Pretreatment system and pretreatment method for testing metal components in sample

Abstract

A pre-treatment system and a pre-treatment method for testing metal components in a sample are disclosed. The pre-treatment system includes: a robot including a plurality of arms rotatable relative to each other, where a frontmost arm of the plurality of arms is movable within an operating radius; a gripper device mounted on the forefront arm of the robot and including, on one side thereof, a first gripper unit for gripping or setting a dosing head and, on the other side thereof, a second gripper unit for gripping or setting a tube; a dosing head holder capable of holding a plurality of dosing heads; a tube holder capable of holding a plurality of tubes, each tube in which a tube cap is attached to a tube body; the sample input device comprises a sample input part lifting device and a tube holder cup, the sample input part lifting device is provided with a dosing head and can move up and down, the tube holder cup is positioned below the sample input part lifting device, and a tube is arranged in the tube holder cup; a sample input device configured to input a sample located in the dosing head into the tube located in the tube holder cup; a cap opening / closing device configured to separate the tube cap from the tube body or to couple the tube cap to the tube body; an acid injection device configured to inject an acid into the tube containing the sample or to inject distilled water into the tube containing an acid in which the sample is dissolved; a thermal shaker configured to apply heat to a tube containing an acid mixed with the sample and shake the tube to dissolve the sample in the acid; a vision device for acquiring an image of a set portion of the tube containing a sample solution in which a sample is dissolved in an acid; and a pipetting device configured to transfer a portion of the solution contained in one tube to the other tube.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043740 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2023, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0045209 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2024, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043742 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2023, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043741 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2023, The present invention claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043743 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043744 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2023, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043739 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0043486 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample, and to a pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample that can achieve a safe working environment, alleviate worker fatigue caused by the same repetitive work, and reduce the occurrence of measurement errors by automating the pretreatment process using an acid that is a toxic substance. Background Art

[0004] Secondary batteries containing lithium ions, etc. are manufactured by coating the surface of a thin metal plate (foil) such as aluminum or copper with an electrode material having the ability to transmit electrons. The electrode material (e.g., cathode material) is made of many small particles, and the electrode material is intended to contain a target amount of various components. However, due to various reasons, in a large-scale manufacturing process, the content of each component contained may not reach the target content, or the content of each component contained may exceed the target content. In particular, the content of the metal component in the cathode material has a significant effect on the performance of the cathode material. Therefore, the content of the metal component contained in the cathode material should be confirmed, and when the content of the metal component contained in the cathode material is different from the target content, the manufacturing process of the cathode material should be adjusted.

[0005] Typically, in order to test the metal components contained in the cathode material, the following pretreatment process is performed: a sample of the cathode material is collected, an acid is placed in the collected sample of the cathode material to dissolve the sample of the cathode material, and distilled water is poured into the dissolved sample of the cathode material to dilute the dissolved sample. However, since the pretreatment process is manually performed by the staff, there are safety issues in the working environment due to the acid used in the pretreatment process. In addition, the same pretreatment process is repeatedly performed, which increases the fatigue of the staff and causes measurement errors. In addition, since the staff must visually check whether the sample is completely dissolved in the acid, safety issues and measurement errors may occur.

[0006] The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] The present disclosure attempts to provide a pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample, which can achieve a safe working environment, alleviate worker fatigue caused by the same repetitive work, and reduce the occurrence of measurement errors by automating the pretreatment process using acid, which is a toxic substance.

[0009] Technical Solutions

[0010] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample includes: a sample dissolution device, which is configured to input the sample into a tube according to set pretreatment conditions, and inject acid into the tube containing the sample to dissolve the sample; a sample dissolution rate detection device, which is configured to detect the dissolution rate of the sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid; and a dilution device, which is configured to dilute the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to the set dissolution rate.

[0011] The pretreatment system may further include a pretreatment condition adjusting device configured to adjust the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

[0012] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample includes: a robot including a plurality of arms that can rotate relative to each other, and the frontmost arm of the plurality of arms can move within an operating radius; a gripper device, the gripper device is installed at the frontmost arm of the robot, and the gripper device includes a first gripper unit for gripping or releasing a dosing head on one side, and includes a second gripper unit for gripping or releasing a tube on the other side; a sample input device, the sample input device includes a sample input unit lifting device and a tube holder cup, the sample input unit lifting device includes a dosing head mounted thereon and can move up and down, and the tube holder cup is provided Below the sample input lifting device, and including a tube holder cup mounted thereon, and the sample input device is configured to input the sample in the dosing head into the tube mounted on the tube holder cup; an acid injection device, the acid injection device is configured to inject acid into the tube into which the sample is input from the sample injection device, or to inject distilled water into the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved; a thermal shaker, the thermal shaker is configured to apply heat to the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample and shake the tube to dissolve the sample in the acid; a visual device, the visual device captures an image of a set portion of the tube containing the sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid; and a pipetting device, the pipetting device is configured to transfer a portion of the solution in one tube to another tube.

[0013] The pretreatment system may further include: a dosing head holder on which a plurality of dosing heads are mounted; a tube holder on which a plurality of tubes are mounted, wherein tube covers are connected to tube bodies; and a cover opening / closing device configured to separate the tube covers from the tube bodies or to connect the tube covers to the tube bodies, wherein the dosing head holder, the tube holder, the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the visual device and the pipetting device may be at least partially disposed within an operating radius of the robot.

[0014] The tube holder cup may be disposed on a first weighing scale, and the first weighing scale may detect the amount of sample input into the tube.

[0015] The acid injection device may be configured to inject the liquid into the tube while tilting the tube mounted on the acid injection device and rotating the tube.

[0016] The cover opening / closing device can rotate the tube cover in a first rotation direction to separate the tube cover from the tube body, and can rotate the tube cover in a second rotation direction to connect the tube cover to the tube body, and the cover opening / closing device can be configured to raise or lower the tube cover according to the rotation amount of the tube cover.

[0017] The cover opening / closing device may be configured to press the tube cover against the tube body before rotating the tube cover in the second rotation direction.

[0018] The thermal shaker may include: a shaker unit configured to shake a shaker rod; a heating block positioned on the shaker rod and heating the installed tube; and a thermal insulation cover spaced apart from and surrounding the heating block, and the tube may be inserted into and installed on the thermal insulation cover and the heating block.

[0019] Before transferring the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample to the thermal shaker, the robot may couple the tube cap to the tube body through the cap opening / closing device and shake the tube coupled with the tube cap to mix the sample with the acid.

[0020] The pipetting device can transfer a portion of the sample solution in one tube to another tube, the robot can transfer the other tube to the acid injection device to contain distilled water in the other tube, and the pipetting device can be configured to inject the distilled water contained in the other tube into another tube containing a portion of the sample solution to dilute the portion of the sample solution contained in the other tube.

[0021] The pretreatment system may also include: a controller, which controls the operation of the robot, the gripper device, the quantitative feeding head holder, the tube holder, the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the visual device and the pipetting device, and the controller is configured to: receive an image of a set portion of the tube containing the sample solution from the visual device, process the image of the set portion using a preset image processing program, and detect the dissolution rate of the sample.

[0022] The gripper device may also include a gripper body rotatably mounted on the frontmost arm of the robot, and a first gripper unit may be mounted on one side of the gripper body, and a second gripper unit may be mounted on the other side of the gripper body, and the first gripper unit may include: a first gripper finger-shaped member and a second gripper finger-shaped member, the first gripper finger-shaped member and the second gripper finger-shaped member being able to move toward or away from each other; a guide bushing having a cylindrical shape and including one open surface and another closed surface, And a guide bushing is fixed in the tip portion of each of the first gripping finger and the second gripping finger; a first pusher or a second pusher, the first pusher or the second pusher is arranged on an open surface of the guide bushing and can slide along the inner circumferential surface of the guide bushing; a guide shaft, which extends to one side through a guide shaft hole formed on the other closed surface of the guide bushing and is connected to the first pusher or the second pusher; and a guide spring, which elastically supports the first pusher or the second pusher relative to the guide bushing.

[0023] The guide shaft may be spaced apart from an inner circumferential surface of the guide bushing, and the guide spring may be provided between the guide shaft and the guide bushing.

[0024] The movement of the first pusher, the second pusher and the guide shaft in the axial direction toward the other side can be limited by a step portion formed on the inner circumferential surface of the guide bushing, and the movement of the first pusher, the second pusher and the guide shaft in the axial direction toward one side can be limited by the other end portion of the guide shaft, and the diameter of the other end portion of the guide shaft can be larger than the diameter of other portions of the guide shaft.

[0025] The second gripper unit may include: a third gripping finger and a fourth gripping finger, the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger being capable of moving toward or away from each other; a first pipe clamp portion and a second pipe clamp portion, the first pipe clamp portion and the second pipe clamp portion being arranged at a tip portion of the third gripping finger and a tip portion of the fourth gripping finger, and having a shape corresponding to the pipe to grip the pipe; and a first gripping rod groove and a second gripping rod groove, the first gripping rod groove and the second gripping rod groove being arranged at a tip portion of the third gripping finger and a tip portion of the fourth gripping finger, and having a shape corresponding to the gripping rod to grip a gripping rod of a pipe holder on which the pipe is mounted.

[0026] The second gripper unit may further include a first stopper and a second stopper protruding upward from tip portions of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger to limit movement of the second gripper unit toward the gripping rod.

[0027] The controller can be configured to control the robot and the first gripper unit and the second gripper unit, wherein the controller can control the first pusher and the second pusher to press the first installation button or the second installation button provided on the dosing head holder or the sample input device, and control the robot to move the first gripper unit downward to install the dosing head, and control the first pusher and the second pusher to press the first installation button or the second installation button, and control the robot to move the first gripper unit upward to separate the dosing head.

[0028] The cover opening / closing device may include: a cover workbench having a first tube holder arranged on one side thereof and a second tube holder arranged on the other side thereof, and the cover workbench is capable of rotating to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in one of a first position and a second position, and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the other of the first position and the second position, in the first position, the tube is installed or gripped, and in the second position, the tube cover is connected to the tube body, or the tube cover is separated from the tube body; and a support lifting block, which is moved up and down by a cover unit lifting actuator; a cover gripper support, which is rotatably mounted on the support lifting block; the first cover and the second cover, the first cover and the second cover are installed at the cover gripper on a cover support, positioned corresponding to the tube cover of the tube at a second position, and configured to move toward each other to grasp the tube cover, or move away from each other to set the tube cover; a first tube body gripper and a second tube body gripper, the first tube body gripper and the second tube body gripper are configured to be positioned corresponding to the tube body of the tube at a second position, move toward each other to grasp the tube body, or move away from each other to set the tube body; and a cover rotation actuator, which is mounted on the support lifting block, includes a lower end portion that penetrates the support lifting block and is connected to the cover gripper support, and the cover rotation actuator is configured to rotate the cover gripper support along a first rotation direction to separate the tube cover from the tube body, and rotate the cover gripper support along a second rotation direction that is opposite to the first rotation direction to connect the tube cover to the tube body.

[0029] The cover opening / closing device may further include a first exhaust hood configured to be installed in a position corresponding to the second position to suck gas generated from the liquid in the tube.

[0030] The cover opening / closing device may further include a table rotation actuator configured to rotate the capping table 180° to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the first position and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the second position.

[0031] The cover opening / closing device may also include a sensor configured to detect whether the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, whether the tube or the tube cover is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and / or whether the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper grip the tube cover.

[0032] The controller can be configured to: receive a signal representing a value detected by the sensor, and control the operation of the workbench rotation actuator, the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper, the first tube body gripper and the second tube body gripper, the cover unit lifting actuator, and / or the cover rotation actuator based on the signal.

[0033] When the sensor detects that the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position and the tube cap is not positioned in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, the controller can rotate the capping workbench 180° through the workbench rotation actuator to move the tube to the second position.

[0034] When the sensor detects that the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position and the tube cover is positioned in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, the controller can lower the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper through the cover unit lifting actuator to grip the tube cover, and raise the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper again.

[0035] When the sensor detects that the tube is not installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper do not grip the tube cover, the controller can control the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper to grip the tube cover, control the cover rotation actuator to rotate the tube cover connected to the tube body along the first rotation direction, and control the cover unit lifting actuator to lift the tube cover according to the rotation amount of the cover rotation actuator.

[0036] When the sensor detects that the tube is not installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper grip the tube cover, the controller can control the cover unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cover toward the tube body, control the cover rotation actuator to rotate the tube cover relative to the tube body in a second rotation direction, and control the cover unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cover according to the rotation amount of the cover rotation actuator.

[0037] The controller may control the cap unit lifting actuator to press the pipe body and the pipe cap together with a certain load before rotating the pipe cap relative to the pipe body in the second rotation direction.

[0038] The acid injection device may include: an acid supply unit, the acid supply unit including a liquid pumping unit configured to pump liquid contained in a plurality of liquid bottles; an acid injection unit, the acid injection unit including an acid injection chamber body in which an acid injection chamber is formed, an injection nozzle installed on an injection nozzle mounting portion in the acid injection chamber and configured to communicate with the liquid pumping unit to inject the liquid pumped from the liquid pumping unit into a tube, and a nozzle lifting actuator installed on the acid injection chamber body and connected to the injection nozzle mounting portion to move the injection nozzle mounting portion up and down; and a tube loader unit, the tube loader unit is configured to mount a tube thereon, tilt the mounted tube to insert the tube into the acid injection chamber, and rotate the tilted mounted tube, when the tube is tilted and rotated and positioned in the acid injection chamber, and the nozzle lifting actuator can lower the injection nozzle mounting portion and position the injection nozzle mounting portion on the tube, and the injection nozzle injects the liquid pumped from the liquid pumping unit into the tilted rotating tube.

[0039] The acid injection unit may further include: a drain pan disposed below the acid injection chamber body; and a funnel movement actuator that moves between a first funnel position and a second funnel position, wherein in the first funnel position, the funnel is positioned directly below the injection nozzle to receive liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle, the funnel is connected to a funnel movement link extending into the acid injection chamber, and the funnel is mounted on the funnel movement link, and in the second funnel position, the funnel movement link and the funnel do not overlap with the movement of the tube and the movement of the injection nozzle mounting portion in the acid injection chamber.

[0040] The acid injection unit may further include a second exhaust hood configured to at least partially surround the injection nozzle and to extract gas generated by the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle.

[0041] The tube loader unit may include: a support frame extending from the front of the acid injection chamber toward the acid injection chamber; a loader frame rail extending from the support frame along the support frame; a loader frame transfer actuator configured to transfer the loader frame between a first loader position and a second loader position, in which the tube is mounted or gripped and in which the tube is tilted and enters the acid injection chamber; a tilt actuator that tilts a tilt frame mounted on the loader frame between a tilt position and an initial position; and a rotating plate rotation actuator configured to rotate a rotating plate rotatably mounted on the tilt frame.

[0042] The tube loader unit may further include a third tube holder which is provided on the rotating plate and has the tube mounted thereon.

[0043] The acid injection device may further include sensors that detect whether the tube is mounted on the third tube holder, whether the loader frame is positioned at the first loader position or the second loader position, and / or whether the tilt frame is in the initial position or tilted to the tilted position.

[0044] Each of the plurality of liquid bottles may be disposed on a second weighing scale, and the second weighing scale may be configured to measure an amount of liquid contained in each of the plurality of liquid bottles.

[0045] The front surface of the acid injection chamber body may be open, and the acid injection unit may further include: an acid injection chamber baffle that selectively closes the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body; and a baffle actuator that is configured to close or open the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body using the acid injection chamber baffle.

[0046] The pipetting device may include: a pipette tip tray on which a plurality of pipette tips are mounted; a pipette workbench having a first pipette tube holder disposed on one side thereof and a second pipette tube holder disposed on the other side thereof, and the pipette workbench is rotatable to position one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder in one of the first pipette tube position and the second pipette tube position, and to position the other of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder in the other of the first pipette tube position and the second pipette tube position. In one, in a first pipette tube position, the tube is mounted or gripped, and in a second pipette tube position, the solution is collected from the tube or injected into the tube; a pipette unit configured to mount the pipette tip at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray, and collect a portion of the solution contained in the first tube at a position corresponding to the pipette workbench, or inject the collected solution into the second tube; and a pipette moving unit that moves the pipette unit between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipette workbench.

[0047] The pipetting device may further include a pipette tip tray transfer unit that moves the pipette tip tray toward or away from the pipette unit.

[0048] The pipetting device may also include a pipetting table rotation actuator configured to rotate the pipetting table 180° to position one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder in a first pipette tube position and to position the other of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder in a second pipette tube position.

[0049] The pipette unit may include: a pipette guide frame, which is connected to the pipette moving unit and moves between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipetting workbench through the pipette moving unit; a pipette slide, which is installed to be able to slide in a vertical direction along the pipette guide frame; a pipette module, which includes a pipette module body fixedly installed on the pipette slide, and a pipette piston that can move relative to the pipette module body in a vertical direction; and a pipette push actuator, which is installed to be able to slide in a vertical direction on the pipette slide and is configured to press the upper end of the pipette piston.

[0050] The pipette piston may be resiliently mounted on the pipette module body.

[0051] A mounting end portion on which a pipette tip is mounted may be formed at a lower end portion of the pipette piston.

[0052] The mounting end can be lowered while pushing the pipette tip downward so that the lower end portion of the pipette tip is immersed in the solution contained in the first tube, and the mounting end can elastically rise while the lower end portion of the pipette tip is immersed in the solution contained in the first tube to collect a portion of the solution contained in the first tube, and the mounting end can be configured to push the pipette tip downward when the solution is contained in the pipette tip to inject the solution into the second tube.

[0053] The pipette device may further include a pipette tip ejector configured to separate the pipette tip mounted on the mounting end by pressing the upper end of the pipette piston downward.

[0054] The amount of compression applied to the pipette piston by the pipette tip ejector may be greater than the amount of compression applied to the pipette piston by the pipette push actuator.

[0055] The metal component test can be performed after dissolving the sample in the tube in the acid to detect the metal component contained in the sample, and the visual device can include: a driving roller and a supporting roller, the driving roller and the supporting roller are configured to install the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved and rotate the tube; an image acquisition device, the image acquisition device is configured to be installed between the driving roller and the supporting roller to obtain a lower image of the rotating tube; an illumination module, the illumination module is configured to irradiate light to the tube from the side opposite to the image acquisition device relative to the tube; and a controller, the controller is configured to test the dissolution rate of the sample by processing the lower image of the tube acquired by the image acquisition device. The controller can be configured to: detect the tube area in the image of the set part of the tube by a visual algorithm based on image features, detect the area of ​​interest by applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube area, classify the pixels in the detected area of ​​interest according to a set reference and assign pixel values ​​to the classified pixels, and use the pixel value of each pixel to detect the dissolution rate of the sample.

[0056] The vision device may further include: a tube rotation actuator configured to rotate the tube by driving the roller; and a support roller actuator configured to move the support roller toward or away from the driving roller.

[0057] The visual device may further include an illumination module actuator that moves the illumination module between an irradiation position in which the illumination module moves toward the tube to irradiate light to the tube and an initial position in which the tube is not obstructed from being mounted between the drive roller and the support roller.

[0058] The controller may detect the tube region in the lower image of the tube as a circle through circular Hough transform, and cut the tube region using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

[0059] The controller may be configured to: set the region according to the object of interest in the tube region through an active contour model, search for singular points while gradually narrowing the region, and detect the region of interest according to the singular points.

[0060] The controller may be configured to classify the detected pixels in the region of interest into two types of pixels according to a set reference, and binarize the classified pixels by assigning pixel values ​​of 0 or 1 to the classified pixels.

[0061] The controller can be configured to: calculate the average value of the brightness of all pixels in the detected area of ​​interest, assign pixel value 0 to pixels that are darker than the average value of the brightness by a set amount, assign pixel value 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

[0062] The controller may be configured to provide feedback on the dissolution rate when the dissolution rate is lower than a set dissolution rate.

[0063] The controller may be configured to adjust the composition of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, the amount of the acid, the time and / or temperature of heating the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved based on the fed-back dissolution rate.

[0064] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample includes: injecting acid into a tube containing a sample through a sample dissolution device to dissolve the sample according to set pretreatment conditions; detecting the dissolution rate of the sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid through a sample dissolution rate detection device; and diluting the sample solution through a dilution device in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to the set dissolution rate.

[0065] The pretreatment method may further include: adjusting the set pretreatment conditions by a pretreatment condition adjustment device in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

[0066] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample includes: inputting a sample in a quantitative feeding head into a first tube through a sample injection device; injecting acid into the first tube having the sample input through an acid injection device; shaking and applying heat to the first tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved through a thermal shaker; acquiring an image of a set portion of the first tube through a visual device; testing the dissolution rate of the sample by means of processing the image of the set portion of the first tube through a controller; and diluting the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to the set dissolution rate.

[0067] The pretreatment method may also include: removing a dosing head from a dosing head holder by a robot and installing the removed dosing head on a sample input unit lifting device, the robot having a gripper device installed at its frontmost end; removing a first tube from a tube holder by a robot equipped with a gripper device; separating the tube cover from the first tube by a cover opening / closing device; and installing the first tube separated from the tube cover on a tube holder cup by a robot equipped with a gripper device.

[0068] The tube holder cup may be disposed on a first weighing scale, and the amount of sample input into the first tube may be detected by the first weighing scale.

[0069] The acid injection device may be configured to inject the liquid into the tube mounted on the acid injection device while tilting the tube and rotating the tube.

[0070] Dilution of the sample solution may include: injecting distilled water into the first tube through an acid injection device to dilute the sample solution once; transferring a portion of the once diluted sample solution in the first tube to the second tube through a pipetting device; and injecting distilled water into the second tube through the acid injection device or the pipetting device to dilute the sample solution twice.

[0071] Dilution of the sample solution may include: transferring a portion of the sample solution in the first tube to the second tube by a pipetting device; injecting distilled water into the second tube by an acid injection device to dilute the sample solution once; and injecting distilled water into the second tube by an acid injection device or a pipetting device to dilute the sample solution twice.

[0072] Acquisition of the image of the set portion of the first tube may be performed while the first tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved is rotated.

[0073] Testing the dissolution rate of a test sample by processing an image of a set portion of a first tube may include: detecting a tube area in the image of the set portion of the first tube by a visual algorithm based on image features; applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube area to detect a region of interest; classifying pixels within the detected region of interest according to a set reference and assigning pixel values ​​to the classified pixels; and testing the dissolution rate of the sample using the pixel value of each pixel.

[0074] The controller may be configured to detect the tube region in the lower image of the first tube as a circle through circular Hough transform, and cut the tube region using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

[0075] The controller may be configured to set a region according to an object of interest in the tube region through an active contour model, search for singular points while gradually narrowing the region, and detect the region of interest according to the singular points.

[0076] The controller may be configured to classify the detected pixels in the region of interest into two types of pixels according to a set reference and binarize the classified pixels by assigning pixel values ​​of 0 or 1 to the classified pixels.

[0077] The controller can be configured to: calculate the average value of the brightness of all pixels in the detected area of ​​interest, assign pixel value 0 to pixels that are darker than the average value of the brightness by a set amount, assign pixel value 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

[0078] The pretreatment method may further include: adjusting the set pretreatment conditions in response to a dissolution rate of the sample being less than a set dissolution rate.

[0079] Beneficial effects

[0080] According to the present disclosure, by automating the pretreatment process using acid which is a toxic substance, it is possible to achieve a safe working environment, alleviate fatigue of workers due to the same repetitive work, and reduce the generation of measurement errors.

[0081] In addition, by automatically checking the dissolution rate of a sample by means of various image processing methods and reflecting the dissolution rate in a pre-processing process, the accuracy of testing the metal components in the sample can be improved.

[0082] Other effects obtained or expected by the exemplary embodiments will be described explicitly or implicitly in the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. That is, various effects expected according to the exemplary embodiments will be described in the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0083] The embodiments of the present specification may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer to identical or functionally similar elements.

[0084] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0085] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a gripper device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0086] Figure 3 is a plan view of a gripper device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0087] Figure 4 It is along Figure 3 A cross-sectional view taken along line AA';

[0088] Figure 5 is another perspective view of a gripper device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0089] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a partial configuration of a dosing head holder according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0090] Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of a tube holder according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0091] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 an enlarged view of a portion B of;

[0092] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a sample introduction device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0093] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of a cover opening / closing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0094] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram of a cover opening / closing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0095] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first exhaust hood and a first tube body gripper and a second tube body gripper according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0096] Fig.13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a rear portion of an acid injection device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0097] Fig.14 is a schematic diagram of an acid injection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0098] Fig.15 yes Fig.14 Stereoscopic image of

[0099] Fig.16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an acid injection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0100] Fig.17 is a schematic diagram of a tube loader unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0101] Fig.18 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a tube is set in a tube loader unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0102] Fig.19 It is along Fig.18 A cross-sectional view taken along line C-C';

[0103] Fig. 20 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a tube provided in a tube loader unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted into an acid injection chamber;

[0104] Fig.21 It is along Fig. 20 A cross-sectional view taken along line D-D';

[0105] Fig. 22 yes Fig.21 an enlarged view of portion E of;

[0106] Fig.23 is a schematic perspective view of a thermal shaker according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0107] Fig.24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermal shaker according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0108] Fig.25 is a schematic perspective view of a pipetting device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0109] Fig.26 is a schematic diagram of a pipette unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0110] Fig. 27 is another schematic diagram of a pipette unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0111] Fig.28 is a schematic diagram of a visual device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0112] Fig.29 is a schematic perspective view of a visual device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0113] Fig.30 It is along Fig.28 A cross-sectional view taken along line F-F';

[0114] Fig.31 is a flow chart of a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0115] Fig.32 is a flow chart of a method for testing the dissolution rate of a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0116] Fig.33 is a raw image of a tube containing a sample dissolved in acid;

[0117] Fig.34 It is a diagram that shows Fig.33 Figure 1 shows an image obtained by circular Hough transform of the original image;

[0118] Fig.35 It is a diagram that shows Fig.34 A graph of an image obtained by applying an active contour model to an image in; and

[0119] Fig.36 It's a picture. Fig.35 Figure 2. Binarized image of the region of interest in an image of .

[0120] It should be understood that the above-mentioned drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but rather present a rather simplified representation of various preferred features that illustrate the basic principles of the present disclosure. For example, specific design features of the present disclosure, including specific sizes, directions, positions, and shapes, will be determined in part by specific intended applications and use environments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0121] The terms used herein are only used to describe the purpose of specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. The terms "include" and / or "comprise" specify the existence of the quoted features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or parts when used in this article, but it will also be understood that these terms do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or their groups. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any combination or all combinations in the associated listed items.

[0122] In addition, it should be understood that one or more of the following methods or aspects thereof can be performed by at least one or more controllers. The term "controller" can refer to a hardware device including a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor is specifically programmed to execute program instructions to perform one or more processes described in more detail below. As described herein, a controller can control the operation of a unit, module, part, device, etc. It should also be understood that, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the following method can be performed by a device including a controller in combination with one or more other components.

[0123] In addition, the controller of the present disclosure may be implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including executable program instructions executed by a processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, compact disk (CD) ROM, tape, floppy disk, flash drive, smart card, and optical data storage device, but are not limited thereto. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed throughout a computer network so that program instructions may be stored and executed in a distributed manner, such as on a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN).

[0124] According to the present disclosure, the robot comprises a plurality of arms that can rotate relative to each other, the frontmost arm in the plurality of arms is attached with a gripper device, and is provided with a dosing head holder, a tube holder, a sample input device, and a cover opening / closing device, an acid injection device, a thermal shaker, a liquid transfer device, and a visual device within the operating radius of the robot. The robot can make the gripper device move freely and unrestricted within the operating radius of the robot by a plurality of arms. Therefore, the robot can transfer the dosing head or tube to the dosing head holder, the tube holder, the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the liquid transfer device, or the visual device in a preset order and / or in a preset operating mode by the gripper device. In addition, when the dosing head or tube is transferred to the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the liquid transfer device, or the visual device, the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the liquid transfer device, or the visual device is operated in a preset operating mode. According to the present disclosure, by automating the pretreatment process using an acid as a toxic substance without human intervention, a safe working environment can be achieved, worker fatigue caused by the same repetitive work can be alleviated, and the generation of measurement errors can be reduced. In addition, by automatically checking the dissolution rate of a sample with the aid of various image processing methods and reflecting the dissolution rate in the pretreatment process, the accuracy of testing the metal components in the sample can be improved.

[0125] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0127] A pretreatment system 10 for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a sample dissolution device, which is configured to input the sample into a tube 70 according to set pretreatment conditions and inject acid into the tube 70 containing the sample to dissolve the sample; a sample dissolution rate detection device, which is configured to detect the dissolution rate of the sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in acid; a dilution device, which is configured to dilute the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to the set dissolution rate; and a pretreatment condition adjustment device, which is configured to adjust the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being lower than the set dissolution rate.

[0128] like Figure 1As shown in , a pretreatment system 10 for testing metal components in a sample according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a robot 20, a gripper device 30, a dosing head holder 80 and a tube holder 90, a sample input device 110, a cover opening / closing device 130, an acid injection device 170, a thermal shaker 230, and a pipetting device 240. Although not shown in Figure 1 , but the pretreatment system 10 further includes a vision device 290. The robot 20 is fixedly installed at the center C1 of the pretreatment system 10, and the dosing head holder 80, the tube holder 90, the sample input device 110, the cover opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the thermal shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, and the vision device 290 can be arranged within the operation radius R1 of the robot 20. The pretreatment system 10 further includes a controller 280. The controller 280 can be arranged outside the operation radius R1 of the robot 20. For example, the controller 280 can be physically separated from the robot 20 and arranged away from the robot 20.

[0129] The sample dissolving device, the sample dissolution rate detecting device, the diluting device and the pretreatment condition adjusting device are components of the pretreatment system 10 divided by function, and the robot 20, the gripper device 30, the dosing head holder 80, the tube holder 90, the sample input device 110, the cover opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the thermal shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, the controller 280 and the visual device 290 are components of the pretreatment system 10 divided by device. Therefore, the sample dissolving device, the sample dissolution rate detecting device, the diluting device and the pretreatment condition adjusting device can each be realized by a combination of some or all of the following: the robot 20, the gripper device 30, the dosing head holder 80, the tube holder 90, the sample input device 110, the cover opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the thermal shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, the controller 280 and the visual device 290.

[0130] The robot 20 includes a plurality of arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f and 22g, and one arm is connected in a rotatable manner relative to another adjacent arm. To this end, at least one actuator is provided at the connection portion between one arm and another adjacent arm so that one arm can rotate relative to another adjacent arm. For example, the second arm 22b is connected to the first arm 22a in a rotatable manner, and an actuator is provided at the connection portion between the first arm 22a and the second arm 22b so that the second arm 22b can rotate relative to the first arm 22a. Similarly, the third arm 22c is connected to the second arm 22b in a rotatable manner, and an actuator is provided at the connection portion between the second arm 22b and the third arm 22c so that the third arm 22c can rotate relative to the second arm 22b.

[0131] The gripper device 30 is rotatably mounted on the frontmost arm 22g among the plurality of arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, and 22g. The gripper device 30 can be freely moved without restriction within the operating radius R1 of the robot 20 through the plurality of arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, and 22g included in the robot 20. As the number of arms included in the robot 20 increases, the gripper device 30 can move more freely. Therefore, in the present specification, the robot 20 is illustrated as including seven arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, and 22g, but the number of arms included in the robot 20 is not limited to seven, but can be adjusted by the designer as needed.

[0132] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a gripper device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 is a plan view of a gripper device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 It is along Figure 3 A cross-sectional view taken along line AA'. Figure 5 is another perspective view of a gripper device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0133] like Figures 2 to 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , the gripper device 30 is mounted on the tip of the robot 20, that is, the frontmost arm 22g of the robot 20 and rotates together with the frontmost arm 22g, and the gripper device 30 can be moved by the robot 20 to the dosing head holder 80, the tube holder 90, the sample input device 110, the cover opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the thermal shaker 230, the pipetting device 240 or the visual device 290 to grip or release the dosing head 50 and / or the tube 70. To this end, the gripper device 30 includes a gripper body 32, a first gripper unit 40 and a second gripper unit 60.

[0134] The gripper body 32 is mounted on the frontmost arm 22g and rotates together with the frontmost arm 22g. A gripper body mounting hole 33 is formed in the central portion of the gripper body 32, and the gripper body 32 is mounted on the frontmost arm 22g through the gripper body mounting hole 33. The gripper body 32 includes a first gripper unit mounting portion 34 on one side and a second gripper unit mounting portion 36 on the other side. A first gripper unit 40 configured to grip or release the dosing head 50 is mounted on the first gripper unit mounting portion 34, and a second gripper unit 60 configured to grip or release the tube 70 is mounted on the second gripper unit mounting portion 36.

[0135] The first gripper unit 40 may be mounted on the first gripper unit mounting portion 34, may grip or release the dosing head 50, and is configured to be able to press a first mounting button 82 (see Figure 6 ) or the second installation button 112 of the sample input device 110 (see Fig. 9 ) to press.

[0136] The first gripper unit 40 includes a first gripping finger 42a and a second gripping finger 42b that can move toward or away from each other. The first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b can move toward each other to grip the dosing head 50 disposed between them, and can move away from each other to release the gripped dosing head 50. Here, the dosing head 50 contains a sample for testing the metal components therein, and includes a sample container unit 52 and a sample supply unit 54. The sample container unit 52 contains the sample and is configured to be connected to the sample container unit 52 to selectively discharge the sample contained in the sample container unit 52. To this end, the sample container unit 52 is provided with a resiliently supported valve button 58. When the valve button 58 is pressed by an external force, the valve button 58 opens the outlet of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52 to discharge the sample in the sample container unit 52. When the external force pressing the valve button 58 disappears, the valve button 58 elastically returns to its original position and closes the outlet of the sample supply unit 54. Since the dosing head 50 is well known to those skilled in the art, further detailed description will be omitted.

[0137] The first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b are configured to grip the two side surfaces of the sample supply unit 54 of the dosing head 50. For example, the first gripping protrusion 44a and the second gripping protrusion 44b are formed to protrude toward each other on the surfaces of the tip portion of the first gripping finger 42a and the tip portion of the second gripping finger 42b that are opposite to each other, respectively, and the first gripping protrusion 44a and the second gripping protrusion 44b are configured to grip the two flat side surfaces of the sample supply unit 54.

[0138] The dosing head 50 is usually mounted on the dosing head holder 80 or the sample input device 110. To this end, a mounting pin channel 56 and a mounting pin groove 57 extending upward from the mounting pin channel 56 are formed on both side surfaces of the sample supply unit 54 of the dosing head 50. The dosing head holder 80 is provided with a first mounting pin 84 having a first mounting pin tip portion 86 formed to correspond to the mounting pin channel 56 and the mounting pin groove 57, and the sample input device 110 is provided with a second mounting pin 114 having a second mounting pin tip portion 116 formed to correspond to the mounting pin channel 56 and the mounting pin groove 57. Therefore, the first mounting pin 84 or the second mounting pin 114 is inserted into the mounting pin channel 56, and the first mounting pin tip portion 86 or the second mounting pin tip portion 116 is inserted into the mounting pin groove 57, so that the dosing head 50 is mounted on the dosing head holder 80 or the sample input device 110. That is, the gripper device 30 moves the dosing head 50 horizontally to insert the first mounting pin 84 or the second mounting pin 114 into the mounting pin channel 56 , and moves the dosing head 50 vertically downward to insert the first mounting pin tip 86 or the second mounting pin tip 116 into the mounting pin groove 57 .

[0139] In order to remove the dosing head 50 from the dosing head holder 80 or the sample input device 110, the first gripping protrusion 44a and the second gripping protrusion 44b of the gripper device 30 grip the two flat side surfaces of the sample supply unit 54 and lift the dosing head 50 vertically upward to move the first mounting pin tip 86 or the second mounting pin tip 116 out of the mounting pin groove 57, and move the dosing head 50 horizontally to remove the first mounting pin 86 or the second mounting pin 114 from the mounting pin channel 56.

[0140] In addition, in order to minimize the vertical movement of the dosing head 50 under the action of the gripper device 30 during the installation or removal process of the dosing head 50, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b are elastically provided at the tip of the first gripping finger 42a and the tip of the second gripping finger 42b, respectively, and the first installation button 82 and the second installation button 112 are respectively installed on the dosing head holder 80 and the sample input device 110. When the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b press the first installation button 82 or the second installation button 112 during the installation or removal of the dosing head 50, the first installation pin 84 or the second installation pin 114 moves downward, and the first installation pin tip portion 86 or the second installation pin tip portion 116 is partially removed from the installation pin groove 57. Therefore, the amount of vertical movement of the dosing head 50 for installation or removal of the dosing head 50 can be reduced.

[0141] In order to reduce the amount of shaking that may occur when the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b press the first installation button 82 or the second installation button 112, a guide bushing 74, a guide shaft 76 and a guide spring 78 are arranged in the tip portion of the first gripping finger 42a and the tip portion of the second gripping finger 42b.

[0142] The guide bushing 74 has a cylindrical shape with one side open and the other side closed, and is fixed in the tip portion of the first gripping finger 42a and the tip portion of the second gripping finger 42b. The first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b is slidably arranged on one open surface of the guide bushing 74 along the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing 74, and a guide shaft hole is formed on the other closed surface of the guide bushing 74. The guide shaft 76 is inserted into the guide shaft hole, extends to one side, and is connected to the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b. Therefore, the guide shaft 76 can be axially moved along the guide bushing 74 together with the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b. The guide shaft 76 is spaced apart from the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing 74, and a guide spring 78 is arranged between the guide shaft 76 and the guide bushing 74. The guide spring 78 elastically supports the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b relative to the guide bushing 74. When the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b press the first installation button 82 or the second installation button 112, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b move to the other side of the axial direction together with the guide shaft 76 by the reaction force, and the guide spring 78 is compressed. When the force of the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b pressing the first installation button 82 or the second installation button 112 disappears, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b move to one side of the axial direction together with the guide shaft 76 by the elastic force of the guide spring 78 and return to its original position. The movement of the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b and the guide shaft 76 to the other side of the axial direction is limited by the step portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing 74, and the movement of the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b and the guide shaft 76 toward one side in the axial direction is limited by the other end portion of the guide shaft 76 having a relatively large diameter.

[0143] The third gripping finger 62a and the fourth gripping finger 62b can move toward each other to grip the tube 70 disposed therebetween, and can move away from each other to release the gripped tube 70. Here, the tube 70 includes a tube body 71, the lower end of which is closed, and a tube cover 72, which is screwed to the upper portion of the tube body 71 and closes the open upper portion of the tube body 71. The tube body 71 is made of a transparent material so that the inside is visible, and is made of a material resistant to toxic substances such as acid.

[0144] A first pipe clamp portion 64a and a second pipe clamp portion 64b are provided at the tip portion of the third gripping finger 62a and the tip portion of the fourth gripping finger 62b. The first pipe clamp portion 64a and the second pipe clamp portion 64b have a shape corresponding to the pipe cover 72 so as to grip the pipe cover 72. For example, the first pipe clamp portion 64a and the second pipe clamp portion 64b are each formed into a semicircular shape or an arc shape having a diameter that is the same as or very similar to the diameter of the pipe cover 72, and are configured to grip the pipe cover 72. In one example, the first pipe clamp portion 64a and the second pipe clamp portion 64b may each have an arc shape. In addition, the surfaces of the first pipe clamp portion 64a and the second pipe clamp portion 64b that contact the pipe cover 72 may be made of an elastic material so that the first pipe clamp portion 64a and the second pipe clamp portion 64b may firmly grip the pipe cover 72.

[0145] The tip portion of the third gripping finger 62a and the tip portion of the fourth gripping finger 62b are also provided with a first gripping rod groove 66a and a second gripping rod groove 66b and a first stopper 68a and a second stopper 68b. The first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b have a gripping rod 108 (see FIG. Figure 7 and Figure 8 ) so that the first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b can grip the gripping rod 108. For example, the first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b are each formed in a semicircular shape or an arc shape whose diameter is the same as or very similar to the diameter of the gripping rod 108, and are configured to grip the gripping rod 108. In one example, the diameter of the gripping rod 108 can be smaller than the diameter of the pipe cover 72, and the first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b can each be semicircular. The first stopper 68a and the second stopper 68b limit the movement of the second gripper unit 60 toward the gripping rod 108, so that the first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b are positioned at a precise position corresponding to the gripping rod 108.

[0146] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a partial configuration of a dosing head holder according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0147] like Figure 1 and Figure 6As shown in, at least one dosing head 50 can be installed on the dosing head holder 80. For this reason, the dosing head holder 80 includes a plurality of dosing head holders, and one dosing head 50 can be installed on one dosing head holder. Each dosing head holder includes a pair of first mounting pins 84 extending to the front surface, and the front end of each first mounting pin 84 is formed with a first mounting pin tip 86 protruding upward. The dosing head 50 is arranged between a pair of first mounting pins 84, and the first mounting pin 84 is inserted into the mounting pin channel 56, and the first mounting pin tip 86 is inserted into the mounting pin groove 57, so that the dosing head 50 is installed on the dosing head holder. A first mounting button 82 can be installed on each dosing head holder. When the first mounting button 82 is pressed, the first mounting button 82 moves the first mounting pin 84 downward to partially remove the first mounting pin tip 86 from the mounting pin groove 57. In this state, the robot 20 slightly raises the first gripper unit 40 so that the first mounting pin tip 86 is completely removed from the mounting pin groove 57 and then withdrawn from the dosing head holder 80 to remove the dosing head 50 from the dosing head holder 80 .

[0148] Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of a tube holder according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0149] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 An enlarged view of portion B.

[0150] like Figure 1 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , the tube holder 90 includes at least one tube tray 96 that can be slid by the gripper device 30 and on each tube tray 96 at least one tube 70 can be mounted. Figure 7 The drawing shows that the tube trays 96 are arranged in two rows on the tube holder 90, and three tube trays 96 are arranged in each row. However, the number of rows of the tube trays 96 and the number of tube trays 96 arranged in each row are not limited thereto.

[0151] The tube holder 90 includes a bottom frame 94 and at least two vertical frames. Figure 7 The diagram shows that two rows of tube trays 96 are provided, so Figure 7 The pipe holder 90 includes a first vertical frame 92a, a second vertical frame 92b, and a third vertical frame 92c. The first vertical frame 92a, the second vertical frame 92b, and the third vertical frame 92c are installed on the base frame 94 while being spaced apart from each other. Each of the first vertical frame 92a, the second vertical frame 92b, and the third vertical frame 92c extends upward in the vertical direction.

[0152] At least one tube tray 96 is disposed between two adjacent vertical frames so as to be able to slide in a first direction X1. Here, the first direction X1 refers to a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the vertical frames are spaced apart. The tube tray 96 includes an upper tray 98, a lower tray 100 spaced apart below the upper tray 98, and at least one tray spacer 106, which connects the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100 while maintaining a spaced state between the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100. In one example, a plurality of tray spacers 106 may be disposed spaced apart from each other along the edges of the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100.

[0153] A plurality of first upper tube holes 102 are formed in the upper tray 98, and first lower tube holes 104 corresponding to the plurality of first upper tube holes 102 are formed in the lower tray 100. The tube body 71 is inserted into the first upper tube holes 102, at least a portion of the lower portion of the tube body 71 is inserted into the first lower tube holes 104, and the remaining portion of the lower portion of the tube body 71 is supported by the first lower tray 100. For this reason, the diameter of the lower portion of the tube body 71 decreases as it descends, the diameter of the first upper tube holes 102 is larger than the diameter of the middle portion of the tube body 71, and the diameter of the first lower tube holes 104 is smaller than the diameter of the middle portion of the tube body 71.

[0154] Sliding rails 109 are installed on the surfaces of the two adjacent vertical frames facing each other, and both sides of at least one of the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100 include a sliding mechanism that is installed on the sliding rails 109 and can slide in the first direction X1. In one example, the sliding mechanism may be a roller that can roll on the sliding rails 109. However, the sliding mechanism is not limited to the roller, and includes various sliding mechanisms that can slide the tube tray 96.

[0155] The gripping rod 108 is formed to protrude vertically upward from the lower tray 100. The first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b of the second gripper unit 60 can grip the gripping rod 108 and pull or push the tube tray 96 to slide in the first direction X1. That is, the robot 20 grips the gripping rod 108 using the first gripping rod groove 66a and the second gripping rod groove 66b of the second gripper unit 60 of the gripper device 30, and pulls or pushes the tube tray 96 to slide in the first direction X1. Through such sliding of the tube tray 96, the robot 20 can install the tube 70 on the tube tray 96, or can position the tube tray 96 at a position where it is easy to remove the tube 70 from the tube tray 96. When the robot 20 moves the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b of the second gripper unit 60 toward the gripping bar 108, the first stopper 68a and the second stopper 68b provided at the tip portion of the third gripping finger 62a and the tip portion of the fourth gripping finger 62b are caught in the corner of the upper tray 98, and thus the second gripper unit 60 can no longer move toward the gripping bar 108. When the first stopper 68a and the second stopper 68b are caught in the corner of the upper tray 98, the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b are positioned at precise positions corresponding to the gripping bar 108.

[0156] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a sample introduction device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0157] like Figure 1 and Fig. 9 As shown in FIG. 1 , the sample input device 110 is configured to transfer a certain amount of sample contained in the sample container portion 52 of the dosing head 50 to the empty tube 70 . The sample input device 110 includes a sample input unit lifting device 111 and a sample input chamber 126 .

[0158] The dosing head 50 can be installed on the sample input unit lifting device 111. To this end, the sample input unit lifting device 111 includes a pair of second mounting pins 114 extending to the front surface, and the front end of each second mounting pin 114 is formed with a second mounting pin tip 116 protruding upward. The dosing head 50 is arranged between the pair of second mounting pins 114, and the second mounting pin 114 is inserted into the mounting pin channel 56 and the second mounting pin tip 116 is inserted into the mounting pin groove 57, so that the dosing head 50 is installed on the sample input unit lifting device 111. The sample input unit lifting device 111 can be equipped with a second installation button 112. When the second installation button 112 is pressed, the second installation button 112 moves the second installation pin 114 downward to partially remove the second installation pin tip 116 from the mounting pin groove 57. In this state, the robot 20 slightly lowers the first gripper unit 40 so that the second mounting pin tip 116 is completely inserted into the mounting pin groove 57 , and then the dosing head 50 is set.

[0159] The sample input unit lifting device 111 is lowered toward the sample input chamber 126 so that the dosing head 50 mounted on the sample input unit lifting device 111 is positioned directly above the tube 70. The sample input unit lifting device 111 also includes a valve switch 118 configured to press the valve button 58 of the sample container unit 52. In a state where the sample input unit lifting device 111 is lowered and the dosing head 50 is positioned directly above the tube 70, the valve switch 118 opens the outlet of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52 by pressing the valve button 58 and injects a certain amount of sample in the sample container unit 52 into the empty tube 70. When a certain amount of sample is injected into the tube 70, the valve switch 118 no longer presses the valve button 58, and the outlet of the sample supply unit 54 is closed. In addition, the sample input unit lifting device 111 rises to its original position. When the sample input unit lifting device 111 rises to its original position, the robot 20 may separate the dosing head 50 from the sample input unit lifting device 111 through the second gripper unit 60 and mount the dosing head 50 on the dosing head holder 80 again.

[0160] The sample input chamber 126 is positioned below the sample input unit lifting device 111, and its upper surface is open. A sliding door 124 is installed on the front surface of the sample introduction chamber 126, and the sliding door 124 selectively opens and closes the front surface of the sample introduction chamber 126. A first gravimeter 120 is installed in the sample input chamber 126, and a tube holder cup 122 is provided on the first gravimeter 120. The tube 70 can be provided in the tube holder cup 122. When the tube 70 separated from the tube cover 72 is provided in the tube holder cup 122, the sample input unit lifting device 111 descends and the valve switch 118 presses the valve button 58 to open the outlet of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52 and inject the sample of the sample container unit 52 into the tube 70. The amount of the sample input into the tube 70 is detected by the first weighing meter 120, and when the amount of the sample input into the tube 70 reaches a certain amount, the valve switch 118 closes the outlet of the supply unit 54 without pressing the valve button 58. Thereafter, the sample input unit lifting device 111 rises to its original position, and the robot 20 presses the second installation button 112 with the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b of the first gripper unit 40 to partially remove the second installation pin tip 116 from the installation pin groove 57, and slightly raises the first gripper unit 40 to completely remove the second installation pin tip 116 from the installation pin groove 57 and remove the dosing head 50 from the sample input unit lifting device 111. Thereafter, the robot 20 installs the dosing head 50 on the dosing head holder 80 again.

[0161] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of a cover opening and closing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig.11 is a schematic diagram of a cover opening / closing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0162] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first exhaust hood and first and second tube body grippers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0163] like Figure 1 as well as Figures 10 to 12 As shown, the cover opening / closing device 130 is configured to separate the tube cover 72 from the tube body 71 or to couple the tube cover 72 to the upper portion of the tube body 71. The cover opening / closing device 130 includes a capping workbench 132 and a cover opening / closing unit 140, and optionally further includes a first exhaust hood 160.

[0164] The capping workbench 132 includes a first tube holder 134 provided on one side thereof and a second tube holder 136 provided on the other side thereof. The tube 70 can be mounted on the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136. The capping workbench 132 also includes a workbench rotation actuator 138, and the workbench rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping workbench 132 by 180°. Therefore, one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is positioned at a first position where the robot 20 mounts or removes the tube 70, and the other of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is positioned at a second position where the cover opening / closing unit 140 separates the tube cover 72 from the tube body 71 or connects the tube cover 72 to the tube body 71. In this state, when the table rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping table 132 180°, one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is positioned at the second position, and the other of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is positioned at the first position.

[0165] The cover opening / closing unit 140 is installed at a position corresponding to the second position, and includes first and second cover grippers 142 a and 142 b , first and second tube body grippers 154 a and 154 b , a cover rotation actuator 148 , and a cover unit lifting actuator 150 .

[0166] The first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are positioned corresponding to the tube cap 72 of the tube 70 mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b can move toward each other to grip the tube cap 72, or can move away from each other to release the tube cap 72. The surfaces of the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b facing each other can have a shape corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the tube cap 72. The first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are mounted on the cap gripper support 144, and the cap gripper support 144 is rotatably mounted on the support lifting block 146.

[0167] The first body gripper 154a and the second body gripper 154b are positioned corresponding to the tube body 71 of the tube 70 mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first body gripper 154a and the second body gripper 154b can move toward each other to grip the tube body 71, or can move away from each other to release the tube body 71. First tube body gripper concave grooves 156a and second tube body gripper concave grooves 156b are formed on surfaces of the first tube body gripper 154a and the second tube body gripper 154b facing each other, and the first tube body gripper concave grooves 156a and the second tube body gripper concave grooves 156b can have shapes corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the tube body 71. The first tube body gripper 154a and the second tube body gripper 154b are mounted on the tube body support 158.

[0168] The cover rotation actuator 148 is mounted on the support lifting block 146, and the lower end of the cover rotation actuator 148 penetrates the support lifting block 146 to be connected to the cover gripper support 144. The cover rotation actuator 148 rotates the cover gripper support 144 in a first rotation direction to separate the tube cover 72 from the tube body 71, and rotates the cover gripper support 144 in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction to couple the tube cover 72 to the tube body 71.

[0169] The cover unit lifting actuator 150 is connected to the support lifting block 146 through the cover unit lifting actuator shaft 152 and moves the support lifting block 146 up and down. Therefore, the cover gripper support 144 installed on the support lifting block 146 and the first cover gripper 142a and the second cover gripper 142b installed on the cover gripper support 144 also move up and down together with the support lifting block 146.

[0170] The first exhaust hood 160 is installed at a position corresponding to the second position, and is configured to extract the gas generated by the toxic substance such as acid in the pipe 70. The first exhaust hood 160 has an inlet 164 facing the pipe 70 located at the second position, and a first inlet 162 for discharging the gas extracted through the inlet 164 to the outside of the pretreatment system 10.

[0171] The cover opening / closing device 130 further includes a sensor 166. The sensor 166 detects whether the tube 70 or the tube cover 72 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, whether the tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, and whether the first cover gripper 142a and the second cover gripper 142b grip the tube cover 72, and sends a signal corresponding to the detection to the controller 280.

[0172] When the tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position and the tube cap 72 is not positioned on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, the table rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping table 132 by 180° to move the tube 70 to the second position. When the tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position and the tube cap 70 is positioned on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, the cap unit lifting actuator 150 lowers the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72, and raises the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b again.

[0173] When the tube 70 is not mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, the tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b do not grip the tube cap 72, the controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 coupled to the tube body 71 in the first rotation direction, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lift the tube cap 72 according to the rotation amount of the cap rotation actuator 148. Therefore, the tube cap 72 is separated from the tube body 71. Thereafter, the table rotation actuator 138 further rotates the capping table 132 by 180° to move the tube 70 to the first position, and the controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to place the tube cap 72 in the second position.

[0174] When the tube 70 is not mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, the tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b grip the tube cap 72, the controller 280 controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lower the tube cap 72 toward the tube body 71 and press the tube body 71 and the tube cap together with a constant load, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 in the second rotation direction relative to the tube body 71, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lower the tube cap 72 according to the rotation amount of the cap rotation actuator 148. Thus, the tube cap 72 is coupled to the tube body 71. After pressing the tube body 71 and the tube cap 72 together with a certain load, the tube cap 72 rotates in the second rotation direction relative to the tube body 71, thereby preventing the tube cap 72 from being obliquely coupled to the tube body 71. Thereafter, the table rotation actuator 138 further rotates the capping table 132 by 180° to move the tube 70 to the first position.

[0175] Fig.13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a rear portion of an acid injection device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig.14 is a schematic diagram of an acid injection apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig.15 yes Fig.14 Stereoscopic image of Fig.16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an acid injection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig.17 is a schematic diagram of a tube loader unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig.18 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a tube is set in a tube loader unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig.19 It is along Fig.18 A cross-sectional view taken along line C-C'; Fig. 20 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a tube provided in a tube loader unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted into an acid injection chamber; Fig.21 It is along Fig. 20 A cross-sectional view taken along line D-D' of Fig. 22 yes Fig.21 An enlarged view of portion E.

[0176] like Figure 1 as well as Figures 13 to 22 As shown, the acid injection device 170 is configured to inject acid into the tube 70 to dissolve the sample in the tube 70. In addition, the acid injection device 170 is configured to dilute the sample solution once by injecting distilled water into the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved (hereinafter referred to as "sample solution"). The acid injection device 170 includes an acid supply unit 172, a tube loader unit 174 and an acid injection unit 176.

[0177] The acid supply unit 172 includes a plurality of liquid bottles 178, and each liquid bottle 178 contains a liquid of a specific component. For example, one liquid bottle 178 can contain acid, and another liquid bottle 178 can contain distilled water. Each liquid bottle 178 is arranged on a second weighing scale 180 to measure the amount of liquid contained in the liquid bottle 178. In addition, the amount of liquid supplied from the liquid bottle 178 can be measured by the second weighing scale 180. Therefore, a set amount of liquid can be supplied to the pipe 70. The acid supply unit 172 also includes a liquid pumping unit 182, which is configured to make a plurality of liquid bottles 178 communicate with the acid injection unit 176 fluid. The liquid pumping unit 182 is configured to pump the liquid in the liquid bottle 178 and supply the liquid to the acid injection unit 176. In one example, the controller 280 can control the liquid pumping unit 182 to supply a set amount of liquid to the pipe 70.

[0178] The acid injection unit 176 is arranged near the acid supply unit 172, and is configured to supply the liquid supplied from the acid supply unit 172 to the tube 70 installed on the tube loader unit 174. The acid injection unit 176 includes an acid injection chamber body 184 in which an acid injection chamber 186 is formed. The acid injection chamber body 184 is provided with an injection nozzle connector 190, a nozzle lifting actuator 192, a funnel movement actuator 194 and a second exhaust hood 196. In addition, a drain pan 202 is provided at the lower part of the acid injection chamber body 184 so that the liquid sprayed during the pre-filling of the injection nozzle 200 and / or the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 with liquid can be discharged from the drain pan 202. In addition, the front surface of the acid injection chamber body 184 is open, and the open front surface can be selectively closed by the acid injection chamber baffle 228. For this reason, the acid injection device 170 also includes a baffle actuator 226. The shutter actuator 226 may close or open the front opening of the acid injection chamber body 184 using the acid injection chamber shutter 228 .

[0179] The injection nozzle connector 190 is fluidly connected to the liquid pumping unit 182 to receive the liquid from the liquid pumping unit 182 , and is connected to the injection nozzle 200 to supply the supplied liquid to the injection nozzle 200 .

[0180] The nozzle lifting actuator 192 may be connected to an injection nozzle mounting portion 193 extending into the acid injection chamber 186 to move the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 up and down. The injection nozzle 200 is mounted on the injection nozzle mounting portion 193, and a channel for supplying liquid to the injection nozzle 200 is formed. The channel is connected to the injection nozzle connector 190 so that the injection nozzle 200 is in fluid communication with the injection nozzle connector 190. When the nozzle lifting actuator 192 moves the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 downward, the liquid pumping unit 182 pumps the liquid in the liquid bottle 178 and supplies the fluid to the injection nozzle 200 through the injection nozzle connector 190 and the injection nozzle mounting unit 193, and the injection nozzle 200 injects the fluid into the pipe 70.

[0181] The funnel moving actuator 194 is connected to the funnel moving link 195 extending into the acid injection chamber 186 to move the funnel 198 mounted on the funnel moving link 195 between a first funnel position and a second funnel position. Here, the first funnel position is positioned directly below the injection nozzle 200 and is a position to receive the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle 200, and the second funnel position is a position where the funnel moving link 195 and the funnel 198 do not overlap with the movement of the tube 70 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 within the acid injection chamber 186. Before the tube 70 is inserted into the acid injection chamber 186 and the liquid is injected into the tube, the funnel moving actuator 194 positions the funnel 198 in the first funnel position, and the controller 280 controls the liquid pumping unit 182 to pre-fill the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting unit 193 with the liquid. In this process, liquid may be sprayed from the injection nozzle 200 into the funnel 198, and the funnel 198 receives the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle 200 to prevent the liquid from scattering and discharges the liquid to the drain pan 202. Before injecting the liquid into the pipe 70, by pre-filling the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 with liquid, gas that may exist in the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 may be removed, and the amount of liquid injected into the pipe 70 may be accurately controlled.

[0182] The second exhaust hood 196 is configured to at least partially surround the injection nozzle 200 and to suck the gas generated by the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle 200. The lower portion of the second exhaust hood 196 is opened to suck the gas, and the upper portion of the second exhaust hood 196 is connected to the second outlet 188 to discharge the sucked gas to the outside of the pretreatment system 10. In addition, the second outlet 188 may be further connected to the acid injection chamber body 184 to discharge the gas not sucked into the second exhaust hood 196 to the outside of the pretreatment system 10.

[0183] The tube loader unit 174 includes a support frame 204 , a loader frame 206 , a loader frame transfer actuator 208 , a tilt frame 216 , a tilt actuator 222 , a rotation plate 218 , and a rotation plate rotation actuator 224 .

[0184] The support frame 204 extends from the front of the acid injection chamber 186 toward the acid injection chamber 186 along the second direction X2. Here, the second direction X2 is the direction in which the support frame 204 extends. The support frame 204 is provided with a loader frame rail 205 extending along the second direction X2, and a loader frame transfer actuator 208 that can move the loader frame 206 along the loader frame rail 205 between a first loader position and a second loader position. Here, the first loader position is a position where the robot 20 can mount the tube 70 on the third tube holder 220 on the rotating plate 218 or grasp the tube 70 from the third tube holder 220, and the second loader position is a position where the tilt frame 216 is tilted so that the tube 70 can enter the acid injection chamber 186.

[0185] The loader frame transfer actuator 208 includes a first pulley 210 and a second pulley 212 and a conveyor belt 214. The first pulley 210 and the second pulley 212 are rotatably mounted on the support frame 204 along the second direction X2 while being spaced apart from each other. The conveyor belt 214 is connected to the first pulley 210 and the second pulley 212 and is movable along the second direction X2 according to the rotation of the first pulley 210 and the second pulley 212. The loader frame 206 is connected to the conveyor belt 214, and the conveyor belt 214 can move the loader frame 206 between the first loader position and the second loader position along the second direction X2.

[0186] The loader frame 206 is formed into a set shape, and one end portion of the loader frame 206 is slidably mounted on the loader frame rail 205 and is simultaneously connected to the conveyor belt 214. The tilt frame 216 is mounted on the other end portion of the loader frame 206 so that the tilt frame 216 can be tilted at a set angle, and a tilt actuator 222 is installed to tilt the tilt frame 216 between a tilt position and an initial position. In one example, the tilt frame 216 is hingedly coupled to the other end portion of the loader frame 206, and the tilt actuator 222 can pull or push the tilt frame 216 relative to the loader frame 206 to rotate the tilt frame 216.

[0187] The rotating plate 218 is rotatably mounted on the tilt frame 216, and is provided with a rotating plate rotating actuator 224 capable of rotating the rotating plate 218 about its central axis. The third tube holder 220 is provided on the rotating plate 218, and the tube 70 can be mounted thereon.

[0188] The acid injection device 170 may also include a sensor for detecting whether the pipe 70 is mounted on the third pipe holder 220, whether the loader frame 206 is positioned at the first loader position or the second loader position, and whether the tilting frame 216 is in the initial position or tilted to the tilted position. The sensor may send a signal representing the detected information to the controller 280. For example, when the loader frame 206 is positioned at the first loader position, the controller 280 mounts the pipe 70 on the third pipe holder 220 by the robot 20. When the pipe 70 is mounted on the third pipe holder 220, the controller 280 moves the loader frame 206 to the second loader position by the loader frame transfer actuator 208. When the loader frame 206 is positioned at the second loader position, the controller 280 tilts the tilting frame 216 to the tilted position by the tilting actuator 222. When the tilt frame 216 tilts to the tilted position, the controller 280 lowers the injection nozzle 200 onto the tube 70 through the nozzle lifting actuator 192, rotates the rotating plate 218 through the rotating plate rotation actuator 224, and injects liquid (for example, acid or distilled water) into the tube 70 through the injection nozzle 200.

[0189] According to the present disclosure, the liquid is injected into the tube 70 while the tube 70 is tilted at a set angle and rotated around the tilted central axis, so that the liquid flows along the inner wall of the tube 70 and mixes with the sample. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid from falling directly on the sample and scattering the sample. In addition, since the tube 70 is rotating, the liquid injected into the tube 70 flows along the entire inner wall of the tube 70. Therefore, the sample covered on the inner wall of the tube 70 also flows downward with the liquid.

[0190] Fig.23 is a schematic perspective view of a thermal shaker according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermal shaker according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0191] like Figure 1 , Fig.23 and Fig.24 As shown, the thermoshaker 230 is configured to install a tube 70 containing a sample mixed with a liquid, apply heat to the tube 70, and shake the tube 70 to dissolve the sample in the liquid. The thermoshaker 230 includes a shaker unit 238, a shaker rod 237, a heating block 233, a heating plate 236, and a heat insulation cover 231.

[0192] The shaker unit 238 is configured to shake the shaker rod 237, and the heating plate 236 is mounted on the shaker rod 237, and the heating block 233 is mounted on the heating plate 236. In addition, the heat insulation cover 231 is mounted on the heating block 233 to surround the heating plate 236 and the heating block 233. At least one second upper pipe hole 232 is formed in the heat insulation cover 231, and at least one second lower pipe hole 234 corresponding to the at least one second upper pipe hole 232 is formed in the heating block 233. The lower portion of the tube 70 is inserted into the second upper pipe hole 232 and the second lower pipe hole 234, and is disposed on the heating plate 236. In order to stably install the tube 70 inserted into the second upper pipe hole 232 and the second lower pipe hole 234, the heat insulation cover 231 is disposed to be spaced apart from the heating block 233. The heating plate 236 and the heating block 233 generate heat and transfer the heat to the tube 70. While the sample mixed with the liquid in the tube 70 is heated by the heating plate 236 and the heating block 233 , the shaker unit 238 shakes the tube 70 through the shaking rod 237 to dissolve the sample in the liquid (eg, acid).

[0193] Fig.25 is a schematic perspective view of a pipetting device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.26 is a schematic diagram of a pipette unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 27 is another schematic diagram of a pipette unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0194] like Figure 1 as well as Figure 25 to Figure 27 As shown, the pipetting device 240 is configured to transfer a portion of the solution in one tube 70 to another tube 70. The pipetting device 240 includes a pipette tip tray 252, a pipette tip tray transfer unit 254, a pipette workbench 256, a pipette unit 242, a pipette moving unit 244, and a pipette tip ejector 264. The pipette tip tray 252 is disposed on one side of the pipette unit 242, and the pipette workbench 256 is disposed on the other side of the pipette unit 242.

[0195] A plurality of unused pipette tips 275 may be mounted on the pipette tip tray 252, and may be moved toward or away from the pipette unit 242 by the pipette tip tray transfer unit 254. When the pipette tip tray 252 is positioned near the pipette unit 242, the pipette unit 242 moves downward to load the pipette tip 275. Here, the pipette tip 275 is formed in a generally cylindrical shape, wherein the upper end and the lower end thereof are open, and the diameter of the lower portion gradually decreases as it descends.

[0196] The pipetting station 256 has a first pipette tube holder 258 disposed on one side thereof and a second pipette tube holder 260 disposed on the other side thereof. The tube 70 can be mounted on the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260. The pipetting station 256 also includes a pipetting station rotation actuator 262, and the pipetting station rotation actuator 262 rotates the pipetting station 256 180°. Therefore, one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 is positioned at the first pipette tube position, and at the first pipette tube position, the robot 20 can install the tube 70 on one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260, or can grasp the tube 70 at the first pipette tube position, and the other of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 is positioned at the second pipette tube position, and at the second pipette tube position, the pipette unit 242 can collect the solution from the tube 70 at the second pipette tube position, or can inject the solution into the tube 70 at the second pipette tube position. Therefore, one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 is positioned at the first pipette tube position, and the robot 20 installs one tube 70 in one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260, the pipetting table rotation actuator 262 rotates the pipetting table 256 by 180°, and positions one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 in the second pipette tube position and positions the other of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 in the first pipette tube position, and the pipette unit 256 is moved to the second pipette tube position. 42 collects a portion of the solution in one tube 70, the robot 20 mounts the other tube 70 on the other of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260, the pipetting table rotation actuator 262 rotates the pipetting table 256 180° again and positions one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 in the first pipette tube position and the other of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 in the second pipette tube position, and the pipette unit 242 injects a portion of the collected solution into the other tube 70. Through this process, a portion of the solution in one tube 70 is transferred to the other tube 70. In addition, when distilled water is present in one tube 70, the solution in the other tube 70 can be diluted.

[0197] The pipette unit 242 is installed with a pipette tip 275 at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252 provided on one side thereof, and is configured to collect a solution in one tube 70 or inject the collected solution into another tube 70 located at a position corresponding to the pipetting workbench 256 provided on the other side of the pipette unit 242. The pipette unit 242 includes a pipette guide frame 266, a pipette slider 268, a pipette module 270, and a pipette push actuator 274.

[0198] The pipette guide frame 266 is connected to the pipette moving unit 244, and is moved between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252 and a position corresponding to the pipetting worktable 256 by the pipette moving unit 244. The pipette guide frame 266 extends in the vertical direction.

[0199] The pipette slider 268 is mounted on the pipette guide frame 266 and is able to slide in the vertical direction along the pipette guide frame 266 .

[0200] The pipette module 270 is installed on the pipette slide 268 and moves in the vertical direction together with the pipette slide 268. The pipette module 270 comprises a pipette module body 271 fixedly installed on the pipette slide 268 and a pipette piston 272 that can move relatively in the vertical direction relative to the pipette module body 271. The pipette piston 272 is elastically installed on the pipette module body 271. The pipette piston 272 is provided with a mounting end portion 273 at its lower end portion, and a pipette tip 275 is installed on the mounting end portion 273. When the pipette slider 268 moves downward while the pipette unit 242 is positioned at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252, the mounting end portion 273 of the pipette piston 272 is inserted into one of the pipette tips 275 mounted on the pipette tip tray 252, and thus the pipette tip 275 is mounted on the mounting end portion 273. Thereafter, the pipette slider 268 rises to its original position in which the pipette tip 275 is mounted on the mounting end portion 273.

[0201] The pipette push actuator 274 is positioned above the pipette piston 272 and is installed to be able to move in the vertical direction on the pipette slide 268. When the pipette push actuator 274 moves downward and presses the upper end of the pipette piston 272, the pipette piston 272 moves downward relative to the pipette module body 271 and pushes the pipette tip 275 installed on the installation end 273 in the downward direction. When the pipette tip 275 contains solution, the installation end portion 273 presses the pipette tip 275 downward to discharge the solution contained in the pipette tip 275. When the pipette push actuator 274 moves upward and the force pressing the pipette piston 272 disappears, the pipette piston 272 elastically installed on the pipette module body 271 moves upward and pulls the pipette tip 275 installed on the installation end 273 upward. In order to collect the solution contained in the tube 70 using the pipette tip 275, the pipette slide 268 moves downward, and at the same time, the mounting end 273 pushes the pipette tip 275 downward to immerse the lower portion of the pipette tip 275 in the solution contained in the tube 70. In this state, when the pipette push actuator 274 moves upward, the pipette tip 275 mounted on the mounting end 273 is pulled upward, and the solution in the tube 70 is collected.

[0202] The pipette moving unit 244 moves the pipette unit 242 between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252 and a position corresponding to the pipetting workbench 256. The pipette moving unit 244 includes a pipette guide rail 250, a track base 246, and a track 248. However, only one form of the pipette moving unit 244 is illustrated here, and the pipette moving unit 244 is not limited to the form illustrated here.

[0203] The pipette rail 250 extends from one side where the pipette tip tray 252 is located to the other side where the pipette workbench 256 is located. The pipette guide frame 266 is mounted on the pipette rail 250 so that it can slide along the pipette rail 250.

[0204] The track base 246 extends from side to side on the pipette rail 250 .

[0205] One end of the track 248 is fixed to the track holder 246, and the other end portion of the track 248 is connected to the pipette guide frame 266. The track 248 includes a plurality of joints, wherein one joint is bent or straightened relative to another joint, and the position of the other end of the track 248 relative to the position of one end of the track 248 is controlled.

[0206] The pipette tip pusher 264 is positioned between a side where the pipette tip tray 252 is positioned and the other side where the pipetting workbench 256 is positioned. The pipette tip pusher 264 can extend to the pipette unit 242 at a corresponding position and press the upper end of the pipette piston 272 downwards. When the pipette tip pusher 264 moves downwards and presses the upper end of the pipette piston 272, the pipette piston 272 moves downwards relative to the pipette module body 271 and pushes the pipette tip 275 installed on the mounting end 273 in a downward direction. In this case, the pressure amount of the pipette tip pusher 264 pressing the pipette piston 272 is large, so the pipette tip 275 is separated from the mounting end portion 273.

[0207] In order to make the pipette tip pusher 264 push the upper end of the pipette piston 272, the pipette tip pusher 264 is positioned in the vertical direction between the upper end of the pipette piston 272 and the lower end of the pipette push actuator 274. As described above, the vertical position of the upper end of the pipette piston 272 and the vertical position of the lower end of the pipette push actuator 274 can be changed, so when the pipette unit 242 moves along the pipette guide 250, the pipette tip pusher 264 may collide with the pipette piston 272 or the pipette push actuator 274. In order to prevent such a collision, the controller 280 can allow the pipette unit 242 to move along the pipette guide 250 only when the pipette slide 268 is in a preset vertical position and the pipette push actuator 274 is in a preset vertical position.

[0208] At the same time, the pipette push actuator 274 can separate the pipette tip 275 from the mounting end portion 273 by adjusting the operation amount of the pipette push actuator 274 without providing a separate pipette tip ejector 264.

[0209] Fig.28 is a schematic diagram of a visual device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.29 is a schematic perspective view of a visual device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.30 It is along Fig.28 A cross-sectional view taken along line F-F'.

[0210] like Figures 28 to 30As shown in , the visual device 290 is configured to check the dissolution rate of the sample by processing the image of the set portion of the tube 70 containing the sample solution with the help of a preset image processing program. In one example, the set portion of the tube 70 can be the lower portion of the tube 70, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The visual device 290 includes a visual frame 294, an image acquisition device 292, an illumination module 296, an illumination module actuator 298, a drive roller 304, a support roller 306, a tube rotation actuator 300, and a support roller actuator 308. The visual frame 294 is equipped with the image acquisition device 292, and the visual frame 294 includes the illumination module 296, the illumination module actuator 298, the drive roller 304, the support roller 304, the tube rotation actuator 300, and the support roller actuator 308.

[0211] The image acquisition device 292 is configured to acquire an image of a set portion of the tube 70 containing the sample solution. To this end, the image acquisition device 292 can be installed at a position on the vision frame 294 suitable for acquiring an image of the set portion of the tube 70. In one example, the image acquisition device 292 can be installed below the vision frame 294 to acquire an image of the lower portion of the tube 70. The image of the set portion of the tube 70 acquired by the image acquisition device 292 is sent to the controller 280 and processed by a preset image processing program.

[0212] The lighting module 296 irradiates light to the tube 70 so that the image acquisition device 292 acquires an image of a set portion of the tube 70. The lighting module 296 may be mounted on the vision frame 294 at a position suitable for emitting light to the tube 70. In one example, when the image acquisition device 292 acquires an image of a lower portion of the tube 70, the lighting module 296 may be mounted above the vision frame 294.

[0213] The lighting module actuator 298 moves the lighting module 296 toward the tube 70 to provide an irradiation position for irradiating light to the tube 70, and away from the tube 70 between an initial position that does not interfere with the installation of the tube 70. The lighting module 296 is positioned away from the drive roller 304 and the support roller 306 in the initial position to prevent interference with the robot 20 installing the tube 70 between the drive roller 304 and the support roller 306. When the tube 70 is installed between the drive roller 304 and the support roller 306 and the robot 20 moves away, the lighting module actuator 298 moves the lighting module 296 to the irradiation position.

[0214] The driving roller 304 can rotate at a set position on the vision frame 294, and the supporting roller 306 can move toward or away from the driving roller 304. The tube 70 is installed between the driving roller 304 and the supporting roller 306 by positioning the tube 70 between the driving roller 304 and the supporting roller 306 and moving the supporting roller 306 toward the driving roller 304.

[0215] The driving roller 304 can be rotated by the tube rotation actuator 300. In one example, the tube rotation actuator 300 may include, but is not limited to, a tube rotation motor 302. In a state where the tube 70 is installed between the driving roller 304 and the support roller 306, the tube rotation actuator 300 rotates the driving roller 304, thereby rotating the tube 70. Therefore, the support roller 306 also rotates. When the tube 70 rotates, the sample precipitated in the acid in the tube 70 is uniformly dispersed, so the dissolution rate of the sample can be accurately tested.

[0216] The support roller 306 is moved toward or away from the driving roller 304 by the support roller actuator 308. The support roller actuator 308 can push the support roller 306 toward the driving roller 304 to increase the friction between the driving roller 304, the tube 70, and the support roller 306. Therefore, the tube 70 is stably installed, and the tube 70 can be smoothly rotated by the driving roller 304.

[0217] The controller 280 is connected to the robot 20, the gripper device 30, the sample input device 110, the cover opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the thermal shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, and the visual device 290 in a wireless or wired manner to control the operation of the visual device 290, thereby operating the robot 20 in a wireless or wired manner and controlling the operations of the gripper device 30, the sample input device 110, the cover opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the thermal shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, and the visual device 290. To this end, the controller 280 may be implemented by one or more processors operated by a set program, and the memory of the controller 280 stores program instructions that are programmed to execute each step of the pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample and the dissolution rate testing method for a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention through one or more processors.

[0218] In the following, reference will be made to Fig.31 A pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail.

[0219] Fig.31 is a flow chart of a pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0220] like Fig.31 As shown in , the pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: first, inputting the sample into a tube 70 according to a set pretreatment condition, injecting an acid into the tube 70 containing the sample, and dissolving the sample. Here, the set pretreatment condition may include the component of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, the amount of the acid, and the time and / or temperature at which the thermoshaker 230 heats the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved.

[0221] More specifically, the pretreatment method starts in a state where a plurality of dosing tips 50 containing samples are mounted on the dosing tip holder 80 , a plurality of empty tubes 70 are mounted on the tube holder 90 , and a plurality of unused empty tubes 70 are mounted on the pipette tip tray 252 .

[0222] The robot 20 equipped with the gripper device 30 first moves to the dosing head holder 80, removes the dosing head 50, and moves to the sample input device 110 to install the removed dosing head 50 on the sample input unit lifting device 111. In this case, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b of the first gripper unit 40 press the second installation button 112 provided on the sample input unit lifting device 111, slightly moves downward, and inserts the second installation pin tip 116 into the installation pin groove 57, and then the first gripper unit 40 installs the dosing head 50.

[0223] In addition, the robot 20 moves to the tube holder 90 to remove the first tube 70 from the tube holder 90 using the second gripper unit 60 and install the first tube 70 in the tube holder cup 122 on the first weighing scale 210 of the sample input device 110 to check whether the first weighing scale 210 operates normally. When it is determined that the first weighing scale 210 operates normally, the robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from the tube holding cup 122 and moves the first tube 70 to the cover opening / closing device 130 to install the first tube 70 on one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136.

[0224] The table rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping table 132 by 180°, and thus the first tube 70 mounted on one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 moves to the second position. The sensor 166 detects that the first tube 70 is not mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, the first tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b do not grip the tube cap 72, and the controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 coupled to the tube body 71 in the first rotation direction, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lift the tube cap 72 according to the rotation amount of the cap rotation actuator 148. Therefore, the tube cap 72 is separated from the tube body 71. Thereafter, the table rotation actuator 138 further rotates the capping table 132 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the first position, and the controller 280 controls the first and second cap grippers 142a and 142b to install the tube caps 72 in the second position.

[0225] The robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 using the second gripper unit 60 and moves the first tube 70 to the sample input device 110 again to install the first tube 70 in the tube holder cup 122 on the first weighing scale 210 .

[0226] Then, the sample input unit lifting device 111 is lowered toward the sample input chamber 127, and the valve switch 118 presses the valve button 58 to open the outlet of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52, and a certain amount of the sample in the sample container unit 52 is input into the first tube 70 (S400). The amount of the sample input into the first tube 70 is detected by the first weighing meter 210.

[0227] The robot 20 moves the first tube 70 containing the sample to the acid injection device 170, and installs the first tube 70 on the third tube holder 220 at the first loader position. The nozzle lifting actuator 192 lowers the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 downward, the funnel moving actuator 194 positions the funnel 198 at the first funnel position, and the liquid pumping unit 182 pre-fills the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 198 with acid. In this state, the loader frame 206 moves to the second loader position, the tilting frame 216 tilts a set angle, the first tube 70 enters the acid injection chamber 186, the rotating plate rotating actuator 224 rotates the rotating plate 218, and the injection nozzle 200 injects a set amount of acid into the first tube 70 (S410).

[0228] Thereafter, the rotating plate 218 stops rotating, the tilt frame 216 returns to its initial position, and the loader frame 206 returns to the first loader position. The robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from the third tube holder 220 and moves to the cover opening / closing device 130 to install the first tube 70 on one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 of the cover opening / closing device 130 at the first position.

[0229] The sensor 166 detects that the first tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, and the tube cover 70 is positioned on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the controller 280 lowers the first cover gripper 142a and the second cover gripper 142b to grip the tube cover 72, and raises the first cover gripper 142a and the second cover gripper 142b again.

[0230] The sensor 116 detects that the first tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, and the tube cover 72 is not positioned on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the controller 280 rotates the capping workbench 132 180° to move the first tube 70 to the second position.

[0231] The sensor 166 detects that the tube 70 is not mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, and the first tube 70 is mounted on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b grip the tube cap 72, and the controller 280 controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lower the tube cap 72 toward the tube body 71 and press the tube body 71 and the tube cap 72 together with a constant load, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 in the second rotation direction relative to the tube body 71, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lower the tube cap 72 according to the rotation amount of the cap rotation actuator 148. Therefore, the tube cap 72 is connected to the tube body 71. Thereafter, the controller 280 further rotates the capping workbench 132 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the first position.

[0232] The robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 using the second gripper unit 60, and shakes the first tube 70 several times to fully mix the sample with the acid. Thereafter, the robot 20 mounts the first tube 70 on the thermal shaker 230, and the thermal shaker 230 heats the first tube 70 and shakes the first tube 70 for a set time to dissolve the sample in the acid (S420).

[0233] Thereafter, the pretreatment method further includes detecting the dissolution rate of the sample in the sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid. More specifically, the robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from the thermal shaker 230, and moves the first tube 70 to the visual device 290 to install it between the driving roller 304 and the supporting roller 306, and rotates the first tube 70 using the tube rotation actuator 300 to obtain a lower image of the first tube 70.

[0234] The controller 280 processes the lower image of the first tube 70 through a preset image processing program to test the dissolution rate of the sample (S430). The method for testing the dissolution rate of the sample will be described in more detail below.

[0235] Thereafter, the pretreatment method further comprises diluting the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to the set dissolution rate. More specifically, when it is determined that the dissolution rate of the sample is greater than or equal to the set dissolution rate (for example, when it is determined that the sample is completely dissolved in the acid), the robot 20 moves the first tube 70 to the cover opening / closing device 130 to separate the tube cover 72 from the first tube 70, and the robot 20 moves the first tube 70 containing the sample solution to the acid injection device 170, and the acid injection device 170 injects distilled water into the first tube 70 to dilute the sample solution in the first tube 70 once (S440).

[0236] The robot 20 installs the first tube 70 containing the sample solution of the primary dilution at the first pipette tube position, and the controller 280 rotates the pipetting workbench 256 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the second pipette tube position. In this case, the pipette unit 242 is positioned at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252.

[0237] The controller 280 lowers the pipette slide 268 to mount the pipette tip 275 on the mounting end portion 273 of the pipette piston 272, and raises the pipette slide 268 to return to its original position. The controller 280 moves the pipette unit 242 to a position corresponding to the pipetting workbench 256 through the pipette moving unit 244, lowers the pipette slide 268 while pressing the upper end of the pipette piston 272 using the pipette push actuator 274 to immerse the pipette tip 275 in the sample solution in the first tube 70, and moves the pipette push actuator 274 upward to collect a portion of the sample solution, and raises the pipette slide 268.

[0238] The robot 20 moves to the tube holder 90, removes the second tube 70 from the tube holder 90 using the second gripper unit 60, and moves the second tube 70 to the cap opening / closing device 130 to separate the tube cap 72 from the second tube 70, and the robot 20 installs the empty second tube 70 in the first pipette tube position. The controller 280 rotates the pipetting table 256 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the first pipette tube position and the second tube 70 to the second pipette tube position.

[0239] The controller 280 causes the pipette slide 268 to descend to position the pipette tip 275 in the second tube 70, and causes the pipette push actuator 274 to move downward to inject a portion of the collected sample solution into the second tube 70, and causes the pipette slide 268 to rise. The controller 280 causes the pipetting workbench 256 to rotate 180° to move the first tube 70 to the second pipette tube position and the second tube 70 to the first pipette tube position. Here, it is illustrated that the pipette push actuator 274 moves downward and presses the pipette piston 272 once to inject a portion of the collected sample solution into the second tube 70, but if necessary, the pipette push actuator 274 can reciprocate twice or more and press the pipette piston 272 twice or more to inject the collected sample solution into the second tube 70.

[0240] Thereafter, the controller 280 repeats the following process: installing the second tube 70 on the tube holder 90, removing the new second tube 70 to separate the tube cover 72, collecting the sample solution from the first tube 70, and injecting the collected sample solution into the second tube 70 to individually accommodate the sample solution in the first tube 70 into multiple second tubes 70.

[0241] Thereafter, the robot 20 moves to the tube holder 90, removes the empty third tube 70 from the tube holder 90 using the second gripper unit 60, and moves to the acid injection device 170 to inject distilled water into the third tube 70. The robot 20 moves the third tube 70 containing distilled water to the pipetting device 240 to collect distilled water from the third tube 70, and injects the collected distilled water into the second tube 70 to perform secondary dilution on the sample solution (S450). The robot 20 mounts the second tube 70 containing the secondary diluted sample solution on the tube holder 90 to end the pretreatment method.

[0242] Here, the first pipe 70 containing the sample solution is illustrated to be diluted once by injecting distilled water using the acid injection device 170, but the sample solution contained in the first pipe 70 can also be contained in the second pipe 70 separately, and the distilled water can be injected into the second pipe 70 using the acid injection device 170 for a primary dilution. In addition, although the use of the liquid transfer device 240 is illustrated to carry out secondary dilution, the secondary dilution can also be carried out using the acid injection device 170. Here, the number of dilutions of the sample solution is not limited to twice. When the sample solution is fully diluted by a primary dilution, only a primary dilution can be carried out. Alternatively, three or more dilutions can be carried out to fully dilute the sample solution.

[0243] According to the present disclosure, the sample solution is diluted once using the acid injection device 170, and the sample solution is diluted twice using the pipetting device 240. Since the pipette push actuator 274 can precisely control the amount of pressure on the pipette piston 272, the secondary dilution of the sample solution can be accurately controlled. Therefore, when measuring metal components, the measurement error can be reduced.

[0244] Meanwhile, the pretreatment method may further include adjusting the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate. For example, if the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate, the controller 280 may adjust the composition or amount of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, or the thermal shaker 230 may adjust the time and / or temperature for heating the tube 70 containing the dissolved acid.

[0245] Thereafter, the controller 280 may return to the step of injecting the sample into the tube or dissolving the sample by injecting an acid into the tube containing the sample according to the adjusted pretreatment conditions.

[0246] In the following, reference will be made to Figure 32 to Figure 36 A method for testing the dissolution rate of a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail.

[0247] Fig.32 is a flow chart of a method for testing the dissolution rate of a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig.33 is a raw image of a tube containing a sample dissolved in acid; Fig.34 yes Fig.33 The circular Hough transformed image of the original image; Fig.35 It is through Fig.34 An image obtained by applying an active contour model to an image; Fig.36 Picture shows Fig.35 Binarized image of the region of interest in the image. For ease of illustration, Figure 32 to Figure 36The method for obtaining the lower image of the tube 70 using the image acquisition device 292 and testing the dissolution rate of the sample using the lower image of the tube 70 is illustrated. However, the image of the set portion of the tube 70 required for testing the dissolution rate of the sample is not limited to the lower image of the tube 70.

[0248] like Fig.32 As shown in , the method for testing the dissolution rate of a sample according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure starts in the following manner: a tube 70 containing an acid in which the sample is dissolved is mounted between a driving roller 304 and a supporting roller 306, the tube 70 is rotated using a tube rotation actuator 300, and an image of a set portion of the tube 70 is acquired using an image acquisition device 292. Here, an image of a lower portion of the tube 70 acquired using the image acquisition device 292 is illustrated. Fig.33 (a) illustrates a lower image of a tube 70 containing an acid in which a sample 1 is dissolved. Fig.33 (b) illustrates a lower image of the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample 2 is dissolved.

[0249] The image of the set portion of the tube 70 acquired by the image acquisition device 292 is sent to the controller 280, and the controller 280 processes the image of the set portion of the tube 70 through a preset image processing program.

[0250] More specifically, the controller 280 detects a shape corresponding to the outer surface of the tube 70 as a tube region in an image of a set portion of the tube 70 by a computer vision algorithm based on image features, such as a circular Hough transform or a Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) (S500). Here, the computer vision algorithm based on image features refers to a visual algorithm that detects a set region based on the shape features of an image. In one example, since the lower image of the tube 70 has a circular shape, the controller 280 detects a circle corresponding to the outer surface of the tube 70 in the lower image of the tube 70 as a tube region by a circular Hough transform (S500). The controller 280 cuts the tube region using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle. In other words, the background outside the tube region is removed. Fig.34 (a) is achieved by using the circular Hough transform Fig.33 (a) Image obtained by detecting the tube area. Fig.34 (b) is achieved by using the circular Hough transform Fig.33 (b) Image obtained by detecting the tube area. Fig.34 (a) and Fig.34 The circle indicated by the dotted line in (b) corresponds to the tube region.

[0251] The controller 280 detects the region of interest by applying a shape recognition algorithm such as an active contour model to the tube region (S510). More specifically, an approximate region is set in the tube region according to the object of interest, the region is gradually narrowed, and the region of interest is detected by finding singular points whose brightness, shape, etc. are different from those of the surrounding area. Fig.35 (a) Through Fig.34 (a) Image obtained by applying the active contour model. Fig.35 (b) is through Fig.34 (b) Image obtained by applying the active contour model. Fig.35 (a) and Fig.35 In (b), the outer circle indicated by the dotted line indicates the approximate region according to the object of interest, and the inner circle indicated by the dotted line indicates the region of interest detected according to the singular point.

[0252] The controller 280 classifies the pixels in the detected area of ​​interest into two or more types of pixels according to a set reference, and assigns pixel values ​​to the classified pixels (S520). For example, the controller 280 may use a rule-based computer vision algorithm, machine learning, deep learning, etc. to binarize the pixels in the detected area of ​​interest according to a set reference (S520). More specifically, the controller 280 may calculate the average value of the brightness of all pixels in the detected area of ​​interest, assign a pixel value of 0 to pixels that are darker than the average brightness value by a set amount, and assign a pixel value of 1 to the remaining pixels. Fig.36 (a) Yes Fig.35 (a) A binarized image with pixel value 0 shown in yellow and pixel value 1 shown in black. Fig.36 (b) Yes Fig.35 (b) A binarized image, with pixel value 0 displayed in yellow and pixel value 1 displayed in black. However, the present disclosure is not limited to classifying and binarizing the pixels in the detected area of ​​interest into two types of pixels, and when necessary, the binarized pixels are classified into three or more types of pixels, and the pixel values ​​assigned to the different types of pixels are set in different ways.

[0253] The controller 280 detects the dissolution rate of the sample using the pixel value assigned to each pixel (S530). For example, the controller 280 may detect the dissolution rate of the sample using the pixel value of the binarized pixel (S530). More specifically, the ratio between the total number of pixels and the number of pixels having a pixel value of 1 may be defined as the dissolution rate. Therefore, the dissolution rate of sample 1 is 10%, and the dissolution rate of sample 2 is 100%.

[0254] When the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate, the controller 280 feeds back the dissolution rate and modifies the pretreatment method affecting the dissolution rate (S540). For example, the set dissolution rate can be 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 100%. If the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate, the controller 280 can adjust the composition or amount of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, or the thermal shaker 230 can adjust the time and / or temperature for heating the tube 70 containing the dissolved acid.

[0255] While the invention has been described in conjunction with what are presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but rather is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample, the pretreatment system include: a sample dissolving device configured to input the sample into a tube according to set pretreatment conditions and inject acid into the tube containing the sample to dissolve the sample; a sample dissolution rate detection device, the sample dissolution rate detection device being configured to detect the dissolution rate of the sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid; as well as A diluting device is configured to dilute the sample solution in response to a dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to a set dissolution rate.

2. The pretreatment system according to claim 1, further comprising: include: A pretreatment condition adjusting device is configured to adjust the set pretreatment condition in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

3. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample, the pretreatment system include: a robot comprising a plurality of arms, the plurality of arms being capable of relative rotation with respect to each other, and a frontmost arm of the plurality of arms being capable of moving within an operating radius; a gripper device mounted at the foremost arm of the robot and comprising, on one side, a first gripper unit for gripping or releasing a dosing head and, on the other side, a second gripper unit for gripping or releasing a tube; a sample input device, the sample input device comprising a sample input unit lifting device and a tube holder cup, the sample input unit lifting device comprising a dosing head mounted on the sample input unit lifting device, and the sample input unit lifting device is movable up and down, the tube holder cup is disposed below the sample input lifting device and comprises a tube holder cup mounted on the tube holder cup, and the sample input device is configured to input the sample in the dosing head into the tube mounted on the tube holder cup; an acid injection device configured to inject acid into the tube into which the sample from the sample injection device is input, or to inject distilled water into the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved; a thermoshaker configured to apply heat to the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample and to shake the tube so that the sample is dissolved in the acid; a vision device that acquires an image of a set portion of a tube containing a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid; as well as A pipetting device configured to transfer a portion of a solution in one tube to another tube.

4. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, further comprising: include: A dosing head holder, on which a plurality of dosing heads are mounted; a tube holder on which a plurality of tubes are mounted, in which tube covers are coupled to tube bodies; as well as a cover opening / closing device configured to separate the tube cover from the tube body or to couple the tube cover to the tube body, Wherein, the dosing head holder, the tube holder, the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the visual device and the pipetting device are at least partially arranged within the operating radius of the robot.

5. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The tube holder cup is placed on a first weighing scale, and the amount of sample input into the tube is detected by the first weighing scale.

6. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The acid injection device is configured to inject liquid into the tube mounted on the acid injection device while tilting the tube and rotating the tube.

7. The pretreatment system according to claim 4, in: The cover opening / closing device rotates the tube cover in a first rotation direction to separate the tube cover from the tube body, and the cover opening / closing device rotates the tube cover in a second rotation direction to couple the tube cover to the tube body, and The cover opening / closing device is configured to raise or lower the tube cover according to the rotation amount of the tube cover.

8. The pretreatment system according to claim 7, in: The cover opening / closing device is configured to press the tube cover against the tube body before rotating the tube cover in the second rotation direction.

9. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The thermal shaker comprises: a shaker unit configured to shake the shaker rod; a heating block positioned on the rocking rod and heating the mounted tube; and an insulating cover which is spaced apart from the heating block on the heating block and surrounds the heating block, and The tube is inserted into and mounted on the insulation cover and the heating block.

10. The pretreatment system according to claim 4, in: Before transferring the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample to the thermal shaker, the robot couples the tube cap to the tube body through the cap opening / closing device and shakes the tube coupled with the tube cap to mix the sample with the acid.

11. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The pipetting device transfers a portion of the sample solution in one tube to another tube, the robot transfers the other tube to the acid injection device to contain distilled water in the other tube, and the pipetting device is configured to inject the distilled water contained in the other tube into the other tube containing a portion of the sample solution to dilute the portion of the sample solution contained in the other tube.

12. The pretreatment system according to claim 4, further comprising: include: a controller that controls the operation of the robot, the gripper device, the dosing head holder, the tube holder, the sample input device, the cover opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the thermal shaker, the vision device, and the pipetting device, The controller is configured to receive an image of a set portion of the tube containing the sample solution from the visual device, process the image of the set portion using a preset image processing program, and detect the dissolution rate of the sample.

13. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The gripper device further comprises a gripper body rotatably mounted on the frontmost arm of the robot, and A first gripper unit is installed on one side of the gripper body, and a second gripper unit is installed on the other side of the gripper body, The first gripper unit comprises: a first gripping finger and a second gripping finger, the first gripping finger and the second gripping finger being movable toward or away from each other; a guide bushing having a cylindrical shape including one surface that is open and another surface that is closed, and fixed within a tip portion of each of the first gripping finger and the second gripping finger; A first pusher or a second pusher, the first pusher or the second pusher is provided on the open one surface of the guide bushing and is slidable along the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing; a guide shaft extending to one side through a guide shaft hole formed on the closed other surface of the guide bushing and connected to the first pusher or the second pusher; and A guide spring elastically supports the first pusher or the second pusher relative to the guide bushing.

14. The pretreatment system according to claim 13, in: The guide shaft is spaced apart from the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing, and the guide spring is provided between the guide shaft and the guide bushing.

15. The pretreatment system according to claim 13, in: Movement of the first pusher, the second pusher and the guide shaft toward the other side in the axial direction is restricted by a step portion formed on the inner circumferential surface of the guide bushing, and movement of the first pusher, the second pusher and the guide shaft toward one side in the axial direction is restricted by the other end portion of the guide shaft, and the diameter of the other end portion of the guide shaft is larger than the diameter of other portions of the guide shaft.

16. The pretreatment system according to claim 13, in: The second gripper unit comprises: a third gripping finger and a fourth gripping finger, the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger being movable toward or away from each other; a first pipe clamp portion and a second pipe clamp portion, the first pipe clamp portion and the second pipe clamp portion being disposed at a tip portion of the third gripping finger and a tip portion of the fourth gripping finger, and having a shape corresponding to the pipe to grip the pipe; and A first gripping rod groove and a second gripping rod groove, wherein the first gripping rod groove and the second gripping rod groove are arranged at the tip portion of the third gripping finger-like member and the tip portion of the fourth gripping finger-like member, and the first gripping rod groove and the second gripping rod groove have a shape corresponding to the gripping rod to grip the gripping rod of the tube holder on which the tube is mounted.

17. The pretreatment system according to claim 16, in: The second gripper unit further comprises: A first stopper and a second stopper protrude upward from a tip portion of the third gripping finger and a tip portion of the fourth gripping finger to limit movement of the second gripper unit toward the gripping rod.

18. The pretreatment system according to claim 13, further comprising: include: A dosing head holder, on which a plurality of dosing heads are mounted; as well as a controller configured to control the robot and the first gripper unit and the second gripper unit, wherein the controller controls the first pusher and the second pusher to press a first installation button or a second installation button provided on the quantitative dosing head holder or the sample input device, and the controller controls the robot to move the first gripper unit downward to install the quantitative dosing head, and The controller controls the first pusher and the second controller to press the first installation button or the second installation button, and the controller controls the robot to move the first gripper unit upward to separate the dosing head.

19. The pretreatment system according to claim 4, in: The cover opening / closing device comprises: a capping workbench having a first tube holder disposed on one side of the capping workbench and a second tube holder disposed on the other side of the capping workbench, and the capping workbench is rotatable to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at one of a first position and a second position and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at the other of the first position and the second position, in which the tube is mounted or gripped, and in which the tube cap is coupled to the tube body or the tube cap is separated from the tube body; and a support member lifting block, the support member lifting block being moved up and down by a cover unit lifting actuator; a cover gripper support, the cover gripper support being rotatably mounted on the support lifting block; a first cover and a second cover, the first cover and the second cover being mounted on the cover gripper support, the first cover and the second cover being positioned corresponding to the tube cover of the tube in the second position, and the first cover and the second cover being configured to move toward each other to grip the tube cover or move away from each other to set the tube cover; a first tube body gripper and a second tube body gripper, the first tube body gripper and the second tube body gripper being configured to be positioned corresponding to the tube body of the tube in the second position, to move toward each other to grip the tube body, or to move away from each other to position the tube cover; and A cover rotation actuator is mounted on the support lifting block, the cover rotation actuator includes a lower end portion penetrating the support lifting block and connected to the cover gripper support, and the cover rotation actuator is configured to rotate the cover gripper support in a first rotation direction to separate the tube cover from the tube body, and is configured to rotate the cover gripper support in a second rotation direction that is opposite to the first rotation direction to connect the tube cover to the tube body.

20. The pretreatment system according to claim 19, in: The cover opening / closing device further includes a first exhaust hood configured to be installed in a position corresponding to the second position to suck gas generated from the liquid in the tube.

21. The pretreatment system according to claim 19, in: The cover opening / closing device also includes a workbench rotation actuator, which is configured to rotate the capping workbench 180° to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the first position and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the second position.

22. The pretreatment system according to claim 21, further comprising: include: A sensor configured to detect whether the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the first position, whether the tube or the tube cap is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the second position, and / or whether the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper grip the tube cap.

23. The pretreatment system according to claim 22, in: The controller is configured to receive a signal representing a value detected by the sensor, and control the operation of the worktable rotation actuator, the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper, the first tube body gripper and the second tube body gripper, the cover unit lifting actuator, and / or the cover rotation actuator based on the signal.

24. The pretreatment system according to claim 23, in: When the sensor detects that the tube is mounted on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the first position and the tube cap is not positioned in the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the second position, the controller rotates the capping workbench 180° through the workbench rotation actuator to move the tube to the second position.

25. The pretreatment system according to claim 23, in: When the sensor detects that the tube is mounted on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the first position and the tube cover is not positioned in the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the second position, the controller lowers the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper, grips the tube cover, and raises the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper again through the cover unit lifting actuator.

26. The pretreatment system according to claim 23, in: When the sensor detects that the tube is not installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the first position, the tube is installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the second position, and the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper do not grip the tube cover, the controller controls the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper to grip the tube cover, controls the cover rotation actuator to rotate the tube cover connected to the tube body along a first rotation direction, and controls the cover unit lifting actuator to lift the tube cover according to the rotation amount of the cover rotation actuator.

27. The pretreatment system according to claim 23, in: When the sensor detects that the tube is not installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the first position, the tube is not installed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder in the second position, and the first cover gripper and the second cover gripper grip the tube cover, the controller controls the cover unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cover toward the tube body, controls the cover rotation actuator to rotate the tube cover in a second rotation direction relative to the tube body, and controls the cover unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cover according to the rotation amount of the cover rotation actuator.

28. The pretreatment system according to claim 27, in: The controller controls the cap unit lifting actuator to press the pipe body and the pipe cover together with a certain load before rotating the pipe cover relative to the pipe body in the second rotation direction.

29. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The acid injection device comprises: an acid supply unit including a liquid pumping unit configured to pump liquid contained in a plurality of liquid bottles; an acid injection unit, the acid injection unit comprising an acid injection chamber body having an acid injection chamber formed therein, an injection nozzle mounted on an injection nozzle mounting portion within the acid injection chamber, and the injection nozzle being configured to communicate with the liquid pumping unit to inject the liquid pumped from the liquid pumping unit into the pipe, and a nozzle lifting actuator mounted on the acid injection chamber body, and the nozzle lifting actuator being connected to the injection nozzle mounting portion to move the injection nozzle mounting portion up and down; and a tube loader unit configured to: mount the tube on the tube loader unit, tilt the mounted tube to insert the tube into the acid injection chamber, and rotate the tilted mounted tube, and When the tube is tilted and rotated and positioned in the acid injection chamber, the nozzle lifting actuator lowers the injection nozzle mounting part and positions the injection nozzle mounting part on the tube, and the injection nozzle injects the liquid pumped from the liquid pumping unit into the tilted and rotating tube.

30. The pretreatment system according to claim 29, in: The acid injection unit also includes: a drain pan, the drain pan being disposed below the acid injection chamber body; and A funnel moving actuator, the funnel moving actuator moves between a first funnel position and a second funnel position, in which the funnel is positioned directly below the injection nozzle to receive the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle, the funnel is connected to a funnel moving link extending into the acid injection chamber and the funnel is mounted on the funnel moving link, and in the second funnel position, the funnel moving link and the funnel do not overlap with the movement of the tube and the movement of the injection nozzle mounting portion in the acid injection chamber.

31. The pretreatment system according to claim 29, in: The acid injection unit further includes a second exhaust hood configured to at least partially surround the injection nozzle and to extract gas generated by the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle.

32. The pretreatment system according to claim 29, in: The tube loader unit comprises: a support frame extending from the front of the acid injection chamber toward the acid injection chamber; a loader frame rail extending from the support frame along the support frame; a loader frame transfer actuator configured to transfer a loader frame between a first loader position in which the tube is mounted or the tube is gripped and a second loader position in which the tube is tilted and enters the acid injection chamber; a tilt actuator that tilts a tilt frame mounted on the loader frame between a tilt position and an initial position; and A rotating plate rotating actuator is configured to rotate a rotating plate rotatably mounted on the tilting frame.

33. The pretreatment system according to claim 32, in: The tube loader unit further includes a third tube holder which is provided on the rotating plate and has the tube mounted thereon.

34. The pretreatment system according to claim 33, further comprising: include: A sensor detects whether the tube is mounted on the third tube holder, whether the loader frame is positioned at the first loader position or the second loader position, and / or whether the tilt frame is in the initial position or tilted to the tilted position.

35. The pretreatment system according to claim 29, in: Each of the plurality of liquid bottles is disposed on a second weighing scale, and the second weighing scale is configured to measure an amount of liquid contained in each of the plurality of liquid bottles.

36. The pretreatment system according to claim 29, in: The front surface of the acid injection chamber body is open, and The acid injection unit also includes: an acid injection chamber baffle, the acid injection chamber baffle selectively closing the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body; and A shutter actuator is configured to close or open the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body using the acid injection chamber shutter.

37. The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: The liquid transfer device comprises: a pipette tip tray on which a plurality of pipette tips are mounted; a pipetting station having a first pipette tube holder disposed on one side of the pipetting station and a second pipette tube holder disposed on the other side of the pipetting station, and the pipetting station is rotatable to position one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at one of a first pipette tube position and a second pipette tube position and to position the other of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at the other of the first pipette tube position and the second pipette tube position, in which the tube is mounted or gripped, and in which a solution is collected from the tube or the solution is injected into the tube; a pipette unit configured to: mount a pipette tip at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray, and collect a portion of the solution contained in the first tube at a position equivalent to the pipetting workbench or inject the collected solution into the second tube; and A pipette moving unit moves the pipette unit between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipetting workstation.

38. The pretreatment system according to claim 37, further comprising: include: A pipette tip tray transfer unit moves the pipette tip tray toward or away from the pipette unit.

39. The pretreatment system according to claim 37, in: The pipetting station rotation actuator is configured to rotate the pipetting station 180° to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the first pipette tube position and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder in the second pipette tube position.

40. The pretreatment system according to claim 37, in: The pipette unit comprises: a pipette guide frame connected to the pipette moving unit and moved between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipetting workbench by the pipette moving unit; a pipette slide, the pipette slide being mounted to be able to slide in a vertical direction along the pipette guide frame; a pipette module, the pipette module comprising a pipette module body fixedly mounted on the pipette slide, and a pipette piston capable of relative movement in a vertical direction relative to the pipette module body; and A pipette push actuator is installed to be movable on the pipette slide in the vertical direction and is configured to press an upper end portion of the pipette piston.

41. The pretreatment system according to claim 40, in: The pipette piston is elastically mounted on the pipette module body.

42. The pretreatment system according to claim 40, in: A mounting end portion is formed at a lower end portion of the pipette piston, and the pipette tip is mounted on the mounting end portion.

43. The pretreatment system according to claim 42, in: The mounting end portion descends while pushing the pipette tip downward so that the lower end portion of the pipette tip is partially immersed in the solution contained in the first tube, and the mounting end portion elastically rises while the lower end portion of the pipette tip is immersed in the solution contained in the first tube to collect a portion of the solution contained in the first tube, and The mounting end is configured to push the pipette tip downward when the solution is contained in the pipette tip to inject the solution into the second tube.

44. The pretreatment system according to claim 40, further comprising: include: A pipette tip ejector is configured to separate the pipette tip mounted on the mounting end by pressing the upper end of the pipette piston downward.

45. The pretreatment system according to claim 44, in: The amount of pressure applied to the pipette piston by the pipette tip ejector is greater than the amount of pressure applied to the pipette piston by the pipette push actuator.

46. ​​The pretreatment system according to claim 3, in: performing a metal component test after dissolving the sample in the tube in the acid to detect the metal component contained in the sample, and The visual device comprises: a drive roller and a support roller configured to mount a tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved and to rotate the tube; an image acquisition device configured to be installed between the driving roller and the supporting roller to acquire an image of a lower portion of the rotating tube; an illumination module configured to irradiate light toward the tube from a side opposite to the image acquisition device with respect to the tube; and a controller configured to test the dissolution rate of the sample by processing the lower image of the tube acquired by the image acquisition device, and The controller is configured to: detecting a tube region in the image of the set portion of the tube by a vision algorithm based on image features, applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube region to detect regions of interest, Classifying the detected pixels within the region of interest according to a set reference and assigning pixel values ​​to the classified pixels, and The pixel value of each pixel is used to detect the dissolution rate of the sample.

47. The pretreatment system according to claim 46, further comprising: include: a tube rotation actuator configured to rotate the tube via the drive roller; as well as A support roller actuator is configured to move the support roller toward or away from the drive roller.

48. The pretreatment system according to claim 46, further comprising: include: A lighting module actuator moves the lighting module between an irradiation position in which the lighting module moves toward the tube to irradiate light to the tube and an initial position in which the tube is not obstructed from being mounted between the driving roller and the supporting roller.

49. The pretreatment system according to claim 46, in: The controller detects the tube region as a circle in the lower image of the tube by circular Hough transform, and The tube region is cut using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

50. The pretreatment system according to claim 46, in: The controller is configured to: set a region according to an object of interest in the tube region by using an active contour model, Find the singularity point while gradually narrowing the region, and The region of interest is detected according to the singular point.

51. The pretreatment system according to claim 46, in: The controller is configured to classify the detected pixels in the attention area into two types of pixels according to the set reference, and binarize the classified pixels by assigning pixel values ​​of 0 or 1 to the classified pixels.

52. The pretreatment system according to claim 51, in: The controller is configured to calculate an average value of the brightness of all pixels in the detected area of ​​interest, assign the pixel value 0 to pixels that are darker than the average value of the brightness by a set amount, assign the pixel value 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

53. The pretreatment system according to claim 52, in: The controller is configured to provide feedback on the dissolution rate when the dissolution rate is lower than a set dissolution rate.

54. The pretreatment system according to claim 53, in: The controller is configured to adjust the following based on the fed-back dissolution rate: the composition of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, the amount of the acid, the time and / or temperature of heating the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved.

55. A pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample, the pretreatment method include: According to the set pretreatment conditions, injecting acid into the tube containing the sample through the sample dissolving device to dissolve the sample; detecting the dissolution rate of the sample in a sample solution by a sample dissolution rate detection device, wherein the sample is dissolved in the acid in the sample solution; as well as The sample solution is diluted by a diluting device in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to a set dissolution rate.

56. The pretreatment method according to claim 55, further comprising: include: In response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate, the set pretreatment condition is adjusted by the pretreatment condition adjusting device.

57. A pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample, the pretreatment method include: The sample in the dosing head is introduced into the first tube by a sample injection device; injecting acid into the first tube having the sample input therein by an acid injection device; shaking the first tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved by a thermoshaker and applying heat; acquiring an image of a set portion of the first tube by a visual device; testing the dissolution rate of the sample by processing the image of the set portion of the first tube through a controller; as well as The sample solution is diluted in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being greater than or equal to a set dissolution rate.

58. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, further comprising: include: removing the dosing head from the dosing head holder by a robot having a gripper device mounted at the forwardmost end of the robot and mounting the removed dosing head on a sample input unit lifting device; removing said first tube from a tube holder by said robot equipped with said gripper device; Separating the tube cover from the first tube by a cover opening / closing device; as well as The first tube separated from the tube cover is mounted on a tube holder cup by the robot equipped with the gripper device.

59. The pretreatment method according to claim 58, in: The tube holder cup is disposed on a first weighing scale, and the amount of sample input into the first tube is detected by the first weighing scale.

60. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, in: The acid injection device is configured to inject a liquid into the tube while tilting the tube mounted on the acid injection device and rotating the tube.

61. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, in: The dilution of the sample solution comprises: injecting distilled water into the first tube through the acid injection device to dilute the sample solution once; transferring a portion of the once diluted sample solution in the first tube to a second tube by a pipetting device; and Distilled water is injected into the first tube through the acid injection device to dilute the sample solution once.

62. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, in: The dilution of the sample solution comprises: transferring a portion of the sample solution in the first tube to a second tube by a pipetting device; injecting distilled water into the second tube through the acid injection device to dilute the sample solution once; and Distilled water is injected into the first tube through the acid injection device to dilute the sample solution once.

63. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, in: Acquisition of the image of the set portion of the first tube is performed while the first tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved is rotated.

64. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, in: The testing of the dissolution rate of the sample by processing the image of the set portion of the first tube includes: detecting a tube region in an image of the set portion of the first tube by a vision algorithm based on image features; applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube region to detect regions of interest, and classifying the detected pixels within the region of interest according to a set reference, and assigning pixel values ​​to the classified pixels; and The pixel value of each pixel is used to detect the dissolution rate of the sample.

65. The pretreatment method according to claim 64, in: The controller is configured to detect the tube region as a circle in a lower image of the first tube by circular Hough transform, and The tube region is cut using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

66. The pretreatment method according to claim 64, in: The controller is configured to: set a region according to an object of interest in the tube region by using an active contour model, Find the singularity point while gradually narrowing the region, and The region of interest is detected according to the singular point.

67. The pretreatment method according to claim 64, in: The controller is configured to classify the detected pixels in the attention area into two types of pixels according to the set reference, and binarize the classified pixels by assigning pixel values ​​of 0 or 1 to the classified pixels.

68. The pretreatment method according to claim 67, in: The controller is configured to calculate an average value of the brightness of all pixels in the detected area of ​​interest, assign the pixel value 0 to pixels that are darker than the average value of the brightness by a set amount, assign the pixel value 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

69. The pretreatment method according to claim 57, further comprising: include: The set pretreatment condition is adjusted in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

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