Microplate translation mechanism

Abstract

The present invention discloses a microplate translation mechanism, including: a base; a synchronous belt transmission assembly; a driving assembly; a guide mechanism; a mounting bracket, which includes a clamping jaw bracket and a pulley bracket arranged on the guide seat; and a clamping jaw assembly, which can be slidably arranged on the linear guide rail of the clamping jaw bracket along the Y direction, and the clamping jaw assembly is connected to the driven synchronous belt between the first tensioning pulley and the second tensioning pulley through a driving connecting plate. The microplate translation mechanism provided by the present invention adopts an upper and lower two-stage translation structure to transfer the microplate, which has a compact structure and can realize a longer stroke of the microplate in a limited space, effectively reducing the size of the equipment; further, an electromagnet mechanism is used to realize the grasping of the microplate, which is simple to operate, has high stability, and is comprehensive in function; the present invention can realize the automatic transfer of the microplate, can avoid artificial contamination, and can improve the transfer efficiency of the microplate and the degree of automation of the instrument.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of automated analytical instruments, and in particular to a microplate translation mechanism. Background Art

[0002] Microplate is an important part of automated analytical instruments such as ELISA analyzers and chemiluminometers. It is mainly used for chemical tests and detection of sample addition, dilution, incubation and ELISA reactions. The transfer of microplates is usually involved in automated analytical instruments. Most automated analyzers mainly transfer microplates to predetermined positions manually. This process requires manual supervision and has problems such as small space, difficult operation, easy contamination, and low efficiency. Some instruments use linear guides or synchronous belts to translate microplates in a linear manner, which has defects such as large size and space occupation. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a more reliable solution. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a microplate translation mechanism in view of the deficiencies in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a microplate translation mechanism, comprising:

[0005] Base;

[0006] A synchronous belt transmission assembly, comprising a first driven pulley and a second driven pulley rotatably disposed on the base and spaced apart at the front and rear ends of the base along the Y direction, and a driven synchronous belt connected between the first driven pulley and the second driven pulley;

[0007] A driving assembly, used for driving the first driven pulley to rotate;

[0008] A guide mechanism, comprising a guide shaft arranged on the base along the Y direction and a guide seat slidably arranged on the guide shaft along the Y direction;

[0009] A mounting bracket comprises a clamping jaw bracket and a pulley bracket arranged on the guide seat, wherein the pulley bracket is rotatably provided with a first steering pulley, a second steering pulley, a first tensioning pulley, a second tensioning pulley and a third steering pulley, and the driven synchronous belt sequentially passes around the first driven pulley, the first steering pulley, the second steering pulley, the first tensioning pulley, the second tensioning pulley, the third steering pulley and the second driven pulley and then returns to the first driven pulley;

[0010] And a clamping jaw assembly, which can be slidably arranged on the linear guide rail of the clamping jaw bracket along the Y direction, and the clamping jaw assembly is connected to the driven synchronous belt between the first tensioning pulley and the second tensioning pulley through a driving connecting plate.

[0011] Preferably, the clamping jaw assembly is used to clamp the orifice plate holder with the micro-porous plate loaded thereon, and transfer it along the Y direction through the cooperation of the driving assembly and the synchronous belt transmission assembly.

[0012] Preferably, the clamping jaw assembly includes a clamping jaw seat slidably arranged on the linear guide rail along the Y direction, an electromagnet arranged on the clamping jaw seat, a mounting opening opened at the front end of the clamping jaw seat, and a clamp rotatably connected to the mounting opening and with a rear end rotatably connected to an output rod of the electromagnet.

[0013] Preferably, the upper and lower surfaces of the rear end edge of the orifice plate bracket are respectively provided with an upper clamping groove and a lower clamping groove, the front end of the clamping jaw protrudes upward to form an upper convex edge for cooperating with the lower clamping groove, the front part of the clamping jaw seat protrudes forward to form a clamping plate, and the front end bottom surface of the clamping plate protrudes downward to form a lower convex edge for cooperating with the upper clamping groove.

[0014] Preferably, the driven synchronous belt portions between the first driven pulley and the first deflection pulley, between the first deflection pulley and the first tensioning pulley, between the first tensioning pulley and the second tensioning pulley, between the second tensioning pulley and the second driven pulley, between the second driven pulley and between the first driven pulley are respectively the first synchronous belt segment, the second synchronous belt segment, the third synchronous belt segment, the fourth synchronous belt segment, and the fifth synchronous belt segment;

[0015] The first synchronous belt segment, the third synchronous belt segment and the fifth synchronous belt segment are all arranged horizontally.

[0016] Preferably, when the driving assembly drives the first driven pulley to rotate and causes the first synchronous belt segment to move toward the front end, the first synchronous belt segment first drives the guide seat to move toward the front end, and when the guide seat abuts against the front support plate, the guide seat stops moving, and the third synchronous belt segment is driven by the first synchronous belt segment to move toward the front end, and drives the clamping jaw assembly to move toward the front end.

[0017] Preferably, the base includes a front support plate and a rear support plate arranged at intervals along the Y direction, and a left guide support plate and a right guide support plate arranged on the front support plate and the rear support plate. The left guide support plate and the right guide support plate are arranged at intervals to form a space in the middle for arranging the synchronous belt drive assembly.

[0018] Preferably, the inner sides of the left guide support plate and the right guide support plate are both provided with micro-plate slideways along the Y direction that cooperate with the orifice plate bracket;

[0019] An auxiliary guide piece is also arranged along the Y direction on the upper outer side of the front part of the microplate slideway on the right guide support plate.

[0020] Preferably, a limit sensor and a microplate detection sensor are provided on the left guide support plate, and a limit detection plate for cooperating with the limit sensor is provided on the drive connection plate.

[0021] Preferably, the driving assembly includes a motor and a synchronous belt driving assembly drivingly connecting the motor and the first driven pulley.

[0022] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0023] The microplate translation mechanism provided by the present invention adopts a two-stage translation structure of upper and lower layers to transfer the microplate. The structure is compact and can achieve a longer stroke of the microplate in a limited space, effectively reducing the size of the equipment. The electromagnet mechanism is further adopted to realize the grabbing of the microplate, which is simple to operate, highly stable and comprehensive in function. The present invention can realize the automatic transfer of the microplate, avoid artificial contamination, and improve the transfer efficiency of the microplate and the degree of automation of the instrument. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the cooperation between the microplate translation mechanism and the well plate bracket of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the microplate translation mechanism of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the clamping jaw assembly of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cooperation between the micro-well plate and the well plate bracket of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the upper perspective of the cooperation between the clamping jaw assembly and the orifice plate bracket of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the bottom view of the cooperation between the clamping jaw assembly and the orifice plate bracket of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the microplate translation mechanism of the present invention after removing some components;

[0031] Figure 8 A structural schematic diagram of a state in which the microplate translation mechanism of the present invention performs microplate grabbing;

[0032] Fig. 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of another state of the microplate translation mechanism of the present invention for grabbing the microplate.

[0033] Description of reference numerals:

[0034] 1—base; 10—front support plate; 11—rear support plate; 12—left guide support plate; 13—right guide support plate; 14—microplate slideway; 15—auxiliary guide plate; 16—limit sensor; 17—microplate detection sensor;

[0035] 2—synchronous belt drive assembly; 20—first driven pulley; 21—second driven pulley; 22—driven synchronous belt; 23—first deflection pulley; 24—second deflection pulley; 25—first tensioning pulley; 26—second tensioning pulley; 27—third deflection pulley; 220—first synchronous belt segment; 221—second synchronous belt segment; 222—third synchronous belt segment; 223—fourth synchronous belt segment; 224—fifth synchronous belt segment;

[0036] 3—driving assembly; 30—motor; 31—synchronous belt driving assembly; 32—active driving pulley; 33—driven driving pulley; 34—driving belt;

[0037] 4—guide mechanism; 40—guide shaft; 41—guide seat;

[0038] 5—mounting bracket; 50—grip bracket; 51—pulley bracket; 52—linear guide rail;

[0039] 6—claw assembly; 60—claw seat; 61—electromagnet; 62—mounting port; 63—claw; 64—clamping plate; 65—lower convex edge; 66—upper convex edge; 67—driving connecting plate; 68—limit detection plate; 610—output rod; 611—spring;

[0040] 7—microplate;

[0041] 8—orifice plate bracket; 80—upper clamping groove; 81—lower clamping groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments so that those skilled in the art can implement the invention with reference to the description.

[0043] It should be understood that the terms such as “having”, “including” and “comprising” used herein do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other elements or combinations thereof.

[0044] like Figure 1-9 As shown, a microplate translation mechanism of this embodiment includes:

[0045] Base 1;

[0046] A synchronous belt transmission assembly 2, comprising a first driven pulley 20 and a second driven pulley 21 rotatably disposed on the base 1 and spaced apart at the front and rear ends of the base 1 along the Y direction, and a driven synchronous belt 22 connected between the first driven pulley 20 and the second driven pulley 21;

[0047] A driving assembly 3, which is used to drive the first driven pulley 20 to rotate;

[0048] The guide mechanism 4 includes two guide shafts 40 arranged on the base 1 along the Y direction and a guide seat 41 slidably arranged on the guide shafts 40 along the Y direction;

[0049] The mounting bracket 5 comprises a clamping jaw 63 bracket 50 and a pulley bracket 51 arranged on the guide seat 41, and the pulley bracket 51 is rotatably provided with a first deflection pulley 23, a second deflection pulley 24, a first tensioning pulley 25, a second tensioning pulley 26 and a third deflection pulley 27, and the driven synchronous belt 22 sequentially passes around the first driven pulley 20, the first deflection pulley 23, the second deflection pulley 24, the first tensioning pulley 25, the second tensioning pulley 26, the third deflection pulley 27 and the second driven pulley 21 and then returns to the first driven pulley 20;

[0050] And the clamping jaw assembly 6, which can be slidably arranged on the linear guide rail 52 of the clamping jaw 63 bracket 50 along the Y direction, and the clamping jaw assembly 6 is connected to the driven synchronous belt 22 between the first tensioning pulley 25 and the second tensioning pulley 26 through a driving connecting plate 67.

[0051] The clamping claw assembly 6 is used to clamp the well plate holder 8 with the microplate 7 on it, and transfer it along the Y direction through the cooperation of the driving assembly 3 and the synchronous belt transmission assembly 2. For example, the microplate 7 and the well plate holder 8 in the front (small space, not convenient for operation) are grasped and moved to the rear, and then the sample addition and other operations are performed (open space, convenient for operation), and then the microplate 7 and the well plate holder 8 are transported back to the front together after completion.

[0052] In a preferred embodiment, the clamping jaw assembly 6 includes a clamping jaw seat 60 which can be slid along the Y direction on the linear guide rail 52, an electromagnet 61 arranged on the clamping jaw seat 60, a mounting opening 62 opened at the front end of the clamping jaw seat 60, and a clamping jaw 63 which is rotatably connected to the mounting opening 62 and whose rear end is rotatably connected to the output rod 610 of the electromagnet 61. A spring 611 is also sleeved on the output rod 610 of the electromagnet 61, and the rear end of the spring 611 abuts against the electromagnet 61, and the front end is connected to the output rod 610 of the electromagnet 61.

[0053] In a further preferred embodiment, the upper and lower surfaces of the rear end edge of the orifice plate bracket 8 are respectively provided with an upper clamping groove 8 and a lower clamping groove 9, the front end of the clamping jaw 63 protrudes upward to form an upper flange 66 for cooperating with the lower clamping groove 9, the front part of the clamping jaw seat 60 protrudes forward to form a clamping plate 64, and the front end bottom surface of the clamping plate 64 protrudes downward to form a lower flange 65 for cooperating with the upper clamping groove 8.

[0054] Reference Figure 3-6 The working principle of the clamping jaw assembly 6 is as follows: the clamping jaw assembly 6 moves to the rear of the orifice plate bracket 8, and the upper convex edge 66 is located directly above the upper clamping groove 8 and the lower convex edge 65 is located directly below the lower clamping groove 9, then the electromagnet 61 is energized to work, and its output rod 610 retracts backward, causing the clamping jaw 63 to rotate counterclockwise around the clamping jaw seat 60, and the upper convex edge 66 is inserted into the upper clamping groove 8 and the lower convex edge 65 is inserted into the lower clamping groove 9, thereby clamping the orifice plate bracket 8, and the orifice plate bracket 8 and the microplate 7 can be driven to translate along the Y direction; after reaching the specified position, the electromagnet 61 is powered off, and under the elastic force of the spring 611, the output rod 610 of the electromagnet 61 extends forward to reset, and the clamping jaw 63 releases the orifice plate bracket 8.

[0055] In a preferred embodiment, the base 1 includes a front support plate 10 and a rear support plate 11 arranged at intervals along the Y direction, and a left guide support plate 12 and a right guide support plate 13 arranged on the front support plate 10 and the rear support plate 11. The left guide support plate 12 and the right guide support plate 13 are arranged at intervals to form a space in the middle for arranging the synchronous belt drive assembly 2.

[0056] The inner sides of the left guide support plate 12 and the right guide support plate 13 are both provided with a micro-plate 7 slideway 14 cooperating with the orifice plate bracket 8 along the Y direction;

[0057] An auxiliary guide piece 15 is also arranged along the Y direction on the upper outer side of the front part of the micro-porous plate 7 slide 14 on the right guide support plate 13. The auxiliary guide piece 15 is mainly used to limit and guide the right side of the orifice plate bracket 8 when it enters the micro-porous plate 7 slide 14 to ensure smooth entry.

[0058] In a preferred embodiment, a limit sensor 16 and a microplate detection sensor 17 are provided on the left guide support plate 12, and a limit detection plate 68 for cooperating with the limit sensor 16 is provided on the drive connection plate 67. The limit sensor 16 and the microplate detection sensor 17 can be conventional products. For example, in some embodiments, the limit sensor 16 and the microplate detection sensor 17 can both be EE-SX677P groove-shaped micro photoelectric sensors.

[0059] Reference Figure 2, the driven synchronous belt 22 parts between the first driven pulley 20 and the first deflection pulley 23, between the first deflection pulley 23 and the first tensioning pulley 25, between the first tensioning pulley 25 and the second tensioning pulley 26, between the second tensioning pulley 26 and the second driven pulley 21, between the second driven pulley 21 and the first driven pulley 20 are respectively the first synchronous belt segment 220, the second synchronous belt segment 221, the third synchronous belt segment 222, the fourth synchronous belt segment 223, and the fifth synchronous belt segment 224;

[0060] The first synchronous belt segment 220, the third synchronous belt segment 222, the fourth synchronous belt segment 223 and the fifth synchronous belt segment 224 are all arranged horizontally. When the driven synchronous belt 22 moves, the first synchronous belt segment 220 and the third synchronous belt segment 222 have the same direction, while the fifth synchronous belt segment 224 has the opposite direction. The second synchronous belt segment 221 is arranged vertically, and the fourth synchronous belt segment 223 is arranged obliquely.

[0061] The working principle of synchronous belt drive assembly 2 is:

[0062] When the driving assembly 3 drives the first driven pulley 20 to rotate and causes the first synchronous belt segment 220 to move toward the front end, the friction resistance between the guide seat 41 and the guide shaft 40 is small, which is smaller than the transmission resistance of the synchronous belt. Therefore, initially, the first synchronous belt segment 220 first drives the guide seat 41 to move toward the front end (during this process, the first synchronous belt segment 220 moves forward, the fifth synchronous belt segment 224 moves backward, and the second synchronous belt segment 221, the third synchronous belt segment 222, and the fourth synchronous belt segment 223 as a whole move forward together with the clamping jaw 63 bracket 50 and the pulley bracket 51, so there is no relative movement between the clamping jaw assembly 6 and the clamping jaw 63 bracket 50);

[0063] When the guide seat 41 abuts against the front support plate 10, Figure 8 , the guide seat 41 stops moving and reaches its maximum stroke L1, the first synchronous belt segment 220 continues to move, and drives the third synchronous belt segment 222 to move forward through the second synchronous belt segment 221, thereby driving the clamping jaw assembly 6 connected to the third synchronous belt segment 222 to move to the front end (in this process, the clamping jaw assembly 6 slides forward relative to the linear guide 52 on the clamping jaw 63 bracket 50). When the clamping jaw assembly 6 slides to the front end relative to the linear guide 52, the driving assembly 3 stops working, and the clamping jaw assembly 6 stops moving and reaches its maximum stroke L2 relative to the linear guide 52; that is, at this time, the microplate translation mechanism reaches the maximum forward movement stroke L=L1+L2, and at this time, the clamping jaw 63 reaches the working position for taking the microplate 7, such as Fig. 9 , the electromagnet 61 clamps the well plate bracket 8 below the microplate 7 through the clamping claw 63; through the above two-stage translation structure, the microplate translation mechanism of the present invention can realize the longer travel of the microplate 7 in a limited space;

[0064] The driving component 3 drives the first driven pulley 20 to rotate in the opposite direction to move the clamped microplate 7 backward. When the limit detection plate 68 reaches the groove on the limit sensor 16, it stops. Then the microplate 7 detection sensor 17 detects whether there is a microplate 7. If there is a microplate 7, the microplate 7 is loaded with samples and other operations are performed at this position. After the operation is completed, the microplate 7 is pushed forward and returned to its original position according to the above steps.

[0065] In a preferred embodiment, the drive assembly 3 includes a motor 30 and a synchronous belt drive assembly 31 driving the motor 30 and the first driven pulley 20. Further preferably, the synchronous belt drive assembly 31 includes an active drive pulley 32 and a driven drive pulley 33 rotatably connected to the base 1, and a drive belt 34 connected between the active drive pulley 32 and the driven drive pulley 33, and the driven drive pulley 33 is coaxially arranged with the first driven pulley 20.

[0066] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the specification and the implementation modes. They can be fully applied to various fields suitable for the present invention. For those familiar with the art, additional modifications can be easily implemented. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and the scope of equivalents, the present invention is not limited to specific details.

Claims

1. A microplate translation mechanism, characterized in that: include: Base; A synchronous belt transmission assembly, comprising a first driven pulley and a second driven pulley rotatably disposed on the base and spaced apart at the front and rear ends of the base along the Y direction, and a driven synchronous belt connected between the first driven pulley and the second driven pulley; A driving assembly, used for driving the first driven pulley to rotate; A guide mechanism, comprising a guide shaft arranged on the base along the Y direction and a guide seat slidably arranged on the guide shaft along the Y direction; A mounting bracket comprises a clamping jaw bracket and a pulley bracket arranged on the guide seat, wherein the pulley bracket is rotatably provided with a first steering pulley, a second steering pulley, a first tensioning pulley, a second tensioning pulley and a third steering pulley, and the driven synchronous belt sequentially passes around the first driven pulley, the first steering pulley, the second steering pulley, the first tensioning pulley, the second tensioning pulley, the third steering pulley and the second driven pulley and then returns to the first driven pulley; and a clamping jaw assembly, which can be slidably arranged on the linear guide rail of the clamping jaw bracket along the Y direction, and the clamping jaw assembly is connected to the driven synchronous belt between the first tensioning pulley and the second tensioning pulley through a driving connecting plate; The driven synchronous belt parts between the first driven pulley and the first deflection pulley, between the first deflection pulley and the first tensioning pulley, between the first tensioning pulley and the second tensioning pulley, between the second tensioning pulley and the second driven pulley, between the second driven pulley and between the first driven pulley are respectively the first synchronous belt segment, the second synchronous belt segment, the third synchronous belt segment, the fourth synchronous belt segment, and the fifth synchronous belt segment; The first synchronous belt segment, the third synchronous belt segment and the fifth synchronous belt segment are all arranged horizontally; When the driven synchronous belt moves, the first synchronous belt segment and the third synchronous belt segment have the same direction, while the fifth synchronous belt segment has the opposite direction; The base comprises a front support plate and a rear support plate arranged at intervals along the Y direction. When the driving assembly drives the first driven pulley to rotate and causes the first synchronous belt segment to move toward the front end, the first synchronous belt segment first drives the guide seat to move toward the front end. When the guide seat abuts against the front support plate, the guide seat stops moving, and the third synchronous belt segment is driven by the first synchronous belt segment to move toward the front end, and drives the clamping jaw assembly to move toward the front end. The driving assembly includes a motor and a synchronous belt driving assembly drivingly connecting the motor and a first driven pulley.

2. The microplate translation mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping claw assembly is used to clamp the orifice plate bracket with the micro-porous plate loaded on it, and transfer it along the Y direction through the cooperation of the driving assembly and the synchronous belt transmission assembly.

3. The microplate translation mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The clamping jaw assembly includes a clamping jaw seat which can be slidably arranged on the linear guide rail along the Y direction, an electromagnet arranged on the clamping jaw seat, a mounting opening opened at the front end of the clamping jaw seat, and a clamping jaw which is rotatably connected to the mounting opening and whose rear end is rotatably connected to the output rod of the electromagnet.

4. The microplate translation mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: An upper clamping groove and a lower clamping groove are respectively provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the rear end edge of the orifice plate bracket, the front end of the clamping jaw protrudes upward to form an upper convex edge for cooperating with the lower clamping groove, the front part of the clamping jaw seat protrudes forward to form a clamping plate, and the front end bottom surface of the clamping plate protrudes downward to form a lower convex edge for cooperating with the upper clamping groove.

5. The microplate translation mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base also includes a left guide support plate and a right guide support plate arranged on the front support plate and the rear support plate. The left guide support plate and the right guide support plate are arranged at intervals to form a space in the middle for arranging the synchronous belt transmission assembly.

6. The microplate translation mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The inner sides of the left guide support plate and the right guide support plate are both provided with micro-plate slideways along the Y direction that cooperate with the orifice plate bracket; An auxiliary guide piece is also arranged along the Y direction on the upper outer side of the front part of the microplate slideway on the right guide support plate.

7. The microplate translation mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The left guide support plate is provided with a limit sensor and a microplate detection sensor, and the drive connection plate is provided with a limit detection plate for cooperating with the limit sensor.

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