CN112904036B

CN112904036B - Liquid supply system and method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112904036B
Application number: CN201911218038.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙娟娟; 王俊
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-03
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2024-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-03
Also published as: CN112904036A

Abstract

A liquid supply system and a method thereof, wherein the plurality of external liquid storage barrels are connected with cleaning components on a plurality of sample analysis devices through the liquid supply pipeline, the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices are connected with the cleaning components thereof, and the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices are connected with the cleaning components of other sample analysis devices, so that the liquid supply strategy is more flexible and the barrel for storing cleaning liquid is more convenient to replace.

Description

Liquid supply system and method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a liquid supply system and a method thereof.

Background

The sample analysis device is used for detecting and analyzing specific biological components, chemical substances and the like contained in a sample, and in order to avoid cross contamination of the sample, the sample is cleaned after the sampling and the sample adding are finished, and the next sampling and the sample adding action can be carried out on the sample dispensing needle after the cleaning is finished.

An immunoassay device, for example, is generally provided with a cleaning solution for cleaning a needle tube path in order to satisfy the requirements of cleaning a sample injection needle. The cleaning liquid is introduced from two sources: one is connected to deionized water pipeline in the department room, and the instrument realizes whether water is fed by controlling the switch valve according to the test requirement; one is a bucket storing cleaning liquid, and a concert of instrument design is provided with the built-in bucket to supply the cleaning liquid to the instrument, and when the cleaning liquid in the bucket is exhausted, the instrument can give an alarm to inform a user of replacement.

There is still a need for improvements in these solutions for cleaning solutions.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a liquid supply system and a method thereof.

According to a first aspect, in one embodiment there is provided a liquid supply system comprising:

a plurality of external liquid storage barrels arranged outside the sample analysis device and used for storing cleaning liquid;

the internal liquid storage barrel is arranged in the sample analysis device and is used for storing cleaning liquid; wherein each sample analysis device is provided with at least one of said internal reservoirs;

the liquid supply pipeline is used for connecting the plurality of external liquid storage barrels with cleaning components on the plurality of sample analysis devices, connecting the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices with the cleaning components thereof and connecting the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices with the cleaning components of the other sample analysis devices; the liquid supply pipeline comprises a plurality of branches, a valve assembly, a pressure source and a detection unit, wherein the valve assembly is arranged on the branches, the valve assembly is used for opening or closing the branches, the pressure source is used for generating the pressure of liquid flowing in the branches, and the detection unit is used for detecting the liquid conditions on the external liquid storage barrel and the internal liquid storage barrel;

And the processor is used for controlling the liquid supply of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the processor controls the feeding of a sample analysis device, comprising:

the processor preferentially controls the external liquid storage barrel to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

when the external liquid storage barrel is in an empty state, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of each sample analysis device to supply liquid.

In one embodiment, the processor controls the internal reservoir of each sample analysis device to supply fluid, comprising:

the processor preferably controls the sample analysis device in a testing state to supply liquid through the internal liquid storage barrel of the processor.

In one embodiment, the processor controls the internal reservoir of each sample analysis device to supply fluid, further comprising:

when the internal reservoir of the sample analysis device itself in the test state is empty, the processor determines whether any internal reservoirs of other sample analysis devices are available for supplying fluid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

In one embodiment, the processor determines whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying the sample analysis device under test, comprising:

the processor judges whether an idle sample analysis device exists;

if so, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the idle sample analysis device to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

the processor judges whether a sample analysis device which is idle and still is idle for a preset time period exists or not;

if so, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

In one embodiment, the processor determines whether the sample analysis device is still in an idle state for a predetermined period of time by counting historical test times of the sample analysis device.

The processor judging whether there is a sample analysis device having a lower priority than the sample analysis device in the test state;

and if the sample analysis device in the test state exists, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device with low priority to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

In one embodiment, the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the sample priority.

In one embodiment, the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the sample priority, comprising: the more samples of high sample priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on project priority.

In one embodiment, the processor prioritizes the sample analysis device based on project priorities, comprising: the more items of high item priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the processor prioritizes the sample analysis device based on project priorities, comprising: the more items in the set of preset items in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the processor determines whether there is an external reservoir in a full state before the internal reservoirs of other sample analysis devices can be used to supply the sample analysis device in a test state;

and if so, the processor controls the external liquid storage barrel in a full state to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in a test state.

In one embodiment, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the other sample analysis device to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state, and when judging that the external liquid storage barrel in the full state exists, the processor switches the external liquid storage barrel in the full state to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

In one embodiment, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the other sample analysis device to supply liquid to the sample analysis device under test, and when judging that the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device under test is still in a full state, the controller switches the internal liquid storage barrel under full state to supply liquid to the sample analysis device under test.

According to a second aspect, in one embodiment there is provided a method of providing a liquid supply system for supplying liquid to a plurality of sample analysis devices; the liquid supply system comprises an external liquid storage barrel and an internal liquid storage barrel which are used for storing cleaning liquid; the external liquid storage barrel is arranged outside the sample analysis device; the external liquid storage barrel is connected with cleaning components on the plurality of sample analysis devices; the internal liquid storage barrels are arranged in the sample analysis devices, each sample analysis device is at least provided with one internal liquid storage barrel, the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices are connected with cleaning components of the internal liquid storage barrels, and the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices are also connected with the cleaning components of other sample analysis devices, and the method comprises the following steps:

and controlling the external liquid storage barrel and the internal liquid storage barrel to supply liquid to the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the controlling the outer and inner reservoirs provides fluid to a sample analysis device, comprising:

the external liquid storage barrel is preferentially controlled to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

When the external liquid storage barrel is in an empty state, the internal liquid storage barrel of each sample analysis device is controlled to supply liquid.

In one embodiment, the controlling the internal liquid storage barrel of each sample analysis device to supply liquid includes:

the sample analysis device in the test state is preferentially controlled to supply liquid through the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the controlling the internal liquid storage barrel of each sample analysis device to supply liquid further comprises:

when the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device in the test state is in an empty state, whether the internal liquid storage barrel of other sample analysis devices can be used for supplying liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state is determined.

In one embodiment, the determining whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying the sample analysis device under test comprises:

judging whether an idle sample analysis device exists;

and if the sample analyzing device is in the testing state, controlling the internal liquid storage barrel of the idle sample analyzing device to supply liquid to the sample analyzing device in the testing state.

Judging whether a sample analysis device which is idle and still is idle for a preset time period exists or not;

and if the sample is in the test state, controlling the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

In one embodiment, the historical test time of the sample analysis device is counted to judge whether the sample analysis device is still in an idle state in a preset time period.

judging whether a sample analysis device with a lower priority than the sample analysis device in the test state exists;

and if the sample analyzing device in the testing state exists, controlling the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analyzing device with low priority to supply liquid to the sample analyzing device in the testing state.

In one embodiment, the priority of the sample analysis device is determined based on the priority of the sample.

In one embodiment, the determining the priority of the sample analysis device according to the sample priority comprises: the more samples of high sample priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the priority of the sample analysis device is determined based on project priority.

In one embodiment, the determining the priority of the sample analysis device according to the item priority comprises: the more items of high item priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the determining the priority of the sample analysis device according to the item priority comprises: the more items in the set of preset items in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

In one embodiment, the determining whether the internal liquid storage barrel of the other sample analysis device can be used for supplying liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state includes determining whether the external liquid storage barrel in the full state exists;

and if the sample analyzing device is in the full state, controlling the external liquid storage barrel to supply liquid to the sample analyzing device in the test state.

In one embodiment, when the external liquid storage barrel in the full state is judged in the process of controlling the internal liquid storage barrels of the other sample analysis devices to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state, the external liquid storage barrel in the full state is switched to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

In one embodiment, when the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device in the test state is judged to be in a full state in the process of controlling the internal liquid storage barrels of other sample analysis devices to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state, the internal liquid storage barrel in the full state is switched to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment provides a computer readable storage medium comprising a program executable by a processor to implement a method as described in any of the embodiments herein.

According to the liquid supply system, the liquid supply method and the computer readable storage medium of the embodiment, the liquid supply pipelines are introduced to connect the plurality of external liquid storage barrels with the cleaning components on the plurality of sample analysis devices, connect the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices with the cleaning components thereof, and connect the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices with the cleaning components of the other sample analysis devices, so that the liquid supply strategy is more flexible and the barrel for storing the cleaning liquid is more convenient to replace.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid supply system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view of a cart for receiving an external fluid reservoir in one embodiment, and FIG. 2 (b) is another perspective view of the cart for receiving an external fluid reservoir;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a liquid supply system according to another embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a portion of a liquid supply system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a portion of a liquid supply system according to another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a portion of a liquid supply system according to yet another embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a portion of a liquid supply system according to yet another embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a liquid supply system according to another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method of a liquid supply system of an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method of a liquid supply system according to another embodiment.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings by means of specific embodiments. Wherein like elements in different embodiments are numbered alike in association. In the following embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, one skilled in the art will readily recognize that some of the features may be omitted, or replaced by other elements, materials, or methods in different situations. In some instances, some operations associated with the present application have not been shown or described in the specification to avoid obscuring the core portions of the present application, and may not be necessary for a person skilled in the art to describe in detail the relevant operations based on the description herein and the general knowledge of one skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the described features, operations, or characteristics of the description may be combined in any suitable manner in various embodiments. Also, various steps or acts in the method descriptions may be interchanged or modified in a manner apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the various orders in the description and drawings are for clarity of description of only certain embodiments, and are not meant to be required orders unless otherwise indicated.

The numbering of the components itself, e.g. "first", "second", etc., is used herein merely to distinguish between the described objects and does not have any sequential or technical meaning. The terms "coupled" and "connected," as used herein, are intended to encompass both direct and indirect coupling (coupling), unless otherwise indicated.

The sample analysis device is connected to the deionized water pipeline in the department room, so that the problem of cleaning liquid exhaustion is avoided, but the defect that the cleaning liquid can affect the sample detection itself is overcome, and microorganisms in water supplied by the deionized water pipeline can interfere with the sample detection, particularly for some items with high detection sensitivity, typically an immunodetection item. Therefore, the sample analysis device generally adopts a mode of internally arranging a cleaning liquid barrel, namely, the cleaning liquid barrel which is produced and sealed by a manufacturer is internally arranged in the device and is connected with a cleaning pipeline of the instrument; accordingly, because of the barreled method, a new cleaning liquid barrel needs to be replaced in time when the cleaning liquid in the barrel is exhausted, especially when the test number of the instrument is relatively large, the cleaning liquid barrel needs to be replaced for a plurality of times, which consumes a great deal of time and energy, and if the replacement is not in time, the instrument can possibly pause the test, so that the instrument is idle.

According to the sample analysis device, under the condition that the internal liquid storage barrels of all sample analysis devices are reserved, the external liquid storage barrels are also introduced to supply liquid to a plurality of sample analysis devices, and through improvement of the liquid path, the internal liquid storage barrels of one sample analysis device can also supply liquid to other sample analysis devices, from the perspective of overall liquid supply, the external liquid storage barrels are the liquid supply sources, the internal liquid storage barrels of all sample analysis devices are the liquid supply sources, the external liquid storage barrels can supply the required sample analysis device to any one, the internal liquid storage barrels can supply other sample analysis devices from the sample analysis device of the sample analysis device, so that the sample analysis device cannot be idle due to consumption of cleaning liquid as far as possible, and meanwhile, the cleaning liquid barrels can be replaced seamlessly and conveniently due to the fact that the external liquid storage barrels are introduced. In addition, for the integral liquid supply system, a new liquid supply scheme is also provided for controlling the specific liquid supply strategy of the external liquid storage barrel and the internal liquid storage barrel.

Some embodiments of the present application provide a liquid supply system. The fluid supply system may supply fluid to a plurality of sample analysis devices. In the present application, the sample analyzer may be a biochemical analyzer, an immunoassay analyzer, a blood cell analyzer, a specific protein analyzer, a glycosylated hemoglobin analyzer, a blood group analyzer, or the like. The liquid supply system will be described below.

Referring to fig. 1, in some embodiments, the fluid supply system may include a plurality of external fluid tanks 10, internal fluid tanks 20, a fluid supply line 30, and a processor 40, as described in detail below.

The external reservoir 10, as the name implies, is disposed outside the sample analysis device and stores a cleaning solution. The number of the external liquid storage tanks 10 may be plural. To facilitate replacement and placement of the outer tank 10, a specialized cart may be customized for the outer tank in some embodiments. For example, figure 2 is an example of a cart with wheels and foot supports at the bottom to support the cart for movement and parking. The space of the department is mainly used for storing sample analysis devices and the like, and is relatively noble, so that the trolley can be designed into a multi-layer structure, the occupied area is reduced, the space is designed into a two-layer step structure, and the external liquid storage barrel 10 can be placed on the step surface of each step. Fig. 2 (a) is a perspective view of the cart when the external liquid storage tub 10 is not loaded; fig. 2 (b) is a perspective view of the cart when the external liquid storage tub 10 is loaded.

The internal reservoir 20, as the name implies, is disposed within the sample analysis device and stores a cleaning fluid. Typically, each sample analysis device is provided with at least one internal reservoir 20. In some embodiments, the sample analysis device may be designed to have two internal reservoirs 20, which may be back-up with respect to each other, i.e., one internal reservoir 20 is depleted and then switched to the other internal reservoir 20 for use, in which case the user may replace the depleted one of the internal reservoirs 20, taking into account the space within the sample analysis device, the supply of cleaning fluid, etc.

The liquid supply pipeline 30 is used for connecting the outer liquid storage barrel 10 and the inner liquid storage barrel 20 with a sample analysis device; the outer and inner tanks 10 and 20 supply the sample analysis device with a cleaning liquid through a liquid supply line 30. In some embodiments, a fluid supply line 30 connects each external reservoir 10 to a wash assembly on each sample analysis device; thus, the external liquid storage tank 10 can supply liquid to each sample analyzer through the liquid supply line 30. In some embodiments, a fluid supply line 30 connects the internal reservoir 20 of the sample analysis device itself to its cleaning assembly; thus, the internal reservoir 20 can supply the sample analyzer itself with liquid through the liquid supply line 30. An important feature of the fluid supply line 30 of the present application is that the internal reservoir 20 of one sample analysis device is also connected to other sample analysis devices. Thus, in some embodiments, the fluid supply line 30 connects the internal reservoir 20 in the sample analysis device with the wash components of other sample analysis devices; taking two sample analyzers a and B as an example, the internal reservoir 20 of the sample analyzer a itself may be supplied with fluid from the sample analyzer B via the fluid supply line 30.

It should be noted that, the cleaning assembly referred to herein, that is, a component for cleaning some structures on the sample analysis device, for example, the cleaning assembly may be a cleaning tank, etc., and the cleaning assembly typically cleans a dispensing needle, etc.; the dispensing needle comprises a sample needle, a reagent needle, a cleaning needle and the like on the sample analyzer, and when the sample needle, the reagent needle, the cleaning needle and the like finish the actions of sampling or sample adding, the cleaning treatment is needed to be carried out for the next sampling or sample adding, and the like, so that cross contamination is avoided.

Some of the description of the liquid supply line 30 is provided above. Referring to fig. 3, in some embodiments, the liquid supply pipeline 30 includes a plurality of branches, and a valve assembly 31, a pressure source 32 and a detection unit 33 disposed on the branches; the valve assembly 31 is used to open or close the branch, the pressure source 32 is used to generate the pressure of the liquid flowing in the branch, and the detection unit 33 is used to detect the liquid condition on the outer and inner tanks 10, 20.

The liquid supply line 30 is described below by way of several specific line arrangements.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, a schematic view of a portion of the liquid supply line 30 is shown, wherein the structure can connect the internal liquid storage tank 20 of the sample analyzer with its cleaning assembly.

In the piping structure shown in fig. 4, there are two internal liquid storage tanks 20, and it will be understood that the number of internal liquid storage tanks 20 is not limited herein, and in some examples, the number of internal liquid storage tanks 20 may be one, three or more. The branch connecting the inner tank 20-1 and one end of the three-way pipe is provided with a solenoid valve SV01, and likewise, the branch connecting the inner tank 20-2 and the other end of the three-way pipe is provided with a solenoid valve SV02, and a branch for connecting the last end of the three-way pipe to a cleaning component of the sample analysis device is provided with a liquid inlet pump P01 and a detector SE01, such as a bubble detector. The processor 40 controls the operation of opening the solenoid valve SV01, closing the solenoid valve SV02 and controlling the feed pump P01 to cause the cleaning liquid to flow from the internal liquid storage tank 20-1 to the cleaning assembly, and in the liquid supply process, if the detector SE01 detects the presence of the air bubble, which indicates that the residual amount of the internal liquid storage tank 20-1 is substantially zero, the liquid supply tank may be switched, specifically, the processor 40 controls the solenoid valve SV01 to be closed and the solenoid valve SV02 to be opened to cause the cleaning liquid to flow from the internal liquid storage tank 20-2 to the cleaning assembly, and the user can replace the internal liquid storage tank 20-1 in the process.

Compared with the pipeline structure of fig. 4, the pipeline structure shown in fig. 5 further comprises a buffer container 34, wherein two liquid level detection floats FS01 and FS02 can be arranged in the buffer container 34, the liquid level detection float FS01 is a high-level float, namely, is closer to the top end of the buffer container 34, is farther to the bottom end of the buffer container 34, and the liquid level detection float FS02 is a low-level float, namely, is farther to the top end of the buffer container 34, and is closer to the bottom end of the buffer container 34; therefore, the liquid level detection float FS01 is disposed above the liquid level detection float FS02, and the liquid level detection float FS02 is disposed below the liquid level detection float FS 01. The processor 40 may control the intake of liquid based on the status of the two floats FS01 and FS 01. For example, initially, the processor 40 may control the solenoid valve SV01 to open, the solenoid valve SV02 to close, and the liquid inlet pump P01 to operate, the cleaning liquid flows from the pipeline to the buffer container 34, as the liquid in the buffer container 34 continuously rises, when the liquid level detecting float FS01 contacts the liquid level, the processor 40 may control the solenoid valve SV01 to close, as the sample analyzing apparatus continuously consumes the cleaning liquid, first the liquid level detecting float FS01 will separate from the liquid level, then the liquid level detecting float FS02 will separate from the liquid level, at this time, the solenoid valve SV01 is opened again, the buffer container 34 is replenished with liquid until the liquid level detecting float FS01 contacts the liquid level again, and if the processor 40 determines that the tank is empty during the process of supplying liquid to any one of the internal liquid storage tanks 20, the process is switched to another internal liquid storage tank 20 through the opening and closing of the corresponding solenoid valve.

In the sample analysis device, each position where the internal liquid storage barrel 20 is placed may be provided with a liquid storage barrel presence detector and an indicator light, when the liquid storage barrel presence detector detects that the internal liquid storage barrel 20 is put in, the processor 40 refreshes the residual quantity of the internal liquid storage barrel 20 corresponding to the position to be full, and the indicator light is turned off; when the processor 40 controls the supply of liquid to one of the internal liquid storage tanks 20, the indicator lights are on, indicating that the tank is in use; when the processor 40 determines that the tank is empty, for example, when the detector SE01 detects that there is a bubble in the process of supplying the liquid to the internal liquid storage tank 20, the processor 40 controls the indicator lamp to flash to indicate that the corresponding internal liquid storage tank 20 is empty, so as to remind the user of replacement.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, there are shown partial schematic structures of the liquid supply lines 30, which can connect the internal liquid storage tank 20 of the sample analyzer to its cleaning components, and the external liquid storage tank 10 to the cleaning components of the sample analyzer.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 shows schematic diagrams of the external liquid storage barrels 10-1, 10-2, …, 10-N supplying liquid to two sample analysis devices, and the solenoid valves SV11, SV12, …, SV1N are respectively used for controlling the corresponding branches of the external liquid storage barrels 10-1, 10-2, …, 10-N. When internal supply is required, the solenoid valves SV11, SV12, …, SV1N are all closed, and when external supply is required, the corresponding solenoid valve controlling the external liquid tank 10 is opened, for example, when the solenoid valves SV11 and SV21 are opened and all other solenoid valves are closed, external supply is performed by the external liquid tank 10-1.

Compared to the pipeline structure of fig. 6, the pipeline structure shown in fig. 7 further includes a buffer container 34 common to each external liquid storage barrel 10, and accordingly, a liquid inlet pump P02 and a detector SE02, such as a bubble detector, are disposed on a branch connecting the buffer container 34 with the external liquid storage barrel 10, and the buffer container 34 for the external liquid storage barrel 10 is similar to the working principle of the buffer container 34 built in each sample analysis device, such as when liquid inlet is stopped, and the like, which will not be repeated herein. The processor 40 can cause the cleaning liquid in the buffer container 34 for the external liquid storage tank 10 to be externally supplied to the upper set of cleaning components in fig. 7 by opening the solenoid valve SV21 and controlling the liquid inlet pump P02, and similarly, the processor 40 can cause the cleaning liquid in the buffer container 34 for the external liquid storage tank 10 to be externally supplied to the lower set of cleaning components in fig. 7 by opening the solenoid valve SV22 and controlling the liquid inlet pump P02, and when the cleaning liquid in the buffer container 34 for the external liquid storage tank 10 is insufficient, the solenoid valve of the corresponding external liquid storage tank 10 is opened to replenish the cleaning liquid to the buffer container 34.

Referring to fig. 8, a schematic view of a part of the structure of the liquid supply pipe 30 is shown, in which the structure can connect the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device with the cleaning component thereof, and can connect the external liquid storage barrel 10 with the cleaning component of each sample analysis device, and can also connect the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of one sample analysis device with the cleaning component of another sample analysis device. The buffer container 34 at the right lower corner can be supplied with the cleaning liquid by the branch circuit where the liquid inlet pump P03 is located, so that the purpose of connecting the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device with the cleaning component of another sample analysis device is finally achieved, and similarly, the buffer container 34 at the right lower corner can be supplied with the cleaning liquid by the branch circuit where the liquid inlet pump P04 is located, so that the purpose of connecting the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device with the cleaning component of another sample analysis device is finally achieved. In order to enhance stability, speed, etc. of the flow of the cleaning liquid during the liquid supply, a liquid inlet pump P05 and a liquid inlet pump P06 may be provided on the branch lines as shown in the figure.

As described above, each position where the inner liquid storage barrel 20 is placed may be provided with a liquid storage barrel presence detector and an indicator light, and similarly, each position where the outer liquid storage barrel 10 is placed may be provided with a liquid storage barrel presence detector and an indicator light, and the liquid storage barrel presence detector and the indicator light of each outer liquid storage barrel 10 are similar to the working process and principle of the liquid storage barrel presence detector and the indicator light of the inner liquid storage barrel 20, and are not repeated here.

It should be noted that the specific implementation structure of the liquid supply pipe 30 may be various, and the above fig. 4 to 8 are just examples. The solenoid valves referred to herein are of valve assembly 31, the feed pumps are of pressure source 32, and the detectors and level detection floats are of detection unit 33; the processor 40 controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valves and the operation of the fluid feed pumps in the valve assembly 31 based on the detection structure or signals of the detection unit 33, thereby enabling control of the fluid feed to the sample analysis device, such as control of a specific external fluid reservoir 10 and control of a specific internal fluid reservoir 20 for a specific cleaning assembly of a sample analysis device.

The liquid supply strategy is to control the external liquid storage barrel 10 to supply liquid to the cleaning components of each sample analysis device preferentially, and when the external liquid storage barrel 10 is in an empty state, the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of each sample analysis device supplies liquid to the cleaning components of the sample analysis device, and if the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is consumed, whether the internal liquid storage barrels 20 of other sample analysis devices can be controlled to supply liquid is checked.

Thus, in some embodiments, the processor 40 preferentially controls the external reservoir 10 to supply the sample analysis device under test. This is the case for external supply, and when each external tank 10 is empty, it is switched to internal supply.

Thus, in some embodiments, when the external reservoir 10 is empty, meaning that all external reservoirs 10 are empty, the processor 40 controls the internal reservoirs of each sample analysis device to supply fluid. Specifically, in some embodiments, the processor 40 controls the internal reservoirs of each sample analysis device to supply fluid comprising: the processor 40 preferably controls the sample analysis device in the test state to supply fluid through its own internal reservoir 20.

In the internal normal liquid supply process, the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is also continuously consumed, when the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is consumed, if the external liquid storage barrel 10 is replaced by a new one, the sample analysis device which consumes the internal liquid storage barrel 20 can be switched to be supplied by the external liquid storage barrel 10, otherwise, when the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is consumed, if the external liquid storage barrel 10 is still empty, i.e. not replaced by a new one in time, the internal emergency liquid supply is needed to enter, i.e. the internal liquid storage barrels of other sample analysis devices are used for supplying liquid.

Thus, in some embodiments, when the internal reservoirs 20 of the sample analysis device itself in the test state are empty-it is understood that all of the internal reservoirs 20 of the sample analysis device itself are empty, the processor 40 determines whether any of the internal reservoirs 20 of the other sample analysis devices are available for supplying the sample analysis device in the test state; for convenience of discussion, the sample analyzer in this processing test state may be referred to as a sample analyzer a. In some embodiments, the processor 40 determines whether there is an empty sample analysis device, and if so, the processor 40 controls the internal reservoir 20 of the empty sample analysis device to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state. In some embodiments, the processor 40 may also determine whether there is a sample analysis device that is idle and still idle for a preset period of time, and if so, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state. It will be appreciated that, depending on the state of the sample analysis device itself, it may be determined whether the sample analysis device is idle or in the process of testing, and for the sample analysis device that is idle, it may be determined whether the sample analysis device is idle for a preset period of time, for example, the next 1 hour, and then it may be estimated by counting historical data of the sample analysis device, for example, if the sample analysis device is currently at 10 a.m., if the sample analysis device is usually started to perform testing at 2 a.m., and is in the idle state before, then it is determined that the sample analysis device is idle for the next 1 hour; thus, the processor 40 can determine whether the sample analysis device is still in an idle state for a preset period of time by counting the historical test time of the sample analysis device.

The above is an example of controlling the supply of liquid from the internal liquid reservoir 20 of the empty sample analysis device to the sample analysis device in other test states. In some cases, the supply may be switched from the viewpoint of priority of the sample analyzer, that is, when the internal emergency supply is required, the low-priority sample analyzer supplies the high-priority sample analyzer that has consumed the internal liquid storage tank 20. Thus, in some embodiments, processor 40 determines whether there is a lower priority sample analysis device than sample analysis device a in the test state; if present, e.g., designated as sample analyzer B, processor 40 controls the internal reservoir of the low priority sample analyzer B to supply the sample analyzer a in the test state described above, it being understood that sample analyzer B may be in either the idle or test state.

The priority of the sample analysis device may be determined in a number of ways, which may be done according to the actual requirements. For example, in some embodiments, processor 40 may determine the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the samples, the more samples of the sample analysis device that are of high sample priority, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device. Sample priority is a common concept in the art, and typically, sample priority may be determined based on the type of sample, which may generally include emergency and routine, etc., with the priority of emergency samples being higher than that of routine samples. For another example, in some embodiments, the processor 40 may determine the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the items, the more items in the sample analysis device that are of high item priority, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device, or the more items in the set of preset items in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device. For item priorities, which are of the same type as the sample priorities, a technician or user may set different items to different priorities.

The above are some illustrations of an internal emergency supply.

As described above, if the external liquid storage tank 10 is replaced before switching to the internal emergency liquid supply, the external liquid storage tank is switched to, and not to, the internal emergency liquid supply. Thus, in some embodiments, the processor 40 determines whether the external reservoir 10 is full before the internal reservoirs of other sample analysis devices can be used to supply the sample analysis device a under test, and if so, the processor 40 controls the external supply of the external reservoir 10, for example, controls the external reservoir 10 to supply the sample analysis device a under test.

In addition, if it is determined that the external liquid storage tub 20 is replaced during the internal emergency liquid supply, the internal emergency liquid supply is switched to the external liquid supply. Therefore, in some embodiments, when the processor 40 determines that the external liquid storage barrel 10 is full in the process of supplying the liquid to the sample analysis device a under test from the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the other sample analysis device, the processor 40 switches the external liquid storage barrel 10 under full state to supply the liquid to the sample analysis device a under test.

In addition, in the internal emergency liquid supply process, if the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device itself which is supplied with the internal emergency liquid is replaced again, the sample analysis device is switched back to the internal normal liquid supply, that is, the sample analysis device is supplied with the internal liquid storage barrel 20 thereof. Therefore, in some embodiments, when the processor 40 determines that the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device a in the test state is still in the full state during the process of controlling the internal liquid storage barrels of other sample analysis devices to supply the liquid to the sample analysis device a in the test state, the controller 40 switches the internal liquid storage barrel 20 in the full state to supply the liquid to the sample analysis device a in the test state.

It will be appreciated that during an internal emergency supply of the sample analysis device, if the external reservoir 10 and its own internal reservoir 20 are replaced simultaneously, then the external reservoir 10 is preferred to slave the sample analysis device.

The above are some of the schemes and strategies for the liquid supply system to supply liquid.

In some embodiments of the present application, a method of a liquid supply system is also disclosed, where the liquid supply system is used for supplying liquid to a plurality of sample analysis devices; the liquid supply system comprises an outer liquid storage barrel 10 and an inner liquid storage barrel 20 for storing cleaning liquid; the external liquid storage barrel 10 is arranged outside the sample analysis device; the external reservoir 10 is connected to the washing assembly on the plurality of sample analysis devices; the internal liquid storage barrels 20 are arranged in the sample analysis devices, wherein each sample analysis device is provided with at least one internal liquid storage barrel 20, the internal liquid storage barrels 20 in the sample analysis devices are connected with cleaning components of the sample analysis devices, and the internal liquid storage barrels 20 in the sample analysis devices are also connected with the cleaning components of other sample analysis devices; the liquid supply system may typically be the liquid supply system disclosed hereinabove.

In some embodiments, the method of the fluid supply system includes controlling the outer reservoir 10 and the inner reservoir 20 to supply fluid to the sample analysis device; for example, the external liquid storage tank 10 is controlled to supply liquid to the sample analysis device, for example, the internal liquid storage tank 20 is controlled to supply liquid to the sample analysis device itself, and for example, the internal liquid storage tank 20 of the sample analysis device 10 is controlled to supply liquid to another sample analysis device 10. The following is a detailed description.

Referring to fig. 9, in some embodiments, the method of the liquid supply system includes steps 100 to 200.

Step 100: the external liquid storage barrel 10 is preferentially controlled to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in a test state.

Step 200: when the external liquid storage barrels are empty, it is understood that all the external liquid storage barrels 10 are empty, the internal liquid storage barrels of the sample analysis devices are controlled to supply liquid.

Specifically, referring to fig. 10, step 200 may include steps 210 and 220.

Step 210: the sample analysis device in the test state is preferentially controlled to supply liquid through the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device.

Step 220: when the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device in the test state is in an empty state, whether the internal liquid storage barrel of other sample analysis devices can be used for supplying liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state is determined.

In the process of performing the internal normal liquid supply in step 210, the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is also continuously consumed, when the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is consumed, if the external liquid storage barrel 10 is replaced by a new one, the sample analysis device which consumes the internal liquid storage barrel 20 can be switched to be supplied by the external liquid storage barrel 10, otherwise, when the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device is consumed, if the external liquid storage barrel 10 is still empty, i.e. not replaced by a new one in time, the internal emergency liquid supply is required to enter, i.e. the step 220 is performed, and the internal liquid storage barrels of other sample analysis devices are used for supplying liquid.

Thus, in some embodiments, when the internal reservoirs 20 of the sample analysis device itself in the testing state are empty-it is understood that all of the internal reservoirs 20 of the sample analysis device itself are empty, step 220 determines whether any internal reservoirs 20 of other sample analysis devices are available for supplying the sample analysis device in the testing state; for convenience of discussion, the sample analyzer in this processing test state may be referred to as a sample analyzer a. In some embodiments, step 220 determines whether there is an empty sample analysis device, and if so, step 220 controls the internal reservoir 20 of the empty sample analysis device to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state. In some embodiments, step 220 may also determine whether there is a sample analysis device that is idle and still idle for a predetermined period of time, and if so, the processor controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state. It will be appreciated that, depending on the state of the sample analysis device itself, it may be determined whether the sample analysis device is idle or in the process of testing, and for the sample analysis device that is idle, it may be determined whether the sample analysis device is idle for a preset period of time, for example, the next 1 hour, and then it may be estimated by counting historical data of the sample analysis device, for example, if the sample analysis device is currently at 10 a.m., if the sample analysis device is usually started to perform testing at 2 a.m., and is in the idle state before, then it is determined that the sample analysis device is idle for the next 1 hour; therefore, step 220 may determine whether the sample analysis device is still in an idle state for a preset period of time by counting the historical test time of the sample analysis device.

The above is an example of controlling the supply of liquid from the internal liquid reservoir 20 of the empty sample analysis device to the sample analysis device in other test states. In some cases, the supply may be switched from the viewpoint of priority of the sample analyzer, that is, when the internal emergency supply is required, the low-priority sample analyzer supplies the high-priority sample analyzer that has consumed the internal liquid storage tank 20. Thus, in some embodiments, step 220 determines whether there is a lower priority sample analysis device than sample analysis device A in the test state; if present, e.g., designated as sample analysis device B, step 220 controls the internal reservoir of the low priority sample analysis device B to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state described above, it being understood that the sample analysis device B may be either in the idle state or in the test state.

The priority of the sample analysis device may be determined in a number of ways, which may be done according to the actual requirements. For example, in some embodiments, the priority of a sample analysis device may be determined based on sample priority, with the higher the number of samples of high sample priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device. Sample priority is a common concept in the art, and typically, sample priority may be determined based on the type of sample, which may generally include emergency and routine, etc., with the priority of emergency samples being higher than that of routine samples. For another example, in some embodiments, the priority of the sample analysis device may be determined based on the priority of the items, the more items in the sample analysis device that are of high item priority, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device, or the more items in the set of preset items in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device. For item priorities, which are of the same type as the sample priorities, a technician or user may set different items to different priorities.

The above is some illustration of the step 220 of internal emergency liquid supply.

As described above, if the external liquid storage tank 10 is replaced before switching to the internal emergency liquid supply, the external liquid storage tank is switched to, and not to, the internal emergency liquid supply. Thus, in some embodiments, step 220 determines whether there is an external reservoir 10 in a full state before the internal reservoirs of other sample analysis devices can be used to supply the sample analysis device a in a test state, and if so, step 220 controls the external supply, e.g., controls the external reservoir 10 in a full state, to supply the sample analysis device a in a test state.

In addition, if it is determined that the external liquid storage tub 20 is replaced during the internal emergency liquid supply, the internal emergency liquid supply is switched to the external liquid supply. Therefore, in some embodiments, step 220 controls the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the other sample analysis device to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state, and when the external liquid storage barrel 10 in the full state is determined, the external liquid storage barrel 10 in the full state is switched to supply the sample analysis device a in the test state.

In addition, in the internal emergency liquid supply process, if the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device itself which is supplied with the internal emergency liquid is replaced again, the sample analysis device is switched back to the internal normal liquid supply, that is, the sample analysis device is supplied with the internal liquid storage barrel 20 thereof. Therefore, in some embodiments, step 220 controls the internal liquid storage barrel of the other sample analysis device to supply the sample analysis device a under test, and when the internal liquid storage barrel 20 of the sample analysis device a under test is judged to be in a full state, the internal liquid storage barrel 20 under full state is switched to supply the sample analysis device a under test.

Reference is made to various exemplary embodiments herein. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope herein. For example, the various operational steps and components used to perform the operational steps may be implemented in different ways (e.g., one or more steps may be deleted, modified, or combined into other steps) depending on the particular application or taking into account any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Additionally, as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the principles herein may be reflected in a computer program product on a computer readable storage medium preloaded with computer readable program code. Any tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be used, including magnetic storage devices (hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical storage devices (CD-to-ROM, DVD, blu-Ray disks, etc.), flash memory, and/or the like. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including means which implement the function specified. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified.

While the principles herein have been shown in various embodiments, many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, materials, and components, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements, may be used without departing from the principles and scope of the present disclosure. The above modifications and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this document.

The foregoing detailed description has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Also, advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature. The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the term "couple" and any other variants thereof are used herein to refer to physical connections, electrical connections, magnetic connections, optical connections, communication connections, functional connections, and/or any other connection.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined only by the following claims.

Claims

1. A liquid supply system, comprising:

2. The fluid supply system of claim 1, wherein the processor controls the supply of fluid to the sample analysis device, comprising:

3. The fluid supply system of claim 2, wherein the processor controls the supply of fluid to the sample analysis device, comprising:

4. The fluid supply system of claim 3, wherein the processor controls the internal reservoir of each sample analysis device to supply fluid, comprising:

5. The fluid supply system of claim 4, wherein the processor controls the internal fluid reservoirs of each sample analysis device to supply fluid, further comprising:

6. The fluid supply system of claim 5, wherein the processor determines whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying fluid to the sample analysis device under test, comprising:

the processor judges whether an idle sample analysis device exists;

7. The fluid supply system of claim 5, wherein the processor determines whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying fluid to the sample analysis device under test, comprising:

8. The fluid supply system of claim 7, wherein the processor determines whether the sample analysis device is still in an idle state for a predetermined period of time by counting historical test times of the sample analysis device.

9. The fluid supply system of claim 5, wherein the processor determines whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying fluid to the sample analysis device under test, comprising:

10. The fluid supply system of claim 9, wherein the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the sample.

11. The fluid supply system of claim 10, wherein the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the sample, comprising: the more samples of high sample priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

12. The fluid supply system of claim 9, wherein the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the item.

13. The fluid supply system of claim 12, wherein the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the item, comprising: the more items of high item priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

14. The fluid supply system of claim 12, wherein the processor determines the priority of the sample analysis device based on the priority of the item, comprising: the more items in the set of preset items in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

15. The fluid supply system of claim 5, wherein the processor determines whether an external fluid reservoir is full prior to determining whether an internal fluid reservoir of another sample analysis device is available to supply fluid to the sample analysis device under test;

16. The fluid supply system of any one of claims 5 to 14, wherein the processor is configured to switch the external fluid storage tank in a full state to supply fluid to the sample analysis device in a test state when the external fluid storage tank in a full state is determined in a process of controlling the internal fluid storage tank of the other sample analysis device to supply fluid to the sample analysis device in a test state.

17. The fluid supply system of any one of claims 5 to 14, wherein the processor controls the internal fluid reservoir of the other sample analysis device to supply fluid to the sample analysis device under test, and the controller switches the internal fluid reservoir under full condition to supply fluid to the sample analysis device under test when determining that the internal fluid reservoir of the sample analysis device under test is full.

18. A method of a liquid supply system for supplying liquid to a plurality of sample analysis devices; the liquid supply system comprises an external liquid storage barrel and an internal liquid storage barrel which are used for storing cleaning liquid; the external liquid storage barrel is arranged outside the sample analysis device; the external liquid storage barrel is connected with cleaning components on the plurality of sample analysis devices; the internal liquid storage barrels are arranged in the sample analysis devices, each sample analysis device is at least provided with one internal liquid storage barrel, the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices are connected with the cleaning components of the sample analysis devices, and the internal liquid storage barrels in the sample analysis devices are also connected with the cleaning components of other sample analysis devices; characterized in that the method comprises:

19. The method of claim 18, wherein controlling the outer and inner reservoirs to supply the sample analysis device comprises:

20. The method of claim 19, wherein controlling the outer and inner reservoirs to supply the sample analysis device comprises:

21. The method of claim 20, wherein controlling the internal reservoir of each sample analysis device to supply fluid comprises:

22. The method of claim 21, wherein controlling the internal reservoir of each sample analysis device to supply fluid further comprises:

23. The method of claim 22, wherein determining whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying the sample analysis device under test comprises:

judging whether an idle sample analysis device exists;

24. The method of claim 22, wherein determining whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying the sample analysis device under test comprises:

25. The method of claim 24, wherein determining whether the sample analysis device is still idle for a predetermined period of time is performed by counting historical test times of the sample analysis device.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein determining whether an internal reservoir of another sample analysis device is available for supplying the sample analysis device under test comprises:

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the priority of the sample analysis device is determined based on the priority of the sample.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the prioritizing the sample analysis device based on the sample priority comprises: the more samples of high sample priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the priority of the sample analysis device is determined based on project priority.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said prioritizing the sample analysis device based on project priorities comprises: the more items of high item priority in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said prioritizing the sample analysis device based on project priorities comprises: the more items in the set of preset items in the sample analysis device, the higher the priority of the sample analysis device.

32. The method of claim 22, wherein the determining whether there is an internal reservoir of the other sample analysis device is performed prior to the supplying of the sample analysis device in the test state, determining whether there is an external reservoir in the full state;

33. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 31, wherein when it is determined that the external liquid storage tank is full during the process of controlling the internal liquid storage tank of the other sample analysis device to supply the liquid to the sample analysis device under test, the external liquid storage tank under full condition is switched to supply the liquid to the sample analysis device under test.

34. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 31, wherein when the internal liquid storage barrel of the sample analysis device in the test state is judged to be full in the process of controlling the internal liquid storage barrel of the other sample analysis device to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state, the internal liquid storage barrel in the full state is switched to supply liquid to the sample analysis device in the test state.

35. A computer readable storage medium comprising a program executable by a processor to implement the method of any one of claims 18 to 34.