Bacterial colony selecting equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of bacterial colony selection, in particular to bacterial colony selection equipment which comprises a stock bin storage unit, a conveying unit and a selection unit. The stock bin storage unit comprises a bacterial colony storage assembly; the bacterial colony storage assembly comprises a rotating mechanism and a culture dish storage rack rotatably mounted on the rotating mechanism, the culture dish storage rack comprises multiple layers of culture dish storage tables, and each layer of culture dish storage table is provided with a plurality of culture dish storage cavities at intervals in the circumferential direction so as to be used for storing culture dishes with to-be-selected bacterial colonies; the conveying unit is used for conveying to-be-operated culture dishes to the selecting unit; the selecting unit is used for selecting and extracting bacterial colonies in the culture dishes to be operated. The device is simple in structure and convenient to operate, and can be effectively applied to automatic selection of bacterial colonies.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of colony selection, in particular to a colony selection device. Background Art

[0002] At present, most of the colony picking is done by researchers manually picking microbial colonies in culture dishes. In this process, there are improper manual picking operations, which result in the failure to pick all the colonies or the destruction of the target colonies. In addition, manual picking is time-consuming and labor-intensive, which increases the labor cost of scientific research and production. Therefore, instruments and equipment for automatic colony picking were born. The current automated colony picking equipment is mainly a turntable picking device. Although it realizes automated operation, it is equipped with multiple independent devices. It takes a long process to complete the selection and placement of a workpiece, and the picking efficiency is low. In addition, multiple independent devices occupy a large area and the implementation cost is high. Utility Model Content

[0003] In order to solve at least one of the shortcomings of the colony picking operation in the above-mentioned prior art, the utility model provides a colony picking device, including a silo storage unit, a conveying unit and a picking unit;

[0004] The silo storage unit includes a colony storage assembly; the colony storage assembly includes a rotating mechanism and a culture dish storage rack rotatably mounted on the rotating mechanism, the culture dish storage rack includes a multi-layer culture dish storage table, each layer of the culture dish storage table is provided with a plurality of culture dish storage cavities at intervals along the circumferential direction, for storing culture dishes for placing colonies to be selected;

[0005] The conveying unit is used to convey the culture dish to be processed to the selection unit;

[0006] The picking unit is used to pick and extract the bacterial colonies in the culture dish to be operated.

[0007] In one embodiment, the silo storage unit further comprises a silo storage assembly, the silo storage assembly comprising a moving mechanism and a silo storage rack movably mounted on the moving mechanism; the silo storage rack is used to store at least one of a needle box, a culture medium silo and a detection silo;

[0008] The conveying unit includes a multi-axis conveying module and a clamping mechanism located on the multi-axis conveying module, and the multi-axis conveying module drives the clamping mechanism to move back and forth between the silo storage unit and the selection unit; the multi-axis conveying module includes three groups of linear transmission mechanisms that move back and forth in a straight line along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions respectively;

[0009] The moving mechanism is used to move the bin storage rack to the clamping mechanism, and the clamping mechanism moves at least one of the needle box, culture fluid bin and detection bin on the bin storage rack to the selection unit through a multi-axis conveying module.

[0010] In one embodiment, the picking unit includes a picking table and a culture dish placement station, a bin placement mechanism, a pipetting mechanism, a visual inspection mechanism, and a waste collection device located on the picking table;

[0011] The culture dish placement station is used to store the culture dishes to be operated; the chamber placement mechanism is used to place the needle box, the culture liquid chamber and the detection chamber; the visual detection mechanism includes a processor and an industrial camera connected by signals; the industrial camera is arranged on the pipetting mechanism to collect image information of the bacterial colonies in the culture dish and transmit it to the processor for information processing to detect and screen the bacterial colonies in the culture dish located at the culture dish placement station;

[0012] The pipetting mechanism includes a multi-axis pipetting module mounted on the selection table and an electric pipetting gun located on the multi-axis pipetting module; the multi-axis pipetting module includes three groups of linear transmission mechanisms that move back and forth in a straight line along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions respectively; the electric pipetting gun picks up the needles in the needle box through the multi-axis pipetting module, and then uses the needle to select the colonies in the culture dish on the culture dish placement station according to the information fed back by the visual inspection mechanism, and moves the colonies to the culture liquid tank to form a mixed liquid, and then uses the needle to absorb the mixed liquid and move the mixed liquid to the detection tank; the waste collection device is used to collect the discarded needles after selection.

[0013] In one embodiment, a clamping structure and at least one first positioning block are provided on the culture dish placement station, the clamping structure includes a clamping cylinder and a clamping member, a first cavity capable of accommodating the culture dish is formed between the clamping member and the first positioning block; when the culture dish is placed in the first cavity, the clamping cylinder drives the clamping member to clamp the culture dish between the clamping member and the first positioning block; a step slot is provided on the selection table at the first cavity, the upper opening of the step slot is adapted to the bottom of the culture dish so that the culture dish can be embedded in the upper opening of the step slot; a lighting assembly is provided below the selection table at the step slot;

[0014] A plurality of second positioning blocks are also arranged on the culture dish placement station, and a second cavity capable of accommodating the culture dish cover is formed between the plurality of second positioning blocks.

[0015] In one embodiment, the bin placement mechanism includes a transfer component and a storage panel located on the transfer component, and the transfer component is used to drive the storage panel to move toward or away from the culture dish placement station; the storage panel is used to store the head box, culture fluid bin and detection bin.

[0016] In one embodiment, a through cavity is provided on the selection table, and the waste collection device is arranged below the selection table, and the discarded needles fall into the waste collection device through the through cavity;

[0017] The bottom of the inner cavity of the waste collecting device is inclined away from the through cavity.

[0018] In one embodiment, the bin storage rack includes a multi-layer bin storage platform, each of which is provided with a plurality of positioning members, and the positioning members are used to limit the needle box, the culture medium bin and the detection bin.

[0019] In one embodiment, the culture fluid tank and the detection tank form a tank body structure; wherein, the tank body structure includes a support frame and two tank plates; two chambers are provided on the support frame, and the two tank plates are respectively placed in the two chambers to respectively constitute the culture fluid tank and the detection tank; at least one through groove is provided at the bottom of the support frame in the horizontal direction, and the through groove can accommodate the clamping member of the clamping mechanism to extend therein, so that the clamping member can extend into the through groove and clamp the tank body structure.

[0020] In one embodiment, it further comprises a code recognition unit, wherein the code recognition unit is used to recognize a unique identification code of the culture dish to be selected.

[0021] In one embodiment, a biological safety cabinet is further included, and the selection unit is located in the biological safety cabinet.

[0022] Based on the above, compared with the prior art, the colony picking device provided by the utility model can automatically complete the colony picking steps such as feeding, picking, sucking, mixing, etc., greatly improving the efficiency and accuracy of colony picking, avoiding colony infection, and reducing production loss. It has a simple structure, is easy to use, and has good application prospects.

[0023] Other features and beneficial effects of the utility model will be described in the subsequent description, and partly become apparent from the description, or understood by practicing the utility model. The purpose and other beneficial effects of the utility model can be achieved and obtained by the structures specifically pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. The positional relationships described in the drawings in the following description are based on the directions of the components shown in the diagrams unless otherwise specified.

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the top view of the structure of a colony selection device provided in one embodiment of the utility model;

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a colony selection device provided in one embodiment of the utility model;

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the colony storage component;

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the warehouse storage component;

[0029] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the selection unit;

[0030] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the selection unit without the storage panel;

[0031] Figure 7 is another three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the selection unit;

[0032] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the selection unit;

[0033] Fig. 9 It is a top view structural diagram of the selection unit;

[0034] Fig.10 It is a structural diagram of the warehouse structure.

[0035] Reference numerals:

[0036] 10-Conveying unit 11-Multi-axis conveying module 12-Clamping mechanism

[0037] 20-Selection unit 21-Selection table 22-Petri dish placement station

[0038] 221-clamping structure 222-first positioning block 221a-clamping cylinder

[0039] 221b-clamping member 22a-first cavity 21a-step through groove

[0040] 223-second positioning block 22b-second cavity 21b through cavity

[0041] 23-bin placement mechanism 231-transfer assembly 232-storage panel

[0042] 24- Visual detection mechanism 25- Liquid transfer mechanism 251- Multi-axis liquid transfer module

[0043] 252-Electric pipette 26-Lighting assembly 27-Waste collection device

[0044] 30- Silo storage unit 31- Colony storage component 32- Silo storage component

[0045] 311-rotating mechanism 312-culture dish storage rack 312a-culture dish storage chamber

[0046] 321-mobile mechanism 322-warehouse storage rack 322a-positioning piece

[0047] 40- warehouse structure 41- support frame 42- warehouse board

[0048] 41a- chamber 41b- slot 50- control cabinet DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the utility model clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the utility model will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the utility model, rather than all of the embodiments; the technical features designed in different implementation modes of the utility model described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other; based on the embodiments in the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0050] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that all terms (including technical terms and scientific terms) used in the present invention have the same meanings as those generally understood by ordinary technicians in the field to which the present invention belongs, and cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention; it should be further understood that the terms used in the present invention should be understood to have meanings consistent with the meanings of these terms in the context of this specification and in the relevant fields, and should not be understood in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless explicitly defined in this utility model.

[0051] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2The utility model provides a colony picking device, which includes a conveying unit 10, a picking unit 20 and a silo storage unit 30.

[0052] The silo storage unit 30 includes a bacterial colony storage component 31; see Figure 3 The colony storage assembly 31 includes a rotating mechanism 311 and a culture dish storage rack 312 rotatably mounted on the rotating mechanism 311. The culture dish storage rack 312 includes a plurality of culture dish storage tables. Each layer of the culture dish storage table is provided with a plurality of culture dish storage cavities 312a at intervals along the circumferential direction for storing culture dishes for colonies to be selected.

[0053] The rotating mechanism 311 includes but is not limited to an intermittent or non-intermittent motion mechanism such as an electric turntable mechanism, a gear rack mechanism, a bevel gear structure, a ratchet mechanism, a groove wheel structure, a cam mechanism, etc., so that the culture dish storage rack 312 can rotate relatively. In order to save space, the culture dish storage rack 312 includes multiple layers of culture dish storage tables, wherein each layer of the culture dish storage table is provided with a plurality of culture dish storage cavities 312a at intervals along the circumferential direction. Preferably, please continue to refer to Figure 3 At least one limiting block or limiting groove is formed around the culture dish storage cavity 312a to limit a single culture dish in the preset culture dish storage cavity 312a to avoid accidental movement and affect subsequent work. In this embodiment, the culture dish storage cavities 312a are preferably arranged on the culture dish storage table at equal intervals along the circumferential direction.

[0054] Through the design of the colony storage assembly 31, the storage of culture dishes can be increased in a limited space, thereby improving space utilization. In addition, by using the cooperation between the rotating mechanism 311 and the conveying unit 10, a single culture dish can be conveyed to the picking unit 20, thereby avoiding the problems of long conveying time and complicated conveying when only the conveying unit 10 is used, thereby improving conveying efficiency.

[0055] The conveying unit 10 is used to convey the culture dish to be processed to the selection unit 20, and is also used to convey at least one of the needle box, the culture liquid tank and the detection tank to the selection unit 20. The conveying unit 10 can be one or more synchronous belt components that respectively convey one or more of the culture dish, the needle box, the culture liquid tank and the detection tank, or one or more sets of multi-axis manipulators, which can be reasonably designed according to actual needs.

[0056] For example, in this embodiment, see Figure 1The conveying unit 10 includes a multi-axis conveying module 11 and a clamping mechanism 12 located on the multi-axis conveying module 11. Among them, the multi-axis conveying module 11 is three groups of linear transmission mechanisms that move back and forth in a straight line along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions respectively. As an example, the linear transmission mechanism may include but is not limited to one or more of a guide rail slider assembly, a screw nut assembly, a synchronous belt assembly, a sprocket assembly, a gear rack assembly, a crank slider assembly, and a cam assembly. Of course, the linear transmission mechanism also includes a motor or a motor and a transmission component, and the output shaft of the motor is directly or indirectly connected to the linear transmission mechanism through a transmission component to drive the linear transmission mechanism to achieve reciprocating motion. The clamping mechanism 12 can be a pneumatic mechanical clamp, an electric mechanical clamp, or a negative pressure suction cup, etc. The specific structure can be reasonably set according to the structure of the object to be clamped, and is not limited here.

[0057] Furthermore, the silo storage unit 30 also includes a silo storage assembly 32, see Figure 4 The bin storage assembly 32 includes a moving mechanism 321 and a bin storage rack 322 movably mounted on the moving mechanism 321; the bin storage rack 322 is used to store at least one of a needle box, a culture medium bin, and a detection bin. The moving mechanism 321 is used to move the bin storage rack 322 to the clamping mechanism 12, and the clamping mechanism 12 moves at least one of the needle box, the culture medium bin, and the detection bin on the bin storage rack 322 to the selection unit 20 through the multi-axis conveying module 11.

[0058] The moving mechanism 321 can also adopt a linear motion mechanism, for example, including but not limited to one or more of a guide rail slider assembly, a lead screw nut assembly, a synchronous belt assembly, a sprocket assembly, a gear rack assembly, a crank slider assembly, and a cam assembly, and is reasonably designed according to the placement position of the actual bin storage rack 322 and the position of the conveying unit 10. Through the cooperation of the moving mechanism 321 and the conveying unit 10, the problems of long conveying time and complicated conveying existing in the use of only the conveying unit 10 can also be avoided, thereby improving the conveying efficiency.

[0059] Preferably, please continue to see Figure 4 , the bin storage rack 322 includes a multi-layer bin storage platform, each of which is provided with a number of positioning members 322a, and the positioning members 322a are used to limit the needle box, culture fluid bin and detection bin. Specifically, the positioning member 322a can be one or more limiting blocks placed on the bin storage platform to limit the horizontal movement of the needle box, culture fluid bin or detection bin to avoid affecting the subsequent delivery operation of the delivery unit 10 due to accidental movement. The positioning member 322a can also be a limiting groove that matches the bottom shape of the needle box, culture fluid bin or detection bin, so as to embed the needle box, culture fluid bin or detection bin into the limiting groove. The specific design is based on actual needs and is not limited here.

[0060] Better yet, to further improve the delivery efficiency, please refer to Fig.10 , the culture liquid bin and the detection bin form a bin structure 40; that is, the culture liquid bin and the detection bin form an integral bin structure 40, and the conveying unit 10 only needs to move the bin structure 40 once to simultaneously move the culture liquid bin and the detection bin to the selection unit 20. Specifically, the bin structure 40 includes a support frame 41 and two bin plates 42; the support frame 41 is provided with two chambers 41a, and the two bin plates 42 are respectively placed in the two chambers 41a to respectively form the culture liquid bin and the detection bin; the bottom of the support frame 41 is provided with at least one through groove 41b in the horizontal direction, and the through groove 41b can accommodate the clamping member of the clamping mechanism 12 to extend therein, so that the clamping member can extend into the through groove 41b and clamp the bin structure 40, thereby improving the reliability of the colony selection device.

[0061] The selection unit 20 is used to select and extract the colonies in the culture dish to be operated, thereby automatically completing the steps of feeding and selecting the colonies.

[0062] Please refer to 5~ Fig. 9 The selection unit 20 includes a selection table 21, a culture dish placement station 22, a bin placement mechanism 23, a pipetting mechanism 25, a visual inspection mechanism 24 and a waste collection device 27.

[0063] Among them, the culture dish placement station 22 and the bin placement mechanism 23 are located on the selection table 21; the culture dish placement station 22 is used to store the culture dishes to be operated. Preferably, please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , the culture dish placement station 22 is provided with a clamping structure 221 and at least one first positioning block 222, the clamping structure 221 includes a clamping cylinder 221a and a clamping member 221b, and a first cavity 22a capable of accommodating the culture dish is formed between the clamping member 221b and the first positioning block 222; when the culture dish is placed in the first cavity 22a, the clamping cylinder 221a drives the clamping member 221b to clamp the culture dish between the clamping member 221b and the first positioning block 222. Through this arrangement, it is possible to effectively avoid the culture dish from accidentally moving during operation and causing unnecessary trouble, thereby improving the reliability of the entire colony picking device. Of course, according to the present concept, those skilled in the art can also replace the clamping cylinder 221a with other electric matching connecting rod structures to achieve the clamping effect.

[0064] More preferably, the selection table 21 located at the first cavity 22a is provided with a stepped groove 21a, and the upper opening of the stepped groove 21a is adapted to the bottom of the culture dish so that the culture dish can be embedded in the upper opening of the stepped groove 21a. Furthermore, the position of the culture dish is positioned to avoid accidental movement. Among them, a lighting component 26 is provided below the selection table 21 located at the stepped groove 21a to assist in lighting the culture dish, thereby facilitating the visual detection mechanism 24 to capture images of the culture dish, improving the detection accuracy, and preventing the lighting component 26 from affecting the operation of the pipetting mechanism 25.

[0065] In other optional embodiments, when the culture dish has a culture dish cover for protecting internal bacterial colonies and avoiding contamination, a plurality of second positioning blocks 223 are further provided on the culture dish placement station 22, and a second cavity 22b capable of accommodating the culture dish cover is formed between the plurality of second positioning blocks 223, so that there is a position to place the culture dish cover during the culture dish operation process.

[0066] Its working principle is as follows: the clamping mechanism 12 of the conveying unit 10 conveys the culture dish to be operated to the first cavity 22a position and embeds it into the stepped groove 21a, and the clamping cylinder 221a drives the clamping member 221b to clamp the culture dish between the clamping member 221b and the first positioning block 222; then, the clamping mechanism 12 clamps the culture dish cover on the culture dish and moves to the second cavity 22b position to open the culture dish to facilitate subsequent picking and extraction operations.

[0067] The storage body placement mechanism 23 is used to store the needle box, the culture medium storage and the detection storage. Specifically, the needle box has a multi-array sleeve, each of which contains a disposable needle; the culture medium storage has a deep-well plate with a multi-array of deep holes, each of which contains culture medium; and the detection storage also has a deep-well plate with a multi-array of deep holes. The number of needles in the needle box is the same as the number of deep holes in the culture medium storage and the number of deep holes in the detection storage, so that the three correspond one to one.

[0068] Preferably, see Figure 7 , Figure 8 The bin placement mechanism 23 includes a transfer component 231 and a storage panel 232 located on the transfer component 231. The transfer component 231 is used to drive the storage panel 232 to move toward or away from the culture dish placement station 22; the storage panel 232 is used to store the head box, the culture liquid bin and the detection bin.

[0069] The transfer assembly 231 may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a guide rail slider assembly, a lead screw nut assembly, a synchronous belt assembly, a sprocket assembly, a gear rack assembly, a crank slider assembly, a cam assembly, and a cylinder assembly. Of course, those skilled in the art may also design the storage panel 232 to be fixed instead of mobile. Compared with the fixed type, the present embodiment is designed to be mobile, which can effectively reduce the occupied space while avoiding interference between the transfer mechanism 25 and the conveying unit 10, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0070] The pipetting mechanism 25 is located above the selection table 21 and can move with multiple degrees of freedom between the culture dish placement station 22 and the bin placement mechanism 23, for example, it can be a multi-axis manipulator or a multi-axis linear module. In this embodiment, the pipetting mechanism 25 is used to pick up the needles in the needle box, use the needles to select the colonies in the culture dish on the culture dish placement station 22 and move the colonies to the culture liquid bin to form a mixed solution, and then use the needles to absorb the mixed solution and move the mixed solution to the detection bin.

[0071] As a preferred solution, the pipetting mechanism 25 includes a multi-axis pipetting module 251 mounted on the selection table 21 and an electric pipetting gun 252 located on the multi-axis pipetting module 251; the multi-axis pipetting module 251 includes three groups of linear transmission mechanisms that move back and forth in a straight line along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, respectively. As an example, the linear transmission mechanism may include but is not limited to one or more of a guide rail slider assembly, a lead screw nut assembly, a synchronous belt assembly, a sprocket assembly, a gear rack assembly, a crank slider assembly, and a cam assembly. The electric pipetting gun 252 can be assembled using an existing conventional pipetting gun according to actual requirements, which will not be described in detail here.

[0072] The visual detection mechanism 24 is used to detect and screen the colonies in the culture dish on the culture dish placement station 22. Preferably, the visual detection mechanism 24 includes a signal-connected processor (not shown) and an industrial camera; the industrial camera is arranged on the pipetting mechanism 25, and the industrial camera is used to collect image information of the colonies in the culture dish and transmit it to the processor for information processing, so as to detect and screen the colonies in the culture dish on the culture dish placement station 22. The specific circuit and visual detection function design are existing conventional technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0073] Of course, the visual inspection mechanism 24 can also be located below the culture dish placement station 22, and the visual inspection mechanism 24 can move closer to or farther away from the culture dish placement station 22 by moving or folding the structure to detect the bacterial colonies in the culture dish. As a preferred solution, the visual inspection mechanism 24 can also include a light source, which is located next to the industrial camera to assist in lighting the culture dish and accurately achieve detection.

[0074] The waste collection device 27 is used to collect discarded needles after selection. In this embodiment, a through cavity 21b is provided on the selection table 21, and the waste collection device 27 is arranged below the selection table 21. The discarded needles fall into the waste collection device 27 through the through cavity 21b, thereby avoiding cross infection between bacterial colonies. Preferably, please refer to Figure 7 , the bottom of the inner cavity of the waste collection device 27 is inclined away from the through cavity 21b. Through this arrangement, the discarded needles can be filled in the direction away from the through cavity 21b, avoiding the discarded needles only accumulating in the inner cavity of the waste collection device 27 located below the through cavity 21b, resulting in waste of the surrounding space of the inner cavity of the waste collection device 27, thereby improving the utilization rate of the inner cavity space of the waste collection device 27. Among them, the specific structure of the waste collection device 27 can be designed according to actual functional requirements, and is not limited to the single cylindrical structure shown in the drawings. For example, a dust cover can be carried, and a disinfection structure can be added to the waste collection device 27.

[0075] Its working principle is as follows: first, the needle box, culture liquid bin and detection bin are placed on the bin placement mechanism 23 through the conveying unit 10 or other manual or automatic methods. Then the culture dish to be operated is transported to the culture dish placement station 22 of the selection unit 20 through the conveying unit 10. Secondly, the visual inspection mechanism 24 works and detects, identifies and processes the colonies in the culture dish to obtain information about the colonies to be selected. At the same time, the electric pipette 252 picks up the needles in the needle box through the multi-axis pipetting module 251. Then, the pipetting mechanism 25 moves to the top of the culture dish, and uses the needle to select the colonies in the culture dish on the culture dish placement station 22 according to the information fed back by the visual inspection mechanism 24. Then, the pipetting mechanism 25 moves the needle with the colonies absorbed into the culture liquid bin, so that the colonies are mixed with the culture liquid in the culture liquid bin to form a mixed liquid. Finally, the pipetting mechanism 25 uses the needle to absorb the mixed liquid in the culture liquid tank and moves it to the detection tank. The pipetting mechanism 25 then moves the needle to the waste collection device 27 and releases the needle, so that the used needle falls into the waste collection device 27 through the cavity 21b, and the operation is completed.

[0076] Preferably, the colony picking device also includes a code recognition unit (not shown in the figure), which is used to identify the unique identification code of the culture dish to be picked. A unique identification code is set on each culture dish to be operated to distinguish each other. By adopting the design of using a code recognition unit to identify each culture dish, it is convenient to archive and record the information of each culture dish in the operation. The unique identification code can be an electronic two-dimensional code, a manual code, a barcode, an electronic chip, etc., and the code recognition unit selects the corresponding model according to the unique identification code. For example, when the unique identification code is an electronic two-dimensional code, the code recognition unit includes an industrial code reader for identifying the electronic two-dimensional code. The code recognition unit can be designed at any identifiable position in the process of the conveying unit 10 conveying the culture dish to the picking unit 20, which is not limited here.

[0077] In an optional embodiment, the colony picking device further comprises a biosafety cabinet (not shown in the figure), and the conveying unit 10 and the picking unit 20 are located in the biosafety cabinet to play a protective role. The specific structure of the biosafety cabinet can be reasonably designed according to the actual structure and is not limited here.

[0078] Furthermore, the colony picking device further comprises a control cabinet 50, and the control cabinet 50 is respectively connected to each component of the colony picking device to achieve electrical control.

[0079] Based on the above, the colony selection device provided by the present invention also provides a specific example. Figures 1 to 10 As shown, the colony picking device includes a conveying unit 10 and a silo storage unit 30 , a picking unit 20 , and a code recognition unit arranged along the conveying direction of the conveying unit 10 .

[0080] The specific steps for use can be:

[0081] S1. The moving mechanism 321 in the bin storage assembly 32 drives the bin storage rack 322 to move to the clamping mechanism 12.

[0082] S2. The conveying unit 10 drives the clamping mechanism 12 through the multi-axis conveying module 11 to clamp the needle box, the culture fluid tank and the detection tank and move them to the selection unit 20. At the same time, the transfer component 231 of the selection unit 20 drives the storage panel 232 to move toward the culture dish placement station 22 to receive the needle box, the culture fluid tank and the detection tank. After receiving them, the storage panel 232 is driven by the transfer component 231 to move away from the culture dish placement station 22.

[0083] S3. The rotating mechanism 311 in the colony storage assembly 31 rotates the culture dish storage table with the culture dish placed thereon to the clamping mechanism 12.

[0084] S4, the conveying unit 10 drives the clamping mechanism 12 through the multi-axis conveying module 11 to clamp the culture dish to be operated and move it to the first cavity 22a of the culture dish placement station 22. At the same time, the code recognition unit reads the unique identification code of the culture dish to import it into the host computer for record.

[0085] S5. The clamping cylinder 221a drives the clamping member 221b to clamp the culture dish between the clamping member 221b and the first positioning block 222. At the same time, the conveying unit 10 drives the clamping mechanism 12 through the multi-axis conveying module 11 to clamp the culture dish cover on the culture dish and place it in the second cavity 22b.

[0086] S6, the visual inspection mechanism 24 works and uses the industrial camera located on the liquid transfer mechanism 25 to detect, identify and process the colonies in the culture dish to obtain information about the colonies to be selected. At the same time, the multi-axis liquid transfer module 251 drives the electric liquid transfer gun 252 to the top of the needle box to install the needle.

[0087] S7, the pipetting mechanism 25 moves to the top of the culture dish and uses a needle to absorb the bacterial colonies in the culture dish according to the information fed back by the visual detection mechanism 24.

[0088] S8. The liquid transfer mechanism 25 moves the needle with the colonies sucked into the culture liquid chamber, so that the colonies are mixed with the culture liquid in the culture liquid chamber to form a mixed liquid.

[0089] S9, the liquid transfer mechanism 25 uses a needle to absorb the mixed liquid in the culture liquid chamber and moves it to the detection chamber.

[0090] S10, the pipetting mechanism 25 moves the needle to the waste collection device 27 and releases the needle, so that the used needle passes through the through cavity 21b and falls into the waste collection device 27.

[0091] This step is repeated until all the culture dishes to be processed have been selected.

[0092] In summary, compared with the prior art, the colony picking device provided by the utility model can automatically complete the colony picking steps such as feeding, picking, sucking, mixing, etc., greatly improving the efficiency and accuracy of colony picking, avoiding colony infection, and reducing production loss. It has a simple structure, is easy to use, and has good application prospects.

[0093] In addition, those skilled in the art should understand that, although there are many problems in the prior art, each embodiment or technical solution of the utility model can be improved in only one or several aspects, without having to solve all the technical problems listed in the prior art or background technology at the same time. Those skilled in the art should understand that the content not mentioned in a claim should not be used as a limitation on the claim.

[0094] Although the terms such as transport unit, selection unit, silo storage unit, code identification unit, biological safety cabinet, etc. are used more frequently in this article, the possibility of using other terms is not excluded. These terms are used only to more conveniently describe and explain the essence of the utility model; interpreting them as any additional restrictions is contrary to the spirit of the utility model; the terms "first", "second", etc. (if any) in the description and claims of the embodiment of the utility model and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0095] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the utility model, rather than to limit it. Although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, ordinary technicians in this field should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution deviate from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the utility model.

Claims

1. A bacterial colony picking device, characterized in that: It includes a silo storage unit, a conveying unit and a picking unit; The silo storage unit includes a colony storage assembly; the colony storage assembly includes a rotating mechanism and a culture dish storage rack rotatably mounted on the rotating mechanism, the culture dish storage rack includes a multi-layer culture dish storage table, each layer of the culture dish storage table is provided with a plurality of culture dish storage cavities at intervals along the circumferential direction, for storing culture dishes for placing colonies to be selected; The conveying unit is used to convey the culture dish to be processed to the selection unit; The picking unit is used to pick and extract the bacterial colonies in the culture dish to be operated.

2. The colony picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silo storage unit further includes a silo storage assembly, which includes a moving mechanism and a silo storage rack movably mounted on the moving mechanism; the silo storage rack is used to store at least one of a needle box, a culture medium silo, and a detection silo; The conveying unit includes a multi-axis conveying module and a clamping mechanism located on the multi-axis conveying module, and the multi-axis conveying module drives the clamping mechanism to move back and forth between the silo storage unit and the selection unit; the multi-axis conveying module includes three groups of linear transmission mechanisms that move back and forth in a straight line along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions respectively; The moving mechanism is used to move the bin storage rack to the clamping mechanism, and the clamping mechanism moves at least one of the needle box, culture fluid bin and detection bin on the bin storage rack to the selection unit through a multi-axis conveying module.

3. The colony picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking unit comprises a picking table and a culture dish placement station, a bin placement mechanism, a liquid transfer mechanism, a visual detection mechanism, and a waste collection device located on the picking table; The culture dish placement station is used to store the culture dishes to be operated; the bin placement mechanism is used to place the needle box, the culture liquid bin and the detection bin; the visual detection mechanism includes a processor and an industrial camera connected by signals; the industrial camera is arranged on the pipetting mechanism to collect image information of the bacterial colonies in the culture dish and transmit it to the processor for information processing; The pipetting mechanism includes a multi-axis pipetting module mounted on the selection table and an electric pipetting gun located on the multi-axis pipetting module; the multi-axis pipetting module includes three groups of linear transmission mechanisms that move back and forth in a straight line along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions respectively; the electric pipetting gun picks up the needles in the needle box through the multi-axis pipetting module, and then uses the needle to select the colonies in the culture dish on the culture dish placement station according to the information fed back by the visual inspection mechanism, and moves the colonies to the culture liquid tank to form a mixed liquid, and then uses the needle to absorb the mixed liquid and move the mixed liquid to the detection tank; the waste collection device is used to collect the discarded needles after selection.

4. The colony picking device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The culture dish placement station is provided with a clamping structure and at least one first positioning block, the clamping structure includes a clamping cylinder and a clamping member, a first cavity capable of accommodating the culture dish is formed between the clamping member and the first positioning block; when the culture dish is placed in the first cavity, the clamping cylinder drives the clamping member to clamp the culture dish between the clamping member and the first positioning block; the selection table located at the first cavity is provided with a stepped through groove, the upper opening of the stepped through groove is adapted to the bottom of the culture dish, so that the culture dish can be embedded in the upper opening of the stepped through groove; a lighting assembly is provided below the selection table located at the stepped through groove; A plurality of second positioning blocks are also arranged on the culture dish placement station, and a second cavity capable of accommodating the culture dish cover is formed between the plurality of second positioning blocks.

5. The colony picking device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bin placement mechanism includes a transfer component and a storage panel located on the transfer component, the transfer component is used to drive the storage panel to move toward or away from the culture dish placement station; the storage panel is used to store the head box, culture liquid bin and detection bin.

6. The colony picking device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The selection table is provided with a through cavity, the waste collection device is arranged below the selection table, and the discarded needles fall into the waste collection device through the through cavity; The bottom of the inner cavity of the waste collecting device is inclined away from the through cavity.

7. The colony picking device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bin storage rack includes a multi-layer bin storage platform, and each bin storage platform is provided with a plurality of positioning members, and the positioning members are used to limit the needle box, the culture liquid bin and the detection bin.

8. The colony picking device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The culture fluid tank and the detection tank form a tank body structure; wherein the tank body structure includes a support frame and two tank plates; two chambers are provided on the support frame, and the two tank plates are respectively placed in the two chambers to respectively form the culture fluid tank and the detection tank; at least one through groove is provided at the bottom of the support frame in the horizontal direction, and the through groove can accommodate the clamping member of the clamping mechanism to extend therein, so that the clamping member can extend into the through groove and clamp the tank body structure.

9. The colony picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a code recognition unit, which is used to recognize the unique identification code of the culture dish to be selected.

10. The colony picking device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: A biological safety cabinet is also included, and the selection unit is located in the biological safety cabinet.

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