Sample handling systems, mass spectrometers and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11004671-B2
Application number	US-202016854983-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 22, 2020
Priority date	Feb 13, 2018
Publication date	May 11, 2021
Grant date	May 11, 2021

Abstract

Slide analysis a gripper with three sensors for controlling a slide grip sequence and at least one rotatable carousel with a slide receiving channel. The systems also include a robot with a robot arm that holds a slide gripper residing inside the housing in communication with the rotatable carousel. The systems also include a load lock chamber and a door sealably coupled to the second end portion and an acquisition vacuum chamber with an X-Y stage and a slide holder with a vacuum seal.

First claim

That which is claimed:

1. A sample analysis system, comprising:
a housing comprising a slide port;
a load lock chamber in the housing, the load lock chamber having opposing first and second end portions and a door, wherein the door is configured to selectively move between an open position and a closed position, wherein, in the closed position the door is sealably coupled to the second end portion of the load lock chamber;
an acquisition vacuum chamber in the housing;
a robot arm that holds a slide gripper, wherein the robot arm is moveable in three-dimensions in the housing and is moveable to a first position adjacent the slide port and to a second position that positions the slide gripper adjacent to or in the load lock chamber;
an X-Y stage in the vacuum chamber, wherein the X-Y stage is coupled to a slide holder, wherein the slide holder cooperates with the X-Y stage whereby the slide holder travels between extended and retracted positions,
wherein, in the extended position, the slide holder extends into the load lock chamber and is configured to receive a slide provided by the slide gripper, and wherein, in the retracted position, the door of the load lock chamber is in the closed position and the slide holder is configured to position the slide in the acquisition vacuum chamber.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the slide holder comprises a vacuum seal interface that seals the first end portion of the load lock chamber when the slide holder is in the extended position.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one carousel comprising a slide receiving channel, wherein the at least one carousel rotates between first and second positions, wherein the first position is a slide intake position that positions an open end of the slide receiving channel outward, aligned with the slide port to be able to slidably receive a slide, and wherein the second position places the open end of the slide receiving channel facing into the housing.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one carousel is configured to have a single one of the slide receiving channel with a length that extends over greater than a major portion of a diameter of the carousel across a center of the carousel.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the open end of the slide receiving channel has a perimeter that is recessed inward relative to an outer diameter of the at least one carousel.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the slide gripper comprises first and second gripper arms that are parallel and side-by-side and pivotably held by a laterally extending shaft adjacent an upper jaw and lower jaw of the slide gripper, the first arm coupled to the upper jaw of the slide gripper and the second arm coupled to the lower jaw of the slide grippe.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the upper jaw of the slide gripper comprises a notch configured to receive an alignment member with the notch residing above the lower jaw.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the system further comprises:
a gripper motor coupled to the first and second gripper arms;
a home sensor, a grip sensor and a slide presence sensor, wherein each of the home sensor, grip sensor and slide presence sensor coupled to at least one of the first and second gripper arms; and
a control circuit in communication with the gripper motor and the home sensor, the grip sensor and the slide presence sensor, wherein the control circuit receives sensor data from the home sensor, the grip sensor and the slide presence sensor to identify an open or closed state of the upper jaw and lower jaw, and, if the upper and lower jaw are in the closed state, to identify whether a slide is present.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first gripper arm resides adjacent to but at a height above the second gripper arm, and wherein the home sensor and the grip sensor are aligned, one above another on a printed circuit board coupled to an end of the first gripper arm.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein an end of the second gripper arm is coupled to the slide presence sensor, and wherein the slide presence sensor is held by the printed circuit board adjacent but spaced apart from the home sensor and the grip sensor.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the printed circuit board is attached to a pivotable arm segment of the robot arm of the robot.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a first vacuum pump connected to the acquisition vacuum chamber and a second vacuum pump connected to the load lock chamber.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first vacuum pump resides above the second vacuum pump.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first and second vacuum pumps reside inside the housing.

15. The system of claim 2 , further comprising a removable bezel face plate adjacent at least one of the at least one carousel, wherein the bezel face plate provides the slide port, and wherein the bezel face plate is held by a bevel bracket with an open window that is coupled to an upper bracket member that resides inside the housing and angles inwardly at an angle between 5-45 degrees from a location adjacent the bezel face plate to an upper segment thereof.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the bezel face plate has a width between 4-6 inches and a height between 6-10 inches.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the housing is a table-top housing.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the housing is configured with a width, length and height of about: 0.7 m×0.7 m×1.1 m, and wherein the housing includes an internal sample storage space with a width, length and height size that is about 0.25 m×0.3 m by 0.3 m.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the upper bracket member holds a camera, and wherein the camera has a field of view that covers at least an end portion of the slide when at least one of the at least one carousel is in the second position.

20. The system of claim 15 , further comprising a drive motor coupled to a drive shaft that rotates the at least one carousel between the first and second positions, and wherein when the removable bezel face plate is detached from the housing to expose an access window, the at least one carousel can be removed from the access window of the housing to thereby allow repair, cleaning and/or replacement.

21. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of spaced apart intake vents in fluid communication with intake fans with filters on a back of the housing and a plurality of output vents in fluid communication with output fans on a top of the housing, wherein the intake and output fans cooperate to provide a positive pressure inside the housing with at least one of passive and/or fan-driven airflow out of the housing to inhibit contaminants from entering the housing.

22. The system of claim 8 , wherein the home sensor and the grip sensor are separately triggerable by a position of a first end of the first arm, and wherein the slide presence sensor is triggerable by a position of a first end of the second arm.

23. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a laser coolant path that extends from an inlet on a front of the housing over a heat sink of the laser, then to an outlet on top portion of the housing.

24. The system of claim 1 , wherein the slide port is oblong in a lateral dimension with laterally opposing arcuate ends.

25. The system of claim 1 , wherein a through channel of the load lock chamber extending between the first and second end portions has

Assignees

• Bio Merieux Inc

Inventors

• Bullock Jared
• Collins Scott
• Macgregor Ian
• Talmer Mark

Classifications

• H01J49/0495

  Vacuum locks; Valves (valves per se F16K) · CPC title

• G01N2035/0441

  for samples · CPC title

• G01N2035/00138

  Slides · CPC title

• H01J49/40

  Time-of-flight spectrometers (H01J49/36 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N2035/00049

  for loading/unloading a carousel · CPC title