Mechanical hand for automatic extraction of cryo-em liquid nitrogen samples

Abstract

The application provides a frozen electron microscope liquid nitrogen sample automatic extraction manipulator, and relates to the technical field of manipulators for special purposes, comprising: a lower ring beam, a plurality of lifting rods are arranged on the lower ring beam, the lifting rods vertically pass through the lower ring beam and are in sliding connection with the lower ring beam, a storage bin is arranged at the bottom of the lifting rod and is used for storing a plurality of copper mesh samples; a cover is fixedly connected with the lower ring beam and is used for being connected with a liquid nitrogen tank and forming a sealed structure with the liquid nitrogen tank; a manipulator is arranged at the top of the lower ring beam through a support and is used for sampling, the manipulator lifts the corresponding lifting rod and makes the storage bin close to the position of the cover of the liquid nitrogen tank. The beneficial effects are as follows: the structure of the lower ring beam, the lifting rod and the storage bin is convenient for searching and taking the copper mesh sample; the annular and multi-layer storage bin structure can greatly increase the storage quantity of the copper mesh sample; the structure that the sampling port is connected with the storage bin cavity avoids the copper mesh sample from falling during sampling; the joint mechanical arm and the lifting mechanical arm can realize the automatic taking of the copper mesh sample and improve the test efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of robotic arms for special purposes, and in particular to an automated robotic arm for extracting liquid nitrogen samples for cryo-electron microscopy. Background Technology

[0002] In certain biological experiments, samples need to be preserved in liquid nitrogen, where temperatures can reach -196°C, to maintain their biological activity and integrity, preventing degradation or mutation. A technical challenge is that using multiple liquid nitrogen tanks for a large number of samples significantly increases experimental costs. While placing multiple samples in a single liquid nitrogen tank reduces costs, retrieving them during the experiment is cumbersome, as the copper mesh supporting the samples is approximately 1-3 mm thick, making removal difficult and increasing the risk of error. No satisfactory solution has been found in existing technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an automated extraction robot for liquid nitrogen samples in cryo-electron microscopy, which can greatly simplify the difficulty of extracting specific copper mesh samples and improve the efficiency of the experiment.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is: an automated extraction robot for cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen samples, comprising:

[0005] The lower ring beam has multiple lifting rods that pass vertically through it and are slidably connected to it. A storage compartment is located at the bottom of the lifting rods to store multiple copper mesh samples.

[0006] The cover is fixedly connected to the lower ring beam. The cover is also used to connect to the liquid nitrogen tank and form a sealed structure with the liquid nitrogen tank.

[0007] A robotic arm is mounted on the top of the lower ring beam via a bracket for sampling. The robotic arm lifts the corresponding lever and brings the storage bin close to the lid of the liquid nitrogen tank.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, an upper cover is provided on the top of the cover body, which is located between the lower ring beam and the robotic arm. The upper cover and the cover body are connected by a snap, thread, or interference fit to form a seal between the cover body and the liquid nitrogen tank.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the storage chamber has multiple cavities arranged radially to store copper mesh samples. The outer edge of the storage chamber has an opening, and the side wall of the cover has a corresponding sampling port for removing copper mesh samples from the cavities.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the sampling port of the cover is provided with a door and an inwardly extending channel to connect with the opening of the storage chamber to prevent the copper mesh sample from falling out. Guide rails are provided on both sides of the cavity of the storage chamber, and the copper mesh sample is placed on the guide rails. The two sides of the cavity form an interference fit with the copper mesh sample to fix the copper mesh sample. The upper and lower ends of the cavity form a space with the copper mesh sample so that tweezers can clamp the copper mesh sample from above and below to remove the copper mesh sample.

[0011] In the preferred embodiment, a damping layer is provided at the position of the lower ring beam, and the lifting rod passes through the damping layer so that the lifting rod can stop at any height and any angle.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, a knob is provided at the top of the lifting rod, and a mark is provided near the knob. The mark is used to distinguish the current lifting rod from other lifting rods and to indicate the angle position of the lifting rod.

[0013] Multiple limiting grooves are provided on the lifting rod, and a limiting mechanism is provided on the lower ring beam. The connection between the limiting mechanism and the limiting groove indicates the lifting height of the lifting rod. At least one of the lifting heights aligns the cavity opening of the storage chamber with the sampling port.

[0014] In the preferred embodiment, a basket is also provided at the bottom of the cover, and the storage compartments are all located within the space of the basket;

[0015] The lifting boom has multiple storage bins, which are arranged along the axial direction of the lifting boom.

[0016] Inside the storage chamber, the radially distributed cavities are arranged in multiple layers, and the number and position of the limiting grooves correspond to the number and position of the cavities.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the robotic arm is an articulated robotic arm with 4 to 6 joints.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, an upper ring beam is provided at the top of the support, the upper ring beam is connected to the ring rail, and the ring rail trolley is installed on the ring rail and moves along the ring rail;

[0019] An electric push rod is fixed to the bottom of the circular track trolley. The bottom of the electric push rod is connected to a motor, and the bottom of the motor is connected to a gripper.

[0020] The movement of the circular track trolley is used to select alignment with each lifting rod;

[0021] The grippers are used to grasp the selected lever;

[0022] The motor is used to rotate the lifting rod to align the selected cavity with the sampling port.

[0023] The electric actuator is used to raise the lifting rod to the preset height.

[0024] In the preferred embodiment, the structure of the ring track trolley is as follows: the base is suspended on the ring track by multiple suspension rollers, which provide the torque basis for the ring track trolley;

[0025] A servo motor is mounted on the base and connected to a traveling gear. A synchronous belt is mounted on one side of the ring track, and the traveling gear meshes with the synchronous belt to drive the ring track trolley to move.

[0026] The present invention provides an automated robotic arm for extracting liquid nitrogen samples for cryo-electron microscopy, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0027] 1. The present invention, through its structure of a lower ring beam, lifting rod, and storage bin, enables convenient locating and retrieval of copper mesh samples, thereby improving testing efficiency.

[0028] 2. The annular and multi-layered storage structure of this invention can significantly increase the number of copper mesh samples that can be stored, and it is also very convenient to find and retrieve them.

[0029] 3. The structure of the horizontally arranged sampling port and the storage cavity connected by the present invention can prevent the copper mesh sample from falling when it is taken out.

[0030] 4. The articulated robotic arm and lifting robotic arm provided in this invention can automatically remove copper mesh samples with the help of the control system, avoiding errors and further improving test efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the lower ring beam position of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 3 This is a top view of the location of the upper ring beam in this invention.

[0035] Figure 4 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the ring track trolley of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure when the copper mesh sample is removed according to the present invention.

[0037] Figure 6 This is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the connection structure between the lower ring beam and the lifting rod of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a cross-section of the storage silo of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 8This is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the sampling port location when removing the copper mesh sample according to the present invention.

[0040] Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating the workflow of the present invention for automatically retrieving samples.

[0041] In the diagram: 1. Support bracket; 2. Ring track trolley; 3. Electric push rod; 4. Motor; 5. Gearbox; 6. Gripper; 7. Top cover; 8. Knob; 9. Lifting rod; 10. Cover body; 11. Sampling port; 12. Liquid nitrogen tank; 13. Storage chamber; 14. Copper mesh sample; 15. Basket; 16. Lower ring beam; 17. Upper ring beam; 18. Ring track; 19. Synchronous belt; 20. Travel gear; 21. Base; 22. Servo motor; 23. Suspension roller; 24. Damping layer; 25. Limiting groove; 26. Spring piece; 27. Tweezers; 28. Guide rail. Detailed Implementation

[0042] Example 1:

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, an automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot includes:

[0044] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, a lower ring beam 16 is provided with multiple lifting rods 9. The lifting rods 9 pass vertically through the lower ring beam 16 and are slidably connected to the lower ring beam 16. A storage compartment 13 is provided at the bottom of the lifting rods 9. The storage compartment 13 is used to store multiple copper mesh samples 14.

[0045] The cover 10 is fixedly connected to the lower ring beam 16. The cover 10 is also used to connect to the liquid nitrogen tank 12 and form a sealed structure with the liquid nitrogen tank 12.

[0046] A robotic arm, mounted on a bracket 1 at the top of the lower ring beam 16, is used for sampling. The robotic arm lifts the corresponding lifting rod 9, bringing the storage chamber 13 close to the cover 10 of the liquid nitrogen tank 12. This structure allows for easy retrieval of the corresponding storage chamber 13 and the copper mesh sample 14 within it, avoiding the need to search for the copper mesh sample 14 in the basket and significantly improving sampling efficiency.

[0047] Preferred solutions include Figure 1 , 5 In this system, an upper cover 7 is provided on the top of the cover body 10. The upper cover 7 is located between the lower ring beam 16 and the robotic arm. The upper cover 7 is connected to the cover body 10 by a snap, thread, or interference fit to form a seal between the cover body 10 and the liquid nitrogen tank 12. During sampling, only the upper cover 7 needs to be removed to perform the sampling operation.

[0048] Preferred solutions include Figure 7 , 8In the case, the storage chamber 13 is provided with multiple cavities arranged radially for storing copper mesh samples 14. The outer edge of the storage chamber 13 is provided with an opening, and the side wall of the cover 10 is provided with a corresponding sampling port 11 for taking out the copper mesh samples 14 from the cavity.

[0049] Preferred solutions include Figure 8 In the sample collection port 11 of the cover 10, a door is provided. Preferably, an outward-opening self-closing door is used, which can automatically close the door by spring or magnetic force after sampling. An inwardly extending channel is also provided to connect with the opening of the storage chamber 13 to prevent the copper mesh sample 14 from falling during sampling. Guide rails 28 are provided on both sides of the cavity of the storage chamber 13. The copper mesh sample 14 is placed on the guide rails 28 so that the top and bottom of the copper mesh sample 14 are not in contact. The two sides of the cavity form an interference fit with the copper mesh sample 14, and a structure such as a spring sheet is used to fix the copper mesh sample 14. The upper and lower ends of the cavity form a space with the copper mesh sample 14 so that the tweezers 27 can clamp the copper mesh sample 14 from above and below to easily remove the copper mesh sample 14.

[0050] Preferred solutions include Figure 6 In the middle, a damping layer 24 is provided at the position of the lower ring beam 16, and the lifting rod 9 passes through the damping layer 24 so that the lifting rod 9 can stop at any height position and any angle position.

[0051] Preferred solutions include Figure 6 In the middle, the top of the lifting rod 9 is provided with a knob 8, and a mark is provided near the knob 8. The mark is used to distinguish the current lifting rod 9 from other lifting rods 9 and the corner position of the lifting rod 9. By adjusting the corner position of the lifting rod 9, the different cavities of the storage chamber 13 are aligned with the sampling port 11.

[0052] Multiple limiting grooves 25 are provided on the lifting rod 9, and a limiting mechanism is provided on the lower ring beam 16. The connection between the limiting mechanism and the limiting grooves 25 indicates the lifting height of the lifting rod 9. At least one of the lifting heights aligns the cavity opening of the storage chamber 13 with the sampling port 11.

[0053] Preferred solutions include Figure 1 , 5 In the middle, a basket 15 is also provided at the bottom of the cover 10, and the storage compartments 13 are all located in the space of the basket 15; this structure prevents the copper mesh sample 14 from falling off.

[0054] On the lifting rod 9, there are multiple storage compartments 13, which are arranged along the axial direction of the lifting rod 9; in this example, there are three storage compartments 13 from top to bottom. Preferably, the position of the storage compartments 13 is adjustable.

[0055] like Figure 8 As shown, within the storage chamber 13, the radially distributed cavities are arranged in multiple layers, and the number and position of the limiting grooves 25 correspond to the number and position of the cavities.

[0056] Example 2:

[0057] To further illustrate with reference to Embodiment 1, the robotic arm is an articulated robotic arm with 4 to 6 joints. The articulated robotic arm is not shown in the figure.

[0058] Example 3:

[0059] Further explanation in conjunction with Example 1, such as Figure 3 , 4 As shown, an upper ring beam 17 is provided on the top of the bracket 1. The upper ring beam 17 is connected to the ring rail 18. The ring rail trolley 2 is installed on the ring rail 18 and moves along the ring rail 18.

[0060] An electric push rod 3 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the circular track trolley 2. The bottom of the electric push rod 3 is connected to the motor 4, and the bottom of the motor 4 is connected to the gripper 6.

[0061] The movement of the circular track trolley 2 is used to select alignment with each lifting rod 9; for example, when aligned with the lifting rod 9 at a 90° position on the circumference, the circular track trolley 2 is driven to move from the initial 0° position to the 90° position on the circular track 18.

[0062] The gripper 6 is used to grip the selected lifting rod 9. The preferred gripper model is the EPG26-015 gripper manufactured by Suzhou Dongmao Equipment Co., Ltd.

[0063] Motor 4 is used to rotate the lifting rod 9 so that the selected cavity is aligned with the corner of the sampling port 11. The preferred motor model is a PMX series stepper motor or an AKD series servo motor manufactured by Kollmorgen.

[0064] The telescopic action of the electric push rod 3 is used to raise the lifting rod 9 to a preset height.

[0065] Preferred solutions include Figure 4 In this example, the structure of the ring track trolley 2 is as follows: the base 21 is suspended on the ring track 18 by multiple suspension rollers 23, which provide a torque basis for the ring track trolley 2; preferably, in this example, the suspension rollers 23 are individually connected to the base 21 by a screw. This structure overcomes the influence of the ring structure of the ring track 18, making it easier to process and adjust the installation accuracy.

[0066] A servo motor 22 is provided on the base 21. Preferably, a groove is provided on the base 21, and the servo motor 22 is fixed in the groove. The servo motor 22 is connected to the traveling gear 20. A synchronous belt 19 is provided on one side of the ring rail 18. The traveling gear 20 is meshed with the synchronous belt 19 to drive the ring rail trolley 2 to move.

[0067] Example 4:

[0068] like Figures 4-5 As shown in Figures 7 to 9, the usage process of the present invention is illustrated using a customized robotic arm as an example;

[0069] S1. Place the copper mesh sample 14 into the storage chamber 13. When placing it, bind the characteristics of the current copper mesh sample 14 with the position of the storage chamber 13. That is, store the characteristic data of the copper mesh sample 14, such as sample name, characteristics, precautions, test conditions, test process, tester, test time, etc., into the control system, such as the database of the host computer. Bind the storage position of the copper mesh sample 14, such as the lifting rod 9 number, the storage chamber 13 number, the storage chamber 13 layer number, the corresponding cavity number, etc., with the copper mesh sample 14 and store it into the database of the control system.

[0070] S2. Place the copper mesh sample 14 into the preset position in the storage chamber 13; then place the entire robotic arm device on top of the liquid nitrogen tank 12;

[0071] S3. When it is necessary to take out the selected copper mesh sample 14 separately, enter the characteristic keywords of the copper mesh sample 14 into the control system, such as sample name, characteristics, precautions, test conditions, test process, tester, test time, etc. to query; or you can query on an authorized terminal connected to the control system network.

[0072] S4. The control system matches the corresponding copper mesh sample 14 and queries the specific location of the copper mesh sample 14 in the lifting rod and storage bin according to the reserved data. The data is sent to the robot arm through network communication, such as bus structure, wired local area network, wireless local area network, etc.

[0073] S5. The control system of the robotic arm, such as a PLC or STM32F series control chip, converts the specific position of the copper mesh sample 14 into operation data instructions, including the circumferential position of the ring rail 18 to correspond to the specific lifting rod 9, driving the ring rail trolley 2 to execute; height data to correspond to the height that the lifting rod 9 needs to lift, so that the copper mesh sample 14 is aligned with the sampling port 11 in height, driving the electric push rod 3 to execute; rotation data to make the selected copper mesh sample 14 align with the sampling port 11 in circumference, executed by the motor 4; and gripper 6 gripping the knob 8 of the lifting rod 9, executed by the gripper 6.

[0074] S6. The robotic arm executes the instruction to align the copper mesh sample 14 to be taken out with the sampling port 11, and opens the sampling port 11. The selected copper mesh sample 14 can then be easily taken out with tweezers 27.

[0075] Example 5:

[0076] This embodiment also provides a simplified implementation plan, which eliminates the robotic arm and directly extracts the lifting rod manually for sampling. This plan is more economical.

[0077] The above embodiments are merely preferred technical solutions of the present invention and should not be considered as limitations on the present invention. The embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be arbitrarily combined without conflict. The scope of protection of the present invention should be limited to the technical solutions described in the claims, including equivalent substitutions of the technical features described in the claims. That is, equivalent substitutions and improvements within this scope are also within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated robotic arm for extracting liquid nitrogen samples for cryo-electron microscopy, characterized in that: include: The lower ring beam has multiple lifting rods that pass vertically through it and are slidably connected to it. A storage compartment is located at the bottom of the lifting rods to store multiple copper mesh samples. The cover is fixedly connected to the lower ring beam. The cover is also used to connect to the liquid nitrogen tank and form a sealed structure with the liquid nitrogen tank. A robotic arm is mounted on the top of the lower ring beam via a bracket for sampling. The robotic arm lifts the corresponding lever and brings the storage bin close to the lid of the liquid nitrogen tank. The storage chamber has multiple cavities arranged radially to store copper mesh samples. The outer edge of the storage chamber has an opening, and the side wall of the cover has a corresponding sampling port for taking out copper mesh samples from the cavities. The sampling port of the cover is provided with a door and an inwardly extending channel to connect with the opening of the storage chamber to prevent the copper mesh sample from falling out. Guide rails are provided on both sides of the cavity of the storage chamber, and the copper mesh sample is placed on the guide rails. The two sides of the cavity form an interference structure with the copper mesh sample to fix the copper mesh sample. The upper and lower ends of the cavity form a space with the copper mesh sample so that tweezers can clamp the copper mesh sample from above and below to remove the copper mesh sample. The top of the lifting rod is equipped with a knob, and there is a mark near the knob. The mark is used to distinguish the current lifting rod from other lifting rods and to indicate the angle position of the lifting rod. Multiple limiting grooves are provided on the lifting rod, and a limiting mechanism is provided on the lower ring beam. The connection between the limiting mechanism and the limiting groove indicates the lifting height of the lifting rod. At least one of the lifting heights aligns the cavity opening of the storage chamber with the sampling port.

2. The automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: An upper cover is provided on the top of the cover body, which is located between the lower ring beam and the robotic arm. The upper cover and the cover body are connected by snaps, threads or interference fit to form a seal between the cover body and the liquid nitrogen tank.

3. The automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A damping layer is provided at the lower ring beam position, and the lifting rod passes through the damping layer so that the lifting rod can stop at any height and any angle position.

4. The automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A basket is also provided at the bottom of the cover, and the storage compartments are all located within the space of the basket. The lifting boom has multiple storage bins, which are arranged along the axial direction of the lifting boom. Inside the storage chamber, the radially distributed cavities are arranged in multiple layers, and the number and position of the limiting grooves correspond to the number and position of the cavities.

5. The automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot according to any one of claims 1 to 2 and 4, characterized in that: The robotic arm is an articulated robotic arm with 4 to 6 joints.

6. The automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot according to any one of claims 1 to 2 and 4, characterized in that: An upper ring beam is provided at the top of the support frame. The upper ring beam is connected to the ring rail. The ring rail trolley is installed on the ring rail and moves along the ring rail. An electric push rod is fixed to the bottom of the circular track trolley. The bottom of the electric push rod is connected to a motor, and the bottom of the motor is connected to a gripper. The movement of the circular track trolley is used to select alignment with each lifting rod; The grippers are used to grasp the selected lever; The motor is used to rotate the lifting rod to align the selected cavity with the sampling port. The electric actuator is used to raise the lifting rod to the preset height.

7. The automated cryo-electron microscopy liquid nitrogen sample extraction robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The structure of the circular track trolley is as follows: the base is suspended on the circular track by multiple suspension rollers, which provide the torque basis for the circular track trolley; A servo motor is mounted on the base and connected to a traveling gear. A synchronous belt is mounted on one side of the ring track, and the traveling gear meshes with the synchronous belt to drive the ring track trolley to move.

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