Module for transporting microplates or laboratory equipment for an automated biological laboratory system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a module (100, 120) for an automated biological laboratory system, the module comprising: a housing (102), a storage device (108, 330) located inside the housing (102), the storage device having a plurality of plate slots (110), the plate slots being used to receive microplates or laboratory appliances or containers having microplate packages (116, 320, 322, 324); a transmission slot (113), the transmission slot being used to transfer microplates between the module (100, 1 The invention relates to a microplate or container for transferring the microplate or container between the interior of a module (100, 120) and the exterior of a module (100, 120); an indexing device (140, 142), the indexing device being used to facilitate the alignment of a transfer slot (113) and a microplate transfer interface (130, 134), the microplate transfer interface comprising an opening of a housing (102), and a connecting device (132), the connecting device being used to fixedly connect a transfer interface (133, 134) of a module to a transfer interface (130, 134) of an adjacent module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to

[0002] case,

[0003] a storage device rotatably located inside the housing, the storage device having a plurality of plate slots for receiving plates or containers carrying cell cultures, laboratory equipment or liquids;

[0004] a transport slot for transporting the plate or container between the inside of the module and the outside of the module;

[0005] an indexing device for facilitating alignment of a transmission slot with a transmission interface, the transmission interface comprising an opening of the housing, and

[0006] A connecting device is used to fixedly connect a transmission interface of a module to a transmission interface of an adjacent module.

[0007] The invention further relates to a method for handling plates or containers carrying cell cultures, laboratory tools or liquids, which are stored in a storage module of an automated biological system. Background Art

[0008] CN 104777321 discloses a processing module for an automated biological laboratory system.

[0009] In US 6,360,792 a machine for automatically filling a plurality of microplates in a biological laboratory system is disclosed.

[0010] An automatic chemical or biological sample analyzer is disclosed in US Pat. No. 7,670,553.

[0011] JP-H01 1189561 discloses a sample rack transport device for automatic chemical analysis.

[0012] US 2016 / 0145555 A1 shows a system for facilitating biological communication between two or more cell culture devices. A fluid collection device includes a suction tip that engages at an outlet end or an inlet end of a fluid device. Multiple fluid devices are stored on a disc conveyor.

[0013] US 2018 / 0044624 A1 shows a cell culture device comprising an incubator for accommodating a closed system culture container.

[0014] US 7,883,887 shows an automated cell culture processor comprising a storage device for storing cell cultures and labware and a three-dimensionally movable robot arm for manipulating microplates and labware.

[0015] US 2016 / 0201022 A1 discloses an automatic culture system, which includes a transport device for transporting a microplate for automatic maintenance.

[0016] US 8,652,829 B2 discloses an automated robotic system for microcell culture maintenance.

[0017] Other microfluidic cell culture systems are known from US 9,388,374 B2, US 2017 / 0145366 A1 or US 9,057,715.

[0018] WO 03 / 008103 A1 discloses a storage device for cell cultures comprising a carousel with radially arranged plate slots, wherein each level of the carousel comprises a door enabling access to the plate slots.

[0019] In WO 93 / 03891 A1 a storage unit is disclosed which comprises a housing defining a storage compartment which comprises an annular shelf.

[0020] A modular chemical analyzer is disclosed in EP 2 068 155 A2.

[0021] US 6,146,592 A discloses an automatic biochemical analyzer, which includes a processing module having a turntable and a plurality of storage modules.

[0022] An analyzer having a gripper is disclosed in EP 3 229 028 A1.

[0023] US 2014 / 0273242 A1 discloses an automated diagnostic analyzer.

[0024] US 2018 / 0202908 A1 discloses a low-temperature storage system having two storage modules.

[0025] WO 2011 / 047710 A1 discloses a modular sample storage.

[0026] US 2007 / 0059205 A1 discloses an automated microplate handling device for removing microplates from a stack.

[0027] EP 1 573 340 B1 discloses an automated storage device having a column-shaped shelf with a central hole in which a robot is located.

[0028] EP 1 900 806 A1 discloses a carrier for carrying bottles for other laboratory appliances.

[0029] EP 2 733 196 A1 discloses a liquid handling system for biological cell culture.

[0030] JP 2009-291869 A discloses a robot handling apparatus having a gripper arm having a boss.

[0031] JP 2004-166558 A discloses an incubator with a robotic handling device.

[0032] US 2017 / 036833 A1 discloses a robotic handling device for opening bottles.

[0033] EP 3 078 736 A1 discloses a device for culturing cells having a pipetting device.

[0034] US 2005 / 0058574 A1 discloses a robot system.

[0035] WO 2016 / 130964 A1 discloses a capping device for bottles.

[0036] Cell culture requires high skills, but is laborious and tedious, which means high labor costs. In addition, reproducibility can be low because the workflow is difficult, complex and can take weeks. Therefore, there has been an effort to automate cell culture.

[0037] Cells are cultured in plasticware (flasks, discs, bottles, multi-well plates) in an incubator. For subculturing cells, a typical process includes: pre-warming culture medium, phosphate buffered saline (PBS), trypsin (stored in the refrigerator) and thawing any additives, such as fetal bovine serum (FBS), and any specific additives (such as growth factors), which are stored in the freezer; obtaining fresh plasticware (fresh plates, serological pipettes, pipette tips); removing cells from the incubator and placing them in a flow hood (i.e., sterile conditions, but preferably minimizing time outside the incubator); examining cells under a microscope; washing cells with PBS; removing cells with trypsin, suspending, taking a small portion and counting the cell concentration in a counting slide on a microscope; adding the appropriate amount of cells, and any culture medium to a fresh plate; and returning the cells to the incubator. Many liquid transfers are done with serological pipettes, and smaller volumes are done with micropipettes with disposable pipette tips.

[0038] There are existing systems for automated cell biology. These systems are assembled from a variety of different lab equipment components (liquid handlers, automated incubators, refrigerators, etc.), which are of different specifications and from different suppliers, and these components are generally not designed to work together. These systems are usually assembled by bolting the equipment on a table or other machine tool. These equipment are then integrated with a 3D robotic arm. Summary of the invention

[0039] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a module for processing or storing microplates, laboratory instruments or other devices used in an automated biological system.

[0040] Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for treating such a microplate or other devices used in the process of maintaining cell culture.

[0041] The above technical problem is solved by the invention as described in the claims, wherein each claim essentially represents an independent solution to the above technical problem.

[0042] The module of the present invention comprises a housing, a rotatable storage device comprising a plurality of board slots, a transmission slot and an indexing device for facilitating the alignment of the transmission slot with the transmission interface. Since the two modules can be fixed by a connecting device, the transmission direction for moving a board or container from one module to the other module can be limited to a single horizontal direction. In order to move the board or container inside the housing, the robot handling device can additionally move in a vertical direction. There is no need to rotate the robot handling device. A sealing element can be used to connect the two modules airtightly.

[0043] In another embodiment, a module for an automated biological laboratory system is provided, the module comprising: a housing having at least one plate slot for holding a laboratory utensil or a microplate, at least one interface in the housing for transferring the laboratory utensil or the microplate into or out of the housing; an indexing device for rotatably aligning a carousel with a processor or an interface; optionally including an indexing device for aligning the processor vertically with a slot for carrying a plate; a connector positioned relative to the interface for facilitating connection of the interface with an interface of the module when positioned adjacent to the module, the module having a mating connector adapted to lock the module with the adjacent module when the connector is aligned. The interface is the location through which the plate is transferred between modules. The interface has a defined location, and all or most of the modules have the interface at the same location on the housing, such as at the same height. The modules can be more or less fixed together at the interface, and the fixation is a feature of the interface. The interface is a controlled location at which the plates are exchanged. The connector is configured so that it can engage with a corresponding or mating connector on an adjacent module. The position of the connector relative to the interface is such that if a module is connected to an adjacent module, the relative position of the interface and the connector of the adjacent module is the same as the relative position of the interface and the connector on the module, then the two interfaces of the module and the adjacent module are aligned so as to allow microplates or laboratory equipment to pass between modules. Therefore, if a module is connected to the same module, the interface is aligned so as to allow laboratory equipment to pass between modules, and there is basically no obstruction beyond the obstruction caused by the interface of a single module to such passing. It will be understood that although two modules can have the same connector, the connector interacts with each other in the above-mentioned connection mode, but the connector can be alternatively configured so that they cooperate with each other to realize the connection function. For example, a module can include a frame with one or more flanges, the flange including a surface for engaging with the surface on one or more flanges on other modules, wherein this engagement surface of the module points away from the interface, and the corresponding engagement surface on the other modules points toward the interface of the other modules. It will further be understood that while a module may have a locking device that locks with an identical locking device provided on an identical adjacent module, the locking device may alternatively be configured to lock to an opposite mating locking device. In other words, the modules are configured to connect and lock to the same module so as to align the respective interfaces, wherein it is contemplated that the modules can connect and lock to the same module even if the identicalness between the modules does not extend to having identical connection and / or locking devices, but rather having connection and / or locking devices that only mate with each other in a manner to ensure alignment of the interfaces.Preferably, the module comprises a rotatable carousel, which is electrically driven and controlled by a controller such as a computer, and which comprises at least one plate slot. Preferably, one or more of the at least one plate on the carousel are indexed so as to align with the interface. The modules are indexed so as to align with each other, and the carousel is indexed so as to align the plate slot on the carousel with the interface. This ensures that the plate slot is in the correct position for transmission to or from the interface. Preferably, at least one connecting device is horizontally positioned relative to the interface, and its distance from the interface is equal to or less than the width of the interface, and / or vertically positioned relative to the interface, and its distance from the interface is equal to or less than the height of the interface. The connection is close to the interface or on the interface to ensure that the alignment is maintained at the desired position. This is more advantageous than connecting the module to the ground or base plate, where there is a tolerance stack-up, resulting in movement or offset at the position where the plate is transmitted into or from the module. Preferably, the interface comprises an alignment device for orienting the processing board transmitted through the interface between the modules. This further ensures that when the laboratory equipment passes through the interface, it is oriented so that the laboratory equipment will not deviate. This also compensates for any offset between modules or in the robot processing device. Preferably, the alignment device defines the width of the interface, and the width decreases as the distance from the center of the module increases. This enables the laboratory equipment to be gently rotated or oriented when it passes through this size reduction portion of the alignment device. Preferably, the alignment device includes a gradually inclined wall, which defines the transition from a wider width interface to a narrower width interface. Preferably, the plate slot is formed by a recess in a rotatable carousel to form a channel for holding microplates or laboratory equipment. The channel will ensure that the plate or laboratory equipment is constrained in a position on the carousel or in the transmission level of the carousel, so that they do not rotate and are always oriented for operation or processing by a robot device. Preferably, the channel includes a plate slot alignment device, which defines the width of the channel of the plate slot or a part of the channel, and the width increases as the distance from the center of the module increases. The alignment means in the channel itself in turn ensure that the plate or laboratory appliance is correctly oriented when entering the channel, which also ensures that if there is some deviation, the plate or laboratory appliance is moved so that it fits into the channel without colliding with the wall on the disc conveyor. Preferably, the channel includes side walls that can be aligned with the width of the interface. This ensures a constant channel through which the plate or laboratory appliance can pass from one board slot through the interface and then into the board slot of the adjacent module, all in the same channel and therefore correctly aligned. The modular nature also allows the alignment to be achieved.Preferably, the module also includes a robot handling device located in the module, the robot handling device including a gripper finger for gripping a microplate or a laboratory appliance, wherein the maximum lateral width of the gripper finger is equal to or less than the width of the channel and / or the width of the interface. A controller formed by a computer may be provided for controlling the movement of the robot handling device and in particular the gripper finger. The controller may also control the movement of the storage device. At the position where the robot device is used and passes through the interface, the robot device is also aligned through the channel. In some cases, the channel may have a groove for the gripper finger of the robot device to pass through, so that the laboratory appliance or plate is still aligned with the side of the channel. At the position where the clamping plate is used, the channel may have additional grooves in its base to allow the clamping plate and the plate to be aligned through the same channel. Preferably, the module also includes a robot handling device positioned in the module, wherein the horizontal movement of the robot handling device is limited in the direction between the position of the robot handling device and the center of the interface. Preferably, the module also includes a horizontal track extending partially or completely along the plate slot and / or the interface to guide the horizontal movement of the robot handling device when in use. This also provides a device for ensuring that the robot handling device is kept aligned and has simple movement. Preferably, the interface is located on the top wall and / or bottom wall of the housing. This allows modules to be stacked vertically, with interfaces on the base and top of the modules between the modules. Preferably, the module also includes a robot handling device positioned in the module, and the module also includes a vertical track, wherein the robot handling device is configured to move vertically along the track. The track for vertical movement allows the robot device to remain in a constrained position without offset. Preferably, a system including a plurality of modules as discussed above is provided, wherein the connected interfaces of adjacent modules are rigidly limited by at least one connecting device, and the connecting device extends between the housings of adjacent modules. This provides a system formed by a plurality of modules. Preferably, the connecting device applies a compressive force across the connected interfaces of the adjacent modules. This also limits the module to a rigid alignment in the case of assembly. Preferably, the system includes two interconnected modules as discussed above, so that the corresponding interfaces are aligned with each other, wherein the interfaces can be hermetically sealed relative to each other. The sealed system allows biological substances to be continuously processed inside the module. Preferably, the system comprises two modules as discussed above, wherein the two modules are arranged one above the other, and the interfaces of the modules are arranged in mutual alignment in the corresponding top and bottom surfaces of the corresponding modules, and the system comprises one or more robotic handling devices, which are arranged to move vertically between the modules through the connected interfaces so as to contact the board slots in any one module.The robotic devices may move over the entire height of the module, or they may stop at one slot, such as a buffer slot, deposit their board, and then another robotic device moves to place the board in its desired position, just like a horizontal transfer. In another embodiment, a method for operating a biological laboratory system is provided, the biological laboratory system includes modules, the modules are aligned with adjacent modules using indexing devices, wherein the modules are connected together by fixing interfaces in the housings of the modules to interfaces of adjacent modules, and the modules include board transfer slots and / or board receiving slots; the method includes: aligning the board transfer slots in the modules with the interfaces using the module indexing devices; aligning the board receiving slots in the adjacent modules with the interfaces using the indexing devices of the adjacent modules; and transferring laboratory equipment or boards across the connected interfaces between the board transfer slots and the board receiving slots. At the module level, the module has its own interface (can have more than one), and the interface at the module level is an opening (optionally with a door). At the system level, there is an interface between each pair of modules that exchange boards, and each interface has two connected interfaces / openings. Thus, the interfaces of the modules are combined to form a single interface between the modules. Another aspect of the present invention is a method for handling boards, wherein the method comprises: moving the board or container from a board slot of a level different from the level having the cache slot to a cache slot by a first robotic handling device; temporarily storing the board or container in the cache slot; and moving the board or container through a transfer interface to an adjacent module by a second robotic handling device. Another aspect of the present invention is a method comprising the steps of: moving one of the boards or containers from a board slot of a first level to a transfer slot located in a second level different from the first level, aligning the transfer slot with the transfer interface by rotating the storage device, and moving the board or container from the transfer slot through the opening of the interface to the outside of the module. The controller includes a program for automatically running the method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] These and other features of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, purely by way of example. In the drawings:

[0045] Figure 1 A schematic plan view showing one embodiment of a module;

[0046] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 The modules are formed into a plan view of the module system;

[0047] FIG. 3A shows Figure 1 and Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a plan view of a system in which the modules are formed into different configurations;

[0048] FIG. 3B shows a schematic plan view of the system according to FIG. 3B with a different configuration;

[0049] 4A, 4B and 4C show schematic plan views of interfaces between modules;

[0050] Figure 5 a side cutaway schematic diagram showing the board slot, board and holder of the module;

[0051] Figure 6 Shown is a schematic side cutaway view of the interface according to FIGS. 4A , 4B and 4C ;

[0052] 7A and 7B are schematic plan views showing other embodiments of interfaces between modules;

[0053] Figure 8 Schematic plan views showing other embodiments of interfaces between modules;

[0054] 9A and 9B show schematic side cutaway views of two modules stacked vertically;

[0055] Fig.10 A side schematic diagram showing modules arranged vertically and horizontally;

[0056] 11A and 11B show a schematic plan view of a cache slot between two modules;

[0057] 12A to 12F are schematic plan views showing steps for using a cache slot with three modules;

[0058] 13A and 13B show side schematic views of a laboratory appliance according to one embodiment;

[0059] Fig.14 A schematic plan view showing laboratory equipment;

[0060] FIG15A shows a schematic side cross-sectional view of a storage module and a processing module;

[0061] FIG15B is a schematic plan view showing the storage module and the processing module of FIG15A;

[0062] Fig.16 A side schematic diagram showing a process module and an air handler;

[0063] Fig.17 A side schematic diagram showing a board and a board slot;

[0064] Fig.18 A schematic plan view showing interfaces between modules having detection devices;

[0065] Fig.19 and 20A schematic plan view showing the steps of transferring a board between modules;

[0066] Fig.21 shows a plan and side schematic view of a processing device and a plate according to one embodiment;

[0067] Fig. 22 and 23 Show Fig.21 A plan view of the processing equipment and board slots and additional processing equipment;

[0068] Fig.24 Shown for use with Fig.21 Schematic diagrams of the plan and side views of laboratory equipment commonly used by the processing equipment;

[0069] Fig.25 Shown for use with Fig.21 A side view of a bottle commonly used in a processing device;

[0070] Fig.26 Shows a schematic plan and side view of a processing device according to one embodiment;

[0071] Fig. 27 shows a schematic plan and side view of a laboratory appliance having an interface for processing, the laboratory appliance having a cap and a cover;

[0072] FIG. 28A shows a schematic plan view of a module system according to one embodiment, which has a central robot processor;

[0073] FIG28B shows a side schematic diagram of a system of vertically stacked modules with a central robotic processor in accordance with one embodiment;

[0074] Fig. 29A shows a schematic plan view of the system of Fig. 28A with an additional carousel;

[0075] FIG29B shows a side schematic view of the system of FIG28A with an attached carousel;

[0076] Fig.30 an enlarged side schematic view showing a robotic handling apparatus and a module rack;

[0077] 31A and 31B show side schematic views of a robotic turntable handling apparatus according to one embodiment;

[0078] Fig.32 A schematic side view of a robotic handling device according to one embodiment is shown, which has a storage rack and modules;

[0079] Fig.33 A schematic plan view of a module system and a robotic device on a track according to one embodiment is shown;

[0080] Fig.34 A schematic side view showing the steps of transferring panels between vertically stacked modules according to one embodiment;

[0081] Fig.35 The following shows additional embodiments of the present invention Figure 1 Floor plan of

[0082] Fig.36 and 37 A single-well plate for storing liquid culture medium is shown;

[0083] Fig.38 and 39 Two adjacent modules are shown which are connected by a sealing element 311 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0084] 15A and 15B, a processing module 120 is shown that is connected to other modules 100, which may be any of the modules described herein.

[0085] The processing module 120 has a rotating element 108 or a "turntable". However, in the processing module 120, the turntable 108 can be a single surface and does not have various vertical racks 210. Instead, the upper surface of the turntable 108 forms a workbench 330 or at least a portion of the workbench 330. The turntable workbench has some slots for laboratory appliances and can be aligned with functional modules (such as liquid handling robots) in the processing module and can be aligned with interfaces that transfer plates horizontally from other modules to the turntable workbench. The turntable workbench is therefore used as a very compact, unified and simple device for transferring plates into the module and between multiple functional elements.

[0086] A liquid handling robot 340 is provided in the processing module 120. The liquid handler 340 is positioned above the turntable 108. In the described embodiment, the liquid handler 340 does not occupy the entire area above the workbench 330, as can be seen in Figures 15A and 15B. As shown in Figure 15B, the turntable 108 rotates, thereby positioning five plate slots 110 below the liquid handler 340. The liquid handler can be designed to have a liquid dispensing point at each plate slot 110 arranged below it, or to have a selected number of liquid dispensing points as required. The actual size of the liquid handler may be different depending on the function required by the system 99. In some embodiments, the liquid handler is positioned to approach (or access) all plate slots 110 in the workbench 330.

[0087] As discussed previously, the turntable 108 in the processing module 120 and thus the rotating worktable 330 has radially arranged plate slots 110 that can hold different items, such as cell culture plates 116, or hold plates carrying consumables, such as pipette tips and culture medium bottles. In FIG. 15B , eight plate slots 110 are radially arranged. In conventional cell culture systems, eight slots may be sufficient, however, the total number of plate slots 110 may be changed as needed, for example, the plate slots 110 may be adapted to hold more than one, one after another plate.

[0088] Figure 15B shows a microscope positioned at the plate slot 110 in the processing module 120, so the turntable 108 can be rotated into the microscope.The microscope will have a lens below the plate (because the cells can be observed through the bottom of the plate), and for example, there is a light source, such as a high-performance LED array, above the plate.Therefore, any position in the workbench 330 that needs to scan the plate 116 with a microscope 342 must have an incision that exposes the bottom of the plate 116 to the microscope lens.Alternatively, the plate can be lifted from the rotating workbench by a processing device, and transferred to the microscope.The microscope will move or scan along x&y, so that it can observe or scan the entire plate 116.The turntable 108 can be indexed to the microscope 342, so that the microscope 342 is always kept in the same position, to ensure the high-quality inspection of the content below the plate or the plate.As shown in the figure, the microscope 342 is positioned at the position where the plate 116 is transferred to the incubator 124 or is transferred from the incubator. This allows the plate 116 to be transferred to or from the plate slot 110 below the microscope 342 without rotating the turntable 108 of the processing module 120. It does not interfere with other processes performed on the turntable workbench 330. Other embodiments are possible, for example, the microscope 342 can be positioned in other slots of the workbench 330.

[0089] Microscope 342 is typically used to monitor the state of the cells (e.g., confluence) to know the growth rate of the cells and when they need to be passaged down, or where there are enough cells to start other processing. In one embodiment, microscope 342 can also detect the pH of the culture medium (which carries a dye used as a pH indicator), and / or detect gross microbial contamination (which will make the culture medium acidic (more yellow) and turbid).

[0090] In an alternative embodiment, microscope 342 is indexed to turntable 108, or is positioned to see a larger area than required for plate 116 or plate slot 110, and is programmed to ignore features outside of this field of view, or to use them to compensate for mispositioning in plate 116.

[0091] An optional decapping robot 344 is shown and provided in a position above the plate slots 110 when the turntable 108 is rotated to the relevant position. The decapping robot 344 decaps the vials 321 and bottles 323. The plate slots 110 of the vials 321 and bottles 323 that need to be decapped are rotated by the turntable 108 to the decapping position below the decapping robot 344. The turntable 108 can then rotate the decapped plate slots 110 to the position where they will be needed for liquid handling 340 (e.g., a pipetting robot).

[0092] Also shown is an optional decapping station 346 and the decapping station is provided for decapping plates 116, such as cell culture plates. In the art, consumables such as pipette tip boxes or pipette tip piles, or plates, including microplate reservoirs, are stored on the platform of a liquid handler. In the described system, it is desirable to provide the following processing module, which can randomly use consumables similar to those available to a larger range of laboratory people. For this purpose, the processing module is connected to an automated incubator, an automated refrigerator, and an automated plastic utensil storage device, so that consumables or cell culture plates can be flexibly moved back and forth to the processing module as needed. In order to achieve this, it is desirable for the described system to be able to, for example, cap and decap pipette tip boxes and microplate reservoirs. In the art, pipette tip boxes have lids adapted for human use, which are hinged to the box and are relatively flexible, usually made of polymers such as polypropylene. If the microplate reservoir has a lid, it also has a relatively flexible polymer lid. The cover remover can also be used to remove the cover for pipette tip boxes and other laboratory equipment, for example microplate reservoirs, as long as they are provided with a cover that can be processed by the cover remover. These covers are known in the field of cell culture plates, and usually need to be hard, made of materials such as polycarbonate. The cover can further advantageously have gloss as known in the art. The cover remover 346 can be positioned above one of the plate slots 110 that carry the plate that needs to remove the cover by rotating the rotating disk 108.

[0093] Thus, as shown in FIG15B , an example of a processing module 120 may be configured with a microscope 342, a decapper 346, and a decapper 344, all of which are disposed on a workbench 330. Other configurations are possible depending on the requirements of the system. For example, more than one microscope 342 may be required or there may be a configuration that does not require a decapper 344.

[0094] In one example, the workbench 330 holds a cell culture plate 116 in a plate slot 110, a rack with vials 320 (e.g., vials containing reagents, or growth factors) and bottles 322 (e.g., bottles containing cell culture media or trypsin), a pipette tip box 324, and pipette tips of two different sizes. During the liquid transfer performed by the liquid handler 340, the workbench 330 can be stationary, or the workbench can be rotated to conveniently present different plates or other consumables to the liquid handler 340 at different times. Additional items may additionally exist, such as a second cell culture plate 116 (in a position below the microscope 342), a decapper 346, or a decapper 344. Considering that the mechanism of the microscope 342, the decapper 346, and the decapper 344 is positioned on the workbench 330 above the plate slot 110, in most cases this will hinder the liquid handler 340 from contacting the items in these plate slots 110. When necessary, the objects in the plate slot 110 under the microscope 342, the decapper 346 or the decapper 344 can be exposed to the liquid handler 340 by rotating the worktable 330.

[0095] In the case of using eight radially arranged plate slots 110 for cell culture plates 116, the turntable 108 for the workbench 330 can be very small, for example less than 80 cm in diameter, and the cell culture plates have a SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) microplate package. This allows the processing module 120 or other modules 100 with a turntable 108 of similar size to be compact and easy to pass through a door, such as a clean room door of a laboratory. This makes the installation of the system 99 as a whole convenient, fast and economical, because the modules can be built in the factory and then assembled together on site.

[0096] The carousel 108 with the rack system 210 shown in FIG15B , for example, the carousel 108 of the incubator 124 can be arranged close to the workbench 330 of the processing module 120, so that the laboratory equipment 300, for example, the cell culture plate 116 can be transferred from the plate slot 110 in the incubator 124 to the plate slot 110 on the workbench 330 by a simple horizontal movement through the carousel 108. A robotic device 160 for transferring the plate 116 can be provided in the incubator 124.

[0097] A solid waste container 348 with an external robotic gripper 160 is provided to communicate with the processing module 120. Solid waste (e.g., used cell culture plates, empty pipette tip boxes, empty bottles) from the processing module 120 can be transferred to the solid waste container 348. The solid waste container 348 does not need to be designed as large as the module 100, because the solid waste container 348 can have a smaller volume and its contents may need to be emptied into a bag and taken out of the laboratory. The sealing device 311 formed by the pipe connects the modules 100 and 120 through an airtight connection. The sealing device 311 can be used to fixedly connect the two modules 100 and 120 together.

[0098] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of the flow of air through the processing module 124 is provided. An air handler 350 is provided. The air handler is positioned above the processing module 124 to save floor space. However, the air handler 350 can be disposed at other locations suitable for the system 99. The air handler provides fresh air 352 to the processing module 124, wherein the fresh air 352 is supplied through the processing module 124 (i.e., horizontally relative to the processing module) to an exhaust duct where exhaust air 354 is supplied back to the air handler 350.

[0099] Preferably, HEPA filtered air is blown through the processing module 124. Because the air is blown horizontally, this can help minimize particles that fall into open cell culture plates 116 or reagent vials or bottles. The HEPA air can be recirculated through the system 99 through the HEPA filter, which is a way to sink particles and reduce exhaust from the system 99. Recirculation of air may be welcome during such processing steps, where it is preferred not to exhaust air into the room, such as in systems for processing lentiviruses. In some systems it may be preferred not to recirculate the air.

[0100] In one embodiment, the treatment module 124 also has some periodic sterilization means, such as hydrogen peroxide vapor, ozone, ethylene oxide, or ultraviolet light, such as ultraviolet LEDs, which are positioned to irradiate the relevant surfaces.

[0101] Fig.17Two views of the plate slot 110 are shown. In one view, the plate 116 or other labware 300 is in a channel 156 or groove formed by the slot sides 152 and the base 154, wherein the slot sides 152 are substantially vertical. As previously discussed, the plate 116 or other labware 300 has a package 360 ​​that is wider than the width of the plate 116 or other labware 300 itself. This can be used to enable the gripper 164 to slide into the groove 156. However, in Fig.17 Such a channel 156 is shown in the right-hand board slot 110, where the slot side 152 has a wider portion at the bottom of the channel 156 and a narrower portion at the opening of the channel 156. In this case, the width of the groove is such that the package 360 ​​is wider than the narrower portion (but can fit between the wider portions), where the board 116 is vertically constrained in the board slot 110. This enables alignment of the labware 300 and prevents the labware from being easily dropped and thus lost.

[0102] This configuration can be used in special locations, such as on the workbench 330 of the processing module 120. This requires additional grooves in the channel wall (see, for example Figure 5 ) or groove 370 in a laboratory appliance (see Fig.19 A) to adjust the gripper fingers, or where the gripper 164 and therefore the gripper fingers 168 do not extend down the side of the board 116 into the slot 110, a robotic handling device 160 is required. This can be accomplished by a gripper that handles the front of the board 116 or where the board 116 is pushed into and out of the board slot 110.

[0103] Chamfers 362 are provided at the top edge of the slot side 152 at the opening of the channel 156. These chamfers 362 can help align the board 116 placed in the board slot 110 from a vertical position. The above functional structures such as chamfers 362 and slot side 152 that provide different widths for the channel 156 can be used with Figure 5 The functional structures in the embodiment, such as the side grooves 166, are combined.

[0104] Reference Fig.18, an engagement device 362 is provided at the edge of the board slot 110. The engagement device 362 is an element that retractably extends into the slot 110 to contact the board 116 or other laboratory equipment 330 when the board 116 or other laboratory equipment 330 is placed in the board slot 110. The engagement device 362 is driven or otherwise triggered by the placement of the board 116 to indicate the presence of the board 116 in the slot 110. In one embodiment, the engagement device 362 is a spring that is recessed into the wall of the board slot 110 when the board 116 is present. This in turn activates a proximity switch or pressure switch, indicating to the control system that the board is present or properly located in the board slot 110.

[0105] Alternatively, the engagement device 362 may be a recess, a press fit, or a spring that engages the lab appliance 300. The engagement device 362 may provide feedback (e.g., read by a motor driving the gripper 164) when the engagement device 362 is initially engaged by the lab appliance 300, and further feedback when the lab appliance 300 is fully in the board slot 110. This signal grading depending on the position of the board 116 in the slot 110 may be accomplished by various means, such as impedance strips or proximity sensors placed on the front and rear edges of the board 116 that are triggered by contact with the engagement device 362. Alternatively, the change in shape of the board 116 from the front edge to the rear edge may result in a different force being applied to the engagement device 362. For example, the front portion of the board may be narrower and therefore the engagement device 362 is less compressed than the wider rear portion of the board 116, which causes the engagement device 362 to be more compressed. This would require a constant alignment of the board 116 , and therefore corresponding engagement means 362 may be provided at the opening of the board slot 110 .

[0106] Reference Fig.19 The sampling process is described and shown in sub-figures A, B and C. The change of the nutrient medium in the cell culture plate 116 is described here.

[0107] As cells grow, cell culture plates 116 containing nutrient medium are placed in an incubator 124. The medium may need to be replaced, for example because waste has accumulated or the nutrients have become depleted. Fig.19In A, a plate 116 is transferred to a workbench 330 along with a pipette tip 324 and fresh culture medium (which may be in a deep well plate 364, or alternatively in a bottle in an adapter rack, or in a bottle with a microplate package). This associated plate 116 with cells is retrieved by a robotic device 160 from a plate slot 110 in a plate library / rack 210 inside a carousel 108. The robotic device 160 moves vertically, and the carousel 108 rotates, so as to present the correct plate 116 to the robotic device 160, which removes the plate 116 from the plate slot 110. The robotic device 160 then moves vertically to align with the door 130 of the incubator 324, which is aligned with the slot of the rotating workbench 330. The carousel 108 / rotating stage 330 rotates to align the destination plate slot 110 on the rotating carousel 330 (e.g., the location where the plate 116 will be transferred) with the door 130 of the incubator 324, and the robotic device 160 transfers the plate 116 horizontally into the destination plate slot 110 on the rotating stage 330. The plate 116 is decapped, for example, by rotating the stage 330 until it is aligned with the decapping station 346. The aligned decapping station 346 then removes and stores the cap.

[0108] In a similar manner, the pipette tips 324 and cell culture media (in the deep well plates 364) are transferred from other storages 122 to the target plate slots 110 on the rotating worktable 330 by vertical movement of the robotic device 160, rotation of the carousel 108, and alignment of the associated target plate slots 110 on the worktable 330 with the doors 130 of the associated storages 122. Fig.19 In B, all necessary materials, namely plates 116 and culture media and tips, are in the processing module 120.

[0109] The liquid handling robot 340 picks up a fresh, disposable, sterile pipette tip 324. Disposable pipette tips are used to avoid contamination of the culture medium or cells by microorganisms or irrelevant chemicals from previous pipetting steps. The liquid handler 340 aspirates the spent culture medium from the plate and discards it into a waste container. The pipette tip 324 is then discarded and a fresh pipette tip 324 is picked up. The liquid handler 340 then aspirates fresh culture medium from a reservoir (e.g., a deep well plate) and distributes the culture medium to the plate with cells. The plate can be a single-well plate, or a multi-well plate, in which case the pipette distributes the culture medium to rows of wells, repeating the operation until all wells are filled with fresh culture medium. The plate 116 with fresh medium is recapped: the rotating table 330 rotates to align the plate 116 with the decapper 346 storing the lids removed from the plate 116, and the decapper 346 recappes the plate 116, which is then returned to the incubator 124. If the medium and pipette tips are no longer needed, they are returned to the storage 122.

[0110] Fig.19 C shows that the plate 116 and the pipette tips 324 and the deep well plate 364 have returned to their original positions in the system 99.

[0111] Reference Fig. 20 A, B and C describe another illustrative sampling process. Cells are usually passaged when, for example, 80% confluence. In this example process, the following are transferred to the rotating workbench 330:

[0112] 1. Plate 116 with cells, which will typically be close to confluence

[0113] 2.1 ml of the box of pipette tips 324. The tips can preferably be large-bore tips.

[0114] 3. Deep well plate containing PBS (phosphate buffered saline) and EDTA (or equivalent reagent) 364

[0115] 4. Deep well plate containing trypsin (or equivalent reagent) 364

[0116] 5. Deep well plate 364 containing fresh culture medium

[0117] 6. Two fresh plates 116 to which the cells will be transferred.

[0118] The original location of the material is Fig. 20A. The liquid can optionally be preheated for a suitable period of time by transferring the plate 116 to the incubator 124. This can be accomplished by transferring the plate 116 from the storage 122 to the rotating table 330 and then from the rotating table 330 to the incubator 124 as previously described.

[0119] exist Fig. 20 In B, once the desired material is on the rotating stage 330 and the associated plate 116 has been uncapped, the liquid handling head 340 picks up a fresh pipette tip 324 and aspirates the old medium from the plate 116 to be passaged. The medium is discarded into a liquid waste container 366.

[0120] The remaining culture medium (including serum) is then rinsed away. The liquid handler 340 picks up a fresh pipette tip and draws PBS and injects it into the wells on the plate 116 via a pipette. The PBS is then removed and discarded. This rinse can be repeated to further reduce the residual amount of culture medium or serum.

[0121] Trypsin is then added. It should be noted that Fig. 20 In B, some plates are located below the diagonally oriented decapping device 346. The decapping device 346 is not fixed on the rotating workbench 330, so when the workbench rotates, the decapping device 344 and the decapping device 346 remain fixed in position. Additionally, the position that is diagonally oriented may be inconvenient for the pipette tip. Therefore, in this example, the rotating workbench 330 can be rotated to present the plate 116 in a convenient orientation or position.

[0122] Liquid handler 340 picks up fresh pipette tip, then rotates workbench 330, so that liquid handler 340 will be required (usually minimum) amount of trypsin suction to relevant plate place, workbench 330 rotates again, makes plate 116 with cell return to the position conveniently oriented for pipette tip, so that trypsin is pipetted and added in the hole of plate by pipette.Then, during trypsin separation of cells, plate is cultivated for several minutes.In some methods, at room temperature, cultivate described plate, this can be realized by leaving it on rotating workbench 330.In other methods, during cell is separated, cultivate described plate at 37 ℃, this can be realized by plate is transferred back to incubator 124.Multiple methods can be used for selecting the time of cultivating with trypsin, for example, the cultivation time can be predicted with specific cell row according to past results.Alternatively, the separation of cell can be monitored using automated microscopy.

[0123] Once the cells are fully separated, the liquid handler 340 will add culture medium (by the required rotation of the workbench 330, as described above for trypsin), which usually has serum to quench the trypsin. Alternatively, there are modified trypsin or similar reagents known in the art that do not require quenching with serum. The liquid handler picks up a fresh pipette tip, aspirates the required amount of culture medium, and pipettes it into the well containing the separated cells. The separated cells are resuspended, for example, by gently slapping up and down to mix, for example, with a large-bore pipette tip (to reduce shear pressure on the cells).

[0124] The desired number of cells is then transferred to two fresh plates 116 in order to achieve a target confluency in the freshly seeded plates, which may be, for example, 20% confluency.

[0125] Different methods can be used to determine the volume of the cell mixture that needs to be transferred. For example, cells can be counted in an automated cell counter, or the number of cells can be estimated based on the degree of confluence just before passage. In any case, the pipette tip aspirates the required volume of cell suspension (containing the required number of cells) and the cells are seeded into a fresh plate. The wells in the fresh plate can be filled with fresh culture medium (if necessary) to achieve the correct amount of culture medium in each well. Then this freshly seeded plate is covered again and placed back in the incubator. The old plate is discarded, and the culture medium, PBS and trypsin can then be placed back into the storage in the plate library in the associated disc conveyor 108, such as Fig. 20 As shown in C.

[0126] In the processing strategy described for simplicity, all required materials (fresh plates, PBS, trypsin and culture medium, pipette tips) are loaded onto the rotating table 330 at the beginning of the process. Other series of movements can be performed. For example, pre-heated liquids can be loaded onto the table 330 only when they are needed.

[0127] As previously mentioned, there is a need for automated equipment that handles a more complete and integrated workflow. Currently, this requires the manufacture of such equipment that handles a variety of legacy labware that has been optimized by humans and is difficult to handle in an automated system. Provided herein are sets of labware and methods of use that essentially use only packaged labware that conforms to SLAS microplates to achieve end-to-end automation of complex cell culture workflows, thereby adjusting the workflow to a format that is easily handled by automated equipment. A universal format is also provided for robotic handlers (or processors), racks, slots, etc. and storage that conforms to this format to handle sets of labware.

[0128] As discussed above, labware having packaging that is compatible with the packaging of the microplate 116 will be grasped by the gripper arm 164 and in particular the gripper fingers 168. Thus, in order for one robotic device 160 to be able to interface with all storage modules (e.g., refrigerator 128, freezer 126, plasticware and room temperature reagents 122, etc.), a standardized format is used for the plates 116. Microplates or microtiter plates 116 are commonly used in cell culture processes.

[0129] As described herein, the terms "microplate" and "plate" are used interchangeably and mean "labware with microplate packaging of SBS / SLAS" and include a set of labware including microplates, microplate reservoirs, single-well cell culture plates, multi-well cell culture plates, microtiter plates, bottles, pipette tip boxes, adapter racks for vials and / or bottles, all of which use the same basic packaging so that they can all be operated by the same robotic device handler 160 in the module 100. In addition, these labware can all have the basic packaging of microplates to facilitate compatibility.

[0130] Referring to FIG. 13A , a set of laboratory equipment 300 arranged in a rack 310 is provided. The rack 310 is arranged as a vertical bracket 314 having a rack rail 312, which is arranged to extend slightly into the interior area of ​​the rack 310 between two vertical brackets 314. Since these rack rails 312 only extend into a portion of the interior area, in order to place a board 116 on the rails 312, the rack rails only interact with a portion of the board 116 (or laboratory equipment) and do not limit the height because they do not extend across the bracket 314. The gripper fingers 164 are still able to interact with the board 116 and other laboratory equipment 300 because the fingers grip above the rack rails 312. This will be discussed in detail below with reference to FIG. 13B .

[0131] The microplate 116 (or the like) shown in FIG. 13A is positioned on a track 312 of a rack 310. Also shown is a vial plate 310 also positioned on a track 312. However, in this embodiment, the vials 321 in the vial plate 320 extend beyond the height of the next track 312 positioned above it. Because the track 312 does not intrude into the interior area of ​​the rack 310, nor does it intrude as far as the package of the plate 116 or vial plate 320 that needs to be positioned on the track 312, the vials 321 can extend beyond the height of the next track 312.

[0132] The vertical supports 314 can be arranged so that each column can be placed side by side to form a row of racks 320, with the rails 312 extending from both sides of the vertical supports 314. This allows for compact racks 320, with each vertical support 310 forming a portion of a rack 310 for use with another rack 310. In such an arrangement, the robotic device 160 may need to be able to move not only in a single horizontal dimension, i.e., towards and away from a rack 310, but also in a second horizontal dimension, i.e., left and right, to approach adjacent racks 310, thus the z and y axes. If the racks 210 are arranged on a disc conveyor 108, a single vertical support 314 cannot be used for two racks 210 because the racks are arranged in a radial manner.

[0133] In FIG. 13A , a bottle tray 322 is shown, wherein the package of microplates 116 has a tray suitable for holding a number of bottles 323. As with the vial plate 320, the bottles 323 are shown extending beyond the height of the rails 312 located above them. This is possible here because the rails 312 extend into the interior area of ​​the rack 310 only at a distance for holding the package of microplates and are therefore not height-restricted. A pipette tip tray 324 is also shown, wherein, similar to the other examples, the package of microplates 116 has such a pipette rack that is suitable for holding a number of pipettes and can be arranged in the rack 310 at the same time, wherein the height between the rails 312 is less than the height of the pipette tip tray 324.

[0134] Two examples of large bottles 326, 327 are shown in FIG. 13A. The large bottles 326, 327 are manufactured to have the same packaging as the plates 116 and trays 322, 324. Therefore, the bottles are not on the shelf of the packaging of the microtiter plate like other laboratory appliances 330. An extension section 328 is provided at the base of the bottle 326, which has a width greater than the width between the rails 312 but less than the width between adjacent vertical supports 314, so that the bottles 326, 327 are suspended on the rails of the shelf. Bottles narrower than the width between the two rails 312 extend from the extension section 328. A bottle 327 is also provided, which has an upper extension section 329 extending between the rails 312 of the shelf 310 so that the bottle is suspended on the rails 312. However, the upper extension section 329 is positioned at the middle height of the bottle, so that the bottle 327 extends from the extension section 329 in two directions (i.e., upward and downward). Thus, bottle 329 can be placed on a higher set of rails 312 and hang downward, also extending upward. This is in contrast to bottle 326, which has an extended section 328 at the bottom that extends upward in height relative to shelf 310. This allows bottle 326 to be placed on the lowest set of rails 312 of shelf 310 and over the rails 312 above it.

[0135] The extension sections 328, 329 and / or bottles 326, 327 may be shaped so that they have a horizontal circular cross-section, i.e., form a circular profile when viewed from above. This allows conventionally shaped bottles to still be held in the track 312. Alternatively, they may have flat sides, so that the extension sections 328, 329 extend along the length of the track 312 and thus provide a larger support surface for hanging bottles 326, 327. The bottles may alternatively be circular, or may have a planar-like shape, wherein a more rectangularly shaped bottle (when viewed from the top) would make more efficient use of space, as is typically used in cell culture operations.

[0136] All of this allows for a versatile rack solution, wherein, rather than providing a specific size plate slot 110 for different labware, the plate slot 110 is universal to allow multiple types of labware to be loaded therein. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the plate slot 110 does not need to be sized specifically for contents of a specific height, but rather the plate slot 110 can allow for labware 300 that is taller than the track set 312 because the track set does not encroach on space at the height of the plate slot 110, and thus the rack 210, 310.

[0137] As previously described, the racks 210, 310 are located on the carousel 108. In some cases, the racks 210 can be completely removed from the carousel 108 and new racks 210, 310 can be loaded. This can allow new plastic utensil groups 300 and plates 116 to be preloaded onto the racks and replaced. The racks 210, 310 can be approached through user-accessible doors. The height of the door needs to be the same as the height of the racks 210, 310 removed or placed in the module 100. In order to avoid contamination or environmental changes of the module, the replacement of the racks 210, 310 can be combined with a load lock. In some cases, only modules 100 for storage of plastic utensil or storage at room temperature can be accessed for replacement of racks 210, 310.

[0138] The carousel 108 has been described in the singular form for each module 100. However, a plurality of rotating disks may be provided to form a carousel for holding the racks 210, 310. For example, a bottom carousel and a top carousel may be provided with a space for arranging the racks 210, 310 therebetween. In some embodiments, rows of board slots 110 are provided on separate carousels 108 that rotate independently in the same module 100.

[0139] When researchers are culturing large numbers of cells, they will use flasks designed for this larger number. In contrast, plates are used when the user wants a multi-well plate in order to perform multiple cultures or experiments in parallel. 2 Single well plates similar to T75 flasks. Although these may be inconvenient and uncommon for human use, single well plates can be used by robotic device 160. This will simplify mechanical operations in an automated system.

[0140] FIG. 13B shows the same set of labware 300 as shown in FIG. 13A . However, the gripper fingers 168 are shown interacting with various labware 300 . In the case of the board 116 , the gripper fingers 168 grip each side of the board 116 (excluding the package on the track 312 ). Given that it is the sides of the board that are gripped, the gripper fingers 168 do not encroach into the area above (or below) the board 116 . This allows the board or the contents therein to not be limited to a specific height, the only limitation on the height may be the height of the shelf 310 (or module 100) into which the labware 300 is to be placed or the height of the interface 134 through which the labware 300 needs to pass.

[0141] In the vial plate 320, bottle tray 322, pipette tip tray 324, and large bottle 326, the gripper fingers 168 grip the labware 300 above the package on the track 312. It is worth noting that when placed on the shelf 310, there is enough space between the vertical brackets 314 and the sides of the plate 116 or other labware 300 for the gripper fingers 168 to enter. This is because the package of the labware 300 (or the extension sections 328, 329 in the case of large bottles 326, 327) is wider than the width between the sides of the labware 300. In the case of the large bottle 327, since the extension section 329 is on the track 312, the gripper fingers can instead grab the bottle 327 at a lower position than the extension section 329.

[0142] The system handles cell culture plates 116, liquid culture media (which basically come from bottles 323, 326, 327), liquid additives (e.g. growth factors) from vials 321 of, for example, 2 ml, sampling plates 116 (for storing samples extracted from cells), pipette tips (in pipette tip box 324), etc. All of these different objects can be handled differently by the same system 99 using (one or more) robotic devices 160. This enables an automated cell culture system 99 that is highly autonomous for long runs. This allows the system to handle complex workflows.

[0143] 3A and 3B, a processing module 120 is shown in which various labware 300 are displayed on a workbench of a carousel 108 in accordance with the above description. Notably, because the plate slots 110 have the same size and configuration throughout the system 99, e.g., on the workbench of the carousel 108, all labware (e.g., plasticware) 300, including vials 321, bottles 323, 326, 327, and pipette tip boxes 324, are handled by the same gripper fingers 168, stored in the same types of racks 210, 310 and carousels 108, and in the same types of plate slots 110 on the rotating workbench.

[0144] These vials typically hold 0.2 to 2 ml of liquid. They typically have a screw cap, although other arrangements are possible. The vials can be 0.2-2 ml cryovials.

[0145] Pipette tips can usually be stored in space-saving stacks or warehouses because they take up a lot of space and because the system 99 uses such a large number of pipette tips. However, it is advantageous to have a series of tips available, such as 10ul, 100ul and 1ml tips. It may be more advantageous to have other tips, such as large-caliber 100ul and 1ml tips, and aerosol-resistant versions of these tips. If the tip box 324 is pre-loaded on the workbench, or if there is a warehouse for the box, this flexibility will require a larger number of slots 110 or warehouses. This may require a larger or complex workbench. Therefore, although the processing tips in the separate box 324 seem to use a large amount of limited space, it actually achieves a good occupancy of the system 99, because flexibility and less downtime are achieved by simplifying the mechanical mechanism. Less human interaction is also required to replace the tip when needed. Variations of these embodiments can be adopted according to the requirements of the system 99.

[0146] Fig.14 A plan view of different trays or plates 116 for different functions is shown, for example a bottle tray 322 is shown on the left, in which four areas for bottles 323 are distinguished, and a vial plate 320 is shown on the right, in which 48 slots are provided for vials 321. However, in the center a tray 325 is shown, which has a combination of slots or areas so that bottles and vials can be accommodated in a single tray 325. Depending on the requirements of the system 99, various combinations for the trays 325 can be provided.

[0147] The various labware 300 may have computer readable devices such as barcodes, RFID or NFC chips that allow the type and configuration of the tray or plate to be recorded on the system to be read. A reader may be provided on the robotic device 160 to detect the tray or plate when it is selected.

[0148] Cell culture plates typically require 10-15 ml of culture medium. This is typically pipetted from a 100-500 ml culture medium bottle with a 15-20 ml serological pipette. Serological pipettes were originally designed for manual use and are typically rigid, made of polymers such as polycarbonate, and typically have an inner diameter that is widest in the middle of the length of the body and narrower at the tip, and is also narrower at the end of the mechanism connected to apply air pressure to aspirate or dispense liquids. This typically requires an automated system for handling bottles and serological pipettes, which tends to use complex and malfunction-prone robots. In contrast, conventional pipetting robots are highly sophisticated and reliable, but typically the tips can only operate up to 1 ml, which can require a long series of pipetting steps to transfer 10-15 ml of culture medium. Pipetting robots typically have pistons and typically perform exhaust work. Pipetting robots use disposable pipette tips that are relatively flexible, typically made of a polymer such as polypropylene, so that they can be sealingly mounted on the outside of a pipette "cone." Pipette tips have a substantially maximum inner diameter where they are mounted on the pipette cone.

[0149] It should also be noted that the deep well plate 116 can replace bottles 323, 326 and 327 as culture medium storage containers. The deep well plate can be used in the current system and will simplify the operation in the automated robot system 99. In addition, the deep well plate 116 can be sealed by a film (to prevent liquid from leaking during transportation), and the pipette can break the film. Alternatively, the lid of the plate can be sealed, or there can be a liner. A plate with 96 holes with a hole of 2ml can accommodate 192ml of culture medium, which is similar to a bottle in a spatially efficient form. The deep well plate is different from the bottle, but is similar to a trough-shaped reservoir and can be reached by a multi-channel pipette tip. The 8-channel pipette tip with a 1ml pipette can pipette 8ml from the deep well plate at once, so it only takes two pipetting steps to fill a single-hole plate that is no more than 16ml with culture medium. Although using multichannel pipette tips to fill plates with culture medium may not seem efficient at first, using deep well plates as large volume liquid reservoirs and pipetting via multichannel pipettes will greatly reduce the mechanical complexity in the automation system, is space efficient (enabling efficiency), and is flexible and therefore conducive to achieving high occupancy of the system (i.e., efficient use). Here, single well plates are used as a robot-friendly alternative to T75 flasks. T75 flasks are used to maintain cell material and have a 75 cm 2flasks, and although humans prefer to use them, they are not robot-friendly. On the other hand, although single-well plates exist, they are almost never used because they are inconvenient for humans to use, and they easily tilt and spill the culture medium. However, single-well plates are robot-friendly and can have a 75 cm 2 In an automated system, it may also be advantageous to reduce the height of the plate, for example to 15 mm or less, or 10 mm or less, to increase storage density. This may generally be disadvantageous for human use, as it may make it easy to spill liquid when tilting the plate.

[0150] In one example of using the system, the user loads the system with the liquid required by the system 99. The liquid can be transferred from bottles 326, 327 to the deep well plate (e.g., by an automated liquid handler or dispenser), or they may have been supplied to the deep well plate by the supplier discussed above. The user can load the deep well plate containing culture medium, PBS (phosphate buffered saline), and trypsin into the racks 210, 310 in the carousel 108 of the system 99, such as the refrigerator 128. When the system 99 is ready to pass down cells, the robot device 160 in the refrigerator 128 retrieves the culture medium, PBS, and trypsin from the racks 210, 310 in the refrigerator 128, and passes them to the empty racks 210, 310 in the incubator 124 for 5min to heat. After 5min, the system transfers 1ml of the pipette tip box 324 and at least one fresh cell culture plate 116 to the workbench 108. The robotic device 160 of the plasticware storage 122 retrieves the tip box 324 from the plate slot 110 in the carousel 108 and transfers it to the plate slot 110 on the workbench 108, which has been rotated to align with the door 130 of the plasticware storage 122, where the tip box 324 is transferred out and a fresh tissue culture plate 116 is transferred out in a similar manner. The workbench 108 is then rotated to align with the plate slot 110, which will retrieve the PBS, culture medium and trypsin to the door 130 of the incubator 124, where the robotic device 160 in the incubator 124 transfers these liquids (in their deep well plates 116) to the appropriate slots 110 on the turntable 108. The robotic device 160 then transfers the plate 116 with the cells that need to be passaged.

[0151] Reference Fig.21 An improved interface for the robotic device 160 and in particular the interface between the handler or gripper fingers 168 and the plate 116 or other compatible labware 300 is shown.

[0152] The interface generally includes a paired "lock and key" functional structure on the processor and the labware. The functional structure can be, for example, be beveled or tapered so that the labware is aligned with the processor when it is picked up, allowing correction of a few millimeters of offset. The processing interface can also allow the labware to be held more reliably. The functional structure can also allow the system to detect and reject labware that is not the right size and does not have a processing interface.

[0153] exist Fig.21 A shows that the plate 116 has a package 360 ​​with a groove 370 extending through its sidewalls. The groove 370 particularly starts at the edge of the package 360 ​​and extends along the length of the plate 116. In some embodiments, the length of the groove does not exceed half the length of the plate 116, and further, the length is equal to (or longer than) the length of the gripper fingers 168. The groove 370 is closed on the upper and lower surfaces of the package 360. However, the groove 370 can be open on the side wall of the package 360 ​​closest to the open side to form a channel. The groove 370 can also be provided on the opposite end (i.e., across the width of the plate 116). The size of the two grooves 370 is designed to allow a pair of gripper fingers 168 to slide along the grooves 370 to handle the plate 116. The laboratory equipment 300 that is not the plate 116 preferably has a package similar to or the same as the plate 116. Therefore, the groove 370 can be provided on all laboratory equipment 300.

[0154] The upper and lower surfaces of the grooves 370 limit the vertical movement of the board 116 relative to the gripper fingers 168. Therefore, not only do the gripper fingers 168 have to rely on horizontal forces to handle the board 116, but the board is also restrained in the vertical direction. Therefore, the possibility of the board 116 falling is reduced. A pair of equivalent grooves 370 can be provided at opposite ends of the board 116 to allow the gripper fingers 168 to cooperate with the robotic device 160 to handle the board 116 from both sides and to transfer the board 116 to each other.

[0155] Alternatively, the groove 370 can be closed on the sides or open on the lower surface. It is also possible to provide grooves 370 that are shaped differently, for example they can be square or circular in cross section. Instead of aligning the gripper fingers 168 into the grooves 370, the functional structure can be reversed so that the flange on the laboratory appliance 300 is aligned into the chamfered groove in the gripper fingers 168 or on the shelf 210.

[0156] exist Fig.21B shows a set of gripper fingers 168 with tapered or pyramidal protrusions 372 and a plate 116 with equivalent tapered or pyramidal recesses 374. The tapered protrusions 372 are located on the face of the gripper fingers 168 that faces and grips the side of the plate 116. A corresponding tapered or pyramidal recess 374 is provided at the outer edge of the plate 116 that faces the gripper fingers 168. In operation, the gripper fingers 168 extend along a specific length of the plate 116 and approach the plate 116, thereby gripping the plate. The specific length is such that the recess 374 is aligned with the protrusion 372. Small amounts of misalignment between the plate 116 and the gripper fingers 168 are automatically corrected because the tapered / pyramidal protrusions 372 move into the recesses 374, moving the plate 116 to properly align with the gripper fingers 168.

[0157] Corresponding conical or pyramidal projections 372 and conical or pyramidal recesses 374 are provided on the other side of the gripper fingers 168 and the plate 116. The projections 372 and recesses 374 do not need to be aligned horizontally. Providing the projections and recesses at two different vertical heights ensures that, for example, only correctly oriented plates will be processed. Furthermore, if the projections 372 and recesses 374 are not aligned horizontally across the width of the plate 116, the plate 116 will not be able to rotate relative to the recesses. Fig.21 B, two protrusions 372 and depressions 374 are provided positioned at the end of the gripper fingers 168 on one side, i.e., one is positioned toward the end of the gripper fingers and the other is positioned at the beginning of the edge of the plate 116. On the other side, a single protrusion 372 and depression 374 are positioned horizontally between the protrusion 372 and depression 374 of the other gripper finger 168. The tapered or pyramidal shape allows alignment and also assists in gripping, as not only is the inward force of the gripper fingers 168 required to hold the plate 116, but a vertical component is also provided by the tapered or pyramidal shape to reduce the likelihood of the robotic device 160 dropping the plate.

[0158] Other shapes may be used instead of cones or pyramids. For example, semicircular protrusions 372 and recesses 374 are contemplated. Any number of protrusions 372 and recesses 374 may be provided as desired. For example, it is not necessary to have protrusions 372 and recesses 374 on both gripper fingers 168.

[0159] Reference Fig.21 C, shows the Fig.21B is a similar arrangement of protrusions 372 and recesses 374. However, additional recesses 374 are provided on the side of the plate 116 that cannot be contacted by the gripper fingers 168 when approaching from one side. In addition, the recesses 374 are mirror-symmetrical horizontally and vertically. That is, the recesses 374 are positioned so that the plate can be picked up from either side of the plate 116 by the robotic device 160 having the protrusions 372. This allows the plate 116 or other laboratory equipment 300 having such a recess to be processed by two robotic devices 160 at the same time and can also be transferred between the robotic devices 160 or modules 100.

[0160] Fig.23 Such a transfer (or handover) is shown between a pair of robotic devices 160. Here, two sets of gripper fingers 168 can simultaneously engage the board 116 to effect the transfer, wherein secure control of the board 116 is continuously maintained.

[0161] Reference Fig. 22 , a docking structure or board slot 110 for the laboratory appliance 300 is provided for interacting with the recess 374 to allow the robotic device 160 to pass to the board slot 110. Here, instead of providing a protrusion 372 in the board slot 110, a feedback device 378 is provided in a position in which, when the board 116 is in the board slot 110, the feedback device 378 extends into the recess 374 in the board 116 to provide feedback that the board 116 is fully in the board slot 110.

[0162] The feedback device 378 in the plate slot 110 can provide mechanical feedback when: i) the laboratory appliance 300 has begun to engage with the plate slot 110, ii) the laboratory appliance 300 has been fully engaged, iii) the laboratory appliance 300 is in the correct orientation and has the correct processing interface. The feedback device can be used in conjunction with the previous reference Fig.18 The feedback device 378 operates in the same manner as described above, i.e., contact is triggered when the feedback device 378 is in the recess 374. Alternatively, the feedback can be based on the compression of a spring or other resilient device in the feedback device 378 when compressed by the plate 116 or when in the recess 374.

[0163] When the operation is reversed, that is, when the robotic device 160 removes the laboratory equipment 300 from the plate slot 110, the feedback is reversed. Each plate slot 110 on the workbench 330 or in the rack 210 can have these functional structures. In one embodiment, one or more or all of these functional structures are similar to the reference Fig.18 The described engagement device 362 is combined.

[0164] Fig.21The plate 116 and the gripper fingers 168 of C have separate protrusions 372 and recesses 374 on each side of the plate 116. However, additional recesses 374 are provided on the front and end faces of the plate 116, respectively. The protrusions 372 are more provided on the beam 376 of the gripper 162, which extends vertically between the two gripper fingers 168 to connect them together. In addition, such protrusions 372 and recesses 374 provide alignment of the plate 116. As previously discussed, the number or shape of the protrusions 372 and recesses 374 on the beam 376 or the gripper fingers 168 are not limited to the examples discussed above. In one embodiment, the recesses are provided eccentrically on the corresponding end faces of the plate 116 to limit the handling of the correctly positioned plate 116.

[0165] Reference Fig.21 D, here the projections 372 and recesses 374 are shown positioned on the package 360 ​​of the plate 116. This further reinforces that these projections 372 and recesses 374 do not encroach into the interior volume of the plate 116 or the laboratory appliance 300, since they have a wider area of ​​the package 360 ​​to aid in handling. Considering the standardized package 360 ​​described above, for example with reference to FIGS. 13A and 13B , the projections 372 and recesses 374 are compatible with all laboratory appliances 300 discussed above.

[0166] Both types of functional structures, namely grooves 370 and protrusions 372 and recesses 374 , may be combined in one interface or plate 116 .

[0167] Even if the plate 116 is offset from the gripper fingers 168 by a few millimeters, the tapered pairing of the protrusions 372 and recesses 374 will automatically align. The two discussed mating functional structures (grooves 370 or tapers 372, 374) will also allow the gripper fingers 168 to hold the plate more securely and reliably to prevent the laboratory appliance 300 from vertically sliding off or falling off the gripper fingers 168. Fig.21 B and 21C, which allows for unique specifications of the orientation of the plate 116. The raised portions 372 and recessed portions 374 align the plate 116 with the gripper fingers 168 in all three dimensions. This can be used to provide feedback that the plate has been acquired in the correct orientation.

[0168] Both the groove 370 and the recess 374 enable the gripper fingers 168 to determine whether the labware 300 has the correct processing interface. This enables the system to exclude labware 300 that does not have the interface, which in turn enables the system 99 to exclude labware 300 that is not the right size. This enables a more reliable system and can exclude third party trays with poor tolerances. This can be used to build a partially closed system in which the reliability of the system 99 can be more easily controlled.

[0169] The plate with grooves 370 and raised portions 372 and recessed portions 374 can still conform to the footprint of a microwell plate (SLAS plate).

[0170] As discussed above, Fig.21 The AD interface can be used on the labware 300 and not strictly for the board 116. Fig.24 A bottle tray 322 is shown, wherein a protrusion 372 and a depression 374 are provided. The bottle tray 322 has in particular the depression 374 and it can be seen that the depression is positioned in the encapsulation 360 of the bottle tray 322. This can therefore be adapted for all types of laboratory appliances 300.

[0171] Reference Fig.25 , providing a large bottle 326 having the width of the plate 116. A tapered pairing of raised portions 372 and recessed portions 374 is provided, with the bottle itself having the recessed portion 374 in the body of the bottle. This allows the gripper fingers 168 to grasp the sides of the bottle 326 without the need to use a tray to place the bottle 326 on. In one embodiment, the bottle 326 is held in a rack 210 having a raised portion 372 to hold the bottle in its position.

[0172] It is also contemplated that a tray, plate or box for vials or pipettes may be adapted to cooperate with the groove 370 or the tapered mating interface.

[0173] Although a pair of gripper fingers are discussed, other embodiments may use additional devices to pick up the board while optionally still using the raised and recessed portions described above. Fig.26, a plate 116 having a standard microplate package 360 ​​is provided. The plate 116 can be the laboratory appliance 300 discussed previously. Instead of a mobile or passive gripper gripper finger, the robotic handler can have an end effector that includes a passive handling plate 260 that extends below the plate 116 to manipulate and move the plate 116. The handling plate 260 is shown to extend across the width of the plate 116 so that it approaches the plate 116 from the width direction. However, other embodiments are contemplated. The handling plate 260 has a protrusion 372 that extends upward from the handling plate toward the package 360 ​​of the plate 116 when the plate 116 is positioned on the handling plate. The plate 116 has a corresponding recess 374 in the package 360 ​​so that the recess 374 and the protrusion 372 correspond.

[0174] The processing plate 260 also has seating means 262 which allow alignment of the plate 116 when it is positioned on the processing plate 260. These seating means 262 extend along the preferred position of the plate 116 on the processing plate 260 and are inclined or narrowed to facilitate sliding the plate 116 into the correct position when it is placed on the processing plate.

[0175] The raised portion 372 and the recessed portion 374 are shown as being positioned eccentrically relative to the centerline of the plate 116. However, as discussed with reference to the gripper fingers, different configurations are possible. For example, the plate 116 may have multiple recessed portions 374 to allow a processing plate 260 approaching from different directions to be able to pick up the plate 116. The raised portion 372 and the recessed portion 374 may also be reversed. Additional raised portions 372 and recessed portions 374 may also be provided.

[0176] Use of processing plate 260 can minimize the width of interface 134, shelf 210 and plate slot 110 to the width or length of plate 116, without having to consider the processing width because it is smaller than plate 116. Processing plate 260 also provides a solid foundation to improve stability in the operation of carrying plates.

[0177] Reference Fig. 27An interface for removing caps constructed in bottles and vials is shown. A bottle 326 having a lid 380 is provided. The lid 380 has a capping interface 382 on the top surface of the lid 380. The capping interface 382 is a recessed portion having a hexagonal shape, so that a protrusion with a corresponding shape can interface with the capping interface 382 (i.e., be in the capping interface). The interface provides a rotatable lock so that rotation of the lid 380 will result in rotation of the male protrusion, and vice versa. The protrusion can be used on the decapper 344 to provide a more reliable decapping and capping than the grasping and unscrewing of a conventional lid without an interface 382.

[0178] A variety of shapes and interfaces may be used for the capping interface 382. Additionally, the decapper may have a female interface and the bottle a male interface, which may be more conventional for a normal automated capping process.

[0179] The vial 321 also has a cover 384 having a recessed portion on the top surface, thereby forming a vial capping interface 386. Like the bottle cover 380, the vial capping interface 386 is shown as having a hexagonal shape when viewed from above. This allows the protrusion having a corresponding shape to form a rotational locking structure with the vial cover 384, so that a reliable capping or uncapping process can be achieved.

[0180] As with the bottle 326, different shapes may be used for the capping interface 386. For example, other polygonal shapes may be used to provide a rotational lock.

[0181] The bottle 326 has a bottom interface 388, wherein a depression similar to the capping interface 382 is provided and extends from the bottom of the bottle into the bottle body 326. The bottle bottom interface 388 is hexagonal when viewed from below. This allows a corresponding hexagonal depression to be arranged in the depression of the bottom surface and rotationally locked. The vial 321 also has a vial bottom interface 390, which is identical to the bottom interface 388 of the bottle 326. These bottom interfaces 388, 390 allow the bottle 326 or the vial 321 to be rotatably held from the bottom surface. This can allow the decapping machine 344 to be configured for connection to the bottom surface, or the decapping machine can also be used to prevent the bottle from rotating due to the protrusions on the plate, so that the decapping operation on the cap of the bottle or vial does not cause the rotation of the bottle or vial itself.

[0182] The lower interface can also be used to prevent bottles 326 or vials 321 from tipping or falling when they are moved around in the system 99 by being placed on a tray with special protrusions for aligning them. This will also ensure that bottles 326 and vials 321 are properly aligned on the tray and that the plates for the different robotic handling equipment can interact with them.

[0183] A combination of upper and lower interfaces may be used when desired. The interfaces provided at the top and bottom need not be identical. However, identical interfaces may be useful for uniform operation. The vial 321 and bottle 326 may include interfaces of identical shape so that they can be handled by the same gripper on the same robot 344 for picking up or removing the cap.

[0184] Additionally, the capping interface 382, ​​386 may be modified, such as an undercut interface 390, wherein the recess in the cap 380, 384 has a narrower opening in the cap rather than a deeper opening. This allows the interface to have additional vertical locking features, such as a bulge at the distal end that expands once the cap 380, 384 is removed from the bottle 326 or vial 321. This reduces the risk of the cap 380, 384 being dropped by the gripper of the robot 344 that is being used to pick up or remove the cap.

[0185] The interfaces 382, ​​386, 388, 390 on the top or bottom can be chamfered or beveled to align the gripper when the gripper of the cap remover or picker approaches the interface. This will allow any slight intolerance when positioning the vial 321 or bottle 326, such as positioning it in a tray or plate or in the plate slot 110 itself. This will also help with any machine or robot intolerance. These functional structures can also produce a more reliable system because a laboratory appliance 300 without a correct interface cannot be used in a machine, so a third party or poorly tolerant laboratory appliance 300 will be rejected, and a more reliable automation can be achieved.

[0186] Figure 1 A storage module 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The storage module 100 has a housing or shell 102 that forms a box with four sides 104. The lengths of the four sides 104 can be the same to form a storage module 100 with a square package. Although sides of the same length are preferred due to the modular nature and the internal functional structure of the disc conveyor (discussed in detail later), in some embodiments, the lengths of the sides 104 can be different to achieve a module 100 with a rectangular shape or other polygonal shape. It is also possible to have more than four sides 104.

[0187] The length 106 of each side 104 may be 70 cm to 80 cm. In particular, the length 106 of the side 104 of each storage module 100 should be 80 cm or less in at least two dimensions. This ensures that the entire system 99 of modules 100 is compact, which is advantageous because these systems are installed in laboratories or clean rooms where floor space is expensive, and this allows the modules 100 to be able to pass through doors. This also reduces the difficulty and cost of transporting the storage modules 100.

[0188] A carousel 108 is provided within the housing 102, wherein the carousel 108 is a circular plate that occupies the footprint of the storage module 100. The carousel 108 has tray slots or board slots 110 arranged along its radius (i.e. radially). The center of the carousel 108 is open, so there is a center hole 112. The board slots 110 are arranged so that their edges all face the center hole 112. In the accompanying drawings, the center hole 112 has eight tray edges 114 and is therefore octagonal. In some embodiments, the center hole 112 has flat tray edges 114, so the center hole 112 is a polygon with a number of sides equal to the number of board slots 110. However, in some embodiments, a center hole 112 with a circular edge may be used, wherein the tray edges 114 form the circumference of the circular center hole 112.

[0189] Plate slot 110 is a location designated for holding a plate, tray, or labware. The plate or tray may be a processing plate, a cell culture plate, a microtiter plate or a microwell plate, a plate holding other labware or a container, or the labware itself. The details of the plate slot and the plate will be discussed later.

[0190] The carousel 108 is located on the floor of the module 100 or can be raised from the floor.

[0191] The height of the module 100 is such that the housing 102 forms a block (i.e., a cubic shape). The height of the storage module 100 need not be equal to the length 106. However, the height is preferably no greater than the height of the doorway, and ideally is shorter than the doorway for ease of transportation and assembly.

[0192] In a vertical arrangement (see FIGS. 9A and 9B for detailed description below), the plate slots 110 are stacked vertically so that processing plates or other labware can be stacked vertically in the rack 210. Each plate slot 110 thus has a plate slot on top of it to form a rack 210 of plate slots 110. The design of the plate slots 110 can vary from a plate slot directly on the carousel 108 to a plate slot 110 that is elevated above (or below) the carousel 108. This will be described later.

[0193] The shelves 210 may extend through the height 204 of the storage modules 100. The shelves may also extend below the height of the carousel 108 if the carousel is elevated. The space inside the housing or casing 102 may have clean air and may be constructed by assembling modules 100 that can be locked together, depending on the requirements of each module 100. The interior is thus hermetically sealed, eliminating the need for additional expensive coverings or mounting the modules 100 in larger, expensive clean air cabinets.

[0194] Figure 2 Some storage modules 100 are shown in a modular arrangement to form a modular system 99. In particular, an incubator module 124 is shown on the far left, a processing module 120 is shown in the center, and a plasticware storage module 122 is shown on the right. These modules are merely illustrative and not limiting. However, as shown, each module 100 uses the same format, for example, each module has a disc conveyor 108 and each module has a board slot 110 formed in or on the module.

[0195] Other modules 100 can be considered, such as a freezer (126; see Figure 13A). The culture medium required for many experiments and cultures contains reagents that should be frozen if stored for more than one or two days, such as growth factors. This has resulted in a system 99 that will prepare culture medium every day or every two days by mixing reagents into a minimal culture medium, wherein some reagents are stored frozen in the system. Therefore, a freezer module 126 can be provided, and the system 99 is capable of storing frozen reagents and retrieving and thawing them as needed. Another module 100 for the system is a refrigerator (128; see Figure 3A). Many reagents, especially cell culture media, are stored in a refrigerator, and if only one freezer module is relied upon, repeated freezing and thawing can be very troublesome and even harmful to the reagents.

[0196] like Figure 2As shown, in this example, for a modular system 99 for cell culture, a processing module 120 and a series of memories, i.e., an incubator 124 for culturing cells and a plastic utensil memory 122 are provided as modules on the right. As described above, other modules may include a refrigerator for storing culture media, a refrigerator for storing, for example, growth factors, samples, etc., and a room temperature reagent memory. A slot 110 is provided, which is configured to receive a complete set of laboratory equipment 300, which is designed to be loaded into a slot with a package of a microplate. The complete set of laboratory equipment 300 may include a tray, an adapter rack for bottles or vials, a box, a bottle or a dish. This will be discussed in detail below with reference to Figures 13A and 13B. A plate 116 (e.g., a cell culture plate, an adapter rack or a laboratory utensil) can be positioned in the plate slot 110. The plate 116 can carry a vial or a container that can accommodate a reagent or cell culture. The plate 116 can be transmitted between the modules 100 in this way, for example, the plate 116 is transferred from the incubator 124 to the processing module 120. The transmission is effected at a specific interface 134 in the module 100 .

[0197] The storage module 100 has an interface 134 where the storage module 100 can present or transfer a plate 116 (or other plastic utensil). The interface 134 is aligned with an interface 134 on an adjacent module 100 to allow the plate 116 to be transferred from one module to another. This allows, for example, the plate 116 holding a vial to be transferred from an incubator 124 to a processing module 120. The interface 134 can have a door 130 to close the entrance to the module 100. These doors can open vertically or horizontally, can be sliding doors, can have multiple panels or be separate doors 130. The doors can vary according to the requirements of the module 100. For example, some doors are pressure-resistant or insulated. These interfaces 134 can be in the same plane (e.g., horizontally) to greatly simplify the handling of the robot. Alternatively, some interfaces can be vertical or their variations. The storage modules 100 can be stacked vertically to save floor space. This allows the system 99 to be built by stacking modules 100 together without requiring gaps or spaces between the modules and therefore without requiring additional handling functional structures for transferring trays 116 or other items therebetween. It also allows the system 99 to be upgraded by stacking more modules 100 to add more functionality, or greater capacity. The vertically stacked modules are described in detail with reference to FIG. 9A . They are connected with seals 311 which form a channel for the gripper.

[0198] As described above, the modules 100 are connected together through interfaces 134, which in some embodiments are hermetically sealed with seals 311 and / or doors so that a complete system 99 with clean air can be constructed by "connecting" the modules 100 without the need for expensive and bulky housings to contain clean air spaces. Thus, the interfaces 134 only provide access to adjacent modules 100, rather than passing the panels 116 through the outer shell 102 or the outer space outside the housing. To ensure that this is maintained, the doors 130 (if present) are also hermetically sealed relative to each other. This also helps to simplify handling.

[0199] Figure 2 Also shown is a robotic device 160. The robotic device 160 is positioned in the central hole 112 of the module 100. The robotic device has a gripper 162 that can grip a board 116 from a board slot 110. The robotic device 160 also has a robotic arm 164 connected to the gripper 162 to allow the extension and retraction of the driving gripper 162. The robotic arm 164 can be retractable. The gripper 162 can reach the board slot 110 (or the rack 210 of the slot 110) that holds the board 116 and constrain the board 116 so that the board can be withdrawn from the slot 110 or the rack 210 and placed in the slot 110 or the rack 210. The robotic device 160 is also used to transfer or transmit the board 116 through the interface 134, thereby transferring the board to an adjacent module 100 by driving the robotic device 160. Figure 2 Two modules 100 are shown (e.g., incubator 124 and plasticware storage 122) having similar robotic devices 160 in the same location with grippers 162 and doors 130. Not all modules 100 must have robotic devices 160, and some modules 100 may rely on robotic devices 160 from adjacent modules to transfer or transport plates 116. Processing module 120 is particularly shown without robotic devices 160.

[0200] The robotic device 160 in the central hole 112 of the module 100 can transfer the board 116 to the board slot 110 of other modules 100 without any intermediate equipment, such as a robotic arm or a conveyor belt. This provides a simpler system 99 by eliminating the intermediate equipment. This also makes the system 99 more compact by eliminating the space required for the intermediate equipment, reduces alignment and tolerance stack-up problems, reduces double handling, and facilitates the construction of a compact system that does not require additional external covers or clean air enclosures.

[0201] The robotic device 160 in the center hole 112 can have very limited freedom of movement; it can have only two dimensions of freedom: vertical movement in the hole 112, and horizontal movement through the door 130 or interface 134 or into the slot 110. The disc conveyor 108 can be configured to rotate, so that the robotic device 160 can access all shelves 210. Therefore, the robotic device 160 is restricted to moving horizontally (and linearly) facing and in the direction of the interface 134, and moving vertically. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the robotic device 160 can rotate and the disc conveyor 108 can be restricted. Or there is a combination of the two. The robotic device 160 can be further restricted, such as running in a track or having a gripper 162 running in a track instead of an extended robotic arm 164. This reduces the possibility that the robotic device 160 cannot be aligned. The modular system 99 also allows the use of modular software, which has reusable coding. This is achieved in part by making the storage modules 100 "self-sufficient vending machines" in that they autonomously present plates 116 (and other objects) to other modules 100, rather than having incubators 124, for example, utilizing automated doors 130 and carousels 108 that a 3D robotic arm can access.

[0202] 3A and 3B show a plan view of another system 99, which includes a number of modules 100. The modules 100 are arranged horizontally and provide an example of a complete system 99, which is constructed from an incubator 124, a refrigerator 128, a freezer 126, and a plastic utensil storage 122, which are interfaced with a central processing module 120. No "external" unconstrained 3D robotic arm is required, because each device except the processing module has a robotic device 160 in their central hole 112. The modules 100 are all interfaced so that a plate 116 can pass through an adjacent door 130 or interface 134. The processing module 120 is set in the center so that it can access the modules 100 (incubator 124, refrigerator 128, freezer 126, and plastic utensil storage 122) on each side thereof. Where the extended robotic arm 164 is fixed (so that it cannot rotate), the robotic arm is oriented toward the processing module 120 so that the plate 116 can be transferred into and out of the processing module 120. The service module 138 may be added to provide additional functionality, such as a processor unit, a power supply, or a mechanical unit for driving the robotic device 160 .

[0203] In some embodiments, there may be a dedicated "loading lock structure" in which a module 100 has a door that is accessible from the outside and is not connected to other modules 100. This loading lock structure is usually accessible to people. This allows the user to interact with the plate slot 110 or the rack 210 to replace consumables, plates with batteries or samples, etc. inside the system 99. The loading lock structure can be a plate slot 110 that is only open to the outside or inside of the module 100 at any time to avoid contamination or changes in the environmental state inside the module 100. This also allows the system 99 to continue to operate when the user accesses the loading lock structure without causing any risk of injury because access to the rotating or operating machine is blocked. In some embodiments, the loading lock structure can be rotatable to access more accessible doors, or to allow a robot processor to access the contents set in the loading lock structure.

[0204] The system shown in Fig. 3B has the same module 100 as Fig. 3A, such as incubator 124, refrigerator 128, freezer 126 and plastic utensil storage 122. However, freezer 126 is connected to refrigerator module 128, which is in turn connected to processing module 120. This means that freezer 126 can be accessed by refrigerator 128, which can reduce frost and temperature cycles in freezer 126. Refrigeration module has been described. However, other environmental changes between modules 100, such as humidity, temperature or gas concentration of variation, can be envisioned. Control means, i.e., automated or user-controlled control means, are provided to control the environment of each module 100.

[0205] Optionally, the processing module 120 may not include a robotic device 160 for transferring plates 116. However, other robotic operations may be provided in the processing module 120 for the automated cell culture system 99. A liquid handler having a rotating table or "turntable" 108 interfaced with at least one carousel may be provided in the processing module 120. The slots in the table may be filled with microplates 116 or compatible labware by simply transferring (horizontally and linearly) from an appropriately configured carousel 108 and rotating the turntable and carousel 108. A microscope, other processing modules (vial decapper, vial picker, plate decapper) or other functionality may also be provided on the processing module 120. This is discussed below with reference to Figures 15A and 15B.

[0206] In some embodiments, plate 116 is a microtiter plate or a microwell plate, or other laboratory equipment with similar packaging. These plates meet the standards of SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening). This standard requires that the microwell plate has a width of 85.48 mm and a length of 127.76 mm. However, changes and revisions to this are feasible.

[0207] Other tube picking robotic equipment may be provided in the refrigerator 128 or freezer 126 to allow, for example, frozen tubes to be picked up from the rack 210 while minimizing temperature cycling of other tubes in the rack 210. The picking robot may be built into the space used within the rack 210 of the refrigerator 128 or freezer 126.

[0208] During operation, one or more raw material storage plates 116 are retrieved from their brackets or racks 210 into, for example, a freezer 126, and the desired tubes are picked up from that plate 116 and placed in the target plate 116. (One or more) raw material plates 116 will return to the storage bracket 210, and (one or more) target plates 116 carrying the picked up tubes will be transferred to the incubator 124 to be thawed and / or heated. Once enough time has passed for reaching the target temperature, the plates 116 and the tubes will be transferred to the workbench. In order to return the tubes carrying any unused reagents to the frozen storage 126, the process is reversed. Bottles or vials can be thawed or preheated by transferring them to the incubator 124. Other decappers can be constructed in the slots 110 in the racks 210 in the incubator 124 to save space on the workbench.

[0209] A high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter for the incubator 124 may be provided where the air in the incubator 124 is recirculated through the filter to reduce particulates within the incubator 124. An air filter may also be provided that does not qualify as a HEPA air filter but removes 99.97% of particles greater than or equal to 0.3 μm in size.

[0210] Referring to Fig. 4A and 4B, an interface 134 between two rotating carousels 108 of adjacent modules 100 is shown. Fig. 4B shows a six-well tissue culture plate 116 passing through the interface. An interface 134 is provided between the modules 100. Both modules 100 have a rotating carousel 108. Only a portion of each rotating carousel 108 (i.e., a slot for a plate 116) is shown. One module 100 can be an incubator 124 having a carousel 108 with a shelf 210 (also referred to as a plate library). The main operation performed at the interface is to transfer the plate 116 between the two modules 100. In some embodiments, these plates are generally in accordance with SLAS size standards, such as cell culture plates 116 (e.g., six-well cell culture plates 116 are shown) or other compatible laboratory appliances. An automated door 130 (not shown) is provided between the modules. Some modules do not need a door 130 at the interface 134. However, a door 130 is provided where, for example, there are different environments between the modules 100. The two modules 100 are fixed or locked together at the interface 134 by a connecting device or a fixing device (bolt) 132. The fixing device 132 is close to the interface 134, minimizing the tolerance stacking. The fixing device 132 ensures that the modules 100 are aligned and held or locked in a predetermined position to ensure that the board 116 can be transferred between the modules 100 without any collision between the housings or shells 102 of the modules 100. Additional fixing devices 132 can also be provided to allow the modules 100 to be connected to each other, or to other functional structures or modules 100 at other locations. Therefore, the interface 134 provides a controlled position, wherein the position of the board 116 is restricted to transfer the board 116. The connecting device or fixing device 132 is close to the board 116 for transfer. In some embodiments, the fixing device 132 does not exceed half of the width of the interface 134 from the edge of the interface 134. This reduces the "tolerance stacking" at the following position, where changes and manufacturing or movement of the fixing device during operation may affect the alignment of key components that need to be aligned. In particular, because the fixing means 132 are positioned at or near the interface 134, the variation in the alignment between the modules is reduced. The connecting means 132 can be a bolt or any other device that will constrain or apply compression to the housings of two adjacent modules 100 so as to securely secure them together. In some embodiments, interlocking lips or other indexing devices are provided to align the modules, thereby allowing the connecting means 132 to be aligned. The disc conveyor 108 is indexed to the interface 134, for example, by pins 140 and slots 142. The pins 140 are provided in the wall of the module 100. The slots 142 for alignment are provided in the disc conveyor 108, wherein the disc conveyor 108 is capable of receiving or retaining the plate 116.The plate slots 110 on the carousel 108 can be aligned with each other by indexing the carousel 108 to the interface 134 so that the transfer of the plate 116 (or other compatible laboratory equipment) between two plate slots 110 on the carousel 108 can be completed by a simple linear movement from one plate slot 110 to an adjacent plate slot 110 on a different carousel 108. The pins 140 can be moved so that the slots 142 used for alignment are not restricted at all times. On the contrary, alignment can be performed when the carousel 108 is moved to the transfer position, and it can rotate freely at other times. Although the pins 140 and the slots 142 are shown in the figure, other electronic or mechanical alignment devices can be provided. For example, the positions of the slots and pins can be exchanged so that the pins 140 are located in the carousel 108. Or the motor of the carousel 108 can be indexed to stop at certain indexed positions. The board 116 is passed between the modules 100 such that it passes from one board slot 110 through the interface 134 to another board slot 110, as shown in Figure 4B. The board 116 may be passed in any direction guided by the robotic device(s) 160.

[0211] The movement is driven by the robotic device 160. The carousel 108 rotates and the robotic device 160 moves vertically, which then transfers the board 116 from any position in the rack 210 of the carousel to the interface 134 by combining largely constrained movement along two constrained axes, namely vertical movement to the appropriate level in the rack, horizontal movement to retrieve the board 116, vertical movement to the height of the table (i.e., the board slot 110) of the carousel 108, and horizontal movement to place the board 116 on the board slot 110 on the carousel 108. More precisely, the robotic device 160 moves horizontally in the direction of a line along the two central axes connecting the central holes 114 of adjacent modules 100. The interfaces / doors 130, 134 between adjacent modules are located on the respective side walls of the modules so that they are centered in the width direction on the line connecting the two central axes of the central holes 114 of adjacent modules 100. The robotic device 160 may have sufficient horizontal movement to transfer the board 116 directly to the slot 110 in the other carousel 108. Not all robotic devices 160 require this degree of horizontal movement, as there may be a robotic device 160 in an adjacent module 100. In this case, the robotic device 160 may pass to the robotic device 160 in the adjacent module 100.

[0212] Fig. 4A shows other alignment function structures 144 for ensuring that plate 116 is correctly aligned during transmission. The chamfer 144 at the edge of the plate slot 110 in the carousel 108 towards the interface 134 is used to capture and align the laboratory equipment 116 entering, even if it deviates by several millimeters. This is carried out when plate 116 collides with chamfer 144, and the chamfer 144 tilts towards the plate slot 110, and therefore plate 116 slides back towards the plate slot 110 to align. Alternatively, in the interface 134 itself, for example, in a hole or door 130, there may be an alignment function structure 146. In this case, a chamfer 146 can be provided in the interface 134 between the door 130 or the module, wherein the chamfer 146 is shaped so that it tilts towards the plate slot 110 in any module 100. This is shown in Fig. 4B. In this arrangement, the plate 116 that is not aligned during transmission may collide with the chamfer 146 and be guided so that it is aligned with the plate slot 110 again.

[0213] Figure 8 An alternative embodiment of the interface is shown, wherein a chamfer 146 is located on the surface of the interface 134 facing the interior of the module 100. The chamfer thus reduces the width of the opening of the interface 134 as the distance from the center of the module 100 increases. This allows the plate 116 and / or the catcher 164 entering the opening of the interface 134 to achieve alignment. Although not shown, in some embodiments, the plate 116 may have a chamfer to allow the plate 116 to achieve alignment when entering the plate slot 110, the interface 134, the catcher 164, or any other functional structure that may interact with the plate 116. This alignment functional structure on the plate 116 further allows plastic appliances passing through the module 100 or the system 99 to achieve alignment. These chamfer positions can be combined in the module 100.

[0214] Referring to FIG. 4C , alternatively or as a supplement to providing a chamfer 144 at one or more edges of the board slot 110 , a concave section 148 may be provided on the wall of the interface 134 . The concave section 148 is shaped so that it extends from the side of the interface 134 to the center of the interface 134 . The concave section may be shaped so that the space for the board 116 , i.e. the aperture 150 (the space is defined by the interface 134 between the modules 100 ) is close to the space of the width of the board 116 . This ensures that the side of the board 116 is flush with the wall of the interface 134 when passing through. Such a concave section may be present on both modules 100 , so that there is an extended area through which the board 116 must be aligned in the concave section 148 . The concave section is shaped so that the unaligned board 116 slides on the surface of the concave section 148 until it is aligned, thereby allowing the board 116 to pass through the interface 134 . In some cases, the gripper 164 of the control plate 116 can be wider than the width of the plate 116. In this case, an alignment device such as a concave section 148 is configured to accommodate the gripper 164 and should therefore be equal to or slightly larger than the outer width of the gripper 164. In other cases, a guide or slot may be provided to guide or assist in the movement of the gripper 164. In some examples, the slot can be constructed in the following manner, that is, the interface 134 is narrower than the width of the plate 116 and the gripper 164, and a slot is provided in the interface through which the gripper 164 extends. It can be provided to combine the chamfer 144 on the disc conveyor, the chamfer 146 on the interface, and the concave section 148 on the interface. These all act to dynamically align the plastic utensil in transit with the plate 116 and / or the gripper 164.

[0215] Although shown in the drawings to provide clear boundaries of different modules 100, the interfaces 134 can be so abutted that they are flush with each other. In addition, as described above, in some embodiments, the interfaces 134 are hermetically sealed. At least some modules 100 in the automated cell culture system 99 will have HEPA filtered clean air. The sealing of the interfaces 134 prevents unfiltered air from entering. The sealing can be achieved by ensuring that there are no gaps between the modules 100 and / or by providing seals around the interfaces 134 or the doors 130. Seals can also be provided between the edges of the modules 100.

[0216] The pores 150 (in the interface 134 between modules 100) and the plate slots in the carousel 108 can be positioned closely and fit tightly with the plates 116 (e.g., microplates) so that the pores 150 and the plate slots 110 together form a substantially continuous "raceway" or "channel" in which the plates 116 and / or the grippers 164 of the robotic device 160 slide or run, so that the position of the laboratory equipment is always constrained, which greatly reduces the possibility of the laboratory equipment being dropped, lost, or misaligned.

[0217] Especially refer to Figure 5 A board slot 110 is shown having slot sides 152 extending from a base 154 of the board slot 110. A board 116 is located on the base 154 of the board slot 110 and between the slot sides 152. The slot sides laterally constrain movement of the board 116. The end of the board slot 110 opposite the end of the board slot 110 in the direction of movement of the board 116 may be more closed, for example by a back plate or end stop that extends partially or completely between the slot sides 152 to prevent the board 116 from moving back. A gripper groove 166 is present in the slot sides 152. This is a groove 166 that extends along the length of the slot sides 152. The gripper groove 166 is shaped so that the gripper fingers 168 of the gripper 162 can move along the gripper groove 166 when the board 116 is present. A microplate 116 is shown in which a gripper 162, i.e., a gripper finger 168, grips the plate 116 by surrounding both sides of the plate 116. This allows the robotic device 160 to pick up and move the plate 116 as needed. In some embodiments, the gripper groove 166 only partially extends along the length of the slot side 152. Corresponding grooves 166 can extend from opposite edges to allow the gripper finger 168 to grip the plate from either side. Other examples of gripping mechanisms can be provided. For example, a groove can be provided in which the gripper finger 168 enters the plate 116 itself, rather than the base 154 of the plate 116, or a slot can be provided in the plate 116 itself at the location where the gripper finger 168 enters the plate body.

[0218] Figure 5 The base of the microplate 116 shown is wider than the width of its sides. To accommodate this shape, the slot sides 152 of the plate slot 110 can have different widths above and below the holder groove 166.

[0219] Figure 6A side cross-sectional view of the interface 134 is shown, wherein the bottom view illustratively shows a plate 116 passing through the interface 134. As described above, the plate slot 110 in the carousel 108 has a recessed structure formed by the slot side 152 so that the plate 116 or other laboratory equipment and / or the gripper 164 of the robotic device 160 runs in the channel 156 or through a raceway or track. In this way, the plate 116 and the gripper 164 are constrained to a great extent, and the transmission becomes very reliable. This substantially continuous channel 156 is formed at the interface 134 between the modules 100 having the plate slot 110 in the carousel 108 or between two carousels 108, and the channel 156 uses the base 154 of the plate slot 110 as the bottom plate of the channel 156. The plate 116 or other laboratory equipment and / or the gripper 164 slide in this channel 156. The channels 156 physically constrain the plates 116 / labware and the grippers 164, greatly reducing the likelihood of labware being dropped or lost, and making the system simpler, more reliable, and easier to program.

[0220] 7A and 7B show a board 116 in a board slot 110 of a carousel 108, ready to be transferred to an adjacent board slot 110 through an interface 134. A robotic device 160 having a gripper 164 with gripper fingers 168 is shown, which transfers the board 116 through the interface 134. A robotic arm 162 provides drive (actuation) for moving the gripper 164. The width of the interface 134 is close to the width of the gripper fingers 168 to ensure that the board and gripper 164 can pass through and be physically constrained to align.

[0221] Figure 8 An alternative embodiment of the interface 134 is shown which is not based on a carousel, wherein the board slot 110 on the module 100 is a conveyor belt 170. This conveyor belt 170 can transfer the boards through or towards the interface 134. A robotic device 160 can still be present to deliver or retrieve the boards 116 from the conveyor belt 170. As mentioned above, a chamfer 146 is also shown, however, it is located on the surface of the interface 134 facing the interior of the module 100.

[0222] Modules 100 can be arranged vertically to gain more flexibility. FIGS. 9A and 9B show a system 99 with modules 100 arranged in this manner. This arrangement makes it easier to arrange the system 99 because it allows for more freedom regarding where the modules 100 are placed in the system 99. This makes it easier to add capacity to the system 99, for example by stacking the plastic labware storage 122 or the incubator 124 at a higher position. It allows the system 99 to take up less floor space by stacking the modules 100 vertically.

[0223] As previously mentioned, two modules 100 are arranged so that they are arranged in vertical stacking. Between the modules is a vertical interface 234, which can be very similar to the interface between the horizontally arranged modules 100 shown in Figures 4A-4C. The vertical interface 234 optionally has a door 230 or a hole 231, and the robot device 160 can move vertically through these holes. The module 100 has a connecting device or a fixed point 232 around the door 230 or the hole 231 to ensure that the vertically stacked modules 100 are constrained together. The fixed point 232 is arranged close to the hole 231 or the door 230, to reduce the tolerance stacking, as discussed with reference to the connecting device 132 in Figures 4A-4C. An airtight sealing device 311 can be positioned between the interfaces 134, 234 of two adjacent modules.

[0224] 9A and 9B show a board rack 210 arranged with a plurality of board slots 110 stacked vertically. Thus, the rack 210 is formed by the board slots 110 forming a layer. Although two racks 210 are shown in FIG. 9A , the racks 210 are arranged in Figure 1 9A or 9B. However, the rack 210 rotates around the rotation axis of the carousel 108 to allow the robot device 160 to access each column of the rack 210. The robot device 160 is rotatably fixed, so it can only move in the horizontal and vertical directions. Therefore, in order to access the board slot 110 behind the robot device 160, the rack 210 (and therefore the carousel 108) rotates so that the required board slot 110 faces the robot device. The vertical and horizontal movement of the robot device can then be performed to access the board slot 110. In some alternative arrangements, the rack 210 can be rotated in small groups so that the board slot 110 of one layer rotates independently of the board slot 110 below it. Alternatively, the robot device 160 can rotate and the rack 210 remains fixed.

[0225] As can be understood from the previous discussion, there is a horizontal interface 134 in the module 100. This horizontal interface 134 is formed at this height of the shelf 210, which is the same as the height of the board slots 110 of the current module 100 and the required board slots 110 of the adjacent module 100. These board slots 110 located at the height and rotation of the horizontal interface 134 are transfer slots. The transfer slots can be rotated on the disc conveyor 108 so that the transfer slots can be aligned with the interface 134 of the module 100. There are corresponding transfer slots in the adjacent module 100. In some embodiments, any board slot 110 on the shelf 210 that is horizontally aligned with the interface 134 can be used as a transfer slot, which can include vertically aligned board slots 110 on the shelf 210.

[0226] In use, to transfer a plate from a storage module 100 (incubator 124, refrigerator 128, freezer 126, plasticware storage 122, load lock structure, etc.), the carousel 108 is rotated and indexed to the door of the horizontal interface 134, thereby aligning the "transfer slot" in the rack 210 with the interface position 134 of the module 100. The transfer slot can be empty or can contain a plate 116 that needs to be transferred. In addition, the receiving module 100 is indexed to the interface position 134, thereby aligning the transfer slot for receiving with the transfer slot and interface 134 for delivery, and if there is a door, the door is opened, thereby forming a continuous space or channel, which includes the transfer slot, the door or interface 134 and the transfer slot for receiving. If the transport slot contains a plate 116, the gripper 164 moves horizontally into the transport slot, engages the plate 116, and then moves further along the same axis, through the door or interface (134 of FIG. 7B), until the plate 116 is in the receiving transport slot. The gripper 164 then releases the plate 116 and returns to its own central hole 112. In some embodiments, any slot in a horizontal row can be used as a transport slot. In some embodiments, slots in a horizontal row can be used as buffers (discussed below).

[0227] In some embodiments, interface 134 has a height that is enough to allow cell culture plate 116, for example microwell plate to pass through. However, in other embodiments, the height of interface 134 is larger, to allow higher laboratory equipment 300 to be transferred to module 100 or to transfer the laboratory equipment from module 100. The height can be determined by door 300, and the door is opened to the required height according to plate 116. In this case, interface 134 can extend vertically beyond the height of microwell plate. More specifically, in some embodiments, door 130 can be higher on some modules 100. For example, refrigerator can have higher door 130 to store bottle. The height of door 130 or interface 134 can be 4cm to allow deep well plate to be transmitted, the height can be 8cm to allow bottle to be transmitted, and the height can be 10cm to allow pipette box to be transmitted.

[0228] The robotic device 160 is located in the central hole 112 and is capable of transferring plates 116 or other laboratory equipment to or from the plate slots 110 on the shelves 210 in other vertically arranged modules 100. A vertical track 172 is provided, which appropriately extends the height of the shelf 210 to allow the robotic handling device 160 to move completely vertically to access all the plate slots 110 on the shelf 210. The gripper 162 of the robotic device 160 is connected to the track 172 by a joint device 174. The joint device 174 is connected to the track 172 by a rotating wheel 176. The rotating wheel 176 is vertically positioned at either end of the joint device 174. The joint device 174 drives the rotating wheel 176 so that they move the robotic device 160 vertically along the vertical track 172. The drive device can be a motor. The gripper 162 is fixed to the joint device 174 and moves vertically along the joint device 174. This enables the gripper 162 to reach all of the board slots 110 across the height of the shelf 210 and not be limited by the height of the engagement device 174. The vertical movement of the gripper 162 may be accomplished by a motor or servo mechanism present in the engagement device 174.

[0229] When switching from one module 100 to another module 100, it is necessary to switch to the track 72 of a different module 100. To achieve this, the wheel 176 is disengaged from the track of the module 100 that the robotic device 160 is switching out of, and the robotic device is thus held by the wheel 176 on the opposite vertical side of the engagement device 174. As shown in FIG. 9B , the disengaged wheel 176 is then engaged with the track 172 of the following module 100, into which the robotic device 160 is switched by continued vertical movement from the still engaged wheel 176. Continued vertical movement then causes another wheel 176 to disengage and reengage with the track 172 of another module 100. Thus, the robotic device 160 is always held and constrained in at least one module 100, with at least one wheel 176 engaged with the track 172.

[0230] Each module 100 can have its own robotic device 160, alternatively, a separate robotic device can be provided for operating two modules 100. If multiple robotic devices 160 are provided, they are constrained so that they do not collide with each other. In some embodiments, the robotic devices 160 have different horizontal movement planes. Additionally, or alternatively, they operate on different tracks 172 or other conveying devices. Where multiple robotic devices 160 use a common guide rail 172, it will be necessary to hand over boards 116 between the devices so that all board slots 110 in the module 100 can be accessed.

[0231] While a particular arrangement has been described, other means for transferring the robotic device 160 are possible. For example, a plurality of wheels 176 may be used, or a single wheel having a height such that the wheel spans the interface 234 between the modules 100 to ensure that it is always engaged on the track. Multiple tracks may also be provided so that the robotic device 160 is constrained at multiple points to ensure better alignment and reduce any sagging due to the weight of the plate 116. Alternatively, the guide rails 172 may be eliminated and a vertically extending robotic arm may be used, which instead is fixed at a single point and transfers the device vertically without being guided by tracks or any other means.

[0232] Thus, the robotic device 160 can perform alignment and / or indexing of features in other modules 100 (eg, rails 172, chamfers in brackets, socket and pin features, indexed motors). The transport can be either downward or upward, but need not be both.

[0233] As discussed previously, the racks 210 are positioned on the carousel 108 so that they rotate and the robotic device is constrained to move horizontally in one plane. Therefore, the robotic device can access all the plates 116 in the racks 210 by moving vertically in one plane and horizontally in one plane.

[0234] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a system is shown, wherein some modules 100 are arranged in a vertically and horizontally stacked arrangement. In this arrangement, a freezer module 126 is provided in the system 99. The freezer module 126 has a robot device 160 capable of grabbing a plate 116. The robot device 160 can be any of the robot devices described herein. A vial picker can also be provided (described in more detail with reference to FIG. 15B ). The freezer module 126 is horizontally connected to a refrigerator module 128 and a plastic utensil storage 122 on its horizontal side. The robot device 160 can transfer a plate 116 (or other plastic utensil) between these vertically connected modules. The refrigerator module 128 has a robot device 160. The robot device 160 can be any of the robot devices described herein. An incubator module 124 is vertically stacked on top of the refrigerator module 128. This incubator module 124 and refrigerator module 128 have an interface that enables the vertical movement of the robot device 160 to transfer the plate 116 (or other plastic utensil) between them. The incubator module 124 also has a robotic device 160 for grabbing plates. The robotic device 160 can be any of the robotic devices described herein. A decapper for plates can optionally be present in the incubator 124. The processing module 120 is arranged horizontally relative to the incubator module 124. Therefore, the processing module 120 is stacked vertically on the freezer module 126. However, there is no interface between the processing module 120 and the freezer module 126. The processing module 120 can have a microscope, a vial decapper, and a liquid handler. The processing module also has a turntable / carousel 108. However, in this example, a robotic device 160 for handling plates 116 is not provided in the processing module 120. Instead, the plates 116 are placed on the carousel 108 and other devices within the module operate. The incubator 124 and the processing module 120 are coupled so that the incubator's robotic device 160 can transfer the plates 116 from the incubator to the carousel 108 of the processing module 120. The processing module is horizontally coupled and coupled to the plastic utensil storage 122. The plastic utensil storage 122 may also contain reagents at room temperature. Because the freezer 126 and the processing module 120 are both horizontally coupled to the plastic utensil storage 122, the plastic utensil storage 122 has twice the height of the other modules 100 in the system 99. For example, the module may be approximately 70 cm 3However, a module with twice the height may have a height of approximately 1.4 m. It is also possible to stack two modules of the same specification, i.e. two plastic utensil storages 122, vertically to achieve the same effect. However, this arrangement may reduce the cost of the robotic equipment and sealing interfaces where individual modules 100 may not be large enough to achieve the desired function. Fig.10 The plastic utensil storage 122 has a robotic device 160 that grabs the plates and is able to transfer the plates 116 (or other plastic utensil) to or from the processing module 120 and the freezer 126.

[0235] As is clear from the above description, the modules 100 thus have interface formats that are compatible with each other, thereby enabling stacking of modules. This is especially the case when the module is designed as a cube and any oversized module is an integer multiple of the cube shape. This particularly allows the capacity of the plastic utensil storage 122 to be increased by stacking on other storages 122. In some cases, the capacity of the plastic utensil storage 122 may be restrictive. Therefore, this arrangement allows the system 99 to operate autonomously in a longer cycle, for example across weekends and holidays, while maintaining module characteristics, without the need to be resupplied. In some embodiments, the system 99 has a capacity for culturing at least 150 to 200 cell culture plates.

[0236] This also requires a refrigerator 128 with a capacity equivalent to (equivalent to) about 100 plates, to store enough culture media and other liquids, so that it can be operated unattended. Especially if each plate needs 10ml culture media on average every two days, 200 plates need 1000ml culture media every day. Deep well plates hold the liquid of about 192ml, so the culture media supply of three days needs 16 plates (i.e. 3x1000ml / 192ml), and deep well plates need to be at least twice the height of cell culture plates, so culture media just needs 32 slots in equivalent plate slots individually. PBS, trypsin, etc. need more than other 40 slots. According to whether the plastic utensil storage device comprises a pipette tip box, the plastic utensil storage device 122 may need to be equivalent to the volume of about 400 cell culture plates.

[0237] Therefore, processing such a large number of plates places a considerable load on the robotic equipment of the system 99. The liquid handler 340 (discussed in detail below) can operate close to this capacity. This in turn may require minimizing cycle time, which may require minimizing the transfer time of plates (in and out of the processing module 120). The robotic equipment 160 may operate in series (or sequentially) with the liquid handling robot 340, because the liquid handling robot 340 may not be able to operate while loading or unloading the processing module 120. For example, if the robotic equipment 160 is transferring items to and from the processing module 120 from the plastic ware storage 122, this may become a bottleneck that reduces the effective system capacity.

[0238] In addition, the circulation of plates may become a thorny problem. In particular, the robot device 160 that moves the plate 116 into and out of the processing module 120 has a circulation in two directions, that is, the plate passes "through" the robot device 160 in two different directions: transfer into the processing module; and transfer out of the processing module. This two-way circulation, especially in a highly utilized robot device 160, may become difficult to handle efficiently and may make the robot device a bottleneck. Therefore, in some embodiments, the system 99 uses a "cache". That is, a plate slot 110 is provided, which is temporarily used for the circulation of laboratory equipment in and out of adjacent modules 100. These plate slots 110 are called buffers. Further, the transmission of the plate from the buffer to the processing module and back to the buffer again is fast and achieved by a shorter movement. Further, the circulation is inherently very simple.

[0239] At the same level of the shelf 210 as the interface 134, i.e., the horizontal level of the transport slots, the module 100 has at least one transport slot or space that serves as a "pass-through" slot where the robotic device 160 can pass the board 116 through the pass-through slot, through the interface 134, and into another module 100. If all transport slots at the same level as the interface 134 are pass-through slots, they can be used as buffers to provide buffering.

[0240] The steps of loading half of the turntable of the processing module 120 are shown with reference to Figures 11A and 11B. Plates or other laboratory appliances can be placed in cache slots 1 to 3 (referred to as 211, 212, 213 in Figure 11A) of the module 100 (e.g., incubator 124) that engages with the processing module 120. The robotic device 160 of the module 100 can pick up the plates 116 from any slot 110 in the module 100 and place them in the appropriate cache slots 211, 212, 213 (as previously discussed, in some embodiments, this is achieved by a combination of vertical and radial movement in a single plane of the robotic device 160 and rotating the disc conveyor 108). Referring to Figure 11B, the plates 116 can be placed in the following order so that the plates are ultimately in the desired position on the turntable / disc conveyor 108 of the processing module. This caching can be performed during the operation of the processing module 120 (e.g., liquid processing).

[0241] In view of the step of loading the processing module 120, the carousel 108 of the storage module 100 rotates to align, for example, the buffer / transfer slot 1211 with the interface 134 of the processing module 120. The carousel 108 of the processing module 120 rotates to align the transfer slot with the interface 134. The robotic device 160 of the storage module 100 then pushes the first plate 116 from the transfer slot through the interface 134, which may have a door 130 that can be opened as needed, and into the transfer slot of the carousel 108 of the processing module 120, and the robotic device 160 retracts into the central hole 112 of the carousel 108 of the storage module 100. The carousel 108 of the module 100 then rotates to align the next transfer slot, the buffer slot 2212, carrying the next laboratory tool to be transferred, with the interface 134. Simultaneously, the carousel 108 of the processing module 120 rotates to align the next transfer slot with the interface 134. The robotic device 160 then pushes the second board out of the transfer slot, through the interface 134, into the transfer slot on the disc conveyor 108 of the processing module, and then retracts into the central hole 112 of the disc conveyor 108 of its module 100. This operation is repeated once more to transfer the remaining boards. In this example, the disc conveyor 108 of the processing module 120 and the corresponding storage module 100 can rotate to the next board slot 110 on the disc conveyor 108 to start the next operation. Therefore, for a disc conveyor 108 with eight board slots 110 in a horizontal plane, the disc conveyor 108 only needs to rotate 1 / 8 of a full circle. This reduces movement, thereby shortening the time between transfer operations.

[0242] Although the previous examples describe individual modules 100 feeding panels into the processing module 120, more modules may be simultaneously feeding into the processing module 120. In some embodiments, these modules will generally be on opposite sides of the processing module 120. This will allow for the most efficient transport to the processing module 120, as each half of the carousel 108 of the processing module 120 will be filled (or emptied) at the same time.

[0243] In the embodiment shown in Figures 12A to 12F, the two modules 100 are an incubator 124 and a plasticware storage 122. These two modules 100 feed most of the items to the processing module 120. Figure 12A uses illustrative arrows to show the flow of the plates 116. In addition, the unloading and loading of the processing module 120 will usually be carried out in sequence without pause. Usually each module 100 loads about four plates into its buffer, i.e., the transfer slot, to be ready to be transferred to the processing module 120. Figure 12B shows the starting position where the module 100 is buffered and the processing module 120 is filled with plates 116. If, for example, as shown, the disc conveyor 1088 of the processing module 120 holds eight plates, and the disc conveyor 108 of the module 100 has eight buffer positions, the combined capacity of the two modules 100 can buffer eight plates 116 in the transfer slot. Figure 12C shows the transmission of the first plate 116. In use, one module 100 may buffer more than half of the total quantity, and another module 100 may buffer the remainder of the total quantity as required by the system 99. Likewise, each module 100 will typically leave four transfer slots in its buffer empty, ready to receive items from the processing module 120. As described above, the plates 116 may be arranged on a layer of transfer slots so that they are necessary in adjacent slots, so that only 1 / 8 rotation is required in sequence, as shown in FIG12D, where the carousel 108 rotates all the way through one slot. The entire unloading process of the processing module 120 is shown in FIG12E, where the module 100 has a mixture of plates unloaded from the processing module 120 and plates that need to be loaded. FIG12F shows the first step of the loading process of the processing module 120.

[0244] Considering a larger system 99, such as Fig.10In the system shown, plates 116 can be cached from other modules 100 to the module 100 that is coupled to the processing module 120. For example, culture media are usually stored in the refrigerator 128, but preheated in the incubator 124. Frozen items can be cached in the refrigerator 128, the plastic utensil storage 122, or the incubator 124 as needed. Therefore, when the processing module 120 is working, the system 99 is able to transfer plates 116 from one module 100 to another. For example, the refrigerator 128 can be transferred to the incubator 124 when the processing module 120 is working to minimize the cycle time. In this example (not shown), the refrigerator 128 is coupled to the plastic utensil storage 122, and the plastic utensil storage 122 is coupled to the incubator 124 to minimize temperature disturbances during the transfer. Similarly, as explained in other locations, it is advantageous for the freezer 126 to be coupled to the refrigerator 128, and it is advantageous for the system 99 to access the freezer 126 through the refrigerator 128 to minimize temperature disturbances in the freezer 126.

[0245] The board slot 110 shown in Figures 11A to 12F has wider edges toward the center hole 112. The orientation of the board slot 110 can be changed as desired for optimal efficiency.

[0246] The vertically stacked modules 100 also allow for the positioning of human-accessible doors on the outside of the modules 100 through which the system 99 is resupplied, for example, with fresh labware at a convenient height. Such external doors may be located, for example, on a plasticware storage 122 or refrigerator 128. Alternatively, there may be a dedicated load lock structure that is the only module 100 with a human-accessible door through which a user may exchange consumables, plates with cells, or samples with the system 99.

[0247] Stacking the modules vertically also allows the door (interface door 130, 230 or external door for people to enter) in the incubator 124 to be set lower on the wall to minimize the warm, humid, carbon dioxide-rich air that flows out when the door is opened. It also allows the refrigerator 128 and freezer 126 to be set lower in the system 99, which means that the door (interface door 130, 230 or external door for people to enter) needs to be set higher on the side, which can minimize the cold air that flows out of these storages 126, 128 when the door is open.

[0248] Other possible embodiments illustrate that the module and interface innovations are not limited to use with carousels, but may be used, for example, with conventional robot arms, gantry robots, or similar devices.

[0249] Referring to Figure 28A, there is a robotic device 160 in the center 400 of the four modules 100. The arm 160 rotates along the central axis, the gripper 162 moves in translation so that the board 116 can be moved in and out of the module 100, and the robotic device 160 moves vertically along the central axis. One of the modules can be a storage 122. The storage 122 optionally has a full-height vertical door 402 to allow the robotic device 160 to access any level (or height) of the internal shelf 210. Other doors can also be full-height doors 402. The disc conveyor 108 in the module 100 rotates to allow access to the required board slot 110. The rotation of the disc conveyor 108 and the vertical movement of the robotic device 160 will allow the robotic device to access any board slot 110 in the module 100. Thus, the combination of the movement of the robotic device 160 (rotation about its axis, movement along its axis, and translation into and out of the module 110) and the rotation of the carousel 108 or the rotation of the table carousel 108 in the processing module 124 allows the robotic device 160 to transport any plate 116 to any location in the system 99. This has the advantage that the movement is simple and easy to program, and is simple and reliable from a hardware perspective.

[0250] The gripper 162 can be mechanically or optically (e.g., using a machine vision device or an optical or magnetic sensor) indexed to or aligned with the door 402 or interface 130. As previously described, the interface 130 can have a mechanical alignment feature, which includes a feature such as a chamfer, or a feature such as a pin and a slot feature. The gripper 162 or a toggle on the gripper 162 can have some compliance to allow alignment with an alignment feature such as a chamfer. The robotic device 160 can be aligned so that the chamfer (e.g., on the door 402) does not typically contact the gripper 162 when the gripper passes through the door 402, but the gripper 162 only contacts the chamfer when it is offset or misaligned. The contact with the chamfer can dynamically or mechanically correct the offset. The chamfer can correct the gripper 162 in a horizontal or vertical plane, or in a horizontal and vertical plane. Contact with the chamfer may also provide feedback that may be used to correct the alignment of the robotic device 160 .

[0251] 28B shows a side view of a robotic device 160 placed in the center 400 between modules 100. Here, vertically stacked modules 100 are provided. The robotic device 160 can move vertically so that all modules 100 can be reached through the door 402 or the interface 130. The carousel 108 with the shelf 210 or the workbench 330 positioned thereon can be rotated so that the robotic device 160 can access the required board slots 110.

[0252] Reference Fig.30 An enlarged view of a robotic device 160 is shown, which interacts with a shelf 210 of a module 100. Here, a gripper 162 is dimensioned such that it can extend into the module to grip the associated laboratory appliance 300.

[0253] The system 99 can have a standardized interface as described above, for example, as described in Figure 28, as also described. The system 99 can have a rotating workbench 330, as described. The system 99 can have a standardized set of laboratory equipment 300 to allow all laboratory equipment 300 to be processed in the same way. The system 99 can use the method already described, which allows complex workflows to be performed autonomously by the system 99, and only uses the complete set of laboratory equipment 300 described, which has the format of SLAS microplates 116. These features can be used in their entirety, individually or in combination, so that simple and reliable processing can be achieved by a separate robotic device 160 at the center 400 of the module 100. The combined use of these features enables the system to reach a mean time between failures of greater than 30,000 or greater than 60,000 plate transfers or movement events, where "mean time between failures" represents the arithmetic mean of the number of plate transfers or movements between failures, where a failure is an error that causes the system to stop until a human can solve the problem.

[0254] Alternatively, a more flexible robotic arm, such as a six-axis arm, may be used. Machine vision devices may be used to enhance the system to improve reliability. The system 99 may be arranged horizontally at a height. The robotic device 160 may run on a track that is indexed to the door 402 or the interface 130.

[0255] With reference to Figures 29A and 29B, the robot device 160 can be positioned at the center 400 again, and the module surrounds the robot device. However, the robot device 160 can be an arm 406 that loads a turntable 404, which is also positioned at the center 400. The arm 406 can horizontally transfer the board 116 between the board slot 110 in the module 100 and the turntable 404. The arm 406 can also rotate about the central axis to access other modules 100. The arm moves vertically along the central axis. The turntable 404 also moves vertically and rotates. There can be a vertical track 408 for supporting the robot device 160 and maintaining alignment, or for connecting or indexing the robot device to a door or interface.

[0256] In the embodiment of FIGS. 29A and 29B , the turntable 404 may serve as a temporary storage or warehouse from which the plates 116 may be transferred to the carousel 108 in the processing module 124 .

[0257] 31A and 31B, a turntable 404 is able to enter a processing module 124. There may also be two turntables 404 so that one can be in a processing module 124 that is being worked on, and the second can be loaded while the first is working. The turntables 404 can then be swapped.

[0258] Fig.32 A robot device 160 with a warehouse 410 is shown, which is a vertical shelf. The robot device 160 collects the plates 116 and other laboratory appliances 300 for the next workflow into the warehouse 410, and then transfers them from the warehouse 410 to the processing module 124. This avoids the delay caused by the robot device 160 moving between different modules 100 and the processing module 124 with only one article at a time. The robot device 160 can also have two warehouses 410. The robot device can load the next items that need to be loaded into the processing module 124 for one warehouse 410. The robot device unloads the processing module 124 into the second warehouse 410 immediately, and reloads the processing module 124 from the first warehouse 410, and then unloads the second warehouse 410 into the relevant module 100.

[0259] Reference Fig.33 , the modules 100 can be arranged in two opposing rows. They can be accessed by a robotic device 160 that moves between the modules on a track 412 or a similar fixed track, such as a gantry. The robotic device 160 can be mechanically or optically guided to a door 402 or interface 130 on the module 100, for example, the robotic device 160 can move on a track that is fixed to the door 402 or interface 130.

[0260] for Fig.33 In the case of a robotic device 160 in a module, it may be necessary to avoid one or more heavy robotic devices 160, or avoid long travel distances, and therefore avoid long tracks 412 or high travel speeds, as this may make the system susceptible to misalignment. Although the robot may be very precise in nature, the fixtures or mechanisms that secure or align the robot to the module may bend, twist, or drift, and thus misalign.

[0261] Module 100 need not be limited to use carousel 108, but instead use a module with racks 210, which are arranged rectangularly and access to the racks 210 can be achieved through a track or rotating rack system. Rectangularly arranged racks are more space-saving and denser than carousel 108.

[0262] Thus, the system 99 described previously may use a robotic device 160 that is external to the module 100. This is accomplished with the simplified processing described previously (limited movement along limited axes, horizontal transport, fixed interfaces, individual labware handling formats, etc.). The robotic device 160 may interface to an interface 130 on the module 100, for example, a gripper 162 may be indexed or aligned to the door 402. The robotic device 160 may run on tracks 412, where the tracks 412 are fixed to the interface 130. The module 100 may have a fixed interface format.

[0263] Reference Fig.34 , the operation sequence is shown when the view is viewed from left to right. A module 100 is provided, which has a shelf 210 with a plate slot 110. A processing module 124 is vertically stacked on the module 100. As previously described with reference to Figures 9A and 9B, the robotic device 160 moves between the modules 100 on a track 172. However, the processing module 124 does not have a shelf 210 because the space of the processing module 124 is occupied by a liquid handler, a cap remover, etc. Therefore, the processing module 124 has a disc conveyor 108 with a workbench 330. In order to deliver the laboratory equipment 300 and the plate 116 to the workbench 330, the central part of the workbench 330 is not occupied so that the robotic device 160 can partially pass through it, which is very similar to the central hole 112 already described. As shown in the views in sequence, the robotic handler 160 can partially enter the processing module 124 and transfer the plate 116 to the target plate slot 110 on the workbench 330. Thus, vertical delivery of plates 116 and labware 300 is permitted. This can reduce the space required in the processing module 124 for transporting plates 116 and due to the possible lack of tracks 172 required for vertical transport.

[0264] Although the examples described above show modules implemented as rotating functional structures (eg, a carousel with a plate magazine), those skilled in the art will recognize that the functional structures and principles described may be applied to other types of modules or transports.

[0265] Fig.35 Shown in Figure 1 Alternative device disclosed in .

[0266] The plate slot 110 of the workbench has windows 111 that are open to the upper and lower sides of the workbench 330. The windows 111 are used for arms of a gripper (not shown) to lift a plate, such as a cell culture plate 116, out of the workbench plate slot 110. The gripper may have a tray with projections that fit into recesses on the underside of the plate.

[0267] Fig.35 Further shown is a first transmission interface 133 and a second transmission interface 134, which are located at different positions relative to the housing 102 or the rotatable worktable 330. The first transmission interface 133 can be connected to the first storage module (in Fig.35 The second transmission interface 134 can communicate with the second storage device (not shown in FIG. 1 , but described above). Fig.35 One of the storage modules may store the cell culture plates 116 disclosed above. Another storage module may store laboratory equipment as described above or liquid culture medium as described above to be applied to the cell culture plates.

[0268] Fig.36 , 37 A single well plate 301 is shown, having a rectangular shaped bottom 302. The single well plate 301 has the footprint of a microwell plate as described above (width 85.5 + / - 1 mm; length 127.8 + / - 1 mm).

[0269] The single well plate 301 comprises four walls 303 with upper edges 304. A foil (plastic foil) is sealed to the edges 304 and covers the top opening of the hole 307 surrounded by the walls 303. The connection of the foil 305 to the edge 304 is a heat-sealed connection. The plate 301 can be used to deliver liquid culture medium from a supplier to a biological laboratory system. The sealed opening of the plate 301 can be covered by a lid 309.

[0270] The tip of a pipette of the liquid handler 340 may break the foil 305 in order to aspirate the liquid stored in the well 307 .

[0271] Fig.38 , 39 The sealing element 11 is shown, which forms a passage for plates to be moved between one module 100 and another module 120, wherein the one module 100 can be a storage module and the other module 120 can be a processing module or also a storage module 100. The height of the opening 150 formed by the frame 315 and the sealing element 311 located between the frame 315 can be greater than shown. The height of the interface 134 is just enough for the microplate to be moved through the interface 134. The interface 134 can have a uniform height, which is greater than the height of the bottle or the highest device stored in the module 100.

[0272] All of these features combine to make handling of labware simpler and more reliable, enable software to be written and debugged faster and easier, and ultimately make the system's software stable. This is in contrast to the prior art, where unstable software was a major inhibitor.

Claims

1. A module for an automated biological laboratory system, the module comprising: a housing (102), A storage device rotatably located inside the housing (102), wherein the storage device is a circular plate having different levels arranged one above the other, each level having a plurality of plate slots (110) arranged radially relative to a central axis, the plate slots (110) being used to receive plates or laboratory appliances or containers having microplate packages; a transport slot (113) for transporting the plate or container between the inside of the module and the outside of the module; An indexing device for facilitating alignment of a transmission slot (113) with a transmission interface, the transmission interface comprising an opening of a housing (102), characterized in that a connecting device (132) for fixedly connecting a transmission interface of a module to a transmission interface of an adjacent module, Also included is a robot handling device (160) for transferring a plate or container in a radial horizontal direction between one of the plate slots (110) and the transfer slot (113) and through the opening of the transfer interface, Wherein, the robotic processing device (160) is positioned at the center of the storage device.

2. A module for an automated biological laboratory system, the module comprising: a housing (102), a storage device rotatably located inside the housing (102), Therein, the storage device is a circular plate having different levels arranged one above the other, each level having a plurality of plate slots (110) arranged radially relative to a central axis, the plate slots (110) being used to receive plates or laboratory appliances or containers having microplate packages; The storage device comprises a shelf (310) arranged as a vertical support (314) having a shelf rail (312), wherein the shelf rail is arranged to extend between two of the vertical supports (314) into an inner region of the shelf (310), wherein the rack (310) can be completely removed from the storage device and replaced by a new rack preloaded with a new set of plastic utensils (300) and plates (116), Using a user-accessible door of the housing, the door is at the same height as the shelf, a transport slot (113) for transporting the plate or container between the inside of the module and the outside of the module; An indexing device is provided for facilitating alignment of a transmission slot (113) with a transmission interface, the transmission interface comprising an opening of a housing (102).

3. The module according to claim 2, characterized in that The module also includes a robotic handling device (160) for transporting plates or laboratory equipment having microplate packaging between the interior of the module (100) and the exterior of the module (100) through the opening of the transport interface (230) in a vertical movement.

4. The module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that A sealing element (311) for connecting two housings (102) in an airtight manner.

5. The module according to claim 4, characterized in that The sealing element (311) comprises a connecting device (132).

6. The module according to claim 4, characterized in that The sealing element (311) is a pipe comprising a through path for a plate or a container.

7. The module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The plate and container have the same packaging.

8. The module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The storage device is electrically driven by a driving device controlled by a controller.

9. The module according to claim 3, wherein: A robotic handling device (160) is located at the centre of the storage device forming a carousel.

10. The module according to claim 1, wherein: The robotic handling device (160) includes an end effector that is movable only in vertical and horizontal directions.

11. A module according to claim 1, wherein the robotic handling device (160) includes a gripper (162), the size of the gripper (162) enabling it to extend through the transmission interface of the module to the transmission interface of an adjacent module, wherein the gripper (162) is mechanically or optically indexed to or aligned with the interface.

12. A method for processing a plate stored in a storage module (100) of an automated biological system or a laboratory appliance having a microplate package, wherein: The system comprises: A multi-level rotatable storage device, wherein each level of the storage device has at least one plate slot (110) for receiving a plate or a laboratory appliance, The plate slots (110) are arranged radially relative to the central axis. robotic handling equipment for moving the plates or labware from one level to another, wherein the robotic processing device is positioned at the center of the storage device, and Wherein, the module (100) has a transmission interface, and the transmission interface comprises an opening of a housing of the module (100); Wherein, the method comprises: - moving one of the plates or labware from the plate slot (110) to the transport slot (113), wherein the transport slot (113) is located in the same horizontal plane as the transport interface, - aligning the transfer slot (113) with the transfer interface by rotating the storage device, and - Moving the plate or labware from the transport slot (113) through the opening of the transport interface to the outside of the module (100).

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: A plate or labware is moved from a plate slot in a first level to a transport slot (113) located in a second level different from the first level.

14. A method for processing plates or containers stored in a storage module (100) of an automated biological system, wherein: The system comprises: A multi-level storage device, wherein each level of the storage device has at least one board slot (110) for receiving a board or a container, and wherein at least one first board slot is reserved as a cache slot, wherein at least the first cache slot is in the same horizontal plane as the board transport interface; Robotic handling equipment for moving the plates or containers from one level to another, Wherein, the method comprises the steps of: - moving the board or container from the board slot to the buffer slot by means of a first robotic handling device; - Temporary storage of plates or containers in buffer slots; - Moving the plates or containers through the transport interface into an adjacent module by a second robotic handling device.

15. The method according to claim 12 or 14, wherein: The robotic handling device and the rotatable storage device are electrically driven and controlled by a program of a microcontroller or a computer.

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