Automatic pollen slide dyeing system and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a pollen slide automatic dyeing system and a control method thereof, the automatic dyeing system comprises a pollen slide, a cover glass, and a dyeing agent adding device, a low temperature storage box, a weighing table, a manipulator and a heating table which are electrically connected with a control module, and the surface area of the cover glass is smaller than that of the pollen slide; the low-temperature storage box comprises a storage box for storing finished products attached with cover glass after the pollen slide is dyed and a cooling system for cooling the storage box; the coloring agent adding device is mounted on a moving mechanism which drives the coloring agent adding device to move on a horizontal plane and a vertical plane, and a coloring agent in the coloring agent adding device is cooled by a cooling system; the moving mechanism is electrically connected with the control module; the manipulator comprises an adsorption pick-and-place end for grabbing and transferring the pollen slide and the cover glass and a rotary moving mechanism for driving the adsorption pick-and-place end to move and rotate on a horizontal plane and a vertical plane, and an extrusion assembly for removing bubbles in a coloring agent between the pollen slide and the cover glass is arranged at the adsorption pick-and-place end.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to dyeing technology, and in particular to an automatic pollen slide dyeing system and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Airborne pollen is diverse and widely distributed, with its morphological and structural characteristics closely linked to local climatic conditions. However, standardized methods for pollen collection and concentration monitoring are currently lacking. Existing research often relies on manual staining and microscopic examination to identify pollen, a process that is not only inefficient but also limited by researchers' technical expertise, resulting in research often focusing on pollen from a single type or region. This limitation severely hinders systematic research on pollen from different regions and species, limiting researchers' comprehensive understanding of the ecological effects of airborne pollen.

[0003] The primary purpose of pollen slide staining is to enhance the visibility of pollen structures, facilitating morphological identification and study under an optical microscope. Currently, pollen slide staining is primarily performed manually. The most commonly used staining methods include acetic acid carmine staining, basic fuchsin staining, safranin-fast green double staining, toluene carmine blue staining, and potassium iodide-iodine solution staining.

[0004] Pollen slide staining techniques are widely used in fields such as ecology, biology, medicine, and botany. Staining allows researchers to observe the characteristics of pollen grains, thereby revealing the taxonomy, evolution, and reproductive mechanisms of plants, as well as the patterns of pollen dispersal in the atmosphere. In ecological and medical research, pollen analysis has become an important tool for assessing air quality, monitoring biodiversity changes, and predicting pollen allergies.

[0005] Traditional pollen slide staining is done manually, which has many limitations: ① Low efficiency: Manual operation is time-consuming and labor-intensive, with a low pass rate, making it difficult to meet the needs of large-scale sample processing; ② Insufficient precision: It is difficult to accurately control the amount of dye and reaction conditions, which affects the dyeing effect; ③Poor consistency of results: Human factors lead to fluctuations in staining quality, affecting data reliability; ④ The operation is cumbersome: It involves multiple steps such as slide handling, staining, heating, and capping, which are prone to errors. Improper operation can easily lead to damage to the pollen structure. ⑤ Serious safety risks: Long-term exposure to dyes may affect the health of operators.

[0006] In summary, as scientific research deepens, the requirements for the accuracy and efficiency of pollen staining are also constantly increasing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a standardized, automated, efficient and high-precision pollen slide automatic staining system to meet the needs of scientific research. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art, the pollen slide automatic staining system and control method provided by the present invention solve the problems of low precision and efficiency in the existing manual staining of pollen.

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: In a first aspect, a pollen slide automatic staining system is provided, comprising a slide storage area for storing pollen slides and cover slides, a stain adding device electrically connected to a control module, a low-temperature storage box, a weighing platform, a manipulator, and a heating platform, wherein the surface area of ​​the cover slide is smaller than that of the pollen slide; The weighing table is used to weigh the dye added to the pollen slide by the dye adding device, and the heating table is used to heat the dye on the slide; the low-temperature storage box includes a storage box for storing the finished product of the pollen slide covered with a cover glass after dyeing, and a cooling system for cooling the storage box; The dye adding device is mounted on a moving mechanism that moves the dye adding device in a horizontal and vertical plane, and the dye in the dye adding device is cooled by a cooling system; the moving mechanism is electrically connected to the control module; The robot includes an adsorption and placement end for grabbing and transferring pollen slides and cover glass, and a rotating movement mechanism that moves and rotates the adsorption and placement end in the horizontal and vertical planes. The adsorption and placement end is provided with an extrusion component for removing bubbles in the dye between the pollen slide and the cover glass.

[0009] Furthermore, the adsorption and placement end includes a connecting plate fixedly connected to the rotating and moving mechanism, and multiple groups of suction cups are fixed on the lower surface of the connecting plate. The suction cups are connected to the vacuum generating device through an air pipe, and the extrusion assembly is arranged on the connecting plate for extruding multiple groups of suction cups.

[0010] Furthermore, the suction cup includes a sleeve fixed in the through hole of the connecting plate and a disc body integrally formed with and connected to the sleeve; the sleeve is connected to the vacuum generating device via an air pipe; the extrusion assembly includes a push rod disposed in the sleeve and connected to the top surface of the disc body, and a driving portion for driving the push rod downward; the top surface of the push rod is arc-shaped, and a spring is installed between the limit plate of the push rod and the connecting plate to maintain a compressed state; The driving part includes a driving motor fixed on the connecting plate, an adjusting screw is connected to the rotating shaft of the driving motor, the outer side of the adjusting screw is threadedly connected to a threaded sleeve, and the threaded sleeve is limited by a limit member to make linear motion relative to the adjusting screw; the lower surface of the threaded sleeve is provided with an extrusion structure for extruding the push rod to move downward.

[0011] Furthermore, the extrusion structure includes multiple groups of convex vibration areas for vibrating the push rod and inclined push areas for extrusion and pushing. The convex vibration areas are multiple spaced protrusions, and the inclined push areas are extrusion blocks with horizontal and inclined parts. When the protrusions and the extrusion blocks move toward the position of the push rod, they vibrate up and down when covering the protrusions, and when covering the extrusion blocks, they first push the push rod downward and then maintain the extrusion state.

[0012] Furthermore, in each row of push rods arranged from one side to the other side of the threaded sleeve, the distances from the axis thereof to the corresponding inclined surface pushing area are d1, d2 and d3 respectively, and d1<d2<d3.

[0013] Furthermore, the dye adding device includes a storage chamber for storing the dye and a stepper motor sealed and fixed to the top of the storage chamber for squeezing the dye out of the storage chamber. The output end of the stepper motor is fixedly connected to a screw located in the storage chamber, and a piston is mounted on the screw. The cooling system in the low-temperature storage box flows the cold source through the outer surface of the storage cavity through a refrigeration pipe; the outflow channel of the storage cavity is connected to the extrusion port, the outside of the extrusion port is covered with a heating chamber, and a resistance heating wire is wound in the heating chamber to preheat the frozen dye in the extrusion port.

[0014] Furthermore, the rotating movement mechanism includes an electric turntable for adjusting the rotation angle of the adsorption and pick-up end, and the electric turntable is equipped with a Y-axis electric sliding assembly for adjusting the height of the adsorption and pick-up end. The sliding end of the Y-axis electric sliding assembly is provided with an X-axis electric sliding assembly for adjusting the horizontal position of the adsorption and pick-up end, and the adsorption and pick-up end is provided on the sliding end of the X-axis electric sliding assembly.

[0015] Furthermore, the moving mechanism includes a portal frame and a sliding component, the sliding component is an XY-axis electric sliding mechanism, and the X-axis electric sliding mechanism is fixed to the top of the portal frame, the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism is fixed on the X-axis electric sliding mechanism, and the dye adding device is fixed to the sliding end of the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism.

[0016] In a second aspect, a control method for an automatic pollen slide staining system is provided, comprising the steps of: S1. The manipulator adjusts the suction pick-up end to grab the pollen slide stored in the slide storage area and moves the pollen slide to the weighing platform through the manipulator; S2. The moving mechanism adjusts the dye adding device so that it is located directly above the pollen slide on the weighing platform, and squeezes the dye onto the pollen slide until the count on the weighing platform reaches a preset value; S3. The robot adjusts the suction and placement end so that it grabs the pollen glass on the weighing table and moves it to the heating table for heating for a preset time. S4. The manipulator adjusts the suction and placement end so that it grabs the cover glass in the slide storage area, moves the manipulator to the heating platform and covers the pollen slide, and keeps the suction and placement end at a preset distance from the cover glass; S5, start the squeezing component, so that it squeezes the pick-up and placement end and gradually contacts the cover glass to squeeze out the bubbles in the stain between the pollen glass and the cover glass, and then the squeezing component returns to its original position; S6. The robot adjusts the adsorption and placement end so that it adsorbs the pollen glass slide under the cover glass, and stores the finished product formed by the pollen glass slide and the cover glass slide in a low-temperature storage box, and then resets the robot with the adsorption and placement end.

[0017] Furthermore, step S5 further includes: S51, starting the drive motor of the extrusion assembly, the drive motor drives the adjusting screw to rotate so that the threaded sleeve moves linearly, and the multiple protrusions span the ejector rod, causing the ejector rod to move up and down to break the bubble; S52, the threaded sleeve continues to move, the leftmost push rod contacts the inclined surface of the squeezing block above it, and the suction cup below it contacts the cover glass first to squeeze the cover glass; S53, the push rods from left to right sequentially contact the inclined surfaces of the squeezing blocks thereon, so that the cover glass contacts sequentially from left to right, thereby squeezing out the bubbles from one side to the other; S54, when all the ejector pins are in contact with the planes of all the extrusion blocks, the drive motor moves in the reverse direction to reset, and simultaneously the vacuum generating device is started to inject gas into the suction cup; S55. Repeat steps S51 to S54 for a preset number of times to complete gas discharge.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: (1) The pollen slide automatic staining system of this scheme has a sample area, a weighing table, a dye adding device, a heating table and a finished product area. It uses a robot and a dye adding device to smear and assemble pollen slides. It can process pollen slides quickly and in batches, greatly shortening the experimental cycle and allowing researchers to obtain more pollen data in the same time.

[0019] (2) The uniform and standardized operation of the dye addition device can ensure the consistency and repeatability of the dyeing quality. Its precision is controllable, ensuring that the dyeing effect of each batch is stable and reliable, eliminating the errors caused by manual operation, and greatly improving the comparability of data between different batches and different experiments, providing reliable technical support for cross-regional and cross-temporal pollen ecology research.

[0020] (3) By setting up an extrusion component, bubbles in the stain can be removed by the extrusion component, thereby preventing the bubbles in the stain from affecting subsequent observations; when the extrusion component is set with the unique structure described above in this scheme, it can use the convex vibration area and the extrusion-pushing inclined surface pushing area to cooperate with the top rod on the suction cup, so that the suction cup vibrates the heated stain and progressively squeezes it from one side to the other, which can effectively eliminate bubbles inside the slide and ensure the accuracy of subsequent observations.

[0021] (4) The pollen slide automatic staining system can precisely control parameters such as dye dosage, reaction time, and temperature, and can flexibly adjust the staining scheme according to the different types of dyes and the characteristics of the material to be stained. This will help obtain clearer pollen images, improve the accuracy of identification and analysis, and expand the application range of this equipment.

[0022] (5) The automated operation of the pollen slide automatic staining system reduces the chances of researchers directly coming into contact with dyes, greatly reducing the risk of occupational exposure and facilitating the sustainable development of scientific research. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 A three-dimensional diagram of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 2 A top view of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the manipulator of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 4 A perspective view of a weigher and a heater of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 5 A three-dimensional diagram of the moving mechanism of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 6 A three-dimensional diagram of a dye adding device of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 7 A partially cutaway perspective view of the dye adding device of the present invention; Figure 8 A cross-sectional view of a dye adding device; Figure 9 for Figure 7 A partial enlarged view of part A in the middle; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the extrusion component of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the distance between each push rod and the inclined pushing area of ​​the extrusion assembly of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 12Schematic diagram of the convex vibration area and the inclined surface pushing area of ​​the progressive extrusion assembly of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention; Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the state in which the progressive extrusion assembly of the automatic pollen slide staining system of the present invention extrudes bubbles; Among them: 1. Low-temperature storage box; 2. Dye adding device; 21. Extrusion port; 22. Heating chamber; 23. Resistance heating wire; 24. Stepper motor; 25. Screw; 26. Piston; 27. Storage chamber; 3. Robot; 31. Adsorption and placement end; 311. Connecting plate; 312. Suction cup; 3121. Sleeve; 313. Air pipe; 32. Rotary movement mechanism; 321. Electric turntable; 322. Y-axis electric sliding assembly; 323. X-axis electric sliding assembly. 4. Extrusion assembly; 41. Ejector rod; 42. Driving unit; 421. Driving motor; 422. Adjusting screw; 423. Threaded sleeve; 424. Extrusion structure; 4241. Convex vibration area; 4242. Extrusion block; 43. Spring; 5. Moving mechanism; 51. Gantry; 52. X-axis electric sliding mechanism; 53. Y-axis electric sliding mechanism; 54. Sliding end; 6. Weighing table; 7. Heating table; 8. Cover glass holder; 81. Cover glass; 9. Pollen slide holder; 91. Pollen slide. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The specific embodiments of the present invention are described below to facilitate understanding of the present invention by those skilled in the art. However, it should be clear that the present invention is not limited to the scope of the specific embodiments. For those skilled in the art, as long as various changes are within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined and determined by the appended claims, these changes are obvious, and all inventions and creations utilizing the concepts of the present invention are protected.

[0025] See also Figure 1-13 The pollen slide 91 automatic staining system provided by the present invention will realize the automation, normalization and standardization of the pollen slide 91 staining process, thereby ensuring the consistency and accuracy of the pollen slide 91 staining, while significantly improving the data quality.

[0026] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the automatic staining system for pollen slides 91 provided by this solution includes a slide storage area for storing pollen slides 91 and cover slides 81, a stain adding device 2, a low temperature storage box 1, a weighing table 6, a manipulator 3 and a heating table 7, all of which are electrically connected to the control module. The surface area of ​​the cover slide 81 is smaller than that of the pollen slide 91. Figure 4 As shown, the weighing platform 6 is used to weigh the dye added to the pollen slide 91 by the dye adding device 2, and the heating platform 7 is used to heat the dye on the slide.

[0027] In order to facilitate the storage of the various components of the pollen slide 91 automatic staining system, this solution preferably also includes an assembly table, on which the low-temperature storage box 1, weighing table 6, manipulator 3, heating table 7, slide storage area and moving mechanism 5 are all arranged.

[0028] Because the dye will be oxidized when exposed to the air for a long time, the dye will lose its effect after oxidation, so the dye needs to be refrigerated. For this purpose, there are two places in the automatic dyeing system of this scheme that require refrigeration. The first is the dye to be applied contained in the dye adding device 2; the second is that the finished product formed after the dye is added and the cover glass 81 is covered also needs to be refrigerated.

[0029] The low-temperature storage box 1 of this solution includes a storage box for storing the finished product after the pollen slide 91 is stained and covered with a cover glass 81, and a cooling system for cooling the storage box; the dye adding device 2 is installed on a moving mechanism 5 that moves it in the horizontal and vertical planes, and the dye in the dye adding device 2 is cooled by the cooling system.

[0030] In this solution, the low-temperature storage box 1 preferably utilizes a water-circulating cooling system. As the water passes through the internal cooling module, its temperature rapidly drops, maintaining a constant low-temperature temperature between 3 and 5°C to ensure the effectiveness of the dye. The low-temperature storage box 1 is normally closed and opened only when the finished product is fully processed and needs to be transferred to the low-temperature storage box 1 for cooling. Specifically, the door of the low-temperature storage box 1 can be connected via an electric push rod electrically connected to the control module, which cooperates with the control module to automatically open and close the door.

[0031] The pollen slides 91 and cover slides 81 of this solution are stacked individually in groups of less than 25 pieces, and separate trays are provided in the slide storage area, namely, the cover slide tray 8 and the pollen slide tray 9. The cover slide tray 8 contains stacked and prepared cover slides 81, and the other slide tray contains stacked and prepared (pollen has been collected) pollen slides 91.

[0032] like Figure 3 As shown, the manipulator 3 includes an adsorption and placement end 31 for grabbing and transferring the pollen slide 91 and the cover glass 81, and a rotating movement mechanism 532 for moving and rotating the adsorption and placement end 31 in the horizontal and vertical planes. Therefore, the cover glass holder 8 and the pollen slide holder 9 are respectively designed to be located near the manipulator 3 to facilitate the operation of the manipulator 3; an extrusion component 4 for removing bubbles in the dye between the pollen slide 91 and the cover glass 81 is provided at the adsorption and placement end 31.

[0033] There will be some dye bubbles on the assembled pollen slide 91 and cover glass 81, which will have a significant impact on the experimental data. Therefore, the dye bubbles need to be discharged. After the slide is coated with the dye and covered with the cover glass 81, the bubbles in the dye can be discharged over a large area through the squeezing component 4 to prevent large-area bubbles in the dye from affecting the inspection personnel's observation of the dyed pollen.

[0034] After the automatic staining system for the pollen slide 91 of this scheme adopts the above-mentioned structure, the dye can be accurately added to the pollen slide 91 through the cooperation of the control module with the low-temperature storage box 1, the weighing platform 6, the manipulator 3, and the heating platform 7; when covering the cover glass 81, the bubbles of the dye can be squeezed out through the cooperation of the control module, the manipulator 3 and the extrusion component 4, thereby ensuring the subsequent observation of the stained pollen.

[0035] like Figure 10-13 As shown, the suction and placement end 31 includes a connecting plate 311 fixedly connected to the rotation and movement mechanism 532. A plurality of suction cups 312 are fixed to the lower surface of the connecting plate 311. The suction cups 312 are connected to the vacuum generator via an air tube 313. The extrusion assembly 4 is disposed on the connecting plate 311 and is used to squeeze the plurality of suction cups 312. The control module cooperates with the vacuum generator to adjust the suction cups 312 to a vacuum state and a non-vacuum state, thereby achieving suction and release of the pollen glass 91 and the cover glass 81, thereby ensuring safe transportation of the pollen glass 91 and the cover glass 81.

[0036] like Figure 10 As shown, the suction cup 312 of this solution includes a sleeve 3121 fixed in the through hole of the connecting plate 311 and a disc body integrally formed with and connected to the sleeve 3121. The sleeve 3121 is connected to the vacuum generating device through the air pipe 313; the top end of the sleeve 3121 is sealed with the push rod 41, and it can be loosely fixed to the through hole to facilitate the push rod 41 to move the suction cup 312 downward.

[0037] The extrusion assembly 4 comprises a push rod 41, mounted within the sleeve 3121 and connected to the top surface of the disk, and a drive unit 42 that drives the push rod 41 downward. The top surface of the disk facilitates the fixation of the push rod 41. However, a hole communicating with the sleeve 3121 is required on this top surface to facilitate the vacuum generator's evacuation and the introduction of gas into the disk. The top surface of the push rod 41 is curved, and a spring 43 is mounted between the stop plate of the push rod 41 and the connecting plate 311 to maintain compression.

[0038] The driving part 42 includes a driving motor 421 fixed on the connecting plate 311, and an adjusting screw 422 is connected to the rotating shaft of the driving motor 421. The outer side of the adjusting screw 422 is threadedly connected to a threaded sleeve 423, and the threaded sleeve 423 is limited by a limiter to make a linear motion relative to the adjusting screw 422; the limiter can be a slider fixedly connected to the threaded sleeve 423, which can be set in the slide rail on the connecting plate 311; the lower surface of the threaded sleeve 423 is provided with an extrusion structure 424 that extrudes the push rod 41 to move downward.

[0039] After the squeezing component 4 of this scheme adopts the above structure, its usage method is as follows: after the adsorption and placement end 31 moves the cover glass 81 to the pollen glass 91 with the dye added, the cover glass 81 is released and moved up a certain distance, which should be less than the maximum distance the push rod 41 descends; then the drive motor 421 is started, and the drive motor 421 rotates to move with the threaded sleeve 423, so as to move with the squeezing structure 424 along the arc-shaped top surface of the push rod 41, so that the push rod 41 moves downward to squeeze the suction cup 312, and the suction cup 312 moves downward and contacts with the cover glass 81. Continuing to move downward will squeeze the cover glass 81, so as to expel the bubbles in the dye; when the drive motor 421 is reversed, the vacuum generating device is synchronously started to introduce air into the dish body, so that there is no adsorption force between the dish body and the cover glass 81, so as to avoid the cover glass 81 following the movement and allowing air to enter the dye again.

[0040] like Figures 11 to 13 As shown, the extrusion structure 424 includes multiple groups of convex vibration areas 4241 for vibrating the push rod 41 and inclined pushing areas for extrusion and pushing. The convex vibration area 4241 is a plurality of spaced-apart protrusions, and the inclined pushing area is an extrusion block 4242 with a horizontal portion and an inclined portion. When the protrusions and the extrusion block 4242 move toward the position of the push rod 41, the push rod 41 vibrates up and down when covering the protrusions, and when covering the extrusion block 4242, it first pushes the push rod 41 to move downward, and then maintains the extrusion state.

[0041] In this solution, multiple groups of suction cups 312 are preferably arranged side by side on the connecting plate 311. The extrusion assembly 4 provided on the connecting plate 311 performs slight vibration and progressive extrusion on the loaded cover glass 81, thereby expelling the bubbles in the dye inside the pollen glass 91.

[0042] During implementation, this solution preferably arranges the threaded sleeves 423 from one side to the other in each row of push rods 41, with the distances from their axes to their corresponding inclined push areas being d1, d2, and d3, respectively, and d1 < d2 < d3. This design aims to utilize the drive motor 421 to drive the adjustment screw 422 to rotate. When the adjustment screw 422 rotates, it drives the external threaded sleeve 423 to slide to one side. At this time, the protrusions of each section simultaneously contact the corresponding push rod 41, and during the movement of the threaded sleeve 423, the push rod 41 and the protrusions contact and vibrate. At this time, all the suction cups 312 generate up-and-down vibrations, and transmit the vibrations to the cover glass 81 they adsorb, so that the bubbles in the cover glass 81 are evenly loosened, facilitating the subsequent extrusion operation.

[0043] As the threaded sleeve 423 continues to move, the squeezing block 4242 located in the outermost row is closest to the ejector rod 41. It uses the inclined surface to squeeze the ejector rod 41 so that the ejector rod 41 drives the suction cup 312 downward to squeeze the cover glass 81. Then, in the same way, the larger the distance between the axis of each row of ejector rods 41 and its corresponding inclined surface pushing area, the more progressively the remaining suction cups 312 squeeze the cover glass 81. All the suction cups 312 squeeze the cover glass 81 from one side to the other side in turn, and the bubbles in the pollen glass slide 91 are squeezed from one side to the other, thereby squeezing the bubbles out of the dye.

[0044] like Figure 6-Figure 8 As shown, the dye-adding device 2 includes a storage chamber 27 for storing the dye and a stepper motor 24 sealed and fixed to the top of the storage chamber for squeezing the dye out of the storage chamber 27. The output end of the stepper motor 24 is fixedly connected to a screw 25 located within the storage chamber 27, and a piston 26 is mounted on the screw 25. The stepper motor 24 has micro-step control capabilities, such as subdivided drive technology, ensuring that the rotation of the screw 25 can be accurately adjusted to 0.001 revolutions per second, meeting the requirements of micro-adjustment.

[0045] The cooling system in the low-temperature storage box 1 flows the cold source through the outer surface of the storage cavity 27 through the refrigeration pipe. Specifically, a cooling cavity can be set on the outer surface of the storage cavity 27, and the refrigeration pipe is spirally wound in the cooling cavity; the outflow channel of the storage cavity 27 is connected to the extrusion port 21; the outside of the extrusion port 21 is covered with a heating chamber 22, and the heating chamber 22 is wound with a resistance heating wire 23 to preheat the frozen dye in the extrusion port 21.

[0046] When the stepper motor 24 rotates, the piston 26 at its end is pushed by the screw 25, and the piston 26 squeezes out the dye in the storage chamber 27. By controlling the slight rotation amount of the screw 25, the amount of dye extruded can be controlled. This solution uses the heating chamber 22 to preheat the frozen dye in the extrusion port 21 to improve the fluidity of the dye and facilitate weighing the dye. The extrusion port 21 is also equipped with a rubber stopper to seal and isolate the extrusion port 21 when no glue is applied to prevent the dye from oxidizing.

[0047] In this solution, the weighing device on the weighing platform 6 weighs the glass slide and the dye squeezed out by the dye adding device 2. The weighing accuracy of the weighing device is set at 0.001g. The specific weighing method is: the weighing device obtains the weight of the unstained glass slide → the dye adding device 2 accurately adds the dye, the weighing device obtains the weight of the glass slide after the dye is added, and the system automatically calculates the weight of the added dye.

[0048] To enable simultaneous staining of multiple pollen slides 91, improving both coating and weighing efficiency, the weighing platform 6 features multiple expanded weighing stations. Robot 3 can select from these expanded stations. After weighing, the pollen slides 91 are grasped by robot 3 on the assembly platform and placed on the heater of heating platform 7, where they are heated to melt the stain. The heating time for the slides is 5-10 seconds.

[0049] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the rotating movement mechanism 532 includes an electric turntable 321 for adjusting the rotation angle of the adsorption and placement end 31, and a Y-axis electric sliding component 322 for adjusting the height of the adsorption and placement end 31 is installed on the electric turntable 321. The sliding end 54 of the Y-axis electric sliding component 322 is provided with an X-axis electric sliding component 323 for adjusting the horizontal position of the adsorption and placement end 31, and the adsorption and placement end 31 is provided on the sliding end 54 of the X-axis electric sliding component 323.

[0050] like Figure 1 and Figure 5 As shown, the moving mechanism 5 includes a gantry 51 and a sliding component, the sliding component is an XY-axis electric sliding mechanism 53, and the X-axis electric sliding mechanism 52 is fixed on the top of the gantry 51, the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism 53 is fixed on the X-axis electric sliding mechanism 52, and the dye adding device 2 is fixed to the sliding end 54 of the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism 53.

[0051] Each time stain is added to the pollen slide 91, the amount of stain applied must be controlled based on the user's needs. The amount of stain applied can affect the accuracy of the collected data. This solution uses a manipulator 3 to adjust the position of the stain adding device 2. The lateral movement of the mobile mechanism 5 allows for the addition of stain to multiple expanded workstations. The stain adding device 2 is mounted on the sliding end of a sliding component to adjust its position. During staining, the sliding component moves the stain adding device 2 laterally to the corresponding staining station and then vertically controls its lowering to the top surface of the slide.

[0052] The X-axis electric sliding assembly 323, the Y-axis electric sliding assembly 322, the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism 53 and the X-axis electric sliding mechanism 52 of this solution can adopt the existing relatively mature screw nut structure, and the sliding end 54 is a nut fixed on the screw and limited to only linear movement. An electric push rod structure can also be adopted. These structures are relatively mature technologies in the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0053] This solution also provides a method for controlling the automatic staining system of the pollen slide 91, which comprises the following steps: S1, the manipulator 3 adjusts the adsorption and placement end 31 to grab the pollen slide 91 stored in the slide storage area, and moves the pollen slide 91 to the weighing platform 6 through the manipulator 3; S2. The moving mechanism 5 adjusts the dye adding device 2 so that it is located directly above the pollen slide 91 on the weighing platform 6 and squeezes the dye onto the pollen slide 91 until the count on the weighing platform 6 reaches a preset value. S3, the manipulator 3 adjusts the suction and placement end 31 so that it grabs the pollen glass 91 on the weighing table 6 and moves it to the heating table 7 for heating for a preset time; S4. The manipulator 3 adjusts the suction and placement end 31 to grab the cover glass 81 in the slide storage area. The manipulator 3 moves to the heating table 7 and covers the pollen slide 91. The suction and placement end 31 is kept at a preset distance from the cover glass 81. The preset distance is less than the thickness of the bump. S5, start the squeezing component 4, so that it squeezes and absorbs the pick-up and placement end 31 and gradually contacts the cover glass 81 to squeeze out the bubbles in the dye between the pollen glass 91 and the cover glass 81, and then the squeezing component 4 returns to its original position; S6. The robot 3 adjusts the adsorption and placement end 31 so that it adsorbs the pollen glass slide 91 under the cover glass 81, and stores the finished product formed by the pollen glass slide 91 and the cover glass 81 in the low-temperature storage box 1, and then resets the robot 3 with the adsorption and placement end 31.

[0054] During implementation, the preferred step S5 of this solution further includes: S51, starting the drive motor 421 of the extrusion assembly 4, which drives the adjusting screw 422 to rotate so that the threaded sleeve 423 moves linearly. The multiple protrusions span the ejector rod 41, causing the ejector rod 41 to move up and down to break the bubbles; S52, the threaded sleeve 423 continues to move, the leftmost push rod 41 contacts the inclined surface of the squeezing block 4242 above it, and the suction cup 312 below it contacts the cover glass 81 first, thereby squeezing the cover glass 81; S53, the push rods 41 from the left to the right sequentially contact the inclined surfaces of the squeezing blocks 4242 thereon, so as to contact the cover glass 81 sequentially from left to right, thereby squeezing out the bubbles from one side to the other; S54: After all the push rods 41 are in contact with the planes of all the extrusion blocks 4242, the drive motor 421 moves in the reverse direction to reset, and simultaneously the vacuum generating device is started to inject gas into the suction cup 312; S55. Repeat steps S51 to S54 for a preset number of times to complete gas discharge.

[0055] The comparison of dyeing quality indicators before and after using the dyeing system of the present application and manual dyeing is shown in Table 1.

[0056] Table 1 Comparison of dyeing quality indicators before and after completion It can be concluded that through the development of the pollen slide 91 automatic staining system, the problems existing in manual staining technology will be comprehensively solved in terms of staining qualification rate, staining consistency, precision control, etc., which will significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of pollen research and provide strong technical support for scientific research in related fields.

Claims

1. A pollen slide automatic staining system, characterized in that: It includes a slide storage area for storing pollen slides and cover slides, a dye adding device electrically connected to the control module, a low-temperature storage box, a weighing table, a manipulator and a heating table, wherein the surface area of ​​the cover slide is smaller than that of the pollen slide; The weighing platform is used to weigh the dye added to the pollen slide by the dye adding device, and the heating platform is used to heat the dye on the slide; the low-temperature storage box includes a storage box for storing the finished product of the pollen slide covered with a cover glass after dyeing, and a cooling system for cooling the storage box; The dye adding device is mounted on a moving mechanism that moves the dye adding device in a horizontal and vertical plane, and the dye in the dye adding device is cooled by the cooling system; the moving mechanism is electrically connected to the control module; The manipulator includes an adsorption and placement end for grabbing and transferring pollen slides and cover glass, and a rotating movement mechanism that moves and rotates the adsorption and placement end in the horizontal and vertical planes. The adsorption and placement end is provided with an extrusion component for removing bubbles in the dye between the pollen slide and the cover glass.

2. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adsorption and placement end includes a connecting plate fixedly connected to the rotating and moving mechanism, and multiple groups of suction cups are fixed to the lower surface of the connecting plate. The suction cups are connected to the vacuum generating device through an air pipe, and the extrusion assembly is arranged on the connecting plate for extruding multiple groups of suction cups.

3. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The suction cup includes a sleeve fixed in the through hole of the connecting plate and a disc body integrally formed with and connected to the sleeve; the sleeve is connected to the vacuum generating device via an air pipe; the extrusion assembly includes a push rod disposed in the sleeve and connected to the top surface of the disc body, and a driving portion for driving the push rod downward; the top surface of the push rod is arc-shaped, and a spring is installed between the limit plate of the push rod and the connecting plate to maintain a compressed state; The driving part includes a driving motor fixed on the connecting plate, an adjusting screw is connected to the rotating shaft of the driving motor, the outer side of the adjusting screw is threadedly connected to a threaded sleeve, and the threaded sleeve is limited by a limit member to make linear motion relative to the adjusting screw; the lower surface of the threaded sleeve is provided with an extrusion structure for extruding the push rod to move downward.

4. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The extrusion structure includes multiple groups of convex vibration areas that vibrate and cooperate with the push rod and inclined push areas for extrusion and pushing. The convex vibration areas are multiple spaced protrusions, and the inclined push areas are extrusion blocks with horizontal and inclined parts. When the protrusions and the extrusion blocks move toward the position of the push rod, they vibrate up and down when covering the protrusions, and when covering the extrusion blocks, they first push the push rod downward and then maintain the extrusion state.

5. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distances from the axis of each row of push rods arranged from one side to the other side of the threaded sleeve to the corresponding inclined surface pushing area are d1, d2 and d3 respectively, and d1<d2<d3.

6. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dye adding device includes a storage chamber for storing the dye and a stepper motor sealed and fixed to the top of the storage chamber for squeezing the dye out of the storage chamber. The output end of the stepper motor is fixedly connected to a screw located in the storage chamber, and a piston is mounted on the screw. The cooling system in the low-temperature storage box flows the cold source through the outer surface of the storage cavity through a refrigeration pipe; the outflow channel of the storage cavity is connected to the extrusion port, the outside of the extrusion port is covered with a heating chamber, and a resistance heating wire is wound in the heating chamber to preheat the frozen dye in the extrusion port.

7. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating movement mechanism includes an electric turntable for adjusting the rotation angle of the adsorption and pick-up end, and a Y-axis electric sliding component for adjusting the height of the adsorption and pick-up end is installed on the electric turntable. An X-axis electric sliding component for adjusting the horizontal position of the adsorption and pick-up end is provided on the sliding end of the Y-axis electric sliding component, and the adsorption and pick-up end is provided on the sliding end of the X-axis electric sliding component.

8. The pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The moving mechanism includes a portal frame and a sliding component, the sliding component is an XY-axis electric sliding mechanism, and the X-axis electric sliding mechanism is fixed to the top of the portal frame, the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism is fixed on the X-axis electric sliding mechanism, and the dye adding device is fixed to the sliding end of the Y-axis electric sliding mechanism.

9. The control method of the pollen slide automatic staining system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: Including steps: S1. The manipulator adjusts the suction pick-up end to grab the pollen slide stored in the slide storage area and moves the pollen slide to the weighing platform through the manipulator; S2. The moving mechanism adjusts the dye adding device so that it is located directly above the pollen slide on the weighing platform, and squeezes the dye onto the pollen slide until the count on the weighing platform reaches a preset value; S3. The robot adjusts the suction and placement end so that it grabs the pollen glass on the weighing table and moves it to the heating table for heating for a preset time. S4, the manipulator adjusts the suction and placement end so that it grabs the cover glass in the slide storage area, moves the manipulator to the heating table and covers the pollen slide, and keeps the suction and placement end at a preset distance from the cover glass; S5, start the squeezing component, so that it squeezes the pick-up and placement end and gradually contacts the cover glass to squeeze out the bubbles in the stain between the pollen glass and the cover glass, and then the squeezing component returns to its original position; S6. The robot adjusts the adsorption and placement end so that it adsorbs the pollen glass slide under the cover glass, and stores the finished product formed by the pollen glass slide and the cover glass slide in a low-temperature storage box, and then resets the robot with the adsorption and placement end.

10. The control method of the pollen slide automatic staining system according to claim 9, characterized in that: Step S5 further comprises: S51, starting the drive motor of the extrusion assembly, the drive motor drives the adjusting screw to rotate so that the threaded sleeve moves linearly, and the multiple protrusions span the ejector rod, causing the ejector rod to move up and down to break the bubble; S52, the threaded sleeve continues to move, the leftmost push rod contacts the inclined surface of the squeezing block above it, and the suction cup below it contacts the cover glass first to squeeze the cover glass; S53, the push rods from the left to the right sequentially contact the inclined surfaces of the squeezing blocks thereon, so that the cover glass sequentially contacts from left to right, thereby squeezing out the bubbles from one side to the other; S54, when all the ejector pins are in contact with the planes of all the extrusion blocks, the drive motor moves in the reverse direction to reset, and simultaneously the vacuum generating device is started to inject gas into the suction cup; S55. Repeat steps S51 to S54 for a preset number of times to complete gas discharge.

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