FR3058217A1 - DOSE DELIVERY METHOD USED BY PERISTALTIC PUMP - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for delivering a liquid product dose implemented by a dosing system comprising a peristaltic pump (1) having a flexible tube (2), a stator (3) supporting the flexible tube (2) and a rotor (4) with rollers (5) deforming the flexible tube between the rotor and the stator, the peristaltic pump comprising a stepper motor with N not for driving the rotor and an electronic control device for the control of the pump. Notably, this method takes into account the inactive angular ranges of the rotor for which the pump does not deliver liquid. According to the invention, the electronic control device comprises a circuit for counting the real position corresponding to the pitch PO + n in which n corresponds to an integer number of steps between 0 and N-1, and in which the control device electronics automatically delivers the dose determined by the rotor advance, the number of whole steps determined, on the active angular ranges by comparing the actual position with the mapping so as to implement an automatic step of catching the inactive angular ranges when the actual position corresponds to a step of an inactive angular range.

Description

© Publication no .: 3 058217 (to be used only for reproduction orders) © National registration no .: 16 60428 ® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

COURBEVOIE © Int Cl ⁸ : G 01 F11 / 06 (2017.01), A 01 K53 / 00, F 04 B 13/00, 43/12

A1 PATENT APPLICATION

©) Date of filing: 27.10.16. © Applicant (s): UNIVERSITE AMIENS PICARDIE (© Priority: JULES VERNE Public establishment— FR. @ Inventor (s): SOKOLOWSKI MICHEL. (© Date of public availability of the request: 04.05.18 Bulletin 18/18. ©) List of documents cited in the report preliminary research: Refer to end of present booklet (© References to other national documents ® Holder (s): UNIVERSITE AMIENS PICARDIE related: JULES VERNE Public establishment. ©) Extension request (s): © Agent (s): CABINET PLASSERAUD.

PROCESS FOR DELIVERY OF DOSE IMPLEMENTED USING A PERISTALTIC PUMP.

FR 3 058 217 - A1 (P // Method for delivering a dose of liquid product, implemented by a dosing system comprising a peristaltic pump (1) having a flexible tube (2), a stator (3) supporting the flexible tube (2) and a rotor (4) with rollers (5) deforming the flexible tube between the rotor and the stator, the peristaltic pump comprising a stepping motor with N steps for driving the rotor and an electronic control device for pump control.

Notably this process takes into account the inactive angular ranges of the rotor for which the pump does not deliver liquid.

According to the invention, the electronic control device comprises a circuit for counting the real position corresponding to the step PO + n in which n corresponds to an integer number of steps between 0 and N-1, and in which the control device electronics automatically delivers the dose determined by the rotor advance, of the determined whole number of steps, over the active angular ranges by comparing the real position with the mapping so as to implement an automatic step of catching up with the inactive angular ranges when the actual position corresponds to a step of an inactive angular range.

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Field of the invention

The invention relates to the field of behavioral studies and in particular to that of behavioral studies of foraging insects.

Technological background of the invention

As part of behavioral studies, an experimental device called the "Skinner box" was invented in the 1930s and aimed to simplify the study of conditioning mechanisms.

This device makes it possible in particular to test the capacities of rodents or pigeons to undergo an operative conditioning, that is to say involving the behavior of the animal and the reinforcement thereof by reinforcing stimuli. Since its invention, the Skinner box has been constantly developed and has imposed itself in multiple fields (psychology, neuroscience, biology ...) as the possibilities of application are wide and varied.

Currently, the Skinner box is a benchmark and its success is linked as well to the possibility of controlling the conditions of the experiment and the protocols as to the possibility of automatically recording the data.

While animals have long been the subject of behavioral studies, they have been little carried out on insects and especially on foraging insects.

However, in recent years, behavioral studies on foraging insects have been of great interest. This is how a multitude of devices approaching, near or far, a Skinner box has been developed in order to allow behavioral study and the implementation of experimental analysis protocols.

Indeed, for the behavioral study, there are devices called "artificial flowers" or "feeders" which measure consumption, browsing and / or mortality. These devices are intended to allow access control for browsers to sources of nectar and a distinction is made between so-called "passive" systems and so-called "active" systems.

In so-called passive systems, there are, for example, feeders whose delivery system consists essentially of a cup and an inverted bottle where the syrup contained in the bottle descends by gravity over the samples. It is the most common method for distributing syrup to bees in free flight. The disadvantage of this kind of system lies in the fact that it is not possible to control the dose delivered, nor to carry out a controlled delivery.

Another passive system consists, for example, of using a "Eppendorf ®" tube perforated at its end, thus allowing the browser to insert his proboscis therein in order to draw up the syrup. The drawback of this system is in particular that the dose delivered is not controlled despite the fact that it is possible to determine the daily consumption by weighing the tube at the start and at the end of the experiment.

Another solution in a passive system is to manually deposit nectar droplets in containers with a pipette. Despite the fact of being able to control the dose, this method quickly becomes laborious when it is necessary to deliver variable doses, when the experiment is carried out on several artificial flowers or feeders, and when a controlled delivery is desired for a certain number of 'occurrences.

Finally, another solution of passive systems consists in using a capillary, one end of which is dipped in a pot filled with nectar. By capillarity the nectar goes up to the other end where it will then be available for the proboscis of the browser. As before, this kind of system does not allow control of the dose delivered or even controlled delivery.

By controlled delivery, we mean the possibility when a browser is present in the system, that the dose is not necessarily delivered at each visit and even less continuously.

By dose control is meant the possibility of precisely defining the volume of the dose which is delivered as well as the possibility of varying this volume during an experimental protocol, preferably the variation being carried out automatically.

Although common for simple study protocols, passive systems do not allow the implementation of complex protocols in which multi-parameter control is required.

In order to conduct more in-depth studies, there are therefore so-called active systems which allow better control of parameters compared to passive technologies.

The most widespread active device consists of having a feeder, in the form of a box, within which is disposed a syringe pump for the distribution of nectar. A disadvantage of this installation lies in the fact that for viscous nectars the pressure necessary to exert for the delivery of the dose can be significant and very often generates a breakage of the syringes. In addition, sometimes the simple fact of a high level of sugar in the nectar causes the piston to become stuck making the system unusable.

Kaesar Tamar ("the spatial distribution of nonrewarding artificial flowers affects pollinator attraction" - Department of Evolutions, Systematics and Ecology, The Hebrew University, April 28, 2000) presents an active device and proposes to use a metallic bucket filling by action a magnet or a solenoid via a dip in a tank containing nectar. The disadvantage of this system is that it is difficult to precisely control the filling of the cup depending on the viscosity of the nectar used.

Indeed, despite the fact that the volume of the scoop is fixed, the amount of nectar taken from each dive is a function of the viscosity of the latter, so a viscous nectar will tend to fill the scoop more than a liquid nectar. This device therefore does not allow precise control of the dose delivered. In addition, in the case of viscous nectar, when the bucket is left too long in the open air without the presence of forager, the nectar will tend to dry in the bucket thus preventing foraging by the foraging insect.

Oashi K et al. ("An automated System for traking and identifying individual nectar foragers at multiple feeders" - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 64: 891-897) describes a continuous flow distributor in which the nectar is stored in a flexible tube, one end of which can be slowly raised to bring out the nectar on the opposite end. This device has an RFID chip sensor which identifies the browser that comes to consume. Despite the possibility of identification of the browser through the RFID system, this system does not allow precise control of the dose and the implementation of a complex protocol requiring controlled delivery.

The publication by Caria J. Essenberg ("Flobots: robotic flowers for bee behavior experiments" - Journal of Pollination Ecology, 15 (1), 2015, pp 1-5) reports on existing solutions in active systems and describes the devices more widely used until now, including the aforementioned active devices. This publication also highlights the shortcomings of these systems concerning the cleaning and calibration of the delivered dose.

With regard to the prior art, there is therefore always a need for behavioral studies to have a feeder integrating a precise dosing system of a booster such as nectar, reliable and robust, of easy maintenance and controlled cost. . In order to conduct complex behavioral studies, the feeder must advantageously be able to detect foraging insects to control the delivery, preferably integrate a device for managing experimental protocols and allow recording of all the data for later analysis by the experimenter . Advantageously still, the feeder can present a certain number of stimuli making it possible to evaluate the impact of these on foraging. Finally, in a particularly preferred manner, the feeder as a whole must be fully automated in order to limit as much as possible the interventions of the experimenter and to allow autonomous management of the experimental protocols for behavioral studies over periods which may be of several hours or even several days or more.

Thus, it is to the credit of the inventor to have developed a metering system and a delivery method implementing such a metering system of reliable and robust design, little sensitive to the viscosity of the product, cost perfectly mastered.

Such a delivery system can advantageously be integrated into an automatic feeder overcoming all or part of the drawbacks of the prior art and advantageously making it possible, by means of a conventional peristaltic pump, to deliver a precise delivery of the dose of nectar.

Summary of the invention

A first object of the invention therefore relates to a method for delivering a dose of liquid product implemented by a metering system comprising a peristaltic pump having a flexible tube, a stator supporting the flexible tube and a rotor with rollers deforming the tube flexible between the rotor and the stator, the peristaltic pump comprising a stepping motor with N steps for driving the rotor and an electronic piloting device for controlling the peristaltic pump, said method having a calibration comprising the steps following:

a step of defining a reference angular position PO of the rotor relative to the stator defined as the reference pitch, a step of identifying, relative to said angular reference position PO of the rotor, the angular ranges for which the product liquid is not delivered, said angular ranges being inactive ranges, of number K equal to the number of rollers, each of the ranges extending from the pitch Pxk to the pitch Pyk where Xk and yk correspond to a number between 0 and Nl and k £ [1; K], a step of recording in a memory of the electronic control device a map of the inactive angular ranges defined in the previous step, said method comprising a step of determining the dose of liquid product to be delivered which corresponds to the displacement angular of the rotor of one or more determined whole number steps, and in which the electronic control device comprises a circuit for counting the real position corresponding to the step PO + n in which n corresponds to an integer number of steps between 0 and Nl, and in which the electronic control device automatically delivers the dose determined by the advance of the rotor, of the determined whole number of steps, over the active angular ranges by comparing the real position with the mapping so as to implement a automatic step of catching up (Er) of the inactive angular ranges when the actual position corresponds to a step of an inactive angular range.

A second object of the invention relates to a metering system comprising a peristaltic pump having a flexible tube, a stator supporting the flexible tube and a rotor with rollers deforming the flexible tube between the rotor and the stator, said peristaltic pump comprising a motor. step by step to N not for rotor drive and an electronic piloting device for pump control, comprising:

a memory in which a mapping of the inactive angular ranges for which the dose of liquid product is not delivered during the movement of the rotor and of the active angular ranges for which the dose of liquid product is delivered during the movement of the rotor is recorded, said angular ranges being determined with respect to a reference angular position PO of the rotor with respect to the stator.

a real position counting circuit corresponding to the step PO + n in which n corresponds to an integer number of steps between 0 and N-1

- an electronic dose determination circuit for converting the dose of liquid product to be delivered, which corresponds to an angular displacement of the rotor by one or more determined whole number steps.

- an electronic delivery circuit which upon reception of an electronic delivery instruction automatically delivers a dose by the advance of the rotor, of the determined whole number of steps, over the active angular ranges by comparing the actual position with the mapping of so as to implement an automatic step of catching up the inactive angular ranges when the actual position corresponds to a step of an inactive angular range.

A third object of the invention relates to a feeder comprising the dosing system as defined above.

Finally, a fourth object of the invention relates to the use of the method, the system, or the feeder as previously defined for the implementation of experimental protocols in apidology.

Description of the figures

Figure la: Sectional view of a peristaltic pump in which there is a flexible tube. The pump has a rotor, a stator and compression rollers which, when the rotor is rotated, entrains a liquid within the flexible tube.

Figure lb: Zoom view on part of Figure la, representation of the flexible tube compressed by the passage of a roller of the peristaltic pump during the movement of the rotor and relaxation of said hose after the passage of said roller.

Figure 2: Schematic view of the rotor of the peristaltic pump with the materialization of the steps and the active and inactive angular ranges. For the sake of simplification, it has been considered that the peristaltic pump was provided with two rollers thus revealing two inactive angular ranges and a number of steps limited to sixteen.

Figure 3: Flowchart illustrating the catch-up step implemented according to the method of the invention.

Figure 4: View of a double feeder comprising two independent dosing systems according to the invention.

Figure 5: Schematic view of a feeder, including the peristaltic pump, the foraging solution tank, the foraging area and its presence sensor.

Figure 6: Schematic view of a feeder, including the peristaltic pump, first and second foraging solution tanks, the foraging area and its presence sensors.

Figure 7: Schematic view of a feeder comprising a second metering system within the same foraging area as well as a non-foraged syrup residue suction system (which can also be used for automatic purging of the device)

detailed description

The first object of the invention therefore relates to a method making it possible to deliver a precise dose, the method being particularly suitable for being implemented within a feeder.

According to the method of the invention, the delivery of the dose is carried out by means of a peristaltic pump and the advantages, in particular compared to the syringe pump of the prior art, are numerous.

Indeed, the reservoir containing the liquid withdrawn by the peristaltic pump can contain a large volume making it possible to dispense with regular filling of the syringe during the experiment.

The use of a peristaltic pump also makes it possible to dispense with the plunger of the syringe and thus avoid the risks of blockage under the effect of heat due to a syrup that has become too sticky.

When the liquid is too viscous, the delivery of the dose requires the application of a certain pressure which sometimes causes the glass syringe to burst. However, during an experimental protocol it is important that the experimenter can trust the equipment and that it is reliable, whatever the conditions of use.

Another positive point of the peristaltic pump lies in the fact that the liquid which circulates inside the flexible tube never comes into contact with the organs of the pump such as the rotor (including its rollers) and the stator, which has significant advantages for purging and non-contamination of the pump by possible toxic liquids, for example the use of foraging solutions contaminated with phytosanitary products. After using such toxic liquids, the flexible tube can simply be discarded and replaced with a new one, in that it is an inexpensive, easily replaceable element of the peristaltic pump.

However, despite the foregoing advantages, peristaltic pumps are generally not used as an accurate dose delivery device due to the inherent pulses that appear in the dispensing. To the knowledge of the inventor peristaltic pumps with flexible tubes, which are inexpensive components, do not find any application today as a low dose dosing system. On the contrary, these pumps are typically used to deliver a liquid continuously or in dosing of large volumes implying a consequent angle of rotation, or even several turns of the pump rotor.

Indeed, it is known to those skilled in the art that this type of pump generates pulses. Although there are pulsation dampers, precise delivery, of the order of ten micro liters is therefore not possible. for the skilled person with this type of material. Pulsation dampers most often have the disadvantage of delaying the complete distribution of the volume, which is detrimental to the conditioning protocols which require the rapid, even almost instantaneous distribution of the chosen syrup volume.

The invention was born from the observation by the inventor that the pulsations correspond to the relaxation of the flexible tube during the detachment of the rollers of the latter. Even more and according to the inventor's findings, when a peristaltic pump is driven by a stepping motor, some steps do not deliver a dose. For example, for a six-roller pump, we can observe up to 45% of steps without a delivered dose.

Indeed, there is the presence of angular ranges on the rotor of the motor for which the displacement of one or more steps of the peristaltic pump does not deliver any dose, these angular ranges are said to be "inactive". In particular, the inventor observed that the number of inactive angular ranges corresponded to the number of rollers present in the peristaltic pump. In contrast to the inactive angular ranges, the so-called “active” angular ranges correspond to the ranges for which the displacement of the rotor by an integer n of steps allows the precise delivery of a dose.

Against all expectations, the inventor has developed a process which advantageously makes it possible to compensate for the inherent pulsations of the peristaltic pump and thus allow its use for the delivery of a discrete dose of liquid.

Indeed, by the implementation of precise steps and by the development of a control algorithm allowing to turn the vacuum pump of a given angular amplitude at the moment when the tube takes off from a roller, the pulsations of the peristaltic pump are compensated and it is possible to deliver with precision discrete doses of liquid.

A first object of the invention therefore relates to a method for delivering a dose of liquid product implemented by a metering system comprising a peristaltic pump having a flexible tube, a stator supporting the flexible tube and a rotor with rollers deforming the tube flexible between the rotor and the stator, the peristaltic pump comprising a stepping motor with N steps for driving the rotor and an electronic piloting device for controlling the pump, leditο said method having a calibration comprising the steps following:

a step of defining a reference angular position PO of the rotor relative to the stator defined as the reference pitch, a step of identifying, relative to said angular reference position PO of the rotor, the angular ranges for which the product liquid is not delivered, said angular ranges being inactive ranges, of number K equal to the number of rollers, each of the ranges extending from the pitch Pxk to the pitch Pyk where Xk and yk correspond to a number between 0 and Nl and k £ [1; K], a step of recording in a memory of the electronic control device a map of the inactive angular ranges defined in the previous step, said method comprising a step of determining the dose of liquid product to be delivered which corresponds to the displacement angular of the rotor of one or more determined whole number steps, and in which the electronic control device comprises a circuit for counting the real position corresponding to the step PO + n in which n corresponds to an integer number of steps between 0 and Nl, and in which the electronic control device automatically delivers the dose determined by the advance of the rotor, of the determined whole number of steps, over the active angular ranges by comparing the real position with the mapping so as to implement a step of automatically adjusting the inactive angular ranges when the actual position corresponds to a step of an inactive angular range.

The first part of the process therefore concerns a calibration which can be broken down into three stages.

The first step consists in defining an angular reference position PO of the rotor relative to the stator. The reference angular position PO, hereinafter referred to as position PO, corresponds to an identified alignment between the rotor and the stator of the stepping motor of the peristaltic pump and therefore corresponds to a precisely identified step. The definition of this PO position makes it possible to have a benchmark in order to identify with respect to the latter all of the following steps. This angular reference position preferably corresponds to a position of the rotor where the distribution becomes effective again after an inactive phase. Once this position has been identified, it must be marked, for example with two marks that are aligned, one on the stator and one on the rotor.

This definition of a PO position can be done manually by aligning a mark located on the rotor with a mark located on the stator, or automatically by means of a sensor system, for example with a magnetic encoder of absolute angular position, involving a magnet stuck on the rotor, and a position sensor fixed on the chassis of the stepper motor. Such automatic alignment is described in more detail below.

The second step of the calibration is an identification step which consists in determining, from the position PO, the angular ranges within which the displacement of one or more steps of the rotor makes it possible to deliver a dose of liquid, these ranges are called active angular ranges, as well as the angular ranges within which the displacement of one or more steps of the motor does not result in the delivery of a dose, these ranges are said to be inactive angular ranges.

In other words, when the rotor advances step by step, some of them do not deliver a dose and thus correspond to what we call inactive angular ranges.

To carry out this identification step, the rotor and the stator are positioned in the PO position and the stepping motor is controlled so as to allow a complete revolution of the rotor. For each step P of the engine, it is then determined whether a dose is delivered or not.

According to the inventor's observations, the number of inactive angular areas corresponds to the number of rollers present within the peristaltic pump, said inactive angular areas are kinetically expressed by the moment when the rotor roller comes off the flexible tube thus causing the release of the latter as shown in Figure 1b.

According to the understanding of the inventor, during this relaxation, the section of the flexible tube resumes its full volume, which causes a suction which opposes the action of pushing rollers: these two momentary contrary actions are at the origin of a discontinuity of delivery at the outlet of the pump (ie the pulsation). If K is the number of rollers, then each of the inactive angular ranges extends from step Pxl to step Py ^ where x ύ y with x; y G] 0; N-1] and k G [1; K]. N being the total number of steps of the stepper motor.

The positions of the rollers being conventionally angularly regularly distributed around the axis of rotation of the rotor, the angular (median) positions of the various inactive angular ranges will typically take up this geometric configuration. For example, and if the rollers are three in number as illustrated in FIG. 1, distributed around the axis of the rotor at an angle of 120 °, then the median positions of the three inactive angular ranges will resume this configuration by being offset successively 120 ° relative to each other.

By generalizing and when the peristaltic pump has an enter number of K rollers regularly distributed by an angle 360 ° / K around the axis of rotation of the rotor, the angular positions of the different angular ranges will take up this spatial configuration, the medial positions of two consecutive angular ranges being offset by 360 ° / K relative to each other.

In the spirit of simplification, Figure 2 illustrates a map for a sixteen-step stepper motor only. It is understood, however, that the invention preferably applies to stepping motors comprising a number of entering N with a much greater pitch, for example between 100 and 300. The cartography of FIG. 2 thus gives an example for which the rollers of the peristaltic pump are two in number, and offset by 180 ° relative to each other by 180 ° around the axis of rotation of the rotor. It can be seen that the medial positions of two angular ranges Inl and In2 are offset by 180 ° with respect to each other.

In this example, the first inactive angular range In1 is defined between the step P4 and the step P6, and the second inactive angular range is defined between the step P12 and the step P14.

The last step of the calibration consists of a recording step which makes it possible to store the data of the identification step and thus to define a map of the active and inactive angular ranges Inl, In2 in a memory of the electronic control device. . Since the active and inactive ranges may vary slightly from one pump to another, they should preferably be determined empirically for each pump and stored with a rotary encoder having enough positions to cover the range of observed inactive ranges. For example, the rotary encoder can include sixteen positions: (a 16-position encoder has proven sufficient).

This recording step is essential because it then allows the electronic control device, by means of a counting circuit, to locate both the position of the rotor relative to the position PO and both to determine when 'a command will be given to him to activate the stepper motor with an integer number of steps, if the said next step or steps to be taken correspond or not to steps defining an inactive angular range.

When the calibration is carried out, the method according to the invention comprises a step of determining the dose.

The dose can be determined by the user via a user interface of the electronic control device. The dose corresponds to a volume that can be delivered by the angular displacement of the rotor of an integer number n of steps of the stepping motor. This integer ru is typically much less than the number N of steps of the stepper motor. The ru number can be 1 or more.

The volume of the dose of liquid to be delivered depends on the experimental protocol and can in particular vary from 0.05 pL to 50 pL, preferably from 1 pL to 5 pL and preferably, the volume of the dose of liquid is about 2 pL.

In addition to preferably a user interface, the electronic control device also comprises a counting circuit which makes it possible to determine the actual position of the rotor relative to the position PO, said actual position Pr corresponding to the pitch PO + n in which n corresponds to a whole number of steps in the range [1; N-1], N being the total number of steps of the stepper motor.

Thanks to this real position Pr and to the comparison of the latter with the mapping stored in a memory of the electronic control device, said device is capable of determining whether the real position Pr corresponds to a step of an active or inactive angular range.

From the actual position Pr, the electronic control device automatically delivers the dose determined by the advance of the rotor in the steps of the active angular ranges.

Indeed, from the dose determined by the user in the determination step, of the actual position Pr of the rotor determined by the counting circuit from the position PO, of the comparison of this actual position Pr with the recorded mapping in the memory of the electronic control device, the latter is able to determine whether the dose to be performed requires passage through one or more steps of the engine which correspond to an inactive angular range and, if necessary, to "skip" said steps of so as to deliver the dose only by advancing the rotor on the steps corresponding to the active angular ranges.

The electronic control device includes an algorithm taking into account all of the information obtained at the different stages, said algorithm making it possible to catch up with the inactive ranges for delivering the dose. Concretely, the algorithm makes it possible to rotate the vacuum pump by a given angular amplitude at the moment when the tube comes off from a roller, said given amplitude being determined as previously defined and corresponding to the pitch of the inactive angular ranges.

The electronic control device, by means of a take-up step Er, therefore makes a take-up by turning the vacuum pump so as to directly advance the rotor at the first next step, corresponding to one step of an active range .

In this way, it is thus possible to deliver discrete doses of small volume using a peristaltic pump while avoiding the pulsations.

For example, and according to the example of FIG. 2, when the real position Pr is the step P4, first step of the first inactive angular range Inl, the step of catching up Er is implemented automatically by the control device and essentially consists in automatically controlling the rotor up to step P6, namely the last inactive range step Inl.

Likewise, and when the actual position Pr is the step P12, first step of the second inactive angular range In2, the catch-up step Er is implemented automatically by the control device and essentially consists in automatically controlling the rotor until step P14, last step of inactive range.

Generally, when the position Pr is the first step Pxk of the inactive angular range, the step of taking up Er is implemented automatically by the control device and consists in automatically controlling the rotor up to the step Pyk, last no inactive angular range.

According to a preferred embodiment, the electronic control device is configured so that the catch-up step Er is carried out so that the speed of the rotor on the steps corresponding to the inactive angular ranges is greater than that of the corresponding steps active angular ranges.

The greater speed of the rotor over the steps corresponding to the inactive angular ranges, has the advantage of reducing the impact of these inactive ranges in the dose distribution and thus avoiding that the bee leaves the device before the end of the distribution. full volume

ETn such an operation is illustrated in the flow diagram of FIG. 3. The first stage of this flow diagram is a stage of comparison Ecp of the actual position Pr of the rotor with the cartography recorded in the memory. If this real position Pr corresponds to the step of an inactive angular range, in particular to the first step Pxk, then the control device implements the catch-up step Er. If this real position Pr does not correspond to a step of an inactive range or to the last step of such a range then the catching step E _R is not implemented.

According to a particular embodiment, an alignment step in which the rotor is repositioned relative to the stator in the PO position is performed after each power-up of the electronic control device. This alignment step can be carried out manually by rotating the rotor 4 until a visual reference 40 of the rotor is aligned with a visual reference 30 of the stator 3.

This alignment step can also be carried out automatically, by means of a sensor system targeting a determined relative position between the stator 3 and the rotor 4. For example, the stator 3 can be provided with a magnetic switch with flexible blade (in English "reed switch"), and rotor 4 of a (small) permanent magnet at the periphery of the rotor. When the rotor 4 is positioned relative to the stator 3 in the PO position, the position of the magnet is such that the induced magnetic field causes the flexible blade switch to close. On the other hand, and for all the other steps, the position offset is such that the magnetic switch remains open. The dosing system can thus include an initialization circuit which advances the rotor as long as the signal returned by the sensor system corresponds to that of the open switch, then stops the position of the rotor when the sensor system returns the corresponding signal. when the flexible blade switch closes.

A magnetic encoder with absolute angular position can also be used. This involves a small polarized cylindrical magnet which can be stuck in the extension of the axis and on the back of the stepper motor. The sensor (an electronic chip) can thus send an electronic signal, coded for example on 10 bits, indicating the absolute angular positioning of the rotor. The position PO could then be arbitrarily defined at the angle zero.

Alternatively and when the sensor system is laser, the latter can be integral with the stator 3 and target a physical mark on the periphery of the rotor 4. When the rotor is positioned relative to the stator in the PO position, the position of the physical mark is aligned with the laser beam. On the other hand and for all the other steps, the position shift is such that the mark is not targeted by the laser. The dosing system can thus include an initialization circuit which automatically advances the rotor as long as the signal returned by the sensor system corresponds to that where the laser beam does not target the physical mark, and stops the position of the rotor when the sensor system returns a laser measurement signal corresponding to the targeting of the physical marker.

The method according to the invention is therefore capable of delivering a discrete dose of liquid product by means of the control of a peristaltic pump.

Advantageously, the liquid product to be delivered corresponds to a foraging solution or to a nectar. A foraging solution is a solution particularly suitable for foraging insects and can thus include water and sugar in variable proportions in order to make the solution more or less concentrated in sugar and more or less viscous. Of course, various products can be added to the foraging solution (ethanol, pesticides, amino acids, proteins, drugs, etc.), provided that they are soluble in the syrup used.

A foraging insect within the meaning of the present invention is a flying insect with a proboscis and enjoying the possibility of inserting the latter within the pistil of a flower. The foraging insect can therefore be of the order of Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera or Beetles. Preferably, the foraging insect is of the order of hymenoptera and of the Apidae family, including for example honeybees, bumblebees or solitary bees.

The implementation of a peristaltic pump and a flexible tube according to the method of the invention is advantageous because whatever the foraging solution or the nectar used, there is no risk of blocking the system and this , regardless of the viscosity of the liquid.

According to a particular embodiment, the dosing system comprises an electronic circuit for controlling the electronic piloting device which presents as input a signal from a sensor for the presence of a browser, said electronic circuit implementing software sending instructions delivery of a dose according to the sensor signal.

In this way, the delivery is automated and conditioned on the detection of a browser. This makes it possible, in particular, by delivering the dose at the time when a browser is present, to prevent the foraging solution from remaining long in the open air and being able to dry, thereby causing the delivery area to be blocked.

According to another embodiment, the electronic control circuit of the electronic control device interrupts the delivery in progress in the event that the browser presence sensor no longer detects presence. In this way, the delivery can be stopped in the event that the browser leaves the delivery area, without having withdrawn the entire dose. This limits unwanted accumulations of nectar.

The presence sensor can for example be an infrared sensor or an RFID sensor. In the case of an RFID sensor, foraging insects must be equipped with a chip or an RFID tag to allow detection by the sensor.

According to a particular embodiment, the software has as an input parameter a number n of occurrence set by the user. This number n of occurrences corresponds to the number of occurrences that it is necessary to detect and count before the delivery of the dose. Once the number of occurrences has been set by the user via the user interface, the software implements a step of counting the occurrences detected by the presence sensor and issuing an instruction for issuing the dose to the electronic control device when the count reaches the defined number n.

According to another embodiment, the software presents as an input parameter the time elapsed since the last bee sample. This user-defined time interval simulates the time it takes for a flower to regenerate nectar. A new distribution can only be done on condition that this time interval (which can be fixed or variable) has elapsed. Otherwise, any visit to the bee is without consequence for the syrup distribution.

The method according to the invention therefore allows the delivery of a discrete dose of a liquid and thus allows, after determining the volume of the dose to be delivered and possibly occurrences, to provide a discrete dose of foraging solution upon each detection of a foraging insect. The method is therefore particularly suitable for being implemented in experimental protocols for behavioral studies and in particular behavioral studies on foraging insects.

A second object of the invention relates to a dosing system suitable for implementing the method. This system comprises a peristaltic pump 1 having a flexible tube 2, a stator 3 supporting the flexible tube and a rotor 4 with rollers 5 deforming the flexible tube 2 between the rotor and the stator, said peristaltic pump comprising a stepping motor. step by step not for driving the rotor and an electronic control device for controlling the peristaltic pump 1, comprising:

a memory in which is recorded a map of the inactive angular ranges Inl, In2, for which the dose of liquid product is not delivered during movement of the rotor and active angular ranges for which the dose of liquid product is delivered during displacement of the rotor, said angular ranges being determined with respect to a reference angular position PO of the rotor with respect to the stator, a circuit for counting the real position Pr corresponding to the pitch PO + n in which n corresponds to an integer of pitch between 0 and Nl, an electronic dose determination circuit making it possible to convert the dose of liquid product to be delivered which corresponds to an angular displacement of the rotor of one or more steps of determined number enter.

an electronic delivery circuit which, upon reception of an electronic delivery instruction, automatically delivers a dose by the advance of the rotor, of the determined number of steps to enter, over the active angular ranges by comparing the actual position with the mapping of so as to implement a step of automatically adjusting the inactive angular ranges when the actual position corresponds to a step of an inactive angular range.

The electronic delivery circuit thus makes it possible to control the rotor so as to make up for the inactive angular ranges by rotating the vacuum pump so as to directly advance the rotor to the first next step corresponding to one step of an active range.

According to a particular embodiment, the metering system comprises means for automatically repositioning the rotor relative to the stator according to the angular reference position PO, in particular at each power-up of the electronic piloting device. This repositioning means thus makes it possible to align the rotor and the stator according to the PO position after each energization of the metering system. This alignment step can also be carried out automatically, by means of a sensor system targeting a determined relative position between the rotor and the stator, and as described above.

According to one embodiment, the metering system comprises an electronic circuit allowing the rinsing of the peristaltic pump by continuously actuating said pump with a rinsing solution. Advantageously, the rinsing solution can be a solution of water. When the user requests such a rinsing mode, the rotor of the peristaltic pump is rotated continuously over several turns, in the same direction of rotation as that of the dosage, or even in an opposite direction.

According to another embodiment, the metering system comprises a suction pump within the foraging area, said suction pump being able, for example, to be automatically activated when a forager leaves the foraging area. The detection of the output of a browser can be performed by the sensor of the presence of a browser. In this way, in the event of an overdose of foraging solution, the latter is sucked up, thus not distorting the amount of foraging solution present during the subsequent supply of another dose. This suction pump can also be used to continuously aspirate a cleaning liquid used to automatically purge the rotor of the peristaltic pump then actuated continuously in the same direction as during dosing.

A third object of the invention relates to a feeder 10 for foraging insects comprising a metering system 1 as defined above, the flexible tube 2 of which is connected at its end 22 to a reservoir 11 of foraging solution and at its end 21 to a browsing area 12, a presence sensor 13 of a browsing device capable of detecting the presence or the passage of a browsing device near the browsing area 12, and an electronic circuit implementing software sending instructions for delivery of '' a dose of foraging solution as a function of the signal from sensor 12.

The feeder may include a box 100, for example transparent plastic in which the insects are enclosed. The foraging area corresponds to the area within which the foraging insect collects the foraging solution using its proboscis. The browsing area 12 can be embodied by a cavity of a body 14, into which the end of the flexible tube 2 opens. The entry of a browser in this cavity is detected by the presence sensor 13, in particular infrared.

According to one embodiment, the foraging area 12 can be provided with means for emitting a light stimulus for a foraging insect. This means can comprise light-emitting diodes, in particular of the RGB type in order to allow a variation of the colors of said foraging area. Advantageously, the use of RGB diodes makes it possible not only to color the foraging area but also the interior of the body cavity 14. Thus, the foraging insect continues to visualize the color even when it is is introduced into said body cavity. Note that the RGB diodes preferably color not only the foraging area, but also the interior of a cavity in the foraging area, which allows the insect to continue to see the color when it has entered in the cavity.

According to another embodiment illustrated without limitation in FIG. 6, the flexible tube 2 comprises, upstream of the pump in the normal direction of flow, a branch with a second end 22 connected to a reservoir 11 and a third end 23 connected to a second reservoir 112 of foraging solution. The ends 22 and 23 of the flexible tube 2 connected to the reservoirs 11 and 112 may comprise a 2-way tube pinch solenoid valve system 15. The solenoid system makes it possible to pinch the flexible tube 2 on one or the other of its ends 22 or 23 and thus select from which reservoirs 11 or 112 the foraging solution is to be taken.

In the case of a closed feeder, the internal volume of the box in which the insects are enclosed may include one or more foraging zones 12. In the case of a feeder with several foraging zones, each of the zones is supplied by its own dosing system, or even by separate foraging solutions. It becomes possible to implement an experimental protocol relating to the comparison of foraging solutions.

According to a particular embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, the foraging area 12 is supplied by at least two metering systems each comprising a separate foraging liquid solution. Thus, the foraging area 12 contains at least two ends 21 of flexible tubes 2. In this way, it is possible to automatically change the type of solution distributed within the same foraging area 12 by the action of the either of the dosing systems.

FIG. 7 further illustrates the suction pump 60 which makes it possible to remove from the foraging area the surplus of nectar, see can be used continuously for the implementation of a rinsing cycle of the flexible tubes of the peristaltic pumps.

Finally, according to another embodiment, the feeder includes temperature and / or humidity sensors connected to a display and recording system of the measured data. Thus, it is possible to monitor the measurements over time and / or display in real time the values of the temperature and / or humidity parameters of the feeder.

Finally, a fourth object of the invention relates to the use of the method previously described, of the dosing system previously described or also of the feeder as previously described for the implementation of experimental protocols in entomology.

The feeder according to the present invention is particularly suitable for the implementation of experimental protocols for behavioral studies on foraging insects.

Indeed, the feeder thus developed is like a new artificial flower and allows the control of a multitude of parameters allowing the experimenter to conduct complex protocols, in particular by the automation of the whole system.

It is thus possible to use one or more feeders, the latter being able to be closed, as illustrated or open, that is to say free access for foragers in free flight.

Thanks to the dosing system and the process implemented, it is possible to control the delivery of the dose and to control it, in other words, to condition it to the detection of a browser.

It is also possible through the programming of the number of occurrences by the user to have a dose delivered only as soon as a certain number of insect foragers have presented themselves for foraging. Thanks in particular to the possibility of visual stimuli via light-emitting diodes, the user will be able in particular to analyze the influence of colors on browsing behavior.

The feeder according to the present invention for the experimental protocols in apidology is therefore similar to a Skinner box for foraging insect, said box having a possibility of behavioral study hitherto never implemented with current systems.

NOMENCLATURE

1. Peristaltic pump,

2. Flexible tube,

21. First end of the flexible tube,

22. Second end of the flexible tube,

23. Third end of the flexible tube,

3. Stator,

30. Visual reference (stator),

4. Rotor,

40. Visual mark (rotor),

5. Pebbles,

10. Feeder,

11. Tank (foraging solution),

112. Tank (foraging solution),

12. Foraging area,

13. Presence sensor,

14. Body,

15. Pinch tube solenoid system,

60. Suction pump,

100. Box (feeder),

111. Control user interface

Inl, In2. First and second inactive angular range,

Pr. Actual position.

Claims (12)

E Method for delivering a dose of liquid product implemented by a dosing system comprising a peristaltic pump (1) having a flexible tube (2), a stator (3) supporting the flexible tube (2) and a rotor (4) with rollers (5) deforming the flexible tube between the rotor and the stator, the peristaltic pump comprising a stepper motor with N steps for driving the rotor and an electronic piloting device for controlling the pump, said method presenting a calibration comprising the following steps: a step of defining a reference angular position PO of the rotor relative to the stator defined as the reference pitch, a step of identifying, relative to said angular reference position PO of the rotor, the angular ranges for which the product liquid is not delivered, said angular ranges being inactive ranges (Inl, In2), of number K equal to the number of rollers, each of the ranges extending from the pitch Pxk to the pitch Pyk where Xk and yk correspond to a number included between 0 and Nl and k £ [1; K], a step of recording in a memory of the electronic control device a map (Cr) of the inactive angular ranges defined in the previous step, said method comprising a step of determining the dose of liquid product to be delivered which corresponds to the angular displacement of the rotor by one or more steps of determined whole number, and in which the electronic control device comprises a circuit for counting the real position (Pr) corresponding to the step PO + n in which n corresponds to a number integer of steps between 0 and Nl, and in which the electronic control device automatically delivers the dose determined by the advance of the rotor, of the number of whole steps determined, over the active angular ranges by comparing (Ecp) the actual position ( Pr) with the mapping so as to implement an automatic step of catching up (Er) of the inactive angular ranges when the real position (Pr) corresponds to a step of a range a ngular inactive (Inl, In2). 2. Method according to claim 1, in which the electronic piloting device is configured so that the take-up step (Er) is carried out so that the speed of the rotor on the steps corresponding to the inactive angular ranges (Inl, In2) is greater than that of the steps corresponding to the active angular ranges. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, in which each time the automatic piloting device is switched on, a preliminary alignment step is carried out in which the rotor (4) is repositioned relative to the stator (3) according to the reference angular position PO. 4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid product corresponds to a foraging solution, said metering system comprising an electronic circuit for controlling the electronic control device having as input a signal from a sensor presence (13) of a browser, said electronic circuit implementing software sending instructions for delivering a dose according to the sensor signal. 5. Method according to claim 4, in which the software presents as an input parameter a number n of occurrence set by the user from which a dose is delivered, the software then implementing a step of counting the occurrences detected. by the sensor and issuing of a dose delivery instruction when the count of occurrences reaches the input parameter n. 6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the volume of the dose of liquid product is in the range from 0.05 pL to 50 pL. 7. Dosing system comprising a peristaltic pump (1) having a flexible tube (2), a stator (3) supporting the flexible tube and a rotor (4) with rollers (5) deforming the flexible tube between the rotor and the stator, said peristaltic pump comprising an N-step stepping motor for driving the rotor and an electronic control device for controlling the pump, comprising: - a memory in which is recorded a map of the inactive angular ranges (Inl, In2) for which the dose of liquid product is not delivered during movement of the rotor and active angular ranges for which the dose of liquid product is delivered during displacement of the rotor, said angular ranges being determined with respect to a reference angular position PO of the rotor with respect to the stator. - a circuit for counting the real position (Pr) corresponding to the step PO + z; in which n corresponds to an integer number of steps between 0 and N-l - an electronic dose determination circuit for converting the dose of liquid product to be delivered, which corresponds to an angular displacement of the rotor by one or more determined whole number steps. - an electronic delivery circuit which upon receipt of an electronic delivery instruction automatically delivers a dose by advancing the rotor (4), by the number of whole steps determined, over the active angular ranges by comparing the actual position ( Pr) with the mapping so as to skip the inactive angular ranges (Inl, In2) when the actual position corresponds to one step of an inactive angular range. 8. Metering system according to claim 7 comprising means for automatically repositioning the rotor relative to the stator according to the angular position of reference PO after each tensioning of the system. 9. Dosing system according to any one of claims 7 or 8, which comprises an electronic circuit allowing rinsing by continuously actuating the peristaltic pump with a rinsing solution. 10. Feeder for foraging insects comprising a metering system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, the flexible tube (2) is connected on one of its ends to a reservoir (11) of foraging solution and on the other end to a browsing area (12), a presence sensor (13) of a forager capable of detecting the presence or the passage of a forager near the foraging area (12), and an electronic circuit implements software sending instructions for delivering a dose of foraging solution according to the signal from the sensor (13). 11. A feeder according to claim 10 in which the foraging zone (12) 5 comprises visual stimuli means implemented by light-emitting diodes. 12. Use of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, or of the dosing system according to any one of claims 7 to 9 or of the feeder 10 according to any one of claims 10 or 11, for the implementation of experimental protocols in entomology, in particular in apidology.