Incubation device and method of use thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an incubation device and a using method thereof, and belongs to the field of chemiluminescence immunoassay. An incubation disc is rotationally installed on a support, a counting sensor is fixed to the support, a grating ruler is installed on a transmission assembly, the grating ruler rotates with a transmission shaft as the axis, and the counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation disc through the grating ruler; the limit position sensor is fixed to the support, the first synchronous wheel is rotationally installed on the support, the second synchronous wheel is fixed to the transmission shaft, the synchronous belt sleeves the first synchronous wheel and the second synchronous wheel, the perimeter of the first synchronous wheel is larger than that of the second synchronous wheel, and the limit detection piece is fixed to the first synchronous wheel. The transmission shaft drives the second synchronizing wheel to rotate so as to drive the first synchronizing wheel to rotate, the first synchronizing wheel drives the limit detection piece to rotate so as to trigger the limit position sensor to detect the number of rotation turns of the incubation disc, through the design, the incubation device can detect the number of rotation turns and the rotation angle of the incubation disc, and the positions of reaction cups on the incubation disc can be accurately recognized conveniently.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of chemiluminescence immunoassay, and particularly to an incubation device and a method for using the same. Background Art

[0002] Chemiluminescence immunoassay combines a chemical reaction system with an immune system for detecting antigens or antibodies. Antigens and antibodies are labeled with chemiluminescent substances, which has both the specificity of immune reactions and the high sensitivity of chemiluminescent reactions. The operation method is simple and convenient, with good repeatability, no pollution, and is widely used clinically.

[0003] Since a fully automatic chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer realizes the process of immuno-biochemical reactions in vitro by means of a fully automatic control method and detects and quantitatively analyzes the results of the reaction process, the incubation disk is the core unit of the fully automatic chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer. During the detection process, the incubation disk needs to rotate for steps such as sample addition, cleaning, separation, etc. The existing incubation device is provided with a counting sensor to perform zero position detection on the incubation disk to obtain the angle of the incubation disk. However, in order to adapt to the requirements of the working process and timing of the analyzer, it is often necessary for the incubation disk to rotate more than 1 circle, such as 2 circles or multiple circles. The existing incubation device cannot identify the number of rotations of the incubation disk, cannot accurately find the zero position, and thus cannot obtain the accurate positions of the reaction cups on the incubation disk. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide an incubation device that can identify the number of rotations of the incubation disk to facilitate accurately identifying the positions of the reaction cups on the incubation disk.

[0005] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for using an incubation device that can identify the number of rotations of the incubation disk to facilitate accurately identifying the positions of the reaction cups on the incubation disk.

[0006] One of the objectives of the present invention is achieved by adopting the following technical solutions:

[0007] Incubation device, including a bracket, a transmission shaft and an incubation plate, the incubation plate is rotationally installed on the bracket through the transmission shaft, the incubation plate is provided with a plurality of placement holes for placing reaction cups, the incubation device further includes a driving member, a transmission assembly, an angle detection assembly and a limit position detection assembly, the angle detection assembly includes a grating ruler and a counting sensor, the counting sensor is fixed on the bracket, the grating ruler is installed on the transmission assembly, the grating ruler rotates with the transmission shaft as the axis, the counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through the grating ruler, the limit position detection assembly includes a limit position sensor, a first synchronous pulley, a synchronous belt, a second synchronous pulley and a limit detection piece, the limit position sensor is fixed on the bracket, the first synchronous pulley is rotationally installed on the bracket, the second synchronous pulley is fixed on the transmission shaft, the synchronous belt is sleeved on the first synchronous pulley and the second synchronous pulley, the circumference of the first synchronous pulley is larger than the circumference of the second synchronous pulley, the limit detection piece is fixed on the first synchronous pulley, the transmission shaft drives the second synchronous pulley to rotate and thus drives the first synchronous pulley to rotate, the first synchronous pulley drives the limit detection piece to rotate, and the limit detection piece triggers the limit position sensor to detect the number of rotations of the incubation plate.

[0008] Further, the transmission assembly includes a first transmission pulley, a transmission belt and a second transmission pulley, the first transmission pulley is fixed to the output end of the driving member, the second transmission pulley is fixed to the transmission shaft, and the transmission belt is sleeved on the first transmission pulley and the second transmission pulley.

[0009] Further, the circumference of the first transmission pulley is smaller than the circumference of the second transmission pulley.

[0010] Further, the second transmission pulley and the second synchronous pulley are coaxially arranged and parallel to each other.

[0011] Further, the number of the grating rulers is multiple, and the multiple grating rulers are evenly spaced on the side wall of the second transmission pulley.

[0012] Further, the plurality of placement holes are arranged on the edge of the incubation plate and are arranged in a circular pattern.

[0013] Further, the incubation plate further includes a heating belt and a temperature sensor, the heating belt heats the placement holes to control the temperature in the reaction cups on the placement holes, and the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the incubation plate.

[0014] Further, the bracket includes a support plate, a bottom plate and a partition plate. The bottom plate is fixed to the bottom of the support plate. The partition plate is fixed inside the support plate and divides the support plate into upper and lower parts. The transmission assembly is located in the lower part of the support plate, and the driving member is fixed to the partition plate.

[0015] Further, the angle detection assembly is located between the partition plate and the transmission assembly.

[0016] The second object of the present invention is achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0017] The usage method of any one of the above-mentioned incubation devices includes the following steps:

[0018] The incubation device is started, and the heating belt heats and controls the temperature of the placement holes.

[0019] The driving member works to drive the incubation plate to rotate in one direction through the transmission shaft.

[0020] When the incubation plate rotates to the limit position, the limit detection piece triggers the limit position sensor, and the incubation plate rotates in the reverse direction. When the zero position detection piece triggers the zero position sensor a preset number of times, the incubation plate is in the zero position.

[0021] The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through the grating scale to obtain the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate, which is convenient for the robotic arm to grasp the reaction cup to the incubation plate and record the position of the reaction cup during the rotation of the incubation plate.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the incubation plate of the incubation device of the present invention is rotatably installed on the bracket of the incubation device through the transmission shaft. The incubation plate is provided with a plurality of placement holes for placing reaction cups. The incubation device further includes a driving member, a transmission assembly, an angle detection assembly and a limit position detection assembly. The angle detection assembly includes a grating scale and a counting sensor. The counting sensor is fixed to the bracket, and the grating scale is installed on the transmission assembly. The grating scale rotates around the axis of the transmission shaft. The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through the grating scale. The limit position detection assembly includes a limit position sensor, a first synchronous pulley, a synchronous belt, a second synchronous pulley and a limit detection piece. The limit position sensor is fixed to the bracket, the first synchronous pulley is rotatably installed on the bracket, the second synchronous pulley is fixed to the transmission shaft, the synchronous belt is sleeved on the first synchronous pulley and the second synchronous pulley, the circumference of the first synchronous pulley is greater than the circumference of the second synchronous pulley, the limit detection piece is fixed to the first synchronous pulley, the transmission shaft drives the second synchronous pulley to rotate, thereby driving the first synchronous pulley to rotate, the first synchronous pulley drives the limit detection piece to rotate, and the limit detection piece triggers the limit position sensor to detect the number of rotations of the incubation plate. Through the above design, the incubation device can detect the number of rotations and the rotation angle of the incubation plate, which is convenient for accurately identifying the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate. Description of the Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 Cross-sectional view of the incubation device of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 is Figure 1 Stereogram of the incubation device of;

[0025] Figure 3 is Figure 2 Stereogram of the incubation tray of the incubation device of;

[0026] Figure 4 is Figure 2 Stereogram of the partial structure of the incubation device of;

[0027] Figure 5 is Figure 2 Stereogram of the internal structure of the incubation device of.

[0028] In the figure: 10, bracket; 11, support plate; 12, bottom plate; 13, partition; 20, transmission shaft; 30, incubation tray; 31, placement hole; 32, heating belt; 33, temperature sensor; 40, driving member; 50, transmission assembly; 51, first transmission wheel; 52, transmission belt; 53, second transmission wheel; 530, main body; 60, circuit board; 70, angle detection assembly; 71, grating scale; 72, counting sensor; 80, limit position detection assembly; 81, limit position sensor; 820, first synchronous wheel; 821, synchronous belt; 822, second synchronous wheel; 823, limit detection piece; 824, positioning column; 825, limit limiting piece; 826, limit blocking piece. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" another component, it can be directly on the other component or there may also be another intermediate component through which it is fixed. When a component is considered to be "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be another intermediate component at the same time. When a component is considered to be "disposed on" another component, it can be directly disposed on the other component or there may be another intermediate component at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are only for the purpose of illustration.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this invention belongs. The terms used in the description of the present invention herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the incubation device includes a bracket 10, a transmission shaft 20, an incubation plate 30, a driving member 40, a transmission assembly 50, a circuit board 60, an angle detection assembly 70, and a limit position detection assembly 80.

[0033] The bracket 10 is used to mount the transmission shaft 20, the incubation plate 30, the driving member 40, the transmission assembly 50, the circuit board 60, the angle detection assembly 70, and the limit position detection assembly 80. Specifically, the bracket 10 includes a support plate 11, a bottom plate 12, and a partition plate 13. The bottom plate 12 is fixed to the bottom of the support plate 11, and the partition plate 13 is fixed inside the support plate 11 and divides the support plate 11 into upper and lower parts. The driving member 40 is fixed to the partition plate 13, and the transmission assembly 50, the circuit board 60, the angle detection assembly 70, and the limit position detection assembly 80 are mounted in the lower part.

[0034] The transmission shaft 20 is rotatably mounted on the partition plate 13. The transmission shaft 20 is vertically arranged, and the transmission shaft 20 drives the incubation plate 30 to rotate relative to the bracket 10. The transmission assembly 50, the circuit board 60, the angle detection assembly 70, and the limit position detection assembly 80 are also mounted on the transmission shaft 20 and are driven to rotate by the transmission shaft 20.

[0035] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 , the incubation plate 30 is fixed to the top of the transmission shaft 20 and rotates with the transmission shaft 20. The incubation plate 30 is provided with placement holes 31, a heating belt 32, and a temperature sensor 33. The placement holes 31 are located on the upper surface of the incubation plate 30. The number of the placement holes 31 is multiple. The multiple placement holes 31 are evenly arranged on the edge of the incubation plate 30 and are arranged in a circular pattern around the transmission shaft 20. The heating belt 32 is used to heat the placement holes 31 to maintain the temperature of the reaction cup. The temperature sensor 33 is used to measure the temperature of the placement holes 31 to control the operation of the heating belt 32.

[0036] The driving member 40 is fixed to the partition plate 13, and the power of the driving member 40 is transmitted to the transmission shaft 20 to drive the incubation plate 30 to rotate. In this embodiment, the driving member 40 is a motor. Further, the driving member 40 is a double-shaft motor. One end of the double-shaft motor is connected to the first transmission wheel 51, and one end is connected to a vibration damper to reduce the vibration when the rotation of the incubation plate 30 stops.

[0037] The transmission assembly 50 is used to transmit the power of the driving member 40. The transmission assembly 50 includes a first transmission wheel 51, a transmission belt 52 and a second transmission wheel 53. The first transmission wheel 51 is fixed to the output end of the driving member 40, the second transmission wheel 53 is fixed to the transmission shaft 20, and the transmission belt 52 is sleeved on the first transmission wheel 51 and the second transmission wheel 53 to transmit the rotation of the first transmission wheel 51 to the second transmission wheel 53. The diameter of the second transmission wheel 53 is larger than that of the first transmission wheel 51, so that the transmission assembly 50 realizes a subdivision movement while transmitting, and improves the positioning accuracy. The transmission assembly 50 is located below the support plate 11.

[0038] The circuit board 60 is installed at the bottom of the transmission shaft 20. In this embodiment, the circuit board 60 is a flexible circuit board. The flexible circuit board is installed at the bottom of the transmission shaft 20. One section of the flexible circuit board is connected to the heating belt and the temperature sensor through a circuit, and the other section leads to the circuit control drive board. When the incubation disc 30 rotates, the heating belt and the temperature sensor rotate accordingly. Through the rotation, tightening and expansion of the flexible board, the circuit will not get knotted during multiple rotations of the incubation disc 30.

[0039] Please continue to refer to Figure 4 , the angle detection assembly 70 includes a grating scale 71, a zero position sensor, a counting sensor and a zero position detection piece 72. The counting sensor and the zero position sensor are fixed to the bracket 10. The grating scale 71 and the zero position detection piece 72 are installed on the main body 530 of the second transmission wheel 53. The grating scale 71 and the zero position detection piece 72 rotate with the second transmission wheel 53, so that the counting sensor 72 detects the rotation angle of the incubation disc 30. Specifically, the grating scales 71 are evenly distributed on the inner side wall of the second transmission wheel 53. The zero position detection piece 72 is fixed to the bottom of the second transmission wheel 53, and the zero position sensor detects the initial position through the zero position detection piece 72. However, during the rotation of the incubation disc 30, there are situations where it rotates several circles. At this time, the zero position detection piece 72 and the grating scale 71 cannot identify the number of rotations. Therefore, the limit position detection assembly 80 is needed to identify the number of rotations.

[0040] Please continue to refer to Figure 5 , the limit position detection assembly 80 includes a limit position sensor 81, a first synchronous wheel 820, a synchronous belt 821, a second synchronous wheel 822, a limit detection piece 823, a positioning post 824, a limit limiting piece 825 and a limit blocking piece 826.

[0041] The limit position sensor 81 is fixed to the support plate 11. The first synchronous pulley 820 is rotatably mounted on the partition plate 13, the second synchronous pulley 822 is fixed to the transmission shaft 20, and the synchronous belt 821 is sleeved on the first synchronous pulley 820 and the second synchronous pulley 822. The circumference of the first synchronous pulley 820 is greater than that of the second synchronous pulley 822. That is to say, when the second synchronous pulley 822 rotates multiple circles, the first synchronous pulley 820 rotates 1 circle. The circumference ratio of the first synchronous pulley 820 to the second synchronous pulley 822 can be preset according to requirements. Therefore, when the second synchronous pulley 822 rotates multiple circles, that is, when the incubation plate 30 rotates multiple circles, the limit detection piece 823 on the first synchronous pulley 820 rotates one circle and triggers the limit position sensor 81. Therefore, the number of rotation circles of the incubation plate 30 can be identified. When starting up, when it is completely unknown about the rotational position of the incubation plate 30, it can be rotated in one direction until the limit position sensor 81 is triggered. At this time, according to the circumference ratio of the first synchronous pulley 820 to the second synchronous pulley 822, it is possible to know the position when the incubation plate 30 rotates a few more circles in the reverse direction to trigger the zero position sensor, which is the zero position designed for the incubation plate 30. Based on this as a benchmark, the normal working process can be started. For example, in this embodiment, the number of teeth of the first synchronous pulley 820 is 40, and the number of teeth of the second synchronous pulley 822 is 15. When the incubation plate 30 rotates in the reverse direction, the zero position sensor can be triggered twice. The second trigger is selected as the zero position designed for the incubation plate 30. That is, in this embodiment, the preset number of times is two times.

[0042] The initial position of the first synchronous pulley 820 is determined by the positioning post 824 installed on the partition plate 13, and the limit detection piece 823 is attached to the positioning post 824. At this time, the center of the zero position detection piece 72 on the second transmission pulley 53 passes through the zero position sensor.

[0043] The limit limiting piece 825 and the limit blocking piece 826 are used for limit protection to prevent the first synchronous pulley 820 from rotating beyond the stroke and damaging the transmission mechanism. The limit limiting piece 825 is fixed to the first synchronous pulley 820, and the limit blocking piece 826 is fixed to the bracket 10. When the limit limiting piece 825 rotates and abuts against the limit blocking piece 826, the width of the limit detection piece 823 ensures that the limit position sensor 81 can still be triggered. In this way, the limit detection piece 823 can only trigger the limit position sensor 81 in one direction, and there is no situation where the limit detection piece 823 is in the middle of the limit position sensor 81 and the limit blocking piece 826.

[0044] When the incubation device is in use, a cleaning and separation device, a sample adding structure, a sample adding needle, and a manipulator are arranged around the incubation plate 30. During initial reset, it is necessary to align the specific placement holes 31 on the incubation plate 30 with the cleaning and separation device, the sample adding structure, the sample adding needle, and the manipulator respectively for subsequent operations. In this embodiment, the No. 1 position is aligned with the consumable gripper, the No. 2 position is aligned with the sample adding needle, the No. 7 position is aligned with pre-cleaning, the No. 48 position is aligned with the reagent needle, and the No. 3 position is aligned with the detection gripper. Therefore, during the reset process, the incubation plate 30 needs to be accurately positioned.

[0045] The present application also discloses a method for using the above incubation device, including the following steps:

[0046] The incubation device is started, and the heating belt 32 heats to control the temperature of the placement hole 31.

[0047] The driving member 40 works to drive the incubation disk 30 to rotate unidirectionally through the transmission shaft 20.

[0048] When the incubation disk 30 rotates to the limit position, the limit detection piece 823 triggers the limit position sensor 81, and the incubation disk 30 rotates in the reverse direction. When the zero position detection piece triggers the zero position sensor a preset number of times, the incubation disk 30 is in the zero position.

[0049] The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation disk 30 through the grating scale 71 to obtain the position of the reaction cup on the incubation disk 30, facilitating the robotic arm to grab the reaction cup to the incubation disk 30 and record the position of the reaction cup during the rotation of the incubation disk 30.

[0050] Through the above design, the incubation device of the present application can detect the number of rotations and the rotation angle of the incubation disk 30, facilitating the accurate identification of the position of the reaction cup on the incubation disk 30.

[0051] The above embodiments only represent several implementation manners of the present invention. The description is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made. These are all equivalent modifications and evolutions based on the essence of the present invention to the above embodiments, and all of these fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Incubation device, comprising a bracket, a transmission shaft and an incubation plate, wherein the incubation plate is rotatably mounted on the bracket through the transmission shaft, and the incubation plate is provided with a plurality of placement holes for placing reaction cups, and is characterized in that: The incubation device further includes a driving member, a transmission assembly, an angle detection assembly, and an extreme position detection assembly. The angle detection assembly includes a grating scale and a counting sensor. The counting sensor is fixed to the bracket, the grating scale is installed on the transmission assembly, and the grating scale rotates around the transmission shaft. The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through the grating scale. The extreme position detection assembly includes an extreme position sensor, a first synchronous pulley, a synchronous belt, a second synchronous pulley, and an extreme detection piece. The extreme position sensor is fixed to the bracket, the first synchronous pulley is rotatably installed on the bracket, the second synchronous pulley is fixed to the transmission shaft, the synchronous belt is sleeved on the first synchronous pulley and the second synchronous pulley, the circumference of the first synchronous pulley is larger than that of the second synchronous pulley, the extreme detection piece is fixed to the first synchronous pulley, the transmission shaft drives the second synchronous pulley to rotate, thereby driving the first synchronous pulley to rotate, and the first synchronous pulley drives the extreme detection piece to rotate. The extreme detection piece triggers the extreme position sensor to detect the number of rotations of the incubation plate.

2. The incubation device according to claim 1, wherein: The transmission assembly includes a first transmission pulley, a transmission belt, and a second transmission pulley. The first transmission pulley is fixed to the output end of the driving member, the second transmission pulley is fixed to the transmission shaft, and the transmission belt is sleeved on the first transmission pulley and the second transmission pulley.

3. The incubation device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The circumference of the first transmission pulley is smaller than that of the second transmission pulley.

4. The incubation device according to claim 2, wherein: The second transmission pulley and the second synchronous pulley are coaxially arranged and parallel to each other.

5. The incubation device according to claim 2, wherein: The number of the grating scales is multiple. The multiple grating scales are arranged around the transmission shaft and correspond to the multiple placement holes one by one.

6. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multiple placement holes are arranged on the edge of the incubation plate and are circularly arranged around the transmission shaft.

7. The incubation device according to claim 1, wherein: The incubation plate further includes a heating belt and a temperature sensor. The heating belt heats the placement holes to control the temperature in the reaction cups on the placement holes, and the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the incubation plate.

8. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bracket includes a support plate, a bottom plate, and a partition. The bottom plate is fixed to the bottom of the support plate, the partition is fixed inside the support plate and divides the support plate into upper and lower parts. The transmission assembly is located in the lower part of the support plate, and the driving member is fixed to the partition.

9. The incubation device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The angle detection assembly is located between the partition and the transmission assembly.

10. The method for using the incubation device according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, Including the following steps: The incubation device is started, and the heating belt heats to control the temperature of the placement holes. The driving member works to drive the incubation plate to rotate in one direction through the transmission shaft. When the incubation plate rotates to the extreme position, the extreme detection piece triggers the extreme position sensor, and the incubation plate rotates in the reverse direction. When the zero position detection piece triggers the zero position sensor a preset number of times, the incubation plate is in the zero position. The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through the grating scale to obtain the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate, facilitating the robotic arm to grasp the reaction cup to the incubation plate and record the position of the reaction cup during the rotation of the incubation plate.

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