Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/JP4743505B2/en
Timestamp: 2020-02-22 11:40:22
Document Index: 149789656

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 9', 'art 11', 'arts 17', 'art 16', 'art 12', 'art 17', 'art 18', 'art 19']

JP4743505B2 - Automatic liquid injection apparatus and automatic liquid injection method in automatic liquid injection apparatus - Google Patents
Automatic liquid injection apparatus and automatic liquid injection method in automatic liquid injection apparatus Download PDF
JP4743505B2
JP4743505B2 JP2005291794A JP2005291794A JP4743505B2 JP 4743505 B2 JP4743505 B2 JP 4743505B2 JP 2005291794 A JP2005291794 A JP 2005291794A JP 2005291794 A JP2005291794 A JP 2005291794A JP 4743505 B2 JP4743505 B2 JP 4743505B2
JP2005291794A
JP2007101366A (en
徹 茗荷谷
2005-10-04 Application filed by 昭光サイエンティフィック株式会社 filed Critical 昭光サイエンティフィック株式会社
2005-10-04 Priority to JP2005291794A priority Critical patent/JP4743505B2/en
2007-04-19 Publication of JP2007101366A publication Critical patent/JP2007101366A/en
2011-08-10 Publication of JP4743505B2 publication Critical patent/JP4743505B2/en
The present invention relates to an automatic liquid injection apparatus such as an automatic measuring apparatus and an automatic liquid injection method in such an automatic liquid injection apparatus.
For example, in analytical work such as content uniformity testing, in order to prepare a wide variety of solutions, a large volume of containers with a marked line such as a volumetric flask is made up, that is, the solution is kept constant under certain conditions. An operation for injecting the amount up to a line called a marked line is required.
Since it is necessary to carry out this scalpel strictly, it takes a lot of time and labor when it is done manually. Therefore, development of an automatic liquid injection device that can perform these operations with high accuracy and speed is demanded.
As one of the prior arts of such an automatic liquid injection device, there is an automatic knife up system proposed in Patent Document 1. This automatic scalpel up system automates scalpel up operation with high accuracy by enabling high accuracy detection of the marked line and the liquid level. It is set at a predetermined position by the robot system and injected with solvent. A parallel laser beam is projected from the laser light emitting part toward the part including the marked line to the marked lined container, and the laser light transmitted through the marked lined container is received by the laser light receiving part, and the amount of transmitted laser light And the filling means is controlled based on the detected light quantity signal to fill the liquid to the desired liquid level based on the marked line. In this apparatus, driving means for positioning the laser projector and the laser receiver in correspondence with the marked line is provided.
As another prior art, Patent Document 2 discloses that a sensor means and a light source are arranged with a measuring flask having a marked line placed on a turntable and moved to a predetermined position, and the measuring flask is irradiated with the light source. An automatic liquid injection device has been proposed in which transmitted light is received by sensor means and the position of the marked line and the position of the liquid level are detected by a decrease in the amount of light. In this apparatus, the sensor means is a one-dimensional CCD camera arranged in the height direction of the volumetric flask, and is configured to detect a marked line and a liquid surface where light is shielded by a waveform of a video signal output therefrom. Has been.
As another prior art, in Patent Document 3, a level gauge is arranged in parallel with an adjustment tank for adjusting the liquid amount to a set amount, a light source is arranged on one side of the level gauge, and one-dimensional on the other side. There has been proposed an automatic liquid amount adjusting device including a liquid level detecting means having a configuration in which a CCD camera (one-dimensional array) is arranged. This device detects the liquid level based on the output level of the CCD camera and adjusts the liquid level to the set position. The set value of this liquid level and hence the liquid volume can be changed. Not provided.
JP-A-6-295208 JP-A-6-50981 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-276022
1. In Patent Document 1, it is necessary to move a marked line container to a predetermined position by a robot arm and accurately position it, and then to accurately position the laser light projector and the laser light receiver at a predetermined position with respect to the marked line. is there. For this reason, it is essential to control the robot arm, laser beam projector, and laser beam receiver with high accuracy.
2. In Patent Document 2, since the sensor means is a one-dimensional CCD camera arranged in the height direction of the marked line container, the information related to the marked line container is only the height direction information. When the attached container is placed on the placing means by the robot arm, it is necessary to accurately position in the left-right direction. Therefore, it is essential to control the robot arm with high accuracy.
3. Further, in the apparatus of Patent Document 3, the container for adjusting the liquid volume is an installed tank, and is not a movable container with a marked line such as a volumetric flask, and is different from the subject of the present invention. Even if the liquid level detection means in the level gauge, that is, the arrangement of the light source and the one-dimensional CCD camera is applied to a marked line container, this operation is performed in the same manner as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, such as a robot arm, a turntable, etc. In order to automate using this handling means, a control means for positioning the marked line container with high accuracy is required.
In addition, even with the same capacity, containers with marked lines such as volumetric flasks are slightly different in shape, and the position of the marked line and the height of the liquid level to make a predetermined amount of liquid are also different. When using any of the conventional techniques described in the above cited references, it is necessary to perform the above positioning for each type of marked line container or to provide a plurality of sensor means.
On the other hand, when measuring up automatically, it takes a relatively long time to detect the position of the liquid surface and the position of the marked line and inject the solution until they match. There is also a technique for injecting the liquid by estimating the amount of liquid injection required for the liquid level to reach the marked line using the relative relationship with the rising amount of the surface. Each container with a marked line must be obtained by experiment and stored in the control means in advance, which is troublesome.
In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, first, the marked line container is moved to the space below the liquid injection part of the liquid injection means, and the liquid is put into the marked line container to a predetermined position based on the marked line. In the automatic liquid injection device for injection, a two-dimensional image sensor is arranged on one side with the lower space laterally separated, and a planar illumination means is arranged on the other side facing the two-dimensional image sensor. The planar illumination means is arranged on the left and right sides of the wide planar light projecting portion configured so that the horizontal width is wider than the horizontal width of the portion where the marked line is provided in the marked lined container. In addition, the light emitting color of the planar light projecting unit is composed of a color arrangement unit that is different in color from the light projecting color, and a standard line is obtained from a two-dimensional image obtained by imaging a container with a standard mark positioned in the lower space by a two-dimensional image sensor. The horizontal position of the attached container, the marked line and the liquid level And a control means for controlling the liquid injection means based on the position of the marked line and the liquid level detected by the detecting means, and the detecting means is linearly arranged at both end edges of the marked container. We propose an automatic liquid injection device configured to detect the horizontal position of a marked-line container on a two-dimensional image based on the image of the color arrangement part that appears.
The present invention proposes that, in the above-described configuration, a color arrangement unit having a color different from the light projection color of the surface light projecting unit is formed below the light projecting unit of the surface illumination unit.
Further, according to the present invention, in the above configuration, a color arrangement unit having a color different from the projection color of the planar light projecting unit is configured below the range from the planar illumination means to the bottom of the marked line container. Propose that.
In the present invention, it is proposed that, in the above-described configuration, a color arrangement portion having a color different from the light projection color of the planar light projecting portion is formed below the bottom portion of the marked line-equipped container.
Further, in the present invention, it is proposed that the color arrangement portion is constituted by light emitting means in the above configuration.
In the present invention, it is proposed that the color arrangement portion does not emit light in the above configuration.
In the present invention, it is proposed to provide a telecentric lens in the optical system on the incident side of the two-dimensional image sensor in the above configuration.
According to the present invention, in the above configuration, the control means detects the amount of rise in the liquid level when the liquid injection means injects a certain amount of liquid into the marked line container, and the liquid level is indicated by the detection means. It is proposed to construct a means for calculating the amount of injection up to the line.
According to the present invention, in the automatic liquid injection device having the above-described structure in which liquid is injected into a marked line container to a predetermined position based on the marked line by the liquid injection means, the space below the liquid injection portion of the liquid injection means is laterally expanded. A two-dimensional image sensor is arranged on one side, and a planar illumination means is arranged on the other side facing the two-dimensional image sensor, and a container with a marked line is located in the lower space. When injecting liquid from the injection unit, the marked line container is imaged by a two-dimensional image sensor, and the horizontal position of the container and the respective positions of the marked line and the liquid level are detected from the two-dimensional image by the detecting means. After detecting the liquid level, temporarily stop the liquid injection by the liquid injection means, memorize the position of the liquid level at that time, and then inject a predetermined amount of liquid by the liquid injection means The position of the liquid level after Calculate the amount of rise of the liquid level with respect to the injection of a predetermined amount of liquid from the position of the liquid level before injection stored and stored, the position of the liquid level after injection, the position of the marked line, and the above liquid From the amount of rise of the surface, the liquid injection amount for calculating the liquid level for raising the liquid level to the marked line is calculated, and the liquid injection is performed by controlling the liquid injection means based on the calculated injection amount. A liquid automatic injection method in the injection device is proposed.
In the present invention, in the above method, after injecting a predetermined amount of liquid less than the calculated injection amount, it is proposed to inject the liquid while monitoring the liquid surface using a two-dimensional image.
The present invention proposes that in the above method, the automatic liquid injection device has any of the above-described configurations.
In the present invention having the above configuration, after moving the marked line container to the space below the liquid injection part, the marked line container illuminated by the planar illumination means is imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor from the back side, From the two-dimensional image, the horizontal position of the marked line container and the positions of the marked line and the liquid level are detected.
At this time, in the two-dimensional image, due to the wide-angle lens action of the marked line container, the image of the color arrangement portion arranged on the left and right sides of the planar light projecting part of the illumination means is vertically displayed on both ends of the marked line container. Since the color of this color arrangement part is different from the color of the planar light projecting part, it can be clearly distinguished and detected, thus detecting these parallel linear images. Thus, it is possible to accurately detect the horizontal position of the marked line container on the two-dimensional image on the assumption that those linear images correspond to both ends of the marked line container.
Since the horizontal position of such a marked container is detected by a two-dimensional image captured by a two-dimensional image sensor, the horizontal positioning does not require much precision, and an accurate position can be detected. It can be carried out.
In addition, since the mark line of the container with the mark line and the meniscus of the liquid level do not transmit the light of the surface light projecting portion of the surface illumination means, the detection means detects those portions appearing in the two-dimensional image. The position of the line and the liquid level can be detected.
Therefore, by injecting liquid while detecting the position of the marked line and the liquid level by the detecting means, and stopping the liquid injection when they match, a predetermined amount of liquid injection based on the marked line can be accurately performed. Can be done.
Like the detection of the horizontal position of the marked line container, the position of the marked line and the liquid level are detected from the two-dimensional image captured by the two-dimensional image sensor. Also for the attached container, there is no need to move the sensor according to the position of the marked line or to provide a plurality of sensors as in the conventional case.
Here, the meniscus on the liquid level has a function of a convex mirror with respect to the light from below, so that the portion below the surface light projecting unit, for example, the surface light projecting unit in the surface illumination means The projection color of the planar light projecting part is at least one of the lower side, the lower side of the range from the surface illumination means to the bottom of the marked line container, or the lower side of the bottom of the marked lined container. If different color schemes are configured, the color of these color schemes will appear in the meniscus of the liquid level, so it can be clearly distinguished from the illumination light of the planar light projecting unit. Can be easily and accurately detected.
In this way, the color of the color arrangement portion only needs to be different from the color of the illumination light from the planar light projecting portion. Therefore, the color arrangement portion may be constituted by light emitting means or may be configured not to emit light. In addition, the method of making the colors different may be different depending on the color, may be different depending on the lightness, or may be made different by combining these. For example, as an example, the color arrangement portion may be black.
Next, in the present invention, if a telecentric lens is provided in the optical system on the incident side of the two-dimensional image sensor, the two-dimensional image sensor differs from a normal lens even if the distance between the lens and the marked line container is different. The height of the image of the marked line container imaged by the above changes due to magnification fluctuation, etc., and the marked line image formed in a ring shape around the marked line container or the liquid surface meniscus image Does not appear double on the front side and the back side, and always appears as a single line, so the position of the marked line and the liquid level can always be detected with high accuracy. In addition, by applying a telecentric lens, the positioning accuracy of the marked lined container in the depth direction with respect to the two-dimensional image sensor need not be so high.
As described above, in the apparatus of the present invention, liquid is injected while detecting the position of the marked line and the liquid level by the detecting means, and the liquid injection is stopped when they coincide with each other. Based on the relative relationship between the liquid injection amount and the liquid level rise amount, the liquid injection amount required for the liquid level to reach the marked line can be determined. It is also possible to apply a method of injecting by estimation.
That is, when injecting a liquid from the injection part into the marked line container, the marked line container is imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor, and the horizontal position of the marked line container and the mark are detected from the two-dimensional image by the detecting means. The position of each of the line and the liquid level shall be detected. After the liquid level is detected, the liquid injection by the liquid injection means is temporarily stopped, the position of the liquid level at that time is memorized, and then the liquid injection means is stored. Inject a predetermined amount of liquid, detect the position of the liquid level after injection, calculate the amount of rise of the liquid level relative to the injection of the predetermined amount of liquid from the stored liquid level position before injection Based on the calculated injection amount, the liquid injection amount for raising the liquid level to the reference line is calculated from the position of the liquid level after injection, the position of the reference line, and the rising amount of the liquid level. If the liquid injection means is controlled to inject liquid, the diameters etc. For each container with a marked line, it is not necessary to obtain the relative relationship between the liquid injection amount and the liquid level rising amount by a prior experiment as in the prior art, and it is not necessary to memorize it. It is possible to apply a method of injecting by estimating the amount of liquid injection required to reach the above.
In such a method, liquid injection is performed while detecting the position of the marked line and the liquid surface, and when the liquid matches, a liquid injection of a predetermined amount based on the marked line is stopped. It can also be performed as a pre-stage of the method of performing.
As the automatic liquid injection device used in these methods, the above-described automatic liquid injection device according to the present invention is used. In addition, it is possible to reliably and easily detect the position of each liquid level.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of the overall configuration of an automatic liquid injection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing a main part, and FIG. 3 is a front view schematically showing a planar illumination means. FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a base, on which a liquid injection means 2 and a turntable 4 for moving the marked lined container 3 to a predetermined position are provided.
The liquid injection means 2 includes a syringe pump 5, a liquid container 7 connected to the suction side via a tube 6, a liquid injection portion 9 such as a probe needle connected to the discharge side via a tube 8, and injection control means. 10. The liquid injection part 9 is supported above the turntable 4 by a support part 11 provided on the base 1 and is configured to inject liquid into the marked lined container 3 in the lower space 12 thereof.
The support unit 11 supports the two-dimensional image sensor 13 on one side with the lower space 12 spaced laterally, and the surface illumination means 14 is opposed to the two-dimensional image sensor 13 on the other side. I support it.
The two-dimensional image sensor 13 is provided with an imaging optical system 15 such as a lens, and the planar illumination unit 14 is provided with a rectangular planar light projecting unit 16 around the planar light projecting unit. A color arrangement unit 17 having a different color from the 16 projected colors is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the left and right color arrangement portions 17a and the lower color arrangement portion 17b are formed to have a large width.
Further, the turntable 4 is formed with a recess 18 for stably placing and supporting the marked lined container 3.
On the other hand, the imaging signal from the two-dimensional image sensor 13 is input to the detection means 19 that processes the signal, and the detection signal is input to the control means 20. And the control means 20 controls the injection | pouring control means 10 by performing an appropriate | suitable process based on the said detection signal. The detection means 19 can also be configured as one function of the control means 20.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the turntable 4, the planar light projecting unit 16 is provided in a range from the planar illumination means 14 to the bottom of the marked lined container 3 and below the bottom of the marked lined container 3. Color arrangement portions 21a and 21b having different colors from the projected color are configured.
In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a marked line formed in the marked lined container 3, and 23 denotes a meniscus of the liquid level of the liquid injected into the marked lined container 3.
In the above configuration, in this embodiment, with the marked line container 3 placed on the recess 18 of the turntable 4, the turntable 4 is driven to move the marked line container 3 below the liquid injection unit 9. Move to space 12.
Next, the marked line-equipped container 3 illuminated by the planar illumination means 14 from the back side is imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor 13, and the horizontal position of the marked line-equipped container 3 from the two-dimensional image 24 and the marked line 22 are captured. And the respective positions of the liquid level are detected.
That is, in this two-dimensional image 24, as schematically shown in FIG. 4, the image 25 of the color arrangement unit 17a arranged on the left and right sides of the planar light projecting unit of the illumination means is a wide angle of the marked lined container 3. Due to the lens action of the marking line, it appears linearly in the longitudinal direction at both end edges of the marked lined container 3, and the color of this color arrangement portion 17 a is different from the light projection color of the planar light projecting portion 16. 19 can be clearly distinguished and detected.
In this way, by detecting parallel linear images 25 of different colors appearing in the two-dimensional image 24, the linear images 25 correspond to both end edges of the marked lined container 3, The horizontal position on the two-dimensional image 24 of the lined container 3 can be accurately detected.
Since the detection of the horizontal position of the marked line container 3 is performed by the two-dimensional image 24 captured by the two-dimensional image sensor 13, the horizontal positioning does not require much accuracy, and the accurate position is determined. Can be detected.
After detecting the position of the marked container 3 in the two-dimensional image 24 in this way, the detecting means 19 detects the marked line 22 and the meniscus 23 of the liquid level. Since the meniscus 23 does not transmit the light of the planar light projecting portion 16 of the planar illumination means 14, the detection means 19 detects the images of those portions 22 and 23 appearing in the two-dimensional image 24. The position of the line 22 and the liquid level can be easily detected.
Therefore, the control means 20 controls the injection control means 10 while monitoring the mark 22 and the liquid level detection signal from the detection means 19 to inject the liquid, and the position of the mark 22 and the liquid level. By stopping the liquid injection when the two coincide, the predetermined amount of liquid injection based on the marked line 22 can be accurately performed.
Here, in this embodiment, the planar illumination means 14 has a color different from the projection color of the planar projection unit 16 on the lower side of the rectangular projection unit 16 together with the color arrangement unit 17a. A different color arrangement portion 17b is configured, and the surface of the turntable 4 extends from the planar illumination means 14 to the bottom of the marked lined container 3 and below the bottom of the marked lined container 3 respectively. Since the color arrangement portions 21a and 21b are different from the color projected from the light projection portion 16, the liquid meniscus 23 has a convex mirror action on light from below. The colors of these color arrangement portions 17b, 21a and 21b appear in the image of the meniscus 23 on the liquid surface. Therefore, in the two-dimensional image 24, the meniscus 23 on the liquid surface can be clearly distinguished from the illumination light of the planar light projecting portion, and therefore the position of the liquid surface in the two-dimensional image 24 can be easily detected. And can be done accurately.
Here, since the color of the above-mentioned color arrangement parts 17a, 17b, 21a, and 21b should just differ from the color of the illumination light by the planar light projection part 16, these color arrangement parts may be comprised by a light emission means. , It may be configured not to emit light. In addition, the method of making the colors different may be different depending on the color, may be made different depending on the brightness, or may be made different by combining these. For example, as a suitable example, the color arrangement unit 17a. 17b, 21a, 21b can be black. In addition, the color arrangement portions 17b, 21a, and 21b related to the meniscus 23 on the liquid surface can be configured by any one of them alone or in an appropriate combination.
Next, in this embodiment, since the telecentric lens 15 is provided in the optical system on the incident side of the two-dimensional image sensor 13, even if the distance between the lens 15 and the marked lined container 3, that is, the depth is different. Unlike a normal lens, the height of the image of the marked line-equipped container 3 captured by the two-dimensional image sensor 13 does not change due to a change in magnification or the like. Therefore, in the two-dimensional image 24, the image of the marked line 22 formed in a ring shape around the marked lined container 3 and the image of the meniscus 23 on the liquid surface are doubled on the near side and the far side. Since it does not appear and always appears as a single line, the position of the marked line 22 and the liquid level can always be detected with high accuracy. In addition, by using the telecentric lens 15 for the incident optical system of the two-dimensional image sensor 13, it is not necessary to increase the positioning accuracy of the marked lined container 3 in the depth direction with respect to the two-dimensional image sensor.
As described above, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the control means 20 controls the injection control means 10 while monitoring the standard line 22 and the liquid surface position detection signal from the detection means 19 to inject liquid. The liquid injection of a predetermined amount based on the mark line 22 can be accurately performed by the method of stopping the liquid injection when the mark line 22 and the liquid surface position coincide with each other. It is also possible to apply a method of injecting by estimating the amount of liquid injection required for the liquid level to reach the marked line using the relative relationship between the amount and the rising amount of the liquid level.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an automatic liquid injection method to which such a technique is applied.
In this automatic liquid injection method, first, in step S 1, the marked lined container 3 placed in the recess 18 of the turntable 4 is moved below the liquid injection part (probe needle) 9.
Next, in step S2, the marked line-equipped container 3 illuminated from the back side by the planar illumination means 14 is imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor 13, and as described above, the marked line is marked by the detection means 19 from the two-dimensional image 24. The position of the attached container 3 in the two-dimensional image 24 is detected.
Next, in step S3, the position of the marked line 22 is detected from the two-dimensional image 24 as described above. That is, at this time, since the liquid has not been injected yet, the image of the meniscus 23 on the liquid level does not appear in the two-dimensional image 24.
Next, in step S4, while the control means 20 monitors the detection signal from the detection means 19, the injection control means 10 is controlled to start the liquid injection. In this way, the liquid is gradually injected into the marked lined container 3, and the injection is stopped when the meniscus 23 on the liquid level rises to a position where it can be detected by the two-dimensional image 24.
Next, in step S5, after storing the position of the liquid level at the time of stopping the injection, a predetermined amount of liquid set in advance is injected. The storage of the position of the liquid level can be stored in storage means (not shown) provided in either the detection means 19 or the control means 20.
Next, in step S6, the position of the liquid surface after the predetermined amount of liquid has been injected is detected by the detecting means 19.
In step S7, the liquid level rises with respect to the injection of the predetermined amount of liquid from the difference between the position of the liquid surface after the predetermined amount of liquid is injected and the stored position of the liquid surface before the injection. Calculate and store the quantity. This calculation is performed by the calculation means 26 provided in the control means 20 or the like.
Next, in step S8, the required increase amount from the position of the liquid level after injection to the marked line 22 is detected by the detecting means 19, and this is divided by the increase amount of the liquid level with respect to the injection of a predetermined amount of liquid. Then, the liquid injection amount for raising the liquid level to the marked line 22 is calculated by the calculation means 26 by multiplying the liquid by a predetermined amount.
After the liquid injection amount is thus calculated, the control means 20 controls the injection control means 10 to inject the calculated injection amount of liquid, thus automatically injecting a predetermined amount of liquid based on the marked line 22. Can be done.
Compared with the method in which the liquid injection is performed while monitoring the detection signal of the position of the marked line 22 and the liquid level, and the liquid injection is stopped when the position of the marked line 22 and the liquid level coincide with each other. Thus, the liquid injection speed can be increased, and therefore the time required for liquid injection can be shortened.
However, since the latter method can perform liquid injection control more accurately than this method, injection control can be performed by combining these methods.
That is, FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an automatic liquid injection method to which such a method is applied.
Since the flow from step S1 to S8 in this automatic liquid injection method is the same as the flow in the previous automatic liquid injection method, redundant description is omitted.
In this automatic liquid injection method, in step S10 after step S8, a liquid having a predetermined amount smaller than the injection amount calculated in step S8 is first injected. The liquid injection speed in step S10 can be increased similarly to step S9 in the previous liquid automatic injection method.
Next, in step S11, the liquid injection speed is decreased, the liquid is injected while monitoring the detection signal of the position of the mark 22 and the liquid level, and when the position of the mark 22 and the liquid level coincides, the liquid is injected. By stopping the injection, a predetermined amount of liquid can be accurately injected based on the marked line 22.
In this automatic liquid injection method, the time required for liquid injection can be shortened and more accurate injection control can be performed.
In the embodiment described above, the marked lined container 3 is provided with only one marked line 22, but the marked lined container 3 having a plurality of marked lines 22 also includes the present invention. Of course, the apparatus and method described above can be applied.
In the embodiment described above, the turntable 4 is described as a means for moving the marked container 3 to a predetermined position. However, other appropriate handling means such as a robot arm can be applied. is there.
Since the present invention is as described above, the present invention has the following characteristics and has a great industrial applicability.
1. After moving the container with the marked line to the space below the liquid injection part, the container with the marked line illuminated from the back side by the planar illumination means is imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor, and the marked line is attached from the two-dimensional image. When detecting the horizontal position of the container and the positions of the marked line and the liquid level, the two-dimensional image shows the left and right sides of the planar light projecting portion of the illumination means by the wide-angle lens action of the marked line container. The image of the color arrangement part arranged on the side appears in the vertical direction at both ends of the marked container, and the color of this color arrangement part is different from the color of the planar light emission part, so it is clearly distinguished and detected Thus, by detecting these parallel line images, it is assumed that these line images correspond to both ends of the marked container on the two-dimensional image of the marked container. The position in the horizontal direction can be accurately detected.
2. Since the horizontal position of such a marked container is detected by a two-dimensional image captured by a two-dimensional image sensor, the horizontal positioning does not require much precision, and an accurate position can be detected. It can be carried out.
3. In this way, liquid injection is performed while detecting the position of the marked line and the liquid level, and when a match occurs, the liquid injection is stopped to accurately inject a predetermined amount of liquid based on the marked line. be able to.
4). Like the detection of the horizontal position of the marked line container, the position of the marked line and the liquid level are detected from the two-dimensional image captured by the two-dimensional image sensor. There is no need to move the sensor according to the position of the marked line or to provide a plurality of sensors as in the conventional case.
5. Since the liquid meniscus has a convex mirror action for light from below, the lower part of the surface light projecting unit, for example, the lower side of the surface light projecting unit in the surface illumination means, Or at least one of the lower side of the range from the planar illumination means to the bottom of the marked line container or the lower side of the marked line container, the color is different from the projected color of the planar light emitting part. By configuring the color arrangement part, the color of these color arrangement parts appears in the meniscus of the liquid level, so it can be clearly distinguished from the illumination light of the planar light projecting part. Detection can be done easily and accurately.
6). If a telecentric lens is installed in the optical system on the entrance side of the two-dimensional image sensor, even if the distance between the lens and the container with the marked line is different, it differs from the normal lens in that the marked line imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor is attached. The height of the image of the container changes due to magnification fluctuations, etc., and the image of the marked line formed in a ring shape around the container with the marked line and the image of the meniscus on the liquid level are on the near side and the far side. In this case, the position of the marked line and the liquid level can always be detected with high accuracy. In addition, by applying a telecentric lens, the positioning accuracy of the marked lined container in the depth direction with respect to the two-dimensional image sensor need not be so high.
7). In the apparatus of the present invention, liquid is injected while detecting the position of the marked line and the liquid level by the detecting means, and the liquid injection is stopped when they coincide with each other, whereby a predetermined amount based on the marked line is obtained. However, using the relative relationship between the liquid injection volume and the liquid level rise, the liquid injection volume required for the liquid level to reach the marked line can be estimated. By applying this technique, the time required for liquid injection can be shortened.
In the method of 8.7, liquid is injected while detecting the position of the marked line and the liquid surface, and the liquid injection is stopped when they coincide with each other, whereby a predetermined amount of liquid based on the marked line is stopped. It can also be performed as a pre-stage of the method of injecting, and in this case, the time required for injecting the liquid can be shortened and control can be performed for more accurate injection.
As the automatic liquid injection device used in the methods 9.7 and 8, the liquid automatic injection device according to the present invention described above is used. And the position of the marked line and the liquid level can be detected reliably and easily.
It is a perspective view which shows typically an example of the whole structure of the liquid automatic injection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows typically the principal part of FIG. It is a front view which shows a planar illumination means typically. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the two-dimensional image imaged with the two-dimensional image sensor. 3 is a flowchart of a liquid injection control method according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of another liquid injection control method according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base 2 Liquid injection | pouring means 3 Container with marked line 4 Turntable 5 Syringe pump 6, 8 Tube 7 Liquid container 9 Liquid injection | pouring part (probe needle)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Injection control means 11 Support part 12 Lower space 13 Two-dimensional image sensor 14 Planar illumination means 15 Imaging optical system 16 Planar light projection part 17 (17a, 17b) Color arrangement part 18 Recessed part 19 Detection means 20 Control means 21a, 21b Color scheme portion 22 Mark line 23 Liquid surface meniscus 24 Two-dimensional image 25 Color scheme portion image
In an automatic liquid injection device that moves a container with a marked line to a space below the liquid injection portion of the liquid injection means and injects a liquid to a predetermined position based on the marked line in the container with a marked line, A two-dimensional image sensor is disposed on one side, and a planar illumination unit is disposed on the other side so as to face the two-dimensional image sensor. The planar illumination unit has a horizontal width, In the container with a marked line, a wide planar light projecting part constructed wider than the horizontal width of the part where the marked line is provided, and the projected color of the planar light projecting part are arranged on the left and right sides. The horizontal position of the container with the marked line from the two-dimensional image obtained by imaging the container with the marked line positioned in the lower space by the two-dimensional image sensor, the marked line and the liquid level Detecting means for detecting each position of the Control means for controlling the liquid injection means on the basis of the marked line and the position of the liquid surface, and the detecting means is a container with a marked line based on the image of the color arrangement portion that appears linearly at both ends of the marked line container. An automatic liquid injection device characterized in that a horizontal position on a two-dimensional image is detected.
2. The automatic liquid injection device according to claim 1, wherein a color arrangement portion having a different color from the light projection color of the surface light projecting portion is formed below the light projecting portion of the surface illumination means.
3. A color arrangement portion having a color different from the light projection color of the surface light projecting portion is formed below a range from the surface illumination means to the bottom of the marked line-equipped container. The liquid automatic injection device described in 1.
The color arrangement part which made the color different from the light projection color of a planar light projection part was comprised under the bottom part of the container with a marked line, The any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Liquid automatic injection device.
The automatic liquid injection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the color arrangement portion is constituted by a light emitting means.
5. The automatic liquid injection device according to claim 1, wherein the color arrangement unit does not emit light. 6.
2. The automatic liquid injection device according to claim 1, wherein a telecentric lens is provided in the optical system on the incident side of the two-dimensional image sensor.
The control means detects the amount of rise in the liquid level when a predetermined amount of liquid is injected into the marked line container by the liquid injection means, and calculates the injection amount until the liquid level reaches the marked line. The liquid automatic injection device according to claim 1, comprising means.
The automatic liquid injection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the liquid is injected into the marked line container to a predetermined position based on the marked line by the liquid injection means. A two-dimensional image sensor is disposed on one side with the lower space separated laterally, and a planar illumination means is disposed on the other side so as to face the two-dimensional image sensor, and a container with a marked line is disposed in the lower space. When the liquid is injected from the injection portion with the position of the container, the container with the marked line is imaged by the two-dimensional image sensor, and the horizontal position of the container, the marked line and the liquid level are respectively detected by the detection means from the two-dimensional image. After detecting the liquid level, the liquid injection by the liquid injection means is temporarily stopped, the position of the liquid level at that time is memorized, and then a predetermined amount of liquid is injected by the liquid injection means Of the liquid level after injection The amount of rise of the liquid level relative to the injection of a predetermined amount of liquid is calculated from the stored position of the liquid level before injection, and the position of the liquid level after injection and the position of the marked line are calculated. The liquid injection amount for raising the liquid level to the marked line is calculated from the liquid level increase amount, and the liquid injection means is controlled based on the calculated injection amount to perform liquid injection. An automatic liquid injection method in the automatic liquid injection apparatus.
10. The automatic liquid injection method in an automatic liquid injection device according to claim 9, wherein after injecting a predetermined amount of liquid less than the calculated injection amount, the liquid is injected while monitoring the liquid surface by a two-dimensional image. .
The liquid automatic injection device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the liquid automatic injection device has the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
JP2005291794A 2005-10-04 2005-10-04 Automatic liquid injection apparatus and automatic liquid injection method in automatic liquid injection apparatus Active JP4743505B2 (en)
JP2005291794A JP4743505B2 (en) 2005-10-04 2005-10-04 Automatic liquid injection apparatus and automatic liquid injection method in automatic liquid injection apparatus
JP2007101366A JP2007101366A (en) 2007-04-19
JP4743505B2 true JP4743505B2 (en) 2011-08-10
ID=38028452
JP2005291794A Active JP4743505B2 (en) 2005-10-04 2005-10-04 Automatic liquid injection apparatus and automatic liquid injection method in automatic liquid injection apparatus
JP (1) JP4743505B2 (en)
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