JPS638806B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic liquid preparation device for preparing various raw materials.

In recent years, various proposals have been made in the fields of chemical testing and analysis and in the fields of inks, paints, and dyes to automate the preparation work of samples or raw materials, which was conventionally done manually, using microcomputer control.

For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-122068, a liquid path such as a pipe is provided between a raw material tank storing various dye solutions and a liquid preparation container, and a dispenser is placed in the middle of the liquid path. An automatic liquid preparation device is disclosed that is controlled by instructions from a microcomputer and supplies a desired amount of each raw material to a liquid preparation container.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-159342 discloses a dyeing method that detects changes in the weight of the stock solution supplied from the stock solution container through the outflow pipe to the receiving container, and controls a valve provided in the outflow pipe using a microcomputer. An automatic liquid blending device is disclosed.

However, these automated devices require a supply system such as piping, dispensers, or valves for each raw material, which makes the device structure complicated, and raw materials adhere to the inside of the piping, making cleaning difficult and troublesome. However, if the viscosity of the liquid is high, there are problems such as difficulty in transferring and measuring the liquid.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-66171 discloses an automatic dye bath preparation device in which a plurality of dispensers are fixedly arranged around a table as necessary, but this device does not allow for the loading and unloading of raw material tanks and liquid preparation containers. It has the same inconvenience as pipe piping, and there are also problems with the table load and drive because raw material tanks, liquid preparation containers, etc. are placed on the table.

In addition, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-122068 discloses a method in which, instead of installing piping between the raw material tank and the receiving tank, a dispenser is moved to suck the desired raw material from the raw material tank and pour it out into the receiving tank. An automatic liquid preparation device is disclosed. This device eliminates the problems caused by piping, but since various raw materials are sucked in and dispensed with a single pipette fixed to the dispenser, if the required sampling amount is larger than the pipette capacity, the same raw material will have to be divided several times. There is also the problem that measurement accuracy decreases if the set dispensing volume is considerably smaller than the pipette capacity. Another disadvantage is that the pipette must be cleaned every time the raw material to be collected is changed, which interrupts the liquid preparation operation.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic liquid preparation device that solves the above-mentioned problems. The automatic liquid preparation device according to the present invention is equipped with a plurality of pipettes for sucking and dispensing a desired amount of raw materials, and one pipette removably installed, and sucks raw materials from a raw material tank and pours them into a receiving container. A mobile pipettor device that operates the pipette so as to operate the pipette, a pipette storage and cleaning device that stores the pipette that is not used for liquid preparation and cleans the pipettor during storage, and a pipettor device and a pipettor storage and cleaning device. A sensor means for detecting that the pipette is transferred between the pipette and the pipette and generating a transfer signal; a liquid preparation control means for controlling the operation of the pipettor device so as to dispense a predetermined amount of the raw material; A cleaning control means that enables and controls the operation of the pipette cleaning process by the storage cleaning device, and a liquid preparation control means that monitors the status of each of the liquid preparation work and the cleaning process and executes these works and processes in a time-sharing manner. and main control means for managing the cleaning control means. With the present invention, it is possible to select the most suitable pipette from among multiple pipettes with different capacities depending on the measurement accuracy, sampling amount, and dispensing amount of each raw material, and the liquid preparation work and cleaning process can be performed in a time-sharing manner. The liquid preparation work is not interrupted by the cleaning process because it is carried out simultaneously.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are general views of an automatic liquid preparation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a raw material tank storage section, and there are multiple raw material tanks 1 each storing various raw materials of different types, hues, concentrations, etc.
1-1, 11-2, . . . 11-N are arranged in a matrix, each having its own address. Below each raw material tank 11-1, 11-2,...11-N is a device 1 for stirring or heating the raw material as necessary.
2-1, 12-2, . . . 12-N are provided. 2
is a receiving container storage section, which includes a plurality of receiving containers 21-1, 21 for receiving desired amounts of various raw materials.
-2, . At the back of the receiving container storage stand 22,
A sensor 23 is provided for detecting that the storage table 22 has entered a predetermined position and the receiving container storage section 2 has been set.

Above the raw material tank storage section 1 and the receiving tank storage section 2, an X-Y plane moving type dispenser device 3 is provided. The support base 53 that grips the two movement guide shafts 54a and 54b is moved in the X direction by the X direction drive device 52.
The sliding device 51 that supports the pipetting device 3 on the other hand slides in the Y direction on the Y direction movement axis (not shown) of the support base 53. Therefore, the dispenser device 3 includes an X-direction drive device 52 and a Y-direction sliding device 5.
1, it can be moved to any position on the X-Y plane above the raw material tank and the receiving tank.

The pipettor device 3 is equipped with one pipette 5-1 selected from a plurality of pipettes, and the pipette 5-1 is attached to a desired raw material tank 1.
It operates to suck in a predetermined amount of raw material from 1-L and pour out a predetermined amount of raw material into a desired receiving container 21-M. This operation is controlled by the liquid preparation control means 9 of the control section 6. 55 and 56 are position sensors in the X direction and Y direction, respectively, which detect the current position of the pipettor device 3 or the pipettor 5-1 and send a detection signal to the control section 6 via a line (not shown).

A pipette storage and cleaning device 10 is provided on the left side of the receiving container storage section 2. This pipette storage and cleaning device 10 includes a plurality of pipette storage and cleaning units 10-1, 10-2, corresponding to a plurality of pipettes 5-1, 5-2, ...5-N having various capacities.
...10--N (for convenience of explanation, 10-1 and 10-2
(only shown). Each unit delivers the corresponding pipette to the dispenser device 3 when it is selected for liquid preparation, takes the pipette from the dispenser device 3 after use and stores it, and cleans it during storage. give The cleaning operation of each unit is controlled by the cleaning control means 8 of the control section 6. A cleaning water tank 42 is provided below the storage cleaning unit, and the cleaning water in the water tank 42 is updated as appropriate. 15-1, 1
5-2 is the corresponding unit 10-1, 10-2
This is a sensor that detects that the pipette 5 is transferred between the pipette device 3 and the pipettor device 3, and a detection signal is sent to the control unit 6.

Figure 3 shows the dispenser device 3 and storage cleaning unit 1.
The configuration of 0-1 is shown in detail. Other units 10-
2, . . . 10-N have the same configuration as the unit 10-1. In FIG. 3, the fixing member 61 of the unit 10-1 is attached to the outer frame 60. A drive motor 6 for lifting and lowering the pipette is mounted on the fixing base above the fixing member 61.
3 is placed. The drive motor 63 is screwed into a vertical guide screw and drives the sliding portion 62 in the vertical direction, which is guided by a vertical guide means (not shown). A pipette holding part 68 is attached to the lower end of the sliding part 62, and the holding piece 68a holds the pipettor 5-1 during storage. Therefore, the sliding part 62 is driven downward by the drive motor 63 to lower the nozzle 5d of the pipette 5-1 to a predetermined depth in the washing water tank 42, or to raise it to a height that does not hinder horizontal movement. Is possible. Reference numerals 69 and 70 are position sensors consisting of limit switches, for example, and the sliding portion 6
2 reaches the uppermost and lowermost positions, respectively, and sends detection signals to the control unit 6 via lines 73 and 74.

A piston drive device 64 made of, for example, a pulse motor is attached to the upper fixed base of the sliding portion 62. The drive device 64 is screwed into a vertical guide screw 66 and drives a piston drive section 65 in the vertical direction, which is guided by a vertical guide means (not shown). A connecting portion 65a having an electromagnet is provided at the lower end of the piston driving portion 65, and is magnetically coupled to the piston head 5c of the pipette 5-1. Piston drive section 65
By upward movement, the piston 5b is pulled up and cleaning water is sucked into the cylinder 5a, and the piston drive unit 6
5 pushes down the piston 5b and discharges the cleaning water from the cylinder 5a. 71, 72
is a position sensor consisting of, for example, a limit switch, which detects when the piston drive unit 65 has reached the uppermost and lowermost positions, and
5 and 76, the detection signal is sent to the control section 6. The pipette holding portion 68 includes a holding piece driving device 67 and a holding piece operating device 8, which are comprised of, for example, a plunger mechanism.
5 is installed. The drive device 67 has a holding piece 68 between the pipette storage (position shown in FIG. 3) and the pipette delivery position (pipette position shown in FIG. 3).
a is driven forward or back, and the holding piece operating device 85 opens and closes the holding piece 68a so that the holding piece 68a grasps or releases the pipette. Operating parts 63, 64, 65a, 67 of unit 10-1,
85 is controlled by a signal from the control section 6.

The dispenser device 3 consists of the same components as the storage cleaning unit except for the pipette holder. As shown in FIG. 3, the pipette holding piece 38 of the dispenser device 3
a is configured to grip the cylinder portion that is not gripped by the holding piece 68a of the unit 10-1. Thereby, the pipette can be gripped or released without the two holding pieces 68a, 38a interfering with each other when transferring the pipette. When transferring the pipette, the sensor 15-1 attached to the holding part 68 of the unit 10-1 comes into contact with both ends of the holding piece 38a of the dispenser device 3, thereby detecting that the pipette has been transferred. Then, a confirmation signal or a delivery signal is sent to the control section 6 via line 82.
As will also be understood, the raising and lowering and piston movements of the pipettor 5-1 in the dispenser device 3 are performed to inject the raw material from the raw material tank into the cylinder 5a or to dispense the raw material into the receiving tank. The actuating parts 33, 34, 35 and the Y-direction sliding device 51 of the dispenser device 3 are connected to the lines 47, 48, 49, 44.
It is controlled by a signal from the control section 6 via.
Similarly, the X-direction drive device 52 is also controlled by a signal from the control section 6 via a line (not shown).

FIG. 4 shows the hardware system of the control section 6. System elements interconnect via a central bus 100. The central processing unit (CPU) 102
Various calculation programs stored in ROM104,
Calculations related to liquid preparation according to the control program,
Performs operation control of the entire device. RAM106
stores the address data of the raw material tank 11 and the receiving container, information regarding the type, hue, concentration, remaining amount, etc. of the raw material, information regarding the operation of the dispenser device and storage cleaning device, calculation data of the CPU 102, etc. The input device 108 consists of, for example, a keyboard device, and is used to input various information to be stored in the RAM 106. Reference numeral 110 denotes an interface for connecting to another main computer (not shown) via a communication line as necessary. 112 is the dispenser device 3
control interface unit for the transfer mechanism (X-direction drive device 52, Y-direction sliding device 51), 11
4 is a control interface section for the operating mechanism of the dispenser device 3; 116 is a storage cleaning device 10
control interface for the operating mechanism of the 118 is an interface for an external storage device.

5 to 8 show flowcharts of various control programs used in the present invention. Next, the operation of the automatic liquid preparation apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be explained with reference to these flowcharts.

In the input process (Fig. 5), information regarding each raw material is input according to the number (address) of the raw material tank, information regarding each prepared liquid according to the number (address) of the receiving container, and information regarding each liquid according to the pipette number. Information regarding each pipette is input in turn from the input device 108 and loaded into the RAM 106 (steps ~
). When the input operation is completed, the amount of raw materials to be collected and the amount of liquid prepared for each receiving container is calculated (step), and the amount of raw materials stored in each raw material tank is compared with the total amount of raw materials required for liquid preparation. , if a certain raw material is in short supply, an alarm is issued (step, ). If all the raw materials to be used are sufficiently stored, the liquid preparation process begins.

In the liquid preparation work (FIGS. 6A and B), first, the optimum pipette for each collection or liquid preparation is determined based on information such as the viscosity and desired amount of the raw material to be sampled and the pipette information (step). Once the optimal pipettor is determined, it is checked to see if it has been cleaned, and if not, it waits until it has been cleaned. As will be described later, the used pipette is replaced with another pipette for the next liquid preparation, stored in a corresponding storage and cleaning unit, and cleaned simultaneously with the liquid preparation operation using the other pipettor. In practice, therefore, the optimal pipette is already cleaned or at least in the process of being cleaned. In addition, a used pipette may be most suitable for the next liquid preparation operation, so a plurality of frequently used pipettes may be provided. If the optimal pipette has been cleaned, the detection switch or sensor 23 next checks whether the receiving container storage stand 22 is properly placed, and if it is not placed in the normal position, an alarm is issued (step 〓〓 ). If the receiving container storage stand 22 is placed normally,
Return all other mechanical and electrical conditions to their initial state. At this time, the dispenser device 3 moves to the origin position of the X-Y operating plane, for example, to a predetermined position at the upper left of FIG.

The pipettor device 3 then moves to the storage cleaning unit where the optimal pipette is stored. This movement is performed using the stop position information of the dispenser device 3 set in advance for each unit and the X-Y position sensors 55, 5.
This is performed by controlling the operation of the X-direction driving device 52 and the Y-direction sliding device 51 according to the current position information from Step 6 (Step ≓). When the movement is completed, the holding piece drive device 67 of the unit (for example, 10-1) is operated to move the holding piece 68 to a predetermined position.
That is, the pipette 5-1 is pushed out to a position where it is fitted into the holding piece 38a of the dispenser device 3. pipette 5
-1 is confirmed or detected by the sensor 15-1, and at this time, a transfer signal indicating that the pipettor 5-1 has been transferred from the unit 10-1 to the pipettor device 3 is sent to the interface section. 116 to the CPU 102. When the pipette 5-1 is attached to the dispenser device 3, the holding piece operating device 85 is activated to release the holding of the pipette by the holding piece 68a of the unit 10-1, and the holding piece driving device 67 is reversely rotated. Return the holding piece 68a to its original position. In this way, the transfer of the pipette from the storage cleaning unit to the dispenser device is completed (steps 〓〓〓〓〓〓).

When the transfer of the pipette is completed, the pipette device 3
is moved to the desired raw material tank position (steps 〓〓, 〓〓). This movement is done by following the steps mentioned above.
is done in a similar manner. When the movement is completed, the drive motor 33 is actuated to drive the sliding portion 32 downward, thereby lowering the pipette 5-1 by a certain amount. When the lower end detection position sensor 40 detects the completion of the lowering (step), the piston drive unit 34 is then actuated to lower the piston drive unit 35 and connect the electromagnetic joint 35a to the piston head 5c. Join (step). Next, the piston drive unit 35
and the piston 5b is raised, and the cylinder 5a is
A predetermined amount of raw material is sucked into the
〓〓). When dispensing the same raw material into multiple receiving containers, it is efficient to suck in the same amount as the total amount at one time, and then pour out a predetermined amount into each receiving container for distribution. It is.

After injecting the raw material, the drive motor 33 is reversed and the sliding part 32 (and therefore the pipette 5-1)
Raise and return to the original position (Step 〓〓).
This upward return is confirmed by the upper end position sensor 39 (Step 〓〓).

The dispenser device 3 is then moved to the desired position on the receiving container (steps 〓〓〓〓〓〓). This movement is performed in a manner similar to the step 〓〓 or step 〓〓, 〓〓 described above.

When the dispenser device 3 reaches the desired receiving container, the pulse motor of the piston drive device 34 is reversed to lower the piston drive portion 35 and the piston 5b by a stroke corresponding to the dispensed amount,
A predetermined amount of the raw material in the cylinder 5a is poured out into the receiving container (steps 〓〓〓〓〓〓). When distributing the same raw material to a plurality of receiving containers, the dispenser device 3 is sequentially moved onto each receiving container and the above-mentioned pouring operation is repeated (Steps〓〓〓〓〓〓).

When the raw material dispensing operation is completed, the dispenser device 3 moves to a predetermined position (pipette transfer position) in front of the storage and cleaning unit 10-1 (steps 〓, 〓).
At this point, the connection between the joint portion 35a and the piston head 5c is released, and the piston drive portion 35 returns to the uppermost position (step 〓〓). Next, unit 10-
1 holding piece driving device 67 and holding piece operating device 8
5 operates to push the holding piece 68a to the delivery position and receive the pipette 5-1, and then the holding piece 68
returns to the original position while holding the pipette 5-1. In this way, from the dispenser device 3 to the unit 10
The used pipette 5-1 is transferred to the sensor 1 (steps 〓〓〓〓〓), and the event of this transfer is transferred to the sensor 1.
5-1 and sent to the CPU 102.

With the above operations, preparation of one raw material is completed. Preparation of the next raw material starts again from step 20. Another pipettor 5-L is selected and transferred from the corresponding unit 10-L to the dispenser device 3, and the same suction and dispensing operations as described above are performed. On the other hand, the used pipette 5-1 is cleaned in the unit 10-1 by a cleaning program described later. Then, the above-mentioned liquid preparation work is performed for all the raw materials necessary for each receiving container while exchanging the pipettes.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the cleaning treatment program. When the used pipette 5-1 is delivered to the corresponding unit 10-1, a cleaning process begins. The drive motor 63 operates to lower the sliding part 62 to the lowest position and move the nozzle 5d of the pipette 5-1 into the water tank 42.
allow it to enter the cleaning water inside. Thereafter, the piston drive device 64 is activated to lower the piston drive portion 65 to the lowest end, and join the joint portion 65a to the piston head 5c (steps ≓ to ≓). As a result, the piston 5b is pushed to the lowest end, and the raw material remaining in the cylinder 5a is removed from the cleaning water tank 42.
is discharged inside. Next, the pulse motor of the piston drive device 64 is reversely rotated to raise the piston drive section 65 and the piston 5b to their respective uppermost positions, thereby sucking the cleaning water into the cylinder 5a (steps <<, <). Next, the pulse motor of the piston drive unit 64 rotates forward to lower the piston drive unit 65 and the piston 5b to the lowest end, and the cylinder 5
Completely drain the washing water in a (step 〓〓). By repeating such suction and discharge of the cleaning water an appropriate number of times (step 〓〓), the cylinder 5a and nozzle 5d of the pipette 5-1 are sufficiently cleaned.

When the cleaning is completed, the connection between the piston drive section 65a and the piston head 5c of the pipette is released, and the piston drive section 65 is raised to the uppermost position (steps 〓 to 〓). Next, the sliding portion 62 is raised and returned to the uppermost position to complete the cleaning process (Steps 〓〓〓〓〓〓). Note that if the washing water adhering to the pipette affects the precision of liquid preparation, it may be dried and removed by blowing warm air using an appropriate means.

The operating procedures for input processing, liquid preparation work, and cleaning processing have been described above. Next, the main control means 7 that controls and manages these will be explained. The main control means 7 includes an operating system, and functions to execute input processing, liquid preparation work, and cleaning processing mutually independently and concurrently. That is, the pipette 5-1 used for dispensing one raw material is delivered to the storage cleaning unit 10-1, and instead, another pipette 5-2 is attached to the dispenser device 3 to dispense the next different raw material. When used for preparing a new liquid, the main control means 7 causes the pipette 5-1 to perform cleaning processing without interrupting the liquid preparation operation by the pipette 5-2, and at the same time performs input processing for preparing a new liquid. Each control program is controlled and managed so that it can also be executed. One event in each process or operation,
For example, when a movement of the dispenser device to a desired position occurs, a command for the movement is sent to the associated interface, and the completion of movement is detected by an interrupt to initiate the next operating step. This will cause the CPU
may engage in other processing during movement of the dispenser device. In this way, the main control means 7 adjusts the liquid,
To simultaneously execute cleaning and input work and processing in a time-division manner.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the main control program. It is checked whether each task (process or work) is being executed (steps 〓〓, 〓〓, 〓〓). If the task is not in execution or is waiting for an event to finish, similar checks are performed on other tasks. If it is in the running state, execution of the process (work) continues (steps 〓, 〓, 〓〓). If an event occurs during execution, such as movement of the dispenser device or movement of the washer drive unit, a corresponding command is given to the related interface section and the process or work program is placed in a state of waiting for the event to end. Move on to checking the status of other tasks (steps 〓, 〓〓, 〓〓). Furthermore, even if no event occurs during execution, an interrupt is generated after a certain period of time has elapsed to check the status of other tasks. In this case, the interrupted processing program enters a waiting state and resumes execution the next time it checks its own state. In this way, the three tasks of liquid preparation, cleaning, and input processing are efficiently managed in a time-sharing manner. Note that the input task shown in FIG. 8 is for the next liquid preparation, and is not necessarily performed simultaneously with the liquid preparation work and the cleaning process.

As described above, according to the present invention, the optimum pipette is used from among a plurality of pipettes for preparing each raw material,
In addition, since the liquid preparation work is not interrupted by the cleaning process, efficient and convenient liquid preparation can be performed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 are general views of an automatic liquid preparation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 is a plan view, and Figure 3 is a partial view of Figures 1 and 2. 4 is a block diagram of the hardware system that constitutes the control section of FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the input processing program. Figures 6A and B are flowcharts of the liquid preparation work program;
Figure 7 is a flowchart of the cleaning process program.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the main control program. 3...Dispenser device, 5-1, 5-2..., 5-N
... Pipette, 6... Control unit, 7... Main control means, 8... Cleaning process control means, 9... Liquid preparation process control means, 10... Pipette storage and cleaning device, 10-
1, 10-2..., 10-N...Pipette storage and cleaning unit, 51...Y direction sliding device, 52...X
Directional drive device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of pipettes for aspirating and dispensing a desired amount of raw materials, and one pipette that is removably attached so that the raw materials are sucked from a raw material tank and dispensed into a receiving container. A mobile pipettor device that operates the pipette; a pipette storage and cleaning device that stores pipettes that are not used for liquid preparation and cleans the pipettes during storage; and a pipettor storage and cleaning device that sensor means for detecting that a pipette is transferred between the pipettes and generating a transfer signal; liquid preparation control means for controlling the operation of the pipettor device so as to dispense the raw material; A cleaning control means for enabling and controlling the operation of the pipette by the device; An automatic liquid preparation device comprising: a main control means for managing the control means;