Automatic biological shaking table

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of biological culture equipment, and discloses an automatic biological shaking table, which comprises a culture box body and a control unit, a stack shaking table is arranged in the culture box body, a small door is arranged on the rear side of the culture box body, an external carrier is arranged on the outer side of the small door, and the control unit is connected with the control unit. A mechanical arm is arranged between the stack shaking table and the small door in the incubator body, the stack shaking table comprises a shaking table arranged at the bottom of the incubator body, a stacked objective table is fixedly arranged on the shaking table, a culture dish frame is arranged in the objective table in a stacked mode, the culture dish frame is used for containing culture dishes, an oscillating mechanism is arranged in the shaking table, and the oscillating mechanism is used for oscillating the culture dishes. And the oscillating mechanism is used for driving the objective table to oscillate. According to the utility model, the mechanical arm and the laminated objective table are integrated in the incubator, and the incubator is communicated with the outside through the small door, so that automatic input and output and automatic shaking culture of the culture dishes are realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of biological culture equipment, in particular to an automatic biological shaking table. Background Art

[0002] The degree of automation of life science instruments and equipment is getting higher and higher. However, as a biological culture shaker, the existing biological shaker has a low degree of automation due to the need to perform complex operations such as oscillating, taking and placing biological samples.

[0003] With the increasing automation in biochemical laboratories, higher demands are being placed on automated biological shakers, both in automated biological culture production lines and in unmanned culture rooms. Furthermore, existing manual operations require manual opening and closing of the door to access and place culture reagents during the culture process. Each door opening and closing significantly impacts parameters such as the temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration within the shaker. After the door is opened and closed, the shaker requires a significant amount of time to reach the set culture parameters, impacting both efficiency and results. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the utility model is to solve the above problems and provide an automated biological shaker, which realizes automated input and output of culture dishes and automated oscillation culture by integrating a robotic arm and a stacked stage in an incubator and connecting it to the outside world through a small door.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by this utility model is:

[0006] An automated biological shaker, characterized in that it includes an incubator body and a control unit, a stack shaker is arranged in the incubator body, a small door is arranged on the rear side of the incubator body, an external carrier is arranged outside the small door, and a robotic arm is arranged between the stack shaker and the small door in the incubator body. The stack shaker includes a shaker arranged at the bottom of the incubator body, a stacked carrier is fixedly arranged on the shaker, culture dish racks are stacked in the carrier, and the culture dish racks are used to place culture dishes, an oscillation mechanism is arranged in the shaker, and the oscillation mechanism is used to drive the carrier to oscillate, and the control unit controls the motor of the oscillation mechanism to be in the initial position when it stops, and the control unit controls the robotic arm to transport the culture dish between the carrier and the external carrier. During transportation, the control unit controls the small door to open.

[0007] Furthermore, there are multiple loading platforms, which are arranged side by side on the shaking table, and each loading platform is provided with a multi-layer culture dish rack. The loading platform is located on one side of the robotic arm and a culture dish entrance and exit are provided.

[0008] Furthermore, a position sensor is provided on the shaking table. When the oscillation mechanism stops oscillating, the control unit controls the motor of the oscillation mechanism to stop according to information from the position sensor, and the loading platform is located at an initial position.

[0009] Furthermore, the robotic arm includes a base track fixed inside the incubator, an X-axis is arranged on the base track, a vertical bracket is arranged on the X-axis, a Z-axis is arranged on the bracket, a Y-axis and an E-axis are arranged on the side of the Z-axis, the E-axis is a rotating axis, the E-axis drives the Y-axis to rotate, the Z-axis is horizontally displaced on the X-axis, the Y-axis and the E-axis perform lifting motion on the Z-axis, a culture dish tray is arranged on the Y-axis, and the control unit controls the culture dish tray of the Y-axis to take and place the culture dishes on the stage and the external carrier.

[0010] Furthermore, a probe is provided on the Y-axis, and the control unit controls the probe to scan the culture dish on the stage, and confirms the status of the culture dish on the stage according to the scanning result.

[0011] Furthermore, the X-axis moves through a linear guide and a ball screw, the Z-axis moves through a linear guide and a synchronous belt, the Y-axis transmits power through a gear rack, and the E-axis moves through the meshing of a gear rack. The Y-axis and the E-axis move up and down as a whole with the Z-axis, and a counterweight is installed on the other side of the Z-axis to balance the gravity of the Y-axis and the E-axis.

[0012] Furthermore, the small door includes a linear guide rail and a stepper motor arranged at the opening on the rear side of the incubator body. A cover plate is arranged on the linear guide rail. The stepper motor is connected to the cover plate through a gear rack transmission mechanism. The control unit controls the stepper motor to drive the cover plate to move on the linear guide rail to open and close the opening on the rear side of the incubator body.

[0013] Furthermore, the external loading rack is located outside the small door, and includes a bracket and a limit plate. The limit plate is installed on the bracket, and the limit plate is at a height equivalent to that of the small door. The limit plate is used to place the culture dish. An induction switch is provided under the limit plate, and the control unit confirms the taking and placing status of the culture dish on the limit plate according to the induction switch information.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the utility model are:

[0015] (1) No human intervention is required, suitable for unmanned laboratories;

[0016] (2) The culture dish is taken in and out through an automatic door, which has little impact on the internal parameters of the shaker;

[0017] (3) Built-in pick-and-place robotic arm, high pick-and-place efficiency;

[0018] (4) It has a high degree of automation integration and can work in conjunction with other equipment to achieve automated biological culture processes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Attachment Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the shaking table box of the present utility model;

[0020] Attachment Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the shaker box from the front (partially cut away);

[0021] Attachment Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the side view (partial internal section) of the shaking table box;

[0022] Attachment Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the shaker box from a top view (partially cut away);

[0023] Attachment Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the shaking table;

[0024] Attachment Figure 6 It is a front view schematic diagram of the shaking table;

[0025] Attachment Figure 7 It is attached Figure 6 A partial enlarged view of middle A;

[0026] Attachment Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the small door;

[0027] Attachment Figure 9 This is a side view diagram of the small door;

[0028] Attachment Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the external loading rack;

[0029] Attachment Figure 11 It is a front view schematic diagram of the external loading rack;

[0030] Attachment Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the robotic arm;

[0031] Attachment Figure 13 is a schematic front view of the robotic arm;

[0032] Attachment Figure 14 It is a structural diagram of the X-axis;

[0033] Attachment Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the Z axis;

[0034] Attachment Figure 16 It is a structural diagram of the E-axis;

[0035] Attachment Figure 17 It is a structural diagram of the Y-axis.

[0036] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are:

[0037] 1. Shaking box; 2. Control unit;

[0038] 3. Stack shaker; 4. Shaker;

[0039] 5. Stage; 6. Petri dish rack;

[0040] 7. Petri dish; 8. Petri dish entrance and exit;

[0041] 9. Position sensor; 10. Small door;

[0042] 11. External loading rack; 12. Linear guide rail;

[0043] 13. Stepper motor; 14. Cover;

[0044] 15. Bracket; 16. Limit plate;

[0045] 17. Induction switch; 18. Robotic arm;

[0046] 19. Petri dish tray; 20. Probe;

[0047] 21. Linear guide; 22. Ball screw;

[0048] 23. X-axis components; 24. Linear guide rails;

[0049] 25. Synchronous belt; 26. Motor;

[0050] 27. Z-axis components; 28. Counterweight;

[0051] 29. Motor; 30. Y-axis mounting plate;

[0052] 31. Motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The specific implementation of the utility model automated biological shaker is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0054] See attached Figure 1 The automated biological shaker includes a shaker box 1 and a control unit 2. The control unit 2 is systemically arranged on the side of the box 1. The shaker box 1 is basically the same as the ordinary shaker 4. It has a control system and the hardware parts required for the shaker, providing the basic parameters required by the shaker, such as temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide.

[0055] See attached Figure 2-7A stack shaker 3 is arranged in the shaker box 1. The stack shaker 3 includes a shaker 4 arranged at the bottom of the shaker box 1. A stacked loading platform 5 is fixedly arranged on the shaker 4. Culture dish racks 6 are stacked in the loading platform 5. The culture dish racks 6 are used to place culture dishes 7. There are multiple loading platforms 5, which are arranged side by side on the shaker 4. Each loading platform 5 is provided with multiple layers of culture dish racks 6. The culture dish racks 6 are used to place culture dishes 7. A culture dish entrance and exit 8 is provided on the outside of the loading platform 5. The bottom of the culture dish rack 6 of the loading platform 5 is hollow, and the culture dish rack 6 is arranged at the top. The space below is convenient for the subsequent tray to take and place the culture dish 7. The stacked structure design of the loading platform 5 can make full use of the space of the incubator, improve space utilization, and improve the efficiency of biological culture.

[0056] An oscillating mechanism is provided in the rocking table 4, which drives the loading platform 5 to oscillate. A position sensor 9 is provided on the rocking table 4. When the oscillating mechanism stops oscillating, the control unit 2 controls the motor of the oscillating mechanism to stop according to the information of the position sensor 9, and the loading platform 5 is located at the initial position.

[0057] See attached Figure 8 、 9 A small door 10 is provided on the rear side of the rocking bed box 1, and an external loading rack 11 is provided outside the small door 10. The small door 10 includes a linear guide rail 12 and a stepper motor 13 provided at the opening on the rear side of the rocking bed box 1. A cover plate 14 is provided on the linear guide rail 12. The stepper motor 12 is connected to the cover plate 14 through a gear rack transmission mechanism. The control unit 2 controls the stepper motor 13 to drive the cover plate 14 to move on the linear guide rail 12 to open and close the opening on the rear side of the rocking bed box 1.

[0058] See attached Figure 10 、 11 The external loading rack 11 is located outside the small door 10 and includes a bracket 15 and a limit plate 16. The limit plate 16 is installed on the bracket 15. The limit plate 16 is at the same height as the small door 10. The limit plate 16 is used to place the culture dish 7. An induction switch 17 is set below the limit plate 16. The control unit 2 confirms the pick-up and placement status of the culture dish 7 on the limit plate 16 according to the information of the induction switch 17.

[0059] The bottom of the limiting plate 16 of the external carrier 11 also forms a space for the subsequent tray to be inserted and placed into the culture dish 7. The external carrier 11 is used to temporarily store the transitional culture dish 7, to place the sample to be cultured from the outside during input, and to transfer the cultured sample away during output.

[0060] See attached Figure 12 、 13 A robotic arm 18 is set between the stacking shaker 3 and the small door 10 in the shaker box 1. The control unit 2 controls the robotic arm 18 to move the culture dish 7 between the loading platform 5 and the external loading rack 11. During the transportation, the control unit 2 controls the small door 10 to open and close.

[0061] The robotic arm 18 has four axes, and its movements are all powered by corresponding stepper motors. Multiple sensors are installed in each direction of movement to ensure the accuracy and safety of the robotic arm 18 during operation.

[0062] The robotic arm 18 includes a base track fixed to the interior of the rocking incubator housing 1. An X-axis is provided on the base track, a vertical support is provided on the X-axis, a Z-axis is provided on the support, and a Y-axis and an E-axis are provided on the side of the Z-axis. The E-axis is a rotational axis that drives the Y-axis to turn. The Z-axis moves horizontally on the X-axis, and the Y-axis and E-axis move up and down on the Z-axis. A culture dish tray 19 and a probe 20 are provided on the Y-axis. The control unit 2 controls the probe 20 to scan the culture dish 7 on the stage 5 and confirms the status of the culture dish 7 on the stage 5 based on the scanning probe results. The control unit 2 controls the E-axis to drive the Y-axis to rotate, allowing the culture dish tray 19 to pick up and place the culture dish 7 on the stage 5 and the external carrier 11.

[0063] See attached Figure 14 The X-axis moves through a linear guide 21 and a ball screw 22. The linear guide 21 is set on the base. The motor 22 drives the ball screw 22 to rotate, so that the X-axis component 23 moves on the linear guide 21 to achieve horizontal displacement. The X-axis component 23 is used to fix the Z-axis.

[0064] See attached Figure 15 The Z-axis moves via a linear guide 24 and a synchronous belt 25. A motor 26 at the bottom drives the synchronous belt 25. The Z-axis assembly 27 is fixed to the synchronous belt 25, enabling the motor to move up and down on the linear guide 24. A counterweight 28 is located on the opposite side of the Z-axis assembly 27 to ensure smooth operation. The Z-axis assembly 27 is used to secure the E-axis and Y-axis. The counterweight 28 offsets the weight of the E-axis and Y-axis.

[0065] See attached Figure 16 The E-axis has the freedom of rotational movement. The E-axis is fixed on the Z-axis component 27, and the motor 29 below drives the Y-axis mounting plate 30 on the top to rotate and position through gears.

[0066] See attached Figure 17 The Y-axis transmits power through the gear rack. The Y-axis is installed on the Y-axis mounting plate 30. The gear rack pair is driven by the motor 31 to realize Y-direction movement. The culture dish tray 19 in the front operates the stage 5 and the external carrier 11 in the Y-axis direction to realize the taking and placing of the culture dish 7.

[0067] The operation of the automated shaking table 4 is divided into two parts, namely, loading the culture dish 7 onto the shaking table 4 for culturing, and outputting the culture dish 7 after the biological culturing is completed.

[0068] The process of loading the culture dish 7 involves first starting the device and initializing it. Each motion mechanism performs a zeroing motion, the small door 10 detects that it is in the closed state, and the internal robotic arm 18 performs a zeroing motion in all directions. The oscillating mechanism of the rocking table 4 moves to the set initial position, i.e., the programmed positioning position, to ensure the accuracy of subsequent placement of the culture dish 7. A successful positioning signal is then transmitted to the control unit 2. The control unit 2 controls the operation of the internal robotic arm 18. An image recognition probe 20 is mounted on the E-axis, and then it scans each layer of the culture dish 7 placement position on the stage 5 layer by layer, transmitting the scan results of whether each placement position contains a culture dish 7 to the control unit 2. Then, the culture dish 7 is placed inside the box. The control unit 2 sends an action to place the culture dish 7. The culture product is placed on the external carrier 11 through the auxiliary equipment. After the induction switch 17 on the external carrier 11 recognizes that the culture dish 7 has been successfully placed on the carrier, the built-in pick-up and place robot 18 moves to the position of the small door 10, controls the small door 10 to open, and then the E-axis of the robot 18 rotates to extend the tray of the Y-axis to below the limit plate 16 of the external carrier 11. After the Z-axis moves upward to lift the culture dish 7, the Y-axis retracts, and then the small door 10 automatically closes. The X-axis and Z-axis of the built-in robot 18 are controlled to move the carrier 5 to the corresponding X and Z direction positions for placing the culture dish 7. The E-axis rotates 180° so that the direction of the culture dish tray 19 of the Y-axis faces the carrier 5. Then, the culture dish 7 on the Y-axis extends and extends above the culture dish rack 6 on the material table. Then, the Z-axis moves downward to place the culture dish 7 on the carrier 5, and then the Y-axis retracts. After the culture dishes 7 are continuously input into the shaker 4 through the above process, the loading of the culture dishes 7 is completed, and the internal robot arm 18 is moved to the specified position to ensure that the oscillation mechanism of the shaker 4 is not affected. Then the oscillation mechanism is operated to carry out the culture procedure.

[0069] After the culture is complete, the process of removing the culture dish 7 is as follows: After the control system sends the command to remove the culture dish 7, it confirms that the limit plate 16 on the external carrier 11 is clear. The oscillating mechanism identifies the position through the sensor and stops at the specified position. The X-axis and Z-axis of the internal robotic arm 18 then move, causing the Y-axis tray to move to the position of the culture dish rack 6 to be removed and extend into the space below the culture dish 7. The Z-axis then moves upward to lift the corresponding culture dish 7, and the Y-axis retracts. The X-axis and Z-axis operate so that the Y-axis is at the same position and height as the small door 10. The E-axis rotates 180° so that the position of the culture dish 7 corresponds to the external carrier 11. The small door 10 is controlled to open, and the Y-axis culture dish tray 19 sends the culture dish 7 to the upper limit plate 16 of the external carrier 11. The Z-axis descends and the Y-axis retracts, placing the culture dish 7 on the limit plate 16 of the external carrier 11. The small door 10 is controlled to close, and the external auxiliary equipment removes the culture product from the external carrier 11. The robot arm 18 is controlled to repeat the above operation until all the culture dishes 7 that have completed culturing are taken out.

[0070] The above process can be summarized into the following two methods: one is the biological shaker 4 culture dish 7 input culture method, including the following steps:

[0071] (1) Initialize the system and put all components in their initial positions;

[0072] (2) The robot arm 18E axis scans each layer of the culture dish rack 6 on the stage 5 and sends the status of the culture dish 7 on the culture dish rack 6 to the control unit 2;

[0073] (3) Place the culture dish 7 on the external carrier 11 and send the information to the control unit 2;

[0074] (4) The control unit 2 moves the culture dish tray 19 of the Y-axis of the robot arm 18 to the position of the small door 10;

[0075] (5) Control the small door 10 to open;

[0076] (6) Control the robot arm 18 so that the Y axis extends from the culture dish tray 19 to below the limit plate 16 of the external stage 5, and moves the culture dish 7 from the limit plate 16 to the culture dish tray 19 through the Z axis rising and Y axis retracting actions;

[0077] (7) Control the small door 10 to close;

[0078] (8) Control the robot arm 18 to move the Y-axis culture dish tray 19 to the top of the culture dish rack 6 on the stage 5, and place the culture dish 7 on the stage 5 by descending the Z-axis and retracting the Y-axis;

[0079] (9) Continue (3)-(8) to complete the input of all culture dishes 7;

[0080] (10) Control the robotic arm 18 to return to its initial position;

[0081] (11) Control the stack shaker 3 to perform shaking culture on the culture dish 7.

[0082] Another method is a biological shaker 4 culture dish 7 culture completion output method, comprising the following steps:

[0083] (1) Control the stack shaker 3 to stop at the initial position through the position sensor 9 and confirm that there is no culture dish 7 on the external carrier 11;

[0084] (2) Control the robot arm 18 to move the Y-axis culture dish tray 19 to the bottom of the culture dish rack 6 on the stage 5, and remove the culture dish 7 from the stage 5 by the Z-axis rising and Y-axis retracting actions;

[0085] (3) The control unit 2 moves the Y-axis of the robot arm 18 with the culture dish tray 19 carrying the culture dish 7 to the position of the small door 10;

[0086] (4) Control the small door 10 to open;

[0087] (5) Control the robot arm 18 so that the Y axis extends from the culture dish tray 19 to above the limit plate 16 of the external stage 5, and moves the culture dish 7 from the culture dish tray 19 to the limit plate 16 by descending the Z axis and retracting the Y axis;

[0088] (6) Control the small door 10 to close;

[0089] (7) Remove the culture dish 7 from the external carrier 11 and send the information to the control unit 2;

[0090] (8) Continuously perform (2)-(7) to complete the output of all culture dishes 7;

[0091] (9) Control the robot arm 18 to return to its initial position.

[0092] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that ordinary technicians in this technical field can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated biological shaker, characterized in that: It includes an incubator body and a control unit, a stack shaker is arranged in the incubator body, a small door is arranged on the rear side of the incubator body, an external carrier is arranged on the outside of the small door, and a robotic arm is arranged between the stack shaker and the small door in the incubator body. The stack shaker includes a shaker arranged at the bottom of the incubator body, a stacked carrier is fixedly arranged on the shaker, culture dish racks are stacked in the carrier, and the culture dish racks are used to place culture dishes. An oscillation mechanism is arranged in the shaker, and the oscillation mechanism is used to drive the carrier to oscillate. The control unit controls the motor of the oscillation mechanism to be in the initial position when it stops, and the control unit controls the robotic arm to transport the culture dish between the carrier and the external carrier. During the transportation, the control unit controls the small door to open.

2. The automated biological shaker according to claim 1, wherein: There are multiple loading platforms, which are arranged side by side on the shaking table. A multi-layer culture dish rack is set on each loading platform. The loading platform is located on one side of the mechanical arm and a culture dish entrance and exit are set.

3. The automated biological shaker according to claim 1, wherein: A position sensor is provided on the shaking table. When the oscillating mechanism stops oscillating, the control unit controls the motor of the oscillating mechanism to stop according to information from the position sensor, and the loading platform is located at the initial position.

4. The automated biological shaker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The robotic arm includes a base track fixed inside the incubator, an X-axis is arranged on the base track, a vertical bracket is arranged on the X-axis, a Z-axis is arranged on the bracket, a Y-axis and an E-axis are arranged on the side of the Z-axis, the E-axis is a rotation axis, the E-axis drives the Y-axis to rotate, the Z-axis is horizontally displaced on the X-axis, the Y-axis and the E-axis perform lifting motion on the Z-axis, a culture dish tray is arranged on the Y-axis, and the control unit controls the culture dish tray of the Y-axis to pick up and place the culture dishes on the stage and the external carrier.

5. The automated biological shaker according to claim 4, characterized in that: A probe is also provided on the Y-axis, and the control unit controls the probe to scan the culture dish on the stage, and confirms the status of the culture dish on the stage according to the scanning result.

6. The automated biological shaker according to claim 5, characterized in that: The X-axis moves through a linear guide and a ball screw, the Z-axis moves through a linear guide and a synchronous belt, the Y-axis transmits power through a gear rack, and the E-axis moves through the meshing of a gear rack. The Y-axis and the E-axis move up and down as a whole with the Z-axis, and a counterweight is installed on the other side of the Z-axis to balance the gravity of the Y-axis and the E-axis.

7. The automated biological shaker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The small door includes a linear guide rail and a stepper motor arranged at the opening on the rear side of the incubator body. A cover plate is arranged on the linear guide rail. The stepper motor is connected to the cover plate through a gear rack transmission mechanism. The control unit controls the stepper motor to drive the cover plate to move on the linear guide rail to open and close the opening on the rear side of the incubator body.

8. The automated biological shaker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The external loading rack is located outside the small door and includes a bracket and a limit plate. The limit plate is installed on the bracket. The limit plate is at a height equivalent to that of the small door. The limit plate is used to place the culture dish. An induction switch is provided under the limit plate. The control unit confirms the taking and placing status of the culture dish on the limit plate according to the induction switch information.

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