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US20180328953A1 - Automatic device for the automated conduct of analyses, notably medical analyses - Google Patents

Automatic device for the automated conduct of analyses, notably medical analyses Download PDF

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Publication number
US20180328953A1
US20180328953A1 US15/974,772 US201815974772A US2018328953A1 US 20180328953 A1 US20180328953 A1 US 20180328953A1 US 201815974772 A US201815974772 A US 201815974772A US 2018328953 A1 US2018328953 A1 US 2018328953A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
bottle
zone
automatic device
module
belt
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US15/974,772
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English (en)
Inventor
Serge ANDRADE
Christophe VILLAIN
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Diagnostica Stago SAS
Original Assignee
Individual
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Filing date
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Assigned to DIAGNOSTICA STAGO reassignment DIAGNOSTICA STAGO ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: VILLAIN, CHRISTOPHE, ANDRADE, SERGE
Publication of US20180328953A1 publication Critical patent/US20180328953A1/en
Priority to US18/050,674 priority Critical patent/US12050230B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/02—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations
    • G01N35/04—Details of the conveyor system
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00—Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/508—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes rigid containers not provided for above
    • B01L3/5085—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes rigid containers not provided for above for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates
    • B01L3/50855—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes rigid containers not provided for above for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates using modular assemblies of strips or of individual wells
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L9/00—Supporting devices; Holding devices
    • B01L9/06—Test-tube stands; Test-tube holders
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60P—VEHICLES ADAPTED FOR LOAD TRANSPORTATION OR TO TRANSPORT, TO CARRY, OR TO COMPRISE SPECIAL LOADS OR OBJECTS
    • B60P1/00—Vehicles predominantly for transporting loads and modified to facilitate loading, consolidating the load, or unloading
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
    • B65G47/26—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors arranging the articles, e.g. varying spacing between individual articles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G54/00—Non-mechanical conveyors not otherwise provided for
    • B65G54/02—Non-mechanical conveyors not otherwise provided for electrostatic, electric, or magnetic
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N1/00—Sampling; Preparing specimens for investigation
    • G01N1/02—Devices for withdrawing samples
    • G01N1/10—Devices for withdrawing samples in the liquid or fluent state
    • G01N1/14—Suction devices, e.g. pumps; Ejector devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N2035/00178—Special arrangements of analysers
    • G01N2035/00326—Analysers with modular structure
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N2035/00465—Separating and mixing arrangements
    • G01N2035/00534—Mixing by a special element, e.g. stirrer
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/00584—Control arrangements for automatic analysers
    • G01N35/00722—Communications; Identification
    • G01N35/00732—Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
    • G01N2035/00742—Type of codes
    • G01N2035/00752—Type of codes bar codes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/02—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations
    • G01N35/04—Details of the conveyor system
    • G01N2035/0401—Sample carriers, cuvettes or reaction vessels
    • G01N2035/0406—Individual bottles or tubes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/02—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations
    • G01N35/04—Details of the conveyor system
    • G01N2035/0401—Sample carriers, cuvettes or reaction vessels
    • G01N2035/0406—Individual bottles or tubes
    • G01N2035/0408—Individual bottles or tubes connected in a flexible chain
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/02—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations
    • G01N35/04—Details of the conveyor system
    • G01N2035/046—General conveyor features
    • G01N2035/0465—Loading or unloading the conveyor
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/02—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations
    • G01N35/021—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor using a plurality of sample containers moved by a conveyor system past one or more treatment or analysis stations having a flexible chain, e.g. "cartridge belt", conveyor for reaction cells or cuvettes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F17/00—Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B1/00—Details of electric heating devices

Definitions

  • the present invention concerns automatic devices for the automatic conduct of analyses, notably medical analyses, more particularly but not in any limiting way in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis.
  • Numerous automatic devices function by introducing one or more chemical or biological reagents into containers containing the sample to be tested, then measuring at least one physical parameter representing the property of the sample that the aim is to highlight.
  • the reagents are contained in open bottles in order to enable sampling by means of pipettes.
  • the bottles containing the reagents are received in a storage zone defined by a drawer mobile relative to a frame of the automatic device to take up a loading position enabling their replacement.
  • a drawer mobile relative to a frame of the automatic device to take up a loading position enabling their replacement.
  • the functioning of the automatic device is interrupted, which reduces the rate at which the analyses are effected.
  • the presence of an operator must be scheduled so as to effect this replacement as soon as the requirement exists, at the risk of compromising the efficiency of the automatic device.
  • the bottles are mounted on racks that can be extracted from the frame independently of one another, which can enable the automatic device to continue to effect analyses provided that the necessary reagents remain available in the bottles still present on the racks in place.
  • the construction of the automatic device is more complex; the advance resulting from the possibility of reloading a rack independently is highly dependent on the nature of the reagents present in the remaining racks and the analysis to be effected, and can therefore prove relatively limited in practice.
  • the invention therefore consists in an automatic device for the automated conduct of analyses, notably medical analyses, including:
  • the invention enables the automatic device to continue to function while loading or unloading a bottle, with bottles already in place in the storage zone.
  • the efficiency of the automatic device is enhanced by this.
  • the storage zone is preferably air-conditioned.
  • the invention makes it possible to avoid moving a rack or a drawer and disturbing the air-conditioned environment in which the other bottles are placed.
  • the control of the temperature of the bottles is improved and the risk of condensation is limited. Not having to take out the bottles during use furthermore makes it possible to reduce losses by evaporation.
  • the conveyor and storage system includes at least one storage module defining at least a part of the storage zone and a bottle entry/exit zone.
  • This module is preferably provided with means for driving bottles within it in a closed loop, enabling selective positioning of a bottle in the entry/exit zone of the module.
  • each storage module enables movement of the bottles into sub-zones appropriate to their content or to the reaction to be effected, for example a colder, less cold sub-zone and/or without stirring.
  • the automatic device may include a plurality of juxtaposed identical storage modules. Producing the storage means in modular form makes it possible to adapt the storage capacity of the reagent bottles to the requirements of the automatic device optimally and at lower cost and facilitates maintenance.
  • the or each storage module is preferably removably mounted in the automatic device.
  • the or each module may be received in a corresponding housing of the automatic device, including a locking lever on which an operator can act to free the module for its removal from the automatic device.
  • the automatic device preferably includes a lid at the top that when open allows access to all of the storage modules.
  • the automatic device may include under the storage module or modules air-conditioning means, for example adapted to blow air at a controlled temperature in the direction of the modules and/or to effect cooling by conduction, for example including one or more Peltier-effect modules.
  • air-conditioning means for example adapted to blow air at a controlled temperature in the direction of the modules and/or to effect cooling by conduction, for example including one or more Peltier-effect modules.
  • the or each storage module preferably includes a belt carrying separators defining between them housings receiving bottles.
  • the belt may in particular be tensioned between front and rear wheels and have two rectilinear portions between these wheels.
  • the or each module may include a casing having a curved portion guiding the bottles present between the separators in their movement around the rear wheel.
  • the bottles slide on a plate defining the bottom of the compartments receiving the bottles.
  • This plate is advantageously a metal plate, preferably an aluminum plate. This can encourage the production of a homogeneous bottle storage temperature.
  • the pipette tool employs capacitive sensing of the liquid level in the bottle, the electrically conductive nature of the plate is favorable to reading this off.
  • the separators are preferably fixed to the belt at regular intervals.
  • Each separator preferably has an asymmetric shape with respect to a median plane intersecting its base at half-width; each separator may include a head that is deeper in the direction of advance of the belt, in order to facilitate the capture of a new bottle and its transit inside the module.
  • Each separator may be fixed to the belt in a median zone and have at its ends returns in the direction of the belt, which limit the clearance with respect to the latter and tend to orient the separator perpendicularly to the belt.
  • the median zone fixed to the belt is preferably situated at the level of a tooth of the latter, which reduces the risk of the separator being torn off on passing the drive wheels.
  • the or each module may include a plurality of pulleys each carrying at least one permanent magnet, the pulleys being disposed so that each generates as it rotates a rotating magnetic field for driving a stirring rod present in a bottle at a corresponding location on the module.
  • the pulleys are preferably driven by the same belt circulating between them. This belt may be driven by a single motor.
  • the conveyor and storage system includes a transport mechanism configured to transport a bottle from the loading zone to the module in which it must be stored or to the unloading zone from a module in which it was stored.
  • This transport mechanism may include a front belt and a rear belt that are preferably parallel to one another, the rear belt providing at least a part of the transport from the loading zone to the module that has to receive the bottle and the front belt at least a part of the transport to the unloading zone.
  • the front and rear belts are preferably driven in opposite directions by the same motor.
  • the transport mechanism may include a deflector that expels any bottle driven against it by the rear belt toward the front belt.
  • the rear belt may be slightly raised relative to the front belt to facilitate the passage over the front belt.
  • the rear belt may be slightly inclined toward the front belt in order to facilitate sliding of the bottle on the front belt.
  • the automatic device preferably includes a mechanism for controlling the spacing between the bottles on the rear belt.
  • This spacing control mechanism may include upstream and downstream pusher members mobile between retracted positions enabling the passage of bottles driven by the rear belt and deployed positions blocking the passage of the bottles.
  • the distance between the pusher members is preferably chosen to trap a single bottle between them when they are in the deployed position.
  • This mechanism enables precise control of the distance travelled by a bottle on the rear belt from the moment it is released by the downstream pusher member so that it may be moved accurately to the entry/exit of the module that it must integrate.
  • the portion of the rear belt extending between the loading zone and the upstream pusher member may constitute a buffer zone in which the loaded bottles can accumulate before being transferred to the storage module(s).
  • the waiting bottles may slide on the rear belt when the latter is moved and their advance movement is blocked by the upstream pusher member.
  • the path of a bottle driven around the front wheel of a storage module preferably passes over the rear belt, which is preferably situated at the same height as the plate constituting the bottom of the compartments formed between the separators inside the storage module.
  • This enables the storage module to capture a bottle present on the rear belt and to deposit on the rear belt a bottle to be extracted from the module.
  • the bottles may slide on the rear belt when pushed by the corresponding separators.
  • the shape of the latter ensures that the bottles continue to be driven correctly by the separators when they move on the rear belt in accordance with a semi-circular trajectory, because of the effect of the pushing by the corresponding separators.
  • the rear belt may be driven in movement during the combined movement of the bottles so as to maintain each bottle that passes over the rear belt pressed onto the corresponding separator, and thus to facilitate the driving of that bottle by the separator.
  • Each module may receive two rows of bottles in housings present between two consecutive separators within each row.
  • An additional bottle may be contained in a space to the rear of the rows, between the two rearmost separators of the rows; another bottle may be present between the two most forward separators, on the rear belt.
  • the loading capacity of a module may therefore be equal to the number of separators of that module.
  • All the bottles may be the same size, which may correspond to a maximum bottle size that can be received in the storage zone, in particular in a compartment of a module defined between two separators.
  • adapters may be used. At least one bottle of smaller size can therefore be received in an adapter the outside diameter of which corresponds to that of the largest size bottles.
  • the adapter may define a housing coaxial with the bottle to be received, the bottle remaining vertical.
  • the adapter may have an inclined and off-center housing, so that the opening of the bottle remains centered. This enables the dregs of reagent in the bottle to be sampled more easily, and therefore waste to be minimized.
  • the capacity of the bottles ranges for example from 5 to 30 ml.
  • the bottles preferably carry an identifier, for example in the form of a bar code or the like.
  • the automatic device includes at least one sensor for reading this identifier. Accordingly, when a bottle is transported toward the storage zone, the bottle is identified.
  • the above adapters preferably enable the reading of the identifier of the bottle or themselves carry an identifier.
  • the invention also consists in a method of managing a set of bottles in an automatic device as defined above, including the steps consisting in:
  • This method may include the step consisting in combined movement of the bottles of a storage module as defined above by driving the belt in one direction, until the bottle to be removed from the module is moved onto the rear belt, then moving the belt in the opposite direction to move away the separator that has pushed the bottle onto the rear belt and to free the bottle to allow it to continue on its path by being driven by the rear belt.
  • the method may include the step consisting in moving the downstream plunger into the deployed position and the upstream plunger into the retracted position, using the rear belt to move a bottle coming from the loading zone until it is pressed against the downstream plunger, stopping the movement of the rear belt, moving the upstream plunger into the deployed position, then moving the downstream plunger to the retracted position and restarting movement of the rear belt so as to position the bottle in front of the storage module that has to integrate it.
  • the belt of the storage module may then start to move so that a free separator captures the bottle present on the rear belt.
  • the method may include the storage of a table of correspondences between identifiers of the bottles present in the module or modules and the locations receiving bottles defined by the module or modules, and updating this table on each movement of bottles within a module.
  • This table of correspondences is used by the sampling system to place a pipette in the correct bottle.
  • FIG. 1 is a partial diagrammatic representation in perspective of an automatic device conforming to one embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 represents the automatic device from FIG. 1 after opening the top lid and removing a front panel
  • FIG. 3 represents the conveyor and storage system separately, diagrammatically and in perspective
  • FIG. 4 is a top view of the conveyor and storage system from FIG. 3 ,
  • FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the conveyor and storage system
  • FIG. 6 represents the conveyor and storage system after removal of the casing of a module and the protecting bottom plate
  • FIG. 7 represents a constructional detail of a module
  • FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the conveyor and storage system
  • FIG. 9 illustrates more particularly the fixing of the separators to the belt
  • FIG. 10 represents separately a first bottle adapter
  • FIG. 11 represents the adapter from FIG. 10 with the bottle in place
  • FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic axial section of a variant bottle adapter
  • FIG. 13 represents the adapter from FIG. 12 equipped with a bottle.
  • the automatic device 1 represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a casing comprising a lid 2 at the top and a set of panels on the various sides, including a front panel 3 including an access opening 4 a to a zone 71 for loading bottles F and an access opening 4 b to an unloading zone 40 enabling recovery of empty bottles F or bottles that are no longer to be used by the automatic device.
  • the top lid 2 is for example shown hinged to a frame 5 of the automatic device 1 , visible in FIG. 2 .
  • This frame 5 serves as a support for a system 10 for conveying samples to be analyzed and a conveyor and storage system 20 according to the invention, enabling movement of the bottles F containing reagents used for the analysis into a storage zone 30 in which the bottles F are stored and selective removal of one or more bottles F from this zone 30 in order to transport them to the unloading zone 40 .
  • the automatic device 1 includes a pipette system 50 mobile on horizontal rails 51 for sampling the reagents in the bottles F and bringing them into contact with the samples in order to effect the analyses, in a manner known in itself.
  • the pipette system 50 is known in itself and is not described in more detail hereinafter, including drive means enabling movement on the rails 51 of a gantry 52 enabling up and down movement of the pipette tool.
  • the bottles F have in the upper part a neck 0 which, if necessary, may be restricted by a flow reducer.
  • This neck defines an opening through which the needle of the pipette tool can pass during sampling.
  • the automatic device 1 includes an electronic control circuit enabling automatic control of the functioning of the various motorized mechanism. If necessary, this electronic circuit may communicate with a remote computer, not shown, that enables the display of information relating to the functioning of the automatic device, recovery of the data resulting from the analyses, and action on the functioning of the device.
  • the conveyor and storage system 20 is shown more precisely in FIGS. 4 to 9 .
  • this system includes three identical storage modules 60 enabling storage of the bottles F.
  • the number of modules 60 may be different, and in a variant in which the number of bottles F is smaller, the system 20 may include only one of them, for example.
  • the system 20 also includes a transport mechanism 70 that is coupled to the modules 60 and on the one hand enables a bottle F to be transported from the loading zone 71 to the module 60 concerned and on the other hand enables a bottle ejected by one of the modules 60 to be transported to the unloading zone 40 after use by the automatic device.
  • the transport mechanism 70 includes a front conveyor belt 74 and a rear conveyor belt 73 extending substantially parallel to one another.
  • the belts 73 and 74 are toothed on their interior face, smooth on their exterior face and mounted on pulleys rotating about shafts 75 .
  • the belts 73 and 74 are driven by the same motor 77 , visible in FIG. 5 , a transmission that is not shown enabling coupling of the movements of the drive pulleys.
  • the belts 73 and 74 move in opposite directions.
  • a guide rail 78 visible in FIG. 4 is disposed between the belts 73 and 74 .
  • This rail 78 has an upper edge 79 directed rearwardly, the distance of which from the rear belt 73 is greater than the height of the body of a bottle F and less than the total height of the bottle, as can be seen in FIG. 4 .
  • An abutment 80 is disposed at the end of the front belt 74 that is adjacent the loading zone 71 , to stop the bottles present thereon.
  • the transport mechanism 70 includes a system 90 enabling selective immobilization of a bottle present on the rear belt 73 and control of the spacing between a plurality of bottles F introduced successively into the loading zone 71 and moved by the rear belt 73 toward the modules 60 .
  • this system 90 may include two upstream and downstream pusher members 91 , 93 each actuated by a corresponding electromagnet 92 between a deployed position and a retracted position.
  • the front pusher member 93 may remain deployed when the downstream pusher member 91 is retracted, as shown in FIG. 4 , until a bottle F comes to bear against the downstream pusher member 93 .
  • the rear belt 73 may then be stopped and the upstream pusher member 91 deployed.
  • the separation between the pusher members 91 and 93 is chosen so that the pusher member 91 can be deployed without being blocked by the body of the bottle F abutted against the downstream pusher member 93 .
  • the upstream pusher member 91 can move away the immediately next bottle F on the rear belt 73 .
  • the bottle F present in the waiting zone 95 situated between the two pusher members 91 and 93 is therefore separated from the next bottle by a predefined distance, corresponding to the diameter of the upstream pusher member 91 .
  • the downstream pusher member 93 is retracted, which allows the bottle F to continue its movement, driven by the rear belt 73 .
  • the movement of the rear belt 73 is interrupted when the rear bottle F is placed in front of the entry/exit zone of the module 60 that has to recover it.
  • the rear belt portion situated upstream of the upstream pusher member 91 can serve as a buffer zone for accumulating bottles awaiting transfer to the modules 60 .
  • the bottles F can slide on the rear belt 73 when the latter tends to driven them against the upstream pusher member 91 and they are not immobilized by the latter.
  • the automatic device 1 includes a reader not shown in FIG. 4 enabling reading of an identifier carried by the bottle F present in the loading zone 71 , for example a bar code or the like or an RFID chip.
  • Each module 60 includes a belt 62 mounted on a front wheel 63 a and a rear wheel 63 b so as to have between the latter two parallel rectilinear portions 62 a and 62 b , as can be seen more particularly in FIG. 9 .
  • the belt 62 is toothed on its interior surface for driving purposes, and carries externally separators 61 , also referred to as cleats, which are for example fixed by gluing or welding to the belt 62 .
  • the rear wheel 63 b is driven by a motor 64 .
  • each separator 61 along the rectilinear portions of the belt 62 define between them housings 65 , also termed compartments, each adapted to receive a bottle F.
  • Each separator 61 has two opposite faces 66 a and 66 b that are concave on the outside, matching the curvature of the bottle F.
  • the separators 61 have on the side opposite the belt 62 a head 160 the shape of which is adapted to capture a bottle F present on the rear belt 73 in the entry/exit zone of the module 60 .
  • the separator 61 can be asymmetric relative to a median plane M intersecting the base 162 of the separator at half-width.
  • the head 160 may include an extension 161 that is deeper in the direction D of advance of the belt 62 .
  • Each separator 61 may be fixed to the belt 62 by a median zone 163 at the level of a tooth 62 c of the latter.
  • the base 162 can have at its ends returns 166 toward the belt 62 which limit the clearance from the latter and enable orientation of the separator 61 substantially perpendicularly to the belt 62 .
  • each module 60 includes a casing 68 that is open at the front and curved at the rear so as to guide the movement of the bottles around the rear wheel 63 b .
  • the casing 68 has plane vertical walls along rectilinear portions of the belt 62 .
  • each module 60 may include, as seen in FIG. 6 in particular, a set of pulleys 100 each mounted to rotate about a shaft 102 under a plate 101 constituting the bottom of the housings 65 receiving the bottles.
  • Each pulley 100 carries one or more permanent magnets that are driven in rotation with it so as to create under the plate 101 rotating magnetic fields for driving the magnetized rods in rotation.
  • the pulleys 100 are driven by a belt 103 that is driven by a motor 104 .
  • the plates 101 are preferably aluminum plates.
  • Each of the modules 60 may be retained fixedly in place with the aid of a locking system 110 including a lever 111 provided with a locking tooth 112 coming to bear on the top of the plate 101 at the rear of the casing 68 .
  • the lever 111 may include, as shown in FIG. 4 , a button 113 at its free end, provided for example with an indication reminding the operator that it is necessary to push on it to proceed to unlock the module.
  • Each module 60 is attached at the front by pins 170 , visible in FIG. 7 , which engage in corresponding housings formed in a plate 172 of the transport mechanism 70 , visible in FIG. 6 in particular.
  • the user presses the button 113 of the corresponding locking system 110 , which releases the rear edge of the module 60 and enables it to be moved rearwardly to disengage the pins 170 from their corresponding housings.
  • the operator then unplugs the connectors that connect the motors 64 and 104 to the control circuit of the automatic device.
  • One of the separators 61 of a module 60 carries a permanent magnet and this module includes a sensor that enables detection of the passage of that separator in the vicinity. This enables a reference to be provided as to the position of the belt 62 on each turn thereof.
  • the motor 64 driving the rear wheel 63 b is provided with a coder that also enables the movement of the belt 62 to be known.
  • the belt 62 is sized so that the separators 61 are disposed in opposed pairs in a pipette configuration, defining two rows of eight housings 65 in the example considered here.
  • a bottle can equally be contained in the rearmost space formed between the rearmost separators 61 of the left and right rows and on the rear belt 73 between the two most forward separators 61 of the left and right rows of the module 60 , which increases the total loading capacity per module 60 to 18 bottles in the example considered here.
  • the movement of the belt 62 by a distance corresponding to the spacing w between two median planes M causes the separator 61 present at the front end of the left row to take the place of the one present at the front end of the right row, and that present at the rear end of the right row to take the place of that present at the rear end of the left row, with the direction D of advance shown.
  • the conveyor and storage system 20 operates as follows.
  • Successive bottles F containing reagents are disposed manually in the loading zone 71 and then transported by the rear belt 73 to the modules 60 intended to receive them.
  • the system 90 described above regulates the spacing between them.
  • the module 60 that has to receive this bottle no longer contains any bottle between the separators 61 situated at the front ends of the left and right rows and that the most forward housing 65 of the left row is empty.
  • the belt 62 thereof is actuated so that the separator 61 situated at the front end of the left row captures the bottle and drives it into the module 60 .
  • the bottle is then contained inside this module in the housing 65 formed between this separator 61 , which has just moved over the rear belt 73 , and the adjacent separator 61 , namely the separator 61 that was previously that at the front end of the right row.
  • any bottles F present in the other housings 65 of this module have moved along the straight portions of the belt 62 by a distance w that substantially corresponds to the pitch at which the separators 61 are fixed to the belt.
  • the automatic device takes account of this combined movement of the bottles F present in the module 60 to update a table of correspondences between each of the housings 65 of the various modules 60 at all times and the identity of the corresponding bottles.
  • the bottle present in the rearmost compartment 65 of the right row is driven by a separator 61 at the beginning of the curved portion of the casing 68 and is no longer held between two separators 61 .
  • the automatic device is advantageously such that no sampling is effected in this bottle, in order not to risk the pipette tool not being positioned precisely above the opening of this bottle.
  • Sampling is also prohibited from the bottle F that is situated between the two most forward separators 61 of the left and right rows on the rear belt 73 . Sampling is therefore preferably effected only in the bottles F that are held between two separators 61 .
  • the belt 62 is started and moved a sufficient distance to bring the bottle on the rear belt 73 into the entry/exit zone of the module.
  • the rear belt 73 is advantageously moving during the rotation of the belt 72 in order to generate an opposite force on the bottle F, enabling it to be held against the face 66 a of the corresponding separator 61 .
  • a plurality of bottles F can be made to move on this rear belt 73 to accompany the movement of the separators 61 around the front wheel 63 a.
  • a deflector 125 is disposed at this end so as to expel the bottle reaching it toward the front belt 74 , which is turning in the opposite direction.
  • the rear belt 73 can be raised slightly relative to the front belt 74 and the rear belt 73 can be inclined slightly toward the front belt 74 .
  • the bottle F may be driven as far as the unloading zone 72 where it may be recovered either manually by the operator responsible for monitoring the functioning of the automatic device or taken up by an auxiliary conveyor system that enables it to be driven to another recovery zone.
  • the latter may proceed to a capacitive measurement of the level of the reagent in the bottle by detecting a change of capacitance caused by the immersion of the needle in the liquid.
  • the presence of the aluminum plate 101 tends to facilitate reading this off.
  • the automatic device includes means for regulating the temperature of the storage zone 30 by blowing cold air onto the bottom of the modules 60 .
  • the fact that the latter are made of aluminum tends to homogenize the temperature.
  • the temperature is regulated by conduction, for example using one or more Peltier-effect modules.
  • the housings 65 of the storage modules are designed to receive bottles F of the same size. If it is necessary to use bottles of smaller capacity, it may be useful to dispose these bottles in adapters the outside diameter of which corresponds to that of the bottles F intended to be received as such in the housings 65 . Examples of such adapters are represented by way of example in FIGS. 10 to 13 .
  • the adapter 200 includes a body that defines a housing 201 to receive a bottle F of intermediate size, smaller than those intended to be received directly in the housings 65 .
  • This adapter 200 may have an opening 202 that enables the optical reading of an identifier I present on the bottle, for example a bar code.
  • the groove 203 present opposite the opening 202 can receive a spring (not shown) that immobilize the bottle inside the adapter and prevents any rotation of the bottle relative to the adapter when reading the bar code.
  • the bottle is of even smaller size.
  • the adapter 210 is such that the longitudinal axis of the bottle is oriented obliquely with its opening centered, as seen from above, relative to the outside diameter of the adapter.
  • the automatic device is provided with an additional conveyor system on which the bottles to be loaded into the automatic device are deposited one after the other, and this conveyor system feeds the loading zone 71 with bottles.
  • a mechanism may be provided to drive rotation of the bottles on themselves during their transportation or in the loading zone so as to facilitate optical reading of an identifier present thereon.
  • the transport mechanism 70 may be produced differently, for example with two motors each for driving a corresponding belt, or with a single belt twisted on itself.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
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  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Hematology (AREA)
  • Clinical Laboratory Science (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Automatic Analysis And Handling Materials Therefor (AREA)
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US15/974,772 2017-05-10 2018-05-09 Automatic device for the automated conduct of analyses, notably medical analyses Abandoned US20180328953A1 (en)

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CN110618285A (zh) * 2019-09-06 2019-12-27 中国石油大学(北京) 用于岩石热解仪的自动进样装置
CN113576545A (zh) * 2021-08-30 2021-11-02 东莞市千弘电子科技有限公司 一种咽试子无人值守的自动采样装置
CN114225996A (zh) * 2021-12-29 2022-03-25 南京红十字血液中心 一种试管收纳递送装置及系统
CN114636588A (zh) * 2022-03-15 2022-06-17 上海已铼生物科技有限公司 一种用于合成过程中的取样配样装置及其工作方法
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CN109573530A (zh) * 2018-11-28 2019-04-05 楚天科技股份有限公司 一种物流线网带出瓶方法、卸盘单元及出瓶装置
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CN113576545A (zh) * 2021-08-30 2021-11-02 东莞市千弘电子科技有限公司 一种咽试子无人值守的自动采样装置
CN114225996A (zh) * 2021-12-29 2022-03-25 南京红十字血液中心 一种试管收纳递送装置及系统
CN114636588A (zh) * 2022-03-15 2022-06-17 上海已铼生物科技有限公司 一种用于合成过程中的取样配样装置及其工作方法

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US20230107207A1 (en) 2023-04-06
FR3066275A1 (fr) 2018-11-16
JP2018189654A (ja) 2018-11-29
FR3066275B1 (fr) 2020-09-18
JP7316763B2 (ja) 2023-07-28
US12050230B2 (en) 2024-07-30

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