An automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection

Abstract

This utility model discloses an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection, belonging to the field of automated equipment for environmental monitoring and biological experiments. It includes a cart, a rotating gimbal, a support frame, double support plates, a double limiting structure, and a mechanical gripper clamping system. The first limiting structure uses an arc-shaped plate to press against the box, while the second limiting structure uses an air cushion and a top block to fix the culture dish. The mechanical gripper replaces suction cup gripping, improving stability. The double support plates respectively carry the culture dishes for bacterial and dust detection, and the rotating gimbal allows for switching between workstations, enabling dual sampling of dust and bacteria. The rotation angle of the support plates dynamically adjusts according to the number of culture dishes, supporting fixed-point interval detection. This utility model is adaptable to culture dishes of different sizes, has a high degree of automation, and can precisely capture the dynamics of bacterial and dust colonies, providing data support for multi-dimensional environmental analysis.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of automated equipment for environmental monitoring and biological experiments, and in particular to an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection. Background Technology

[0002] In fields such as biological experiments, pharmaceutical culture, and microbial detection, where operational precision, sterility, and sample viability protection are extremely critical, the automated handling of culture dishes is a core component of the experimental process. Its technological maturity directly impacts sample integrity, data reliability, and operational safety. Among current mainstream handling technologies, vacuum suction cup solutions utilize Pascal's principle to create negative pressure adsorption. Their gripping performance is strongly correlated with the surface adhesion of the suction cup material, the geometric parameters of the contact area, and the dynamic pressure stability of the vacuum system. When dealing with cell culture dishes with irregular surface curvature or glass culture dishes with high light transmittance but insufficient flatness, the suction cup edges are highly susceptible to airtightness failure due to minute deformations. During high-speed movement or turning of the robotic arm, sudden pressure fluctuations can cause a sharp drop in adsorption force, resulting in the accidental loss of valuable biological samples. While manual grasping offers some flexibility in low-throughput scenarios, its inherent drawbacks are significantly amplified in standardized experimental procedures. Manual contact inevitably introduces the risk of microbial contamination on the body surface, and the sample contamination rate caused by manual operation is 7.2 times higher than that of automated equipment. In a GMP-standard aseptic culture environment, manual grasping can lead to shaking or even dropping, and it is inefficient and cannot meet the needs of batch testing.

[0003] Chinese patent application CN112322100A discloses an automatic petri dish pick-and-place device. This device employs a suction cup gripper, a multi-axis linkage robotic arm, and a vision positioning device. Through vision positioning, the robotic arm, and the suction cup gripper, it achieves automatic pick-and-place of petri dishes. However, this device relies on a vacuum system, which poses a risk of vacuum leakage causing petri dishes to detach. Furthermore, it lacks a double-limiting structure, resulting in insufficient stability. Traditional petri dish pick-and-place devices are designed for single-type detection only; for multiple types of detection, repeated disassembly and reassembly are required, leading to low efficiency.

[0004] Patent CN209836247U discloses an automatic petri dish gripping device for laboratory use. This device may include a robotic arm, a suction cup gripping mechanism, and a positioning system. The robotic arm moves to pick up and place the petri dishes, the gripping mechanism accurately grasps and places the dishes, and the positioning system precisely determines the position of the dishes to ensure accuracy and stability during the process. However, this device also uses a vacuum suction cup, which carries the risk of vacuum leakage causing the dishes to fall off. Furthermore, it lacks a double-limiting structure, which could lead to insufficient stability.

[0005] Chinese patent application CN119709382A discloses a sampling device for colony detection. It includes a test tube holder with a test tube detachably connected to it. A support is mounted on the test tube holder, and a sample holder is mounted on the support. The sample holder is located on the side of the test tube furthest from the test tube holder, and has an alignment opening for holding a sample-carrying paper sample with the sample positioned within the alignment opening. A sampling component is fixedly connected to the support. The sampling component includes a laser emitter, a first preservation solution releaser, and a controller. After the sample is placed, the controller controls the laser emitter to burn a through-hole in the sample-surrounding paper sample, and then controls the first preservation solution releaser to release the preservation solution, allowing the preservation solution to flush the sample and enter the test tube through the through-hole and alignment opening. However, it does not solve the problem of stable clamping and automatic alignment during the placement and removal of the petri dish. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection, which solves the problems of easy detachment and cumbersome multi-type detection in existing devices. It is also compatible with different sizes of petri dishes, has a high degree of automation, and can accurately capture the dynamics of bacterial and dust colonies, providing data support for multi-dimensional environmental analysis.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection, comprising:

[0008] The mobile platform includes a trolley and a rotating gimbal, the rotating gimbal being driven by a servo motor and rotatably connected to the bottom of the trolley;

[0009] A support frame is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the rotating gimbal. The support frame is equipped with a lead screw and a pad inside. The pad is threadedly connected to the lead screw. A second motor is installed on the top of the support frame. The output end of the second motor is fixedly connected to the top end of the lead screw.

[0010] The storage module includes support plates symmetrically arranged on both sides of a support frame. The support plates are driven to rotate by a first motor and are provided with a placement slot and a cavity. The placement slot is used to place a box containing a petri dish. The cavity is provided with a first limiting structure and the box is provided with a second limiting structure.

[0011] The first limiting structure includes an arc-shaped piece and a driving component, wherein the arc-shaped piece is in close contact with the outer wall of the box through the driving component;

[0012] The second limiting structure is provided in a groove in the inner wall of the box, and includes an air cushion and a top block, with the top block extending into the interior of the box;

[0013] A clamping structure, connected to the pad, is used for gripping and releasing the culture dish.

[0014] Preferably, the driving assembly includes a slide groove, a circular plate, and a motor. The slide groove is formed at the bottom of the cavity. The arc-shaped piece slides along the groove. One end of the arc-shaped piece is fixedly connected to a connecting rod. The end of the connecting rod away from the arc-shaped piece is fixedly connected to an insert block. The circular plate has an arc-shaped groove. The bottom end of the insert block is located in the arc-shaped groove. The fixed end of the motor is fixedly connected to the lower surface of the support plate, and the output end is fixedly connected to the lower surface of the circular plate.

[0015] Preferably, the clamping structure includes a tripod fixed to the bottom of the pad, an electric telescopic rod fixed to the top of the pad, a triangular plate fixed to the output end of the electric telescopic rod, a gripper rotatably connected to the bottom of the tripod, and a movable rod whose two ends are rotatably connected to the triangular plate and the gripper, respectively. The electric telescopic rod achieves gripping and releasing through the linkage between the triangular plate and the movable rod and the gripper.

[0016] Preferably, the placement groove has an opening, the top of the arc-shaped piece extends through the opening into the interior of the placement groove, and the surface of the arc-shaped piece has protrusions.

[0017] Preferably, in the first limiting structure, the clamping force F2 of the arc-shaped plate against the box satisfies F2≥μ×G, where μ is the coefficient of friction between the arc-shaped plate and the surface of the box, and G is the total weight of the box and the culture dish.

[0018] Preferably, the gripper adjusts the position of the blade head via a U-shaped groove to accommodate culture dishes of different sizes.

[0019] Therefore, the present invention employs the above-mentioned automatic sampling robot and method for dust and bacterial colony detection, and has the following technical effects:

[0020] (1) In this application, the first limiting structure uses a motor to drive an arc-shaped piece to press against the outer surface of the box to achieve a stable limiting of the box; the second limiting structure uses an air cushion and a top block to apply an elastic resistance to the culture dish, ensuring that the culture dish is stable and does not shake when it is picked up or put down.

[0021] (2) This application uses an electric telescopic rod to link the triangular plate and the movable rod, which drives the three grippers to rotate synchronously to grasp. The central robotic arm is more stable than the suction cup and is not affected by vacuum leakage.

[0022] (3) This application uses a first motor to drive the support plate to rotate, and uses a lead screw to adjust the height of the pad, so as to realize the sequential grasping of multiple culture dishes and improve the picking and placing efficiency.

[0023] (4) The gripper structure design of this application allows the position of the blade to be adjusted by the U-shaped groove to adapt to different sizes of culture dishes; and the screw drive can precisely adjust the gripping height to adapt to different specifications of placement slots.

[0024] (5) This application uses a mobile vehicle-mounted culture dish, which can be configured with a host computer to set the sequence of detection points, and can define the time interval for specific points according to a set time to achieve precise capture of colony growth dynamics.

[0025] (6) This application adopts a dual-support plate collaborative architecture, which is configured with a colony culture dish support plate and a dust settling culture dish support plate to independently support the two types of culture dishes.

[0026] The technical solution of this utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is an appearance drawing of an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection according to this application;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a top view of an automated sampling robot for dust and colony detection according to this application;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the motor at the bottom of the support plate of an automatic sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection according to this application;

[0030] Figure 4 This application relates to an automated sampling robot for detecting dust and bacteria. Figure 1 A partial split diagram;

[0031] Figure 5 This application presents a schematic diagram of the first limiting structure at the bottom of the support plate of an automatic sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection.

[0032] Figure 6 This application relates to an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a partial structure;

[0033] Figure 7 This application presents an external view of the box of an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection;

[0034] Figure 8 This application presents a schematic diagram of the clamping structure of an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection.

[0035] Figure Labels

[0036] 1. Support frame; 2. First motor; 3. Support plate; 4. Placement slot; 5. Box; 6. Petri dish; 7. Cavity; 8. Slide; 9. Arc-shaped plate; 10. Connecting rod; 11. Insert block; 12. Motor; 13. Circular plate; 14. Arc-shaped slot; 15. Slot opening; 16. Groove; 17. Air cushion; 18. Top block; 19. Lead screw; 20. Pad plate; 21. Second motor; 22. Tripod; 23. Electric telescopic rod; 24. Triangle plate; 25. Gripper; 26. Movable rod; 27. Cart; 28. Cover; 29. ​​Protrusion block; 30. Rotating gimbal; 31. Servo motor. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The technical solution of this utility model will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0038] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this utility model shall have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this utility model pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in this utility model do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0039] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, an automated sampling robot for dust and bacterial colony detection includes a mobile platform, which includes a trolley 27. The trolley 27 serves as the mobile carrier of the device, carrying all components and enabling movement between multiple detection points. Its movement is controlled by a host computer.

[0040] The rotating gimbal 30 is mounted on the upper surface of the trolley 27 and driven by the 360° servo motor 31. The lower end is connected to the servo motor 31, and the upper end passes through the lower surface of the trolley 27 and fixes the support frame 1. It is used to drive the robotic arm to rotate to switch the detection station, including the colony collection station / dust collection station.

[0041] The support frame 1 is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the rotating gimbal 30. The internal rotatable screw 19 is connected to the support frame 1 and the pad 20 is slidably connected to the support frame 1. The pad 20 is threadedly connected to the screw 19. The second motor 21 is installed on the top of the support frame 1. The output end of the second motor 21 is fixedly connected to the top of the screw 19 and is used to drive the pad 20 and the clamping structure to lift.

[0042] like Figure 3As shown, the first motor 2 is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the support frame 1, and its output end passes through the lower surface of the trolley 27 and is fixedly connected to the support plate 3, which is used to drive the support plate 3 to rotate.

[0043] like Figures 4 to 7 As shown, the support plate 3 includes a placement groove 4 and a cavity 7. The placement groove 4 is used to place a box 5 containing a culture dish 6, and the cavity 7 is provided with a first limiting structure. The two side support plates 3 serve as colony culture dish support plates 3 and dust culture dish support plates 3, respectively, to achieve independent support for dual-type detection.

[0044] The first limiting structure includes a drive assembly and an arc-shaped piece 9. The drive assembly includes a slide groove 8, a connecting rod 10, an insert block 11, a motor 12, and a circular plate 13. The slide groove 8 is located at the bottom of the cavity 7. The arc-shaped piece 9 slides along the slide groove 8, and its lower end is fixed to the connecting rod 10. The other end of the connecting rod 10 is fixed to the insert block 11. The circular plate 13 has an arc-shaped groove 14, and the bottom end of the insert block 11 is located in the arc-shaped groove 14. The placement groove 4 has a slot 15, and the top end of the arc-shaped piece 9 extends through the slot 15 into the interior of the placement groove 4. The surface of the arc-shaped piece 9 has a protrusion 29. The motor 12 is fixed to the lower surface of the support plate 3, and its output end is fixed to the circular plate 13. It is used to drive the arc-shaped piece 9 to move and press against the outer surface of the box 5 to achieve the limiting of the box 5. Among them, the clamping force F2 of the arc-shaped plate 9 on the box 5 must satisfy F2≥μ×G, where μ is the coefficient of friction between the arc-shaped plate 9 and the surface of the box 5, and G is the total weight of the box 5 and the culture dish 6. By selecting a motor 12 with appropriate torque, the clamping force is ensured to be sufficient to prevent the box 5 from sliding.

[0045] The second limiting structure is located in the groove 16 on the inner wall of the box 5, including an air cushion 17 and a top block 18. The top block 18 extends into the interior of the box 5. When the culture dish 6 is placed in, the top block 18 is pressed to compress the air cushion 17, and the elasticity of the air cushion 17 achieves elastic limiting of the culture dish 6.

[0046] like Figure 8 As shown, the clamping structure includes a tripod 22, an electric telescopic rod 23, a triangular plate 24, grippers 25, and a movable rod 26. The tripod 22 is fixed to the bottom of the pad 20, and the electric telescopic rod 23 is fixed to the top of the pad 20. Its output end passes through the center of the tripod 22 and is fixed to the triangular plate 24. The grippers 25 are rotatably connected to the bottom of the triangle of the tripod 22, and the two ends of the movable rod 26 are rotatably connected to the triangular plate 24 and the grippers 25, respectively. The electric telescopic rod 23 drives the three grippers 25 to rotate synchronously through the triangular plate 24 and the movable rod 26, so as to achieve precise control of gripping and releasing and ensure uniform gripping force. The grippers 25 adjust the position of the blade head through the U-shaped groove to adapt to different sized culture dishes 6.

[0047] Working principle:

[0048] Installation and Adjustment: Install the rotating gimbal 30 on the trolley 27, install the support frame 1 on the upper surface of the rotating gimbal 30, and install the support plate 3 on the trolley 27 and on both sides of the support frame 1. One side is the support plate 3 for the colony culture dish 6, and the other side is the support plate 3 for the dust culture dish 6. Place the box 5 into the placement slot 4 of the support plate 3, control the motor 12 to rotate forward, and press the arc-shaped piece 9 of the first limiting structure against the outer surface of the box 5. The air cushion 17 of the second limiting structure inside the box elastically fixes the culture dish 6. The lid 28 of the culture dish 6 is labeled with a number. Operate the trolley 27 to drive to the designated point for colony and dust detection and stop.

[0049] Multi-point automatic detection: The number of sampling points corresponds to the number of boxes 5. If it is four-point sampling, it corresponds to 4 boxes 5, and the first motor 2 drives the support plate 3 to rotate at an angle α of 90°. If it is six-point sampling, it corresponds to 6 boxes 5, and the first motor 2 drives the support plate 3 to rotate at an angle α of 60°. Generally, the design uses 4-6 containers. The relationship between the rotation angle α and the number of culture dishes 6 n is α = 360° / n. When it is set to four-point sampling, after the trolley 27 arrives, the motor 12 of the first limiting structure reverses, causing the arc-shaped plate 9 to relax, and the first limiting structure on the double support plate 3 opens synchronously.

[0050] For colony sampling, the gimbal 30 rotates the support frame 1 90° to one side from the starting direction to above the colony culture dish support plate 3. The first motor 2 drives the colony culture dish support plate 3 to rotate at a rotation angle α of 90°. The second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 to move the gripper 25 down to grab the culture dish lid 28 and lift it up. The gimbal 30 controls the support frame 1 to rotate back to the starting direction to avoid blocking the sampling and records the sampling time for each culture dish. After sampling, the gimbal 30 rotates 90° to above the colony culture dish support plate 3. The second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 to move the gripper 25 down to release the culture dish lid 28. The second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 again to move the gripper 25 up. The gimbal 30 rotates 90° back to the initial front position, completing the sampling of the first colony point.

[0051] For dust collection sampling, the gimbal 30 rotates the support frame 1 90° from the front to the other side until it is above the dust collection culture dish support plate 3. The first motor 2 drives the dust collection culture dish support plate 3 to rotate at a rotation angle α of 90°. The second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 to move the gripper 25 down to pick up the culture dish lid 28 and lift it up. The gimbal 30 controls the support frame 1 to rotate back to the starting direction to avoid blocking the sampling and records the sampling time for each culture dish. After sampling, the gimbal 30 rotates 90° to the dust collection culture dish support plate 3. The second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 to move the gripper 25 down to release the culture dish lid 28. The second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 again to move the gripper 25 up. The gimbal 30 rotates 90° back to the initial front position, completing the dust collection sampling at the first point.

[0052] At this point, the sampling of colonies and dust at the first designated point is completed. The motor 12 of the first limiting structure rotates forward to clamp the arc plate 9, which in turn clamps the second limiting structure, keeping the box 5 and the culture dish 6 inside the box in a clamped state. After reaching the next sampling point, the reverse direction is reversed to relax the clamp. The remaining sampling points repeat the steps of the first sampling point, and the sampling is completed in sequence.

[0053] Fixed-point interval detection: The time interval is set on the host computer. The time interval can be defined by the user, such as 1 hour. After the trolley 27 arrives at the designated point, for colony sampling, the gimbal 30 controls the support frame 1 to rotate 90° towards the colony culture dish support plate 3. The second motor 21 controls the lead screw 19 downward, so that the gripper 25 grabs the cap. The second motor 21 controls the lead screw 19 upward, and the gimbal 30 controls the support frame 1 to rotate to the front to avoid blocking the sampling. After 1 hour of sampling on the first colony culture dish 6, the gimbal 30 controls the support frame 1 to rotate towards the colony culture dish support plate 3. Rotate 90°, the second motor 21 controls the lead screw 19 downward, so that the gripper 25 puts down the lid, the first motor 2 drives the colony culture dish support plate 3 to rotate, the rotation angle α is 90°, rotate to the second culture dish 6, the second motor 21 drives the lead screw 19 to move the gripper 25 down to grab the lid of the culture dish 6 and lift it up, then the rotating gimbal 30 controls the gripper 25 to rotate to the starting direction, the second colony culture dish 6 is sampled for 1 hour, and the culture dish 6 is used for sampling in sequence at intervals. The dust sampling method is the same as the colony sampling method, corresponding to the support plate in different directions.

[0054] End of process: After all sampling is completed, the limiting structure clamps the box 5 and the petri dish 6, and the trolley 27 returns to the initial position. The data is transmitted to the host computer via wireless communication to notify the testing personnel to pick up the petri dish 6. For multi-point automatic detection, the number of the petri dish 6 corresponds to the sampling point location.

[0055] The researchers measured the total number of colonies, the number per square meter, and the colony rate at different time points. The specific formulas are as follows:

[0056] Total number of colonies:

[0057]

[0058] Where n i For bacterial count in a single petri dish, k represents the number of petri dishes to be counted.

[0059] The number of colonies per square meter is

[0060]

[0061] Where S represents the effective collection area of ​​the petri dish, in m². 2 ;

[0062] Colony rate:

[0063]

[0064] Where Δt is the duration of the data collection period, in hours;

[0065] The experimenters measured dust settling using the following formula:

[0066] Dust particle number density:

[0067]

[0068] Where S is the effective area of ​​the dust collection dish (m²) 2 P represents the total number of dust particles.

[0069] Particle size distribution weighted statistics:

[0070] Record the particle size distribution of dustfall as D p ={d1,d2,…,d n}(d i For the i-th particle size range (e.g., d1: 0-10μm), the corresponding number of particles in that range is...

[0071]

[0072] Weighted average particle size

[0073]

[0074] Where d i,mid It is the median value of the i-th particle size interval.

[0075] Formula for correlation with colony data, dust-bacteria correlation index:

[0076]

[0077] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of this utility model and not to limit it. Although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the technical solution of this utility model, and these modifications or equivalent substitutions cannot cause the modified technical solution to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of this utility model.

Claims

1. A dust fall and colony detection automated sampling robot, characterized by, include: The mobile platform includes a trolley and a rotating gimbal, the rotating gimbal being driven by a servo motor and rotatably connected to the bottom of the trolley; A support frame is fixedly connected to the upper surface of the rotating gimbal. The support frame is equipped with a lead screw and a pad inside. The pad is threadedly connected to the lead screw. A second motor is installed on the top of the support frame. The output end of the second motor is fixedly connected to the top end of the lead screw. The storage module includes support plates symmetrically arranged on both sides of a support frame. The support plates are driven to rotate by a first motor and are provided with a placement slot and a cavity. The placement slot is used to place a box containing a petri dish. A first limiting structure is provided in the cavity, and a second limiting structure is provided in the box. The first limiting structure includes an arc-shaped piece and a driving component, wherein the arc-shaped piece is in close contact with the outer wall of the box through the driving component; The second limiting structure is provided in a groove in the inner wall of the box, and includes an air cushion and a top block, with the top block extending into the interior of the box; A clamping structure, connected to the pad, is used for gripping and releasing the culture dish.

2. The dust and colony detection and automatic sampling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive assembly includes a slide groove, a circular plate, and a motor. The slide groove is formed at the bottom of the cavity. The arc-shaped piece slides along the groove. A connecting rod is fixedly connected to one end of the arc-shaped piece. An insert block is fixedly connected to the end of the connecting rod away from the arc-shaped piece. The circular plate has an arc-shaped groove. The bottom end of the insert block is located in the arc-shaped groove. The fixed end of the motor is fixedly connected to the lower surface of the support plate, and the output end is fixedly connected to the lower surface of the circular plate.

3. The automated sampling robot of claim 1, wherein: The clamping structure includes a tripod fixed to the bottom of the pad, an electric telescopic rod fixed to the top of the pad, a triangular plate fixed to the output end of the electric telescopic rod, a gripper rotatably connected to the bottom of the tripod, and a movable rod at both ends rotatably connected to the triangular plate and the gripper, respectively. The electric telescopic rod achieves gripping and releasing through the linkage between the triangular plate and the movable rod and the gripper.

4. The automated sampling robot of claim 1, wherein: The placement slot has an opening, the top of the arc-shaped piece extends through the opening into the placement slot, and the surface of the arc-shaped piece has protrusions.

5. The automated sampling robot of claim 1, wherein: In the first limiting structure, the clamping force F2 of the arc-shaped plate on the box satisfies F2≥μ×G, where μ is the coefficient of friction between the arc-shaped plate and the surface of the box, and G is the total weight of the box and the culture dish.

6. The automated sampling robot of claim 3, wherein: The gripper adjusts the position of the blade head via a U-shaped groove to accommodate culture dishes of different sizes.

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