A new type of material distribution mechanism for pipette tip filling machine

Abstract

The present invention discloses a novel material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip loading machine, which is suitable for tips and includes a bottom plate, on which a roller, a hopper and a conveying assembly are arranged, the roller is connected to a roller motor control, the roller is connected and communicated with the hopper, a bearing structure is evenly distributed on the inner wall of the inner circumference of the roller, and an opening is arranged on the top of the hopper; one end of the conveying assembly passes through the hopper and extends into the roller, and the other end of the conveying assembly is arranged outside the hopper, and a guide nozzle is arranged below the conveying assembly arranged outside the hopper, and a through hole is arranged in the guide nozzle. The present invention realizes automation, improves the compatibility of the present invention with general tips on the market, reduces the failure rate, reduces the production cost, reduces the decibel, improves the stability of the whole machine, and saves the volume of the whole machine after assembly, is easy to repair and maintain, reduces the difficulty of repair, and improves work efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of pipette tip filling device manufacturing, and in particular relates to a novel material distributing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine. Background Art

[0002] A pipette, commonly known as a pipette gun, is an instrument used to transfer liquids quantitatively. It is widely used in basic research in life sciences, drug development, toxicological evaluation at the cell and animal level in the field of public health, high-throughput testing at the Center for Disease and Prevention, drug analysis, and drug metabolomics. In addition to being able to transfer liquids quantitatively, another feature of a pipette is that it can avoid the possibility of cross-contamination between different solutions by replacing the pipette tip. Therefore, the use of a large number of pipette tips of different specifications will be involved in the operation of a pipette.

[0003] In order to facilitate the replacement of pipette tips or to achieve the purpose of sterility during the experimental operation, the pipette tips are usually placed in a pipette tip box. Tips of different specifications are loaded in different types of pipette tip boxes for easy use. The most commonly used pipette tips are 1ml (blue), 200μl (yellow) and 10μl (white). The corresponding pipette tip boxes can load 60 pipette tips, 96 pipette tips and 96 pipette tips respectively. In the prior art, bulk pipette tips are manually loaded in the pipette tip box. The process of manually loading pipette tips is low-level repetitive labor, and the labor volume is huge. According to statistics, it takes an average of 3 minutes to manually insert a box of pipette tips, and inserting 20 boxes will be very tiring, and 50 boxes will reach the limit of mental and physical strength. Therefore, manual loading of pipette tips consumes a lot of manpower, has low operating efficiency, and is prone to misoperation, which can no longer meet market demand. With the progress of society, some automated pipette tip filling equipment has also appeared.

[0004] The invention application with application number CN201510885938.0 discloses a pipette tip box loading auxiliary device. In this invention, when the operator puts the tip into the tip funnel, the light path through the tip funnel is blocked, and the signal transmitter and receiver sends a signal to two stepper motors. The two stepper motors drive the movable platform to move in a predetermined direction through two pairs of synchronous pulleys, and then drive the movement of the tip holding rack, so that an opening in the tip holding rack is aligned with the lower port of the tip funnel, so that the tip can be smoothly loaded into the tip holding rack. Then drive the stepper motor to move a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction. Although this invention reduces labor, it requires manual material discharge and the degree of automation is not high; in addition, this device is only suitable for loading tips of a single specification. If tips of different specifications need to be loaded, the tips need to be replaced manually, so the operation is not convenient.

[0005] Patent No. ZL201821436655.3 discloses an automatic discharge device for pipette tips. This patent uses a conical hook to obtain the tip. Due to the tangent structure of the outer circumference of the roller and the cavity and the length of the tip, the number of connecting rods of the conical hook is very limited, and only one tip can be provided on the connecting rod on each roller, which undoubtedly reduces the work efficiency. When the tip enters the cavity, the direction of the tip mouth is not aligned with the conical hook, and it cannot be put on the conical hook, which not only reduces the work efficiency, but also causes the tip to accumulate in the cavity or slip into the inside of the roller, making the roller unable to rotate. This integrated connection structure between the roller and the cavity is also not easy to clean, maintain, and repair, resulting in a waste of resources. Please be careful with the tip itself, and the conical hook cannot rotate too fast, otherwise the tip will detach, which undoubtedly reduces the work efficiency.

[0006] The application number is CN 201821360643.7. Figure 1 As shown, the name of the material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip loading machine discloses that the tips enter a clamping slot after being sorted by the straight vibration section of the vibration plate, and then the light signal of the third photoelectric sensor is blocked by the tips, and the signal is transmitted to the PLC controller, the PLC controller controls the operation of the drive motor, the drive motor drives the screw to rotate, and then drives the screw nut and the material distribution plate to move to realize the second clamping slot until it is fully filled. The device is the same as the applicant's application. Although it reduces labor and realizes automation, the vibration plate is bulky because it needs a large motor drive. The weight of the device is 50 kilograms, the overall structure is complex, and it is easy to get stuck. The product cost is high, the maintenance cost and difficulty are high, and the stability is poor. In addition, the vibration plate generates more than 70 decibels during the production process, which is easy to cause upset, lack of concentration, affect work efficiency, and even cause accidents. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel micro-dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine which has high compatibility, low failure rate, low cost, low decibel, high stability, small size and is easy to operate.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0009] A novel material distributing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine is suitable for tips and comprises a bottom plate on which a roller, a hopper and a conveying assembly are arranged. The roller is control-connected to a roller motor, the roller is connected to and communicates with the hopper, a load-bearing structure is evenly distributed on the inner wall of the inner circumference of the roller, and an opening is arranged on the top of the hopper; one end of the conveying assembly passes through the hopper and extends into the roller, and the other end of the conveying assembly is arranged outside the hopper; a guide nozzle is arranged below the conveying assembly arranged outside the hopper, and a through hole is arranged in the guide nozzle.

[0010] Preferably, the conveying assembly includes a screw, a screw motor and a baffle; the screw motor is drive-connected to the screw, a baffle is provided on one side of the screw, and a spacing is provided between the baffle and the screw; a groove is provided on the baffle, and the groove is provided above the guide nozzle through hole; the spacing between the groove and the screw is greater than the maximum diameter of the suction head.

[0011] Preferably, the distance between the baffle and the screw is larger than the minimum diameter of the suction head and smaller than the maximum diameter of the suction head.

[0012] Preferably, the screw motor is connected to a driving wheel, the screw is connected to a driven wheel, and the driving wheel and the driven wheel are connected and driven by a synchronous belt.

[0013] Preferably, the two ends of the screw are respectively connected to the bearing seat A and the bearing seat B, and one end of the screw passes through the bearing seat A to connect to the driven wheel; the two ends of the baffle are respectively fixed to the sides of the bearing seat A and the bearing seat B.

[0014] Preferably, guide inclined plates are respectively provided on both sides of the screw of the conveying assembly in the drum, and the guide inclined plates are in an inverted eight-shaped shape, and are used to collect the suction heads that fall from the bearing structure onto the screw.

[0015] Preferably, the hopper is a U-shaped structure with an open top, and the hopper is fixed to the bottom plate via a support beam.

[0016] Preferably, the opening at the top of the hopper is provided with a herringbone baffle, and the herringbone baffle is located above the conveying assembly.

[0017] Preferably, the load-bearing structure evenly distributed on the inner wall of the drum is a scraper.

[0018] Preferably, a retaining ring is provided on one side where the drum is connected and communicated with the hopper.

[0019] The present invention adopts a screw to convey the suction head, thereby improving the stability of the material distribution mechanism, reducing the noise to 35 decibels, reducing the cost by more than 80%, reducing the weight to 6 kilograms, and being compatible with 80% of suction heads of different brands on the market. The present invention realizes automation, improves the compatibility of the present invention with common suction heads on the market, reduces the failure rate, reduces the production cost, reduces the decibel, improves the stability of the whole machine, saves the volume of the whole machine after assembly, is easy to repair and maintain, reduces the difficulty of repair, and improves work efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a pipette tip dispensing mechanism using a vibrating disk structure in the prior art;

[0021] The present invention proposes a novel material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of a new type of material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a roller in a new type of material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0024] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a roller in a new type of material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a conveying assembly in a new type of material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0026] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a conveying assembly in a new type of material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0027] Figure 7 A novel material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention is installed in the pipette tip filling machine, wherein A is the material distribution mechanism of the present invention.

[0028] Numbers in the figure:

[0029] 1. Roller; 2. Hopper; 3. Conveying assembly; 5. Guide nozzle; 6. Support plate; 7. Support beam; 8. Bottom plate; 9. Roller motor; 10. Bearing; 11. Roller bracket; 12. Bearing seat A; 13. Bearing seat B; 14. Driven wheel; 15. Driving wheel; 16. Synchronous belt; 17. Screw motor; 18. Baffle; 19. Screw; 20. Groove; 21. Herringbone baffle; 22. Suction head. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0031] like Figures 2 to 6As shown, a new type of material distributing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine provided by the present invention is suitable for a pipette tip 22, comprising a bottom plate 8, a roller 1 with an open structure on one side, a hopper 2 with a U-shaped through-hole structure, a guide nozzle 5 with a through-hole and a conveying assembly 3; a roller 1 is installed on the bottom plate 8 through a roller bracket 11, a hopper 2 is installed through a support beam 7, and a guide nozzle 5 is installed through a support plate 6; wherein the support beam 7 and the hopper 2 can be integrally formed.

[0032] A bearing 10 on one side of the drum 1 is connected to the output shaft of the drum motor 9 through a belt drive, and an open structure on the other side of the drum 1 is connected and communicated with the hopper 2 of the through hole; an opening is provided at the top of the hopper 2 of the U-shaped through hole structure, and the opening is used for feeding the suction head 22, and the hopper 2 is a three-way structure as a whole; one end of the conveying assembly 3 extends through the hopper 2 to the drum 1, and the other end of the conveying assembly 3 is arranged outside the hopper 2; a plurality of scrapers are evenly distributed on the inner wall of the inner circumference of the drum 1, and the scrapers are arranged on the inner wall of the inner circumference of the drum 1 like barbs (the way in which the scraper is arranged in the drum, the scraper is used as a carrier by the drum, and the load on the scraper falls when the drum reaches a certain position are all prior arts, which are not technical points of the present invention, so they are not repeated here), the shape of the scraper can be an arc or an inclined inclined plate or an inverted trapezoidal structure, and the function of the scraper is to carry the suction head 22 when the drum rolls, and to carry the carried suction head 22 to the conveying assembly 3 in the drum 1 while the drum 1 rotates.

[0033] A guide nozzle 5 is provided below the conveying component 3 arranged outside the hopper 2, and a through hole is provided inside the guide nozzle 5, and the diameter of the through hole is slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the suction head 22; when in use, the dividing plate is placed below the through hole of the guide nozzle 5, and the suction head 22 conveyed from the conveying component 3 is guided by the guide nozzle 5 to fall into the collection hole of the dividing plate below.

[0034] The conveying assembly 3 includes a driving wheel 15, a driven wheel 14, a screw 19, a screw motor 17, a baffle 18, a bearing seat A12 and a bearing seat B13; the two ends of the screw 19 are respectively connected to the bearing seat A12 and the bearing seat B13; a baffle 18 is provided on one side of the screw 19, and the two ends of the baffle 18 are respectively fixed to the sides of the bearing seat A12 and the bearing seat B13; the distance between the baffle 18 and the screw 19 is greater than the minimum diameter of the suction head 22 and smaller than the maximum diameter of the suction head 22, which is used to clamp Suction head 22; a groove 20 is provided on the baffle 18, and the groove 20 is located above the through hole of the guide nozzle 5; the spacing between the groove 20 and the screw 19 is greater than the maximum diameter of the suction head 22, which is used for the suction head 22 to fall into the through hole of the guide nozzle 5 below; the screw motor 17 is connected to the driving wheel 15, and one end of the screw 19 passes through the bearing seat A12 to connect to the driven wheel 14, and the driving wheel 15 and the driven wheel 14 are connected and driven by the synchronous belt 16 to rotate the screw 19 of the conveying component 3.

[0035] Furthermore, guide inclined plates are provided at both sides of the screw 19 of the conveying assembly 3 in the drum 1 , and the guide inclined plates are in an inverted eight-shaped shape, and are used to collect the suction heads 22 dropped from the bearing structure onto the screw 19 .

[0036] Furthermore, a herringbone baffle 21 is installed on the opening at the top of the U-shaped through hole hopper 2. The herringbone baffle 21 is located above the conveying component 3 and is used to disperse the density when pouring the suction head 22.

[0037] Furthermore, a retaining ring is provided on one side where the drum 1 is connected and communicated with the hopper 2 to prevent the suction head 22 from falling.

[0038] The working principle of the present invention is as follows:

[0039] The drum motor 9 and the screw motor 17 are powered on; the drum motor 9 drives the drum 1 to rotate, and the suction head 22 enters the inner cylinder of the drum 1 from the feeding port of the hopper 2. When the drum 1 rotates, the suction head 22 in the drum 1 is carried by the scraper on the inner wall of the inner cylinder of the drum 1. The scraper carries the suction head 22 to rotate and move with the rotation of the drum. When the scraper rotates to the top of the conveying component 3, it falls on the guide ramps arranged on both sides of the screw 19, and slides between the screw 19 and the baffle 18 through the inclined guide ramps. Since the distance between the baffle 18 and the screw 19 is larger than the minimum diameter of the suction head 22 and smaller than the maximum diameter of the suction head 22, the suction head 22 is moved with a small diameter under the action of the rotation of the screw 19. It is inserted between the screw 19 and the baffle 20 with its head facing downward and its large end facing upward, that is, between the thread, the screw 19 and the baffle 20; the suction head 22 moves toward the direction of the guide nozzle 5 driven by the rotation of the screw 19, and when the suction head 22 reaches the groove 20 on the baffle 18, since the distance between the groove 20 and the screw 19 is larger than the maximum diameter of the suction head 22, the suction head 22 falls into the through hole of the guide nozzle 5 with its small head facing downward and its large end facing upward. Since the dividing plate is placed below the through hole of the guide nozzle 5, and the diameter of the through hole of the guide nozzle 5 is slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the suction head 22, the suction head 22 is guided by the guide nozzle 5 and falls into the collecting hole of the dividing plate below the guide nozzle 5.

[0040] like Figure 7 As shown, a new type of material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine proposed by the present invention is installed in the pipette tip filling machine, wherein A is the material distribution mechanism of the present invention. The present invention can be widely used in basic research in life sciences, molecular biology and cell biology research, and research and development in the biopharmaceutical industry, and its structure and working principle can also be applied to other fields and enterprises.

[0041] The present invention adopts a screw to convey the suction head, thereby improving the stability of the material distribution mechanism, reducing the noise to 35 decibels, reducing the cost by more than 80%, reducing the weight to 6 kilograms, and being compatible with 80% of suction heads of different specifications on the market. The present invention realizes automation, improves the compatibility of the present invention with suction heads of different specifications on the market, reduces the failure rate, reduces the production cost, reduces the decibel, improves the stability of the whole machine, saves the volume of the whole machine after assembly, is easy to repair and maintain, reduces the difficulty of repair, and improves work efficiency.

[0042] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0043] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0044] The above description is only a preferred specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can make equivalent replacements or changes according to the technical scheme and inventive concept of the present invention within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A novel material distribution mechanism for a pipette tip loading machine, suitable for pipette tips (22), comprising a base plate (8), on which a roller (1), a hopper (2) and a conveying assembly (3) are arranged, wherein the roller (1) is controllably connected to a roller motor (11), and characterized in that: The drum (1) is connected to and communicates with the hopper (2); a load-bearing structure is evenly distributed on the inner wall of the inner circumference of the drum (1); an opening is provided at the top of the hopper (2); one end of the conveying component (3) passes through the hopper (2) and extends into the drum (1); the other end of the conveying component (3) is arranged outside the hopper (2); a guide nozzle (5) is provided below the conveying component (3) arranged outside the hopper (2); a through hole is provided in the guide nozzle (5); The conveying assembly (3) comprises a screw (19), a screw motor (17) and a baffle (18); the screw motor (17) is drivingly connected to the screw (19); a baffle (18) is provided on one side of the screw (19); a distance is provided between the baffle (18) and the screw (19); a groove (20) is provided on the baffle (18); the groove (20) is provided above the through hole of the guide nozzle (5); the distance between the groove (20) and the screw (19) is greater than the maximum diameter of the suction head (22); the distance between the baffle (18) and the screw (19) is greater than the minimum diameter of the suction head (22) and less than the maximum diameter of the suction head (22); The screw motor (17) is connected to the driving wheel (15), the screw (19) is connected to the driven wheel (14), and the driving wheel (15) and the driven wheel (14) are connected and driven via a synchronous belt (16). The two ends of the screw rod (19) are respectively connected to the bearing seat A (12) and the bearing seat B (13), and one end of the screw rod (19) passes through the bearing seat A (12) to connect to the driven wheel (14); the two ends of the baffle plate (18) are respectively fixed to the sides of the bearing seat A (12) and the bearing seat B (13).

2. A novel material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: Guide inclined plates are respectively provided on both sides of the screw (19) of the conveying assembly (3) in the roller (1), and the guide inclined plates are in an inverted figure eight shape and are used to collect the suction heads (22) that fall from the bearing structure onto the screw (19).

3. A novel material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hopper (2) is a U-shaped structure with an open top, and the hopper (2) is fixed on a bottom plate (10) via a support beam (7).

4. A novel material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The opening at the top of the hopper (2) is provided with a herringbone-shaped baffle (21), and the herringbone-shaped baffle (21) is located above the conveying assembly (3).

5. A novel material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The load-bearing structures evenly distributed on the inner wall of the drum (1) are scrapers.

6. A novel material dispensing mechanism for a pipette tip filling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The roller (1) is connected to the hopper (2) and a retaining ring is provided on one side thereof which is in communication with the hopper (2).

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