High-flux liquid automatic sample injection system

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of analyzers, and discloses a high-flux liquid automatic sampling system, which comprises: a base; the bottom end of the sample tray is fixed on the top end surface of the base, and a plurality of standard sample grooves and a plurality of sample tube racks are placed on the sample tray; the supporting table is fixed on the top end surface of the base and is positioned on one side of the sample tray; the sample introduction arm is arranged on the top end surface of the supporting table, and the sample introduction arm is electrically connected with the analyzer; and the sample introduction probe is fixed at the moving end of the sample introduction arm, is connected with a suction port of a pump body on the analyzer, and is used for respectively extracting liquid in the corresponding standard sample groove and the sample tube frame into an atomizing chamber on the analyzer for analysis and treatment. The system has the characteristics of automation, flexibility, convenience and unattended operation, manual labor is reduced, the sample handling capacity is increased, the daily working precision is improved, the working efficiency is greatly improved, and the large-flux test requirements of analyzers such as an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and the like are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of sample injection devices in analytical instruments, and more particularly to a high-throughput liquid automatic sample injection system. Background Art

[0002] Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a technology currently widely used for the accurate determination of trace elements. It has excellent analytical characteristics such as high sensitivity, low detection limit, wide coverage of determined elements, wide dynamic linear range, high measurement precision, fast analysis speed, and the ability to perform simultaneous determination of multiple elements.

[0003] The analysis object of analytical instruments such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers is liquid. Traditionally, manual sampling is used, which is labor-intensive, error-prone, and difficult to achieve high-throughput testing.

[0004] At present, many detection fields have begun to adopt automatic sampling systems, which are intelligent, flexible, convenient, and unattended, reducing physical labor, increasing sample processing volume, improving daily work accuracy, and greatly improving work efficiency. However, imported liquid automatic samplers are expensive, have high transportation costs, do not have separate debugging and operation software, and are not universal. Domestic automatic samplers have disadvantages such as low positioning accuracy and injection accuracy, and small sample tray capacity.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need to independently develop a high-throughput liquid automatic sampling system to meet the detection and research of trace elements in various fields. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of this, the present invention provides a high-throughput liquid automatic sampling system which is automatic, flexible, convenient and unattended, reduces physical labor, increases sample processing volume, improves daily work accuracy, and greatly improves work efficiency.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] A high-throughput liquid automatic sampling system, comprising:

[0009] Base;

[0010] A sample tray, wherein the bottom end of the sample tray is fixed to the top surface of the base, and a plurality of standard sample slots and a plurality of sample tube racks are placed on the sample tray, and the sample tube racks are located on one side of the standard sample slots;

[0011] A support platform, the support platform is fixed on the top surface of the base and is located on one side of the sample tray;

[0012] An injection arm, the injection arm is arranged on the top surface of the support platform, and the injection arm is electrically connected to the analyzer;

[0013] The sampling probe is fixed on the movable end of the sampling arm and connected to the suction port of the pump body on the analyzer, and is used to extract the liquids in the corresponding standard sample tank and the sample tube rack into the atomization chamber on the analyzer for analysis and processing.

[0014] It can be seen from the above technical scheme that, compared with the prior art, the present invention discloses a high-throughput liquid automatic sampling system. When in use, the sampling arm drives the sampling probe to first move to the position of the standard sample slot, and then the sampling probe extracts the standard sample from the standard sample slot, and the standard sample extracted by the sampling probe is sucked into the analyzer through the pump body, the standard sample is tested first and then a standard curve is established, and then the sampling probe extracts the sample to be tested when it moves to the position of the sample tube rack, and the sample to be tested extracted by the sampling probe is sucked into the analyzer through the pump body, and then the sample to be tested is quantitatively analyzed according to the standard curve.

[0015] Therefore, this system is equipped with a large-capacity sample tray that can accommodate a large number of standard sample slots and sample tube racks. It is automatic, flexible, convenient and unattended, which can reduce physical labor, increase sample processing volume, improve daily work accuracy, greatly improve work efficiency, and meet the high-throughput testing needs of analyzers such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers.

[0016] Furthermore, it also includes a peristaltic pump fixed on the support table, a probe cleaning tank fixed on the top surface of the sample tray, and a rinsing liquid bottle and a waste liquid recovery bottle placed on the base, wherein a probe cleaning chamber and a waste liquid reflux chamber are provided inside the probe cleaning tank, the waste liquid reflux chamber is located on one side of the probe cleaning chamber, the upper chamber opening of the probe cleaning chamber is communicated with the upper chamber opening of the waste liquid reflux chamber, a rinsing liquid inlet and a waste liquid reflux port are respectively provided on the outer tank wall of the probe cleaning tank, the rinsing liquid inlet is located below the waste liquid reflux port, the rinsing liquid inlet is communicated with the bottom of the probe cleaning chamber, and the waste liquid reflux port is communicated with the bottom of the waste liquid reflux chamber;

[0017] The suction tube of the peristaltic pump is respectively connected to the flushing liquid bottle and the flushing liquid inlet, and the return pipe of the peristaltic pump is respectively connected to the waste liquid reflux port and the waste liquid recovery bottle.

[0018] The beneficial effect produced by adopting the above technical scheme is: after the sampling probe takes samples and injects samples, the sampling arm drives the sampling probe to move to the position of the probe cleaning slot and inserts it into the probe cleaning chamber. At this time, the peristaltic pump works, and the suction tube thereon sucks the flushing liquid in the flushing liquid bottle to the bottom of the probe cleaning chamber through the flushing liquid inlet. The flushing liquid flows from the bottom to the top of the probe cleaning chamber to perform an upward flushing of the sampling probe. The waste water after flushing flows into the waste liquid reflux chamber through the upper chamber port of the probe cleaning chamber, and flows into the waste liquid recovery bottle through the waste liquid reflux port and the return pipe under the pump pressure of the peristaltic pump to realize the collection of waste liquid.

[0019] Therefore, this system cleans the sampling probe after each sampling and injection to prevent cross infection between samples and affect the accuracy of sample analysis. And the sampling probe is cleaned by upflow flushing, that is, the sampling probe is flushed with the flushing liquid flowing upward, which not only has a good cleaning effect and saves cleaning liquid, but also the waste liquid after flushing flows to the upper cavity port of the probe cleaning cavity and then automatically flows into the waste liquid reflux cavity, realizing the integrated automatic operation of flushing and waste liquid recovery. In addition, a double-pipe peristaltic pump is used, and when gravity waste discharge cannot be achieved, the pump can be used to discharge waste through the return pipe.

[0020] Furthermore, the injection arm is an XYZ-axis mechanical arm driven by a stepper motor.

[0021] The beneficial effect of adopting the above technical solution is: the XYZ-axis robotic arm driven by a stepper motor can realize the free movement of the sampling probe in the three directions of X, Y, and Z, and then can be accurately moved to the position of the standard sample slot and sample tube rack to achieve accurate sample sampling.

[0022] Furthermore, a working indicator light and an emergency stop button, both electrically connected to the analyzer, are installed on one side wall of the support platform.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the above technical solution are: the emergency stop button plays a protective role when the instrument fails. The indicator light can prompt the operating status of the instrument, so that the operator can understand the working status of the instrument in real time. If there is an emergency, the system can be stopped in time through the emergency stop button. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying creative work.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a front structural schematic diagram of a high-throughput liquid automatic injection system provided by the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of a high-throughput liquid automatic injection system provided by the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the flow of flushing liquid and waste liquid.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the probe cleaning tank. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] like Figure 1-Figure 4 As shown, the embodiment of the present invention discloses a high-throughput liquid automatic injection system, comprising:

[0031] Base 1;

[0032] A sample tray 2, the bottom end of the sample tray 2 is fixed to the top surface of the base 1, a plurality of standard sample slots 3 and a plurality of sample tube racks 4 are placed on the sample tray 2, and the sample tube racks 4 are located on one side of the standard sample slots 3;

[0033] A support platform 5, which is fixed on the top surface of the base 1 and is located on one side of the sample tray 2;

[0034] The sampling arm 6 is arranged on the top surface of the support platform 5, and the sampling arm 6 is electrically connected to the analyzer 7. For example, the two can be connected through a USB serial port 17 arranged on the side of the support platform 5, which has strong versatility;

[0035] The sampling probe 8 is fixed on the moving end of the sampling arm 6. The sampling probe 8 is connected to the suction port of the pump body on the analyzer 7, and is used to extract the liquid in the corresponding standard sample tank 3 and the sample tube rack 4 into the atomization chamber on the analyzer 7 for analysis and processing.

[0036] The high-throughput liquid automatic sampling system of the present invention, in another embodiment, further includes a peristaltic pump 9 fixed on the support table 5, a probe cleaning tank 10 fixed on the top surface of the sample tray 2, and a flushing liquid bottle 11 and a waste liquid recovery bottle 12 placed on the base 1, wherein a probe cleaning chamber 101 and a waste liquid reflux chamber 102 are provided inside the probe cleaning tank 10, the waste liquid reflux chamber 102 is located on one side of the probe cleaning chamber 101, the upper cavity opening of the probe cleaning chamber 101 is communicated with the upper cavity opening of the waste liquid reflux chamber 102, a flushing liquid inlet 103 and a waste liquid reflux port 104 are respectively provided on the outer tank wall of the probe cleaning tank 10, the flushing liquid inlet 103 is located below the waste liquid reflux port 104, the flushing liquid inlet 103 is communicated with the bottom of the probe cleaning chamber 101, and the waste liquid reflux port 104 is communicated with the bottom of the waste liquid reflux chamber 102;

[0037] The suction tube 13 of the peristaltic pump 9 is communicated with the flushing liquid bottle 11 and the flushing liquid inlet 103 respectively, and the return liquid tube 14 of the peristaltic pump 9 is communicated with the waste liquid reflux port 104 and the waste liquid recovery bottle 12 respectively.

[0038] Of course, the probe cleaning tank 10 can be installed on the sample tray 2 by bonding, screwing, or snapping, so that the probe cleaning tank 10 can be detached to facilitate cleaning of the probe cleaning tank 10 .

[0039] The injection arm 6 is an XYZ-axis robotic arm driven by a stepper motor to ensure movement accuracy, that is, the X-axis robotic arm 61 is fixed on the top surface of the support platform 5, the Y-axis robotic arm 62 is fixed on the moving end of the X-axis robotic arm 61, the Z-axis robotic arm 63 is fixed on the moving end of the Y-axis robotic arm 62, and the injection probe 8 is fixed on the moving end of the Z-axis robotic arm 63, thereby realizing accurate movement of the injection probe 8 in the three directions of X, Y, and Z.

[0040] A working indicator light 15 and an emergency stop button 16 , both electrically connected to the analyzer 7 , are mounted on one side wall of the support platform 5 .

[0041] The sample tray 2, the standard sample slot 3, the sample tube rack 4, the probe cleaning slot 10 and the like are made of tetrafluoroethylene material, which is corrosion-resistant and has a longer service life.

[0042] The automatic sampling system of the present invention is intelligent and automated. It only needs to set the parameters in the analyzer, put the standard sample in the standard sample tube, and put the sample to be tested in the tube body of the sample tube rack 4 to complete the automatic sampling and injection process. After receiving the control instructions and signals from the analyzer, the injection arm generates the injection action, which can sample sequentially or randomly, and has flexibility. The basic working process of the automatic sampling system includes: injection arm movement-probe sampling, injection-pulling out the probe-washing the needle-resetting, and the actual operation sequence can be changed through software programming. The specific detailed process is as follows:

[0043] a) The analyzer sends instructions and parameters (setting sample installation quantity, position number, sample volume and other parameters) to control the injection arm to move to the corresponding sample position number;

[0044] That is, the sampling arm drives the sampling probe to first move to the position of the standard sample slot, then the sampling probe extracts the standard sample from the standard sample slot, and the standard sample extracted by the sampling probe is sucked into the analyzer through the pump body, the standard sample is first tested to establish a standard curve, and then the sampling probe is driven by the sampling arm to move to the position of the probe cleaning slot for cleaning, and then moved to the position of the sample tube rack to extract the corresponding sample to be tested, and the sample to be tested extracted by the sampling probe is sucked into the analyzer through the pump body, and then the sample to be tested is quantitatively analyzed according to the standard curve;

[0045] b) Afterwards, the sampling probe is moved again to the position of the probe cleaning tank for cleaning;

[0046] c) The sampling probe is cleaned and reset, waiting for the next sampling.

[0047] In this specification, each embodiment is described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other. For the device disclosed in the embodiment, since it corresponds to the method disclosed in the embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the method part.

[0048] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables one skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A high-throughput liquid automatic sampling system, characterized in that: include: Base (1); A sample tray (2), wherein the bottom end of the sample tray (2) is fixed to the top surface of the base (1), and a plurality of standard sample slots (3) and a plurality of sample tube racks (4) are placed on the sample tray (2), and the sample tube racks (4) are located on one side of the standard sample slots (3); A support platform (5), the support platform (5) is fixed on the top surface of the base (1) and is located on one side of the sample tray (2); A sampling arm (6), the sampling arm (6) being arranged on the top surface of the support platform (5), and the sampling arm (6) being electrically connected to the analyzer (7); A sampling probe (8) is fixed on the movable end of the sampling arm (6), and the sampling probe (8) is connected to the suction port of the pump body on the analyzer (7) and is used to extract the liquid in the corresponding standard sample tank (3) and the sample tube rack (4) into the atomization chamber on the analyzer (7) for analysis and processing.

2. A high-throughput liquid automatic injection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The apparatus further comprises a peristaltic pump (9) fixed on the support platform (5), a probe cleaning tank (10) fixed on the top surface of the sample tray (2), and a flushing liquid bottle (11) and a waste liquid recovery bottle (12) placed on the base (1); the probe cleaning tank (10) is provided with a probe cleaning chamber (101) and a waste liquid reflux chamber (102) inside, the waste liquid reflux chamber (102) being located on one side of the probe cleaning chamber (101); and the probe cleaning chamber (101) is provided with a probe cleaning chamber (101) and a waste liquid reflux chamber (102) inside. The upper cavity opening of the probe cleaning cavity (101) is communicated with the upper cavity opening of the waste liquid reflux cavity (102); a flushing liquid inlet (103) and a waste liquid reflux cavity (104) are respectively provided on the outer groove wall of the probe cleaning cavity (10); the flushing liquid inlet (103) is located below the waste liquid reflux cavity (104); the flushing liquid inlet (103) is communicated with the bottom of the probe cleaning cavity (101); and the waste liquid reflux cavity (104) is communicated with the bottom of the waste liquid reflux cavity (102); The suction tube (13) of the peristaltic pump (9) is respectively connected to the flushing liquid bottle (11) and the flushing liquid inlet (103), and the return liquid tube (14) of the peristaltic pump (9) is respectively connected to the waste liquid reflux port (104) and the waste liquid recovery bottle (12).

3. A high-throughput liquid automatic injection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sample injection arm (6) is an XYZ-axis mechanical arm driven by a stepping motor.

4. A high-throughput liquid automatic injection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A working indicator light (15) and an emergency stop button (16) both electrically connected to the analyzer (7) are installed on one side wall of the support platform (5).

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