provided on the upper surface of the casing shown in FIG. The figure which shows the example of the display part which is. The figure which shows the example of the two tubes T1 and T2 which the aseptic joining apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-3 is going to join by a hot-melt-pressure joining system. The perspective view which shows the state which opened the clamp cover part shown in FIG. 1 in the RT direction from the housing | casing. The perspective view which shows the internal structure example of the clamp cover part seen from the arrow SS direction in FIG. 6, and the internal structure example of a housing | casing side clamp part. The perspective view seen from another angle which shows the internal structure example of a clamp cover part, and the internal structure example of a housing | casing side clamp part. The perspective view which expands and shows the internal structure of the clamp cover part shown in FIG. 7, and the internal structure of a housing | casing side clamp part. The perspective view which expands and shows the internal structure of the housing | casing side clamp part shown in FIG. 7 from another angle. The perspective view which shows the example of schematic arrangement | positioning of the component arrange | positioned in the housing | casing of an aseptic joining apparatus. The figure which shows the electric block of an aseptic joining apparatus. The perspective view which shows the vicinity of the wafer cassette insertion port of a housing | casing, the wafer cassette taking-out button, and a wafer cassette. The figure which shows a wafer cassette insertion port, a wafer cassette taking-out button, and a wafer cassette. The perspective view which shows the bottom face part and upper surface part of a wafer cassette. 16A is a side view of the wafer cassette WC, and FIG. 16B is a plan view of the wafer cassette WC of FIG. The side view which shows the example of the positional relationship of a fan, the two tubes in a housing | casing side clamp part, and a wafer. The figure which shows a mode that the tube T1 and the tube T2 are inserted in the housing | casing side clamp part side. The figure which shows a mode that the previous junction part of tube T2 is pushed in according to the front-end | tip of the protrusion for positioning. The figure which shows the aseptic joining procedure of the two tubes T1 and T2. The figure which shows the structural example of a wafer cassette storage unit. The figure which shows the structural example of the wafer cassette storage unit which has a wafer presence detection sensor and a wafer residual amount detection sensor. The figure which shows another embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows another embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an aseptic joining apparatus of the present invention. 2A is a side view of the aseptic joining apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the J1 direction, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the aseptic joining apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the J2 direction. is there. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the bottom surface side of the aseptic joining apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
The aseptic joining device 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 heats and melts two tubes for a peritoneal perfusion circuit in an environment of use at an environmental temperature of 10 to 40 ° C. and a relative humidity of 30 to 85%, This is an apparatus for pressure bonding. This aseptic joining apparatus 1 includes, for example, a dialysate tube (hereinafter also referred to as a first tube) of a peritoneal dialysate bag and a tube (hereinafter referred to as a second tube) on a patient's peritoneal catheter side used when performing peritoneal dialysis. Is used for fusing and pressurizing and joining in aseptic conditions.

The aseptic joining apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 has a size of 135 mm (width) × 99 mm (height) × 268 mm (depth), a weight 2 of 2.4 kg, and a tube setting auxiliary tool 4. have. The housing 2 has a clamp lid 3, and is configured by combining an upper housing portion 2W and a lower housing portion 2V. The housing 2 including the clamp lid 3 and the tube setting auxiliary tool 4 are preferably made of plastic.
The housing 2 accommodates each component described later, and the clamp lid portion 3 is disposed on the upper portion of the housing 2. As will be described later, the tube set auxiliary tool 4 is detachably attached to the housing 1. The housing 2 and the clamp lid 3 are, for example, bright color, cream color, or white, but the user (patient) clearly defines the tube set auxiliary tool 4, the housing 2 and the clamp lid 3 with colors. For example, the tube set auxiliary tool 4 is orange. However, the color of each part is not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily selected.

The housing 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a bottom surface portion 2A, a front surface portion 2B, a right side surface portion 2C, a left side surface portion 2D, a back surface portion 2E, and a top surface portion 2F. It is a shape case. As shown in FIG. 3, installation members 2G are respectively attached to the four corner positions of the bottom surface portion 2A. These installation members 2G are, for example, circular anti-slip members made of plastic or rubber. The aseptic joining apparatus 1 having a relatively large weight can be reliably placed by using these installation members 2G so as not to slide with respect to the installation surface, for example, a desk surface. Thereby, the aseptic joining apparatus 1 can be prevented from being displaced, and the work of joining the two tubes by sandwiching and fixing them can be performed.
As shown in FIG. 3, a battery replacement lid member 2H is detachably attached to the bottom surface portion 2A with screws 2I. When the screw 2I is removed and the lid member 2H is removed, the battery BA indicated by the broken line inside the housing 2 can be replaced. The lid member 2H is disposed closer to the back surface portion 2E than the front surface portion 2B, and the lid member 2H is separated from the exhaust opening 6 of the fan FN.

As shown in FIG. 3, a voice opening 5 and an exhaust opening 6 are formed on the bottom surface 2 </ b> A between the battery replacement lid member 2 </ b> H and the front surface 2 </ b> B. The sound opening 5 is composed of a plurality of elongated through holes 5A, and the exhaust opening 6 has a plurality of elongated through holes 6A arranged in two rows. Inside the bottom surface 2A, a speaker SP and a fan FN as an exhaust device are arranged as indicated by a broken line. The fan FN also serves to cool the wafer WF that has finished the bonding operation.
The voice opening 5 is provided for outputting voice guidance, warning sound, or the like generated by the speaker SP to the outside of the housing 2. Thereby, the user can hear clearly the voice guidance, warning sound, etc. which the speaker SP generate | occur | produces.
The exhaust opening 6 is provided to forcibly exhaust heat generated inside the casing 2 and gas passing through the casing 2 when the cooling fan FN is operated. Yes. Thereby, the heat | fever in the housing | casing 2 or the gas which passes the inside can be discharged | emitted from the bottom face part 2A side to the exterior of the housing | casing 2 instead of the side parts 2C and 2D.
In addition, a plurality of ribs 2J are formed on the bottom surface portion 2A in parallel to the Y direction. These ribs 2J serve as guide portions when a tube setting auxiliary tool 4 to be described later is detachably attached to the housing 2.

Next, the operation panel unit 7 and the display unit 8 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4A shows an example of the operation panel unit 7 provided on the front surface 2B side of the housing 2 shown in FIG. FIG. 4B shows an example of the display portion 8 provided on the upper surface portion 2F of the housing 2 shown in FIG.
4A includes a [Power] switch button 7B, a [Power] lamp 7C, a [Charging] lamp 7D, a [Join] button 7E, and a [Join] lamp 7F. [Wafer removal] lamp 7G is provided. [Power] lamp 7C, [Charging] lamp 7D, [Joint] lamp 7F, and [Wafer removal] lamp 7G are various display lamps in operation unit 7, for example, a green LED (light emitting diode) lamp. I am using it. [Power] switch button 7B is a button that is pressed to turn on the power first when the user tries to join two tubes, which will be described later, using aseptic joining apparatus 1.

[Power] lamp 7C is turned on when [Power] switch button 7B is pressed. The [Join] button 7E is used when the user melts the two tubes to form the end portions of the two tubes, and then replaces the end portions of the two tubes to start pressure bonding. It is a button to be pressed. [Join] lamp 7F is turned on when [Join] button 7E is pressed. In addition, the [Join] lamp 7F may blink to warn the user when a failure occurs. [During charging] The lamp 7D is lit when the battery BA shown in FIG. 3 is charged from the commercial AC power supply side. [Wafer take-out] lamp 7G lights up or blinks when the joining of the two tubes is completed and the user can take out a used wafer, which will be described later, from the housing 2 and discharge it. To do.
In the example of the display unit 8 shown in FIG. 4B, a [close cover] lamp 8B, a [wafer cassette replacement] lamp 8C, a [wafer defect] lamp 8D, a [required charge] lamp 8E, and a [room temperature inappropriate] ] Lamp 8F and [device failure] lamp 8G. [Device failure] The lamp 8G is an important warning lamp for notifying that the device has failed. The red LED lamp is used, but the other lamps are alarm display lamps, for example, a yellow LED lamp. I am using it.

Returning to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, the side surface 2 </ b> C of the housing 2 is provided with a wafer cassette insertion portion 20 and a wafer cassette removal button 21. Wafer cassette insertion portion 20 is a rectangular opening for removably inserting wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. In a state where the wafer cassette WC is inserted into the housing 2 through the wafer cassette insertion unit 20, the user presses the wafer cassette eject button 21 with a finger, so that the wafer cassette WC is inserted into the housing 2 through the wafer cassette insertion unit 20. Can be taken out.
As shown in FIG. 2B, a volume adjustment volume 22 and a voice message changeover switch 23 are provided on the side surface 2D of the housing 2. The user can adjust the volume of the voice message according to his / her preference by sliding the volume adjustment volume 22. For example, when the user slides the voice message changeover switch 23 from the “no” state to the “present” state, the voice message can be output from the speaker SP shown in FIG. If the user sets the voice message changeover switch 23 to, for example, a state of “None”, for example, a buzzer sound can be output from the speaker SP.

FIG. 5 shows an example of two tubes T1 and T2 to be joined by the aseptic joining apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. The tube T1 is also referred to as a first tube, and the tube T2 is also referred to as a second tube, for example, a tube made of vinyl chloride. However, the material of these tubes is not particularly limited.
In the example shown in FIG. 5, the tube T1 has a connector CT at its distal end, is connected to the dialysate tube TBL of the dialysate bag BL via the branch pipe 9, and is drained from the drain bag HL. The liquid tube THL is connected via a branch pipe 9. The tube T2 includes, for example, an extension tube 10 and a protection tube 11, and the extension tube 10 is connected to a peritoneal catheter 15 via a connecting tube 12, a silicone tube 13, and a catheter joint 14. The peritoneal catheter 15 is inserted into the abdominal cavity of the user M.
As shown in FIG. 5, the aseptic joining apparatus 1 includes a joining part C1 of the tube T1 and a joining part of the tube T2 in a state where the joining part C1 indicated by the oblique line of the tube T1 and the joining part C2 indicated by the oblique line of the tube T2 are stacked. C2 is melted using a heated wafer, which will be described later, so that the melted end of the tube T1 and the melted end of the tube T2 are switched and pressed to join.

Next, the clamp lid part 3 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
The clamp lid part 3 is provided between the operation panel part 7 and the display part 8 in order to sandwich and hold the two tubes T1 and T2.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state where the clamp lid 3 shown in FIG. 1 is opened from the housing 2 in the RT direction. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of the internal structure of the clamp lid part 3 and an example of the internal structure of the housing side clamp part 50 as seen from the direction of the arrow SS in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clamp lid portion 3 includes a clamp plate 30, a clamp operation portion 31, and a covering cover 32. The clamp plate 30 and the covering cover 32 are, for example, cream color or the like so that the user can easily distinguish the clamping operation unit 31 that the user holds with the finger and the clamping plate 30 and the covering cover 32 by visual observation. While it is white, the clamp operation unit 31 is green.
As shown in FIG. 1, a confirmation seal 30 </ b> S is attached to the surface of the clamp plate 30 so that the user can confirm the state of insertion of the two tubes 1 and T <b> 2. Thereby, when the user views the confirmation seal 30 </ b> S, the user can correctly sandwich and join the two tubes 1 and T <b> 2 between the clamp lid portion 3 and the housing-side clamp portion 50.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the clamp plate 30 is attached to the housing 2 so that it can be opened from the closed state shown in FIG. 1 to the angle exceeding 90 degrees shown in FIG. It is attached to. The covering cover 32 is attached to the housing 2 so as to be rotatable about the central axis CL1. The protrusion 32T of the covering cover 32 is fitted in the guide groove 30R of the clamp plate 30, and the clamp plate 30 is shown in FIG. 6 from the closed state shown in FIG. When the cover cover 32 is opened to an angle exceeding 90 degrees, the covering cover 32 is lifted up following the movement of the clamp plate 30.
The clamp operation part 31 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 is attached to the tip part 30D of the clamp plate 30 so as to be rotatable around the central axis CL2 using a pin. As shown in FIG. 6, the clamp operation unit 31 has two engagement claws 31M. On the other hand, two protrusions 33 protrude from the housing 2 side. The two protrusions 33 of the clamp operation unit 31 are portions that are fixed by hanging the two engagement claws 31M.

  As shown in FIG. 6, with the clamp lid portion 3 opened from the housing 2, the user holds the clamp operation portion 31 with his finger and rotates about the central axis CL in the direction of the arrow RS. As shown in FIG. 1, the clamp plate 30 can cover the housing side clamp portion 50 from above. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the user holds the clamp operation unit 31 with his / her finger and rotates it around the central axis CL2 in the direction of the arrow RG, so that the two engaging claws 31M shown in FIG. It is possible to engage with the protruding portion 33 at the position where it is to be engaged. Thereby, the clamp lid part 3 can be reliably fixed mechanically so as not to open during the joining of the two tubes in a state in which the casing side clamp part 50 on the casing 2 side is closed from above. it can.

Next, an example of elements arranged inside the clamp plate 30 and an example of elements arranged inside the casing-side clamp unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Inside the clamp plate 30, a first tube pressing member 35, a storage member 36, and a storage member 37 are arranged. The first tube pressing member 35, the housing member 36 and the housing member 37 are made of plastic, and a gap 38 is provided between the first tube pressing member 35 and the housing member 36. The housing member 36 has a recess 36A and a recess 36B. Similarly, the housing member 37 has a recess 37A and a recess 37B.

  On the other hand, the housing side clamp part 50 has a first tube sandwiching part 51 and a second tube sandwiching part 52 inside. The first tube sandwiching portion 51 has a first protrusion 51A and a second protrusion 51B. The first protrusion 51A and the second protrusion 51B are arranged to face each other with a sandwiching interval SD shown in FIG. 6 for sandwiching the first tube T1 and the second tube T2 shown in FIG. . Similarly, the second tube sandwiching portion 52 has a first protrusion 52A and a second protrusion 52B. The first protrusion 52A and the second protrusion 52B are arranged to face each other with a sandwiching interval SD shown in FIG. 6 for sandwiching the first tube T1 and the second tube T2 shown in FIG. 5 without being crushed. .

When the clamp lid 3 is closed as shown in FIG. 1, the first protrusion 51 </ b> A and the second protrusion 51 </ b> B of the first tube sandwiching portion 51 shown in FIG. 7 respectively correspond to the corresponding recesses 37 </ b> A and 37 </ b> B shown in FIG. 7. Stored. Similarly, the first protrusion 52A and the second protrusion 52B of the second tube sandwiching portion 52 shown in FIG. 7 are housed in the corresponding recesses 36A and 36B shown in FIG. 7, respectively.
Between the 1st tube clamping part 51 and the 2nd tube clamping part 52, the 2nd tube pressing member 53 is arrange | positioned. The second tube pressing member 53 is in a position corresponding to the first tube pressing member 35 on the clamp plate 30 side. Each of the first tube pressing member 35 and the second tube pressing member 53 has a semi-cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 1, when the clamp lid 3 is closed, the second tube pressing member 53 shown in FIG. 7 and the first tube pressing member 35 on the clamp plate 30 side overlap. For this reason, the 1st tube pressing member 35 and the 2nd tube pressing member 53 can comprise the cylindrical member which can accommodate 1st tube T1 and 2nd tube T2. The first tube pressing member 35 and the housing member 37 are integrated members. Similarly, the second tube pressing member 53 and the first tube sandwiching portion 51 are integrated members.

As shown in FIG. 7, for example, a gear 55 is formed around the first tube pressing member 35 and the second tube pressing member 53, and meshes with the gear 56 </ b> G of the clamp motor 56. As a result, when the clamp motor 56 is actuated by a command from the control unit 100 to rotate the gear 56G, the first tube pressing member 35 and the second tube pressing member 53 are integrated with the housing member 37 and the first tube sandwiching portion 51. Thus, the first tube T1 and the second tube T2 after being melted can be kept rotating 180 degrees forward and 180 degrees reverse.
For this reason, the position of the end portion of the first tube T1 after the fusing and the position of the end portion of the second tube T2 can be reversed up and down by 180 degrees. As a result, the melted end of the first tube T1 is located on the upper side after the second tube T2 is located on the upper side and the first tube T1 is located on the lower side before the fusing. The melted end of the second tube T2 can be changed to a lower position.

As shown in FIG. 7, a wafer insertion gap 57 into which the wafer W can be inserted is formed between the second tube pressing member 53 and the second tube sandwiching portion 52.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another example of the internal structure of the clamp lid part 3 and another example of the internal structure of the housing side clamp part 50 as seen from another angle. The housing member 36 of the clamp lid part 3 and the second tube sandwiching part 52 of the housing side clamp part 50 constitute a fixed clamp unit 71 for sandwiching and fixing the two tubes T1 and T2.
With respect to the fixed clamp unit 71, the first tube pressing member 35 and the accommodating member 37 of the clamp lid portion 3, the second tube pressing member 53 of the housing side clamp portion 50, and the first tube sandwiching portion 51 are movable clamp units. 72 is constituted. After the movable clamp unit 72 and the fixed clamp unit 71 are fixed by sandwiching the two tubes T1 and T2, the movable clamp unit 72 has two tubes with respect to the fixed clamp unit 71 which is a fixed portion. It is a movable part for rotating T1 and T2 by 180 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 8, the upper surface portion 2F of the housing 2 has left and right slope portions 2P, 2R. On the inclined surface portion 2P, the side into which the first tube T1 on the dialysate bag side is inserted is indicated by a display label 2X. In the slope portion 2R, the side into which the second tube T2 inside the abdominal cavity is inserted is displayed by a display label 2Y. The second tube T2 on the inner side of the abdominal cavity is disposed so as to overlap above the first tube T1.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a wafer take-out portion 58 for taking out a used wafer WF is provided in the vicinity of the operation panel portion 7 and at an extended position of the gap 57 shown in FIG. ing. By providing the used wafer WF take-out portion 58 on an extension line of the gap 57 through which the wafer WF passes, the user picks up the used wafer WF guided by the wafer take-out portion 58 with a finger. It can be easily taken out.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a circular hole 59 is formed in the vicinity of the take-out portion 58 of the used wafer WF, and a bar-shaped interlock pin 60 is disposed in the hole 59. The interlock pin 60 is a rod of an electromagnetically driven solenoid 61, for example, and the solenoid 61 is raised in the Z1 direction from a state indicated by a broken line to a state indicated by a solid line in response to a command from the control unit 100. Accordingly, the interlock pin 60 holds the front end portion of the clamp operation portion 31 so that the clamp lid portion 3 is not opened while, for example, two tubes are melted and joined. The closed state shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing the internal structure of the clamp lid part 3 and the internal structure of the housing side clamp part 50 shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the housing side clamp part 50 in an enlarged manner from another angle.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a circular hole 74 is formed at the bottom between the first protrusion 52 </ b> A and the second protrusion 52 </ b> B of the second tube sandwiching part 52. The tube detection pin 75 is exposed. When the two tubes T1 and T2 are fitted into the fitting groove 51C between the first protrusion 51A and the second protrusion 51B and the fitting groove 52C between the first protrusion 52A and the second protrusion 52B, this tube detection pin 75 is provided in order to be able to detect that the two tubes T1 and T2 have been fitted correctly, since 75 is pushed down in the direction of the page of FIG. 9 and FIG.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a schematic arrangement example of components arranged in the housing 2 of the aseptic joining apparatus 1.
As shown in FIG. 11, in the housing 2, a main substrate 80, a DC input substrate 81, a wafer cassette storage unit 82, a wafer feed unit 83, a fixed clamp unit 71, a movable clamp unit 72, A solenoid 61, a speaker SP, a fan FN, and a battery BA are accommodated. The DC input board 81 is arranged as far as possible from the main board 80, so that noise from the DC input board 81 does not affect circuit elements mounted on the main board 80. .

FIG. 12 shows an electric block of the aseptic joining apparatus 1.
In the example of the electric block shown in FIG. 12, a CPU such as a microcomputer, a ROM for storing a control program for the entire apparatus executed by the CPU and various data, a RAM for temporarily storing measurement data and various data as a work area, and the like And has a control unit 100 that controls the operation and determination of the entire aseptic joining apparatus 1. The control unit 100 receives power from the battery BA on the DC input board 81 side. The DC input board 81 has a jack 84 and a changeover switch 85. The jack 84 connects a connection pin 86P of the charger 86, thereby allowing a predetermined DC power source obtained by AC / DC conversion from a commercial AC power source. Can receive. The charger 86 and jack 84 are also shown in FIG. The change-over switch 85 in FIG. 12 can connect the jack 84 and the battery BA, and the DC power source from the charger 86 is used for charging the battery BA. The DC power charged in the battery BA is supplied to the control unit 100.
As shown in FIG. 12, a temperature sensor 87 such as a thermistor is electrically connected to the control unit 100, and this temperature sensor 87 detects the ambient temperature (outside air temperature) around the housing 2, and controls the control unit 100. The outside air temperature information TF is supplied to 100. As a result, when the two tubes are heated based on the outside air temperature information TF and the outside air temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature, the control unit 100 lengthens the heating time of the two tubes. There is an advantage that can be processed.
Further, the environmental temperature is notified to the patient by the speaker SP.

As shown in FIG. 12, the [Power switch] button 7B, [Join] button 7E, [Power] lamp 7C, [Charging] lamp 7D and [Join] on the operation panel unit 7 shown in FIG. The lamp 7F and the [wafer removal] lamp 7G are electrically connected to the control unit 100.
The speaker SP shown in FIG. 12 is electrically connected to the control unit 100 via the voice synthesis unit 88, and the speaker SP generates a voice guidance or the like that is determined in advance by a command from the control unit 100. The volume adjustment volume 22 and the voice message changeover switch 23 are electrically connected to the control unit 100. When the voice message selector switch 23 is “present”, voice guidance can be issued from the speaker SP, and when the voice message selector switch 23 is “none”, a buzzer (not shown) can be sounded.
[Close cover] lamp 8B, [Wafer cassette replacement] lamp 8C, [Wafer defective] lamp 8D, [Charge required] lamp 8E, [Inappropriate room temperature] lamp 8F, The apparatus failure] lamp 8G is lit or blinks according to a command from the control unit 100.

  The solenoid 61 of the interlock 60 shown in FIG. 12 is illustrated in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 8, for example, a photocoupler can be used as the solenoid detection sensor 89, and light 89L from the light emitting unit 89A is received by the light receiving unit 89B. When the interlock 60 of the solenoid 61 is at the lower end position 60L, the light receiving unit 89B prevents the light 89A from the light emitting unit 89A from blocking as shown by a broken line. A signal that the part 3 is not interlocked is supplied. On the other hand, when the interlock 60 of the solenoid 61 is at the upper end position 60H, the interlock 60 does not block the light 89L from the light emitting unit 89A as indicated by the solid line, so that the light receiving unit 89B includes the control unit 100. Is supplied with a “signal that the clamp lid 3 is interlocked”. Thereby, the control part 100 can grasp | ascertain the locked state or non-locking state of the clamp cover part 3. FIG.

The hall sensor 90 of the housing side clamp unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 12 is electrically connected to the control unit 100. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the distal end portion 75A of the tube detection pin 75 is a portion that receives two tubes T1 and T2, and a magnet 91 is attached to the rear end portion 75B of the tube detection pin 75. Between the rear end portion 75B of the tube detection pin 75 and the housing 2, a spring 92 for pushing up the tube detection pin 75 in the Z1 direction is disposed. When the tube T1 and the tube T2 are fitted in the fitting groove 52C between the first projection 52A and the second projection 52B in the order of the tube T1 and the tube T2, the tube T1 and the tube T2 resist the force of the spring 92 in the Z2 direction against the force of the spring 92. Since the tube detection pin 75 is lowered by pushing in, the Hall sensor 90 detects the magnetic force of the magnet 91.
Thereby, the Hall sensor 90 notifies the control unit 100 that “the two tubes T1 and T2 have been properly fitted”. If the tubes T1 and T2 are not sufficiently fitted in the fitting groove 52C, or if only one of the tubes is fitted, the Hall sensor 90 cannot detect the magnetic force of the magnet 91, The hall sensor 90 notifies the control unit 100 that “the two tubes T1 and T2 are not properly fitted”.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the housing-side clamp unit 50 includes a micro switch 93, and the micro switch 93 is a sensor that detects the closed state of the clamp lid unit 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the micro switch 93 holds the clamp operation part 31 of the clamp lid part 3 with a finger as shown in FIG. 6 and rotates around the central axis CL in the direction of the arrow RS. 30 detects that the housing side clamp part 50 has been closed.
A wafer cassette storage unit 82 shown in FIG. 12 includes a wafer presence / absence sensor 101 and a wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102. The wafer presence / absence sensor 101 is a sensor that detects whether or not the wafer WF remains or remains in the wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. The remaining wafer detection sensor 102 is a sensor that detects how many wafers WF are left in the wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. 1, that is, the remaining number of wafers WF. For example, a photo sensor or the like can be adopted as the wafer presence / absence sensor 101 and the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102. The wafer WF is an example of a heating plate member for fusing the tubes T1 and T2.

  The wafer feed unit 83 shown in FIG. 12 is a unit for linearly moving the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. 1 from the wafer cassette WC to the standby position PS1 shown in FIG. The wafer feed unit 83 shown in FIG. 12 includes a motor 103, a motor drive 104, a forward end sensor 105, an intermediate sensor 106, and a reverse end sensor 107. When the motor drive 102 receives a command from the control unit 100, the motor drive 102 drives the motor 103, so that the wafer WF moves linearly from the wafer cassette WC to the standby position PS1 shown in FIG. The forward end sensor 105, the intermediate sensor 106, and the reverse end sensor 107 detect the forward end position, the intermediate position, and the reverse end position of the wafer WF that moves linearly, and notify the control unit 100 of them.

As shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 100 includes a wafer heater 110, a motor drive 111, a cam motor sensor 112, a clamp motor sensor 113, a micro switch 114, a wafer current detection unit 115, a wafer voltage detection unit 116, and a fan FN. Electrically connected. When the motor drive 111 receives a command from the control unit 100, the motor drive 111 drives the cam motor 117 and the clamp motor 56.
Wafer heater 110 heats the wafer by energization from control unit 100. During this energization, the wafer current detection unit 115 detects the wafer current value supplied to the wafer, and the wafer voltage detection unit 116 detects the wafer voltage value supplied to the wafer.

  The cam motor 117 performs an operation for moving the wafer up and down and an operation for bringing the two tubes together. The operation of moving the wafer up and down by the cam motor 117 is to raise the wafer WF shown in FIG. 7 from the standby position PS1 to the fusing position PS2 above it, and conversely lower the wafer WF from the fusing position PS2 to the standby position PS1. Is the action. Also, the operation of the cam motor 117 to move the two tubes refers to lowering the wafer from the fusing position PS2 to the standby position PS1 and waiting, and then cutting the fusing end of the tube T1 and the fusing end of the tube T2. In this operation, the melted end portion of the counterpart tube T2 and the melted end portion of the counterpart tube T1 are respectively pressed and joined together. The clamp motor 56 performs a 180 degree rotation of the movable clamp unit 72 illustrated in FIG. 7 and a return rotation after the 180 degree rotation. The cam motor sensor 112 is, for example, a photo sensor that detects a cam position and an origin. The clamp motor sensor 113 is, for example, a photo sensor that detects an origin when the movable clamp unit 72 is rotated.

FIG. 13 shows the vicinity of the wafer cassette insertion portion 20 and the wafer cassette takeout button 21 of the housing 2 and the wafer cassette WC. The wafer cassette insertion portion 20 and the wafer cassette takeout button 21 are arranged in the wafer cassette storage unit 82 shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the wafer cassette insertion portion 20, the wafer cassette takeout button 21, and the wafer cassette WC. FIG. 15A shows the lower surface of the wafer cassette WC, and FIG. 15B is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the wafer cassette WC.

  As shown in FIG. 13A, the upper surface 120 of the wafer cassette WC is provided with an arrow 21Y indicating the insertion direction. The user inserts the wafer cassette WC into the wafer cassette insertion portion 20 as shown in FIG. 13B according to the arrow 21Y. After that, when the wafers are used up and there are no more wafers in the wafer cassette WC, the user presses the wafer cassette take-out button 21 with a finger as shown in FIG. 13C, so that the empty wafer cassette WC is removed. It can be taken out from the insertion portion 20.

A structure example of the wafer cassette WC will be described with reference to FIGS. 16A is a side view of the wafer cassette WC, and FIG. 16B is a plan view of the wafer cassette WC of FIG.
Wafer cassette WC is a container for accommodating a plurality of wafers WF, and is preferably made of a transparent plastic so that the internal wafers WF can be visually confirmed. Wafer cassette WC includes upper surface portion 120, bottom surface portion 121, front surface portion 122, side surface portions 123 and 124, and back surface portion 125. As shown in FIG. 16, the front wafer WF (indicated by WF1) is positioned on the inner surface 122N of the front portion 122. As shown in FIG. By pushing the pushing member 126 in the Y1 direction, one wafer WF1 at the tip can be pushed one by one from the inside of the wafer cassette WC along the Y1 direction toward the standby position PS1 shown in FIG. It can be done.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15A, two springs 128 and a spring receiving member 129 are accommodated in the wafer cassette WC. One end portions of the two springs are supported by the inner surface 125N of the back surface portion 125, and the other end portions of the two springs are supported by the spring receiving member 129. The spring receiving member 129 is formed with a misalignment prevention unit 130 for preventing the springs 128 from shifting.
Accordingly, the two springs 128 can press the plurality of wafers WC against the inner surface 122N of the front portion 122 via the spring receiving member 129. Therefore, by pressing the pushing member 126 against the leading wafer WF1 in the Y1 direction, only one leading wafer WF can be reliably taken out from the wafer cassette WC along the Y1 direction.
As shown in FIG. 14, the wafer WF is a rectangular and substantially copper metal plate (thickness: about 0.3 mm, width: about 34 mm, height about 13 mm) heated by the wafer heater 110 shown in FIG. Yes, it has two contacts 131.

Next, the tube setting auxiliary tool 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
The tube set auxiliary tool 4 can be attached to the housing 2 as needed by the user. As will be described later, the tube set auxiliary tool 4 reliably performs the work of sandwiching and fixing the two tubes T1 and T2 in the housing side clamp portion 50 as illustrated in FIG. 13C. Act as a guide so you can do it. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 13C, when the user sandwiches and fixes the two tubes T1 and T2, the user can reliably perform the work without hesitation.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tube setting assisting tool 4 has a first side portion 135, a second side portion 136, and a back surface connecting portion 137.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the first side portion 135 has a claw portion 135A and branch portions 135B and 135C. The claw portion 135A meshes with the vicinity of the operation panel portion 7 of the housing 2. As shown in FIG. 2B, the second side portion 136 has a claw portion 136A, branch portions 136B and 136C, and a U-shaped receiving portion 138 for receiving a tube. The claw portion 136 </ b> A is engaged with the vicinity of the operation panel portion 7 of the housing 2. The receiving part 138 receives two tubes T1 and T2 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2B, by providing a space between the branch portions 136B and 136C, the volume adjustment volume 22 can be exposed, and the user can easily operate the volume adjustment volume 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, the back surface connection part 137 has the 1st connection part 137A and the 2nd connection part 137B. An opening 137C through which the installation member 2G is passed is formed in the first connection portion 137A. The second connecting portion 137B is provided with a protrusion 137D that matches the height of the installation member 2G. Thereby, the housing | casing 2 can be installed in the state which floated only the predetermined space | interval, for example with respect to the desk surface etc. with the four installation members 2G and the two protrusion parts 137D.
Moreover, in order to expose the exhaust opening 6 and the sound opening 5 between the first connection portion 137A and the second connection portion 137B, the tube set auxiliary tool 4 includes a fan FN serving as an exhaust device. An opening portion 144 that opens the exhaust opening 6 and the sound opening 5 for the speaker SP is formed. Thereby, the fan FN can reliably release the gas and heat inside the housing 2 to the outside of the housing 2 through the opening 6. Also, since the voice guidance, warning sound, etc. generated by the speaker SP can be reliably output to the outside of the housing 2 through the opening 5, it is easy to hear without voice guidance, warning sound, etc.

Next, with reference to FIG. 17, an example of the positional relationship between the fan FN and the two tubes T1, T2 and the wafer WF in the housing side clamp unit 50 will be described. FIG. 17 is a side view schematically illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the fan FN, the two tubes T1 and T2 in the housing-side clamp unit 50, and the wafer WF.
As shown in FIG. 17, the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC is sent in the Y1 direction from the wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. 17 by operating the wafer feed unit 83 shown in FIG. It can be located at position PS1. When the wafer WF is positioned at the standby position PS1, the two contact points 131 of the wafer WF are connected to the wafer heater 110, and the wafer heater 110 generates heat when energized by a command from the control unit 100. WF is heated.

In the fitting groove 52C between the first protrusion 52A and the second protrusion 52B shown in FIG. 7, two tubes T1 and T2 are stacked and fitted in the Z2 direction, and the position is substantially below the wafer WF that generates heat. Is provided with a fan FN.
When the wafer WF shown in FIG. 17 is raised from the standby position PS1 to the fusing position PS2, and the wafer WF is fusing and joining the two tubes T1 and T2, the gas of the plasticizer is supplied from the two tubes T1 and T2. Occurs.
Even if the plasticizer gas is generated in this way, the plasticizer gas is opened from the exhaust opening 6 of the bottom surface portion 2A as indicated by the discharge path indicated by the thick arrow MY by the rotational drive of the fan FN. It can be reliably discharged to the outside of the body 2. The cam motor 117 shown in FIG. 12 performs an operation for raising the wafer WF from the standby position PS1 to the fusing position PS2 along the Z1 direction, and conversely, an operation for lowering the wafer WF from the fusing position PS2 to the standby position PS1 in the Z2 direction. . Moreover, the cam motor 117 lowers the wafer from the fusing position PS2 to the standby position PS1, and then waits for the fusing end of the tube T1 and the fusing end of the tube T2 to be fused with the fusing end of the other tube T2. An operation is performed in which the melted ends of the opposite tube T1 are pressed and joined together.

Next, the operation of heating and melting the two tubes T1 and T2 shown in FIG. 5 by using the above-described aseptic joining apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing how the tube T1 and the tube T2 are fitted to the housing side clamp portion 50 side, and FIG. 19 shows the joint portion formed by the previous joining of the tube T2 at the tip of the positioning projection 140. It is a figure which shows a mode that it pushes together. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a procedure of aseptic heating joining of the two tubes T1 and T2.
As shown in FIG. 1, the interlock 60 has already been retracted into the housing 2. When the user grasps the clamp operation part 31 of the aseptic joining apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and lifts it in the direction of the arrow R, the clamp lid part 3 moves away from the case side clamp part 50 as shown in FIG. The clamp part 50 can be opened.

Next, a tube T1 shown in FIG. 18A is prepared, and a joining portion C1 of the tube T1 is a portion to be joined. As shown in FIG. 18B, the tube T1 is fitted in the fitting groove 51C of the first tube sandwiching portion 51 and is fitted in the fitting groove 52C of the second tube sandwiching portion 52 in the X1 direction. In this case, the portion of the tube T1 on the connector CT side is disposed on the U-shaped receiving portion 138 of the tube setting auxiliary tool 4, and the connector CT is positioned outside the receiving portion 138.
In FIG. 18C, the tubes T2 are arranged in the X2 direction in a state where they are stacked on the upper side of the tubes T1. The tube T2 has a joint portion 141 formed at the time of the previous joint, and the cross section of the joint portion 141 is circular.
In FIG. 19A, the tube T2 is fitted in the fitting groove 51C of the first tube sandwiching portion 51 in the X2 direction so that the previous joining portion 141 of the tube T2 is aligned with the tip of the protrusion 140. The second tube sandwiching portion 52 is fitted into the fitting groove 52C. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 19B, the tube T2 is stacked on the tube T1 along the Z1 direction, and the tubes T1 and T2 are securely fitted in the fitting grooves 51C and 52C in the direction of the arrow RZ. Press to secure.

  Next, the user grasps the clamp operation part 31 shown in FIG. 6, rotates the clamp lid part 3 in the closing direction along the RS direction, and closes the casing-side clamp part 50 by the clamp lid part 3. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20A, the first tube sandwiching portion 51 and the housing member 37 are sandwiched, and the second tube sandwiching portion 52 and the housing member 36 are sandwiched. Moreover, the wafer WF is moved from the wafer cassette WC to the standby position PS1 below the two tubes T1 and T2 having the same thickness as shown in FIG. 20B. For this reason, the wafer WF shown in FIG. 17 is heated to, for example, about 300 ° C. by the heating of the wafer heater 110. The heated wafer WF is raised along the Z1 direction from the standby position PS1 indicated by the broken line to the fusing position PS2 indicated by the solid line, as shown in FIG. 20B, by the operation of the cam motor 117 shown in FIG. Therefore, this wafer WF can melt two tubes T1 and T2 having the same thickness.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 20 (C), when the clamp motor 56 shown in FIG. 7 is operated according to a command from the control unit 100, when the clamp motor 56 rotates the gear 56G, the first tube holding member 35 and the second tube. The pressing member 53 is integrated with the housing member 37 and the first tube sandwiching portion 51 and rotates 180 degrees while holding the first tube T1 and the second tube T2. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 20D, the wafer WF is lowered from the fusing position PS2 to the standby position PS1 along the Z2 direction, and the portions of the tubes T1 and T2 on the side rotated 180 degrees are pushed in the X2 direction. .
As a result, one end of the tube T1 on the side melted by the wafer WF and rotated 180 degrees and one end of the tube T2 are connected to the other end of the tube T2 on the non-rotated side and the other end of the tube T1. Each of the end portions is pressed and joined. Thereafter, when the tubes T1 and T2 are cooled, the aseptic joining is completed.
The used wafer WF is discharged to the used wafer W take-out section 58 as shown in FIG. 1 by the operation of the wafer feeding unit 83 shown in FIG. Thereby, the user can pick up the used wafer WF with a finger and take it out.

After that, when the user grasps the clamp operation unit 31 shown in FIG. 1 again and lifts it in the direction of the arrow RT, the clamp lid 3 is separated from the housing side clamp unit 50 as shown in FIG. The user removes and separates the tubes T1 and T2 after being joined as shown in FIGS. 20E and 20F from the housing-side clamp 50. As described above, as shown in FIG. 20 (F), the tube T1 on the dialysate bag BL side shown in FIG. 5 and the tube T2 on the user M side can be joined aseptically and simply. it can.
As described above, when the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. 1 moves in the Y1 direction from the wafer cassette WC as shown in FIG. 17 and is positioned at the standby position PS1 shown in FIG. The two contact points 131 of the WF are connected to the wafer heater 110, and the wafer WF generates heat when the wafer heater 110 generates heat according to a command from the control unit 100.

  As shown in FIG. 10, two tubes T1 and T2 are fitted in the fitting groove 52C between the first protrusion 52A and the second protrusion 52B, and a fan FN is formed below the heat generating wafer WF. Has been placed. When the wafer WF shown in FIG. 17 is raised from the standby position PS1 to the fusing position PS2, and the wafer WF is fusing and joining the two tubes T1 and T2, the gas of the plasticizer is supplied from the two tubes T1 and T2. Will occur. This plasticizer gas can be reliably discharged from the opening 6 of the bottom surface 2A to the outside of the housing 2 by the rotation of the fan FN, as indicated by the thick arrow MY. Since the fan FN and the opening portion 6 for the fan FN are arranged not on the side surface portion of the housing 2 but on the bottom surface portion of the housing 2, the fan FN and the opening portion on the side surface portion of the housing 2 are provided. Thus, the plasticizer gas is not directly ejected to the side. For this reason, even if a plastic product is placed in the vicinity of the casing 2, the plasticizer gas is not directly blown against the plastic product, so that the plastic product is not adversely affected such that a part of the plastic product is melted.

Next, an example of the structure of the wafer cassette storage unit 82 shown in FIG. 11 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing the wafer cassette storage unit 82 disposed in the housing 2 corresponding to the wafer cassette insertion slot 20. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a structural example and an operation example of the wafer cassette storage unit 82 shown in FIG. 22A shows a state before the wafer cassette WC is inserted into the wafer cassette storage unit 82, and FIG. 22B shows a state where the wafer cassette WC is being inserted into the wafer cassette storage unit 82. FIG. 22C shows a state in which the wafer cassette WC is positioned and fixed in the wafer cassette storage unit 82.

  First, with reference to FIG. 21, the wafer cassette removal preventing apparatus 150 will be described. Even if the user presses the wafer cassette takeout button 21 shown in FIG. 14 while the user is fusing the two tubes T1 and T2 and pressurizing and joining them, the wafer cassette takeout prevention device 150 can This is a device that prevents the WC from being inadvertently taken out from the wafer cassette insertion port 20 of the housing 2. As shown in FIG. 22, the wafer cassette removal prevention device 150 includes a solenoid 149 that is an electromagnetic actuator and a spring 148.

As shown in FIG. 22, the wafer cassette WC stores a plurality of wafers WF that are examples of heating plate members.
As shown in FIG. 21, the wafer cassette storage unit 82 has a wafer cassette insertion slot 20 and a wafer cassette removal button 21. In the side surface portion 2C of the housing 2, the wafer cassette takeout button 21 is disposed at a lower portion of the wafer cassette insertion port 20, also referred to as a wafer cassette insertion portion, and the wafer cassette takeout button 21 is a rectangular push button. It arrange | positions in the rectangular-shaped opening part 21P for button arrangement | positioning.

The wafer cassette storage unit 82 shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 is a box-shaped plastic member, and is formed by a guide bottom surface portion 20S, side surface portions 20P on both sides, a top surface portion 20T, and a rear surface portion 20R. . The guide bottom surface portion 20S and the top surface portion 20T are horizontal surfaces, and the side surface portions 20P and the rear surface portion 20R on both sides are both vertical surfaces. The rear surface portion 20R faces the wafer cassette insertion port 20. Each front end portion of the guide bottom surface portion 20S, the side surface portions 20P on both sides, and the top surface portion 20T forms a wafer cassette insertion port 20. In the wafer cassette storage unit 82, the depth direction in which the wafer cassette WC is inserted is along the X1 direction.
As shown in FIG. 21, two pull-out prevention protrusion members 140 and an operation member 141 are arranged at a position on the front side of the guide bottom surface portion 20S so as to protrude in the Z1 direction.

  The guide bottom surface portion 20S shown in FIG. 21 has two through holes 20D at positions separated from each other in the Y1 direction. The two pull-out prevention protrusion members 140 protrude in the Z1 direction through the through holes 20D of the guide bottom surface portion 20S. Each pull-out prevention protrusion member 140 has an inclined front surface 140A, an upper end surface 140B, and a back surface 140C. The front surface 140A is inclined along the X1 direction, which is the insertion direction of the wafer cassette WC, at an angle θ, for example, 45 degrees with respect to the vertical, thereby bringing the wafer cassette WC into the wafer cassette insertion port 20 along the X1 direction. Easy to insert.

  On the other hand, the back surface 140C of the pull-out prevention protrusion member 140 is a vertical surface. A stopper member 20G is provided on the top surface portion 20T of the wafer cassette storage unit 82. Thus, as shown in FIG. 22C, when the wafer cassette WC is housed in a predetermined position in the wafer cassette insertion slot 20, the front end side of the wafer cassette WC is positioned in the X1 direction by the stopper member 20G. At the same time, the back surface 140C of the pull-out prevention protrusion member 140 can be positioned so as to be in close contact with the back surface portion 125 of the wafer cassette WC. Therefore, the wafer cassette WC is positioned so as not to move in the X1 direction.

  As shown in FIG. 21 (A), the control unit 100 operates a solenoid 149, which is an electromagnetic actuator, for example, so that each pull-out prevention protrusion member together with the force of the spring 148 as shown in FIG. 22 (C). It is possible to maintain a state in which 140 projects in the Z1 direction. Thereby, even if the user presses the wafer cassette removal button 21 shown in FIG. 14 while the user is fusing the two tubes T1 and T2 and pressurizing and joining them, the wafer cassette removal prevention device 150 may The wafer cassette WC can be prevented from being inadvertently taken out from the wafer cassette insertion port 20 of the housing 2.

Next, the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102 will be described with reference to FIG. The wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102 are arranged apart from each other. FIG. 22 shows a structural example of a wafer cassette storage unit 82 having a wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and a wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102.
First, the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 will be described with reference to FIG. The wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 is provided on the rear surface portion 20R of the wafer cassette storage unit 82. The wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 includes a light emitting unit 201 and a light receiving unit 202. As the light emitting unit 201, for example, a laser light source or a light emitting diode can be used. The light receiving unit 202 is, for example, a photodiode. When the control unit 100 instructs, the light emitting unit 201 generates light LS for detecting the presence / absence of a wafer, and the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the X2 direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is transmitted to the light receiving unit 202 before or during the insertion of the wafer cassette WC into the wafer cassette storage unit 82. Since no light is received, the wafer presence signal 202S is not sent from the light receiving unit 202 to the control unit 100. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 22C, when the wafer cassette WC is inserted into the wafer cassette storage unit 82 and positioned at a predetermined position, the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is positioned on the innermost side. The light is received by the light receiving unit 202 by being reflected by the wafer WF1. Since the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is received by the light receiving unit 202, a wafer presence signal 202S is sent from the light receiving unit 202 to the control unit 100.

However, in a state where the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC is used up and one wafer WF is not stored in the wafer cassette WC, the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is not reflected by the wafer WF, so that the light LS is received by the light receiving unit 202. Is not received.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 22C, in a state where the wafer cassette WC is inserted and positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82, is at least one wafer WF stored in the wafer cassette WC? Whether or not one wafer WF is also stored can be determined by whether or not the control unit 100 can receive the wafer presence signal 202S from the light receiving unit 202.

Next, the remaining wafer detection sensor 102 will be described with reference to FIG. Wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102 is preferably a reflective photosensor in which an infrared light emitting diode and a phototransistor are molded in a small resin, and has a thickness of about 1.5 mm. Above the cassette WC, the wafer cassette WC is positioned above the wafer cassette storage unit 82 with a distance of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm. An opening 20M through which light passes is formed in the top surface portion 20T of the wafer cassette storage unit 82. The wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102 includes a light emitting unit 251 and a light receiving unit 252. As the light emitting unit 251, for example, a laser light source or a light emitting diode can be used. The light receiving unit 252 is, for example, a photodiode. When the control unit 100 instructs, the light emitting unit 251 generates the light PS for measuring the remaining amount of the wafer and passes through the opening 20M. The distance between the centers of the infrared light emitting diode constituting the light emitting unit 251 and the phototransistor constituting the light receiving unit 252 is arranged in parallel at about 1.8 mm, and the beam width of infrared light emitted from the infrared light emitting diode is 0. Since the viewing angle of the phototransistor is about 30 ° at 4 mm, it has a resolution capable of detecting about three wafers having a thickness of about 0.3 mm when mounted.
Note that, by setting the viewing angle of the phototransistor to about 10 °, it is possible to reduce the detection resolution of a wafer having a thickness of about 0.3 mm in a mounted state to one.

  As shown in FIG. 22C, the light PS of the light emitting unit 201 passes through the opening 20M in a state where the wafer cassette WC is inserted and positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82, and a plurality of light PS in the wafer cassette WC. Irradiation is made to the upper end surface of the wafer WF. The irradiation width in the X1 direction of the light PS of the light emitting unit 201 corresponds to the total width 253 of the upper end surface of the maximum number of wafers WF stored in the wafer cassette WC. When the light PS of the light emitting unit 201 is reflected by the upper end surface of the maximum number of wafers WF, the reflected light RS is received by the light receiving unit 252. The amount of the reflected light RS is proportional to the number of wafers WF actually stored in the wafer cassette WC, and the light receiving unit 252 is actually stored in the wafer cassette WC with respect to the control unit 100. The remaining wafer number detection signal 252S corresponding to the amount of light proportional to the remaining number of remaining wafers WF is sent. Thus, the control unit 100 receives the remaining wafer number detection signal 252S, and the control unit 100 refers to a predetermined table, whereby the remaining number of wafers WF currently stored in the wafer cassette WC. Can be recognized.

As shown in FIG. 22, the detection start sensor 350 is provided in the vicinity of the two pull-out prevention protrusion members 140. This detection start sensor 350 is inserted into the wafer cassette WC when the wafer cassette WC is positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82 when the two pull-out preventing projection members 140 are pushed down in the Z2 direction by the insertion of the wafer cassette WC. This is a sensor for starting the presence / absence detection of whether or not a wafer WF, which is a heating plate member, is accommodated, by giving a start signal SSR to the control unit.
The detection start sensor 350 includes a protrusion member 351 fixed to the protrusion prevention protrusion member 140 and a switch 352 on the fixed side. The protrusion member 351 is integrated with the escape prevention protrusion member 140. When the escape prevention protrusion member 140 is lowered in the Z2 direction as shown in FIG. 22B, the protrusion member 351 presses the switch 352 on the fixed side. For this reason, since the fixed-side switch 352 is turned on, the switch 352 sends a start signal SSR to the control unit 100. Accordingly, the control unit 100 generates the light LS from the light emitting unit 201 of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and the light PS from the light emitting unit 251 of the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102, thereby performing the wafer presence / absence detection operation and the wafer. The remaining number detection operation can be automatically started.

Next, an operation example of the wafer cassette storage unit 82 of the above-described aseptic joining apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
A wafer cassette WC shown in FIG. 22A contains a predetermined number of wafers WF. As shown in FIG. 22B, the user inserts this wafer cassette WC into the wafer cassette insertion slot 20 along the X1 direction. The two pull-out preventing projection members 140 protrude in the Z1 direction, but the wafer cassette WC is inserted along the guide bottom surface portion 20S as shown in FIG. . Then, as shown in FIG. 22C, the wafer cassette WC is positioned and stored at a predetermined position of the wafer cassette storage unit 82 in the wafer cassette insertion slot 20. When the wafer cassette WC is positioned at a predetermined position, the position of the wafer cassette WC is fixed with respect to the X1 direction by the stopper member 20G.

In the middle of inserting the wafer cassette WC, the protruding member 351 is integrated with the pull-out preventing protruding member 140 and is lowered in the Z2 direction as shown in FIG. For this reason, the fixed-side switch 352 is turned on, and the switch 352 sends a start signal SSR to the control unit 100. In response to the start signal SSR, the control unit 100 operates the solenoid 149 to maintain the state in which each protrusion prevention protrusion member 140 protrudes in the Z1 direction together with the force of the spring 148 as shown in FIG. . Thereby, the position of the wafer cassette WC is fixed with respect to X2.
In addition, since the switch 352 sends the start signal SSR to the control unit 100, the control unit 100 operates the light emitting unit 201 of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and the light emitting unit 251 of the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102. The light LS for detecting the presence / absence of the wafer is generated from the light emitting unit 201 and the light PS for detecting the remaining amount of the wafer is generated from the light emitting unit 251. As a result, since the detection of the presence / absence of the wafer and the detection of the remaining number of wafers can be started from the time when the wafer cassette WC is positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82, the light emitting unit 201 of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 before that. Then, it is not necessary to drive the light emitting unit 251 of the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102. For this reason, it can prevent that the charge capacity of battery BA shown in FIG. 12 reduces.

As shown in FIG. 22C, since a plurality of wafers WF are stored in the wafer cassette WC, the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is reflected by the wafer WF1 located on the innermost side. Light is received by the light receiving unit 202. Since the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is received by the light receiving unit 202, a wafer presence signal 202S is sent from the light receiving unit 202 to the control unit 100. Thereby, the control unit 100 recognizes that at least one wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC.
Further, as shown in FIG. 22C, since a plurality of wafers WF are stored in the wafer cassette WC, the light PS of the light emitting unit 201 is reflected on the uppermost end surface of the maximum number of wafers WF. The reflected light RS is received by the light receiving unit 252. The amount of the reflected light RS is proportional to the number of wafers WF actually stored in the wafer cassette WC, and the light receiving unit 252 is actually stored in the wafer cassette WC with respect to the control unit 100. The remaining wafer number detection signal 252S corresponding to the amount of light proportional to the remaining number of remaining wafers WF is sent. Thereby, the control unit 100 can recognize the remaining number of wafers WF currently stored in the wafer cassette WC according to a predetermined table by receiving the remaining wafer number detection signal 252S.

  Thereafter, when the user repeatedly performs fusing and pressure bonding of the tube and the number of wafers WF in the wafer cassette WC is reduced, the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is transmitted by the wafer WF1 located on the innermost side. The light is received by the light receiving unit 202 by being reflected. Since the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 is received by the light receiving unit 202, a wafer presence signal 202S is sent from the light receiving unit 202 to the control unit 100. Thereby, the control unit 100 recognizes that at least one wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC. Moreover, the reflected light RS is received by the light receiving unit 252 when the light PS of the light emitting unit 201 is reflected by the upper end surfaces of the remaining plurality or one wafer WF. The amount of the reflected light RS is proportional to the number of a plurality of wafers or one wafer WF currently remaining in the wafer cassette WC, and the light receiving unit 252 is in the wafer cassette WC with respect to the control unit 100. A wafer remaining number detection signal 252S corresponding to the amount of light proportional to the remaining number of wafers WF currently stored is sent. As a result, the control unit 100 receives the remaining wafer number detection signal 252S, and confirms that a plurality of wafers or only one wafer WF are actually stored and stored in the wafer cassette WC according to a predetermined table. Can be recognized.

When the user repeatedly performs fusing and pressure bonding of the tube and no wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC, the light LS of the light emitting unit 201 cannot be reflected by the wafer WF1. Therefore, the light LS is not received by the light receiving unit 202. For this reason, the wafer presence signal 202S is not sent from the light receiving unit 202 to the control unit 100. As a result, the control unit 100 recognizes that no single wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC. In addition, since the light PS of the light emitting unit 201 cannot be reflected by the end face of the wafer, the reflected light RS is not received by the light receiving unit 252. Since the controller 100 cannot receive the remaining wafer number detection signal 252S, the controller 100 can recognize that one wafer WF is not actually left in the wafer cassette WC according to a predetermined table.
When the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC does not remain, the user presses the cassette take-out button 21 to take out the wafer cassette WC from the wafer cassette storage unit 82 using a take-out mechanism (not shown). Can do. At this time, the control unit 100 operates the solenoid 149 to lower the withdrawal preventing projection member 140.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 22, the presence / absence detection of the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC and the remaining amount detection of the wafer are performed by using the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and the remaining wafer detection sensor 102 which are non-contact type optical sensors. In contrast, in another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 23, the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102 is a non-contact type optical sensor, but instead of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101, a mechanical contact type is used. A wafer presence / absence detection sensor 300 is used. When each part shown in FIG. 23 and the corresponding part shown in FIG. 22 are substantially the same, the same code | symbol is described and the description is used.

  As shown in FIG. 23, a mechanical contact type wafer presence / absence detection sensor 300 is attached to the stopper 20G. The wafer presence / absence detection sensor 300 has a contact 300B. When the wafer cassette WC is inserted into the wafer cassette storage unit 82 and positioned as shown in FIG. The innermost wafer WF1 is pushed. As a result, the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 300 sends a wafer presence signal 300S to the control unit 100, so that the control unit 100 recognizes that at least one wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC. . If no wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC, the contact 300B is not pushed by the wafer WF1, so the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 300 does not send the wafer presence signal 300S to the control unit 100. .

Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 22, the presence / absence detection of the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC and the remaining amount detection of the wafer are performed by using the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101 and the remaining wafer detection sensor 102 which are non-contact type optical sensors. Used.
On the other hand, in still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 24, the wafer remaining amount detection sensor 102 is a non-contact type optical sensor, but instead of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 101, an electric contact type wafer presence / absence is provided. A detection sensor 400 is used. When each part shown in FIG. 24 and the corresponding part shown in FIG. 22 are substantially the same, the same code | symbol is described and the description is used.

  As shown in FIG. 24, an electrical contact type wafer presence / absence detection sensor 400 is attached in the vicinity of the stopper 20G. The wafer presence / absence detection sensor 400 has two electrical contacts 400C. These electrical contacts 400C are electrically connected to the control unit 100. As shown in FIG. 24C, in the state in which the wafer cassette WC is inserted and positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82, the electrical contact 400C of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 400 is directly in contact with the innermost wafer WF1. The As a result, the electrical contact 400C of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 400 is conducted and short-circuited through, for example, a copper plate wafer WF1, so that a wafer presence signal 400S is sent to the control unit 100. It is recognized that at least one wafer WF remains in the WC. If no wafer WF remains in the wafer cassette WC, the two electrical contacts 400C of the wafer presence / absence detection sensor 400 are not short-circuited, and thus no wafer presence signal 400S is sent to the control unit 100.

  In the aseptic joining apparatus 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 22, the presence or absence of the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC arranged in the housing 2 is not visually checked before the tube joining operation. The aseptic joining operation of the tube can be performed smoothly. That is, since the control unit 100 can confirm the presence / absence of the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC based on the signal from the wafer WF presence / absence detection sensor 101, there is no wafer WF. Sometimes, the operation can be stopped immediately and the wafer WF can be replenished. When the wafer WF is in the wafer cassette WC, the aseptic joining operation of the tubes can be performed smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 22, the presence / absence detection sensor 101 receives a light emitting unit 201 that generates light LS toward the wafer WF stored in the wafer cassette WC, and the light LS reflected by the wafer WF, This is a non-contact type optical sensor having a light receiving unit 202 that sends a signal 202S indicating the presence of a wafer WF to the control unit 100. For this reason, it is possible to detect in a non-contact manner whether or not there is a wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC.
The wafer WF presence / absence detection sensor 300 shown in FIG. 23 mechanically contacts the wafer WF stored in the wafer cassette WC, thereby sending a wafer presence signal 300S to the control unit 100. Type sensor. For this reason, it can be detected by mechanically contacting whether the wafer WF is present in the wafer cassette WC.

The wafer presence / absence detection sensor 400 shown in FIG. 24 is an electrical contact type that sends a signal indicating the presence of the wafer WF to the control unit 100 by making electrical contact with the wafer WF housed in the wafer cassette WC. Therefore, whether or not the wafer WF is present in the wafer cassette WC can be detected by electrical contact.
As shown in FIGS. 22 to 24, a detection start sensor 350 is provided. This detection start sensor 350 detects whether or not the wafer WF is stored in the wafer cassette WC at the time when the wafer cassette WF is positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82, and sends a start signal SSR to the control unit 100. Is provided to get you started. From the time when the wafer cassette WF is positioned in the wafer cassette storage unit 82, the presence or absence of a wafer is detected. Therefore, the controller 100 does not need to drive the wafer presence / absence detection sensors 101, 300, and 400 before positioning the wafer cassette WF. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the charging capacity of the battery BA from decreasing and to reduce power consumption.

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 22C, in each of the embodiments of FIGS. 22 to 24, for example, a liquid crystal display device 500 is additionally provided, and the liquid crystal display device 500 is instructed by a command from the control unit 100. , “Wafer exists” or “No wafer” may be displayed. Further, the control unit 100 may notify the user of “there is a wafer” or “there is no wafer” by voice guidance using the speaker SP shown in FIG. Thereby, since the user can confirm the presence or absence of the wafer WF in the wafer cassette WC visually and with sound, it is particularly useful for elderly users.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
The aseptic joining device of the present invention is not only used for aseptic joining of two equal-sized tubes for exchanging peritoneal dialysate. The aseptic joining apparatus of the present invention can also be used to automatically join two tubes of the same diameter used for blood transfusion in aseptic conditions, for example, and contaminate bacteria when joining the two tubes. Therefore, the sterility of the blood components in the tube and bag can be maintained.
A part of each configuration of the above embodiment can be omitted, or can be arbitrarily combined so as to be different from the above.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Aseptic joining apparatus, 2 ... Housing, 3 ... Clamp lid part, 4 ... Tube set auxiliary tool, 50 ... Housing side clamp part, 82 ... Wafer cassette storage unit ( (Cassette storage unit), 101, 300, 400 ... wafer presence / absence detection sensor (heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor), 350 ... detection start sensor, WC ... wafer cassette, WF ... wafer (heating) Plate member), T1... First tube, T2.

Claims (5)

After fusing the first tube and the second tube with a heating plate member in a state where the first tube and the second tube are fixed, the fusing end of the first tube and the fusing of the second tube An aseptic joining apparatus that joins by replacing the end portions
A housing for fixing the first tube and the second tube;
A cassette storage unit for detachably storing a cassette that is disposed in the housing and stores a plurality of the heating plate members;
A heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor for detecting whether or not the heating plate member is housed in the cassette positioned in the cassette housing unit;
And a controller for recognizing whether or not the heating plate member remains in the cassette based on a signal from a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the heating plate member.   The heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor receives a light emitting unit that generates light toward the heating plate member housed in the cassette and the light reflected by the heating plate member. 2. The aseptic joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aseptic joining device is a non-contact type optical sensor having a light receiving unit that sends a signal indicating that the heating plate member is present to the control unit.   The heating plate member presence / absence detection sensor mechanically contacts the heating plate member housed in the cassette, thereby sending a signal indicating the presence of the heating plate member to the control unit. 2. The aseptic joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aseptic joining apparatus is a contact type sensor.   The presence / absence detection sensor of the heating plate member sends a signal indicating the presence of the heating plate member to the control unit by making electrical contact with the heating plate member housed in the cassette. 2. The aseptic joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aseptic joining apparatus is an electric contact type sensor.   Detection for starting detection of whether or not the heating plate member is stored in the cassette by giving a start signal to the control unit when the cassette is positioned in the cassette storage unit. The aseptic joining apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a start sensor.

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