A pipette tip filling device

Abstract

A pipette tip filling device, comprising a box body, which is successively provided with a collection part, a transmission part and an output part from top to bottom. The collection part is provided with a plurality of vertically penetrating vertical channels arranged in parallel along the length direction. A horizontal pull plate I is arranged at the bottom of the channels. Both sides of the pull plate I are slidably and cooperatively connected with the left and right side walls of the collection part. One end of the pull plate I extends out of the box body. The transmission part is arranged below the pull plate I. The inner cavity of the transmission part is hollow and includes a cuboid-shaped cavity in the middle and arc-shaped cavities at both ends. Both the top and bottom of the transmission part are open, and a belt transmission device is arranged in the inner cavity of the transmission part. The output part is arranged below the transmission part. The output part includes a plurality of storage chambers with open tops. The storage chambers are the same in shape and size as the channels and are arranged opposite to the channels. An opening is arranged on the side wall of the box body of the output part on the same side as the knob, and a vertical pull plate II is arranged in the opening. The present invention can solve the technical problem that the installation of the tips in the pipette tip box completely depends on the experimenter's hands during the installation process, which is time-consuming and laborious.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of basic medical and biological research, and particularly to a pipette tip filling device. Background Art

[0002] A pipette, also known as a micropipette, is an essential device in current basic medical or biological research. It mainly consists of a pipette body and a pipette tip, as Figure 1 .

[0003] Currently, the common ranges of pipettes mainly include 10 ml, 1 ml, 200 μl, 20 μl, 10 μl, etc. The pipette tips corresponding to these different ranges of pipettes are also inconsistent. Among them, the three most commonly used tips in basic medical or biological research are the three specifications of 1 ml, 200 μl, and 10 μl (or 20 μl). Specifically, as Figure 2 shown.

[0004] Usually, the tips need to be placed in a tip box for easy access by experimenters. Currently, the tip boxes for the above three types of tips are all of the 12X8 specification, specifically as Figure 3 shown. Each of the 96 slots in this tip box can hold one tip. For tips of different ranges, the diameters of the slots are different, but the sizes of the tip boxes of the same specification and the same range of tips popular in the market are basically the same. When in use, the connection surface between the tip and the pipette faces upward, which is convenient for experimenters to access and can keep the tip sterile when not in use. This tip box can store 96 tips at a time. After the tips are used up, the tips need to be manually placed again and then autoclaved for reuse. Among them, the process of reinstalling the tips is completely completed manually by the experimenter, which is a very time-consuming but indispensable operation for the experimenter. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome the defects and deficiencies of the above technologies, the present invention provides a pipette tip filling device, which can solve the technical problem that the installation of the tips in the pipette tip box completely depends on the experimenter's manual operation and is time-consuming and laborious.

[0006] The present invention adopts the following technical means:

[0007] A pipette tip filling device includes a box body, and the box body successively includes a collection part, a transfer part, and an output part from top to bottom.

[0008] The collection part is provided with a plurality of vertically penetrating vertical channels arranged in parallel along the length direction. A horizontal pull plate I is arranged at the bottom of the channels. The two sides of the pull plate I are slidably and cooperatively connected with the left and right side walls of the collection part, and one end of the pull plate I extends out of the box body.

[0009] The conveying part is arranged below the first pull-out plate; the inner cavity of the conveying part is hollow, including a cuboid-shaped cavity in the middle and arc-shaped cavities at both ends. The top and bottom of the conveying part are both open. A belt drive device is arranged in the inner cavity of the conveying part. The belt drive device includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel, and an endless conveyor belt wound around the driving wheel and the driven wheel. The conveyor belt is a baffle conveyor belt, including a plurality of baffles perpendicular to the outer surface and of the same width as the conveyor belt arranged on the outer surface of the conveyor belt. The distance between two adjacent baffles is equal to the distance between two adjacent channels; both ends of the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are rotatably connected to the left and right side walls of the box body. One end of the driving wheel shaft extends out of the side wall of the box body and a knob is fixedly installed outside the box body; the driving wheel drives the driven wheel and the conveyor belt to rotate in the inner cavity of the conveying part;

[0010] The output part is arranged below the conveying part. The output part includes a plurality of storage chambers with open tops. The storage chambers are the same in shape and size as the channels and are arranged opposite to the channels. An opening is arranged on the side wall of the box body of the output part on the same side as the knob. The opening communicates with each output part and the outside of the box body. A vertically arranged second pull-out plate is arranged in the opening. The top and bottom of the second pull-out plate are slidably connected to the opening and one end extends out of the box body.

[0011] Both ends of the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are respectively embedded in the inner rings of the bearings embedded in the left and right side walls of the box body and are rotatably connected thereto; each bearing is embedded in the side wall of the box body and both ends do not exceed the side wall of the box body.

[0012] The storage chambers are arranged in multiple layers in the height direction. A horizontal third pull-out plate is arranged between two adjacent layers of the storage chambers to separate them. Both sides of the third pull-out plate are slidably connected and matched with the left and right side walls of the output part. One end of the third pull-out plate extends out of the box body; the bottoms of the bottom row of the storage chambers are closed, and the bottoms of the remaining storage chambers are open.

[0013] The distance a between the top of the baffle on the conveyor belt and the first pull-out plate, the distance b between the end of the baffle at the arc-shaped winding part of the conveyor belt and the arc-shaped inner cavity wall, the distance c between the bottom of the baffle on the lower conveyor belt and the top of the storage chamber, and the maximum diameter d of the pipette tip satisfy the following conditions:

[0014] max(a, b, c) ≤ d, and a, b, and c are all greater than 0.

[0015] max(a, b, c) ranges from 0.01 mm to 1 mm.

[0016] One end of each pull-out plate extending out of the box body is provided with a vertical standing plate that is of the same width as the corresponding pull-out plate and is integral. A pull ring is arranged on the outer side of the standing plate.

[0017] The conveyor belt and the baffle are integrally formed.

[0018] The box body is cuboid-shaped, and it is formed by snapping together two left and right parts into one body, and the snap joint is parallel to the left and right side walls and is located in the middle of the front, back, upper and lower four sides.

[0019] The knob is Z-shaped or straight-shaped. One end of the Z-shaped knob is fixed to the protruding end of the driving wheel rotating shaft, and the straight-shaped knob is fixed to the protruding end of the driving wheel rotating shaft through a connecting rod fixed in the middle.

[0020] Both ends or one end of the opening are flush with the front wall and / or the back wall of the box body.

[0021] The box body and each drawer plate are made of transparent material; a top cover that is snap-connected to the box body is provided at the top of the box body to close each of the channels.

[0022] The present invention has the following positive and beneficial effects:

[0023] 1) The pipette tip can be installed quickly and simply, saving experimental time and reducing cumbersome and repetitive labor;

[0024] 2) During the installation of the pipette tip, the contact between the pipette tip and the hand or other contaminated areas is reduced, and the contamination of the pipette tip is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a pipette in the background art;

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a pipette tip in the background art;

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of a pipette tip box in the background art;

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the pipette tip filling device of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 5 For Figure 4 Top view;

[0030] Figure 6 For Figure 5 Sectional view at the A-A position of

[0031] Figure 7 For Figure 5 Sectional view at the B-B position of

[0032] Figures 8 - 11 It is a schematic diagram of the distribution of pipette tips during the use of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 12 It is a sectional view of the pipette tip filling device of the present invention with multiple storage chambers.

[0034] Figure numbers: 1-collecting part, 11-channel, 12-pull-out plate 1, 13-vertical plate, 14-pull ring, 2-transmission part, 21-driving wheel, 22-driven wheel, 23-conveyor belt, 24-baffle, 25-bearing, 3-output part, 31-storage chamber, 32-opening, 33-pull-out plate 2, 34-pull-out plate 3, 4-knob, 5-pipette tip. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solution of the present invention will be systematically described below in conjunction with the various drawings in the text. The described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them, and can be flexibly applied as needed in actual scientific research work. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making core creative work, such as adding handles, pattern decoration, etc., are not innovations, and all of the above-mentioned embodiments are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0036] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the directions or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings. They are simply simple directions described according to the drawings and are not mandatory in mechanical engineering. They should not be restricted in actual construction, operation and application. Therefore, the description of these directions herein should not be understood as an application limitation of the present invention. In addition, if the terms "first", "second" and "third" appear in the text, they are only used for descriptive purposes, and their arrangement is not arranged in order of importance.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it is also necessary to explain that, since some structures of this patent are of a completely new design, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, and some mechanical structures in the drawings should also be understood in a broad sense. For example, connection can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or welding; it can be directly connected in various ways, or indirectly connected by screws, or the two components can be connected internally by various engineering tools. For example, the screws drawn in the drawings can be rivets or any other connecting tools that can realize the actual clinical use of this patent in actual manufacturing. Therefore, for ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances, and should not be limited by the drawings in the text as a limitation in actual production.

[0038] It should be emphasized that the present invention is illustrated by taking a size of the gun head as an example. The installer models of other gun heads are only changes in size and do not belong to the content of improvement and innovation, and are protected by this patent. The gun head output box is only a model, and for more convenient operation, its output surface can be decorated with such as buckles, but this decoration does not belong to the core technical innovation and is protected by this patent.

[0039] The front, back, left, right, up and down directions of the present invention are based on Figure 4 the perspective.

[0040] See Figure 4 , the box body of the present invention is in the shape of a cuboid. Considering manufacturing and assembly, the cross-section perpendicular to the front and back surfaces of the box body divides the box body into left and right parts, and the two parts are snap-connected. The left and right parts of the box body can be injection-molded in one piece. After installing the bearings and the transmission device, the two parts of the box body are snapped together, and then each pull-out plate is inserted to complete the assembly.

[0041] For each pull-out plate, grooves are provided on the box body or the open side walls at both ends as slide ways, and the pull-out plate is placed so that its two sides slide in the slide ways. The slide ways extend to be flush with the front wall of the box body in the pulling-out direction of the pull-out plate and extend between the last channel and the back wall of the box body in the pushing-in direction.

[0042] See Figures 4 - 12 , a pipette tip filling device, including a box body, the box body is successively a collection part 1, a transmission part 2 and an output part 3 from top to bottom,

[0043] See Figure 4 , 5 , 6, a plurality of vertically penetrating vertical channels 11 are arranged in parallel along the length direction of the collection part 1. A horizontal pull-out plate 12 is arranged at the bottom of the channel 11. The two sides of the pull-out plate 12 are slidably and cooperatively connected with the left and right side walls of the collection part 1, and one end of the pull-out plate 12 extends out of the box body;

[0044] See Figure 6, the conveying part 2 is arranged below the first pull-out plate 12; the inner cavity of the conveying part 2 is hollow, including a cuboid cavity in the middle and arc-shaped cavities at both ends. The top and bottom of the conveying part 2 are both open. A belt drive device is arranged in the inner cavity of the conveying part 2. The belt drive device includes a driving wheel 21, a driven wheel 22, and an endless conveyor belt 23 wound around the driving wheel 21 and the driven wheel 22. The conveyor belt 23 is a baffle conveyor belt, including a plurality of baffles 24 perpendicular to the outer surface and of the same width as the conveyor belt 23 arranged on the outer surface of the conveyor belt 23. The distance between two adjacent baffles 24 is equal to the distance between two adjacent channels 11; both ends of the rotating shafts of the driving wheel 21 and the driven wheel 22 are rotatably connected to the left and right side walls of the box body. One end of the rotating shaft of the driving wheel 21 extends out of the side wall of the box body and a knob 4 is fixedly installed outside the box body; the driving wheel 21 drives the driven wheel 22 and the conveyor belt 23 to rotate in the inner cavity of the conveying part 2;

[0045] See Figure 6 , 7 , the output part 3 is arranged below the conveying part 2. The output part 3 includes a plurality of storage chambers 31 with open tops. The storage chambers 31 are the same in shape and size as the channels 11 and are arranged opposite to the channels 11. An opening 32 is arranged on the side wall of the box body of the output part 3 on the same side as the knob 4. The opening 32 communicates with each output part 3 and the outside of the box body. A vertically arranged second pull-out plate 33 is arranged in the opening 32. The top and bottom of the second pull-out plate 33 are slidably connected to the opening 32 and one end extends out of the box body.

[0046] Both ends of the rotating shafts of the driving wheel 21 and the driven wheel 22 are respectively embedded in the inner rings of the bearings 25 embedded in the left and right side walls of the box body and are rotatably connected thereto; each bearing 25 is embedded in the side wall of the box body and both ends do not exceed the side wall of the box body.

[0047] See Figure 12 , the storage chambers 31 are arranged in multiple layers in the height direction. A horizontal third pull-out plate 34 is arranged between two adjacent layers of the storage chambers 31 to separate them. Both sides of the third pull-out plate 34 are slidably connected and matched with the left and right side walls of the output part 3. One end of the third pull-out plate 34 extends out of the box body; the bottoms of the bottom row of the storage chambers 31 are closed, and the bottoms of the remaining storage chambers 31 are open.

[0048] The distance a between the top of the baffle 24 on the conveyor belt 23 and the first pull-out plate 12, the distance b between the end of the baffle 24 at the arc-shaped winding part of the conveyor belt 23 and the arc-shaped inner cavity wall, the distance c between the bottom of the baffle 24 on the lower conveyor belt 23 and the top of the storage chamber 31, and the maximum diameter d of the pipette tip satisfy the following conditions:

[0049] max(a, b, c) ≤ d, and a, b, and c are all greater than 0.

[0050] max(a, b, c) ranges from 0.01 mm to 1 mm.

[0051] One end of each of the drawer plates protruding from the box body is provided with a vertical standing plate 13 that is as wide as the corresponding drawer plate and integrated. A pull ring 14 is provided on the outer side of the standing plate 13.

[0052] The conveyor belt 23 and the baffle 24 are integrally formed.

[0053] The box body is rectangular. It is formed by buckling the left and right parts into one body, and the buckling seam is parallel to the left and right side walls and is located in the middle of the front, back, upper and lower four sides.

[0054] See Figure 4 , the knob 4 is Z-shaped or straight-shaped. One end of the Z-shaped knob is fixed to the protruding end of the rotating shaft of the driving wheel 21, and the straight-shaped knob is fixed to the protruding end of the rotating shaft of the driving wheel 21 through a connecting rod fixed in the middle.

[0055] Both ends or one end of the opening 32 are flush with the front wall or / and the back wall of the box body.

[0056] The box body and each drawer plate are made of transparent material; the top of the box body is provided with an upper cover that is buckled and connected to it to close each of the channels 11. The transparent material allows the internal situation to be seen; the upper cover can prevent the pipette tips that have been collected in the channel 11 from accidentally falling out and can also prevent bacterial contamination. The buckling of the upper cover and the box body is a conventional choice for those skilled in the art, such as the buckling of the structure of a stationery box with a lid and a box body.

[0057] The number of channels 11 is equal to the number of columns of the pipette tip box. For the steps of using the embodiment of the single-layer storage chamber of the present invention, see Figures 8 - 11 :

[0058] 1) Loading the pipette tips 5: Each drawer plate is in the closed state; at this time, the pipette tips 5 are loaded into each of the channels 11 until full, and then the upper cover is covered; the pipette tips 5 are parallel to the front and back walls of the box body and are stacked in the channels 11;

[0059] 2) Conveying the pipette tips 5 row by row: Pull out the drawer plate one 12, rotate the knob 4, the lowermost row of pipette tips 5 falls between the adjacent baffles 24 of the lower conveyor belt, continue to rotate the knob 4, and the first row of pipette tips 5 fall into the storage chamber 31 of the output part 3 one by one;

[0060] 3) Align the opening side of the storage chamber 31 of the output part with the tip chamber of the pipette tip box, with the pipette tip box below and the storage chamber 31 of the output part above, and pull out the drawer plate two 33, then the first row of pipette tips 5 can be poured into the first row of tip chambers of the corresponding pipette tip box;

[0061] 4) Filling the tip chambers of the pipette tip box row by row.

[0062] Another embodiment of the present invention is to provide multiple layers of storage chambers, with a pull-out plate three 34 provided between adjacent storage chambers. The number of channels 11 is equal to the number of columns of the pipette tip boxes, and the number of tips in a single channel 11, the number of layers of the storage chambers 31, and the number of rows of the pipette tip boxes are equal. The usage steps are as follows:

[0063] 1) Loading the pipette tips 5: Each pull-out plate is in the closed state; at this time, load the pipette tips 5 into each channel 11 until full, and cover the upper cover; the pipette tips 5 are parallel to the front and rear walls of the box body and stacked in the channels 11;

[0064] 2) Transferring the pipette tips 5 layer by layer: Pull open the pull-out plate one 12 and all the pull-out plates three 34, rotate the knob 4, the lowermost pipette tips 5 fall between the adjacent baffles 24 of the lower conveyor belt, continue to rotate the knob 4, and the pipette tips 5 in the first layer fall one by one into the lowermost storage chamber 31 of the output part 3;

[0065] 3) Close the pull-out plate three 34 at the lowermost layer, and repeat step 3) until all the storage chambers 31 are filled;

[0066] 4) Align the opening side of the storage chamber 31 of the output part with the tip chamber of the pipette tip box, with the pipette tip box below and the storage chamber 31 of the output part above, and sequentially pull out each pull-out plate two 33, then the pipette tips 5 in each layer can be poured into the corresponding rows of tip chambers of the pipette tip box;

[0067] 4) Fill the tip chambers of the pipette tip box row by row.

[0068] The specific overall structure is as Figure 4 shown. This figure is the overall schematic diagram of the simple tip installer device designed in this patent. The device mainly consists of three parts, namely the collection part 1, the transfer part 2, and the output part 3. Among them, the collection part 1 has a pull-out baffle one 12. Before collecting the tips, the pull-out baffle one 12 is in the closed state, and the tips are not in contact with the transfer device. Before the collection part 1 is ready to transfer the tips after collecting the tips, pull open the pull-out baffle one 12 to make the tips contact the transfer device and start the transfer and subsequent work. There is a small distance between the top of the baffle 24 of the transfer device and the pull-out baffle one 12. Rotate the transfer device knob 4, and the tips will fall between the adjacent baffles 24 of the upper conveyor belt.

[0069] Embodiment

[0070] The tip collection part 1 includes 12 channels 11. The width of each channel 11 is slightly wider than the outer diameter of a tip. The height of the channel 11 should be at least 8 times the diameter of the tip (ensuring that after filling the collection box with tips once, the filling capacity of a 12×8 tip box can be satisfied). The length of each channel 11 should be slightly longer than the tips to be collected. The channels 11 meeting the above requirements can ensure that the tips fall smoothly onto the conveyor belt. The pull-out baffle 12 is pulled out after the tips are filled, causing the tips to fall between the adjacent baffles 24 on the conveyor belt.

[0071] 12 storage chambers 31 are provided on each layer. The storage chambers 31 are arranged in a single layer or 8 layers.

[0072] In actual applications, any standardized tips and tip boxes can be applied to this example.

Claims

1. A pipette tip filling device, characterized in that, it includes a box body, which is successively a collection part (1), a transmission part (2) and an output part (3) from top to bottom, the collection part (1) is provided with a plurality of vertically penetrating vertical channels (11) arranged in parallel along the length direction, a horizontal pull plate one (12) is arranged at the bottom of the channel (11), and both sides of the pull plate one (12) are slidably connected with the left and right side walls of the collection part (1), and one end of the pull plate one (12) extends out of the box body; the transmission part (2) is arranged below the pull plate one (12); the inner cavity of the transmission part (2) is hollow and includes a cuboid cavity in the middle and arc-shaped cavities at both ends, the top and bottom of the transmission part (2) are both open, a belt transmission device is arranged in the inner cavity of the transmission part (2), the belt transmission device includes a driving wheel (21), a driven wheel (22) and an endless conveyor belt (23) wound around the driving wheel (21) and the driven wheel (22), the conveyor belt (23) is a baffle conveyor belt and includes a plurality of baffles (24) perpendicular to the outer surface and of the same width as the outer surface arranged on the outer surface of the conveyor belt (23), and the distance between two adjacent baffles (24) is equal to the distance between two adjacent channels (11); the shafts of the driving wheel (21) and the driven wheel (22) are rotatably connected to the left and right side walls of the box body at both ends, and one end of the shaft of the driving wheel (21) extends out of the side wall of the box body and a knob (4) is fixedly installed outside the box body; the driving wheel (21) drives the driven wheel (22) and the conveyor belt (23) to rotate in the inner cavity of the transmission part (2); the output part (3) is arranged below the transmission part (2), the output part (3) includes a plurality of storage chambers (31) with open tops, the storage chambers (31) are the same in shape and size as the channels (11) and are arranged opposite to the channels (11), an opening (32) is arranged on the side wall of the box body of the output part (3) on the same side as the knob (4), the opening (32) communicates with each output part (3) and the outside of the box body, a vertical pull plate two (33) is arranged in the opening (32), and the top and bottom of the pull plate two (33) are slidably connected with the opening (32) and one end extends out of the box body; the shafts of the driving wheel (21) and the driven wheel (22) are respectively embedded in the inner rings of bearings (25) embedded in the left and right side walls of the box body and are rotatably connected thereto; each bearing (25) is embedded in the side wall of the box body and both ends do not exceed the side wall of the box body; the storage chambers (31) are arranged in multiple layers in the height direction, a horizontal pull plate three (34) is arranged between two adjacent layers of the storage chambers (31) to separate them, both sides of the pull plate three (34) are slidably connected with the left and right side walls of the output part (3), and one end of the pull plate three (34) extends out of the box body; the bottom of the bottom row of the storage chambers (31) is closed, and the bottoms of the remaining storage chambers (31) are open.

2. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance a between the top of the baffle (24) on the conveyor belt (23) and the first pull-out plate (12), the distance b between the end of the baffle (24) at the arc-shaped surrounding part of the conveyor belt (23) and the inner arc-shaped cavity wall, the distance c between the bottom of the baffle (24) on the lower conveyor belt (23) and the top of the storage chamber (31), and the maximum diameter d of the pipette tip satisfy the following conditions: max(a, b, c) ≤ d, and a, b, and c are all greater than 0.

3. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 2, characterized in that max(a, b, c) ranges from 0.01 mm to 1 mm.

4. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that One end of each pull-out plate extending out of the box body is provided with a vertical standing plate (13) that is of the same width as and integral with the corresponding pull-out plate, and a pull ring (14) is provided on the outer side of the standing plate (13).

5. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that The conveyor belt (23) and the baffle (24) are integrally formed.

6. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that The box body is cuboid-shaped and is formed by buckling its left and right parts into one body, and the buckling seam is parallel to the left and right side walls and is located in the middle of the front, back, upper and lower four sides.

7. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that The knob (4) is Z-shaped or straight-shaped. One end of the Z-shaped knob is fixed to the protruding end of the rotating shaft of the driving wheel (21), and the straight-shaped knob is fixed to the protruding end of the rotating shaft of the driving wheel (21) through a connecting rod fixed in the middle.

8. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that Both ends or one end of the opening (32) are flush with the front wall and / or the rear wall of the box body.

9. A pipette tip filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that The box body and each pull-out plate are made of transparent materials; a top cover that is buckled and connected to the box body is provided on the top of the box body to close each of the channels (11).

Images