Mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoresis slides

Abstract

The utility model discloses a mechanical type take -place device for electrophoresis glass slide, including base, rotary arm, telescopic arm, triangular carousel and adsorption module, purging module, clear edge module, rotary arm is vertically established in base, telescopic arm is horizontally connected in rotary arm top, and triangular carousel is fixed in telescopic arm head and can rotate 360 degrees, and three function modules are evenly distributed in triangular carousel surface, and adsorption module is equipped with negative pressure suction mouth, and purging module is equipped with rectangular air outlet, and clear edge module is equipped with opposite left cleaning brush and right cleaning brush. When using, through triangular carousel switching module, first, clean glass slide edge through clear edge module, then, blow surface dust by purging module, finally, take and place by adsorption module, realize cleaning and take -place integration. It can improve efficiency, reduce glass slide loss, guarantee high cleanliness, and adapt to different specifications glass slide and scene, and be applicable to biological experiment, medical detection and the like scene.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This article relates to a mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides. Background Technology

[0002] Electrophoresis slides are the core carriers for electrophoresis experiments (such as agarose gel electrophoresis and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). They are characterized by their thinness (usually only 1-2 mm), high requirements for surface cleanliness, and strict requirements for edge integrity. If there is dust or debris on the surface of the slide, or if there are burrs on the edges, it will directly affect the imaging quality of the electrophoretic bands, leading to deviations in experimental data. At the same time, because of their low physical strength, slides are easily broken or scratched by external forces during handling and handling.

[0003] In existing technologies, the handling of electrophoresis slides mainly relies on two methods: electrostatic adsorption and negative pressure adsorption. Electrostatic forces are used to attract slides, but burrs are easily left on the edges after the slides are cut, which can disrupt the uniformity of the electrostatic field, leading to unstable adsorption and easy slide detachment. Negative pressure adsorption is used, where a negative pressure suction cup adheres to the surface of the slide to generate adsorption force. However, to ensure strong adsorption, the negative pressure value needs to be increased, and edge burrs can prevent the suction cup from fully adhering to the slide. Excessive local negative pressure can easily cause the slide to break. In addition, existing devices can only achieve a single "handle" function. Cleaning the edge burrs and removing surface dust from the slides requires additional cleaning equipment, making the operation process cumbersome. Multiple transfers can easily lead to secondary contamination of the slides, making it difficult to meet the high requirements for the cleanliness and integrity of slides in electrophoresis experiments. Utility Model Content

[0004] The present invention aims to provide a mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoresis slides, so as to solve the defect in the prior art that it is impossible to simultaneously realize the integrated operation of slide cleaning and pick-and-place.

[0005] A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides includes a base, on which a rotating arm is vertically mounted, and a telescopic arm is horizontally connected to the top of the rotating arm. A triangular turntable is fixedly mounted on the head of the telescopic arm away from the rotating arm. The triangular turntable can rotate 360 ​​degrees about the axis of the telescopic arm.

[0006] The surface of the triangular turntable is evenly distributed with an adsorption module, a blowing module and an edge cleaning module along the circumference. The bottom of the adsorption module and the blowing module are movably connected to the surface of the triangular turntable through a rotating arm that can rotate around its own axis.

[0007] The bottom of the adsorption module has several negative pressure adsorption ports for adsorbing glass slides, and the top of the blowing module has several rectangular air outlets for blowing the surface of the glass slides. The top of the edge cleaning module is fixedly equipped with a left cleaning brush and a right cleaning brush for cleaning the edge of the glass slides, and the left cleaning brush and the right cleaning brush are arranged opposite to each other.

[0008] Furthermore, the number of negative pressure adsorption ports is 12-30, and they are evenly distributed along the bottom circumference of the adsorption module. Each negative pressure adsorption port is connected to an external negative pressure source through an air tube. By setting a large number of evenly distributed negative pressure adsorption ports, the adsorption force can be dispersed to multiple points on the surface of the glass slide, avoiding uneven stress on the glass slide due to excessive local negative pressure, which could lead to breakage.

[0009] Furthermore, the number of rectangular air outlets is 2-4, arranged parallel to each other along the length of the purging module. Each rectangular air outlet is connected to an external air pump via an air pipe, and the angle between the outlet direction and the surface of the electrophoresis slide is adjustable. The multiple rectangular air outlets arranged along the length can cover the main area of ​​the slide surface, ensuring thorough purging without any blind spots.

[0010] Furthermore, the bristles of the left and right cleaning brushes are made of nylon or soft plastic. Nylon and soft plastic bristles combine elasticity and wear resistance, allowing them to closely conform to the edge of the glass slide for effective cleaning while preventing scratches or chipping from hard materials. This also reduces wear on the bristles themselves, extending the lifespan of the cleaning module.

[0011] Furthermore, the spacing between the left and right cleaning brushes can be adjusted according to the width of the slide. This ensures that the brush bristles are always in close contact with the edge of the slide, preventing narrow slides from being inadequately cleaned or wide slides from being excessively compressed due to a fixed spacing, thus improving the device's adaptability to slides of different sizes.

[0012] Furthermore, the triangular turntable is driven to rotate by a stepper motor with a rotational angular velocity of 10°-20° / s, and its rotational position is located by a photoelectric sensor. This photoelectric sensor positioning minimizes the positional error during module switching, ensuring that the adsorption, blowing, and edge-cleaning modules are precisely aligned with the glass slide, thus improving operational accuracy.

[0013] Furthermore, the rotating arm is driven by a servo motor. This avoids misalignment between the module and the glass slide due to rotational deviation, and its stable output torque ensures the overall stability of the device during rotation.

[0014] Furthermore, the telescopic arm is an electrically operated telescopic structure, and a displacement sensor is provided at the end of the telescopic arm for real-time monitoring of the telescopic distance. Compared with the pneumatic structure, the electrically operated telescopic structure has higher telescopic accuracy and can precisely control the telescopic length; the real-time monitoring by the displacement sensor can provide feedback on the distance between the end of the telescopic arm and the glass slide, avoiding collisions between the module and the glass slide due to excessive telescopic extension or insufficient telescopic extension that prevents the functional module from effectively acting on the glass slide, thus improving the safety and accuracy of operation.

[0015] Beneficial effects:

[0016] This device integrates three core functions: edge cleaning, blowing, and adsorption, enabling integrated operation of slide cleaning and placement. No additional cleaning equipment is required, and the entire process can be completed in one operation, greatly simplifying the cumbersome process of traditional step-by-step operation and significantly improving the efficiency of slide placement.

[0017] In terms of operational safety, the edge cleaning module uses a soft cleaning brush to avoid scratching the edges of the slides. The adsorption module disperses the adsorption force through multiple negative pressure adsorption ports and, with reasonable negative pressure control, can effectively prevent the slides from breaking due to excessive local pressure, thus significantly reducing the slide loss rate.

[0018] Meanwhile, the edge cleaning module can remove burrs and fine debris from the edges of the slides, and the blowing module removes surface dust through directional airflow, ensuring the high cleanliness of the slide surface and edges and meeting the stringent requirements of electrophoresis experiments. Furthermore, the telescopic arm extension length, the triangular turntable rotation angle, and the cleaning brush spacing can all be adjusted as needed, adapting to different specifications of electrophoresis slides and various storage and placement scenarios, making it widely applicable. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoresis slides;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the head structure of a mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoresis slides;

[0021] Figure 3 This is an enlarged view of the head structure of a mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoresis slides;

[0022] In the diagram: 1. Base, 2. Rotating arm, 3. Telescopic arm, 4. Triangular turntable, 5. Adsorption module, 51. Negative pressure adsorption port, 6. Blowing module, 61. Rectangular air outlet, 7. Edge cleaning module, 71. Left cleaning brush, 72. Right cleaning brush. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To enhance understanding of this utility model, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments and accompanying drawings. These embodiments are only used to explain the present utility model and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0024] Example 1: A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides, comprising a base 1, a rotating arm 2, a telescopic arm 3, a triangular turntable 4, and three functional modules. The surface of the triangular turntable 4 is evenly distributed with an adsorption module 5, a blowing module 6, and an edge cleaning module 7. The bottom of the adsorption module 5 is provided with a negative pressure adsorption port 51, the top of the blowing module 6 is provided with a rectangular air outlet 61, and the top of the edge cleaning module 7 is provided with a left cleaning brush 71 and a right cleaning brush 72. Each functional module is connected to the triangular turntable 4 through the rotating arm. The rotating arm 2 can rotate around the base 1, the telescopic arm 3 can extend and retract horizontally, and the triangular turntable 4 can rotate 360 ​​degrees to achieve module switching.

[0025] Standard-sized electrophoresis slide handling

[0026] S1. Device initialization: Turn on the device power and control the triangular turntable 4 to rotate so that the edge cleaning module 7 is aligned with the slide storage rack; adjust the distance between the left cleaning brush 71 and the right cleaning brush 72 of the edge cleaning module 7 according to the width of the standard slide to ensure that the cleaning brushes can fit the edge of the slide; control the telescopic arm 3 to extend so that the edge cleaning module 7 is moved to a distance of 5cm from the surface of the slide.

[0027] S2, Edge Cleaning: Control the rotating arm 2 to rotate slowly, driving the edge cleaning module 7 to move along the edge of the glass slide. The left cleaning brush 71 and the right cleaning brush 72 are in contact with the two sides of the glass slide to clean the burrs and fine debris on the edge. The cleaning time lasts for 3 seconds to ensure that there are no residual impurities on the edge.

[0028] S3, Surface dust removal: Control the triangular turntable 4 to rotate 120 degrees and switch to the blowing module 6; turn on the external air pump, and output airflow from the rectangular air outlet 61. At the same time, control the telescopic arm 3 to drive the blowing module 6 to move parallel to the surface of the glass slide, and use the airflow to blow away the dust on the surface of the glass slide. The blowing time lasts for 2 seconds.

[0029] S4. Adsorption and placement: Control the triangular turntable 4 to rotate 120 degrees again and switch to the adsorption module 5; control the telescopic arm 3 to descend so that the negative pressure adsorption port 51 of the adsorption module 5 is in contact with the surface of the glass slide; turn on the external negative pressure source and adsorb the glass slide through negative pressure; after the adsorption is stable, control the telescopic arm 3 to retract and then control the rotating arm 2 to rotate to the electrophoresis stage; turn off the negative pressure source, release the glass slide, and complete the placement and removal operation.

[0030] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this utility model and are not intended to limit it. Although this 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 be made to the technical solutions of this utility model without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of this utility model, and all such modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic glass slides, characterized in that, The device includes a base on which a rotating arm is vertically mounted. A telescopic arm is horizontally connected to the top of the rotating arm. A triangular turntable is fixedly mounted on the telescopic arm away from the head of the rotating arm. The triangular turntable can rotate 360 ​​degrees about the axis of the telescopic arm. The surface of the triangular turntable is evenly distributed with an adsorption module, a blowing module and an edge cleaning module along the circumference. The bottom of the adsorption module and the blowing module are movably connected to the surface of the triangular turntable through a rotating arm that can rotate around its own axis. The bottom of the adsorption module has several negative pressure adsorption ports for adsorbing glass slides, and the top of the blowing module has several rectangular air outlets for blowing the surface of the glass slides. The top of the edge cleaning module is fixedly equipped with a left cleaning brush and a right cleaning brush for cleaning the edge of the glass slides, and the left cleaning brush and the right cleaning brush are arranged opposite to each other.

2. The mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of negative pressure adsorption ports is 12-30, and they are evenly distributed along the bottom circumference of the adsorption module. Each negative pressure adsorption port is connected to an external negative pressure source through a gas tube.

3. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of rectangular air outlets is 2-4, and they are arranged in parallel along the length of the purging module. Each rectangular air outlet is connected to an external air pump through an air pipe, and the angle between the air outlet direction of the rectangular air outlet and the surface of the electrophoresis glass slide is adjustable.

4. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bristles of the left and right cleaning brushes are made of nylon or soft plastic.

5. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 4, characterized in that, The spacing between the left and right cleaning brushes can be adjusted according to the width of the slide.

6. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 1, characterized in that, The triangular turntable is driven to rotate by a stepper motor with a rotational angular velocity of 10°-20° / s, and the rotational position of the triangular turntable is located by a photoelectric sensor.

7. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating arm is driven to rotate by a servo motor.

8. A mechanical pick-and-place device for electrophoretic slides according to claim 1, characterized in that, The telescopic arm is an electrically operated telescopic structure, and a displacement sensor is provided at the end of the telescopic arm to monitor the telescopic distance in real time.

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