JP6354844B2 - Liquid transfer system and liquid transfer method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid transfer system and a liquid transfer method.

  In the field of biotechnology, it may be necessary to transfer liquids accurately and without contamination. As such a case, for example, inspection of the presence or absence of contamination of food by bacteria for the inspection of food safety or the cause investigation of food poisoning and the like can be mentioned. Such bacteriological tests require technicians who are proficient in experiments and testing methods in the field of biotechnology, and there are considerable difficulties in securing human resources including education. In addition, as long as the work is manual, it is difficult to completely avoid a decrease in reliability due to contamination and human error.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to automate the liquid transfer process.

  A liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention is a sample container that contains a liquid mixed with solid matter, a filter, and the filter is placed in the sample container, and the liquid in the sample container is measured through the filter. A manipulator for extraction.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the solid matter may be a food, and may be used for a bacterial test of the food.

  The liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention further includes a filter gripper for gripping the filter and a metering extractor for metering and extracting the liquid, and the manipulator holds and operates the metering extractor. Possible holding controls may be included.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the holding operation tool further includes at least a first driving unit driven in a first direction for holding the filter gripping tool and the metering extraction tool, and at least the metering extraction. A second drive unit that drives in a second direction that intersects the first direction for operating the tool.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the second drive unit may be stopped at an arbitrary position by position control.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the metering extractor may be a micropipette, and the second drive unit may drive a pusher that pushes a push button of the micropipette.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, an elastic body may be provided on an end surface of the pressing tool that abuts against the push button.

  The liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a tip detachment unit that controls the push button of the micropipette to be pushed to a release position of the pipette tip by the second driving unit.

  The liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a release button pressing tool that presses a release button of the pipette tip of the micropipette.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the first driving unit may be capable of controlling a holding force by torque control.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the holding operation tool protrudes downward, is driven by the first driving unit, and is 90 degrees centered on the first direction as viewed from the gripping center. And the liquid transfer system further includes a container mounting table on which the container is mounted, and protrudes upward, and the first direction as viewed from the mounting center. You may have a container mounting base which has a container positioning tool arrange | positioned in the range of 90 degree | times centering on the direction orthogonal to.

  In the liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention, the filter gripping tool is tweezers, and the holding operation tool is a groove that holds the tweezers and is inclined with respect to the second direction. There may be a groove extending.

  The liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention further includes a tweezers holding table for holding the tweezers, the tweezers holding table having a position / posture determining unit that determines a position and a posture of the tweezers when the tweezers are held. May be included.

  The liquid transfer system according to one aspect of the present invention is a micropipette holder that holds the micropipette, and determines the position and posture of the micropipette and prevents the dropout when the micropipette is held. You may have a micropipette holding stand which has a drop-off prevention part.

  Further, in the liquid transfer method according to one aspect of the present invention, a manipulator is used to put a filter into a sample container that contains a liquid in which solid matter is mixed, and the manipulator passes the filter through the filter. Liquid may be metered out.

  In the liquid transfer method according to one aspect of the present invention, the solid matter may be a food, and may be used for a bacterial test of the food.

  In the liquid transfer method according to one aspect of the present invention, the manipulator may further hold a filter gripping tool for gripping the filter, and the manipulator may hold a metering extraction tool for metering and extracting the liquid.

  The liquid transfer method according to one aspect of the present invention further includes transferring a liquid to a test container, and discharging a measured amount of the liquid to each of a plurality of positions in the test container. The liquid may be ejected at a volume velocity measured along a predetermined path in the container.

  In the liquid transfer method according to one aspect of the present invention, the liquid in the sample container extracted by the manipulator is further transferred to a dilution container, and the liquid in the dilution container is metered and extracted by the manipulator to be a test container. The medium may be extracted by metering the medium in the medium container using the manipulator and transferred to the test container.

It is a perspective view showing an outline of a liquid transfer system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is an expansion perspective view of the holding operation tool attached to the manipulator tip. It is a figure which shows the structure of a micropipette holding stand and a tweezers holding stand. It is a figure which shows a mode that the micropipette is hold | maintained by the holding | maintenance operation part. It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the member at the time of hold | gripping the container mounted in the container mounting base with a holding operation tool. It is a system block diagram of a liquid transfer system. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of the function which a robot controller has. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the liquid transfer performed as a part of the bacteria test | inspection of the foodstuff by the liquid transfer system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows distribution of the diluent when a diluent is discharged to one place on a Petri dish. It is a schematic diagram which shows distribution of the dilution liquid at the time of discharging a dilution liquid to several places on a Petri dish. It is a schematic diagram which shows distribution of a dilution liquid when a dilution liquid is discharged so that a dilution liquid may draw a predetermined locus | trajectory on the Petri dish 52. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows distribution of a dilution liquid when a dilution liquid is discharged so that a dilution liquid may draw a predetermined locus | trajectory on the Petri dish 52. FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a liquid transfer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  This liquid transfer system 1 is an example configured to be particularly suitable as a food test for bacteria. Therefore, the following explanation will be made on the assumption that the food is tested for bacteria. However, many of the equipment and operations described here can be used in common in the fields of biotechnology, that is, biochemistry and bio / biotechnology. The transfer system 1 may be used for applications other than food bacteria inspection, in this case, as long as it includes a step of extracting and transferring only a liquid from a liquid sample containing solids. For example, the target of the inspection may be any solid matter other than food, such as soil, biological tissue, or microbial specimen. The purpose may be various inspections, identifications, and cultures in addition to the bacterial inspection.

  In the liquid transfer system 1, each device is arranged in a clean bench composed of a gantry 10 and a filter unit 11 installed on the gantry 10, so that the work area 12 on the gantry 10 is maintained in a substantially sterile state. It has become. The filter unit 11 sucks outside air from the ceiling portion, and discharges clean aseptic air onto the gantry 10 through an appropriate filter such as a HEPA filter set inside. The work area 12 on the gantry 10 is partitioned by a wall (not shown), and is maintained at a positive pressure by the sterilized air discharged from the filter unit 11, so that intrusion of outside air is prevented and the work area 12 is maintained in a sterilized state. The The gantry 10 accommodates various control devices such as a control panel and a power source of the liquid transfer system 1 and a controller of the manipulator 2 described later.

  On the work area 12, a manipulator 2 that is a so-called articulated robot, a micropipette holding base 30 that holds a micropipette (push button type liquid microvolume meter) 3 that is a measurement extraction tool, and tweezers 4 that is a filter gripping tool Is installed.

  A holding operation tool 20 capable of appropriately holding and operating the micropipette 3 and the tweezers 4 is attached to the tip of the manipulator 2. Although details of the structure and operation of the holding operation tool 20 will be described later, in this embodiment, the holding operation tool 20 selectively holds the micropipette 3 and the tweezers 4, and the micropipette 3 is subjected to metering extraction and discharge, and The tip attachment / detachment operation can be performed on the tweezers 4 by pinching the filter 6 that is the object to be grasped. Although the micropipette 3 and the tweezers 4 may be held at the same time, an instrument that is not used becomes an obstacle to various operations, and the tip mass of the manipulator 2 increases. I try to keep it safe.

  The micropipette 3 may be a button type that is generally commercially available. In the commercially available micropipette 3, there are those in which the release operation of the tip attached to the tip is performed by pressing a button, and that in which the release button provided separately on the main body of the micropipette 3 is pressed. However, here, it is assumed that the chip is released by pressing the button.

  The tweezers 4 may be a commercially available one.

  In the present embodiment, the micropipette 3 is shown as an example of a metering extractor that is a tool that can measure, suck, and discharge a liquid. An instrument such as a general syringe may be used. Further, the tweezers 4 is shown as an example of a filter gripping tool that is a tool that can be gripped so as to pinch the filter 6 that is a gripping target, and other tools or other arbitrary mechanisms having the same function are used as the tweezers 4. It can be used instead of. However, as shown in the present embodiment, if a general commercial product is used as the metering extraction tool and the filter gripping tool, the maintenance cost such as replacement is low, and even when it is desired to change the capacity, size, etc. Management is easy, such as selecting a suitable product.

  The work area 12 further includes a container mounting table 5 on which various containers are mounted, a filter mounting table 60 on which the filter 6 is mounted, a chip 31, a work table 7, a disposal box 70, a test tube mouth sterilizer 71, a vortex mixer. 72 and a hot plate 73 are arranged. All of these instruments are arranged so as to be within the reach of the manipulator 2.

  On the container mounting table 5, various containers are arranged at predetermined positions. Here, the various containers are a beaker 50 that is a sample container, a test tube 51 that is a dilution container, and a petri dish 52 that is a test container. On the hot plate 73, an Erlenmeyer flask 53 as a medium container is placed.

  Here, the sample container is a container for storing a liquid sample mixed with solid matter. Here, since the food is to be tested for bacteria, the sample container is a container that contains, as a solid substance, a liquid mixed with food to be tested for bacteria. In the present embodiment, a glass beaker 50 is used as a sample container, and a liquid in which a food piece obtained by cutting a food to be inspected is mixed in aseptic water is contained. Solid food pieces are suspended, settled or floated in sterile water. Water-soluble components contained in food are dissolved in the liquid, and bacteria and the like are dispersed in the liquid. Each beaker 50 may be covered with a lid in order to avoid contamination due to foreign matters.

  A dilution container is a container which performs the dilution operation of the liquid mentioned later. Here, a glass test tube 51 is used as a dilution container, and a predetermined amount of dilution liquid is stored in each test tube 51 in advance. In this embodiment, 9 mL of sterile water is placed in each test tube 51 as a diluent. Each test tube 51 may be plugged in order to avoid contamination due to foreign matters.

  The inspection container is a container for final inspection, and when performing a bacterial inspection of food as in the present embodiment, a bacterial culture medium in which a liquid suspected of being mixed with bacteria is added to the culture medium. It is a container created in. In the present embodiment, a Petri dish 52 is used as an inspection container. The Petri dish 52 may be covered with a lid in order to avoid contamination due to contamination of foreign substances before and after preparation of the bacterial culture medium. The material of the petri dish 52 may be a general one, and is glass or synthetic resin.

  Furthermore, the culture medium container is a container that contains a raw culture medium for producing a bacterial culture medium. Here, for the purpose of testing for bacteria, an agar medium adjusted for bacterial culture is used as a raw medium, and an Erlenmeyer flask 53 is used as a medium container. In order to keep the agar medium in a liquid state, the Erlenmeyer flask 53 is placed on a hot plate 73, and the contents are always maintained at a desired temperature of about 50 degrees Celsius.

  In addition, the concrete instrument used as various containers demonstrated above is an example, and what kind of thing may be used if it is an instrument corresponding to the use. Further, the contents of each instrument are the specific examples described above, and appropriate contents that match the purpose may be prepared.

  Further, the filter 6 is placed on the filter placing table 60 so that it can be taken out as appropriate using the tweezers 4. The filter 6 is for extracting only the liquid from the liquid mixed with the food stored in the beaker 50, excluding food pieces, and is large enough to be put into the beaker 50. Various filters 6 can be used. For example, a folded gauze piece, a porous material such as a sponge, a nonwoven fabric, a filter paper, or the like may be used. The filter 6 is sterilized. Here, the term “extraction” means to extract at least part of the liquid from the extraction source, and is generally synonymous with so-called pipetting. Metering extraction is intended to control and extract the volume of liquid to be extracted.

  Further, a number of tips 31 that are attached to the tip of the micropipette 3 are prepared on the gantry 10. The chip 31 can be attached to the tip of the micropipette 3 by pressing the micropipette 3 from above on the chips 31 placed side by side. Further, when the volume of the liquid to be measured by the micropipette 3 is different, a chip 31 having a size suitable for the volume is prepared in advance.

  The work table 7 is a space for operating the various containers by the manipulator 2. The container to be operated is placed on the work table 7 and an operation described later is performed. In the present embodiment, the test tube 51 and the Petri dish 52 are placed on the work table 7.

  The disposal box 70 is a box for discarding unnecessary items. The articles that are no longer needed are, for example, used chips.

  The test tube mouth sterilizer 71 is an instrument for sterilizing the mouth portion of the test tube 51. Any type of instrument may be used, but in this embodiment, the test tube 51 is held while being rotated slowly, and the mouth portion of the test tube 51 is heated by a burner or a heat gun (not shown). Sterilize. In addition, heat sterilization with a ring heater or sterilization with radiation such as ultraviolet rays may be performed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the container mouth is sterilized only for the test tube 51, but instead of or in addition to this, another container mouth may be sterilized. The mouth sterilizer 71 itself may be omitted.

  Next, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the holding operation tool 20 attached to the tip of the manipulator 2. The holding operation tool 20 has a structure in which two drive parts, a first drive part 22 and a second drive part 23, are attached to a bracket 21 coupled to the manipulator 2. The operations of the first drive unit 22 and the second drive unit 23 are controlled by the controller of the manipulator 2 or the control panel of the liquid transfer system 1 itself. The first drive unit 22 drives the pair of sliders 220 to open and close each other in the first direction indicated by A in the figure, and the second drive unit 23 moves the sliders in the second direction indicated by B in the figure. 230 is driven. The first direction A and the second direction B intersect with each other, and are in a direction orthogonal to each other here. Further, the orientation of the first direction A and the second direction B with respect to the gantry 10 depends on the posture of the manipulator 2, but the first direction A is generally set when operating the instrument or container with the holding operation tool 20. The second direction B is substantially the vertical direction.

  A claw 221 is attached to each slider 220 of the first drive unit 22. A gripping block 222 having a V-shaped notch in the center is attached to the surfaces of the claws 221 facing each other, and a groove 223 that is inclined with respect to the second direction B is provided. A cushion 224 is attached to the mutually facing surfaces of the groove 223 (the cushion attached to the groove 223 on the front side in the figure is not visible). Further, the claw 221 is provided with a total of four container gripping tools 225, two each. The container gripping tool 225 includes a shaft that protrudes downward from the holding operation tool 20 and a gripping ring that is provided at the tip of the shaft and has a diameter larger than the shaft diameter.

  The claw 221 may be made of any material as long as the material has sufficient rigidity to maintain its shape. For example, you may make with arbitrary metals, such as aluminum and stainless steel, various engineering plastics, fiber reinforced resin, etc. Further, the gripping block 222, the cushion 224, and the gripping ring are preferably made of a material having appropriate elasticity and friction, for example, urethane resin.

  The claw 221 operates to open and close by driving the slider 220 by the first driving unit 22, and thereby holds various instruments by sandwiching and fixing them. In the example given here, the test tube 51 and the micropipette 3 are gripped by the gripping block 222. Further, the tweezers 4 are gripped by the groove 223. Further, the beaker 50 and the Petri dish 52 are gripped by the container gripping tool 225. When the beaker 50 and the Petri dish 52 are covered, the container gripping tool 225 grips these lids. When the test tube 51 is plugged, the stopper is closed by the gripping block 222. It is gripped and the lid and stopper are opened and closed.

  In the present embodiment, the first drive unit 22 uses a mechanism using a servo motor capable of torque control in addition to position control. Therefore, the first drive unit 22 can control the holding force by the claw 221 in addition to the opening / closing position of the claw 221. Thereby, the glass or synthetic resin containers such as the beaker 50, the test tube 51, and the Petri dish 52 can be held with an appropriate holding force without being damaged.

  A pusher 231 is attached to the slider 230 of the second drive unit 23. The pusher 231 is a member that pushes a push button of the micropipette 3 to be described later, and is an L-shaped bracket in the illustrated example. Thereby, a commercially available micropipette 3 can be operated. An elastic body 232 is provided on the surface of the pusher 231 on the claw 221 side so that the pusher of the micropipette 3 can be reliably pushed without being damaged. The material of the elastic body 232 is not particularly limited, but may be urethane resin, synthetic or natural rubber.

  In the present embodiment, the second drive unit 23 is a mechanism using a servo motor capable of position control. Therefore, any position in the second direction B within the stroke range can be stopped as the target position. The accuracy of the stop position depends on the accuracy of the encoder used for the servo mechanism and the geometry of the mechanical mechanism such as a ball screw. However, in accordance with the application in this embodiment, at least 3 points, preferably several tens of points. It is sufficient if the stop position can be determined to the extent described above. Since the mechanism of the second drive unit 23 only needs to be capable of position control, it does not necessarily have to use a servo motor, and may use, for example, a step motor.

  Note that a cover 25 is attached to the second drive unit 23 and the pusher 231 so that the drive mechanism is not exposed, but in FIG. 2, the cover 25 is indicated by a one-dot chain line for the sake of explanation. The internal structure is shown.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the structure of the micropipette holder 30 and the tweezer holder 40. In the figure, a state is shown in which the micropipette 3 is held only on the left side of the two micropipette holders 30.

  The micropipette holder 30 has a structure in which a frame body 300 that holds the main body of the micropipette 3 is attached to a base 301. A round roller-shaped dropout prevention portion 302 is elastically attached to the distal end portion of the frame 300. That is, the drop-off prevention unit 302 is pushed into the frame 300 when it receives an external force, and returns to the position where it protrudes from the frame 300 as shown when the external force is removed. The support of the drop-off prevention unit 302 is realized by a structure using an appropriate spring or the like. Accordingly, when the micropipette 3 is held on the frame body 300, the micropipette 3 may be pressed toward the frame body 300 with a force that can push the drop-off prevention unit 302. The micropipette 3 placed in a predetermined position in the frame 300 is fixed by the drop prevention unit 302 without dropping. Further, when removing the micropipette 3, the micropipette 3 can be easily removed by simply pulling the micropipette 3 from the frame body 300 with a force that can push the drop-off prevention portion 302.

  Further, the frame body 300 is provided with a concave portion 303 by a curved surface adapted to the shape of the micropipette 3, and the micropipette 3 fits into the concave portion 303, so that the alignment at the time of holding is reliably performed. Thus, when the micropipette 3 is held by the manipulator 2, it can be gripped accurately every time.

  Further, the tweezer holding base 40 includes a holder 400 in which a slit 401 for sandwiching and holding the tweezers 4 is formed, and an abutting portion 402 for positioning the tip of the tweezers 4. The width of the slit 401 is set to be the width when the tweezers 4 are closed to some extent. Therefore, if the tweezers 4 is closed and then opened after being inserted into the slit 401, the tweezers 4 are held in the slit 401 without dropping due to the elastic repulsive force of the tweezers 4 itself. The inner surface of the slit 401 is an inclined surface 403 that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and the side surface of the tweezers 4 is abutted against the inclined surface 403 so that the posture of the tweezers 4 during holding is set to a predetermined angle. It can be inclined. The angle of the inclined surface 403 with respect to the vertical line is desirably equal to the angle of the groove 223 with respect to the second direction B in the holding operation tool 20 shown in FIG. Moreover, the position of the tweezers 4 in the longitudinal direction can be fixed by abutting the tip of the tweezers 4 against the abutting portion 402. That is, the inclined surface 403 and the abutting portion 402 constitute a position / posture determination unit that determines the position and posture of the tweezers 4. Note that the inclined surface 403 and the abutting portion 402 may be omitted if unnecessary.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the micropipette 3 is held by the holding operation tool 20. The micropipette 3 is securely held by the holding operation tool 20 by closing the claw 221 by the first drive unit 22 and holding and fixing the body of the micropipette 3 by the holding block 222. Further, an elastic body 232 attached to the lower side of the pusher 231 is in contact with the push button 32 above the micropipette 3, and the push-down operation of the push button 32 is performed by pushing down the pusher 231 by the second drive unit 23. Is possible. Thus, in the holding operation tool 20 according to the present embodiment, various instruments including the micropipette 3 can be gripped and operated by the two drive units of the first drive unit 22 and the second drive unit 23.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the positional relationship of members when the container placed on the container placing table 5, here, the Petri dish 52 is gripped by the holding operation tool 20.

  In the drawing, the two-dot chain line indicates the outer shape of the Petri dish 52 on the container mounting table 5, and the point X is the mounting center of the Petri dish 52. Then, the manipulator 2 moves the holding operation tool 20 to a position where the grip center coincides with the point X in plan view, and shows a first direction A that is a driving direction of the first driving unit 22 in the drawing. Direction.

  At this time, the black circles in the figure indicate the position of the container positioning tool 54 that is attached to the container mounting table 5 and positions the Petri dish 52 to be mounted. As shown in FIG. 1, the container positioning tool 54 is a pin that protrudes upward from the container mounting table 5. Here, the Petri dish 52 is placed at a position surrounded by four container positioning tools 54. By doing so, the plane position is determined.

  On the other hand, white circles in the figure indicate the position of the container gripping tool 225 of the holding operation tool 20. The four container gripping tools 225 are driven by the first drive unit 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow in the drawing, and grip the side by sandwiching the side surface of the Petri dish 52.

  In addition, an alternate long and short dash line in the figure indicates a range of 90 degrees with the point X as the center and the first direction A as the center. As can be easily understood from the figure, the container gripping tool 225 is disposed within a range of 90 degrees with the first direction A as the center when viewed from the point X, that is, the gripping center of the holding operation tool 20. The tool 54 is arranged in a range of 90 degrees with the center at the point X, that is, the direction orthogonal to the first direction A when viewed from the placement center. This arrangement prevents the container gripping tool 225 and the container positioning tool 54 from interfering when the container is held by the holding operation tool 20 regardless of the shape of the container to be placed and the container positioning tool 54.

  FIG. 6 is a system block diagram of the liquid transfer system 1. The controller 13 accommodated in the gantry 10 controls the robot controller 24, the test tube sterilizer 71, the vortex mixer 72, and the hot plate 73. The robot controller 24 also accommodated in the gantry 10 controls the manipulator 2 and the second manipulator 2. The first drive unit 22 and the second drive unit 23 are controlled.

  The controller 13 is a controller that controls the operation of the entire liquid transfer system 1. For example, a programmable logic controller (PLC) that is a controller for general industrial equipment or other information processing apparatuses may be used. The controller 13 instructs the robot controller 24 when to execute various operations stored in the robot controller 24 in advance, and which operation is to be executed. The robot controller 24 performs the manipulator 2 and the first drive according to the commands. The unit 22 and the second driving unit 23 are controlled. The controller 13 controls the start and stop of the operation of the test tube mouth sterilizer 71, the start and stop of the operation of the vortex mixer 72, and the on / off of the hot plate 73.

  The system block diagram shown here is an example, and the configuration and control contents may be slightly different. For example, the first drive unit 22 and the second drive unit 23 may be directly controlled by the controller 13 instead of the robot controller 24. In this example, the rotation speed of the vortex mixer 72 and the temperature of the hot plate 73 are set in advance by the operator, but these may be controlled by the controller 13. Alternatively, the hot plate 73 may be turned on and off by the operator and not controlled by the controller 13. Further, when the equipment configuration of the liquid transfer system 1 is changed, such a change is naturally reflected in this system block diagram.

  In the robot controller 24, the operations of the manipulator 2, the first drive unit 22, and the second drive unit 23 are programmed in advance for each operation to be executed. That is, various functions realized by the manipulator 2 are realized by software stored in the robot controller 24. That is, the controller 13 causes the robot controller 24 to individually call and execute functions implemented by software according to commands.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions that the robot controller 24 has. As described above, these functional blocks are illustrated by extracting functions implemented by software in the robot controller 24, and do not indicate that the physical configurations of the functional blocks are different.

  The container transfer unit 240 is a part that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so as to transfer various containers, here, the test tube 51 and the Petri dish 52 from the container mounting table 5 to the work table 7. Specifically, the upper controller 13 designates which container is to be transferred to which position on the work table 7. It should be noted that other containers such as the beaker 50 and the Erlenmeyer flask 53 may be transferred.

  The container lid (plug) operation unit 241 is a part that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so as to perform an operation of removing and attaching the lid and the stopper when the container is covered with a lid and a stopper. In the example shown here, the lid of the beaker 50 and the Petri dish 52 is the operation target. When the test tube 51 is plugged, the plug may be the operation target. Specifically, the upper controller 13 designates which container lid (or stopper) is to be operated. The removed lid and stopper are placed in a predetermined place.

  The container mouth sterilization transfer unit 242 is a part that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so as to hold the container to be sterilized, here, the test tube 51 and transfer it to the test tube mouth sterilizer 71. The test tube 51 that has been sterilized is transferred to the original location under the same control by the container mouth sterilization transfer unit 242. The test tube 51 to be sterilized is designated by the host controller 13.

  The agitation transfer unit 243 is a part that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so that the test tube 51 to be agitated is gripped and transferred to the vortex mixer 72. During the stirring by the vortex mixer 72, the test tube 51 is continuously held by the holding operation tool 20, and is transferred to the original position after the stirring is completed. The test tube 51 to be a target of the stirring process is designated by the host controller 13.

  The micropipette attaching / detaching unit 244 holds and removes the micropipette 3 held on the micropipette holding base 30 by the holding operation tool 20, and holds the micropipette 3 held by the holding operation tool 20 as a micropipette. This is a part for controlling the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 to be attached to the table 30. When a plurality of micropipettes 3 are prepared, the micropipette 3 to be held is designated by the host controller 13. When the micropipette 3 is attached to the micropipette holder 30, it is usually returned to the original position.

  The tip mounting unit 245 presses the micropipette 3 held by the holding operation tool 20 against the tip 31 arranged on the gantry 10, and moves the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so that the tip 31 is mounted on the tip of the micropipette 3. The part to control. The position of the chip 31 to be attached is designated by the host controller 13.

  The tip detaching portion 246 is a portion that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so as to perform an operation of detaching the tip 31 attached to the tip of the micropipette 3 held by the holding operation tool 20. Specifically, this operation drives the manipulator 2 so that the tip of the micropipette 3 is on the disposal box 70, and the push button 231 of the micropipette 3 is pushed by the pusher 231 by the second drive unit 23 of the holding operation tool 20. Is pushed to the release position of the tip 31 to remove the used tip 31 from the micropipette 3 and discard it in the disposal box 70.

  The metering extraction / discharge unit 247 is held by the holding operation tool 20 and operates the push button 32 of the micropipette 3 having the tip 31 attached to the tip thereof to extract and discharge a predetermined amount of liquid. And a part that controls the holding operation tool 20. In general, in the micropipette 3, since the stroke for operating the push button 32 is proportional to the liquid extraction and discharge amount, the pushing amount of the push button 32 by the push tool 231 is controlled by the second drive unit 23 of the holding operation tool 20. Therefore, the liquid can be measured with high accuracy. As described above, the second drive unit 23 can control the position and can be stopped at an arbitrary position within the stroke range, so that the amount of liquid to be extracted and discharged can be freely and accurately set. Can be controlled. The upper controller 13 designates how much liquid is extracted from which container, and how much liquid is discharged into which container.

  The dispensing unit 248 is held by the holding operation tool 20 and operates the push button 32 of the micropipette 3 to which the tip 31 is attached at the tip, whereby the liquid in the tip 31 is transferred to a predetermined container, here the Petri dish 52. It is a part which controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so that it may divide into multiple times or it may discharge in a controlled manner. The dispensing operation by the dispensing unit 248 will be described later.

  The tweezer attaching / detaching unit 249 holds and removes the tweezers 4 held by the tweezer holding base 40 by the holding operation tool 20, and attaches the tweezers 4 held by the holding operation tool 20 to the tweezer holding base 40. This is a part that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20. The tweezers 4 are held by pinching the tweezers 4 with the claws 221 so that the handle portion of the tweezers 4 fits into the groove 223 of the holding operation tool 20 shown in FIG. Therefore, the longitudinal direction of the tweezers 4 coincides with the direction of the groove 223 and is inclined with respect to the second direction B. At this time, the tip portion of the tweezers 4 is held so as to be slightly opened. As is clear from the structure of the tweezer holding base 40 shown in FIG. 3, the tweezers 4 are held by the tweezer holding base 40 in an inclined manner with respect to the vertical line in advance, so that they fit into the grooves 223 of the holding operation tool 20. When gripping the tweezers 4, no special control such as tilting the holding operation tool 20 is required.

  The filter transfer unit 250 is a part that controls the manipulator 2 and the holding operation tool 20 so that the filter 6 is picked up and put into the beaker 50 by the tweezers 4 held by the holding operation tool 20. The upper controller 13 designates which filter 6 is to be picked up and which beaker 50 is to be loaded with the filter 6 being picked up. The opening / closing operation of the tweezers 4 is performed by opening / closing the claws 221 by the first driving unit 22 within a range in which the tweezers 4 does not fall off the holding operation tool 20.

  The container swinging unit 251 holds an arbitrary container, here the Petri dish 52, by the holding operation tool 20, shakes the container to such an extent that the contents do not spill in that state, and holds the manipulator 2 and the contents so as to stir the contents. This is the part that controls the operation tool 20. In this embodiment, as will be described later, this swinging operation is performed in order to mix the diluted solution and the medium evenly.

  Next, the procedure of liquid transfer performed as a part of the food bacteria test by the liquid transfer system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 and FIG. 1 as appropriate.

  First, in step S <b> 1, the Petri dish 52 is transferred from the container mounting table 5 to the work table 7. At this time, when a plurality of inspection samples to be finally produced are necessary, the necessary number of Petri dishes 52 are transferred. Further, the test tube 41 is transferred from the container mounting table 5 to the work table 7. In the description here, the number of test tubes 41 to be transferred is one. However, if it is desired to obtain samples having different dilution ratios, the necessary number of test tubes 41 may be transferred.

  In step S2, the beaker 50 containing the liquid to be inspected and the cover of the Petri dish 52 on the work table 7 are removed. The removed lid is placed in a predetermined position. At this time, identification information such as a serial number may be written on the lid of the Petri dish 52 by a marker (not shown). If the test tube 51 is plugged, it is also removed.

  In step S3, the mouth of the test tube 41 used for the work is sterilized by the test tube mouth sterilizer 71. This operation may be omitted if not necessary.

  In step S <b> 4, the tweezers 4 are held by the holding operation tool 20, and the filter 6 is grasped and put into the beaker 50. After the insertion, the tweezers 4 is returned to the tweezer holding base 40.

  In step S5, the micropipette 3 is held by the holding operation tool 20, and the tip 31 is mounted.

  In step S 6, the liquid is measured and extracted from the beaker 50 through the filter 6 using the micropipette 3. Here, 1 mL is extracted. The extracted liquid is discharged into the whole test tube 51. As a result, a 10 mL diluted solution diluted 10 times is formed in the test tube 51.

  The micropipette 3 is temporarily held on the micropipette holder 30 and the diluted solution in the test tube 51 is stirred by the vortex mixer 72 in step S7. After stirring, the micropipette 3 is held again.

  In step S8, the sample is weighed and extracted from the test tube 51 and dispensed into a petri dish 52. The extraction amount at this time may be an amount necessary for dispensing into the Petri dish 52. Details of the dispensing operation will be described later.

  In step S9, the tip 31 attached to the micropipette 3 is discarded, and the tip 31 is replaced by attaching a new tip 31.

  In step S 10, the medium is weighed and extracted from the Erlenmeyer flask 53 and discharged to the Petri dish 52. This discharge amount is, for example, 15 mL per Petri dish 52.

  In step S11, the tip 31 is discarded and the micropipette 3 is returned to the micropipette holder 30.

  In step S12, a lid is attached to the beaker 50 and the petri dish 52.

  In step S13, the Petri dish 52 is shaken to stir the diluted solution and the medium evenly.

  By transferring the liquid by the above operation, only the liquid from which the solid content is removed from the sample prepared in the beaker 50 can be extracted, diluted 10 times, and a bacterial culture medium can be created on the Petri dish 52. The Petri dish 52 on which the bacterial culture medium has been prepared is stored, for example, in a sterile constant temperature room by an operator or by another transport device (not shown).

  In the above description, one type of dilution liquid is prepared. However, when a plurality of types of dilutions are used, steps S6 and S7 may be repeated as necessary. Alternatively, the prepared diluent may be further transferred to another test tube 51 for dilution.

  Next, dispensing to the Petri dish 52 in step S8 described above will be described using FIGS. 9A to 9D.

  As is clear from the above description, it is ideal that a bacterial culture medium in which the diluent and the culture medium are evenly mixed is created in the Petri dish 52 finally. For this mixing and stirring, the Petri dish 52 is rocked and stirred in step S13. In order to obtain a uniform bacterial culture medium by such stirring, the distribution of the diluted solution on the Petri dish 52 is not changed before stirring. It is desirable to distribute as evenly as possible.

  FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing the distribution of the diluent when the diluent is discharged to one place on the Petri dish 52, that is, when dispensing is not performed. As indicated by hatching in the figure, the diluted solution is unevenly distributed on the Petri dish 52, making it difficult to obtain an even bacterial culture medium.

  On the other hand, FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram showing the distribution of the diluent when the diluent is discharged at a plurality of locations on the Petri dish 52, in this example, at four locations. By dispensing in this way, the distribution of the diluted solution on the Petri dish 52 becomes more uniform, and as a result, a more uniform bacterial culture medium can be obtained. At this time, a more uniform bacterial culture medium can be obtained by discharging the diluted solution in an amount measured for each of a plurality of locations. This measurement is possible because the second drive unit 23 of the holding operation tool 20 can be stopped at an arbitrary position by position control.

  In addition, the method of discharging a dilution liquid more uniformly on the Petri dish 52 is not restricted to dispensing. As illustrated in FIG. 9C or FIG. 9D, a more even distribution of the dilution liquid can be obtained by discharging the dilution liquid so that the dilution liquid draws a predetermined trajectory on the Petri dish 52. In this case, the discharge of the dilution liquid must be performed at a controlled discharge speed in synchronization with the operation of the manipulator 2. This is because the second drive unit 23 of the holding operation tool 20 is controlled in speed, This is possible by ejecting the liquid at a metered volume velocity along a predetermined path in 52.

  In the liquid transfer system 1 described above, the micropipette 3 of the type that releases the tip 31 by pushing the push button 32 has been described. However, the micropipette 3 of the type that includes a release button for releasing the tip 31 is used. Is also possible. In that case, a release button pressing tool, which is a projection for pressing down the release button by pressing the micropipette 3 held by the holding operation tool 20 above the disposal box 70, may be provided. Good. The chip 31 removed by pressing the release button against the release button pressing tool falls into the disposal box 70 below.

  As described above, the liquid transfer system 1 according to the present embodiment automates the process of extracting and transferring only the liquid from the liquid sample containing the solid matter, and can transfer the liquid by unattended, resulting in contamination and human error. This prevents a decrease in reliability. Further, when the sample to be handled is harmful to the human body, there is no exposure of the hazardous substance to the worker, so that the safety of the worker is ensured.

  Further, when the liquid transfer system 1 according to the present embodiment is used particularly for food bacteria inspection, there is no problem of securing technicians in the technical field of biotechnology, and the cost reduction of inspection itself by automation can be expected.

  The configuration of each embodiment described above is shown as a specific example, and the invention disclosed in this specification is not intended to be limited to the configuration of the specific example itself. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications to these disclosed embodiments, for example, changes or additions of functions and operation methods, and the control shown in the flowchart is replaced with other control having an equivalent function. May be. It should be understood that the technical scope of the invention disclosed herein includes such modifications.

Claims (16)

A first drive unit that drives a pair of claws in a first direction so as to open and close each other in order to hold at least a filter gripping tool that grips a filter and a measurement extraction tool that measures and extracts liquid;
A second drive unit that drives at least a pusher that operates the weighing extractor in a second direction that intersects the first direction;
Each of the pair of claws protrudes below the claws, is driven by the first driving unit, and is arranged in two containers in a range of 90 degrees with the first direction as the center when viewed from the gripping center. A gripping tool;
A liquid transfer manipulator having a holding operation tool. The second driving unit can be stopped at an arbitrary position by position control.
The manipulator for liquid transfer according to claim 1. The metering extractor is a micropipette;
3. The liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 2, wherein the second drive unit drives a pusher that pushes a push button of the micropipette.   The liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 3, wherein an elastic body is provided on an end surface of the pressing tool that abuts against the push button.   The liquid transfer manipulator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first drive unit can control a holding force by torque control. The filter gripping tool is tweezers,
6. The liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of claws includes a groove that holds the tweezers and extends while being inclined with respect to the second direction. . A liquid transfer manipulator according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A sample container containing a liquid mixed with solid matter;
The filter;
The filter gripping tool;
The weighing extractor;
A liquid transfer system.   A container mounting table on which a container is mounted, comprising a container positioning tool that protrudes upward and is disposed in a range of 90 degrees centered on a direction orthogonal to the first direction when viewed from the mounting center. The liquid transfer system according to claim 7, further comprising a container mounting table. A liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 3 or 4,
A sample container containing a liquid mixed with solid matter;
The filter;
The filter gripping tool;
The weighing extractor;
A tip detacher for controlling the push button of the micropipette to be pushed to the release position of the pipette tip by the second drive unit;
A liquid transfer system. A liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 3 or 4,
A sample container containing a liquid mixed with solid matter;
The filter;
The filter gripping tool;
The weighing extractor;
A release button pressing tool for pressing the release button of the pipette tip of the micropipette;
A liquid transfer system. A liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 6;
A sample container containing a liquid mixed with solid matter;
The filter;
The filter gripping tool;
The weighing extractor;
A tweezers holding table for holding the tweezers, and a tweezers holding table having a position / posture determining unit for determining the position and posture of the tweezers when holding the tweezers;
A liquid transfer system. A liquid transfer manipulator according to claim 3 or 4,
A sample container containing a liquid mixed with solid matter;
The filter;
The filter gripping tool;
The weighing extractor;
A micropipette holding table for holding the micropipette, wherein when holding the micropipette, the micropipette holding table has a position and posture of the micropipette, and has a dropout prevention unit for preventing the dropout, and
A liquid transfer system. Using the filter gripping tool held by the holding operation tool of the manipulator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the filter is put into a sample container containing a liquid mixed with solid matter,
The liquid in the sample container is measured and extracted through the filter by the measurement and extraction tool held by the holding operation tool of the manipulator.
Liquid transfer method.   The liquid transfer method according to claim 13, wherein the solid matter is food, and is used for a bacterial test of the food. Transfer the liquid to the cuvette,
Discharging the measured amount of the liquid to each of a plurality of positions in the cuvette, or discharging the liquid at a measured volume velocity along a predetermined path in the cuvette,
The liquid transfer method according to claim 13 or 14. Weigh and extract the liquid in the sample container with the manipulator, transfer it to a dilution container,
Weigh and extract the liquid in the dilution container with the manipulator, transfer it to the inspection container,
The medium in the medium container is weighed and extracted by the manipulator and transferred to the inspection container.
The liquid transfer method according to any one of claims 13 to 15.

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