Dutch-tilt system

Abstract

The application discloses a cup arranging system, which comprises a support plate, a hopper arranged on one side of the support plate, a guide rail mechanism arranged on the other side of the support plate, an inclined bottom plate arranged at the bottom of the hopper, a gap between the bottom plate and the support plate, a lifting block installed in the gap and capable of moving up and down, an inclined supporting surface arranged at the upper end of the lifting block, and an acute angle groove formed between the inclined supporting surface and the side wall of the support plate; a guide groove is arranged at the upper portion of the guide rail mechanism, one end of the guide rail mechanism is rotatably connected to the support plate, and the other end of the guide rail mechanism is capable of moving up and down synchronously with the lifting block; when the lifting block is lowered to a low position, reaction cups in the hopper can slide from the bottom plate into the acute angle groove; when the lifting block is raised to a high position, the reaction cups in the acute angle groove can pass over the top end of the support plate and slide into the guide groove. The cup arranging system has the beneficial effect that the reaction cups randomly put into the hopper can be accurately arranged in order one by one, and is particularly suitable for a full-automatic chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of chemiluminescence immunoassay technology, specifically to a cup sorting system. Background Technology

[0002] Chemiluminescence immunoassay has advantages such as high sensitivity, high specificity, wide linear range, and high degree of automation. It is an immunoassay technology that has developed rapidly worldwide in the past decade and has become a major means of clinical diagnosis. It is used in clinical laboratories to detect various immune indicators in blood, urine or other body fluids.

[0003] The reaction cup is an essential consumable component in a chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer. It primarily serves as a container for reaction and detection, possessing a volume sufficient for the specific testing requirements. The blood sample flows through the subsystem, undergoes specific processing, and is then subjected to chemical analysis.

[0004] Currently, with the increase in testing scale, chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzers are developing towards faster speed, greater precision, miniaturization, intelligence, and automation. Therefore, the timeliness and accuracy of the reaction cups provided by the analyzer are particularly important. Traditional cup arrangement methods, which are mostly manual, involve a heavy workload for operators, long preparation times, low testing efficiency, and the risk of human error, and can no longer meet current testing needs. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a cup sorting system that can transport reaction cups randomly placed in the hopper one by one to the reaction cup transfer station, which is particularly suitable for fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzers.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0007] A cup sorting system, the key features of which are: a vertically arranged support plate, a hopper on one side of the support plate and a guide rail mechanism on the other side, an inclined base plate at the bottom of the hopper, a gap between the base plate and the support plate, a lifting block that can move up and down installed in the gap, an inclined support surface at the upper end of the lifting block, and an acute-angle groove formed between the inclined support surface and the side wall of the support plate;

[0008] The upper part of the guide rail mechanism is provided with a material guide groove. One end of the guide rail mechanism is rotatably connected to the support plate, and the other end can move up and down synchronously with the lifting block.

[0009] When the lifting block descends to the low position, the reaction cup in the hopper can slide from the bottom plate into the acute-angle groove; when the lifting block rises to the high position, the reaction cup in the acute-angle groove can pass over the top of the support plate and slide into the guide groove.

[0010] Preferably, the support plate is provided with a lifting drive mechanism for driving the lifting block to move up and down.

[0011] Preferably, the support plate is provided with a vertically arranged clearance hole, and a lifting pin is provided in the clearance hole. One end of the lifting pin is fixed to the lifting block, and the other end contacts and supports the lower end of the guide rail mechanism.

[0012] Preferably, a return spring is installed between the guide rail mechanism and the support plate, and the return spring applies a downward pulling force to the guide rail mechanism.

[0013] Preferably, a guide plate is installed at an angle inside the hopper to guide the drop position of the reaction cup on the bottom plate to one end away from the acute-angle groove.

[0014] Preferably, the lower part of the support plate is inclinedly mounted with a fixed guide rail, and the fixed guide rail is provided with a fixed guide groove that can dock with the material guide trough.

[0015] Preferably, the lower end of the fixed guide rail is provided with a transfer seat, the edge of the transfer seat is provided with a notch that is opposite to the fixed guide groove, and a turntable is rotatably installed inside the transfer seat, with arc-shaped grooves distributed on the edge of the turntable.

[0016] Preferably, the lifting block has a downward-extending leak-proof plate at one end near the bottom plate.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0018] It can accurately sort the reaction cups randomly placed in the hopper one by one. The cup picking mechanism and the cup delivery guide rail mechanism are ingeniously designed and can work together. There will be no cup jamming during the entire cup sorting process. It has high reliability and high sorting efficiency, and is particularly suitable for fully automatic chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzers. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the cup sorting system;

[0020] Figure 2 A partial structural diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the support plate, hopper, and lifting block;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the lifting drive mechanism and the lifting block;

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the cup sorting system equipped with an outer baffle 10 and a central transfer seat 9. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0024] like Figure 1 and 2 As shown, a cup-discharging system includes a support plate 1, which is vertically arranged. A hopper 2 and a guide rail mechanism 3 are respectively located on its inner and outer sides. One side wall of the hopper 2 is formed by the support plate 1. The bottom of the hopper 2 has an inclined base plate 2a, with a gap between the base plate 2a and the support plate 1. A lifting block 4 is disposed within the gap, and the upper end of the lifting block 4 has an inclined support surface 4a. An acute-angle groove c is formed between the inclined support surface 4a and the side wall of the support plate 1. A lifting drive mechanism 5 is also installed on the support plate 1, which can drive the lifting block 4 to move up and down along the side wall of the support plate 1, i.e., can drive the acute-angle groove c to move up and down. The guide rail mechanism 3 consists of two sets of sheet-like components 31 with a gap between them, and a guide groove 3a is formed on the upper part of the two sets of sheet-like components 31.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 1 As shown, the reaction cup a in the arrangement system is cylindrical in shape, with an annular step b on its upper part.

[0026] Based on the above-mentioned structural features of reaction cup a, after the operator randomly grabs a large number of reaction cups a into the hopper 2, at least one or two reaction cups a will slide from the bottom plate 2a into the acute-angle groove c at the top of the lifting block 4. Then, the lifting drive mechanism 5 drives the lifting block 4 to rise along the side wall of the support plate 1. When the top of the lifting block 4 is aligned with the top of the support plate 1, the reaction cups a in the acute-angle groove c will slide from the top of the support plate 1 into the guide rail mechanism 3 on the other side. Finally, under the action of its own gravity, the reaction cups a are arranged vertically on the guide groove 3a of the guide rail mechanism 3.

[0027] For example Figure 1 As shown, one end of the guide rail mechanism 3 is rotatably connected to the support plate 1, and the other end can move up and down synchronously with the lifting block 4. The advantage of this design is that during the process of the lifting block 4 rising to pick up the cup, when the lifting block 4 moves to the highest position, the guide rail mechanism 3 also rises to a horizontal position, which can ensure that the reaction cup a in the acute angle groove c slides smoothly into the guide groove 3a of the guide rail mechanism 3. Then, as the lifting block 4 returns to its original position and descends, the corresponding end of the guide rail mechanism 3 will also descend, and the guide rail mechanism 3 as a whole forms an inclined state, which can ensure that the reaction cup a on it is conveyed downward by gravity.

[0028] The implementation structure of the guide rail mechanism 3, which moves synchronously with the lifting block 4, is as follows:

[0029] Please refer to Figure 1The support plate 1 has a vertically arranged clearance hole 1a, and a lifting pin 6 is installed inside the clearance hole 1a. The inner end of the lifting pin 6 is fixedly connected to the lifting block 4, and the outer end contacts and supports the lower end of the guide rail mechanism 3. Therefore, during the lifting of the lifting block 4, the lifting pin 6 will drive the corresponding end of the guide rail mechanism 3 to move upward. A return spring 7 is installed between the guide rail mechanism 3 and the support plate 1, and the return spring 7 applies a downward pulling force to the guide rail mechanism 3. Therefore, during the descent of the lifting block 4, the lifting pin 6 descends synchronously, and the corresponding end of the guide rail mechanism 3 will move downward under the action of the return spring 7.

[0030] For example Figure 3 As shown, in this embodiment, the lifting drive mechanism 5 is controlled by a screw jack motor, which is a readily available and mature component; its structure will not be described in detail here. The lifting block 4 has a downwardly extending anti-leakage plate 4b at one end near the base plate 2a. The lifting block 4 is connected to the corresponding component of the screw jack motor via the anti-leakage plate 4b. Figure 2 It can be seen that during the lifting block 4's ascent, the leak-proof plate 4b is in continuous contact with the end of the bottom plate 2a, which can prevent the reaction cup in the hopper 2 from leaking out from the gap between the bottom plate 2a and the support plate 1.

[0031] For example Figure 2 As shown, a guide plate 2b is installed at an inclination inside the hopper 2. The guide plate 2b is located at the end of the hopper 2 near the support plate 1. The inclination direction of the guide plate 2b is opposite to the inclination direction of the bottom plate 2a. When the user randomly grabs the reaction cup a into the hopper 2, the guide plate 2b can make the drop position of the reaction cup on the bottom plate 2a located at the end away from the acute angle groove c, thereby ensuring that the reaction cup a can slide better along the plane of the bottom plate 2a into the acute angle groove c.

[0032] For example Figure 1 As shown, a fixed guide rail 8 is installed at an angle on the lower part of the support plate 1. The fixed guide rail 8 is provided with a fixed guide groove 8a. When the guide rail mechanism 3 descends to an inclined state, the fixed guide groove 8a abuts against the material guide groove 3a, so that the reaction cup b on the guide rail mechanism 3 can be temporarily stored on the fixed guide rail 8. This design can ensure that the lifting block 4 and the guide rail mechanism 3 can continuously pick up and discharge the cup.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 4 As shown, to better protect the guide rail mechanism 3, the fixed guide rail 8, and the reaction cups on them, protective baffles 10 are provided on the outer sides of the guide rail mechanism 3 and the fixed guide rail 8. A central rotating seat 9 is also provided at the lower end of the fixed guide rail 8. The edge of the central rotating seat 9 has a notch 9a that aligns with the fixed guide groove 8a. A turntable 9b is rotatably mounted inside the central rotating seat 9, and arc-shaped grooves 9c are distributed on the edge of the turntable 9b. The reaction cup b on the fixed guide rail 8 enters the arc-shaped groove 9c through the notch 9a, and then the turntable 9b rotates to rotate the reaction cup b out, thus facilitating the robotic arm of the chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer to grasp the reaction cup b.

[0034] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Those skilled in the art, under the guidance of the present invention, can make various similar representations without departing from the spirit and claims of the present invention, and such modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cup sorting system, characterized in that: The device includes a vertically arranged support plate (1), a hopper (2) on one side of the support plate (1) and a guide rail mechanism (3) on the other side. The bottom of the hopper (2) has an inclined bottom plate (2a). There is a gap between the bottom plate (2a) and the support plate (1). A lifting block (4) that can move up and down is installed in the gap. The upper end of the lifting block (4) has an inclined support surface (4a). An acute angle groove (c) is formed between the inclined support surface (4a) and the side wall of the support plate (1). The guide rail mechanism (3) is provided with a guide groove (3a) on the upper part. One end of the guide rail mechanism (3) is rotatably connected to the support plate (1), and the other end can move up and down synchronously with the lifting block (4). When the lifting block (4) descends to the low position, the reaction cup in the hopper (2) can slide from the bottom plate (2a) into the acute angle groove (c); when the lifting block (4) rises to the high position, the reaction cup in the acute angle groove (c) can pass over the top of the support plate (1) and slide into the guide groove (3a). The support plate (1) is provided with a lifting drive mechanism (5) for driving the lifting block (4) to move up and down; the support plate (1) is provided with a vertically arranged clearance hole (1a), and a lifting pin (6) is provided in the clearance hole (1a). One end of the lifting pin (6) is fixed to the lifting block (4), and the other end is in contact with the lower end of the guide rail mechanism (3).

2. The cup arrangement system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A return spring (7) is installed between the guide rail mechanism (3) and the support plate (1), and the return spring (7) applies a downward pulling force to the guide rail mechanism (3).

3. The cup arrangement system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hopper (2) is equipped with a guide plate (2b) installed at an incline inside, which is used to guide the drop position of the reaction cup on the bottom plate (2a) to one end away from the acute angle groove (c).

4. The cup sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support plate (1) is inclinedly mounted with a fixed guide rail (8), and the fixed guide rail (8) is provided with a fixed guide groove (8a) that can dock with the guide groove (3a).

5. The cup-dispensing system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The fixed guide rail (8) is provided with a transfer seat (9) at its lower end. The edge of the transfer seat (9) is provided with a notch (9a) that is in contact with the fixed guide groove (8a). A turntable (9b) is rotatably installed inside the transfer seat (9). Arc grooves (9c) are distributed on the edge of the turntable (9b).

6. The cup sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting block (4) has a downwardly extending leak-proof plate (4b) at one end near the bottom plate (2a).

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