Pipetting workstation control method and device, electronic equipment and pipetting workstation

Abstract

The invention discloses a pipetting work station control method and device, electronic equipment and a pipetting work station, and relates to the field of automatic control. After a pipetting arm module is controlled to move to the installation position of a target pore plate, according to the detection current value of a four-quadrant detector arranged on the pipetting arm module, the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector arranged on the pipetting arm module is calculated; and the positions of the pipetting arm module in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are adjusted respectively, so that a liquid taking suction head on the pipetting arm module is aligned with a target hole in the target hole plate. Then according to a target hole position determination strategy, a liquid arm module is controlled to drive the liquid taking suction head to move in the target hole, and according to a detection value of a six-axis pressure sensor arranged at the installation position, the displacement of the liquid taking suction head touching the inner wall of each hole of the target hole from the initial position is determined; and determining the central position of the target hole according to the displacement and the initial position of the inner wall of each hole. And through the four-quadrant detector and the six-axis pressure sensor, the accurate and automatic positioning process of the suction head and the hole center and depth is achieved, and the positioning accuracy is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of automatic control technology, and in particular to a pipetting workstation control method, device, electronic equipment, and pipetting workstation. Background Art

[0002] In the fields of medical treatment, biological experiments, etc., pipetting workstations are an important type of automated equipment. They use automation technology to achieve high-precision liquid handling tasks, which can significantly improve experimental efficiency and repeatability. Its core functions include precise pipetting, gradient dilution, well plate filling, etc. By adopting technologies such as micro-liquid handling and automated control, human errors can be effectively reduced and the accuracy and reliability of experimental data can be improved. However, when positioning, the current pipetting workstation requires the use of specific tooling for manual intervention calibration, or relies on a single visual or mechanical positioning device for calibration, which results in large positioning errors in the calibration results and can no longer meet the needs of high-precision operations. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, this application provides a pipetting workstation control method, device, electronic device and pipetting workstation to achieve the purpose of improving positioning efficiency and accuracy. The specific solution is as follows:

[0004] The first aspect of the present application provides a method for controlling a liquid handling workstation, comprising:

[0005] Control the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate;

[0006] According to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module, the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are adjusted respectively so that the central axis of the liquid pickup tip on the pipetting arm module passes through the target hole, and the target hole is the hole on the target well plate corresponding to the liquid pickup tip;

[0007] Controlling the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move within the target well according to a target well position determination strategy, and determining, based on detection values ​​of a six-axis pressure sensor provided at the mounting position, the displacement of the liquid pickup head touching inner walls of each of the target wells when the liquid pickup head moves from an initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and determining the center position of the target well according to the displacement of the inner walls of each of the wells and the initial position;

[0008] The liquid pickup head is controlled to be at the center position of the target hole, the bottom of the target hole is detected along the Z-axis direction, and the bottom position is determined according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor.

[0009] In a possible implementation, controlling the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate includes:

[0010] Based on the grating ruler in the X-axis direction and the grating ruler in the Y-axis direction, respectively determining a first grating pitch of the target orifice plate in the X-axis direction and a second grating pitch in the Y-axis direction;

[0011] Based on the encoding counting frequency, the pulse count, the first grid pitch and the second grid pitch, the first displacement distance in the X-axis direction and the second displacement distance in the Y-axis direction are determined respectively, and the pipetting arm module is controlled to move according to the first displacement distance and the second displacement distance.

[0012] In a possible implementation, adjusting the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis and the Y-axis respectively according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module includes:

[0013] Determining a first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and a second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction respectively according to the detected current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector;

[0014] When the first current coefficient is not 0, determining a first moving direction of the X-axis according to the positive or negative value of the first current coefficient, and adjusting the position of the pipetting arm module based on the first moving direction;

[0015] When the second current coefficient is not 0, the second moving direction of the Y-axis is determined according to the positive or negative value of the second current coefficient, and the position of the pipetting arm module is adjusted based on the second moving direction.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and the second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction are determined based on the detected current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector, including:

[0017] = - - +

[0018] Obtain the first current coefficient; based on

[0019] = + - -

[0020] The second current coefficient is obtained, represents the first current coefficient, represents the second current coefficient, Indicates the detection current value of the first quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the second quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the third quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the fourth quadrant.

[0021] In one possible implementation, controlling the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move in the target hole according to the target hole position determination strategy, and determining the displacement of the liquid pickup head touching the inner walls of each hole of the target hole when moving from the initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction based on the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor provided at the installation position, and determining the center position of the target hole based on the displacement of the inner walls of each hole and the initial position, including:

[0022] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move along a first direction of the Z axis, and controlling the pipetting arm module to move along a second direction of the Z axis by a preset displacement when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a first change value, so that the liquid collection pipette head is suspended in the target well to obtain the initial position;

[0023] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move from the initial position along the positive direction of the X-axis, and obtaining a first displacement value from the initial position to the first side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a second change value;

[0024] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move in the opposite direction along the X-axis from the initial position, and obtaining a second displacement value from the initial position to the second side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a third change value;

[0025] controlling the pipetting arm module to move from the initial position along the positive direction of the Y-axis, and obtaining a third displacement value from the initial position to the third side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a fourth change value;

[0026] controlling the pipetting arm module to move in the opposite direction along the Y-axis from the initial position, and obtaining a fourth displacement value from the initial position to a fourth side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a fifth change value;

[0027] The center position of the target hole is obtained based on the first displacement value, the second displacement value, the third displacement value, the fourth displacement value and the coordinates of the initial position.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the pipetting workstation control method further includes:

[0029] Based on the height difference between the current well plate and the next well plate and the height safety threshold, the rising height of the pipette head on the pipetting arm module when moving from the current well plate to the next well plate is determined.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the pipetting workstation control method further includes:

[0031] Splitting the path of each pipetting process of the pipetting arm module into multiple sub-paths according to the operation sequence;

[0032] The moving speeds of the connecting segments of adjacent sub-paths are subjected to difference processing, and the movement of each sub-path is subjected to acceleration and deceleration processing.

[0033] A second aspect of the present application provides a pipetting workstation control device, comprising:

[0034] A preliminary movement control module, used to control the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate;

[0035] a first fine-tuning control module, configured to adjust the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis and the Y-axis according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module, so that the central axis of the liquid pickup tip on the pipetting arm module passes through a target hole, wherein the target hole is a hole on the target well plate corresponding to the liquid pickup tip; and

[0036] a second fine-tuning control module, configured to control the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move within the target well according to a target well position determination strategy, and determine, based on detection values ​​of a six-axis pressure sensor provided at the mounting position, the displacement of the liquid pickup head when it touches the inner walls of each well of the target well when moving from an initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and determine the center position of the target well based on the displacement of the inner walls of each well and the initial position; and

[0037] The third fine-tuning control module is used to control the liquid pickup head to be at the center position of the target hole, detect the bottom of the target hole along the Z-axis direction, and determine the bottom position according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor.

[0038] A third aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising at least one processor and a memory connected to the processor, wherein:

[0039] The memory is used to store computer programs;

[0040] The processor is configured to execute the computer program so that the electronic device can implement the pipetting workstation control method of the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect.

[0041] A fourth aspect of the present application provides a pipetting workstation, comprising the electronic device as described in the third aspect.

[0042] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed on an electronic device, the electronic device implements the pipetting workstation control method of the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect.

[0043] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium, which carries one or more computer programs. When the one or more computer programs are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device can control the pipetting workstation according to the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect.

[0044] By means of the above technical solution, the control method of the pipetting workstation provided by the present application, after controlling the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate, adjusts the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction respectively according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector set on the pipetting arm module, so that the liquid suction head on the pipetting arm module is aligned with the target well on the target well plate. Then, according to the target well position determination strategy, the liquid arm module is controlled to drive the liquid suction head to move in the target well, and according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor set at the installation position, the displacement of the liquid suction head touching the inner wall of each hole of the target well when moving from the initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is determined, and the center position of the target well is determined according to the displacement of the inner wall of each hole and the initial position, and finally the liquid suction head is controlled at the center position to detect the bottom of the target well along the Z-axis direction. Through the four-quadrant detector and the six-axis pressure sensor, the automatic positioning process of the suction head and the hole on the well plate from coarse positioning to precise positioning is realized, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of positioning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] The above and other features, advantages, and aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements. It should be understood that the drawings are schematic and that the originals and elements are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0046] Figure 1 A flow chart of a pipetting workstation control method provided in this application;

[0047] Figure 2 A pipetting structure diagram of a pipetting workstation provided in this application;

[0048] Figure 3 A structural diagram of a positioning system provided in this application;

[0049] Figure 4 A horizontal control process diagram provided for this application;

[0050] Figure 5The signal diagram of the grating ruler output provided for this application;

[0051] Figure 6 Calibration chart for the four-quadrant detector provided for this application;

[0052] Figure 7 The fine-tuning diagram in the X-axis direction provided for this application;

[0053] Figure 8 This is the Y-axis fine-tuning diagram provided by this application;

[0054] Figure 9 The Z-axis preliminary hole bottom detection map provided for this application;

[0055] Figure 10 Another fine-tuning diagram for the X-axis direction provided by this application;

[0056] Figure 11 Another fine-tuning diagram for the Y-axis direction provided by this application;

[0057] Figure 12 Another hole bottom detection diagram of the Z axis provided by this application;

[0058] Figure 13 A structural diagram of the control device of the pipetting workstation provided in this application;

[0059] Figure 14 This is a structural diagram of the electronic device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The following describes the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The terms used in the implementation methods of the present application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0061] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0062] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequential order. It should be understood that the terms used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, and this is merely a way of distinguishing the objects of the same attributes when describing them in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, so that the process, method, system, product or equipment comprising a series of units need not be limited to those units, but may include other units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or equipment.

[0063] Current automated pipetting workstations require manual use of specific tooling to identify hole positions through a visual system during positioning. This results in large positioning errors, which can reach ±1mm. Fine calibration requires manual intervention, and the lack of bottoming force feedback leads to extreme hole depth calibration errors.

[0064] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for controlling a liquid handling workstation. The method for controlling a liquid handling workstation according to the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1 A flow chart of a pipetting workstation control method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown as follows: Figure 1 As shown, a pipetting workstation control method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include steps 101 to 104, and these steps are described in detail below.

[0066] 101. Control the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate.

[0067] Specifically, refer to Figure 2 As shown in the basic structure diagram of the pipetting workstation, the automatic position detection system of the pipetting workstation is mainly composed of a base plate 1, a pipetting arm module 3, a Y-axis grating ruler 4, a Y-axis motion mechanism 5, an X-axis grating ruler 6, an X-axis motion mechanism 7, a well plate 2, etc., wherein the pipetting arm module 3 is mainly composed of a Z-axis motion mechanism, a pipetting pump, a liquid pickup tip, etc.

[0068] When positioning, it is necessary to first control the pipetting arm module 3 to move above the well plate 2. By controlling the X-axis motion structure and the Y-axis motion mechanism, the pipetting arm module 3 can be moved to the mechanical theoretical position of the well plate 2. For details, please refer to Figure 4 As shown, by moving the pipetting arm module in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, the pipetting arm module is moved to the mechanical theoretical position (i.e., the pre-set assembly position) where the well plate is located.

[0069] 102. According to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector set on the pipetting arm module, the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis and the Y-axis are adjusted respectively, so that the central axis of the liquid collection tip on the pipetting arm module passes through the target hole, and the target hole is the hole on the target well plate corresponding to the liquid collection tip.

[0070] Specifically, refer to Figure 3As shown, the four-quadrant detector 9 can be set on the pipette pump 10, and the liquid collection pipette tip 8 is installed under the pipette pump 10. The orifice plate 2 is set on the orifice plate fixing block 11, and the six-axis force sensor 13 is set between the base 14 and the orifice plate fixing block 11. Due to the error between the actual assembly position of the orifice plate 2 and the above-mentioned mechanical theoretical position, the position of the orifice plate 2 will be randomly distributed within a certain range with the mechanical theoretical position as the center of the circle, which will cause the position between the pipette tip and the hole on the orifice plate 2 to deviate. For details, please refer to Figure 6 As shown, the liquid taking tip 8 should be aligned with the center position of the four quadrants. Due to the existence of errors, the center position is offset. The laser emitter 12 here is mainly used for positioning with the pipetting pump 10.

[0071] At this time, a four-quadrant detector is needed to perform secondary precise positioning within a small range. During positioning, the first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and the second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction can be determined according to the detection current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector.

[0072] When the first current coefficient is not 0, the first moving direction of the X-axis is determined according to the positive or negative value of the first current coefficient, and the position of the pipetting arm module is adjusted based on the first moving direction.

[0073] When the second current coefficient is not 0, the second moving direction of the Y-axis is determined according to the positive or negative value of the second current coefficient, and the position of the pipetting arm module is adjusted based on the second moving direction.

[0074] For example, suppose the current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant sensor are 、 、 、 , the current coefficient in the X-axis direction is , the current coefficient in the Y-axis direction is , then the offset in the X-axis direction is obtained according to the formula

[0075] = - - +

[0076] when ≠0, the X axis needs to be adjusted according to The sign of the corresponding direction is fine-tuned (refer to Figure 7 As shown); Similarly, the offset in the Y-axis direction is obtained according to the formula (refer to Figure 8 shown)

[0077] = + - -

[0078] when ≠0, the Y axis needs to be adjusted according to The symbol is used to make fine adjustments in the corresponding direction (as shown in 8) until the center of the orifice plate is reached. At this time, the suction head used as the orifice plate position detector is already within the range of the target well in the orifice plate. represents the first current coefficient, represents the second current coefficient, Indicates the detection current value of the first quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the second quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the third quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the fourth quadrant.

[0079] 103. According to the target hole position determination strategy, the pipetting arm module is controlled to drive the liquid pickup tip to move in the target hole, and based on the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor set at the installation position, the displacement of the liquid pickup tip when it touches the inner walls of each hole of the target hole when it moves from the initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the center position of the target hole is determined based on the displacement of the inner walls of each hole and the initial position.

[0080] Specifically, after determining that the liquid collection tip is within the range of the target well, it is necessary to further determine a more precise position of the tip. At this time, the pipetting arm module can be controlled to move along the first direction of the Z axis, and when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a first change value (indicating that the bottom of the well is touched), the pipetting arm module is controlled to move along the second direction of the Z axis by a preset displacement, so that the liquid collection tip is suspended in the target well to obtain the initial position. The pipetting arm module is then controlled to move in the positive direction of the X axis from the initial position. When the six-axis pressure sensor detects a second change value (indicating that the well wall on one side of the X axis direction is touched), a first displacement value from the initial position to the first side wall is obtained.

[0081] Then, the pipetting arm module is controlled to move in the opposite direction along the X-axis from the initial position. When the six-axis pressure sensor detects the third change value (indicating that it touches the hole wall on the other side of the X-axis direction), the second displacement value from the initial position to the second side wall is obtained.

[0082] Similarly, the pipetting arm module is then controlled to move in the positive direction along the Y-axis from the initial position. When the six-axis pressure sensor detects the fourth change value, a third displacement value from the initial position to the third side wall is obtained. The pipetting arm module is then controlled to move in the negative direction along the Y-axis from the initial position. When the six-axis pressure sensor detects the fifth change value, a fourth displacement value from the initial position to the fourth side wall is obtained. Based on the first, second, third, and fourth displacement values ​​and the coordinates of the initial position, the center position of the target well is obtained.

[0083] It is understandable that those skilled in the art can adjust the movement sequence of the X-axis and the Y-axis as needed, and no limitation is made here.

[0084] For example, the initial X-axis position is , the Y-axis position is , it is necessary to use a six-axis force sensor to perform preliminary detection of the bottom position of the target hole on the orifice plate (refer to Figure 9 As shown in the figure, the pipette tip is slowly lowered until the six-axis force sensor reads a change in the force data. This position is marked as the pending well bottom position. The tip is lifted up a certain distance and then slowly moved along the positive direction of the X axis until a significant change in the force sensor value is detected. The X axis movement is immediately stopped and the current X axis relative displacement is recorded as Similarly, the relative displacement in the opposite direction of the X axis is detected , you can get the current position of the orifice plate detected in the X-axis direction (refer to Figure 11 shown)

[0085] = +

[0086] Similarly, the position of the current orifice plate detected in the Y-axis direction can be obtained (refer to Figure 10 shown)

[0087] = +

[0088] 104. Control the liquid pickup head to the center of the target hole, detect the bottom of the target hole along the Z-axis direction, and determine the bottom position of the hole according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor.

[0089] Last reference Figure 12 As shown, the liquid pickup tip can be moved along the X and Y axes to the detected center position of the orifice plate, and then the Z axis can be slowly lowered. When a significant change in the value of the six-axis force sensor is detected (a fixed pressure value is set), the Z axis movement is stopped and the current value is marked as the orifice plate bottom position value.

[0090] As can be seen from the above, this pipetting workstation control method, by combining a six-axis force sensor and a four-quadrant detector on the basis of commonly used laser pre-positioning, realizes a closed-loop positioning process from coarse positioning to fine calibration and then to bottoming detection. The entire process does not require human intervention and can effectively avoid misjudgment of a single sensor. It is more reliable than purely visual or mechanical solutions and has higher positioning accuracy and efficiency.

[0091] In some embodiments, the specific implementation process of controlling the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate may specifically include the following processing:

[0092] Step 11: Based on the grating ruler in the X-axis direction and the grating ruler in the Y-axis direction, respectively determine a first grating pitch of the target orifice plate in the X-axis direction and a second grating pitch in the Y-axis direction.

[0093] Step 12: Based on the encoding counting frequency, pulse count, first grid pitch and second grid pitch, determine the first displacement distance in the X-axis direction and the second displacement distance in the Y-axis direction respectively, and control the pipetting arm module to move according to the first displacement distance and the second displacement distance.

[0094] Specifically, refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown in the figure, a grating ruler is used to complete long-distance positioning in the X and Y directions. The output signal of the grating ruler is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, according to the 4-fold frequency encoding counting design, the displacement distance in the X direction is , the grating scale pitch is W, the pulse count value is n, then:

[0095]

[0096] Similarly, the displacement distance in the X direction is ,but

[0097]

[0098] Through the above operation process, the X and Y axes are moved to the mechanical theoretical position of the target orifice plate position to be detected. Due to the tolerance of the actual mechanical assembly, the actual position of the orifice plate position will be randomly distributed within a certain range with the mechanical theoretical position as the center.

[0099] In other embodiments, considering that existing liquid workstations generally use a fixed Z-axis lifting height to avoid the collision risk caused by differences in consumable heights, this method has the following key problems: if the consumable height is far lower than the maximum safe height of the Z-axis, the Z-axis will perform redundant lifting actions each time during the pipetting process. In high-throughput experiments, a large number of redundant Z-axis movements will significantly reduce work efficiency.

[0100] By integrating with the local consumable calibration database, the coordinates, consumable types, and known calibration heights of multiple target plate positions for all pipetting processes are obtained. The Z-axis height of each plate position is extracted and sorted and grouped. A height clustering analysis is then performed, grouping all consumables by similar height (e.g., 96-well PCR plates, 96-well deep-well plates, and 384-well cell plates are each grouped together). After the cluster analysis is complete, the transition zone of the pipetting process is determined: based on the height difference between the current and next well plates and the height safety threshold, the height at which the pipette tip on the pipetting arm module must rise from the current well plate to the next is determined.

[0101] The system determines whether the height difference between the current and next plate positions is greater than a system-defined safety threshold. If so, an intermediate safety height is set as a transition point. If the height difference is less than the threshold, a direct interpolation smooth transition is allowed. This reduces unnecessary ascending and descending movements, improving pipetting efficiency while avoiding collisions.

[0102] In addition, to further improve the pipetting efficiency, the pipetting workstation control method may further include the following processing steps:

[0103] Step 21: Split the path of each pipetting process of the pipetting arm module into multiple sub-paths according to the operation sequence;

[0104] Step 22: Perform difference processing on the moving speeds of the connecting segments of adjacent sub-paths, and perform acceleration and deceleration processing on the movement of each sub-path.

[0105] Specifically, the entire pipetting process is segmented, and the completed pipetting path is split into multiple moving sections: leaving the current hole position → rising to a safe height / intermediate height → X-axis and Y-axis translation to the target hole → Z-axis descending to the target hole height. The purpose of path splitting is mainly used for interpolation and smooth acceleration control in the next step. The system will perform interpolation calculations for each path segment to ensure the overall smoothness of the pipetting movement. The acceleration and deceleration processing mainly generates acceleration-uniform speed-deceleration motor motion for the segmented path distance to ensure that the pipetting arm maximizes acceleration when moving quickly over long distances, and maximizes deceleration when moving over short distances or close to the target point. This design can effectively reduce impact and prevent droplets from splashing.

[0106] It should be noted that, for the specific implementation process of the above difference calculation, those skilled in the art can select an interpolation algorithm that matches the model of the pipetting workstation as needed, and no limitation is made here.

[0107] A method for controlling a liquid handling workstation according to an embodiment of the present application has been described above. A device for executing the method for controlling a liquid handling workstation will be described below.

[0108] See also Figure 13 , Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a pipetting workstation control device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 13 As shown, the control device of the pipetting workstation includes:

[0109] The preliminary movement control module 1301 is used to control the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate.

[0110] The first fine-tuning control module 1302 is used to adjust the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis and Y-axis according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector set on the pipetting arm module, so that the central axis of the liquid collection tip on the pipetting arm module passes through the target hole, which is the hole on the target well plate corresponding to the liquid collection tip. And,

[0111] The second fine-tuning control module 1303 is used to control the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move in the target well according to the target well position determination strategy, and to determine the displacement of the liquid pickup head from the initial position along the X-axis and Y-axis directions when it touches the inner walls of the target well, based on the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor installed at the installation position, and to determine the center position of the target well based on the displacement of the inner walls of each well and the initial position. And,

[0112] The third fine-tuning control module 1304 is used to control the liquid pickup head to be positioned at the center of the target well, detect the bottom of the target well along the Z-axis direction, and determine the bottom position based on the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor.

[0113] In one possible implementation, the process of the preliminary movement control module 1301 controlling the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate includes:

[0114] Based on the grating ruler in the X-axis direction and the grating ruler in the Y-axis direction, a first grating pitch of the target orifice plate in the X-axis direction and a second grating pitch in the Y-axis direction are determined respectively;

[0115] Based on the encoding counting frequency, the pulse count, the first grid pitch and the second grid pitch, the first displacement distance in the X-axis direction and the second displacement distance in the Y-axis direction are determined respectively, and the pipetting arm module is controlled to move according to the first displacement distance and the second displacement distance.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the process of the first fine-tuning control module 1302 adjusting the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis and the Y-axis respectively according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module includes:

[0117] Determine a first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and a second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction according to the detection current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector;

[0118] When the first current coefficient is not 0, a first moving direction of the X-axis is determined according to the positive or negative value of the first current coefficient, and the position of the pipetting arm module is adjusted based on the first moving direction;

[0119] When the second current coefficient is not 0, the second moving direction of the Y-axis is determined according to the positive or negative value of the second current coefficient, and the position of the pipetting arm module is adjusted based on the second moving direction.

[0120] In a possible implementation, the first fine-tuning control module 1302 determines the first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and the second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction according to the detection current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector, including:

[0121] = - - +

[0122] Get the first current coefficient; based on

[0123] = + - -

[0124] Get the second current coefficient, represents the first current coefficient, represents the second current coefficient, Indicates the detection current value of the first quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the second quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the third quadrant, Indicates the detection current value of the fourth quadrant.

[0125] In one possible implementation, the second fine-tuning control module 1303 controls the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move within the target well according to the target well position determination strategy, and determines the displacement of the liquid pickup head when it touches the inner walls of each target well when moving from the initial position along the X-axis and the Y-axis based on the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor provided at the installation position, and determines the center position of the target well based on the displacement of the inner walls of each well and the initial position, including:

[0126] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move along a first direction of the Z axis, and controlling the pipetting arm module to move along a second direction of the Z axis by a preset displacement when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a first change value, so that the liquid collection pipette tip is suspended in the target well to obtain an initial position;

[0127] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move from an initial position along a positive direction of the X-axis, and obtaining a first displacement value from the initial position to the first side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a second change value;

[0128] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move in the opposite direction along the X-axis from the initial position, and obtaining a second displacement value from the initial position to the second side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a third change value;

[0129] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move from the initial position along the positive direction of the Y-axis, and obtaining a third displacement value from the initial position to the third side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a fourth change value;

[0130] Controlling the pipetting arm module to move in the opposite direction along the Y-axis from the initial position, and obtaining a fourth displacement value from the initial position to the fourth side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a fifth change value;

[0131] The center position of the target hole is obtained based on the first displacement value, the second displacement value, the third displacement value, the fourth displacement value and the coordinates of the initial position.

[0132] In a possible implementation, it also includes: a height control module for determining the rising height of the pipette tip on the pipetting arm module from the current well plate to the next well plate based on the height difference between the current well plate and the next well plate and the height safety threshold.

[0133] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a path control module, configured to split the path of each pipetting process of the pipetting arm module into multiple sub-paths according to an operation sequence;

[0134] The moving speeds of the connecting segments of adjacent sub-paths are subjected to difference processing, and the movement of each sub-path is accelerated and decelerated.

[0135] An electronic device is also provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 14 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present application. The electronic device in the embodiments of the present application may include, but is not limited to, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like. Figure 14 The electronic device shown is merely an example and should not limit the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present application.

[0136] like Figure 14As shown, the electronic device may include a processing device (e.g., a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, etc.) 1401, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes based on programs stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 1402 or programs loaded from a storage device 1408 into a random access memory (RAM) 1403. When the electronic device is powered on, RAM 1403 also stores various programs and data required for the operation of the electronic device. Processing device 1401, ROM 1402, and RAM 1403 are interconnected via a bus 1404. An input / output (I / O) interface 1405 is also connected to bus 1404.

[0137] Typically, the following devices may be connected to the I / O interface 1405: an input device 1406 including, for example, a touch screen, a touchpad, a keyboard, a mouse, a camera, a microphone, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, etc.; an output device 1407 including, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a speaker, a vibrator, etc.; a storage device 1408 including, for example, a memory card, a hard disk, etc.; and a communication device 1409. The communication device 1409 may allow the electronic device to communicate with other devices wirelessly or by wire to exchange data. Figure 14 The electronic device is shown with various devices, but it should be understood that it is not required to implement or possess all of the devices shown. More or fewer devices may be implemented or possessed instead.

[0138] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product including computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed on an electronic device, the electronic device implements any one of the pipetting workstation control methods provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0139] A computer-readable storage medium is also provided in an embodiment of the present application. The storage medium carries one or more computer programs. When the one or more computer programs are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device can implement any one of the pipetting workstation control methods provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0140] An embodiment of the present application further provides a pipetting workstation, comprising the electronic device as described in the above embodiment.

[0141] It should also be noted that the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment. In addition, in the drawings of the device embodiments provided in this application, the connection relationship between the modules indicates that there is a communication connection between them, which can be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal lines.

[0142] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general hardware, and of course can also be implemented by special hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, special CPUs, special memories, special components, etc. In general, all functions performed by computer programs can be easily implemented with corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structures used to implement the same function can also be diverse, such as analog circuits, digital circuits or special circuits, etc. However, for the present application, software program implementation is a better implementation method in most cases. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a computer's floppy disk, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk, etc., and includes a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, training equipment, or network equipment, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0143] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product.

[0144] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, a computer, a training device or a data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, a computer, a training device or a data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a training device, a data center, etc. that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)).

Claims

1. A method for controlling a liquid handling workstation, characterized in that: include: Control the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate; According to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module, the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are adjusted respectively so that the central axis of the liquid pickup tip on the pipetting arm module passes through the target hole, and the target hole is the hole on the target well plate corresponding to the liquid pickup tip; Controlling the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move within the target well according to a target well position determination strategy, and determining, based on detection values ​​of a six-axis pressure sensor provided at the mounting position, the displacement of the liquid pickup head touching inner walls of each of the target wells when the liquid pickup head moves from an initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and determining the center position of the target well according to the displacement of the inner walls of each of the wells and the initial position; The liquid pickup head is controlled to be at the center position of the target hole, the bottom of the target hole is detected along the Z-axis direction, and the bottom position is determined according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor.

2. The control method of the liquid handling workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controlling the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate includes: Based on the grating ruler in the X-axis direction and the grating ruler in the Y-axis direction, respectively determining a first grating pitch of the target orifice plate in the X-axis direction and a second grating pitch in the Y-axis direction; Based on the encoding counting frequency, the pulse count, the first grid pitch and the second grid pitch, the first displacement distance in the X-axis direction and the second displacement distance in the Y-axis direction are determined respectively, and the pipetting arm module is controlled to move according to the first displacement distance and the second displacement distance.

3. The control method of the liquid handling workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjusting the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction respectively according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module comprises: Determining a first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and a second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction respectively according to the detected current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector; When the first current coefficient is not 0, determining a first moving direction of the X-axis according to the positive or negative value of the first current coefficient, and adjusting the position of the pipetting arm module based on the first moving direction; When the second current coefficient is not 0, the second moving direction of the Y-axis is determined according to the positive or negative value of the second current coefficient, and the position of the pipetting arm module is adjusted based on the second moving direction.

4. The control method of the liquid handling workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first current coefficient in the X-axis direction and the second current coefficient in the Y-axis direction are determined based on the detected current values ​​of the four quadrants of the four-quadrant detector, including: = - - + Obtain the first current coefficient; based on = + - - The second current coefficient is obtained, represents the first current coefficient, represents the second current coefficient, Indicates the current value in the first quadrant, Indicates the current value in the second quadrant, Indicates the current value in the third quadrant, Indicates the current value in the fourth quadrant.

5. The control method of the liquid handling workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: controlling the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move in the target hole according to the target hole position determination strategy, and determining the displacement of the liquid pickup head touching the inner walls of each hole of the target hole when the liquid pickup head moves from the initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor provided at the installation position, and determining the center position of the target hole according to the displacement of the inner walls of each hole and the initial position, including: Controlling the pipetting arm module to move along a first direction of the Z axis, and controlling the pipetting arm module to move along a second direction of the Z axis by a preset displacement when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a first change value, so that the liquid collection pipette head is suspended in the target well to obtain the initial position; Controlling the pipetting arm module to move from the initial position along the positive direction of the X-axis, and obtaining a first displacement value from the initial position to the first side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a second change value; Controlling the pipetting arm module to move in the opposite direction along the X-axis from the initial position, and obtaining a second displacement value from the initial position to the second side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a third change value; controlling the pipetting arm module to move from the initial position along the positive direction of the Y-axis, and obtaining a third displacement value from the initial position to the third side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a fourth change value; controlling the pipetting arm module to move in the opposite direction along the Y-axis from the initial position, and obtaining a fourth displacement value from the initial position to a fourth side wall when the six-axis pressure sensor detects a fifth change value; The center position of the target hole is obtained based on the first displacement value, the second displacement value, the third displacement value, the fourth displacement value and the coordinates of the initial position.

6. The method for controlling a liquid handling workstation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: Also includes: Based on the height difference between the current well plate and the next well plate and the height safety threshold, the rising height of the pipette head on the pipetting arm module when moving from the current well plate to the next well plate is determined.

7. The control method of the liquid handling workstation according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: Splitting the path of each pipetting process of the pipetting arm module into multiple sub-paths according to the operation sequence; The moving speeds of the connecting segments of adjacent sub-paths are subjected to difference processing, and the movement of each sub-path is subjected to acceleration and deceleration processing.

8. A pipetting workstation control device, characterized in that: include: A preliminary movement control module, used to control the pipetting arm module to move to the installation position of the target well plate; a first fine-tuning control module, configured to adjust the position of the pipetting arm module along the X-axis and the Y-axis according to the detection current value of the four-quadrant detector provided on the pipetting arm module, so that the central axis of the liquid pickup tip on the pipetting arm module passes through a target hole, wherein the target hole is a hole on the target well plate corresponding to the liquid pickup tip; as well as, a second fine-tuning control module, configured to control the pipetting arm module to drive the liquid pickup head to move within the target hole according to a target hole position determination strategy, and determine, based on detection values ​​of a six-axis pressure sensor provided at the installation position, the displacement of the liquid pickup head when it touches the inner walls of each hole of the target hole when moving from an initial position along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and determine the center position of the target hole based on the displacement of the inner walls of each hole and the initial position; and The third fine-tuning control module is used to control the liquid pickup head to be at the center position of the target hole, detect the bottom of the target hole along the Z-axis direction, and determine the bottom position according to the detection value of the six-axis pressure sensor.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: comprising at least one processor and a memory connected to the processor, wherein: The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program so that the electronic device can implement the pipetting workstation control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A pipetting workstation, characterized in that: Comprising the electronic device as claimed in claim 9.

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