Incubation device and method of use thereof

Abstract

The application discloses an incubation device and a use method thereof, and belongs to the field of chemiluminescence immunoassay. The incubation tray is rotatably installed on a support, a counting sensor is fixed on the support, a grating ruler is installed on a transmission assembly, the grating ruler rotates around a transmission shaft as an axis, the counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation tray through the grating ruler, a limit position sensor is fixed on the support, a first synchronous wheel is rotatably installed on the support, a second synchronous wheel is fixed on the transmission shaft, a synchronous belt is sleeved on the first synchronous wheel and the second synchronous wheel, the circumference of the first synchronous wheel is larger than that of the second synchronous wheel, a limit detection sheet is fixed on the first synchronous wheel, the transmission shaft drives the second synchronous wheel to rotate, thereby driving the first synchronous wheel to rotate, and the first synchronous wheel drives the limit detection sheet to rotate to trigger the limit position sensor to detect the rotation number of the incubation tray. Through the above design, the incubation device can detect the rotation number and the rotation angle of the incubation tray, and the position of a reaction cup on the incubation tray can be accurately identified.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of chemiluminescence immunoassay, and in particular to an incubation device and its usage. Background Technology

[0002] Chemiluminescent immunoassay combines a chemical reaction system with the immune system to detect antigens or antibodies. Labeling antigens and antibodies with chemiluminescent substances combines the specificity of an immune response with the high sensitivity of a chemiluminescent reaction. The procedure is simple, convenient, reproducible, and pollution-free, and is widely used in clinical practice.

[0003] Because the fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer uses fully automated control to realize the immunochemical reaction process outside the human body and to detect and quantitatively analyze the results of the reaction process, the incubation plate is the core unit of the fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer. During the detection process, the incubation plate needs to be rotated for steps such as sample addition, cleaning, and separation. Existing incubation devices are equipped with counting sensors to detect the zero position of the incubation plate in order to obtain the angle of the incubation plate. However, in order to adapt to the requirements of the analyzer's workflow and timing, the incubation plate often needs to rotate more than one revolution, sometimes two or more revolutions. Existing incubation devices cannot identify the number of revolutions of the incubation plate and cannot accurately find the zero position, thus failing to obtain the accurate position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to overcome the shortcomings 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 plate in order to accurately identify the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate.

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the second 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 plate in order to accurately identify the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate.

[0006] One of the objectives of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0007] An incubation device includes a support, a drive shaft, and an incubation tray. The incubation tray is rotatably mounted on the support via the drive shaft. The incubation tray has multiple placement holes for placing reaction cups. The incubation device also includes a drive component, 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 to the support, and the grating ruler is mounted on the transmission assembly. The grating ruler rotates about the drive shaft as its axis, and the counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation tray through the grating ruler. The limit position detection assembly includes a limit position sensor. The system comprises a first synchronous pulley, a synchronous belt, a second synchronous pulley, and a limit detection plate. The limit position sensor is fixed to the bracket. The first synchronous pulley is rotatably mounted on the bracket. The second synchronous pulley is fixed to the drive shaft. The synchronous belt is sleeved on the first and second synchronous pulleys. The circumference of the first synchronous pulley is greater than that of the second synchronous pulley. The limit detection plate is fixed to the first synchronous pulley. The drive shaft drives the second synchronous pulley to rotate, thereby driving the first synchronous pulley to rotate. The first synchronous pulley drives the limit detection plate to rotate. The limit detection plate triggers the limit position sensor to detect the number of rotations of the incubation disc.

[0008] Furthermore, the transmission assembly includes a first transmission wheel, a transmission belt, and a second transmission wheel. The first transmission wheel is fixed to the output end of the drive component, the second transmission wheel is fixed to the transmission shaft, and the transmission belt is sleeved on the first transmission wheel and the second transmission wheel.

[0009] Furthermore, the circumference of the first transmission wheel is smaller than the circumference of the second transmission wheel.

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

[0011] Furthermore, there are multiple grating rulers, which are evenly spaced on the side wall of the second transmission wheel.

[0012] Furthermore, multiple placement holes are provided on the edge of the incubation tray and arranged in a circular pattern.

[0013] Furthermore, the incubation tray also includes a heating belt and a temperature sensor. The heating belt heats the placement hole to control the temperature inside the reaction cup at the placement hole, and the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the incubation tray.

[0014] Furthermore, the bracket includes a support plate, a base plate, and a partition. The base 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 at the lower part of the support plate, and the driving component is fixed to the partition.

[0015] Furthermore, the angle detection component is located between the partition and the transmission component.

[0016] The second objective of this invention is achieved by the following technical solution:

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

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

[0019] The drive mechanism operates by rotating the incubation tray in one direction via a transmission shaft.

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

[0021] The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through a grating ruler to obtain the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate, which facilitates the robotic arm to grasp the reaction cup onto the incubation plate and record the position of the reaction cup during the rotation of the incubation plate.

[0022] Compared to existing technologies, the incubation device of this invention features an incubation tray mounted on a support via a drive shaft. The incubation tray has multiple placement holes for placing reaction cups. The device also includes a drive unit, 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 to the support, and the grating ruler is mounted on the transmission assembly. The grating ruler rotates about the drive shaft as its axis, and the counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation tray 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 position sensor. The device includes a limit detection plate, a limit position sensor fixed to a bracket, a first synchronous pulley rotatably mounted on the bracket, a second synchronous pulley fixed to a drive shaft, a synchronous belt sleeved on the first and second synchronous pulleys, the circumference of the first synchronous pulley being greater than that of the second synchronous pulley, a limit detection plate fixed to the first synchronous pulley, the drive shaft driving the second synchronous pulley to rotate, which in turn drives the first synchronous pulley to rotate, and the first synchronous pulley drives the limit detection plate to rotate. The limit detection plate triggers the limit position sensor to detect the number of rotations of the incubation disc. Through the above design, the incubation device can detect the number of rotations and the rotation angle of the incubation disc, facilitating accurate identification of the position of the reaction cup on the incubation disc. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view of the incubation device of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional diagram of the incubation device;

[0025] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A three-dimensional diagram of the incubation tray of the incubation device;

[0026] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A partial three-dimensional view of the incubation device;

[0027] Figure 5 for Figure 2 A three-dimensional diagram of the internal structure of the incubation device.

[0028] In the diagram: 10. Bracket; 11. Support plate; 12. Base plate; 13. Partition; 20. Drive shaft; 30. Incubation tray; 31. Placement hole; 32. Heating belt; 33. Temperature sensor; 40. Drive component; 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 ruler; 72. Counting sensor; 80. Limit position detection assembly; 81. Limit position sensor; 820. First synchronous pulley; 821. Synchronous belt; 822. Second synchronous pulley; 823. Limit detection plate; 824. Positioning post; 825. Limit limit plate; 826. Limit stop plate. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that when a component is said to be "fixed to" another component, it can be directly on the other component or it can be fixed through another intermediate component. When a component is said to be "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or it may be fixed through another intermediate component. When a component is said to be "set on" another component, it can be set directly on the other component or it may be set through another intermediate component. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and similar expressions used in this document are for illustrative purposes only.

[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 art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0032] Please see Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 The incubation device includes a support 10, a drive shaft 20, an incubation plate 30, a drive component 40, a transmission assembly 50, a circuit board 60, an angle detection assembly 70, and an extreme position detection assembly 80.

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

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

[0035] Please continue reading. Figure 3 The incubation dish 30 is fixed to the top of the drive shaft 20 and rotates with the drive shaft 20. The incubation dish 30 is provided with placement holes 31, heating bands 32, and temperature sensors 33. The placement holes 31 are located on the upper surface of the incubation dish 30, and there are multiple placement holes 31. These holes are evenly distributed along the edge of the incubation dish 30 and arranged in a circular pattern around the drive shaft 20. The heating bands 32 are used to heat the placement holes 31 to maintain the temperature of the reaction vessel. The temperature sensors 33 are used to measure the temperature of the placement holes 31 to control the operation of the heating bands 32.

[0036] The driving component 40 is fixed to the partition 13, and the power of the driving component 40 is transmitted to the transmission shaft 20 to drive the incubation tray 30 to rotate. In this embodiment, the driving component 40 is a motor. Further, the driving component 40 is a dual-axis motor, with one end connected to the first transmission wheel 51 and the other end connected to a vibration damper to reduce the vibration when the incubation tray 30 stops rotating.

[0037] The transmission assembly 50 is used to transmit power to the drive component 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 drive component 40, and the second transmission wheel 53 is fixed to the drive shaft 20. The transmission belt 52 is sleeved on the first transmission wheel 51 and the second transmission wheel 53, transmitting 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 the diameter of the first transmission wheel 51, enabling the transmission assembly 50 to achieve subdivision motion while transmitting power, thus increasing positioning accuracy. The transmission assembly 50 is located at the lower part of the support plate 11.

[0038] Circuit board 60 is mounted on the bottom of drive shaft 20. In this embodiment, circuit board 60 is a flexible circuit board. One end of the flexible circuit board is connected to the heating belt and temperature sensor via wiring, and the other end is connected to the circuit control drive board. When the incubation plate 30 rotates, the heating belt and temperature sensor rotate with it. The rotation of the flexible board tightens and opens, ensuring that the wiring does not get tangled when the incubation plate rotates more than 30 times.

[0039] Please continue reading. Figure 4 The angle detection component 70 includes a grating ruler 71, a zero-position sensor, a counting sensor, and a zero-position detection plate 72. The counting sensor and the zero-position sensor are fixed to the bracket 10. The grating ruler 71 and the zero-position detection plate 72 are mounted on the main body 530 of the second transmission wheel 53. The grating ruler 71 and the zero-position detection plate 72 rotate with the second transmission wheel 53, thereby allowing the counting sensor 72 to detect the rotation angle of the incubation plate 30. Specifically, the grating ruler 71 is evenly distributed on the inner sidewall of the second transmission wheel 53. The zero-position detection plate 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 plate 72. However, since the incubation plate 30 rotates several times during rotation, the zero-position detection plate 72 and the grating ruler 71 cannot identify the number of rotations. Therefore, the limit position detection component 80 is needed to identify the number of rotations.

[0040] Please continue reading. Figure 5 The limit position detection component 80 includes a limit position sensor 81, a first synchronous pulley 820, a synchronous belt 821, a second synchronous pulley 822, a limit detection plate 823, a positioning post 824, a limit limiting plate 825, and a limit stop plate 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, and the second synchronous pulley 822 is fixed to the drive shaft 20. 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 the circumference of the second synchronous pulley 822. That is, when the second synchronous pulley 822 rotates multiple times, the first synchronous pulley 820 rotates once. The ratio of the circumferences 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 times, that is, when the incubation tray 30 rotates multiple times, the limit detection plate 823 on the first synchronous pulley 820 rotates once, triggering the limit position sensor 81, thus identifying the number of rotations of the incubation tray 30. To facilitate operation when the rotational position of the incubation disc 30 is unknown at startup, it can be rotated in one direction until the limit position sensor 81 is triggered. At this point, based on the circumference ratio of the first synchronous wheel 820 to the second synchronous wheel 822, the position at which the zero-position sensor is triggered after a few more rotations of the incubation disc 30 is determined. This position represents the designed zero position of the incubation disc 30, and the normal workflow can begin based on this. For example, in this embodiment, the first synchronous wheel 820 has 40 teeth, and the second synchronous wheel 822 has 15 teeth. The zero-position sensor can be triggered twice during the rotation of the incubation disc 30, with the second trigger selected as the designed zero position. In this embodiment, the preset number of triggers is two.

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

[0043] Limit plate 825 and limit stop plate 826 are used for limit protection to prevent the first synchronous pulley 820 from over-travel and damaging the transmission mechanism. Limit plate 825 is fixed to the first synchronous pulley 820, and limit stop plate 826 is fixed to the bracket 10. When limit plate 825 rotates and abuts against limit stop plate 826, the width of limit detection plate 823 ensures that it can still trigger limit position sensor 81. In this way, limit detection plate 823 can only trigger limit position sensor 81 in one direction, and there is no situation where limit detection plate 823 is between limit position sensor 81 and limit stop plate 826.

[0044] When using the incubation device, the incubation tray 30 is equipped with a cleaning and separation device, a sample dispensing structure, a sample dispensing needle, and a robotic arm around its perimeter. During initial reset, specific placement holes 31 on the incubation tray 30 need to be aligned with the cleaning and separation device, the sample dispensing structure, the sample dispensing needle, and the robotic arm, respectively, to facilitate subsequent operations. In this embodiment, position 1 is aligned with the consumable gripper, position 2 with the sample dispensing needle, position 7 with the pre-cleaning device, positions 4 and 8 with the reagent needle, and position 3 with the detection gripper. Therefore, precise positioning of the incubation tray 30 is required during the reset process.

[0045] This application also discloses a method for using the above-mentioned incubation device, including the following steps:

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

[0047] The drive component 40 works by driving the incubation tray 30 to rotate in one direction via the transmission shaft 20;

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

[0049] The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate 30 through the grating ruler 71 to obtain the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate 30, so that the robotic arm can grasp the reaction cup to the incubation plate 30 and record the position of the reaction cup during the rotation of the incubation plate 30.

[0050] Through the above design, the incubation device can detect the number of rotations and rotation angle of the incubation plate 30, which facilitates accurate identification of the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate 30.

[0051] The above embodiments merely illustrate several implementation methods of the present invention, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention. These are all equivalent modifications and improvements made to the above embodiments based on the essential technology of the present invention, and all of these fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An incubation device, comprising a support, a drive shaft, and an incubation tray, wherein the incubation tray is rotatably mounted on the support via the drive shaft, and the incubation tray is provided with multiple placement holes for placing reaction cups, characterized in that: The incubation device further includes a driving component, 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 to the bracket, and the grating ruler is mounted on the transmission assembly. The transmission assembly includes a first transmission wheel, a transmission belt, and a second transmission wheel. The first transmission wheel is fixed to the output end of the driving component, and the second transmission wheel is fixed to the transmission shaft. The transmission belt is sleeved on the first and second transmission wheels. The grating ruler rotates about the transmission shaft as its axis. There are multiple grating rulers arranged around the transmission shaft and corresponding one-to-one with multiple placement holes. The counting sensor passes through the grating ruler. The rotation angle of the incubation tray is detected. The limit position detection component includes a limit position sensor, a first synchronous pulley, a synchronous belt, a second synchronous pulley, and a limit detection plate. The limit position sensor is fixed to the bracket. The first synchronous pulley is rotatably mounted on the bracket. The second synchronous pulley is fixed to the drive shaft. The synchronous belt is sleeved on the first and second synchronous pulleys. The circumference of the first synchronous pulley is greater than that of the second synchronous pulley. The limit detection plate is fixed to the first synchronous pulley. The drive shaft drives the second synchronous pulley to rotate, thereby driving the first synchronous pulley to rotate. The first synchronous pulley drives the limit detection plate to rotate. The limit detection plate triggers the limit position sensor to detect the number of rotations of the incubation tray.

2. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circumference of the first transmission wheel is smaller than the circumference of the second transmission wheel.

3. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second transmission wheel and the second synchronous wheel are coaxially arranged and parallel to each other.

4. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Multiple placement holes are provided on the edge of the incubation tray and arranged in a circular pattern around the drive shaft.

5. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The incubation tray also includes a heating belt and a temperature sensor. The heating belt heats the placement hole to control the temperature inside the reaction cup at the placement hole, and the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the incubation tray.

6. The incubation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bracket includes a support plate, a base plate, and a partition. The base 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 component is located at the lower part of the support plate, and the driving component is fixed to the partition.

7. The incubation device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The angle detection component is located between the partition and the transmission component.

8. The method of using the incubation device as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The incubation device is activated, and the heating belt heats and controls the temperature of the placement hole; The drive mechanism operates by rotating the incubation tray in one direction via a transmission shaft. When the incubation tray rotates to its limit position, the limit detection plate triggers the limit position sensor, and the incubation tray rotates in the opposite direction. When the zero position detection plate triggers the zero position sensor a preset number of times, the incubation tray is at the zero position. The counting sensor detects the rotation angle of the incubation plate through a grating ruler to obtain the position of the reaction cup on the incubation plate, which facilitates the robotic arm to grasp the reaction cup onto the incubation plate and record the position of the reaction cup during the rotation of the incubation plate.

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