CN118205873A - Ordering system and ordering method for gun heads of pipetting gun - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a pipette gun head ordering system and method, comprising the following steps: the storage unit is used for placing scattered pipette tips; the adjusting unit is used for ordering scattered pipette tips; the arranging unit is used for arranging the ordered pipette tips according to a preset specification. The liquid-transfering gun head placed in the accommodation space of the storage unit enters the adjusting unit through the output port, the adjusting unit comprises a plurality of baffle assemblies distributed at intervals, a slideway structure communicated with the channel structure of the arrangement unit is formed between the adjacent baffle assemblies, gravitational potential energy on the surface of the baffle assemblies is in unidirectional change trend from high to low in the direction of transition from the storage unit to the arrangement unit, and a flange assembly for changing the surface shape of the baffle assemblies is arranged on the baffle assemblies.

Description

Ordering system and ordering method for gun heads of pipetting gun

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of laboratory automation equipment, in particular to a pipette gun head ordering system and method.

Background

The pipette is used as a common laboratory instrument, can accurately remove a quantitative reagent, and is one of necessary experimental tools for experiments with high accuracy requirements. The pipette can be applied to a plurality of occasions, such as chemical experiments, material experiments, medicine experiments, environment experiments and biological experiments. In the white spirit brewing industry, research or detection needs to be performed on physicochemical properties of raw materials and auxiliary materials, yeast, fermented grains, base wine, biochemical properties of microorganisms in a cellar and the like, so that corresponding laboratories are also established to detect the property parameters, and a pipetting gun is used in all the laboratories. The pipette gun is divided into a pipette gun body and a gun head which can be arranged on the pipette gun body, wherein the gun head is generally a disposable product and can be replaced when the reagent is removed every time so as to avoid polluting the reagent. The gun head is generally made of plastic to reduce the use cost, and has different sizes and dimensions according to different moving requirements, but basically keeps a conical structure. The conical configuration of the gun head allows the gun head to form a funnel having a relatively large open tail for fitting over a suction tube of a pipette gun body and a relatively small open tip for extending into the sample for pipetting or dispensing.

CN109704032a discloses a high-efficiency automatic directional sequencing plug-in device for a pipette gun head, which comprises a workbench, wherein a second sequencing baffle is equidistantly arranged above one end of the workbench, and a steering assembly is arranged in the middle of the upper part of the workbench. According to the invention, the first sorting partition plate can be used for primarily sorting the pipette tips added into the directional sorting slide way, the sorting pipeline can be used for accommodating the pipette tips, the cursor positioner is used for detecting the sorting direction of the pipette tips, the control box is used for controlling the steering motor to rotate the pipette tips which are reversely fixed in the sorting pipeline, so that the sorting direction of the pipette tips is consistent, and the pipette tips can be orderly inserted into the limiting sorting box through the second sorting partition plate and the sorting channel.

CN111846379a discloses a pipette tip sequencing transfer device, including sequencing device and transfer device, sequencing device includes deflector and collecting plate and the support that have the guide groove, collecting plate head end and deflector tail end connection and both slope setting, transfer device includes annular frame, get the rifle device and push away rifle device, get the rifle device including with annular frame sliding connection's fixed guide piece, initiative guide piece and driven guide piece, all be provided with downwardly extending's needle of getting on it, push away rifle device including with annular frame sliding connection's push rod and separation blade, place scattered pipette tips on the deflector during the use, the orderly slip of rifle tip along the guide groove is to the collecting plate, in the collecting groove of neatly arranging on the collecting plate, then use the needle of getting below the transfer device to insert in the pipette tip, transfer the pipette tip to special box department, fixed annular frame, push down the push rod, the separation blade scrapes the pipette tip on the needle of getting, accomplish and shift.

CN205032187U discloses a common device for sub-packaging pipette tips into gun tip boxes for laboratory, which can rapidly and accurately load the pipette tips into gun tip boxes under simple operation. The device comprises an upper end protruding correction groove, a middle end hollowed correction channel, a lower end concave limiting opening and a limiting fence, wherein the upper end protruding correction groove, the middle end hollowed correction channel, the lower end concave limiting opening and the limiting fence form a simple split charging device main body with different angles with the ground, and the upper end is steeper, the middle end is slower, and the lower end is horizontal. The gun head vertically slides down under the effect of the upper end correcting groove, the middle hollow structure of the slide way enables the tip end of the gun head to face downwards, the side groove of the slide way also supports the annular bayonet of the gun head from the lower side, the gun head slides down along the way, the limit rail is manually operated simply, so that the gun head enters the box Kong Kakou at the outlet end of the device, the bayonet of the box hole corresponds to the number of round holes of the gun head box, the gun head box is lifted to slide outwards, and the whole box gun head is filled conveniently.

The prior device can automatically execute the arrangement and the taking of the gun heads to a certain extent, but still needs manual intervention and obstacle elimination due to lower intelligent degree. For how to automatically confirm the gun head condition on the current slideway to adopt a controllable means to ensure that the gun heads stably enter the slideway, the number of gun heads transversely rolling to the bottom of the slideway is reduced, and the side-by-side condition of the bottom of the slideway and the gun heads is controllably adjusted, so that the problem that a row of gun heads are not in the same straight line due to the jam of the gun heads at the bottom of the slideway is reduced as much as possible, and the problem needs to be further researched and solved.

Furthermore, there are differences in one aspect due to understanding to those skilled in the art; on the other hand, since the applicant has studied a lot of documents and patents while making the present invention, the text is not limited to details and contents of all but it is by no means the present invention does not have these prior art features, but the present invention has all the prior art features, and the applicant remains in the background art to which the right of the related prior art is added.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to improve accuracy and efficiency of sequencing and collecting of pipette tips, a technical scheme has appeared in the prior art that the adjustment times of the postures of the pipette tips are quickened by arranging a vibrating device so as to ensure the arrangement fluency of the pipette tips. For example, patent document with bulletin number CN215591124U discloses a vibrating type pipette tip sequencing device, which comprises a guide plate, a collecting plate, a support and a vibrating device, wherein the upper surface of the guide plate is provided with a plurality of guide grooves, the collecting plate is arranged at the tail end of the guide plate and is provided with a plurality of collecting grooves corresponding to the guide grooves, the width of the collecting grooves is larger than the outer diameter of the root part of the pipette tip and smaller than the diameter of the end of the pipette tip, the support is arranged at the bottom of the guide plate and the collecting plate, the height from the head end of the guide plate to the tail end of the collecting plate is gradually reduced, and the vibrating device is connected with the guide plate. When the technical scheme is used, the vibrating device is opened, the disordered liquid-transferring gun heads are placed at the head end of the guide plate, the liquid-transferring gun heads slide downwards along the guide grooves under the vibration of the vibrating device, when the liquid-transferring gun heads slide to the tail end of the guide plate, the liquid-transferring gun heads fall into the collecting groove on the collecting plate, and finally the liquid-transferring gun heads are distributed in the collecting groove in a head-to-tail upwards mode. However, in the technical scheme, the conveying posture of the pipette tips is mainly enabled to meet the standard requirement by virtue of the action of the vibration device, and in the process, the stacking state or posture misplacement state of the pipette tips is required to be provided with continuous vibration action by the vibration device to force the positions and postures of the pipette tips to change, so that the energy consumption of the sequencing device is obviously increased. In addition, the pipette tips entering the guide grooves in the technical scheme do not have uniform conveying postures, all pipette tips can be collected in the same postures only through secondary posture adjustment of the collecting grooves, and the pipette tips also do not have the functions of posture adjustment and conveying state control of the pipette tips in the guide grooves.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a system and method for ordering pipette tips.

The invention discloses a pipette gun head ordering system, which comprises: the storage unit is used for placing scattered pipette tips; the adjusting unit is used for ordering scattered pipette tips; the arranging unit is used for arranging the ordered pipette tips according to a preset specification.

Preferably, the pipette tip placed in the accommodating space of the storage unit enters the adjusting unit through the output port, the adjusting unit comprises a plurality of baffle assemblies distributed at intervals, a slideway structure communicated with the channel structure of the arrangement unit is formed between the adjacent baffle assemblies, gravitational potential energy of the surface of the baffle assemblies is in unidirectional change trend from high to low in the direction of transition from the storage unit to the arrangement unit, and a flange assembly for changing the surface shape of the baffle assemblies is arranged on the baffle assemblies.

In the operation flow of the ordering system, the storage unit is positioned at the upstream of the operation flow, the adjusting unit is positioned at the midstream of the operation flow, and the arrangement unit is positioned at the downstream of the operation flow. One end of the slideway structure can be contacted with or close to the storage unit, and the opposite end can be contacted with or close to the arrangement unit, namely the slideway structure can realize transition transmission from the storage unit to the arrangement unit of the pipette gun head.

Compared with the prior art, the adjusting unit for ordering the scattered pipette tips comprises a plurality of baffle assemblies which are distributed at intervals, wherein adjacent baffle assemblies can form a slideway structure with unidirectional height difference variation trend, and a plurality of flange assemblies which can selectively block the slideway structure are arranged on the baffle assemblies. Based on the above distinguishing technical features, the problems to be solved by the present invention may include: how to adjust the posture and control the conveying state in the falling process of the collected pipette tips by gravity. Specifically, when the pipette tips of various specifications drop from the storage unit, due to the difference of drop angles, some pipette tips can smoothly enter the slide structure formed by the adjacent baffle assemblies and are conveyed in the same posture, and some pipette tips can roll on different slide structures in a transverse dropping mode and cannot enter the slide structure in a specific posture for conveying. Once a plurality of laterally dropped pipette tips gather at the position where the slideway structure is close to the arrangement unit, the pipette tips of normal conveying postures are blocked, so that the pipette tips are accumulated, and normal conveying process cannot be realized. Therefore, the flange assembly provided by the invention can not only realize that the head of the laterally dropped pipette gun collides with the head of the laterally dropped pipette gun so as to guide and accelerate the laterally dropped pipette gun head to deflect and drop into the slide structure, but also form a certain time difference between the pipette gun heads dropped along different slide structures so as to facilitate the arrangement and/or the taking of the pipette gun heads by the arrangement unit. Compared with a smooth slideway with unidirectional variation trend and a structure of a single pipette tip for deflecting and transversely dropping, which are arranged in the prior art, the structure configuration of the invention is more simplified, the configuration cost is obviously reduced, and the invention can realize functions far more than those in the prior art.

According to a preferred embodiment, the flange assembly comprises a plurality of flange pieces arranged in pairs in an asymmetric configuration, the flange pieces in pairs being able to be arranged respectively on the surfaces of adjacent baffle assemblies lying on the same gravitational potential energy plane.

Unlike the prior art, the flange assemblies of the present invention can be paired at the same level on the baffle assembly to facilitate both blocking and release control of a single slide structure. Based on the above distinguishing technical features, the problems to be solved by the present invention may include: how to realize the deflection and temporary storage of the pipette tips so that the pipette tips can enter the arrangement unit in the same gesture, and simultaneously, the sliding rate of the pipette tips is controlled, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of sequencing and collecting the pipette tips. In particular, the flange tabs may alter the smooth surface of the baffle assembly such that there are protrusions on the ramp surface of the ramp structure formed by two adjacent baffle assemblies. Further, on the one hand, the protrusion is utilized to enable the transversely-falling liquid-transferring gun head to receive a certain impact momentum when the transversely-falling liquid-transferring gun head touches any flange piece, and the impact momentum can enable the transversely-falling liquid-transferring gun head to have a deflection trend, so that the transversely-falling liquid-transferring gun head is guided and accelerated to deflect, and the transversely-falling liquid-transferring gun head falls into a slideway structure. On the other hand, based on the arrangement of the flange plates, the invention can enable the gun head of the liquid-transferring gun to be decelerated by the raised flange plates when falling along the slideway structure, wherein, as the arrangement position of the flange plates on the baffle plate assembly is not fixed, part of flange plates can be arranged in a high gravitational potential energy area of the baffle plate assembly, and part of flange plates can be arranged in a low gravitational potential energy area of the baffle plate assembly, therefore, the gun head of the liquid-transferring gun falling along the slideway structure is decelerated by the flange plates under the condition that the areas with different gravitational potential energies have different momentums, thereby forming a certain time difference, and being convenient for arranging and/or taking the gun head of the liquid-transferring gun by an arrangement unit connected with the downstream of the slideway structure.

According to a preferred embodiment, the surface structure of the flange plate comprises a first and a second arc surface of unequal arc, wherein the flange plate is capable of arranging the first arc surface of relatively smaller arc surface closer to the storage unit than the second arc surface of relatively larger arc surface.

Unlike the prior art, the surface structure of the flange plate of the present invention has a different cambered surface structure. Preferably, the flange plate is provided with an arc surface with gradually increased radian along the movement direction of the slide rail structure. Based on the above distinguishing technical features, the problems to be solved by the present invention may include: how to improve the stability of the pipette tip when contacting the flange plate. Specifically, if the flange plate structure is arranged as a regular column or rod-like structure, the falling pipette tip will directly collide with the flange plate with a deflection angle changing to block the slideway structure, thereby causing the rigid rebound of the pipette tip and possibly even causing the pipette tip to be ejected out of the slideway structure. Therefore, the invention can enable the part with smaller radian to receive the pipette tip sliding downwards along the slideway structure more smoothly, thereby obviously reducing the accidents that the pipette tip flies up, bounces and the like to the outside of a longer distance caused by overlarge impact kinetic energy, especially because the pipette tip is usually made of plastic, the weight of the pipette tip is lighter, and the accidents are easy to happen under the condition of overlarge impact kinetic energy; the relatively large-radian part is arranged at the relatively downstream of the baffle assembly, so that the transversely dropped pipette gun head can obtain a large potential energy drop at the pipette gun head, and the pipette gun head can be guided to deflect more smoothly.

According to a preferred embodiment, the flange pieces are provided with a first flange comprising a first cambered surface and a second flange comprising at least a part of a second cambered surface, wherein in the same flange piece the volume ratio of the second flange is larger than the volume ratio of the first flange.

The arrangement is such that a sufficiently large inner cavity can be provided in the second flange. When the first flange comprises all the first cambered surfaces, the impact of the gun head of the liquid-transferring gun on the first cambered surfaces when colliding with the flange piece only acts on the first flange, so that the impact on the second flange is reduced or avoided. Preferably, the contact surface of the first flange and the second flange may be a nonstandard structure, because the above-mentioned two cutting methods need to consider both the inner cavity space of the second flange and the distribution of the first cambered surface and the second cambered surface, and also need to increase the area of the contact surface of the two as much as possible to disperse the impact transmitted from the first flange to the second flange.

According to a preferred embodiment, the end of the lowest point of the first flange is hinged to the surface of the baffle assembly by means of a hinge, the hinge axis being perpendicular to the surface of the baffle assembly, so that the flange piece can be turned about the hinge axis to either side of the direction of extension of the baffle assembly.

According to a preferred embodiment, the second flange has an electromagnet member disposed in the interior cavity thereof, the flange assembly causing the electromagnet members in the two flange pieces to repel or attract each other upon energization thereof in response to an electric field.

The driving force for the rotation of the flange pieces about the hinge axis may be provided by an electromagnet member disposed in the cavity of the second flange, wherein the flange pieces are typically disposed in pairs, and either flange assembly may cause the two flange pieces disposed therein to repel or attract each other upon energization, depending on the electric field conditions, thereby causing the two flange pieces to rotate about the hinge axis under the effect of the repulsive or attractive force. Because the hinge is disposed at the end of the lowest point of the first flange, when the flange piece rotates around the hinge, the second cambered surface can be far away from the baffle plate assembly where the flange piece is located than the first cambered surface, so that the first cambered surface of the flange piece can reach the edge area of the slideway structure positioned at two sides of the baffle plate assembly approximately, and mainly is near the edge area of the baffle plate assembly in the slideway structure, and the second cambered surface of the flange piece can reach the central position of the slideway structure positioned at two sides of the baffle plate assembly approximately.

According to a preferred embodiment, the system is provided with an acquisition unit and a control unit, wherein the control unit can generate corresponding control signals according to the data information acquired by the acquisition unit so as to realize the regulation and control of the storage unit, the adjustment unit and/or the arrangement unit.

Compared with the prior art, the control unit can generate corresponding control signals according to the motion state of the pipette gun head in the slideway structure, which is acquired by the acquisition unit, so as to realize the regulation and control of the storage unit, the adjustment unit and/or the arrangement unit. Based on the above distinguishing technical features, the problems to be solved by the present invention may include: how to adjust the ordered control parameters of the pipette tips according to the actual movement state of the pipette tips so as to improve the accuracy of sequencing and collecting the pipette tips. The invention can acquire the data information related to the ordered operation by the acquisition unit and send the data information to the control unit, so that the control unit can generate corresponding control signals by analyzing and processing the data information, and the storage unit, the adjusting unit and/or the arrangement unit responding to the control signals output by the control unit can adjust the operation parameters of the control signals so as to realize intelligent and automatic regulation.

According to a preferred embodiment, the control unit is capable of generating the stacking situation of the pipette tips of the channel structures in the arrangement unit according to the image information related to the channel structures of the arrangement unit, which is acquired by the acquisition unit, so as to adjust the operation parameters of the storage unit and/or the adjustment unit by calculating the difference of the stacking number of the channel structures.

According to a preferred embodiment, the control unit is capable of determining the falling condition of the pipette tip in the adjustment unit and/or generating a quality evaluation of the pipette tip based on the image information related to the slideway structure of the adjustment unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

The invention also discloses a method for ordering the gun heads of the pipetting gun, which comprises the following steps:

Placing the scattered pipette tips in the accommodating space of the storage unit;

Discharging the gun head of the liquid-transferring gun from the accommodating space of the storage unit through the output port;

Guiding the discharged pipette gun head into a falling slideway structure by utilizing a flange assembly arranged on a baffle assembly of the adjusting unit;

The gun head of the liquid-transferring gun falls into the channel structure of the arrangement unit along the slideway structure based on the action of gravity.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ordering system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of an adjusting unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of an arrangement unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic views of a flange assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in different operating conditions;

Fig. 6 to 10 are schematic structural views of a flange plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention at different viewing angles.

List of reference numerals

100: A storage unit; 200: an adjusting unit; 210: a baffle assembly; 220: a slideway structure; 230: a flange assembly; 231: a flange piece; 232: a first cambered surface; 233: a second cambered surface; 234: a first flange; 235: a second flange; 236: a hinge; 237: an electromagnet member; 300: an arrangement unit; 310: a partition assembly; 320: a channel structure; 330: a groove assembly; 400: an acquisition unit; 500: a control unit; 600: pipette tip.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.

Pipette guns (also known as micropipettes) are tools commonly used in laboratories to accurately measure and transfer small volumes of liquid. The pipette tip 600, also known as a pipette tip or pipette nib, is one of the key components of a pipette gun responsible for containing and releasing a specific volume of liquid. The pipette tip 600 is typically disposable and is replaced each time a reagent is removed to avoid contaminating the reagent. The pipette tip 600 is typically made of plastic (e.g., polypropylene, PP) to reduce its cost of use. The gun head also has different specifications (i.e., dimensions and sizes) depending on the removal requirements, for example, 10 μl, 100 μl, 1000 μl, etc., but its shape remains substantially in a tapered configuration. The tapered configuration of the pipette tip 600 allows it to be generally funnel-shaped with a relatively large open tail for fitting over a suction tube of the pipette body and a relatively small open tip for extending into the sample for pipetting or dispensing.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 1 to 10, the present invention discloses a pipette tip ordering system, which comprises: the device comprises a storage unit 100 for placing scattered pipette tips 600, an adjusting unit 200 for ordering the scattered pipette tips 600, and an arranging unit 300 for ordering the ordered pipette tips 600 according to a preset specification. Preferably, in the operation flow of the ordering system, the storage unit 100 is upstream of the operation flow, and the pipette tips 600 to be ordered may be partially or entirely placed on the storage unit 100, so that the pipette tips 600 may be output from the storage unit 100 when it is necessary to perform an ordering operation on the pipette tips 600; the adjusting unit 200 is located at the middle stream of the operation flow, and the pipette tip 600 outputted from the storage unit 100 can enter the adjusting unit 200, so that the pipette tip 600 can be arranged with the gun tail facing upwards and the gun tip facing downwards by using the adjusting function of the adjusting unit 200, and can be outputted from the adjusting unit 200 with the gun tail facing upwards and the gun tip facing downwards; the arranging unit 300 is downstream of the operation flow, and the pipette tips 600 outputted from the adjusting unit 200 may enter the arranging unit 300 so that the pipette tips 600 entering in a tip-up and tip-down manner may be sequentially arranged according to a preset specification (e.g., a space between adjacent pipette tips 600) by using the ordering function of the arranging unit 300.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 1, the storage unit 100 may have a certain accommodating space so that the scattered and unordered pipette tips 600 may be partially or entirely placed in the accommodating space, and a user may be reminded to replenish the pipette tips 600 when the stock of the pipette tips 600 in the accommodating space is lowered to a preset threshold. Preferably, the storage unit 100 may include an output port communicating with the adjustment unit 200 such that the pipette tip 600 in the receiving space may pass through the output port and into the adjustment unit 200, wherein the output port at least ensures that the pipette tip 600 in the receiving space may pass through the output port smoothly when determining its structural size.

Since the pipette tips 600 may have various different specifications, and the pipette tips 600 of different specifications may not be mixed, the pipette tips 600 in the accommodating space cannot be completely used up by performing one time of ordering operation, and thus there may be a case that the pipette tips 600 of one specification are already stored in the accommodating space of the storage unit 100, and the ordering operation is currently required to be performed on the pipette tips 600 of other specifications, at this time, the pipette tips 600 in the accommodating space are difficult to be quickly taken out, and are inconvenient to be stored after being taken out, so the ordering system of the present invention may preferably set one or more storage units 100 according to the number of specifications of the pipette tips 600 required to perform the ordering operation, so as to store the pipette tips 600 of different specifications, respectively. Further, the storage unit 100 and the adjustment unit 200 may be detachably connected to select a corresponding storage unit 100 to be connected to the adjustment unit 200 according to the specification of the pipette tip 600 currently required to perform the ordering operation, and the storage unit 100 not connected to the adjustment unit 200 may be placed at a dry, light-proof and dust-proof position after the output port is plugged, so as to be replaced at any time when needed. The arrangement enables the storage unit 100 to be modularly designed to meet different daily use demands through quick assembly and disassembly, and to facilitate daily maintenance and upgrade, thereby improving flexibility and expandability of the storage unit 100.

Preferably, the storage unit 100 may have a vibration motor built therein or connected thereto to vibrate the receiving space by the vibration motor, thereby facilitating the discharge of the pipette tip 600. Preferably, the storage unit 100 may be provided with a counter at the output port to count the number of pipette tips 600 discharged from the output port per unit time, and adjust the output power of the vibration motor according to the number, thereby adjusting the output frequency of the pipette tips 600.

Preferably, the storage unit 100 may be configured with a plurality of controllable opening and closing output ports to adjust the output form of the pipette tip 600 by changing the opening and closing condition of the output ports, wherein the storage unit 100 may implement various opening and closing conditions such as full opening, partial opening, sequential opening, random opening, full closing, etc.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 2, the adjusting unit 200 may include a plurality of baffle assemblies 210 arranged at intervals such that corresponding slide structures 220 may be formed between adjacent baffle assemblies 210, wherein one end of the slide structures 220 may contact or be close to the storage unit 100 and the opposite end thereof may contact or be close to the arranging unit 300, i.e., the slide structures 220 may enable transition transfer of the pipette tips 600 from the storage unit 100 to the arranging unit 300. Further, the ramp structure 220 may be a streamlined space having a thickness, wherein the ramp surface of the ramp structure 220 may be leveled with the surface of the baffle assembly 210 in at least a partial region. Preferably, the gravitational potential energy of the surface of the baffle assembly 210 has a unidirectional trend from high to low in the direction of transition from the storage unit 100 to the arrangement unit 300, in other words, the height of the slideway surface of the slideway structure 220 formed by the baffle assembly 210 has a gradually decreasing trend, and no reversely increasing trend occurs, so that the pipette tip 600 can slide down along the slideway structure 220 under the action of gravity. Further, when the number of the baffle assemblies 210 configured by the adjusting unit 200 is greater than two, at least two slide structures 220 may be formed, wherein a plurality of side-by-side slide structures 220 may form a slide group to perform the limiting and guiding functions of the pipette tip 600.

Preferably, the width of the slide structure 220 may be determined by the spacing of the baffle assemblies 210, wherein the width of the slide structure 220 is configured to be less than the largest dimension of the tail of the pipette gun head 600 and greater than the smallest dimension of the gun tip. Preferably, since the specifications of the pipette tips 600 are different, there may be a situation that the fixed width slideway structure 220 is not matched with the size of one or a few pipette tips 600, and thus the adjusting unit 200 of the present invention can be adapted to the pipette tips 600 of various specifications by adjusting the interval between the baffle assemblies 210. Further preferably, the adjustment unit 200 is capable of adjusting the horizontal position of each of the shutter assemblies 210 when adjusting the pitch of the shutter assemblies 210, and preferably ensures that the plurality of slide structures 220 included in the slide group formed by each of the shutter assemblies 210, which completes the horizontal position adjustment, have the same width.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 2, the flange assembly 230 may be provided at a portion of the baffle assembly 210 in such a manner that the shape of the surface thereof is changed such that the slideway surface of the slideway structure 220 is not leveled with the surface of the baffle assembly 210 at the portion where the flange assembly 230 is provided, in other words, the slideway surface of the slideway structure 220 is not formed in a shape unidirectionally changed from high gravitational potential energy to low gravitational potential energy in a continuous manner due to the provision of the flange assembly 230.

Preferably, the flange assembly 230 may have different protrusion amplitudes according to the arrangement position of the flange assembly 230 on the baffle assembly 210, wherein the protrusion amplitude of the flange assembly 230 is relatively small for the high gravitational potential energy area; for low gravitational potential energy areas, the flange assembly 230 bulges relatively far. By providing flange assemblies 230 of different magnitudes in different gravitational potential energy areas, the present invention ingeniously utilizes the change in gravitational potential energy to regulate the movement of the pipette tip 600, so that the pipette tip 600 naturally accelerates or decelerates during the fall. The dynamic energy management mode can reduce the consumption of extra energy and improve the energy efficiency ratio of the system. The flange assembly 230 with smaller amplitude is arranged in the high gravitational potential energy area, so that the drop of the pipette tip 600 can be reduced, the impact force of the pipette tip 600 during landing is reduced, the pipette tip 600 is protected from being damaged, the abrasion of the adjusting unit 200 is reduced, and the service life of equipment is prolonged. By increasing the protrusion of the flange assembly 230 in the low gravitational potential energy region, the distribution and movement speed of the pipette tips 600 can be effectively controlled, such that the tips are arranged in the slide structure 220 in a more uniform distribution, thereby facilitating the improvement of the efficiency of the pipette tips 600 and reducing possible blockage or damage during the use process.

Preferably, the flange assembly 230 may be composed of two flange pieces 231 provided in pairs on two barrier assemblies 210 constituting the same chute structure 220, wherein the flange pieces 231 may be provided on the surfaces of the respective barrier assemblies 210 to change the smooth surfaces of the barrier assemblies 210 such that the chute surfaces of the chute structures 220 formed by the adjacent two barrier assemblies 210 have protrusions. Further, the protrusion is utilized to make the laterally dropped pipette tip 600 receive a certain impact momentum when hitting any flange 231, and the impact momentum can make the laterally dropped pipette tip 600 have a deflection trend, so as to guide and accelerate the laterally dropped pipette tip 600 to deflect, so as to make it drop into the slideway structure 220, where the laterally dropped pipette tip 600 does not refer to the completely horizontal pipette tip 600, as long as the tail of the dropped pipette tip 600 has a horizontal component in the direction of the central axis of the gun tip, all can belong to the laterally dropped category.

Preferably, based on the arrangement of the flange pieces 231, the pipette tip 600 can be decelerated by the raised flange pieces 231 when falling along the slideway structure 220, wherein, because the arrangement position of the flange pieces 231 on the baffle assembly 210 is not fixed, part of the flange pieces 231 can be arranged in the high gravitational potential energy area of the baffle assembly 210, and part of the flange pieces 231 can be arranged in the low gravitational potential energy area of the baffle assembly 210, therefore, the situations that the pipette tip 600 falling along the slideway structure 220 is decelerated by the flange pieces 231 under the condition that the areas with different gravitational potential energies have different momentums are also different, thereby forming a certain time difference, and being convenient for the arranging unit 300 connected with the downstream of the slideway structure 220 to arrange and/or take out the pipette tip 600.

Preferably, the minimum spacing between adjacent flange assemblies 230 in the same gravitational potential energy plane, viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the slideway structure 220, is configured to be greater than the length of the pipette tip 600, to avoid jamming of the laterally dropped pipette tip 600.

The flange assembly 230 provided by the invention can not only guide and accelerate the laterally dropped pipette tips 600 to deflect and drop into the slideway structure 220 by colliding with the laterally dropped pipette tips 600, but also form a certain time difference between the pipette tips 600 dropped along different slideway structures 220, so that the arrangement unit 300 can conveniently arrange and/or take out the pipette tips 600. Compared with the smooth slideway with unidirectional variation trend and the structure of the liquid-transfering gun head 600 which is independently arranged and used for deflecting and transversely falling, the structure configuration of the invention is more simplified, the configuration cost is obviously reduced, and the invention can realize functions far more than those of the prior art.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 6-8, the flange plate 231 may be generally configured as a half-shuttle, wherein the flange plate 231 may include a bottom surface for contacting a surface of the baffle assembly 210 that mates with a surface structure of the baffle assembly 210 that is configured with a high middle and a low two ends, and a surface for contacting the pipette tip 600. Preferably, the surface of the flange 231 transitions from the lowest point at one end to the highest point in the middle through the first smooth cambered surface 232, and then transitions to the lowest point at the opposite end through the second smooth cambered surface 233, wherein the radians of the first cambered surface 232 and the second cambered surface 233 are not equal, so that the flange 231 is in an asymmetric half-fusiform shape. Preferably, the flange piece 231 may be disposed in such a manner that the arc of the first arc surface 232 is smaller than the arc of the second arc surface 233, and one end connected to the first arc surface 232 may be disposed relatively upstream of the baffle assembly 210 and the other opposite end connected to the second arc surface 233 may be disposed relatively downstream of the baffle assembly 210 when the flange piece 231 is disposed. The arrangement enables the part with relatively smaller radian to receive the pipette tip 600 sliding down along the slideway structure 220 more smoothly, so that the accidents that the pipette tip 600 flies, bounces and the like to the outside of a longer distance due to overlarge impact kinetic energy are remarkably reduced, and particularly, because the pipette tip 600 is usually made of plastic, the weight of the pipette tip is lighter, and the accidents are easy to happen under the condition of overlarge impact kinetic energy; the relatively large arc is disposed at the relatively downstream of the baffle assembly 210, so that the laterally dropped pipette tip 600 can obtain a large potential drop at the second arc 233 after the pipette tip smoothly passes through the first arc 232, so that the two ends of the pipette tip 600 that are locally contacted with the flange 231 and locally contacted with the baffle assembly 210 can have a certain speed difference, thereby being capable of guiding the pipette tip to deflect more smoothly. Further, even if both ends of the laterally dropped pipette tip 600 are in contact with the two flange pieces 231 of the same flange assembly 230, since both ends of the pipette tip 600 are not equally weighted, the relatively heavier end of the pipette tip 600 can obtain a relatively greater speed during the movement on the second arc surface 233, thereby causing the deflection of the pipette tip 600. Unlike the prior art in which the bump is provided to deflect the pipette tip 600 by the impact only, the present invention provides a flange assembly 230 with two flange plates 231 as a set to enable the pipette tip 600 to deflect rapidly with less energy loss, which avoids the situation that the pipette tip 600 is sprung during rebound due to lighter weight, reduces the influence of a part of the pipette tip 600 on other pipette tips 600 during deflection, so that the deflection process of the pipette tip 600 can be performed rapidly and accurately, wherein the deflection process of the pipette tip 600 can refer to the deflection of the pipette tip 600 to a designated slide structure 220 or the adjacent slide structure 220 by effectively controlling the flange assembly 230, thereby avoiding the situation that the quantity deviation of the pipette tips 600 in each slideway structure 220 is overlarge due to irregular random rebound of the pipette tips 600.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 6 to 8, the flange piece 231 having an asymmetric half-shuttle shape may be composed of two parts, wherein the first flange 234 may include at least a portion of the first cambered surface 232 and the second flange 235 may include at least a portion of the second cambered surface 233. Further, the flange pieces 231 may be disposed in such a manner that the volume of the second flange 235 is greater than the volume of the first flange 234, so that a sufficiently large inner cavity may be provided in the second flange 235. Preferably, the end of the lowest point of the first flange 234 may be hinged to the surface of the barrier assembly 210 by a hinge 236, and the hinge axis is perpendicular to the surface of the barrier assembly 210, such that the flange piece 231 may be rotated about the hinge axis to either one of both sides of the extending direction of the barrier assembly 210. Preferably, the driving force for the rotation of the flange pieces 231 about the hinge axis may be provided by an electromagnet 237 disposed in the interior cavity of the second flange 235, wherein the flange pieces 231 are typically disposed in pairs, and any one of the flange assemblies 230 may cause the two flange pieces 231 disposed therein to repel or attract each other upon energization thereof, depending on the electric field conditions, thereby causing the two flange pieces 231 to rotate about the hinge axis under the effect of the repulsive force or attractive force. Preferably, the method comprises the steps of. The electromagnet 237 may be an ultra-thin electromagnet of suitable dimensions. Preferably, the first flange 234 may include all of the first cambered surface 232, so that the impact of the pipette tip 600 on the first cambered surface 232 upon collision with the flange piece 231 acts only on the first flange 234 to reduce or avoid the impact on the second flange 235 having the electromagnet 237 disposed therein, thereby ensuring the stability of the arrangement of the electromagnet 237 in the inner cavity of the second flange 235. Preferably, the contact surfaces of the first flange 234 and the second flange 235 may be non-standard structures, because the above-mentioned two cutting methods need to consider both the inner space of the second flange 235 (i.e. ensuring that the electromagnet 237 can be completely placed in the inner space to prevent the situation that the pipette tip 600 is blocked due to the excessive protruding structure formed by the lack of the installation position), and the distribution situation of the first arc surface 232 and the second arc surface 233, and also need to increase the contact surface area of the two as much as possible to disperse the impact transferred from the first flange 234 to the second flange 235.

Preferably, since the hinge member 236 is disposed at the end of the lowest point of the first flange 234, the second arc surface 233 can be farther away from the baffle assembly 210 where the flange piece 231 is located than the first arc surface 232 when the flange piece 231 rotates about the hinge member 236, so that the first arc surface 232 of the flange piece 231 can reach approximately the edge region of the chute structure 220 located at both sides of the baffle assembly 210, and mainly the edge region of the chute structure 220 near the baffle assembly 210, and the second arc surface 233 of the flange piece 231 can reach approximately the center position of the chute structure 220 located at both sides of the baffle assembly 210.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 3, the alignment unit 300 may have a channel structure 320 interfacing with the slideway structure 220 of the adjustment unit 200, wherein the channel structure 320 may be formed by a plurality of spaced apart partition members 310 in cooperation. Preferably, the separation assembly 310 can be disposed in contact or non-contact with the baffle assembly 210, wherein an end of the separation assembly 310 proximate to the baffle assembly 210 can be disposed in a relatively smooth manner with the baffle assembly 210 when not in contact with the baffle assembly 210, thereby ensuring that the pipette tip 600 can smoothly pass from the chute structure 220 into the channel structure 320. Preferably, the divider assembly 310 is horizontally adjustable in synchronization with the baffle assembly 210 so that the pipette tips 600 falling along the slide 220 can smoothly enter the channel structure 320 and complete the arrangement in the channel structure 320 according to the order of entry.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 3, the separation component 310 of the arrangement unit 300 is provided with a groove component 330 with adjustable spacing, so that the arrangement unit 300 can adjust the spacing of the pipette tips 600 in the channel structure 320 according to the tip arrangement rule required by the experiment, wherein the groove component 330 can limit the pipette tips 600, so that the pipette tips 600 entering the groove component 330 can be limited to move at least in the extending direction of the channel structure 320, and a user can take the pipette tips 600 limited in the groove component 330 singly or in batches by using the gripping device. Preferably, the gripping device is also typically an automated device. Preferably, the groove assembly 330 can be configured on a conveyor belt of the separation assembly 310, so that the pipette tip 600 limited in the groove assembly 330 can be moved to the most downstream of the operation procedure by the conveyor belt, and after the pipette tip 600 at the most downstream is taken, the pipette tip 600 is repaired by the conveyor belt, so that the pipette tip can be taken by a user at any time. Preferably, only one conveyor belt may be provided on each partition member 310 so that the conveyor belt can be shared by the pipette tips 600 in the channel structures 320 on both sides of the partition member 310, so that the pipette tips 600 in the same horizontal row in the arrangement unit 300 can move synchronously; two conveyor belts may be disposed on each separation assembly 310 in parallel, so that the pipette tips 600 in the channel structures 320 on both sides of the separation assembly 310 may be disposed on different conveyor belts, respectively, so as to realize independent control of the pipette tips 600 in each channel structure 320.

Preferably, the ordering system may further be configured with an acquisition unit 400 and a control unit 500, wherein the control unit 500 may generate corresponding control signals according to the data information acquired by the acquisition unit 400, so as to implement regulation and control on the storage unit 100, the adjustment unit 200 and/or the arrangement unit 300.

Preferably, the acquisition unit 400 may acquire image information related to the channel structures 320 of the arrangement unit 300, so that the control unit 500 may generate the stacking situation of the pipette tips 600 of the respective channel structures 320 in the arrangement unit 300 according to the image information, thereby adjusting the operation parameters of the storage unit 100 and/or the adjustment unit 200 by calculating the difference in the stacking amounts of the respective channel structures 320. Preferably, the control unit 500 may preferably adjust the operating parameters of the adjustment unit 200, wherein the adjustment unit 200 may change the electric field conditions of one or more flange assemblies 230 in response to the control signal generated by the control unit 500, such that the respective flange pieces 231 may repel or attract each other to achieve a precise adjustment of the local width of the chute structure 220 with the width between adjacent baffle assemblies 210 unchanged, thereby slowing down the movement speed of the liquid-handling gun head 600 in a portion of the chute structure 220 and/or reducing the number of liquid-handling gun heads 600 in a portion of the chute structure 220 to achieve a more uniform entry of the liquid-handling gun heads 600 into the respective channel structures 320 of the alignment unit 300. This arrangement prevents uneven stacking of pipette tips 600 in each of the channel structures 320 of the array unit 300, which could affect the subsequent handling of the automatic gripping device. When the control unit 500 determines that the pipette tips 600 in a certain channel structure 320 in the arrangement unit 300 are stacked more according to the data information acquired by the acquisition unit 400, the width of the channel structure 220 is narrowed by adjusting and controlling the flange assemblies 230 on the baffle assemblies 210 on both sides of the channel structure 220 related to the channel structure 320, so that the moving speed of the pipette tips 600 in the channel structure 220 is reduced or the number of pipette tips 600 is reduced.

Preferably, the acquisition unit 400 may also acquire image information related to the slide structures 220 of the adjustment unit 200, so that the control unit 500 may adjust the moving speed of the pipette tips 600 within one of the slide structures 220 by changing the flange assemblies 230 on the baffle assemblies 210 on both sides of the slide structure 220 when it is determined that there are a plurality of pipette tips 600 falling in a side-by-side manner at the same time, so that the plurality of pipette tips 600 moving side-by-side arrive at the arrangement unit 300 asynchronously in a time-difference manner.

Preferably, the control unit 500 can adjust the opening and closing of the output port of the storage unit 100 to assist the adjusting unit 200 to complete the ordering operation of the pipette tip 600 by changing the output form of the pipette tip 600, especially when the control unit 500 has adjusted the adjusting unit 200 but the effect is poor. For example, when the flange assemblies 230 associated with the channel structures 320 with a larger stacking of a certain pipette tip 600 cannot uniformly distribute the pipette tips 600 in the arrangement unit 300 after the adjustment of the maximum amplitude has been completed, the control unit 500 may dynamically simulate the distribution result obtained after the adjustment of the current adjusting unit 200 by the various opening and closing conditions of the output ports of the storage unit 100, and select the optimal opening and closing condition according to the distribution result.

Preferably, based on the (high definition) image information related to the slideway structure 220 acquired by the acquisition unit 400 for the adjustment unit 200, the control unit 500 may further generate a quality evaluation of each pipette tip 600, and mark the pipette tips 600 with the quality evaluation below a threshold, wherein the quality evaluation may include integrity and cleanliness. Further, the control unit 500 may provide one or more of the slide structures 220 in the adjustment unit 200 as an auxiliary slide to guide the marked pipette tips 600 into the auxiliary slide using the flange assembly 230, thereby enabling automatic rejection of damaged or contaminated pipette tips 600. Further, the control unit 500 may also enable the gripping device to evade the pipette tip 600 by performing automatic rejection by using the corresponding groove assembly 330 or by sending specific signals (e.g., optical signals, acoustic signals, etc.) from the groove assembly 330 after the labeled pipette tip 600 enters the channel structure 320 of the alignment unit 300. Preferably, the manner of performing automated culling with the corresponding groove assembly 330 may be, for example: the control unit 500 may track the movement track of the marked pipette tip 600 to obtain the position and sequence of the pipette tip 600 entering the channel structure 320 of the arrangement unit 300, and send corresponding control signals to the corresponding groove assemblies 330, so that the groove assemblies 330 can be skipped directly when advancing to the most downstream of the operation flow, so as to drive the pipette tip 600 limited by the groove assemblies to enter the back-facing return section along the conveyor belt, and the pipette tip 600 falls off from the groove assemblies 330 and falls into the receiving groove under the action of gravity. Preferably, the pipette tip 600 within the receiving slot may be recycled or discarded. Further, the pipette tip 600 detached from the slide structure 220 due to the size mismatch may also fall into a receiving groove, wherein the receiving groove may be located under the adjusting unit 200 and the arranging unit 300.

Example 2

This embodiment is an improvement and supplement to embodiment 1, and the repeated contents will not be repeated.

The invention discloses a method for ordering a pipette tip 600, which can be realized by using the pipette tip ordering system as described in the embodiment 1, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

Placing the scattered pipette tips 600 in the accommodation space of the storage unit 100;

causing the pipette tip 600 to be discharged from the accommodation space of the storage unit 100 through the output port;

Guiding the discharged pipette tip 600 into the drop chute structure 220 using the flange assembly 230 provided on the baffle assembly 210 of the adjustment unit 200;

the pipette tip 600 is caused to fall down the slide structure 220 into the channel structure 320 of the array unit 300 based on the action of gravity.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are exemplary, and that a person skilled in the art, in light of the present disclosure, may devise various solutions that fall within the scope of the present disclosure and fall within the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present description and drawings are illustrative and not limiting to the claims. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents. The description of the invention incorporating multiple inventive concepts, such as "preferably" or "according to a preferred embodiment" each indicating that the corresponding paragraph discloses a separate concept, applicant reserves the right to filed a divisional application according to each inventive concept. Throughout this document, the word "preferably" is used in a generic sense to mean only one alternative, and not to be construed as necessarily required, so that the applicant reserves the right to forego or delete the relevant preferred feature at any time.

Claims (10)

1. A pipette tip ordering system, comprising:

A storage unit (100) for placing scattered pipette tips (600);

an adjusting unit (200) for ordering the scattered pipette tips (600);

An arrangement unit (300) for arranging the ordered pipette tips (600) according to a preset specification,

The pipette tip (600) placed in the accommodating space of the storage unit (100) enters the adjusting unit (200) through an output port, the adjusting unit (200) comprises a plurality of baffle assemblies (210) distributed at intervals, a slideway structure (220) communicated with a channel structure (320) of the arrangement unit (300) is formed between the adjacent baffle assemblies (210), the gravitational potential energy of the surface of the baffle assemblies (210) is in a unidirectional change trend from high to low in the direction of transition from the storage unit (100) to the arrangement unit (300), and a flange assembly (230) for changing the surface shape of the baffle assemblies (210) is arranged on the baffle assemblies.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the flange assembly (230) comprises a plurality of flange pieces (231) arranged in pairs in an asymmetric configuration, the flange pieces (231) in pairs being capable of being disposed on the same gravitational potential energy plane surface of adjacent baffle assemblies (210), respectively.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the surface structure of the flange piece (231) comprises a first (232) and a second (233) cambered surface of unequal radians, wherein the flange piece (231) is capable of arranging the first cambered surface (232) of relatively smaller radian closer to the storage unit (100) than the second cambered surface (233) of relatively larger radian.

4. A system according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the flange pieces (231) are provided with a first flange (234) comprising the first cambered surface (232) and a second flange (235) comprising at least part of the second cambered surface (233), wherein in the same flange piece (231) the volume ratio of the second flange (235) is larger than the volume ratio of the first flange (234).

5. The system according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the end of the lowest point of the first flange (234) is hinged to the surface of the baffle assembly (210) by a hinge (236) with a hinge axis perpendicular to the surface of the baffle assembly (210) such that the flange piece (231) can rotate about the hinge axis to either side of the direction of extension of the baffle assembly (210).

6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an electromagnet member (237) is disposed in the interior cavity of the second flange (235), the flange assembly (230) causing the electromagnet members (237) in the two flange pieces (231) to repel or attract each other upon energization, depending on the electric field conditions.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the system is configured with an acquisition unit (400) and a control unit (500), wherein the control unit (500) is capable of generating corresponding control signals according to data information acquired by the acquisition unit (400) for achieving regulation of the storage unit (100), the adjustment unit (200) and/or the arrangement unit (300).

8. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control unit (500) is capable of generating a stacking situation of pipette tips (600) of the respective channel structures in the arrangement unit (300) from the image information related to the channel structures (320) of the arrangement unit (300) acquired by the acquisition unit (400), so as to adjust the operation parameters of the storage unit (100) and/or the adjustment unit (200) by calculating a difference in the stacking number of the respective channel structures (320).

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control unit (500) is capable of determining a drop condition of the pipette tip (600) within the adjustment unit (200) and/or generating a quality evaluation of the pipette tip (600) based on image information related to the slideway structure (220) of the adjustment unit (200) acquired by the acquisition unit (400).

10. A method for ordering pipette tips, comprising:

placing the scattered pipette tips (600) in the accommodation space of the storage unit (100);

discharging the pipette tip (600) from the accommodating space of the storage unit (100) through an output port;

Guiding the discharged pipette tip (600) into a drop-in slide structure (220) by using a flange assembly (230) provided on a baffle assembly (210) of an adjusting unit (200);

The pipette tip (600) is caused to fall down the slide structure (220) into the channel structure (320) of the array unit based on the action of gravity.