CN117890452B

CN117890452B - Chip transfer device, equipment and analysis system

Info

Publication number: CN117890452B
Application number: CN202410307448.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王鹏磊; 王光明; 吴平; 周志良
Original assignee: Genemind Biosciences Co Ltd
Current assignee: Genemind Biosciences Co Ltd
Priority date: 2024-03-18
Filing date: 2024-03-18
Publication date: 2024-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 2044-03-18
Also published as: CN117890452A

Abstract

The invention discloses a chip transfer device, equipment and an analysis system, wherein the chip transfer device comprises: the chip placing mechanism is used for placing a plurality of chips; the first pushing mechanism is used for providing a first pushing force for the plurality of chips in a first direction so that the plurality of chips can be moved to the feeding station one by one; the second pushing mechanism comprises a second pushing plate and a first driving piece in driving connection with the second pushing plate, the first driving piece drives the second pushing plate to push a chip positioned at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in a second direction, and after the first driving piece drives the second pushing plate to reset, the first pushing mechanism drives the next chip to move to the feeding station; wherein the first direction and the second direction are different. The chip transfer device has simple structure and low cost.

Description

Chip transfer device, equipment and analysis system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of biological analysis, in particular to a chip transfer device, equipment and an analysis system.

Background

The subject matter discussed in this section should not be considered to be prior art merely as a result of the recitation in this section. Similarly, technical problems mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be considered as having been previously recognized in the prior art.

There are various types of analyzers on the market that analyze samples containing DNA, RNA or proteins using electrophoresis methods.

In the analysis process, firstly, a sample is loaded on a chip, and then the chip is driven by a triaxial mechanical arm to move to an electrophoresis and imaging station for electrophoresis and imaging. However, the three-axis mechanical arm is adopted in a moving mode, and the three-dimensional mechanical arm is required to have three-dimensional movement freedom, so that the structure is complex, and the cost is high.

Disclosure of Invention

To at least partially solve at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems or to provide a practical commercial means, embodiments of the present invention provide a chip transfer apparatus, device and analysis system.

A chip transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

The chip placing mechanism is used for placing a plurality of chips;

The first pushing mechanism is used for providing a first pushing force for the plurality of chips in a first direction; and

The second pushing mechanism is used for providing a second pushing force for the chip in a second direction;

the first pushing mechanism drives the chip to move to the feeding station in a first direction, the second pushing mechanism drives the chip positioned at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in a second direction, and after the second pushing mechanism resets, the first pushing mechanism drives the next chip to move to the feeding station;

Wherein the first direction and the second direction are different.

In some embodiments, the chip transfer apparatus further comprises a base plate, and the chip placement mechanism, the first pushing mechanism, and the second pushing mechanism are all disposed on the base plate.

In some embodiments, the chip placement mechanism includes a chip placement bin having a cavity therein for placing the plurality of chips.

In certain embodiments, the first pushing mechanism comprises a first pushing plate, a first balancing weight and a second balancing weight, the first pushing plate comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first balancing weight is connected with the first surface through a first rope, the second balancing weight is connected with the second surface through a second rope, and the weight of the first balancing weight is smaller than that of the second balancing weight.

In certain embodiments, the second pushing mechanism comprises a second push plate and a first driver drivingly connected to the second push plate;

The second pushing mechanism further comprises a driving wheel arranged on an output shaft of the first driving piece, a fixing seat arranged on the bottom plate, a driven wheel arranged in the fixing seat and a synchronous belt arranged around the driving wheel and the driven wheel, and the second pushing plate is arranged on the synchronous belt.

In some embodiments, the chip transferring device further comprises a fixing plate arranged on the analysis station and a third pushing mechanism arranged on the bottom plate, the second pushing mechanism pushes the chip positioned at the feeding station to move to the second direction on the fixing plate positioned at the analysis station, and the third pushing mechanism provides a third pushing force for the chip positioned on the fixing plate in a third direction;

wherein the third direction and the second direction are different.

In some embodiments, the third pushing mechanism includes a second push plate and a second driver disposed on the base plate and drivingly connected to the second push plate.

In some embodiments, the chip transferring device further comprises a waste box, after the chip located at the analysis station completes the analysis work, the second pushing mechanism pushes the next chip located at the feeding station to move towards the second direction, and during the moving process, the next chip pushes the chip originally located at the analysis station to the waste box.

A chip transfer apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention includes:

the chip transfer apparatus according to any one of the above embodiments; and

And a plurality of chips placed in the chip placement mechanism.

In some embodiments, the chip comprises a substrate, a plurality of electrophoresis channels are arranged on the substrate, and conductive structures are arranged at two ends of each electrophoresis channel.

In some embodiments, the substrate is provided with grooves at the sample loading positions of each electrophoresis channel, and the recess direction of the grooves is the same as the arrangement direction of the corresponding electrophoresis channels.

In some embodiments, the conductive structure includes a contact end, and a connection end connecting the contact end and the contact end, the contact end contacting the corresponding electrophoresis channel, the contact end being disposed on a boss formed between two adjacent grooves.

In some embodiments, the electrophoresis channel comprises a middle channel and a first channel and a second channel disposed at both ends of the middle channel.

In some embodiments, the cross-sectional width of the first channel and the cross-sectional width of the second channel are each greater than the cross-sectional width of the intermediate channel in a direction perpendicular to the central line of the first channel, the center of the intermediate channel, and the center of the second channel.

In some embodiments, the cross-sectional width of the contact end is greater than or equal to the cross-sectional width of the first channel and the cross-sectional width of the second channel in a direction perpendicular to the center of the first channel, the center of the intermediate channel, and the center line of the second channel.

In some embodiments, the chip further includes a cover plate disposed on the substrate, the cover plate is made of a transparent material, and puncture holes corresponding to the contact ends are disposed on the cover plate.

An analysis system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

the chip transfer apparatus according to any one of the above embodiments; and

The electrophoresis mechanism and the imaging mechanism are correspondingly arranged on the analysis station;

After the second pushing mechanism pushes the chip positioned at the feeding station to move to the analysis station towards the second direction, the electrophoresis mechanism carries out electrophoresis separation on the analysis sample in the chip, and then the imaging mechanism carries out photographing imaging on the analysis sample.

Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of the invention.

Drawings

The foregoing and/or additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the invention will become apparent and may be readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip transferring device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip placement bin according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a chip placement bin according to another view angle provided by an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of a first pushing mechanism and a second pushing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of a first pushing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of a second pushing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural view of a third pushing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate of a chip according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is an enlarged schematic view based on a portion a of fig. 10.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. This invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but rather the embodiments described below by reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary only to illustrate the invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a chip transfer apparatus, referring to fig. 1, including:

a chip placement mechanism 100 for placing a plurality of chips 2000;

a first pushing mechanism 200 for providing a first pushing force to the plurality of chips 2000 in a first direction; and

A second pushing mechanism 300 for providing a second pushing force to the chip in a second direction;

The first pushing mechanism 200 drives the chip 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, the second pushing mechanism 300 pushes the chip 2000 positioned at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, and after the second pushing mechanism 300 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station;

wherein the first direction and the second direction are different.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the second pushing mechanism 300 includes a second push plate 311 and a first driver 320 drivingly connected to the second push plate 311. After the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the chip 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, and after the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station.

In some alternative embodiments, the plurality of chips 2000 may be placed vertically in the chip placement mechanism 100 or may be placed horizontally in the chip placement mechanism 100.

When a plurality of chips 2000 are vertically placed in the chip placement mechanism 100, the first pushing mechanism 200 is disposed at a side facing the surface of the chips 2000 and provides a first pushing force to the plurality of chips 2000 in a first direction so that the plurality of chips 2000 are moved to the loading station one by one, and the second pushing mechanism 300 is disposed at a side facing the side of the chips 2000 and drives the chips 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in a second direction.

When a plurality of chips 2000 are horizontally placed in the chip placement mechanism 100, the first pushing mechanism 200 is disposed at a side facing the surface, for example, disposed at a position below the plurality of chips 2000, and provides a first pushing force in an upward direction (the upward direction is the first direction), so that the plurality of chips 2000 can be moved to the loading station one by one, and the second pushing mechanism 300 is disposed at a side facing the side of the chips 2000, for example, the second pushing plate 311 is also disposed horizontally, and corresponds to the chips 2000 at the loading station, and the second pushing plate 311 pushes the chips 2000 at the loading station to move to the analysis station under the driving action of the first driving member 320.

Since the first pushing mechanism 200 provides the first pushing force to the plurality of chips 2000 in the first direction, the plurality of chips 2000 are attached to each other. It can be understood that when the chips 2000 are initially placed in the chip placement mechanism 100, the chips 2000 are mutually attached, the first pushing mechanism 200 applies a first pushing force to the chips 2000 contacting with the chips 2000, the chips 2000 are mutually attached, the first pushing force is sequentially transferred to the chips 2000 farthest from the first pushing mechanism 200, the chips 2000 farthest from the first pushing mechanism 200 are moved to the loading station, the second pushing plate 311 pushes the chips 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, and after the chips 2000 are reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 uses the first pushing force to move the next chip 2000 farthest from the first pushing mechanism to the loading station.

Or when a plurality of chips 2000 are initially placed in the chip placement mechanism 100, at least part of the chips are not mutually attached, the first pushing mechanism 200 applies a first pushing force to the chips 2000 in contact with the chips, so that the chips 2000 are mutually attached, the chips 2000 subjected to the first pushing force sequentially transfer the first pushing force to the chips 2000 farthest from the first pushing mechanism 200, the chips 2000 farthest from the first pushing mechanism 200 are moved to a feeding station, the second pushing plate 311 pushes the chips 2000 positioned at the feeding station to move to an analysis station in a second direction, and after the chips are reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 utilizes the first pushing force to move the next chip 2000 farthest from the next position to the feeding station.

Under the action of the first pushing force provided by the first pushing mechanism 200, the plurality of chips 2000 are moved to the loading station one by one, for example, after the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the first chip 2000 to move to the loading station, the second chip 2000 is moved to the original position of the first chip 2000 (the position of the first chip 2000 before moving to the loading station), until the first chip 2000 is pushed to the analysis station by the second pushing plate 311, and after the second pushing plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the second chip 2000 to move to the loading station, the third chip 2000 is moved to the original position of the second chip 2000 (the position of the second chip 2000 before moving to the loading station), until the second chip 2000 is pushed to the analysis station by the second pushing plate 311, and after the second pushing plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the third chip 2000 to move to the loading station, and the fourth chip 2000 is moved to the original position of the third chip 2000 (the position of the third chip 2000 before moving to the loading station). The above process is repeated until all chips 2000 have been moved to the analysis station.

After the first pushing mechanism 200 drives one of the chips 2000 to move to the feeding station, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to start moving from the initial position, so that the second pushing plate 311 pushes the chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. In the pushing process of the second push plate 311, the first pushing mechanism 200 cannot move the next chip 2000 to the loading station due to the blocking effect of the second push plate 311. After the chip 2000 moves to the analysis station, the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to move in the opposite direction of the second direction, and returns to the initial position, and the first pushing mechanism 200 can drive the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station due to the loss of the blocking effect of the second push plate 311. The above process is repeated until all chips 2000 have been moved to the analysis station.

The operation of the chip transfer apparatus is described in detail herein assuming that the plurality of chips 2000 are six chips 2000 in total. First, six chips 2000 are placed in the chip placing bin 110, and the first pushing mechanism 200 provides a first pushing force to the six chips 2000 in a first direction, wherein the chip 2000 farthest from the first pushing mechanism 200 among the plurality of chips 2000 is used as the first chip 2000, and the remaining chips 2000 are sequentially used as the second chip 2000, the third chip 2000, the fourth chip 2000, the fifth chip 2000 and the sixth chip 2000 according to an arrangement sequence. Under the first pushing force provided by the first pushing mechanism 200, the first chip 2000 moves to the loading station in the first direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the first chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. After the second push plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the second chip 2000 to move to the feeding station in the first direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to push the second chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. After the second push plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the third chip 2000 to move to the feeding station in the first direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to push the third chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. After the second push plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the fourth chip 2000 to move to the feeding station in the first direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to push the fourth chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. After the second push plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the fifth chip 2000 to move to the feeding station in the first direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to push the fifth chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. After the second push plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the sixth chip 2000 to move to the feeding station in the first direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to push the sixth chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in the second direction. Thereby completing the process of sequentially transferring all chips 2000 to the analysis station.

The first direction and the second direction may be perpendicular to each other, or may form an included angle other than 90 °, for example, the included angle is 70 °, 80 °,100 °, or 110 °. The first direction and the second direction are preferably perpendicular to each other, so that the transfer process of the chip 2000 is smoother and more reliable, and no positional deviation occurs.

In the chip transferring apparatus provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives one of the chips 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, then the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to reset, and the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, so that the above-mentioned steps are repeated, so that the plurality of chips 2000 complete the analysis transferring process. According to the chip transferring device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the first pushing mechanism 200 and the second pushing mechanism 300 provide acting forces in two directions for the chip 2000, so that the chip 2000 moves in two directions and sequentially reaches the feeding station and the analysis station, and the chip 2000 is enabled to complete the analysis transferring process.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 1 and 2, the chip transferring apparatus further includes a base plate 500, and the chip placing mechanism 100, the first pushing mechanism 200, and the second pushing mechanism 300 are all disposed on the base plate 500. The base plate 500 provides a supporting function for the chip placement mechanism 100, the first pushing mechanism 200, and the second pushing mechanism 300.

The bottom plate 500 may be configured as a flat plate, and the surfaces thereof are in the same horizontal plane, and the chip placement mechanism 100, the first pushing mechanism 200, and the second pushing mechanism 300 are all disposed on the same horizontal plane, or partially disposed above the horizontal plane, and partially disposed below the horizontal plane. Alternatively, the base plate 500 may be configured as a non-planar plate having a surface with a higher surface and a lower surface connected to the higher surface, where the chip placement mechanism 100, the first pushing mechanism 200, and the second pushing mechanism 300 are disposed on the higher surface or the lower surface, or partially disposed on the higher surface and partially disposed on the lower surface.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 3 and 4, chip placement mechanism 100 includes a chip placement bin 110 having a cavity therein for placement of a plurality of chips 2000. The plurality of chips 2000 are placed in the accommodating chamber, and the accommodating chamber provides support and protection for the plurality of chips 2000.

The chip placement bin 110 may be configured as a square structure with an internal cavity being a receiving cavity. The chip placement bin 110 may be configured in other configurations, such as a trapezoid, an irregular structure, etc., and the internal cavity of the structures is a receiving cavity.

In this embodiment, the loading station is located in the receiving cavity. The first pushing mechanism 200 drives one of the chips 2000 to move to the loading station, the chip 2000 contacts the cavity wall of the accommodating cavity, one side surface of the chip 2000 is subjected to the clamping force of the chip 2000 in contact with the chip, and the other side surface is subjected to the clamping force of the cavity wall in contact with the chip 2000, so that the chip 2000 is limited to be positioned at the loading station. Then, the second pushing plate 311 pushes the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station, and then the second pushing plate 311 is reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station, the next chip 2000 contacts the cavity wall of the accommodating cavity, one side surface of the next chip 2000 is subjected to the clamping force of the chip 2000 in contact with the next chip, and the other side surface is subjected to the clamping force of the cavity wall in contact with the next chip 2000, so that the next chip 2000 is limited to be located at the loading station.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 3, a perforation 1111 is provided above the chip placing bin 110, and the width of the perforation 1111 is adapted to the sum of the thicknesses of the plurality of chips 2000.

After the operator takes out the plurality of chips 2000, the operator can place the plurality of chips 2000 into the accommodating cavity of the chip placing bin 110 through the through holes 1111 provided above the chip placing bin 110. The width of the through hole 1111 is adapted to the sum of the thicknesses of the chips 2000, which is helpful for placing the chips 2000 into the accommodating cavity smoothly, and if the number of the chips 2000 is not too large, the chips 2000 cannot be placed into the accommodating cavity, so that the operator can replace the number of the chips 2000 in time, and then place the chips 2000 into the accommodating cavity.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 3, a relief hole 1112 communicating with the perforation 1111 is further provided above the chip placing bin 110.

In the present embodiment, two avoidance holes 1112 are provided, which are respectively provided at both sides of the perforation 1111 and communicate with the perforation 1111. Through the setting of dodging hole 1112, can make the human finger or mechanical finger after pressing from both sides core piece 2000, stretch into chip 2000 and place storehouse 110 smoothly to place chip 2000 in the holding chamber of chip place storehouse 110.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the first pushing mechanism 200 includes a first pushing plate 210, a first balancing weight 221, and a second balancing weight 231, the first pushing plate 210 includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first balancing weight 221 is connected to the first surface through a first rope 222, the second balancing weight 231 is connected to the second surface through a second rope 232, and the weight of the first balancing weight 221 is smaller than the weight of the second balancing weight 231.

The first push plate 210 is disposed in the chip placement bin 110, the first weight 221 is disposed outside the chip placement bin 110, is disposed vertically downward, and is connected to the first surface of the first push plate 210 by the first rope 222, and the second weight 231 is disposed outside the chip placement bin 110, is disposed vertically downward, and is connected to the second surface of the first push plate 210 by the second rope 232.

The first pushing plate 210 is vertically disposed in the chip placement bin 110, and if the plurality of chips 2000 are placed in the chip placement bin 110, the plurality of chips 2000 are also in a vertically placed state, the first pushing plate 210 is attached to the plurality of chips 2000, and provides a first pushing force for the plurality of chips 2000 in the first direction.

Before placing the chips 2000 in the chip placement bin 110, an operator pulls the first balancing weight 221, so that the first pushing plate 210 moves toward the direction in which the first balancing weight 221 is located (opposite to the first direction), and the chip placement bin 110 is free of a cavity in which the chips 2000 are placed. Then, the operator places the plurality of chips 2000 into the chip placement bin 110, releases the first balancing weight 221, and pulls the first pushing plate 210 to move towards the direction (the first direction) where the second balancing weight 231 is located under the gravity action of the second balancing weight 231 because the weight of the first balancing weight 221 is smaller than that of the second balancing weight 231, and the first pushing plate 210 provides a first pushing force for the plurality of chips 2000, so that one chip 2000 of the plurality of chips 2000 moves to the feeding station. After the second push plate 311 pushes the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station, due to the blocking effect of the second push plate 311, even if the second balancing weight 231 provides the acting force for the first push plate 210, the first push plate 210 transfers the acting force to the next chip 2000 far from the second push plate 311, and the next chip 2000 can only contact the second push plate 311 and cannot move to the loading station. After the second push plate 311 is reset, the blocking function of the second push plate 311 is lost, the second balancing weight 231 provides an acting force for the first push plate 210, the first push plate 210 transfers the acting force to the next chip 2000, and the next chip 2000 moves to the feeding station.

In order to ensure that the first push plate 210 smoothly completes the reciprocating process, the weight designs of the first and second balancing weights 221 and 231 need to be considered. First, the first balancing weight 221 only needs to consider that the first rope 222 can be kept in a straightened state, so the weight design of the first balancing weight 221 is considered first. The second weight 231 needs to consider the weight of the first weight 221 and the friction generated during the movement of the first push plate 210, and then comprehensively consider the weight design of the second weight 231. For example, the gravity of the first balancing weight 221 is designed to be 2N, the friction generated during the movement of the first push plate 210 is 7N, and the gravity of the second balancing weight 231 is designed to be greater than 9N, such as 10N.

The operator only needs to pull the first balancing weight 221 once before placing the chip 2000, and then drives the chip 2000 to move to the feeding station one by one under the gravity action of the second balancing weight 231, and pushes the chip 2000 to move to the analysis station through the second push plate 311, so that the process of automatically transferring the chip 2000 is completed. Because the chip 2000 is driven to move to the feeding station along the first direction, the moving precision of the chip 2000 is not required to be considered, and the mode of arranging the balancing weights on two sides is adopted, so that the structure is simpler than the motor driving mode, and the cost is lower. And the chip 2000 is driven to move to the analysis station along the second direction, the movement precision of the chip 2000 needs to be considered, and the movement mode of the first driving member 320 driving the second push plate 311 is adopted, so that the accuracy and reliability of the movement of the chip 2000 can be ensured, and the situation of position deviation of the chip 2000 is avoided. On the premise of ensuring that the chip 2000 is driven to accurately move to each station, the structure design is simpler, the cost is lower, and the processes of feeding movement and analysis movement can be completed only by one driving piece.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 4 and 6, the chip placement bin 110 is further provided with a first through hole 112, and a first string 222 has one end connected to the first weight 221 and the other end connected to the first surface after passing through the first through hole 112.

The first rope 222 is under natural state, and both ends receive the pulling of first balancing weight 221 and first push pedal 210 respectively, and receive the position restriction of first through-hole 112 for first rope 222 is L type setting, thereby makes to play certain position shrink effect to first rope 222, avoids the removal of first push pedal 210 of first rope 222 place influence, and sets up first balancing weight 221 in the outside of chip placement storehouse 110, the operating personnel pulling of being convenient for.

It should be noted that, the length of the first rope 222 passing through the first through hole 112 needs to be greater than the moving length of the first push plate 210, so as to ensure that the first push plate 210 smoothly drives the plurality of chips 2000 to move to the feeding station one by one, and avoid the jamming phenomenon of the first push plate 210 in the moving process.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first pushing mechanism 200 further includes a first supporting seat provided on the bottom plate 500 and a first pulley provided on the first supporting seat, and the other end of the first rope 222 passes through the first through hole 112 and then passes around the first pulley to be coupled to the first surface.

The first supporting seat plays a supporting role on the first pulley, and the first supporting seat can be a protruding block extending upwards from the bottom plate 500, and the protruding block and the bottom plate 500 are integrally formed or assembled and arranged through screw fit with the bottom plate 500.

The first pulley is disposed in the chip placement bin 110, and the other end of the first rope 222 extends into the chip placement bin 110 after passing through the first through hole 112, bypasses the first pulley, and is connected to the first surface of the first push plate 210. By the action of the first pulley, the friction force applied to the first rope 222 can be reduced, and the service life of the first rope 222 can be prolonged.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 2 to 6, a second through hole 113 is provided under the chip placing compartment 110, the bottom plate 500 is provided with a first penetration hole 510 communicating with the first through hole 112, the first pushing mechanism 200 further includes a first guide rail 241 provided under the bottom plate 500 and a first guide block 242 slidably provided on the first guide rail 241, and the first push plate 210 penetrates the second through hole 113 and the first penetration hole 510 and is fixedly coupled to the first guide block 242.

The number of the first guide rails 241 is two, the number of the first guide blocks 242 is two, the two first guide blocks 242 are respectively and correspondingly arranged on the two first guide rails 241, and the first push plate 210 is respectively connected with the two first guide blocks 242.

Before placing the chips 2000 in the chip placing bin 110, an operator pulls the first balancing weight 221 first, so that the first pushing plate 210 moves towards the direction of the first balancing weight 221, and during this movement, the first pushing plate 210 drives the first guide block 242 to slide on the first guide rail 241 in the opposite direction of the first direction. Then, the operator places the chips 2000 into the chip placement bin 110, and releases the first balancing weight 221, at this time, the second balancing weight 231 pulls the first pushing plate 210 to move toward the direction where the second balancing weight 231 is located, and in this moving process, the first pushing plate 210 drives the first guide block 242 to slide on the first guide rail 241 toward the first direction.

During the movement of the first push plate 210, the friction force applied to the first push plate 210 can be reduced by the cooperation of the first guide block 242 and the first guide rail 241. In addition, since the friction force applied to the first push plate 210 is reduced, the friction force to be overcome by the second balancing weight 231 when the first push plate 210 is pulled to move is also reduced, and the weight design of the second balancing weight 231 can be considered to be reduced, so that the material cost is reduced. For example, the gravity of the first balancing weight 221 is designed to be 2N, the friction generated during the movement of the first push plate 210 is 3N, and the gravity of the second balancing weight 231 is designed to be greater than 5N, such as 6N.

The first guide rail 241 and the first guide block 242 are arranged below the bottom plate 500, the first push plate 210 passes through the second through hole 113 and the first through hole 510 and then is mutually fixed with the first guide block 242, the structural design is more reasonable, the moving distance of the first push plate 210 can be enlarged, the integral lamination of the first push plate 210 and the surface of the chip 2000 can be ensured, and the first thrust is smoothly provided for the chip 2000.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 6, the second weight 231 is connected to a portion of the first push plate 210 passing through the second through hole 113 and the first through hole 510 by a second string 232.

After passing through the second through hole 113 and the first through hole 510, the first push plate 210 has a portion protruding below the bottom plate 500, and the second weight 231 is connected to the portion through the second string 232. The second balancing weight 231 is arranged below the bottom plate 500 and outside the chip placement bin 110, so that the second balancing weight 231 can be guaranteed to smoothly drive the first pushing plate 210 to move, and the second balancing weight 231 can be prevented from occupying the inner space of the chip placement bin 110.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 6, the first pushing mechanism 200 further includes a second supporting seat 234 provided on the bottom plate 500 and a second pulley 233 provided on the second supporting seat 234, and a portion of the first push plate 210 passing through the second through hole 113 and the first penetration hole 510 after the second rope 232 passes around the second pulley 233.

The second supporting seat 234 supports the second pulley 233, and the second supporting seat 234 may be a protrusion extending downward from the bottom plate 500, where the protrusion is integrally formed with the bottom plate 500, or the protrusion is assembled with the bottom plate 500 by screw fit.

The second pulley 233 is disposed under the bottom plate 500 and outside the chip placing bin 110. One end of the second rope 232 is connected to the second balancing weight 231, and the other end is connected to a portion of the first push plate 210 passing through the second through hole 113 and the first through hole 510 after passing around the second pulley 233. By the action of the second pulley 233, the friction force applied to the second rope 232 can be reduced, and the service life of the second rope 232 can be prolonged.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 3 and 4, both sides of the chip placing bin 110 are provided with a first communication hole 1141 and a second communication hole 1142, respectively, and the second pushing mechanism 300 enters the chip placing bin 110 from the first communication hole 1141, pushes the chip 2000 located at the loading station in the chip placing bin 110 to pass through the second communication hole 1142, and moves to the analysis station.

In some embodiments, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to enter the chip placement chamber 110 from the first communication hole 1141, so as to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station in the chip placement chamber 110 to pass through the second communication hole 1142 and move to the analysis station.

The communication direction of the first communication hole 1141 towards the second communication hole 1142 is a second direction, and the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to enter the chip placement bin 110 from the first communication hole 1141, so as to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station in the chip placement bin 110 to pass through the second communication hole 1142 and move to the analysis station. The first driver 320 then drives the second push plate 311 back up, and the second push plate 311 is again pushed out of the first communication hole 1141. After the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to enter the chip placing bin 110 from the first communication hole 1141 again, so as to push the next chip 2000 located at the loading station in the chip placing bin 110 to pass through the second communication hole 1142 and move to the analysis station. The first communication hole 1141 and the second communication hole 1142 are arranged in the moving direction of the second push plate 311 and the chip 2000, so that the second push plate 311 can be ensured to smoothly drive the chip 2000 positioned at the feeding station to move to the analysis station, and the second push plate 311 can be ensured to be smoothly reset.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 5 and 7, the second pushing mechanism 300 further includes a driving wheel 331 provided on the output shaft of the first driving member 320, a fixed seat 332 provided on the base plate 500, a driven wheel 333 provided in the fixed seat 332, and a timing belt 334 provided around the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, and the second pushing plate 311 is provided on the timing belt 334.

In this embodiment, the first driving member 320 drives the driving wheel 331 to rotate in the forward direction, and drives the synchronous belt 334 to rotate under the combined action of the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, so that the second push plate 311 moves in the second direction, and the driving chip 2000 moves from the loading station to the analysis station. The first driving member 320 drives the driving wheel 331 to rotate in a reverse direction, and drives the synchronous belt 334 to rotate in a reverse direction under the combined action of the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, so that the second push plate 311 moves in a direction opposite to the second direction, and the second push plate 311 resets. The motion mode of the synchronous belt 334 is adopted, and compared with the first driving piece 320 which directly drives the second push plate 311 to move, the power transmission can be ensured to be more stable and reliable.

The first driving member 320 may be a driving motor, such as a dc motor or an ac motor.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 5 and 7, the second pushing mechanism 300 further includes a connection seat 312, where the connection seat 312 is disposed on the synchronous belt 334 and fixedly connected to the second push plate 311.

In this embodiment, the first driving member 320 drives the driving wheel 331 to rotate in the forward direction, and drives the synchronous belt 334 to rotate under the combined action of the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, and the synchronous belt 334 drives the connecting seat 312 to move in the second direction, so that the second push plate 311 moves in the second direction, and the driving chip 2000 moves from the loading station to the analysis station. The first driving member 320 drives the driving wheel 331 to rotate in a reverse direction, and under the combined action of the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, the synchronous belt 334 is driven to rotate in a reverse direction, and the synchronous belt 334 drives the connecting seat 312 to move in a direction opposite to the second direction, so that the second push plate 311 moves in a direction opposite to the second direction, and the second push plate 311 is reset.

The connecting seat 312 may be configured as an upright plate, and is fixedly connected with the second push plate 311, where the second push plate 311 is not required to be connected with the synchronous belt 334, and the synchronous belt 334 only needs to drive the connecting seat 312 to move, so as to drive the second push plate 311 to move.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 5 and 7, the second pushing mechanism 300 further includes a second guide 341 provided on the base plate 500 and a second guide 342 slidably provided on the second guide 341, and the connection base 312 is fixedly provided on the second guide 342.

The number of the second guide rails 341 is two, the number of the second guide blocks 342 is two, and the two second guide blocks 342 are respectively and correspondingly arranged on the two second guide rails 341. The connecting seat 312 may be configured as a T-shape, and two extending ends are respectively connected to two second guide blocks 342.

In this embodiment, the first driving member 320 drives the driving wheel 331 to rotate in the forward direction, and under the combined action of the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, the synchronous belt 334 is driven to rotate, and the synchronous belt 334 drives the connecting seat 312 to move in the second direction, so that the second push plate 311 moves in the second direction, the driving chip 2000 moves from the feeding station to the analysis station, and in the moving process of the connecting seat 312, the connecting seat 312 drives the second guide block 342 to slide in the second direction on the second guide rail 341. The first driving member 320 drives the driving wheel 331 to rotate in a reverse direction, under the combined action of the driving wheel 331 and the driven wheel 333, the synchronous belt 334 is driven to rotate in a reverse direction, and the synchronous belt 334 drives the connecting seat 312 to move in a reverse direction of the second direction, so that the second push plate 311 moves in the reverse direction of the second direction, the second push plate 311 is reset, and in the moving process of the connecting seat 312, the connecting seat 312 drives the second guide block 342 to slide in the reverse direction of the second direction on the second guide rail 341. During the movement of the connection base 312, the friction force applied to the connection base 312 can be reduced by the cooperation of the second guide block 342 and the second guide rail 341.

Further, referring to fig. 2,5 and 7, the bottom plate 500 is provided with a second penetration hole 520. In the second pushing mechanism 300, the second push plate 311 is disposed above the bottom plate 500, the first driving member 320, the driving wheel 331, the driven wheel 333, the timing belt 334, the second guide rail 341, and the second guide block 342 are disposed below the bottom plate 500, and the connection seat 312 passes through the second through hole 520 from below the bottom plate 500 and is fixedly connected to the second push plate 311, and the second through hole 520 is configured to provide a movable space for movement of the connection seat 312. So on the premise of ensuring that the second push plate 311 can smoothly move, finishing the movement of the driving chip 2000 from the feeding station to the analysis station and finishing the resetting process, the space layout can be more reasonable and compact.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 5 and 7, the second pushing mechanism 300 further includes a plurality of first sensors 351 disposed on the base plate 500 and first sensing pieces 352 disposed on the connection base 312, and the positions of the connection base 312 are known by sensing the first sensing pieces 352 by the first sensors 351.

The first sensor 351 is provided with two sensors, one of which is disposed at an initial position of the connection pad 312 and the other of which is disposed at a final position of the connection pad 312. The first sensor 351 senses that the connecting seat 312 is located at the initial position, so that the second push plate 311 is located at the initial position; the first sensor 351 senses that the connecting seat 312 is located at the end position, so that the second push plate 311 is located at the end position, and when the second push plate 311 is located at the end position, the second push plate 311 can push the chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move to the analyzing station.

The first sensor 351 may be a photoelectric sensor switch, and when the first sensor 352 blocks the sensing beam of the first sensor 351, it is known that the first sensor 352 has moved to a position corresponding to the first sensor 351.

Wherein the first inductor 351 is disposed under the bottom plate 500, thereby further making the space layout more reasonable and compact.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 1 and 8, the chip transferring apparatus further includes a fixing plate 410 disposed on the analysis station and a third pushing mechanism 400 disposed on the bottom plate 500, the second pushing mechanism 300 pushing the chip 2000 disposed at the loading station to move in the second direction onto the fixing plate 410 disposed at the analysis station, the third pushing mechanism 400 providing a third pushing force to the chip 2000 disposed on the fixing plate 410 in the third direction;

Wherein the third direction and the second direction are different.

In some embodiments, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move toward the second direction onto the fixing plate 410 located at the analyzing station.

In this embodiment, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the second direction onto the fixing plate 410 located at the analyzing station, and the third pushing mechanism 400 provides a third pushing force to the chip 2000 located on the fixing plate 410 in the third direction, so that the chip 2000 is kept at the analyzing station. After the chip 2000 at the analysis station completes the analysis work, the third pushing mechanism 400 releases the third pushing force provided to the chip 2000 so that the chip 2000 can be separated from the analysis station. Then, after the next chip 2000 is moved to the analysis station, the third pushing mechanism 400 provides a third pushing force to the next chip 2000 located on the fixing plate 410, so that the next chip 2000 is held at the analysis station.

The third direction and the second direction may be perpendicular to each other, or may be at an angle other than 90 °, for example, the angle is 70 °, 80 °, 100 °, or 110 °. The third direction and the second direction are preferably perpendicular to each other, and the third direction is the same as or opposite to the first direction, so that the transfer process of the chip 2000 is smoother and more reliable, and no positional deviation occurs.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 8, the third pushing mechanism 400 includes a second push plate 420 and a second driving member 430 disposed on the bottom plate 500 and drivingly connected to the second push plate 420.

In this embodiment, the second driving member 430 drives the second pushing plate 420 forward to move toward the third direction, so that the second pushing plate 420 provides a third pushing force to the chip 2000 located at the analysis station. The second driving member 430 drives the second push plate 420 to move in the opposite direction of the third direction in a reverse direction, so that the chip 2000 located at the analysis station loses the third pushing force, and the chip 2000 can be separated from the analysis station.

The second driving member 430 may be a driving motor, such as a dc motor or an ac motor.

In some alternative embodiments, the third pushing mechanism 400 may also be configured to move the second push plate 420 in a weight-balancing manner, as in the first pushing mechanism 200. For example, the third pushing mechanism 400 includes a third balancing weight and a fourth balancing weight in addition to the second pushing plate 420, the second pushing plate 420 includes a third surface and a fourth surface opposite to the third surface, the third balancing weight is connected to the third surface through a third rope, the fourth balancing weight is connected to the fourth surface through a fourth rope, and the weight of the third balancing weight is smaller than that of the fourth balancing weight. Before the chip 2000 moves to the analysis station, the operator pulls the third balancing weight, so that the second pushing plate 420 moves in the opposite direction of the third direction, then the second pushing plate 311 drives the chip 2000 to move onto the fixed plate 410, the operator releases the third balancing weight, and under the action of gravity of the fourth balancing weight, the second pushing plate 420 moves towards the third direction due to the fact that the weight of the fourth balancing weight is greater than that of the third balancing weight, and after contacting the chip 2000 located on the fixed plate 410, third pushing force is provided for the chip 2000, so that the chip 2000 is kept on the analysis station. After the chip 2000 completes the analysis, the operator pulls the third balancing weight again, so that the second pushing plate 420 moves in the opposite direction of the third direction, and the chip 2000 can be separated from the analysis station.

For the third pushing mechanism 400, the process of holding the chip 2000 at the analysis station can be more quickly completed by adopting the moving manner of the second driving member 430 than by adopting the moving manner of the balancing weight. If the second driving member 430 is adopted, the process of driving the second push plate 420 to move can be automatically completed without manual intervention; if the balancing weight is moved, the balancing weight with lighter weight needs to be pulled once before and after the chip 2000 moves to the fixing plate 410 each time, and the operation is complicated. In addition, in combination with the first pushing mechanism 200 and the second pushing mechanism 300, the third pushing mechanism 400 adopts the moving mode of the second driving member 430, so that an operator only needs to pull the first balancing weight 221 once before placing the chip 2000 in the chip placing bin 110, after placing the chip 2000, the subsequent process does not need manual intervention, the analysis process of the chip 2000 is automatically completed, and the operation experience is better for the operator.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 8, the third pushing mechanism 400 further includes a third guide rail 441 disposed on the bottom plate 500 and a third guide block 442 slidably disposed on the third guide rail 441, and the second push plate 420 is fixedly disposed on the third guide block 442.

The number of the third guide rails 441 is two, the number of the third guide blocks 442 is two, the two third guide blocks 442 are respectively and correspondingly arranged on the two third guide rails 441, and the second push plate 420 is respectively connected with the two third guide blocks 442.

In this embodiment, the second driving member 430 drives the second pushing plate 420 to move in the third direction, so that the second pushing plate 420 provides a third pushing force for the chip 2000 located at the analysis station, and in the moving process of the second pushing plate 420, the third guide blocks 442 are driven to slide on the third guide rails 441 in the third direction. The second driving member 430 drives the second push plate 420 to move in the opposite direction of the third direction in a reverse direction, so that the chip 2000 located at the analysis station loses the third pushing force, the chip 2000 can be separated from the analysis station, and the third guide block 442 is driven to slide in the opposite direction of the third direction on the third guide rail 441 in the moving process of the second push plate 420. During the movement of the second push plate 420, the friction force applied to the second push plate 420 can be reduced by the cooperation of the third guide blocks 442 and the third guide rails 441.

Further, the bottom plate 500 is provided with a third penetration hole 530. In the third pushing mechanism 400, the third guide rail 441 and the third guide block 442 are disposed above the bottom plate 500, the second driving member 430 is disposed below the bottom plate 500, and the second push plate 420 passes through the third penetration hole 530 from above the bottom plate 500 to be in driving connection with the second driving member 430, and the third penetration hole 530 is disposed to provide a movable space for movement of the second push plate 420. On the premise of ensuring that the second push plate 420 can move smoothly, the space layout can be more reasonable and compact.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 8, the third pushing mechanism 400 further includes a plurality of second sensors 451 provided on the bottom plate 500 and second sensing pieces provided on the second push plate 420, and the position of the second push plate 420 is known by sensing the second sensing pieces by the second sensors 451.

The second sensors 451 are provided in two, one of which is disposed at the initial position of the second push plate 420 and the other of which is disposed at the final position of the second push plate 420. Sensing by the second sensor 451 that the second push plate 420 is located at the initial position; the second pusher plate 420 is sensed by the second sensor 451 to be located at the end position, and when the second pusher plate 420 is located at the end position, the second pusher plate 420 provides a third pushing force to the chip 2000 located at the analysis station, so that the chip 2000 is held at the analysis station.

The second sensor 451 may be a photoelectric sensor switch, and when the second sensor 451 blocks the sensing beam of the second sensor 451, it is known that the second sensor 451 has moved to a position corresponding to the second sensor 451.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 1, the chip transferring apparatus further includes a waste bin 600, and after the chip 2000 located at the analysis station completes the analysis work, the second pushing mechanism 300 pushes the next chip 2000 located at the loading station to move in the second direction, and pushes the chip 2000 originally located at the analysis station to the waste bin 600 during the movement of the next chip 2000.

In some embodiments, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the next chip 2000 located at the feeding station to move in the second direction.

In this embodiment, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, so as to perform analysis. Then, the first driving member 320 drives the second push plate 311 to reset, and the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station. After the chip 2000 at the analysis station completes the analysis work, the first driving member 320 drives the next chip 2000 at the feeding station to move to the analysis station, and when the next chip 2000 moves to the analysis station, the chip 2000 originally at the analysis station is pushed to the waste bin 600, and the next chip 2000 moves to the analysis station.

By pushing the last chip 2000 to the waste box 600 by the next chip 2000, automatic succession of the chips 2000 can be completed without separately providing a moving mechanism for driving the chips 2000 completing the analysis to move to the waste box 600. The structure design is ingenious, the whole volume of the transfer device can be reduced, and the cost is reduced.

the chip transfer apparatus of any one of the above embodiments; and

A plurality of chips 2000 placed in the chip placement mechanism 100.

In some embodiments, the second pushing mechanism 300 includes a second push plate 311 and a first driver 320 drivingly connected to the second push plate 311. After the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the chip 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, and after the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station.

In this embodiment, the first pushing mechanism 200 provides a first pushing force to the multiple chips 2000 in a first direction, so that one chip 2000 of the multiple chips 2000 moves to the loading station, then the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in a second direction, and after the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to reset, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station due to the blocking effect of the second pushing plate 311 being lost. The above process is repeated until all chips 2000 have been moved to the analysis station.

In the chip transferring apparatus provided in this embodiment of the present invention, the first pushing mechanism 200 drives one chip 2000 of the plurality of chips 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, then the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to reset, and the first pushing mechanism 200 drives the next chip 2000 to move to the loading station in the first direction, so that the plurality of chips 2000 complete the analysis transferring process repeatedly. According to the chip transferring device of the embodiment of the invention, the first pushing mechanism 200 and the second pushing mechanism 300 provide acting forces in two directions for the chip 2000, so that the chip 2000 moves in two directions and sequentially reaches the feeding station and the analysis station, and the chip 2000 is enabled to complete the analysis transferring process.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 1, a plurality of chips 2000 are arranged vertically.

The plurality of chips 2000 are vertically placed in the chip placement mechanism 100, and the first pushing mechanism 200 is disposed at a side facing the surface of the chips 2000 and provides a first pushing force to the plurality of chips 2000 in a first direction so that the plurality of chips 2000 are moved to the loading station one by one, and the second pushing mechanism 300 is disposed at a side facing the side of the chips 2000 and drives the chips 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in a second direction.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 9, a chip 2000 includes a substrate 2100, a plurality of electrophoresis channels are provided on the substrate 2100, and conductive structures 2120 are provided at both ends of each electrophoresis channel.

In this embodiment, the chip 2000 may be used to load a sample containing a biological substance such as DNA, RNA, or protein. In this context, both "sample" and "analysis sample" refer to the same meaning, and are samples that are loaded into chip 2000 and are to be analyzed.

The chip 2000 is moved to an analysis station by the chip transfer device. The conductive structures 2120 at two ends of the electrophoresis channel, one conductive structure 2120 is a positive conductive structure, one conductive structure 2120 is a negative conductive structure, and probes of the electrophoresis mechanism are contacted with the conductive structures 2120 to generate voltage applied to the sample in the electrophoresis channel, so that electrophoresis separation of the sample is realized. After the sample is subjected to electrophoresis separation, the imaging mechanism photographs and images the sample, and then analyzes the photographs obtained by photographing, for example, analyzes and obtains the information of the fragment length, the concentration, the integrity and the like of the sample.

Because the electrophoresis channel is provided with a plurality of electrophoresis channels, and both ends of each electrophoresis channel are provided with the conductive structures 2120, each electrophoresis channel can be loaded with a sample, and then after each electrophoresis channel is loaded with the sample, electrophoresis separation and photographing imaging can be carried out on a plurality of samples at the same time, so that the analysis efficiency is greatly improved.

The substrate 2100 may be made of an inorganic insulating material, an organic insulating material, a polymer insulating material, a composite material, or a combination material. The substrate 2100 may preferably be a polypropylene material, which has good light transmittance, and does not dissociate ions from the surface in an aqueous environment, and can avoid an electroosmosis effect without surface treatment, thereby avoiding affecting the electrophoretic separation process of the analysis sample.

The conductive structure 2120 is an electrode sheet, and the electrode sheet is disposed on the substrate 2100 in a sheet shape.

Wherein the conductive structure 2120 may be a graphite material. Other conductive structures 2120 may be used, such as metal, copper, aluminum, platinum, etc.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 9 to 11, a substrate 2100 is provided with a groove 2130 at a sample application position of each electrophoresis channel, and a concave direction of the groove 2130 is the same as a setting direction of the corresponding electrophoresis channel.

It is understood that, referring to fig. 10, the a direction is the concave direction of the groove 2130, the b direction is the arrangement direction of the electrophoresis channels, and the arrangement direction of the electrophoresis channels is the length direction of the electrophoresis channels.

The chip 2000 is placed vertically, and a sample loading position is provided above the chip 2000. Through manual operation or automatic operation of a sampling mechanism, the liquid adding needle is moved from top to bottom, and after the liquid adding needle pierces the sample adding position, a sample is loaded into the electrophoresis channel.

If the sample adding position of each electrophoresis channel is not correspondingly provided with the groove 2130, as the two ends of the electrophoresis channel are provided with the conductive structures 2120, the electrophoresis channel cannot be arranged at the position of the conductive structures 2120 by the substrate 2100, a certain thickness exists at the position of the substrate 2100, and the liquid adding needle can penetrate the thickness to enter and load the sample into the electrophoresis channel only by penetrating the thickness, so that the sample loading efficiency is low, the thickness has a certain hardness, and the risk that the liquid adding needle deviates in the puncturing process and cannot accurately puncture the electrophoresis channel exists. According to the embodiment, the grooves 2130 are correspondingly formed in the sample adding positions of each electrophoresis channel, so that the puncture distance of the liquid adding needle can be effectively reduced, and the efficiency and the reliability of sample loading are greatly improved.

In addition, since the chip 2000 is designed to be vertically placed, when the mixed solution of the sample and the loading buffer is injected into the electrophoresis channel of the chip 2000, the glycerol (or sucrose) in the loading buffer can increase the sample density, so that the sample density is greater than the density of the buffer in the electrophoresis channel, and the sample is settled near the surface of the gel, on the other hand, a low voltage (typically 10V for 10 seconds) can be applied to the conductive structure before the electrophoresis starts, so that the sample is accumulated near the upper surface of the gel, and after the electrophoresis of the sample is completed, the width of the strip separated by the compression electrophoresis can be realized, and the theoretical plate number can be increased, thereby bringing about a better analysis result, which is not realized for the chip 2000 placed horizontally.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 10 and 11, conductive structure 2120 includes contact end 2121, contact end 2122, and connection end 2123 connecting contact end 2121 and contact end 2122, contact end 2122 contacting the corresponding electrophoresis channel, contact end 2121 being disposed on boss 2140 formed between two adjacent grooves 2130.

Probes of the electrophoresis mechanism contact tips 2121, and contact tips 2121 transfer electricity through connection tips 2123 to contact tips 2122, causing conductive structure 2120 to apply a voltage to the sample within the electrophoresis channel.

The present embodiment provides contact end 2121 on boss 2140 formed between two adjacent grooves 2130, and in substrate 2100, the structural strength and rigidity at boss 2140 is also greater than that at groove 2130, thereby avoiding deformation or damage to substrate 2100 caused by a probe contacting contact end 2121 when a force is applied to contact end 2121.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 10, the electrophoresis channel includes an intermediate channel 2112 and first and second channels 2111 and 2113 provided at both ends of the intermediate channel 2112.

Wherein the center line of the middle channel 2112 is disposed in a straight line, and the first channel 2111 and the second channel 2113 are disposed at both ends of the center line of the middle channel 2112.

Gel and buffer are fully distributed in the middle channel 2112, if the first channel 2111 contacts the negative electrode conductive structure, the second channel 2113 contacts the positive electrode conductive structure, the first channel 2111 is a liquid inlet channel, the sample adding position is arranged on the liquid inlet channel, the second channel 2113 is a liquid storage channel, and the sample is loaded to the first channel 2111. When the probe of the electrophoresis mechanism contacts the conductive structure 2120 and generates voltage applied to the sample in the first channel 2111, the sample moves from the first channel 2111 towards the second channel 2113 under the action of electric field force, gel is of a pore structure and can serve as a screening medium, and buffer solution plays a role in maintaining dissociation degree, so that differential separation of sample fragments with different lengths is realized, and the sample fragments with different lengths form strips in the electrophoresis channel, so that the electrophoresis separation process is completed. If the first channel 2111 contacts the positive conductive structure and the second channel 2113 contacts the negative conductive structure, the first channel 2111 is a liquid storage channel and the second channel 2113 is a liquid feeding channel, and the sample is loaded into the second channel 2113. When the probe of the electrophoresis mechanism contacts the conductive structure 2120 and generates voltage applied to the sample in the second channel 2113, the sample moves from the second channel 2113 towards the first channel 2111 under the action of electric field force, gel is of a pore structure and can serve as a screening medium, and buffer solution plays a role in maintaining dissociation degree, so that differential separation of sample fragments with different lengths is realized, and the sample fragments with different lengths form strips in the electrophoresis channel, so that the electrophoresis separation process is completed.

Among them, agarose gel can be used as the gel. Other gels may be used, such as polyacrylamide gels, and the like.

Among them, TAE buffer can be used as the buffer. Other buffers may be used, such as MOPS buffer, TBE buffer, etc.

In some embodiments of the invention, referring to fig. 10 and 11, the cross-sectional width of the first channel 2111, the cross-sectional width of the second channel 2113 are each greater than the cross-sectional width of the middle channel 2112 in a direction perpendicular to the line of the centers of the first channel 2111, the middle channel 2112, and the second channel 2113, facilitating movement of the sample of the first channel 2111 to the middle channel 2112 or the sample of the second channel 2113 to the middle channel 2112 during electrophoresis (distinguished by whether the first channel 2111 or the second channel 2113 is an intake channel).

In some embodiments of the invention, referring to fig. 10 and 11, in a direction perpendicular to the line connecting the center of the first channel 2111, the center of the middle channel 2112, and the center of the second channel 2113, the cross-sectional width of the contact end 2122 is greater than or equal to the cross-sectional width of the first channel 2111, the cross-sectional width of the second channel 2113, so that a sufficient electric field force can be applied to the sample in the first channel 2111 or to the sample in the second channel 2113 (depending on whether the first channel 2111 or the second channel 2113 is a feed channel) to ensure that the sample in the first channel 2111 or the sample in the second channel 2113 successfully moves toward the middle channel 2112.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 9, the chip 2000 further includes a cover plate 2200 disposed on the substrate 2100, the cover plate 2200 being made of a transparent material.

The cover plate 2200 is made of transparent materials, so that when an imaging mechanism takes a picture of a sample, a clear picture can be successfully obtained, and the picture is not blurred due to the cover plate 2200.

Wherein the conductive structure 2120 may be disposed on the cover plate 2200 and correspond to the electrophoresis channel, specifically, the conductive structure 2120 is integrally disposed on the cover plate 2200 and contacts the end 2122 with the first channel 2111 or the second channel 2113. May also be provided on the substrate 2100 and correspond to an electrophoresis channel, in particular a contact terminal 2121 is provided on the substrate 2100, the connection terminal 2123 and the contact terminal 2122 extending to the first channel 2111 or the second channel 2113, and the contact terminal 2122 contacting the first channel 2111 or the second channel 2113.

After the probe contacts the contact terminal 2121, the contact terminal 2121 conducts electricity to the contact terminal 2122 through the connection terminal 2123, and the contact terminal 2122 contacts the mixed solution formed by mixing the analysis sample, gel and buffer solution in the first channel 2111 or the second channel 2113, and conducts electricity to the mixed solution, so that the process of applying voltage to the analysis sample by the conductive structure 2120 is realized.

The cover plate 2200 may be made of inorganic insulating material, organic insulating material, polymer insulating material, composite material, or a combination thereof. The cover plate 2200 may preferably be a polypropylene material, which has good light transmittance, and the surface of the polypropylene material does not dissociate ions in water environment, and can avoid electroosmosis effect without surface treatment, thereby avoiding affecting the electrophoresis separation process of the analysis sample.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 9, cover plate 2200 is provided with piercing holes 2210 corresponding to contact ends 2121. Through setting up puncture 2210, can make the probe pass puncture 2210 back with conductive structure 2120 contact to smooth application voltage to the sample, and puncture 2210 can play certain positioning action, avoid the probe to move to the wrong position.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an analysis system, referring to fig. 1, including:

The chip transfer apparatus of any of the above embodiments; and

after the second pushing mechanism 300 pushes the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, the electrophoresis mechanism performs electrophoresis separation on the analysis sample in the chip 2000, and then the imaging mechanism performs photographing imaging on the analysis sample.

In some embodiments, the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move toward the analysis station in the second direction.

Wherein the electrophoresis mechanism comprises a probe and the imaging mechanism comprises a camera. Further, the electrophoresis mechanism further includes a driving mechanism such as a driving member for driving the probe to move so that the probe can contact the contact terminal 2121, and the imaging mechanism further includes a fixing mechanism such as a fixing base for fixing the camera.

The analysis system provided by the invention can carry out electrophoresis analysis on samples containing biological substances such as DNA, RNA or protein by electrophoresis technology.

For example, for a sample containing DNA, after the first driving member 320 drives the second pushing plate 311 to push the chip 2000 located at the loading station to move to the analysis station in the second direction, the probe of the electrophoresis mechanism applies a voltage to the nucleic acid sample, and the nucleic acid sample moves under the action of an electric field force, so that the nucleic acid fragments with different lengths exist in the nucleic acid sample, and differential separation of the nucleic acid fragments with different lengths is realized, so as to form a plurality of strips. After the electrophoresis separation work of the nucleic acid sample is completed, the camera of the imaging mechanism photographs the nucleic acid sample, and the photographs obtained by photographing are analyzed, so that the information such as the length, the concentration and the integrity of the nucleic acid fragments corresponding to each strip of the nucleic acid sample is obtained. For samples containing other biological substances, the electrophoresis separation can be performed through the electrophoresis mechanism, the photographing imaging can be performed through the imaging mechanism, and finally, the photographs obtained through photographing are analyzed, so that the analysis process is completed.

Further, a molecular weight standard (Ladder) is loaded in the nucleic acid sample, the nucleic acid sample and the molecular weight standard are subjected to electrophoretic separation under the action of an electric field force, and when analysis is carried out according to the obtained photo, the length, the concentration and the nucleic acid integrity index of the nucleic acid fragment corresponding to the strip separated by the nucleic acid sample are calculated by comparing the strip separated by the molecular weight standard with the strip separated by the nucleic acid sample by taking the strip separated by the molecular weight standard as a reference. It is, of course, possible to calculate the length, concentration and nucleic acid integrity index of the nucleic acid fragment corresponding to the band separated from the nucleic acid sample directly from the band of the nucleic acid sample after electrophoresis separation without loading the molecular weight standard in the nucleic acid sample.

In the description of the present specification, reference is made to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "certain examples," "specific examples," or "examples," etc., meaning that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it will be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and not to be construed as limiting the invention, and that variations, modifications, alternatives and variations may be made to the above embodiments by one of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A chip transfer apparatus, comprising:

The chip placement mechanism is used for placing a plurality of vertical chips;

The first pushing mechanism is used for providing a first pushing force for the chip in a first direction;

the second pushing mechanism is used for providing a second pushing force for the chip in a second direction; and

The chip placing mechanism, the first pushing mechanism and the second pushing mechanism are arranged on the bottom plate;

The first pushing mechanism drives the chip to move to the feeding station in a first direction, the second pushing mechanism drives the chip positioned at the feeding station to move to the analysis station in a second direction, at the moment, the first pushing mechanism cannot drive the next chip to move to the feeding station due to the blocking effect of the second pushing mechanism, and after the second pushing mechanism is reset, the first pushing mechanism drives the next chip to move to the feeding station;

wherein the first direction and the second direction are different;

The first pushing mechanism comprises a first pushing plate, a first balancing weight and a second balancing weight, the first pushing plate comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first balancing weight is connected with the first surface through a first rope, the second balancing weight is connected with the second surface through a second rope, and the weight of the first balancing weight is smaller than that of the second balancing weight;

The second pushing mechanism comprises a second pushing plate and a first driving piece in driving connection with the second pushing plate.

2. The chip transfer apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chip placement mechanism comprises a chip placement bin having a cavity therein for placement of the chip.

3. The chip transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second pushing mechanism further comprises a driving wheel provided on an output shaft of the first driving member, a fixed seat provided on the base plate, a driven wheel provided in the fixed seat, and a timing belt provided around the driving wheel and the driven wheel, the second pushing plate being provided on the timing belt.

4. The chip transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a fixing plate provided on the analysis station and a third pushing mechanism provided on the bottom plate, the second pushing mechanism pushing the chip located at the loading station to move in the second direction onto the fixing plate located at the analysis station, the third pushing mechanism providing a third pushing force in a third direction to the chip located on the fixing plate;

wherein the third direction and the second direction are different.

5. The chip transfer apparatus of claim 4, wherein the third pushing mechanism comprises a second pushing plate and a second driving member disposed on the base plate and drivingly connected to the second pushing plate.

6. The chip transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a waste bin, wherein after the chip at the analysis station completes the analysis operation, the second pushing mechanism pushes a next chip at the loading station to move in the second direction, and during the movement, the next chip pushes the chip originally at the analysis station to the waste bin.

7. A chip transfer apparatus, comprising:

The chip transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6; and

And a plurality of chips placed in the chip placement mechanism.

8. The chip transfer apparatus of claim 7, wherein the chip includes a substrate on which a plurality of electrophoresis channels are provided, and conductive structures are provided at both ends of each electrophoresis channel.

9. The chip transfer apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate is provided with grooves at the sample application positions of each of the electrophoresis channels, and the recess direction of the grooves is the same as the arrangement direction of the corresponding electrophoresis channel.

10. The chip transfer apparatus of claim 9, wherein the conductive structure includes a contact terminal, and a connection terminal connecting the contact terminal and the contact terminal, the contact terminal contacting the corresponding electrophoresis channel, the contact terminal being disposed on a boss formed between two adjacent grooves.

11. The chip transfer apparatus of claim 10, wherein the electrophoresis channel comprises a middle channel and first and second channels disposed at both ends of the middle channel.

12. The chip transfer apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a cross-sectional width of the first channel and a cross-sectional width of the second channel are each larger than a cross-sectional width of the intermediate channel in a direction perpendicular to a central line connecting a center of the first channel, a center of the intermediate channel and a center of the second channel.

13. The chip transfer apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a cross-sectional width of the contact end is greater than or equal to a cross-sectional width of the first channel, a cross-sectional width of the second channel in a direction perpendicular to a central line connecting a center of the first channel, a center of the intermediate channel, and a center of the second channel.

14. The chip transfer apparatus of claim 10, wherein the chip further comprises a cover plate disposed on the substrate, the cover plate being made of a transparent material, and the cover plate being provided with a puncture hole corresponding to the contact terminal.

15. An analysis system, comprising:

the chip transfer apparatus of any one of claims 7-14; and