Excrement sampling and detecting device for veterinary laboratory

Abstract

The invention relates to an excrement sampling and detecting device for a veterinary laboratory, and belongs to the technical field of veterinary diagnosis equipment. The device comprises a rack, and a main container, a cover body, a sampling assembly, a pretreatment assembly and a control module which are integrated on the rack, the sampling assembly directly sends an excrement sample into a sample cavity of the main container through a closed pipeline; the pretreatment assembly at least comprises a drying and waste gas harmlessness unit which is composed of a micro heating piece, a temperature sensor, a ventilation piece and a treatment cabin filled with treatment liquid, a sample can be heated and dried under a closed condition, and generated harmful waste gas can be synchronously purified and treated; the control module coordinates the automatic operation of each component; the integrated, automatic and closed operation of the whole process from multiple pretreatment to waste gas purification of the excrement sample is realized, the treatment efficiency, the result standardization degree and the laboratory biological safety are remarkably improved, and the problems that a traditional method is tedious in operation and serious in secondary pollution to the environment are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of veterinary diagnostic equipment technology, and more specifically, to a fecal sampling and testing device for veterinary laboratories. Background Technology

[0002] In veterinary clinical and laboratory diagnostics, the analysis of fecal samples is crucial. Currently, after obtaining fecal samples, laboratories typically require a series of cumbersome pretreatment procedures in a biosafety cabinet or ventilated area, such as weighing, dilution, filtration, drying, or adding fixatives. These traditional methods have significant drawbacks: pretreatment steps rely heavily on manual labor, resulting in low efficiency; variations in handling techniques can lead to inconsistent sample processing, affecting the comparability of results; multiple transfers and openings of samples on open lab benches generate aerosols and odors, posing a biosafety threat to operators and creating a risk of cross-contamination between samples; the required heating equipment, ventilation equipment, and waste disposal devices are often independent and scattered, occupying valuable lab bench space and hindering collaborative work; and sample information and processing parameters (such as heating temperature and time) are recorded separately, making it difficult to achieve complete traceability of the processing.

[0003] Therefore, a specialized laboratory device is designed that integrates sampling, multiple pretreatment functions, waste gas treatment, and intelligent control to achieve standardized and automated operation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide a fecal sampling and testing device for veterinary laboratories to solve the problems existing in the background technology.

[0005] The above-mentioned technical objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: a fecal sampling and testing device for a veterinary laboratory, comprising a frame; the frame is provided with: a main container for storing fecal samples, a cover for sealing and fitting with the opening end of the main container, a sampling component for acquiring fecal samples disposed on the main container, and a pretreatment component for pretreating the fecal samples in the main container; the main container has a sample cavity for accommodating fecal samples inside; the sampling end of the sampling component passes through the outer wall of the main container and is placed in the sample cavity of the main container; the frame is also provided with a control module for controlling the sampling component and the pretreatment component; the control module is electrically connected to the sampling component and the pretreatment component respectively.

[0006] Optionally, the pretreatment component includes: a miniature heating element attached to at least part of the side wall and / or bottom wall of the main container; a temperature sensor disposed on the wall of the main container; a ventilation component disposed on the side of the main container and communicating with the sample cavity; and a treatment chamber for harmlessly treating the waste gas generated during the treatment process; the miniature heating element and the temperature sensor are respectively electrically connected to the control module; one end of the ventilation component is communicating with the sample cavity, and the other end is communicating with the inner cavity of the treatment chamber; the inner cavity of the treatment chamber contains a harmlessly treated treatment liquid.

[0007] Optionally, the control module is configured to control the micro heating element to perform intermittent or continuous heating within a predetermined temperature range based on the feedback signal from the temperature sensor; the predetermined temperature range is 35°C to 60°C; and / or, the control unit (8) is configured to execute a segmented heating program, including an initial rapid heating phase and a subsequent constant temperature maintenance phase.

[0008] Optionally, a curing component is also provided in the sample chamber; the curing component includes a desiccant chamber disposed in the sample chamber; the desiccant chamber is filled with solid desiccant; the wall of the desiccant chamber is made of a breathable and leak-proof membrane material, so that the desiccant in the desiccant chamber can adsorb water vapor in the sample chamber, while preventing the solid sample or desiccant from leaking into each other.

[0009] Optionally, a fixation liquid bladder is further provided on the inner side of the cover near the sample cavity; the fixation liquid bladder is pre-stored with liquid fixative; the fixation liquid bladder is provided with an opening; a sealing element and a trigger element for breaking the sealing element to allow the liquid fixative to flow into the sample cavity are provided at the opening; the trigger element is signal-connected to the control module.

[0010] Optionally, the trigger is an electrically actuated mechanism, the seal is a heating wire or a metal film, and the control unit controls the trigger to apply current to the seal to melt or break it.

[0011] Optionally, a porous sieve plate is horizontally arranged in the middle of the sample chamber; the porous sieve plate divides the sample chamber into an upper coarse filtration chamber and a lower filtrate chamber.

[0012] Optionally, the sampling assembly includes: a sampling tool, a sampling tube, and a sealing member for sealing the sampling tube; one end of the sampling tube is connected to the sample cavity, and the other end is placed outside the main container; a sampling port is provided on the end of the sampling tube placed outside the main container, and the sealing member is rotatably disposed at the sampling port; the sampling tool is a foldable or retractable sampling spoon for sampling through the sampling tube.

[0013] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. Traditional processes require multiple transfers and operations at different locations using various tools, such as sampling spoons, balances, ovens, fume hoods, and centrifuges. This invention integrates key steps such as sampling, quantitative transfer, heating and drying, waste gas purification, fixative addition, and optional filtration into a single device platform. Users can select a program on the control panel to start a fully automated pretreatment process, followed by sampling via the sampling component. This reduces what could have been a manual operation involving hours and multiple devices to a few minutes of simple setup and unattended automated operation, further improving laboratory efficiency.

[0014] 2. In traditional drying or stirring processes, fecal samples easily generate aerosols carrying pathogenic microorganisms and strong odors. This device is equipped with an exhaust gas treatment chamber, which is linked in real time with ventilation components. During or after heating, the exhaust gas is actively drawn in and forced through a treatment chamber containing treatment solutions such as sodium hypochlorite. Harmful microorganisms and malodorous substances are chemically neutralized and absorbed, and the final exhaust gas is harmless. This solves the problem of unpleasant odors in veterinary laboratories and significantly reduces the exposure risk of aerosol-borne pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus to operators, meeting the protection requirements of biosafety level 2 and above laboratories. All operations after sampling are carried out in a sealed container, providing reliable physical isolation for operators and further ensuring personal safety. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a side view of the main structure of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a rear view schematic diagram of the main structure of the present invention.

[0016] In the diagram: 1. Frame; 2. Main container; 3. Cover; 4. Sampling assembly; 41. Sampling tube; 42. Sealing component; 5. Pretreatment assembly; 51. Miniature heating component; 52. Ventilation component; 53. Processing chamber; 6. Control module. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0018] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances. The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0019] In this invention, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, "above" or "below" a second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of a second feature includes the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" of a second feature includes the first feature being directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," "above," "below," and similar expressions are for illustrative purposes only and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0020] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0021] This invention provides a fecal sampling and testing device for veterinary laboratories, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the device includes a frame 1; the frame 1 is equipped with: a main container 2 for storing fecal samples, a cover 3 for sealing the opening of the main container 2, a sampling component 4 for acquiring fecal samples disposed on the main container 2, and a pretreatment component 5 for pretreating the fecal samples in the main container 2; the main container 2 has a sample cavity for accommodating fecal samples; the sampling end of the sampling component 4 passes through the outer wall of the main container 2 and is placed in the sample cavity of the main container 2; the frame 1 is also equipped with a control module 6 for controlling the sampling component 4 and the pretreatment component 5; the control module 6 is electrically connected to the sampling component 4 and the pretreatment component 5 respectively.

[0022] Further, the pretreatment component 5 includes: a miniature heating element 51 attached to at least part of the side wall and / or bottom wall of the main container 2, a temperature sensor disposed on the wall of the main container 2, a ventilation element 52 disposed on the side of the main container 2 and communicating with the sample cavity, and a treatment chamber 53 for harmlessly treating the waste gas generated during the treatment process; the miniature heating element 51 and the temperature sensor are respectively electrically connected to the control module 6; one end of the ventilation element 52 is communicating with the sample cavity, and the other end is communicating with the inner cavity of the treatment chamber 53; the inner cavity of the treatment chamber 53 is filled with a harmlessly treated treatment liquid.

[0023] Furthermore, the control module 6 is configured to control the micro heating element 51 to perform intermittent or continuous heating within a predetermined temperature range based on the feedback signal from the temperature sensor; the predetermined temperature range is 35°C to 60°C; and / or, the control unit (8) is configured to execute a segmented heating program, including an initial rapid heating phase and a subsequent constant temperature maintenance phase.

[0024] Furthermore, a curing assembly is also provided inside the sample chamber; the curing assembly includes a desiccant chamber disposed inside the sample chamber; the desiccant chamber is filled with solid desiccant; the wall of the desiccant chamber is made of a breathable and leak-proof membrane material, so that the desiccant inside the desiccant chamber can adsorb water vapor inside the sample chamber, while preventing the solid sample or desiccant from leaking into each other.

[0025] Furthermore, a fixation liquid bladder is provided on the inner side of the cover 3 near the sample cavity; the fixation liquid bladder is pre-stored with liquid fixative; the fixation liquid bladder is provided with an opening; a sealing element and a trigger element for breaking the sealing element to allow the liquid fixative to flow into the sample cavity are provided at the opening; the trigger element is signal-connected to the control module 6.

[0026] Furthermore, the trigger is an electrically actuated mechanism, the seal is a heating wire or a metal film, and the control unit controls the trigger to apply current to the seal to cause it to melt or break.

[0027] Furthermore, a porous sieve plate is horizontally arranged in the middle of the sample chamber; the porous sieve plate divides the sample chamber into an upper coarse filtration chamber and a lower filtrate chamber.

[0028] Furthermore, the sampling component 4 includes: a sampling tool, a sampling tube 41, and a sealing member 42 for sealing the sampling tube 41; one end of the sampling tube 41 is connected to the sample cavity, and the other end is placed outside the main container 2; a sampling port is provided on the end of the sampling tube 41 placed outside the main container 2, and the sealing member 42 is rotatably disposed at the sampling port; the sampling tool is a foldable or retractable sampling spoon for sampling through the sampling tube 41.

[0029] In a specific embodiment, the frame 1 serves as the core support and integration platform for the entire device; the frame 1 adopts an aluminum alloy profile frame structure and is covered with an ABS engineering plastic panel. The main container 2 is made of high-temperature resistant, high-transparency polycarbonate with a volume of approximately 500ml. Its sidewalls are clearly marked with volume graduations. Miniature heating elements 51 are evenly attached to its bottom and the lower half of its sidewalls; in this example, this is a flexible silicone heating film with a rated power of 50W. The lid 3 is sealed to the opening of the main container 2 by an airtight silicone ring and automatically locked and unlocked by an electromagnetic lock on the frame 1. A liquid-fixing bladder is embedded in the center of the lid 3. The sampling tube 41 is a rigid metal tube with an inner diameter of about 3-5 cm. It is inserted obliquely from the upper side wall of the main container 2 and sealed by welding. The internal channel leads directly to the upper middle part of the sample chamber. The exposed end of the sampling tube 41 forms a funnel-shaped sampling port, and a transparent polypropylene rotating cap is hinged above it as a sealing part 42. A sealing ring is embedded inside the rotating cap to ensure airtightness when closed. The sampling spoon is a four-section telescopic stainless steel spoon with anti-slip texture on the handle. When not in use, it can be completely stored in a special slot. The pretreatment component 5 includes: a PT100 platinum resistance temperature sensor, whose probe extends approximately 2 cm into the sample chamber to directly monitor the gas phase temperature above the sample; a ventilation component 52, including an air outlet located at the top of the main container 2 and connected to the treatment chamber 53 via a flexible pipe; the pipe integrates a miniature solenoid valve controlled by the control module 6 and a small air pump; the treatment chamber 53 is an independent, detachable chamber connected to the ventilation duct via a quick-connect coupling, containing approximately 300 ml of 1% sodium hypochlorite solution as a treatment liquid for oxidizing and decomposing organic matter and microorganisms in the waste gas, and also equipped with a liquid level sensor; The curing component, in this example as an auxiliary or alternative to drying, provides an optional cylindrical desiccant chamber, the chamber body of which is a plastic mesh covered with a non-woven fabric as a diaphragm material, and filled with color-changing silica gel desiccant. In use, it can be suspended in the sample chamber through a special small hole on the cover 3. The fixative release unit includes: a disposable medical-grade plastic bag pre-sealed with 10 ml of 10% neutral buffered formalin fixative; the bag outlet is heat-sealed by a layer of aluminum foil about 0.05 mm thick to form a seal, and a miniature heating wire coil is installed above the aluminum foil as a trigger. The porous sieve plate is made of stainless steel with a pore size of 1 mm. Its edges have silicone rings that can be tightly fitted into a pre-set annular groove on the inner wall of the main container 2, dividing the sample chamber into a coarse filtration chamber and a filtrate chamber. In other embodiments, the bottom side wall of the filtrate chamber is also provided with a sampling port (not shown in the figure) with a sealing plug for extracting the filtrate. The core of the control module 6 is an embedded ARM microprocessor, which receives signals from temperature sensors, liquid level sensors, etc., and controls the micro heating element 51, solenoid valve, air pump, trigger element and other actuators to work in coordination according to multiple preset programs stored inside, such as parasite egg inspection program, bacterial culture pretreatment program, molecular detection sample preservation program, etc., through the drive circuit. All operating parameters and processing logs are recorded in the onboard storage chip and can be exported via USB interface.

[0030] In the specific implementation process, the workflow of the device is explained in detail, taking the processing of a standard parasite egg examination sample as an example. The collected feces are placed in the main container 2 and covered with the lid 3 to seal the main container 2. The operator selects the corresponding program for this experiment on the control module 6 and sets the corresponding experimental parameters. The control module 6 controls the micro heating element 51 to start working. The temperature sensor provides real-time temperature feedback. The control module 6 uses a PID algorithm to precisely control the heating power so that the temperature in the sample chamber rises steadily to 42°C within 10 minutes. After entering the 42℃ constant temperature stage, the moisture in the sample begins to evaporate; at this time, the control module 6 (200) starts the air pump and opens the solenoid valve for 15 seconds at preset intervals, such as every 10 minutes; the humid and odorous air in the sample chamber is drawn in and transported to the processing chamber 53 through the pipe of the ventilation component 52; the exhaust gas passes through the processing liquid in the form of bubbles, and the odor molecules such as ammonia and sulfides and some microorganisms in it are effectively absorbed and oxidized by the sodium hypochlorite solution; the control module 6 can display the real-time temperature and the remaining program time in real time; After the procedure is completed, the heating element stops working, and the air pump continues to run for a few minutes to cool the sample chamber. After cooling is complete, the operator can use a sampling spoon to reach the animal feces sample through the sampling tube 41 to obtain the feces sample. The sampling spoon containing the sample is then retrieved through the sampling tube 41, thus completing the sampling of the animal feces sample. Throughout the process, the sample remains completely sealed after entering the main container 2. Moisture and odor generated during drying are extracted and chemically neutralized in real time, resulting in an odor-free laboratory environment. All steps are automatically controlled by the program, eliminating human error. The device integrates the sampling inlet, reaction vessel, heating system, and exhaust gas purification system into a single, clean, and efficient unit.

[0031] This invention provides a fecal sampling and testing device for veterinary laboratories. Traditional processes require multiple transfers and operations at different locations using various tools, such as sampling spoons, balances, ovens, fume hoods, and centrifuges. This invention integrates key steps such as sampling, quantitative transfer, heating and drying, exhaust gas purification, fixative addition, and optional filtration into a single device platform. Users can select a program on the control panel to start a fully automated pretreatment process, followed by sampling via the sampling component 4. This reduces what could have been a time-consuming, multi-device-based manual operation to a few minutes of simple setup and unattended automated operation, further improving laboratory efficiency. Furthermore, traditional drying or stirring processes can generate aerosols carrying pathogenic microorganisms and strong odors from fecal samples. This device is equipped with an exhaust gas treatment chamber 53, which is ventilated by a ventilation component 52. The system is linked to a real-time control system. During or after heating, the generated exhaust gas is actively drawn in and forced through a treatment chamber 53 containing sodium hypochlorite and other treatment solutions. Harmful microorganisms and malodorous substances in the chamber are chemically neutralized and absorbed, and the final exhaust gas is harmlessly treated. This system solves the problem of unpleasant odors in veterinary laboratories and significantly reduces the exposure risk to operators from aerosol-borne pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus spp., meeting the protection requirements of biosafety level 2 and above laboratories. All operations after sampling are carried out in a closed container, providing reliable physical isolation for operators and further ensuring personal safety.

[0032] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions falling within the scope of the present invention's concept are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, any improvements and modifications made without departing from the principles of the present invention should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fecal sampling device for use in a veterinary laboratory, characterized in that, The device comprises a rack, a main container for storing a fecal sample, a cover body for sealingly cooperating with an open end of the main container, a sampling assembly arranged on the main container for obtaining the fecal sample, and a pretreatment assembly for pretreating the fecal sample in the main container. The main container is internally provided with a sample cavity for accommodating the fecal sample, and a sampling end of the sampling assembly is arranged in the sample cavity through an outer wall of the main container. The rack is further provided with a control module for controlling the sampling assembly and the pretreatment assembly, and the control module is electrically connected with the sampling assembly and the pretreatment assembly respectively.

2. A device for sampling and testing fecal material for use in veterinary laboratories according to claim 1, characterized in that The pretreatment assembly comprises a micro-heating element attached to at least part of a side wall and / or a bottom wall of the main container, a temperature sensor arranged on a wall of the main container, a ventilation element arranged on a side of the main container and communicating with the sample cavity, and a treatment cabin for harmless treatment of exhaust gas generated in the treatment process. The micro-heating element and the temperature sensor are electrically connected with the control module respectively, one end of the ventilation element communicates with the sample cavity, and the other end communicates with an inner cavity of the treatment cabin, and the inner cavity of the treatment cabin contains a harmless treatment liquid.

3. A device for sampling and testing fecal material in a veterinary laboratory according to claim 2, characterized in that The control module is configured to control the micro-heating element to intermittently or continuously heat within a predetermined temperature range according to a feedback signal of the temperature sensor. The predetermined temperature range is 35-60℃, and / or the control unit (8) is configured to execute a segmented heating program including an initial rapid heating stage and a subsequent constant temperature maintenance stage.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein, The sample cavity is further provided with a solidification assembly, the solidification assembly comprises a desiccant cartridge arranged in the sample cavity, and the desiccant cartridge is filled with solid desiccant. The wall surface of the desiccant cartridge is composed of a gas-permeable and leakage-proof diaphragm material, so that the desiccant in the desiccant cartridge can absorb the water vapor in the sample cavity, while preventing the solid sample or the desiccant from leaking into each other.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein, The cover body is further provided with a fixing liquid bag on the inner side close to the sample cavity, the fixing liquid bag pre-stores a liquid fixative, the fixing liquid bag is provided with an opening, the opening is provided with a sealing element and a trigger element for breaking the sealing element to make the liquid fixative flow into the sample cavity, and the trigger element is signal-connected with the control module.

6. A device for sampling and testing fecal material for use in veterinary laboratories according to claim 5, characterized in that The trigger element is an electric actuator, the sealing element is an electric heating wire or a metal film, and the control unit controls the trigger element to apply current to the sealing element to make it melt or break.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein, A porous sieve plate is horizontally arranged at a middle position in the sample cavity, and the porous sieve plate divides the sample cavity into an upper coarse filtration cavity and a lower filtrate cavity.

8. A device for sampling and testing fecal material for use in veterinary laboratories according to claim 7, characterized in that The sampling assembly comprises a sampling tool, a sampling tube and a closure member for closing the sampling tube; one end of the sampling tube is in communication with the sample chamber and the other end is arranged outside the main container; a sampling port is arranged on the end of the sampling tube arranged outside the main container, and the closure member is rotatably arranged at the sampling port; the sampling tool is a foldable or retractable sampling spoon for sampling through the sampling tube.

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