Culture dish storage device

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of biological culture, and particularly discloses a culture dish storage device which comprises a storage frame and a transfer manipulator, the transfer manipulator is a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, the output end of the transfer manipulator is a U-shaped output claw, the output claw of the transfer manipulator can ascend and descend, and the storage frame can rotate. A plurality of layer plates are arranged on the storage frame in the height direction, a plurality of supporting grooves are evenly distributed in each layer plate in the circumferential direction around the rotating center, each supporting groove can be used for supporting a culture dish, each supporting groove is further provided with a receding through hole used for receding the U-shaped structure of the output claw, and a distance for the output claw to go in and out exists between every two adjacent layer plates. The scheme is used for solving the problems that in an existing culture dish storage structure, a culture dish is prone to being scratched when taken out, and the taking-out cost is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of biological culture, and particularly relates to a storage device for culture dishes. Background Art

[0002] A culture dish is a container used for culturing and observing cells, microorganisms, or tissues in a laboratory. Culture dishes are very frequently used in biological experiments.

[0003] With the improvement of the automation level of biological experiments, the automation of the storage (also known as storage) before use and the storage (replay) after use of culture dishes are both becoming popular. Currently, for the storage of culture dishes before use, the culture dishes are mostly stacked and placed in a cylindrical structure. The culture dishes in the cylindrical structure fall under their own weight, and the bottommost culture dish is pushed out by a turntable or a conveyor belt directly below the cylindrical structure. When storing the culture dishes after use, a manipulator with a clamping function is mostly used to clamp the culture dish from the outside for transfer, or a method of clamping the culture dish from the upper and lower directions by the cooperation of an upper clamping block and a lower clamping block is used to achieve the transfer of the culture dish.

[0004] During use, culture dishes often need to be taken out from the storage structure not only when they are not in use, but also after the culture dishes are used, they need to be put back to a specific area. However, because the storage structure often utilizes the self-weight of the culture dishes to fall, when the bottommost culture dish is removed, it will scratch the culture dishes attached above. The more culture dishes are stacked above, the greater the friction force, and the greater the probability of the scratch marks deepening. In biological experiments, culture dishes often need to be observed for cell morphology or the situation of microorganisms under a microscope. The presence of scratches on the bottom of the culture dish will affect the accurate determination of cell image data or microorganism image data.

[0005] In addition, to transfer the culture dish from the storage structure, it is necessary to first push out the bottom culture dish using a conveyor belt or a turntable, and then use a clamping manipulator to transfer the removed culture dish, which means that two drives are required to take out the culture dish from the storage structure. This not only increases the cost but also reduces the efficiency of taking out the culture dish. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a storage device for culture dishes to solve the problems of easy scratching of culture dishes and high cost when taking out culture dishes in the current storage structure of culture dishes.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: A petri dish storage device includes a storage rack and a transfer manipulator. The transfer manipulator is a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator. The output end of the transfer manipulator is an output claw with a U-shaped structure. The output claw of the transfer manipulator can move up and down. The storage rack can rotate. A plurality of shelves are provided on the storage rack in the height direction. A plurality of support grooves are circumferentially distributed around the rotation center on each shelf. Each support groove can be used to support a petri dish. Each support groove is also provided with a clearance through hole for avoiding the U-shaped structure of the output claw. There is a spacing for the output claw to enter and exit between adjacent shelves.

[0008] The principle and advantages of this solution are as follows: When adopting this solution, the petri dishes are placed on individual support grooves. Since there are multiple shelves on the storage rack, the number of petri dishes that can be stored can be multiple to meet the storage requirements. When it is necessary to transfer a petri dish, only need to move the transfer manipulator under the petri dish to be taken, then control the output claw to move upward into the corresponding clearance through hole, and continue to move upward to lift the petri dish by using the U-shaped structure of the output claw to achieve the transfer of the petri dish.

[0009] In the solution of the present invention, there is no stacking of petri dishes during the transfer process, so there will be no problem of scratching the petri dishes, thus ensuring that the cell morphology and microbial growth conditions observed under the microscope will not be affected during the subsequent use of the petri dishes.

[0010] In addition, when transferring the petri dish in the present invention, only one transfer manipulator is needed to complete the transfer, which also helps to reduce the transfer cost of the petri dish.

[0011] In addition, since the storage rack can rotate, the transfer manipulator only needs to pick up the petri dish in a specific area in the circumferential direction of the storage rack, which can reduce the control difficulty of the transfer manipulator for picking up the petri dish.

[0012] Preferably, as an improvement, a sunk groove for supporting and positioning the petri dish is provided on the output claw. Multiple support protrusions for supporting the bottom edge of the petri dish are provided on the sunk groove. When lifting the petri dish, the output claw can not only stably support the petri dish but also greatly reduce the contact area with the petri dish, especially not contact the middle area of the bottom of the petri dish, so as to ensure that the middle area of the petri dish used for cell morphology observation or microbial condition inspection is not affected at all.

[0013] Preferably, as an improvement, the middle part of the support groove is a through groove, so that the petri dish is supported by the edge area of the support groove, and further ensure that even on the storage rack, the middle area of the petri dish will not be contacted, reducing the probability of the bottom of the petri dish being bruised / scratched / contaminated by contact.

[0014] Preferably, as an improvement, it also includes a placement rack, which is located on one side of the storage rack. The placement rack has the same structure as the storage rack, and the transfer robot can take and place culture dishes from the placement rack, thereby utilizing the placement rack to increase the storage area of the culture dishes, or the placement rack and the storage rack can be used one for placing new culture dishes before use and the other for placing used culture dishes or culture dishes containing liquids.

[0015] Preferably, as an improvement, it also includes an inkjet printer, which is used to print a mark on the culture dish supported by the output claw.

[0016] Preferably, as an improvement, the inkjet printer makes the mark on the bottom edge of the culture dish to ensure that it does not affect the observation of cell morphology or the inspection of microbial conditions, but can accurately know the material conditions in the culture dish through the unique mark.

[0017] Preferably, as an improvement, it also includes a clean bench and an in-and-out turntable and a receiving conveyor belt installed in the clean bench, the clean bench is provided with an in-and-out channel for the output claw to enter and exit, the in-and-out turntable includes a fixed tray and a rotatable turntable, the transfer manipulator is used to take and place the culture dish on the tray, the part of the tray facing the receiving conveyor belt is provided with a through hole, and the turntable is used to switch the culture dish on the tray and the receiving conveyor belt in a rotating manner. Through the setting of the in-and-out turntable and the receiving conveyor belt, it is convenient to send the culture dish into the clean bench for cell passage operation or other cell operations, and after the culture dish operation is completed, the receiving conveyor belt and the turntable are controlled to reverse, and the culture dish can be sent out of the clean bench again.

[0018] Preferably, as an improvement, the surface of the tray is coated with Teflon to ensure that the bottom of the culture dish is not easily scratched when the turntable pushes the culture dish to move on the tray.

[0019] Preferably, as an improvement, the turntable is provided with at least two workstations, the workstations on the turntable include a loading and unloading station and a transfer station, and the part of the tray corresponding to the loading and unloading station is provided with a clearance groove for the output claw of the transfer robot to move along the Z axis; the turntable is provided with a clearance hole corresponding to each workstation, the clearance hole can accommodate a culture dish, and the clearance hole can also be used to clear the output claw, so that after the clearance hole on the turntable is aligned with the loading and unloading station, the output claw moves the supported culture dish downward, and the culture dish is supported by the tray to realize the transfer of the culture dish from the transfer robot to the tray loading and unloading station.

[0020] Preferably, as an improvement, it also includes a mark recognition module corresponding to the material loading and unloading station, and the mark recognition module is used to identify the culture dish identification of the material loading and unloading station. The mark recognition module is connected to the control system so that the culture dishes entering and exiting the clean bench can be identified by their unique identification, thereby ensuring the traceability of subsequent operation steps in the clean bench. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the storage rack without culture dishes placed in it.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a top view showing the matching relationship between the output claw and the support groove on the storage rack (in the figure, the output claw is located exactly in the airtight through hole of the support groove).

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure after the surrounding sides and top surfaces of the lieutenant general storage room and clean bench were removed.

[0026] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Exploded view of the center loading and unloading turntable.

[0027] Figure 7 for Figure 5 A top view of the second section of the conveyor belt and the tilting mechanism.

[0028] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the tilting mechanism.

[0029] Figure 9 This is a front view of the process in which the tilting mechanism pushes the culture dish to an inclined position (in order to conveniently display the action process of the tilting mechanism, only the second conveying section is shown which does not block the front view of the tilting mechanism). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following is further described in detail through specific implementation methods: The figure marks in the drawings of the specification include: transfer robot 1, rotating seat 11, Z-axis linear module 12, transverse module 13, output claw 14, support protrusion 141, storage rack 2, rotating table 20, layer plate 21, support groove 211, air-avoiding through hole 212, placement rack 3, inkjet printer 4, feed and discharge turntable 5, tray 51, air-avoiding through groove 511, observation hole 512, turntable 52, air-avoiding hole 521, mark recognition module 53, receiving conveyor belt 6, first conveying section 61, second conveying section 62, tilting mechanism 7, pusher 71, push rod 72, push rod body 721, elastic member 722, baffle 73, culture dish 100, storage chamber 1000, clean bench 2000, air vent 1001.

[0031] Embodiment 1 Combination Figures 1 to 3 A culture dish storage device includes a storage rack 2, a storage rack and a transfer robot 1. The storage rack 2 and the storage rack have the same structure. The placement rack 3 is located on one side of the storage rack 2. The transfer robot 1 can take and place culture dishes 100 from the storage rack 2 and the placement rack 3. In this embodiment, the storage rack 2 and the storage rack are used to store and place new culture dishes 100, and the other is used to place stand-by culture dishes 100 or used culture dishes 100. The stand-by culture dishes 100 are, for example, culture dishes 100 ready for subculture, and the used culture dishes 100 are, for example, culture dishes 100 after subculture.

[0032] The transfer robot 1 is a multi-degree-of-freedom robot. The output end of the transfer robot 1 is a U-shaped output claw 14. The output claw 14 of the transfer robot 1 can be raised and lowered. The transfer robot 1 of this embodiment includes a rotating seat 11, a Z-axis linear module 12 installed at the output end of the rotating seat 11, and a transverse module 13 installed at the output end of the ZZ-axis linear module 12. The output end of the transverse module 13 is fixed with the output claw 14, so that the output gripper can be raised and lowered in the Z direction, rotated around the Z axis and moved in the horizontal plane, so as to facilitate the placement of the culture dish 100 from the placement rack 3 or the storage rack 2.

[0033] The output claw 14 is provided with a sink for supporting and positioning the culture dish 100, and the sink is integrally formed with a plurality of support protrusions 141 for supporting the bottom edge area of the culture dish 100, and the plurality of support protrusions 141 correspond to the four sides of the culture dish 100, so that when the culture dish 100 is lifted, the output claw 14 can both stably support the culture dish 100 and greatly reduce the contact area with the culture dish 100, especially not contacting the bottom middle area of the culture dish 100, thereby ensuring that the middle area of the culture dish 100 used for cell morphology observation or microbial condition viewing is completely unaffected.

[0034] The structure of the storage rack 2 and the storage rack takes the storage rack 2 as an example. A rotating table 20 is installed at the bottom of the storage rack 2. The rotating table 20 drives the entire storage rack 2 to rotate when needed. A plurality of layer plates 21 are fixed on the storage rack 2 at equal intervals along the height direction. Weight-reducing holes are provided in the centers of the layer plates 21 other than the top to reduce the pressure on the rotating table 20, thereby reducing the energy consumption when the rotating table 20 rotates.

[0035] Each layer plate 21 is evenly distributed with a plurality of support grooves 211 around the rotation center, each support groove 211 can be used to support the culture dish 100, each support groove 211 is also provided with a clearance through hole 212 for the U-shaped structure of the output claw 14, and there is a gap between adjacent layer plates 21 for the output claw 14 to enter and exit. The middle part of the support groove 211 is a through groove, so that the culture dish 100 is supported by the edge area of the support groove 211.

[0036] It also includes an inkjet printer 4, which is used to make a mark on the culture dish 100 supported by the output claw 14. The inkjet printer 4 makes the mark on the bottom edge of the culture dish 100 to ensure that it does not affect the observation of cell morphology or the inspection of microbial conditions, but can accurately know the material conditions in the culture dish 100 through the unique mark.

[0037] The method for removing the culture dish 100 is as follows: the transfer robot 1 controls the output claw 14 to extend under the culture dish 100 to be removed, and aligns the output claw 14 with the air-avoiding through hole 212 of the support groove 211, and then controls the output claw 14 to rise, thereby transferring the culture dish 100 from the support groove 211 to the output claw 14.

[0038] In the transfer process of the culture dish 100 of the present embodiment, no matter the culture dish 100 is placed on the support groove 211 of the storage rack 2 or the placement rack 3, or is lifted by the output claw 14, the middle area of the culture dish 100 will not be touched in each link, thereby completely ensuring that the middle area of the culture dish 100 is not affected, thus avoiding the problem of easily causing scratches on the culture dishes 100 when taking out the stacked culture dishes 100 in the prior art.

[0039] In addition, a transfer robot 1 can take or place the culture dish 100 on the storage rack 2 / placement rack 3 without setting up other auxiliary structures, which has lower costs and simpler control.

[0040] Embodiment 2 Combination Figures 4 to 9 The second embodiment is further improved on the basis of the first embodiment, as follows: A device for storing culture dishes 100, wherein a storage rack 2, a placement rack 3, and a transfer robot 1 are all arranged in a storage chamber 1000, and also includes a clean bench 2000 and an inlet and outlet turntable 5 and a receiving conveyor belt 6 installed in the clean bench. The clean bench 2000 and the storage chamber 1000 are both provided with a fan system, and the fan system includes a filter. The fan system is used to provide air of a set cleanliness level to the clean bench 2000 and the storage chamber 1000. When in use, the wind pressure of the clean bench 2000 is greater than that of the storage chamber 1000. The storage chamber 1000 and the clean bench 2000 are connected by an inlet and outlet channel, and the storage chamber 1000 and the clean bench 2000 are both provided with air vents 1001, and the air vents 1001 facilitate air outflow.

[0041] The inlet and outlet turntable 5 includes a fixed tray 51 and a rotatable turntable 52, which is arranged above the tray 51 and has a driver, through which the direction and angle of rotation of the turntable 52 can be controlled. The surface of the tray 51 is coated with Teflon to ensure that when the turntable 52 pushes the culture dish 100 to move on the tray 51, the bottom of the culture dish 100 is not easily scratched.

[0042] The turntable 52 is provided with at least two workstations. The workstations on the turntable 52 include a loading / unloading workstation and a transfer workstation. The part of the tray 51 corresponding to the loading / unloading workstation is provided with a clearance through groove 511 for the output claw 14 of the transfer manipulator 1 to move up and down. The part of the tray 51 corresponding to the transfer workstation is provided with a through hole for clearing the receiving conveyor belt 6.

[0043] The turntable 52 is provided with clearance holes 521 corresponding to each workstation. The culture dish 100 can be accommodated in the clearance holes 521, and the clearance holes 521 can also clear the output claw 14 of the transfer manipulator 1. After the clearance holes 521 on the turntable 52 are aligned with the loading / unloading workstation, the loading / unloading output claw 14 moves the supported culture dish 100 downward, and then the culture dish 100 is supported by the tray 51, so as to realize the transfer of the culture dish 100 from the transfer manipulator 1 to the loading / unloading workstation of the tray 51.

[0044] After the culture dish 100 is pushed by the turntable 52 to the transfer workstation, the culture dish 100 falls on the receiving conveyor belt 6. The receiving conveyor belt 6 is a conveyor belt in this embodiment. The receiving conveyor belt 6 is used to send the culture dish 100 to the operation area of the culture dish 100. This operation area is, for example, a cell passage area, and this passage area is located below the pipetting structure during cell passage, that is, the pipetting structure is located above the receiving conveyor belt 6 (the pipetting structure is not shown in the attached drawing).

[0045] The tray 51 corresponding to the loading / unloading workstation is provided with an observation hole 512, and a marking recognition module 53 is installed below the observation hole 512. The marking recognition module 53 is used to identify the object placed on the tray 51 at the loading / unloading workstation. The marking recognition module 53 is connected to the control system to record the identity of the culture dish 100 transferred from the loading / unloading turntable 5, thereby improving the accuracy of control. At the same time, it is convenient to know the operation situation of the corresponding culture dish 100 in a marked manner after cell passage, and it is convenient to trace the operations performed on the culture dish 100.

[0046] The marking recognition module 53 in this embodiment can be a camera or a radio frequency reader / writer connected to the control system.

[0047] As an improvement, the receiving conveyor belt 6 includes a first conveyor section 61 and a second conveyor section 62 that are parallel and arranged along the conveying direction. The first conveyor section 61 is a single conveyor belt located at the transfer workstation. The second conveyor section 62 is connected to the end of the first conveyor section 61. The second conveyor section 62 includes two conveyor belts that are parallel, at the same height, and synchronous. The receiving conveyor belt 6 is used to support and convey the culture dish 100.

[0048] An inclination mechanism 7 for pushing the culture dish 100 to an inclined state is arranged between the two conveyor belts of the second conveyor section 62. Figures 7 to 9The tilting mechanism 7 includes a pusher 71 and a push rod 72 and a baffle 73 fixed at the output end of the pusher 71. The pusher 72 and the baffle 73 are located between the two conveyor belts of the first conveying section 61. The pusher 71 drives the pusher 72 and the baffle 73 to rise and fall synchronously along the Z axis. The pusher 72 is used to push the culture dish 100. The distance between the pusher 72 and the baffle 73 is greater than the radius of the culture dish 100 and smaller than the diameter of the culture dish 100. The baffle 73 is used to tilt the culture dish 100 against the baffle 73 when the pusher 72 eccentrically pushes the culture dish 100, so as to facilitate the automatic absorption of the liquid in the culture dish 100 by the pipette gun of the pipette structure.

[0049] In this embodiment, the baffle 73 is an arc-shaped plate, which cooperates with the arc structure of the culture dish 100 to further ensure that after the push rod 72 pushes the culture dish 100 to tilt, the culture dish 100 will not fall in other directions; the push rod 72 is an elastic push rod 72, which includes a push rod body 721 and an elastic member 722. The push rod body 721 is slidably connected to the output end of the pusher 71 along the Z axis, and the elastic member 722 is arranged between the push rod body 721 and the output end of the pusher 71. The elastic member 722 of this embodiment adopts a spring, and the elastic member 722 is sleeved on the push rod body 721. One end of the elastic member 722 abuts against the push rod body 721, and the other end abuts against the output end of the pusher 71. By setting the push rod 72 with elasticity, the push rod 72 uses its elasticity to push the culture dish 100 slowly, so as to avoid pushing too fast and flipping the culture dish 100.

[0050] When the present embodiment is adopted, the culture dish 100 is sent into the clean bench 2000 for biological experiment when in use, for example, it is sent into the clean bench 2000 to cooperate with the pipetting structure to realize cell passage, cell packaging and other operations. If cell passage is performed, the culture dish 100 required for the passage operation can be sent to the inlet and outlet turntable 5 by the transfer robot 1, and then sent to the receiving conveyor 6 via the inlet and outlet turntable 5. The receiving conveyor 6 sends the culture dish 100 to be operated to the operation area. When the liquid is sucked from the culture dish 100, the tilting mechanism 7 can also push the culture dish 100 to an inclined state, so that the pipette gun of the pipetting structure can absorb the liquid in the culture dish 100 as much as possible. After the operation of the culture dish 100 in the clean bench 2000 is completed, the receiving conveyor 6 and the inlet and outlet turntable 5 are controlled to reverse, so that the culture dish 100 can be sent to the inlet and outlet station again, and finally the transfer robot 1 transfers the culture dish 100 to the placement rack 3 or the storage rack 2.

[0051] The entire embodiment realizes the automated operation of the culture dish 100 from storage, retrieval, delivery into the clean bench 2000, and delivery out of the clean bench 2000, thereby improving the automation level of taking out the culture dish 100 before use and storing it after use, and helping to reduce manual operation costs.

[0052] The above are only embodiments of the present invention, and common general technical solutions and / or characteristics in the solutions are not described in detail herein. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, without departing from the technical solution of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made, which should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention, and these will not affect the implementation effect of the present invention and the practicality of the patent. The protection scope claimed in this application shall be subject to the content of its claims, and the specific implementation manners and the like recorded in the specification can be used to interpret the content of the claims.

Claims

1. A petri dish storage device, comprising a storage rack and a transfer manipulator, the transfer manipulator being a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, characterized in that: The output end of the transfer robot is a U-shaped output claw. The output claw of the transfer robot can be raised and lowered, and the storage rack can be rotated. A plurality of layers are arranged on the storage rack in the height direction. Each layer has a plurality of support grooves evenly distributed around the rotation center. Each support groove can be used to support a culture dish. Each support groove is also provided with a space-avoiding through hole for avoiding the U-shaped structure of the output claw. There is a spacing between adjacent layers for the output claw to enter and exit.

2. The petri dish storage device according to claim 1, wherein: The output claw is provided with a sink for supporting and positioning the culture dish, and the sink is provided with a plurality of supporting protrusions for supporting the bottom edge of the culture dish.

3. The petri dish storage device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The middle portion of the support groove is a through groove, so that the culture dish is supported by the edge area of the support groove.

4. A petri dish storage device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: It also includes a placing rack, which is located on one side of the storage rack. The placing rack has the same structure as the storage rack, and the transfer robot can take and place the culture dish from the placing rack.

5. The culture dish storage device according to claim 2, wherein: The utility model also comprises an inkjet printer, which is used for making a mark on the culture dish supported by the output claw.

6. The petri dish storage device according to claim 5, wherein: The inkjet printer prints the logo on the bottom edge of the culture dish.

7. The petri dish storage device according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes an ultra-clean bench and an inlet and outlet turntable and a receiving conveyor belt installed in the ultra-quiet bench. The ultra-clean bench is provided with an inlet and outlet channel for the output claws to enter and exit. The inlet and outlet turntable includes a fixed tray and a rotatable turntable. The transfer robot is used to take and place the culture dish on the tray. The part of the tray facing the receiving conveyor belt is provided with a through hole. The turntable is used to switch the culture dish between the tray and the receiving conveyor belt in a rotating manner.

8. A petri dish storage device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The surface of the tray is coated with Teflon.

9. The petri dish storage device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The turntable is provided with at least two workstations, including a loading and unloading station and a transfer station. The part of the tray corresponding to the loading and unloading station is provided with an air-avoiding groove for the output claw of the transfer robot to move along the Z axis; the turntable is provided with an air-avoiding hole corresponding to each workstation, the air-avoiding hole can accommodate a culture dish, and the air-avoiding hole can also avoid the output claw.

10. The petri dish storage device according to claim 9, characterized in that: It also includes a mark recognition module corresponding to the material inlet and outlet station, the mark recognition module is used to recognize the culture dish identification of the material inlet and outlet station, and the mark recognition module is connected to the control system.

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