JPH0466553B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automatic colony transplantation device, and in particular, to a device for automatically transferring colonies, which is prepared for testing, etc., and is used to transfer a so-called object strain or a state in which colonies of various bacteria are mixed. The present invention relates to an automatic colony transplanting device which can accurately set the depth of insertion of a source strain into a culture medium using a simple mechanism and is suitable for continuous transplantation.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, new bacterial species are generally treated and cultured through the following nine steps.

It involves collecting soil, diluting it with water, planting it on an agar medium in a culture culture plate, culturing it for a certain period of time in a warmer, visually determining the colonies of various bacteria that have grown on the agar medium, and finding colonies with the desired color. Collect the microorganisms with a platinum loop, transfer them to a test tube or agar medium, culture them, and if the bacteria are promising, repeat various tests and study them, and use them in the fields of medicine, brewing, and other biotechnology. This is done through the steps of applying the

In the above process, the visual identification, collection, and transplantation of colonies of specific bacteria that appear promising are performed manually, which is tedious and inefficient work.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such drawbacks,
-Instead of using an operating device that can sequentially observe the culture medium of Sheare using a Y stage, or observing the culture medium of Sheare directly with the naked eye or through a microscope, image processing is performed using a color TV monitor. Automatic devices have been proposed and developed to improve the efficiency and reduce fatigue of color TV viewing operations.

The automatic transfer device developed as this type of automatic device selects colonies of a predetermined color from the source culture medium in which colonies of various bacteria are propagating in a mixed state, and automatically selects colonies according to the selection. The cells are collected sequentially and sequentially and transferred to a medium on an object shell.

In such devices, the work up to the selection of colonies must be done manually, but once the selection is done, a person operates the automatic transplantation device and performs the specified tasks via the operation panel or keyboard. By giving a command, the transfer device automatically collects the selected colonies and automatically transfers them to an object tray placed at another predetermined location or to a medium in a test tube. . Therefore, there is an advantage that the manpower and fatigue can be partially reduced and the efficiency of the processing can be improved.

By automating the collection work after selection in this way, it has become possible to transfer desired colonies of the cultured source shear from the source shear to the object shear within a relatively short period of time. In this case, a colony from one source sheare is transferred to an object sheare under different conditions, or colonies are collected from a source sheare under different conditions.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] Such conditions include changing the contents of the culture medium, and changing the depth of insertion of a transfer needle (pickup) using a platinum loop or thin metal wire into the surface of the culture medium. changes are made.

However, this change in depth is performed by moving the pick-up vertically relative to the shear dish, and requires fine depth control with respect to the thickness of the medium.

On the other hand, a pick-up is a device that moves at a relatively high speed with a rocking motion from the medium of the source shear placed on the source shear transfer stage to the medium of the object shear placed on the object shear transfer stage. The collected colonies are transferred between them. Furthermore, the number of transfers may be as many as several hundred times in one shear, and as a result, a mechanism for performing rocking motion at high speed is also required.

Therefore, in addition to the transfer control mechanism that performs such high-speed rocking motion, if you want to control the vertical movement of the pick-up at an accurate depth, it is necessary to combine the rocking motion mechanism and the vertical position control mechanism. Not only do the mechanisms become complicated and large, but
Adjusting the overall position of the pick-up becomes very difficult, and accurate positioning is not possible. Moreover, there is a possibility that the system cannot respond to the speed of the continuous translocation process.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and it eliminates these problems and also improves the depth of insertion of the pick-up into the culture medium using a simple mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic colony transplantation device that can more accurately set the position and can handle continuous transplantation processing.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The automatic colony transplanting device of the present invention that achieves the above object separates the transfer control mechanism that causes the pick-up to swing motion and the control mechanism that moves the pick-up up and down. The means includes first and second containers, and first and second containers on which the first and second containers are placed, respectively.
a table, and a pick-up (transfer needle) that moves in an oscillating motion from the culture medium in the first container to the culture medium in the second container, and at least one of the first and second containers. The insertion depth of the transfer needle into the culture medium is such that the pick-up is held at a predetermined height position relative to the first or second container, and the corresponding table side of one of the first and second containers is It is set by moving it up or down.

[Operation] The pick-up, which moves in a rocking motion from the culture medium in the first container to the culture medium in the second container, is held at a predetermined height position with respect to these containers, and the The table side can be adjusted up and down to adjust the insertion depth into the culture medium.
The mechanism for swinging the pick-up and the depth adjustment mechanism for its vertical movement can be separated.

Therefore, the rocking motion mechanism of the pick-up enables high-speed processing, and the depth of insertion of the pick-up into the culture medium can be controlled by a simple mechanism without affecting the continuous translocation process. This makes it possible to achieve accurate positioning by dividing and positioning, making it possible to handle continuous translocation processing.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic colony transplantation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram corresponding to the above-mentioned plan view showing the internal structure seen from the front, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a mechanism for setting the depth of the pickup. In addition, in each of these figures, the same parts are indicated by the same symbols.

In FIG. 1, 1 is an automatic colony transplantation device, 2 is a transfer mechanism thereof, 3 is an object shear supply mechanism, 4 is a source shear supply unit, and 5 is a table on which the shear is set. Objects as objects transport stage, 6
is a similar source shear transfer stage, and 7 is an operation panel.

Further, a shear load is provided between the source shear supply section 4 and the source shear transfer stage 6.
An unloading mechanism 9 is installed, and furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, an image processing section 8 having a built-in TV camera is placed above the source shear transfer stage 6. Note that 8a is a light source that irradiates the source shear.

Here, the video detected by the video processing section 8 is color-processed and displayed on a TV monitor (not shown). As a result, each colony in the medium of Source Sheare 11 is observed to have a certain color on the CRT display.

Here, the object file transfer stage 5
and the source shear transfer stage 6 are stages movable in the X, Y, and Z directions, and in order to move independently in each direction,
A movement mechanism that combines a ball screw mechanism and a stepping motor in the X, Y, and Z directions (not shown)
are adopted respectively.

The movement in each direction is controlled by driving the stepping motor, and the amount and direction of rotation of the stepping motor are controlled according to direction control pulses and drive pulse signals from a control section (not shown). be exposed. As a result, the object shear transfer stage 5 and the source shear transfer stage 6 move by a predetermined amount in a predetermined direction toward the target position in response to the control signal.

By the way, the positions shown by solid lines in FIG. 1 are the first set position 5a, which is the set target position when the object shear transfer stage 5 and the source shear transfer stage 6 are transferred in the case of colony transfer processing. It is 6a. In addition, these stages 5 and 6 each have 10 object shares.
and a sauce tray 11 are placed thereon.

On the other hand, the positions indicated by dotted lines 5b and 6b are the second setting positions for loading (taking out and setting) or unloading (retrieving the set ones) the respective trays 10 and 11 on the stages 5 and 6. be.

Now, the transfer mechanism 2 here includes a pair of link mechanisms 21 arranged in parallel and a rocking plate type eccentric cam 2.
In combination with 2, the transfer arm 23, which is a lever mechanism having a pivot point in the center, is given a swinging motion. A swinging motion is applied to a pick-up 23a made of a thin wire for transplantation, which is set on the distal end side of the arm 23. As a result, the pick-up 23a moves from the medium in the source shear 11 placed on the source shear transfer stage 6 to the medium in the object shear 10 placed on the object shear transfer stage 5, and is shaken between them. repeat the movement.

In this way, via the pick-up 23a,
From the culture medium of the source tray 11 in which colonies of various types of bacteria are propagating in a mixed state, colonies are automatically and continuously selected according to a predetermined color and positioned at the position of the pick-up 23a, which is one end point of the rocking motion. A process is performed in which the samples are sequentially collected and transferred to a predetermined culture medium positioned at the pick-up 23a on the object tray 10, which is the other end point of the rocking movement.

By the way, the source shear 11 is taken out from a predetermined position of the source shear cartridges 4a, 4b set in the source shear supply section 4 by the shear shear loading/unloading mechanism 9, and the source shear 11 is taken out from a predetermined position of the source shear cartridges 4a, 4b set in the source shear supply section 4. 9a, and the source shear transfer stage 6 is moved to the second set position 6b shown by the dotted line and set thereon.

The source shear transfer stage 6 then moves to the first set position 6a. Note that the recovery is almost the reverse operation.

On the other hand, the object shear 10 is supplied by the object shear supply mechanism 3, and is taken out by operating the handling section 33a.
The cartridge is returned to its original cartridge position and recovered. The object sharing mechanism 3 is
Four removable cartridges 32a, 32b, 3 mounted on a rotating disk 31 at 90 degree intervals
2c and 32d, and a shear loading/unloading mechanism 33 having a handling portion 33a is fixedly arranged in the center of the disk 31 independently of the disk 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, an elevator mechanism 34 for moving the cartridge 32b up and down is arranged corresponding to the bottom of the disk 31 in the cartridge 32b positioned at the take-out position. , are rotationally driven by a motor 35 and positioned.

Next, the setting of the insertion depth of the pick-up into the culture medium will be explained with reference to FIG.

The transfer arm 23 is composed of two links, bars 24 and 25, and a pick-up 23a is fixed to the tip side of the bar 25.

Then, the bar 24 connects the link mechanism 21 with the pin 2.
1a, and is fixed to the shaft 26. On the other hand, one end of the bar 25 is fitted into the shaft 26 via a sleeve 27 so as to be movable up and down, and is groove-coupled to the shaft 27 so as to be restrained in the direction of rotation of the shaft 27. Therefore, it swings as the shaft 27 rotates, and moves up and down as the sleeve 27 moves up and down.

The sleeve 27 is connected to one end 28 of the balance bar 28.
The balance bar 28 is pivoted to the shaft 28a, and is moved up and down by a cam 29 with the support 28b as a fulcrum. Note that the other end 28c of the balance bar 28 is a free end.

The cam 29 has a shaft tube 41 into which the cam shaft 22a is inserted.
When the pick-up 23a is located at the end point of the swinging movement corresponding to the position of the source shear 11 or the object shear 10,
Each end point is at a peak position with a certain width, and the balance bar 28 is lifted to the dotted line,
The tip 23b of the pick-up 23a is moved to a fixed position from the surface of the culture medium in each tray. As a result, the tip portion 23b is held in that position.

In addition, in the state of movement between the source shear 11 or the object shear 10, the cam 2
9 is in the valley position, and the pick-up 23 is placed at a certain distance from the top surface of each tray.
Hold the tip 23b of a and perform rocking motion.

On the other hand, the object shear transfer stage 5 (or source shear transfer stage 6) on which the object shear 10 (or source shear 11) is placed is supported by a bracket 43 that moves up and down the table 42. is coupled to a ball screw mechanism 44 that moves in the vertical direction (Z direction).

The direction and amount of rotation of the screw 44a are controlled by a stepping motor 45, and the screw 44a is moved to the object shear transfer stage 5.
(or the source shear transfer stage 6) moves up and down (Z direction), and the pick-up 23a
The depth of each shear to the culture medium is determined in relation to the position at which the tip 23b is lowered and held.

Here, the pick-up 23a side is moved up and down and held at a predetermined position, and the holding position is set in advance in such a manner that it is positioned at a constant depth with respect to the shear culture medium.

By setting in this way, the subsequent depth adjustment control is controlled in the Z direction, so that the position of the swing mechanism side does not change even during the transplanting process, which may take several hundred times. Realizes transplantation processing using high-speed rocking motion.

The control signal for positioning in the Z direction by the stepping motor 45 is sent from the control unit 46, and its value corresponds to the surface position of each shear, and the value of the control signal corresponds to the surface position of each shear. Enter the thickness and the amount of difference in advance on the keyboard 4.
7 (or operation panel 7), and is calculated by the control unit 46 from the input value, the position of the table 42, the thickness of the bottom of the shear dish, etc. Note that the surface position of the shear stain may be detected using an optical detector or the like.

Incidentally, the control signal for the stepping motor 45 is generated in accordance with the control state of the transfer mechanism 2 by the control section 46.

In the above manner, the amount of the pick-up inserted into the culture medium of each tray is determined and controlled.

Next, the overall operation of the porting process will be explained.

Now, when the disc 31 is driven, the four cartridges 32 are
A selected predetermined cartridge from among a, 32b, 32c, and 32d is positioned at a take-out position corresponding to the second set position 5b of the object shear transfer stage 5 and stopped. At this time, the selected cartridge is moved up and down by the elevator mechanism 34, and a predetermined object shear 10 to be taken out is set at a position corresponding to the handling section 33a of the shear load/unload mechanism 33, and a certain object shear is moved up and down by the elevator mechanism 34. 1
Extract 0. Then, it is set on the object shear transfer stage 5, and the object shear transfer stage 5 moves from the second set position 5b to the first set position 5a, and picks up the object shear transfer stage 5.
The object shear 10 is positioned at a predetermined position on the culture medium at the transfer position 3a, and the object shear transfer stage 5 is moved in the Z direction.
The tip 23b of the pick-up 23a is positioned at a set depth.

On the other hand, the source shear plate 11 is moved to the first set position 6a of the source shear plate transfer stage 6 at this time.
It is in. When a new source tray 11 is required, the cartridges 4a and 4b undergo similar processing.
The source shear 11 selected by the shear load/unload mechanism 9 is set on the source shear transfer stage 6 and moved to the second set position 6.
b to the first set position 6a. Then, in the same manner as described above, the source shear transfer stage 6 further moves in the Z direction, and is positioned at a position where the tip end 23b of the pick-up 23a is at the set depth.

In this way, a selected position of a predetermined color-sorted colony of a certain source tray 11 is positioned in such a relationship that a predetermined insertion depth is achieved at the pick-up position, and the pick-up 23a
In response to the shaking, a certain colony is picked up, and the picked colony of a predetermined color is transplanted to a predetermined position where the pick-up 23a on the object shed 10 side is located at a predetermined insertion depth.

In the process of transferring the object shear 10, the source shear transfer stage 6 moves to the next position to be transferred, and the same positioning is performed at the same depth. Then, the source tray 11 is positioned at the pickup position where the next predetermined color-sorted colony is to be selected, and the positioning is completed. And pick up 23a
returns and picks up the colony at that location. While picking up from the source shear 11 and returning to transfer, the object shear transfer stage 5 in the object shear 10 on the receiving side moves to the next position to be transferred to the same depth. and is similarly positioned at the next predetermined translocation position.

In this way, colonies of a predetermined color are selected according to the rocking motion of the pick-up 23a, and the predetermined color is sorted from the medium of the source shear tray 11 in which colonies of various bacteria are propagating in a mixed state. Automatically and continuously sequentially pick colonies,
Pickup 23 on object share 10
The work of sequentially transplanting the cells to a predetermined culture medium located at position a is performed. After the porting is completed, the object share 10 is collected into the cartridge.

Here, the control unit 46 is generally composed of an arithmetic processing unit, a memory, an interface, etc.
In synchronization with the transfer timing of the pick-up 23a of the transfer mechanism 2, the object shear transfer stage 5 and the source shear transfer stage 6 are moved in X, Y,
In addition to controlling the positioning in the Z direction, by specifying the address corresponding to any shear of each cartridge in accordance with the control signal from the control, that shear can be taken out and collected, and furthermore, a certain shear can be moved. The migration history, including the depth of migration, is stored in memory.

Because of this, it becomes possible to carry out transplantation processing to a predetermined depth quickly and continuously.

Although the explanation has been made above, the method of making the rocking motion of the pick-up is not limited to the embodiment.
In the embodiment, the pick-up side is moved up and down and held at a predetermined position, and the holding position is positioned at a constant depth with respect to the culture medium of the shear,
The subsequent depth control is controlled in the Z direction, which achieves high-speed processing by not changing the position of the rocking mechanism during the translocation process, which may take several hundred times. This is to do so.

However, the position to hold this pick-up is
In this way, the position does not need to be at a certain depth from the surface of the shear dish; for example, it may be possible to hold the tip of the pick-up at a position as close to the surface of the medium as possible to reduce the amount of movement on the table side.
This allows fine position setting to be performed as efficiently as possible, and the depth may be controlled accurately and precisely. Further, all movements in the Z direction are performed on the table side, and the pickup side does not necessarily have to be moved up and down and held at a predetermined position.

Furthermore, the shear container used in the examples may be any container for transferring colonies, such as a test tube.

[Effect of the invention] As can be understood from the above explanation, in the present invention, the first and second containers, the first and second
and a pick-up (transfer needle) that moves from the culture medium in the first container to the culture medium in the second container with a rocking motion. The insertion depth of the transfer needle into the culture medium of at least one of the first and second containers is such that the pick-up is held at a predetermined height position with respect to the first or second container, and the depth of insertion of the transfer needle into the culture medium of at least one of the first and second containers corresponds to Since one of the first and second tables is controlled by moving up and down, the depth of insertion of the container into the culture medium can be controlled by simply moving the table side up and down. . As a result, the mechanism for the rocking movement of the pick-up and the mechanism for controlling the depth of its vertical movement can be separated.

Therefore, the rocking motion mechanism of the pick-up enables high-speed processing, and the depth of insertion of the pick-up into the culture medium can be controlled by a simple mechanism without affecting the continuous translocation process. This makes it possible to achieve accurate positioning by dividing control, making it possible to handle continuous translocation processing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an automatic colony transplantation device according to an embodiment of the present invention seen from above, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram corresponding to a plan view showing the internal structure seen from the front. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a mechanism for setting the depth of the pickup. 1 is an automatic colony transplantation device, 2 is a transfer mechanism, 3
4 is an object shear supply mechanism; 4 is a source shear supply unit; 5 is an object shear transfer stage; 6 is a source shear transfer stage; 7
is the operation panel, 10 is the object share, 1
1 is sauce share, 23a is pick up, 2
3b is the tip of the pick-up, 24, 25 are bars, 26 is a shaft, 27, 30 are sleeves, 28 is a balance bar 28, 29 is a cam, 31 is a disc, 32
a, 32b, 32c, 32d are cartridges, 3
3 is a shear load/unload mechanism, 34 is an elevator mechanism, 41 is a tube shaft, 42 is a table, 4
3 is a bracket, 44 is a ball screw mechanism that moves in the Z direction, 44a is a screw, 45 is a stepping motor, 46 is a control unit, and 47 is a keyboard.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. First and second containers containing a culture medium;
a predetermined distance from each culture medium in the second container;
a transplantation needle that moves in a rocking motion between positions facing the culture medium; and the transplantation needle that is placed with one of the first and second containers placed thereon and is arranged to face the culture medium. An automatic colony transplanting device comprising: a container mounting table that sets the depth of insertion of the transfer needle into the culture medium by moving a predetermined distance toward the medium. 2. A rocking motion with respect to the transplant needle is performed via a link mechanism, and the transplant needle is moved up and down a predetermined distance and held at the end point of the rocking motion, and is held in the first or second container. The automatic colony transplantation device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic colony transplantation device is positioned at a predetermined position relative to the cell.