CN111060380A - Sample basket transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses sample basket transfer system, it includes loading device, feed arrangement and output device. The loading device is provided with a loading conveying channel for placing and conveying the sample basket, the feeding device is provided with a working area, and the feeding device is used for conveying the sample basket to the working area. After the sample loading is finished in the working area, the sample basket loaded with the sample enters the output device from the feeding device. Wherein the output device is arranged approximately parallel to the loading conveyor path.

Description

Sample basket transport system

The application is a divisional application, and the name of a parent case is as follows: sample basket conveying system and method, application number is: 201410174270.4, filing date: year 2014, 04 and 28.

Technical Field

The present application relates to a sample basket transport system.

Background

The slide dyeing machine needs to collect the dyed blood smear by using a slide basket and transport the blood smear to a designated position. This just needs to carry the glass slide position with empty slide basket, accomplishes the slide and collects the action after will be equipped with the slide basket output of blood smear to slide collection position, and convenience of customers takes. This device is called a slide basket transfer system.

In the prior art, the driving force of the slide loading mechanism is gravity, the driving force is influenced by the number of the slide baskets, the problem of large noise or biased loading position is easy to occur, and the temporary increase of the slide baskets is difficult and can only be uniformly added and replaced.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application provides a sample basket transport system.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present application provides a sample basket conveying system, which includes a controller, a loading device, a feeding device, and an output device, wherein the loading device, the feeding device, and the output device are all in signal connection with the controller and are controlled by the controller; the loading device, the feeding device and the output device are sequentially connected, and the output device and the loading conveying channel are approximately arranged in parallel;

the loading device is provided with a loading conveying channel for placing and conveying sample baskets, the loading conveying channel is provided with a discharge area for placing the sample baskets and a buffer area for buffering the sample baskets, the buffer area is provided with at least one buffer position, the loading conveying channel is driven by a loading conveying mechanism, the sample baskets are conveyed forwards from the discharge area to the buffer area along the loading conveying channel and are arranged in a row at the buffer position, the sample baskets enter a feeding device from the buffer area, the feeding device is provided with a working area, blood smears are loaded into the sample baskets in the working area, the sample baskets containing the samples are conveyed from the feeding device to an output device, and the output device is used for outputting the sample baskets.

In one embodiment, the feeding device is disposed between the loading device and the output device, and the feeding device is disposed at an end farther from the user than the loading device and the output device.

In one embodiment, the working area is butted with one end of the loading device far away from the emptying area.

In one embodiment, the portable electronic device further comprises a second basket body detection mechanism, one of the buffer bits is used as an output end, the work area is communicated with the output end, the second basket body detection mechanism is used for detecting whether a sample basket exists at the output end and sending second detection information to the controller, and the controller controls whether to move the sample basket at the output end to the work area and/or controls whether to forward convey the sample basket to the output end by the loading device according to the obtained second detection information.

In one embodiment, when the controller receives a detection signal indicating that a sample basket is present in the output end and no sample basket is present in the working area, the controller sends a control signal for sending the sample basket in the output end to the working area.

In one embodiment, when the controller receives a detection signal indicating that no sample basket is present in the output end and a sample basket is present in the discharge area, the controller sends a control signal for feeding the sample basket into the output end.

In one embodiment, the number of the cache bits is at least two, and except for the cache bit serving as the output end, a sixth basket body detection mechanism is correspondingly arranged on each of the other cache bits, and the sixth basket body detection mechanism is in signal connection with the controller and is used for detecting whether a sample basket exists in the corresponding cache bit.

In one embodiment, when the controller receives a detection signal indicating that no sample basket is in the output end and a sample basket is in the other buffer bit or the emptying zone, the controller sends out a control signal for sending the sample basket in the other buffer bit or the emptying zone to the output end.

In one embodiment, the device further comprises a first basket body detection mechanism for detecting whether a sample basket exists in the emptying region and sending first detection information to the controller, and the controller controls whether the loading device conveys the sample basket to the buffer region according to the obtained first detection information.

In one embodiment, when the controller receives a detection signal indicating that a sample basket is in the emptying zone, the loading and conveying mechanism is driven to convey the sample basket to the buffer zone forwards.

In one embodiment, the loading conveyor path is a dual synchronous belt, the loading conveyor mechanism is a synchronous belt structure, the synchronous belt structure has a belt wheel, and the dual synchronous belt is installed on the belt wheel.

In one embodiment, after the first basket body detection mechanism detects that a sample basket is in the emptying region, first detection information is sent to the controller, and the controller controls the synchronous pulley structure to drive the double synchronous belts to move according to the obtained first detection information, so as to drive the sample basket to move to the buffer position.

In one embodiment, the emptying region and each buffer position are provided with a corresponding basket body detection mechanism for detecting whether a sample basket exists in the corresponding emptying region and the corresponding buffer position.

In one embodiment, the controller receives the detection information of the basket body detection mechanism to obtain the number of empty sample baskets.

In one embodiment, the controller compares the number of empty sample baskets with the number of blood smears to be collected, and when the controller determines that an empty sample basket is not enough to load the blood smears to be collected, the controller issues a prompt indicating that the empty basket is not enough.

In one embodiment, the device further comprises a display device, wherein the display device is connected with the controller and is used for displaying the number of the empty sample baskets and/or prompt information indicating that the empty baskets are insufficient in real time.

In one embodiment, the sample basket detection device further comprises a fourth basket detection mechanism, and the fourth basket detection mechanism detects whether a sample basket exists in the working area.

In one embodiment, the fourth basket body detection mechanism is an optical sensor, and the optical sensor judges whether the sample basket moves forward by one grid by detecting whether the sample basket feeds back an optical coupling signal change process that an edge is shielded and a gap is not shielded.

In one embodiment, the controller determines whether the movement of the sample basket is accurately in place through the change of the optical coupling signal of the fourth basket body detection mechanism.

In one embodiment, the controller counts the number of inserted blood smears based on the number of forward-walking bins of the sample basket.

In one embodiment, the output device has a discharge platform, a discharge member, and a discharge drive mechanism, wherein the discharge platform is connected to the rear of the working area, and the discharge drive mechanism is linked with the discharge member and drives the discharge member to push the sample basket to move from the feeding device to the discharge platform.

In one embodiment, the automatic blood smear loading device further comprises a fifth detection mechanism for detecting whether a sample basket which is loaded into a blood smear operation needs to be output or not and sending detection information to the controller, and the controller controls whether the sample basket is moved onto the unloading platform or not by the unloading part according to the fifth detection mechanism.

In one embodiment, the work area is provided with a positioning mechanism for positioning the sample basket, the positioning mechanism being configured to apply a force to the sample basket to position the sample basket within the work area.

In one embodiment, the positioning mechanism comprises a mounting seat and a positioning piece, the positioning piece is provided with at least one positioning part in contact with the sample basket, an acting force is applied to the direction of the positioning part abutting against the sample basket, the acting force is used for preventing the sample basket from moving forwards, or the positioning part is driven to be separated from the sample basket, so that the sample basket can move.

In one embodiment, the blood smear test device further comprises a fourth basket body detection mechanism, wherein the fourth basket body detection mechanism is connected with the controller and used for detecting whether the sample basket in the working area is located at the designated position or not and sending detection information to the controller, and when the controller judges that the sample basket is located at the designated position, the manipulator is controlled to place the blood smear into the sample basket.

In one embodiment, the number of the positioning mechanisms in the working area is at least two, the positioning mechanisms are sequentially arranged along the conveying track of the sample basket, and the interval between the two positioning mechanisms positioned on the outermost sides of the two ends is smaller than the length of the corresponding sample basket.

In one embodiment, the controller controls the manipulator to insert the blood smears into the sample basket sequentially, one by one, within the work area.

The beneficial effect of this application is:

the application provides a sample basket transfer system, which comprises a loading device, a feeding device and an output device. The loading device is provided with a loading conveying channel for placing and conveying the sample basket, the feeding device is provided with a working area, and the feeding device is used for conveying the sample basket to the working area. After the sample loading is finished in the working area, the sample basket loaded with the sample enters the output device from the feeding device. Wherein the output device is arranged approximately parallel to the loading conveyor path.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a slide basket of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a sample basket transfer system of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a loading device in the sample basket transfer system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a feeder device in the sample basket transfer system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a positioning mechanism of the sample basket transport system shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the positioning mechanism of FIG. 7 engaged with a sample basket;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the sample basket transport system of FIG. 4 within a work area;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a longitudinal stop mechanism in the sample basket transport system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the engagement of the puck and the grooves in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the puck and grooves in one embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. The present application may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the present embodiment. Rather, the following detailed description is provided to facilitate a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure.

Provided herein is a sample basket transfer system and method, the sample basket being a container for loading a sample, such as a slide basket, which is hereinafter described as a sample basket for convenience of description.

Example one

The present embodiment first provides a slide basket for holding slides.

Referring to fig. 1-3, the slide basket 5 has a basket body for carrying slides. Prisms 56 are arranged in the basket body corresponding to each slide, and bearing positions are formed among the prisms 56 and used for inserting a slide. This embodiment is further improved because the position to which the transfer mechanism is transferred deviates from the ideal position due to errors in manufacturing errors, assembly errors, etc. of parts after the fingers of the transfer mechanism are released while the slide basket 5 is being transported to the designated position. The improvement is that a rib is provided on the outer wall of the slide basket 5, and a positioning groove 52 is provided on the rib to reduce the position error caused by the transport mechanism, and the specific positioning function is described in detail below. Of course, the positioning groove 52 may be provided as a projection.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the slide, the opening portion of the carrying position is provided with an open opening (i.e., the opening direction is gradually decreased from top to bottom), so that the positioning error of the slide basket 5 can be compensated. And meanwhile, the open opening is convenient for hot air to enter from the top.

Since the blood smear (i.e., slide) is stained with a liquid such as a reagent before it is inserted into the slide basket 5, a structure is added to assist the drying thereof. The existing drying is completed on the premise of auxiliary hot air blowing, after the hot air is blown into the blood smears in the glass slide basket 5, the hot air is required to form a circulation state by the structure of the glass slide basket 5, dead angles are not easily formed, and the blood smears can be well dried. Therefore, the hollowed-out gaps 54 are designed on the front side, the rear side, the left side, the right side and the four side walls of the basket body, when hot air is blown in, the air can be discharged from the gaps 54 of the slide basket 5, the hot air is circulated, and the blood smear is more convenient to dry. In other embodiments, gaps can be arranged on any two side surfaces of the basket body to form a circulating air channel.

Just inserting the blood smear and bearing the position, and before not drying, probably having a certain amount of liquid, liquid can be along the blood smear downward flow, forms the hydrops at the bottom of blood smear, influences the drying effect of blood smear bottom, so, please refer to fig. 3, has designed reservoir 57 at the bottom of blood smear bearing the position, bears the position and is located the top of reservoir 57, can make the liquid before the blood smear drying flow to the inslot, and can not bear the weight of the bottom surface at the blood smear and form the hydrops, be infected with the blood smear, in the drying process, the liquid in reservoir 57 will also be dried by hot-blast.

With continued reference to fig. 2 and 3, a series of hook slots 55 are provided on the back of the slide basket 5 so that the fingers of the transport mechanism can smoothly hook over a surface (i.e., an abutting surface) of the hook slots 55 and drag the slide basket 5 to move. The number of the hook grooves 55 is the same as that of the bearing positions, and after the first bearing position is inserted into a slide, the hook groove 55 is hooked by the poking head, so that the slide basket 5 advances one grid, and a second slide is continuously inserted. In other embodiments, the abutting surface may be a side surface of a protrusion or a groove, which may be disposed at any position of the outer wall of the basket body.

The outer wall of the glass slide basket 5 is also provided with an anti-reverse part for preventing the glass slide basket from being reversely mounted, the anti-reverse part is an anti-reverse groove or an anti-reverse bulge, and when the anti-reverse part is positioned on the outer wall of the bottom surface of the basket body, the glass slide basket is in an asymmetric structure relative to the anti-reverse groove or the anti-reverse bulge. The following will be described in detail in connection with the sample basket transfer system.

The slide basket 5 can be made of PEI (Polyetherimide), namely the abbreviation of Polyetherimide, and has good wear-resisting effect, and particularly, the PEI material is used at a slide insertion opening, so that powder generated by wear can be effectively avoided. In addition, the glossiness of the surface of the slide basket 5 is designed, preferably, the glossiness is suitable for optical coupling detection.

Example two

With continued reference to fig. 4-10, the present embodiment also provides a slide basket transfer system (i.e., a specific application of the sample basket transfer system to a slide basket) comprising a loading device 1, a feeding device 2, an output device 3, and a controller (not shown).

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, the loading apparatus 1 includes a loading transport lane 11 and a loading transport mechanism 12, the loading transport lane 11 having a discharge area and a buffer area and being driven by the loading transport mechanism 12 and finally arranging the slide baskets in a queue in the buffer area. The feeding device 2 includes a feeding transport path 21 and a moving mechanism. The feeding conveying channel 21 is provided with a working area 213 for loading samples along the advancing direction of the slide basket, the feeding conveying channel is connected behind the loading conveying channel, the moving mechanism extends to the outlet end of the buffer area to pick up the slide basket, and the slide basket is conveyed to the working area along the feeding conveying channel to be loaded with the samples. The output device is provided with a discharging platform 31, a discharging piece 32 and a discharging driving mechanism 33, wherein the discharging platform 31 is connected behind the feeding conveying channel 21, the discharging piece 32 is arranged at the discharging platform 31, the discharging driving mechanism 33 is linked with the discharging piece 32, and drives the discharging piece 32 to push the slide basket to move from the feeding conveying channel to the discharging platform 31.

In addition, the feeding device 2 can also adopt a mechanical arm picking mode to realize the feeding function of the slide basket, and specifically, a mechanical arm is used as a moving mechanism to pick the slide basket from the buffer area of the loading device 1 and then send the slide basket to the working area of the feeding device 2 (if the feeding device is provided with an auxiliary buffer area, which will be described in detail below, the mechanical arm can also place the slide basket in the auxiliary buffer area, or pick the slide basket from the auxiliary buffer area and send the slide basket to the working area), so that the feeding device can also omit the technical characteristic of feeding a conveying channel.

Specifically, the loading device 1 is structured as follows:

referring to fig. 4 and 5, specifically, the loading transport path 11 is driven by a loading transport mechanism 12 for transporting the empty slide basket 5, in the exemplary structure of the present embodiment, the loading transport mechanism 12 is a synchronous belt wheel structure, or in other embodiments, the loading transport mechanism may also be a caterpillar or pusher dog structure, and the loading transport path 11 is transported by two synchronous belts, which are arranged side by side and driven by the synchronous belt wheel structure to transport the slide basket.

Further, the slide basket conveying system may further include a first basket body detecting mechanism 41, and the loading device 1 and the first basket body detecting mechanism 41 are in signal connection with the controller, wherein the first basket body detecting mechanism 41 is located in the discharging area 14 of the loading conveying channel 11 on the loading device 1, and is used for detecting whether a slide basket 5 is placed in the loading conveying channel, and sending first detection information to the controller, and the controller controls whether the loading conveying mechanism 12 drives the loading conveying channel 11 to convey the slide basket 5 to the feeding device 2 according to the obtained detection information sent by the first basket body detecting mechanism 41. If the slide basket is detected to be put into the loading device, the controller controls the loading device to forward convey the slide baskets to the buffer area to be arranged in a queue; if the loading of the slide basket into the loading device is not detected, the controller controls the loading device to remain stationary.

Of course, the first basket body detecting mechanism 41 is not an essential feature for achieving the technical purpose, and in other embodiments, the loading and conveying mechanism 12 may be manually operated by a user to drive the loading and conveying path 11 to convey the slide basket 5 to the feeding device 2.

The buffer area includes at least one buffer location, as shown in fig. 4, the number of the buffer locations in this embodiment is 6, 6 slide baskets can be buffered, and each buffer location is provided with a basket body detection mechanism for detecting whether a slide basket exists in the current buffer location. The basket detecting mechanism on the buffer bit 15 as the output end is defined as the second basket detecting mechanism 42, and the basket detecting mechanisms on the other buffer bits in the buffer area are defined as the sixth basket detecting mechanism 46. Of course, which cache bit is used as the output terminal can be selected according to the actual operation requirement, and all cache bits in the cache region can be used as the output terminal.

The second basket body detection mechanism 42 detects whether a slide basket is present in the buffer position 15, and sends second detection information to the controller, and the controller can also control the moving mechanism to move to the buffer position 15 (or any other buffer position can be used as an output end) of the buffer area and move the slide basket to the feeding device according to the obtained second detection information. If the slide basket is detected at the output end of the buffer area, the controller controls the moving mechanism to move the slide basket from the buffer area to the working area; if the slide basket is not detected at the output end of the buffer area, the controller does not control the moving mechanism to move the slide basket from the buffer area to the working area, and the moving mechanism automatically moves the slide basket.

Meanwhile, the second basket body detection mechanism 42 may also detect whether any slide basket is transferred to the output end of the buffer area, and send second detection information to the controller, and the controller controls the loading device to transfer the slide basket to the output end of the buffer area according to the second detection information. If the slide basket is detected to be not arranged in the output end of the buffer area, the controller controls the loading device to forward convey the slide baskets to the buffer area to be arranged in a queue; if the output end of the buffer area is detected to have the slide basket, the controller controls the loading device to keep still. This enables automatic transfer of the slide basket of the loading device.

In the loading device 1, the slide baskets are loaded into the work area or the buffer area, and the user can continuously load the empty slide baskets 5 without waiting. The user puts into the blowing district with slide basket 5, and first basket body detection mechanism 41 detects there is slide basket 5 to get into the back, starts the action wheel and begins to rotate, and the action wheel drives the hold-in range with following the driving wheel and rotates together, and hold-in range and slide basket 5 contact each other, drives slide basket 5 and loads forward, can set up at the output of buffer memory and keep off 16, will empty slide basket restriction in the output of buffer memory, avoids it to follow and loads transfer way roll-off buffer memory. After the first slide basket 5 is placed, the synchronous belt drives the slide basket 5 to be loaded forwards, the slide basket 5 leaves the placing area in a short time, a user can place the second slide basket 5 at once, the slide basket 5 is taken away by the synchronous belt in a short time and circulates in sequence, the user can continuously place the slide baskets 5, and finally the slide baskets are arranged in a queue in the cache area.

To prevent the user from inverting the slide basket 5, an inversion prevention portion may be provided on the side or bottom surface of the loading transfer path 11, the inversion prevention portion fitting into the slide basket. The anti-reverse part can perform anti-reverse for an anti-reverse groove or an anti-reverse bulge. When the anti-reverse groove or the anti-reverse bulge is arranged on the bottom surface, the distances from the anti-reverse groove or the anti-reverse bulge to the two side edges of the bottom surface are different. In this embodiment, taking the anti-reverse protrusion 13 as an example, in order to cooperate with the anti-reverse protrusion 13, please refer to fig. 1 and 2, the bottom of the slide basket 5 is also provided with an anti-reverse groove 51 cooperating with the anti-reverse protrusion 13, in order to determine the unique placing direction, the slide basket 5 is asymmetric left and right with respect to the anti-reverse groove 51, that is, the distance from the anti-reverse groove 51 to both sides of the slide basket 5 is not equal, but is consistent with the distance from the anti-reverse protrusion 13 to both sides of the bottom surface of the loading conveying channel, so the slide basket 5 can only be placed on the loading device 1 according to the fixing direction, otherwise, the slide basket cannot be loaded. When the anti-reverse groove or the anti-reverse protrusion is arranged on the side surface of the loading conveying passage 11, the two sides of the anti-reverse part on the slide basket are not required to form an asymmetric structure, namely, the two sides can be of a symmetric structure or an asymmetric structure.

Of course, the position of the stop recesses 52 and the projections can be adjusted, for example, the projections can be disposed on the slide basket 5, and the recesses can be correspondingly disposed on the loading transport path 11.

The feeding device 2 is structured as follows:

referring to fig. 4 and 6, in the feeder device 2, the feeder track 21 has at least one auxiliary buffer area 212 and at least one work area 213, the work area 213 being used to load slide locations into the slide basket by inserting slides into the slide basket by the robot arm. The infeed lane 21 is joined behind the loading lane 11.

The moving mechanism in this embodiment comprises a moving head 22, a telescopic drive 23 and a feed drive 24.

In the present embodiment, the moving head 22 is a pusher dog. The moving head is disposed along the moving direction of the slide basket 5 on the feeding transport path 21 and extends into the feeding transport path 21. The moving head is arranged on the power output end of the telescopic driving piece 23, and the telescopic driving piece 23 drives the moving head to extend or retract towards the slide basket 5. The pusher dog 22 and the telescopic driving member 23 are both arranged on the power output end of the feed driving member 24, and the feed driving member 24 drives the pusher dog 22 to move back and forth among the feed inlet 211, the auxiliary buffer area 212 and the slide loading position 213 on the feed conveying path 21.

When the second basket body detection mechanism 42 detects that the slide basket 5 is located at the output end, a signal is sent to the controller, and the controller controls the telescopic driving piece 23 and the feed driving piece 24 to act to drive the pusher dog 22 to work. Likewise, the second basket sensing mechanism 42 is not a necessary feature for achieving the objectives of the present technique, and in other embodiments, the retractable drive 23 and the advancement drive 24 may be manually operated by the user to drive the fingers 22 to transfer the slide basket 5.

Referring to fig. 4 and 6, in the exemplary structure of the present embodiment, the finger 22 of the feeding device 2 can extend into the hook slot 55 of the slide basket 5 to move the slide basket 5. The telescopic driving member 23 adopts an air cylinder, and the feed driving member 24 adopts a synchronous pulley structure. Of course, other drive mechanisms and finger 22 configurations known in the art are also suitable, such as a finger that moves the slide basket from a poked to a pushed, pulled, or sucked configuration.

The auxiliary buffer 212 has at least one auxiliary buffer bit, two for example, and is located after the load transfer way and before the working area. And each auxiliary cache position is respectively provided with a third basket body detection mechanism 43 for detecting whether a slide basket exists on the auxiliary cache position and sending third detection information to the controller for statistics or calculation. Meanwhile, the controller can also control whether the moving mechanism moves the slide basket to the auxiliary cache position or not according to the third detection information, and if the slide basket does not exist in the auxiliary cache position, the controller can control the moving mechanism to cache the slide basket in the auxiliary cache position; if a slide basket is present in the auxiliary cache location, the controller does not control the movement mechanism to move the slide basket to the auxiliary cache location. Of course, the third basket detecting mechanism 43 is not a necessary feature for achieving the purpose of the present technology, and the third basket detecting mechanism 43 may be omitted in other embodiments.

When the loading conveying path 11 delivers the slide basket 5, the synchronous pulley drives the cylinder and the pusher dog to move to the buffer position 15, the cylinder drives the pusher dog to extend out to hook the hook groove 55 at the bottom of the slide basket 5, and then the synchronous pulley drives the cylinder, the pusher dog and the slide basket 5 to move to the working area 213 or the auxiliary buffer area 212. Typically, the first slide basket 5 moves directly to the slide loading station 213, while the subsequent slide baskets 5 move to the auxiliary buffer area 212 for queuing or the work area 213 for slide insertion, as the case may be.

Just as the fingers are extendable and retractable by the cylinder, during a loading operation of a first slide basket 5, the telescopic drive 23 retracts the fingers 22 and the advance drive 24 moves the fingers 22 to the buffer positions 15 to move the second slide basket 5 to the auxiliary buffer area 212. Namely, the empty slide baskets 5 are buffered in the auxiliary buffer area 212 by the pusher dog after waiting for loading of the slides, so that the user can continuously place the empty slide baskets 5 on the loading device 1, and at least one auxiliary buffer area 212 is provided, so that the empty slide baskets 5 can be buffered, and the number of the empty slide baskets 5 can be increased without changing the size of the space occupied by the loading device 1.

Referring to fig. 7-9 and 11, 12, generally, when the slide basket 5 is transported to a designated position, the fingers are released, and because of errors in manufacturing, assembly, etc., the parts are transported to a position that deviates from the desired position, resulting in inaccurate positioning of the slide basket 5. This embodiment improves this, designs at least one positioning mechanism on slide basket 5, and this positioning mechanism includes mount pad and setting element, and the setting element stretches out to slide basket transmission orbit from the mount pad on, and wherein the setting element has at least one location portion of contact with slide basket, applys an effort in the direction of location portion butt slide basket, and this effort orders about location portion to press against slide basket formation gomphosis structure and prevent slide basket to move ahead, or orders about location portion to break away from slide basket, makes slide basket continue to move.

Specifically, the positioning mechanism is located at the slide loading position 213 of the feeding transport path 21, and referring to fig. 7 to 9, the positioning portion is driven by the elastic force of the elastic member, and the positioning portion is pushed or pulled toward the slide basket by the elastic force.

More specifically, referring to fig. 7-9 and 11, 12, the mounting base is fixedly disposed relative to the feeding conveying path 21, the positioning element includes a pressing wheel 261, a rotating shaft 265, and a swinging block 264, the pressing wheel 261 is rotatably disposed on the rotating shaft 265 and is connected to the swinging block 264 through the rotating shaft 265, the swinging block 264 is movably disposed on the mounting base, and the elastic element 263 is disposed between the swinging block 264 and the mounting base. The structure for movably coupling the swing block 264 with the mounting seat comprises a swing block rotating shaft 265, and the swing block rotating shaft 265 penetrates through the mounting seat and the swing block 264 to form a hinge structure. The elastic member 263 is a compression spring provided between the mounting seat and the mounting seat, and the mounting seat comprises a base 262 fixedly provided and a detachable top seat 267, and the spring is clamped between the top seat 267 and the swing block 264, as shown in fig. 7, 8 and 9.

Of course, the elastic member may be an extension spring or other elastic member. Also, the pinch roller 261 or the shaft 265 and/or the rocker itself may be made of an elastic material, which presses the pinch roller against the slide basket by its own elasticity rather than the elastic force of the elastic member. The force acting on the positioning part can be provided by a separate elastic member or an elastic material of the positioning part, and can be directly driven up and down by a driving mechanism, such as an air cylinder, a linear motor and the like. When the positioning mechanism is required to perform positioning, the driving mechanism drives the positioning part to move downwards to clamp the corresponding part of the slide basket, and when the slide basket is going to continue to move forwards, the driving mechanism drives the positioning part to move upwards to loosen the slide basket.

Referring to fig. 1, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12, the positioning process of the positioning mechanism shown in this example is as follows: a positioning groove 52 is designed on the slide basket 5. When the slide basket stops near the detent mechanism, the pressure wheel 261 can become jammed in the detent 52. While pinch roller 261 compresses slide basket 5 under the action of spring 263. Positioning grooves 52 are properly aligned with puck 261. The positioning precision of the slide basket is ensured. When the slide basket 5 is to be moved away from the current position, the finger 22 drives the slide basket 5 forward. The slide basket 5 overcomes the spring force of the spring 263 of the positioning mechanism, the pressing wheel 261 is lifted, and the slide basket 5 enters the next station.

At a given position, such as the slide loading position 213, the slide basket 5 is not only dragged by the fingers, but also squeezed by the external pinch roller 261 above the positioning groove 52, the shape of the pinch roller 261 is also circular, and ideally, when the center of the pinch roller 261 coincides with the center of the positioning groove 52, the slide basket 5 is kept in a balanced state under the pressure of the pinch roller 261 and the supporting force of the bottom plate, as shown in FIG. 11. When the slide basket 5 is transported to the pinch roller 261 position, the ideal position between the two is not reached because of various external deviations, and the force point a of the slide basket 5 is shown in fig. 12. When the transmission force is removed, the external force acts on the slide basket 5 to return to the ideal position within a certain range, so that the slide basket 5 can realize a more accurate positioning function, and slides can be placed in the correct position in the slide basket.

In other embodiments, the positioning element may be a pressing block, the pressing block is entirely made of an elastic material, the pressing block has a positioning portion on one surface pressing the slide basket (in the above embodiments, the curved surface where the pressing wheel contacts with the positioning groove of the slide basket is the positioning portion, but the positioning portion changes along with the rotation of the pressing wheel), and an engaging structure is formed between the positioning portion and the slide basket. The positioning part is provided with an arc-shaped or conical groove or protrusion, or the positioning part can also be a friction surface with larger friction force.

The positioning mechanisms of the slide loading positions 213 on the feeding conveying channel 21 are one or at least two, when at least two positioning mechanisms are arranged, the positioning mechanisms are arranged in sequence along the conveying track of the slide basket, and the interval between the two positioning mechanisms at the outermost sides of the two ends is smaller than the length of the corresponding slide basket, so that the positioning mechanisms can act on the same slide basket at the same time. The present embodiment provides two positioning mechanisms spaced apart from each other by a length less than the length of a corresponding one of the slide baskets 5 in the direction of the feed conveying path 21, so as to press the slide baskets 5 from both ends of the slide baskets 5 for better positioning. To prevent the slide basket 5 from being displaced or misaligned in the auxiliary buffer sections 212, a positioning mechanism as described above may be provided in both of the auxiliary buffer sections 212.

To better understand the condition of the inserted slide, the slide basket transfer system may further include a fourth basket detecting mechanism (which is shielded by the longitudinal stop mechanism 25 and therefore not indicated) in signal communication with the controller. The fourth basket body detection mechanism is arranged at a slide loading position 213 on the feeding conveying channel 21, and the light path of the fourth basket body detection mechanism is matched with the edge and the clearance on the slide basket 5 to detect the number of slides loaded in the slide basket 5 and the position of the slide basket 5. Specifically, taking the fourth basket body detection mechanism as an example of a correlation type optocoupler, when the slide basket 5 moves forward for one grid, the correlation type optocoupler detects that the process that the edge 53 is shielded and the gap 54 is not shielded, the process of movement once occurs, shielding does not occur, and then shielding jumps, if jumps occur, the movement is normal, otherwise, the operation is failed. And judging whether the movement of the slide basket 5 is accurately in place or not through the change of the optical coupling signal, if the process that the shielding of the edge 53 and the shielding of the gap 54 are continuously detected for a plurality of times, the slide basket walks for at least one more time. Meanwhile, the inserted slides can be counted according to the number of the grids which are moved forwards by the slide basket.

Referring to fig. 9 and 10, when the slide basket 5 enters the working area, in order to further improve the positioning accuracy in the longitudinal direction (i.e. as shown by arrow C in fig. 9), the feeding device 2 may further include a longitudinal position-limiting mechanism 25, the longitudinal position-limiting mechanism 25 is fixedly arranged on the feeding conveying passage 21 and has a position-limiting channel 251 communicated with the feeding conveying passage 21, and an opening 252 (the opening is a cone-like inlet as shown in fig. 9, wherein the large opening is located in front of the small opening) is formed in one side of the position-limiting channel 251 facing the advancing direction of the slide basket 5, wherein in terms of width, the width of the large opening is greater than that of the small opening, and the width of the small opening is greater than that of the slide basket, so as to ensure that the slide basket is smoothly placed from the direction B shown in fig. 10, and to automatically adjust the slide. The opening 252 has a strong wear resistance.

Referring to fig. 9, in order to accommodate the positional change of the slide moving mechanism, it is necessary to adjust the position of the longitudinal position restricting mechanism (i.e., the direction of the position restricting path) on the feeding transport path 21. The feeding device further comprises a side plate 27, the side plate 27 is arranged on one side of the feeding conveying channel, the side plate 27 is fixedly connected with the longitudinal limiting mechanism 25, the side plate 27 and the feeding conveying channel 21 are fixed through at least one threaded piece 271, a threaded hole in the feeding conveying channel 21 is matched with the outer diameter of the threaded piece, and the threaded hole in the side plate 27 is larger than the outer diameter of the threaded piece, so that the transverse position, the longitudinal position and the angle of the side plate 27 and the longitudinal limiting mechanism can be adjusted. For example, at least two screw members 271 are provided in the moving direction of the slide basket 5, and the screw holes 272 of the side plate 27 are waist-shaped holes. In this way, as shown in fig. 9, since the threaded hole 272 of the side plate 27 is larger than the outer diameter of the threaded member 271, by adjusting the position of the threaded member 271 in the threaded hole 272, the adjustment in the longitudinal direction (indicated by arrow C in fig. 9), the lateral direction (indicated by arrow D in fig. 9), and the angular direction (indicated by arrow E in fig. 9) can be achieved, so that the relative positions of the longitudinal limiting mechanism 25 and the positioning mechanism in the installation of the apparatus are accurate, and the slide basket can be ensured to pass through the longitudinal limiting mechanism well and receive the slide loading accurately.

The output device 3 is an unnecessary feature of the present slide basket conveying system, and the present embodiment exemplifies the structure as follows:

referring to fig. 4, the output device 3 in this embodiment has a discharging platform 31, a discharging member 32 and a discharging driving mechanism 33, the discharging platform 31 is connected behind the slide loading position 213 of the feeding device 2, the discharging member 32 is disposed at the discharging platform 31, and the power end of the discharging driving mechanism 33 is connected with the discharging member 32 and drives the discharging member 32 to push the slide basket 5 to move on the discharging platform 31. The discharge driving mechanism 33 may be driven by a belt pulley, or may be driven by other driving components, such as an air cylinder. A ramp is provided on the discharge station 31 to prevent the slide basket from backing up. Once the slide basket is pushed out, it cannot be touched or pushed back by a person.

Meanwhile, a fifth basket body detection mechanism 45 can be arranged, the fifth basket body detection mechanism 45 is arranged at the inlet end of the discharging platform 31 or the outlet end of the supply conveying channel and used for detecting whether a slide basket enters the discharging area or not and sending detection information to the controller, and the controller starts the discharging driving mechanism 33 according to the received fifth detection information sent by the fifth basket body detection mechanism 45 and drives the discharging part 32 to push the slide basket to move to the discharging platform 31.

Wherein the output device 3 is only for automatically completing the output of the slide basket 5, in other embodiments the slide basket transfer system may not include the output device 3 and rely on a user to manually or externally robotically remove the slide basket 5 directly from the feeder device 2.

In this embodiment, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth basket body detection mechanisms are collectively referred to as a basket body detection mechanism, the basket body detection mechanism is a non-contact detector or a contact switch, and the non-contact detection mechanism may be an optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor and an image recognition probe. Wherein the optical sensor comprises a single-sided or double-sided optocoupler or the like.

Referring to fig. 4, in the present embodiment, the basket body detecting mechanism can timely feed back the number of the slide baskets 5 in the system, and monitor the state of the slide baskets 5 in real time. For example, the number of empty slide baskets 5 in the entire system can be monitored in real time by the first, second, third and sixth detection mechanisms 41, 42, 43, 46, and even the number of empty slide baskets 5 remaining can be easily queried by a user through an interactive interface. When the empty slide basket 5 is insufficient to collect the number of slides to be collected in the pusher, the machine may alert the user to add the empty slide basket 5. The number and the interval of the sixth detection mechanisms 46 are related to the length of the loading and conveying channel, and one detection mechanism corresponds to one slide basket in a one-to-one correspondence state when the slide baskets are fully filled in sequence.

It should be noted that, the above detection mechanisms not only jointly realize the monitoring function for the slide glass basket, but also can be respectively matched with the controller to realize different functions, and all or corresponding basket body detection mechanisms can be selected according to the actually required functions, or different detection mechanisms can be selected to be combined, as follows:

the first basket body detection mechanism 41 is disposed in the loading area 14 of the loading and conveying channel 11, and can be further used for detecting whether a slide basket is placed in the loading area 14. The second basket body detection mechanism 42 is disposed in the buffer bit 15 of the buffer area of the loading transfer lane 11, and is further configured to detect whether a slide basket is sent to the buffer bit 15 of the buffer area. The third basket body detection mechanism 43 is disposed at the auxiliary buffer area 212, and can be further used for detecting whether there is a slide basket at the auxiliary buffer area 212.

The embodiment can also comprise a human-computer interaction unit, wherein the loading device 1, the feeding device 2, the output device 3 and the human-computer interaction unit are in signal connection with the controller, and a user can perform operations such as parameter setting, slide basket number inquiry, slide loading condition checking and the like by operating the controller through the human-computer interaction unit, so that automatic control is finally realized.

EXAMPLE III

The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the moving head 22 in the third embodiment can be an electromagnet, the driving mechanism includes an on-off control mechanism and a moving mechanism, the on-off control mechanism controls the on-off of the electromagnet and the slide basket, and the moving mechanism drives the electromagnet to move along the feeding conveying channel. The on-off control mechanism can be a controller which is connected with the electromagnet and controls the connection or disconnection of the electromagnet and the slide basket by controlling the on-off of the power supply of the electromagnet, and the structure of the feeding driving mechanism in the first embodiment can be used as a reference for the moving driving mechanism.

When the electromagnet is used as the pusher dog 22, a magnetic attraction part which can be attracted by the electromagnet is arranged on the corresponding slide basket.

Example four

The fourth embodiment provides a slide basket conveying method, which is based on a slide basket conveying system, wherein the conveying system comprises a controller, a loading device and a feeding device, and the loading device and the feeding device are communicated with the controller and are controlled by the controller.

The loading device comprises a loading conveying channel and a loading conveying mechanism, wherein the loading conveying channel is provided with a material placing area for placing the slide basket and a cache area for caching the slide basket, the cache area is provided with at least one cache position, and the loading conveying channel is driven by the loading conveying mechanism and is used for conveying the slide basket from the material placing area to the cache position for arrangement in a queue;

the feeding device comprises a working area and a moving mechanism, wherein the working area is used for loading samples into the slide basket, and the moving mechanism picks up the slide basket from the buffer area and sends the slide basket to the working area for sample loading operation.

The method comprises the following steps:

a loading step, wherein the placing condition of the slide baskets in the cache region is detected, and the slide baskets are conveyed to the cache region according to the detection condition so that the slide baskets are placed in a queue on a cache position of the cache region;

and a feeding step of moving the slide basket of the buffer position to the working area so as to load the sample into the slide basket.

Wherein, the loading step may specifically include: whether a slide basket is placed into the loading device or not is detected, detection information is sent to the controller, and the controller controls the loading device to convey the slide basket forward or not according to the detection information, so that the slide baskets are arranged in a queue in the buffer area. The detection function can be realized by the first basket body detection mechanism 41 in the second embodiment, that is, if it is detected that the slide basket is placed into the loading device, the controller controls the loading device to forward transfer the slide basket to the buffer area for arrangement in a queue; if the loading of the slide basket into the loading device is not detected, the controller controls the loading device to remain stationary.

Or whether the slide basket is conveyed to the output end of the buffer area or not can be detected, the detection information is sent to the controller, and the controller controls whether the loading device conveys the slide basket to the output end of the buffer area or not according to the detection information. The second basket body detection mechanism 42 in the second embodiment can be used for realizing the detection function, that is, if it is detected that there is no slide basket in the output end of the buffer area, the controller determines whether it is necessary to continue to feed the slide baskets (if the number of the slide baskets above the feeding device is enough to load the slides, or there is no empty slide basket above the loading device, it is not necessary to feed the slide baskets at this time), and controls the loading device to forward transfer the slide baskets to the buffer area for arrangement in a queue; if the output end of the buffer area is detected to have the slide basket, the controller controls the loading device to keep still. This enables automatic transfer of the slide basket of the loading device.

Wherein, the feeding step may specifically include: and detecting whether a slide basket is conveyed to the output end of the cache region or not, and sending detection information to the controller, wherein the controller controls the moving mechanism to convey the slide basket at the output end of the cache region to the working region or not according to the detection information. The detection function can also be realized by the second basket body detection mechanism 42 in the second embodiment, that is, when the slide basket is detected at the output end of the buffer area, the controller controls the moving mechanism to move the slide basket from the buffer area to the working area; if the slide basket is not detected at the output end of the buffer area, the controller does not control the moving mechanism to move the slide basket from the buffer area to the working area, and the moving mechanism automatically moves the slide basket.

As another improvement, the slide basket transfer system further comprises an auxiliary buffer area, wherein in the feeding step, the slide basket can be moved to the auxiliary buffer area, and after the slide basket on the working area is removed, the slide basket can be moved from the auxiliary buffer area to the working area. The auxiliary buffer area can increase the number of slide baskets in the whole system and does not cause the loading device to occupy too much space.

To improve the efficiency of the operation, the movement of the slide basket to the auxiliary buffer area may be performed during the loading of the slide basket with the specimen in the working area.

And a basket body detection mechanism can be further arranged to obtain the detection result of whether the slide baskets exist in the working area, the buffer area, the material placing area and the optional auxiliary buffer area, and count and output the number and/or position information of the slide baskets. And further, the number and/or the position information of the slide baskets can be displayed by controlling the human-computer interaction unit.

In implementation, a plurality of basket body detection mechanisms (for example, the first, second, third, and sixth basket body detection mechanisms shown in embodiment two) may be sequentially disposed in the slide basket conveying system, and detect whether there is an empty slide basket in a region corresponding to the current basket body detection mechanism, and send a detection result to the controller, and the controller controls the human-computer interaction unit to prompt according to the detection result, where the basket body detection mechanisms correspond to the detection regions thereof one by one. The one-to-one correspondence means that one detection area is only detected by one basket body detection mechanism, and all detection areas are sequentially connected to form the whole area from the beginning to the working position (in the system shown in the second embodiment, the whole area is the area formed by the material placing area, the buffer area and the auxiliary buffer area), and it is ensured that the slide basket in each detection area is only detected by one basket body detection mechanism, and the problem that the same slide basket is detected by two detection mechanisms at the same time, so that repeated counting is formed, and the problem that the slide basket is missed to be detected due to the fact that the distance between the basket body detection mechanisms is too large is also avoided. That is, one empty slide basket 5 corresponds to only one detection mechanism, the controller calculates the number of empty slide baskets according to the detection result of each basket body detection mechanism and feeds back the number in time, if the user finds that the number of slide baskets is insufficient, a new slide basket can be added, and therefore the state of the slide basket 5 is monitored in real time. In particular, the user can easily query the number of empty slide baskets 5 remaining through the interactive interface. When the empty slide basket 5 is insufficient to collect the number of slides to be collected in the pusher, the machine may alert the user to add the empty slide basket 5.

After the slide basket is delivered to the work area, it can be loaded with a sample into the slide basket.

And a discharging step, namely discharging the slide basket filled with the sample, taking the slide basket filled with the sample away, and performing subsequent operation.

In the discharging step, when the slide basket enters a discharging area (the discharging area can be a discharging platform or a position on the feeding device), the discharging piece is driven to move the slide basket to the discharging platform, and after the slide basket is moved to the discharging platform, the discharging piece returns to the initial position to wait for moving the next slide basket.

And after the slide basket moves to the proper position, the discharging piece returns to the initial position when the detection mechanism detects the next slide basket, namely the discharging piece does not return to the position temporarily after moving the slide basket to the proper position, and returns to the initial position to move the next slide basket when the detection mechanism detects that a new slide basket comes. So, can avoid unloading the piece back in advance, wait for next slide basket in-process unloading the piece, the slide basket on the discharge table does not have the support, and the easy collision makes slide basket aversion or backward back when follow-up slide basket of taking on the discharge table.

The method can be implemented based on the slide basket conveying system provided in the second embodiment, and of course, the method can be implemented by other structures according to the operation guidance of the above steps.

The foregoing is a more detailed description of the present invention that is presented in conjunction with specific embodiments, and the practice of the invention is not to be considered limited to those descriptions. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a number of simple derivations or substitutions can be made without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims (27)

1. The sample basket conveying system is characterized by comprising a controller, a loading device, a feeding device and an output device, wherein the loading device, the feeding device and the output device are in signal connection with the controller and are controlled by the controller; the loading device, the feeding device and the output device are sequentially connected, and the output device and the loading conveying channel are approximately arranged in parallel;

the loading device is provided with a loading conveying channel for placing and conveying sample baskets, the loading conveying channel is provided with a discharging area for placing the sample baskets and a buffer area for buffering the sample baskets, the buffer area is provided with at least one buffer position, the loading conveying channel is driven by a loading conveying mechanism, the sample baskets are conveyed forwards from the discharging area to the buffer area along the loading conveying channel and are arranged in a queue at the buffer position, the sample baskets enter a feeding device from the buffer area, the feeding device is provided with a working area, the blood smears are loaded into the sample baskets in the working area, the sample baskets with the blood smears are conveyed from the feeding device to the output device, and the output device is used for outputting the sample baskets.

2. The specimen basket transfer system of claim 1, wherein the feeder is disposed between the loading device and the output device, and wherein the feeder is disposed at an end that is further from the user than the loading device and the output device.

3. The specimen basket conveyor system of claim 2, wherein the work area is interfaced with an end of the loading device distal from the drop area.

4. The system for transporting a sample basket according to claim 1, further comprising a second basket detecting mechanism, one of the buffer bits being an output terminal, the work area being in communication with the output terminal, the second basket detecting mechanism being configured to detect whether a sample basket is present at the output terminal and send second detection information to the controller, the controller controlling whether to move the sample basket at the output terminal to the work area and/or controlling the loading device to transport the sample basket forward to the output terminal according to the second detection information.

5. The specimen basket transport system of claim 4 wherein the controller issues a control signal to transport a specimen basket in the output to the work area when the controller receives a detection signal indicating a specimen basket is in the output and no specimen basket is in the work area.

6. The specimen basket transport system of claim 4 wherein the controller issues a control signal to feed a specimen basket into the output when the controller receives a detection signal indicating no specimen basket is in the output and a specimen basket is in the drop zone.

7. The system for transferring sample baskets of claim 4 wherein there are at least two buffer bits, and a sixth basket body detection mechanism is disposed in each buffer bit except the buffer bit as the output end, and the sixth basket body detection mechanism is connected to the controller for detecting whether a sample basket exists in the corresponding buffer bit.

8. The sample basket transfer system of claim 7, wherein when the controller receives a detection signal indicating no sample basket in the output and a sample basket is in the other buffer bit or drop zone, the controller issues a control signal to feed the other buffer bit or sample basket in the drop zone to the output.

9. The system for transporting a sample basket according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a first basket body detection mechanism for detecting whether a sample basket is present in the emptying zone and sending first detection information to the controller, wherein the controller controls whether the loading device transports the sample basket to the buffer zone according to the obtained first detection information.

10. The sample basket transfer system of claim 9, wherein the load transfer mechanism is actuated to forward a sample basket to the buffer when the controller receives a detection signal indicating a sample basket is present in the drop zone.

11. The specimen basket transport system of claim 9 wherein the load transport lane is a dual synchronous belt and the load transport mechanism is a synchronous pulley structure having a pulley on which the dual synchronous belt is mounted.

12. The system for conveying the sample baskets of claim 11, wherein the first basket body detection mechanism sends first detection information to the controller after detecting that a sample basket is present in the emptying region, and the controller controls the synchronous pulley structure to drive the double synchronous belts to move according to the obtained first detection information, so as to drive the sample basket to move to the buffer position.

13. The sample basket transfer system of any one of claims 1-12, wherein each of the drop zone and the buffer station is configured with a corresponding basket detection mechanism for detecting the presence of a sample basket in the corresponding drop zone and buffer station.

14. The specimen basket transfer system of claim 13, wherein the controller receives the detection information from the basket body detection mechanism to determine the number of empty specimen baskets.

15. The sample basket transfer system of claim 14 wherein the controller compares the number of empty sample baskets to the number of blood smears to be collected and the controller signals an empty basket insufficiency when the controller determines that an empty sample basket is not sufficiently loaded with blood smears to be collected.

16. The sample basket transfer system according to claim 15, further comprising a display device connected to the controller for displaying the number of empty sample baskets and/or a prompt indicating an empty basket shortage in real time.

17. The sample basket transfer system of any one of claims 1-16, further comprising a fourth basket detection mechanism that detects whether a sample basket is present in the work area.

18. The sample basket conveying system according to claim 17, wherein the fourth basket body detection mechanism is an optical sensor, and the optical sensor determines whether the sample basket moves forward one frame by detecting whether the sample basket feeds back a change process of an optical coupling signal in which an edge is blocked and a gap is not blocked.

19. The specimen basket conveying system of claim 18, wherein the controller determines whether the movement of the specimen basket is accurately in place by a change in the optical coupling signal of the fourth basket detection mechanism.

20. The sample basket transfer system of claim 18 wherein the controller counts the number of inserted blood smears based on the number of forward passes of the sample basket.

21. The sample basket transfer system of claim 1 wherein the output device has a discharge station, a discharge member, and a discharge drive mechanism, the discharge station being engaged behind the work area, the discharge drive mechanism being in operative communication with the discharge member and driving the discharge member to move the sample basket from the feeder device to the discharge station.

22. The specimen basket transfer system of claim 21, further comprising a fifth detecting mechanism for detecting whether a specimen basket for which a blood smear loading operation is completed is required to be output and transmitting the detection information to the controller, wherein the controller controls whether the unloading member moves the specimen basket to the unloading stage according to the fifth detecting mechanism.

23. The sample basket transfer system of any one of claims 1-22, wherein the work area is provided with a positioning mechanism for positioning the sample basket, the positioning mechanism for applying a force to the sample basket to position the sample basket within the work area.

24. The system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the positioning mechanism comprises a mounting seat and a positioning member, the positioning member has at least one positioning portion contacting the sample basket, and a force is applied in a direction in which the positioning portion abuts against the sample basket to prevent the sample basket from moving forward or to drive the positioning portion to separate from the sample basket so that the sample basket can move.

25. The specimen basket transfer system of claim 23, further comprising a fourth basket body detection mechanism connected to the controller for detecting whether the specimen basket is positioned at a designated position in the work area and sending a detection message to the controller, and controlling the manipulator to place the blood smear into the specimen basket after the controller determines that the specimen basket is positioned at the designated position.

26. The sample basket transporting system according to claim 23, wherein the number of the positioning mechanisms in the working area is at least two, which are arranged in sequence along the transporting track of the sample basket, and the interval between the two positioning mechanisms positioned at the outermost sides of both ends is smaller than the length of the corresponding one of the sample baskets.

27. The specimen basket transfer system of claim 1 wherein the controller controls the robotic arm to insert the blood smears into the specimen basket sequentially, one by one, within the work area.

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