A colony counting device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a colony counting device, including shell, light -proof door board, lighting unit and counting unit, the one side of shell is provided with and takes the mouth of putting, the light -proof door board can open or close and take the mouth of putting, still be equipped with the recessed cavity of accommodating petri dish in the shell, the lighting unit is used for the illumination petri dish, the counting unit is used for the colony counting. The utility model discloses rational in structure, technical effect is high, and convenient operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of microbial cultivation equipment technology, specifically a colony counting device. Background Technology

[0002] The most commonly used method for quantitative microbial testing in China is the statistical quantification method, which counts the total number of colonies grown on Petri dishes after culture. This method is also the legal standard method for microbial quantitative testing in most national standards and a legal reference method for other microbial quantitative methods. The statistical quantification method for total colony count, due to its advantages such as accuracy, sensitivity, simplicity, economy, and the ability to produce pure cultures, has been used since the late 19th century when Koch and Petri invented solid culture media and double-layer petri dishes. Over the past 100 years, this method has seen many improvements and inventions in novel culture medium formulations; however, the most labor-intensive and accuracy-affecting step—colon counting—has not yet been effectively resolved. Utility Model Content

[0003] This utility model discloses a colony counting device, which solves the technical problems of time-consuming, labor-intensive, inefficient, and inaccurate colony counting in existing technologies. It features a reasonable structure, high technical efficiency, and convenient operation. The technical solution adopted is as follows: A colony counting device includes a housing, a light-shielding door, an illumination unit, and a counting unit. The housing has a pick-up and drop-off port on one side, and the light-shielding door can open or close the pick-up and drop-off port. The housing also has a cavity for accommodating a culture dish. The illumination unit is used to illuminate the culture dish, and the counting unit is used to count colonies.

[0004] Based on the above technical solution, it also includes an inner shell and a light-transmitting tray. The inner shell is fixed inside the outer shell and has a side opening that communicates with the loading and unloading port. The light-transmitting tray is embedded in the through hole on the bottom surface of the inner shell to form a cavity for accommodating the culture dish.

[0005] Based on the above technical solution, the inner wall of the inner shell and the inner and outer walls of the light-shielding door panel are covered with a light-absorbing coating.

[0006] Based on the above technical solution, the lighting unit includes a light box located below the light-transmitting tray, which is used to illuminate the petri dishes placed in the light-transmitting tray upwards; the counting unit includes a counting module and a high-definition camera located on the top surface of the inner shell, which can transmit the captured images of colonies in the petri dishes to the counting module for colony counting.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the counting module uses image recognition processing technology to count colonies.

[0008] Based on the above technical solution, the light box is equipped with multiple LED lights, which are evenly arranged below the light-transmitting tray, and the light-transmitting tray includes a frosted outer wall surface and / or an inner wall surface.

[0009] Based on the above technical solution, the lighting unit, the light-transmitting tray, and the high-definition camera are arranged vertically along the same axis.

[0010] Based on the above technical solution, the light-shielding door panel can be slidably connected to the outer shell.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, the outer shell has grooves for accommodating the two sides of the light-shielding door panel, and the grooves are covered with felt pads to press the two sides of the light-shielding door panel to make the light-shielding door panel suspend.

[0012] Based on the above technical solution, it also includes a control unit and an operation panel. The control unit is electrically connected to the lighting unit, the counting unit and the operation panel respectively. The operation panel is designed to allow operation commands to be executed on the lighting unit and the counting unit via buttons or a touch screen.

[0013] Beneficial effects This invention has a reasonable structure, with the lighting unit and counting unit working together to automatically identify and count colonies, greatly improving counting efficiency. In particular, it can be completed quickly and accurately when performing large-scale colony sample counting analysis, which is efficient and saves time and effort.

[0014] Compared to existing manual counting records, this method avoids omissions or duplicate counts, even when the number of colonies is large or dense. The counting module in this application employs image recognition processing technology, providing favorable conditions for accurate identification of colony boundaries and rapid, precise counting. Furthermore, it facilitates consistency and standardization of colony counting, helps eliminate the influence of different experimenters on the counting process, and ensures the reproducibility of the counting results.

[0015] In this invention, the lighting unit, the light-transmitting tray, and the high-definition camera are arranged vertically along the same axis. The recessed cavity helps to position the petri dish and prevent it from deviating from the field of view of the high-definition camera. The light-transmitting tray forming the recessed cavity has a frosted outer wall and / or inner wall, which allows the light provided by the lighting unit to be transmitted upward more evenly, thus improving the shooting quality of the high-definition camera. In addition, an inner shell is provided. On the one hand, the inner shell provides an installation position for the lighting unit, the recessed cavity, and the high-definition camera. On the other hand, it blocks external light from entering. The inner wall of the inner shell and the inner and outer walls of the light-shielding door are covered with a light-absorbing coating, which reduces the refraction of light transmitted through the light-transmitting tray within the inner shell, thus improving the shooting quality of the high-definition camera and improving the accuracy of the counting results. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only one embodiment of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other embodiments can be derived from the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 : A three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of this utility model; Figure 2 : A cross-sectional three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of this utility model; Detailed Implementation The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate specific embodiments described herein to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Some embodiments may include or substitute parts and features of other embodiments. The scope of the embodiments herein encompasses the entire scope of the claims and all available equivalents thereof. Throughout this document, the terms “first,” “second,” etc., are used only to distinguish one element from another without requiring or implying any actual relationship or order between the elements. Indeed, a first element can also be referred to as a second element, and vice versa. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a structure, apparatus, or device that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a structure, apparatus, or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase “comprising one…” does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the structure, apparatus, or device that includes said element. The various embodiments described herein are presented in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments; similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably.

[0018] The terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer" used in this document to indicate orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used solely for the convenience of describing the document and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. In the description herein, unless otherwise specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to mechanical or electrical connections, or internal connections between two elements; they can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms according to the specific circumstances.

[0019] In this document, unless otherwise stated, the term "multiple" means two or more.

[0020] In this article, the character " / " indicates that the objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B.

[0021] In this article, the term "and / or" describes an association between objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B means: A or B, or A and B.

[0022] like Figures 1-2 The colony counting device shown includes a housing 1, a light-shielding door 2, an illumination unit 3, and a counting unit.

[0023] A retrieval opening 11 is provided on one side of the outer casing 1. The light-shielding door panel 2 can open or close the retrieval opening 11. The light-shielding door panel 2 is slidably connected to the outer casing 1. Specifically, the outer casing 1 has grooves formed to accommodate the two sides of the light-shielding door panel. Felt pads are attached to the grooves to squeeze and hold the two sides of the light-shielding door panel 2, suspending the light-shielding door panel 2 so that the degree of shading of the light-shielding door panel 2 over the retrieval opening 11 can be easily controlled by hand. Figure 1 As shown, a handle is also fixed to the outside of the light-blocking door panel 2, making it convenient for people to hold and move the light-blocking door panel 2.

[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, it also includes an inner shell 6 and a light-transmitting tray 5. The inner shell 6 is fixed inside the outer shell 1 by several screw assemblies and has a side opening communicating with the loading and unloading port 11. After opening the loading and unloading port 11, the culture dish enters the inner shell 6 through the loading and unloading port and the side opening. The light-transmitting tray 5 is embedded in the through hole on the bottom surface of the inner shell 6 to form a cavity for accommodating the culture dish. The top surface of the light-transmitting tray 5 is flush with or slightly lower than the bottom surface of the inner shell 6 to avoid collision with the culture dish. In this embodiment, the light-transmitting tray 5 is made of transparent acrylic material.

[0025] The lighting unit 3 is used to illuminate the petri dish. The lighting unit 3 includes a light box located below the light-transmitting tray 5. The light box is fixedly connected to the inner shell 6 and is used to illuminate the petri dish contained in the concave cavity. Specifically, the lighting unit includes multiple LED lights, which are evenly arranged below the light-transmitting tray 5. The light-transmitting tray 5 includes a frosted outer wall surface and / or an inner wall surface, so that the light is transmitted upward through the light-transmitting tray 5 more evenly, improving the uniformity of illumination and thus helping to improve the accuracy of counting.

[0026] The counting unit is used to count colonies. The counting unit includes a counting module and a high-definition camera 4 located on the top surface of the inner shell. The high-definition camera 4 can transmit images of colonies captured in the petri dish to the counting module. In this embodiment, the counting module uses image recognition processing technology to count colonies. Image recognition processing technology is existing technology, and those skilled in the art can select it according to their needs. In this embodiment, the lighting unit 3, the light-transmitting tray 5, and the high-definition camera 4 are arranged vertically along the same axis.

[0027] In addition, the inner wall of the inner shell 6 and the inner and outer walls of the light-shielding door 2 are covered with a light-absorbing coating, which makes the contrast between light and dark strong when the high-definition camera takes pictures of the colonies in the culture dish, so that the counting module can accurately count the colonies in the pictures taken by the high-definition camera.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, it also includes a control unit and an operation panel 9. The control unit is located inside the housing 1, and the operation panel 9 is obliquely embedded on the outer wall of the housing 1. The control unit is electrically connected to the lighting unit 3, the counting unit and the operation panel 9 respectively. The operation panel 9 is designed to complete the operation commands of the lighting unit and the counting unit through buttons or touch screen.

[0029] The present invention has been described above by way of example, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Any modifications or variations made based on the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A colony counting device, characterized in that, The device includes a shell (1), a light-shielding door (2), an illumination unit (3), and a counting unit. The shell (1) has a pick-up and put-out opening (11) on one side. The light-shielding door (2) can open or close the pick-up and put-out opening (11). The shell (1) also has a cavity for accommodating the culture dish. The illumination unit (3) is used to illuminate the culture dish. The counting unit is used to count the colonies.

2. The colony counting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes an inner shell (6) and a light-transmitting tray (5). The inner shell (6) is fixed inside the outer shell (1) and has a side opening that communicates with the pick-up and put-out port (11). The light-transmitting tray (5) is embedded in the through hole on the bottom surface of the inner shell (6) to form a cavity for accommodating the culture dish.

3. The colony counting device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The inner wall of the inner shell (6) and the inner and outer walls of the light-shielding door panel (2) are covered with a light-absorbing coating.

4. The colony counting device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lighting unit (3) includes a light box located below the light-transmitting tray (5), which is used to illuminate the petri dishes placed in the light-transmitting tray (5) upwards; the counting unit includes a counting module and a high-definition camera (4) located on the top surface of the inner shell (6), which can transmit the captured colony photos in the petri dishes to the counting module for colony counting.

5. The colony counting device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The counting module uses image recognition processing technology to count colonies.

6. The colony counting device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The light box is equipped with multiple LED lights, which are evenly arranged below the light-transmitting tray (5), and the light-transmitting tray (5) includes a frosted outer wall surface and / or an inner wall surface.

7. The colony counting device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The lighting unit (3), the light-transmitting tray (5), and the high-definition camera (4) are arranged vertically along the same axis.

8. The colony counting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-shielding door panel (2) is slidably connected to the outer shell (1).

9. The colony counting device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The outer shell (1) has grooves formed on both sides of the light-shielding door panel (2), and the grooves are covered with felt pads to press the two sides of the light-shielding door panel (2) to make the light-shielding door panel (2) suspend.

10. The colony counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, It also includes a control unit and an operation panel (9), the control unit being electrically connected to the lighting unit (3), the counting unit and the operation panel (9) respectively, and the operation panel (9) being designed to complete the operation commands of the lighting unit (3) and the counting unit through buttons or touch screen.

Images