Control method and control device for pipetting equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a control method and a control device for pipetting equipment and a storage medium. The control method for the pipetting equipment comprises the following steps: analyzing a pre-obtained file containing liquid information to obtain an analysis result; the liquid information comprises the type of liquid required by each target container for pipetting by the pipetting equipment and the dosage of each type of liquid; distributing a plurality of pipetting channels of the pipetting equipment according to the analysis result to obtain a distribution result; and controlling the pipetting equipment to execute pipetting operation according to the analysis result and the distribution result. And the complicated pipetting operation of various different liquids is realized. Moreover, the control process of the pipetting equipment is realized in a file manner, so that the control accuracy is high, the requirement on a user is low, and the user experience is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of control, and more specifically to a control method for a pipetting device, a control device for a pipetting device, an electronic device, a storage medium, and a computer program product. Background Art

[0002] Liquid handling equipment is a highly automated device used to accurately transfer and measure liquids. Such equipment can replace manual labor to achieve automated liquid handling operations, which can greatly improve work efficiency, reduce human errors, and ensure the consistency and repeatability of liquid handling operations.

[0003] However, in the relevant technical solutions, the pipetting equipment can usually only perform pipetting operations on one liquid. With the development of biotechnology, chemical analysis, drug research and development and other technologies, it is necessary to complete more and more complex pipetting work for a large number of different liquids. Existing pipetting equipment is difficult to meet the complex and diverse pipetting needs in different application scenarios. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a liquid transfer device, comprising:

[0006] Parse a pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result; wherein the liquid information includes the type of liquid required for each target container for pipetting by the pipetting device and the amount of each liquid; according to the parsing result, allocate multiple pipetting channels of the pipetting device to obtain an allocation result; according to the parsing result and the allocation result, control the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation.

[0007] Exemplarily, the control method for a pipetting device further includes: providing a file template; and generating a file in response to a first operation of a user on the file template.

[0008] Exemplarily, based on the analysis results and the allocation results, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation, including: for each liquid, determining whether the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid; when it is determined that the pipetting operation has not been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, based on the analysis results and the allocation results, the pipetting device is controlled to continue pipetting the liquid to the target container until it is determined that the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, and then the pipetting operation for the next liquid is started.

[0009] Exemplarily, in the file, the amount of each liquid is expressed as a proportional coefficient; the control method for the pipetting device also includes: obtaining the total volume of the target container; parsing the pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain the parsing results, including: determining the volume of each liquid required for each target container based on the total volume of the target container and the proportional coefficient of each liquid required for each target container.

[0010] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device also includes: acquiring layout information and liquid type information, wherein the layout information represents the layout of the working platform of the pipetting device, and the liquid type information represents the liquid parameters of the pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device; wherein the file is obtained in advance by receiving script information; and by executing the script information, the control method for the pipetting device is implemented based on the layout information and the liquid type information.

[0011] Exemplarily, a first human-computer interaction interface is provided, which includes one or more script information modules, wherein each script information module includes at least one or more script command information, and each script command information corresponds to one or more sub-operations in the pipetting operation of the pipetting device; receiving script information includes: obtaining script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module.

[0012] Exemplarily, in response to a user's operation on a script information module, script information is obtained, including: in response to a user's operation on a script information module, a script command module and a control command module corresponding to the script information module are respectively displayed; in response to a user's operation on a control command module, corresponding control command information is obtained, wherein the control command information includes variable information; in response to a user's operation on a script command module, corresponding script command information is obtained, wherein the variable information is associated with parameters in the script command information.

[0013] Exemplarily, the script command module includes a mother solution configuration module, and the mother solution configuration module includes a first operable control and a second operable control; wherein the first operable control is used to receive a file; and the second operable control is used to receive information of multiple pipetting channels.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, a control device for a liquid transfer device is provided, comprising: a parsing module, a dispensing module and a control module. The parsing module is used to parse a pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result, wherein the liquid information includes the type of liquid required for each target container for liquid transfer by the liquid transfer device and the amount of each liquid; the dispensing module is used to distribute the multiple liquid transfer channels of the liquid transfer device according to the parsing result to obtain a distribution result; and the control module is used to control the liquid transfer device to perform a liquid transfer operation according to the parsing result and the distribution result.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided an electronic device, comprising: a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor, they are used to execute the control method for the liquid transfer device as described above.

[0016] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is provided, on which program instructions are stored, and the program instructions are used to execute the control method for the liquid transfer device as described above when running.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is provided, comprising computer program instructions, wherein the computer program instructions are used to execute the control method for the liquid transfer device as described above when the computer program instructions are run.

[0018] The above technical solution parses a pre-acquired file containing liquid information, which includes the type of liquid required for each target container of the pipetting device and the amount of each liquid, and then controls the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation based on the parsing result. Thus, complex pipetting operations for a variety of different liquids are achieved. In addition, the control process of the above-mentioned pipetting device is realized by means of a file, which not only has high control accuracy, but also has low requirements for users, thereby improving the user experience.

[0019] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present invention are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the embodiments of the present invention in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart showing a control method for a liquid transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a file template according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 A partial schematic diagram of a human-computer interaction interface for setting layout information according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0024] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a first human-computer interaction interface according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a first human-computer interaction interface according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0026] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a mother solution configuration module according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0027] Figure 7 A schematic block diagram of a control device for a liquid transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0028] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more obvious, exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0030] In order to at least solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a control method for a liquid transfer device. The control method can be used to automatically control various liquid transfer devices. The liquid transfer device can include a liquid transfer workstation, an automated liquid transfer system, a pipette, etc. The liquid transfer device can realize complex liquid transfer operations on a large number of different liquids based on the control method.

[0031] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a control method for a liquid transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the control method includes step S110, step S120 and step S130.

[0032] In step S110, the pre-acquired file containing liquid information is parsed to obtain a parsing result.

[0033] The liquid information contained in the file includes the type of liquid required for each target container for pipetting by the pipetting device and the amount of each liquid. The liquid information can be set by the user according to the pipetting requirements. In some embodiments, the user can directly set the type of liquid required for each target container and the amount of each liquid. In other embodiments, after the user sets the relevant pipetting requirements, the type of liquid required for each target container and the amount of each liquid are automatically generated according to the pipetting requirements. The liquid information can be set in the file, for example, the type of liquid required for each target container and the amount of each liquid are entered in the file. The liquid information can also be exported to the form of a file after setting it in the system. The file can be any file format suitable for storing liquid information, such as Excel spreadsheets, TXT texts, etc. The file can record the type of liquid required for each target container for pipetting by the pipetting device and the amount of each liquid. The target container can include each well of a test tube, a beaker, a microplate, etc. Each target container can hold a variety of different liquids, and the amount of each liquid can be the same or different.

[0034] The pre-obtained file containing liquid information can be parsed to obtain the parsing result. The parsing result may include information such as the type of liquid required for each target container and the amount of each liquid obtained by parsing the liquid information contained in the file. For example, the parsing result may include that the target container has 3 holes, which are respectively recorded as hole 1, hole 2, and hole 3. Hole 1 can correspond to 200 microliters of liquid 1 and 200 microliters of liquid 3; hole 2 can correspond to 200 microliters of liquid 2; hole 3 can correspond to 800 microliters of liquid 1, 200 microliters of liquid 2, and 200 microliters of liquid 3. It can be understood that a target container can correspond to some or all of the types of all liquids in the file. The amount of liquid can be expressed in any form such as volume, mass, and the amount of solute in the liquid. It can be understood that if the amount of liquid is expressed in a non-volume form such as mass or amount of solute, when parsing the file, the amount of liquid can be calculated and converted into a volume form to facilitate subsequent distribution results and pipetting operations.

[0035] In step S120, multiple pipetting channels of the pipetting device are allocated according to the analysis result to obtain an allocation result.

[0036] The pipetting device can have multiple pipetting channels, and each pipetting channel can perform pipetting operations separately. Each pipetting channel can correspond to a pipette. Each pipette can achieve different maximum pipetting capacities by replacing different gun tips. In order to ensure the accuracy of pipetting, a leading air seal and a tail air seal for pipetting can be set, and the actual maximum pipetting capacity of each channel can be the maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip minus the volume of the leading air seal and the tail air seal. For example, the maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip corresponding to the pipetting channel is 500 microliters, the leading air seal volume is 25 microliters, and the tail air seal is 10 microliters. Thus, the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of the pipetting channel is 465 microliters.

[0037] The pipetting channels can be allocated according to the amount of each liquid in the analysis result and the actual maximum pipetting amount of the gun tip of each pipetting channel. Exemplarily, if the amount of a liquid in the target container is greater than the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of the pipetting channel, the same pipetting channel can be allocated for pipetting multiple times, or two pipetting channels can be allocated for pipetting once. Alternatively, in order to speed up the pipetting speed, multiple pipetting channels can be allocated to pipette the liquid required by the target container. For example, there can be 2 pipetting channels, and the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of each pipetting channel can be 465 microliters. For the above example, hole position 3 corresponds to 800 microliters of liquid No. 1. Liquid No. 1 can be transferred to hole No. 3 twice, 400 microliters each time, to achieve 800 microliters of liquid No. 1 to hole No. 3. In other words, the amount of the liquid can be averaged so that the averaged pipetting capacity each time is less than the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of the pipetting channel. Still taking the example that the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of each pipetting channel is 465 microliters and the No. 3 hole corresponds to 800 microliters of liquid No. 1, the first pipetting may be 465 microliters and the second pipetting may be 335 microliters. In other words, the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of the pipetting channel can be subtracted from the amount of the liquid used until the remaining pipetting capacity is less than the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip of the pipetting channel. It can be understood that the above two pipettings can be assigned to one pipetting channel for execution, or two pipetting channels can be assigned for execution separately. The allocation result may include the type of liquid, pipetting capacity and number of times each pipetting channel pipets into the target container.

[0038] In addition, a pipetting channel can transfer the same liquid to multiple target containers. For example, well position 2 can correspond to 200 microliters of liquid No. 2, and well position 3 can also correspond to 200 microliters of liquid No. 2. The sum of the two is less than the actual maximum pipetting capacity of the pipetting channel tip of 465 microliters. Therefore, the tip of a pipetting channel can be allocated to absorb 400 microliters of liquid No. 2, and transfer 200 microliters of liquid No. 2 to well position 2 and well position 3 respectively.

[0039] In step S130, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation according to the analysis result and the distribution result.

[0040] After obtaining the analysis results and the allocation results, the steps of the pipetting device to perform specific pipetting operations, such as taking the pipette tip, aspirating liquid, spraying liquid, discarding the pipette tip, etc., can be determined based on the analysis results and the allocation results.

[0041] Taking the above-mentioned displacement of liquid No. 1 to hole No. 3 twice, 400 microliters each time as an example, it can be performed by one pipetting channel, and the gun tip cannot be reused. Therefore, the pipetting channel first takes a new gun tip, moves to the position of liquid No. 1, absorbs 400 microliters of liquid No. 1, and then moves to the position of hole No. 3 of the target container, sprays all 400 microliters of liquid No. 1 in the gun tip into hole No. 3, and then discards the gun tip. Repeat the above operation once to complete the displacement of 800 microliters of liquid No. 1 to hole No. 3.

[0042] In some embodiments, each liquid corresponding to a target container may be pipetted in a corresponding amount before pipetting to the next target container. For example, 200 μl of liquid No. 1 may be pipetted to well No. 1, and then 200 μl of liquid No. 3 may be pipetted to well No. 1. After each liquid required for well No. 1 is pipetted in a corresponding amount, well No. 2 may be pipetted.

[0043] The above technical solution parses a pre-acquired file containing liquid information, which includes the type of liquid required for each target container of the pipetting device and the amount of each liquid, and then controls the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation based on the parsing result. Thus, complex pipetting operations for a variety of different liquids are achieved. In addition, the control process of the above-mentioned pipetting device is realized by means of a file, which not only has high control accuracy, but also has low requirements for users, thereby improving the user experience.

[0044] Exemplarily, the control method for a liquid transfer device further includes: providing a file template; and generating a file in response to a first operation of a user on the file template.

[0045] In some embodiments, the file template may have a specific format and fields, for example, may include a preset table. While meeting the analysis requirements, the file template may help the user set the required liquid information. Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a file template of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the target container number field 210 can be used to number each target container to distinguish the target containers. The liquid type field 220 can be used to set different liquid types. The liquid usage field 230 can be used to set the usage of each liquid required for each target container.

[0046] The file template may include an Excel format, which is convenient for users to operate and view. The user may use an input device such as a mouse, keyboard, or handwriting tablet to perform a first operation on the file template, which may be to input the liquid information required for pipetting into the file template in the required format in the file template to generate a file containing the liquid information. Figure 2 As shown, the target container number field 210 of the file template is filled with numbers 1, 2, ... to indicate the target container number; the liquid type field 220 is filled with all liquid types corresponding to all target containers, namely liquid No. 1, liquid No. 2, liquid No. 3, and liquid No. 4. Target container No. 1 is filled with 200 microliters of liquid No. 1 and liquid No. 2 respectively, while liquid No. 3 and liquid No. 4 are 0, indicating that the liquid types required by target container No. 1 only include liquid No. 1 and liquid No. 2. The liquid information of other target containers is similar to that of target container No. 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0047] The above technical solution provides a file template, and the user operates the file template to generate a file containing liquid information, thereby helping the user to set a file that meets the requirements, and improving the convenience of file setting and user experience.

[0048] Exemplarily, step S130 controls the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation according to the analysis result and the distribution result, including performing the following steps for each liquid: step S131 and step S132.

[0049] In step S131, determine whether the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid. The same liquid can correspond to multiple target containers. In other words, the corresponding multiple target containers need to transfer the liquid to the target container through liquid operation. The target containers corresponding to each liquid can be determined by the analysis results and the allocation results. For example, liquid No. 1 corresponds to hole position 1 and hole position 3; liquid No. 2 corresponds to hole position 2 and hole position 3; liquid No. 3 corresponds to hole position 1 and hole position 3. If there is a liquid corresponding to any target container that does not reach the corresponding dosage, it can be determined that the target container that needs the liquid has not completed the pipetting operation. If the liquid in the target container that needs the liquid reaches the corresponding dosage in the analysis result, it can be determined that the target containers that need the liquid have completed the pipetting operation for the liquid.

[0050] In step S132, when it is determined that the pipetting operation has not been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, the pipetting device is controlled to continue to pipette the liquid to the target container according to the analysis result and the distribution result, until it is determined that the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, and then the pipetting operation for the next liquid is performed. In other words, the pipetting operation is performed on one liquid first, and the applied amount of the liquid is respectively pipetted to all target containers that need the liquid, and then the pipetting operation is performed on the next liquid.

[0051] For example, liquid No. 1 requires 200 microliters to well No. 1 and 200 microliters to well No. 3; liquid No. 2 requires 200 microliters to well No. 2 and 200 microliters to well No. 3. You can first pipette liquid No. 1, and pipette 200 microliters to well No. 1 and well No. 3, respectively. Then, pipette liquid No. 2, and pipette 200 microliters to well No. 2 and well No. 3, respectively.

[0052] The above technical solution performs pipetting of different liquids in sequence according to the liquid type. In other words, for any liquid, after completing the pipetting operation for the target container that needs the liquid, the pipetting operation for the next liquid is performed. In this way, the accuracy of the pipetting operation can be ensured, and contamination of different liquids can be avoided.

[0053] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device further includes: acquiring the total volume of the target container.

[0054] In some embodiments, the total volume of the target container can be obtained according to parameter information such as the type and specification of the target container. For example, the target container may include microwells on a microwell plate, and the total volume of the target container may be the total volume of the microwells. For example, 2000 microliters. The total volume of the microwells of microwell plates of different types and specifications may be different, and thus, the total volume of the target container can be determined according to the type and specification of the target container.

[0055] Step S120 parses the pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result, which may include: determining the volume of each liquid required for each target container according to the total volume of the target container and the proportional coefficient of each liquid required for each target container.

[0056] In the above file, the amount of each liquid in the liquid information can be expressed as a proportional coefficient. The proportional coefficient can represent the percentage of the amount of the liquid to the total volume of the target container. The proportional coefficient of each liquid required for each target container can be multiplied by the total volume of the target container to determine the volume of each liquid required for each target container.

[0057] For example, the total volume of the target container may be 2000 microliters. The proportional coefficient of liquid No. 1 corresponding to well No. 1 is 10%, and the proportional coefficient corresponding to liquid No. 3 is 10%. Therefore, well No. 1 requires 200 microliters of liquid No. 1 and 200 microliters of liquid No. 2. The sum of the proportional coefficients of all liquids required for each target container may be 1 or not. In other words, after each target container completes the pipetting of all the corresponding types of liquids, the target container may be filled or not.

[0058] In a specific example, the proportional coefficients corresponding to the multiple liquids of the target container may be the same and sum to 1. The proportional coefficient may be calculated according to the number of types of liquids corresponding to the target container. For example, hole position 1 of the target container corresponds to two liquids, and thus the proportional coefficients of the two liquids may both be 50%.

[0059] In the above technical solution, the flux of the liquid is expressed by a proportional coefficient, thereby ensuring the proportional relationship of multiple liquids, thereby ensuring the accuracy of pipetting control and improving user experience.

[0060] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device further includes: acquiring layout information and liquid type information, wherein the layout information represents the layout of the working platform of the pipetting device, and the liquid type information represents the liquid parameters of the pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device.

[0061] The layout information indicates the layout of the working platform of the pipetting device, and may include the position and arrangement of the carrier, device, clamp and other components in the working platform. The liquid type information indicates the liquid parameters of the pipetting device for performing the pipetting operation, and may include the aspiration speed, leading air seal, tail air seal, spray speed, etc. The layout information and liquid type information may be set by the user according to the pipetting requirements.

[0062] In some embodiments, the user can set layout information, such as position information of carriers, devices, clamps, etc., through the human-machine interaction interface. The positions of carriers, devices, clamps, etc. in the human-machine interaction interface correspond to their actual positions in the working platform of the pipetting device. The user can set layout information in the human-machine interaction interface according to the pipetting requirements. Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a human-computer interaction interface for setting layout information according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, in the human-machine interaction interface, the components supported by the device are presented in the first area 310. Figure 3Only the garbage chute, microplate, and deep-well plate are shown as examples, and other components are not shown, and the components shown may include multiple models. The user can place the components that meet the pipetting requirements in the first area 310 into the second area 320 according to the pipetting requirements, and the positions of the components in the second area 320 correspond to their actual positions on the working platform of the pipetting device. Figure 3 As shown, there are three fixed areas in the second area 320, a garbage chute is arranged on the first fixed area, four micro-well plates are arranged on the second fixed area, and two deep-well plates are arranged on the third fixed area. The micro-well plates and deep-well plates can be of different models, for example, 24-well plates, 48-well plates, 96-well plates, etc.

[0063] Similarly, a human-computer interaction interface for setting liquid type information can be provided to the user, so that the user can use the human-computer interaction interface to set the liquid type information. In the human-computer interaction interface, the same or different parameters can be set for different liquids according to the pipetting requirements. For example, for a certain liquid, multiple different information can be set for the liquid, so that in subsequent operations, it is more convenient to pipette according to different pipetting requirements. The liquid type information may include information such as the liquid aspiration speed, leading air seal, tail air seal, and liquid spraying speed of the liquid.

[0064] Alternatively, the layout information and the liquid type information may be automatically generated according to the pipetting requirements. For example, for a certain pipetting device and a certain type of liquid, fixed layout information and liquid type information may be set by default.

[0065] The pipetting operation of moving multiple liquids from a source plate to a target container can be implemented based on the layout information and the liquid type information. Specifically, the specific positions of the source plate and the target plate on the work platform, as well as the specific positions of the required consumables and devices, can be determined based on the layout information. When performing the pipetting operation, the corresponding operation can be performed on each liquid according to the operation information based on the relevant parameters in the liquid type information. In this way, a control method for a pipetting device can be implemented.

[0066] The layout information and the liquid type information may be acquired in any order, that is, the layout information may be acquired first, or the liquid type information may be acquired first, or the layout information and the liquid type information may be acquired at the same time.

[0067] The pipetting operation of moving a plurality of liquids from a source plate to a target container based on the layout information and the liquid type information can be implemented using the script information. In other words, by executing the script information, a control method for a pipetting device is implemented based on the layout information and the liquid type information. The script information may include relevant information for controlling the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation. The script information may include information such as taking a gun tip, aspirating liquid, spraying liquid, dropping a gun tip, a cycle operation, and a judgment operation. The script information may involve parameters such as the aspiration volume, the number of pipetting times, and the like. The script information may be further changed to control complex pipetting operations by means of loops, selections, judgments, and the like in the script information.

[0068] For example, the script information may include a liquid aspiration operation, and the liquid aspiration operation may include a judgment operation. The judgment operation may involve a judgment condition. The judgment condition may be related to the amount of liquid aspiration. When performing the liquid aspiration operation, it may be determined whether the amount of liquid aspiration is less than a threshold value. If the amount of liquid aspiration is less than the threshold value, the liquid aspiration operation may be performed again.

[0069] The above-mentioned file including the liquid information can be obtained in advance by receiving the script information. In other words, the script information includes the above-mentioned file. When the script information is received, the above-mentioned file can be obtained.

[0070] In some embodiments, the script information may be received through a human-computer interaction interface. In the human-computer interaction interface, operable controls related to the above-mentioned file may be provided, such as an "import" button, etc. By clicking the "import" button, the above-mentioned file may be imported into the script information, thereby obtaining the file. The file may be pre-written.

[0071] In the above embodiment where a file template can be provided, the human-computer interaction interface may further include an operable control related to the template, such as a "download template" button. When the "download template" button is clicked, a file template may be provided to the user. Thus, the user may edit a file that meets the requirements based on the file template.

[0072] The above technical solution obtains the layout information and liquid type information of the working platform of the pipetting device, and also obtains the file in advance by receiving the script information, and implements the above control method for the pipetting device based on the layout information and the liquid type information by executing the script information. The file containing the liquid information is more standardizedly incorporated into the script information, thereby improving the accuracy of complex pipetting operations for multiple liquids.

[0073] Exemplarily, the control method further includes: providing a first human-computer interaction interface. The first human-computer interaction interface may include one or more script information modules.

[0074] In some embodiments, a first human-computer interaction interface may be provided to the user. The first human-computer interaction interface may be divided into a plurality of functional areas. For example, it may include a script list area and a script editing area. The user may select or create one or more script information modules in the script list area. Different script information modules may correspond to different pipetting operations to meet different pipetting requirements. The currently selected script information module may be displayed and edited in the script editing area.

[0075] Each script information module includes at least one or more script command information. Each script command information corresponds to one or more sub-operations in the pipetting operation of the pipetting device. The script command information can correspond to basic operations such as taking a gun tip, aspirating liquid, spraying liquid, and throwing a gun tip. The script command information can also include a composite operation after integrating the above basic operations. The script information module can also receive the above-mentioned file containing liquid information. The user can import the set file containing liquid information into the script information module. At least one script information module can also include variable information. Variable information can be used for setting complex pipetting operations. Specifically, variable information is associated with parameters in the script command information. The value of the parameter in the script command information can be set or changed by setting and calculating the variable information in the script information module. For example, variable information can be used to set control structures such as loops, selections, and parameter initialization to achieve complex pipetting operations.

[0076] Step S140 receiving script information includes: obtaining script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module. After the user selects or creates a script information module, the first human-computer interaction interface can provide a script editing area corresponding to the script information module. The script editing area may include preset variable information, script command information, and a file interface. The user can edit the preset variable information and script command information according to the pipetting requirements to obtain the variable information and script command information. The user can import the file containing liquid information into the script information module through the file interface, and obtain the file containing liquid information in advance to facilitate the execution of steps S110 and S120.

[0077] For example, after the user selects the imbibition command information module in the script information module, the number of executions of the imbibition command, the type and amount of the liquid targeted by the imbibition, the source plate parameters and the target plate parameters can be set by editing the imbibition command module. In a specific embodiment, the type of the above-mentioned liquid and the amount of each liquid can be obtained by importing a file. The first human-computer interaction interface can include an operable control for importing the above-mentioned file. The operable control is the above-mentioned file interface. The user can use the operable control to import the above-mentioned file. In addition, the imbibition parameters of the imbibition operation in the script command information can be associated with the variable information, and a loop can be set. Here, a variable x can be set to be constructed first, that is, the variable x is set. An initial value, such as 0, can be given to the variable x. The variable x is associated in the imbibition command information in the script command information, for example, the variable x can be the number of imbibitions. In the imbibition command information, the variable x increases by 1 for each completion of a pipetting operation. Thus, after executing a specific number of imbibition commands, the imbibition operation can be automatically terminated.

[0078] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first human-computer interaction interface according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 As shown, the first human-computer interaction interface may include a script list area 410 and a script editing area 420. The script list area may show the names of one or more script information modules, and the user may select or create a script information module in the script list area 410. The user may edit the currently selected script information module in the script editing area 420 to obtain variable information and script command information.

[0079] The above technical solution provides a first human-computer interaction interface. The user can operate the script information module in the human-computer interaction interface, receive a file containing liquid information, and obtain script information. While realizing complex pipetting operations for multiple liquids, the simple interaction method has low requirements on the user, thereby improving the user experience.

[0080] Exemplarily, the above step of acquiring script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module may include: step S141, step S142 and step S143.

[0081] In step S141, in response to a user's operation on a script information module, the script command module and the control command module corresponding to the script information module are displayed respectively.

[0082] In some embodiments, a user may select or create a script information module. For example, a user may operate a script information module through an input device such as a mouse or keyboard. According to the user's operation, a script command module and a control command module corresponding to the script information module are displayed respectively.

[0083] For the control system of a liquid transfer device, multiple script command modules and control command modules may be provided. These script command modules and control command modules correspond to one or more script information modules respectively. In other words, for each script information module, its corresponding script command module and control command module are all or part of the script command module and control command module provided. For the newly created script information module, the script command modules and control command modules provided in the control system of all liquid transfer devices may be displayed, so that the user may select and provide the script command modules according to the specific requirements of the current script information module.

[0084] Figure 5 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a first human-computer interaction interface according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 As shown, the first human-computer interaction interface includes a script list area 510, in which the names of one or more script information modules are displayed. The first human-computer interaction interface also includes a script editing area 520, in which the script command module and control command module corresponding to a script information module currently operated by the user are displayed. Figure 5 Shown in the figure are script command module 1, script command module 2, script command module 3 and control command module 1.

[0085] In step S142, in response to the user's operation on the control command module, corresponding control command information is acquired. The control command information includes variable information.

[0086] The user can operate the control command module displayed in the first human-computer interaction interface. Through the control command module, operations such as looping, selecting, judging, and setting variables can be performed. Each control command module can correspond to different control command information. In response to the user's operation on the control command module, the corresponding control command information can be obtained. The control command information includes variable information. In some embodiments, different control command modules can operate on the same variable.

[0087] In some embodiments, a control command module may be operated first to set a variable information, and then the variable may be operated by other control command modules, such as increasing or decreasing. Thus, complex pipetting operations may be implemented through operations such as looping, selecting, judging, etc. involving the variable in the control command module.

[0088] Reference again Figure 5In the first human-computer interaction interface shown, the script information module may include a script information module 1 for pipetting liquid No. 1. The user may edit the control command module 1 in the script editing area 520 according to the pipetting requirements for liquid No. 1 to obtain the control command information corresponding to the control command module 1. The control command information may include variable information, such as the number of times the liquid No. 1 is pipetted. For clarity, the specific operations and parameters in the control command module 1 are shown in FIG. Figure 5 Not shown in the figure.

[0089] In step S143, in response to the user's operation on the script command module, the corresponding script command information is obtained. The variable information is associated with the parameters in the script command information.

[0090] The user can operate the script command module displayed in the above-mentioned first human-computer interaction interface. Different script command modules can correspond to different command operations, for example, single operations such as taking a gun tip, sucking liquid, spraying liquid, and throwing a gun tip, or a combination of multiple single operations. For example, for taking a gun tip, the user can use the corresponding script command module to set the gun tip type, the gun tip position, etc. for taking the gun tip. For spraying liquid, the user can use the corresponding script command module to set the spray mode, the number of channels, the gun tip spacing, the spray amount, etc. The script command information can be obtained in response to the user's operation on the script command module. As mentioned above, parameters may be involved in the script command information. These parameters can be associated with the variable information obtained in step S142. For example, in the above-mentioned spray operation, the spray amount can be set using variables, and the spray amount can be changed by changing the value of the variable in the control command module.

[0091] Reference again Figure 5 Referring to the above-mentioned embodiment of pipetting liquid No. 1, the user can edit script command module 1, script command module 2 and script command module 3 in the script editing area 520 according to the pipetting requirements to obtain the corresponding script command information. For clarity, the specific operations and parameters in script command module 1, script command module 2 and script command module 3 are shown in FIG. Figure 5 Not shown in the figure.

[0092] The above-mentioned step S142 obtains the corresponding control command information in response to the user's operation on the control command module and step S143 obtains the corresponding script command information in response to the user's operation on the script command module. There is no fixed execution order, but it depends on the user's operation. Step S143 may be performed first and then step S142; or vice versa.

[0093] Alternatively, if Figure 5As shown, in addition to the script list area 510 and the script editing area 520, the first human-computer interaction interface may also include a template area 530. In the template area 530, the names of all script command modules and control command modules in the control system of the pipetting device may be displayed.

[0094] The control method for the pipetting device may further include: in response to a user's operation on a script command template module, determining a script command module corresponding to a currently selected script information module.

[0095] exist Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the user can select a script information module in the script list area 510. Then, the user can operate the script command template module in the template area 530 according to the pipetting requirements. One or more script command template modules that meet the pipetting requirements can be selected from the multiple script command template modules included in the script command template module to be used for the script command module corresponding to the currently selected script information module. As described above, the corresponding script command information can be obtained in response to the user's further operation on the script command module in the script editing area 520.

[0096] Similarly, the control method for a liquid handling device may further include: in response to a user's operation on a control command template module, determining a control command module corresponding to a currently selected script information module.

[0097] Still Figure 5 Taking the illustrated embodiment as an example, after the user selects a script information module in the script list area, the control command template module in the template area 530 can be operated according to the pipetting requirements. One or more control command template modules that meet the pipetting requirements can be selected from the control command template modules in the template area 530 to be used for the control command module corresponding to the currently selected script information module. As described above, the corresponding control command information can be obtained in response to the user's further operation on the control command module in the script editing area 420.

[0098] Through the template area in the first interactive interface, a script command template module and / or a control command template module are provided, and through the user's operation on the script command template module and / or the control command template module, the script command module and / or the control command module corresponding to the currently selected script information module is determined. Determining the script command module and / or the control command module through the template reduces the complexity of the user's operation, facilitates the user to set the control flow of complex pipetting operations, and improves the user experience.

[0099] The above technical solution obtains control command information and script command information by responding to the user's operations on the control command module and the script command module respectively. The modular and visual operation can not only meet the complex pipetting requirements of a variety of different liquids, but also make it easier for users to operate, speed up the editing efficiency of the control process of the pipetting device, and significantly improve the user experience.

[0100] Exemplarily, the script command module includes a mother solution configuration module, and the mother solution configuration module includes a first operable control and a second operable control. The first operable control is used to receive a file; and the second operable control is used to receive information of a plurality of pipetting channels.

[0101] In some embodiments, the mother liquid configuration module can receive a file using a first operable control. After receiving the file containing liquid information, the mother liquid configuration module can automatically generate script information containing script command information, control command information, and the file. The above step S110 parses the pre-acquired file containing liquid information, and can also parse the script command information and variable information.

[0102] The first operable control may be used to receive a file containing liquid information. The first operable control may be, for example, the above-mentioned "Import" button. It is understood that the first operable control may also include other controls such as a menu. The second operable control may include a check box, a value box, etc., for receiving information such as the number of pipetting channels and which pipetting channels correspond to. Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a mother solution configuration module according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The first operable control 610 can be used to receive a file. The second operable control includes four pipetting channel selection boxes 621, each of which corresponds to a pipetting channel. By checking the pipetting channel selection box, the checked pipetting channel can participate in the allocation of the pipetting channel in step S120. In other words, the checked pipetting channel can perform the pipetting operation, and the unchecked pipetting channel does not perform the pipetting operation.

[0103] Optionally, the mother solution configuration module may also include other operable controls, such as controls for configuring configuration information of the gun tips corresponding to the pipetting channels, such as the gun tip type, gun tip reuse count information, etc. The gun tip type can affect the maximum pipetting capacity of the gun tip. For example, a gun tip type of 1000 microliters indicates that a gun tip with a maximum pipetting capacity of 1000 microliters is selected. The gun tip reuse count information affects the number of times the gun tip is reused. For example, if the gun tip reuse count information is 5, it means that the gun tip can be reused 5 times, and the gun tip needs to be replaced if it exceeds 5 times. If the gun tip reuse count information is -1, it means that the gun tip can be reused all the time without replacing the gun tip.

[0104] In the above technical solution, the script command module includes a mother solution configuration module, and provides a first operable control and a second operable control, which are respectively used to receive information of a file and a plurality of pipetting channels. This not only facilitates user operation, but also improves user experience. In this technical solution, the mother solution configuration module is used to configure the mother solution and the pipetting channel related information of the pipetting operation, which can not only be applied to complex pipetting scenarios, but also ensures the accurate execution of the pipetting operation.

[0105] Illustratively, according to yet another aspect of the present invention, a control device for a pipetting apparatus is also provided. Figure 7 FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a control device 700 for a liquid transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 As shown, the control device 700 for the pipetting apparatus includes a parsing module 710 , a dispensing module 720 and a control module 730 .

[0106] The parsing module 710 is used to parse a pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result, wherein the liquid information includes the type of liquid required for each target container for the pipetting device to perform pipetting and the amount of each liquid. The allocation module 720 is used to allocate multiple pipetting channels of the pipetting device according to the parsing result to obtain an allocation result. The control module 730 is used to control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation according to the parsing result and the allocation result.

[0107] Exemplarily, the control device 700 for the pipetting device further includes a template module and a generation module. The template module is used to provide a file template. The generation module is used to generate the file in response to a first operation of the user on the file template.

[0108] Exemplarily, the control module 730 includes a first determination submodule and a first control submodule. The first determination submodule is used to determine, for each liquid, whether the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid. The first control submodule is used to control the pipetting device to continue to pipette the liquid to the target container according to the analysis result and the allocation result, when it is determined that the pipetting operation has not been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, until it is determined that the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, and then start to perform the pipetting operation for the next liquid.

[0109] Exemplarily, in the file, the amount of each liquid is expressed as a proportionality coefficient. The control device 700 for the pipetting device also includes a first acquisition module. The first acquisition module is used to obtain the total volume of the target container. The parsing module 710 includes a second determination submodule. The second determination submodule is used to determine the volume of each liquid required for each target container based on the total volume of the target container and the proportionality coefficient of each liquid required for each target container.

[0110] Exemplarily, the control device 700 for a pipetting device further includes a second acquisition module and a first receiving module. The second acquisition module is used to acquire layout information and liquid type information, wherein the layout information represents the layout of the working platform of the pipetting device, and the liquid type information represents the liquid parameters of the pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device. The first receiving module is used to receive script information. The file is obtained in advance by receiving the script information; by executing the script information, the control method for the pipetting device is implemented based on the layout information and the liquid type information.

[0111] Exemplarily, a first human-computer interaction interface is provided, wherein the first human-computer interaction interface includes one or more script information modules, wherein each script information module includes at least one or more script command information, and each script command information corresponds to one or more sub-operations in the pipetting operation of the pipetting device. The first receiving module includes a first receiving submodule. The first receiving submodule is used to obtain the script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module.

[0112] Exemplarily, the first receiving submodule includes a display unit, a first acquisition unit, and a second acquisition unit. The display unit is used to display the script command module and the control command module corresponding to the script information module in response to the user's operation on the script information module. The first acquisition unit is used to acquire the corresponding control command information in response to the user's operation on the control command module, wherein the control command information includes variable information. The second acquisition unit is used to acquire the corresponding script command information in response to the user's operation on the script command module, wherein the variable information is associated with the parameters in the script command information.

[0113] Exemplarily, the script command module includes a mother solution configuration module, and the mother solution configuration module includes a first operable control and a second operable control; wherein the first operable control is used to receive the file; and the second operable control is used to receive information of the multiple pipetting channels.

[0114] Illustratively, according to yet another aspect of the present invention, an electronic device is also provided. Figure 8A schematic block diagram of an electronic device 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The electronic device 800 includes a processor 810 and a memory 820. The memory 820 stores computer program instructions, which are used by the processor 810 to execute the control method for a liquid transfer device as described above when the computer program instructions are executed.

[0115] Exemplarily, according to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is also provided, on which program instructions are stored, and the program instructions are used to execute the control method for the liquid transfer device as described above when running. The storage medium may include, for example, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable read-only memory (CD-ROM), a USB memory, or any combination of the above storage media. The storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media.

[0116] Illustratively, according to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a computer program product, comprising computer program instructions, which are used to execute the control method for a liquid transfer device as described above when the computer program instructions are run.

[0117] A person skilled in the art can understand the specific implementation scheme and beneficial effects of the control device, electronic device, storage medium and computer program product for the pipetting device by reading the above description of the control method for the pipetting device. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0118] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application to this. Those of ordinary skill in the art may make various changes and modifications therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. All these changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present application as required by the appended claims.

[0119] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0120] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0121] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the present application can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0122] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present application and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the various features of the present application are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the method of the present application should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the claimed application requires more features than the features clearly stated in each claim. More specifically, as reflected in the corresponding claims, the inventive point is that the corresponding technical problem can be solved with features less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiment are hereby explicitly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present application.

[0123] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, except for mutually exclusive features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that provides the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0124] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, the combination of features of different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present application and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0125] The various component embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or implemented in software modules running on one or more processors, or implemented in their combination. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all functions of some modules in the control device for liquid transfer equipment according to the embodiment of the present application. The application can also be implemented as a device program (for example, computer program and computer program product) for executing a part or all of the method described herein. Such a program realizing the present application can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0126] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present application rather than limit the present application, and that those skilled in the art may design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets should not be constructed as a limitation to the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of multiple such elements. The present application may be implemented by means of hardware including several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim that lists several devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0127] The above is only a specific implementation or description of a specific implementation of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A control method for a liquid transfer device, characterized in that: include: Parsing a pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result; wherein the liquid information includes the type of liquid required for each target container for the pipetting device to perform pipetting and the amount of each liquid; According to the analysis result, allocating the multiple pipetting channels of the pipetting device to obtain an allocation result; According to the analysis result and the distribution result, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation.

2. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: The control method for the liquid transfer device further comprises: Provide document templates; In response to a first operation of a user on the document template, the document is generated.

3. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: The step of controlling the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation according to the analysis result and the distribution result includes: For each liquid, Determining whether the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container requiring the liquid; When it is determined that the pipetting operation has not been completed for each target container that needs the liquid, the pipetting device is controlled to continue pipetting the liquid to the target container according to the analysis result and the distribution result, and the pipetting operation is then performed on the next liquid after it is determined that the pipetting operation has been completed for each target container that needs the liquid.

4. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: In the document, the amount of each liquid is expressed as a proportionality factor; The control method for the liquid transfer device also includes: Obtaining the total volume of the target container; The step of parsing the pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result includes: The volume of each liquid required by each target container is determined according to the total volume of the target container and the proportional coefficient of each liquid required by each target container.

5. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: The control method for the liquid transfer device also includes: Acquire layout information and liquid type information, wherein the layout information represents the layout of the working platform of the pipetting device, and the liquid type information represents the liquid parameters of the pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device; wherein the file is obtained in advance by receiving script information; By executing the script information, the control method for the pipetting device is implemented based on the layout information and the liquid type information.

6. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 5, wherein: Providing a first human-computer interaction interface, wherein the first human-computer interaction interface includes one or more script information modules, wherein each script information module at least includes one or more script command information, and each script command information corresponds to one or more sub-operations in the pipetting operation of the pipetting device; The received script information includes: In response to a user's operation on the script information module, the script information is acquired.

7. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 6, wherein: The step of obtaining the script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module includes: In response to a user's operation on a script information module, the script command module and the control command module corresponding to the script information module are displayed respectively; In response to a user's operation on the control command module, obtaining corresponding control command information, wherein the control command information includes variable information; In response to a user's operation on the script command module, corresponding script command information is obtained, wherein the variable information is associated with parameters in the script command information.

8. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 7, wherein: The script command module includes a mother solution configuration module, and the mother solution configuration module includes a first operable control and a second operable control; wherein, The first operable control is used to receive the file; The second operable control is used to receive information of the multiple pipetting channels.

9. A control device for a liquid transfer device, characterized in that: include: A parsing module, used for parsing a pre-acquired file containing liquid information to obtain a parsing result; wherein the liquid information includes the type of liquid required for each target container for the pipetting device to perform pipetting and the amount of each liquid; An allocating module, used for allocating the multiple pipetting channels of the pipetting device according to the analysis result to obtain an allocating result; A control module is used to control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation according to the analysis result and the distribution result.

10. An electronic device comprising: A processor and a memory, characterized in that The memory stores computer program instructions, which are used by the processor to execute the control method for a liquid transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when the processor is running the computer program instructions.

11. A storage medium having program instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: The program instructions are used to execute the control method for a liquid transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when running.

12. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions, characterized in that The computer program instructions are used to execute the control method for a pipetting device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when running.

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