A cell automation processing device and a cell automation processing method

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of cell culture equipment, and provides a cell automatic processing device and a processing method.The device comprises a seeding unit, a collecting unit, a culture workstation and a transfer module; the transfer module comprises an AGV, an AGV scheduling system and a customer system, and can realize intelligent scheduling of the culture box among the A / B seeding station, the C collecting station and the culture workstation.The seeding unit completes automatic seeding of cells, the collecting unit realizes automatic collection and continuous centrifugal separation of cells, and the culture workstation can independently regulate and control the temperature, humidity and gas concentration of each culture box.The present application supports three working states of initial full empty, cyclic production of six culture boxes empty and full before work, realizes automatic seeding, culture and collection through modular design, and has the advantages of independent modules, smooth connection, high efficiency, good consistency, flexible expansion of culture capacity and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of cell culture equipment technology, and in particular to an automated cell processing device and an automated cell processing method. Background Technology

[0002] Cell culture is a fundamental step in biomedical research and biopharmaceutical production, typically comprising three main stages: cell inoculation, culture expansion, and cell collection. Traditional operations largely rely on manual labor within clean benches, resulting in high labor intensity, long operation cycles, poor batch-to-batch consistency, and high risk of contamination. In recent years, some automated cell processing equipment has emerged, incorporating various robotic arms and cap-opening mechanisms within sealed enclosures to partially automate inoculation and collection. However, this approach integrates all functional units within a single enclosed space, leading to complex structures, difficult maintenance, and reliance on manual intervention for incubator transport and culture environment control. It lacks a systematic AGV intelligent scheduling and multi-station collaborative mechanism, hindering continuous cyclical production and failing to achieve true modularization and full-process automation. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an automated cell processing system that can independently modularize the inoculation, culture, and collection stages, and achieve seamless integration of each station through an intelligent transport and scheduling system. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides an automated cell processing device that, through modular design, organically combines an inoculation module, a collection module, a culture workstation, and a transport module, thereby automating the entire cell processing process.

[0004] The technical solution adopted in this invention is: an automated cell processing device, comprising: An inoculation unit, used for inoculating culture containers with cells, includes an inoculation base, an inoculation conveyor line disposed on the inoculation base, a first temporary storage culture box and a second temporary storage culture box disposed at opposite ends of the inoculation conveyor line, and an inoculation transport robot, an inoculation capping mechanism, and an inoculation injection mechanism arranged around the inoculation conveyor line. The inoculation base of the inoculation unit is also provided with a water injection carrier and a sliding door carrier. The inoculation transport robot is configured to selectively grasp the culture container, the water injection carrier, or the sliding door carrier to perform culture container transfer, water injection, and opening or closing the lid of the first temporary storage culture box, respectively. A pushing mechanism is provided at the second temporary storage culture box for automatically opening or closing the lid of the second temporary storage culture box. The inoculation unit is provided with an inoculation station A and an inoculation station B. A collection unit for collecting cells from mature culture containers includes a collection base, a collection and delivery mechanism mounted on the collection base, a multi-axis collection manipulator, a collection capping mechanism, a collection injection mechanism, a liquid pouring and recovery mechanism, and a continuous centrifugation mechanism. The multi-axis collection manipulator sequentially transfers the culture containers from the collection and delivery mechanism to the collection capping mechanism, the collection injection mechanism, and the liquid pouring and recovery mechanism. The collection injection mechanism includes multiple injection heads and a dispensing bag connected to them. The liquid pouring and recovery mechanism includes multiple funnel bags, some of which are connected to the dispensing bag to recover waste liquid, and others are connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism to deliver cell suspension. The collection unit also includes an insulated box for temporarily storing the culture containers after the digestion solution has been injected. The collection unit is equipped with a C-collection station. A culture workstation for storing and regulating the internal culture environment of at least one incubator, comprising a culture rack with multiple numbered culture positions and a controller, each of the culture positions having a connection port for connecting and regulating temperature, humidity and gas concentration; The transfer module includes an AGV, an AGV scheduling system, and a customer system. The customer system is communicatively connected to the AGV scheduling system and is used to issue material picking, feeding, and switching instructions. The AGV scheduling system is used to schedule the AGV to transfer the incubator between the A inoculation station, B inoculation station, C collection station, and the culture rack of the culture workstation. The incubator is configured to be movably disposed within the inoculation unit, the collection unit, and the culture workstation, and can be connected to the connection port on the culture station via an adapter provided thereon to receive environmental control from the controller.

[0005] In some possible embodiments, the pushing mechanism of the inoculation unit includes a fixed plate, a horizontal drive source and a lifting drive source disposed on the fixed plate, a first moving block connected to the horizontal drive source, a lifting plate connected to the lifting drive source, a first guide post sleeved on the first moving block and a second moving block on the second guide post on the lifting plate, and a positioning block disposed at the end of the second moving block, wherein the positioning block has a slot that matches the lid pull block of the second temporary incubation box.

[0006] In some possible embodiments, the water injection carrier and the sliding door carrier of the inoculation unit are both mounted on the support frame of the inoculation base, and each is a rod-shaped structure with a disc-shaped structure at one end and a working part at the other end; the working part of the water injection carrier is a water injection pipe arranged vertically downward, and the working part of the sliding door carrier is a hook for hooking the cover door.

[0007] In some possible embodiments, the inoculation conveyor line of the inoculation unit includes two horizontally parallel conveyor belts running in opposite directions, with a connecting conveyor at each end of each conveyor belt. The connecting conveyor is arranged horizontally and longitudinally to drive the culture container to transfer between the two conveyor belts to form a circulating conveying path.

[0008] In some possible embodiments, the insulated box of the collection unit includes a box body with an open top, a cover plate hinged to the upper end of the box body, and a flipping motor for driving the cover plate to flip to open and close the box body.

[0009] In some possible embodiments, the collection unit further includes a pull plate assembly, which includes a hook and a two-axis linkage drive source for driving the hook to move in the horizontal and vertical directions, the hook being used to pull out or push in a tray inside the incubator.

[0010] In some possible embodiments, the liquid collection and injection mechanism further includes a horizontally extending support tube, on which a plurality of injection heads are arranged vertically downward, each injection head being connected to the corresponding liquid preparation bag via an independent hose and injection pump.

[0011] In some possible embodiments, the culture rack of the culture workstation can accommodate multiple culture chambers, and the connection port on each culture position is used to dock with the adapter of one of the culture chambers, and the environmental control of each culture position is independent of each other.

[0012] The present invention also provides an automated cell processing method, which uses the automated cell processing device as described in the above embodiments, and supports three cyclic production working states: the initial empty state at the beginning of production, the cyclic production stage (6 incubators are empty), and the state where the incubators are full before the start of cyclic production. In each state, the corresponding inoculation process A and / or collection process B are executed. The vaccination procedure A includes the following steps: Step A1: The customer system sends a material retrieval instruction to the AGV scheduling system to retrieve the empty incubator with the corresponding number from the incubation rack and deliver it to incubation station A or incubation station B. Step A2: After the cell inoculation operation is completed at the inoculation station, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system. The AGV retrieves the culture box corresponding to the inoculation station and places it into the original numbered culture position on the culture rack. Step A3: Upon receiving the switching command, the AGV retrieves the incubator from inoculation station B and places it at inoculation station A. Step A4: Repeat step A2 to complete this batch of vaccinations. The process for collecting B includes the following steps: Step B1: The customer system sends a loading command to the AGV scheduling system, retrieves the mature incubation box with the corresponding number on the incubation rack, and places it at the C collection station. Step B2: After the cell collection operation is completed at collection station C, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system. The AGV retrieves the empty incubator from collection station C and places it into the original numbered culture position on the culture rack. The cell seeding operation includes: loading empty culture containers onto the seeding conveyor line; the seeding transport robot transfers the containers to the seeding capping mechanism for opening; then the containers are transferred to the seeding injection mechanism for injecting cell suspension; finally, the seeding capping mechanism seals the containers; the seeding transport robot flips the sealed culture containers over and stores them in an incubator. The cell collection process includes: a multi-axis robotic arm removes the culture container from the incubator, moves it to the collection capping mechanism to open the cap, and the collection injection mechanism injects digestive fluid. The container is then placed in an incubator to stand. After that, the culture container is removed, and the supernatant is poured into the corresponding funnel bag. The cell suspension is then poured into the funnel bag connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism. The continuous centrifugation mechanism is started to perform centrifugation separation to obtain the target cells.

[0013] In some possible embodiments, the specific execution logic for the three working states is as follows: A. Initial production state: All incubators are empty, and only inoculation process A is performed to complete the inoculation and transfer culture of all empty incubators in sequence; B. Cyclic production status: Incubators 1-6 are empty, the rest are in the cultivation state, and inoculation process A and collection process B are executed simultaneously. Incubators 01# and 02# are used for inoculation process A, and incubators 07# and 08# are used for collection process B. C. Cyclic Production Status: Before starting work, all incubators are full and in the culture state. First, take incubators 01# and 02# for collection process B, then take incubators 01# and 02# that have been emptied after collection for inoculation process A. Repeat the above collection-inoculation cycle process for incubators 03# to 06#.

[0014] In some possible embodiments, during the cell inoculation operation, the inoculation transport robot performs a water injection operation on the culture container by grasping the water injection carrier and performs an opening and closing operation on the lid of the first temporary storage incubator by grasping the sliding door carrier; the pushing mechanism automatically operates the lid of the second temporary storage incubator.

[0015] Compared to existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: This invention integrates the three core functions of cell inoculation, culture, and collection into independent inoculation units, culture workstations, and collection units through modular design. An intelligent transfer module, including AGVs, an AGV scheduling system, and a customer system, enables intelligent transfer of the culture chamber between inoculation stations A, B, and C, and the culture rack, solving the problems of complex structure and difficult maintenance associated with traditional integrated equipment. It innovatively designs three cyclical production working states adaptable to different production scenarios, achieving continuous production and significantly improving capacity utilization. The internal structure of each module is compact and seamlessly connected. The inoculation unit enables automatic opening, liquid injection, sealing, and inversion of the culture container; the collection unit enables automatic opening, multi-channel liquid injection, liquid return, and continuous centrifugation; and the culture workstation enables precise control of environmental parameters. The entire system can be flexibly configured with the number of culture workstations according to production needs, suitable for cell culture tasks of different scales, and has broad application prospects. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some possible embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the automated cell processing device provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the inoculation unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the pushing mechanism of the inoculation unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the water injection carrier and sliding door carrier of the inoculation unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the inoculation delivery line of the inoculation unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the collection unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the liquid injection mechanism and liquid return mechanism of the collection unit provided in the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the insulated box and pull plate assembly of the collection unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 Axonometric cross-section of the culture workstation provided in the embodiments of the present invention Figure 1 ; Figure 10 Axonometric cross-section of the culture workstation provided in the embodiments of the present invention Figure 2 ; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the vaccination process A provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure label: 100. Inoculation unit; 101. Inoculation station A; 102. Inoculation station B; 110. Inoculation conveyor line; 111. Conveyor belt; 112. Connecting conveyor; 120. First temporary storage incubator; 130. Second temporary storage incubator; 140. Inoculation transfer robot; 150. Inoculation capping mechanism; 160. Inoculation injection mechanism; 170. Pushing mechanism; 171. Fixed plate; 172. Horizontal drive source; 173. Lifting drive source; 174. First moving block; 175. Lifting plate; 176. First guide column; 177. Second guide column; 178. Second moving block; 179. Positioning block; 1791. Slot; 180. Water injection carrier; 190. Sliding door carrier; 200. Collection unit; 201. Collection station C; 210. Collection and conveying mechanism; 220. Collection multi-axis robot arm; 230. Collection capping mechanism; 240. Collection and injection mechanism; 241. Injection head; 242. Dispensing bag; 250. Liquid pouring and recovery mechanism; 251. Funnel bag; 260. Continuous centrifugation mechanism; 270. Insulation box; 271. Box body; 272. Cover plate; 280. Pull plate assembly; 281. Hook; 282. Two-axis linkage drive source; 300. Culture workstation; 310. Culture rack; 311. Culture position; 312. Connection port; 320. Controller; 330. Incubator; 331. Adapter; 400, AGV. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] Reference Figure 1As shown in the figure, an automated cell processing device provided in this embodiment of the invention adopts a modular architecture, including an inoculation unit 100, a collection unit 200, at least one culture workstation 300, and a transport module. The inoculation unit 100 performs cell inoculation operations on culture containers (e.g., culture dishes) and stores the inoculated containers in an incubator. The inoculation unit 100 is equipped with an A inoculation station 101 and a B inoculation station 102, which can perform inoculation tasks in parallel or alternately. The collection unit 200 is used to remove culture containers from another mature culture incubator and perform cell collection operations. The collection unit 200 is equipped with a C collection station 201 for receiving mature culture incubators to be collected. The culture workstation 300 is used to store and regulate the internal culture environment of at least one culture incubator 330. The transport module includes an AGV 400, an AGV scheduling system, and a client system for intelligently transporting the culture incubators 330 between the A inoculation station 101, the B inoculation station 102, the C collection station 201, and the culture workstation 300. The incubator 330 is designed to be movable. It can be placed in the inoculation unit 100 and the collection unit 200 as a buffer, or it can be moved by the transfer module. It connects to the connection port 312 on the culture station 311 of the culture workstation 300 via an adapter 331 to receive environmental control from the controller 320. In this embodiment, a petri dish is used as an example of the culture container.

[0021] Specifically, refer to Figure 2As shown, the inoculation unit 100 includes an inoculation base (not separately labeled in the figure), on which an inoculation transport line 110 is mounted. A first temporary storage incubator 120 and a second temporary storage incubator 130 are respectively mounted at both ends of the inoculation transport line 110 for temporarily storing incubators before, during, or after inoculation. An inoculation transport robot 140, an inoculation capping mechanism 150, and an inoculation injection mechanism 160 are arranged around the inoculation transport line 110. The inoculation transport robot 140 is a multi-jointed robot, and its end effector can be equipped with a gripper or suction cup for grasping and moving the culture dish. The inoculation capping mechanism 150 is used to open and tighten the culture dish cap, and the inoculation injection mechanism 160 is used to precisely inject cell suspension or other liquids into the culture dish. The inoculation base of the inoculation unit 100 is also equipped with a water injection carrier 180 and a sliding door carrier 190. The inoculation transport robot 140 is configured to selectively grasp culture containers (petals), water injection carriers 180, or sliding door carriers 190 according to process requirements. When grasping a petal, it performs the transfer of the petal between different stations (such as the conveyor line, capping mechanism, and liquid injection mechanism); when grasping the water injection carrier 180, it can move above the petal to perform the water injection operation; when grasping the sliding door carrier 190, it is used to open or close the lid of the first temporary storage incubator 120. In addition, a push mechanism 170 is specially provided at the second temporary storage incubator 130, which is used to automatically open or close the lid of the second temporary storage incubator 130, realizing the full automation of the incubator door opening and closing.

[0022] Reference Figure 5 As shown, the collection unit 200 includes a collection base on which a collection and conveying mechanism 210, a collection multi-axis manipulator 220, a collection capping mechanism 230, a collection liquid injection mechanism 240, a liquid pouring and recovery mechanism 250, and a continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 are mounted. The collection and conveying mechanism 210 is used to transport culture dishes removed from the incubator. The collection multi-axis manipulator 220 has multiple degrees of freedom of motion and is used to sequentially transfer the culture dishes from the collection and conveying mechanism 210 to the collection capping mechanism 230 (for opening the cap), the collection liquid injection mechanism 240 (for injecting digestive fluids, etc.), and the liquid pouring and recovery mechanism 250 (for pouring out waste liquid and cell suspension). The collection liquid injection mechanism 240 includes multiple injection heads 241 and dispensing bags 242 connected to each injection head 241, enabling the step-by-step addition of different liquids. The liquid collection mechanism 250 includes multiple funnel bags 251, some of which are connected to the dispensing bag 242 via tubing for collecting the poured-out waste liquid; other funnel bags 251 are connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 for transporting cell suspensions rich in target cells to the continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 for centrifugation. In addition, the collection unit 200 includes an incubator 270 for temporarily storing the culture dishes after the digestive solution has been injected, providing a constant reaction temperature for the digestive enzymes and promoting cell detachment from the culture dish walls.

[0023] Reference Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the culture workstation 300 includes a culture rack 310 and a controller 320. The culture rack 310 has multiple numbered culture positions 311 (e.g., position 01#, position 02#, etc.), each with a connection port 312. These connection ports 312 are used to interface with the incubator 330 to regulate its internal temperature, humidity, and the concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen. The controller 320 is electrically connected to these connection ports 312, responsible for sending control commands and receiving sensor feedback. The client system for the transfer module is the client's control system, which communicates with the AGV scheduling system via an industrial Ethernet network. It is used to issue instructions for material handling, feeding, and workstation switching based on the production status. The AGV scheduling system receives instructions and schedules multiple AGVs 400 to perform transfer tasks. The AGV 400's carrying platform is equipped with positioning and locking mechanisms, enabling it to stably carry and transfer the incubator 330. This embodiment, through the above modular design, achieves automated integration of cell inoculation, culture, and collection. Each module can operate and be maintained independently, greatly improving the system's flexibility and reliability.

[0024] The automated cell processing device of this invention supports three cyclic production working states, which can be adapted to different production start-up scenarios and continuous production requirements: 1. Initial production state (State A): All incubators are empty, and only the inoculation process A is being performed. Reference Figure 11 As shown, the specific steps for implementing vaccination procedure A are as follows: (1) The customer system sends a material picking instruction to the AGV scheduling system to pick up the empty culture box 01# from the culture rack 310 and send it to the A inoculation station 101; (2) The AGV400 arrives at position 01# of the culture rack 310 and completes the material retrieval, and sends a material retrieval completion signal to the customer system; (3) The AGV400 arrives at the A inoculation station 101 and completes the feeding, and sends a feeding completion signal to the customer system; (4) After the cell inoculation operation of the 01# incubator is completed at the A inoculation station 101, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system; (5) Take the 01# incubator from the A inoculation station 101 of AGV400 and place it in the 01# position of the culture rack 310; (6) When the incubator at inoculation station A is full, the customer system automatically triggers a switching command to move the empty incubator at inoculation station B to inoculation station A to continue inoculation; when the switching command is received, the customer system sends an instruction to the AGV scheduling system, and AGV400 takes incubator #02 from inoculation station B 102 and places it at inoculation station A 101. (7) Repeat steps (4)-(5) to complete the transfer of the 02# incubator, and so on until all empty incubators are inoculated and cultured.

[0025] 2. Cyclic Production Status (Status B): Incubators 1-6 are empty, the rest are in the cultivation state, and inoculation process A and collection process B are executed simultaneously. (1) Take empty incubators 01# and 02# and perform the above inoculation procedure A. After inoculation, transfer them to the corresponding position of culture rack 310 for incubation. (2) Simultaneously, collect samples from maturation incubators #07 and #08 and perform collection procedure B: ① The customer system sends a feeding command to the AGV scheduling system to retrieve the 07# incubator from the incubation rack 310 and place it at collection station C 201; ② Upon receiving the material retrieval command, AGV400 retrieves the empty incubator #03 from collection station 201 and places it in position #03 of the incubator rack 310; ③ Repeat the above steps to complete the collection of incubators #07 and #08 and return the empty incubators to the warehouse.

[0026] 3. Cyclic Production Status (C Status): Before starting work, all incubators are full and in the culture state, and the collection-inoculation cycle is executed sequentially. (1) First, take the 01# and 02# maturation incubators and perform the collection process B. After the cell collection is completed, empty 01# and 02# incubators are obtained. (2) Take the 01# and 02# incubators that have been collected and emptied and perform the inoculation procedure A. After inoculation, transfer them back to the culture rack 310. (3) The 03#, 04#, 05# and 06# incubators repeat the above cycle of “collecting process B → inoculating process A” in sequence to achieve uninterrupted continuous production.

[0027] Reference Figure 3As shown, in some possible embodiments of the present invention, the pushing mechanism 170 of the inoculation unit 100 includes a fixed plate 171, a horizontal drive source 172, a lifting drive source 173, a first moving block 174, a lifting plate 175, a first guide post 176, a second guide post 177, a second moving block 178, and a positioning block 179. The fixed plate 171 is fixedly mounted on the base of the inoculation unit 100. The horizontal drive source 172 (e.g., a cylinder or electric lead screw) and the lifting drive source 173 (e.g., a cylinder) are both disposed on the fixed plate 171. The first moving block 174 is connected to the movable end of the horizontal drive source 172 and is driven to move closer to or further away from the second temporary incubator 130. The lifting plate 175 is connected to the movable end of the lifting drive source 173 and is driven to perform vertical lifting movement. The first guide post 176 is vertically disposed on the first moving block 174, and the second guide post 177 is horizontally disposed on the lifting plate 175. The second moving block 178 has two mutually perpendicular guide holes, which are respectively fitted onto the first guide post 176 and the second guide post 177. Therefore, the second moving block 178 can move vertically relative to the first moving block 174 and horizontally relative to the lifting plate 175. The positioning block 179 is fixed to the end of the second moving block 178 and has a slot 1791 on it. The shape of the slot 1791 matches the lid pull block (not shown in the figure, but a protruding handle or pull ring on the lid) of the second temporary incubator 130. During operation, the horizontal drive source 172 pushes the first moving block 174 forward, so that the slot 1791 of the positioning block 179 engages with the lid pull block; then, the lifting drive source 173 drives the lifting plate 175 to rise or fall, which drives the second moving block 178 and the positioning block 179 to rise or fall together through the second guide post 177, thereby pulling or pushing the lid to achieve automatic opening and closing. This pushing mechanism 170 has a compact structure, smooth transmission, and can accurately control the opening and closing range of the lid.

[0028] Reference Figure 4As shown, in some possible embodiments of the present invention, the water injection carrier 180 and the sliding door carrier 190 of the inoculation unit 100 are both mounted on the support frame of the inoculation base. Both are constructed as rod-shaped structures with a disc-shaped gripping part at one end and a working part at the other end. This structure facilitates the stable gripping of the disc-shaped part by the inoculation transport robot 140 using grippers or suction cups. The working part of the water injection carrier 180 is a water injection pipe arranged vertically downwards. This water injection pipe can be connected to an external sterile water source or injection pump via a flexible hose. When the inoculation transport robot 140 grips the water injection carrier 180 and moves it above the culture dish, a precise water injection operation can be performed. The working part of the sliding door carrier 190 is a hook for pulling the cover door. When it is necessary to open or close the lid of the first temporary incubator 120, the inoculation transport robot 140 grasps the sliding door carrier 190, moves it to the lid, hooks the pull block on the lid with a hook, and then moves the robot to achieve the push-pull action. By setting up these two dedicated carriers, a general-purpose inoculation transport robot 140 can complete multiple operations such as culture dish transfer, water injection, and door opening and closing without adding complex end effectors, effectively reducing equipment costs and complexity.

[0029] Reference Figure 5 As shown, in some possible embodiments of the invention, the inoculation conveyor line 110 of the inoculation unit 100 includes two conveyor belts 111 arranged side by side in a horizontal direction. The drive motors of the two conveyor belts 111 rotate in opposite directions, so their running directions are also opposite; one is used for forward conveying (e.g., from left to right), and the other is used for reverse conveying (e.g., from right to left). Each end of each conveyor belt 111 is provided with a connecting conveyor 112, which is arranged in a horizontal longitudinal direction (i.e., perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 111). The connecting conveyor 112 itself may be a short section of actively driven belt or roller assembly, capable of driving the culture dish to move back and forth in a horizontal longitudinal direction. In operation, a culture dish first moves from one end to the other on one conveyor belt 111. When it reaches the end, the connecting conveyor 112 at that point starts, pushing the culture dish laterally onto the other conveyor belt 111, and then conveying it in the reverse direction. In this way, the petri dishes can form a rectangular circulating transport path on the inoculation transport line 110, passing under the inoculation capping mechanism 150 and the inoculation liquid injection mechanism 160 in sequence multiple times, thus completing multiple processes such as opening the cap, injecting liquid, and sealing the cap on the same compact line. This design of dual conveyor belts plus connecting conveyors effectively extends the transport path and processing time of the petri dishes in a limited space, improving space utilization and process integration.

[0030] Reference Figure 8As shown, in some possible embodiments of the present invention, the incubator 270 of the collection unit 200 includes a box body 271 with an open top, a cover plate 272 hinged to the upper end of the box body 271, and a flipping motor (not shown) for driving the cover plate 272 to flip. The box body 271 is equipped with a heater, a temperature sensor, and an insulation layer, capable of maintaining a preset constant temperature environment (e.g., 37°C). When the multi-axis collecting robot 220 moves the culture dish, after injecting digestive fluid and resealing it, to the vicinity of the incubator 270, the flipping motor receives a control signal and drives the cover plate 272 to flip upwards, opening the opening of the box body 271. After the multi-axis collecting robot 220 smoothly places the culture dish into the box body 271 and moves it away, the flipping motor then drives the cover plate 272 to close, allowing the culture dish to remain in the box body 271 for a preset time (e.g., 5-15 minutes) to ensure that the digestive fluid works fully at a constant temperature. After settling, the flip motor reopens the cover 272, and the multi-axis robotic arm 220 removes the culture dish for subsequent liquid removal. The incubator 270 ensures the accuracy and consistency of the temperature during the digestion process, thereby improving the efficiency of cell detachment from the culture dish wall and the quality of the final collected cells.

[0031] Reference Figure 8 As shown, in some possible embodiments of the present invention, the collection unit 200 further includes a pull plate assembly 280. This pull plate assembly 280 is used to automatically pull out or push in the tray inside the culture chamber (i.e., the second culture chamber) to facilitate the collection and placement of culture dishes by the multi-axis robot arm 220. The pull plate assembly 280 includes a hook 281 and a two-axis linkage drive source 282. The two-axis linkage drive source 282 is typically composed of a horizontal drive unit (such as a rodless cylinder or electric slide) and a vertical drive unit (such as a small cylinder), capable of driving the hook 281 to make precise compound movements in both the horizontal and vertical directions. During operation, the two-axis linkage drive source 282 first moves the hook 281 to the opening of the culture chamber, then the vertical drive unit lowers the hook 281 to hook onto the pull hole or flange on the edge of the tray inside the culture chamber. Next, the horizontal drive unit activates, moving the hook 281 outward horizontally, thereby smoothly pulling the entire tray out of the culture chamber to the preset pick-up / placement position. The multi-axis robotic arm 220 can easily remove mature culture dishes from the tray or return empty culture dishes to the tray after processing. Once all operations are complete, the pull hook 281 smoothly pushes the tray back into the incubator. The pull plate assembly 280 enables automated batch storage and retrieval of culture dishes and incubators without manual intervention, significantly improving processing efficiency and reliability.

[0032] Reference Figure 7As shown, in some possible embodiments of the present invention, the liquid collection and injection mechanism 240 further includes a horizontally extending support tube on which multiple injection heads 241 are arranged vertically downwards. Each injection head 241 is connected to a corresponding dispensing bag 242 via an independent hose and an independent injection pump (e.g., a peristaltic pump). The advantage of this design is that it allows for the independent, precise, and cross-contamination-free injection of multiple liquids. In this embodiment, three injection heads 241 can be provided, respectively for injecting washing solution, digestion solution, and termination solution (or culture medium). The multi-axis manipulator 220 sequentially transfers the opened culture dish to the bottom of different injection heads 241, and the corresponding injection pump is activated to add a preset volume of specific liquid to the culture dish. Simultaneously, among the multiple funnel bags 251 of the liquid pouring and recovery mechanism 250, a portion is connected to the aforementioned dispensing bag 242 for recovering poured waste liquid (such as washing liquid and supernatant), while another portion is connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 specifically for receiving cell suspensions containing target cells. This multi-channel, step-by-step injection and recovery design enables complex cell collection processes to be executed efficiently and systematically on automated equipment.

[0033] Reference Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, in some possible embodiments of the present invention, the culture rack 310 of the culture workstation 300 is designed as a stand structure capable of accommodating multiple culture chambers 330. Each culture station 311 is an independent workstation, with a set of connection ports 312 including a gas interface (for supplying CO2, N2, etc.), a temperature control interface (for communicating with the heating element), a humidity control interface (for communicating with the humidifier), and a data communication interface. Each culture chamber 330 has an adapter 331 on its back or bottom that corresponds one-to-one with the connection port 312. When the transfer module places the culture chamber 330 on an empty culture station 311, the adapter 331 and the connection port 312 achieve a sealed and reliable electrical connection through mechanical positioning and an automatic docking mechanism. The controller 320 then identifies the culture chamber 330 and, according to a preset culture program, independently adjusts the temperature, humidity, and gas concentration inside the culture chamber 330 through the connection port 312. Each culture station 311 is independent of each other and does not interfere with each other, allowing for simultaneous cell culture under different conditions and in different batches. This modular design of the culture workstation allows the system to flexibly add unit modules of the culture rack 310 according to production needs, thereby linearly expanding the culture capacity, which has strong flexibility and scalability.

[0034] This invention also provides an automated cell processing method based on the aforementioned device. This method supports three cyclical production states adapted to different production scenarios: an initial empty state (State A), a cyclical production phase (6 incubators empty) (State B), and a state where all incubators are full before the start of the cyclical production cycle (State C). In each state, the AGV400 automatically transfers incubators through unified scheduling by the customer system, while the inoculation unit 100 and collection unit 200 execute process operations in parallel, achieving fully unmanned continuous production.

[0035] (I) General steps for core process operation Throughout all operating states, the core process steps for cell seeding and cell collection remain consistent, as follows: 1. Cell seeding procedure (single incubator batch) (1) Empty culture dish loading: Sterilized empty culture dishes are loaded in batches to the feed end of the inoculation conveyor line 110, and the inoculation conveyor line 110 transports the culture dishes to the gripping station of the inoculation transfer robot 140. (2) Automatic opening: The inoculation transport robot 140 grabs the empty culture dish and transfers it to the inoculation capping mechanism 150. The inoculation capping mechanism 150 opens the culture dish cap by rotating the gripper and temporarily stores it. (3) Cell suspension injection: The inoculation transport robot 140 transfers the opened culture dish to the inoculation injection mechanism 160 below, and the inoculation injection mechanism 160 injects a preset volume (e.g., 10 mL) of cell suspension into the culture dish through a precision injection pump. (4) Optional water injection operation: If it is necessary to maintain the humidity of the culture environment, the inoculation transport robot 140 grabs the water injection carrier 180, moves it above the culture dish, and injects sterile water into the edge of the culture dish through the water injection tube; (5) Automatic capping: After the liquid is injected, the inoculation transport robot 140 moves the culture dish back to the inoculation capping mechanism 150, and the inoculation capping mechanism 150 tightens the temporarily stored cap to complete the capping. (6) Invert and mix: The inoculation transport robot grabs the sealed culture dish and inverts it 3-5 times at 180° to make the cell suspension evenly distributed on the culture surface of the culture dish; (7) Storage in the incubator: The inoculation transport robot 140 grasps the sliding door carrier 190, opens the cover of the first temporary storage incubator 120, and neatly places the flipped culture dishes on the tray inside the incubator; after placement, the cover is closed by the sliding door carrier 190. When the first temporary storage incubator 120 is full, the pushing mechanism 170 automatically opens the cover of the second temporary storage incubator 130 to continue storing culture dishes.

[0036] 2. Cell collection procedures (single incubator batch) (1) Tray pull-out: The two-axis linkage drive source 282 of the pull plate assembly 280 drives the pull hook 281 to move to the incubator opening of the C collection station 201, hooks the pull hole on the edge of the tray, and pulls the tray out smoothly to the material pick-up and drop-off position. (2) Automatic opening: The multi-axis robotic arm 220 picks up the culture dish that has matured from the tray and transfers it to the collection and capping mechanism 230. The collection and capping mechanism 230 unscrews the cap of the culture dish and temporarily stores it. (3) Multi-channel liquid injection: The multi-axis manipulator 220 sequentially transfers the opened culture dish to different injection heads 241 of the liquid collection mechanism 240, and injects washing solution (to remove residual culture medium), trypsin digestion solution (to detach cells from the bottom of the dish) and stop solution (to terminate the digestion reaction). (4) Keep warm and stand: After the liquid is injected, the collection and capping mechanism 230 tightens the culture dish lid again, and the collection multi-axis robot 220 transfers the culture dish to the incubator 270; the flipping motor of the incubator 270 drives the cover plate 272 to open, and after the culture dish is placed in, the cover plate is closed and it stands in a constant temperature environment of 37℃ for 5-10 minutes. (5) Liquid separation: After settling, the multi-axis manipulator 220 removes the culture dish and moves it to the capping mechanism 230 to open the cap; then tilt the culture dish at 45° and pour the supernatant (waste culture medium and washing solution) into the funnel bag 251 connected to the waste liquid preparation bag 242; then pour the remaining cell suspension into the funnel bag 251 connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism 260. (6) Continuous centrifugation: The cell suspension flows into the centrifuge cup of the continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 through a sealed tube. The continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 centrifuges at a preset speed (e.g., 3000 rpm) for 5 minutes, so that the cells precipitate at the bottom of the centrifuge cup and the supernatant is automatically discharged. (7) Cell harvesting: After centrifugation, the continuous centrifugation mechanism 260 automatically discharges the cell pellet to obtain highly active target cells, completing the single batch cell collection. The empty culture dish is placed back into the tray by the collection multi-axis robot arm 220, and the pull plate assembly 280 pushes the tray back into the empty incubator.

[0037] (II) Complete process of initial empty state (State A) of production Applicable scenarios: When the equipment is started for the first time, when changing production batches, or when restarting after a long period of shutdown, all incubators are empty and have not been used for cultivation.

[0038] Execution logic: Only execute the inoculation process A, and complete the inoculation, transfer and culture of all empty incubators in the order of their numbers until the culture rack 310 is completely filled.

[0039] Specific steps: 1. The customer system generates a retrieval request and sends a status confirmation command to the controller 320 of the culture rack 310 to confirm that the culture box in culture position 01# is empty and available; 2. If the status is confirmed as OK, the customer system sends a material retrieval instruction to the AGV scheduling system: "Take empty incubator #01 from position #01 of incubator 310 and send it to inoculation station A 101"; 3. The AGV scheduling system dispatches an idle AGV400 to position 01# of the cultivation rack 310, and after completing the material retrieval, sends a "material retrieval completed" signal to the customer system; 4. The AGV400 travels to inoculation station 101 (A), accurately places the empty incubator #01 on the station positioning platform, sends a "feeding complete" signal to the customer system, and the task ends. 5. Start inoculation unit 100 and complete the inoculation of all culture dishes in incubator 01# according to the above "Cell Inoculation Operation" steps; 6. After inoculation is completed, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system: "Take incubator #01 from inoculation station 101 and place it in position #01 of incubator rack 310". 7. The AGV400 performs the transfer task, sending the inoculated 01# incubator back to position 01# of the culture rack 310. The adapter 331 of the incubator automatically connects with the connection port 312 of the culture position 311, and the controller 320 begins to adjust the culture environment (37℃, 5% CO2, saturated humidity). 8. When it is necessary to switch inoculation stations, the customer system sends a switching instruction to the AGV scheduling system: "Take empty incubator #02 from inoculation station B 102 and place it in inoculation station A 101"; 9. After the AGV400 completes the workstation switch, repeat steps 5-7 to complete the inoculation and transfer of the 02# incubator; 10. Continue in this manner until all empty incubators are inoculated and placed in culture rack 310 for incubation, at which point the initial production process ends.

[0040] (III) Complete process of the cyclic production stage (6 incubators are empty) (State B) Applicable scenario: In continuous production, some incubators have completed their cultivation and been emptied (in this example, incubators 1 to 6 are empty), while the remaining incubators (7 and above) are still in the cultivation state.

[0041] Execution logic: The inoculation process A and the collection process B are executed in parallel, and the production capacity is maximized by taking advantage of the time difference in cultivation.

[0042] Specific steps: 1. Parallel task startup: The client system generates two task queues simultaneously: Inoculation task queue: Take empty incubators #01 and #02 and execute inoculation procedure A; Collection task queue: Take 07# and 08# maturity incubators and execute collection process B.

[0043] 2. Inoculation Procedure A (Incubators #01 and #02) Follow the inoculation procedure A in exactly as described above. After inoculating the empty incubators 01# and 02#, transfer them back to the corresponding positions on the culture rack 310 for incubation.

[0044] 3. Collect B process (07#, 08# incubators) (1) The customer system sends a loading command to the AGV scheduling system: "Take the 03# mature incubator from position 03# of the incubation rack 310 and place it in collection station C 201"; (2) The AGV400 performs the transfer task, delivers the 03# mature incubator to the C collection station 201, and sends a "feeding completed" signal to the customer system; (3) The collection unit 200 is started and the cells in all culture dishes in the 03# incubator are collected according to the above "cell collection operation" steps to obtain an empty 03# incubator; (4) After collection is completed, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system: "Take empty incubator #03 from collection station 201 and place it in position #03 of incubator rack 310". (5) The AGV400 returns the empty 03# incubator to position 03# of the culture rack 310, waiting for the next round of inoculation; (6) Repeat steps (1)-(5) to collect the 04#~08# incubators and return the empty incubators to the warehouse in sequence.

[0045] 4. Continuous cycle: After the 01# and 02# incubators have completed their incubation, they automatically enter the collection task queue; when the 03#~06# empty incubators need to be inoculated, they automatically enter the inoculation task queue, forming a continuous cycle of production.

[0046] (iv) Complete process of ensuring the incubator is fully filled (C state) before starting work in a cyclical production cycle Applicable scenario: Before starting work each day, all incubators are full and in a mature state, requiring quick start-up of production and uninterrupted operation.

[0047] Execution logic: The system adopts a “collection-inoculation” serial loop mode. First, mature incubators are collected to obtain empty incubators, and then the empty incubators are immediately used for inoculation to achieve seamless production capacity.

[0048] Specific steps: 1. First batch of cycles (01#, 02# incubators) (1) The customer system sends an instruction to the AGV scheduling system to retrieve the 01# and 02# mature incubators to perform the collection process B. The cell collection is completed according to the collection process B steps of the above-mentioned B state, and empty 01# and 02# incubators are obtained. (2) After collection, the customer system immediately dispatches AGV400 to transfer the empty 01# and 02# incubators to inoculation station A 101 and inoculation station B 102 to execute inoculation process A; (3) After inoculation, transfer the 01# and 02# incubators back to the corresponding positions of the culture rack 310 for incubation.

[0049] 2. Subsequent batches will be cycled (incubators #03 to #06). Incubators #03, #04, #05, and #06 sequentially repeat the above cyclical steps of "collecting step B → inoculating step A," that is: Collect 03# mature incubator → obtain empty 03# box → inoculate 03# box → return to incubator rack; Collect 04# mature incubator → obtain empty 04# box → inoculate 04# box → put back into incubator rack; This process continues until all incubators have completed one cycle.

[0050] 3. Continuous operation: After the first cycle is completed, the earliest inoculated 01# and 02# incubators have matured and automatically enter the next collection-inoculation cycle, realizing uninterrupted production of the equipment around the clock.

[0051] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An automated cell processing device, characterized in that, include: An inoculation unit, used for inoculating culture containers with cells, includes an inoculation base, an inoculation conveyor line disposed on the inoculation base, a first temporary storage culture box and a second temporary storage culture box disposed at opposite ends of the inoculation conveyor line, and an inoculation transport robot, an inoculation capping mechanism, and an inoculation injection mechanism arranged around the inoculation conveyor line. The inoculation base of the inoculation unit is also provided with a water injection carrier and a sliding door carrier. The inoculation transport robot is configured to selectively grasp the culture container, the water injection carrier, or the sliding door carrier to perform culture container transfer, water injection, and opening or closing the lid of the first temporary storage culture box, respectively. A pushing mechanism is provided at the second temporary storage culture box for automatically opening or closing the lid of the second temporary storage culture box. The inoculation unit is provided with an inoculation station A and an inoculation station B. A collection unit for collecting cells from mature culture containers includes a collection base, a collection and delivery mechanism mounted on the collection base, a multi-axis collection manipulator, a collection capping mechanism, a collection injection mechanism, a liquid pouring and recovery mechanism, and a continuous centrifugation mechanism. The multi-axis collection manipulator sequentially transfers the culture containers from the collection and delivery mechanism to the collection capping mechanism, the collection injection mechanism, and the liquid pouring and recovery mechanism. The collection injection mechanism includes multiple injection heads and a dispensing bag connected to them. The liquid pouring and recovery mechanism includes multiple funnel bags, some of which are connected to the dispensing bag to recover waste liquid, and others are connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism to deliver cell suspension. The collection unit also includes an insulated box for temporarily storing the culture containers after the digestion solution has been injected. The collection unit is equipped with a C-collection station. A culture workstation for storing and regulating the internal culture environment of at least one incubator, comprising a culture rack with multiple numbered culture positions and a controller, each of the culture positions having a connection port for connecting and regulating temperature, humidity and gas concentration; The transfer module includes an AGV, an AGV scheduling system, and a customer system. The customer system is communicatively connected to the AGV scheduling system and is used to issue material picking, feeding, and switching instructions. The AGV scheduling system is used to schedule the AGV to transfer the incubator between the A inoculation station, B inoculation station, C collection station, and the culture rack of the culture workstation. The incubator is configured to be movably disposed within the inoculation unit, the collection unit, and the culture workstation, and can be connected to the connection port on the culture station via an adapter provided thereon to receive environmental control from the controller.

2. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pushing mechanism of the inoculation unit includes a fixed plate, a horizontal drive source and a lifting drive source disposed on the fixed plate, a first moving block connected to the horizontal drive source, a lifting plate connected to the lifting drive source, a first guide post sleeved on the first moving block and a second moving block on the second guide post on the lifting plate, and a positioning block disposed at the end of the second moving block. The positioning block has a slot that matches the door pull block of the second temporary storage incubator.

3. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The water injection carrier and the sliding door carrier of the inoculation unit are both mounted on the support frame of the inoculation base, and each is a rod-shaped structure with a disc-shaped structure at one end and a working part at the other end; the working part of the water injection carrier is a water injection pipe arranged vertically downwards, and the working part of the sliding door carrier is a hook for hooking the cover door.

4. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inoculation unit's inoculation conveyor line includes two horizontally parallel conveyor belts running in opposite directions. Each conveyor belt has a connecting conveyor at both ends. The connecting conveyor is arranged horizontally and longitudinally to drive the culture container to transfer between the two conveyor belts to form a circular conveying path.

5. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The insulated box of the collection unit includes a box body with an open top, a cover plate hinged to the upper end of the box body, and a flipping motor for driving the cover plate to flip to open and close the box body.

6. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The collection unit also includes a pull plate assembly, which includes a hook and a two-axis linkage drive source for driving the hook to move in the horizontal and vertical directions. The hook is used to pull out or push in the tray inside the incubator.

7. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid collection and injection mechanism also includes a horizontally extending support tube, and a plurality of injection heads are arranged vertically downward on the support tube. Each injection head is connected to the corresponding liquid preparation bag through an independent hose and injection pump.

8. The automated cell processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The culture rack of the culture workstation can accommodate multiple culture chambers, and the connection port on each culture position is used to connect with the adapter of one of the culture chambers. The environment of each culture position can be independently controlled.

9. An automated cell processing method, comprising using the automated cell processing apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, It supports three cyclic production working states: the initial empty state at the beginning of production, the cyclic production stage (6 incubators are empty), and the incubators are full before the start of cyclic production. In each state, the corresponding inoculation A process and / or collection B process are executed. The vaccination procedure A includes the following steps: Step A1: The customer system sends a material retrieval instruction to the AGV scheduling system to retrieve the empty incubator with the corresponding number from the incubation rack and deliver it to incubation station A or incubation station B. Step A2: After the cell inoculation operation is completed at the inoculation station, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system. The AGV retrieves the culture box corresponding to the inoculation station and places it into the original numbered culture position on the culture rack. Step A3: Upon receiving the switching command, the AGV retrieves the incubator from inoculation station B and places it at inoculation station A. Step A4: Repeat step A2 to complete this batch of vaccinations. The process for collecting B includes the following steps: Step B1: The customer system sends a loading command to the AGV scheduling system, retrieves the mature incubation box with the corresponding number on the incubation rack, and places it at the C collection station. Step B2: After the cell collection operation is completed at collection station C, the customer system sends a material retrieval command to the AGV scheduling system. The AGV retrieves the empty incubator from collection station C and places it into the original numbered culture position on the culture rack. The cell seeding operation includes: loading empty culture containers onto the seeding conveyor line; the seeding transport robot transfers the containers to the seeding capping mechanism for opening; then the containers are transferred to the seeding injection mechanism for injecting cell suspension; finally, the seeding capping mechanism seals the containers; the seeding transport robot flips the sealed culture containers over and stores them in an incubator. The cell collection process includes: a multi-axis robotic arm removes the culture container from the incubator, moves it to the collection capping mechanism to open the cap, and the collection injection mechanism injects digestive fluid. The container is then placed in an incubator to stand. After that, the culture container is removed, and the supernatant is poured into the corresponding funnel bag. The cell suspension is then poured into the funnel bag connected to the continuous centrifugation mechanism. The continuous centrifugation mechanism is started to perform centrifugation separation to obtain the target cells.

10. The automated cell processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The specific execution logic for the three working states is as follows: A. Initial production state: All incubators are empty, and only inoculation process A is performed to complete the inoculation and transfer culture of all empty incubators in sequence; B. Cyclic production status: Incubators 1-6 are empty, the rest are in the cultivation state, and inoculation process A and collection process B are executed simultaneously. Incubators 01# and 02# are used for inoculation process A, and incubators 07# and 08# are used for collection process B. C. Cyclic Production Status: Before starting work, all incubators are full and in the culture state. First, take incubators 01# and 02# for collection process B, then take incubators 01# and 02# that have been emptied after collection for inoculation process A. Repeat the above collection-inoculation cycle process for incubators 03# to 06#.

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