Low temperature tube picking apparatus
By designing a low-temperature tube picking device, which utilizes a robotic arm and a QR code scanner to automate tube picking, the problems of large errors in manual tube picking and high costs of fully automated systems are solved, enabling efficient and accurate sample handling at low temperatures.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- JIANGSU PROVINCE INST OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-21
Smart Images
Figure CN224529647U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of medical devices, and more specifically, to a low-temperature tube picking device. Background Technology
[0002] Currently, the main storage devices used in the biobank field are ordinary ultra-low temperature freezers and ordinary liquid nitrogen tanks, with subsequent digital holographic management systems as the core of application. Sample picking is mainly done manually or by the storage mechanism of a fully automated sample storage system. However, manual picking cannot guarantee that it will be carried out at low temperatures, and freeze-thaw cycles can easily affect sample quality or cause sample failure. In addition, the manual picking process is subject to many human factors, resulting in low operational efficiency and a high risk of errors. Fully automated sample storage systems with automatic picking functions are expensive and cannot be widely adopted. Utility Model Content
[0003] To address the technical problem, one objective of this utility model is to provide a low-temperature pipe picking device.
[0004] To achieve the above objectives, embodiments of this utility model provide a low-temperature tube picking device, comprising: case; The door body is connected to the housing; Control panel, connected to the housing; The first guide rail is disposed inside the housing; A clamping mechanism is disposed inside the housing and connected to the first guide rail; The tube-picking mechanism is located inside the housing and connected to the first guide rail; The second guide rail is located inside the housing; A sample delivery assembly is connected to the second guide rail; The sample arrangement component is connected to the second guide rail.
[0005] In the above technical solution, the door body includes: The access door is rotatably connected to the housing; The motor is connected inside the inspection door; A flip-up door is installed on the inspection door and connected to the output end of the motor.
[0006] In the above technical solution, the sample delivery component includes: A sample conveying plate is connected to the second guide rail, and the sample conveying plate is provided with a first sample slot.
[0007] In the above technical solution, the sample arrangement component includes: A sample arrangement plate is connected to the second guide rail. The sample arrangement plate is provided with at least two second sample slots, the shape of which is adapted to the shape of the first sample slot.
[0008] The above technical solution also includes: A QR code scanner is located inside the housing.
[0009] Additional aspects and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the description that follows, or may be learned by practice of this invention. Attached Figure Description
[0010] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this utility model will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall flip-top door closing structure of this utility model; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall flip-top door opening structure of this utility model; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the flip door of this utility model; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the casing of this utility model; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first guide rail, the second guide rail, the clamping mechanism, the tube picking mechanism, the sample conveying component, and the sample arranging component of this utility model; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second guide rail, sample transport assembly, and sample arrangement assembly of this utility model; in, Figures 1 to 6 The correspondence between the reference numerals and component names in the attached drawings is as follows: 1. Housing; 2. First guide rail; 3. Second guide rail; 4. Clamping mechanism; 5. Tube picking mechanism; 6. Inspection door; 7. Motor; 8. Flip-up door; 9. Sample conveying plate; 10. First sample slot; 11. Sample arrangement plate; 12. Second sample slot; 13. QR code scanner. Detailed Implementation
[0011] To better understand the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this utility model, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in these embodiments can be combined with each other.
[0012] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.
[0013] The following reference Figures 1 to 6 Description of a cryogenic tube picking device according to some embodiments of the present invention.
[0014] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, an embodiment of this utility model provides a low-temperature tube picking device, characterized in that it includes a housing 1, a door, a control panel, a first guide rail 2, a clamping mechanism 4, a tube picking mechanism 5, a second guide rail 3, a sample conveying component, and a sample arranging component.
[0015] Specifically, a first mounting opening is provided on the side wall of the housing 1, and the door is rotatably connected to the first mounting opening on the housing 1; The control panel is fixedly connected to the housing 1; The first guide rail 2 is fixedly connected to the top of the housing 1. The first guide rail 2 is a linear guide rail or a lead screw guide rail. Both linear guide rails and lead screw guide rails are existing technologies, and their working principles will not be elaborated here. The clamping mechanism 4 is located inside the housing 1 and connected to the first guide rail 2. The clamping mechanism 4 is a gripping mechanical arm. The gripping mechanical arm has been used in the fully automated sample storage system and is existing technology. The specific structure of the gripping mechanical arm will not be described in detail here. The tube picking mechanism 5 is located inside the housing 1 and connected to the first guide rail 2. The tube picking mechanism 5 is fixed together with the clamping mechanism 4. The clamping mechanism 4 and the tube picking mechanism 5 move together. The tube picking mechanism 5 is a tube picking robotic arm. The tube picking robotic arm has been used in the fully automated sample storage system and is existing technology. The specific structure of the tube picking robotic arm will not be described in detail here. Two second guide rails 3, designated as second guide rail 1 and second guide rail 2, are provided. Second guide rail 1 is positioned above second guide rail 2. Both second guide rails 3 are fixedly connected to the inner bottom of housing 1 via a fixing bracket. The second guide rails 3 are linear guide rails or lead screw guide rails. The fixing bracket is a conventional structure with supporting function, which is existing technology and will not be described in detail here. The sample delivery assembly is connected to the first second guide rail 3; The sample arrangement component is connected to the second guide rail 3.
[0016] A QR code scanner 13 is fixedly installed inside the bottom of the housing 1. The QR code scanner 13 is located below the sample arrangement plate 11 and on the right side of the second guide rail 3.
[0017] The door body includes: The inspection door 6 is rotatably connected to the first mounting port on the housing 1, and the inspection door 6 has a second mounting port. The function of the inspection door 6 is to allow for timely repair when the internal device of the housing 1 is damaged.
[0018] Motor 7 is fixedly connected inside the inspection door 6, and the output end of motor 7 is located at the second mounting port; The flip door 8 is located in the second mounting opening on the inspection door 6. The flip door 8 is fixedly connected to the output end of the motor 7. The motor 7 is used to drive the flip door 8 to rotate, thereby controlling the opening and closing of the flip door 8.
[0019] The sample delivery component includes: The sample conveying plate 9 is connected to the first second guide rail 3, and the front end of the upper surface of the sample conveying plate 9 is provided with a first sample groove 10.
[0020] The sample arrangement component includes: The sample arrangement plate 11 is connected to the second guide rail 3. The sample arrangement plate 11 is provided with two second sample slots 12. The shape of the second sample slots 12 is adapted to the shape of the first sample slot 10. The two second sample slots 12 are the sub-sample box position and the mother sample box position, respectively.
[0021] When tube picking is required, the operator first clicks the "Empty Sample Box" command on the control panel. Then, the output of motor 7 drives the lower end of the flip door 8 to rotate, moving the upper end of the flip door 8 away from the housing 1 until the flip door 8 is horizontal. The first second guide rail 3 drives the front end of the sample conveying plate 9 through the second mounting port and out of the housing 1. The operator places the empty sample box in the first sample slot 10, and then clicks the "Empty Sample Box Intake Completed" command on the control panel. The first second guide rail 3 drives the sample conveying plate 9 to move into the housing 1. The sample conveying plate 9, carrying the empty sample box, retracts into the housing 1. Motor 7 then drives the flip door 8 to rotate until the flip door 8 closes. The first second guide rail 3 moves to its initial position. At this time, the gripping robotic arm is at the leftmost end of the first guide rail 2, and the second second guide rail 3 drives the sample arrangement plate 11 to the rear end of the second second guide rail 3, gripping... The robotic arm slides to the right along the first guide rail 2 until it moves above the empty sample box. Then, the robotic arm moves downward, picks up the empty sample box, moves upward a distance, and continues to slide to the right until the empty sample box is directly above the QR code scanner 13. Then, the robotic arm moves downward a distance. Since there is a QR code at the bottom of each empty sample box, the QR code scanner 13 will scan the code for quality control. After the quality control is completed, the second guide rail 3 drives the sample arrangement plate 11 to move forward, so that the sub-sample box position of the sample arrangement plate 11 is directly below the empty sample box. Then, the robotic arm moves downward to place the empty sample box on the sub-sample box position on the sample arrangement plate 11. Then, the second guide rail 3 drives the sample arrangement plate 11 back to the rear end of the second guide rail 3. The robotic arm moves to the left along the first guide rail 2 to directly above the sample conveyor plate. The operator clicks the "Into Sample Box" command on the control panel, the flip door 8 opens, and the first second guide rail 3 drives the sample conveying plate 9 to extend outward through the second mounting port. The operator manually places the sample box into the first sample slot 10 on the sample conveying plate 9. Then, the operator clicks the "Sample Box Complete" command on the control panel, and the sample conveying plate 9 carrying the sample box returns to the inside of the housing 1. The flip door 8 closes, and the sample conveying plate 9 moves the sample box to directly below the gripping robotic arm. The gripping robotic arm moves downward to pick up the sample box and moves it above the QR code scanner 13. The QR code scanner 13 scans the QR code below the sample box for quality control. After the scanning quality control is completed, the second second guide rail 3 drives the sample arrangement plate 11 to move forward, and the gripping robotic arm moves to the left to above the corresponding mother sample box position. The gripping robotic arm moves downward to place the sample box on the mother sample box position. The operator clicks on the control panel, selects the tube to be picked according to the requirements, and then clicks the "Start Picking Tube" command. The tube picking robot arm moves downward to pick up the tube on the sample box. After picking up the tube, the tube picking robot arm moves to the top of the empty sample box and then places the tube in the empty space of the empty sample box. After the tube picking is completed, click the "Remove Sample Box" command on the control panel. The gripping robotic arm will pick up the sample box and place it in the first sample slot 10 on the sample conveying plate 9. The flip door 8 will open, and the sample conveying plate 9 will carry the sample box out of the shell 1. The sample box will be manually removed and placed back into the ultra-low temperature freezer. Then, the first second guide rail 3 will drive the sample conveying plate 9 back into the shell 1. The operator clicks the "Remove Sub-sample Box" command on the control panel. The gripping robotic arm picks up the sample box with the tube removed from the sub-sample box position and places it above the QR code scanner 13. The QR code on the bottom of the picked sample box is scanned again and compared with the data in the sample library software for quality control. After quality control, the gripping robotic arm places the picked sample box into the first sample slot 10 on the sample conveying plate 9. The flip door 8 opens, and the sample conveying plate 9 sends the picked sample box out of the shell 1. The sample box can be manually removed for experiments or returned to the ultra-low temperature freezer.
[0022] It should be noted that the sample arrangement plate 11 may also be provided with four, six, or eight second sample slots 12, etc. The number of second sample slots 12 is 2N, where N is a constant greater than zero. Thus, by setting 2N second sample slots 12, the tube picking efficiency can be improved.
[0023] Based on the above working principle, errors caused by manual tube picking can be reduced. Furthermore, compared to a fully automated sample storage system with automatic tube picking functionality, this application is less expensive. Multiple housings 1 can be installed simultaneously. If one housing 1 is damaged, the access door 6 of the damaged housing 1 can be opened promptly, and the sample box inside can be placed inside another housing 1, ensuring the sample box remains at a low temperature. While repairing the damaged housing 1, tube picking can continue inside another housing 1, ensuring the normal operation of the tube picking process. This application can replace an automated refrigerator, improving the accuracy and efficiency of tube picking with a low-cost investment.
[0024] It should be noted that the gripping robotic arm and the tube-picking robotic arm in this embodiment slide on the slide rail. However, in actual use, a six-axis robotic arm can also be used to grip the sample box and the tube. The six-axis robotic arm is existing technology, and its specific working principle will not be described in detail here.
[0025] The shell 1 has an internal insulation layer made of polystyrene foam, which can prevent heat exchange between the inside and outside of the shell 1 and improve the insulation effect of the shell 1.
[0026] The housing 1 is equipped with a low-temperature controller, which can ensure an independent operating space and has an air purification function, reducing the potential harm of pathogens to the human body. The low-temperature controller is existing technology, and its specific working principle will not be elaborated here.
[0027] The housing 1 is equipped with a refrigeration and dehumidification system, which can ensure that the automatic tube picking process is in a low temperature and dry working environment of -20℃ to -50℃, thus ensuring the validity of the sample. The refrigeration and dehumidification system can be refrigerated by a compressor, liquid nitrogen, dry ice, or other refrigeration methods. All of the above refrigeration methods are existing technologies, and the specific working principles will not be elaborated here.
[0028] It should also be noted that this application can also place liquid nitrogen inside the container to ensure that the temperature of the container meets the sample storage conditions. Then, by setting up two containers, the mother sample box and the daughter sample box are placed in the two containers respectively. Using this method, based on the above embodiment, the sample transport plate 9 and the second guide rail 3 that cooperates with the sample transport plate 9 can be removed, while the sample arrangement plate 11 and the second guide rail 3 that cooperates with the sample arrangement plate 11 are retained. The QR code scanner 13 of the sample arrangement plate 11 is staggered to avoid the sample arrangement plate 11 affecting the quality control process. Subsequently, after the flip door 8 is opened, the second guide rail 3 moves, causing the sample arrangement plate 11 to extend outside the shell 1, and the two containers are manually placed... The sample is placed on the sample arrangement plate 11 (the subsequent working principle is different from the above embodiment, except that the process of grabbing the sub-sample box and the mother sample box on the sample transport plate 9 by the gripping robotic arm and placing them on the sample arrangement plate 11 is reduced). Then, the mother sample box and the sub-sample box in the container are grabbed by the gripping robotic arm for quality control. Then, the tube in the mother sample box is picked up by the tube picking robotic arm and placed in the sub-sample box. After the tube picking is completed, the second guide rail 3 drives the sample arrangement plate 11 to extend out of the shell 1. The two containers are taken out manually. In this embodiment, the refrigeration system can be removed and the dehumidification system can be retained, because it is only necessary to ensure that the temperature in the container is always at the storage conditions of the sub-sample box and the mother sample box.
[0029] This utility model has the following advantages: 1. Compared with manual tube picking, this application reduces the error in the manual tube picking process, improves the accuracy of tube picking, and can also ensure that the tube picking work is carried out at low temperature; 2. Compared with using a fully automated sample storage system for tube picking, the present application is inexpensive, and equipment failure will not affect the tube picking work.
[0030] In this utility model, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing" should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; "linking" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.
[0031] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "inner" and "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or unit referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model.
[0032] In the description of this specification, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "specific embodiment," etc., refer to a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example, which is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
[0033] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this utility model and are not intended to limit the scope of this utility model. Various modifications and variations can be made to this utility model by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model.
Claims
1. A cryogenic pipe-picking device, characterized in that, include: case; The door body is connected to the housing; Control panel, connected to the housing; The first guide rail is disposed inside the housing; A clamping mechanism is disposed inside the housing and connected to the first guide rail; The tube-picking mechanism is located inside the housing and connected to the first guide rail; The second guide rail is located inside the housing; A sample delivery assembly is connected to the second guide rail; The sample arrangement component is connected to the second guide rail.
2. The cryogenic pipe-picking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The door body includes: The access door is rotatably connected to the housing; The motor is connected inside the inspection door; A flip-up door is installed on the inspection door and connected to the output end of the motor.
3. The cryogenic pipe-picking device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sample delivery component includes: A sample conveying plate is connected to the second guide rail, and the sample conveying plate is provided with a first sample slot.
4. The cryogenic pipe-picking device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sample arrangement component includes: A sample arrangement plate is connected to the second guide rail. The sample arrangement plate is provided with at least two second sample slots, the shape of which is adapted to the shape of the first sample slot.
5. The cryogenic pipe-picking device according to claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: A QR code scanner is located inside the housing.