A fully automatic sample adding device

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of in vitro diagnostic medical devices, and discloses a fully automatic loading device, including a loading arm and a loading platform, wherein the loading platform includes an incubation centrifuge and a turntable loading mechanism, the turntable loading mechanism is located on the circumference outer ring of the incubation centrifuge, the loading arm is located above the incubation centrifuge and the turntable loading mechanism, the turntable loading mechanism is provided with a sample carrier and a reagent carrier, the incubation centrifuge is provided with a rotor, a hanging basket is provided at an equal angle on the rotor, a reaction plate is installed on the hanging basket, a loading window is provided on the incubation centrifuge, a sliding door is installed on the loading window, and a sliding door switch device is provided on the loading arm. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic loading device, which can be used to load samples on the reaction plate in the centrifuge, and can use the loading arm to open and close the cover of the centrifuge, thereby reducing the complexity of the equipment structure, simplifying the experimental process, and improving the experimental efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of in vitro diagnostic medical devices, and in particular to a full-automatic sample adding device. Background Art

[0002] The clinical trial process of in vitro diagnostic medical devices usually includes a sample loading step. In existing sample loading equipment, a sample loading arm is usually used to load samples to a reaction plate on a sample platform. When the experimental process includes a centrifugation step, a robotic arm is required to transfer the reaction plate to complete the centrifugation of the reaction plate. After the centrifugation is completed, the reaction plate is transferred from the centrifuge to the position of the next experimental step, which increases the complexity of the equipment and prolongs the experimental time.

[0003] In addition, for the opening and closing operations of the centrifuge cover, an independent opening and closing cover mechanism is usually provided on the centrifuge, which requires the addition of corresponding drives and also increases the failure points. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic sample loading device, which can be used to load samples on a reaction plate in a centrifuge, and can use a sample loading arm to open and close the cover of the centrifuge, thereby reducing the complexity of the equipment structure, simplifying the experimental process, and improving the experimental efficiency.

[0005] The present invention is realized by the following technical scheme: a fully automatic loading device, comprising a loading arm and a loading platform, the loading platform comprising an incubation centrifuge and a turntable loading mechanism, the turntable loading mechanism being located on the circumferential outer ring of the incubation centrifuge, the loading arm being located above the incubation centrifuge and the turntable loading mechanism, the turntable loading mechanism being provided with a sample carrier and a reagent carrier, a rotor being provided in the incubation centrifuge, a hanging basket being provided at equal angles on the rotor, a reaction plate being installed on the hanging basket, a loading window being provided on the incubation centrifuge, a sliding door being installed on the loading window, the loading arm comprising a loading arm base and a loading module, the loading arm base and the loading module having the degree of freedom to move along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge, the loading module also having the degree of freedom to move up and down, and a sliding door switch device being provided on the loading arm base.

[0006] In the above-mentioned fully automatic loading device, the incubation centrifuge serves as a workstation for the experimental steps of loading, incubation, centrifugation, etc., and completes the steps of loading, incubation, centrifugation, cleaning, etc. in the experimental process. During the experiment, there is no need to transfer the reaction plate, which reduces the movement of the loading arm. When loading is required, the sliding door on the loading window is opened by the sliding door switch device on the loading arm, and the turntable loading mechanism rotates to transfer the sample or reagent to the working area of ​​the loading arm. The loading arm absorbs the sample or reagent in the working area and loads the reaction plate below the loading window. The sample is added, and when the next reaction plate needs to be added after the sample is added to the reaction plate, the rotor in the incubation centrifuge rotates, and the next hanging basket is turned to the bottom of the sample addition window, and the sample addition arm adds samples to the reaction plate on the hanging basket. After the sample addition is completed, the sliding door is closed by the sliding door switch device on the sample addition arm, and the incubation centrifuge completes the incubation and centrifugation steps of the reaction plate. When the incubation and centrifugation are completed and the reaction residue needs to be cleaned, the sliding door is opened by the sliding door switch device on the sample addition arm, and the reaction residue in the reaction plate is cleaned by the sample addition arm.

[0007] Furthermore, the sliding door switch device includes a fixed part and a movable part, a return spring is installed between the fixed part and the movable part, a sliding groove is provided on the movable part, and a limiting pin that cooperates with the sliding groove is provided on the fixed part. The sliding groove is stuck on the limiting pin and can slide along the limiting pin. Its function is: with this structure, the sliding door can be pushed to open and close by the lower end of the movable part, and after the sliding door is opened and closed, the movable part can be pulled up to make it detach from the sliding door.

[0008] Furthermore, an extension structure is provided on the movable part, and a paddle is installed on the loading module. The paddle plate is located below the extension structure. Its function is to directly push the movable part upwards through the loading arm to make the movable part detach from the sliding door without designing an additional mechanism to complete the upward movement of the movable part. During manual operation, the movable part can be pushed upwards through the extension structure to make the movable part detach from the sliding door.

[0009] Furthermore, there are two sliding grooves and two limiting pins, and their functions are to make the upward and downward sliding of the movable part smoother and guide its sliding direction at the same time.

[0010] Furthermore, the movable part is made of magnetic material, and a second magnet is installed on the sliding cabin door. After the sliding cabin door is opened, when the sample loading arm loads samples to the reaction hole closest to the sliding cabin door, the movable part is not within the magnetic action range of the second magnet. Its function is to enable the closing action of the sliding cabin door to be completed by pulling, that is, the movable part can be located on the same side of the sliding cabin door during the opening and closing process of the sliding cabin door. When closing the sliding cabin door, the sliding cabin door is adhered to the movable part left and right by magnetic force and moves with the movable part until it is closed, thereby making the action of opening and closing the sliding cabin door simpler. After the sliding cabin door is opened, when the sample loading arm loads samples to the reaction hole closest to the sliding cabin door, the movable part is not within the magnetic action range of the second magnet, thereby avoiding that during the loading process, the sliding cabin door is adsorbed on the movable part due to the magnetic force and continuously slides during the loading process, causing wear that affects the service life.

[0011] Furthermore, the hanging basket is installed at an angle, and a hanging basket adjustment plate made of magnetic material is installed below the side of the sample loading window close to the center of the incubation centrifuge, and a first magnet is installed on the side of the hanging basket close to the center of the centrifuge. A leveling limit mechanism is provided on the hanging basket, and its function is: the inclined installation of the hanging basket is conducive to the flipping of the hanging basket during centrifugation, and when loading samples, the hanging basket rotates in the direction of the hanging basket adjustment plate due to the action of the magnetic force between the hanging basket adjustment plate and the first magnet, so that the hanging basket is in a horizontal state, thereby obtaining a better loading effect.

[0012] Furthermore, the incubation centrifuge is a cassette incubation centrifuge, and the reaction plate is a gel card or a microplate strip, which functions to make the device compatible with microcolumn gel method experiment cards (gel cards) and solid phase agglutination method microplates, so that microcolumn gel method experiments and solid phase agglutination method experiments can be completed according to experimental needs.

[0013] Furthermore, the sample loading window is opened in the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge and can cover the vertical projection of the hanging basket located below it. Its function is to make the reaction plate on the hanging basket adapt to the sample loading window and be in the best sample loading position, so that the sample loading position is more accurate.

[0014] In summary, the incubation centrifugal device provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] The fully automatic loading device provided by the present invention can realize loading of samples on a reaction plate in a centrifuge, and can realize opening and closing of a centrifuge cover through the existing actions of the loading arm itself, without adding an additional door opening and closing operation, so that the function of the loading arm is fully utilized, and the degree of freedom of the loading arm is reduced, and the complexity of its structure and control is reduced. In addition, a hanging basket leveling plate is arranged in the incubation centrifuge, so that the incubation centrifuge can not only meet the requirements of tilting in a natural state to promote the flipping of the hanging basket during centrifugation, but also meet the requirements of automatically leveling the hanging basket in the loading position during loading, so as to ensure the accuracy of the loading position. Therefore, the fully automatic loading device provided by the present invention realizes the functions of automatic loading and automatic opening and closing of the centrifuge cover through a simpler structure, which not only improves the stability of the equipment, but also improves the implementation efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic structural diagram of a fully automatic sample adding device according to the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the sample loading window and the sliding door of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the turntable type sample introduction mechanism of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the incubation centrifuge described in the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the hanging basket in the leveling state according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of the sliding door switch device of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the dial plate of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sample loading arm of the present invention.

[0024] Among them, 1- loading arm, 101- loading arm base, 102- loading module, 2- sliding door opening device, 3- incubation centrifuge, 4- turntable type loading mechanism, 5- loading platform, 6- loading window, 7- sliding door, 8- reaction plate, 9- reagent carrier, 10- sample carrier, 11- second magnet, 12- hanging basket adjustment plate, 13- hanging basket, 14- first magnet, 15- rotor, 16- movable part, 161- extension structure, 162- sliding groove, 17- fixing part, 18- reset spring, 19- limiting pin, 20- dial plate, 21- leveling limiting mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] To explain the technical features and achieved purposes and effects of the present invention in detail, further description is given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0026] like Figures 1 to 8 As shown, a fully automatic loading device comprises a loading arm 1 and a loading platform 5, wherein the loading platform 5 comprises an incubation centrifuge 3 and a turntable loading mechanism 4, wherein the turntable loading mechanism 4 is located on the outer circumference of the incubation centrifuge 3, the loading arm 1 is located above the incubation centrifuge 3 and the turntable loading mechanism 4, wherein the turntable loading mechanism 4 is provided with a sample carrier 10 and a reagent carrier 9, wherein a rotor 15 is provided in the incubation centrifuge 3, and a hanging device 10 is provided on the rotor 15 at equal angles. A basket 13 is provided on which a reaction plate 8 is installed. A sample loading window 6 is provided on the incubation centrifuge 3, on which a sliding door 7 is installed. The sample loading arm 1 comprises a sample loading arm base 101 and a sample loading module 102. The sample loading arm base 101 and the sample loading module 102 have the freedom to move along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3. The sample loading module 102 also has the freedom to move up and down. A sliding door switch device 2 is provided on the sample loading arm base 101.

[0027] Preferably, the sliding door switch device 2 includes a fixed part 17 and a movable part 16, a return spring 18 is installed between the fixed part 17 and the movable part 16, a sliding groove 162 is opened on the movable part 16, and a limiting pin 19 cooperating with the sliding groove 162 is provided on the fixed part 17, and the sliding groove 162 is stuck on the limiting pin 19 and can slide along the limiting pin 19.

[0028] Preferably, an epitaxial structure 161 is provided on the movable member 16 , and a dial plate 20 is installed on the sample loading module 1 , and the dial plate 20 is located below the epitaxial structure 161 .

[0029] Preferably, there are two sliding grooves 162 and two limiting pins 19 .

[0030] Preferably, the movable part 16 is made of magnetic material, and a second magnet 11 is installed on the sliding door 7. After the sliding door 7 is opened, when the loading arm 1 loads the reaction hole closest to the sliding door 7, the movable part 16 is not within the magnetic force range of the second magnet 11.

[0031] Preferably, the hanging basket 13 is installed at an angle, and a hanging basket adjustment plate 12 made of magnetic material is installed below the side of the sample loading window 6 close to the center of the incubation centrifuge 3, a first magnet 14 is installed on the side of the hanging basket 13 close to the center of the incubation centrifuge, and a leveling limit mechanism 21 is provided on the hanging basket 13.

[0032] Preferably, the incubation centrifuge 3 is a cassette-type incubation centrifuge, and the reaction plate 8 is a gel card or a microplate strip.

[0033] Preferably, the sample loading window 6 is opened in the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3 and can cover the vertical projection of the hanging basket 13 located therebelow.

[0034] The above embodiment provides a fully automatic sample adding device, and its specific implementation steps are as follows:

[0035] The operator selects a microcolumn gel method experimental card (gel card) or a solid phase agglutination method microplate as a reaction plate as needed, and places it on the hanging basket 13, the experimental sample is placed on the sample carrier 10, and the reagents and washing solutions are placed on the reagent carrier 9. During the experiment, the sample, reagent or washing solution to be added is transferred to the sample addition area of ​​the sample addition arm 1 through the rotation of the turntable type sample introduction mechanism 4.

[0036] When no sample is added, the hanging basket 13 is in a static tilted state. When sample addition is required, the rotor in the incubation centrifuge 3 rotates, and one of the hanging baskets 13 is rotated to the bottom of the sample addition window 6. The hanging basket 13 rotates toward the hanging basket adjustment plate 12 due to the magnetic force between the hanging basket adjustment plate 12 and the first magnet 14, until the leveling limit mechanism 21 fits with the lower edge of the rotor 15. At this time, the hanging basket 13 is in a horizontal state, and the reaction plate 8 placed on the hanging basket 13 is also in a horizontal state. The sample addition arm 1 moves along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3, and the movable part 16 on the sliding door switch device 2 is in the limit position at the lower end (that is, the lower end of the movable part 16 can fit with the movable part of the sliding door 7) in normal state. When the loading arm 1 moves along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3 until the movable part 16 can contact the movable end of the sliding door 7, and continues to move to push the sliding door 7 to slide until the sliding door 7 is opened, the loading module 102 moves upward, and the outer edge structure 161 on the movable part 16 is pushed upward by the paddle 20 arranged thereon. At this time, the movable part 16 is pushed upward along the fixing part 17 through the sliding groove 162 and the limiting pin 19, so that the lower end of the movable part 16 is away from the sliding door 7. At this time, the reset spring 18 is in a compressed state, and then the loading arm 1 moves along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3 to the top of the turntable type loading mechanism 4 to start loading.

[0037] The turntable sampling mechanism 4 rotates as needed to rotate the sample, reagent or washing solution to the bottom of the sampling arm 1. After the sampling module 102 moves downward to absorb the liquid (at this time, during the downward movement of the sampling module 102, the elastic force of the reset spring 18 connected between the movable part 16 and the fixed part 17 can reset the movable part 16), it moves along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3 to complete the sampling step of the current reaction plate 8. After completing the sampling of one reaction plate, the centrifuge rotor rotates slightly to rotate the next reaction plate to the bottom of the sampling window 6, and the sampling arm 1 repeats the above steps to complete the sampling.

[0038] After the sample loading is completed, the sample loading arm 1 moves to the position of the movable end of the sliding door 7. When it moves to the point where the movable part 16 can contact the sliding door 7, due to the magnetic force between the second magnet 11 installed on the sliding door 7 and the movable part 16 made of magnetic material, the sliding door 7 is adsorbed on the movable part 16 and slides with the sample loading arm 1 in a direction away from the center of the incubation centrifuge 3 until the sliding door 7 is closed. At this time, the sample loading module 102 moves upward, pushes the outer edge structure 161 on the movable part 16 upward, and separates the movable part 16 from the movable end of the sliding door 7.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the movable part 16 is normally in the extreme position at the lower end, so that the sliding door opening device 2 can complete the opening and closing of the sliding door 7 with the least action; the movable part 16 is made of magnetic material, and the second magnet 11 is installed on the sliding door 7, so that the action of the loading arm 1 to open the sliding door 7 is not limited to pushing, and the sliding door 7 can also be pulled open by magnetic force. After the sliding door 7 is opened, when the loading arm 1 loads the reaction hole closest to the sliding door 7, the movable part 16 is not within the magnetic action range of the second magnet 11, which can avoid the sliding door 7 being adsorbed on the movable part 16 due to the magnetic force during the loading process, and continuously sliding with the loading process, thereby reducing the activity of the sliding door 7 and avoiding wear and tear that affects the service life.

[0040] Since the sample loading to the reaction plate inside the incubation centrifuge 3 can be completed along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3, and the opening and closing of the sliding door 7 only needs to be performed along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3, the sample loading arm 1 only needs to have the freedom of movement along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge 3 and the freedom of up and down movement to meet the actions of sample loading and opening and closing the sliding door.

[0041] When the incubation centrifuge 3 completes the incubation and centrifugation and needs to clean the reaction residue, the turntable sampling mechanism 4 rotates to transfer the washing liquid to the bottom of the loading arm 1, and the loading arm 1 opens the sliding door 7 to absorb the washing liquid to complete the cleaning action.

[0042] In summary, the fully automatic loading device provided by the present invention can fully automatically complete the loading and cleaning of the reaction plate 8 in the incubation centrifuge 3, and automatically open and close the sliding door 7, so that the incubation centrifuge 3 can be in a closed state to complete the subsequent incubation and centrifugation steps. After the incubation and centrifugation are completed, the sliding door 7 can be automatically opened to complete the cleaning of the reaction residues. During the entire loading process, there is no need to transfer the reaction plate. The action of opening and closing the sliding door 7 is the existing action of the loading arm 1 during the loading process, and a hanging basket adjustment plate 12 is arranged in the incubation centrifuge, so that the incubation centrifuge can not only meet the requirements of tilting in a natural state to promote the flipping of the hanging basket 13 during centrifugation, but also meet the requirements of automatically leveling the hanging basket in the loading position during loading to ensure the accuracy of the loading position. Therefore, the fully automatic loading device provided by the present invention reduces the transfer steps and reduces the complexity of the structure, while realizing the functions of automatic loading and automatic opening and closing of the centrifuge cover, which not only improves the stability of the equipment, but also improves the experimental efficiency.

[0043] The applicant declares that the above-described embodiments only express the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiments, and the above-described embodiments and the specification only describe the principles of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the concept and scope of the present invention, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the present invention to be protected.

[0044] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and all embodiments that use structures and methods similar to the present invention to achieve the purpose of the present invention are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fully automatic loading device, comprising a loading arm and a loading platform, characterized in that: The loading platform comprises an incubation centrifuge and a turntable loading mechanism, the turntable loading mechanism is located at the outer circumference of the incubation centrifuge, the loading arm is located above the incubation centrifuge and the turntable loading mechanism, the turntable loading mechanism is provided with a sample carrier and a reagent carrier, a rotor is provided in the incubation centrifuge, a hanging basket is provided at an equal angle on the rotor, a reaction plate is installed on the hanging basket, a loading window is provided on the incubation centrifuge, a sliding door is installed on the loading window, the loading arm comprises a loading arm base and a loading module, the loading arm base and the loading module have the freedom to move along the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge, the loading module also has the freedom to move up and down, and a sliding door switch device is provided on the loading arm base; The sliding door switch device comprises a fixed part and a movable part, a return spring is installed between the fixed part and the movable part, a sliding groove is provided on the movable part, and a limiting pin which cooperates with the sliding groove is provided on the fixed part; The movable part is provided with an extension structure, the loading arm is provided with a paddle, and the paddle is located below the extension structure; The movable part is made of magnetic material, and a second magnet is installed on the sliding door. After the sliding door is opened, when the sample loading arm loads the reaction well closest to the sliding door, the movable part is not within the magnetic force range of the second magnet. The hanging basket is installed at an angle, a hanging basket adjustment plate made of magnetic material is installed below the side of the sample loading window close to the center of the incubation centrifuge, a first magnet is installed on the side of the hanging basket close to the center of the centrifuge, and a leveling limit mechanism is also provided on the hanging basket.

2. A fully automatic sample adding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two sliding grooves and two limiting pins.

3. A fully automatic sample adding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The incubation centrifuge is a cassette incubation centrifuge, and the reaction plate is a gel card or a microplate strip.

4. The fully automatic sample adding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sample loading window is arranged in the diameter direction of the incubation centrifuge and can cover the projection of the hanging basket located therebelow in the vertical direction.

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