CN115380220A

CN115380220A - Sample pretreatment system

Info

Publication number: CN115380220A
Application number: CN202080099640.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴镇生; 赵学江; 李景; 肖华; 高建东
Original assignee: MGI Tech Co Ltd
Current assignee: MGI Tech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-22
Filing date: 2020-04-22
Publication date: 2022-11-22
Also published as: WO2021212384A1

Abstract

A sample pre-processing system (1) comprising: the sample loading and unloading module (10) is used for automatically conveying the biological sample and the biological sample carrier to enter and exit the sample pretreatment system (1); a centrifugation module (20) for performing centrifugation and stratification on the biological sample; the sample cup separating module (40) is used for carrying out cup separating operation on the centrifugally layered sample to obtain a finished product after cup separating; a finished product storage module (80) for storing finished products obtained after the cups are separated; the sample transmission module (30) is used for transmitting the centrifugally layered sample to the sample cup separating module (40); and the control module (50) is used for controlling all modules of the sample pretreatment system to work in a coordinated manner. The sample pretreatment system (1) improves the automation level and efficiency of sample pretreatment.

Description

Sample pretreatment system

Technical Field

The application relates to sample pretreatment in the field of biochemical detection, in particular to an automatic sample pretreatment system.

Background

At present, many diseases are clinically diagnosed by means of in-vitro detection equipment, and the in-vitro detection also plays an extremely important role in the whole process of disease prevention, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment guidance, and is indispensable important equipment for doctors to diagnose and treat. While doctors usually need to interact with the extracorporeal detection device through a sample as a medium when making a diagnosis, the sample contains saliva, blood, plasma, blood cells, and the like. In the conventional biochemical immunoassay diagnosis, blood sampling and sample pretreatment (including centrifugation by a centrifuge, manual removal of a test tube cap, manual extraction of blood plasma or blood cells) are required manually, and finally analysis is performed manually on equipment, so that the operation is complex, the efficiency is low, and multiple persons are required for matching. If a plurality of samples are analyzed and detected, a series of operation risks such as biological pollution, information confusion and the like are easy to generate.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, there is a need for a sample preprocessing system that solves at least one of the problems of the prior art.

The application provides a sample pretreatment system, sample pretreatment system includes:

the sample loading and unloading module is used for automatically conveying the biological sample and the biological sample carrier to enter and exit the sample pretreatment system; the centrifugal module is used for carrying out centrifugal layering on the biological sample;

the sample cup separating module is used for carrying out cup separating operation on the centrifugally layered sample to obtain a finished product after cup separating;

the finished product storage module is used for storing finished products obtained after the cups are separated;

the sample transmission module is used for transmitting the centrifugally layered sample to the sample cup separating module; and

and the control module is used for controlling all modules of the sample pretreatment system to work in a coordinated manner.

Furthermore, the sample feeding and discharging module comprises a feeding module, the feeding module comprises a feeding area and a material preparation area, the feeding area comprises a feeding driving mechanism, the feeding driving mechanism is used for driving a carrier loaded with a biological sample to enter the material preparation area, the material preparation area comprises an in-place detection device arranged at a preset position, the in-place detection device is used for informing the control module of the in-place condition of the carrier, and the control module is used for transferring the biological sample to the centrifugal module based on the informing control.

Further, the feeding area further comprises a track switching mechanism, and the track switching mechanism is used for switching different feeding driving mechanisms to align the material preparation area, so that the different feeding mechanisms convey carriers loaded with biological samples to the material preparation area.

Further, the control module is also used for controlling the feeding module to stop running based on the notification.

Further, the centrifuge module comprises a centrifuge for centrifugally layering the biological sample and a manipulator device for moving the biological sample into the centrifuge and moving the centrifuged biological sample out of the centrifuge.

Further, the manipulator device is further used for transferring the biological samples which are subjected to centrifugal layering to the sample transmission module, and/or the sample loading and unloading module further comprises an unloading module, the manipulator device is used for transferring carriers which are unloaded with the biological samples to the unloading module, and the unloading module is used for transferring the carriers out of the sample pretreatment system.

Further, the manipulator device comprises a clamping jaw arranged at the lower end of the manipulator device, a movable mechanism arranged on the clamping jaw, and an anti-collision mechanism arranged at the upper end of the movable mechanism.

Furthermore, the anti-collision mechanism is an elastic anti-collision mechanism.

Further, the sample transmission module comprises a transmission device and a fixing device, wherein the transmission device is used for transmitting the biological sample, and the fixing device is used for fixing the biological sample.

Further, the fixing device is a plurality of fixing devices which are arranged on the conveying device at intervals.

Further, the sample transmission module further comprises a positioning device for positioning the fixing device at a fixed position.

Further, the fixed-position is a position where the sample pretreatment system performs a preset operation on the centrifuged and layered biological sample.

Further, the preset operation may be an operation of placing or removing the biological sample into or from the fixing device, or an operation of separating a part of the biological sample from the biological sample.

Furthermore, the positioning device comprises a positioning support, a pushing and pressing piece and an elastic piece, the pushing and pressing piece and the elastic piece are both arranged on the positioning support, one side of the pushing and pressing piece protrudes towards the fixed point position, and the other side of the pushing and pressing piece is close to the elastic piece.

Further, the pushing and pressing piece is a roller, and the rotating shaft direction of the roller is perpendicular to the moving direction of the conveying device.

Furthermore, the sample transmission module further comprises a sensing device, the sensing device is arranged corresponding to the fixed point position and is used for detecting the existence of the biological sample at the fixed point position and sending a signal to the control module when detecting the existence of the biological sample at the fixed point position, and the control module is further used for starting and controlling the related module to execute the preset operation corresponding to the fixed point position according to the received signal.

Further, the sample transmission module further comprises a reset sensor, the reset sensor is used for detecting whether the sample transmission module is located at a preset initial position when the sample preprocessing system is started, and is used for sending a signal to the control module when the sample transmission module is not located at the initial position, and the control module is further used for controlling the sample transmission module to return to the initial position after receiving the signal sent by the reset sensor.

Further, the sample cup dividing module comprises a plasma dividing module, and the plasma dividing module is used for dividing the plasma in the biological sample.

Further, the sample cup dividing module comprises a leukocyte dividing module, and the leukocyte dividing module is used for dividing the white blood cells in the biological sample.

Furthermore, the sample pretreatment system further comprises a consumable stack module, and the consumable stack module is used for providing consumables for the sample cup separating module.

Further, the consumable stack module comprises a bin and a discharging device, the bin is used for storing consumables, and the discharging device is used for being controlled by the control module to transfer the consumables in the bin to the sample cup dividing module.

Further, the magazine includes a plurality of magazines that are movable to switch different ones of the magazines into alignment with the discharge device so that the discharge device can transfer the consumables in the magazines to the sample cup module.

Furthermore, the consumable stack module further comprises a code scanning module, wherein the code scanning module is used for scanning consumables in the storage bin to obtain the serial number of each consumable, and sending the serial number to the control module, so that the control module associates finished products and the consumables after cup separation.

Furthermore, the consumable stack module is positioned and installed below the sample cup separating module by taking the table bottom plate of the sample cup separating module as a reference.

Further, the sample cup separating module comprises a table top, and a mechanical clamping jaw and a liquid transferring device moving assembly which are arranged above the table top, wherein a secondary positioning position and a working position are further arranged on the table top, the consumable stacking module is used for transferring consumables to the secondary positioning position, the mechanical clamping jaw is used for transferring the consumables to the working position from the secondary positioning position, and the liquid transferring device moving assembly is used for separating parts of biological samples which are located at the fixed point position into one of the consumables.

Furthermore, the mechanical clamping jaw comprises a driving device and a plurality of claw parts, the driving device is used for driving the claw parts to get close to or get away from each other so as to complete grabbing and putting down of the consumable, an elastic substance is arranged on one side, opposite to each claw part, and used for providing pressure when the consumable is grabbed, and/or a hook part is arranged on one side, opposite to each claw part, and used for supporting the consumable.

Further, the mechanical clamping jaw and the pipettor movement assembly are driven by the same driving module.

Further, the pipette movement component comprises a pipette, a power device and an elastic adjusting device, the power device is used for driving the pipette to move downwards to prick the sucker, the elastic adjusting device is arranged between the power device and the pipette, the power device compresses the elastic adjusting device when driving the pipette downwards to prick the sucker, and pressing force applied to the sucker is adjusted by controlling the amount of compressing the elastic adjusting device.

Furthermore, a secondary positioning assembly is arranged on the secondary positioning position and comprises a guide piece, and the guide piece is arranged in the edge area of the secondary positioning position.

Further, the sample preprocessing system further comprises a sample imaging module for imaging the biological sample to obtain the number and the layering height of the biological sample before the sample dividing module performs sample dividing.

Further, the sample imaging module comprises an upper clamping jaw device and an imaging device, the upper clamping jaw device is used for obtaining the biological sample from the fixing device at the positioning position for imaging by the imaging device and placing the biological sample back to the fixing device after imaging is completed, the imaging device is used for imaging the biological sample and transmitting an imaging picture of the biological sample to the control device, and the control device is also used for analyzing the imaging picture of the biological sample to obtain the number of the biological sample and the height of a substance layer in the biological sample; or the control device is further configured to analyze the imaging picture of the biological sample to obtain a barcode and a position of the opening of the biological sample, identify the serial number of the biological sample according to the barcode, and analyze the height of the substance layer in the biological sample toward the imaging picture obtained by the imaging device according to the position of the opening.

Further, the control device performs color gamut conversion on an imaging picture obtained by facing the position of the opening to the imaging device, and obtains the total height of the substance in the biological sample and the height of the layered substance through the color gamut conversion.

Further, the biological sample is a blood sample, and the control device performs color gamut conversion to obtain a total height of the blood sample and a height of the blood cells.

Further, the controlling device performing color desire conversion includes: converting the notch position toward a white region on an imaging picture obtained by the imaging device into a first color, converting a non-white region into a second color different from the first color, and obtaining a total height of the blood sample based on a height of the converted second color region; converting a red area and/or a black area on an imaging picture obtained by the imaging device at the position of the gap into the same color different from the color of the white blood cell area, and obtaining the height of the blood cells according to the converted height of the same color; and obtaining the height of the lower plasma layer according to the difference between the total height and the height of the blood cells.

Further, the sample pretreatment system further comprises a cover pulling module, and the cover pulling module is used for pulling out a cover cap of the biological sample before the sample dividing module performs sample division.

Further, the cap pulling module comprises an upper clamping jaw mechanism and a lower clamping jaw mechanism, the upper clamping jaw mechanism is used for fixing the cap of the biological sample, the lower clamping jaw mechanism is used for grabbing the lower end of the biological sample, and the upper clamping jaw mechanism and the lower clamping jaw mechanism are used for realizing cap removal of the biological sample through back-to-back movement.

Further, the upper clamping jaw mechanism and/or the lower clamping jaw mechanism are driven to rotate in the uncapping process, so that uncapping of the biological sample is realized by using rotation motion and combined motion of back-to-back movement; and/or the upper clamping jaw mechanism further comprises a mechanical limiting structure or a protrusion for limiting the cap.

Further, the sample pretreatment system further comprises a sample recovery module, and the sample recovery module is used for recovering the residual biological samples after the sample separating module finishes the cup separating operation.

Further, the sample recovery module comprises a blanking clamping jaw device and a sample recovery frame, wherein the blanking clamping jaw device is used for taking the rest biological sample out of the fixing device and placing the biological sample in the sample recovery frame.

Further, the finished product storage module comprises a conveying mechanism, a pushing mechanism and a storage area, wherein the conveying mechanism is used for conveying the finished products obtained by the cup separation to a preset position, and the pushing mechanism is used for pushing the finished products located at the preset position to the storage area for storage.

Furthermore, the pushing mechanism is opposite to and spaced from the storage area, and the preset position is located between the pushing mechanism and the storage area.

Further, the mechanical jaws are also used to transfer the finished product obtained after cup dispensing from the working position onto the transport means.

According to the sample pretreatment system provided by the embodiment of the application, the automatic sample feeding and discharging module is used for carrying out automatic feeding and discharging operation on samples, the consumable stacking system is used for carrying out automatic feeding on consumables, and the finished product storage module is used for carrying out automatic storage on finished products, so that the manual intervention time is reduced, the complex operation is simplified, simplified and standardized, the manpower is liberated, meanwhile, the misoperation and the generation of biological pollution are reduced, and the production cost is reduced; automatic plasma cup separation and leukocyte cup separation are realized by automatically identifying the height of the sample and the layering height, so that the sample cup separation operation is more accurate; through setting up the special construction of pulling out the lid module, improved and pulled out the lid success rate, reduced the requirement to reagent pipe supplied materials, reduced manufacturing cost.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a whole sample preprocessing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a sample loading and unloading module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a feeding module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a basket provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a centrifuge module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a robot device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a sample transport module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a plasma separation module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a consumable work site provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of a mechanical jaw provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view of a pipette motion assembly provided in embodiments of the present application.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a suction head holder provided by an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a secondary positioning assembly provided in embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a leukocyte separation module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a first consumable stack module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 is a schematic view of a rack of a bin for storing deep hole plates according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 is a schematic view of a rack of a silo for storing frozen pipes according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 18 is a schematic view of a rack of a magazine storing pipette racks provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a mounting standard of a third consumable stack module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 20 is a schematic view of a sample recovery module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 21 is a schematic view of an upper jaw arrangement of a sample imaging module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 22 is a schematic view of a cap pulling module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a finished storage module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 24 is a partial schematic view of a sample preprocessing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 25 is a control schematic diagram of a sample preprocessing system according to an embodiment of the present application.

The following detailed description will further illustrate the present application in conjunction with the above-described figures.

Description of the main elements

Sample pretreatment system 1 sample loading and unloading module 10

Centrifuge Module 20 sample transfer Module 30

Sample separation module 40 and sample recovery module 60

Consumable stack module 70 and finished product storage module 80

Plasma separation module 41 and leukocyte separation module 42

Feeding module 11 and discharging module 13

Feed zone 111 stock preparation zone 113

Feeding driving mechanism 1111 track switching mechanism 1112

Feeding motor 1113 feeding belt 1114

Control module 50 switches motors 1115

Synchronous belt 1116 reagent tube 114

Basket 115 jack 1151

Resilient member 1151a feed motor 1131

Feed belt 1132 in-place detection device 1133

Guide angle 1134 control module 50

Discharge area 131 blanking area 133

Centrifuge 21 centrifuge frame 22

Sample placement area 221 for robot device 23

Abnormal sample loading area 222 jaw 231

Movable mechanism 232 guide rail 233

Anti-collision mechanism 234 elastic anti-collision mechanism 235

Alarm mechanism 236 trip 2361

Sensor 2362 conveyer 31

Fixing device 32 positioning device 33

Test tube holder 321 retaining sleeve 322

Opening 323 positioning support 331

Pusher 332 sensing device 334

The sub-detection pipe module 411 and the backup pipe module 412

First consumable stack module 71 and second consumable stack module 72

Mechanical clamping jaw

4111, 421

pipettor

4112, 422

Pipettor motion components

4113, 423 drive module 4110

Secondary positioning

413, 424 working 414, 425

Mesa 411a

detectors

415, 426

Hopper

411b claw portion 4111b

Driving device 4111a hook 4111d

Elastomeric 4111c tip 416

Seat body 4171 of elasticity adjusting device 4114

Suction head rack 417 accommodation hole 4173

Tip receiver 4172 secondary positioning assembly 418

Automatic locking device 4174 third consumable stack module 73

Guide 4181 warehouse 712

Storage bins

711 and 711a and rotary motor 714

711b、721

Turntable 713

rack

7111, 7211

Back and forth driving device 7122 for supporting shaft 713a

Carrier 7121 code scanning module 715

A fool-proof structure 7111a of the up-down driving device 7123,

7111b、

7212、

Opening 4271 of driving device 7151

The counter top 427 supports the aperture 4273

Support shaft mounting hole 4272 blanking clamping jaw device 61

Positioning hole 4274 sample imaging module 91

Clamping jaw device 911 on sample collection rack 62

Cover pulling module 92 clamping jaw mechanism 9111

Lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 of photographing device 912

Go up gripper mechanism 921 machinery limit structure 924

Rotary drive device 923 pusher 82

Ejector 821 of transport mechanism 81

Storage area 83 motor 8221

Ejector drive mechanism 822 processing apparatus 51

Timing strip assembly 8222 control program 53

Storage device 52

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

It is noted that when an element is referred to as being "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present; when a component is referred to as being "mounted on" another component, it can be directly mounted on the other component or intervening components may also be present. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes all and any combination of one or more of the associated listed items.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sample preprocessing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The sample preprocessing system 1 includes a sample loading and unloading module 10, a centrifugation module 20, a sample transmission module 30 (shown in fig. 7), a sample sorting module 40, a sample recovery module 60, a consumable stack module 70 (shown in fig. 15), and a finished product storage module 80. The sample dividing module 40 is configured to divide a sample into two cups, and in this embodiment, the sample dividing module 40 includes a plasma dividing module 41 and a leukocyte dividing module 42, which are respectively configured to divide plasma and leukocytes in the sample into two cups. The sample feeding and discharging module 10, the centrifugal module 20, the sample recovery module 60, the leukocyte separation module 42, the plasma separation module 41 and the finished product storage module 80 are sequentially arranged, and the sample transmission module 30 sequentially passes through the centrifugal module 20, the sample recovery module 60, the leukocyte separation module 42, the plasma separation module 41 and the leukocyte separation module 42 in a shape of a Chinese character 'hui'. The consumable stack module 70 is disposed below the plasma separation module 41 and the leukocyte separation module 42, and is used for providing consumables for the plasma separation module 41 and the leukocyte separation module 42.

The biological sample such as blood sample enters the sample pretreatment system 1 through the sample loading and unloading module 10, is centrifuged and layered at the centrifugal module 20, and then is transferred through the sample transmission module 30 to be respectively separated into a plasma separation module 41 and a leukocyte separation module 42, the remaining sample after separation is returned to the sample recovery module 60 for recovery by the sample transmission module 30, and the finished product obtained by separation is sent to the finished product storage module 80 for storage.

Please refer to fig. 2 and fig. 3, which are schematic diagrams of the sample loading and unloading module 10 according to the present embodiment. The sample loading and unloading module 10 comprises a loading module 11 and an unloading module 13. The feeding module 11 is used for transporting the sample to the sample pretreatment system 1, and specifically, the feeding module 11 is used for conveying the sample to the centrifugation module 20, so that the robot at the centrifugation module 20 can convey the sample into the centrifugation module 20 for centrifugal delamination of the sample. In the present embodiment, referring to fig. 3, the feeding module 11 includes a feeding section 111 and a material preparing section 113 connected to the feeding section 111, and the feeding section 111 includes a feeding driving mechanism 1111 and a track switching mechanism 1112. In the present embodiment, the feeding driving mechanism 1111 includes a feeding motor 1113 and a feeding belt 1114, and the feeding belt 1114 is driven by the feeding motor 1113 to advance along the feeding track toward the material preparation area 113 so as to transfer the sample placed on the feeding belt 1114 to the material preparation area 113. In this embodiment, the feeding section 111 includes two feeding driving mechanisms 1111, the two feeding driving mechanisms 1111 are disposed side by side along a direction parallel to the advancing direction of the feeding belt 1114, and the track switching mechanism 1112 is configured to switch any one feeding driving mechanism 1111 on the feeding track, so that the feeding driving mechanism 1111 can transfer the sample placed thereon to the material preparation section 113. In other embodiments, the feed drive 1111 can be other numbers, such as one or more than two. In the case where one feed drive mechanism 1111 is provided, the track switching mechanism 1112 may be omitted. In the case where there are more than two feeding driving mechanisms 1111, all the feeding driving mechanisms 1111 may be disposed side by side along a direction parallel to the advancing direction of the feeding belt 1114, and then any one of the feeding driving mechanisms 1111 may be switched on the feeding track by the track switching mechanism 1112. The track switching mechanism 1112 can be manually activated and manually controlled to switch the feeding driving mechanism 1111, or the control module 50 (see fig. 25) can control the switching of the feeding driving mechanism 1111, for example, the control module 50 receives a signal sent by a sensor for detecting the placement of the samples on the feeding belts 1114 and switches the feeding driving mechanism 1111 according to the sample placement on each feeding belt 1114 detected by the sensor. In this embodiment, the track switching mechanism 1112 includes a switching motor 1115, a timing belt 1116, and a trapezoidal screw (not shown). Switch motor 1115 drive hold-in range 1116, and the hold-in range drives trapezoidal lead screw motion, and trapezoidal lead screw motion switches over the feeding actuating mechanism 1111 that has the sample on the feeding track.

As shown in fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the sample is contained in the reagent tube 114, the reagent tube 114 is inserted into the basket 115, and the basket 115 is placed on the feed belt 1114 as a carrier of the sample into the sample pretreatment system 1. Referring to fig. 4, a plurality of insertion holes 1151 are formed in the basket 115, an elastic member 1151a is disposed on an inner wall of each insertion hole 1151, the elastic member 1151a protrudes toward the middle of the insertion hole 1151, and after the reagent tube 114 is inserted into the insertion hole 1151, the elastic member 1151a presses the reagent tube 114 to fix the reagent tube 114. Due to the arrangement of the elastic member 1151a, each receptacle 1151 can receive reagent tubes 114 with different shapes and sizes, for example, due to the fact that the overall diameter of each reagent tube 114 is not consistent due to the fact that the identification bar codes attached to the surface of each reagent tube 114 are not consistent, the arrangement of the elastic member 1151a reduces the requirement of the receptacle 1151 on the appearance of the reagent tube 114. In the present embodiment, a weight tube for balancing the total weight of the basket 115 after the sample is loaded to be within a preset weight range may be further disposed in the basket 115 as needed. The weighted tube has at least one characteristic that is different from the reagent tube 114 and that can be detected, e.g., the weighted tube has a different color than the reagent tube 114. The counterweight pipe is identified by the sample pretreatment system 1 based on the characteristics, so that the subsequent links of plasma separation and white blood cell separation are avoided.

As shown in fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the material preparation area 113 includes a material preparation motor 1131 and a material preparation belt 1132, the material preparation motor drives the material preparation belt 1132 to operate, and the height of the material preparation belt 1132 is lower than that of the feeding belt 1114. The stock preparation section 113 is provided with guide corners 1134 at the entrance to the infeed section 111 to facilitate the entry of the baskets 115 from the infeed section 111 into the stock preparation section 113. An in-place detection device 1133 is disposed at a preset position of the material preparation area 113, the in-place detection device 1133 may be an in-place switch or a sensor, and the in-place detection device 1133 outputs a signal to the control module 50 when the hanging basket 115 reaches the position, so that the control module 50 controls the material preparation motor 1131 and the feeding motor 1113 to stop operating, and at the same time, controls the manipulator device 23 (shown in fig. 5) in the centrifugal module 20 to start to grab the hanging basket 115 at the preset position.

As shown in fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the blanking module 13 has a structure substantially the same as the loading module 11, and includes a discharging area 131 and a blanking area 133 connected to the discharging area 131. The discharging area 131 corresponds to the feeding area 111, the discharging area 133 corresponds to the material preparation area 113, the discharging area 133 receives the recovered hanging basket 115, the hanging basket 115 is conveyed to the discharging area 131, and the hanging basket 115 can be detached after reaching the discharging area 131. In order to facilitate the transfer of the baskets 115 from the blanking area 133 to the discharging area 131 smoothly, in the present embodiment, the height of the belt for transporting the baskets 115 in the discharging area 131 is lower than that of the belt in the blanking area 133, and a guide angle is arranged at the entrance of the discharging area 131, which is connected with the blanking area 133.

Referring to fig. 5, a schematic diagram of a centrifuge module 20 according to the present embodiment is shown, in which the centrifuge module 20 includes a centrifuge 21, a centrifuge frame 22, and a manipulator device 23. In the present embodiment, the centrifuge 21 is integrated in the centrifuge housing 22, and the manipulator device 23 is provided in the centrifuge housing 22. The robot apparatus 23 may be controlled to move the basket 115 from a preset position in the preparation area 113 into the centrifuge 21. The centrifugal frame 22 is further provided with a sample placing area 221 and an abnormal sample feeding area 222. After the sample has been centrifuged in the centrifuge 21, the robot device 23 transfers the basket 115 from the centrifuge 21 to the sample placement area 221. Thereafter, the manipulator device 23 further transfers the reagent tube 114 in the basket 115 to the sample transfer module 30, and the reagent tube is transferred from the sample transfer module 30 to the plasma separation module 41 and the leukocyte separation module 42 in this order.

The abnormal sample loading area 222 is used to place a sample that can be transferred directly by the robot device 23 to the sample transfer module 30 without centrifugation. For example, when some abnormal samples (such as bar code sticking out of specification, no cover pulling, or severe hemolysis, wrong information verification, etc.) are manually identified and can be reused, the abnormal samples can be placed in the abnormal sample loading area 222 and transferred to the sample transfer module 30 by the robot 23.

Referring also to fig. 6, the lower end of the robot device 23 is provided with a clamping jaw 231, and the clamping jaw 231 is used for clamping the reagent tube 114 or the basket 115. The clamping jaw 231 is arranged on a movable mechanism 232, the movable mechanism 232 can move up and down along a guide rail 233, and an anti-collision mechanism 234 is arranged at the upper end of the movable mechanism 232 opposite to the clamping jaw. In this embodiment, the collision avoidance mechanism 234 includes a resilient collision avoidance mechanism 235 and a warning mechanism 236. The elastic anti-collision mechanism 235 is a spring, and the alarm mechanism 236 includes a triggering part 2361 and a sensor 2362. When the movable mechanism 232 moves upward and a collision occurs, the robot device 23 is prevented from being damaged by the compressed spring, and at the same time, the sensor 2362 is triggered by the trigger 2361 fixed at a position following the upward movement of the movable mechanism 232, and the sensor 2362 gives an alarm signal when triggered, thereby notifying the outside of the existence of a failure in the robot device 23.

The operation of the centrifuge module 20 itself and the interaction with other modules are as follows: after the in-place detection device 1133 of the loading module 11 detects the basket 115, the manipulator device 23 of the centrifugation module 20 moves to a preset position of the loading module 11 to grab the basket 115 and transfer the basket into the centrifuge 21, after the manipulator device 23 transfers a preset number of baskets 115 into the centrifuge 21, the centrifuge 21 is started, samples in the baskets 115 are centrifuged and layered, after the centrifugation and layering are completed, the manipulator device 23 takes out the basket 115 from the centrifuge 21 and places the basket 115 in the sample placing area 221, and then the manipulator device 23 grabs the reagent tube 114 from the sample placing area 221 and places the reagent tube on the sample transmission module 30.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a part of the sample transmission module 30 according to the present embodiment. The sample transfer module 30 includes a transfer device 31, a fixing device 32, and a positioning device 33. Wherein the conveying device 31 is used for conveying samples at fixed distances, and one embodiment of the conveying device 31 is belt conveying. The fixing device 32 is used for fixing the reagent tube 114 containing the sample when the sample is transferred, the fixing device 32 is multiple, and the fixing devices 32 are arranged on the transfer device 31 at intervals and driven by the transfer device 31 to move. The positioning device 33 is used to position the fixture 32 at each spot location, thereby locating the sample location. Each fixed point position is a position where each module performs a preset operation on the sample, where the preset operation may be an operation of placing or removing the sample into or from the fixing device 32 located at the fixed point position, for example, the manipulator device 23 places the sample into the fixing device 32, the sample recovery module 60 removes the sample from the fixing device 32, and the sample needs to be removed from the fixing device first during subsequent code scanning and cover removing, and then placed into the fixing device after the corresponding operation is completed. The preset operation may also be an operation of separating a part of the sample from the sample. Such as the subsequent cup separating operation of the plasma separating module 41 and the leukocyte separating module 42.

In this embodiment, each of the fixing devices 32 includes a test tube holder 321 and a holding sleeve 322 disposed inside the test tube holder 321. The reagent vessel holder 321 is fixed to the conveyer 31, and the holding holder 322 is used for holding the reagent vessel 114 containing the sample in a specific posture, for example, holding the reagent vessel 114 in a vertical posture. In the present embodiment, the retaining sleeve 322 is a plastic sleeve. The fixing device 32 has an opening 323 at the upper end thereof, and the reagent tube 114 is inserted into the fixing device 32 through the opening 323 by the robot device 23 and is held in a vertical posture by the holding sleeve 322.

In the present embodiment, each positioning device 33 is disposed corresponding to a positioning position. Each positioning device 33 includes a positioning bracket 331, a pushing element 332 disposed on the positioning bracket 331, and an elastic element (not shown), wherein the pushing element 332 protrudes toward the fixed point, so that when a fixing device 32 is moved to the fixed point by the conveying device 31, the pushing element 332 abuts against and pushes the fixing device 32, thereby positioning the fixing device 32. The elastic member is disposed at the rear side of the pushing member 332 for providing pushing force to the pushing member 332. Specifically, in this embodiment, the pushing element 332 is a roller, and when the conveying device 31 drives a fixing device 32 to move to a fixed point position, the fixing device 32 presses the roller protruding to the fixed point position, and the rotating shaft direction of the roller is perpendicular to the moving direction of the fixing device 32. The roller is stressed to compress the elastic element, and the elastic element generates a reaction force to press the test tube sleeve 321, so that the fixing device 32 is positioned at the fixed point, and the problem that the fixing device 32 is not accurately positioned due to insufficient tensioning of the transmission device 32 or other reasons is solved. After the sample is processed at the fixed point (such as plasma or leucocyte separation), the conveyer 31 continues to move forward, the fixing device 32 is separated from the fixed point, and the roller is reset by the elastic force of the elastic element. In this embodiment, each fixed point position is further provided with a sensing device 334, the sensing device 334 is used for sensing whether a sample is present at the fixed point position, in this embodiment, the sensing device 334 is arranged on the positioning bracket 331, senses the presence of the reagent tube 114 by sensing the end of the reagent tube 114 protruding from the fixing device 32, and determines whether a sample is present at the fixed point position by sensing the presence of the reagent tube 114.

The sample transmission module 30 is further provided with a reset sensor (not shown), when the sample preprocessing system 1 is started, the sample preprocessing system 1 determines whether the sample transmission module 30 is located at the initial position according to a signal sent by the reset sensor, and resets the sample transmission module 30 when the sample transmission module is not located at the initial position, so that the sample transmission module 30 returns to the initial position. The manipulator device 23 feeds the sample transmission module 30 at a predetermined position, when the fixing device 32 is located at the predetermined position, the manipulator device 23 inserts a reagent tube 114 into the fixing device 32, and then the sample transmission module 30 is controlled to move a predetermined distance to locate another fixing device 32 at the predetermined position, thereby feeding all samples in a reciprocating manner. When a fixing device 32 is moved to a fixed position by the sample transmission module 30, the sample preprocessing system 1 starts the mechanism at the fixed position to perform corresponding operations on the sample in the fixing device 32 according to the signal sent by the sensing device 334 at the fixed position. After the samples in the fixing device 32 are processed at all the fixed positions, the samples are transferred to the sample collection module 60 by the sample transfer module 30, and are collected into the sample collection rack 62 (shown in fig. 20) by the sample collection module 60.

In this embodiment, the sample transfer module 30 starts and ends at the location of the centrifuge module 20, forming an annular transport channel. Where the endless transport path turns, a guide angle (not shown) is provided in the direction of advance of the sample transport module 30.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the plasma separating module 41 according to the present embodiment. The plasma separation module 41 is used for performing a plasma separation operation on the sample in the reagent tube 114 by using the consumables provided by the consumable stack module 70. Specifically, in this embodiment, the plasma separating module 41 includes a sub detection tube module 411 and a sub backup tube module 412. The sub-detection tube module 411 is used for sub-packaging part of the plasma in the reagent tube 114 into a detection tube, and the plasma packaged into the detection tube is subsequently used for detection to obtain a relevant detection result; the backup tube dividing module 412 is used for dividing part of the plasma in the reagent tube 114 into backup tubes, and the plasma divided into the backup tubes is subsequently stored and backed up. The consumable stack module 70 includes a first consumable stack module 71 and a second consumable stack module 72, wherein in this embodiment, the first consumable stack module 71 is disposed below the sub-detection tube module 411 and is configured to provide consumables such as a deep hole plate and a suction head for the cup division operation of the detection tubes of the sub-detection tube module 411; the second consumable stack module 72 is disposed below the sub-backup pipe module 412, and is configured to provide consumables such as a cryopreservation pipe and a suction head for the sub-backup pipe cup-dividing operation of the sub-backup pipe module 412.

In this embodiment, the minute detection tube module 411 includes two front and back motion components, wherein the front motion component is a mechanical clamping jaw 4111 for grasping consumables, and the back motion component is a pipette motion component 4113 with a pipette 4112 (see fig. 11). In this embodiment, the forward and backward movement components may be driven by the same driving module 4110 and located at opposite orientations of the driving module 4110, respectively. In other embodiments, the front and rear movement assemblies may be driven by different driving modules, and the orientation between the front and rear movement assemblies is not limited to being in tandem and may be any orientation, and the front and rear movement assemblies may also be referred to as a first movement assembly and a second movement assembly, respectively.

In this embodiment, the plasma separation module 41 is further provided with a secondary positioning position 413 and a working position 414. The mechanical clamping jaw 4111, the pipette moving component 4113, the secondary positioning position 413 and the working position 414 are all disposed on the table 411a of the sub-detection tube module 411. The secondary positioning position 413 is used for temporarily storing consumables provided by the first consumable stack module 71 and realizing secondary positioning of the consumables. The working position 414 is used for placing the consumable materials when the plasma separation module performs cup separation operation, please refer to fig. 9, a detector 415 is further disposed corresponding to the working position 414, and the detector 415 is used for detecting whether the working position 414 has consumable materials, so as to prevent the sub-detection tube module 411 from being mistakenly operated to pollute the working position 414. In this embodiment, the working position 414 is divided into two positions, one for placing the deep hole plate and the other for placing the suction head. The mechanical gripper 4111 is used to move consumables from the secondary positioning position 413 to the working position 414, and the pipette motion assembly 4113 is used to move between the working position and a designated pointing position of the sample transfer module 30 and cup plasma at the designated pointing position to the deep well plate.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, after the sample pretreatment system 1 is started, the first consumable stack module 71 and the second consumable stack module 72 are started to respectively load the sub-detection tube module 411 and the sub-backup tube module 412. The first consumable stack module 71 first conveys the deep hole plate to the secondary positioning station 413, and after the deep hole plate reaches the secondary positioning station 413, the mechanical clamping jaw 4111 is started to transfer the deep hole plate from the secondary positioning station 413 to the working position 414 to place the deep hole plate; the first consumable stack module 71 then transports the pipette tips to the secondary positioning station 413, and after the pipette tips reach the secondary positioning station 413, the mechanical gripper 4111 is again activated to transfer the pipette tips from the secondary positioning station 413 to the working position 414 where the pipette tips are placed; after transferring the preset number of deep-well plates and tips to the working position 414, the pipette motion assembly 4113 first moves to the working position where the tips are placed to prick the tips, then moves to a position above the designated fixed point of the sample transmission module 30, controls the tips to extend into the reagent tubes 114 of the designated fixed point, sucks plasma with the pipettor, and then moves the pipette motion assembly 4113 to the working position where the deep-well plates are placed, and discharges the sucked plasma into one of the holes of the deep-well plates. Wherein, a funnel 411b is arranged on the table-board 411a, and a medical garbage can (not shown) corresponding to the funnel 411b is arranged below the table-board 411 a. After completion of one pipette, the pipette motion assembly 4113 discards the tip in the medical waste bin via the funnel 411 b. After the consumables placed in the working position are used up, for example, the deep hole plate located in the working position 414 is used up, the mechanical clamping jaws 4111 move the deep hole plate from the working position 414 to the finished product storage module 80 for storage, and thus, the storage of the finished products to be obtained by cup separation is completed.

The above is given to only one example of the process of the first consumable stack module 71 loading and dispensing the plasma into the test tube module 411, and in other embodiments, the execution sequence of some steps in the process may be changed according to the need. For example, the first consumable stack module 71 may first place the tips and then the deep well plate; for example, first consumable stack module 71 may be loaded with a predetermined number of tips and then a predetermined number of deep well plates, or first consumable stack module 71 may be loaded with tips and deep well plates alternately.

In this embodiment, the sub-backup pipe module 412 is configured with reference to the sub-detection pipe module 411, and the sub-backup pipe module 412 cooperates with the second consumable stack module 72 to complete the cup separation process, and also cooperates with the first consumable stack module 71 to complete the cup separation process, which is not described herein.

Fig. 10 is a partial schematic view of a mechanical clamping jaw 4111 according to this embodiment. The mechanical clamping jaw 4111 comprises a driving device 4111a and a clamping jaw portion 4111b, in this embodiment, the clamping jaw portions 4111b are two and are arranged oppositely, each clamping jaw portion 4111b is provided with an elastic substance 4111c towards one side of the other, and the elastic substance 4111c is used for providing slight pressure when grabbing consumables so as to prevent the consumables from falling off in the process of moving the consumables. Each claw portion 4111b is further provided with a hook portion 4111d on one side facing the other side, and the hook portion 4111d provides a supporting force for the consumable in the process of moving the consumable. The driving device 4111a is used for driving the two claw portions 4111b to approach or separate from each other, so that the claw portions 4111b complete the actions of grabbing and dropping down the consumable materials. In this embodiment, the driving device 4111a uses a motor to drive a gear, and then drives two racks by the gear, so that the two racks drive the two claws 4111b to move.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view of a pipette motion assembly 4113 according to this embodiment. Be equipped with pipettor 4112 and elasticity adjusting device 4114 on the pipettor motion subassembly 4113, pipettor 4112 can be reciprocated by a power device (such as motor, not shown) drive, elasticity adjusting device 4114 set up in between power device and the pipettor 4112, power device compresses elasticity adjusting device 4114 at the in-process that drive pipettor 4112 reciprocated, and through adjusting the distance that compression elasticity adjusting device 4114 compressed, can adjust pipettor 4112 and exert packing force to an appropriate scope on the suction head to guarantee that pipettor 4112 can successfully prick the suction head, can also abandon suction head 416 smoothly after using up.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view of a tip rack 417 according to this embodiment. The tip rack 417 is adapted to receive a tip 416. In this embodiment, the tip rack 417 may be disposed on the consumable stack module 70, provided to the sub-sample module 40 by the consumable stack module 70, and transferred by the clamping jaws (e.g., mechanical clamping jaws 4111) in the sub-sample module 40 to a corresponding working position (e.g., working position 414) where the tip 416 is provided for a pipette motion assembly (e.g., pipette motion assembly 4113).

In this embodiment, the suction head frame 417 includes a seat body 4171 and a suction head accommodating member 4172, the suction head accommodating member 4172 is disposed on the seat body 4171, and a plurality of accommodating holes 4173 are disposed at the middle position of the suction head accommodating member 4172 for accommodating the suction head 416. The base 4171 is provided with an automatic locking device 4174 facing the tip accommodating member 4172, and the automatic locking device 4174 locks the tip accommodating member 4172 when the tip accommodating member 4172 is placed on the base 4171, so as to prevent the tip accommodating member 4172 from being taken out during the process of pricking the tip 416 by the pipette moving assembly 4113. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the automatic locking device 4174 is an automatic resetting mechanism, and in the process of placing the suction head accommodating part 4172 on the seat 4171, the automatic locking device 4174 is pushed open, and after the suction head accommodating part 4172 is placed on the seat 4171, the automatic locking device 4174 automatically resets, and the suction head accommodating part 4172 is clamped on the seat 4171.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a secondary positioning element disposed at a secondary positioning position (e.g., the secondary positioning position 413) in the present embodiment. The secondary positioning assembly 418 includes a guide 4181, and in this embodiment, the guide 4181 is disposed at a diagonal position of the secondary positioning position for defining the size of the secondary positioning position. In other embodiments, the guide 4181 may be disposed at other positions, for example, at the edge regions such as the positions of the long side and/or the short side of the secondary positioning position.

Please refer to fig. 14, which is a schematic diagram of the leukocyte module 42 according to the present embodiment. The leukocyte separation module 42 is used for performing a cup separation operation on leukocytes of the sample in the reagent tube 114 by using consumables provided by the consumable stack module 70. Specifically, in this embodiment, the consumable stack module 70 further includes a third consumable stack module 73, where the third consumable stack module 73 is disposed below the leukocyte separation module 42 and is used for providing consumables such as a cryopreservation tube and a pipette tip for the leukocyte separation operation of the leukocyte separation module 42. The leukocyte separation module 42 includes a front moving component and a rear moving component, wherein the front moving component is a mechanical clamping jaw 421 for grabbing consumables, and the rear moving component is a pipette moving component 423 with a pipette 422. The leukocyte separation module 42 is further provided with a secondary positioning position 424 and a working position 425, the corresponding working position 425 is further provided with a detector 426, and the detector 426 is used for detecting whether consumables exist on the working position 425 or not, so that misoperation of the leukocyte separation module 42 on the working position 425 is avoided.

The arrangement of the components in the leukocyte separation module 42 and the process of completing leukocyte separation by matching the components can refer to the description of the detection tube module 411 in the plasma separation module 41, which is not described herein again.

As described above, consumable stack module 70 includes first consumable stack module 71, second consumable stack module 72, and third consumable stack module 73. In the present embodiment, the first, second and third

consumable stack modules

71, 72 and 73 have substantially the same structure and operation principle, and are different only in the installation position and the object of providing consumables, and therefore, the first consumable stack module 71 is taken as an example for description.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of a first consumable stack module 71 according to this embodiment. The first consumable stack module 71 includes a plurality of bins 711 and a discharging device 712, wherein the discharging device 712 is used for transporting the consumables in the bins 711 to a designated secondary positioning position. In this embodiment, the discharging device 712 is disposed at a fixed position, and the plurality of bins 711 can be moved to switch positions so that any bin 711 is aligned with the discharging device 712, so that the discharging device 712 can transport the consumables in the bin 711 to a designated secondary positioning position. In this embodiment, a plurality of bins 711 are disposed on a turntable 713, a support shaft 713a is installed at the center of the turntable 713, and the turntable 713 is rotated by a rotating motor 714, so as to switch different bins 711 to align with the discharging device 712. Each stock bin 711 is provided with a plurality of material racks 7111, and the plurality of material racks 7111 are stacked from bottom to top. A sensor (not shown) may be disposed on each rack 7111 to sense whether consumables are disposed on the rack 7111. In this embodiment, at least one magazine 711a is used to store the pipette head 416 and at least one other magazine 711b is used to store the deep hole plate.

In the present embodiment, the discharging device 712 includes a carrier 7121 for carrying consumables, a front-rear driving device 7122 for pushing the carrier 7121 to move forward and backward, and an up-down driving device 7123 for pushing the carrier 7121 to move up and down. The front-rear driving device 7122 firstly drives the carrier 7121 to move forwards, so that the carrier 7121 can enter a material rack 7111 of a bin 711 and is arranged below consumables on the material rack 7111; the up-down driving device 7123 drives the carrier 7121 to move upwards so that the carrier 7121 holds up the consumables; then, the front and rear driving device 7122 is restarted to drive the carrier 7121 to move backwards to a preset position, so that the carrier 7121 and consumables are separated from the stock bin 711; finally, the up-down driving device 7123 is restarted, the driving bearing 7121 continues to move upwards to the designated secondary positioning position, and the front-back driving device 7122 is combined with the up-down driving device 7123 to move to place the consumable materials on the secondary positioning position.

In this embodiment, the up-down driving device 7123 is disposed on the front-back driving device 7122, the supporting member 7121 is connected to the up-down driving device 7123, and the up-down driving device 7123 is driven by the front-back driving device 7122 to move forward and backward, so as to drive the supporting member 7121 to move forward and backward. In another embodiment, the front-rear driving device 7122 may be disposed on the up-down driving device 7123, the carrier 7121 is connected to the front-rear driving device 7122, and the up-down driving device 7123 drives the front-rear driving device 7122 to move up and down, so as to drive the carrier 7121 to move up and down.

In this embodiment, the first consumable stack module 71 further includes a code scanning module 715, and the code scanning module 715 is configured to obtain the serial number of the consumable in the first stack module 71. In this embodiment, the code scanning module 715 is installed at one side of the plurality of bins 711, and the code scanning module 715 can be manually adjusted to move up and down, back and forth, and left and right, so that the code scanning module 715 is located at a better code scanning position after installation. Wherein, the distance of sweeping a yard module 715 apart from the consumptive material can be adjusted to the back-and-forth movement, and it can be adjusted to control the upset sweep yard module 715's inclination to guarantee to discern the serial number of the consumptive material of different positions department. After the installation is completed, the code scanning module 715 can move up and down under the driving of a driving device 7151, so as to obtain the number of the consumable material on each rack 7111 of the bin 711. The obtained number is transmitted to the control module 50, so that the control module 50 associates and binds the consumable with the sample in the subsequent sample division link.

Referring to fig. 16, in the present embodiment, a fool-proof structure 7111b is provided at a specific position of each stack 7111 of the bin 711b for storing the deep hole plate (a is referred to as a deep hole plate), and the fool-proof structure 7111b is used for ensuring that the deep hole plate is placed into the bin 711b in a predetermined orientation. Referring to fig. 17, in the present embodiment, a fool-proof structure 7212 is disposed at a specific position of each rack 7211 of the bin 721 for storing the cryopreservation tubes (B in the figure indicates a cryopreservation tube rack), and the fool-proof structure 7212 is configured to ensure that the cryopreservation tube rack is placed into the bin 721 at a predetermined position. Referring to fig. 18, in the present embodiment, a fool-proof structure 7111a is provided at a specific position of each stack 7111 of the magazine 711a storing the suction frame 416, and the fool-proof structure 7111a is used for ensuring that the suction frame 416 is inserted into the magazine 711a in a predetermined orientation.

In this embodiment, the first, second and third

consumable stack modules

71, 72 and 73 are respectively installed on the bottom plate of the sub-detection tube module 411, the sub-backup tube module 412 and the leukocyte separation module 42 to be positioned, so as to ensure the reliability of the overall positioning of the consumable stack module 70. In addition, it is also necessary to ensure that the support shaft located in the middle of each silo is vertical. Referring to fig. 14 and 19, the installation of the third consumable stack module 73 is illustrated. The third consumable stack module 73 is positioned and installed with respect to the bottom plate 427 of the leukocyte separation module 42. An opening 4271 is formed in the table bottom plate 427, and the opening 4271 is used for the warehouse outlet device 712 of the third consumable stack module 73 to pass through so as to push the consumables to the secondary positioning position 424 on the table. The table bottom plate 427 is further provided with a support shaft mounting hole 4272, and the support shaft mounting hole 4272 is used for mounting one end of a support shaft. Furthermore, the third consumable stack module 73 is further provided with a plurality of support columns (not shown) parallel to the support shafts, and correspondingly, the table bottom plate 427 is further provided with support holes 4273 and positioning holes 4274, and the support holes 4273 and the positioning holes 4274 are respectively used for fixing different support columns. After the support shaft is installed, the support columns are fixed through the support holes 4273 and the positioning holes 4274, positioning of the third consumable stack module 73 is completed, and then screws on the support holes are screwed, so that assembly of the third consumable stack module 73 is completed. The number of the positioning holes 4274 and the number of the support holes 4273 are two, and a connecting line of the positioning holes 4274 is intersected with a connecting line of the support holes 4273. In order to improve the assembling accuracy, the distance between the aperture of each positioning hole 4274 and each positioning hole 4274 is accurately set, each positioning hole 4274 is completely matched with a corresponding supporting column, and the aperture of each supporting hole 4273 is slightly larger than the cross-sectional size of the corresponding supporting column, so that the installation space is reserved. With the above arrangement, the positioning holes 4274 and the corresponding support columns can be accurately installed, and then the support holes 4273 and the corresponding support columns can be installed, so that the assembly is completed.

Referring to fig. 20, which is an overall schematic view of the sample collection module 60 in the present embodiment, the sample collection module 60 includes a blanking clamping jaw device 61 and a sample collection rack 62. In addition, the sample preprocessing system 1 further includes a sample imaging module 91 and a cap removing module 92, and the sample imaging module 91 and the cap removing module 92 are also disposed at the sample recovering module 60. In the operation process of the sample pretreatment system 1, after receiving the sample from the centrifugal module 20, the sample transmission module 30 moves to pass through the sample imaging module 91, the cap pulling module 92, the leukocyte separating module 42, the plasma separating module 41, and the leukocyte separating module 42 in sequence, and finally returns to the sample recovery module 60 for sample recovery. The sample imaging module 91 is configured to image the reagent tube 114 to identify the serial number of the reagent tube 114 and the layering height of the sample; the cap removing module 92 is used for removing the cap on the reagent tube 114 to prepare for the subsequent plasma and leukocyte separation. The sample imaging module 91 includes an upper jaw apparatus 911 and an imaging apparatus 912. The upper jaw device 911 is used to grasp a sample from the sample transport module 30 for imaging by the imaging device 912 and to return the sample to the sample transport module 30 after obtaining an image. In this embodiment, the imaging device 912 is a photographing device, and obtains a picture of the sample by photographing. The upper clamping jaw device 911 and the photographing device are controlled by the control module 50 to coordinate. For example, in the present embodiment, the control module 50 controls the upper clamping jaw device 911 to grab a sample from the sample transport module 30, and after the upper clamping jaw device 911 finishes grabbing the sample, the control module 50 controls the upper clamping jaw device 911 to rotate in a predetermined direction by a predetermined angle each time and controls the photographing device to photograph, so as to find out a barcode attached to the outer side of the reagent tube 114 and a position of a notch not covered by the barcode respectively. Specifically, the control module 50 determines whether the barcode and the opening are found according to the content of the photo taken by the photographing device each time. After finding the barcode, the control module 50 further identifies the number of the sample; after finding the opening position, the control module 50 further determines the total height and the layered height of the sample based on the picture taken by the photographing device facing the opening position. In this embodiment, the control module 50 determines the total height of the sample from the height of the converted second color (e.g., white) region by performing color gamut conversion on the photo, for example, converting a white region on the photo to a first color (e.g., black), converting a non-white region to a second color (e.g., white) different from the first color; after obtaining the total height, the red area and/or the black area on the original photograph are/is converted into the same color (e.g. black) different from the color of the white blood cell area, the height of the blood cells of the sample is judged from the height of the converted same color (e.g. black) area, and then the height of the lower layer of the plasma (i.e. the sum of the heights of the plasma and the white blood cells, while the height of the white blood cells is smaller and the liquid level is generally uneven) is obtained according to the difference between the total height and the height of the blood cells. In this manner, the delamination height of the sample is obtained. By obtaining the sample slice height, the control module 50 may have more optimal control over subsequent plasma and leukocyte fractions, such as controlling the distance that the pipettor is moved down according to the sample slice height. Specifically, the control module 50 may control the pipettor to stop above the level of the lower plasma layer and move slowly downward to aspirate leukocytes. In addition, by obtaining the sample layering height, other application areas of the laboratory automation system can be expanded.

In this embodiment, after the control module 50 controls the upper clamping jaw device 911 to rotate to obtain the barcode position and the notch position of the sample, the control module 50 further controls the upper clamping jaw device 911 to rotate reversely to the original point position, so as to avoid the possibility that the sample is damaged as the upper clamping jaw device 911 drives the sample to rotate, which may cause the angle difference between the central line of the sample and the corresponding fixing device 32, and the sample is placed back to the fixing device 32. In addition, to avoid sample damage, the opening 323 of the fixture 32 is also provided with a guide angle, enlarging the size at the opening 323. Therefore, the reliability of taking and placing the sample by the upper clamping jaw device 911 is ensured.

Referring to fig. 21, in the present embodiment, in order to take and place and rotate the sample by the upper clamping jaw device 911, the upper clamping jaw device 911 includes an up-and-down moving mechanism (not shown), a first rotating device (not shown), a second rotating device (not shown), and a clamping jaw mechanism 9111. The clamping jaw mechanism 911 is used for grabbing a sample, the up-and-down moving mechanism is used for driving the clamping jaw mechanism 911 to move up and down, the first rotating device is used for driving the clamping jaw mechanism 911 to move to the position above the sample transmission module 30, and the second rotating device is used for driving the clamping jaw mechanism 911 to drive the sample to rotate. In other embodiments, the first rotation means may be replaced by translation means for driving the gripper mechanism to translate above the sample transfer module 30, which may be along a straight line or along a predetermined curve.

Fig. 22 is a schematic view of a cap pulling module 92 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the cap removing module 92 includes an upper jaw mechanism 921 and a lower jaw mechanism 922. Lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 is used for snatching reagent pipe 114 lower extreme, go up clamping jaw mechanism 921 and be used for the fixed reagent pipe 114 cap, thereby lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 and last clamping jaw mechanism 921 remove mutually in the back of the body and realize that the sample uncaps. In this embodiment, during uncapping, the lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 is driven to rotate by the rotary driving device 923, and uncapping operation is realized by using rotary motion and combined motion formed by back-to-back movement. In this embodiment, the lower end of the upper clamping jaw 922 is further provided with a mechanical limiting structure 924, and the mechanical limiting structure 924 is used for limiting the cap cover so as to eliminate the risk that uncapping cannot be completed. In one embodiment, the mechanical stop is a protrusion that abuts to stop the cap.

In the present embodiment, the cap removing module 92 is controlled by the control module 50 to perform a cap removing operation. The upper clamping jaw mechanism 921 can be controlled by the control module 50 to translate to the position above the sample transmission module 30 to grab a sample, and then returns after the sample is grabbed, and the upper clamping jaw mechanism 921 can also be controlled by the control module 50 to open and close so as to realize the taking and placing of the sample. The lower jaw module 922 can also be controlled by the control module 50 to open and close to grasp the lower end of the reagent tube 114.

In other embodiments, the uncapping may be performed by rotating the upper jaw mechanism 921 or by rotating the upper jaw mechanism 921 and the lower jaw mechanism 922 simultaneously, but in opposite directions.

In other embodiments, the cap pulling module 92 may be integrally controlled by the control module 50 to move to grab the sample above the sample transmission module 30.

Referring back to fig. 20, after the sample in the fixing device 32 of the sample transmission module 30 is separated into plasma and leukocytes at the fixed position, the sample transmission module 30 continues to drive the fixing device 32 to move to the position of the sample recovery module 60. The feeding clamping jaw device 61 of the sample recovery module 60 is controlled by the control module 50 to remove the reagent tube 114 from the fixing device 32 and place the reagent tube 114 into the sample recovery rack 62, so as to recover the residual sample. In this embodiment, the blanking clamping jaw device 61 includes a translation driving device (not shown), an up-down driving device (not shown), and a clamping jaw opening/closing driving device, so as to realize up-and-down movement, translation, and clamping jaw opening/closing of the blanking clamping jaw device 61, and finally transfer the reagent tube 114 to the sample collection rack 62. In the present embodiment, the sample collection rack 62 is a tube rack for mounting test tubes.

In this embodiment, the plasma separating module 41 dispenses the plasma of the sample in the reagent tube 114 at a certain position into the deep hole plate and the cryopreservation tube, and after the cryopreservation tube at the working position or the hole in the deep hole plate is used up, the corresponding mechanical clamping jaw (e.g., the mechanical clamping jaw 4111) in the plasma separating module 41 grabs the corresponding cryopreservation tube rack or the deep hole plate and places the frozen cryopreservation tube rack or the deep hole plate on the finished product storage module 80, and the finished product storage module 80 stores the frozen cryopreservation tube rack or the deep hole plate. Similarly, the leukocyte separation module 42 dispenses leukocytes of the sample in the reagent tube 114 at another fixed point position into the cryopreservation tube, and after the cryopreservation tube at the working position is used up, the mechanical clamping jaws 421 in the leukocyte separation module 42 grab the cryopreservation tube rack and place the cryopreservation tube rack on the finished product storage module 80, and the finished product storage module 80 stores the leukocytes.

Referring to fig. 23 and fig. 24, which are schematic views of a finished product storage module 80 and a partial schematic view of a sample preprocessing system in the present embodiment, respectively, the finished product storage module 80 includes a transportation mechanism 81 and a material pushing mechanism 82, and the finished product storage module 80 further includes a storage area 83 for storing finished sample products. The storage area 83 is opposite to the pushing mechanism 82 and is arranged in a spaced mode, the conveying mechanism 81 conveys the cryopreservation pipe frame or the deep hole plate with the finished product along a preset track, one end of the preset track is located at a preset position between the storage area 83 and the pushing mechanism 82, and the other end of the preset track extends to the position of the leucocyte separating module 42 through the plasma separating module 41. After the sample separating module 40 places the cryopreservation pipe rack or deep hole plate with the finished product obtained by the cup separating operation on the transporting mechanism 81, the transporting mechanism 81 is started and transports the cryopreservation pipe rack or deep hole plate to a position between the storage area 83 and the material pushing mechanism 82. And then the material pushing mechanism 82 is started to push the cryopreservation pipe frame or the deep hole plate on the transportation mechanism 81 to the storage area 83 for storage. In the present embodiment, the pusher mechanism 82 includes an ejector 821 and an ejector driving mechanism 822. The ejector driving mechanism 822 is used for driving the ejector 821 to move towards the storage area 83, and ejecting the cryopreservation pipe frame or the deep hole plate on the transportation mechanism 81 to move the cryopreservation pipe frame or the deep hole plate to the storage area 83. In this embodiment, the ejector driving mechanism 822 is controlled by the control module 50, and is started and stopped under the control of the control module, thereby moving the cryopreservation tube rack or deep hole plate to a predetermined position in the storage area 83. When the subsequent cryopreservation pipe frame or deep hole plate with the finished product needs to be stored, the ejection part driving mechanism 822 is started again to move the cryopreservation pipe frame or deep hole plate to the specified position, and the cryopreservation pipe frame or deep hole plate pushes the cryopreservation pipe frame or deep hole plate stored at the position before in the moving process, so that the cryopreservation pipe frame or deep hole plate stored before continues to move forwards, and the reciprocating operation is carried out until the storage area 83 is full of the finished product of the sample. When the sample separating module 40 places the frozen storage tube rack or deep hole plate with the finished product obtained by the cup separating operation on the transportation mechanism 81, it is necessary to judge whether the finished product is placed, otherwise, large biological pollution may be generated.

In this embodiment, the ejector driving mechanism 822 includes a motor 8221, a timing belt assembly 8222, and a trapezoidal screw (not shown). The trapezoidal lead screw is coupled with the ejector 821. When the motor 8221 drives the synchronous belt component 8222 to rotate, the synchronous belt component 8222 drives the trapezoidal lead screw to rotate, and the trapezoidal lead screw pushes the ejector 821 to move towards the storage area 83. Further, in the present embodiment, the storage area 83 is further provided with a detection device (not shown) for detecting whether the storage area 83 is full and a presentation device (not shown) for presenting the full state detected by the detection device. The detection device and the prompt device are both connected with the control module 50, the detection device sends a signal to the control module 50 after detecting that the storage area 83 is full, and the control module 50 starts the prompt device to prompt according to the signal so as to prompt an operator to take away a finished product.

Fig. 25 is a schematic control diagram of the sample preprocessing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The sample preprocessing system 1 further includes a control module 50, and the control module 50 is configured to control the sample loading and unloading module 10, the centrifugal module 20, the sample transmission module 30, the sample sorting module 40, the sample recovery module 60, the consumable stack module 70, the finished product storage module 80, the sample imaging module 91, and the cap removing module 92 to perform coordinated operations, so as to complete preprocessing of the sample. Specifically, the sample loading and unloading module 10, the centrifugal module 20, the sample transmission module 30, the sample sorting module 40, the sample recovery module 60, the consumable stack module 70, the finished product storage module 80, the sample imaging module 91, and the cap pulling module 92 are provided with a driving device and/or a detection device. The driving device is a general term for a driving mechanism, a driving module, a driving device and other components used for driving the corresponding components in the corresponding modules to move or actuate so as to complete corresponding functions. The detection device is a generic term for a sensor, a detector, a sensor, a code scanner, a camera, and the like provided in each module, which are used to obtain information such as the state, position, and/or number of a corresponding component or sample in each module. The control module 50 monitors the position and state of each sample by obtaining information from the detection device, and controls the corresponding driving device to start according to the position and state of the sample, thereby completing the pretreatment of the sample and the storage of the finished sample. In the present embodiment, the control module 50 includes a processing device 51, a storage device 52 and a control program 53 for controlling the operation of the sample preprocessing system 1, and the control program 53 can be stored in the storage device 52 and run on the processing device 51 to realize the control of the sample preprocessing system 1. In the present embodiment, the control program 53 executes the following method when executed by the processing device 51.

Step one, initializing a specific module.

After each power-on operation, the control module 50 receives a detection signal sent by a specific detection device of a specific module, determines whether the whole body or specific parts of the specific module are at an initial position according to the detection signal sent by the specific module, and sends a control signal to a specific driving device of the specific module when the whole body or specific parts of the specific module are not at the initial position, so that the specific driving device is started to return the whole body or specific parts of the specific module to the initial position.

The specific module may be all modules or a part of modules. For example, the specific module may be only the sample transmission module 30, and after each power-on operation, the control module 50 returns the entire sample transmission module 30 to the initial position according to a signal sent by a reset sensor of the sample transmission module 30, thereby completing initialization of the sample transmission module 30.

And step two, starting the loading module 11 to convey the basket 115 loaded with the sample to a preset position of the material preparation area 113.

And step three, receiving a signal of the material preparation area 113 to the position detection device 1133, and stopping the feeding module 11 and starting the manipulator device 23 of the centrifugal module 20 according to the signal.

And step four, controlling the manipulator device 23 to grab the basket 115 at a preset position of the preparation area 113 and move the basket 115 into the centrifuge 21 of the centrifuge module 20.

Repeating the second to fourth steps until the robot device 23 grabs a predetermined number of baskets 115 into the centrifuge 21.

And step five, starting the centrifuge 21 to carry out centrifugal stratification on the sample.

And step six, controlling the manipulator device 23 to transfer the basket 115 from the centrifuge 21 to the sample placing area 221 of the centrifuge module 20 after the centrifugation is finished.

And step seven, controlling the manipulator device 23 to grab the sample from the hanging basket 115 positioned in the sample placing area 221 and place the sample in the fixing device 32 of the sample transmission module 30.

And step eight, controlling the sample transmission module 30 to start and move a fixed distance, so that the fixing device 32 on which the sample is placed leaves the preset position for loading the sample, and the latter fixing device moves to the preset position.

And repeating the seventh step and the eighth step until the samples in the sample placing area 221 and the abnormal sample loading area 222 are placed on the sample transmission module 30, or until no fixing device 32 is available on the sample transmission module 30 for loading the samples.

And step nine, controlling the manipulator device 23 to transfer the empty basket 115 to the blanking module 13.

And step ten, starting the blanking module 13 to convey the hanging basket 115 out of the sample pretreatment system 1.

Step eleven, receiving a signal sent by the sensing device 334 at the first fixed point position on the sample recovery module 30, and starting the upper clamping jaw device 911 of the sample imaging module 91 to grab the sample from the first fixed point position.

Step twelve, the photographing device 912 is started to photograph the sample, and the content of the photograph is analyzed to obtain the barcode attached to the outer side of the reagent tube 114 and the position of the opening not covered by the barcode. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control module 50 coordinates the upper clamping jaw device 911 and the photographing device 912, controls the upper clamping jaw device 911 to drive the sample to rotate by a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction for the photographing device to photograph each time, so that the photographing device 912 photographs a predetermined number of photos, and analyzes the photos to obtain the barcode attached to the outer side of the reagent tube 114 and the position of the opening respectively.

And step thirteen, identifying the serial number of the sample and the picture shot by the shooting device 912 facing the notch position, and judging the total height and the layered height of the sample. The determining the total height and the layering height of the sample further comprises:

the position of the notch is converted into a color gamut toward the photograph taken by the photographing device 912, the white area on the photograph is converted into black, the non-white area is converted into white, the total height of the sample is determined from the height of the white area after conversion, the red area and/or the black area on the original photograph is converted into black, the height of the blood cells of the sample is determined from the height of the black area after conversion, and the height of the lower plasma layer is obtained from the difference between the total height and the height of the blood cells.

Step fourteen, the upper gripper device 911 is controlled to place the sample back into the first fixed-point position fixing device 32. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control module 50 also controls the upper jaw device 911 to rotate back to the original position before the sample is replaced at the first fixed point position.

Step fifteen, receiving the signal sent again by the sensing device 334 at the first fixed point position on the sample recovery module 30, and controlling the sample transmission device 30 to move forward by a fixed distance, so that the sample passing through the photographing identification number and the layering height moves to the second fixed point position.

Sixthly, the cover pulling module 92 is controlled to move to the second fixed point to grab the sample by receiving the signal sent by the sensing device 334 at the second fixed point on the sample transmission module 30.

Seventhly, controlling an upper clamping jaw mechanism 921 and a lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 of the cover pulling module 92 to respectively grab the cap of the sample reagent tube 114 and the lower end of the reagent tube 114, and controlling the upper clamping jaw mechanism 921 and the lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 to move oppositely so as to detach the cap from the reagent tube 114. Specifically, in this embodiment, during uncapping, the control module 50 further controls the lower clamping jaw mechanism 922 to rotate, and uncapping is achieved by using a compound motion formed by linear motion and rotation.

Eighteen, the cap-pulling module 92 is controlled to put the uncapped sample back into the fixing device 32 at the second fixed point.

And nineteenth, starting the code scanning module to scan the codes of the consumable materials in the consumable material stacking module 70 according to the received signals of the sensors in the consumable material stacking module 70 so as to obtain the serial number of each consumable material.

And step twenty, starting the delivery device to correspondingly transport the consumables to the secondary positioning positions of the plasma separation module 41 and the leucocyte separation module 42.

Twenty-first, the mechanical clamping jaws of the plasma separation module 41 and the leukocyte separation module 42 are activated to transfer the consumables from the secondary positioning station to the respective working positions.

The execution of the above-mentioned nineteen to twenty-one steps may be after step eighteen, or at any time between step one and step eighteen, or even simultaneously with the step.

Twenty-two, receiving a signal sent by the sensing device 334 at the third fixed point position on the sample transmission module 30, controlling the pipette motion component 4113 of the internal detection tube module 411 in the plasma separation module 41 to move to a working position where a pipette tip is placed to pick up the pipette tip, and then controlling the pipette motion component 4113 to move to the third fixed point position, sucking a fixed amount of plasma from the sample at the third fixed point position and transferring the sucked plasma to one of the holes of the deep hole plate placed at the working position. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control module 50 controls the distance the tip is lowered based on the previously obtained slice height of the sample. After completing one cup dispensing, the control module 50 controls the pipette movement assembly 4113 to discard the pipette tip from the medical waste receptacle (not shown) through the funnel 411 b. And repeating the twenty-two steps for multiple times according to requirements so as to perform multiple cup dividing operations to obtain multiple cup dividing finished products.

And twenty-third, controlling the sample transmission device 30 to move forward by a fixed distance, so that the sample continues to move forward from the third fixed point position to the fourth fixed point position.

Twenty-four, receiving a signal sent by the sensing device 334 at the fourth fixed point position, controlling a pipette moving assembly (not labeled) of the backup tube module 412 in the plasma separation module 41 to move to a working position where a pipette tip is placed to pick up the pipette tip, then controlling the pipette moving assembly to move to the fourth fixed point position, sucking a quantitative plasma from a sample at the fourth fixed point position, and transferring the sucked plasma to a cryopreservation tube placed at the working position. Specifically, the number of the freezing tubes is two, and the pipettor movement assembly discharges blood samples sucked each time into the two freezing tubes respectively. In this embodiment, the control module 50 controls the distance the tip is lowered based on the previously obtained slice height of the sample. After completing one cup dispensing, the control module 50 controls the pipette moving assembly to discard the pipette tip in the medical waste bin (not shown) through the funnel 411 b. And repeating the twenty-four steps for multiple times according to requirements so as to perform multiple cup dividing operations to obtain multiple cup dividing finished products.

And twenty-five, controlling the sample transmission device 30 to move forward by a fixed distance, so that the sample continues to move forward from the fourth fixed point position to the fifth fixed point position.

Twenty-sixth, receiving a signal sent by the sensing device 334 at the fifth fixed point position, controlling the pipette motion assembly 423 in the leukocyte separation module 42 to move to a working position where the pipette tip is placed to prick the pipette tip, then controlling the pipette motion assembly 423 to move to the fifth fixed point position, sucking a quantitative leukocyte from the sample at the fifth fixed point position, and transferring the sucked leukocyte to a cryopreservation tube placed at the working position. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control module 50 controls the distance the tip is lowered based on the previously obtained slice height of the sample. After completing one cup dispensing, the control module 50 controls the pipette motion assembly 423 to discard the suction head from the medical waste bin (not shown) through the funnel 411 b. And repeating the twenty-six step for multiple times as required to perform multiple cup dividing operations to obtain multiple cup dividing finished products.

Twenty-seventh, the sample conveying device 30 is controlled to move forward to the sample recovery module 60, and the blanking clamping jaw device 61 of the sample recovery module 60 is controlled to take the sample out of the fixing device 32 and transfer the sample to the sample recovery rack 62, so that the rest sample is recovered.

Twenty-eight, judging whether the consumables in the working positions of the plasma separating module 41 and the leukocyte separating module 42 are used up, and controlling the mechanical clamping jaws of the plasma separating module 41 and the leukocyte separating module 42 to transfer the finished products obtained after the separation to the finished product storage module 80 after the consumables such as the deep hole plate, the freezing tube and the like are used up.

In a twenty-ninth step, the transportation mechanism 81 of the finished product storage module 80 is started to transport the finished product to a preset position between the pushing mechanism 82 and the storage area 83.

And thirty, starting the material pushing mechanism 82 to push the finished products on the conveying mechanism 81 to the storage area 83 for storage.

In summary, the sample pretreatment system provided by the embodiment of the application utilizes the automatic sample feeding and discharging module to perform automatic feeding and discharging operations on samples, utilizes the consumable stacking system to perform automatic feeding of consumables, and utilizes the finished product storage module to perform automatic storage of finished products, so that the manual intervention time is reduced, the complicated operations are simplified, standardized and free from manpower, meanwhile, the generation of misoperation and biological pollution is reduced, and the production cost is reduced; automatic plasma cup separation and leukocyte cup separation are realized by automatically identifying the height of the sample and the layering height, so that the sample cup separation operation is more accurate; through setting up the special construction of pulling out the lid module, improved and pulled out the lid success rate, reduced the requirement to reagent pipe supplied materials, reduced manufacturing cost.

It is understood that the above embodiments show the transmission mechanism driven by a belt, but the transmission mechanism may actually be driven by other transmission methods, such as a screw transmission method and a rack and pinion transmission method.

It is to be understood that although the above embodiments have been described with reference to the sample pretreatment system processing a blood sample, the sample pretreatment system in the present application is not limited to processing a blood sample, and may perform other sample layering and cup separation processes.

It is to be understood that although the above embodiments have been described with reference to the example of containing a biological sample in a reagent tube, a cryopreservation tube, and a deep well plate, the container for containing a biological sample may not be limited to a reagent tube, a cryopreservation tube, and a deep well plate, but may be any carrier having any shape suitable for containing the biological sample.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments some of the modules may be omitted, as may the case where no flip-out is required.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the location of the modules may vary, e.g., the consumable stack module may not be positioned below the sub-sample module, e.g., may be positioned beside the sub-sample module. For another example, the sample imaging module and the cap removal module may not be integrated with the sample collection module, but may be placed at appropriate positions.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application and not for limiting, and although the present application is described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims

A sample pre-processing system, comprising:

the sample loading and unloading module is used for automatically conveying the biological sample and the biological sample carrier to enter and exit the sample pretreatment system;

the centrifugal module is used for carrying out centrifugal layering on the biological sample;

the sample cup separating module is used for carrying out cup separating operation on the centrifugally layered sample to obtain a finished product after cup separating;

the finished product storage module is used for storing finished products obtained after the cups are separated;

the sample transmission module is used for transmitting the centrifuged and layered sample to the sample cup separating module; and

and the control module is used for controlling all modules of the sample pretreatment system to work in a coordinated manner.
The system for pre-processing a sample as recited in claim 1, wherein the sample loading/unloading module includes a loading module, the loading module includes a loading area and a material preparation area, the loading area includes a feeding driving mechanism, the feeding driving mechanism is configured to drive a carrier loaded with a biological sample into the material preparation area, the material preparation area includes an in-position detection device disposed at a predetermined position, the in-position detection device is configured to notify the control module that the carrier is in position, and the control module is configured to control the biological sample to be transferred to the centrifugation module based on the notification.
The pre-sample processing system of claim 2, wherein the loading zone further comprises an orbital switching mechanism for switching different ones of the feed drive mechanisms to align the preparation zone such that different ones of the feed mechanisms transfer the biological sample loaded carrier to the preparation zone.
The system of claim 2, wherein the control module is further configured to control the loading module to stop operating based on the notification.
The system of claim 2, wherein the centrifuge module comprises a centrifuge for centrifugally layering the biological sample and a robot device for moving the biological sample into the centrifuge and for moving the centrifugally layered biological sample out of the centrifuge.
The system of claim 5, wherein the robot device is further configured to transfer the centrifuged biological samples to the sample transport module, and/or wherein the sample loading and unloading module further comprises an unloading module, wherein the robot device is configured to transfer the carriers with the biological samples unloaded thereon to the unloading module, and wherein the unloading module is configured to transfer the carriers out of the sample pretreatment system.
The specimen pretreatment system according to claim 5, wherein the robot device includes a gripping jaw provided at a lower end of the robot device, a movable mechanism provided with the gripping jaw, and a collision prevention mechanism provided at an upper end of the movable mechanism.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 7, wherein the collision avoidance mechanism is a resilient collision avoidance mechanism.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 1, wherein the sample transfer module comprises a transport device for transporting the biological sample and a holding device for holding the biological sample.
The specimen pretreatment system of claim 9, wherein said holding device is a plurality of holding devices spaced apart on said conveyor.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 9, wherein the sample transfer module further comprises a positioning device for positioning the fixture in a fixed position.
The system of claim 11, wherein the fixed position is a position at which the system performs a predetermined operation on the centrifuged and layered biological sample.
The specimen pretreatment system according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined operation is an operation of introducing or removing the biological specimen into or from the holding member or an operation of separating a part of the biological specimen from the biological specimen.
The system of claim 11, wherein the positioning device comprises a positioning bracket, a pushing element and an elastic element, the pushing element and the elastic element are both disposed on the positioning bracket, one side of the pushing element protrudes toward a fixed point, and the other side of the pushing element is close to the elastic element, when the fixing device enters the fixed point, one end of the pushing element abuts against the fixing device, and the other end of the pushing element abuts against and compresses the elastic element, so as to position the fixing device.
The specimen pretreatment system according to claim 14, wherein said pushing member is a roller having a rotation axis in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which said conveyor moves.
The system for pre-processing a sample according to claim 11, wherein the sample transfer module further comprises a sensing device, the sensing device is disposed corresponding to the fixed-point position, and is configured to detect the presence of the biological sample at the fixed-point position and send a signal to the control module when the presence of the biological sample at the fixed-point position is detected, and the control module is further configured to activate and control the related module to perform a preset operation corresponding to the fixed-point position according to the received signal.
The system of claim 9, wherein the sample transfer module further comprises a reset sensor, the reset sensor is configured to detect whether the sample transfer module is located at a predetermined initial position when the system is started up, and to send a signal to the control module when the sample transfer module is not located at the initial position, and the control module is further configured to control the sample transfer module to return to the initial position after receiving the signal sent by the reset sensor.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 1, wherein the sample cup module comprises a plasma cup module for cup-separating plasma in the biological sample, and/or wherein the sample cup module comprises a leukocyte-separating module for cup-separating leukocytes in the biological sample.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 1, further comprising a consumable stack module configured to provide consumables to the sample siping module.
The system for processing samples according to claim 19, wherein the consumable stack module includes a bin for storing consumables and a take-off device for being controlled by the control module to transfer consumables in the bin to the sample cup module.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 20, wherein the cartridge comprises a plurality of cartridges that are movable to switch different ones of the cartridges into alignment with the discharge device such that the discharge device can transfer the consumables in the cartridges to the sample dispensing cup modules.
The system of claim 20, wherein the consumable stack module further comprises a code scanning module, the code scanning module is configured to scan the consumables in the magazine to obtain a number for each consumable and send the number to the control module, so that the control module associates the dispensed finished product with the consumable.
The system of claim 19, wherein the consumable stack module is positioned and mounted below the sample cup dispensing module with reference to a floor of a table of the sample cup dispensing module.
The system of claim 19, wherein the sample dispensing module comprises a platform, and a mechanical gripper and a pipette moving assembly disposed above the platform, the platform further comprises a secondary positioning location and a working location, the consumable stack module is configured to transfer the consumable to the secondary positioning location, the mechanical gripper is configured to transfer the consumable from the secondary positioning location to the working location, and the pipette moving assembly is configured to separate a portion of the biological sample located at the positioning location into one of the consumables.
The system for processing the sample before according to claim 24, wherein the mechanical clamping jaw comprises a driving device and a plurality of clamping jaws, the driving device is used for driving the clamping jaws to move close to or away from each other so as to complete grabbing and putting down of the consumable, one side of each clamping jaw opposite to the clamping jaw is provided with an elastic substance, the elastic substance is used for providing pressure when the consumable is grabbed, and/or one side of each clamping jaw opposite to the clamping jaw is provided with a hook part for supporting the consumable.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 24, wherein the mechanical gripper and the pipette motion assembly are driven using the same drive module.
The system of claim 24, wherein the pipette motion assembly comprises a pipette, a power device for driving the pipette in a downward motion to prick the tip, and an elastic adjustment device disposed between the power device and the pipette, wherein the power device compresses the elastic adjustment device when the pipette is driven downward to prick the tip, and wherein the amount of compression of the elastic adjustment device is controlled to adjust the pressing force applied to the tip.
The system of claim 24, wherein the secondary positioning station comprises a secondary positioning assembly, the secondary positioning assembly comprising a guide disposed at an edge region of the secondary positioning station.
The system of claim 11, further comprising a sample imaging module for imaging the biological sample to obtain a number and a slice height of the biological sample before the sample splitting module performs sample splitting.
The specimen pre-processing system of claim 29, wherein the specimen imaging module includes an upper jaw apparatus and an imaging apparatus, the upper jaw apparatus is configured to take the biological specimen from the fixture at the positioning position for imaging by the imaging apparatus and to return the biological specimen to the fixture after imaging is completed, the imaging apparatus is configured to image the biological specimen and to transmit an image of the biological specimen to the control apparatus, and the control apparatus is further configured to analyze the image of the biological specimen to obtain a number of the biological specimen and a height of a material layer in the biological specimen; or the control device is further configured to analyze the imaging picture of the biological sample to obtain a barcode and a position of the opening of the biological sample, identify the serial number of the biological sample according to the barcode, and analyze the height of the substance layer in the biological sample toward the imaging picture obtained by the imaging device according to the position of the opening.
The system of pre-processing a sample as set forth in claim 30, wherein the control device obtains the total height of the substance in the biological sample and the height of the layered substance by color gamut conversion of the imaged picture obtained by orienting the position of the opening toward the imaging device.
The system for pretreating a sample according to claim 31, wherein the biological sample is a blood sample, and the control device performs color gamut conversion to obtain a total height of the blood sample and a height of blood cells.
The system of claim 32, wherein the control device performs color to color conversion comprising: converting the notch position toward a white region on an imaging picture obtained by the imaging device into a first color, converting a non-white region into a second color different from the first color, and obtaining a total height of the blood sample based on a height of the converted second color region; converting a red area and/or a black area on an imaging picture obtained by the imaging device at the position of the gap into the same color different from the color of the white blood cell area, and obtaining the height of the blood cells according to the converted height of the same color; and obtaining the height of the lower plasma layer according to the difference between the total height and the height of the blood cells.
The system of claim 11, further comprising a cap-removing module for removing a cap from the biological sample prior to the sample dispensing module performing sample dispensing.
The system of claim 34, wherein the cap removing module comprises an upper jaw mechanism and a lower jaw mechanism, the upper jaw mechanism is configured to fix a cap of the biological sample, the lower jaw mechanism is configured to grasp a lower end of the biological sample, and the upper jaw mechanism and the lower jaw mechanism are configured to uncap the biological sample by moving away from each other.
The sample pretreatment system of claim 35, wherein the upper jaw mechanism and/or the lower jaw mechanism is driven to rotate during uncapping, such that uncapping of the biological sample is achieved using a combination of rotational motion and opposing compound motion; and/or the upper clamping jaw mechanism further comprises a mechanical limiting structure or a protrusion for limiting the cap.
The system of claim 11, further comprising a sample recovery module configured to recover a remaining biological sample after the sub-sample module completes the sub-cup operation.
The pre-sample processing system of claim 37, wherein the sample recovery module comprises a blanking jaw apparatus and a sample recovery rack, the blanking jaw apparatus being configured to remove a remainder of the biological sample from the fixture and place the biological sample in the sample recovery rack.
The system of claim 24, wherein the finished product storage module comprises a transportation mechanism, a pushing mechanism, and a storage area, the transportation mechanism is configured to transport the finished products obtained by separating the cups to a preset position, and the pushing mechanism is configured to push the finished products located at the preset position to the storage area for storage.
The system of claim 39, wherein the pusher mechanism is spaced apart from and opposite the storage area, and the predetermined position is between the pusher mechanism and the storage area.
The specimen processing system of claim 39, wherein said mechanical gripper is further configured to transfer said finished product obtained after dispensing from said working position onto said transport mechanism.