Automated laboratory storage system with automated and manual airlock

Abstract

The invention relates to a laboratory storage system (10) for storing sample containers (46), comprising: - a laboratory storage system control device (12), - a storage housing (16), - at least one automated transport device (42) outside of the storage housing (16) for transporting sample containers (46) in an automated sample container material flow (AMF), - at least two airlocks (54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 72) arranged at a spatial distance from each other in a wall section (52, 62) of the storage housing (16) for moving sample containers (46) between the interior (18) and the exterior (20) of the storage housing (16), wherein at least one airlock (54, 56, 58, 60) is designed as an automated airlock (54, 56, 58, 60), and - at least one automated handling assembly (30, 34) on the at least one automated airlock (54, 56, 58, 60) for automatically transferring sample containers (46) through the automated airlock (54, 56, 58, 60) between the automated transport device (42) and the interior (18) of the laboratory housing (16). According to the invention, at least one further of the airlocks (64, 72) is designed as a manual airlock (64) for permitting delivery of sample containers (46) and / or collection of sample containers (46) away from the automated sample container material flow (AMF).

Description

[0001] Automated laboratory storage with automated and manual lock

[0002] Description

[0003] The present invention relates to an automated laboratory storage system for loading and unloading sample containers into a storage device.

[0004] The automated laboratory storage comprises: a laboratory storage control device for controlling automated components on and in the laboratory storage, a storage housing, wherein at least the storage device for receiving and dispensing sample containers is accommodated inside the storage housing, at least one automated transport device outside the storage housing for transporting sample containers to the storage housing and for transporting sample containers away from the storage housing in an automated sample container material flow, at least two locks, each arranged at a spatial distance from one another in a wall section of the storage housing, for moving sample containers from outside the storage housing into the storage housing and from the interior of the storage housing out of the storage housing, wherein at least one lock of the at least two locks is designed as an automated lock,and at least one automated handling assembly on the at least one automated lock for automatically transferring sample containers through the automated lock between the automated transport device and the interior of the laboratory housing.

[0005] Such an automated laboratory storage system is known from WO 2014 / 082944 A1. Such an automated laboratory storage system is typically connected to other stations within a laboratory via an automated transport device, such as chemical, biological, and medical testing and analysis stations, as well as organizing stations such as labeling stations and the like. A very important aspect of the cost-effectiveness of automated laboratory storage systems is the time required by the automated laboratory storage system to store a sample container in the storage device, as well as the time required by the automated laboratory storage system to retrieve a sample container from the storage device, i.e., to remove the sample container from the laboratory housing through a lock and to prepare it for further use outside the laboratory housing.

[0006] To shorten these times, the automated laboratory storage system known from WO 2014 / 082944 A1 has two automated locks. One lock only transports sample containers from the transport device to the storage housing, and the other lock only transports sample containers from the storage housing to the transport device. This achieves a parallelization of storage and retrieval processes, shortening the so-called throughput time.

[0007] Other automated laboratory storage systems are known, for example, from US 2010 / 0049358 A1, US 2010 / 0028124 A1, US 2009 / 0003981 A1 and EP 2 864 796 B1.

[0008] As explained above, automated laboratory storage facilities are part of an automated laboratory in which medical, biological, or chemical samples are processed and stored in sample containers in a manner that is as fully automated as possible. A key part of sample processing is their chemical, medical, or biological analysis.

[0009] Samples are typically stored for a predetermined period of time so that they can be retrieved and analyzed again if necessary. This storage takes place in the automated laboratory storage systems discussed here. Retrieval of samples already analyzed and stored in the automated laboratory storage system accounts for approximately 10% to 15% of the inventory in an automated laboratory storage system. In addition to the automated processes within a laboratory system, certain events, such as medical emergencies, may require at least partial manual processing of sample containers. While automated processing of sample containers is particularly secure, manual processing can, in individual cases, provide a significant time advantage over automated processing.This means that instead of the automated transport device, a person brings one or more sample containers to and / or picks them up from the automated storage laboratory.

[0010] Although the above-mentioned state-of-the-art automated laboratory storage system already has more than one lock for storing and / or retrieving sample containers, all locks configured on the automated laboratory storage system are automated locks that simply operate in different directions. This means that sample containers transported manually (i.e., by an operator) to and / or from the automated laboratory storage system must be picked up or made available at the automated locks from the automated laboratory storage system, which brings the manually transported and processed sample containers into conflict with the automated sample container material flow.This conflict not only disrupts and delays the automated sample container material flow, but also delays the manual sample container material flow, as this must be "interwoven" into the automated sample container material flow at the automated locks. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the aforementioned manual sample container material flows occur unpredictably in terms of timing and quantity.

[0011] It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve the automated laboratory storage system mentioned above with regard to its compatibility with required manual sample container material flows.

[0012] The present invention achieves this object in an automated laboratory storage system mentioned at the outset in that at least one further lock of the at least two locks is arranged as a manual lock at a spatial distance from the automated lock, wherein the manual lock is designed to allow a delivery of sample containers and / or a collection of sample containers by an operator away from the automated sample container material flow of the automated transport device.

[0013] By providing the manual lock at a distance from at least one automated lock away from the automated sample container material flow, a manual sample container material flow to and from the automated laboratory storage area can be established without the manual sample container material flow disrupting the automated sample container material flow. Sample containers therefore do not have to be manually deposited at the automated lock and integrated into the automated sample container material flow, but can be delivered separately and independently of the automated sample container material flow to a dedicated manual lock.

[0014] Preferably additionally, but within the scope of the present invention also fundamentally alternatively, the manual lock allows the operator to retrieve sample containers. The delivery of sample containers is the more critical manual process, since the delivery of sample containers to the manual lock, which is generally unpredictable, is followed by further processing of the manually delivered sample containers inside the storage housing. Thus, the manually delivered sample containers are usually first transported through the manual lock into the interior of the storage housing and stored there in the storage device.However, manual retrieval of sample containers at an automated lock is also generally capable of disrupting the automated sample container material flow, since the automated handling assembly assigned to the automated lock must usually be shut down for the duration of the manual retrieval of a sample container at an automated lock in order to prevent any risk of injury to the retrieving operator from moving components of the handling assembly, such as robot arms. The storage housing usually has a body that encloses the interior of the storage housing and physically separates it from the outside environment of the storage housing. The size of the storage housing, i.e. its volume, depends on the storage capacity of the automated laboratory storage facility in terms of the maximum number of sample containers that can be stored.The bearing housing can range in size from a standard refrigerator with edge lengths in the tens of centimeters to the size of a cabinet with edge lengths in the meter range for edges running in at least one spatial direction to the size of a building with edge lengths in the meter range for edges in each of three Cartesian spatial directions.

[0015] The bearing housing can be temperature-controlled, in particular cooled, by a temperature-control device of the automated laboratory storage system and can additionally or alternatively have a conditioned atmosphere by a conditioning device of the automated laboratory storage system, i.e., in particular, a gas filling with a predetermined gas composition and / or defined relative or absolute humidity. The temperature-control device and the conditioning device can be provided on the bearing housing as a combined temperature-control and conditioning device in the manner of an air conditioning system.

[0016] The automated transport device can be any transport device designed to transport sample containers. Sample containers can be transported individually or in a sample container carrier. The automated transport device can have receiving formations that are firmly connected to a moving drive or conveyor means of the transport device for joint movement, each of which is designed to receive a single sample carrier. The automated transport device can additionally or alternatively be designed to transport sample containers only in a sample container carrier. The transport device is preferably designed as a conveyor belt on which the sample containers stand, optionally with a sample container carrier interposed.However, a transport device with a predetermined transport path and transport carriages arranged thereon with their own drive cannot be ruled out. The at least one automated lock and / or the at least one manual lock can be formed by a simple opening in a wall of the storage housing. One lock passes through a wall of the laboratory housing. To protect a defined atmosphere formed inside the storage housing, the at least one automated lock and / or the at least one manual lock can have a closure means which closes the opening in the wall of the storage housing assigned to the respective lock, as long as no sample containers are moved through the opening between the interior and the outside environment of the storage housing.The closure means may be a passive closure means, such as a flexible curtain or a closure flap that can be deflected towards its closed position, so that the sample container moved through the opening associated with the lock displaces the passive closure means from its closed position, to which it automatically returns after the movement of the sample container.

[0017] The closure means can be an active closure means, such as a flap, door, or bulkhead movable between a closed position and an open position by an actuator, so that the actuator initially moves the closure means into the open position and, after the movement of the at least one sample container through the respective lock, moves it back into the closed position. A rotationally movable closure means can also be used within the scope of the present invention.

[0018] To reduce losses of the air-conditioned or conditioned atmosphere inside the laboratory housing when sample containers are passed through, a lock can generally have one closure means located closer to the interior of the laboratory housing and one closure means located closer to the exterior of the laboratory housing, so that the lock has its own lock volume that can be separated from its surroundings. In this case, each of the two closure means can be designed as a passive or active closure means as mentioned above. To achieve the most precise control possible, both closure means are preferably active closure means.The laboratory storage control device controls processes and components referred to as "automated" in the present application on and / or in the storage housing, such as the aforementioned temperature control and / or conditioning of the housing atmosphere, the movement of the active closure means, if present, and processes surrounding the storage device for storing sample containers in the storage device and for retrieving sample containers from the storage device. The laboratory storage control device thus controls any air conditioning system present in or on the storage housing, the at least one actuator of the at least one active closure means of an automated and / or manual lock, and a movement device on the storage device for storing and retrieving sample containers.If the storage device itself is movable, for example, as a cylinder storage device that can rotate around its cylinder axis, the laboratory storage control device also controls the movement of the storage device. Further components of the automated laboratory storage device, particularly those inside the laboratory housing, will be mentioned as advantageous developments in the course of the description of the present invention.

[0019] The laboratory storage control device also cooperates with a control system of the automated transport device or controls the automated transport device. This allows sample containers within the effective range of the at least one automated handling assembly to be stopped at the at least one automated lock and moved through the at least one automated handling assembly of the automated laboratory storage system.

[0020] The laboratory storage control device also controls the at least one automated handling assembly to move sample containers through the automated airlock between the automated transport device and the interior of the laboratory enclosure.

[0021] For the safe transport of sample containers to the storage housing of the automated storage laboratory, the automated transport device can be configured to transport sample containers into the effective area of ​​the at least one automated handling assembly at the at least one automated lock using the automated sample container material flow. Likewise, for the safe removal of sample containers from the storage housing, the automated transport device can be configured to transport sample containers away from this effective area using the automated sample container material flow.

[0022] To avoid disruption due to manual transport operations, the automated transport device is preferably not designed to guide the automated sample container material flow for transporting sample containers through the manual lock into the storage housing toward or away from the manual lock. The automated transport device is therefore preferably located at such a great distance from the at least one manual lock that automated transfer of sample containers from the automated transport device by any automated handling device for the purpose of introducing sample containers into the laboratory housing through the manual lock is not possible. The same applies to the opposite direction of movement of sample containers from the manual lock to the automated transport device.This preferred distance of the automated transport device from the manual lock also ensures good accessibility of the at least one manual lock for a manual operator without significantly spatially restricting their movement path.

[0023] In principle, it is conceivable to effect the supply and removal of sample containers by separate automated partial transport devices. Preferably, the supply and removal are effected by one and the same automated transport device, which also serves other functional stations of the laboratory in which the automated laboratory storage area is located. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the automated transport device runs past the at least one automated airlock. In accordance with the advantageous development outlined above, the automated transport device preferably does not run past the at least one manual airlock in order to ensure unhindered accessibility of the manual airlock for operating personnel and to avoid disruption of the automated sample container material flow due to manual transport processes of sample containers.

[0024] To ensure the most unobstructed accessibility of the at least one manual lock, it can be provided that at least one manual lock is arranged on a wall section of the storage housing that faces in a different direction than a wall section on which at least one automated lock is arranged. If multiple automated locks are present on the storage housing, they are preferably located in the same wall section or in the same wall of the storage housing, so that all automated locks can be connected to the automated sample container mass flow via a single automated transport device.

[0025] In principle, the wall section with the at least one manual lock and the wall section with the at least one automated lock can be adjacent to one another, for example, as two wall sections connected at an angle and forming a corner of the laboratory housing. According to an advantageous development of the present invention, an even greater spatial and functional separation of the automated sample container material flow from the manual sample container material flow can be achieved in that the wall section with the at least one manual lock runs parallel to the wall section of the at least one automated lock, wherein the outer surface of the wall section with the at least one manual lock faces in an opposite direction to the outer surface of the wall section with the at least one automated lock.For example, the at least one automated lock and the at least one manual lock can be arranged on opposite side walls or on the front and rear walls of the preferably cuboid-shaped storage housing. Although multiple manual locks can be provided on the storage housing, which can be particularly useful for large storage housings with high storage capacities of approximately 100,000 or more sample containers, a single manual lock on a storage housing is usually sufficient, since the number of sample containers moved per unit of time in a manual sample container material flow is generally 7 to 10 times smaller than the number of sample containers moved per unit of time in the automated sample container material flow.

[0026] In principle, only one automated lock on the bearing housing is sufficient, although at least two automated locks on the bearing housing are preferred in order to be able to move sample containers into and out of the bearing housing in parallel.

[0027] The at least one automated handling assembly can be any automated handling device for moving one or more sample containers between two spaced-apart locations. Preferably, the at least one automated handling assembly comprises or is a multi-axis robot, such as a SCARA robot, as a handling robot. Preferably, each automated lock is assigned at least one, preferably precisely one, automated handling assembly, so that sample containers can be moved through each automated lock between the interior of the laboratory housing and its exterior environment in an automated manner and independently of the sample container material flow through a different automated lock.

[0028] If the working and effective range of a handling robot is sufficiently large, it can be assigned more than one automated lock, for example, two automated locks. A simultaneously economical and highly efficient design can be achieved, for example, with two handling robots and four automated locks, with each handling robot serving two automated locks. To ensure defined working and movement spaces in which the automated handling assembly, in particular the handling robot, can operate, the automated laboratory storage system has an automated handling station. The automated handling station is preferably assigned to a handling robot, which grips and removes sample containers and / or deposits and releases them.Since sample containers within the laboratory housing, particularly in the storage device, are generally accommodated in structurally different sample container carriers than those used during their transport by the automated transport device, the handling robot is preferably designed to transfer sample containers between the automated transport device and a storage sample container carrier provided at the handling station. The sample container can be accommodated on the automated transport device only in one of the above-mentioned transport formations or in a transport sample container carrier that is detachable from the automated transport device, but which is structurally different from the storage sample container.

[0029] Preferably, the number of automated handling stations is equal to the number of automated locks, so that at each automated handling station, one storage sample container carrier can be prepared for introduction into the laboratory housing through an automated lock.

[0030] For an economically efficient sample container material flow, the automated handling station is preferably arranged between the automated transport device and at least one automated airlock. This makes it possible, outside the laboratory housing, to transfer sample containers from the transport device—whether as individual sample containers transported in transport formations or as sample containers transported in transport sample container carriers—by the automated handling device, in particular by the handling robot, into a storage sample container carrier designed for use inside the storage housing, and in particular in the storage device, and to move the storage sample container carrier through the automated airlock into the interior of the storage housing.The duration of the transfer process, during which the automated lock is open and thus enables gas exchange between the interior and the exterior of the storage housing, can thus be kept very short.

[0031] In principle, within the scope of the present invention, at least one sample carrier can be transported through the manual lock directly into the interior of the bearing housing. To prevent access by a manual operator that could potentially contaminate the interior of the bearing housing, or at least reduce it to an unavoidable minimum, the at least one manual lock can have a lock transport means designed to receive a sample container and move it through the at least one manual lock between the interior of the bearing housing and its exterior.The lock transport means can be a short conveyor belt that passes through the opening in a wall of the storage housing associated with the manual lock, preferably bidirectionally, or it can be a rotating sample container holder, such as a rotating tray that can be rotated 180° between the interior of the laboratory housing and its exterior. The lock transport means is preferably motor-driven.

[0032] For subsequent sorting processes or for the assembly of sample containers to be ejected in a common sample container carrier, at least one internal automated handling assembly, preferably comprising an internal handling robot, can be provided inside the storage housing at at least one automated internal handling station. Preferably, the at least one internal handling assembly, in particular the at least one internal handling robot, is designed to perform sorting tasks. For this purpose, the internal handling assembly can remove sample containers inside the storage housing from a storage sample container carrier provided at the internal handling station and / or insert them into a storage sample container carrier provided at the internal handling station.

[0033] The automated laboratory storage can also comprise at least one of the following additional functional stations: - a data acquisition station with a data acquisition device for acquiring data relating to a respective sample container placed in the storage housing, and

[0034] - a waste station for collecting sample containers for disposal.

[0035] The data acquisition station can, for example, include a barcode reader or a reader for RFID chips, etc., so that the laboratory storage control device can maintain an inventory list of sample containers currently stored in the storage housing. Furthermore, the data acquisition station is helpful for storing and retrieving sample containers in the storage device.

[0036] In principle, a single data acquisition station inside the storage housing may be sufficient, in which case all sample containers introduced into the storage housing, regardless of whether they were transported manually or automatically, must be moved inside the storage housing to the data acquisition station. To shorten the movement distances and transport times of sample containers inside the storage housing, a data acquisition station can be provided at each lock, or at least a common data acquisition station can be provided for all automated locks and another common data acquisition station for all manual locks.

[0037] The waste station is used to dispose of sample containers whose storage period has expired, thus creating space in the laboratory cabinet for additional sample containers. The storage period assigned to a sample container can be recorded via the data acquisition station and stored in a data storage device, associated with the respective sample carrier.

[0038] The automated laboratory storage facility preferably has a data acquisition station so that the laboratory storage control device can record an assigned storage period or disposal time for incoming sample containers. Furthermore, the laboratory storage control device is then preferably configured to control the at least one internal handling robot based on data acquired by the data acquisition station to arrange sample containers with the same disposal time on a common storage sample container carrier. This enables the advantageous simultaneous disposal of multiple sample containers, resulting in significant time savings compared to disposing of individual sample containers.

[0039] In principle, it is conceivable to sort sample containers into storage sample container carriers according to the same disposal time upon arrival at the aforementioned automated handling station. However, this can disadvantageously delay the introduction of sample containers through the at least one automated lock into the storage housing. Furthermore, additional sample containers can be brought into the storage housing through the at least one manual lock. These sample containers have the same disposal time as sample containers already introduced through the automated lock, without being accommodated in a common storage sample container carrier.

[0040] The automated laboratory storage facility will exhibit operating phases of varying capacity or activity during its operation. In many cases, for example, the number of sample containers transported automatically and / or manually per unit of time will be significantly lower at night than during broad daylight, when a considerably larger number of people are working who require analysis results from samples stored in the sample containers. Therefore, according to an advantageous development of the invention, the laboratory storage control device can be configured to control the at least one internal handling robot during an operating phase of lower activity to arrange sample carriers with the same disposal time on a common storage sample container carrier.

[0041] The laboratory storage control device can also be configured to record the number of sample container movements per unit of time through the at least one automated lock and through the at least one manual lock, thereby statistically determining operating phases of varying levels of activity of the automated laboratory storage system with respect to the number of sample containers moved through the locks per unit of time. Thus, the laboratory storage control device can predict, with a certain degree of certainty, operating phases of lower utilization or activity of the automated laboratory storage system and, during these operating phases, initiate the sorting of sample containers with the same disposal time into common storage sample container carriers.

[0042] For transport operations within the storage housing, a transport assembly can be arranged inside the storage housing, which is designed to move sample containers within the storage housing. This transport assembly can transport storage sample container carriers from the storage device to an automated lock, a manual lock, or the internal handling station. The operation of the transport assembly inside the storage housing is also controlled by the laboratory storage control device.

[0043] While the automated transport device outside the laboratory housing only moves sample containers to and from the at least one automated lock, the transport assembly inside the storage housing transports sample containers that have been moved into the storage housing through both the at least one automated lock and the at least one manual lock. Thus, once a sample container has passed through one of the locks on the storage housing into the storage housing, the distinction between sample containers originally transported manually and those transported automatically can be eliminated.

[0044] The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It shows:

[0045] Fig. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of an automated laboratory storage system according to the invention of the present application,

[0046] Fig. 2 is a plan view of the automated laboratory storage of Figure 1, omitting the ceiling of the laboratory housing, Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the automated laboratory storage of Figures 1 and 2 along the section plane shown in Figure 2, with a view along the arrows III in Figure 2, which are orthogonal to the section plane and parallel to the drawing plane of Figure 2, and

[0047] Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the automated laboratory storage system of Figures 1 and 2 along the sectional plane shown in Figure 2, with a view along the arrows IV in Figure 2 that are orthogonal to the sectional plane and parallel to the drawing plane of Figure 2.

[0048] In Figures 1 to 4, an embodiment of an automated laboratory storage system according to the present application is generally designated 10. The automated laboratory storage system comprises a laboratory storage control device 12 (see Figures 3 and 4), which is shown as a control computer with integrated circuits and data storage devices arranged, merely by way of example, on the ceiling component 14 of a laboratory housing 16.

[0049] The laboratory housing 16 surrounds an interior space or interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16 and separates the interior 18 from the exterior environment 20 of the laboratory housing 16. Within the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16, a storage device 22 is formed from a plurality of storage modules 24. For the sake of clarity, only some of the storage modules 24 shown in the figures are provided with reference numerals. The storage modules 24 are designed to accommodate storage sample container carriers 26, one of which is shown at each handling station 28 and a further handling station 29 of an automated handling assembly 30, and two further storage sample container carriers are shown at each handling station 32 and a further handling station 33 of a further automated handling assembly 34. Further storage sample container carriers 26 are shown at an inner handling station 36 within the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16.

[0050] The storage sample container carriers 26 at the handling stations 28 and 29 are located within the working and gripping range of a handling robot 38, which belongs to the automated handling assembly 30. The storage sample container carriers 26 at the handling stations 32 and 33 are located within the working and gripping range of a handling robot 40, which belongs to the automated handling assembly 34.

[0051] The two handling robots 38 and 40 are economically advantageous identical handling robots and are designed as SCARA robots in the present embodiment.

[0052] The two automated handling assemblies 30 and 34 are located between the laboratory housing 16 and an automated transport device 42 in the form of a conveyor belt 44. More specifically, the automated handling assemblies 30 and 34 are located between the front side 16a of the laboratory housing 16 and the automated transport device 42. The automated transport device 42 is also within the working and gripping range of the handling robots 38 and 34.

[0053] An automated laboratory storage system 10, such as the one shown here, is part of an automated laboratory system with multiple functional stations, which are connected to one another by the automated transport device 42 for a common automated sample container material flow (AMF). Sample containers 46 are symbolically represented on the automated transport device 42 in Figure 2. These are vials with a cylindrical section, with the viewer of Figure 2 looking parallel to the cylinder axis of the cylindrical sections of the individual vials. Therefore, the sample containers 46 are symbolized as circles.

[0054] As Figure 1 shows, the handling stations 28 and 29 are arranged on a common work table 48. The same applies to the handling stations 32 and 33. The automated handling assemblies 30 and 34 are preferably designed identically as functional modules.

[0055] As also shown in Figure 1 using the example of the handling robot 38, the latter can grip sample containers 46 transported by the automated transport device 42 with a gripper device 50 and move them to a storage sample container carrier 26 in its working and gripping area and vice versa.

[0056] Instead of the individual transport of sample containers 46 shown in Figures 1 and 2, one or more sample containers 46 can be transported in a transport sample container. However, the individual transport shown is preferred over batch transport in transport sample containers.

[0057] Each handling station 28, 29, 32, and 33 is assigned an automated lock 54, 56, 58, and 60 in the front wall 52 of the laboratory housing 16, through which sample containers 46 can be transported between the interior 18 and the exterior 20 of the laboratory housing 16. The sample containers 46 are held exclusively in the storage sample container carriers 26 and moved through the assigned automated lock 54, 56, 58, and 60. The respective automated locks 54, 56, 58, and 60 are again identically designed. The automated locks are known per se from the prior art and will not be explained in detail here.

[0058] For a manual sample container material flow (MMF), a manual lock 64 is formed in the opposite rear wall 62, which is parallel to the front wall 52. The arrangement of the manual lock 64 in the rear wall 62 at a considerable spatial distance from the automated locks 54, 56, 58, and 60 in the front wall 52 serves to decouple the automated sample container material flow (AMF) from the manual sample container material flow (MMF). It is thus possible for an operator to transport one or more sample containers 46 through the manual lock 64 from the exterior environment 20 of the laboratory housing 16 into its interior 18, or to retrieve them from there, at any time and regardless of the operating state of the automated locks 54, 56, 58, and 60, as well as the automated handling assemblies 30 and 34 located upstream thereof.

[0059] When not in use, the manual lock 64 is closed by an outer sliding door 66, which is shown in Figure 2 shifted to the left in its open position, in which position an operator can intervene in the manual lock 64. While the automated sample container material flow AMF is defined and predetermined by the direction of travel and movement of the conveyor belt 44 or the automated transport device 42, the manual sample container material flow MMF is undefined, i.e. every movement path that leads from outside the laboratory housing 16 to the manual lock 64 is a manual sample container material flow MMF. The spatial distance and spatial separation of the manual lock 64 from the automated locks 54, 56, 58 and 60 on different walls 52 and 62, the outer sides 16a and 16b of which16b point in opposite directions, ensures that the manual sample container material flow MMF, despite its undefined nature, does not interfere with the automated sample container material flow AMF in any of its possible implementations. In the preferred embodiment shown, the automated sample container material flow AMF and the manual sample container material flow MMF are physically separated from each other by the bearing housing 16.

[0060] A transport assembly 68 is provided in the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16, which is movable in a corridor 70 between the storage modules 24 arranged on both sides of the corridor along the front wall 52 and the rear wall 62, parallel to the front wall 52 and the rear wall 62. The transport assembly 68 is shown only in a simplified manner. It has a movement apparatus (not shown) with a gripper mechanism (likewise not shown), which allows sample containers 46 in storage sample container carriers 26 to be taken from the automated locks 54, 56, 58 and 60 and from the manual lock 64 and transported within the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16, and in particular to be deposited in one of the storage modules 24. The operator preferably transports the at least one sample container 46 to be manually introduced in a storage sample container carrier 26 to and from the manual lock 64.

[0061] Preferably, sample containers 46 are therefore not moved individually within the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16, but exclusively in storage sample container carriers 26. For example, a data acquisition device, such as a barcode reader, can be provided on the automated handling assemblies 30 and 34 for each handling station 28, 29, 32, and 33, and thus for each automated lock 54, 56, 58, and 60, in order to inventory incoming sample containers 46 before they are brought into the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16 and to assign them to the storage sample container carrier 26 on which they are arranged for further transport within the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16.

[0062] Instead of a barcode reader, the data acquisition device can utilize other types of information transmission to acquire data associated with the respective sample container 46. For example, the data acquisition device can be an RFID reader that reads RFID chips carried on sample containers 46. However, since the sample containers 46 are very densely packed in the storage sample container carriers 26, which in turn are densely packed in the storage modules 24, the use of a barcode reader as the data acquisition device is preferred to avoid false readings.

[0063] Since each sample container 46 is individually removed from the conveyor belt 44 by one of the handling robots 38 or 40 upon arrival at the automated handling assemblies 30 and 34 and placed on a storage sample container carrier 26, the passing of an individual sample container 46 to be grasped anyway does not result in any significant loss of time at the data acquisition device.

[0064] Another handling robot can be arranged at the inner handling station 36; for clarity, this robot is not shown in the figures. Preferably, the inner handling robot at the inner handling station 36 is structurally identical to the handling robots 38 and 40 of the automated handling assemblies 30 and 34. However, this is not necessary. It can also be a handling robot of the same design, such as a SCARA, with smaller dimensions and a smaller working and movement range.Since sample containers 46 that are manually introduced into the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16 through the manual lock 64 are generally not automatically recorded in data format when passing through the manual lock 64, a further data recording device can be provided at the inner handling station 36, for example again a barcode reader or an RFID reader, in order to inventory manually introduced sample containers 46 and / or to again record sample containers 46 whose data assignment has become less reliable or is otherwise missing for some reason, without having to remove them from the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16.

[0065] The automated laboratory warehouse 10 is generally in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The laboratory warehouse control device 12 can record and log the utilization of the automated laboratory warehouse 10 throughout its operating period, for example, in the number of movements of sample containers 46 per unit of time, and determine operating phases of higher and lower utilization from the recorded data and logs. The laboratory warehouse control device 12 can also determine regularly recurring operating phases of lower activity and can control the internal transport assembly 68 and the internal handling robot at the internal handling station 36 to sort and group sample containers 46 with the same disposal times, i.e., with the same expiration date, onto common laboratory sample container carriers 26 during these operating phases of lower activity.In this way, it is possible to initially transport sample containers 46 as quickly as possible from the automated transport device 42 or through the manual lock 64 into the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16, and yet, after the described sorting, to dispose of them individually based on the common disposal time. In this way, all sample containers 46 on a storage sample container carrier 26 can always be disposed of simultaneously.

[0066] For this disposal, the laboratory housing 16 has a disposal lock 72. To avoid disrupting or impairing the automated sample container material flow (AMF) by disposing of no longer required sample containers 46, the disposal lock 72 is located on the same side as the manual lock 64, in this case on the rear wall 62 of the laboratory housing 62. The disposal lock 72 is closed by an outer sliding door 74 and an inner sliding door 76, or can be opened through these sliding doors 74 and 76.

[0067] As can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, the manual airlock 64 also has an inner sliding door 78 in addition to the outer sliding door 66. While the two sliding doors 74 and 76 of the disposal airlock 72 are shown in their closed position, in which they close the disposal airlock 72, the sliding doors 66 and 78 of the manual airlock 64 are shown in their open position, in which they allow passage from the outside environment 20 to the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16. The option of closing the manual airlock 64 or the disposal airlock 72 on both sides can greatly reduce the amount of undesirable loss of conditioned atmosphere in the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16, in that when a storage or sample container carrier 26 moves through the respective airlock, only one of the two airlock doors is open at a time, while the other is closed.

[0068] While the two sliding doors 66 and 78 of the manual lock 64 are horizontally movable between their open position and their closed position, the sliding doors 74 and 76 of the disposal lock 72 are vertically movable between their operating positions.

[0069] It should be added that the automated locks 54, 56, 58, and 60 each have an inner lock door 54i, 56i, 58i, and 60i and an outer lock door 54a, 56a, 58a, and 60a, in order to minimize the impact on the atmosphere established inside 18 of the laboratory housing 16 by the movement of sample carriers 46 through the respective automated lock. The lock doors 54i, 56i, 58i, and 60i, and 54a, 56a, 58a, and 60a, like the lock doors 74 and 76 of the disposal lock 72, are also vertically movable between their operating positions. The sliding doors 54i, 56i, 58i, and 60i, as well as 54a, 56a, 58a, and 60a, are each shown in their closed position in the figures. An air conditioning system 80 on the ceiling component 14, controlled by the laboratory storage control device 12, ensures a defined temperature and humidity of the atmosphere inside 18 of the laboratory housing 16.For example, the temperature inside 18 of the laboratory housing 16 can be set to +4 °C.

[0070] When disposing of sample containers 46 in a storage sample container carrier 26, the latter is pushed from the interior 18 of the laboratory housing 16 through the disposal lock 72 onto a receiving rail 82 provided in front of the disposal lock 72, where the storage sample container carrier 26 is held captively. When the storage sample container carrier 26 rests on the receiving rail 82, the latter is rotated 180° about an axis of rotation D parallel to the plane of the drawing in Figure 2 and orthogonal to the rear wall 62 of the laboratory housing 16, together with a nail board 84 originally located beneath the receiving rail 82. After the 180° rotation, the nail board 84 lies above the receiving rail, in which the storage sample container carrier 26 is now suspended. The sample containers 46 are then suspended in the storage sample container carrier 26.Through the disposal lock 72, sample containers are only transported out of the interior 18 of the storage housing 16, but not into it.

[0071] The nail board 84 has the same number of pins 86 as the storage sample container carrier 26 has recesses for receiving sample containers 46, specifically in the same grid pattern. The pins 86 of the nail board 84 are retracted into the recesses of the respective storage sample container carrier 26, thereby pushing the sample containers 46 received in the recesses downward. These drop into the disposal container 88 located below the receiving rail 82, from where the discarded sample containers 46 can be collectively disposed of.

Claims

Claims Automated laboratory storage (10) for storing and retrieving sample containers (46) in a storage device (22), comprising: a laboratory storage control device (12) for controlling automated components on and in the automated laboratory storage (10), a storage housing (16), wherein in the interior (18) of the storage housing (16) at least the storage device (22) for receiving and dispensing sample containers (46) is provided, at least one automated transport device (42) outside the storage housing (16) for transporting sample containers (46) to the storage housing (16) and for transporting sample containers (46) away from the storage housing (16) in an automated sample container material flow (AMF), at least two locks (54, 56, 58, 60, 64,72) for moving sample containers (46) from outside the storage housing (16) into the storage housing (16) and from the interior (18) of the storage housing (16) out of the storage housing (16), wherein at least one lock (54, 56, 58, 60) of the at least two locks (54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 72) is designed as an automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60), and at least one automated handling assembly (30, 34) on the at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60) in order to move sample containers (46) through the automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60) in an automated manner between the automated transport device (42) and the interior (18) of the laboratory housing (16), characterized in that at least one further Lock (64, 72) of the at least two locks (54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 72) is arranged as a manual lock (64) at a spatial distance from the at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60),wherein the manual lock (64) is designed to allow, away from the automated sample container material flow (AMF) of the automated transport device (42), a away from sample containers (46) and / or to allow collection of sample containers (46).

2. Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the automated transport device (42) with the automated sample container material flow (AMF) transports sample containers (46) into the effective area of ​​the at least one automated handling assembly (30, 34) at the at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60) and away from this effective area, wherein the automated transport device (42) does not guide the automated sample container material flow (AMF) to bring sample containers (46) into the storage housing (46) through the manual lock (64) to or away from the manual lock (64).

3. Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the automated transport device (42) runs past the at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60).

4. Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the automated transport device (42) does not run past the at least one manual lock (64).

5. Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one manual lock (64) is arranged on a wall section (62) of the storage housing (16) which points in a different direction than a wall section (52) on which at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60) is arranged.

6. Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that the wall section (62) with the at least one manual lock (64) runs parallel to the wall section (52) of the at least one automated lock (64), wherein the outer surface (16b) of the wall section (62) with the at least one manual lock (64) faces in an opposite direction to the outer surface (16a) of the wall section (52) with the at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60). Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one automated handling assembly (30, 34) comprises at least one handling robot (38, 40) at an automated handling station (28, 29, 32, 33), wherein the handling robot (38, 40) is configured to transfer sample containers (46) between the automated transport device (42) and a storage sample container carrier (26) provided at the handling station (28, 29, 32, 33).Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the automated handling station (28, 29, 32, 33) is arranged between the automated transport device (42) and at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60). Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one manual lock (64) has a lock transport means designed to receive a sample container (46) and to move it through the at least one manual lock (64) between the interior of the storage housing (16) and its exterior area (20).Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the interior (18) of the storage housing (16) there is at least one inner handling robot at at least one automated inner handling station (36), wherein the at least one inner handling robot is designed to remove sample containers (46) in the interior (18) of the storage housing (16) from a storage sample container carrier (26) provided at the inner handling station (36). and / or into a storage sample container carrier (26) provided at the inner handling station (36). Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automated laboratory storage (10) has at least one of the following additional functional stations: - a data acquisition station with a data acquisition device for acquiring data relating to a respective sample container (46) placed in the bearing housing (16), and - a waste station for collecting sample containers (46) to be disposed of. Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the automated laboratory storage (10) has the data acquisition station, and the laboratory storage control device (12) is designed to control the at least one internal handling robot, based on data acquired by the data acquisition station, to arrange sample containers (46) with the same disposal time on a common storage sample container carrier (26).Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claim 12, characterized in that the automated laboratory storage (10) has operating phases of varying activity during its operation, wherein the laboratory storage control device (12) controls the at least one inner handling robot during an operating phase of lower utilization to arrange sample carriers (46) with the same disposal time on a common storage sample container carrier (26). Automated laboratory storage (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a transport assembly (68) is arranged in the interior (18) of the storage housing (16), which transport assembly is designed to displace sample containers (46) within the interior (18) of the storage housing (16). Automated laboratory storage (10) according to claim 14, characterized in that the transport assembly (68) transports sample containers (46) brought into the storage housing (16) both through the at least one automated lock (54, 56, 58, 60) and through the at least one manual lock (64).

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