CN221295126U - Sample tube loading device and molecular detection assembly line - Google Patents

Abstract

The application belongs to the field of medical instruments, and particularly relates to a sample tube loading device and a molecular detection assembly line.

Description

Sample tube loading device and molecular detection assembly line

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of medical instruments, in particular to a sample tube loading device and a molecular detection assembly line.

Background

Nucleic acids (including DNA and RNA) are commonly used as raw materials for various analyses and experiments in medicine, pharmaceutical research, and clinical diagnostics. Currently, a sufficient amount of nucleic acid is readily available by a variety of automated in vitro nucleic acid amplification techniques, such as the well-known polymerase chain reaction (Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR) techniques, and nucleic acid detection is a technique whereby DNA or RNA is detected by blood, other body fluids, or cells.

In the nucleic acid detection process, sample tubes placed on sample tube trays need to be subjected to sample loading operation, traditional sample loading operation is performed manually through manpower, labor intensity is high, efficiency is low, an automatic sample loading device is gradually adopted to replace manual sample loading at present, but the existing automatic sample loading device clamps and loads samples to a certain type of sample tubes, and for the conditions of different types of sample tubes, the heights of the different types of sample tubes extending out of the sample tube trays are different due to different specification sizes of the different types of sample tubes, clamping jaw identification is difficult, and grabbing is difficult to achieve.

Disclosure of utility model

The embodiment of the application provides a sample tube loading device and a molecular detection assembly line, which aim to realize the grabbing and loading operation of a plurality of different types of sample tubes.

To this end, according to one aspect of the present application, there is provided a sample tube loading device comprising:

the workbench is provided with a tray placing area;

The sample tube trays of various types are arranged in the tray placing area, the types of the sample tubes placed on the sample tube trays of various types are different, and different marking parts are arranged on the sample tube trays of various types; and

The sample moving device comprises a moving mechanism, a distance sensor and a gripper, wherein the moving mechanism is arranged on the workbench, the distance sensor and the gripper are arranged at the execution end of the moving mechanism, the distance sensor can move to the position right above the marking part on each sample tube tray under the action of the moving mechanism and move to the position right above each sample tube, the distance sensor is used for detecting the distance from the marking part or the sample tube right below the distance sensor to the execution end, and the gripper can grasp the sample tube and transfer the sample tube to the sample feeding position under the action of the moving mechanism.

Optionally, the marking on each sample tube tray is located in the center of the sample tube tray.

Optionally, the sample tube loading device further comprises a conveying track, the conveying track is arranged on one side of the tray placing area, the loading position is arranged on the conveying track, and the conveying track is used for conveying the sample tube.

Optionally, the distance sensor and the gripper can move in a first direction, a second direction and a third direction under the action of the motion mechanism, wherein the first direction and the second direction intersect and are parallel to a plane where the tray placing area is located, and the third direction is perpendicular to the plane where the tray placing area is located.

Optionally, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

Optionally, the motion mechanism includes a frame disposed on the workbench, a first linear module disposed on the frame, a second linear module slidably disposed on the first linear module along the first direction, and a third linear module slidably disposed on the second linear module along the second direction;

The distance sensor and the gripper are arranged on the third linear module, and the distance sensor and the gripper can move along the first direction under the action of the first linear module, move along the second direction under the action of the second linear module and move along the third direction under the action of the third linear module.

Optionally, the first linear module and the second linear module each include a synchronous belt type linear module, and the third linear module includes a ball screw type linear module.

Optionally, a drawer is slidably disposed on the workbench, and the sample tube tray is placed on the drawer, and the drawer can slide relative to the workbench to send the sample tube tray into or out of the tray placement area.

Optionally, the sample tube loading device further comprises a housing, the workbench, the drawer and the sample moving device are all accommodated in the housing, and an opening corresponding to the drawer is formed in the housing.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a molecular detection pipeline comprising a sample tube loading device, a nucleic acid extraction device, a nucleic acid detection device as described above, and a transport device connecting the sample tube loading device, the nucleic acid extraction device, the nucleic acid detection device, and the nucleic acid detection device in this order.

The sample tube sample loading device and the molecular detection assembly line provided by the application have the beneficial effects that: compared with the prior art, the sample tube loading device has the advantages that different marking parts are arranged on different types of sample tube trays, the distance sensor is arranged at the execution end of the moving mechanism in the sample moving device, the distance from the marking part on the sample tube tray to the execution end is detected by the distance sensor, the different distances correspond to different types of sample tube trays, after the type of the sample tube tray is determined, the distance from the top of the sample tube on the current sample tube tray to the execution end is detected by the distance sensor, so that the descending distance required by the gripper at the execution end to grasp the sample tube is determined, and the sample tube loading device can be used for capturing different types of sample tubes and loading samples.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are required in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described, it being obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and that other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a sample tube loading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the sample tube loading device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the structure of a sample tube loading device with a housing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Description of main reference numerals:

100. A work table; 101. a tray placement area;

200. a sample tube tray; 201. a marking part; 210. a sample tube;

300. A sample moving device; 310. a movement mechanism; 3100. a frame; 311. a first linear module; 3111. a driving motor; 3112. a transmission shaft; 3113. a synchronous belt transmission mechanism; 312. a second linear module; 313. a third linear module; 320. a distance sensor; 330. a grip;

400. A drawer;

500. a conveying rail;

600. A housing; 601. a visual window.

Detailed Description

In order that the application may be readily understood, a more complete description of the application will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings. This application may, however, be embodied in many other different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "mounted" or "disposed" on another element, it can be directly on the other element or be indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or be indirectly connected to the other element.

It is to be understood that the terms "length," "width," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like are merely for convenience in describing and simplifying the description based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus are not to be construed as limiting the application.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. In the description of the present application, "plural" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

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 to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

It should be further noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, the same reference numerals denote the same components or the same parts, and for the same parts in the embodiments of the present application, reference numerals may be given to only one of the parts or the parts in the drawings, and it should be understood that, for other same parts or parts, the reference numerals are equally applicable.

As described in the background art, the existing automatic sample loading device clamps and loads samples for a certain type of sample tubes, and for the situations of different types of sample tubes, the heights of the sample tubes extending out of the respective sample tube trays are different due to different specifications and sizes of the different types of sample tubes, so that the clamping jaw is difficult to identify and the clamping jaw is difficult to grasp.

In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a sample tube loading device including a stage 100, a plurality of different types of sample tube trays 200, and a sample transfer device 300 as shown in fig. 1 to 2.

The workbench 100 is provided with a tray placing area 101, a plurality of different types of sample tube trays 200 are arranged in the tray placing area 101, the types of sample tubes 210 placed on the different types of sample tube trays 200 are different, different marking parts 201 are arranged on the different types of sample tube trays 200, and the different marking parts 201 comprise grooves with different depths or protrusions with different heights. The sample transfer apparatus 300 includes a movement mechanism 310, a distance sensor 320 and a gripper 330, where the movement mechanism 310 is disposed on the workbench 100, the distance sensor 320 and the gripper 330 are disposed at an execution end of the movement mechanism 310, the distance sensor 320 can move to a position directly above the marking portion 201 on each sample tube tray 200 and to a position directly above each sample tube 210 under the action of the movement mechanism 310, the distance sensor 320 is used to detect a distance from the marking portion 201 or the sample tube 210 directly below the movement mechanism to the execution end, and the gripper 330 can grasp the sample tube 210 and transfer the sample tube to a sample loading position under the action of the movement mechanism 310, where it should be noted that the sample loading position may be a next station (such as a cover opening position or a centrifugal position) of the molecular detection device, or may be a loading position on the conveying track 500 in the following embodiment, and convey the sample tube 210 to a device corresponding to the next step through the conveying track 500.

In the embodiment of the application, the sample tube loading device sets different marking parts 201 on different types of sample tube trays 200, and sets a distance sensor 320 at the execution end of a moving mechanism 310 in a sample moving device 300, the distance sensor 320 is used for detecting the distance from the marking part 201 on the sample tube tray 200 to the execution end, types of the sample tube trays 200 corresponding to different distances are stored in an upper computer in advance, after the distance sensor 320 detects the distance from the marking part 201 on the sample tube tray 200 to the execution end, the type of the sample tube tray 200 below the distance sensor can be determined, and then the distance from the tube cover of the sample tube 210 on the current sample tube tray 200 to the execution end is detected by the distance sensor 320, so that the distance required to descend the sample tube 210 is determined by a gripper 330 at the execution end, so that the sample tube 210 on the current sample tube tray 200 can be conveniently grasped, and the sample can be grasped by the sample tube loading device.

The distance sensor 320 may be an infrared sensor, a laser sensor, or the like, and is not limited thereto. The gripper 330 may be an electric gripper or a pneumatic gripper capable of achieving the gripping and releasing functions, and the gripper 330 includes at least two gripper sheets, which can clamp a cap of the sample tube 210, and lift and move the sample tube 210 under the action of the movement mechanism 310.

In actual use, the sample tube loading device is controlled by the upper computer, and the movement mechanism 310, the distance sensor 320 and the gripper 330 are all electrically connected to the upper computer. In the plane where the tray placement area 101 is located, the positions of all sample tube trays 200 located on the tray placement area 101, the positions of the marking parts 201 on all sample tube trays 200 and the positions of the sample tubes 210 on each sample tube tray 200 relative to the marking parts 201 on the sample tube tray 200 are stored in an upper computer in advance, the distance sensor 320 moves to the position right above the marking part 201 on a certain sample tube tray 200 under the action of the movement mechanism 310, after detecting the distance from the marking part 201 below the sample tube tray to the executing end, the type of the sample tube tray 200 located below the sample tube tray is determined, when the type of the sample tube tray 200 is determined, the upper computer can acquire the positions of each sample tube 210 on the sample tube tray 200 relative to the marking parts 201, then under the control of the upper computer, the distance sensor 320 can move to the position right above a certain sample tube 210 on the current sample tube tray 200 under the action of the movement mechanism 310, the distance from the tube cap of the sample tube 210 to the executing end is detected, thus the distance from the tube cap of the sample tube 210 to the executing end is determined, the sample tube cap of the sample tube 210 is required to be lowered to the same as the sample tube 200 is required, and the sample tube cap is required to be lifted from the sample tube 200 to the sample tube 200 is required to be lifted up, and the sample tube is held by the sample tube 200.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1-2, the sample tube trays 200 of different types are identical in physical dimensions, with the marking 201 on each sample tube tray 200 being centered on the sample tube tray 200.

By the arrangement, the convenience of placing each sample tube tray 200 on the tray placing area 101 is improved, and the position of each sample tube tray 200 and the position of the marking part 201 on each sample tube tray 200 are relatively fixed in the plane where the tray placing area 101 is located regardless of placement.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1-2, the sample tube loading device further includes a conveying track 500, the conveying track 500 is disposed on one side of the tray placement area 101, the loading position is disposed on the conveying track 500, and the conveying track 500 is used for conveying the sample tubes 210.

By providing the transfer rail 500, the transfer rail 500 can connect the loading position and the next detection position of the sample tube 210, so as to transfer the sample tube 210 to the next detection position.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1-2, the distance sensor 320 and the grip 330 are capable of moving in a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction under the action of the motion mechanism 310, wherein the first direction and the second direction intersect and are each parallel to the plane of the tray placement area 101, and the third direction is perpendicular to the plane of the tray placement area 101.

Specifically, the distance sensor 320 can move to the position right above the marking part 201 on each sample tube tray 200 and right above each sample tube 210 under the action of the movement mechanism 310 in the plane where the first direction and the second direction are located, after determining the type of the sample tube tray 200 below and the distance from the tube cover to the execution end of the sample tube 210 on the current sample tube tray 200, the gripper 330 descends by a corresponding distance in the third direction under the action of the movement mechanism 310 to grasp the sample tube 210, and then moves the sample tube 210 to the upper sample position under the action of the movement mechanism 310.

Preferably, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

For convenience of understanding and explanation, an X-Y-Z coordinate system is established in the figure, wherein the direction of the X axis is a first direction, the direction of the Y axis is a second direction, and the direction of the Z axis is a third direction.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the movement mechanism 310 includes a frame 3100 disposed on the workbench 100, a first linear module 311 disposed on the frame 3100, a second linear module 312 disposed on the first linear module 311 in a sliding manner along a first direction, and a third linear module 313 disposed on the second linear module 312 in a sliding manner along a second direction. The distance sensor 320 and the gripper 330 are disposed on the third linear module 313, and the distance sensor 320 and the gripper 330 can move along the first direction under the action of the first linear module 311, move along the second direction under the action of the second linear module 312, and move along the third direction under the action of the third linear module 313.

It is understood that the first linear module 311 and the second linear module 312 may be synchronous belt type linear modules, and the third linear module 313 may be a ball screw type linear module.

Specifically, the first linear module 311 includes a driving motor 3111, a driving shaft 3112, and two sets of timing belt driving mechanisms 3113, the two sets of timing belt driving mechanisms 3113 are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the tray placement area 101, two ends of the driving shaft 3112 are respectively connected to driving pulleys of the two sets of timing belt driving mechanisms 3113, the driving motor 3111 is connected to the driving shaft 3112 to simultaneously drive the timing belts of the two sets of timing belt driving mechanisms 3113 through the driving shaft 3112 to operate, two ends of the second linear module 312 are respectively fixedly connected to the timing belts of the two sets of timing belt driving mechanisms 3113 through clamping assemblies, and linear guide rails are respectively disposed between two ends of the second linear module 312 and the two sets of timing belt driving mechanisms 3113.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1-2, a drawer 400 is slidably disposed on the table 100, and the sample tube tray 200 is placed on the drawer 400, and the drawer 400 can be slid with respect to the table 100 to send the sample tube tray 200 into or out of the tray placement area 101.

In actual use, when the sample tubes 210 on the sample tube tray 200 on the drawer 400 are clamped, the worker pulls out the drawer 400, removes the empty sample tube tray 200 located thereon, then places the sample tube tray 200 with the sample tubes 210 thereon, and finally pushes the drawer 400 in, thereby facilitating the sample tubes 210 to be fed in the sample placement area.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, the sample tube loading device further includes a housing 600, where the workbench 100, the drawer 400 and the sample moving device 300 are all accommodated in the housing 600, and an opening corresponding to the drawer 400 is provided on the housing 600, and the drawer 400 can be pulled out from the opening corresponding to the housing 600.

The housing 600 can protect the structures within the table 100, drawer 400, and pipetting device 300, and the like.

Further, a UV sterilizing lamp (not shown in the figure) is installed in the housing 600, and the UV sterilizing lamp can provide sterilizing function, and provides sterilization for the working area during the work interval, so that the table top is clean and safe in use. The casing 600 is further provided with a display (not shown) and operation keys (not shown), and a visual window 601. HEPA (HIGH EFFICIENCY particalate AIR FILTER, high-efficiency air particle filter) negative pressure filter device (not shown in the figure) can also be arranged on the shell 600, and the HEPA negative pressure filter device provides negative pressure laminar flow for a working area, ensures that air flow flows unidirectionally from bottom to top, avoids aerosol cross contamination, ensures environmental safety through high-efficiency microparticle adsorption, and protects the biological safety of the use environment while protecting an operator.

According to another aspect of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a molecular detection pipeline for detecting nucleic acids, where the molecular detection pipeline includes the sample tube loading device, the nucleic acid extracting device, the nucleic acid detecting device, and the conveying device sequentially connecting the sample tube loading device, the nucleic acid extracting device, the nucleic acid detecting device, and the nucleic acid detecting device in any of the above embodiments, the sample tube loading device is used for loading samples of the sample tubes, the nucleic acid extracting device is used for extracting nucleic acids, and the nucleic acid detecting device is used for performing analysis detection on the extracted nucleic acids.

In the embodiment of the present application, since the molecular detection pipeline adopts the sample tube loading device in the above embodiment, the molecular detection pipeline also has the advantages and benefits brought by the sample tube loading device correspondingly, and will not be described in detail herein.

The technical features of the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described for brevity of description, however, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features, they should be considered as the scope of the description.

The foregoing examples illustrate only a few embodiments of the application, which are described in detail and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. It should be noted that it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the application, which are all within the scope of the application. Accordingly, the scope of the application should be assessed as that of the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A sample tube loading device, comprising:

A workbench (100), wherein a tray placement area (101) is arranged on the workbench (100);

A plurality of different types of sample tube trays (200) arranged in the tray placement area (101), wherein the types of the sample tubes (210) placed on the different types of sample tube trays (200) are different, and different marking parts (201) are arranged on the different types of sample tube trays (200); and

Sample moving device 300, including motion (310), distance sensor (320) and tongs (330), motion (310) set up in on workstation (100), distance sensor (320) with tongs (330) set up in the execution end of motion (310), distance sensor (320) can be under motion (310) effect move to each sample pipe tray (200) directly over mark portion (201) to and move to each sample pipe (210) directly over, distance sensor (320) are used for detecting the distance of mark portion (201) or sample pipe (210) to its under the execution end, tongs (330) can grasp sample pipe (210) and shift to the upper sample position under motion (310) effect.

2. The sample tube loading device according to claim 1, wherein the marking portion (201) on each sample tube tray (200) is located at the center of the sample tube tray (200).

3. The sample tube loading device according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying track (500), the conveying track (500) being arranged at one side of the tray placement area (101), the loading position being arranged on the conveying track (500), the conveying track (500) being used for conveying the sample tubes (210).

4. The sample tube loading device according to claim 1, wherein the distance sensor (320) and the grip (330) are movable in a first direction, a second direction and a third direction under the action of the movement mechanism (310), wherein the first direction and the second direction intersect and are each parallel to a plane in which the tray placement area (101) is located, and the third direction is perpendicular to the plane in which the tray placement area (101) is located.

5. The sample tube loading device of claim 4, wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

6. The sample tube loading device according to claim 4, wherein the movement mechanism (310) comprises a frame (3100) provided on the workbench (100), a first linear module (311) provided on the frame (3100), a second linear module (312) provided on the first linear module (311) in a sliding manner along the first direction, and a third linear module (313) provided on the second linear module (312) in a sliding manner along the second direction;

The distance sensor (320) and the gripper (330) are arranged on the third linear module (313), and the distance sensor (320) and the gripper (330) can move along the first direction under the action of the first linear module (311), move along the second direction under the action of the second linear module (312) and move along the third direction under the action of the third linear module (313).

7. The sample tube loading device according to claim 6, wherein the first linear module (311) and the second linear module (312) each comprise a timing belt type linear module, and the third linear module (313) comprises a ball screw type linear module.

8. Sample tube loading device according to any of claims 1-7, wherein a drawer (400) is slidably arranged on the table (100), the sample tube tray (200) being placed on the drawer (400), the drawer (400) being slidable relative to the table (100) for feeding the sample tube tray (200) into or out of the tray placement area (101).

9. The sample tube loading device of claim 8, further comprising a housing (600), wherein the workbench (100), the drawer (400) and the sample transfer device 300 are all contained in the housing (600), and an opening corresponding to the drawer (400) is provided on the housing (600).

10. A molecular detection pipeline, characterized by comprising the sample tube loading device, the nucleic acid extraction device, the nucleic acid detection device and the conveying device for sequentially connecting the sample tube loading device, the nucleic acid extraction device, the nucleic acid detection device and the nucleic acid detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.