TWI865156B - Gripping control device and gripping control method - Google Patents

Abstract

A microgripper, a gripping control device, and a gripping control method are provided. The microgripper includes a central portion, a pair of first gripping arms and a pair of second gripping arms. The central portion has a first side and a second side opposite to each other. A proximal end of each first gripping arm is connected to the first side, and a distal end of each first gripping arm is away from the first side. Each first gripping arm has a first magnetization direction, and the first magnetization direction is from the proximal end of the first gripping arm to the distal end. A proximal end of each second gripping arm is connected to the second side, and a distal end of each second gripping arm is away from the second side. Each second gripping arm has a second magnetization direction, and the second magnetization direction is from the proximal end of the second gripping arm to the distal end.

Description

Clamping control device and clamping control method

The present invention relates to a clamp, in particular to a micro clamp used in the biomedical field, and a clamping control device and a clamping control method including the micro clamp.

Clamps are generally used to hold objects and transport them to different locations. As many structural components and parts become increasingly miniaturized, clamps also need to be miniaturized. In particular, micro-clamps with the function of transporting objects are also used in the field of biomedical research, such as biological research and transportation of biological samples, targeted drug therapy, minimally invasive surgery, etc.

However, when using micro-grippers to manipulate tiny biological samples in a microfluidic environment, if electrical energy or thermal energy is used to drive the micro-grippers, the heat generated by the drive will cause the micro-grippers to irritate or destroy the samples. If mechanical components are used to drive the micro-grippers, the overall size of the grippers will be too large. On the other hand, the movement and transportation speed of the micro-grippers will also be limited because they are located in a microfluidic environment.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a micro-clamp and a clamping control device and a clamping control method including the micro-clamp to improve the transportation efficiency of the micro-clamp.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a micro clamp. The micro clamp includes a middle part, a pair of first clamps and a pair of second clamps. The middle part has a first side and a second side opposite to each other. The proximal end of each first clamp is connected to the first side, and the distal end of each first clamp is far away from the first side, wherein each first clamp has a first magnetization direction, and the first magnetization direction points from the proximal end of the first clamp to the distal end. The proximal end of each second clamp is connected to the second side, and the distal end of each second clamp is far away from the second side, wherein each second clamp has a second magnetization direction, and the second magnetization direction points from the proximal end of the second clamp to the distal end.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the distal ends of the first clamps is smaller than the distance between the proximal ends of the first clamps, and the distance between the distal ends of the second clamps is smaller than the distance between the proximal ends of the second clamps.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the middle component has a magnetization direction, so that the middle component can be affected by the first external magnetic field and move along the magnetic field direction of the first external magnetic field.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the first clamp and/or the second clamp can be closed or opened by a second external magnetic field, wherein the intensity of the second external magnetic field is greater than the intensity of the first external magnetic field.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention further provides a clamping control device. The clamping control device includes the above-mentioned micro-clamp and a magnetic field generating device. The magnetic field generating device includes a plurality of electromagnets arranged around the micro-clamp, and the electromagnets are configured to generate magnetic fields of different directions around the micro-clamp.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the two electromagnetic irons on any two opposite sides of the micro-clamp together form an electromagnetic iron pair, and each electromagnetic iron pair is arranged along different directions.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention further provides a clamping control method, which is used to control the above-mentioned clamping control device. The clamping control method includes the following steps: using a magnetic field generating device to generate a first direction magnetic field to control the micro-gripper to move along the first direction to a first position; increasing the intensity of the first direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the first clamping arm of the micro-gripper to open and clamp the first object located at the first position; using a magnetic field generating device to generate a second direction magnetic field to control the micro-gripper to move along the second direction to a second position; and increasing the intensity of the second direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the second clamping arm of the micro-gripper to open and clamp the second object located at the second position.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned clamping control method further includes: using a magnetic field generating device to generate a third-direction magnetic field to control the micro-clamp to move along the third direction to a third position; increasing the strength of the third-direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the first clamping arm of the micro-clamp to open to place the first object at the third position; using a magnetic field generating device to generate a fourth-direction magnetic field to control the micro-clamp to move along the fourth direction to a fourth position; and increasing the strength of the fourth-direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the second clamping arm of the micro-clamp to open to place the second object at the fourth position.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned clamping control method further includes: using a magnetic field generating device to sequentially generate magnetic fields in different directions to gradually control the micro-clamp to turn from the second direction to the third direction, so that the first clamping arm or the second clamping arm of the micro-clamp is facing the direction of the third position.

As mentioned above, the micro-gripper provided by the present invention mainly performs magnetization treatment on the middle part and the two side clamps to different degrees, and enables the micro-gripper to produce the action of one side clamp opening and the other side clamp keeping closed under the same external magnetic field. In this way, the micro-gripper can be controlled by the external magnetic field to clamp more than two objects at different positions at one time, and transport the objects to different designated positions, so the operation time of the micro-gripper can be shortened and the transportation efficiency can be improved.

1: Clamping control device

2: Micro clamp

21: Middle part

21a: First side

21b: Second side

22: First clamp arm

22a: Proximal

22b: Remote

23: Second clamp arm

23a: Proximal

23b: Remote

3: Magnetic field generating device

31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38: Electromagnet

4:CCD camera

:第一方向

:First Direction

:第二方向

: Second Direction

:第三方向

:Third direction

:第四方向

:Fourth Direction

A1: First position

A2: Second position

A3: Third position

A4: Fourth position

B1: First object

B2: Second object

D1,D2,D3,D4: distance

P1, P2, P3, P4: Electromagnetic iron pair

S1, S2: Clamping control method

S11,S12,S13,S14,S21,S22,S23,S24: Steps

T1: Microfluidic chip

d _open : arm opening distance

δ : Single-side clamp arm deflection distance

T _m : Magnetic moment imposed by external magnetic field

L : arm length

h: Cross-section thickness of the clamp arm

w: is the cross-sectional width of the clamp arm

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a clamping control device of one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a micro-clamp of one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a top view of a micro-clamp of one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a clamping control method for controlling the movement and clamping action of a micro-clamp in one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a micro-gripper of one embodiment of the present invention clamping objects at different positions in a microfluidic chip.

Figures 6A to 6E are schematic diagrams of controlling the movement and clamping action of a micro-clamp in one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a micro-clamp turning in a microfluidic chip according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 8A to 8D are schematic diagrams of controlling a micro-gripper to perform a turning motion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a block diagram of a clamping control method for controlling the movement and placement of a micro-clamp in one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a micro-fixture of one embodiment of the present invention that places different objects at different positions in a microfluidic chip.

Figures 11A to 11D are schematic diagrams of controlling the movement and placement of a micro-clamp in one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the diameter of the object to be clamped and the magnetic field required to be applied.

Figure 13 shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the magnetic field strength and the arm opening distance of the micro-gripper.

Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of the micro-gripper opening due to the magnetic field.

In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understandable, the following will specifically cite the preferred embodiments of the present invention and provide a detailed description in conjunction with the attached drawings. Furthermore, the directional terms mentioned in the present invention, such as up, down, top, bottom, front, back, left, right, inside, outside, side, periphery, center, horizontal, transverse, vertical, longitudinal, axial, radial, topmost or bottommost, etc., are only referenced to the directions of the attached drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are used to explain and understand the present invention, not to limit the present invention.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 at the same time, wherein Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a clamping control device of an embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 2 and 3 are structural schematic diagrams of a micro-clamp of an embodiment of the present invention. The clamping control device 1 of this embodiment mainly includes a micro-clamp 2 and a magnetic field generating device 3. Among them, the magnetic field generating device 3 is configured to generate a magnetic field, and the micro-clamp 2 is arranged within the coverage range of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device 3, and can be actuated by the magnetic field. In this embodiment, different parts of the micro-clamp 2 are magnetized in different directions, so that different parts of the micro-clamp 2 have different magnetic field response actions in the same magnetic field.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the micro-clamp 2 includes a middle part 21, a pair of first clamps 22, and a pair of second clamps 23. The middle part 21 has a first side 21a and a second side 21b opposite to each other. The proximal end 22a of each first clamp 22 is connected to the first side 21a of the middle part 21, and the distal end 22b of each first clamp 22 is far away from the first side 21a. Similarly, the proximal end 23a of each second clamp 23 is connected to the second side 21b of the middle part 21, and the distal end 23b of each second clamp 23 is far away from the second side 21b. In one embodiment, the distance D1 between the distal ends 22b of the first clamp 22 is smaller than the distance D2 between the proximal ends 22a of the first clamp 22, and the distance D3 between the distal ends 23b of the second clamp 23 is smaller than the distance D4 between the proximal ends 23a of the second clamp 23. In other words, when the micro clamp 2 is not affected by the magnetic field, the first clamp 22 and the second clamp 23 are in a closed state. In one embodiment, the first clamp 22 and the second clamp 23 are in a closed state, which means that the distance D1 of the first clamp 22 and the distance D3 of the second clamp 23 are 0.3 mm.

In one embodiment, the middle part 21 of the micro-gripper 2 has a magnetization direction (e.g., the direction of the dotted arrow on the middle part 21 in FIG. 3 ), and when the micro-gripper 2 is subjected to a first external magnetic field of a relatively small size, the micro-gripper 2 can move along the magnetic field direction of the first external magnetic field. In this embodiment, each first clamping arm 22 has a first magnetization direction, and the first magnetization direction points from the proximal end 22a of the first clamping arm 22 to the distal end 22b (e.g., the direction of the oblique upward dotted arrow on the first clamping arm 22 in FIG. 3 ). In addition, each second clamping arm 23 has a second magnetization direction, and the second magnetization direction points from the proximal end 23a of the second clamping arm 23 to the distal end 23b (e.g., the direction of the oblique downward dotted arrow on the second clamping arm 23 in FIG. 3 ). In this embodiment, the magnetization direction of the first clamp 22 is different from the magnetization direction of the second clamp 23. Therefore, when the micro clamp 2 is subjected to a larger second external magnetic field, the first clamp 22 and the second clamp 23 will exhibit different magnetic response effects. In one example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the micro clamp 2 is subjected to an external magnetic field from bottom to top, since the internal magnetization direction of the first clamp 22 (the first magnetization direction) is in the same direction as the magnetic field direction of the external magnetic field, and the internal magnetization direction of the second clamp 23 (the second magnetization direction) is in the opposite direction as the magnetic field direction of the external magnetic field, the first clamp 22 will open outwards, while the second clamp 23 will close inwards. Thus, when one of the clamping arms of the micro-gripper 2 has clamped an object, the clamping arm on the other side can be opened and continue to maintain the clamping arm that has clamped the object in a state of clamping the object. In this embodiment, the strength of the second external magnetic field is greater than the strength of the first external magnetic field. In a specific example, applying an external magnetic field less than 0.2T can make the middle part 21 of the micro-gripper 2 move along the direction of the magnetic field under the action of the magnetic field, but the first clamping arm 22 and the second clamping arm 23 are not opened under the action of the magnetic field.

In one embodiment, the first clamp 22 and the second clamp 23 can be made of a mixture of neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) material and a polymer organic compound (e.g., polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS) soft material (Young's modulus <10 ^-6 ), and the main part of the middle component 21 can also be made of a mixture of neodymium iron boron material and a polymer organic compound material, and the secondary part can be made only of the polymer organic compound. Specifically, NdFeB is a ferromagnetic material with the characteristics of high remanence and high toughness, so the magnetic soft material made of NdFeB and PDMS composite material can be regarded as a small permanent magnet. Therefore, when the magnetic soft material is magnetized to a saturated state, the remanence inside the material will not be affected by an external magnetic field lower than its toughness.

Please refer to FIG. 1 again. The magnetic field generating device 3 includes a plurality of electromagnets (e.g., electromagnets 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38) disposed around the micro-gripper 2, and the electromagnets are configured to generate magnetic fields of different directions around the micro-gripper 2 to control the micro-gripper 2 to move, clamp, place, etc. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the number of electromagnets is 8, and they are disposed around the micro-gripper 2 at equal intervals. Among them, the two electromagnetic irons located at any two opposite sides of the micro fixture 2 together form an electromagnetic iron pair, for example, the electromagnetic iron 31 and the electromagnetic iron 35 arranged along the horizontal direction in the figure together form an electromagnetic iron pair P1; the electromagnetic iron 32 and the electromagnetic iron 36 arranged along the upper left-lower right direction in the figure together form an electromagnetic iron pair P2; the electromagnetic iron 33 and the electromagnetic iron 37 arranged along the vertical direction in the figure together form an electromagnetic iron pair P3; the electromagnetic iron 34 and the electromagnetic iron 38 arranged along the upper right-lower left direction in the figure together form an electromagnetic iron pair P4. That is, in the embodiment of Figure 1, each electromagnetic iron pair is arranged along a different direction. In this way, the moving direction of the micro-clamp 2 can be changed and controlled by controlling each pair of electromagnets P1, P2, P3, and P4 to generate magnetic fields in different directions. It should be noted that the number and arrangement direction of the electromagnets shown in Figure 1 are only for demonstration purposes and are not intended to limit the present invention. In other embodiments, the number and arrangement direction of the electromagnets can be determined according to needs.

The following will describe the clamping control method of the clamping control device. Specifically, Figures 4 to 6E show the control method and schematic diagrams for controlling the micro-clamp to clamp objects at different positions in the microfluidic chip, Figures 7 to 8D show the control schematic diagrams for controlling the micro-clamp to rotate, and Figures 9 to 11D show the control method and schematic diagrams for controlling the micro-clamp to place objects at different positions in the microfluidic chip.

移動至第一位置A1。在微型夾具2移動至第一位置A1後，進行步驟S12，如第5圖與第6B圖所示，增加磁場產生裝置3產生之第一方向磁場的強度，以控制微型夾具2的第一夾臂22張開以夾取位於第一位置A1的第一物件B1。在微型夾具2夾取第一物件B1後，進行步驟S13，如第5圖與第6C圖所示，利用磁場產生裝置3產生第二方向磁場(例如啟動電磁鐵38及34產生方向為左下至右上的磁場)，以控制微型夾具2沿著第二方向

移動至第二位置A2。在微型夾具2移動至第二位置A2後，進行步驟S14，如 第5圖與第6D圖所示，增加磁場產生裝置3產生之第二方向磁場的強度，以控制微型夾具2的第二夾臂23張開以夾取位第二位置A2的第二物件B2。要說明的是，在第6D圖中，由於第二夾臂23的內部之磁化方向與外加磁場(第二方向磁場)方向順向，而第一夾臂22的內部磁化方向與外加磁場逆向，故當第二方向磁場的強度增加時，第二夾臂23可打開以夾取第二物件B2，而原先已夾持第一物件B1的第一夾臂22可持續夾緊第一物件B1，避免第一物件B1脫落。 Please refer to FIGS. 4 to 6E at the same time. The clamping control method S1 is mainly used to control the micro-clamp to clamp objects at different positions in the microfluidic chip. Specifically, in the clamping control method S1, step S11 is first performed, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6A, using the magnetic field generating device 3 to generate a first direction magnetic field (for example, starting the electromagnetic irons 32 and 36 to generate a magnetic field in a direction from the upper left to the lower right) to control the initial position of the micro-clamp 2 in the microfluidic chip T1 along the first direction.

Move to the first position A1. After the micro-gripper 2 moves to the first position A1, step S12 is performed, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6B, to increase the strength of the first direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device 3 to control the first clamping arm 22 of the micro-gripper 2 to open to clamp the first object B1 located at the first position A1. After the micro-gripper 2 clamps the first object B1, step S13 is performed, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6C, to use the magnetic field generating device 3 to generate a second direction magnetic field (for example, start the electromagnets 38 and 34 to generate a magnetic field in a direction from lower left to upper right) to control the micro-gripper 2 to move along the second direction.

Move to the second position A2. After the micro-gripper 2 moves to the second position A2, step S14 is performed, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6D, to increase the intensity of the second direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device 3 to control the second clamping arm 23 of the micro-gripper 2 to open to clamp the second object B2 located at the second position A2. It should be noted that in FIG. 6D, since the internal magnetization direction of the second clamping arm 23 is in the same direction as the external magnetic field (second direction magnetic field), and the internal magnetization direction of the first clamping arm 22 is in the opposite direction to the external magnetic field, when the intensity of the second direction magnetic field increases, the second clamping arm 23 can be opened to clamp the second object B2, and the first clamping arm 22 that has previously clamped the first object B1 can continue to clamp the first object B1 to prevent the first object B1 from falling off.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6E, after the micro-gripper 2 simultaneously clamps the first object B1 and the second object B2, the magnetic field generating device 3 can be used again to generate a magnetic field from the lower left to the upper right to control the micro-gripper 2 to return to the middle position of the microfluidic chip T1. At this time, the first object B1 is located on the left side of the micro-gripper 2, and the second object B2 is located on the right side of the micro-gripper 2. In one embodiment, when it is necessary to further control the micro-gripper 2 to sequentially place the first object B1 at the third position A3 and the second object B2 at the fourth position A4, the micro-gripper 2 can be controlled to rotate 180 degrees first, so that the first object B1 is rotated to the direction close to the third position A3 (that is, the right side of the micro-gripper 2).

For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 8D, the magnetic field generating device 3 can be used to sequentially generate magnetic fields in different directions to gradually control the micro-gripper 2 to rotate 180 degrees. Specifically, the electromagnetic iron pair P4 (as shown in FIG. 8A), the electromagnetic iron pair P3 (as shown in FIG. 8B), the electromagnetic iron pair P2 (as shown in FIG. 8C) and the electromagnetic iron pair P1 (as shown in FIG. 8D) of the magnetic field generating device 3 can be sequentially activated to control the micro-gripper 2 to rotate 180 degrees counterclockwise, so that the first object B1 rotates to the right side of the micro-gripper 2 (as shown in FIG. 10). In other embodiments, after the micro-gripper 2 simultaneously grips the first object B1 and the second object B2, it can be determined whether the micro-gripper 2 needs to be rotated according to the position and order of the subsequent placement of the first object B1 and the second object B2, so as to control the first clamping arm 22 or the second clamping arm 23 of the micro-gripper toward the direction of the subsequent placement position, thereby speeding up the overall transportation speed.

移動至第三位置A3。在微型夾具2移動至第三位置A3後，進行步驟S22，如第10圖與第11B圖所示，增加磁場產生裝置3產生之第三方向磁場的強度，以控制微型夾具2的第一夾臂22張開以將第一物件B1放置在第三位置A3。要說明的是，在第11B圖中，由於第一夾臂22的內部之磁化方向與外加磁場(第三方向磁場)方向順向，而第二夾臂23的內部磁化方向與外加磁場逆向，故當第三方向磁場的強度增加時，第一夾臂22可打開以放置持第一物件B1，而原先已夾持第二物件B2的第二夾臂23可持續夾緊第二物件B2，避免第二物件B2脫落。在微型夾具2將第一物件B1放置在第三位置A3後，進行步驟S23，如第10圖與第11C圖所示，利用磁場產生裝置3產生第四方向磁場(例如啟動電磁鐵32及36產生方向為左上至右下的磁場)，以控制微型夾具2沿著第四方向

移動至第四位置A4。在微型夾具2移動至第四位置A4後，進行步驟S24，如第10圖與第11D圖所示，增加磁場產生裝置3產生之第四方向磁場的強度，以控制微型夾具2的第二夾臂23張開以將第二物件B2放置在第四位置A4。 Please also refer to Figures 9 to 11D. After both arms of the micro-gripper 2 have gripped the object, the gripping control method S2 can be used to control the micro-gripper to place the object at different positions in the microfluidic chip. Specifically, in the gripping control method S2, step S21 is first performed, as shown in Figures 10 and 11A, using the magnetic field generating device 3 to generate a third direction magnetic field (for example, starting the electromagnetic irons 38 and 34 to generate a magnetic field from the lower left to the upper right) to control the micro-gripper 2 along the third direction.

Move to the third position A3. After the micro-gripper 2 moves to the third position A3, step S22 is performed, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11B, to increase the strength of the third directional magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device 3 to control the first clamping arm 22 of the micro-gripper 2 to open so as to place the first object B1 at the third position A3. It should be noted that in FIG. 11B, since the internal magnetization direction of the first clamping arm 22 is in the same direction as the external magnetic field (third directional magnetic field), and the internal magnetization direction of the second clamping arm 23 is in the opposite direction to the external magnetic field, when the strength of the third directional magnetic field increases, the first clamping arm 22 can be opened to place the first object B1, and the second clamping arm 23 that has previously clamped the second object B2 can continue to clamp the second object B2 to prevent the second object B2 from falling off. After the micro-clamp 2 places the first object B1 at the third position A3, step S23 is performed. As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11C, the magnetic field generating device 3 is used to generate a magnetic field in a fourth direction (for example, the electromagnetic irons 32 and 36 are activated to generate a magnetic field in a direction from the upper left to the lower right) to control the micro-clamp 2 to move along the fourth direction.

Move to the fourth position A4. After the micro-gripper 2 moves to the fourth position A4, step S24 is performed, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11D, to increase the strength of the fourth direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device 3 to control the second clamping arm 23 of the micro-gripper 2 to open so as to place the second object B2 at the fourth position A4.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned method of using 8 electromagnets to control the micro-gripper 2 to move, grip and place objects in the microfluidic chip T1 is not intended to limit the present invention. In other embodiments, the number and arrangement of the electromagnets can be set according to the shape of the object to be tested (or the experimental environment) and the control requirements. In a specific example, the number of electromagnets can also be 4, 6, 10, 16, etc. The arrangement of the electromagnets can be a ring arrangement, a linear arrangement, a staggered arrangement, etc. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, since the size of the micro-gripper 2 is very small (the length and width are 3.04 mm and 1.58 mm respectively), the clamping control device 1 can be used in conjunction with the CCD camera 4. That is, the clamping control device 1 can be installed under the CCD camera 4, and the magnetic field generating device 3 can be connected to an operation control unit (not shown). Thus, the user can control the micro-clamp 2 to move, clamp, and place by viewing the display screen of the CCD camera 4 and using the operation control unit.

Please also refer to Figures 12 and 13, where Figure 12 shows the external magnetic field required for the micro-gripper to grasp objects of different diameters, and Figure 13 shows the opening distance of the magnetron gripper under the action of different magnetic field strengths. When the micro-gripper floats on the liquid surface, the process of its gripper arm opening will cause the surrounding liquid surface to deform, thus affecting the gripping process of the micro-gripper when it contacts the object. Therefore, in order to allow objects of different sizes to smoothly enter the gripping range of the micro-gripper, the gripper arm needs to be opened to a specific distance. Therefore, from Figures 12 and 13, it can be seen that if you want to clamp an object with a diameter of 0.3mm, a magnetic field strength of about 0.4T is required to control the gripper to open to 0.53mm; similarly, if you want to clamp an object with a diameter of 0.9mm, a magnetic field of about 1.52T is required to control the gripper to open to 1.26mm. Due to the geometric design of the micro-gripper, when the open gripper is aligned with the direction of the applied magnetic field, it can reach its maximum opening distance of 1.4mm.

Furthermore, the present invention summarizes a general formula for the externally applied magnetic field and the clamp arm opening distance d _open based on the relationship diagram of Figures 12 and 13. Please also refer to Figure 14. The general formula for the external magnetic field and the clamp arm opening distance d _open is expressed as the following formula (1): d _open =0.3+2 δ ...Formula (1).

In formula (1), δ is the deflection of the clamp arm caused by bending under the influence of the external magnetic field. It refers to the distance the clamp arm opens under the influence of the magnetic field and can be expressed by the following formula (2):

In formula (2), δ is the deflection distance of the single-sided clamp; Tm is the magnetic moment applied by the external magnetic field; _E is the Young's modulus of the clamp material (e.g., NdFeB-PDMS composite); L is the length of the clamp; I is the cross-sectional inertia moment of the bent clamp, where the cross-sectional inertia moment of the rectangular clamp can be expressed using the following formula (3):

In formula (3), h is the cross-sectional thickness of the clamp arm; w is the cross-sectional width of the clamp arm. It can be seen that Figures 12 to 14 and the above formulas (1) to (3) provide design guidelines for the clamping control device, so that relevant personnel can use the best parameter settings to accurately control the micro-gripper to clamp objects and place the objects in the appropriate position.

As described above, the micro-gripper provided by the present invention mainly makes the two side clamps have different magnetization directions by performing different degrees of magnetization treatment on the middle component and the two side clamps. Therefore, under the action of the same external magnetic field, the micro-gripper can produce an action in which one side clamp is opened while the other side clamp remains closed, so that objects located at different positions can be grasped and transported to different places in one operation process. Thereby, the clamping control device and the clamping control method of the present invention can be applied to perform biological cell experiments on microfluidic chips. For example, two cells can be moved to different experimental areas/solutions at one time through the micro-gripper for experiments, thereby shortening the control time and improving the experimental efficiency. On the other hand, the clamping control device and clamping control method of the present invention can also be applied to targeted drug therapy in living organisms. Through the proposed design principle, the micro-clamp can simultaneously carry two different drugs into the living organism and release them at different locations, thereby improving the treatment efficiency.

Although the present invention has been disclosed with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of the patent application attached hereto.

1: Clamping control device

2: Micro clamp

3: Magnetic field generating device

31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38: Electromagnet

4:CCD camera

P1, P2, P3, P4: Electromagnetic iron pair

T1: Microfluidic chip

Claims (8)

A clamping control device includes a micro-clamp and a magnetic field generating device, wherein the micro-clamp includes: a middle component having a first side and a second side opposite to each other; a pair of first clamping arms, wherein a proximal end of each first clamping arm is connected to the first side, and a distal end of each first clamping arm is far away from the first side, wherein each first clamping arm has a first magnetization direction, and the first magnetization direction points from the proximal end of the first clamping arm to the distal end; and a pair of second clamping arms, wherein a proximal end of each second clamping arm Connected to the second side, a distal end of each second clamp is far from the second side, wherein each second clamp has a second magnetization direction, and the second magnetization direction points from the proximal end of the second clamp to the distal end; wherein the magnetic field generating device includes a plurality of electromagnets arranged around the micro-clamp, and the electromagnets are configured to generate magnetic fields of different directions around the micro-clamp, wherein two electromagnets located on any two opposite sides of the micro-clamp together form an electromagnet pair, and each electromagnet pair is arranged along different directions. A clamping control device as described in claim 1, wherein the distance between the distal ends of the pair of first clamps is smaller than the distance between the proximal ends of the pair of first clamps, and the distance between the distal ends of the pair of second clamps is smaller than the distance between the proximal ends of the pair of second clamps. A clamping control device as described in claim 1, wherein the middle component has a magnetization direction, so that the middle component can be affected by a first external magnetic field and move along the magnetic field direction of the first external magnetic field. A clamping control device as described in claim 3, wherein the pair of first clamping arms and/or the pair of second clamping arms can be closed or opened by a second external magnetic field, wherein the strength of the second external magnetic field is greater than the strength of the first external magnetic field. A clamping control method for controlling the clamping control device as described in claim 1, wherein the clamping control method comprises: using the magnetic field generating device to generate a first direction magnetic field to control the micro-gripper to move along a first direction to a first position; increasing the intensity of the first direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the pair of first clamping arms of the micro-gripper to open to clamp a first object located at the first position; using the magnetic field generating device to generate a second direction magnetic field to control the micro-gripper to move along a second direction to a second position; and increasing the intensity of the second direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the pair of second clamping arms of the micro-gripper to open to clamp a second object located at the second position. The clamping control method as described in claim 5 includes: using the magnetic field generating device to generate a third direction magnetic field to control the micro-clamp to move along the third direction to a third position; increasing the strength of the third direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the pair of first clamping arms of the micro-clamp to open to place the first object at the third position; using the magnetic field generating device to generate a fourth direction magnetic field to control the micro-clamp to move along the fourth direction to a fourth position; and increasing the strength of the fourth direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the pair of second clamping arms of the micro-clamp to open to place the second object at the fourth position. The clamping control method as described in claim 5 includes: using the magnetic field generating device to generate a third direction magnetic field to control the micro-clamp to move along the third direction to a third position; increasing the strength of the third direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the pair of second clamping arms of the micro-clamp to open to place the second object at the third position; using the magnetic field generating device to generate a fourth direction magnetic field to control the micro-clamp to move along the fourth direction to a fourth position; and increasing the strength of the fourth direction magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device to control the pair of first clamping arms of the micro-clamp to open to place the first object at the fourth position. The clamping control method as described in claim 6 or 7 further includes: using the magnetic field generating device to sequentially generate magnetic fields of different directions to gradually control the micro-clamp to turn from the second direction to the third direction, so that the pair of first clamping arms or the pair of second clamping arms of the micro-clamp are oriented toward the direction of the third position.