An unattended intelligent specimen receiving system and receiving method

Abstract

The intelligent specimen receiving system and receiving method of the present application, the system includes a sample classification and conveying assembly, the sample classification and conveying assembly includes a test tube feeding conveying line, a test tube transfer mechanism, a code scanning and rotating mechanism, a test tube and tray grabbing robot, a defective product placement position, an empty tray placement position, a test tube placement position and a manual material taking position, the test tube feeding conveying line is used for carrying specimen test tubes, the test tube transfer mechanism is used for transferring the specimen test tubes on the test tube feeding conveying line to the code scanning and rotating mechanism, the code scanning and rotating mechanism scans the specimen test tubes, the test tube and tray grabbing robot selects to transfer the specimen test tubes to the defective product placement position or the test tube placement position according to the code scanning result, after the test tube placement position meets the predetermined condition, the test tube and tray grabbing robot transfers the test tube placement tray on the test tube placement position to the manual material taking position, the cooperation between each mechanism automatically completes the classification and transportation of the sample, and errors caused by fatigue of manual work are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of specimen processing technology, specifically to an unattended intelligent specimen receiving system and receiving method. Background Technology

[0002] Hospitals receive and test a large number of patient samples daily. Currently, the processing of these samples involves a significant amount of time spent manually sorting and transporting them, which has obvious drawbacks. Since samples are typically placed in test tubes and labeled, manual sorting requires prolonged attention to the labels. This demands constant concentration from the sorting personnel, who are prone to lapses in focus or fatigue when performing repetitive tasks, leading to errors and requiring reprocessing. This makes sample sorting a tedious and monotonous task. Furthermore, the unpredictable delivery time of samples can disrupt doctors' work, further impacting efficiency.

[0003] Therefore, existing specimen classification and handling are all done manually, which cannot achieve the goal of intelligent and automatic specimen processing. To address this, the present invention provides an unattended intelligent specimen receiving system that frees up manpower, facilitates management, and has an extremely low error rate. Summary of the Invention

[0004] (a) Technical problems to be solved

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides an unattended intelligent specimen receiving system equipped with a camera that allows for 24-hour monitoring of the equipment's operational status. Any abnormalities can be promptly reported to the management department. Furthermore, the system can be remotely monitored via software to track specimen reception and address issues at appropriate times. The intelligent specimen receiving system includes a test tube loading and conveying line, a barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, a test tube transfer mechanism, and a test tube and tray gripping robot. Through the coordinated operation of these components, the system enables automatic, rapid, and uninterrupted classification and handling of specimens, thereby freeing up manual labor and facilitating management.

[0006] (II) Technical Solution

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an unattended intelligent specimen receiving system, comprising: an upper support frame and a lower support frame, wherein the upper support frame is disposed above the lower support frame, a sample classification and handling component is disposed within the upper support frame, and a control component is disposed within the lower support frame, the control component controlling the actions of the sample classification and handling component, wherein the sample classification and handling component includes a test tube loading conveyor line, a test tube transfer mechanism, a barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, a test tube and tray gripping robot, a defective product placement position, an empty tray placement position, a test tube placement position, and a manual retrieval mechanism. The test tube feeding conveyor line is used to transport specimen test tubes. The test tube transfer mechanism is used to transfer the specimen test tubes on the test tube feeding conveyor line to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism. The barcode scanning and rotating mechanism scans the specimen test tubes. The test tube and tray gripping robot selects to transfer the specimen test tubes to the defective product placement position or the test tube placement position according to the barcode scanning result. The test tube and tray gripping robot can transfer the test tube placement tray on the test tube placement position to the manual material picking position. In addition, the test tube and tray gripping robot can transfer the empty material tray on the empty material tray placement position to the test tube placement position for use as a test tube placement tray.

[0008] Preferably, the two ends of the test tube feeding conveyor are respectively connected to the specimen receiving port and one end of the test tube transfer mechanism, and the other end of the test tube transfer mechanism is connected to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism. The defective product placement position is arranged side by side with the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism. The empty material tray placement position, the test tube placement position and the manual material handling position are arranged side by side in sequence, parallel to the row formed by the defective product placement position and the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism. The test tube and material tray gripping robot is fixedly installed on the upper end of the upper support frame.

[0009] Preferably, the test tube and tray gripping robot includes a free arm and an end mount. The end mount is located at the lower end of the free arm. A lower electric gripper is located at the lower end of the end mount, and a left insertion gripper is located at the side end of the end mount. The lower electric gripper is used to grip the specimen test tube, and the left insertion gripper is used to transport the empty tray and the test tube placement tray.

[0010] Furthermore, the test tube feeding and conveying line includes a synchronous belt rotary motor, a synchronous belt, and test tube fixing fixtures. Several test tube fixing fixtures are evenly arranged on the synchronous belt, and several specimen test tubes are inserted into the test tube fixing fixtures. The synchronous belt rotary motor is used to drive the synchronous belt to rotate, thereby causing the test tube fixing fixtures to move with the rotation of the synchronous belt, moving the specimen test tubes from the specimen receiving port to the test tube transfer mechanism.

[0011] Furthermore, the test tube transfer mechanism includes a horizontal module, a vertical cylinder, and an end gripper. The horizontal module includes a horizontal motor, a horizontal belt, a horizontal slider, and a guide rail. The horizontal motor is located at one end of the guide rail, the horizontal slider is slidably mounted on the guide rail, and the horizontal slider is fixedly mounted on the horizontal belt. The horizontal motor drives the horizontal belt to rotate, thereby causing the horizontal slider to slide. One end of the vertical cylinder is located on one side of the horizontal slider, and the other end of the vertical cylinder is provided with the end gripper, which is used to grip the specimen test tube.

[0012] Furthermore, the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism includes a barcode scanner, a swing cylinder, a rotating plate, a left electric gripper, and a right electric gripper. The swing cylinder is located at the upper end of the upper support frame, and the middle part of the rotating plate is connected to the end of the swing cylinder. The left electric gripper and the right electric gripper are respectively located at both ends of the rotating plate. The swing cylinder can drive the rotating plate to rotate, and both the left electric gripper and the right electric gripper can hold the specimen tube.

[0013] Furthermore, the end gripper of the test tube transfer mechanism picks up the specimen test tube and places it at the left electric gripper. The barcode scanner scans the label on the specimen test tube. After scanning, the swing cylinder moves, causing the rotating plate to rotate 180°. Then, the test tube and tray picking robot picks up the specimen test tube and places it at the test tube placement position or the defective product placement position.

[0014] Furthermore, a test tube detection sensor is also provided at the test tube placement position. The test tube detection sensor is a counter or a camera. The test tube detection sensor transmits the number of sample test tubes detected to the control component. The control component controls whether the test tube and tray grabbing robot transports the test tube placement tray from the test tube placement position to the manual material picking position based on the detection result.

[0015] Furthermore, a front wall panel, a left wall panel, a right wall panel, and a rear wall panel are respectively provided around the upper support frame and the lower support frame. An upper top plate is provided at the upper end of the upper support frame, and a bottom plate is provided at the lower end of the lower support frame. A specimen delivery port is provided on the front wall panel, through which the test tube feeding conveyor line passes and is used to replenish the material tray at the empty material tray placement position. A specimen retrieval port is provided on the right wall panel at the position corresponding to the manual material retrieval position.

[0016] Furthermore, a display screen and / or operation buttons are provided on the front wall panel. Both the display screen and operation buttons can input operation commands to the control box of the control component, thereby controlling the actions of the test tube feeding conveyor line, the test tube transfer mechanism, the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, and the test tube and tray gripping robot.

[0017] Furthermore, the test tube fixing fixture includes a placement frame with several placement slots, each containing a test tube slot. Several clamping grooves are also provided on the side of each test tube slot. A mounting cavity is provided at the lower end of each test tube slot. A clamping rod assembly is provided within each clamping groove. A support telescopic assembly is provided within the mounting cavity. The clamping rod assembly includes a swinging main rod, a sliding auxiliary rod, and a sliding drive component. The sliding auxiliary rod is slidably mounted on the swinging main rod. The sliding drive component drives the sliding auxiliary rod to slide and extend along the swinging main rod. The swinging main rod is rotatably mounted within the placement frame via a rotation drive wheel axle. The support telescopic assembly includes a support main plate, a threaded outer sleeve, and a threaded inner rod. The threaded inner rod is fixedly mounted on... The threaded outer sleeve is rotatably mounted inside the supporting main body plate on the placement frame. The threaded outer sleeve is fitted over the threaded inner rod. A return spring is fixedly installed between the supporting main body plate and the placement frame. An external gear ring is provided at the upper end of the threaded outer sleeve. A right telescopic rod and a left telescopic rod are slidably mounted inside the placement frame. Both the inner sides of the right telescopic rod and the left telescopic rod are provided with racks. The racks mesh with the external gear ring. When the supporting main body plate descends, it can drive the right telescopic rod and the left telescopic rod to extend. The extended right telescopic rod and the left telescopic rod can drive the swinging main rod to rotate around the rotating drive wheel shaft. The rotating rotating drive shaft can drive the sliding rod drive component to move, causing the sliding auxiliary rod to extend along the swinging main rod for clamping the upper end of the specimen tube.

[0018] Furthermore, it also includes a specimen receiving method, comprising the following steps:

[0019] I. Manual material placement:

[0020] When starting the specimen receiving system, the sample tubes are manually placed into the tube fixing fixture to complete the manual placement.

[0021] II. PLC processing:

[0022] A test tube sensing mechanism is also installed on the test tube conveying and feeding line. After the test tube sensing mechanism senses the sample test tube, it starts the test tube conveying and feeding line. After reaching the test tube transfer mechanism, the test tube transfer mechanism transfers the sample test tube to the barcode rotating mechanism. The above actions are performed by setting a PLC in the control component to complete the PLC processing.

[0023] III. Upper-level computer scanning and sorting, and collaborative robot tray arrangement operation:

[0024] In the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, the barcode scanner scans the sample tubes. After scanning, the corresponding sample tube information is connected to the Laboratory Information Management System (LIS) to identify the tube type and transmit the tube information. If the barcode scanner finds incorrectly submitted tubes or cannot scan them, the tube and tray grabbing robot will put the sample tubes into the recycling box in the defective product placement position, completing the upper computer barcode scanning and classification and the collaborative robot tray placement operation.

[0025] IV. Sorting and Discharging:

[0026] After the test tube placement trays in the test tube placement positions are full, or by controlling the display screen or operating buttons, the test tube and material tray grabbing robot grabs the test tube placement trays to the manual material handling position, and sorts and discharges the materials; finally, it grabs new test tube placement trays from the hole material tray placement position and places them in the test tube placement position, and replenishes the test tube trays in the empty material tray placement position, and finally ends the operation.

[0027] (III) Beneficial Effects

[0028] Compared with existing technologies, the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system provided by this invention has the following advantages:

[0029] 1. The intelligent specimen receiving system of the present invention includes a sample classification and handling component, which includes a test tube loading conveyor line, a test tube transfer mechanism, a barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, a test tube and tray gripping robot, a defective product placement position, an empty tray placement position, a test tube placement position, and a manual retrieval position. The test tube loading conveyor line is used to transport specimen test tubes. The test tube transfer mechanism is used to transfer the specimen test tubes on the test tube loading conveyor line to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism. The barcode scanning and rotating mechanism scans the specimen test tubes. The test tube and tray gripping robot selects to transfer the specimen test tubes to the defective product placement position or the test tube placement position according to the barcode scanning result. After the test tube placement position meets certain conditions, the test tube and tray gripping robot then transfers the test tube placement tray on the test tube placement position to the manual retrieval position. The various mechanisms cooperate with each other to automatically complete the classification and transportation of samples.

[0030] 2. This unattended intelligent specimen receiving system uses a feeding conveyor line to facilitate the centralized transport of specimens to be screened to the test tube transfer mechanism. The test tube transfer mechanism facilitates the individual removal and movement of the transported specimens. A barcode scanning and rotating mechanism facilitates the scanning of information on each specimen. A test tube and tray gripping robot facilitates screening and sorting based on the scanning results. When in use, this device can perform fully automatic screening and sorting, significantly saving labor costs, with high sorting efficiency and low error rate, making it highly practical.

[0031] 3. To accommodate different types of test tubes, the test tube fixing fixture includes a clamping rod assembly and a support telescopic assembly. The clamping rod assembly and the support telescopic assembly are linked. After the test tube is placed into the test tube inlet, the test tube drives the support telescopic assembly to extend and retract. The left and right telescopic rods, mounted on the support telescopic assembly, extend synchronously. These extended rods then drive the swinging main rod of the clamping rod assembly to swing, thereby causing the rotary drive shaft to rotate. The rotating rotary drive shaft then drives the sliding rack to rise, allowing the sliding rack to move... The wheel slides upward, which in turn drives the sliding auxiliary rod to extend at twice the speed of the movable pulley, thus clamping the upper end of the test tube. This allows the test tube clamping fixture to hold test tubes without requiring a very high depth, and it can clamp test tubes of different diameters and models, making it highly versatile. When the test tube needs to be removed, the support plate resets and rises, causing the left and right telescopic rods to retract, the swinging main rod to swing outward, and the sliding auxiliary rod to retract, automatically releasing the test tube. It has a high degree of automation and can be reused. Attached Figure Description

[0032] Figure 1-3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the application of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system after removing the top plate and wall panels;

[0035] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a test tube feeding and conveying line.

[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the test tube transfer mechanism.

[0037] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the barcode scanning rotation mechanism.

[0038] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the test tube and tray gripping robot.

[0039] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the defective product placement area.

[0040] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the empty material tray placement area and the test tube placement area;

[0041] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system after removing the front and left wall panels;

[0042] Figure 13-14 A schematic diagram of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system after removing the front wall panel, left wall panel, and right wall panel;

[0043] Figure 15-16 A schematic diagram of another action process of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system after removing the top plate and wall panels;

[0044] Figure 17-18 This is a schematic diagram of the sample classification and handling components.

[0045] Figure 19-21 A schematic diagram of the sample sorting and handling components, excluding the robot and defective products.

[0046] Figure 22 Here is a flowchart of the specimen receiving system operation;

[0047] Figure 23 Top view of the test tube fixing fixture;

[0048] Figure 24 for Figure 23 AA section view;

[0049] Figure 25 for Figure 24 Enlarged view C;

[0050] Figure 26 for Figure 24 BB cross-sectional view.

[0051] In the diagram: 1. Intelligent specimen receiving system; 2. Partition wall; 3. Inner specimen receiving space; 4. Outer delivery space; 5. Specimen receiving port; 6. Roller assembly; 7. Lower support; 8. Upper support frame; 9. Right wall panel; 10. Rear wall panel; 11. Top plate; 12. Front wall panel; 13. Left wall panel; 14. Specimen retrieval port; 15. Specimen delivery port; 16. Loading base plate; 17. Test tube loading conveyor line; 18. Test tube transfer mechanism; 19. Barcode scanning and rotating mechanism; 20. Test tube and tray gripping robot; 21. Empty tray placement position; 22. Test tube placement position; 23. Manual material retrieval position; 24. Defective product placement position. 25. Synchronous belt rotary motor; 26. Synchronous belt; 27. Test tube fixing fixture; 28. Horizontal module; 29. ​​Vertical cylinder; 30. End gripper; 31. Horizontal motor; 32. Horizontal slider; 33. Horizontal belt; 34. Guide rail; 35. Barcode scanner; 36. Left electric gripper; 37. Swing cylinder; 38. Right electric gripper; 39. Free arm; 40. End mounting base; 41. Lower electric gripper; 42. Left insertion gripper; 43. Recycling box; 44. Empty material tray; 45. Test tube placement tray; 46. Restricting corner two; 47. Sliding corner three; 48. Test tube detection sensor; 49. Restricting corner one 50. Placement base; 51. Upper sliding cover; 52. Drive lifting cylinder; 53. Left insertion hole; 54. Right insertion hole; 55. Display and operation screen; 56. Robot mounting plate; 57. Power supply; 58. Control box; 59. Air source; 60. Limiting ring; 61. Upper exhaust fan; 62. Rear exhaust fan; 63. Locking support; 64. Operation button; 65. Mounting base plate one; 66. Support frame one; 67. With side frame; 68. Specimen tube; 69. Mounting rod; 70. Rotating plate; 71. Rotating mounting base; 72. Sample classification and handling components; 73. Control components; 74. Remote transmitter; 75. Placement 76. Placement port; 77. Clamping rod assembly; 78. Support telescopic assembly; 79. Test tube socket; 80. Clamping rod groove; 81. Swinging main rod; 82. Sliding auxiliary rod; 83. Slide rod drive component; 84. Holding spring; 85. Rotation drive wheel shaft; 86. Sliding rack; 87. Moving pulley; 88. Drive rope; 89. Return spring one; 90. Spring mounting seat; 91. Support main plate; 92. Threaded outer sleeve; 93. Threaded inner rod; 94. External gear ring; 95. Left telescopic rod; 96. Right telescopic rod; 97. Test tube receiving groove; 98. Bearing; 99. Return spring two; 100. Mounting cavity. Detailed Implementation

[0052] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0053] Please see Figure 1-21 The intelligent specimen receiving system 1 is arranged in the specimen receiving space 3 formed by the partition wall 2. The partition wall 2 is provided with a specimen receiving port 5. The specimen tubes 68 pass through the specimen receiving port 5 from the outer delivery space 4 restricted by the partition wall 2 and enter the intelligent specimen receiving system 1 for specimen classification and handling.

[0054] The intelligent specimen receiving system 1 includes: an upper support frame 8, a lower support frame 7, and a roller assembly 6. The upper support frame 8 is located above the lower support frame 7, and the roller assembly 6 is located at the lower end of the lower support frame 7. A sample sorting and handling component 72 is located within the upper support frame 8, and a control component 73 is located within the lower support frame 7. The control component 73 controls the movement of the sample sorting and handling component 72. The sample sorting and handling component 72 includes a test tube loading conveyor line 17, a test tube transfer mechanism 18, a barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19, a test tube and tray gripping robot 20, a defective product placement position 24, an empty tray placement position 21, a test tube placement position 22, and a manual material handling position 23. The test tube loading conveyor line 17 is used to transport specimen test tubes 68. The test tube transfer mechanism 18... 8 is used to transfer the specimen test tubes 68 on the test tube feeding conveyor line 17 to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19. The barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19 scans the specimen test tubes 68. The test tube and tray gripping robot 20 selects to transfer the specimen test tubes 68 to the defective product placement position 24 or the test tube placement position 22 according to the barcode scanning result. After the test tube placement position 22 meets certain conditions, the test tube and tray gripping robot 20 then transfers the test tube placement tray 45 on the test tube placement position 22 to the manual material retrieval position 23. Then, the test tube and tray gripping robot 20 transfers the empty material tray 44 on the empty material tray placement position 21 to the test tube placement position 22 for use as the test tube placement tray 45. At the same time, an empty material tray 44 is replenished at the empty material tray placement position 21. The operator can then retrieve the test tube placement tray 45 at the manual material retrieval position 23. Through the above operations, medical staff can classify and transport the specimen tubes 68 in real time without manual intervention. Since the above operations are completed automatically by the machine, they can work 24 hours a day without time constraints, thus improving the efficiency of specimen tube classification and transportation.

[0055] Furthermore, the two ends of the test tube feeding conveyor line 17 are respectively connected to the specimen receiving port 5 and one end of the test tube transfer mechanism 18. The other end of the test tube transfer mechanism 18 is connected to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19. The defective product placement position 24 is arranged side by side adjacent to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19. The empty material tray placement position 21, the test tube placement position 22, and the manual material handling position 23 are arranged side by side in sequence, parallel to the row formed by the defective product placement position 24 and the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19. The test tubes are gripped by the material tray. The robot 20 is fixedly mounted on the upper end of the upper support frame 8. The test tube and tray gripping robot 20 includes a free arm 39 and an end mount 40. The end mount 40 is located at the lower end of the free arm 39. A lower electric gripper 41 is provided at the lower end of the end mount 40, and a left insertion claw 42 is provided at the side end of the end mount 40. The lower electric gripper 41 is used to grip the specimen test tube 68, and the left insertion claw 42 is used to transport the empty tray 44 and the test tube placement tray 45.

[0056] Furthermore, the left insertion claw 42 is slidably disposed on the left side of the end mounting base 40, and a sliding drive cylinder is disposed between the left insertion claw 42 and the end mounting base 40. The left insertion claw 42 moves up and down by extending and retracting the sliding drive cylinder. The lower electric gripper 41 includes two grippers that are laterally slidably disposed at the lower end of the end mounting base 40. The opening and closing of the two grippers can be achieved by a motor screw structure or by a telescopic cylinder.

[0057] Furthermore, such as Figure 5 As shown, the row of empty material tray placement position 21, test tube placement position 22 and manual material handling position 23 is perpendicular to the test tube feeding conveyor line. The row of defective product placement position 24 and barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19 is also perpendicular to the test tube feeding conveyor line. The manual material handling position 23 is located at one end away from the test tube feeding conveyor line 17.

[0058] Furthermore, the test tube feeding and conveying line 17 includes a synchronous belt rotary motor 25, a synchronous belt 26, and a test tube fixing fixture 27. Several test tube fixing fixtures 27 are evenly arranged on the synchronous belt 26. Several specimen test tubes 68 are inserted into the test tube fixing fixtures 27. The synchronous belt rotary motor 25 is used to drive the synchronous belt 26 to rotate, thereby driving the test tube fixing fixtures 27 to move with the rotation of the synchronous belt 26, moving the specimen test tubes 68 from the specimen receiving port 5 to the test tube transfer mechanism 18.

[0059] Furthermore, the test tube fixing fixture 27 is provided with 3 test tube insertion slots, the synchronous belt 26 is rotatably disposed in the two belt side frames 67, and the belt side frames 67 are fixedly disposed on the upper support frame 8 by a support frame 66.

[0060] Furthermore, the test tube transfer mechanism 18 includes a horizontal module 28, a vertical cylinder 29, and an end gripper 30. The horizontal module 28 includes a horizontal motor 31, a horizontal belt 33, a horizontal slider 32, and a guide rail 34. The horizontal motor 31 is disposed at one end of the guide rail 34, the horizontal slider 32 is slidably disposed on the guide rail 34, and the horizontal slider 32 is fixedly disposed on the horizontal belt 33. The horizontal motor 31 drives the horizontal belt 33 to rotate, thereby causing the horizontal slider 32 to slide. One end of the vertical cylinder 29 is disposed on one side of the horizontal slider 32, and the other end of the vertical cylinder 29 is provided with the end gripper 30, which is used to grip the specimen test tube 68.

[0061] Furthermore, the guide rail 34 is fixedly mounted on the upper support frame 8 by a plurality of mounting rods 69. Preferably, the number of mounting rods 69 is four.

[0062] Furthermore, the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19 includes a barcode scanner 35, a swing cylinder 37, a rotating plate 70, a left electric gripper 36, and a right electric gripper 38. The swing cylinder 37 is disposed on the upper end of the upper support frame 8. The middle part of the rotating plate 70 is connected to the end of the swing cylinder 37. The left electric gripper 36 and the right electric gripper 38 are respectively disposed at both ends of the rotating plate 70. The swing cylinder 37 can drive the rotating plate 70 to rotate. Both the left electric gripper 36 and the right electric gripper 38 can clamp the specimen tube 68. Preferably, a limiting ring 60 is provided on the outer side of the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19.

[0063] Furthermore, the end gripper 30 of the test tube transfer mechanism 18 picks up the specimen test tube 68 and places it at the left electric gripper 36. The barcode scanner 35 scans the label on the specimen test tube 68. After scanning, the swing cylinder 37 moves, causing the rotating plate 70 to rotate 180°. Then, the test tube and tray picking robot 20 picks up the specimen test tube 68 and places it at the test tube placement position 22 or the defective product placement position 24.

[0064] Furthermore, the swing cylinder 37 is fixedly mounted on the upper support frame 8 via a rotating mounting base 71.

[0065] Furthermore, the defective product placement location 24 includes a recycling box 43.

[0066] Furthermore, the empty material tray placement position 21 includes several limiting corners 49 and an empty material tray 44 placed within the limiting corners 49.

[0067] Furthermore, the test tube placement position 22 includes several limiting corners 46 and a sliding corner 47, and the test tube placement tray 45 is placed within the limiting corners 46 and the sliding corner 47.

[0068] Furthermore, a test tube detection sensor 48 is also provided at the test tube placement position 22. The test tube detection sensor 48 can be a counter or a camera. The counter is used to count the test tubes in the test tube placement tray 45, and the camera is used to capture images on the test tube placement tray 45 and then count the number of sample test tubes 68. The test tube detection sensor 48 transmits the detected number of sample test tubes 68 to the control component 73. The control component 73 controls the test tube and tray gripping robot 20 to transport the test tube placement tray 45 at the test tube placement position to the manual material handling position 23 based on the detection result.

[0069] Furthermore, the manual material handling position 23 includes a placement base 50 and an upper sliding cover 51. The upper sliding cover 51 is slidably disposed on the upper end of the placement base 50 by a drive lifting cylinder 52, and a test tube placement tray 45 loaded with specimen test tubes 68 is placed on the placement base 50.

[0070] Furthermore, both the empty material tray 44 and the test tube placement tray 45 include several test tube slots for placing specimen test tubes 68. A left insertion hole 53 is provided on the left side of both the empty material tray 44 and the test tube placement tray 45, and a right insertion hole 54 is provided on the right side of both the empty material tray 44 and the test tube placement tray 45. The left insertion claw 42 is inserted into the left insertion hole 53 and the right insertion hole 54 to realize the handling of the empty material tray 44 and the test tube placement tray 45.

[0071] Furthermore, a loading base plate 16 is provided at the bottom of the upper support frame 8, and the test tube feeding conveyor line 17, test tube transfer mechanism 18, barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19, defective product placement position 24, empty material tray placement position 21, test tube placement position 22 and manual material handling position 23 are all fixedly installed on the loading base plate 16.

[0072] Furthermore, the control component 73 includes a power supply 57, a control box 58, and an air source 59. The power supply 57 is used to provide power, the control box 58 is used to control the actions of the test tube feeding conveyor line 17, the test tube transfer mechanism 18, the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19, and the test tube and material tray gripping robot 20, and the air source 59 provides power to the vertical cylinder 29.

[0073] Furthermore, a front wall panel 12, a left wall panel 13, a right wall panel 9, and a rear wall panel 10 are respectively provided around the upper support frame 8 and the lower support frame 7. An upper top plate 11 is provided at the upper end of the upper support frame 8, and a bottom plate is provided at the lower end of the lower support frame 7. A specimen delivery port 15 is provided on the front wall panel 12. The test tube feeding conveyor line 17 passes through the specimen delivery port 15 and is used to replenish the material tray at the empty material tray placement position 21 through the specimen delivery port 15. A specimen retrieval port 14 is provided on the right wall panel 9 at the position corresponding to the manual material retrieval position 23.

[0074] Furthermore, in order to ensure ventilation within the specimen receiving system, an upper exhaust fan 61 is installed on the upper top plate 11, and a rear exhaust fan 62 is installed on the rear wall plate 10.

[0075] Furthermore, to enable more intelligent control of the intelligent specimen receiving system 1, a display operation screen 55 and operation buttons 64 are provided on the front wall panel 12. Both the display operation screen 55 and the operation buttons 64 can input operation commands to the control box 58, thereby controlling the actions of the test tube feeding conveyor line 17, the test tube transfer mechanism 18, the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism 19, and the test tube and tray gripping robot 20. At the same time, the display operation screen 55 can also display the number of test tubes in the test tube placement tray 45, and / or the number of specimen test tubes 68 at the manual material handling position 23, and / or the number of specimen test tubes 68 at the defective product placement position 24. Preferably, it can also provide an early warning when the number of specimen test tubes 68 exceeds a certain amount, or provide an alert when no tray is detected in the empty tray placement position 21. Specific detection results can be detected by setting up sensors. The specific sensor structure is common knowledge in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0076] Furthermore, the support frame 66 is fixedly mounted on the loading base plate 16 via the mounting base plate 65.

[0077] Furthermore, the test tube and tray gripping robot 20 is fixedly mounted on the upper end of the upper support frame 8 via a robot mounting plate 56.

[0078] Furthermore, the test tube placement position 22 may meet certain conditions, specifically: the test tube placement tray 45 in the test tube placement position 22 is already full of sample test tubes 68; or, the number of sample test tubes 68 detected by the test tube detection sensor 48 meets a preset number, such as loading more than half of the sample test tubes 68 into the test tube placement tray 45; or, remote control may be performed by inputting action commands for the test tube and tray gripping robot 20 through the display operation screen 55 and / or operation buttons 64.

[0079] Furthermore, the control component 73 also includes a remote transmitter 74, which transmits the operating status of the intelligent specimen receiving system 1 to a remote management terminal, and promptly feeds back to the remote management department when an abnormality occurs in the intelligent specimen receiving system 1.

[0080] Furthermore, such as Figure 23-26 As shown, in order to facilitate the use of the test tube fixing fixture 27 to accommodate various types of test tubes, and to ensure that the test tube fixing fixture 27 is not too tall while clamping the test tubes securely, the test tube fixing fixture 27 includes a placement frame 75. The placement frame 75 has several placement slots 76 (three are shown in the example, but not limited to three; more are possible). Each placement slot 76 includes a test tube slot 79. Several clamping grooves 80 are also provided on the side of the test tube slot 79. The lower end of 79 is provided with an installation cavity 100. A clamping rod assembly 77 is provided in the clamping rod groove 80. A support telescopic assembly 78 is provided in the installation cavity 100. The clamping rod assembly 77 includes a swing main rod 81, a sliding auxiliary rod 82, and a sliding drive member 83. The sliding auxiliary rod 82 is slidably disposed on the swing main rod 81. The sliding drive member 83 drives the sliding auxiliary rod 82 to slide and extend along the swing main rod 81. The swing main rod 81 is rotatably disposed within the placement frame 75 via a rotation drive wheel shaft 85. The support telescopic assembly 78 includes a support main plate 91, a threaded outer sleeve 92, and a threaded inner rod 93. The threaded inner rod 93 is fixedly mounted on the placement frame 75. The threaded outer sleeve 92 is rotatably mounted inside the support main plate 91 and sleeved outside the threaded inner rod 93. A return spring 99 is fixedly mounted between the support main plate 91 and the placement frame 75. An external toothed ring 94 is mounted on the upper end of the threaded outer sleeve 92. A right telescopic rod 96 and a left telescopic rod 95 are slidably mounted inside the placement frame 75. Both the inner sides of the right telescopic rod 96 and the left telescopic rod 95 are provided with racks, which mesh with the outer gear ring 94. When the supporting main body disk 91 descends, it can drive the right telescopic rod 96 and the left telescopic rod 95 to extend. The extended right telescopic rod 96 and the left telescopic rod 95 can drive the swing main rod 81 to rotate around the rotary drive wheel shaft 85. The rotating rotary drive shaft 85 can drive the slide rod drive component 83 to move, causing the sliding auxiliary rod 82 to extend along the swing main rod 81 for clamping the upper end of the specimen tube 68.

[0081] Furthermore, the slide bar drive component 83 includes a sliding rack 86, a movable pulley 87, and a drive rope 88. The movable pulley 87 is rotatably disposed on the upper end of the sliding rack 86. A gear is disposed on the rotating drive wheel shaft 85, and the gear meshes with the sliding rack 86. One end of the drive rope 88 is fixedly disposed on the swing main rod 81 and then passes around the movable pulley 87, while the other end is fixedly disposed on the lower end of the sliding auxiliary rod 82.

[0082] Furthermore, in order to facilitate the return of the sliding auxiliary rod 82, a spring mounting seat 90 is provided at one end of the swing main rod 81, and a return spring 89 is provided between the spring mounting seat and the sliding auxiliary rod 82.

[0083] Furthermore, a retaining spring 84 is provided between the placement frame 75 and the swing main rod 81. The retaining spring 84 is located in the mounting cavity 100. In the initial state, the swing main rod 81 is inclined in the clamping rod groove 80, and the upper end of the clamping rod assembly 77 does not protrude from the upper end of the placement frame 75.

[0084] Furthermore, the threaded outer sleeve 92 is provided with an internal thread, which can engage with the external thread on the threaded inner rod 93. The threaded outer sleeve 92 is rotatably disposed within the support body disk 91 via a bearing 98.

[0085] Furthermore, a test tube receiving groove 97 for easy positioning is provided on the upper end of the supporting main plate 91.

[0086] To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand this application, the following is combined with... Figure 22The working process of the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system of this application is briefly described as follows: When the specimen receiving system 1 starts working, the sample tube 68 is manually placed on the test tube fixing fixture 27, completing the manual placement; a test tube sensing mechanism (not shown in the figure) is also set on the test tube conveying and feeding line. After the test tube sensing mechanism senses the sample tube 68, it starts the test tube conveying and feeding line. After reaching the test tube transfer mechanism, the test tube transfer mechanism transfers the sample tube 68 to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism. The above actions can be performed by setting a PLC in the control component 73 to complete the PLC processing; in the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, the barcode scanner 35 scans the sample tube 68. After scanning by the barcode scanner 35... The corresponding sample tube information is integrated with the Laboratory Information Management System (LIS) to identify the tube type and transmit the tube information. If an incorrectly submitted tube is found after scanning or cannot be scanned, the tube and tray grabbing robot 20 places the sample tube 68 into the recycling box 43 in the defective product placement position, completing the upper computer scanning and classification and collaborative robot tray placement operation. After the test tube placement tray 45 in the test tube placement position 22 is full, or through the operation control display screen 55 or operation button 64, the tube and tray grabbing robot 20 grabs the test tube placement tray 45 to the manual material handling position and completes the material sorting and dispensing. Finally, a new test tube placement tray is grabbed from the hole material tray placement position and placed in the test tube placement position, and the empty material tray placement position is replenished, and the operation ends. Preferably, the replenishment of test tube trays in empty tray positions can also be accomplished automatically. For example, stacked test tube trays can be set up. When a test tube tray in an empty tray position is transported to the test tube position, the topmost test tube tray in the stack is pushed by a lateral pushing device to complete the replenishment operation. Further, the specific test tube placement method of the tray gripping robot 20 can be as follows: Currently, six types of specimens are designed. The tray positions can be designed in the parameter setting interface, allowing selection of which type of specimen to place by row or column. After setup, the test tubes are scanned on the work interface to obtain barcode values. The device connects with the LIS system to confirm the current test tube type. After obtaining the test tube type, the device software calculates the corresponding placement row and column values ​​according to the pre-set parameters and sends these values ​​to the collaborative robot via communication. The robot internally calculates the row / column step size based on the row and column values ​​and performs an offset algorithm on the first test tube position to obtain the correct test tube placement coordinates. Thus, the collaborative robot can actually place test tubes according to their type.

[0087] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1), characterized in that, The intelligent specimen receiving system includes an upper support frame (8) and a lower support frame (7). The upper support frame (8) is located above the lower support frame (7). A sample classification and handling component (72) is installed inside the upper support frame (8), and a control component (73) is installed inside the lower support frame (7). The control component (73) controls the operation of the sample classification and handling component (72). The sample classification and handling component (72) includes a test tube loading conveyor line (17), a test tube transfer mechanism (18), a barcode scanning and rotating mechanism (19), a test tube and tray gripping robot (20), a defective product placement position (24), an empty tray placement position (21), a test tube placement position (22), and a manual material handling position (23). The test tube loading conveyor line (17) is used to transport specimen test tubes (68), and the test tube transfer mechanism (18) is used to transport specimen test tubes (68). The specimen tubes (68) on the test tube feeding conveyor line (17) are transferred to the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism (19). The barcode scanning and rotating mechanism (19) scans the specimen tubes (68). The test tube and tray gripping robot (20) selects to transfer the specimen tubes (68) to the defective product placement position (24) or the test tube placement position (22) according to the barcode scanning result. The test tube and tray gripping robot (20) can transfer the test tube placement tray (45) on the test tube placement position (22) to the manual material handling position (23). In addition, the test tube and tray gripping robot (20) can transfer the empty tray (44) on the empty tray placement position (21) to the test tube placement position (22) for use as the test tube placement tray (45). The test tube feeding conveyor line (17) includes a synchronous belt rotary motor (25), a synchronous belt (26) and a test tube fixing fixture (27).The test tube fixing fixture (27) includes a placement frame (75), within which are a plurality of placement slots (76), each of which includes a test tube slot (79). A plurality of clamping grooves (80) are also provided on the side of each test tube slot (79). An installation cavity (100) is provided at the lower end of each test tube slot (79). A clamping rod assembly (77) is provided within each clamping groove (80), and a support telescopic assembly (78) is provided within the installation cavity (100). The clamping rod assembly (77) includes a swinging main rod (81). The system includes a sliding auxiliary rod (82) and a sliding rod drive component (83). The sliding auxiliary rod (82) is slidably mounted on the swing main rod (81). The sliding rod drive component (83) drives the sliding auxiliary rod (82) to slide and extend along the swing main rod (81). The swing main rod (81) is rotatably mounted inside the placement frame (75) via a rotation drive wheel axle (85). The support telescopic assembly (78) includes a support main plate (91), a threaded outer sleeve (92), and a threaded inner rod (93). The threaded inner rod (93) is fixed... The threaded sleeve (92) is fixedly mounted on the placement frame (75), and is rotatably mounted inside the support main body disk (91). The threaded sleeve (92) is sleeved outside the threaded inner rod (93). A return spring (99) is fixedly mounted between the support main body disk (91) and the placement frame (75). An external gear ring (94) is mounted on the upper end of the threaded sleeve (92). A right telescopic rod (96) and a left telescopic rod (95) are slidably mounted inside the placement frame (75). The inner side of the right telescopic rod (96) and the outer side of the left telescopic rod (95) are... Each inner side is equipped with a rack, which meshes with the outer gear ring (94). When the supporting main body disk (91) descends, it can drive the right telescopic rod (96) and the left telescopic rod (95) to extend. The extended right telescopic rod (96) and the left telescopic rod (95) can drive the swing main rod (81) to rotate around the rotary drive wheel shaft (85). The rotating rotary drive wheel shaft (85) can drive the slide rod drive component (83) to move, causing the sliding auxiliary rod (82) to extend along the swing main rod (81) to clamp the upper end of the specimen tube (68).

2. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two ends of the test tube feeding conveyor line (17) are respectively connected to the specimen receiving port (5) and one end of the test tube transfer mechanism (18). The other end of the test tube transfer mechanism (18) is connected to the barcode rotating mechanism (19). The defective product placement position (24) is arranged next to the barcode rotating mechanism (19). The empty material tray placement position (21), the test tube placement position (22) and the manual material handling position (23) are arranged in parallel and parallel to the defective product placement position (24) and the barcode rotating mechanism (19). The test tube and material tray gripping robot (20) is fixedly set on the upper end of the upper support frame (8).

3. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The test tube and tray gripping robot (20) includes a free arm (39) and an end mount (40). The end mount (40) is located at the lower end of the free arm (39). A lower electric gripper (41) is provided at the lower end of the end mount (40), and a left insertion claw (42) is provided at the side end of the end mount (40). The lower electric gripper (41) is used to grip the specimen test tube (68), and the left insertion claw (42) is used to transport the empty tray (44) and the test tube placement tray (45).

4. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The test tube fixing fixture (27) consists of several units evenly arranged on the synchronous belt (26). Several specimen test tubes (68) are inserted into the test tube fixing fixture (27). The synchronous belt rotary motor (25) is used to drive the synchronous belt (26) to rotate, thereby causing the test tube fixing fixture (27) to move with the rotation of the synchronous belt (26), and moving the specimen test tubes (68) from the specimen receiving port (5) to the test tube transfer mechanism (18).

5. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that: The test tube transfer mechanism (18) includes a horizontal module (28), a vertical cylinder (29), and an end gripper (30). The horizontal module (28) includes a horizontal motor (31), a horizontal belt (33), a horizontal slider (32), and a guide rail (34). The horizontal motor (31) is located at one end of the guide rail (34). The horizontal slider (32) is slidably located on the guide rail (34). The horizontal slider (32) is fixedly located on the horizontal belt (33). The horizontal motor (31) drives the horizontal belt (33) to rotate, thereby causing the horizontal slider (32) to slide. One end of the vertical cylinder (29) is located on one side of the horizontal slider (32). The other end of the vertical cylinder (29) is provided with the end gripper (30). The end gripper (30) is used to hold the specimen test tube (68).

6. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that: The barcode scanning and rotating mechanism (19) includes a barcode scanner (35), a swing cylinder (37), a rotating plate (70), a left electric gripper (36), and a right electric gripper (38). The swing cylinder (37) is located at the upper end of the upper support frame (8). The middle part of the rotating plate (70) is connected to the end of the swing cylinder (37). The left electric gripper (36) and the right electric gripper (38) are respectively located at both ends of the rotating plate (70). The swing cylinder (37) can drive the rotating plate (70) to rotate. The left electric gripper (36) and the right electric gripper (38) can both hold the specimen tube (68).

7. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The end gripper (30) of the test tube transfer mechanism (18) grips the specimen test tube (68) to the left electric gripper (36). The barcode scanner (35) scans the label on the specimen test tube (68). After scanning, the swing cylinder (37) moves, causing the rotating plate (70) to rotate 180°. Then, the test tube and tray gripping robot (20) grips the specimen test tube (68) to the test tube placement position (22) or the defective product placement position (24). A test tube detection sensor (48) is also provided at the test tube placement position (22). The test tube detection sensor (48) is a counter or a camera. The test tube detection sensor (48) transmits the number of detected specimen test tubes (68) to the control component (73). The control component (73) controls the test tube and tray gripping robot (20) to transport the test tube placement tray (45) of the test tube placement position to the manual material handling position (23) according to the detection result.

8. The unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that: A front wall panel (12), a left wall panel (13), a right wall panel (9), and a rear wall panel (10) are respectively provided around the upper support frame (8) and the lower support frame (7). An upper top plate (11) is provided at the upper end of the upper support frame (8), and a bottom plate is provided at the lower end of the lower support frame (7). A specimen delivery port (15) is provided on the front wall panel (12). The test tube loading conveyor line (17) passes through the specimen delivery port (15) and is used to load the tray at the empty tray placement position (21) through the specimen delivery port (15). To supplement this, a specimen retrieval port (14) is provided on the right wall panel (9) at the position corresponding to the manual retrieval position (23); a display operation screen (55) and / or operation button (64) are provided on the front wall panel (12). The display operation screen (55) and operation button (64) can input operation commands to the control box (58) of the control component (73), thereby controlling the actions of the test tube feeding conveyor line (17), the test tube transfer mechanism (18), the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism (19), and the test tube and tray gripping robot (20).

9. A specimen receiving method using the unattended intelligent specimen receiving system (1) as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The specimen receiving method includes the following steps: I. Manual material placement: When the specimen receiving system (1) is started, the specimen tubes (68) are manually placed at the test tube fixing fixture (27) to complete the manual placement; II. PLC processing: A test tube sensing mechanism is also provided on the test tube feeding conveyor line. After the test tube sensing mechanism senses the specimen test tube (68), it starts the test tube feeding conveyor line. After reaching the test tube transfer mechanism, the test tube transfer mechanism transfers the specimen test tube (68) to the barcode rotating mechanism. The above actions are performed by setting a PLC in the control component (73) to perform corresponding actions and complete PLC processing. III. Upper-level computer scanning and sorting, and collaborative robot tray arrangement operation: In the barcode scanning and rotating mechanism, the barcode scanner (35) scans the specimen tube (68). After the barcode scanner (35) scans the tube, the corresponding specimen tube information is connected to the Laboratory Information Management System (LIS) to identify the tube type and transmit the tube information. If the barcode scanner finds that the wrong tube was submitted for inspection or cannot be scanned, the tube and tray grabbing robot (20) will put the specimen tube (68) into the recycling box (43) in the defective product placement position to complete the upper computer barcode scanning classification and collaborative robot tray placement operation. IV. Material Discharge After Sorting: After the test tube placement tray (45) in the test tube placement position (22) is full, or by controlling the operation screen (55) or operation button (64), the test tube and material tray grabbing robot (20) grabs the test tube placement tray (45) to the manual material picking position, and sorts and discharges the material; finally, it grabs a new test tube placement tray from the hole material tray placement position and puts it into the test tube placement position, and replenishes the test tube tray in the empty material tray placement position, and finally ends the operation.

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