Control method and device for pipetting equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a control method and device for pipetting equipment and a storage medium. The control method for the pipetting equipment comprises the following steps: acquiring the amount of first liquid corresponding to at least one target container; according to the amount of the first liquid and an expected threshold value, the amount of second liquid needing to be supplemented to the target container is determined, and when the amount of the first liquid is smaller than the expected threshold value, the second liquid needs to be used for supplementing the amount of the liquid in the target container to the expected threshold value; distributing a pipetting channel of the pipetting equipment according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid so as to obtain a distribution result; and controlling the pipetting equipment to execute the pipetting operation according to the distribution result. According to the method and the device, the pipetting operation is automatically executed on the two liquids aiming at the specific relationship of the two liquids, the complex pipetting requirement is met, a user does not need to carry out complex configuration, 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 related technical solutions, pipetting equipment can usually only perform pipetting operations on one liquid. With the development of technologies such as biotechnology, chemical analysis, and drug research and development, facing a large number of samples and complex research systems, more and more complex pipetting tasks need to be completed. 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] Obtain the amount of a first liquid corresponding to at least one target container; determine the amount of a second liquid that needs to be added to the target container based on the amount of the first liquid and an expected threshold, wherein when the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold, the second liquid needs to be used to add the amount of liquid in the target container to the expected threshold; allocate the pipetting channels of the pipetting device based on the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain an allocation result; and control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation based on the allocation result.

[0007] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device also includes: receiving script information input by a user, wherein the script information includes a file of information about the amount of the first liquid; obtaining the amount of the first liquid corresponding to at least one target container, including: obtaining the amount of the first liquid according to the file.

[0008] 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.

[0009] Exemplarily, the control method for a pipetting device further includes: receiving layout information and liquid type information input by a user, wherein the layout information represents the layout of a working platform of the pipetting device, and the liquid type information represents liquid parameters of a pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device; wherein controlling the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation is also based on the layout information and the liquid type information.

[0010] Exemplarily, a first human-computer interaction interface is provided to a user, the first human-computer interaction interface including 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 input by the user includes: obtaining script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module.

[0011] 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 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.

[0012] Exemplarily, the script command module includes a fluid replenishment configuration module, which includes a first operable control, a second operable control and a third operable control; wherein the first operable control is used to receive a file; the second operable control is used to receive information of a pipetting channel; and the third operable control is used to receive an expected threshold.

[0013] Exemplarily, based on the allocation result, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation, including: determining a target container that needs to be supplemented with a second liquid; for the target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid, controlling the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation of the second liquid based on the allocation result; and controlling the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation of the first liquid based on the allocation result.

[0014] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device also includes: obtaining the capacity of the gun tip of each pipetting channel of the pipetting device; allocating the pipetting channels of the pipetting device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain an allocation result, including: if the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, determining the number of pipetting times of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting; allocating the pipetting channels according to the number of pipetting times of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting to obtain an allocation result.

[0015] Exemplarily, determining the number of pipetting times for each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting includes: comparing the amount of the first liquid with the capacity of the gun tip; if the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, dividing the amount of the first liquid by a first integer to obtain an evenly divided volume; repeating the following operations until the evenly divided volume is less than or equal to the capacity of the gun tip, then the first integer at the end is the number of pipetting times, and the evenly divided volume at the end is the volume of each pipetting; comparing the evenly divided volume with the capacity of the gun tip; if the evenly divided volume is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, incrementing the first integer by 1, and dividing the amount of the first liquid by the incremented first integer to obtain an updated evenly divided volume.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a control device for a liquid transfer device is also provided, comprising an acquisition module, a determination module, a distribution module and a control module. The acquisition module is used to acquire the amount of a first liquid corresponding to at least one target container; the determination module is used to determine the amount of a second liquid that needs to be added to the target container based on the amount of the first liquid and the expected threshold, wherein when the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold, the second liquid is required to be used to supplement the volume of the liquid in the target container to the expected threshold; the distribution module is used to distribute the liquid transfer channel of the liquid transfer device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain a distribution result; the control module is used to control the liquid transfer device to perform a liquid transfer operation according to the distribution result.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also 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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] The above technical solution automatically determines the amount of the second liquid that needs to be added to make the liquid in the target container reach the expected threshold through the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container and the expected threshold, allocates the pipetting channel according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid, and performs the pipetting operation. In this way, the pipetting operation is automatically performed on the two liquids according to the specific relationship between the two liquids, which meets complex pipetting requirements and does not require users to perform complex configurations, thereby improving user experience.

[0021] 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

[0022] 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.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart showing a control method for a liquid transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a file template according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] 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;

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a first human-computer interaction interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a first human-computer interaction interface according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a fluid infusion configuration module according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0029] 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;

[0030] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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 control various liquid transfer devices. The liquid transfer device can include a liquid transfer workstation, an automated liquid transfer system, a pipette, etc.

[0033] 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 S1100, step S1200, step S1300 and step S1400.

[0034] In step S1100, the amount of the first liquid corresponding to at least one target container is obtained.

[0035] The target container may include a test tube, a beaker, a well in a microplate, etc. The pipetting operation of the pipetting device is used to move the liquid from the source container to the target container. There may be multiple target containers.

[0036] Each target container may have a corresponding amount of the first liquid. Exemplarily, the corresponding amount of the first liquid may also represent the amount of the first liquid that needs to be transferred to the target container when the pipetting device performs a subsequent pipetting operation. The amount of the first liquid may be represented by the volume of the first liquid, the amount of solute in the first liquid, the height of the first liquid, etc. When obtaining the amount of the first liquid, the amount of the first liquid that is not a volume, such as the amount of solute and the height, may be converted into the volume of the liquid by calculation to facilitate subsequent operations.

[0037] In some embodiments, the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container can be set by the user according to the pipetting requirements. For example, the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container No. 1 is 10 microliters, and the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container No. 2 is 40 microliters. In other embodiments, the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container can be automatically generated according to the pipetting requirements. To prevent liquid overflow, the amount of the first liquid is less than the maximum value of the corresponding target container volume.

[0038] In step S1200, the amount of the second liquid to be added to the target container is determined according to the amount of the first liquid and the expected threshold. When the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold, the second liquid is required to add the amount of liquid in the target container to the expected threshold.

[0039] Similar to the amount of the first liquid, the amount of the second liquid can also be expressed by the volume, height, etc. of the liquid. The first liquid and the second liquid can be the same liquid or different liquids. In some embodiments, the first liquid can be a solution of a certain substance, and the second liquid can also be a solution of the substance. In other embodiments, the first liquid can be a solution of a certain substance, and the second liquid can be water.

[0040] The expected threshold value can represent the minimum value of the amount of liquid contained in the expected target container. When the amount of the first liquid is greater than or equal to the expected threshold value, the amount of liquid contained in the target container is greater than or equal to the minimum value of the amount of liquid contained in the expected target container, and the second liquid does not need to be added to the target container. Thus, it can be determined that the amount of the second liquid that the target container needs to add is 0. When the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold value, the amount of the liquid contained in the target container is less than the minimum value of the amount of liquid contained in the expected target container. Thus, it is necessary to use the second liquid to supplement the amount of the liquid in the target container to the expected threshold value. The amount of the second liquid that the target container needs to add is the expected threshold value minus the amount of the first liquid. For example, the expected threshold value is 30 microliters, the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the No. 1 target container is 10 microliters, and the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the No. 2 target container is 40 microliters. Thus, it can be determined that the amount of the second liquid that the No. 1 target container needs to add is 20 microliters, and the No. 2 target container does not need to add the second liquid, and the corresponding amount of the second liquid is 0.

[0041] In step S1300, the pipetting channels of the pipetting device are allocated according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain an allocation result.

[0042] The pipetting device may have one or more pipetting channels. Each pipetting channel may perform a pipetting operation respectively. In other words, multiple pipetting channels may perform multiple pipetting operations simultaneously. In some embodiments, the same pipetting channel of the pipetting device may be assigned to perform different pipetting operations. The pipetting channel may be assigned to transfer the first liquid and the second liquid according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid. For example, the pipetting channel may be assigned to transfer 10 microliters and 40 microliters of the first liquid to target container No. 1 and target container No. 2 respectively; and then the pipetting channel may be assigned to transfer 20 microliters of the second liquid to target container No. 1. In other embodiments, the pipetting device may have multiple pipetting channels. Each of the multiple pipetting channels may be assigned to transfer the first liquid and / or the second liquid to the target container respectively. For example, there may be 2 pipetting channels, and the target container includes 4, and pipetting channel No. 1 may be assigned to transfer to target container No. 1 and target container No. 3, and pipetting channel No. 2 may be assigned to transfer to target container No. 2 and target container No. 4. Thus, the speed of the pipetting operation may be accelerated. It should be noted that the allocation of pipetting channels can be freely allocated according to actual conditions, and this application does not impose any restrictions. At the same time, the above allocation of pipetting channels is only an example of channel allocation, and does not limit the order of the first liquid and the second liquid transfer operation. The allocation result may include the following information: the target container for each pipetting channel to transfer, the type of liquid transferred, and the amount of liquid transferred, etc.

[0043] In step S1400, according to the dispensing result, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation.

[0044] The target container, liquid type, and corresponding liquid amount to be pipetted can be allocated to each pipetting channel of the pipetting device according to the allocation result, and the pipetting device can be controlled to perform the pipetting operation. The pipetting device can automatically control the device corresponding to each pipetting channel to perform the corresponding pipetting operation.

[0045] In the case where the first liquid and the second liquid do not yet exist in the target container, in some embodiments, the second liquid may be pipetted first, and the first liquid may be pipetted after all the target containers that need the second liquid have completed the pipetting operation. Alternatively, the first liquid may be pipetted first, and then the second liquid may be added to the target container. In the case where the first liquid already exists in the target container, in this step S1400, the pipetting device may be controlled to perform a pipetting operation on the second liquid according to the distribution result.

[0046] The first liquid or the second liquid can be obtained from a source container at a fixed position. For example, the second liquid is obtained from some or all of the microwells in a fixed deep well plate. The specific positions from which the second liquid is obtained can be determined based on the amount of the second liquid and the capacity of the source container containing the second liquid. For example, if the source container containing the second liquid is a shallow well plate, the second liquid can be obtained from multiple columns of wells in the shallow well plate when performing a pipetting operation; if the source container containing the second liquid is a deep well plate, the second liquid can be obtained from a column of wells in the deep well plate when performing a pipetting operation. After obtaining the liquid from the source container, the liquid can be pipetted to the target container using the pipetting channel of the pipetting device according to the distribution result.

[0047] The above technical solution automatically determines the amount of the second liquid that needs to be added to make the liquid in the target container reach the expected threshold through the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container and the expected threshold, allocates the pipetting channel according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid, and performs the pipetting operation. In this way, the pipetting operation is automatically performed on the two liquids according to the specific relationship between the two liquids, which meets complex pipetting requirements and does not require users to perform complex configurations, thereby improving user experience.

[0048] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device further includes: acquiring the capacity of the tip of each pipetting channel of the pipetting device.

[0049] Each pipetting channel corresponds to a gun tip. In some embodiments, the capacity of the gun tip of each pipetting channel may be related to the specifications, parameters, etc. of the gun tip. The capacity of the gun tip may be determined according to the type of gun tip of each pipetting channel. The type of gun tip may be set according to the needs of the user. In other embodiments, each pipetting channel of the pipetting device may support a fixed capacity of the gun tip.

[0050] Step S1300 distributes the pipetting channels of the pipetting device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain a distribution result, including: step S1310 and step S1320.

[0051] In step S1310, if the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the tip, the number of pipetting times and the volume of each pipetting of each tip are determined.

[0052] The number of times of pipetting of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting can be determined according to the amount of the first liquid and the capacity of the gun tip to ensure that the volume of each pipetting is less than or equal to the capacity of the gun tip. Exemplarily, the amount of the first liquid can be deducted from the capacity of the gun tip until the remaining amount of liquid is less than the capacity of the gun tip, thereby determining the number of times of pipetting of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting. For example, the amount of the first liquid can be 40 microliters, the capacity of each gun tip can be 30 microliters, and the liquid can be pipetted twice, 30 microliters of the first liquid are pipetted for the first time, and 10 microliters are pipetted for the second time. Alternatively, the amount of the first liquid can also be divided equally so that the amount of the liquid after the equal division is less than the capacity of the gun tip to determine the number of times of pipetting of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting. For example, the amount of the first liquid can be 40 microliters, the capacity of the gun tip can be 30 microliters, and the liquid can be pipetted twice, 20 microliters of the first liquid are pipetted for the first time, and 20 microliters of the first liquid are pipetted for the second time.

[0053] In step S1320, the pipetting channels are allocated according to the number of pipettings of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting to obtain a distribution result.

[0054] Still taking the above-mentioned amount of the first liquid as 40 microliters, the capacity of each gun tip is 30 microliters, and the liquid is pipetted twice, the first time the first liquid is pipetted 30 microliters, and the second time the liquid is pipetted 10 microliters as an example, in this example, there can be two pipetting channels. Exemplarily, one of the two pipetting channels can be allocated to complete the two pipetting operations. For example, pipetting channel No. 1 can be allocated to pipet 30 microliters of the first liquid into the target container, and then 10 microliters of the first liquid can be pipetted into the target container. Alternatively, two pipetting channels can be allocated to perform the two pipetting operations respectively. For example, pipetting channel No. 1 can be allocated to pipet 30 microliters into the target container, and pipetting channel No. 2 can be allocated to pipet 10 microliters into the target container.

[0055] In some embodiments, in order to ensure the accuracy of pipetting, a leading air seal and a tail air seal can be set for each gun tip. The leading air seal and the tail air seal are gases and occupy the capacity of the gun tip. Thus, the capacity of the gun tip is the difference obtained by subtracting the volume of the leading air seal and the tail air seal from the total volume of the gun tip. For example, the total volume of the gun tip is 30 microliters, the leading air seal is 5 microliters, and the tail air seal is 3 microliters. Thus, the actual capacity of the gun tip should be 22 microliters. When determining the number of pipetting times of each gun tip and the volume of each pipetting, it should be determined according to the actual capacity of the gun tip. For example, if the actual capacity of the gun tip is 22 microliters and the amount of the first liquid can be 40 microliters, the first pipetting can pipette 22 microliters of the first liquid, and the second pipetting can pipette 18 microliters of the first liquid.

[0056] The above technical solution determines the number of pipetting times and the volume of each pipetting of each pipetting tip according to the capacity of the tip of each pipetting channel, so as to allocate the pipetting channels. It ensures that the volume of each pipetting does not exceed the capacity of the tip, and no manual calculation and configuration are required, thus improving the user experience.

[0057] Exemplarily, step S1310 determines the number of pipetting times of each pipette tip and the volume of each pipetting, including: step S1311, step S1312 and step S1313.

[0058] In step S1311, the amount of the first liquid is compared with the capacity of the gun tip.

[0059] The capacity of each gun tip can be compared with the amount of the first liquid in each target container to determine whether the amount of the first liquid in each target container is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, or less than or equal to the capacity of the gun tip. If the amount of the first liquid in the target container is less than or equal to the capacity of the gun tip, the pipetting channel where the gun tip is located can be directly allocated to pipette the target container. If the amount of the first liquid in the target container is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, step S1312 can be executed.

[0060] In step S1312, if the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, the amount of the first liquid is divided by the first integer to obtain the average volume. The first integer may be an integer greater than 1, and may be 2, 3, 4, etc. Preferably, the first integer may be 2. The amount of the first liquid is divided by the first integer to obtain the average volume. For example, the amount of the first liquid may be 120 microliters, and the first integer is 2, then the average volume is 60 microliters.

[0061] In step S1313, the following operations Pa and Pb are repeated until the evenly divided volume is less than or equal to the capacity of the tip, and the first integer at the end is the number of pipetting times, and the evenly divided volume at the end is the volume of each pipetting.

[0062] In operation Pa, the divided volume is compared with the capacity of the tip. As described above, if the divided volume is less than or equal to the capacity of the tip, the first integer can be determined to be the number of pipettings, and the divided volume is the volume corresponding to each pipetting.

[0063] In operation Pb, if the divided volume is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, the first integer is incremented by 1, and the amount of the first liquid is divided by the incremented first integer to obtain an updated divided volume.

[0064] For example, the amount of the first liquid is 120 microliters, the first integer is 2, the average volume is 60 microliters, and the capacity of the gun tip is 50 microliters. In this way, the average volume 60 is greater than the capacity of the gun tip 50. Then the first integer can be incremented to 3, and the average volume can be recalculated and updated to 40 microliters. At this time, the average volume is less than the capacity of the gun tip, so the first integer 3 at this time can be determined as the number of pipetting times, and the average volume 40 microliters at this time can be determined as the volume of each pipetting.

[0065] The above technical solution determines the number of pipetting times in an incremental manner, takes the first integer when the divided volume is less than or equal to the capacity of the gun tip as the number of pipetting times and takes the corresponding divided volume as the volume of each pipetting. In this way, the number of pipetting times and the volume of each pipetting can be automatically determined, avoiding complex settings for users and improving user experience.

[0066] Illustratively, step S1400 controls the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation according to the distribution result, including: step S1410, step S1420 and step S1430.

[0067] In step S1410, a target container that needs to be replenished with a second liquid is determined.

[0068] In some embodiments, the target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid can be further determined based on the amount of the second liquid that needs to be supplemented in the target container determined in step S1200. If the amount of the second liquid corresponding to a certain target container is greater than 0, the target container is determined to be a target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid. In other embodiments, a target container whose amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container is less than a desired threshold value can be determined as a target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid.

[0069] In step S1420, for the target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation of the second liquid according to the distribution result.

[0070] In step S1430, according to the distribution result, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation of the first liquid.

[0071] In some embodiments, after the second liquid is pipetted in step S1420, the first liquid is pipetted in step S1430. As described above, the distribution result includes information about the type of liquid being pipetted. In both the above steps S1420 and S1430, the pipetting device can be controlled to perform the pipetting operation according to the distribution result.

[0072] In one example, the allocation result may include that the allocation pipetting channel transfers 10 microliters and 40 microliters of the first liquid to target container No. 1 and target container No. 2, respectively; and the allocation pipetting channel transfers 20 microliters of the second liquid to target container No. 1. In this example, the pipetting channel may be controlled to transfer 20 microliters of the second liquid to target container No. 1 first, and then transfer 10 microliters and 40 microliters of the first liquid to target container No. 1 and target container No. 2, respectively.

[0073] In the above technical solution, the pipetting operation of the second liquid is first performed on the target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid, and then the pipetting operation is performed on the first liquid. The pipetting operations of the second liquid and the first liquid are performed successively, that is, after the pipetting operation of one liquid is completed, the pipetting operation of the other liquid is performed; instead of being performed mixedly. Each pipetting channel can correspond to a pipette, and each pipette is provided with a gun head. In the above technical solution, after the pipetting operation of one liquid is completed using the same gun head, the gun head can be changed to perform the pipetting operation of another liquid. In this way, the operation of changing the gun head can be reduced while ensuring the smooth completion of the pipetting operation, the control process of the pipetting equipment can be simplified, and the pipetting accuracy can also be guaranteed.

[0074] Exemplarily, the control method for a pipetting device further comprises step S1500 of receiving script information input by a user. The script information comprises a file of information about the amount of the first liquid.

[0075] 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 the tip, aspirating, spraying, dropping the tip, cycle operation, and judgment operation. The script information may involve parameters such as the aspirating volume, the number of pipetting times, etc. The parameters in the script information may be further changed through loops, selections, judgments, etc. in the script information to control complex pipetting operations.

[0076] For example, the script information may include a pipetting operation, and the pipetting operation may include a loop operation. A loop number parameter may be involved in the loop operation. The loop number parameter may be associated with a variable i. Whenever the pipetting device performs a pipetting operation, the variable i may be increased by 1, thereby controlling the total number of times the pipetting operation is performed. When the variable i increases to a loop number threshold, the pipetting operation may be considered to be completed.

[0077] The script information may include a file containing information about the amount of the first liquid. The file may be in any format such as excel, txt, etc. The file may store information about the amount of the first liquid. The user may set the amount of the first liquid of each target container in the file according to the pipetting requirements, and import the set file into the script information to obtain the script information of the file containing information about the amount of the first liquid.

[0078] It is understood that there may be multiple target containers, and in this embodiment, the information on the amount of the first liquid corresponding to all target containers may be compiled in one file. Thus, the amount of the first liquid corresponding to all target containers may be known by reading the file.

[0079] Step S1100 of obtaining the amount of the first liquid corresponding to at least one target container includes: obtaining the amount of the first liquid according to the file.

[0080] The script information can be parsed to obtain information about the amount of the first liquid in the file. Thus, the amount of the first liquid in each target container can be determined based on the information about the amount of the first liquid.

[0081] The above technical solution determines the amount of the first liquid according to the file of information about the amount of the first liquid in the script information. The script information may include various control information for controlling the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation. The amount of the first liquid is included in the script information in the form of a file, which is convenient for the user to uniformly manage the amount of the first liquid corresponding to the target container in the pipetting device, and is conducive to realizing the pipetting operation with complex logic, which significantly improves the application ability of the pipetting device in complex pipetting operation scenarios.

[0082] 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.

[0083] The file template may include various forms, such as an excel table, a txt text, etc. A fixed position may be provided in the file template to fill in the amount of the first liquid. The file template may help the user set the required amount of the first liquid for each target container while meeting the analysis requirements. Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a file template of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2As shown, the target container number part 210 can be used to fill in each target container number. It can be understood that there can be multiple target containers for the pipetting operation, and these target containers can be numbered to distinguish them. The numbers of these target containers can be filled in the target container number part 210. The parameter title part 220 is used to fill in the meaning of each column parameter in the parameter filling part 230. The parameter filling part 230 can be used to fill in the amount of the first liquid required for each target container and the source of the first liquid. In some embodiments, the target container is a well position in a microplate, then the parameter filling part 230 can also fill in the name of the microplate to which the target container belongs, so as to determine the position of each target container together with the number of the target container. In other embodiments, the target container can be a test tube, a culture dish, etc., then the parameter filling part 230 can not fill in the specific container corresponding to each target container, and the position of the target container can be determined according to the number of the target container. Alternatively, the parameter filling part 230 can also fill in parameters such as the type of the target container.

[0084] In some embodiments, the file template may be in Excel format, which is convenient for user operation and viewing. The user may use an input device such as a mouse, keyboard, or handwriting tablet to perform a first operation on the file template. The amount of the first liquid corresponding to the pipetting requirement may be input into the file template in the required format in the file template to generate a file with information about the amount of the first liquid. For example, the target container number part 210 of the file template is filled with hole position 1 and hole position 2 respectively; the amount of the first liquid corresponding to hole position 1 is 10 microliters; the amount of the first liquid corresponding to hole position 2 is 40 microliters.

[0085] The above technical solution provides a file template, and sets the information about the amount of the first liquid into the file template to generate a file of the information about the amount of the first liquid. Thus, the accuracy of the amount of the first liquid is ensured, and the file template is easy for users to operate without the need for users to perform complex configurations.

[0086] Exemplarily, the control method for the pipetting device further includes: receiving layout information and liquid type information input by a user.

[0087] The layout information indicates the layout of the working platform of the pipetting device. The layout information may include the position and arrangement of components such as carriers, devices, and clamps in the working platform. The liquid type information indicates the liquid parameters of the pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device. The liquid type information indicates the relevant parameters for pipetting a certain liquid when performing a pipetting operation on the liquid, and may include the aspiration speed, leading air seal, tail air seal, spray speed, etc. The control of the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation is also based on the layout information and the liquid type information. The layout information and the liquid type information can be set by the user according to the pipetting requirements.

[0088] 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 first area 310 provides components supported by the pipetting device. Figure 3 Only the carrier, the garbage chute, the microplate, and the deep well plate are shown as examples, and other components are not shown. Moreover, the components shown may include multiple models. The user may first set the carrier in the second area 320, and then set other components on the carrier. The position of each component in the second area 320 corresponds to its actual position on the working platform of the pipetting device. Figure 3 As shown, there are three carriers in the second area 320. The first carrier is provided with a garbage chute, the second carrier is provided with four microplates, and the third carrier is provided with two deep well plates. The well plates can be of different models, for example, 24-well plates, 48-well plates, 96-well plates, etc.

[0089] The liquid type information can also be set through the human-computer interaction interface. Specifically, it can include settings for the liquid aspiration speed, leading air seal, tail air seal, liquid spraying speed, etc. It can be understood that different liquid type information can be set for different liquids and different pipetting requirements. For example, for a certain type of liquid, relevant liquid type information can be provided to the user for that type of liquid. Furthermore, for another liquid, different liquid type information can also be set according to demand, such as volume, number of sprays, amount of leading air seal, amount of tail air seal, etc., so that in subsequent operations, it is more convenient to pipette different types of liquids.

[0090] In some embodiments, the user can set the script command information, variable information and the amount of the first liquid in the file in the script information based on the liquid type information and the layout information to obtain the script information. For example, when setting the pipetting, the pipetting-related container in the layout information can be selected, and the corresponding liquid type information can be selected according to the type of the liquid to be pipetted.

[0091] Based on the layout information, the specific positions of the consumables and devices required for the pipetting operation of the first liquid and the second liquid on the work platform can be determined. When performing the pipetting operation, the first liquid and the second liquid can be subjected to corresponding operations according to the operation information based on the relevant parameters in the liquid type information. In this way, the pipetting device can be controlled to perform the pipetting operation.

[0092] The above technical solution receives the layout information and liquid type information input by the user, and controls the liquid transfer device to perform the liquid transfer operation according to the layout information and the liquid type information, thereby improving the accuracy of the liquid transfer device in automatically performing complex liquid transfer operations for multiple liquids.

[0093] Exemplarily, a first human-computer interaction interface is provided for the user, and the first human-computer interaction interface includes one or more script information modules. 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.

[0094] In some embodiments, a first human-computer interaction interface may be provided to the user. The first human-computer interaction interface may include multiple 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.

[0095] 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. For example, the script command information can correspond to the command operation of a single operation such as taking a gun head, aspirating liquid, spraying liquid, and throwing a gun head. It can be understood that a single operation can be combined into a command operation. For example, the operation of taking a gun head and throwing a gun head can be combined into one operation, and the command operation of the pipetting device corresponding to the script command information can complete the two operations of taking a gun head and throwing a gun head. The script information module can also import the above-mentioned file of information about the amount of the first liquid. The user can import the file of information about the amount of the first liquid that has been set into the script information module. At least one script information module also includes variable information. Variable information can be used for the setting of complex pipetting operations. Specifically, the variable information is associated with the parameters in the script command information. The numerical 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, the variable information can be used to set control structures such as loops, selections, and parameter initialization to achieve complex pipetting operations.

[0096] Step S1500 of receiving script information input by the user includes: Step S1510, acquiring script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module.

[0097] After the user selects or creates a script information module, the first human-computer interaction interface may provide a script editing area corresponding to the script information module. In the script editing area, the variable information and the script command information may be edited, and the script editing area may also include a file import interface. The user may edit the preset variable information and script command information according to the pipetting requirements to obtain the variable information and the script command information. The user may import a file of information about the amount of the first liquid into the script information module through the file import interface to obtain a file of information about the amount of the first liquid through the script information.

[0098] For example, after the user selects the imbibition command information module in the script information module, in addition to being able to set the number of executions of the imbibition command, the type of liquid, source container parameters and target container parameters for imbibition through editing operations on the imbibition command module, the imbibition capacity of the imbibition operation in the script command information can be associated through variable information, and a loop can be set to change the current imbibition total amount of the imbibition operation. In a specific embodiment, a variable a can be first constructed through the script editing area, that is, variable a is set. Here, an initial numerical value can be given to variable a. The variable a is associated in the imbibition command information in the script command information, for example, the variable a can be the capacity of each imbibition. In the imbibition command information, the variable a increases a preset fixed value. Thus, after executing a specific number of imbibition commands, the current imbibition total amount can be automatically determined.

[0099] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing 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.

[0100] 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 to obtain script information. This interaction method is simple, does not require complex configuration by the user, and has low requirements on the user.

[0101] Step S1510 responds to the user's operation on the script information module, and obtaining the script information includes: step S1511, step S1512 and step S1513.

[0102] In step S1511, 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.

[0103] 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.

[0104] 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] In step S1512, in response to the user's operation on the control command module, corresponding control command information is acquired, and the control command information includes variable information.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] Reference again Figure 5In the first human-machine interaction interface shown, the script information module may include a script information module 1 for pipetting the first liquid. The user may edit the control command module 1 in the script editing area 520 according to the pipetting requirements for the first liquid to obtain the control command information corresponding to the control command module 1. The control command information may include variable information, such as the amount of the first liquid to be pipetted each time. For clarity, the specific operations and parameters in the control command module 1 are described in Figure 5 Not shown in the figure.

[0110] In step S1513, 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.

[0111] 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 S1512. 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.

[0112] Reference again Figure 5 Referring to the above-mentioned embodiment of pipetting the first liquid, the user can edit the script command module 1, the script command module 2 and the 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 the script command module 1, the script command module 2 and the script command module 3 are shown in FIG. Figure 5 Not shown in the figure.

[0113] The above-mentioned step S1512 obtains the corresponding control command information in response to the user's operation on the control command module and step S1513 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 S1513 may be performed first and then step S1512; or vice versa.

[0114] 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 form can not only realize the pipetting requirements for the specific relationship between the two liquids, but also make it easier for users to edit the control process and improve efficiency.

[0115] Alternatively, if Figure 5 As 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. The name of each script command module and the name of the control command module correspond to a script command template module and a control command template module, respectively.

[0116] 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.

[0117] 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.

[0118] 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.

[0119] 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 520.

[0120] 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.

[0121] Exemplarily, the script command module includes a rehydration configuration module. The rehydration configuration module includes a first operable control, a second operable control, and a third operable control. The first operable control is used to receive a file. The second operable control is used to receive information about a pipetting channel. The third operable control is used to receive an expected threshold value.

[0122] In some embodiments, after the rehydration configuration module receives the file containing liquid information, it can automatically generate script information containing script command information, control command information and the file. The first operable control can be used to receive a volume file containing the first liquid. The first operable control can be used as a file import interface, which is, for example, an "Import" button. By clicking the "Import" button, the above file can be imported. It can be understood that the first operable control can also be other controls such as a menu. The second operable control may include a check box, a numerical box, etc., which are used to determine the number of pipetting channels, which corresponding pipetting channels, etc. The third operable control may include a numerical box, a selection box, a drop-down box, etc., which can be used to receive an expected threshold value. The user can set the expected threshold value through the third operable control. Figure 6 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a fluid infusion configuration module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 As shown, the first operable control 610 can be used to receive a file. The second operable control includes 4 pipetting channel selection boxes 621, each of which corresponds to a pipetting channel. The pipetting channel for performing the pipetting operation can be determined by checking the pipetting channel selection box 621. It can be understood that the pipetting channel that is checked can perform the allocation of the pipetting channel in step S1300. In other words, the pipetting channel that is checked can perform the pipetting operation, and the unchecked pipetting channel does not perform the pipetting operation. The user can enter a numerical value in the third operable control 630 and use the numerical value as the desired threshold.

[0123] In the above technical solution, the script command module includes a liquid replenishment configuration module, and provides a first operable control, a second operable control, and a third operable control, which are respectively used to receive files, information of multiple pipetting channels, and expected thresholds. Thus, the liquid replenishment configuration module can be used to conveniently set parameters for pipetting for a target container, which is convenient for user operation and improves user experience.

[0124] 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 an acquisition module 710 , a determination module 720 , a distribution module 730 and a control module 740 .

[0125] The acquisition module 710 is used to acquire the amount of the first liquid corresponding to at least one target container. The determination module 720 is used to determine the amount of the second liquid that needs to be added to the target container based on the amount of the first liquid and the expected threshold, wherein when the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold, the second liquid is required to be used to add the volume of the liquid in the target container to the expected threshold. The allocation module 730 is used to allocate the pipetting channel of the pipetting device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain an allocation result. The control module 740 is used to control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation based on the allocation result.

[0126] Exemplarily, the control device 700 for the pipetting device further includes a first receiving module. The first receiving module is used to receive script information input by a user, wherein the script information includes a file of information about the amount of the first liquid. The acquisition module 710 includes a first acquisition submodule. The first acquisition submodule is used to acquire the amount of the first liquid according to the file.

[0127] Exemplarily, the control device 700 for a liquid transfer device further includes a generating module. The generating module is used to provide a file template, and generate the file in response to a first operation of a user on the file template.

[0128] Exemplarily, the control device 700 for the pipetting device further includes a second receiving module. The second receiving module is used to receive layout information and liquid type information input by a user, 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 control of the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation is also based on the layout information and the liquid type information.

[0129] Exemplarily, a first human-computer interaction interface is provided for a user, 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 acquisition unit. The first acquisition unit is used to acquire the script information in response to the user's operation on the script information module.

[0130] Exemplarily, the first acquisition unit includes a display subunit, a first acquisition subunit, and a second acquisition subunit. The display subunit is used to display the script command module and the control command module corresponding to a script information module in response to a user's operation on the script information module. The first acquisition subunit is used to acquire corresponding control command information in response to a user's operation on the control command module, wherein the control command information includes variable information. The second acquisition subunit is used to acquire corresponding script command information in response to a user's operation on the script command module, wherein the variable information is associated with parameters in the script command information.

[0131] Exemplarily, the script command module includes a fluid replenishment configuration module, which includes a first operable control, a second operable control and a third operable control; wherein the first operable control is used to receive the file; the second operable control is used to receive information of the pipetting channel; and the third operable control is used to receive the expected threshold.

[0132] Exemplarily, the control module 740 includes a first determining submodule, a first executing submodule, and a second executing submodule. The first determining submodule is used to determine a target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid. The first executing submodule is used to control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation of the second liquid according to the distribution result for the target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid. The second executing submodule is used to control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation of the first liquid according to the distribution result.

[0133] Exemplarily, the control device 700 for the pipetting device also includes a second acquisition module. The second acquisition module is used to obtain the capacity of the gun tip of each pipetting channel of the pipetting device. The allocation module 730 includes a first allocation submodule and a second allocation submodule. The first allocation submodule is used to determine the number of pipetting times and the volume of each pipetting of each gun tip if the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip. The second allocation submodule is used to allocate the pipetting channel according to the number of pipetting times and the volume of each pipetting of each gun tip to obtain an allocation result.

[0134] Exemplarily, the first distribution submodule includes a comparison unit, an equalization unit, and a judgment unit. The comparison unit is used to compare the amount of the first liquid with the capacity of the gun tip. The equalization unit is used to divide the amount of the first liquid by a first integer to obtain an equalized volume if the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip. The judgment unit is used to repeatedly perform the following operations until the equalized volume is less than or equal to the capacity of the gun tip, then the first integer at the end is the number of pipetting times, and the equalized volume at the end is the volume of each pipetting; compare the equalized volume with the capacity of the gun tip; if the equalized volume is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, increase the first integer by 1, and divide the amount of the first liquid by the increased first integer to obtain an updated equalized volume.

[0135] Illustratively, according to yet another aspect of the present invention, an electronic device is also provided. Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 As 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 the liquid transfer device as described above when the computer program instructions are executed.

[0136] 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.

[0137] 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.

[0138] 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.

[0139] 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.

[0140] 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.

[0141] 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.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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.

[0144] 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.

[0145] 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.

[0146] 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.

[0147] 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.

[0148] 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: Obtaining an amount of a first liquid corresponding to at least one target container; Determining the amount of the second liquid that needs to be added to the target container according to the amount of the first liquid and the expected threshold, wherein when the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold, the second liquid needs to be used to add the amount of the liquid in the target container to the expected threshold; Distributing the pipetting channels of the pipetting device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain a distribution result; According to 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 also includes: receiving script information input by a user, wherein the script information includes a file of information about the amount of the first liquid; The obtaining the amount of the first liquid corresponding to at least one target container comprises: According to the file, the amount of the first liquid is obtained.

3. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 2, 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.

4. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 2, wherein: The control method for the liquid transfer device further comprises: Receiving layout information and liquid type information input by a user, wherein the layout information represents the layout of a working platform of the pipetting device, and the liquid type information represents liquid parameters of a pipetting operation performed by the pipetting device; Wherein, controlling the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation is also based on the layout information and the liquid type information.

5. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 2, wherein: Providing a first human-computer interaction interface for a user, 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 script information received from the user includes: In response to a user's operation on the script information module, the script information is acquired.

6. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 5, 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, a script command module and a control command module corresponding to the script information module are displayed; 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.

7. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 6, wherein: The script command module includes a fluid replenishment configuration module, and the fluid replenishment configuration module includes a first operable control, a second operable control, and a third operable control; wherein, The first operable control is used to receive the file; The second operable control is used to receive information of the pipetting channel; The third operable control is for receiving the desired threshold value.

8. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: According to the distribution result, controlling the pipetting device to perform the pipetting operation comprises: determining a target container that needs to be replenished with the second liquid; For a target container that needs to be supplemented with the second liquid, controlling the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation of the second liquid according to the distribution result; According to the distribution result, the pipetting device is controlled to perform a pipetting operation of the first liquid.

9. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: The control method for the liquid transfer device also includes: Obtaining the capacity of the tip of each pipetting channel of the pipetting device; The step of allocating the pipetting channel of the pipetting device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain an allocation result comprises: If the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, determining the number of pipetting times and the volume of each pipetting for each gun tip; The pipetting channels are allocated according to the number of pipettings of each pipette tip and the volume of each pipetting to obtain a allocation result.

10. The control method for a liquid transfer device according to claim 9, wherein determining the number of liquid transfers of each gun tip and the volume of each liquid transfer comprises: comparing the amount of the first liquid with the capacity of the gun tip; If the amount of the first liquid is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, dividing the amount of the first liquid by a first integer to obtain an evenly divided volume; Repeat the following steps until the evenly divided volume is less than or equal to the capacity of the pipette tip, then the first integer at the end is the number of pipetting times, and the evenly divided volume at the end is the volume of each pipetting; comparing the divided volume with the capacity of the pipette tip; If the divided volume is greater than the capacity of the gun tip, the first integer is incremented by 1, and the amount of the first liquid is divided by the incremented first integer to obtain an updated divided volume.

11. A control device for a liquid transfer device, characterized in that: include: An acquisition module, used for acquiring the amount of the first liquid corresponding to at least one target container; a determination module, configured to determine the amount of the second liquid that needs to be added to the target container according to the amount of the first liquid and an expected threshold, wherein when the amount of the first liquid is less than the expected threshold, the second liquid needs to be used to add the volume of the liquid in the target container to the expected threshold; A distribution module, used for distributing the pipetting channels of the pipetting device according to the amount of the first liquid and the amount of the second liquid to obtain a distribution result; A control module is used to control the pipetting device to perform a pipetting operation according to the distribution result.

12. 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 10 when the processor runs the computer program instructions.

13. 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 10 when running.

14. 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 10 when running.

Images