Pretreatment System and Pretreatment Method for Inspection of Metal Components in a Sample

Abstract

A pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample are disclosed. The pretreatment system includes a robot including a number of arms that are relatively rotatable with respect to each other, and the tips of the number of arms are movable within an operating radius; a gripper device attached to the tip of the robot, the gripper device including a first gripper unit that grips or releases a dosing head on one side and a second gripper unit that grips or releases a tube on the other side; a dosing head mounting table on which a plurality of dosing heads can be placed; a tube mounting table on which a plurality of tubes with tube caps coupled to tube bodies can be placed; a sample input unit lifting device on which the dosing head is placed and which is movable up and down, and including a tube mounting cup disposed under the sample input unit lifting device and on which the tube is placed, the sample input device being configured to input the sample in the dosing head into the tube placed in the tube mounting cup; a cap opening and closing device configured to separate the tube cap from the tube body or couple the tube cap to the tube body; an acid injection device configured to inject acid into the tube into which the sample has been input by the sample input device or inject distilled water into the tube containing the acid in which the sample has been dissolved; a heat shaker configured to apply heat to and shake the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample to dissolve the sample in the acid; a vision device configured to acquire an image of a set portion of the tube containing the sample solution in which the sample has been dissolved in the acid; and a pipetting device configured to transfer a part of the solution in one tube to another tube.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] [Cross - reference to Related Applications] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application Nos. 10 - 2023 - 0043740, 10 - 2023 - 0043739, 10 - 2023 - 0043744, 10 - 2023 - 0043743, 10 - 2023 - 0043741, 10 - 2023 - 0043742, and 10 - 2023 - 0043486 filed on April 3, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10 - 2024 - 0045209 filed on April 3, 2024, and all of the contents disclosed in the documents of the Korean patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample, automates a pretreatment process using an acid which is a toxic substance, realizes a safe working environment, reduces the fatigue of workers due to the same repetitive work, and relates to a pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample that can reduce the occurrence of measurement errors.

Background Art

[0003] A secondary battery containing lithium ions or the like is manufactured by coating an electrode material having the ability to transfer electrons on the surface of a thin metal plate (foil) such as aluminum or copper. The electrode material (for example, a cathode material) is composed of a large number of small particles, and the electrode material is intended to contain various components in a target content. However, due to various reasons in the mass production process, the content of each component may not be contained only in the target content or may be contained in excess of the target content. In particular, the content of metal components in the cathode material has a great influence on the performance of the cathode material. Therefore, the content of metal components contained in the cathode material should be confirmed, and if the content of metal components contained in the cathode material is different from the target content, the manufacturing process of the cathode material must be adjusted.

[0004] Conventionally, in order to inspect the metal components contained in the positive electrode material, a sample of the positive electrode material was collected, acid was added to the collected sample of the positive electrode material to dissolve the sample of the positive electrode material, and distilled water was poured into the dissolved sample of the positive electrode material for dilution. However, since the pretreatment process was manually performed by an operator, there was a problem with the safety of the working environment due to the acid used in the pretreatment process. In addition, since the same pretreatment process was repeatedly performed, the fatigue of the operator was accumulated, resulting in measurement errors. Furthermore, since the operator visually confirmed whether the sample was completely dissolved in the acid, safety problems and measurement errors sometimes occurred.

[0005] The matters described in this background art section are created to enhance the understanding of the background of the invention and may include matters that are not prior art already known to those with ordinary knowledge in the field to which this technology belongs.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention aims to provide a pretreatment system and a pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample that can automate the pretreatment process using an acid, which is a toxic substance, to realize a safe working environment, relieve the fatigue of the operator due to the same repetitive work, and reduce the occurrence of measurement errors.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sample dissolving device configured to inject a sample into a tube according to set pretreatment conditions and inject acid into the tube containing the sample to dissolve the sample; a sample dissolution rate detection device configured to detect the dissolution rate of the sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in acid; and may include a dilution device configured to dilute the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or higher than a set dissolution rate.

[0008] The pretreatment system can further include a pretreatment condition adjustment device configured to adjust the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

[0009] A pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a sample according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a robot including a number of arms rotatable relative to each other, with the tips of the number of arms movable within an operating radius; A gripper device attached to the tip of the robot, including a first gripper unit for gripping or releasing a dosing head on one side and a second gripper unit for gripping or releasing a tube on the other side; A sample input unit lifting device on which the dosing head is placed and movable up and down, and a tube placement cup in which a tube is placed and disposed under the sample input unit lifting device, the sample input device being configured to input the sample in the dosing head into the tube placed in the tube placement cup; An acid injection device configured to inject acid into a tube into which a sample has been input by the sample input device or to inject distilled water into a tube containing acid in which the sample has been dissolved; A heat shaker configured to apply heat and shake a tube containing acid mixed with the sample to dissolve the sample in the acid; A vision device for acquiring an image of a set portion of a tube containing a sample solution in which the sample has been dissolved in acid; And a pipetting device configured to transfer a part of the solution in one tube to another tube.

[0010] The pretreatment system includes a dosing head placement table on which a plurality of dosing heads can be placed; A tube placement table on which a plurality of tubes with tube caps coupled to tube bodies can be placed; and further includes a cap opening / closing device configured to separate the tube cap from the tube body or couple the tube cap to the tube body, and the dousing head mounting base, the tube mounting base, the sample injection device, the cap opening / closing device, the acid injection device, the heat shaker, the vision device, and the pipetting device can be arranged at least partially within the operating radius of the robot.

[0011] The tube mounting cup is arranged on a first weighing scale, and the amount of sample introduced into the tube can be detected by the first weighing scale.

[0012] The acid injection device can be configured to inject liquid into the tube while tilting and rotating the tube mounted on the acid injection device.

[0013] The cap opening / closing device rotates the tube cap in a first rotation direction to separate the tube cap from the tube body, rotates the tube cap in a second rotation direction to couple the tube cap to the tube body, and the cap opening / closing device can be configured to lift or lower the tube cap according to the rotation amount of the tube cap.

[0014] The cap opening / closing device can be configured to press the tube cap against the tube body before rotating the tube cap in the second rotation direction.

[0015] The heat shaker includes a shaker unit configured to vibrate a shaker rod; A heating block located on and mounted on the shaker rod for heating the tube; It includes an insulating cover that wraps the heating block at a distance from the heating block above the heating block, and the tube can be inserted and mounted in the insulating cover and the heating block.

[0016] Before transferring the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample to the heat shaker, the robot attaches the tube cap to the tube body via a cap opening / closing device, and can shake the tube with the tube cap attached to mix the sample and the acid.

[0017] The pipetting device transfers a part of the sample solution in one tube to another tube, and the robot further transfers another tube to the acid injection device to put distilled water into yet another tube. The pipetting device can be configured to inject the distilled water contained in yet another tube into another tube containing a part of the sample solution to dilute a part of the sample solution contained in the other tube.

[0018] The pretreatment system further includes a controller for controlling the operations of the robot, gripper device, dodding head mounting table, tube mounting table, sample input device, cap opening / closing device, acid injection device, heat shaker, vision device, and pipetting device. The controller can be configured to receive an image of a set portion of the tube containing the sample solution from the vision device and process the image of the set portion with a preset image processing program to detect the dissolution rate of the sample.

[0019] The gripper device further includes a gripper body rotatably attached to the tip arm of the robot. The first gripper unit is attached to one side of the gripper body, and the second gripper unit is attached to the other side of the gripper body. The first gripper unit includes first and second gripping fingers movable towards or away from each other; a cylindrical shape including an opened one surface and a closed other surface, and a guide bushing fixed within each tip of the first and second gripping fingers; a first or second pusher disposed on the opened surface of the guide bushing and slidable along the inner circumferential surface of the guide bushing; A guide shaft that extends to one side through a guide shaft hole formed in the other closed surface of the guide bushing and is connected to the first pusher or the second pusher; And it can include a guide spring that elastically supports the first pusher or the second pusher with respect to the guide bushing.

[0020] The guide shaft may be separated from the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing, and the guide spring may be disposed between the guide shaft and the guide bushing.

[0021] The movement of the first pusher and the second pusher and the guide shaft to the other axial side is restricted by a step formed on the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing, and the movement of the first pusher and the second pusher and the guide shaft to one axial side is restricted by the other end of the guide shaft, and the diameter of the other end of the guide shaft may be larger than the diameter of other parts of the guide shaft.

[0022] The second gripper unit includes a third gripping finger and a fourth gripping finger that are movable toward each other or away from each other; a first tube tong portion and a second tube tong portion provided at the tip portions of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger and having a shape corresponding to the tube for gripping the tube; It can include a first gripping bar groove and a second gripping bar groove provided at the tip portions of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger and having a shape corresponding to the gripping bar for gripping the gripping bar of the tube mounting base on which the tube is placed.

[0023] The second gripper unit can further include a first position limiter and a second position limiter that project upward from the tip portions of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger to limit the movement of the second gripper unit toward the gripping bar.

[0024] The controller is configured to control the robot, the first gripper unit, and the second gripper unit. The controller controls the first pusher and the second pusher to press a first mounting button or a second mounting button provided on the dousing head mounting table or the sample loading device, controls the robot to move the first gripper unit downward to install the dousing head, controls the first pusher and the second pusher to press the first mounting button or the second mounting button, and can be configured to control the robot to move the first gripper unit upward to remove the dousing head.

[0025] The cap opening and closing device includes a first tube holder on one side and a second tube holder on the other side, and can be positioned at one of a first position where one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder can place or grip a tube, and a second position where a tube cap is coupled to or separated from the tube body, and rotates the other one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder to the other one of the first position and the second position; a capping work table A support base lifting block moved up and down by a cap unit lifting actuator; a cap gripper support base rotatably attached to the support base lifting block; A first cap gripper and a second cap gripper attached to the cap gripper support base, positioned to correspond to the tube cap of the tube in the second position, configured to move toward each other to grip the tube cap, or move away from each other to place the tube cap; A first tube body gripper and a second tube body gripper positioned to correspond to the tube body of the tube in the second position, configured to move toward each other to grip the tube body, or move away from each other to place the tube body; It can include a cap rotation actuator that is attached to a support base lifting block, includes a lower end that passes through the support base lifting block and is connected to a cap gripper support base, and is configured to rotate the cap gripper support base in a first rotation direction to separate a tube cap from a tube body, and to rotate the cap gripper support base in a second rotation direction, which is the opposite direction of the first rotation direction, to couple the tube cap to the tube body.

[0026] The cap opening and closing device can further include a first exhaust hood that is attached at a position corresponding to the second position and is configured to suck gas generated from the liquid in the tube.

[0027] The cap opening and closing device can further include a work table rotation actuator that is configured to rotate the capping work table by 180° to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at the first position and the other one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at the second position.

[0028] The cap opening and closing device can further include a sensor configured to detect whether a tube is placed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, whether a tube is placed on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, or whether a tube cap is placed, and / or whether the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper are gripping the tube cap.

[0029] The controller can be configured to receive a signal for the value detected by the sensor and control the operation of the work table rotation actuator, the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper, the first tube body gripper and the second tube body gripper, the cap unit lifting actuator, and / or the cap rotation actuator based on the signal.

[0030] A tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position. When it is detected by a sensor that the tube cap is not located on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, the controller can rotate the capping worktable 180° via the worktable rotation actuator to move the tube to the second position.

[0031] A tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position. When it is detected by a sensor that the tube cap is located on the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, the controller can lower the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper via the cap unit lifting actuator to grip the tube cap, and then raise the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper again.

[0032] When it is detected by a sensor that no tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper are not gripping the tube cap, the controller can control the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper to grip the tube cap, control the cap rotation actuator to rotate the tube cap coupled to the tube body in the first rotation direction, and control the cap unit lifting actuator to lift the tube cap according to the rotation amount by the cap rotation actuator.

[0033] If it is detected by the sensor that no tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper are gripping the tube cap, the controller controls the cap unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cap toward the tube body, controls the cap rotation actuator to rotate the tube cap in the second rotation direction with respect to the tube body, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cap according to the amount of rotation by the cap rotation actuator.

[0034] Before rotating the tube cap in the second rotation direction with respect to the tube body, the controller can control the cap unit lifting actuator to press the tube body with a certain load using the tube cap.

[0035] The acid injection device includes an acid supply unit including a liquid pumping unit configured to pump the liquid contained in a plurality of liquid bottles; an acid injection chamber body in which an acid injection chamber is formed, an injection nozzle attached to the injection nozzle mounting portion in the acid injection chamber, communicated with the liquid pumping unit, and configured to inject the liquid pumped by the liquid pumping unit into the tube, and a nozzle lifting actuator attached to the acid injection chamber body, connected to the injection nozzle mounting portion, and configured to move the injection nozzle mounting portion up and down, including an acid injection unit; a tube loader unit configured to place a tube thereon, tilt the placed tube and insert it into the acid injection chamber, and rotate the tilted and placed tube, and when the tube is tilted and rotated and located in the acid injection chamber, the nozzle lifting actuator lowers the injection nozzle mounting portion to be located above the tube, and the injection nozzle can inject the liquid pumped by the liquid pumping unit into the tilted and rotating tube.

[0036] The acid injection part includes a drain fan provided at the lower part of the acid injection chamber body; and, a funnel moving actuator that is connected to a funnel moving link extending into the acid injection chamber and is attached to the funnel moving link, and moves the funnel between a first funnel position located directly below the injection nozzle and capable of receiving the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle, and a second funnel position where the funnel moving link and the funnel do not overlap with the movement of the tube and the movement of the injection nozzle attachment part within the acid injection chamber.

[0037] The acid injection part may further include a second exhaust hood that at least partially surrounds the periphery of the injection nozzle and is configured to suck the gas generated from the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle.

[0038] The tube loader part includes a frame extending from the front of the acid injection chamber toward the acid injection chamber; a loader frame rail supported by a support frame and extending along the support frame; a loader frame transfer actuator configured to transfer the loader frame between a first loader position where the tube can be placed or gripped and a second loader position where the tube can be tilted and enter the acid injection chamber; a tilting actuator that tilts a tilting frame attached to the loader frame between a tilted position and an initial position; and may include a rotating plate rotating actuator configured to rotate a rotating plate rotatably attached to the tilting frame.

[0039] The tube loader part may further include a third tube holder provided on the rotating plate and on which the tube is placed.

[0040] The acid injection device can further include sensors that detect whether a tube is placed on the third tube holder, whether the loader frame is located at the first loader position or the second loader position, and / or whether the tilting frame is in the initial position or tilted to a tilted position.

[0041] Each of the plurality of liquid bottles is disposed on the second weighing scale, and the second weighing scale can be configured to measure the amount of liquid contained in each of the plurality of liquid bottles.

[0042] The front surface of the acid injection chamber body is open, and the acid injection part includes an acid injection chamber shutter that selectively closes the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body; The acid injection device can further include a shutter actuator configured to close or open the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body with the acid injection chamber shutter.

[0043] The pipetting device includes a pipette tip tray on which a plurality of pipette tips are placed; A pipetting work table that is provided with a first pipette tube holder on one side and a second pipette tube holder on the other side, and one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder is positioned at one of a first pipette tube position where a tube can be placed or gripped and a second pipette tube position where a solution can be sampled from the tube or injected into the tube, and the other of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder is positioned at the other of the first pipette tube position and the second pipette tube position and is rotatable; A pipette unit configured to attach a pipette tip at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and to sample a part of the solution contained in the first tube or inject the sampled solution into the second tube at a position corresponding to the pipetting work table; It may include a pipette moving unit that moves the pipette unit between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipetting work table.

[0044] The pipetting device may further include a pipette tip tray transfer unit that moves the pipette tip tray toward or away from the pipette unit.

[0045] The pipetting device may further include a pipetting work table rotation actuator configured to rotate the pipetting work table by 180° to position one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at the first pipette tube position and the other one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at the second pipette tube position.

[0046] The pipette unit includes a pipette guide frame connected to the pipette moving unit and moved by the pipette moving unit between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipetting work table; A pipette slider slidably mounted vertically along the pipette guide frame; A pipette module including a pipette module body fixedly attached to the pipette slider and a pipette piston movably relative to the pipette module body in the vertical direction; It may include a pipette push actuator movably mounted vertically on the pipette slider and configured to push the upper end of the pipette piston.

[0047] The pipette piston may be elastically attached to the pipette module body.

[0048] An attachment end for attaching a pipette tip may be formed at the lower end of the pipette piston.

[0049] With the attachment end descending while pressing the pipette tip downward, the lower end of the pipette tip is immersed in the solution contained in the first tube. With the lower end of the pipette tip immersed in the solution contained in the first tube, the attachment end elastically ascends to collect a part of the solution contained in the first tube. When the solution is contained in the pipette tip, the attachment end can be configured to press the pipette tip downward to inject the solution into the second tube.

[0050] The pipetting device may further include a pipette tip ejector configured to push the upper end of the pipette piston downward to remove the pipette tip attached to the attachment end.

[0051] The pressing amount by which the pipette tip ejector presses the pipette piston may be larger than the pressing amount by which the pipette push actuator presses the pipette piston.

[0052] The metal component inspection is performed after dissolving the sample in the tube in acid to detect the metal components contained in the sample. The vision device includes a drive roller and a backup roller configured to attach the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved and rotate the tube; An image acquisition device configured to acquire a lower image of the tube that is attached between the drive roller and the backup roller and rotates; It includes an illumination module configured to irradiate light on the tube on the opposite side of the image acquisition device with respect to the tube. The controller can be configured to inspect the dissolution rate of the sample by image-processing the lower image of the tube acquired by the image acquisition device. The controller can be configured to detect the tube region from the image of the set portion of the tube by an image feature-based vision algorithm, apply a shape recognition algorithm to the tube region to detect the region of interest, classify the pixels within the detected region of interest according to a set criterion, assign pixel values to the classified pixels, and detect the dissolution rate of the sample using the pixel values of each pixel.

[0053] The vision device includes a tube rotation actuator configured to rotate the tube via a driving roller; It can further include a backup roller actuator configured to move the backup roller toward or away from the driving roller.

[0054] The vision device can further include an illumination module actuator configured to move the illumination module between an irradiation position where it moves toward the tube to irradiate light on the tube and an initial position where it moves away from the tube and does not interfere with attaching the tube between the driving roller and the backup roller.

[0055] The controller can detect the tube region as a circle from the lower image of the tube by circle Hough transform, and can cut out the tube region using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

[0056] The controller can be configured to set a region corresponding to the object of interest in the tube region through a dynamic contour model, find singular points while gradually narrowing the region, and detect the region of interest from the singular points.

[0057] The control unit can classify the pixels in the detected region of interest into two types of pixels according to a set criterion, and assign a pixel value of 0 or 1 to the classified pixels to binarize them.

[0058] The control unit can calculate the average value of the brightness of all the pixels in the detected region of interest, assign a pixel value of 0 to the pixels that are darker than the set amount by the average value of the brightness, assign a pixel value of 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

[0059] The control unit can be configured to feedback the dissolution rate if the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate.

[0060] The control unit can be configured to adjust the component of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, the amount of the acid, the time for heating the tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved, and / or the temperature based on the feedback dissolution rate.

[0061] A pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to another embodiment of the present invention includes: injecting an acid into a tube into which a sample is introduced according to set pretreatment conditions by a sample dissolution device to dissolve the sample; detecting the dissolution rate of the sample with a sample dissolution rate detection device using a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in an acid; responding to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or higher than the set dissolution rate, diluting the sample solution by a dilution device.

[0062] The pretreatment method may further include adjusting the set pretreatment conditions by a pretreatment condition adjustment device in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being lower than the set dissolution rate.

[0063] A pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to another embodiment of the present invention includes: introducing the sample in the dosing head into a first tube by a sample introduction device; Injecting an acid into a first tube into which a sample has been introduced by an acid injection device; Applying heat while shaking a first tube containing the acid in which the sample has been dissolved by a heat shaker; Obtaining an image of a set portion of the first tube by a vision device; Inspecting the dissolution rate of the sample by image - processing the image of the set portion of the first tube by a controller; and, Diluting the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or higher than a set dissolution rate can be included.

[0064] The pretreatment method includes removing a dosing head from a dosing head mounting base and attaching the removed dosing head to a sample input unit lifting device by a robot with a gripper device attached to the forefront; Removing a first tube from a tube mounting base by a robot with a gripper device attached; Separating a tube cap from the first tube by a cap opening - closing device; Further including placing the first tube from which the tube cap has been separated on a tube mounting cup by a robot with a gripper device attached can be included.

[0065] The tube mounting cup is arranged on a first weighing scale, and the amount of the sample introduced into the first tube can be detected by the first weighing scale.

[0066] The acid injection device can be configured to inject a liquid into the tube in a state where the tube placed on the acid injection device is tilted and rotated.

[0067] In one aspect, the step of diluting the sample solution includes injecting distilled water into the first tube by an acid injection device to perform a primary dilution of the sample solution; Transferring a part of the primary diluted sample solution in the first tube to the second tube by a pipetting device; It can include injecting distilled water into the second tube by an acid injection device or a pipetting device to perform secondary dilution of the sample solution.

[0068] In another aspect, the step of diluting the sample solution includes transferring a part of the sample solution in the first tube to the second tube by a pipetting device; Injecting distilled water into the second tube by an acid injection device to perform primary dilution of the sample solution; It can include injecting distilled water into the second tube by an acid injection device or a pipetting device to perform secondary dilution of the sample solution.

[0069] The step of obtaining an image of the set portion of the first tube can be performed while the first tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved is rotating.

[0070] The step of image - processing the image of the set portion of the first tube to inspect the dissolution rate of the sample includes detecting the tube region from the image of the set portion of the first tube by an image - feature - based vision algorithm; Applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube region to detect the region of interest; Classifying the pixels in the detected region of interest according to a set criterion and assigning pixel values to the classified pixels; It can include detecting the dissolution rate of the sample using the pixel values of each pixel.

[0071] The control machine can be configured to detect the tube region as a circle from the lower image of the first tube by circle - hough transform, and cut out the tube region using the center - point coordinates and radius of the circle.

[0072] The control unit can be configured to set a region corresponding to an object of interest in the tube region through a dynamic contour model, find singular points while gradually narrowing the region, and detect an interest region from the singular points.

[0073] The control unit can be configured to classify the pixels in the detected interest region into two types of pixels according to a set criterion, and assign a pixel value of 0 or 1 to the classified pixels to perform binarization.

[0074] The control unit can be configured to calculate the average value of the brightness of all the pixels in the detected interest region, assign a pixel value of 0 to the pixels that are darker than the set amount by the average value of the brightness, assign a pixel value of 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

[0075] The pretreatment method can further include a step of adjusting the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

Advantages of the Invention

[0076] According to the present invention, the pretreatment process using an acid, which is a toxic substance, can be automated to realize a safe working environment, reduce the fatigue of workers due to the same repetitive work, and reduce the occurrence of measurement errors.

[0077] Also, the dissolution rate of the sample can be automatically confirmed through various image processing methods, and this dissolution rate can be reflected in the pretreatment process to improve the accuracy of the inspection of metal components in the sample.

[0078] In addition, the effects obtained or predicted by the embodiments of the present invention are directly or implicitly disclosed in the detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention. That is, various effects predicted by the embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in the detailed description described later.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0079] The embodiments of this specification can be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same or functionally similar elements.

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[0080] The drawings referred to above are not necessarily shown to scale and are to be understood as presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the present disclosure. For example, certain design features of the present disclosure, including specific dimensions, directions, positions, and shapes, are determined in part by the particular intended use and environment of use.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0081] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprises." and / or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, components, and / or elements, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, components, elements, and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0082] Furthermore, it is understood that the following method or one or more of these aspects can be executed by at least one control mechanism. The term "control mechanism" can refer to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor is specially programmed to execute the program instructions to perform one or more processes described in more detail below. The control mechanism can control the operation of units, modules, components, devices, or similar things as described herein. Also, it is understood that the following method is executed by a device that includes a control mechanism along with one or more other components, as would be recognized by those skilled in the art.

[0083] In addition, the control mechanism of the present disclosure can be realized as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that includes executable program instructions executed by a processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD) ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash drive, smart card, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can further have program instructions distributed across an entire computer network and stored and executed in a distributed manner, such as by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

[0084] According to the present invention, a robot includes a plurality of arms that can rotate relative to each other, a gripper device is attached to the outermost arm among the plurality of arms, and a dousing head mounting table, a tube mounting table, a sample injection device, a cap opening and closing device, an acid injection device, a heat shaker, a pipetting device, and a vision device are arranged within the operating radius of the robot. The robot can freely move the gripper device within the operating radius of the robot via the plurality of arms without limitation. Therefore, the robot can transfer the dousing head or the tube to the dousing head mounting table, the tube mounting table, the sample injection device, the cap opening and closing device, the acid injection device, the heat shaker, the pipetting device, or the vision device via the gripper device in a preset order and / or in a preset operating mode. Further, when the dousing head or the tube is transferred to the sample injection device, the cap opening and closing device, the acid injection device, the heat shaker, the pipetting device, or the vision device, the sample injection device, the cap opening and closing device, the acid injection device, the heat shaker, the pipetting device, or the vision device operates in a preset operating mode. Therefore, the pretreatment process using an acid, which is a toxic substance, can be automated without human intervention to realize a safe working environment, reduce the fatigue of workers due to the same repetitive work, and reduce the occurrence of measurement errors. In addition, the dissolution rate of the sample can be automatically confirmed through various image processing methods, and this dissolution rate can be reflected in the pretreatment process to improve the accuracy of the metal component inspection in the sample.

[0085] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0086] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] The pretreatment system 10 for inspecting metal components in a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to input a sample into a tube 70 according to set pretreatment conditions, inject an acid into the tube 70 containing the sample, and dissolve the sample. The pretreatment system 10 includes a sample dissolution device, a sample dissolution rate detection device configured to detect the dissolution rate of the sample in the sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid, a dilution device configured to dilute the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or greater than a set dissolution rate, and a pretreatment condition adjustment device configured to adjust the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 1, the pretreatment system 10 for inspecting metal components in a sample according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a robot 20, a gripper device 30, a dosing head mounting table 80, a tube mounting table 90, a sample input device 110, a cap opening / closing device 130, an acid injection device 170, a heat shaker 230, and a pipetting device 240. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the pretreatment system 10 further includes a vision device 290. The robot 20 is fixedly attached to the center (C1) of the pretreatment system 10, and the dosing head mounting table 80, the tube mounting table 90, the sample input device 110, the cap opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the heat shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, and the vision device 290 are arranged within the operating radius (R1) of the robot 20. The pretreatment system 10 further includes a controller 280. The controller 280 is arranged outside the operating radius (R1) of the robot 20. For example, the controller 280 is arranged remotely and physically separated from the robot 20.

[0089] The sample dissolution device, sample dissolution rate detection device, dilution device, and pretreatment condition adjustment device are those that distinguish the components of the pretreatment system 10 by function, and the robot 20, gripper device 30, dosing head mounting table 80, tube mounting table 90, sample input device 110, cap opening and closing device 130, acid injection device 170, heat shaker 230, pipetting device 240, controller 280, and vision device 290 are those that distinguish the components of the pretreatment system 10 by device. Therefore, each of the sample dissolution device, sample dissolution rate detection device, dilution device, and pretreatment condition adjustment device can be realized by a partial or total combination of the robot 20, gripper device 30, dosing head mounting table 80, tube mounting table 90, sample input device 110, cap opening and closing device 130, acid injection device 170, heat shaker 230, pipetting device 240, controller 280, and vision device 290.

[0090] The robot 20 includes a number of arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, 22g, and one arm is rotatably connected to another adjacent arm. For this purpose, at least one actuator is provided at the connecting portion of one arm and another adjacent arm, and one arm is rotatable with respect to another adjacent arm. For example, the second arm 22b is rotatably connected to the first arm 22a, and an actuator for rotatably connecting the second arm 22b to the first arm 22a is provided at the connecting portion of the first arm 22a and the second arm 22b. Similarly, the third arm 22c is rotatably connected to the second arm 22b, and an actuator for rotatably connecting the third arm 22c to the second arm 22b is provided at the connecting portion of the second arm 22b and the third arm 22c.

[0091] Among the plurality of arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, 22g, a gripper device 30 is rotatably attached to the foremost arm 22g. The gripper device 30 can move freely without limitation within the operating radius (R1) of the robot 20 via the plurality of arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, 22g included in the robot 20. The more the number of arms included in the robot 20 increases, the more freely the gripper 30 can move. Thus, in this specification, it is exemplified that the robot 20 includes seven arms 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, 22e, 22f, 22g, or the number of arms included in the robot 20 is not limited to seven and can be adjusted by the designer as needed.

[0092] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a gripper device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a gripper device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is another perspective view of a gripper device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0093] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the gripper device 30 is attached to the tip of the robot 20, that is, the foremost arm 22g of the robot 20, and rotates together with the foremost arm 22g. The robot 20 moves the gripper device 30 to a dousing head mounting table 80, a tube mounting table 90, a sample loading device 110, a cap opening / closing device 130, an acid injection device 170, a heat shaker 230, a pipetting device 240, or a vision device 290 to grip or release the dousing head 50 and / or the tube 70. For such purposes, the gripper device 30 includes a gripper body 32, a first gripper unit 40, and a second gripper unit 60.

[0094] The gripper body 32 is attached to the leading arm 22g and rotates together with the leading arm 22g. A gripper body mounting hole 33 is formed in the central portion of the gripper body 32, and the gripper body 32 is attached to the leading arm 22g through the gripper body mounting hole 33. The gripper body 32 includes a first gripper unit attachment portion 34 on one side thereof and a second gripper unit attachment portion 36 on the other side thereof. A first gripper unit 40 configured to grip or release the dozing head 50 is attached to the first gripper unit attachment portion 34, and a second gripper unit 60 configured to grip or release the tube 70 is attached to the second gripper unit attachment portion 36.

[0095] The first gripper unit 40 is attached to the first gripper unit attachment portion 34, can grip or release the dozing head 50, and is configured to be able to press the first attachment button 82 (see FIG. 6) of the dozing head mounting base 80 or the second attachment button 112 (see FIG. 9) of the sample loading device 110.

[0096] The first gripper unit 40 includes a first gripping finger 42a and a second gripping finger 42b that are movable toward or away from each other. The first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b can move toward each other and grip the dodging head 50 placed therebetween, and can move away from each other to release the gripped dodging head 50. Here, a sample for metal component inspection is accommodated inside the dodging head 50, and it includes a sample container portion 52 and a sample supply portion 54. A sample is accommodated in the sample container portion 52, and it is connected to the sample container portion 52 and configured to selectively discharge the sample accommodated in the sample container portion 52. For this purpose, the sample container portion 52 is provided with an elastically supported valve button 58. When the valve button 58 is pushed by an external force, the valve button 58 opens the discharge port of the sample supply portion 54 connected to the sample container portion 52 and discharges the sample inside the sample container portion 52. When the external force for pushing the valve button 58 disappears, the valve button 58 elastically returns to its original position and closes the discharge port of the sample supply portion 54. Such a dodging head 50 is well known to those skilled in the art, and thus further detailed description is omitted.

[0097] The first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b are configured to grip both side surfaces of the sample supply portion 54 of the dodging head 50. For example, on the surfaces of the tip portions of the first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b facing each other, a first gripping protrusion 44a and a second gripping protrusion 44b are protrudingly formed so as to face each other, and the first gripping protrusion 44a and the second gripping protrusion 44b are configured to grip the flat both side surfaces of the sample supply portion 54.

[0098] The dozing head 50 is usually placed on the dozing head mounting base 80 or the sample loading device 110. For this purpose, on both side surfaces of the sample supply part 54 of the dozing head 50, a mounting pin passage 56 and a mounting pin groove 57 extending upward in the mounting pin passage 56 are formed. Also, the dozing head mounting base 80 is provided with a first mounting pin 84 having a first mounting pin tip 86 formed corresponding to the mounting pin passage 56 and the mounting pin groove 57, and the sample loading device 110 is provided with a second mounting pin 114 having a second mounting pin tip 116 formed corresponding to the mounting pin passage 56 and the mounting pin groove 57. Therefore, the first mounting pin 84 or the second mounting pin 114 is inserted into the mounting pin passage 56, the first mounting pin tip 86 or the second mounting pin tip 116 is inserted into the mounting pin groove 57, and the dozing head 50 is placed on the dozing head mounting base 80 or the sample loading device 110. That is, the gripper device 30 horizontally moves the dozing head 50, inserts the first mounting pin 84 or the second mounting pin 114 into the mounting pin passage 56, vertically lowers the dozing head 50, and inserts the first mounting pin tip 86 or the second mounting pin tip 116 into the mounting pin groove 57.

[0099] To remove the dozing head 50 from the dozing head mounting base 80 or the sample loading device 110, the first gripping protrusion 44a and the second gripping protrusion 44b of the gripper device 30 grip the flat both side surfaces of the sample supply part 54, vertically raise the dozing head 50, remove the first mounting pin tip 86 or the second mounting pin tip 116 outside the mounting pin groove 57, horizontally move the dozing head 50, and remove the first mounting pin 84 or the second mounting pin 114 from the mounting pin passage 56.

[0100] Also, in the process of installing or removing the dozing head 50, in order to minimize the vertical movement of the dozing head 50 by the gripper device 30, the tips of the first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b are each elastically provided with a first pusher 46a and a second pusher 46b. A first mounting button 82 and a second mounting button 112 are respectively attached to the dozing head mounting table 80 and the sample loading device 110. In the process of installing or removing the dozing head 50, when the first 46a pusher and the second pusher 46b press the first mounting button 82 or the second mounting button 112, the first mounting pin 84 or the second mounting pin 114 moves downward, and the first mounting pin tip 86 or the second mounting pin tip 116 is partially removed from the mounting pin groove 57. Therefore, the vertical movement amount of the dozing head 50 for installing or removing the dozing head 50 can be reduced.

[0101] In order to reduce the amount of impact that may occur when the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b press the first mounting button 82 or the second mounting button 112, a guide bushing 74, a guide shaft 76, and a guide spring 78 are provided inside the tip portions of the first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b.

[0102] The guide bushing 74 has a cylindrical shape with one side open and the other side closed, and is fixed inside the tip portions of the first gripping finger 42a and the second gripping finger 42b. On the open side of the guide bushing 74, the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b is arranged slidably along the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing 74, and a guide shaft hole is formed in the closed other side of the guide bushing 74. The guide shaft 76 is inserted into the guide shaft hole and extends to one side, and is connected to the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b. Therefore, the guide shaft 76 is movable axially along the guide bushing 74 together with the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b. The guide shaft 76 is separated from the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing 74, and a guide spring 78 is arranged between the guide shaft 76 and the guide bushing 74. The guide spring 78 elastically supports the first pusher 46a or the second pusher 46b with respect to the guide bushing 74. When the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b press the first attachment button 82 or the second attachment button 112, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b move axially to the other side by reaction together with the guide shaft 76, and the guide spring 78 is compressed. When the force for the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b to press the first attachment button 82 or the second attachment button 112 disappears, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b move axially to one side by the elastic force of the guide spring 78 together with the guide shaft 76 and return to the original position. The axial movement of the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b and the guide shaft 76 to the other side is restricted by a step formed on the inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing 74, and the axial movement of the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b and the guide shaft 76 to one side is restricted by the other end portion of the guide shaft 76 having a relatively large diameter.

[0103] The second gripper unit 60 is attached to the second gripper unit attachment portion 36 and is configured to grip or release the tube 70. For this purpose, the second gripper unit 60 includes a third gripping finger 62a and a fourth gripping finger 62b that are movable toward each other or away from each other. The third gripping finger and the fourth gripping fingers 62a, 62b can move toward each other to grip the tube 70 placed therebetween, and can move away from each other to release the gripped tube 70. Here, the tube 70 includes a tube body 71 with a closed lower end and a tube cap 72 that is screwed onto the upper part of the tube body 71 to close the open upper part of the tube body 71. The tube body 71 is made of a transparent material so that its interior can be seen and is made of a material that is resistant to toxic substances such as acids.

[0104] The tip portions of the third gripping finger 62a and the fourth gripping finger 62b are provided with a first tube tong portion 64a and a second tube tong portion 64b. The first tube tong portion 64a and the second tube tong portion 64b have a shape corresponding to the tube cap 72 so that they can grip the tube cap 72. For example, the first tube tong portion 64a and the second tube tong portion 64b are each formed in a semi-circular or arc shape having a diameter that is the same as or very similar to the diameter of the tube cap 72 and are adapted to grip the tube cap 72. In one example, the first tube tong portion 64a and the second tube tong portion 64b may each be arc-shaped. Also, the surfaces of the first tube tong portion 64a and the second tube tong portion 64b that contact the tube cap 72 so that the first tube tong portion 64a and the second tube tong portion 64b can firmly grip the tube cap 72 may be made of an elastic material.

[0105] At the tip portions of the third gripping finger 62a and the fourth gripping finger 62b, a first gripping bar groove 66a, a second gripping bar groove 66b, a first position limiter 68a, and a second position limiter 68b are further provided. The first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b have a shape corresponding to the gripping bar 108 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) of the tube mounting base 90 so as to be able to grip the gripping bar 108. For example, the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b are each formed in a semi-circular or arc shape having a diameter the same as or very similar to the diameter of the gripping bar 108 so as to grip the gripping bar 108. In one example, the diameter of the gripping bar 108 is smaller than the diameter of the tube cap 72, and the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b may each be semi-circular. The first position limiter 68a and the second position limiter 68b limit the movement of the second gripper unit 60 toward the gripping bar 108 so that the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b are positioned at accurate positions corresponding to the gripping bar 108.

[0106] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a partial configuration of a dousing head mounting base according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0107] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, at least one dodging head 50 may be placed on the dodging head mounting table 80. For this purpose, the dodging head mounting table 80 includes a plurality of dodging head mounting portions, and one dodging head 50 may be placed on one dodging head mounting portion. Each dodging head mounting portion includes a pair of first mounting pins 84 extending forward, and a first mounting pin tip 86 protruding upward is formed at the front end of each first mounting pin 84. The dodging head 50 is arranged between the pair of first mounting pins 84, the first mounting pins 84 are inserted into the mounting pin passages 56, the first mounting pin tips 86 are inserted into the mounting pin grooves 57, and the dodging head 50 is placed on the dodging head mounting portion. A first mounting button 82 may be attached to each dodging head mounting portion. When the first mounting button 82 is pressed, the first mounting button 82 moves the first mounting pin 84 downward to partially remove the first mounting pin tip 86 from the mounting pin groove 57. In this state, the robot 20 slightly raises the first gripper unit 40 so that the first mounting pin tip 86 completely comes out of the mounting pin groove 57, then retreats from the dodging head mounting table 80, and removes the dodging head 50 from the dodging head mounting table 80.

[0108] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a tube mounting table according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of part B of FIG. 7.

[0109] As shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 8, the tube mounting table 90 includes at least one tube tray 96 slidable by the gripper device 30, and at least one tube 70 is placed on each tube tray 96. FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which the tube trays 96 are arranged in two rows on the tube mounting table 90, and three tube trays 96 are arranged in each row, but the number of rows of the tube trays 96 and the number of tube trays 96 arranged in each row are not limited to these.

[0110] The tube mounting base 90 includes a bottom frame 94 and at least two vertical frames. FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which two rows of tube trays 96 are arranged. The tube mounting base 90 in FIG. 7 includes a first vertical frame 92a, a second vertical frame 92b, and a third vertical frame 92c. The first vertical frame 92a, the second vertical frame 92b, and the third vertical frame 92c are attached to the bottom frame 94 at intervals from each other. Each of the first vertical frame 92a, the second vertical frame 92b, and the third vertical frame 92c extends upward in the vertical direction.

[0111] Between two adjacent vertical frames, at least one tube tray 96 is slidably arranged in a first direction (X1). Here, the first direction (X1) indicates a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the vertical frames are separated. The tube tray 96 includes an upper tray 98, a lower tray 100 arranged at a distance below the upper tray 98, and at least one tray spacer 106 that maintains the separated state of the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100 and connects the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100. In one example, a plurality of tray spacers 106 are arranged at intervals from each other along the edges of the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100.

[0112] A plurality of first upper tube holes 102 are formed in the upper tray 98, and a plurality of first lower tube holes 104 corresponding to the first upper tube holes 102 are formed in the lower tray 100. The tube body 71 is inserted into the first upper tube hole 102, at least a part of the lower portion of the tube body 71 is inserted into the first lower tube hole 104, and the remaining part of the lower portion of the tube body 71 is supported by the first lower tray 100. For this reason, the diameter of the lower portion of the tube body 71 becomes smaller as it goes downward. The diameter of the first upper tube hole 102 is larger than the diameter of the middle portion of the tube body 71, and the diameter of the first lower tube hole 104 is smaller than the diameter of the middle portion of the tube body 71.

[0113] Sliding rails 109 are attached to the facing surfaces of two adjacent vertical frames, and at least one of the two side surfaces of the upper tray 98 and the lower tray 100 is attached to the sliding rails 109 and includes a sliding mechanism that can slide in the first direction (X1). In one example, the sliding mechanism is a roller that can roll on the sliding rails 109. However, the sliding mechanism is not limited to rollers and includes various sliding mechanisms that can slide the tube tray 96.

[0114] A gripping bar 108 is formed to protrude vertically upward on the lower tray 100. The first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b of the second gripper unit 60 of the gripper device 30 can grip the gripping bar 108 and pull or push the tube tray 96 to slide it in the first direction (X1). That is, the robot 20 grips the gripping bar 108 in the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b of the second gripper unit 60 of the gripper device 30 and pulls or pushes the tube tray 96 to slide it in the first direction (X1). By sliding the tube tray 96 in this way, the robot 20 can place the tube 70 on the tube tray 96 or position the tube tray 96 at a position where it is easy to remove the tube 70 from the tube tray 96. When the robot 20 moves the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b of the second gripper unit 60 toward the gripping bar 108, the first position limiters 68a and the second position limiters 68b provided at the tips of the third gripping fingers 62a and the fourth gripping fingers 62b catch on the corners of the upper tray 98, and the second gripper unit 60 can no longer move toward the gripping bar 108. When the first position limiters 68a and the second position limiters 68b catch on the corners of the upper tray 98, the first gripping bar groove 66a and the second gripping bar groove 66b are positioned at an exact position corresponding to the gripping bar 108.

[0115] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a sample loading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0116] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the sample loading device 110 is configured to transfer a fixed amount of the sample accommodated in the sample container portion 52 of the dosing head 50 into the empty tube 70. The sample loading device 110 includes a sample loading unit lifting device 111 and a sample loading chamber 126.

[0117] The dosing head 50 is attached to the sample loading unit lifting device 111. For this purpose, the sample loading unit lifting device 111 includes a pair of second attachment pins 114 extending forward, and a second attachment pin tip 116 protruding upward is formed at the front end of each second attachment pin 114. The dosing head 50 is disposed between the pair of second attachment pins 114, the second attachment pins 114 are inserted into the attachment pin passages 56, and the second attachment pin tips 116 are inserted into the attachment pin grooves 57, so that the dosing head 50 is attached to the sample loading unit lifting device 111. A second attachment button 112 is attached to the sample loading unit lifting device 111. When the second attachment button 112 is pressed, the second attachment button 112 moves the second attachment pins 114 downward to partially remove the second attachment pin tips 116 from the attachment pin grooves 57. In this state, the robot 20 slightly lowers the first gripper unit 40 so that the second attachment pin tips 116 are completely inserted into the attachment pin grooves 57, and then places the dosing head 50.

[0118] The sample input unit lifting device 111 descends toward the sample input chamber 126 so that the dosing head 50 attached to the sample input unit lifting device 111 is positioned directly above the tube 70. The sample input unit lifting device 111 further includes a valve switch 118 configured to press the valve button 58 of the sample container unit 52. When the sample input unit lifting device 111 descends and the dosing head 50 is positioned directly above the tube 70, the valve switch 118 presses the valve button 58 to open the discharge port of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52, and a certain amount of the sample in the sample container unit 52 is put into the empty tube 70. When a certain amount of the sample is put into the tube 70, the valve switch 118 no longer presses the valve button 58, and the discharge port of the sample supply unit 54 is closed. Also, the sample input unit lifting device 111 ascends to its original position. When the sample input unit lifting device 111 ascends to its original position, the robot 20 can remove the dosing head 50 from the sample input unit lifting device 111 via the second gripper unit 60 and place it again on the dosing head mounting table 80.

[0119] The sample injection chamber 126 is located below the sample injection unit lifting device 111, and its upper surface is open. A sliding door 124 is installed on the front surface of the sample injection chamber 126, and the sliding door 124 selectively opens and closes the front surface of the sample injection chamber 126. A first weighing scale 120 is attached to the sample injection chamber 126, and a tube placement cup 122 is arranged on the first weighing scale 120. A tube 70 is arranged in the tube placement cup 122. When the tube 70 with the tube cap 72 separated is arranged in the tube placement cup 122, the sample injection unit lifting device 111 descends, and the valve switch 118 presses the valve button 58 to open the discharge port of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52, and injects the sample in the sample container unit 52 into the tube 70. The amount of the sample injected into the tube 70 is detected by the first weighing scale 120. When the amount of the sample injected into the tube 70 reaches a certain amount, the valve switch 118 closes the discharge port of the sample supply unit 54 without pressing the valve button 58. Then, the sample injection unit lifting device 111 rises to its original position, and the robot 20 causes the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b of the first gripper unit 40 to press the second attachment button 112, partially takes out the second attachment pinch chip 116 from the attachment pin groove 57, the robot 20 slightly raises the first gripper unit 40, completely takes out the second attachment pinch chip 116 from the attachment pin groove 57, and removes the dodging head 50 from the sample injection unit lifting device 111. Then, the robot 20 places the dodging head 50 on the dodging head placement table 80 again.

[0120] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a cap opening and closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a cap opening and closing part according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a first exhaust hood, a first tube body gripper, and a second tube body gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0121] As shown in FIGS. 1, 10 to 12, the cap opening / closing device 130 is configured to separate the tube cap 72 from the tube body 71 or couple the tube cap 72 to the upper portion of the tube body 71. The cap opening / closing device 130 includes a capping work table 132 and a cap opening / closing unit 140, and optionally further includes a first exhaust hood 160.

[0122] The capping work table 132 is provided with a first tube holder 134 on one side and a second tube holder 136 on the other side. A tube 70 can be placed on the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136. The capping work table 132 further includes a work table rotation actuator 138, and the work table rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping work table 132 by 180°. As a result, one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is located at a first position where the robot 20 places or removes the tube 70, and the other of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is located at a second position where the cap opening / closing unit 140 separates the tube cap 72 from the tube body 71 or couples the tube cap 72 to the tube body 71. In this state, when the work table rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping work table 132 by 180°, one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is located at the second position, and the other of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 is located at the first position.

[0123] The cap opening / closing unit 140 is attached at a position corresponding to the second position, and includes a first cap gripper 142a, a second cap gripper 142b, a first tube body gripper 154a, a second tube body gripper 154b, a cap rotation actuator 148, and a cap unit lifting actuator 150.

[0124] The first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are positioned to correspond to the tube cap 72 of the tube 70 attached to the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 in the second position, and can move towards each other to grip the tube cap 72 or move away from each other to release the tube cap 72. The facing surfaces of the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b can have a shape corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the tube cap 72. The first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are attached to a cap gripper support base 144 rotatably attached to a support base lifting block 146. The first tube body gripper 154a and the second tube body gripper 154b are positioned to correspond to the tube body 71 of the tube 70 attached to the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 in the second position, and can move towards each other to grip the tube body 71 or move away from each other to release the tube body 71. First tube body gripper concave grooves 156a and second tube body gripper concave grooves 156b are formed on the facing surfaces of the first tube body gripper 154a and the second tube body gripper 154b, and the first tube body gripper concave grooves 156a and the second tube body gripper concave grooves 156b can have a shape corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the tube body 71. The first tube body gripper 154a and the second tube body gripper 154b are attached to a tube body support base 158.

[0125] The cap rotation actuator 148 is attached to the support base lifting block 146, and the lower end of the cap rotation actuator 148 penetrates the support base lifting block 146 and is connected to the cap gripper support base 144. The cap rotation actuator 148 rotates the cap gripper support base 144 in the first rotation direction to separate the tube cap 72 from the tube body 71, and rotates the cap gripper support base 144 in the second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction to couple the tube cap 72 to the tube body 71.

[0126] The cap unit lifting actuator 150 is connected to the support base lifting block 146 via the cap unit lifting actuator shaft 152, and moves the support base lifting block 146 up and down. Thereby, the cap gripper support base 144 attached to the support base lifting block 146, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b attached to the cap gripper support base 144 also move up and down together with the support base lifting block 146.

[0127] The first exhaust hood 160 is attached at a position corresponding to the second position and is configured to suck gas generated from a toxic substance such as an acid in the tube 70. The first exhaust hood 160 includes a suction port 164 directed toward the tube 70 at the second position, and a first exhaust port 162 for discharging the gas sucked through the suction port 164 to the outside of the pretreatment system 10.

[0128] The cap opening / closing device 130 further includes a sensor 166. The sensor 166 detects whether the tube 70 or the tube cap 72 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, whether the tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, and whether the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are gripping the tube cap 72, and transmits a signal thereto to the controller 280.

[0129] The tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position. If the tube cap 72 is not located on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, the worktable rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping worktable 132 by 180° to move the tube 70 to the second position. When the tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position and the tube cap 72 is located on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, the cap unit lifting actuator 150 lowers the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72 and then raises the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b again.

[0130] If the tube 70 is not placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, the tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b do not grip the tube cap 72, the controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 coupled to the tube body 71 in the first rotation direction, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lift the tube cap 72 according to the amount of rotation by the cap rotation actuator 148. Thereby, the tube cap 72 is separated from the tube body 71. Then, the worktable rotation actuator 138 further rotates the capping worktable 132 by 180° to move the tube 70 to the first position, and the controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to place the tube cap 72 at the second position.

[0131] When the tube 70 is not placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, but is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are gripping the tube cap 72, the controller 280 controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lower the tube cap 72 toward the tube body 71, and presses the tube body 71 with the tube cap 72 at a certain load. The cap rotation actuator 148 is controlled to rotate the tube cap 72 in the second rotation direction with respect to the tube body 71, and the cap unit lifting actuator 150 is controlled to lower the tube cap 72 according to the amount of rotation by the cap rotation actuator 148. Thereby, the tube cap 72 is coupled to the tube body 71. After pressing the tube body 71 with the tube cap 72 at a certain load, the tube cap 72 is rotated in the second rotation direction with respect to the tube body 71, so that the tube cap 72 is prevented from being bent and coupled to the tube body 71. Thereafter, the work table rotation actuator 138 further rotates the capping work table 132 by 180° to move the tube 70 to the first position.

[0132] FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the rear part of another acid injection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a schematic view of an acid injection part according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the acid injection part according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a schematic view of a tube loader part according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a state where a tube is placed in the tube loader part according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 18. FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a state where the tube placed in the tube loader part according to an embodiment of the present invention is inserted into the acid injection chamber. FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D of FIG. 20. FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of the E part of FIG. 21.

[0133] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 to 22, the acid injection device 170 is configured to inject acid into the tube 70 so as to dissolve the sample in the tube 70. Further, the acid injection device 170 is configured to inject distilled water into the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample has been dissolved (hereinafter referred to as "sample solution") to dilute the sample solution primarily. The acid injection device 170 includes an acid supply unit 172, a tube loader unit 174, and an acid injection unit 176.

[0134] The acid supply unit 172 includes a plurality of liquid bottles 178, and each liquid bottle 178 contains a liquid of a specific component. For example, one liquid bottle 178 contains acid, and another liquid bottle 178 contains distilled water. Each liquid bottle 178 is placed on the second weighing scale 180, and the amount of the liquid in the liquid bottle 178 is measured. Also, the amount of the liquid supplied from the liquid bottle 178 may be measured via the second weighing scale 180. Thereby, a set amount of liquid can be supplied to the tube 70. The acid supply unit 172 further includes a liquid pumping unit 182 configured to fluidly communicate the plurality of liquid bottles 178 with the acid injection unit 176. The liquid pumping unit 182 is configured to pump the liquid in the liquid bottle 178 and supply it to the acid injection unit 176. In one example, the control machine 280 can control the liquid pumping unit 182 so that a set amount of liquid is supplied to the tube 70.

[0135] The acid injection unit 176 is arranged near the acid supply unit 172 and is configured to supply the liquid supplied from the acid supply unit 172 to the tube 70 attached to the tube loader unit 174. The acid injection unit 176 includes an acid injection chamber body 184 in which an acid injection chamber 186 is formed. An injection nozzle connector 190, a nozzle lifting actuator 192, a funnel moving actuator 194, and a second exhaust hood 196 are attached to the acid injection chamber body 184. Further, a drain fan 202 is provided at the lower part of the acid injection chamber body 184, and the liquid jetted in the process of preliminarily filling the injection nozzle 200 and / or the injection nozzle attachment part 193 with the liquid can be discharged to the drain fan 202. Further, the front surface of the acid injection chamber body 184 is opened, and the opened front surface is selectively closed by an acid injection chamber shutter 228. For this purpose, the acid injection device 170 further includes a shutter actuator 226. The shutter actuator 226 can open or close the opened front surface of the acid injection chamber body 184 with respect to the acid injection chamber shutter 228.

[0136] The injection nozzle connector 190 is fluidly connected to the liquid pumping unit 182 to receive the supply of the liquid from the liquid pumping unit 182, and is connected to the injection nozzle 200 to supply the received liquid to the injection nozzle 200.

[0137] The nozzle lifting actuator 192 is connected to an injection nozzle mounting portion 193 extending into the acid injection chamber 186 and can move the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 up and down. An injection nozzle 200 is attached to the injection nozzle mounting portion 193, and a passage for supplying liquid to the injection nozzle 200 is formed. The passage is connected to an injection nozzle connector 190 and fluidly communicates the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle connector 190. When the nozzle lifting actuator 192 moves the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 downward, the liquid pumping unit 182 pumps the liquid in the liquid bottle 178 and supplies it to the injection nozzle 200 through the injection nozzle connector 190 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193, and the injection nozzle 200 injects the liquid into the tube 70.

[0138] The funnel moving actuator 194 is connected to a funnel moving link 195 extending into the acid injection chamber 186 and moves a funnel 198 attached to the funnel moving link 195 between a first funnel position and a second funnel position. Here, the first funnel position is located directly below the injection nozzle 200 and is a position where the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle 200 can be received, and the second funnel position is a position where the funnel moving link 195 and the funnel 198 do not overlap with the movement of the tube 70 and the movement of the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 in the acid injection chamber 186. Before inserting the tube 70 into the acid injection chamber 186 and injecting liquid into the tube, the funnel moving actuator 194 positions the funnel 198 at the first funnel position, and the controller 280 controls the liquid pumping unit 182 to pre-fill the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 with liquid. In this process, liquid may be sprayed from the injection nozzle 200 into the funnel 198, and the funnel 198 receives the liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle 200 so that the liquid cannot scatter and discharges the liquid to the drain fan 202. By pre-filling the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 with liquid before injecting the liquid into the tube 70, the gas present in the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle mounting portion 193 can be removed, and the amount of liquid injected into the tube 70 can be accurately controlled.

[0139] The second exhaust hood 196 is configured to at least partially surround the injection nozzle 200 and suck the gas generated from the liquid injected from the injection nozzle 200. The lower part of the second exhaust hood 196 is opened to suck the gas, and the upper part of the second exhaust hood 196 is connected to the second exhaust port 188 to discharge the sucked gas to the outside of the pretreatment system 10. Further, the acid injection chamber body 184 is further connected to the second exhaust port 188 so that the gas not sucked by the second exhaust hood 196 can be discharged to the outside of the pretreatment system 10.

[0140] The tube loader unit 174 includes a support frame 204, a loader frame 206, a loader frame transfer actuator 208, a tilting frame 216, a tilting actuator 222, a rotating plate 218, and a rotating plate rotation actuator 224.

[0141] The support frame 204 extends in a second direction (X2) toward the acid injection chamber 186 in front of the acid injection chamber 186. Here, the second direction (X2) is the direction in which the support frame 204 extends. The support frame 204 is provided with a loader frame rail 205 extending along the second direction (X2), and a loader frame transfer actuator 208 is attached to move the loader frame 206 between a first loader position and a second loader position along the loader frame rail 205. Here, the first loader position is a position where the robot 20 can place the tube 70 on the third tube holder 220 on the rotating plate 218 or grip the tube 70 from the third tube holder 220, and the second loader position is a position where the tilting frame 216 tilts so that the tube 70 can enter the acid injection chamber 186.

[0142] The loader frame transfer actuator 208 includes a first pulley 210, a second pulley 212, and a belt 214. The first pulley 210 and the second pulley 212 are rotatably attached to the support frame 204 at intervals along the second direction (X2). The belt 214 is connected to the first pulley 210 and the second pulley 212 and is movable in the second direction (X2) by the rotation of the first pulley 210 and the second pulley 212. The loader frame 206 is connected to the belt 214, and the belt 214 can move the loader frame 206 in the second direction (X2) between a first loader position and a second loader position.

[0143] The loader frame 206 is formed in a set shape. One end of the loader frame 206 is slidably attached to the loader frame rail 205 and is simultaneously connected to the belt 214. A tilting frame 216 is attached to the other end of the loader frame 206 so as to tilt by a set angle, and a tilting actuator 222 for tilting the tilting frame 216 between a tilted position and an initial position is attached. In one example, the tilting frame 216 is hingedly coupled to the other end of the loader frame 206, and the tilting actuator 222 can pull or push the tilting frame 216 with respect to the loader frame 206 to rotate the tilting frame 216.

[0144] A rotating plate 218 is rotatably attached to the tilting frame 216, and a rotating plate rotating actuator 224 for rotating the rotating plate 218 about its central axis is attached. A third tube holder 220 is provided on the rotating plate 218, and a tube 70 is placed on the third tube holder 220.

[0145] The acid injection device 170 may further include sensors that detect whether the tube 70 is placed on the third tube holder 220, whether the loader frame 206 is located at the first loader position or the second loader position, and whether the tilting frame 216 is in the initial position or tilted to the tilted position. The sensors can transmit signals for the detected information to the controller 280. For example, when the loader frame 206 is located at the first loader position, the controller 280 places the tube 70 on the third tube holder 220 via the robot 20. When the tube 70 is placed on the third tube holder 220, the controller 280 moves the loader frame 206 to the second loader position via the loader frame transfer actuator 208. When the loader frame 206 is located at the second loader position, the controller 280 tilts the tilting frame 216 to the tilted position via the tilting actuator 222. When the tilting frame 216 is tilted to the tilted position, the controller 280 lowers the injection nozzle 200 above the tube 70 via the nozzle lifting actuator 192, rotates the rotating plate 218 via the rotating plate rotation actuator 224, and injects a liquid (e.g., acid or distilled water) into the tube 70 via the injection nozzle 200.

[0146] According to the present invention, since the tube 70 is tilted at a set angle and the liquid is injected into the tube 70 while rotating around the tilted central axis, the liquid flows along the inner wall of the tube 70 and is mixed with the sample. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid from directly falling onto the sample and the sample from being scattered. Also, since the tube 70 is rotating, the liquid injected into the tube 70 flows along the entire inner wall of the tube 70. As a result, the sample adhering to the inner wall of the tube 70 also flows down together with the liquid.

[0147] FIG. 23 is a schematic perspective view of a heat shaker according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a heat shaker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0148] As shown in FIGS. 1, 23, and 24, the heat shaker 230 is configured to hold the tube 70 containing the sample mixed with the liquid, apply heat to the tube 70 to shake the tube 70, and dissolve the sample in the liquid. The heat shaker 230 includes a shaker unit 238, a shaker rod 237, a heating block 233, a heating plate 236, and an insulating cover 231.

[0149] The shaker unit 238 is configured to shake the shaker rod 237. A heating plate 236 is attached to the shaker rod 237, and a heating block 233 is attached to the heating plate 236. An insulating cover 231 is attached on the heating block 233 so as to surround the heating plate 236 and the heating block 233. At least one second upper tube hole 232 is formed in the insulating cover 231, and at least one second lower tube hole 234 corresponding to the at least one second upper tube hole 232 is formed in the heating block 233. The lower part of the tube 70 is inserted into the second upper tube hole 232 and the second lower tube hole 234 and placed on the heating plate 236. In order to stably place the tube 70 inserted into the second upper tube hole 232 and the second lower tube hole 234, the insulating cover 231 is arranged at a distance from the heating block 233. The heating plate 236 and the heating block 233 generate heat and transfer the heat to the tube 70. While heating the sample mixed with the liquid in the tube 70 through the heating plate 236 and the heating block 233, the shaker unit 238 shakes the tube 70 through the shaker rod 237 to dissolve the sample in the liquid (for example, acid).

[0150] FIG. 25 is a schematic perspective view of a pipetting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 26 is a schematic drawing of a pipette unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 27 is another schematic drawing of the pipette unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0151] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 25 to 27, the pipetting device 240 is configured to transfer a part of the solution in one tube 70 to another tube 70. The pipetting device 240 includes a pipette tip tray 252, a pipette tip tray transfer unit 254, a pipetting work table 256, a pipette unit 242, a pipette movement unit 244, and a pipette tip ejector 264. The pipette tip tray 252 is disposed on one side of the pipette unit 242, and the pipetting work table 256 is disposed on the other side of the pipette unit 242.

[0152] A plurality of unused pipette tips 275 are placed on the pipette tip tray 252 and can be moved by the pipette tip tray transfer unit 254 toward or away from the pipette unit 242. When the pipette tip tray 252 is located near the pipette unit 242, the pipette unit 242 moves downward to attach the pipette tip 275. Here, the pipette tip 275 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with openings at its upper and lower ends, and the diameter of the lower part gradually decreases as it goes downward.

[0153] The pipetting work table 256 includes a first pipette tube holder 258 on one side and a second pipette tube holder 260 on the other side. A tube 70 can be placed on the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260. The pipetting work table 256 further includes a pipetting work table rotation actuator 262, and the pipetting work table rotation actuator 262 rotates the pipetting work table 256 by 180°. As a result, one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 is located at the first pipette tube position. At the first pipette tube position, the robot 20 can place the tube 70 on one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 or grip the tube 70 at the first pipette tube position. The other one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 is located at the second pipette tube position. At the second pipette tube position, the pipette unit 242 can collect a solution from the tube 70 at the second pipette tube position or inject the solution into the tube 70 at the second pipette tube position.As a result, one of the first pipette tube holders 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 is located at the first pipette tube position, and the robot 20 places one tube 70 on one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260, or the pipetting work table rotation actuator 262 rotates the pipetting work table 256 by 180°, positions one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 at the second pipette tube position, positions the other one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 at the first pipette tube position, the pipette unit 242 collects a part of the solution in one tube 70, the robot 20 places the other tube 70 on the other one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260, the pipetting work table rotation actuator 262 rotates the pipetting work table 256 by 180° again, positions one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 at the first pipette tube position, positions the other one of the first pipette tube holder 258 and the second pipette tube holder 260 at the second pipette tube position, and the pipette unit 242 injects the collected part of the solution into the other tube 70. Through such a process, a part of the solution in one tube 70 is transferred to the other tube 70. Also, if there is distilled water in one tube 70, the solution in the other tube 70 can be diluted.

[0154] The pipette unit 242 is configured to attach the pipette tip 275 at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252 on one side, collect the solution in one tube 70 at a position corresponding to the pipetting work table 256 on the other side, and inject the collected solution into the other tube 70. The pipette unit 242 includes a pipette guide frame 266, a pipette slider 268, a pipette module 270, and a pipette push actuator 274.

[0155] The pipette guide frame 266 is connected to the pipette moving unit 244 and moves between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252 and a position corresponding to the pipetting work table 256 by the pipette moving unit 244. The pipette guide frame 266 extends in the vertical direction.

[0156] The pipette slider 268 is attached to the pipette guide frame 266 and is slidable vertically along the pipette guide frame 266.

[0157] The pipette module 270 is attached to the pipette slider 268 and moves vertically together with the pipette slider 268. The pipette module 270 includes a pipette module body 271 fixedly attached to the pipette slider 268 and a pipette piston 272 that is relatively movable vertically with respect to the pipette module body 271. The pipette piston 272 is elastically attached to the pipette module body 271. The pipette piston 272 has an attachment end portion 273 at its lower end to which a pipette tip 275 is attached. When the pipette slider 268 moves downward with the pipette unit 242 positioned at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252, the attachment end portion 273 of the pipette piston 272 is inserted into one of the pipette tips 275 placed on the pipette tip tray 252, and the pipette tip 275 is attached to the attachment end portion 273. Thereafter, the pipette slider 268 rises to its original position with the pipette tip 275 attached to the attachment end portion 273.

[0158] The pipette push actuator 274 is positioned above the pipette piston 272 and is vertically movably attached to the pipette slider 268. When the pipette push actuator 274 moves downward to push the upper end of the pipette piston 272, the pipette piston 272 moves downward relative to the pipette module body 271 and pushes the pipette tip 275 attached to the attachment end 273 downward. If the pipette tip 275 contains a solution, the attachment end 273 pushes the pipette tip 275 downward to discharge the solution contained in the pipette tip 275. When the pipette push actuator 274 moves upward and the force pushing the pipette piston 272 disappears, the pipette piston 272 elastically attached to the pipette module body 271 moves upward and pulls the pipette tip 275 attached to the attachment end 273 upward. To collect the solution contained in the tube 70 with the pipette tip 275, with the attachment end 273 pushing the pipette tip 275 downward, the pipette slider 268 moves downward so that the lower end of the pipette tip 275 is immersed in the solution contained in the tube 70. In this state, when the pipette push actuator 274 is moved upward, the pipette tip 275 attached to the attachment end 273 is pulled upward and the solution in the tube 70 is collected.

[0159] The pipette movement unit 244 moves the pipette unit 242 between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252 and a position corresponding to the pipetting work table 256. The pipette movement unit 244 includes a pipette rail 250, an orbit fixing base 246, and an orbit 248. However, only one form of the pipette movement unit 244 is exemplified here, and the pipette movement unit 244 is not limited to the form exemplified here.

[0160] The pipette rail 250 extends from one side where the pipette tip tray 252 is located to the other side where the pipetting work table 256 is located. A pipette guide frame 266 is slidably attached to the pipette rail 250 along the pipette rail 250.

[0161] The rail fixing base 246 extends from one side to the other side on the pipette rail 250.

[0162] One end of the rail 248 is fixed to the rail fixing base 246, and the other end is connected to the pipette guide frame 266. The rail 248 includes a plurality of joints, one joint bends or extends relative to another joint, and the position of the other end of the rail 248 relative to the position of one end of the rail 248 is controlled.

[0163] The pipette tip ejector 264 is located between one side where the pipette tip tray 252 is located and the other side where the pipetting work table 256 is located. The pipette tip ejector 264 can extend to the pipette unit 242 at the corresponding position and push the upper end of the pipette piston 272 downward. When the pipette tip ejector 264 moves downward to push the upper end of the pipette piston 272, the pipette piston 272 moves downward relative to the pipette module body 271 and pushes the pipette tip 275 attached to the attachment end 273 downward. In this case, the pressing amount of the pipette tip ejector 264 pressing the pipette piston 272 is large, and the pipette tip 275 is removed from the attachment end 273.

[0164] In order for the pipette tip ejector 264 to push the upper end of the pipette piston 272, the pipette tip ejector 264 is positioned vertically between the upper end of the pipette piston 272 and the lower end of the pipette push actuator 274. As described above, since the vertical positions of the upper end of the pipette piston 272 and the lower end of the pipette push actuator 274 may change, when the pipette unit 242 moves along the pipette rail 250, the pipette tip ejector 264 may collide with the pipette piston 272 or the pipette push actuator 274. To prevent such collisions, the control unit 280 can allow the movement of the pipette unit 242 along the pipette rail 250 only when the pipette slider 268 is in a preset vertical position and the pipette push actuator 274 is in a preset vertical position.

[0165] On the other hand, the pipette push actuator 274 can remove the pipette tip 275 from the attachment end 273 by adjusting the operating amount of the pipette push actuator 274 without having another pipette tip ejector 264.

[0166] FIG. 28 is a schematic drawing of a vision device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 29 is a schematic perspective view of a vision device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view taken along line F-F of FIG. 28.

[0167] As shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, the vision device 290 is configured to process an image of a set portion of the tube 70 containing the sample solution by a preset image processing program to inspect the dissolution rate of the sample. In one example, the set portion of the tube 70 may be the lower part of the tube 70, but is not limited thereto. The vision device 290 includes a vision frame 294, an image acquisition device 292, a lighting module 296, a lighting module actuator 298, a drive roller 304, a backup roller 306, a tube rotation actuator 300, and a backup roller actuator 308. The image acquisition device 292 is attached to the vision frame 294, and the lighting module 296, the lighting module actuator 298, the drive roller 304, the backup roller 306, the tube rotation actuator 300, and the backup roller actuator 308 are attached to the vision frame 294.

[0168] The image acquisition device 292 is configured to acquire an image of a set portion of the tube 70 containing the sample solution. For this purpose, the image acquisition device 292 is attached to an appropriate position of the vision frame 294 for acquiring an image of the set portion of the tube 70. In one example, the image acquisition device 292 may be attached to the lower part of the vision frame 294 to acquire an image of the lower part of the tube 70. The image of the set portion of the tube 70 acquired by the image acquisition device 292 is transmitted to the controller 280 and processed by a preset image processing program.

[0169] The lighting module 296 irradiates light on the tube 70 to facilitate the image acquisition device 292 to acquire an image of the set portion of the tube 70. The lighting module 296 is attached to an appropriate position of the vision frame 294 for irradiating light on the tube 70. In one example, when the image acquisition device 292 acquires an image of the lower part of the tube 70, the lighting module 296 may be attached to the upper part of the vision frame 294.

[0170] The illumination module actuator 298 moves the illumination module 296 toward the tube 70 to an irradiation position for irradiating the tube 70 with light, and moves it between the irradiation position and an initial position away from the tube 70 so as not to interfere with the installation of the tube 70. The illumination module 296 is positioned away from the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306 at the initial position, and does not interfere with the robot 20 attaching the tube 70 between the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306. When the tube 70 is attached between the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306 and the robot 20 retreats, the illumination module actuator 298 moves the illumination module 296 to the irradiation position.

[0171] The drive roller 304 is rotatable at a set position of the vision frame 294, and the backup roller 306 is movable toward or away from the drive roller 304. The tube 70 is positioned between the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306, and the backup roller 306 is moved toward the drive roller 304 so that the tube 70 is attached between the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306.

[0172] The drive roller 304 is rotatable by a tube rotation actuator 300. In one example, the tube rotation actuator 300 can include, but is not limited to, a tube rotation motor 302. With the tube 70 attached between the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306, the tube rotation actuator 300 rotates the drive roller 304 to rotate the tube 70. Thereby, the backup roller 306 also rotates. When the tube 70 rotates, the sample precipitated in the acid in the tube 70 is evenly dispersed, and the dissolution rate of the sample can be accurately inspected.

[0173] The backup roller 306 moves toward or away from the drive roller 304 by the backup roller actuator 308. The backup roller actuator 308 can push the backup roller 306 toward the drive roller 304 to increase the frictional force between the drive roller 304, the tube 70, and the backup roller 306. Thereby, the tube 70 is stably attached, and the tube 70 can rotate smoothly by the drive roller 304.

[0174] The controller 280 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the robot 20, the gripper device 30, the sample input device 110, the cap opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the heat shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, and the vision device 290 to control the operations of the robot 20, the gripper device 30, the sample input device 110, the cap opening / closing device 130, the acid injection device 170, the heat shaker 230, the pipetting device 240, and the vision device 290. For such purposes, the controller 280 is realized as one or more processors operating according to a set program, and program instructions programmed to perform each step of the pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample and the method for inspecting the dissolution rate of a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention are stored in the memory of the controller 280 via the one or more processors.

[0175] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 31, a pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0176] FIG. 31 is a flowchart of a pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0177] As shown in FIG. 31, the pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention first inputs the sample into the tube 70 according to the set pretreatment conditions, and includes the step of injecting an acid into the tube 70 containing the sample to dissolve the sample. Here, the set pretreatment conditions can include the component of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, the amount of the acid, the time for the heat shaker 230 to heat the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved, and / or the temperature.

[0178] More specifically, the pretreatment method starts in a state where a plurality of dosing heads 50 containing samples are placed on the dosing head mounting table 80, a plurality of empty tubes 70 are placed on the tube mounting table 90, and a plurality of unused pipette tips 275 are placed on the pipette tip tray 252.

[0179] The robot 20 with the gripper device 30 attached to the forefront moves to the dosing head mounting table 80, removes the dosing head 50, moves to the sample input device 110, and attaches the removed dosing head 50 to the sample input unit lifting device 111. In this case, the first pusher 46a and the second pusher 46b of the first gripper unit 40 press the second attachment button 112 provided on the sample input unit lifting device 111, slightly lower downward, and after the second attachment pinch tip 116 is inserted into the attachment pin groove 57, the first gripper unit 40 releases the dosing head 50.

[0180] Also, the robot 20 moves to the tube mounting table 90, removes the first tube 70 from the tube mounting table 90 with the second gripper unit 60, places the first tube 70 on the tube mounting cup 122 on the first weighing scale 210 of the sample input device 110, and checks whether the first weighing scale 210 operates normally. When it is determined that the first weighing scale 210 operates normally, the robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from the tube mounting cup 122, moves the first tube 70 to the cap opening / closing device 130, and places it on one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136.

[0181] The worktable rotation actuator 138 rotates the capping worktable 132 by 180°, and the first tube 70 placed on one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 moves to the second position. The sensor 166 detects that the first tube 70 is not placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 in the first position, and the first tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 in the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are not gripping the tube cap 72. The controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 coupled to the tube body 71 in the first rotation direction, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lift the tube cap 72 according to the amount of rotation by the cap rotation actuator 148. Thereby, the tube cap 72 is separated from the tube body 71. Thereafter, the worktable rotation actuator 138 further rotates the capping worktable 132 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the first position, and the controller 280 controls the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to place the tube cap 72 in the second position.

[0182] The robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 with the second gripper unit 60, moves back to the sample input device 110, and places the first tube 70 in the tube placement cup 122 on the first weighing scale 210.

[0183] Then, the sample input unit lifting device 111 descends toward the sample input chamber 127, the valve switch 118 presses the valve button 58 to open the discharge port of the sample supply unit 54 connected to the sample container unit 52, and a fixed amount of the sample in the sample container unit 52 is put into the first tube 70 (S400). The amount of the sample put into the first tube 70 is detected by the first weighing scale 210.

[0184] The robot 20 moves the first tube 70 containing the sample to the acid injection device 170 and places the first tube 70 on the third tube holder 220 at the first loader position. The nozzle lifting actuator 192 lowers the injection nozzle attachment part 193, the funnel moving actuator 194 positions the funnel 198 at the first funnel position, and the liquid pumping part 182 pre-fills the injection nozzle 200 and the injection nozzle attachment part 198 with acid. In this state, the loader frame 206 moves to the second loader position, the tilting frame 216 tilts by a set angle, the first tube 70 enters the acid injection chamber 186, the rotary plate rotation actuator 224 rotates the rotary plate 218, and the injection nozzle 200 injects a set amount of acid into the first tube 70 (S410).

[0185] Thereafter, the rotary plate 218 stops rotating, the tilting frame 216 returns to the initial position, and the loader frame 206 returns to the first loader position. The robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from the third tube holder 220, moves to the cap opening and closing device 130, and places the first tube 70 on one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 of the cap opening and closing device 130 at the first position.

[0186] Sensor 166 detects that the first tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, and the tube cap 72 is located on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position. The controller 280 lowers the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b to grip the tube cap 72, and then raises the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b again.

[0187] Sensor 166 detects that the first tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position and the tube cap 72 is not located on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position. The controller 280 rotates the capping work table 132 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the second position.

[0188] When sensor 166 detects that the tube 70 is not placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the first position, but the first tube 70 is placed on the first tube holder 134 or the second tube holder 136 at the second position, and the first cap gripper 142a and the second cap gripper 142b are gripping the tube cap 72, the controller 280 lowers the tube cap 72 towards the tube body 71, controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to press the tube body 71 with a certain load using the tube cap 72, controls the cap rotation actuator 148 to rotate the tube cap 72 in the second rotation direction with respect to the tube body 71, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator 150 to lower the tube cap 72 according to the rotation amount by the cap rotation actuator 148. Thereby, the tube cap 72 is coupled to the tube body 71. Then, the controller 280 further rotates the capping work table 132 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the first position.

[0189] The robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from one of the first tube holder 134 and the second tube holder 136 with the second gripper unit 60, and shakes the first tube 70 multiple times so that the sample and the acid are well mixed. Then, the robot 20 places the first tube 70 on the heat shaker 230, and the heat shaker 230 heats and shakes the first tube 70 for a set time to dissolve the sample in the acid (S420).

[0190] Thereafter, the pretreatment method further includes a step of detecting the dissolution rate of the sample in the sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in the acid. More specifically, the robot 20 removes the first tube 70 from the heat shaker 230, moves the first tube 70 to the vision device 290, attaches it between the drive roller 304 and the backup roller 306, rotates the first tube 70 with the tube rotation actuator 300, and acquires an image of the lower part of the first tube 70.

[0191] The controller 280 processes the image of the lower part of the first tube 70 by a preset image processing program to inspect the dissolution rate of the sample (S430). The method for inspecting the dissolution rate of the sample will be further described in detail below.

[0192] Thereafter, the pretreatment method further includes a step of diluting the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or higher than a set dissolution rate. More specifically, when it is determined that the dissolution rate of the sample is equal to or higher than the set dissolution rate (for example, when it is determined that the sample is completely dissolved in the acid), the robot 20 moves the first tube 70 to the cap opening / closing device 130 to separate the tube cap 72 from the first tube 70, and moves the first tube 70 containing the sample solution to the acid injection device 170. The acid injection device 170 injects distilled water into the first tube 70 to perform a primary dilution of the sample solution in the first tube 70 (S440). The robot 20 places the first tube 70 containing the primarily diluted sample solution at the first pipette tube position, and the controller 280 rotates the pipetting work table 256 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the second pipette tube position. In this case, the pipette unit 242 is located at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray 252.

[0193] The controller 280 lowers the pipette slider 268, attaches the pipette tip 275 to the attachment end 273 of the pipette piston 272, and raises the pipette slider 268 back to its original position. The controller 280 moves the pipette unit 242 to a position corresponding to the pipetting work table 256 via the pipette movement unit 244, and while pressing the upper end of the pipette piston 272 with the pipette push actuator 274, lowers the pipette slider 268 to immerse the pipette tip 275 in the sample solution in the first tube 70, moves the pipette push actuator 274 upward to collect a part of the sample solution, and raises the pipette slider 268.

[0194] The robot 20 moves to the tube placement stand 90, removes the second tube 70 from the tube placement stand 90 with the second gripper unit 60, moves the second tube 70 to the cap opening / closing device 130, separates the tube cap 72 from the second tube 70, and places the empty second tube 70 at the first pipette tube position. The controller 280 rotates the pipetting work table 256 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the first pipette tube position and move the second tube 70 to the second pipette tube position.

[0195] The controller 280 lowers the pipette slider 268 to position the pipette tip 275 inside the second tube 70, moves the pipette push actuator 274 downward, injects a part of the collected sample solution into the second tube 70, and raises the pipette slider 268. The controller 280 rotates the pipetting work table 256 by 180° to move the first tube 70 to the second pipette tube position and move the second tube 70 to the first pipette tube position. Here, an example is given where the pipette push actuator 274 moves downward to push the pipette piston 272 once to inject a part of the collected sample solution into the second tube 70. However, if necessary, the pipette push actuator 274 may reciprocate two or more times to push the pipette piston 272 two or more times to inject the collected sample solution into the second tube 70.

[0196] Thereafter, the controller 280 places the second tube 70 on the tube placement stand 90, removes a new second tube 70, separates the tube cap 72, and repeats the process of collecting the sample solution from the first tube 70 and injecting the collected sample solution into the second tube 70 to divide and store the sample solution in the first tube 70 into a plurality of second tubes 70.

[0197] Thereafter, the robot 20 moves to the tube placement stand 90, removes the third tube 70 that is empty in the second gripper unit 60 from the tube placement stand 90, moves it to the acid injection device 170, and injects distilled water into the third tube 70. The robot 20 moves the third tube 70 containing the distilled water to the pipetting device 240, collects the distilled water from the third tube 70, and injects the collected distilled water into the second tube 70 to perform secondary dilution of the sample solution (S450). The robot 20 places the second tube 70 containing the secondarily diluted sample solution on the tube placement stand 90 and ends the pretreatment method.

[0198] Here, an example was given in which distilled water was injected into the first tube 70 containing the sample solution by the acid injection device 170 for primary dilution. However, the sample solution contained in the first tube 70 can be divided and stored in the second tube 70, and distilled water can be injected into the second tube 70 by the acid injection device 170 for primary dilution. Also, an example was given in which secondary dilution was performed by the pipetting device 240, but secondary dilution can also be performed by the acid injection device 170. Here, the number of dilutions of the sample solution is not limited to two times. If the sample solution is sufficiently diluted by one dilution, only primary dilution may be performed. On the contrary, in order to sufficiently dilute the sample solution, dilution may be performed three or more times.

[0199] According to the present invention, the sample solution is primarily diluted by the acid injection device 170 and secondarily diluted by the pipetting device 240. Since the pipette push actuator 274 can accurately adjust the amount of pushing the pipette piston 272, the secondary dilution of the sample solution can be accurately controlled. Therefore, the measurement error during metal component inspection can be reduced.

[0200] On the one hand, the pretreatment method further includes a step of adjusting the set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being less than the set dissolution rate. For example, if the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate, the controller 280 can adjust the component or amount of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, or the heat shaker 230 can adjust the time and / or temperature for heating the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved.

[0201] Thereafter, the controller 280 can return to the step of introducing the sample into the tube according to the adjusted pretreatment conditions, or the step of injecting acid into the tube containing the sample to dissolve the sample.

[0202] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 32 to 36, a method for inspecting the dissolution rate of a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0203] FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method for inspecting the dissolution rate of a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 33 is an original image of a tube containing a sample dissolved in acid, FIG. 34 is an image obtained by performing a circular Hough transform on the original image of FIG. 33, FIG. 35 is an image obtained by applying a dynamic contour model to the image of FIG. 34, and FIG. 36 is an image obtained by binarizing the region of interest in the image of FIG. 35. For convenience of explanation, FIGS. 32 to 36 illustrate a method of obtaining a lower image of the tube 70 by the image acquisition device 292 and inspecting the dissolution rate of the sample using the lower image of the tube 70. However, the image of the set portion of the tube 70 required for inspecting the dissolution rate of the sample is not limited to the lower image of the tube 70.

[0204] As shown in FIG. 32, the method for inspecting the dissolution rate of a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention starts by attaching a tube 70 containing an acid in which the sample is dissolved between a driving roller 304 and a backup roller 306, rotating the tube 70 with a tube rotation actuator 300, and acquiring an image of a set portion of the tube 70 with an image acquisition device 292. Here, an example is given of acquiring a lower image of the tube 70 with the image acquisition device 292. FIG. 33(a) is a lower image of the tube 70 containing an acid in which sample 1 is dissolved, and FIG. 33(b) is a lower image of the tube 70 containing an acid in which sample 2 is dissolved.

[0205] The image of the set portion of the tube 70 acquired by the image acquisition device 292 is transmitted to the controller 280, and the controller 280 processes the image of the set portion of the tube 70 by a preset image processing program.

[0206] More specifically, the controller 280 detects a shape corresponding to the outer surface of the tube 70 in the tube region from the image of the set portion of the tube 70 by an image feature-based computer vision algorithm such as Circle Hough Transformation or Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) (S500). Here, the image feature-based computer vision algorithm means a vision algorithm that detects a region set based on the shape features of an image. In one example, since the lower image of the tube 70 has a circular shape, the controller 280 can detect a circle corresponding to the outer surface of the tube 70 as the tube region by performing a circle Hough transform on the lower image of the tube 70 (S500). The controller 280 cuts out the tube region using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle. That is, the background outside the tube region is removed. Fig. 34(a) is an image in which Fig. 33(a) is subjected to a circle Hough transform to detect the tube region, and Fig. 34(b) is an image in which Fig. 33(b) is subjected to a circle Hough transform to detect the tube region. The circles indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 34(a) and Fig. 34(b) correspond to the tube regions.

[0207] The controller 280 applies a shape recognition algorithm such as an active contour model to the tube region to detect the region of interest (S510). More specifically, an approximate region corresponding to the object of interest is set in the tube region, and while gradually narrowing the region, singular points with differences in brightness, morphology, etc. from the surroundings are found to detect the region of interest. Fig. 35(a) is an image in which the active contour model is applied to Fig. 34(a), and Fig. 35(b) is an image in which the active contour model is applied to Fig. 34(b). The outer circles indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 35(a) and Fig. 35(b) indicate that an approximate region corresponding to the object of interest has been set, and the inner circles indicated by the dotted lines indicate the regions of interest detected from the singular points.

[0208] The controller 280 classifies the pixels within the detected region of interest into two or more types of pixels according to the set criteria, and assigns pixel values to the classified pixels (S520). For example, the controller 280 can binarize the pixels within the detected region of interest according to the set criteria by utilizing a rule-based computer vision algorithm, machine learning, deep learning, etc. (S520). More specifically, the controller 280 can calculate the average value of the brightness of all the pixels in the detected region of interest, and assign a pixel value of 0 to the pixels that are darker than the set amount by the average value of the brightness, and assign a pixel value of 1 to the remaining pixels. FIG. 36(a) is an image in which FIG. 35(a) is binarized and the pixel value of 0 is displayed in yellow, and the pixel value of 1 is displayed in black, and FIG. 36(b) is an image in which FIG. 35(b) is binarized and the pixel value of 0 is displayed in yellow, and the pixel value of 1 is displayed in black. However, the present invention is not limited to classifying the pixels within the detected region of interest into two types of pixels and binarizing them, and can classify them into three or more types of pixels as needed, and set the pixel values assigned to different types of pixels to be different.

[0209] The controller 280 detects the dissolution rate of the sample by using the pixel values assigned to each pixel (S530). For example, the controller 280 can detect the dissolution rate of the sample by using the pixel values of the binarized pixels (S530). More specifically, the ratio of the number of all pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 can be defined as the dissolution rate. Thereby, the dissolution rate of sample 1 is 10%, and the dissolution rate of sample 2 is 100%.

[0210] If the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate, the control unit 280 corrects the pretreatment method that feeds back the dissolution rate and affects the dissolution rate (S540). For example, the set dissolution rate is 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%. If the dissolution rate is lower than the set dissolution rate, the control unit 280 can adjust the component or amount of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, or the heat shaker 230 can adjust the time and / or temperature for heating the tube 70 containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved.

[0211] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be easily modified by those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains from the embodiments of the present invention, and includes all modifications within the scope recognized as equivalent.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0212] 10 Pretreatment system 20 Robot 30 Gripper device 80 Dosing head mounting table 90 Tube mounting table 110 Sample loading device 130 Cap opening / closing device 170 Acid injection device 230 Heat shaker 240 Pipetting device 290 Vision device 280 Control unit

Claims

1. a sample dissolving device configured to introduce a sample into a tube according to preset pretreatment conditions and to inject an acid into the tube containing the sample to dissolve the sample; A sample dissolution rate detection device configured to detect a dissolution rate of a sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in an acid; a dilution device configured to dilute the sample solution in response to a dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or greater than a set dissolution rate; A pretreatment system for testing metal components in samples.

2. 2. The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 1, further comprising a pretreatment condition adjustment device configured to adjust the set pretreatment conditions in response to a dissolution rate of the sample being less than a set dissolution rate.

3. a robot including multiple arms that are rotatable relative to one another, the leading ends of the multiple arms being movable within an operating radius; a gripper device attached to the front end of the robot, the gripper device including a first gripper unit on one side for gripping or releasing a dosing head and a second gripper unit on the other side for gripping or releasing a tube; a sample injection section lifting device on which a dosing head is placed and which can move up and down; and a sample injection device arranged below the sample injection section lifting device, which includes a tube holding cup on which a tube is placed, and which is configured to inject a sample in the dosing head into a tube held in the tube holding cup; an acid injection device configured to inject acid into the tube into which the sample has been introduced by the sample introduction device and / or to inject distilled water into the tube containing the acid in which the sample has been dissolved; A heat shaker configured to apply heat to a tube containing an acid mixed with a sample and shake the tube to dissolve the sample in the acid; a vision device for acquiring an image of a set portion of a tube containing a sample solution in which a sample is dissolved in an acid; a pipetting device configured to transfer a portion of a solution in one tube to another tube; A pretreatment system for testing metal components in samples.

4. A dosing head mounting base on which a plurality of dosing heads can be mounted; a tube holder capable of holding a plurality of tubes, each of which has a tube body and a tube cap attached thereto; a capping device configured to separate the tube cap from the tube body and / or to couple the tube cap to the tube body; Further comprising: A pretreatment system for testing metal components in samples as described in claim 3, wherein the dosing head holder, the tube holder, the sample injection device, the cap opening and closing device, the acid injection device, the heat shaker, the vision device, and the pipetting device are at least partially positioned within the operating radius of the robot.

5. 4. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 3, wherein the tube holder cup is placed on a first weighing scale, and the amount of the sample put into the tube is detected by the first weighing scale.

6. 4. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 3, wherein the acid injection device is configured to inject liquid into the tube while tilting and rotating the tube placed in the acid injection device.

7. The cap opening and closing device rotates the tube cap in a first rotation direction to separate the tube cap from the tube body, and rotates the tube cap in a second rotation direction to connect the tube cap to the tube body, The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 4 , wherein the cap opening and closing device is configured to lift and / or lower the tube cap according to an amount of rotation of the tube cap.

8. 8. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a specimen according to claim 7, wherein the cap opening and closing device is configured to press the tube cap against the tube body before rotating the tube cap in the second rotation direction.

9. The heat shaker is a shaker unit configured to shake the shaker rod; a heating block positioned on the shaker rod to heat the tubes placed thereon; an insulating cover that covers the heating block and is spaced apart from the heating block; Including, 4. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a specimen according to claim 3, wherein the tube is inserted into and placed in an insulating cover and a heating block.

10. 5. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 4, wherein the robot attaches a tube cap to a tube body via a capping device before transferring the tube containing the acid mixed with the sample to a heat shaker, and shakes the tube with the attached tube cap to mix the sample with the acid.

11. 4. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 3, wherein the pipetting device is configured to transfer a portion of the sample solution in one tube to another tube, the robot transports the still further tube to an acid injection device and pours distilled water into the still further tube, and the pipetting device is configured to inject the distilled water contained in the still further tube into the still further tube containing the portion of the sample solution to dilute the portion of the sample solution contained in the still further tube.

12. The robot, the gripper device, the dosing head stand, the tube stand, the sample injection device, the cap opening and closing device, the acid injection device, the heat shaker, the vision device, and the controller for controlling the operation of the pipetting device, 5. The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to receive an image of a set portion of a tube containing a sample solution from a vision device, and process the image of the set portion with a preset image processing program to detect a dissolution rate of the sample.

13. the gripper device further includes a gripper body rotatably mounted on a leading end arm of the robot; a first gripper unit attached to one side of the gripper body and a second gripper unit attached to the other side of the gripper body; The first gripper unit is a first gripping finger and a second gripping finger movable toward and away from each other; a guide bushing having a cylindrical shape including an open side and a closed side, the guide bushing being fixed within each of the distal ends of the first gripping finger and the second gripping finger; a first pusher or a second pusher that is disposed on one open surface of the guide bushing and is slidable along an inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing; a guide shaft extending to one side through a guide shaft hole formed on the other closed surface of the guide bushing and connected to the first pusher or the second pusher; a guide spring that elastically supports the first pusher or the second pusher relative to the guide bushing; 4. The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 3, comprising:

14. 14. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a specimen according to claim 13, wherein the guide shaft is spaced apart from an inner peripheral surface of a guide bushing, and the guide spring is disposed between the guide shaft and the guide bushing.

15. 14. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as claimed in claim 13, wherein movement of the first pusher, the second pusher and the guide shaft toward the other axial direction is limited by a step formed on an inner peripheral surface of the guide bushing, and movement of the first pusher, the second pusher and the guide shaft toward one axial direction is limited by the other end of the guide shaft, and a diameter of the other end of the guide shaft is larger than a diameter of another portion of the guide shaft.

16. The second gripper unit is third and fourth gripping fingers movable toward and away from each other; and a first tube tongue portion and a second tube tongue portion provided at a tip portion of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger and having a shape corresponding to a tube so as to be able to grip the tube; a first gripping bar groove and a second gripping bar groove provided at a tip of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger, the first gripping bar groove and the second gripping bar groove having a shape corresponding to a gripping bar of a tube holder on which a tube is placed, so that the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger can grip the gripping bar of the tube holder; The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 13, comprising:

17. The second gripper unit is 17. A preprocessing system for inspecting metal components in a sample as described in claim 16, further comprising a first position limiter and a second position limiter protruding upward from the tips of the third gripping finger and the fourth gripping finger to limit the movement of the second gripper unit toward the gripping bar.

18. A dosing head mounting base on which a plurality of dosing heads can be mounted; a controller configured to control the robot, the first gripper unit, and the second gripper unit; Further comprising: The controller controls the first pusher and the second pusher to press a first attachment button or a second attachment button provided on the dosing head mounting base or the sample insertion device, and the robot moves the first gripper unit downward to install the dosing head; A gripper device for a pre-processing system for inspecting metal components in samples as described in claim 13, wherein the first pusher and the second pusher are controlled to press the first attachment button or the second attachment button, and the robot is configured to move the first gripper unit up to remove the dosing head.

19. The cap opening and closing device is a capping work table having a first tube holder on one side and a second tube holder on the other side, the capping work table being rotatable to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at a first position where a tube can be placed and / or held, and at a second position where a tube cap is attached to a tube body and / or a tube cap is separated from a tube body, and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at the other of the first position and the second position; a support platform lifting block that is moved up and down by a cap unit lifting actuator; a cap gripper support base rotatably attached to the support base lift block; a first cap gripper and a second cap gripper attached to the cap gripper support and positioned to correspond to a tube cap of a tube in a second position and configured to be movable toward each other to grip the tube cap and / or to be movable away from each other to release the tube cap; a first tube body gripper and a second tube body gripper positioned to correspond to a tube body of the tube in the second position and configured to be movable toward each other to grip the tube body and / or to be movable away from each other to release the tube body; a cap rotation actuator attached to the support platform lifting block, the cap rotation actuator including a lower end penetrating the support platform lifting block and connected to the cap gripper support platform, the cap rotation actuator configured to rotate the cap gripper support platform in a first rotation direction to separate a tube cap from a tube body and to rotate the cap gripper support platform in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction to couple the tube cap to the tube body; 5. The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 4, comprising:

20. 20. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 19, wherein the cap opening and closing device further includes a first exhaust hood attached at a position corresponding to the second position and configured to suck in gas generated from the liquid in the tube.

21. 20. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 19, wherein the cap opening and closing device further includes a work table rotation actuator configured to rotate the capping work table by 180 degrees to position one of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at a first position and to position the other of the first tube holder and the second tube holder at a second position.

22. A pre-processing system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 21, further comprising a sensor configured to detect whether a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, whether a tube or a tube cap is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and / or whether the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper are gripping a tube cap.

23. The pre-processing system for testing metal components in samples as described in claim 22, wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal corresponding to the value detected by the sensor and control operation of the work table rotation actuator, the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper, the first tube body gripper and the second tube body gripper, the cap unit lifting actuator and / or the cap rotation actuator based on the signal.

24. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 23, wherein when the sensor detects that a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position and no tube cap is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, the controller rotates the capping work table by 180 degrees via a work table rotation actuator to move the tube to the second position.

25. A pre-processing system for testing metal components in samples as described in claim 23, wherein when a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position and the sensor detects that a tube cap is positioned in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, the controller lowers the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper via a cap unit lifting actuator to grip the tube cap, and then raises the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper again.

26. 24. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 23, wherein when the sensor detects that no tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, and that a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position and the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper are not gripping a tube cap, the controller controls the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper to grip the tube cap, controls a cap rotation actuator to rotate the tube cap connected to the tube body in a first rotation direction, and controls a cap unit lifting actuator to lift the tube cap according to the amount of rotation by the cap rotation actuator.

27. 24. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 23, wherein when a sensor detects that no tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the first position, that a tube is placed in the first tube holder or the second tube holder at the second position, and that the first cap gripper and the second cap gripper are gripping a tube cap, the controller controls the cap unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cap toward the tube body, controls the cap rotation actuator to rotate the tube cap in a second rotational direction relative to the tube body, and controls the cap unit lifting actuator to lower the tube cap according to the amount of rotation by the cap rotation actuator.

28. 28. A pre-processing system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 27, wherein the controller controls the cap unit lifting actuator to press the tube cap against the tube body with a constant load before rotating the tube cap in a second rotational direction relative to the tube body.

29. The acid injection device is an acid supply unit including a liquid pumping unit configured to pump liquid contained in a plurality of liquid bottles; an acid injection chamber body having an acid injection chamber formed therein; an injection nozzle attached to an injection nozzle mounting part in the acid injection chamber and connected to a liquid pumping part so as to inject a liquid pumped by the liquid pumping part into a tube; and an acid injection part including a nozzle lifting actuator attached to the acid injection chamber body and connected to the injection nozzle mounting part to move the injection nozzle mounting part up and down; a tube loader configured to place a tube thereon, tilt the placed tube into the acid injection chamber, and rotate the tilted placed tube; Including, 4. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 3, wherein the nozzle lift actuator lowers the injection nozzle mounting part to position it above the tube when the tube is tilted and rotated and positioned within the acid injection chamber, and the injection nozzle injects the liquid pumped by the liquid pumping part into the tilted and rotating tube.

30. The acid injection section is A drain fan provided at the bottom of the acid injection chamber body; a funnel movement actuator connected to a funnel movement link extending into the acid injection chamber for moving a funnel attached to the funnel movement link between a first funnel position located directly below the injection nozzle and capable of receiving liquid sprayed from the injection nozzle, and a second funnel position in which the funnel movement link and the funnel do not overlap with the movement of the tube and the movement of the injection nozzle attachment portion within the acid injection chamber; The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 29, further comprising:

31. 30. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 29, wherein the acid injection section further includes a second exhaust hood configured to at least partially surround the injection nozzle and to suck in gas generated from the liquid injected from the injection nozzle.

32. The tube loader unit includes: a support frame extending forward of and toward the acid injection chamber; a loader frame rail extending along the support frame at the support frame; a loader frame transfer actuator configured to transfer the loader frame between a first loader position where the tubes can be placed or gripped and a second loader position where the tubes can be tilted into the acid injection chamber; a tilting actuator for tilting a tilting frame attached to the loader frame between a tilted position and an initial position; a rotating plate rotation actuator configured to rotate a rotating plate rotatably mounted on the tilting frame; 30. The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 29, comprising:

33. 33. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 32, wherein the tube loader unit further includes a third tube holder provided on the rotating plate and on which a tube is placed.

34. A preprocessing system for inspecting metal components in a sample as described in claim 33, further comprising a sensor for detecting whether a tube is placed in the third tube holder, whether the loader frame is located in the first loader position or the second loader position, and / or whether the tilting frame is in the initial position or tilted to a tilted position.

35. 30. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 29, wherein each of the plurality of liquid bottles is placed on a second weighing scale, the second weighing scale being configured to measure the amount of liquid contained in each of the plurality of liquid bottles.

36. The front surface of the acid injection chamber body is open, The acid injection section is an acid injection chamber shutter for selectively closing the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body; a shutter actuator configured to close or open the open front surface of the acid injection chamber body with the acid injection chamber shutter; The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 29, further comprising:

37. The pipetting device comprises: A pipette tip tray on which a plurality of pipette tips are placed; a pipetting work table having a first pipette tube holder on one side and a second pipette tube holder on the other side, the pipetting work table being rotatable so as to position one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at a first pipette tube position where a tube can be placed or held, and at a second pipette tube position where a solution can be taken from a tube or injected into a tube, and to position the other of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at the other of the first pipette tube position and the second pipette tube position; a pipette unit configured to attach a pipette tip to the pipette tip tray at a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray, and to collect a portion of a solution contained in a first tube at a position corresponding to the pipetting work table and / or to inject the collected solution into a second tube; a pipette moving unit for moving the pipette unit between a position corresponding to the pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to the pipetting work table; 4. The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 3, comprising:

38. 38. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 37, further comprising a pipette tip tray transport unit that moves the pipette tip tray towards or away from the pipette unit.

39. 38. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample of claim 37, further comprising a pipetting work table rotation actuator configured to rotate the pipetting work table by 180 degrees to position one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at a first pipette tube position and to position the other one of the first pipette tube holder and the second pipette tube holder at a second pipette tube position.

40. The pipette unit comprises: a pipette guide frame connected to the pipette moving unit and moved by the pipette moving unit between a position corresponding to a pipette tip tray and a position corresponding to a pipetting work table; a pipette slider mounted so as to be slidable vertically along the pipette guide frame; a pipette module including a pipette module body fixedly attached to the pipette slider and a pipette piston movable relative to the pipette module body in a vertical direction; a pipette push actuator attached to the pipette slider so as to be vertically movable and configured to push against an upper end of the pipette piston; 38. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a specimen according to claim 37, comprising:

41. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 40, wherein the pipette piston is elastically attached to the pipette module body.

42. 41. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 40, wherein a mounting end to which the pipette tip is attached is formed at a lower end of the pipette piston.

43. the attachment end is lowered while pressing the pipette tip downward so that the lower end of the pipette tip is immersed in the solution contained in the first tube, and the attachment end is elastically raised while the lower end of the pipette tip is immersed in the solution contained in the first tube to collect a portion of the solution contained in the first tube; 43. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 42, wherein when the pipette tip contains a solution, the mounting end is configured to push the pipette tip downward to inject the solution into the second tube.

44. 41. A pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 40, further comprising a pipette tip ejector configured to press an upper end of the pipette piston downward to remove a pipette tip attached to the attachment end.

45. 45. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 44, wherein the amount of pressure that the pipette tip ejector presses against the pipette piston is greater than the amount of pressure that the pipette push actuator presses against the pipette piston.

46. The metal component inspection in the sample is carried out after dissolving the sample in the tube in acid to detect metal components contained in the sample, The vision device comprises: a drive roller and a backup roller configured to mount a tube containing an acid in which a sample is dissolved and rotate the tube; an image capture device mounted between the drive roller and the backup roller and configured to capture an image of the bottom of the rotating tube; an illumination module configured to illuminate the tube on an opposite side of the image capture device relative to the tube; a controller configured to process the image of the bottom of the tube acquired by the image acquisition device to inspect the dissolution rate of the sample; Including, The controller includes: detecting a tube region from an image of the set portion of the tube using an image feature based vision algorithm; applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube region to detect a region of interest; classifying pixels within the detected region of interest according to established criteria and assigning pixel values ​​to the classified pixels; 4. The pre-processing system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 3, configured to detect a dissolution rate of the specimen by utilizing a pixel value of each pixel.

47. a tube rotation actuator configured to rotate the tube via the drive roller; a backup roller actuator configured to move the backup roller toward or away from the drive roller; The pretreatment system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 46, further comprising:

48. 47. A pre-processing system for inspecting metal components in a sample as described in claim 46, further comprising an illumination module actuator that moves the illumination module between an illumination position toward the tube to illuminate the tube with light and an initial position away from the tube so as not to interfere with mounting the tube between the drive roller and backup roller.

49. the controller detects the tube region as a circle from the bottom image of the tube using a circular Hough transform; The preprocessing system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 46, wherein the tube region is cut out using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

50. the controller sets a region corresponding to an object of interest in the tube region using an active contour model; Gradually narrowing the region to find a singularity, 47. The pre-processing system for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 46, configured to detect a region of interest from the singular points.

51. The preprocessing system for inspecting metal components in a sample as described in claim 46, wherein the controller is configured to classify pixels in the detected region of interest into two types of pixels according to set criteria, and to binarize the classified pixels by assigning a pixel value of 0 or 1.

52. 52. A preprocessing system for inspecting metal components in a sample as described in claim 51, wherein the controller is configured to calculate an average brightness value of all pixels in the detected region of interest, assign a pixel value of 0 to pixels that are a set amount darker than the average brightness value, assign a pixel value of 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

53. 53. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a specimen according to claim 52, wherein the controller is configured to feed back the dissolution rate when the dissolution rate is lower than a set dissolution rate.

54. The pretreatment system for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 53, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the components of the acid in which the sample is dissolved, the amount of acid, the time and / or the temperature for heating a tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved based on the fed back dissolution rate.

55. A step of dissolving the sample by injecting acid into the tube containing the sample according to the set pretreatment conditions using a sample dissolving device; detecting a dissolution rate of a sample in a sample solution in which the sample is dissolved in an acid by a sample dissolution rate detection device; diluting the sample solution with a dilution device in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or greater than the set dissolution rate; A pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample, comprising:

56. 56. The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a specimen as described in claim 55, further comprising the step of adjusting the set pretreatment conditions by a pretreatment condition adjustment device in response to the dissolution rate of the specimen being less than a set dissolution rate.

57. A step of introducing the sample in the dosing head into the first tube by the sample introduction device; injecting acid into the first tube containing the sample by an acid injector; A step of shaking and heating the first tube containing the acid in which the sample has been dissolved by a heat shaker; acquiring an image of a set portion of the first tube by a vision device; a control unit for processing the image of the set portion of the first tube to check the dissolution rate of the sample; diluting the sample solution in response to the dissolution rate of the sample being equal to or greater than a set dissolution rate; A pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample, comprising:

58. a step of removing the dosing head from the dosing head mounting table by a robot having a gripper device attached to its tip, and attaching the removed dosing head to a sample loading section lifting device; removing the first tube from a tube rest by a robot having the gripper device attached thereto; separating a tube cap from the first tube with a capping device; placing the first tube from which the tube cap has been separated in a tube placement cup by a robot having the gripper device attached thereto; The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 57, further comprising:

59. 59. The pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample according to claim 58, wherein the tube holding cup is placed on a first weighing scale, and the amount of sample added to the first tube is detected by the first weighing scale.

60. 58. A pretreatment method for testing metal components in a sample as described in claim 57, wherein the acid injection device is configured to inject liquid into the tube while tilting and rotating the tube placed in the acid injection device.

61. The step of diluting the sample solution includes: injecting distilled water into the first tube by an acid injector to perform a primary dilution of the sample solution; transferring a portion of the first diluted sample solution in the first tube to a second tube by a pipetting device; injecting distilled water into the second tube by the acid injector or the pipetting device to perform a secondary dilution of the sample solution; 58. The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 57, comprising:

62. The step of diluting the sample solution includes: transferring a portion of the sample solution in the first tube to a second tube by a pipetting device; injecting distilled water into the second tube by the acid injector to primarily dilute the sample solution; injecting distilled water into a second tube by the acid injector or the pipetting device to perform a secondary dilution of the sample solution; 58. The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 57, comprising:

63. 58. The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 57, wherein the step of acquiring an image of the set portion of the first tube is performed while the first tube containing the acid in which the sample is dissolved is rotated.

64. The step of inspecting the dissolution rate of the sample by image processing the image of the set portion of the first tube includes: detecting a tube region from an image of the set portion of the first tube using an image feature based vision algorithm; applying a shape recognition algorithm to the tube region to detect a region of interest; classifying pixels within the detected region of interest according to set criteria and assigning pixel values ​​to the classified pixels; Detecting a dissolution rate of the sample using the pixel value of each pixel; 58. The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 57, comprising:

65. the controller detects the tube region as a circle from the lower image of the first tube by a circular Hough transform; The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 64, further comprising the step of: cutting out the tube region using the center point coordinates and radius of the circle.

66. the controller sets a region corresponding to an object of interest in the tube region using an active contour model; Gradually narrowing the region to find a singularity, The pre-processing method for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 64, further comprising detecting an area of ​​interest from the singular points.

67. The pre-processing method for inspecting metal components in a sample as described in claim 64, wherein the controller is configured to classify pixels in the detected region of interest into two types of pixels according to set criteria, and to binarize the classified pixels by assigning a pixel value of 0 or 1.

68. The preprocessing method for inspecting metal components in a sample according to claim 67, wherein the controller is configured to calculate an average brightness value of all pixels in the detected region of interest, assign a pixel value of 0 to pixels that are a set amount darker than the average brightness value, assign a pixel value of 1 to the remaining pixels, and calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels to the number of pixels with a pixel value of 1 as the dissolution rate.

69. 58. The pretreatment method for inspecting metal components in a specimen according to claim 57, further comprising the step of adjusting set pretreatment conditions in response to the dissolution rate of the specimen being less than the set dissolution rate.

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