An inspection apparatus for a microfluidic chip

Abstract

A testing device for microfluidic wafers includes a support mechanism and a lifting mechanism. The support mechanism includes a support base and a carrier tray disposed on the support base for supporting the microfluidic wafer. The support base has an upwardly expanding mounting hole and a guide bevel defining the expanding inner edge of the mounting hole. The bottom surface of the carrier tray has an upwardly tapering alignment groove and an outer alignment bevel for abutting against the guide bevel, and an inner alignment bevel defining the tapering inner edge of the alignment groove. The lifting mechanism includes an alignment seat mounted on a lifting drive module and capable of being upwardly inserted into the alignment groove. The alignment seat has a guide bevel for abutting against the inner alignment bevel. Through the dual alignment structure design between the carrier tray, support base, and alignment seat, the microfluidic wafer supported on the carrier tray can be accurately moved and positioned.

Claims

1. An inspection device for a microfluidic wafer, suitable for supporting a microfluidic wafer, the inspection device comprising: a support mechanism including a support base and a carrier tray detachably disposed on the support base for supporting the microfluidic wafer, the support base having a vertically penetrating and upwardly expanding mounting hole and a vertically extending guide bevel defining the expanding inner edge of the mounting hole, the carrier tray being embedded in the mounting hole, the bottom surface of the carrier tray having an upwardly tapering alignment groove corresponding to the mounting hole, and having an upwardly expanding outer alignment bevel for face-to-face contact with the guide bevel, and a vertically extending tapering bevel defining the alignment groove. The inner alignment slope of the inner edge; and a lifting mechanism including a lifting drive module and an alignment seat mounted on the lifting drive module, the lifting drive module being controllable to drive the alignment seat between a disengaged position located below the mounting hole and an operating position in which the seat is displaced upward through the mounting hole and pushes the carrier plate upward away from the support, the alignment seat having an alignment portion for being embedded in the alignment groove of the carrier plate, the alignment portion having an upwardly extending tapering guide slope for being face-to-face against the inner alignment slope.

2. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 1, wherein, The carrier mechanism also includes a base defining a rearward-facing working space and a transfer module disposed in the working space. The alignment seat and the carrier seat are disposed in the working space. The carrier seat is connected to the transfer module. The transfer module can be controlled to drive the carrier seat to change displacement between a standby position in the working space and a move-out position that moves rearward out of the working space. When the carrier seat is in the standby position, the tray can be pushed upward away from the alignment seat that has changed to the working position.

3. The detection device for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 2, wherein the top surface of the microfluidic wafer is provided with a plurality of through holes for fluid entry and exit, wherein, The base has a top wall located above the support, and the support mechanism also includes multiple mating joints installed on the bottom surface of the top wall. When the alignment seat is in the working position, the carrier will cause the microfluidic wafer to move upward and abut against the mating joints. The mating joints can be used to connect to the through holes of the abutting microfluidic wafer, and can be used to inject or draw fluid into the through holes.

4. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 3, wherein, The base has a through hole in the top wall that extends vertically through the working space. The testing device also includes a ejection mechanism disposed on the base. The ejection mechanism includes a rotary drive disposed on the top side of the top wall and a push arm mounted on the rotary drive. The rotary drive can be controlled to drive the push arm to swing downward through the through hole. When the push arm passes downward through the through hole, it can be used to push against the microfluidic wafer at the mating joint.

5. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 3, wherein, The carrier has a through-hole that allows water leaking from the microfluidic chip to flow downwards through the mounting hole. The base has a bottom wall located below the carrier, and the top surface of the bottom wall is recessed to collect the water falling from the through-hole. The detection device also includes a control unit, which includes a liquid sensor for sensing the presence of water in the collection tank, an alarm, and a control module that connects the liquid sensor and the alarm. When the liquid sensor detects water, the control module will trigger the alarm to issue an alarm message.

6. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 3, wherein, The carrier has a through-hole that allows water leaking from the microfluidic wafer to flow downwards through the mounting hole. The base has a bottom wall located below the carrier, and the top surface of the bottom wall is recessed to collect water falling from the through-hole. The carrier also includes a water collection tank located below the bottom wall and communicating with the water collection tank. The water collection tank can collect water discharged from the water collection tank. The detection device also includes a control device with a liquid sensor for sensing the presence of water in the water collection tank, an alarm, and a control module that connects the liquid sensor and the alarm. When the liquid sensor detects water, the control module will cause the alarm to issue an alarm message.

7. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 5 or 6, wherein, The carrier has a disk body portion that defines the alignment groove, the outer alignment bevel and the inner alignment bevel, and an annular retaining ring portion that protrudes from the top surface of the disk body portion and surrounds the microfluidic wafer. The disk body portion is provided with the leakage hole, and the leakage hole is located on the inner peripheral side of the retaining ring portion.

8. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 7, wherein, The carrier disk also has a plurality of spaced-apart limiting protrusions on the top surface of the disk body. These limiting protrusions cooperate to define a setting area for positioning the microfluidic wafer on the top surface of the disk body. The retaining rings are spaced around these limiting protrusions.

9. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 2, wherein, The base also has a bottom wall located below the positioning seat, and the lifting mechanism also includes multiple guide rods fixed to the positioning seat and respectively passing through the bottom wall that can be moved up and down.

10. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 9, wherein, The lifting drive module has a lifting driver and a lifting transmission rod mounted on the lifting driver and extending upward through the bottom wall to connect to the positioning seat. The lifting transmission rod can be driven by the lifting driver to drive the positioning seat to move up and down.

11. The detection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as claimed in claim 3, adapted to carry a product container containing a sample liquid, the detection apparatus further comprising a product output mechanism including a communication module disposed on the top wall of the base and communicating with one of the mating joints, and a receiving platform module for carrying the product container, the communication module having a downwardly extending, exposed drain tube for insertion into the product container transferred by the receiving platform module, the receiving platform module including a lateral adjustment unit, a longitudinal adjustment unit mounted on the lateral adjustment unit, and a stage mounted on the longitudinal adjustment unit for carrying the product container, the lateral adjustment unit being controllable to laterally adjust the longitudinal adjustment unit, and the longitudinal adjustment unit being controllable to vertically adjust the stage.

12. The detection device for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 3, wherein the microfluidic wafer is provided with an identification tag, the detection device further includes a control device, the control device including a control module, a reader disposed on a base, and an alarm, the reader being used to read the identification tag of the microfluidic wafer carried on the carrier to obtain wafer identification data, the control module having multiple wafer type options built in, each wafer type option being bound to specific wafer identification data, the control module being operable to select and set a wafer type option for a currently activated detection function, and the control module controlling the alarm to issue an alarm message when it determines that the wafer identification data read by the reader does not match the currently set wafer type option.

13. The inspection apparatus for microfluidic wafers as described in claim 2, wherein, The lifting mechanism also includes a positioning sensing module, which includes a positioning member for mounting the alignment seat and an object sensor mounted on the base. The positioning member can be moved up and down by the alignment seat. When the alignment seat is driven to move down from the working position to the disengagement position, it will drive the positioning member to move down and touch the object sensor, causing the object sensor to generate a positioning signal. The detection device also includes a control device, which is triggered by the positioning signal to control the lifting drive module to reverse the transmission of the alignment seat and move it up a predetermined distance before stopping, thereby positioning the alignment seat in the disengagement position.

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