JPH0423929A - Animal breeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the workability in the handling of animals by placing a plurality of animal-holding cages on plural steps vertically arranged on a rack and providing an air-supplying channel, an air-receiving member and an exhaust air channel for forming an air curtain to cover the front face of each cage at the outside of the cage. CONSTITUTION:Air supplied from a blower for air curtain is passed through an air supply pipe 35, a valve 34 and an air supply pipe 33 to each air-blowing pipe 31 placed on each step of a rack 21 and having a number of small holes opened in the lower face with small intervals over the whole length of the pipe and discharged from the holes to form an air flow curtain covering the outside of the front part of each step on the rack 21. An air-receiving member is constructed of a front protrusion and edge plate 29 of each plate 22 positioned below each air-blowing pipe 31. The air flow received by the air-receiving member is transferred backward through a pan 30 under each cage 26 from the front side to the rear side of the cage 26 and discharged from an exhaust duct 36.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an animal breeding device for breeding small and medium-sized animals such as rabbits, cats, and rats used in animal experiments.

(Prior Art) In order to raise animals used in animal experiments, a rack is generally provided in an animal breeding room, a plurality of cages are arranged side by side on this rack, and animals are housed in each rack. .

Generally, animal breeding rooms are provided with an air supply port that supplies fresh air from the outside into the room, and an exhaust port that exhausts polluted air from the room to the outside to forcefully ventilate the room. This cleans indoor air to maintain a clean environment for animals and workers, prevents indoor air from having a negative impact on animal experiment data, prevents cross-infection between animals, and eliminates odors. This is to protect workers from dust and airborne bacteria. In order to ventilate the room, it is important that the airflow distribution in the room accompanying the ventilation be in a state that allows the above-mentioned purpose of ventilation to be achieved.

Conventionally, the method shown in Figure 7 has been adopted for ventilation in animal breeding rooms. In other words, 1 is an animal breeding room, 2 is a rack configured by arranging a plurality of shelves 3 vertically at intervals, thereby arranging a plurality of tiers vertically, and 4 is a plurality of tracks in each column 3 of the rack 2. This is a cage for housing animals arranged throughout the area.

The racks 2 are arranged in sets on the left and right sides of the breeding room 1, and according to the arrangement of the racks 2, an air supply port 5 is provided in the center of the ceiling of the breeding room 1, and an air supply port 5 is provided on both sides of the ceiling. Each of them is provided with an exhaust port 6.

Then, air sent from an air blower (not shown) is blown into the center of the breeding room 1 from the air supply port 5, and each rack 2
After passing through each cage 4 provided in each column 3, the inside of the breeding room 1 is forcedly ventilated by exhausting it from both sides of the breeding room 1 to the outside through an exhaust port 6 and an exhaust device (not shown). There is.

- Air equivalent to the capacity of the entire breeding room is supplied into the room with ventilation times, and the same amount of air is exhausted from the room. This ventilation is performed at predetermined intervals.

However, in such a conventional ventilation system, the rack 2 is completely open to the indoor space of the breeding room 1, and the air supply side and the exhaust side are not separated, so that air is blown into the room from the air supply port 5. Induced by the flow of fresh air, polluted air containing odor and dust flows back from the cage side to the work space at the front of the cage where the worker is located, circulates within the room, and is properly exhausted from the exhaust port 6. Because of this, there was a problem of poor ventilation efficiency.

Therefore, recently, a method has been proposed in which the interior of the breeding room 1 is partitioned into an air supply side and an exhaust side with respect to the rack 2, that is, a cage side and a work space side. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a front plate 7 is provided on the front surface of each rack 2 to cover the entire front surface, and a partition plate 8 is further provided connecting the rack 2 and the exhaust port 6. An opening 9 is formed in the front plate 7 at a position facing each cage 4, and each opening 9 allows air to flow from the front side to the rear side, and from the rear side to the front side. A lid (not shown) is provided to prevent this.

According to this system, air supplied into the room from the air supply port 5 enters each cage 4 through each opening 9 of the front plate 7, and then flows along the partition plate 8 and is exhausted to the outside from the exhaust port 6. Ru. That is, since the inside of the breeding room 1 is partitioned into the cage side and the work space side by the front plate 7 and the partition plate 8,
Fresh air flows only in one direction from the front side to the rear side of the rack 2, and contaminated air does not flow from the cage side to the work space side, and the contaminated air is well discharged to improve ventilation efficiency. can be increased.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, this improved ventilation system also has the following problems. In order to do this, the operator must open the front plate 7 for each cage 4 each time and work only through the opening 9. For this reason, the work of handling the animals housed in the cage 4 is troublesome and very troublesome, and the work efficiency is poor.

In addition, fresh air only flows into each cage 4 through the opening 9 of the front plate 7, making it difficult for air convection to occur inside the cage 4, resulting in uneven temperature distribution inside the cage 4. This has a negative impact on experimental data and the physical condition of the animals.

Furthermore, it is still difficult to sufficiently discharge the odor in each cage 4.

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and maintains a system in which fresh air for ventilation flows in one direction from the front side to the rear side of the rack, improving work efficiency when handling animals in cages. In addition, we aim to average the temperature distribution inside the cage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an animal breeding device that can efficiently and sufficiently discharge odor from a cage.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the animal breeding apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus installed inside an animal breeding room where indoor ventilation is performed, and comprises a plurality of vertically arranged tiers. partitioned rack and
A plurality of cages for accommodating animals are arranged side by side on each step of the rack; an air supply passage body that blows air out as a curtain-like airflow toward the outside of the lower part to form an air curtain that covers the front surface of each cage on the outside; An airflow receiver provided on the outside of the lower part for receiving air blown out as a curtain-like airflow from the air supply passageway body includes a body, and an exhaust passageway body for discharging the air received by the body to the outside. It is characterized by:

(Function) The air curtain formed on the front side of the cage prevents contaminated air from flowing from the cage side to the worker side.

In addition, the air curtain forms a barrier to prevent contaminated air from flowing from the cage side to the work space side, so when workers handle animals in the cage, they must do so from the front side of the cage. Work efficiency is good because there are no restrictions on where the worker can move his hands to perform the work, and he can move his hands where necessary.

In addition, air convection occurs inside the cage due to the suction characteristics of the air curtain, making the temperature distribution inside the cage uniform.

Furthermore, the odor inside the cage can be forcefully and efficiently exhausted by forced ventilation using the air curtain.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the animal breeding apparatus of the present invention is installed in an animal breeding room.

That is, the animal breeding apparatus of the present invention is installed on both left and right sides of the animal breeding room 11, and depending on the arrangement, an air supply port 12 is provided in the center of the ceiling of the breeding room 11, and air supply ports 12 are provided on both sides of the ceiling. Each is provided with an exhaust port 13. The air supply port 12 is connected to an air blower (not shown), and the exhaust port 13 is connected to an exhaust device (not shown).

The animal breeding apparatus of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. Reference numeral 21 denotes a rack, which supports a plurality of shelves 22 arranged vertically at intervals, and supports both ends of these shelves 22. A pair of side plates 2
3. The rear plate 24 and the top plate 25, which cover the entire rear surface, are combined to partition the upper and lower parts into a plurality of steps, with the front surface of each step being open. Reference numeral 26 denotes a cage for accommodating animals, and a food container 27 for storing food is provided at the front of this cage 26. The bait container 27 is attached to the rack 21 shown in FIG.
A hanging tool 28 is provided in each step section partitioned into each column 22, and a plurality of cages 26 are hung and supported by each hanging tool 28 in a row in the longitudinal direction of the shelf. An edge plate 29 is provided at the front edge of each column 22 over its entire longitudinal direction. As a result, the shelf 22, the edge plate 29, the side plate 2
3 and the rear plate 24 constitute a pan 3o.

This pan 30 is for receiving excrement from the animals housed in each cage 26 arranged on the auxiliary shelf 28, and is made to constantly store water. That is, the excrement of the animal inside the cage 26 falls into the pan 30 through the holes in the bottom of the cage 26 and the empty auxiliary shelf 28 of the grid. In this pan 30, the shelf 22 protrudes forward from the cage 26, and the front protruding portion of the shelf 22 and the edge plate 29 form an airflow receiver that receives the airflow from an air curtain formed by an air blowing pipe, which will be described later. make up the body.

31 is an air blowing pipe provided for each stage of the rack 21 partitioned by each column 22, and this air blowing pipe 31 is) l, PJ.
K, fJB; 1jlX, 1Jt7 They are located on the front side of the upper ends of the plurality of cages 26 and are arranged horizontally across each cage 26. As shown in FIG. 5, each air blowing pipe 31 has a large number of small blowing holes 32 with a diameter of about 1 inch on the lower surface, for example, 5
They are arranged in the axial direction with an interval of (2). Note that the direction of the blowout hole 32 is such that the airflow receiver, which is formed by the front protruding portion of the shelf 22 and the edge plate 29, is directed toward the body.

A portion along the side edge of each side plate 23 and a portion along the side edge of the top plate 25 in the front open portion of the rack 21 An air supply pipe 33 is provided, and a portion of the air supply pipe 33 along the side edge of each side plate 23. 12. Both ends of each air blowing pipe 31 arranged in each stage are connected.

The air supply pipe 33 is connected to an air supply pipe 35 via a valve 34 above the top plate 25 of the rack 21, and the air supply pipe 35 extends between the ceilings of the breeding room 11 and is connected to an air curtain blower (not shown). .

36 is an exhaust duct, and this exhaust duct 36 is connected to the rack 21.
It is provided on the outside of the rear plate 24 and has a size corresponding to the entire rear plate 24. That is, each stage of the rack 21 corresponds to each stage in the longitudinal direction. Rear plate 2 of rack 21
4, a horizontally elongated exhaust port 37 is formed at a location below the poppy 26 at each stage, for example, over the entire length of the shelf.

An exhaust pipe 38 is connected to the center of the upper surface of the exhaust duct 36, and this exhaust pipe 38 connects to the exhaust port 1 provided in the ceiling of the breeding room 21.
Connected to 3.

The operation of the animal breeding apparatus configured in this way will be explained.

A feature of this animal breeding apparatus is that an air curtain is formed outside the front surface of the cage 26 at each stage of the rack 21.

The operation of forming this air curtain will be explained.

The pressurized air sent from the air curtain blower passes through the air supply pipe 35, then flows through the air supply pipe 33 via the valve 34, and in the process of flowing through the air supply pipe 33, air is provided at each stage of the rack 21. The air is sent into each air blowing pipe 31, respectively. The air sent into each air blowing pipe 31 is
The air blowing pipe 31 is formed of a large number of small holes 32 formed at small intervals throughout the axial direction on the lower surface of the air blowing pipe 1, and is made up of a front protruding portion of each column 22 located below each air blowing pipe 31 and an edge plate 29. The airflow receiver blows out towards the body.

The air blown out from a large number of small holes 32 formed at small intervals throughout the axial direction on the lower surface of each air blowing pipe 31 forms a curtain-like airflow that covers from the outside of the front opening of each step of the rack 21. This curtain-like airflow is stopped by the body.

As a result, the front side of each of the cages 26 arranged in each step is covered with an air curtain A formed by the airflow blown out from each air blowing pipe 31. The airflow, which is stopped at the airflow receiver, flows through the portion of the pan 30 located below each cage 26 from the front side of the cage 26 to the rear side, and then through each exhaust port formed in the rear plate 24 of the rack 21. 37 enters the exhaust duct 36 and passes through the exhaust pipe 38 to the rearing room 11.
The air is exhausted by an exhaust device from an exhaust port 13 provided on the ceiling. Note that FIG. 3 shows that the air curtain A is formed only at the uppermost step.

In order to ventilate the breeding room 11, pressurized air is blown into the breeding room 11 from the air supply port 12 by an air blower as shown in FIG. The blown air diffuses inside the breeding room 11, and at the front opening of each stage of each rack 21 of each animal breeding device installed in each breeding room 11, it is combined with its own flowing force and the suction force of the air curtain A. Together, the airflow receivers formed at the lower part of the front opening of each stage are sucked into the pan 30 of each stage.

That is, the air blowing out from each air blowing pipe 31 to form an air curtain and the air blowing into the rearing room 11 for ventilation are both sucked into the pan 30 at each stage. At this time, the ratio of the air blowing out from each air blowing pipe 31 forming the air curtain and the air blowing out into the breeding room 11 for ventilation is, for example, the same amount.

After that, as described above, the flow flows through the pan 30 from the front side to the rear side of the cage 26, and then enters the exhaust duct 36 from each exhaust port 37 formed in the rear plate 24 of the rack 21, and further passes through the exhaust pipe 38. The air is exhausted to the outside through an exhaust port 13 provided on the ceiling of the breeding room 11 by an exhaust device. The exhaust amount at this time is the total amount of the airflow of the air curtain and the airflow blown into the rearing room 11, which is approximately twice the airflow of the air curtain A.

The effects of this embodiment obtained by this action will be explained.

First, in each stage of the rack 21, the outside of the front surface of each cage 26 is covered with an air curtain A, so that the airflow flowing from the cage 26 side toward the space where the worker is inside the breeding room 11 is prevented by the air curtain. This prevents odor, dust, floating bacteria, etc. generated in the cage and pan 30 from flowing into the space where the worker is present, thereby protecting the worker.

Therefore, when ventilating the breeding room 11,
As mentioned above, the air blown into the rack 21 flows from the front side of the rack 21 through the pan 30 to the back side of the rack 21, that is, it flows only in one direction from the work space side to the rack side, and the contaminated air flows to the poppy side. There is no flow from the air to the workspace side.

In addition, since the outside of the front of each cage 26 is covered with an air curtain A at each stage of the rack 21, when an operator handles an animal in the cage, the operator can work on the front side of the cage 26. There are no restrictions on where you can move your hands to perform tasks, and you can move your hands where you need them, giving you a high degree of freedom in your work. Therefore, the work of handling the animals housed in the cage 26 is easy and time-consuming, and the workability is very good. Note that when the worker is working, the burden caused by the air curtain is only on the hands and has almost no effect on the work.

Further, the airflow forming the air curtain A flows into the pan 30, but the part of the cage 26 corresponding to the part into which this airflow flows becomes negative pressure, and air flows into this part from other parts of the cage 26. Moving. As a result, convection occurs inside the cage 26, and this convection makes the temperature inside the cage 26 uniform. Therefore, the temperature of the cage 26 does not adversely affect the animal's physical condition or experimental data.

In addition, by forcibly ventilating the cages 26 at each stage of the rack using an air curtain, the cages 26 at each stage
No. 6 odor can be efficiently and sufficiently discharged. Therefore, the amount of air flowing into the breeding room 11 for ventilation can be reduced, and the number of times the breeding room 11 must be ventilated can be reduced, which is highly economical.

In addition, in this embodiment, a cage 2 is provided for each stage of the rack 21.
A pan 30 containing water is provided below the cage 6 to receive the excrement of the animal housed in the cage 26.
The water suppresses the odor of excrement, making it easier to clean up the excrement. That is, by providing a water washing tank 39 on the top plate 25 of the rack 21, and further providing piping for flowing water from this tank 39 to each pan 30 and piping from each pan 30 to a predetermined excrement storage section, the tank 39
The animal excrement in the pan 30 can be flushed into the excrement storage part using water stored in the pan 30.

Further, the airflow forming the air curtain A serves to trap coarse dust such as animal hair in the pan 30 on the lower side of the cage 26. This allows coarse dust to be washed away with water.

The animal breeding apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the rack 21 may be surrounded by sheets to provide independent ventilation. Further, the configuration of the portion that receives and takes the air curtain may be replaced by another configuration instead of the pan 30.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, by forming an air curtain on the front side of the cage, fresh air for ventilation flows in one direction from the front side to the rear side of the rack. It is possible to obtain an animal rearing device that maintains the temperature, improves work efficiency when handling animals in cages, equalizes the temperature distribution in the cage, and can efficiently discharge odor from the cage, improving economic efficiency. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the animal breeding device of the present invention is installed in a breeding room, and FIGS. 2 to 4 show an example of the animal breeding device of the present invention installed in a breeding room. Figure 5
This figure shows an air blowing X-tube for an air curtain, and FIGS. 6 and 7 show a configuration in which a conventional animal breeding apparatus is installed in a breeding room. 11...Animal breeding room, 21...Rack, 22...
Shelf, 26... Cage, 31... Air blowing X pipe for air curtain, 36... Exhaust duct. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (1)

[Claims] A device installed inside a ventilated animal breeding room, comprising a rack partitioned into a plurality of upper and lower tiers, and a plurality of cages for housing animals arranged side by side in each tier of the rack. In each step of the rack, air is provided on the front side of the upper part of each cage arranged in line with the step, and the air is blown out as a curtain-like air stream toward the outside of the bottom of each cage, so that the front surface of each cage is exposed to the outside. an air supply passage forming a covering air curtain; and air blown out as a curtain-like airflow from the air supply passage, which is provided on the outside of the lower part of each cage arranged in line with the step in each step of the rack. What is claimed is: 1. An animal breeding device comprising: an airflow receiver that receives airflow; and an exhaust passageway body that exhausts the air received by the airflow receiver to the outside.