Digital slice scanner

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of digital slice scanning, in particular to a digital slice scanner which comprises a slice storage module, a slice taking and placing module and a scanning module, a plurality of vertically-through supporting grooves are formed in a supply bin box and a recovery bin box at equal intervals, and limiting sliding rails are arranged between the supporting grooves and slice supports. A movable stop block is arranged at the bottom of each bracket of the supply bin box; a fixed stop block is arranged at the bottom of each bracket of the recovery bin box; the slice support comprises an outer support and an inner support; the recycling bin box comprises a movable supporting table, and when the movable supporting table moves upwards and touches a movable check block, the movable check block is pressed into a supporting groove. An avoiding opening for fixing the check block is formed in the movable supporting table; the bin box driving part is positioned between the supply bin box and the recovery bin box; the slice taking and placing module comprises an inner supporting claw and a reciprocating driving mechanism, and the front end of the inner supporting claw is provided with an electromagnet corresponding to the magnetic attraction part of the inner support. According to the invention, the chip does not fall off, chip taking and new chip mounting operations can be respectively realized, and the working time is greatly saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of digital slice scanning, in particular to a digital slice scanner. Background Art

[0002] Microslicing is a device that makes materials into thin slices for observation under a microscope. It is common in research fields such as biomedicine, materials science, and environmental ecology. With the advancement of science and technology, the technology of scanning physical slices into digital slices is becoming more and more mature. Compared with traditional physical slices, digital slices are simple to save and easy to access. They can also be used for collective reading and teaching demonstrations. Digital slices have shown wide application potential and great research value.

[0003] At present, when scanning digital slices, most of them use mechanical grippers to grab slices from the slice bin and send them to the stage of the scanning unit. After scanning, the mechanical grippers grab the slices and send them back to the slice bin. For example, the Chinese invention patent with application publication number CN115032193A discloses a high-throughput digital pathology slice automatic scanning device, which is equipped with a slice bin unit, a slice transport unit, a slice loading platform unit and an optical imaging scanning unit. The slice transport unit uses a mechanical gripper to take the slices from the slice bin unit, transport and place them on the slice loading platform unit. After scanning, the slices are taken from the slice loading platform unit and put back into the slice bin unit.

[0004] The existing slice scanners have the following problems: 1. Some slices are not smooth on both sides or have a small amount of glue, and the mechanical gripper is prone to slices falling when clamping the two sides of the slice. After the slice falls, it is necessary to stop the scanner and open the scanner shell to take out the fallen slice. 2. The mechanical gripper has a complex structure, a high failure rate, and high cost. 3. With a slice bin unit, after scanning, all slices can only be removed in sequence before placing new slices, which greatly prolongs the working time. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a digital slide scanner which does not drop slides and has high efficiency.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is:

[0007] A digital slice scanner comprises a slice storage module, a slice picking and placing module and a scanning module, wherein the slice storage module comprises a supply bin, a recovery bin, a bin driving unit and a slice holder, wherein a plurality of brackets which pass through the supply bin and the recovery bin are arranged at equal intervals, a limited position slide rail is arranged between the bracket and the slice holder, a movable stopper is arranged at the bottom of each bracket of the supply bin; and a fixed stopper is arranged at the bottom of each bracket of the recovery bin;

[0008] The slice holder comprises an outer holder and an inner holder, a through hole is arranged at the center of the inner holder, and a magnetic attraction portion is arranged at the rear end of the inner holder;

[0009] The recovery box includes a movable support, a lead screw is vertically arranged at the inner center of the recovery box, the movable support is arranged on the lead screw through a nut, and the top of the recovery box is connected to the top of the lead screw through a rotating bearing; when the movable support moves upward and touches the movable stopper, the movable stopper is pressed into the bracket; an avoidance opening of the fixed stopper is arranged on the movable support;

[0010] The magazine driving part is located between the supply magazine and the recovery magazine, and is used to drive the supply magazine and the recovery magazine to rotate. The magazine driving part is provided with a slice holder channel for the slice holder to pass through.

[0011] The slice picking and placing module includes an inner supporting claw and a reciprocating driving mechanism, and the inner supporting claw reciprocates between the supply bin box and the scanning module through the reciprocating driving mechanism; the front end of the inner supporting claw is provided with an electromagnet corresponding to the magnetic attraction part of the inner supporting claw;

[0012] When the inner supporting claw puts the inner supporting claw back into the outer supporting claw, the movable supporting platform moves downward by the distance of a slice supporting claw; when the slice supporting claws in a bracket of the supply magazine box all fall into the corresponding bracket of the recovery magazine box, the magazine box driving unit drives the supply magazine box and the recovery magazine box to rotate by one station.

[0013] Furthermore, the bin box driving part includes two driving motors symmetrically arranged in the upper and lower parts, and the bottom of the supply bin box and the top of the recovery bin box are respectively plugged into the driving ends of the corresponding driving motors.

[0014] Furthermore, a base is provided at the bottom of the recycling bin box, the base is placed on a lifting platform, a driving end of a driving motor corresponding to the top of the recycling bin box is provided with a telescopic part, the telescopic part includes a telescopic head and a return spring located behind the telescopic head; a plug-in interface corresponding to the telescopic head is provided at the top of the recycling bin box. Furthermore, handles are provided on both sides of the base.

[0015] Furthermore, alignment detection points are provided on the supply bin box and the recovery bin box. When the detection sensor detects the alignment detection points, the supply bin box and the recovery bin box are aligned up and down, and the slice placing module corresponds to the initial bracket of the supply bin box.

[0016] Furthermore, a detection probe is provided at the front end of the inner claw. When the inner claw moves to the front end of the reciprocating drive mechanism, the detection probe cannot detect a signal, and the magazine drive unit drives the supply magazine and the recovery magazine to rotate one station.

[0017] Furthermore, the movable stopper includes a stopper, a rotating shaft and a limit stopper, and a reset torsion spring is arranged on the rotating shaft.

[0018] Furthermore, a lifting handle is provided on the top of the supply bin box.

[0019] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0020] The present invention avoids the slices falling off when the slices are not flat on both sides or have glue through the design of the slice picking and placing module and the slice holder. The slice picking and placing module has a simple structure and a low failure rate, and cooperates with the slice storage module to realize efficient slice picking and delivery. The supply bin box and the recycling bin box are designed. After the scanning is completed, the supply bin box and the recycling bin box are removed, and the slice picking and installation of new slices can be realized respectively, which greatly saves working time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the recycling bin box and the base of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the explosion structure of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the slice holder of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the telescopic part provided at the driving end of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the movable stopper of the present invention;

[0027] In the figure, supply bin 1, bracket I 101, movable block 102, block 1021, rotating shaft 1022, limit block 1023, alignment detection point 103, lifting handle 104, recovery bin 2, bracket II 201, fixed block 202, movable support 203, track avoidance groove 2031, avoidance opening 2032, lead screw 204, extension rod 205, nut 206, base 207, rotating bearing 208, avoidance groove 209, limit rod 210, bin drive unit 3 , slice support channel 301, driving end 302, driving end 303, telescopic head 3031, reset spring 3032, slice support 4, outer support 401, adsorption and fixing magnet 4011, groove 4012, inner support 402, through hole 4021, magnetic attraction part 4022, lifting platform 5, limiting groove 501, inner support claw 6, electromagnet 601, reciprocating drive mechanism 7, screw rod 701, sliding rod 702, screw rod drive motor 703, scanning module 8, objective lens 801, light source 802. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to better understand the present invention, the following Figure 1-Figure 6 , the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] It should be noted that the shell structure of the present invention is not shown in the drawings, and those skilled in the art can make conventional design changes to the shell of the present invention as needed. Other components not shown in the drawings belong to existing product structures and will not be described here.

[0030] The digital slice scanner of the present invention comprises a slice storage module, a slice picking and placing module and a scanning module. The slice storage module comprises a supply bin 1, a recovery bin 2, a bin driving unit 3 and a slice holder 4. The supply bin 1 is used to store unscanned slices, and the recovery bin 2 is used to store scanned slices. A plurality of brackets are evenly spaced and connected vertically on the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2. The brackets are used to place the slice holders 4. The slice holders 4 are stacked up and down in the brackets, and there is no gap between adjacent slice holders 4. A block for blocking the slice holders 4 is arranged at the bottom of the brackets (see below for details). A limited slide rail is arranged between the brackets and the slice holders 4 (the limited slide rail includes a track protruding on both sides of the bracket and a groove 4012 corresponding to the track on both sides of the outer holder 401). A movable block 102 is arranged at the bottom of each bracket Ⅰ101 of the supply bin 1. Of course, the movable block 102 can be arranged on the track protruding on the inner side of the bracket Ⅰ, or on the inner wall of the bracket Ⅰ. The movable stopper 102 can be pressed into the bracket I 101 by the upwardly moving support. In order to facilitate the taking of the supply bin box 1, a lifting handle 104 is provided at the top center of the supply bin box 1. A fixed stopper 202 is provided at the bottom of each bracket II 201 of the recycling bin box 2. The fixed stopper 202 can be provided on the protruding track on the inner side of the bracket II or on the inner wall of the bracket II. The fixed stopper 202 can drag the slice holder 4. An escape opening 2032 of the fixed stopper 202 is provided on the moving support 203, so that the moving support 203 can be moved out of the bracket II.

[0031] like Figure 4The slice holder 4 includes an outer holder 401 and an inner holder 402. Preferably, the outer holder 401 has a structure in which baffles are provided on the left and right sides and the front end, and the rear end is open. The inner holder 402 can be inserted into the outer holder 401 from the rear end opening. A through hole 4021 is provided at the center of the inner holder 402, and the through hole 4021 is used for irradiating the slice with a light source. A magnetic attraction portion 4022 is provided at the rear end of the inner holder 402 to cooperate with the electromagnet 601 of the inner holder grip 6. Furthermore, corresponding adsorption fixing magnets (such as Figure 4 The adsorption fixing magnet 4011 on the outer support 401 is shown, and a corresponding adsorption fixing magnet is set on the bottom surface of the inner support 402).

[0032] The recycling bin box 2 includes a movable support 203. The movable support 203 is rectangular, smaller than the bracket, and can move up and down in the bracket. Track avoidance grooves 2031 of the bracket are arranged on both sides of the movable support 203. Figure 2 As shown, a lead screw 204 is vertically arranged at the inner center of the recovery bin box 2, and the mobile support platform 203 is fixed on a nut 206 through an extension rod 205, and the nut 206 is arranged on the lead screw 204. The top of the recovery bin box 2 is connected to the top of the lead screw 204 through a rotating bearing 208. The bottom of the recovery bin box 2 is provided with a center tube extending downward, and the center tube is a free end not connected to other components. The bottom of the lead screw 204 is connected to a servo motor through a gear set. An avoidance groove 209 for the extension rod 205 is provided on the center tube of the recovery bin box 2. In the base 207, both sides of the bottom of the lead screw 204 are provided with a limit rod 210 to prevent the nut 206 from rotating with the lead screw 204 after moving out of the center tube of the recovery bin box 2. The limit rod 210 limits the nut 206 after the nut 206 moves out of the center tube of the recovery bin box 2. Of course, one limiting rod 210 may be provided, and a through hole is correspondingly provided on the nut 206 . When the nut 206 descends, the limiting rod 210 is inserted into the through hole.

[0033] The structure of the movable stopper 102 is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, it includes a stopper 1021, a rotating shaft 1022 and a limit stopper 1023. A return torsion spring is provided at one or both ends of the rotating shaft 1022. When the movable stopper 102 is pressed into the bracket I 101, when the external force disappears, the stopper 1021 can be ejected by the force of the return torsion spring. When the movable support 203 moves upward and touches the movable stopper 102, the movable stopper 102 is pressed into the bracket I 101.

[0034] The magazine box driving unit 3 is located between the supply magazine box 1 and the recovery magazine box 2, and the rear end of the magazine box driving unit 3 can be fixedly mounted on the housing of the device. The magazine box driving unit 3 is used to drive the supply magazine box 1 and the recovery magazine box 2 to rotate. A slice holder channel 301 is provided on the magazine box driving unit 3 for the slice holder 4 to pass through. Specifically, the magazine box driving unit 3 includes two driving motors symmetrically arranged up and down, and the bottom of the supply magazine box 1 and the top of the recovery magazine box 2 are respectively plugged into the driving ends of the corresponding driving motors. Preferably, the driving ends are polygonal shafts, and the bottom of the supply magazine box 1 and the top of the recovery magazine box 2 are provided with polygonal holes that cooperate with the driving ends. Figure 3 As described above, the driving end 302 on the upper surface of the magazine driving portion 3 is pentagonal.

[0035] In order to facilitate the installation of the recycling bin box 2, a base 207 is set at the bottom of the recycling bin box 2. The base 207 is placed on the lifting platform 5. The lifting platform 5 is provided with a limiting groove 501 corresponding to the base 207. The base 207 is placed in the limiting groove 501 for limiting. A cable interface is set on one side of the base 207 for connecting the power cord and the data cable. Handles can be set on both sides of the base 207 for easy picking. Figure 5 As shown, the driving end 303 corresponding to the top of the recovery bin box 2 is provided with a telescopic part, and the telescopic part includes a telescopic head 3031 and a return spring 3032 located behind the telescopic head 3031. The top of the recovery bin box 2 is provided with a plug interface corresponding to the telescopic head 3031. When the lifting platform 5 rises, if the plug interface at the top of the recovery bin box 2 is not aligned with the telescopic head 3031, the telescopic head 3031 is compressed. When the lifting platform 5 rises to the highest point, the recovery bin box 2 is manually rotated to align the plug interface with the telescopic head 3031, and the telescopic head 3031 enters the plug interface to complete the connection.

[0036] The slice picking and placing module includes an inner supporting claw 6 and a reciprocating driving mechanism 7, and the inner supporting claw 6 reciprocates between the supply bin box 1 and the scanning module 8 through the reciprocating driving mechanism 7. The reciprocating driving mechanism 7 includes a screw rod 701, a slide rod 702 and a screw driving motor 703, the screw driving motor 703 is fixed on the scanning module 8, and the end of the slide rod 702 is also fixed on the scanning module 8. The front ends of the screw rod 701 and the slide rod 702 are fixedly supported on the housing of the device (not shown in the figure) by vertically arranged support rods. The screw rod 701 and the slide rod 702 are located between the objective lens 801 and the light source 802 of the scanning module 8. The front end of the inner supporting claw 6 is provided with an electromagnet 601 corresponding to the magnetic attraction part 4022 of the inner support 402, and the structure of the inner supporting claw 6 is as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown in or 2, one side is set on the screw rod 701 through a nut, and the other side is set on the slide rod 702 through a through hole. A protrusion is set at the front end of the inner claw 6, and an electromagnet 601 is set on the protrusion.

[0037] When the inner claw 6 puts the inner support 402 back to the outer support 401, the controller controls the movable support 203 to move downward by a distance equal to the thickness of a slice support 4. When the slice supports 4 in a bracket Ⅰ of the supply bin 1 all fall into the corresponding bracket of the recovery bin 2, the bin drive unit 3 drives the supply bin and the recovery bin to rotate synchronously by one station. Specifically, a detection probe 602 is provided at the front end of the inner claw 6. When the inner claw 6 moves to the front end of the reciprocating drive mechanism 7, the detection probe 602 detects no signal, indicating that the slice supports 4 in the bracket Ⅰ of the supply bin 1 all fall into the corresponding bracket of the recovery bin 2, and the bin drive unit 3 drives the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2 to rotate by one station.

[0038] In order to align the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2 after they are placed, an alignment detection point is set on the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2, and a detection sensor is set near the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2. When the detection sensor detects the alignment detection point, the supply bin and the recovery bin are aligned up and down. For example, in the No. 1 bracket of the supply bin 1 (the brackets of the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2 are numbered in sequence, the number can be set on one side of the bracket of the supply bin 1 and the recovery bin 2, Figure 1 The bracket marked with bracket Ⅰ101 is bracket No. 1, and the other brackets are numbered in clockwise or counterclockwise order) is set at the top side of the device, and a detection sensor is set on the top shell of the device. An alignment detection point is set at the bottom side of bracket No. 1 of the recycling bin 2, and a detection sensor is set on the base 207. In the initial position, the slice pick-and-place module corresponds to bracket No. 1 of the supply bin.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A digital slide scanner, comprising a slide storage module, a slide placement module and a scanning module, characterized in that: The slice storage module includes a supply bin, a recovery bin, a bin driving unit and a slice holder, a plurality of brackets are evenly spaced and connected vertically on the supply bin and the recovery bin, a limited position slide rail is arranged between the bracket and the slice holder, a movable stopper is arranged at the bottom of each bracket of the supply bin; a fixed stopper is arranged at the bottom of each bracket of the recovery bin; The slice holder comprises an outer holder and an inner holder, a through hole is arranged at the center of the inner holder, and a magnetic attraction portion is arranged at the rear end of the inner holder; The recovery box includes a movable support, a lead screw is vertically arranged at the inner center of the recovery box, the movable support is arranged on the lead screw through a nut, and the top of the recovery box is connected to the top of the lead screw through a rotating bearing; when the movable support moves upward and touches the movable stopper, the movable stopper is pressed into the bracket; an avoidance opening of the fixed stopper is arranged on the movable support; The magazine driving part is located between the supply magazine and the recovery magazine, and is used to drive the supply magazine and the recovery magazine to rotate. The magazine driving part is provided with a slice holder channel for the slice holder to pass through. The slice picking and placing module includes an inner supporting claw and a reciprocating driving mechanism, and the inner supporting claw reciprocates between the supply bin box and the scanning module through the reciprocating driving mechanism; the front end of the inner supporting claw is provided with an electromagnet corresponding to the magnetic attraction part of the inner supporting claw; When the inner supporting claw puts the inner supporting claw back into the outer supporting claw, the movable supporting platform moves downward by the distance of a slice supporting claw; when the slice supporting claws in a bracket of the supply magazine box all fall into the corresponding bracket of the recovery magazine box, the magazine box driving unit drives the supply magazine box and the recovery magazine box to rotate by one station.

2. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The bin box driving part includes two driving motors which are symmetrically arranged in the upper and lower parts. The bottom of the supply bin box and the top of the recovery bin box are respectively plugged into the driving ends of the corresponding driving motors.

3. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: A base is arranged at the bottom of the recycling bin box, and the base is placed on a lifting platform. A driving end of a driving motor corresponding to the top of the recycling bin box is provided with a telescopic part, and the telescopic part includes a telescopic head and a return spring located behind the telescopic head; A plug interface corresponding to the telescopic head is arranged on the top of the recovery bin box.

4. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: Handles are arranged on both sides of the base.

5. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: Alignment detection points are arranged on the supply bin box and the recovery bin box. When the detection sensor detects the alignment detection points, the supply bin box and the recovery bin box are aligned up and down, and the slice picking and placing module corresponds to the initial bracket of the supply bin box.

6. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A detection probe is provided at the front end of the inner claw. When the inner claw moves to the front end of the reciprocating drive mechanism, the detection probe cannot detect a signal, and the magazine drive unit drives the supply magazine and the recovery magazine to rotate one station.

7. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The movable stopper comprises a stopper, a rotating shaft and a limit stopper, and a reset torsion spring is arranged on the rotating shaft.

8. A digital slide scanner as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A lifting handle is arranged on the top of the supply bin box.

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