Nucleic acid extraction device, method and film tearing mechanism for molecular testing

Abstract

This invention relates to a nucleic acid extraction device, method, and membrane-tearing mechanism for molecular testing. The nucleic acid extraction device is used to inject samples from multiple sampling containers into multiple extraction slots on an extraction tray. The device includes a membrane-tearing mechanism, a cover mechanism, a pipetting mechanism, an extraction tray transfer mechanism, and a nucleic acid extraction module. The membrane-tearing mechanism first uses a flipping head to open the corner of the sealing film folded against the bottom periphery of the extraction tray, then uses a membrane-tearing claw to grasp the opened corner and tear off the sealing film; the cover mechanism opens the cover of the sampling container; the pipetting mechanism uses a pipette to inject the sample from the sampling container into the extraction slots on the extraction tray; the extraction tray transfer mechanism moves the processed extraction tray to the nucleic acid extraction membrane module. Thus, this invention enables a high degree of automation in nucleic acid extraction, significantly reducing manpower and improving work quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an automated device for a biochemical laboratory, and more particularly to a nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, when conducting molecular diagnostics, such as nucleic acid (RNA) testing for the novel coronavirus, the first step is to perform nucleic acid extraction on the collected samples. Specifically, the sealing film on the top of a nucleic acid extraction tray with 96 wells is torn off, and then the samples are dispensed one by one. This involves opening each of the 96 sample collection containers and injecting the sample into one well of the nucleic acid extraction tray. After injection, the containers are carefully sealed and disposed of as medical waste. The nucleic acid extraction tray containing the sample is then placed in a nucleic acid extraction module for extraction. Only after extraction is complete can subsequent real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) testing be performed.

[0003] However, the existing nucleic acid extraction process is entirely manual. The sample dispensing and sealing process is cumbersome, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. In addition, human error and cross-contamination are prone to occur during the operation, affecting the accuracy of the test and the safety of the test personnel.

[0004] Therefore, the existing nucleic acid extraction devices and methods for molecular testing need to be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the aforementioned shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a nucleic acid extraction device, method and membrane tearing mechanism for molecular testing to automate the nucleic acid extraction operation for molecular testing, thereby greatly reducing manpower and improving the quality of operation.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs a film-tearing mechanism for molecular testing, used to remove a sealing film from an extraction tray. The extraction tray has a flange protruding from its outer circumferential surface at the top. The sealing film is attached to the top surface of the extraction tray, and a folded portion of the sealing film is folded back at the flange of the extraction tray, such that the folded portion is located below the flange of the extraction tray. The film-tearing mechanism includes:

[0007] A film base is used to fix the extraction disc;

[0008] A film-flipping assembly is movably disposed on the film-tear base toward the folded portion of the sealing film, the film-flipping assembly having:

[0009] A flipping head protrudes from a top surface of the flipping assembly and abuts against a bottom surface of the flange of the extraction tray; when the flipping assembly moves toward the folded portion of the sealing film, one side of the flipping head pushes against the folded portion and flips the folded portion from below the flange to the outside of the flange.

[0010] A film-tearing gripper is movably and rotatably disposed on the film-tearing base; the film-tearing gripper is used to grip the folded portion that has been flipped to the outside of the flange, and the movement and rotation of the film-tearing gripper are used to separate the sealing film from the extraction tray.

[0011] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention further provides a nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing, which is used to process multiple sampling containers and an extraction tray; each sampling container has a body and a top cover, the body contains a sample, and the top cover seals the sample within the body; each extraction tray has multiple extraction slots and a sealing film, the sealing film being attached to the top surface of the extraction tray and sealing the extraction slots; the nucleic acid extraction device comprises:

[0012] A base, and a membrane tearing mechanism, a top cover mechanism, a liquid transfer mechanism, an extraction tray transfer mechanism, and a nucleic acid extraction module disposed on the base; wherein

[0013] The film-tearing mechanism is used to remove the sealing film from the extraction tray, the extraction tray having a flange protruding from its outer circumferential surface at the top; a folded portion of the sealing film folds back at the flange of the extraction tray, such that the folded portion is located below the flange of the extraction tray; the film-tearing mechanism includes:

[0014] A film-tearable base is disposed on the base and is used to fix the extraction disc;

[0015] A film-flipping assembly is movably disposed on the film-tear base toward the folded portion of the sealing film, the film-flipping assembly having:

[0016] A flipping head protrudes from a top surface of the flipping assembly and abuts against a bottom surface of the flange of the extraction tray; when the flipping assembly moves toward the folded portion of the sealing film, one side of the flipping head pushes against the folded portion and flips the folded portion from below the flange to the outside of the flange.

[0017] A film-tearing gripper is movably and rotatably disposed on the film-tearing base; the film-tearing gripper is used to grip the folded portion that has been flipped to the outside of the flange, and the movement and rotation of the film-tearing gripper are used to separate the sealing film from the extraction tray.

[0018] The cover mechanism is used to separate the cover of each of the sampling containers from the body;

[0019] The pipetting mechanism includes

[0020] At least one pipette; each of the at least one pipette is used to aspirate the sample from one of the sampling containers and inject the aspirated sample into one of the extraction tanks of the extraction pan;

[0021] The extraction tray transfer mechanism is used to move the extraction tray containing the sample injected into the extraction tank into the nucleic acid extraction module.

[0022] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention further provides a nucleic acid extraction method for molecular testing, comprising the following steps:

[0023] Preparation of the extraction tray and sample: An extraction tray is prepared, with a flange protruding from the outer circumference of the top of the tray. A sealing film is attached to the top surface of the extraction tray, and a folded portion of the sealing film is folded back at the flange, so that the folded portion is located below the flange of the extraction tray. A film-flipping head of a film-tearing mechanism abuts against a bottom surface of the flange of the extraction tray, and the film-flipping head moves toward the folded portion of the sealing film so that the folded portion is flipped from below the flange to the outside of the flange. A film-tearing jaw grips the folded portion that has been flipped to the outside of the flange, and then the film-tearing jaw rotates and moves to separate the sealing film from the extraction tray. A capping mechanism separates a cap of at least one of the multiple sampling containers from a body of the sampling container.

[0024] Dispensing and extraction: At least one pipette of a pipetting mechanism aspirates the sample from one of a plurality of sampling containers and injects the aspirated sample into one of a plurality of extraction slots on an extraction tray; then the cover mechanism and the pipetting mechanism continue to inject the samples from the remaining sampling containers into the remaining extraction slots on the extraction tray; an extraction tray transfer mechanism moves the extraction tray containing the samples injected into the extraction slots to a nucleic acid extraction module.

[0025] The advantages of this invention are that the film-tearing mechanism can automatically separate the sealing film on the top surface of the extraction plate from the extraction plate, the cover mechanism can automatically open the sampling container, the pipetting mechanism can automatically inject the sample from the sampling container into the extraction plate, and the extraction plate transfer mechanism can automatically move the extraction plate to the nucleic acid extraction module for extraction. This enables the nucleic acid extraction operation to be highly automated, thereby greatly reducing manpower and improving the quality of operation.

[0026] Furthermore, the film-tearing mechanism for molecular testing includes: a film-tearing body; a film-tearing head slidably disposed on the film-tearing body; and a lifting elastic member disposed on the film-tearing body and pushing upward against the film-tearing head.

[0027] Furthermore, the film-tearing mechanism for molecular testing comprises: a first linear module disposed on the film-tearing base and having a first slide block movable along a first direction; a second linear module disposed on the first slide block of the first linear module and having a second slide block movable along a second direction; the second direction is not parallel to the first direction; a third linear module disposed on the second slide block of the second linear module and having a third slide block movable up and down; a film-flipping assembly disposed on the third slide block of the third linear module; and a film-tearing gripper rotatably disposed on the third slide block of the third linear module.

[0028] Furthermore, the nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing, wherein the cover mechanism comprises: a fixed base disposed on the base; a rotating stage rotatably disposed on the fixed base about a rotation axis; at least one body clamp disposed on the rotating stage, each of the at least one body clamp being used to clamp one of the sampling containers; a cover loosening assembly comprising at least one cover loosening claw being used to clamp the cover of the at least one sampling container on the at least one body clamp and loosen the cover; and a cover removal assembly comprising at least one cover removal claw being used to clamp the cover of the at least one sampling container on the at least one body clamp. The sample container has one less top cover, and the loosened top cover can be moved to one side of the sample container body; a closing assembly includes at least one closing gripper for gripping the top cover of the at least one sample container on the at least one body clamp and tightening the top cover; wherein the loosening assembly, the moving assembly and the closing assembly are disposed on the fixed base and located above the rotary table and spaced apart around the rotation axis; the rotation of the rotary table causes the at least one sample container held by the at least one body clamp to be sequentially positioned to correspond to the at least one loosening gripper, the at least one moving gripper and the at least one closing gripper.

[0029] Furthermore, in the aforementioned nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing, the cap release assembly of the cap mechanism includes: a cap release linear module disposed on the fixed base and having a cap opening slide that can move up and down; at least one cap release motor disposed on the cap opening slide; at least one cap release gripper disposed on the cap opening slide of the cap release linear module and connected to the spindle of the at least one cap release motor; wherein the at least one cap release motor can drive the at least one cap release gripper to rotate, thereby loosening the cap held by the cap release gripper.

[0030] Furthermore, in the aforementioned nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing, the cap-moving assembly of the cap mechanism comprises: a first cap-moving actuator disposed on the fixed base and having a first cap-moving actuating block, the first cap-moving actuating block being movable relative to the fixed base; a second cap-moving actuator disposed on the first cap-moving actuating block of the first cap-moving actuator and having a second cap-moving actuating block, the second cap-moving actuating block being movable up and down; the moving direction of the first cap-moving actuating block and the moving direction of the second cap-moving actuating block being non-parallel; and at least one cap-moving gripper disposed on the second cap-moving actuating block of the second cap-moving actuator.

[0031] Furthermore, in the aforementioned nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing, the untreated sample collection container is disposed on a preparation area of ​​the base; the nucleic acid extraction device has a container transfer mechanism disposed on the base; the container transfer mechanism has a container gripper that is movable to the preparation area of ​​the base and grips one of the sample collection containers located in the preparation area; the container gripper is movable to the at least one body clamp corresponding to the cover mechanism.

[0032] Furthermore, in the nucleic acid extraction method for molecular testing, during the dispensing and extraction steps, after each of the at least one pipette of the pipetting mechanism aspirates the sample from one of the multiple sample collection containers, the capping mechanism attaches the cap of the sample collection container to the body and seals the remaining sample in the sample collection container. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the base and extraction disc output mechanism of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the sampling container supply mechanism of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 4 This is a perspective view of the disk storage rack of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional view of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 6 This is a perspective view of the pipetting mechanism of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 7 This is a perspective view of the container transfer mechanism of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 8 This is a perspective view of the upper cover mechanism of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 9 This is an exploded three-dimensional view of the upper cover mechanism of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 10 This is a partial rear view schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0043] Figures 11 to 13 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the upper cover mechanism of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 14 This is a partial perspective view of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 15 This is a three-dimensional view of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention.

[0046] Figure 16 This is an exploded three-dimensional view of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 17 This is an exploded perspective view of some components of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention.

[0048] Figure 18 This is a perspective view of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention from another angle.

[0049] Figure 19 and Figure 20 This is a side view of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention, showing the flipping head pushing against the folded portion of the sealing film and flipping the folded portion.

[0050] Figure 21 and Figure 22 This is a three-dimensional diagram of the film-tearing mechanism of the present invention, showing the film-tearing grippers separating the sealing film from the extraction disc.

[0051] Figure 23 This is another partial perspective view of the present invention.

[0052] Figure 24 This is a flowchart of the nucleic acid extraction method for molecular testing according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0053] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 18 , Figure 19 and Figure 23As shown, the nucleic acid extraction apparatus for molecular testing of the present invention processes multiple sampling containers 91 and an extraction tray 92. Each sampling container 91 has a body 911 and a top cover 912. The body 911 contains a liquid sample, and the top cover 912 seals the sample within the body 911. Each extraction tray 92 has multiple extraction grooves 921 and a sealing film 922. The sealing film 922 is attached to the top surface of the extraction tray 92 and seals all extraction grooves 921. A flange 923 protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the top of the extraction tray 92, and the flange 923 is preferably annular. A folded portion 9221 of the sealing film 922 folds back at the flange 923 of the extraction tray 92, such that the folded portion 9221 is located below the flange 923.

[0054] Specifically, each extraction plate 92 has 96 extraction slots 921 neatly arranged on its top surface. Each sample collection container 91 has a tube body 911. The sample collection containers 91 are supplied to the nucleic acid extraction device through multiple sample collection tube trays 93. Each sample collection tube tray 93 has 96 sample collection containers 91 inserted on it. The main function of the nucleic acid extraction device is to inject the samples from the 96 sample collection containers 91 on each sample collection tube tray 93 into the 96 extraction slots 921 on an extraction plate 92, and then perform further operations on the extraction plate 92.

[0055] The aforementioned nucleic acid extraction device includes: a base 10, and a membrane tearing mechanism 20, a cover mechanism 30, a liquid transfer mechanism 40, an extraction tray transfer mechanism 50 and a nucleic acid extraction module 60 disposed on the base 10; in this embodiment, the nucleic acid extraction device further includes a sample collection container supply mechanism 70 and a container transfer mechanism 80.

[0056] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, a plate storage rack 11 is provided on the base 10. Multiple independent stacking spaces are formed on the plate storage rack 11. Multiple unused extraction plates 92 are stacked in one of the stacking spaces, and the other stacking spaces are preferably stacked with various extraction reagent plates.

[0057] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figures 14 to 18 As shown, the aforementioned film-tearing mechanism 20 can remove the sealing film 922 from the extraction tray 92. The film-tearing mechanism 20 includes a film-tearing base 21, a film-flipping assembly 25, and a film-tearing gripper 27; and in this embodiment, it further includes a first linear module 22, a second linear module 23, a third linear module 24, and a gripper rotary table 26.

[0058] The film-tear base 21 is located on the base 10 and can fix the extraction plate 92. Specifically, a positioning groove is formed on the film-tear base 21 and multiple clamping cylinders 211 are provided. The bottom of the extraction plate 92 can be placed in the positioning groove, and the bottom of the extraction plate 92 is fixed in the positioning groove by the clamping cylinders 211.

[0059] The first linear module 22 is disposed on the film-tear base 21 and has a first slide 221 (e.g. Figure 16 As shown, the first slide 221 can be controlled to move along a first direction D1. The second linear module 23 is disposed on the first slide 221 of the first linear module 22 and has a second slide 231, which can be controlled to move along a second direction D2, and the second direction D2 is not parallel to the first direction D1. The third linear module 24 is disposed on the second slide 231 of the second linear module 23 and has a third slide 241, which can be controlled to move up and down. In this embodiment, the first direction D1, the second direction D2, and the movement directions of the third slide 241 are perpendicular to each other.

[0060] Please refer to the following: Figures 18 to 20 As shown, the film-flipping assembly 25 is movably disposed on the third slide 241 of the third linear module 24 toward the folded portion 9221 of the sealing film 922, thereby enabling the film-flipping assembly 25 to move toward the folded portion 9221 of the sealing film 922. In other preferred embodiments, the film-flipping assembly 25 may also be mounted on the film-tear base 21 by other mechanisms, as long as the film-flipping assembly 25 can move toward the folded portion 9221 of the sealing film 922.

[0061] The film-flipping assembly 25 includes a film-flipping head 251, a film-flipping body 252, and a lifting elastic member 253. A groove is recessed on the top surface of the film-flipping body 252. The film-flipping head 251 slides vertically through the groove of the film-flipping body 252. The top end of the film-flipping head 251 protrudes from the top surface of the film-flipping body 252, forming a right angle. The top end of the film-flipping head 251 abuts against the bottom surface of the flange 923 of the extraction tray 92. Thus, when the film-flipping assembly 25 moves toward the folded portion 9221 of the sealing film 922, the side of the film-flipping head 251 pushes against the edge of the folded portion 9221, causing the folded portion 9221 to flip from below the flange 923 to the outside of the flange 923.

[0062] The lifting elastic element 253 is disposed in the groove of the film-turning body 252 and pushes upward against the film-turning head 251 so that the top of the film-turning head 251 tends to protrude upward from the top surface of the film-turning body 252 and remain against the bottom surface of the flange 923.

[0063] Please refer to the following: Figure 17 , Figure 21 and Figure 22As shown, the gripper rotary table 26 is rotatably mounted on the third slide 241 of the third linear module 24, and the film-tearing gripper 27 is mounted on the gripper rotary table 26, so that the film-tearing gripper 27 is movable and rotatably mounted on the film-tearing base 21. The film-tearing gripper 27 is used to grip the reverse folded periphery 9221 of the flange 923 flipped to the outside of the extraction disk 92, and then, in conjunction with the movement produced by the linear modules 22, 23, and 24 and the rotation of the gripper rotary table 26, to tear and separate the sealing film 922 from the extraction disk 92.

[0064] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the aforementioned sample collection container supply mechanism 70 is used to place unprocessed sample collection containers 91 on a sorting area 12 of the base 10. The sample collection container supply mechanism 70 includes an input rack 71, an output rack 72, and a sorting tray transfer mechanism 73. Multiple sample collection tube sorting trays 93 are vertically stacked on the input rack 71, and unprocessed sample collection containers 91 are placed on the sample collection tube sorting trays 93. The sorting tray transfer mechanism 73 can move the bottom sample collection tube sorting tray 93 from the input rack 71 to the sorting area 12 of the base 10 for subsequent processing. After all the sample collection containers 91 on the sample collection tube sorting tray 93 have been processed, the sorting tray transfer mechanism 73 will then move the sample collection tube sorting tray 93 from the sorting area 12 to the output rack 72 for storage. The sample collection container supply mechanism 70 is prior art, so its specific structure will not be described in detail.

[0065] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figure 7 and Figure 10 As shown, the aforementioned container transfer mechanism 80 is located on the base 10. The container transfer mechanism 80 has a container gripper 81. The container gripper 81 can move to the sorting area 12 of the base 10 and grip one of the sampling containers 91 located in the sorting area 12. The container gripper 81 can also move to the cover mechanism 30 to transfer the gripped sampling container 91 to the cover mechanism 30.

[0066] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figures 8 to 10 As shown, the aforementioned cover mechanism 30 is used to separate the cover 912 of each sampling container 91 from the body 911 of the container transfer mechanism 80. In this embodiment, the cover mechanism 30 includes a fixed base 31, a rotating table 32, a plurality of body clamps 33, a cover loosening assembly 34, a cover moving assembly 35, and a cover closing assembly 36.

[0067] A fixed base 31 is mounted on the base 10, and a rotating platform 32 is rotatably mounted on the fixed base 31 with a rotation axis L as its axis. Body clamps 33 are mounted on the rotating platform 32 and preferably spaced around the rotation axis L at intervals along its periphery; specifically, there are a total of 8 body clamps 33 on the rotating platform 32, arranged in groups of 2, with 4 groups of body clamps 33 spaced at equal angles along the periphery of the rotating platform 32. Each body clamp 33 can hold one sampling container 91.

[0068] Please refer to the following: Figure 9 and Figure 11 As shown, the lid loosening assembly 34 includes two lid loosening linear modules 341, two lid loosening motors 342, and two lid loosening grippers 343. The lid loosening linear module 341 is mounted on the fixed base 31 and has a lid opening slide 3411, which can move up and down. The lid loosening motors 342 and lid loosening grippers 343 are mounted on the lid opening slide 3411. The two lid loosening grippers 343 are respectively connected to the spindles of the two lid loosening motors 342, so that the lid loosening motors 342 can drive the corresponding lid loosening grippers 343 to rotate. The two lid loosening grippers 343 can respectively clamp the top covers 912 of the two sampling containers 91 on the same set of two body clamps 33 and loosen the top covers 912 by the drive of the lid loosening motors 342 (e.g., ...). Figure 11 (As shown).

[0069] Please refer to the following: Figure 9 and Figure 12 As shown, the cap-moving assembly 35 includes two cap-moving grippers 351. The two cap-moving grippers 351 can respectively grip the two upper caps 912 of the two sampling containers 91 on the same set of two body clamps 33, and can move the loosened upper cap 912 to one side of the body 911 of the sampling container 91, thereby exposing the upper opening of the body 911 (e.g., Figure 12 (As shown).

[0070] Specifically, the cap-moving assembly 35 includes a first cap-moving actuator 352 and a second cap-moving actuator 353. The first cap-moving actuator 352 is preferably a cylinder, mounted on a fixed base 31, and has a first cap-moving actuator block 3521, which can be driven by compressed air to move relative to the fixed base 31. The second cap-moving actuator 353 is mounted on the first cap-moving actuator block 3521 of the first cap-moving actuator 352, and has a second cap-moving actuator block 3531, which can move up and down. The direction of movement of the first cap-moving actuator block 3521 is not parallel to the direction of movement of the second cap-moving actuator block 3531, and specifically, they are perpendicular to each other; more specifically, the first cap-moving actuator block 3521 can be controlled to move radially linearly along the rotation axis of the rotary table 32, thereby changing the distance between the corresponding second cap-moving actuator 353 and the rotation axis L.

[0071] The two cap-moving grippers 351 are disposed on the second cap-moving actuator block 3531 of the second cap-moving actuator 353. The cap-moving grippers 351 can first be moved horizontally to above a sampling container 91 by the first cap-moving actuator 352, and then moved downward to the upper cover 912 by the second cap-moving actuator 353 to clamp the upper cover 912. Then, the upper cover 912 is clamped away from the body 911 by the action of the cap-moving actuators 352 and 353.

[0072] Please refer to the following: Figure 9 and Figure 13 As shown, the cover closing assembly 36 includes two cover closing grippers 361, which are respectively used to clamp the upper covers 912 of the two sampling containers 91 on the two body clamps 33 of the same group and can screw the upper covers 912 (e.g., Figure 13 (As shown). The specific structure of the cover closing assembly 36 is the same as that of the cover loosening assembly 34, so it will not be described again here.

[0073] Please refer to the following: Figures 11 to 13 As shown, the lid loosening assembly 34, lid moving assembly 35, and lid closing assembly 36 of the lid mechanism 30 are mounted on the fixed base 31 and located above the rotary table 32, and are spaced apart around the rotation axis L1. The rotation of the rotary table 32 causes the two sampling containers 91 held by the two body clamps 33 of the same group to be positioned in sequence corresponding to the two lid loosening jaws 343, the two lid moving jaws 351, and the two lid closing jaws 361. In this way, the lid 912 of the sampling container 91 is loosened, moved, and tightened in sequence by the jaws 343, 351, and 361.

[0074] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figure 5 and Figure 23 As shown, the aforementioned pipetting mechanism 40 includes two pipettes 41, which are used to aspirate samples from two sampling containers 91 located in the upper cover mechanism 30 and corresponding to the cover-moving gripper 351, and inject the aspirated samples into one of the extraction tanks 921 of the extraction tray 92. Specifically, the pipetting mechanism 40 includes multiple sequentially connected pipetting linear modules 42, which give the pipettes 41 multiple degrees of freedom of movement, allowing them to move above the base 10. The pipetting mechanism 40 is prior art, so its specific structure will not be described in detail here.

[0075] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 and Figure 6 As shown, the aforementioned extraction tray transfer mechanism 50 is used to move the extraction tray 92 containing the sample to the nucleic acid extraction module 60 (e.g., Figure 1(As shown in the figure). Specifically, the extraction disk transfer mechanism 50 is located on a crossbeam (not shown) above the base 10, and includes a disk gripper 51 and multiple sequentially connected disk transfer linear modules 52. The disk gripper 51 can grip the extraction disk 92, and the disk transfer linear modules 52 give the disk gripper 51 multiple degrees of freedom of movement, allowing it to move above the base 10. The extraction disk transfer mechanism 50 is prior art, so its specific structure will not be described in detail here. The nucleic acid extraction module 60 is also a standard component used for molecular testing in the prior art, so its specific structure will not be described in detail here either.

[0076] Please refer to the following: Figure 24 As shown, the nucleic acid extraction method for molecular testing of the present invention includes the following steps: preparing the extraction tray and sample (S1) and dispensing and extraction (S2). The nucleic acid extraction method of this embodiment uses the aforementioned nucleic acid extraction device, but is not limited thereto.

[0077] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 and Figure 15 As shown, when “preparing the extraction tray and specimen”, the extraction tray 92 as described above is prepared, the extraction tray 92 is stored in the tray storage rack 11 of the base 10, and then one of the extraction trays 92 is moved from the tray storage rack 11 to the tearing base 21 of the tearing mechanism 20 by the extraction tray transfer mechanism 50 and fixed on the tearing base 21.

[0078] Please refer to the following: Figures 18 to 20 As shown, the flipping head 251 of the film-tearing mechanism 20 then moves to below the flange 923 of the extraction tray 92, and the top of the flipping head 251 abuts against the bottom surface of the flange 923. At the same time, the flipping head 251 moves toward the folded portion 9221 of the sealing film 922, so that the side of the flipping head 251 pushes against the edge of the folded portion 9221, thereby causing the folded portion 9221 to flip from below the flange 923 to the outside of the flange 923.

[0079] Please refer to the following: Figure 21 and Figure 22 As shown, the film-tearing claw 27 then grips the folded periphery 9221 that has been flipped to the outside of the flange 923. The film-tearing claw 27 then rotates and moves to separate the sealing film 922 from the extraction tray 92, thereby exposing the opening of the extraction groove 921 on the extraction tray 92. After removing the sealing film 922, the extraction tray 92 is moved to a dispensing area 13 adjacent to the pipetting mechanism 40 by the extraction tray transfer mechanism 50.

[0080] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 , Figure 7 and Figure 10As shown, while the extraction disc transfer mechanism 50 and the film-tearing mechanism 20 are operating, the container transfer mechanism 80 moves the sampling container 91 located in the sorting area 12 to the capping mechanism 30, where it is held by one of the body clamps 33. The rotary table 32 rotates 90 degrees to move the sampling container 91 to the position corresponding to the cap-releasing assembly 34 (e.g., Figure 11 As shown), at this time, the top cover 912 of the sampling container 91 is loosened by the loosening jaw 343; after the top cover 912 is loosened, the rotating table 32 rotates 90 degrees again to move the sampling container 91 to the position corresponding to the cover-moving assembly 35 (as shown). Figure 12 As shown), at this time, the cover 912 is separated from the body 911 by the cover-moving claw 351 and the cover is moved to one side of the body 911, thereby exposing the upper opening of the body 911.

[0081] Please refer to the following: Figure 23 As shown, during "dispensing and extraction", the two pipettes 41 of the pipetting mechanism 40 respectively pick up the two samples from the two sampling containers 91 at the capping assembly 35, and inject the two samples into two extraction tanks 921 on the extraction plate 92. After injection, the capping jaws 351 of the capping mechanism 30 place the cap 912 back onto the body 911 (not shown in this state diagram), and the rotating stage 32 rotates 90 degrees to move the sampling container 91 to the position corresponding to the capping assembly 36 (e.g., ...). Figure 13 (Illustrative image) The cap 912 is tightened by the cap clamp 361 to seal the remaining sample in the sample collection container 91. The rotating table 32 rotates 90 degrees again, and the container transfer mechanism 80 places the processed sample collection container 91 back into the sample collection tube sorting tray 93.

[0082] Next, the container transfer mechanism 80, the top cover mechanism 30, and the pipetting mechanism 40 continuously inject the samples from the remaining unprocessed sample containers 91 on the sample collection tube sorting tray 93 into the remaining extraction slots 921 on the extraction tray 92. Finally, the extraction tray transfer mechanism 50 moves the extraction tray 92 containing the samples into the nucleic acid extraction module 60 for nucleic acid extraction. After the nucleic acid extraction module 60 completes its operation, the extraction tray transfer mechanism 50 removes the extraction tray 92 from the nucleic acid extraction module 60 and moves it to an extraction tray output mechanism 94 (e.g., ...). Figure 2 As shown, the extraction plate 92 waits at the extraction plate output mechanism 94 to be picked up by another machine (not of this invention) for subsequent molecular testing.

[0083] In summary, the film-tearing mechanism 20 of the present invention can automatically separate the sealing film 922 on the top surface of the extraction tray 92 from the extraction tray 92; the cover mechanism 30 can automatically open the sampling container 91; the pipetting mechanism 40 can automatically inject the sample from the sampling container 91 into the extraction tray 92; and the extraction tray transfer mechanism 50 can automatically move the extraction tray 92 to the nucleic acid extraction module 60 for extraction. This enables the nucleic acid extraction operation to be highly automated, thereby greatly reducing manpower and improving the quality of operation.

[0084] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A film-tearing mechanism for molecular testing, characterized in that, A film-removing mechanism is used to remove a sealing film from an extraction tray, the extraction tray having a flange protruding from its outer circumferential surface at the top; the sealing film is attached to the top surface of the extraction tray, and a folded portion of the sealing film is folded back at the flange of the extraction tray, such that the folded portion is located below the flange of the extraction tray; the film-removing mechanism includes: A film base is used to fix the extraction disc; A film-flipping assembly is movably disposed on the film-tear base toward the folded portion of the sealing film, the film-flipping assembly having: A flipping head protrudes from a top surface of the flipping assembly and abuts against a bottom surface of the flange of the extraction tray; when the flipping assembly moves toward the folded portion of the sealing film, one side of the flipping head pushes against the folded portion and flips the folded portion from below the flange to the outside of the flange. A film-tearing gripper is movably and rotatably disposed on the film-tearing base; the film-tearing gripper is used to grip the folded portion that has been flipped to the outside of the flange, and the movement and rotation of the film-tearing gripper are used to separate the sealing film from the extraction tray.

2. The film-tearning mechanism for molecular testing as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The film-turning assembly includes: A film-turning body; the film-turning head is slidably mounted on the film-turning body; A lifting elastic element is provided on the flipping body and pushes upward against the flipping head.

3. The film-tearning mechanism for molecular testing as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The film-tearing mechanism has A first linear module is disposed on the tear film base and has a first slide block that can move along a first direction; A second linear module is disposed on the first slide of the first linear module and has a second slide that is movable along a second direction; the second direction is not parallel to the first direction. A third linear module is disposed on the second slide of the second linear module and has a third slide that can move up and down; The film-turning assembly is located on the third slide of the third linear module; The film-tearing gripper is rotatably mounted on the third slide of the third linear module.

4. A nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing, characterized in that, It is used to process multiple sampling containers and an extraction tray; each sampling container has a body and a top cover, the body contains a sample, and the top cover seals the sample within the body; each extraction tray has multiple extraction slots and a sealing film, the sealing film is attached to the top surface of the extraction tray and seals the extraction slots; the nucleic acid extraction device includes: A base, and a membrane tearing mechanism, a top cover mechanism, a liquid transfer mechanism, an extraction tray transfer mechanism, and a nucleic acid extraction module disposed on the base; wherein The film-tearing mechanism is used to remove the sealing film from the extraction tray, the extraction tray having a flange protruding from its outer circumferential surface at the top; a folded portion of the sealing film folds back at the flange of the extraction tray, such that the folded portion is located below the flange of the extraction tray; the film-tearing mechanism includes: A film-tearable base is disposed on the base and is used to fix the extraction disc; A film-flipping assembly is movably disposed on the film-tear base toward the folded portion of the sealing film, the film-flipping assembly having: A flipping head protrudes from a top surface of the flipping assembly and abuts against a bottom surface of the flange of the extraction tray; when the flipping assembly moves toward the folded portion of the sealing film, one side of the flipping head pushes against the folded portion and flips the folded portion from below the flange to the outside of the flange. A film-tearing gripper is movably and rotatably mounted on the film-tearing base; the film-tearing gripper is used to grip the folded portion that has been flipped to the outside of the flange; the movement and rotation of the film-tearing gripper are used to separate the sealing film from the extraction tray. The cover mechanism is used to separate the cover of each of the sampling containers from the body; The pipetting mechanism includes At least one pipette; each of the at least one pipette is used to aspirate the sample from one of the sampling containers and inject the aspirated sample into one of the extraction tanks of the extraction pan; The extraction tray transfer mechanism is used to move the extraction tray containing the sample injected into the extraction tank into the nucleic acid extraction module.

5. The nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The cover mechanism includes: A fixed base is provided on the base; A rotating platform is rotatably mounted on the fixed base with a rotation axis as its axis; At least one body clamp is disposed on the rotary table, and each of the at least one body clamp is used to clamp one of the sampling containers. A lid loosening assembly includes at least one lid loosening gripper for gripping the lid of the at least one sampling container on the at least one body clamp and loosening the lid; A cap removal assembly includes at least one cap removal gripper for gripping the cap of at least one sampling container on at least one body clamp, and for moving the loosened cap to one side of the body of the sampling container. A lid closing assembly includes at least one lid closing gripper for gripping and tightening the lid of the at least one sampling container on the at least one body clamp. The lid loosening assembly, the lid moving assembly, and the lid closing assembly are disposed on the fixed base and located above the rotary table and are spaced apart around the rotation axis; the rotation of the rotary table causes the at least one sampling container held by the at least one body clamp to be positioned sequentially corresponding to the at least one lid loosening claw, the at least one lid moving claw, and the at least one lid closing claw.

6. The nucleic acid extraction device for molecular testing as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The loose cover assembly of the cover mechanism includes: A lid-opening linear module is provided on the fixed base and has a lid-opening slide that can move up and down; At least one cover-opening motor is located on the cover-opening slide; The at least one cap release gripper is disposed on the cap opening slide of the cap release linear module and is connected to the spindle of the at least one cap release motor; The at least one lid-releasing motor can drive the at least one lid-releasing jaw to rotate, thereby loosening the lid held by the lid-releasing jaw.

7. The nucleic acid extraction apparatus for molecular testing as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The cover-moving assembly of the cover mechanism includes: A first cover-moving actuator is disposed on the fixed base and has a first cover-moving actuating block, the first cover-moving actuating block being movable relative to the fixed base; A second cover-moving actuator is disposed on the first cover-moving actuator block of the first cover-moving actuator, and has a second cover-moving actuator block that can move up and down; the moving direction of the first cover-moving actuator block is not parallel to the moving direction of the second cover-moving actuator block. At least one cover-moving gripper is disposed on the second cover-moving actuator block of the second cover-moving actuator.

8. The nucleic acid extraction apparatus for molecular testing as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The unprocessed sampling container is placed on a sorting area of ​​the base; The nucleic acid extraction device has a container transfer mechanism disposed on the base; the container transfer mechanism has a container gripper that can move to the sorting area of ​​the base and grip one of the sampling containers located in the sorting area; the container gripper can move to the at least one body clamp corresponding to the cover mechanism.

9. A nucleic acid extraction method for molecular testing, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Preparation of the extraction tray and sample: An extraction tray is prepared, with a flange protruding from the outer circumference of the top of the tray. A sealing film is attached to the top surface of the extraction tray, and a folded portion of the sealing film is folded back at the flange, so that the folded portion is located below the flange of the extraction tray. A film-flipping head of a film-tearing mechanism abuts against a bottom surface of the flange of the extraction tray, and the film-flipping head moves toward the folded portion of the sealing film so that the folded portion is flipped from below the flange to the outside of the flange. A film-tearing jaw grips the folded portion that has been flipped to the outside of the flange, and then the film-tearing jaw rotates and moves to separate the sealing film from the extraction tray. A capping mechanism separates a cap of at least one of the multiple sampling containers from a body of the sampling container. Dispensing and extraction: At least one pipette of a pipetting mechanism aspirates the sample from one of a plurality of sampling containers and injects the aspirated sample into one of a plurality of extraction slots on an extraction tray; then the cover mechanism and the pipetting mechanism continue to inject the samples from the remaining sampling containers into the remaining extraction slots on the extraction tray; an extraction tray transfer mechanism moves the extraction tray containing the samples injected into the extraction slots to a nucleic acid extraction module.

10. The nucleic acid extraction method for molecular testing as described in claim 9, characterized in that, During the dispensing and extraction steps, after each of the at least one pipette of the pipetting mechanism aspirates the sample from one of the multiple sample collection containers, the capping mechanism attaches the cap of the sample collection container to the body and seals the remaining sample in the sample collection container.

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