Method for judging whether crucible exists on turntable hole of weighing module or not in assay system

Abstract

A method for judging whether crucibles exist on turntable holes of a weighing module in an assay system comprises a constant-temperature furnace, a robot and a water-ash tester, the constant-temperature furnace and the water-ash tester are both provided with turntables, the turntables are provided with a plurality of crucible hole sites, the crucibles are placed on the crucible hole sites, and the robot is provided with a mechanical claw. Comprising the following steps: a robot requests to detect whether a crucible is placed on an n1 crucible hole site of a turntable on an instrument with a weighing module; rotating a turntable in the instrument with the weighing module to a corresponding position; the turntable descends, and the scale reading m in the instrument with the weighing module is recorded; the reading m is judged, and operation of placing the crucible or clamping the crucible is executed according to the reading; according to the invention, whether the crucible exists in the crucible hole site or not can be judged, whether the crucible on the hole site is damaged or not can be detected, and an alarm is given under an abnormal condition, so that intervention and marking can be carried out in a manual mode, the working efficiency of the system is improved, and the cost is not increased additionally.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to laboratory testing systems, and more particularly to a method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole of a laboratory testing system. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, unmanned testing systems on the market generally use industrial robots for transport. The crucibles containing the test samples are placed on the turntables inside different instruments (moisture analyzers, ash analyzers, or volatile matter analyzers with built-in weighing modules or electronic balances). After the experiment is completed, the crucibles are removed from the turntables inside the instruments one by one. Therefore, it is very important to determine whether there are crucibles in the crucible holes on the turntables inside each instrument.

[0003] There are three main methods used in the market for detecting the presence or absence of crucibles in the crucible holes on a turntable. One method involves installing a light reflection sensor on the robot's mechanical gripper to determine the presence or absence of a crucible in the hole twice. Another method involves installing an image recognition device on the mechanical gripper to determine the presence or absence of a crucible in the hole. The final method involves using the industrial robot's mechanical gripper to pick up a crucible from the hole on the turntable before placing it. If the gripper closes, the hole is considered empty; if it does not close, the hole is considered present.

[0004] However, all of the above methods have problems to varying degrees. The last method, which uses a mechanical gripper to pick up the crucible, is cumbersome and inefficient. Furthermore, when the mechanical gripper picks up a damaged crucible, it often accidentally picks up the upper part of the damaged crucible while leaving the lower part on the turntable. This misleads the system into believing that the crucible at that particular hole on the turntable has been moved, causing the crucible picked up by the gripper in subsequent steps to press down on the damaged crucible, damaging the turntable or crushing the crucible, leading to experimental failure. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the defect of the prior art that when a crucible is damaged, the upper part of the crucible is easily picked up and the lower part of the crucible is left behind, which causes subsequent crucibles to be pressed on the damaged crucible, thus leading to the failure of the test. The present invention provides a method for determining whether there is a crucible in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is a method for determining whether there is a crucible in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system, including a constant temperature furnace, a robot, and a water-ash tester. Both the constant temperature furnace and the water-ash tester have a turntable with multiple crucible holes. A crucible is placed in each of the crucible holes. The robot has a mechanical gripper. The method includes the following steps:

[0007] S1. The robot requests to check whether a crucible is placed in the n1 crucible hole of the turntable on the instrument with its own weighing module.

[0008] S2. The turntable inside the instrument with its built-in weighing module rotates to the corresponding position;

[0009] S3. The turntable descends, and the reading of the balance inside the instrument with its built-in weighing module is recorded in m.

[0010] S4. Determine the value of the reading m. If m is greater than 0, proceed to step S4.1. If m is equal to 0, proceed to step S4.2.

[0011] S4.1 The turntable rises to the designated position;

[0012] S5.1 The robot's mechanical gripper picks up the crucible and places it in the hole;

[0013] S6.1 The turntable rotates to the next crucible hole position;

[0014] S4.2, The turntable rises to the designated position;

[0015] S5.2 The system requests the robot to remove the crucible from the hole.

[0016] Furthermore, it also includes step S7, which repeats steps S3, S4, and S5.

[0017] Furthermore, step S7 also includes repeating step S3, if the balance reading m equals 0, it indicates that there is no crucible in the crucible hole position of the current turntable, and a crucible can be placed and step S6.1 can be executed.

[0018] Furthermore, it also includes step S6.2, where the turntable rotates to the next crucible hole position.

[0019] Furthermore, step S7 also includes repeating step S3, if the balance reading m is greater than 0 again, it indicates that the n1 crucible hole position on the turntable is abnormal.

[0020] Furthermore, in step S7, if the crucible hole position is abnormal, the system will issue an alarm. If no manual intervention is performed within the alarm time, the crucible hole position will be marked as abnormal and step S8.2 will be executed.

[0021] Furthermore, it also includes step S9, which indicates that all crucible hole detection is completed when the number of rotations of the turntable is the same as the number of crucible holes.

[0022] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0023] This invention, by repeatedly weighing the crucible holes, can not only determine whether a crucible is present at a particular hole, but also detect whether the crucible at that hole is damaged, and issue an alarm in case of abnormality, thus enabling manual intervention. Even if intervention is unsuccessful, the hole can be marked, improving the system's efficiency without increasing additional costs. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall system structure of a method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system according to the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of crucible damage in a method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system according to the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a testing system according to the present invention.

[0027] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0028] 1. Constant temperature furnace; 2. Robot; 3. Water and ash tester; 4. Turntable; 5. Lower body of crucible; 6. Upper body of crucible; 7. Crucible; 8. Mechanical gripper. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0030] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, the constant temperature furnace 1, robot 2, and water-ash tester 3 are included. Both the constant temperature furnace 1 and the water-ash tester 3 have a turntable 4 and a weighing module. The turntable 4 has multiple crucible holes, typically 12, 24, or 36, which are evenly distributed on the turntable 4. Crucibles 7 are placed in the crucible holes. The weighing module is a push rod, which is located below the crucible holes. When the turntable 4 descends, it lifts the crucibles 7 and displays their weight. The robot 2 has a mechanical claw 8. In this embodiment, both the constant temperature furnace 1 and the water-ash tester 3 can be used for testing.

[0031] Reference Figure 3 An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for determining whether a crucible 7 is present or absent in hole 4 of a weighing module turntable in a testing system, comprising the following steps:

[0032] S1. Under the control of the system, robot 2 requests to detect whether crucible 7 is placed on crucible hole n1 of turntable 4 on constant temperature furnace 1 or water ash tester 3.

[0033] S2, the turntable 4 inside the constant temperature furnace 1 or water-ash tester 3 rotates around the axis, wherein n1 crucible hole position rotates to the position corresponding to the top rod;

[0034] S3. Turntable 4 descends while the push rod remains stationary. The push rod will pass through the crucible hole. At this time, the balance reading inside the instrument is m.

[0035] S4. Determine the value of the reading m. If m is greater than 0, proceed to step S4.1. If m is equal to 0 (error 0.01), proceed to step S4.2.

[0036] S4.1, The turntable 4 rises to a position where the mechanical claw 8 of the robot 2 can be placed;

[0037] S5.1, Robot 2's mechanical claw 8 picks up the crucible 7 and places it on the hole;

[0038] S6.1, Rotate turntable 4 to the next crucible hole position.

[0039] S4.2, the turntable 4 rises to a position where the mechanical claw 8 of the robot 2 can grip;

[0040] S5.2 The system requests robot 2 to remove crucible 7 from the hole;

[0041] S7. Repeat steps S3, S4, and S5. In the repeated step S3, if the balance reading m equals 0, it indicates that there is no crucible 7 in the crucible hole position of the current turntable 4, and crucible 7 can be placed and step S6.1 can be executed. If the balance reading m is greater than 0, it indicates that the n1 crucible hole position on the turntable 4 is abnormal. This may occur in the previous steps, where crucible 7 has been damaged and the mechanical claw 8 has only picked up the upper body 6 of crucible 7, or crucible 7 may not have been successfully picked up. In any case, if the balance reading m of the n1 crucible hole position is greater than 0, the system will issue an alarm. If no manual intervention is performed within the alarm time, the crucible hole position will be marked as abnormal and step S8.2 will be executed.

[0042] S8.2 After marking the abnormal crucible hole positions, the turntable 4 rotates by a certain angle according to the number of crucibles 7 (30° for 12 crucible holes, 15° for 24 crucible holes, and 10° for 36 crucible holes) to the next crucible hole position.

[0043] S9. When the number of rotations of turntable 4 is the same as the number of crucible holes, it indicates that the detection of all crucible holes on turntable 4 of the testing instrument has been completed, and the testing of another instrument can be carried out or the testing can be stopped.

[0044] In another embodiment, in step S7, if the balance reading m is greater than 0, the two readings are compared. If they are the same or the error is within the allowable range, the surface mechanical claw 8 has failed to successfully pick up the crucible 7. If the first reading m is greater than the second reading m, the surface crucible 7 is damaged. The mechanical claw 8 has only picked up the upper body 6 of the crucible 7, leaving the lower body 5 of the crucible 7 behind. At this time, the system will also issue an alarm, indicating that the surface crucible 7 is damaged and manual intervention is required.

[0045] In another embodiment, in step S7, if the balance reading m is greater than 0 and an alarm is triggered to request manual intervention, if the manual intervention is timely and the alarm is cleared, the system will still weigh the crucible hole again. If the balance reading m is equal to 0, it means that the abnormality of the crucible hole has been eliminated and the crucible 7 can be placed; if the reading m is greater than 0, it means that the manual intervention has failed and an alarm will be triggered again.

[0046] The above are all preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Identical components are represented by the same reference numerals. It should be noted that the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "up," and "down" used in the following description refer to directions in the accompanying drawings, while the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a specific component. Therefore, all equivalent changes made to the structure, shape, and principle of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in a weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system, comprising a constant temperature furnace (1), a robot (2), and a water-ash tester (3), wherein both the constant temperature furnace (1) and the water-ash tester (3) have a turntable (4), the turntable (4) having multiple crucible holes, and crucibles (7) are placed in the crucible holes; the robot (2) has a mechanical claw (8), characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Robot (2) requests to check whether a crucible (7) is placed in the n1 crucible hole of the turntable (4) on the instrument with built-in weighing module; S2. Rotate the turntable (4) inside the instrument with built-in weighing module to the corresponding position; S3. The turntable (4) descends, and the reading m of the balance inside the instrument with the built-in weighing module is recorded. S4. Determine the value of the reading m. If m is greater than 0, proceed to step S4.

1. If m is equal to 0, proceed to step S4.

2. S4.1, The turntable (4) rises to the designated position; S5.1 The mechanical claw (8) of the robot (2) picks up the crucible (7) and places it in the n1 crucible hole; S6.1, Rotate the turntable (4) to the next crucible hole position; S4.2, The turntable (4) rises to the designated position; S5.2 The system requests the robot (2) to remove the crucible (7) from the hole.

2. The method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the rotary table hole of a weighing module in a laboratory system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes step S7, and repeats steps S3, S4 and S5.

3. The method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Step S7 also includes repeating step S3. If the balance reading m is equal to 0, it indicates that there is no crucible (7) in the crucible hole position of the current turntable (4). The crucible (7) can be placed and step S6.1 can be executed.

4. The method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes step S6.2, where the turntable (4) rotates to the next crucible hole position.

5. The method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Step S7 also includes repeating step S3, if the balance reading m is greater than 0 again, it indicates that the n1 crucible hole position on the turntable (4) is abnormal.

6. The method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the weighing module turntable hole in a laboratory system according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S7, if the crucible hole position is abnormal, the system will issue an alarm. If no manual intervention is performed within the alarm time, the crucible hole position will be marked as abnormal and step S8.2 will be executed.

7. The method for determining whether a crucible is present or absent in the rotary table hole of a weighing module in a laboratory system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes step S9, which indicates that all crucible hole detection is completed when the number of rotations of the turntable (4) is the same as the number of crucible holes.

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